Carl Nelson    Carl Nelson grew up in a musical family in Glenwood, Minnesota. His father played trombone and accordion with Lawrence Welk in the days when Mr. Welk was touring in the mid west. Carl played fiddle as a young child, and he has stayed involved in music for most of his adult life. He studied the guitar, playing as he toured the United States on his motorcycle, until he settled in Benicia. He picked up the bass and spent years enjoying the rhythm, until he discovered the dobro. In addition to playing bass for the group, and some dobro, he also runs the sound and spends hours working with the system, a difficult task. Carl also produces the tapes the band has been working on.

  

                       Charlie ElliottCharlie Elliott is a native Californian from the Bay Area who started playing piano as a young child. He discovered the banjo as a teenager and begged his parents to buy one for him. They did, and he has become a truly remarkable lead player. His love for bluegrass music has inspired him to try and work the banjo into other types of music, and achieve an unexpected sound. He is always willing to try new things. He plays bass on a few of the songs the band needs, and sings as well. Charlie is often heard on stage giving off a few "one liners" as he has an interesting sense of humor. One of his other talents is magic, as he is a magician. You could say his music is magic.
  


                                                                     Orfita Nelson Orfita Nelson grew up singing in churches around the communities of Benicia, Vallejo, and Napa. Her father was an accomplished musician who played on the Louisiana Hayride and made many recordings, among other things. It has been said that Orfita has the voice of an angel, or of birds singing, a pure sound. As a young girl, she loved to sit in her room and practice singing above the noise of the trains that passed close by. She, too, started on piano, moving to the guitar because it was easier to accompany herself while singing. She writes some of the songs the band performs, having several of her songs in the hands of a producer. She loves the old style country, feeling as though she must have known the songs her whole life. She loves the old gospel, bluegrass, especially Ralph Stanley, and some of the new country, too. Her greatest joy is reaching someone through one of her songs, and learning that it brought back a treasured memory for them, or that a young child was inspired and will want to play and sing music.

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