The Fender Benders have been an established band since 1990. They have played numerous festivals, concerts and private parties all over Kentucky and parts of Tennessee.
They have opened shows for B.B. King, Tower of Power and Neil McCoy just to name a few. As well as playing at the KenLake Blues Festival, Duncan Hines Festival, Owensboro BBQ Festival and many, many more.
They have been selected twice by the KY Blues Soceity to repersent KY at the 2006 and 2008 International Blues Challenge on Beale St. in Memphis, TN! The largest gathering of blues bands in the world!
The Fender Benders are primarily an R&B band that also plays the Blues and Classic Rock with the best of them. The Bowling Green, KY party band that will have you dancing all night long!
Our Bio's
Willie Smith/Vocalist:
The band features Willie Smith on lead vocals. He can invoke the soul of Otis Redding or sing the blues as well as Bobby "Blue" Bland. He has a presence that makes women swoon with only his voice and moves!
Willie is 64 years old, but you would never think so. He got his start in the church singing gospel hymns. At 15 years of age, he was heard by a sax player, Robert Phillips and was asked to start singing for his band, The House Rockers. They also did shows as "Push". They played gigs from Mississippi to Terre Haute, Ind.
One day, on the way back from playing a gig in Louisville, KY they heard another band playing a radio show that included Chris Hardesty and loved the sound! Robert found out who they were and they formed the Fender Benders!
Robert has since past on and Willie has kept singing with all his heart! Once you hear Willie sing you will never forget that incredible voice!
Willie Smith is the heart and soul of the Fender Benders and he keeps gaining a fan base every time he starts to sing! He has no intentions of stopping anytime soon and everyone of his fans hope it will last forever!
Jarrod England, Guitarist/Vocalist
Bio coming soon!
Bhrett Puckett, Guitarist/Vocalist:
Bhrett has been a part of the Fender Benders for 3 years now. A guitarist that concentrates on what the songs need and adds just enough color to them to make them shine!
He owns a thriving lawn care business in Bowling Green. He also plays in another local band, Cootie Brown and a duo with another great guitarist in the area.
Bhrett has been playing in bands since high school. Moving up through the ranks of the best musicians in Bowling Green, KY and has left his impact on each and every one of them.
He has been playing with a Beatles Tribute show for several years, which shares the stage with the Bowling Green Orchestra. It has sold out every show and has branched out to perform in other cities around Kentucky.
Bhrett is also a very good vocalist. He and Gary give Willie a chance to recharge his soul and enjoy the band. He sings most of the classic rock tunes the band plays. He is also a great driving force behind the Fender Benders since he joined the band.
Mark Johnson, Bassist:
Mark is an original member of the Fender Benders, but left for a few years to pursue other musical interests. He returned to the band about 5 years ago after realizing how much he missed the magic of the Fender Benders.
He owns a new neon business in Bowling Green, KY. He is the only glass bender in Bowling Green and is starting to reap the rewards of being a needed commodity!
Mark learned to play bass by watching his stepfather play bass for country and gospel bands as a kid. He would help set-up, then watch him play and then help them tear down. He learned the music business, as well as how to play, by the time he was a teenager.
He has played many types of music, but that Motown sound was what made him the happiest! Grooving and playing in the pocket is what it is all about for Mark!
Chris Hardesty, Drummer/Backup Vocalist:
Chris is also an original member that left the band for a while to play with the power trio, Supafuzz. Supafuzz was a force to be reckoned with, but he too found his way back to the Fender Benders.
Chris is one of the best drummers in the entire area! He plays in a very unorthodox method. He is left handed, but sets his drums like normal except the hi-hats are on the other side. He blows people away just by the way he sets them up, but once he plays the audience is even more blown away!
He also plays in a side band with Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters. The band is called Rufus Huff and they play as Greg takes a break from the Headhunters and other musical projects. Luckily his passion is still with the Fender Benders though!
He is the groove machine behind the band! He is also the ears of the band! If something is not right with the song, he is the first one to hear it and knows what it takes to fix the problem!
Ryan Stiles-Baritone/Tenor Saxophone
Ryan started playing Alto Saxophone at age 11 in his school band. He quickly progressed on the instrument, and went on to win numerous awards in middle and high school, and was awarded a seat in the coveted KY All-State Band two years in a row. In high school, he found the rich and deep sound of the baritone sax and knew he was on to something. The baritone quickly became his instrument of choice.
After high school, he played in a few bands until he was accepted to the world famous Berklee College of Music, in Boston, MA. He went on to study under the award winning arranger, Fred Lipsius and leader of the "Woody Herman Orchestra", Frank Tiberi. Ryan was highly coveted as one of the few “true†baritone sax players, and this helped him excel in many bands in this prestigious institution where he also played with Jeff Coffin on several dates.
After returning home to Bowling Green, and playing with a few bands, he got the opportunity to go on a national tour with Guy Smiley Blues Exchange and had the privilege to play all over the country from New York City to Honolulu and most everywhere in between. After the tour, Ryan moved to Seattle, WA and began to collaborate with some of the most talented young jazz musicians in Seattle, but was ready to return home to Bowling Green, KY.
Now in demand in the area, Ryan has been lucky enough to play with some of the most talented musicians in Kentucky, among them the Fender Benders, which he became a permanent member. Ryan is very capable to play most any style, but loves to play the great Stax/Motown sound that he grew up listening to and makes him the happiest of all the styles that he has played through the years! The only baritone sax player in the area and plays it with the soul of all the greats!
Brian Roberson, Alto Sax/Flute
Brian Roberson grew up playing music from an early age. He started piano lessons in the third grade. He soon discovered he had an ear for music. In sixth grade, he picked up the saxophone. Learning a lot from a friend in high school band, Brian started playing at church. In 7th grade, Brian met Ryan Stiles and because of the common bond of the saxophone, an instant friendship started. Later in high school, Brian started getting the feeling that something was missing. Taking lessons on the saxophone Brian started exploring jazz. While in high school, he also picked up the guitar.
As a freshman at WKU, Brian played in the WKU jazz ensemble as lead alto sax. Then in his sophomore year, he switched to lead tenor. it was around this time that Brian started playing with the Lost River Cave Big Band, and played occasionally with Voodoo Gruv. It was in college that Brian started playing the flute as well, taking classical flute lessons.
Last summer, Brian ran into Ryan at a Kentucky Blues Society Blues Jam, and Ryan invited him to come fill-in that night to play with the Fender Benders. Since then Brian has been a reliable stand-in on saxophone. Brian is the only flute player in Bowling Green adventurous enough to play the blues. The rest as they say-- is history.
