About Me
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Justin Schaub, guitarist, founder, and songwriter for the Bandwagon Session, was born into a musical family. He grew up singing and performing in church alongside his mother and father. As a child, Justin was heavily involved in orchestra, piano concerts, school musicals, Lyric Theater productions, and various choirs, and ensembles. At the age of eight, he was already filling lead rolls in Christmas productions, in front of crowds of a thousand. Out of the blue, Justin picked up his dad's dusty, old Martin acoustic guitar in the seventh grade, when the piano started to seem less cool, and from that day on he could never put it down. In 1999, after playing a solo gig at a Middletown's Cappozzi's Restaurant, where some local musicians/friends sat in, he formed the first Bandwagon Session. The original idea behind the band (and the name) was that as long as Justin wrote great songs, there could be a constant flow of new/different musicians that could add ever-changing texture to the sound. The band, therefore disappears, and your left with The Bandwagon Session standing more intently as an idea, as a movement, a continuous transformation, the essence of live music. As of today, the Bandwagon Session has had three drummers, ten guitarists, six bassists, three keyboardists, two percussionists, two harmonica players, three vocalists, a trombonist, a trumpeter, a saxophonist, and a didgeridoo player.
As the lineup changed, and changed, Justin began to develop new songwriting techniques, that made it necessary to have a strong foundation for the band, a platform to launch ideas from. The musicians that were tirelessly selected for this plan, had to not only be masters of their craft, but revolutionary in their approach to music, courageous in their playing, devoted and faithful to the cause, and imperfect in their ability to find happiness in anything other than music, and after all that, they had to be friendly too. The result is todays Bandwagon Session, or the best of the better than the best as Justin refers to them.
Ryan Jones, drummer, and vocalist received his first drum set when he was three years old, and much to the dismay of his parents, he hasn't stopped yet. Later, his skills were honed in school affiliated bands, as well as through jazz drumming courses taken at Sinclair Community College. Justin, a friend of the family recruited Ryan originally to fill in for a few weeks until he had found a permanent drummer for The Bandwagon Session, but Ryan was such an instant, perfect fit, that he has remained the drummer for the band since that day, five years ago. Although songs and styles have changed through the years, Mr. Jones has adapted and added his own vibe to each song. During live shows, you can usually tell that Ryan is Justin's go-to guy for changes in dynamics, tempo, and the general texture of every song. The two have been jamming together for so long now that they can almost predict the next note, or the next beat that the other will play. When Ryan is not playing drums, he can be found out at a local disc golf course, or writing songs, and singing in his project band Los Tres Compadres.
Jacob Oxley, guitarist for the Bandwagon Session was also drawn into music at an early age. When he was seven years old, he began taking piano lessons, and continued for the next seven years. In his lessons, Jake developed an early love of music theory and classical music. In the seventh grade he began playing saxophone in his school's jazz band, and about a year later, he picked up his first guitar. As Jake developed his skills on the guitar, he began playing with a number of different garage bands, and meeting new and different musicians. In May of 2004, Ryan Jones asked Jake to play lead guitar for his project band, Los Tres Compadres for a string of opening sets at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton for The Bandwagon Session. At this time, The Bandwagon Session already had two guitarists, and Justin was fairly comfortable with the lineup, so for the time being, Jake and Justin were merely acquaintances. Tension in The Bandwagon Session, in late September of 2004 led to a six month hiatus, in which Justin had serious doubts about the creative engine behind his guitarist. In turn, in March of 2005 Justin began jamming with Jake on a weekly basis, throwing new ideas and songs around. In the Summer of 2005, it was officially decided by every member of the band that Jacob would be a better, more creative, more cooperative guitarist to work with, and since then he has gone above and beyond proving them right.
Mike McKewen, bassist, has been a bass prodigy for years now, and in this author's opinion is not only one of the best up and coming bassists in the nation, but he is also the perfect match to the rest of the Bandwagon's style. From funk, to jazz, and folk, to the blues, to rip-roaring rock and roll, Mike's playing never leaves any question as to his talent, and his dedication to his instrument. Mike has had extensive training in jazz theory, and his experience in big band performances has given him the opportunity to play huge venues, as well as being featured in a big band orchestra on the television show Good Morning America. Mike and Justin met through a mutual friend while they were both attending college at the University of Cincinnati, and they eventually moved into an apartment in Clifton on McMillan Street. This apartment became quite the legendary hang out spot for U.C. students, with all night parties, and extended jam sessions. If you ask Justin, the months spent living at that apartment were vital in developing his songwriting techniques, and without Mike none of it would have been possible.
Jo Gott, Percussionist for the Bandwagon Session, began playing percussion in Junior High Music Appreciation class. Jo spent the summer before his freshman year in high school, with a small Kamayuran tribe in central Brazil. It was there that Jo learned the ancient methods behind the art of Latin percussion. When he arrived back in the states, Jo was an integral part in the formation of Los Tres Compadres, and soon after he was recruited to be the percussionist/beatboxer for the Bandwagon Session. Joes eccentric style, as well as his attitude, has rubbed off on the rest of the band over the past year, and although some may not admit it, everyone in the band thinks hes a great musician, and a great person too.
