Bios - Salt River Bluegrass Band

Wayne Black grew up on a family farm where everyone in the family played an instrument. He listened to Flatt & Scruggs on the record player and watched Granny and Jed on the TV. Buck Owens, Don Rich, and Glen Campbell were all early influences. Now a multi-instrumentalist, Wayne plays guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. Some of them he plays well. ;-) Bluegrass music is his first love, but he appreciates all music if it is good. He believes that live acoustic music is under-represented in today's electronic world.

Born in the early 40's in Kansas City, Larry Martell has very fond memories of lying on the living room floor in his jammies and dialing in the Grand Ole Opry to catch a listen of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He gravitated towards Flatt & Scruggs and The Stanley Brothers in his teens with influences from Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Jimmie Rodgers. Larry has lived in Missouri, Virginia, Texas, and Kansas and now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Paulette. Larry never dreamt of being in a Bluegrass band until a decade ago when he fell in with a group of weekly jammers in the Kansas City area. After six months of sitting in the circle and strumming, their ultimatum of "sing a Bluegrass song or we're gonna boot you out of the group" was the motivation he needed. Larry reports that "playing and singing Bluegrass music with this fun group of guys is a pure delight."

Born and raised primarily in Texas, Mike St. George’s first instrument was an upright bass in junior high. He soon took up the guitar and was in his first rock band in high school. Following high school, Mike was in a succession of rock bands and jazz groups for five years until a family, college and law school caused him to trade his bass guitar and amplifier for a set of golf clubs. After his daughters were out of the house, he heeded his wife's "you've always liked bluegrass, you should go to this jam I read about" and joined Susan and Howard Anderson's famous Bluegrass Jam in Tempe, playing bass every Wednesday night for three to four years. Mike then went on to play bass in several Bluegrass bands in the Phoenix area. "Playing in Salt River has been the best band experience of my efforts to play music" Mike says. "We have become best friends - not only the band members, but our wives as well. It has been a real blessing."

Errol David "Red" Wilson has been playing banjo since 1967, but only in the last seven years, with the help of Jim Morgan, has he begun to really develop as a banjo player. Born in Montana, this former Army combat infantry Colonel and Under Sherriff of Gallatin County, MT majored in Art Education and still paints in oils regularly. After moving to Arizona in 1999, he quickly established himself as one of Arizona's premier banjo players. Salt River is proud to have him as a member of the band, not only for his playing but for his great sense of humor.


	Salt River Bios Wayne Black guitar, mandolin, fiddle, tenor and baritone vocals Larry Martell rhythm guitar, lead vocals Mike St. George upright bass, tenor and baritone vocals Red Wilson banjo		Wayne Black grew up on a family farm where everyone in the family played an instrument. He listened to Flatt & Scruggs on the record player and watched Granny and Jed on the TV. Buck Owens, Don Rich, and Glen Campbell were all early influences. Now a multi-instrumentalist, Wayne plays guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. Some of them he plays well. ;-) Bluegrass music is his first love, but he appreciates all music if it is good. He believes that live acoustic music is under-represented in today's electronic world. Born in the early 40's in Kansas City, Larry Martell has very fond memories of lying on the living room floor in his jammies and dialing in the Grand Ole Opry to catch a listen of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He gravitated towards Flatt & Scruggs and The Stanley Brothers in his teens with influences from Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Jimmie Rodgers. Larry has lived in Missouri, Virginia, Texas, and Kansas and now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Paulette. Larry never dreamt of being in a Bluegrass band until a decade ago when he fell in with a group of weekly jammers in the Kansas City area. After six months of sitting in the circle and strumming, their ultimatum of "sing a Bluegrass song or we're gonna boot you out of the group" was the motivation he needed. Larry reports that "playing and singing Bluegrass music with this fun group of guys is a pure delight." Born and raised primarily in Texas, Mike St. George’s first instrument was an upright bass in junior high. He soon took up the guitar and was in his first rock band in high school. Following high school, Mike was in a succession of rock bands and jazz groups for five years until a family, college and law school caused him to trade his bass guitar and amplifier for a set of golf clubs. After his daughters were out of the house, he heeded his wife's "you've always liked bluegrass, you should go to this jam I read about" and joined Susan and Howard Anderson's famous Bluegrass Jam in Tempe, playing bass every Wednesday night for three to four years. Mike then went on to play bass in several Bluegrass bands in the Phoenix area. "Playing in Salt River has been the best band experience of my efforts to play music" Mike says. "We have become best friends - not only the band members, but our wives as well. It has been a real blessing." Errol David "Red" Wilson has been playing banjo since 1967, but only in the last seven years, with the help of Jim Morgan, has he begun to really develop as a banjo player. Born in Montana, this former Army combat infantry Colonel and Under Sherriff of Gallatin County, MT majored in Art Education and still paints in oils regularly. After moving to Arizona in 1999, he quickly established himself as one of Arizona's premier banjo players. Salt River is proud to have him as a member of the band, not only for his playing but for his great sense of humor.

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