Santa Cruz Band | Events | Parties

MEET THE BAND

John started playing drums in junior high school at age 14. He went on to play professionally at age 16 at the Apollo Theater.
John has played opening acts for BB King, Average White Band, Ray Charles, James Brown, Four Tops, Bad Company, 38 Special, Foreigner and the O'Jays. He has also played with local bands in the Virginia Beach area including the Dynamiks.

Dave fell in love with playing the guitar ever since he taught himself at age 14.
Having played for several bands around the tri-state area including The 119 South Band, Novo Tempo Big Band, Willie D and the Nightlife Band, and Pavlov's Dogs, Dave brings a mixture of blues, funk, country and rock to Santa Cruz.
Dave believes the group's camaraderie, along with the professionalism of all the members, makes playing with Santa Cruz an enjoyable and satisfying experience.

"Tinker," his nickname that has stuck with him from early childhood, has been playing in groups since his high school days in Logan, WV. He continued to play in groups in the Huntington, WV area while attending Marshall University. Tinker later began playing in the eastern Kentucky area where he still has many musical ties and is one of the "Resident Artists" at the Long Island Recording Studio in Lexington.
Tinker has opened for such artists as Earl Thomas Conley, Trisha Yearwood and Willie Nelson. He has also performed with Percy Sledge and Mack Rice, the composer of "Mustang Sally," during his "Mustang Sally 2000 Tour" (That's right, Wilson Pickett did not write Mustang Sally!)
A fan of Santa Cruz for several years, Tinker says he is elated to now be performing with the group.

Taze got a late start in the music biz, but has more than made up for lost time by staying busy singing with several bands over the years, including Big Fun, Stagefright, Little Misery, The Tangled Roots and Moses Lazarus.
The road has taken Taze to gigs in NYC, Nashville, Knoxville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton & Morgantown, WV, in addition to just about every bar/club/dive in the Tri-State area.

The multi-talented Jim Bateman came to Santa Cruz by way of Union City, Ohio and Morehead State University. He is the master of many musical instruments.
Moving to Charleston after graduation, Jim was a part of several professional musical groups before joining Santa Cruz in 1991.
Jim wows the crowd with his vocals and keyboard talents, among many others.

Phil is the newest bass player for the Santa Cruz Band.
He teaches bass and guitar at West Virginia State University.
He has formerly played with Charleston's Esquires and has played gigs with Wynton Marsalis, Doc Severinson, The Drifters, The Marvellettes, The Shirelles, and many more.
He has a Master's degree in music from Marshall University
He is the on-air talent for the West Virginia Lottery.
Phil also plays Christopher Payne in the movie "River of Hope" currently playing on Amazon Prime.

Shamita Smith, a native of Dayton, OH, started singing at a young age in the church choir and continued singing throughout her high school years.
Shamita moved to Charleston, WV in 2000 and performed with other local bands before joining Santa Cruz. Her personality and vocal range makes her a great addition to the Santa Cruz family.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Chris began playing saxophone at the age of ten. Having studied jazz and classical performance, He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from West Virginia University, a Master of Music degree from The University of Louisville, and a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University.
Chris is well versed in many styles of music, having performed in jazz ensembles, rock bands, pit orchestras for musicals, orchestras, classical solo performance, and chamber music.
In addition to his performance schedule, he also has a private teaching studio and is on the music faculty at West Virginia State University.