Featuring the dynamic FJ Ventre singing and thumping the bass, Dave Quick on vocals and guitar, gunslinger Max Drake on the lead guitar and Evans Nicholson pounding the drums, Edsel 500 shows are high-energy affairs.
Edsel 500 formed when Ventre, who has worked as a sideman with some of North Carolina's finest musicians, including Jon Shain, Mel Melton and Tres Chicas wanted to put together a rockabilly band with Quick (former front man for the power trio, Jack Black and the organizer of Chapel Hill's annual Elvis Fest and Heavy Rebel Weekender in Winston-Salem). Ventre and Quick enlisted guitar master Max Drake (Skeeter Brandon, Big Billl Morganfield, Mel Melton) and Evans Nicholson (Mel Melton, Blue Dogs), both premier musicians whom they met on the Triangle's vibrant music scene. The four quickly forged a strong musical chemistry, gaining a reputation for high-spirited live shows with great old tunes being played the way they were meant to be played.