Thundering Velvet Band

Neil  has been an active performance player since the late 70's.  He’s played across Canada with The Wayne Mack Band, Cheryl Lescom, the Terraplane Blues Band, Lois Scott and Friends, King Biscuit Boy, Orville Prophet,  Ron Weir, Steve Adair and BJ Shaver.

 An incredibly talented multi faceted instrumentalist, he plays keyboard, slide guitar, regular guitar, mandolin, bass and is a talented  singer/songwriter with many songs to his credit.

Mike is an established singer, songwriter and another talented multi-instrumentalist.  He has toured as a bass player with Canadian Country music singers Sonny Sinclair, Roni Sommers and Canadian Country Hall of Fame artist and Juno Award winner Carroll Baker.  He plays guitar, harmonica, dobro, lap steel, mandolin and fiddle.

   Mike was mentored by Canadian Country Hall of Fame member Dallas Harms who also produced several of his band’s recordings. During this time period his band scored 10 charted singles including two number one songs, several of which were written or co-written by Mike.

Mike has released two solo albums , ‘It Is What It Is’  

and ‘Storm Warning’.

Mike was also the bass player for Stratford’s funky cover band, Big Jon and the Honkin Swans.

Lee is Thundering Velvet’s  lead guitarist.

From 1980 to 1983 he played guitar in “Straitjacket“ (formerly “The Tarts”) who were quite active in the regional bar scene. Subsequent groups included “Dither”, “Bohunka” and Mumbo Jumbo Shrimp” more alternative than mainstream.  A 1985 graduate of the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology, he retired from active musical participation in 1989 to help raise a family and concentrate on being a responsible adult.

     Emerging from musical retirement in 2001, Lee was asked to join Bobbi Lee Justice and The Scepters.  In 2009 when he had the good fortune to join Big Jon & The Honkin Swans.

Tim is a born and raised in Stratford musical treasure. He started his musical life learning how to play drums and percussion in the Stratford Concert Band with his dad, Keith, when he was only nine years old. 

   Throughout his life he has moseyed from Concert Band repertoire to Country, Latin, Pop, Jazz, Rock, Celtic and Big Band music. He has also been in the pit orchestras of the St. Mary's Community Players, the Stratford Community Players as well as The Community Players of New Hamburg.

    Tim is in demand as a drum instructor and has taught many kids rudimental and set drumming for the past forty years.