Entertainers

Travis is a St.Louis Missouri, Mid-Western rocker inside and out. Starting with the typical, boring piano lessons at age 10, Travis quickly found his passion in Rock & Roll. He picked up the guitar and bass in addition to keyboards and was playing St. Louis coffee houses as a teenager. By his early twenties, he was an accomplished musician and entertainer when The Big Bang opened in St. Louis. Travis moved from St. Louis to The Big Bang Tempe in 2006, and has been performing there ever since.

Justin began playing piano at the age of four, and has been rockin' ever since. He took piano lessons for about a year in his teens to make sure he was doin' it right...he was. At the age of thirteen, Justin began writing his own music, and after highschool he studied Musical Composition and Vocal Performance at Webster University and also Lindenwood University.

Justin has been performing at The Big Bang St. Louis since 2003. He is still actively pursuing his passion for song-writing, recently signing a publishing deal in Nashville. He also writes Christian Music and has been successful with the songs “Hold My Hand” and “Overwhelm Me”. Justin Is currently looking for his first big Country Music hit.

If you happen to be at The Big Bang and see a guy singing Rascal Flatts, only to turn around, grab a wireless microphone and run through the crowd singing “Gold Digger” ...that’s Justin. “Come on in and have a seat, get ready to have nothing but a good time”.

John David Greco was born in Omaha, NE on March 2, 1975 to Dr. David and Nadine Greco. At age 5 his mom started him in piano lessons. Over the years he took classical lessons from several different teachers. Heavily inspired by Billy Joel concert footage, Johnny wrote pop tunes and started playing in bands. At age 17 two instrumental events happened for him. First, the drummer of his garage band quit. Living in Sioux City, IA at the time, there were few drummers to call on so he took it upon himself to learn the drums. Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Rush were favorite bands of his and he spent hours upon hours shedding John Bonham, Barrymore Barlow, and Neil Peart licks.

The 2nd event that happened was the highly competitive and State Winning Jazz Band at North High School had lost their pianist. John auditioned and quickly filled the spot. John found an appreciation for old-school jazzers like Miles Davis, Count Basie, and Thelonious Monk.

Johnny then attended the Clark Terry International Institute of Jazz Studies in LeMars, IA where his ear training, listening, and phrasing studies increased.

Johnny then moved to San Diego to finish college and played with a Brazillian drum line. After College Johnny moved to Los Angeles. He got a gig playing drums and acting in a protopunk New York Dolls theme show, "So Alone", which led him into a 2 year gig playing drums with punk band U.X.A. He studied percussion with Kirk Covington for 6 months after being mesmerized by the Scott Henderson Trio at La Ve Lee. Through Kirk, Johnny had learned more technique on the drum kit in the exercises from the book "Stick Control". He spent days transcribing and working through the complex grooves of Danny Carey from TOOL.

Johnny became a regular patron of Sing Sing in Irvine, CA, and that is where he saw his first dueling piano show. Inspired by the energy and improvisation in the show, Johnny set out to learn the gig, and make it just as fun for audience members as it was for him the first time he saw it. He now plays as a full time member at the Big Bang in Tempe, AZ. He credits the team he works with as well as Ron Shelton, Ricky Hernandez, and Billy Ward for taking the time to teach him the gig.

Sam Leatherwood became involved in the Dueling Piano Concept in the early days of sing-along where he performed at Alley Cats in the West End District of Dallas, Texas. Sam started his management career as Director of Entertainment for Howl at the Moon Saloon in 1991. During his ten years with that company, Sam opened twelve clubs in the United States as well as two other locations in Holland with Crazy Pianos. Through his travels with Howl at the Moon, Sam once again landed back in Texas on the San Antonio Riverwalk in 1995. There he partnered with G.M. Meredyth Muller to create and manage the most successful club in the company's history.

In May of 2001, Sam assembled the opening team for the Big Bang St. Louis. Together with partner and co-founder Meredyth Muller, and a group of talented entertainers and managers, Sam opened the first Big Bang Bar. Following the success of the St. Louis club, Sam and Meredyth opened locations in Tempe, Arizona and Nashville, Tennessee. Sam continues to oversee the entertainment management in the existing locations, and also actively works on the growth and expansion of the company. As an owner/operator as well as an entertainer, Sam's natural passion for the Dueling Piano Concept underlies his ongoing commitment to the quality of The Big Bang entertainment experience as well as the energy and attitude of the exceptional people who work there.

Steve began his musical journey at the age of 8
when he started taking piano lessons. He found his
desire to pick up guitar when he heard the intro to
"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. He has
taught piano and guitar since he was 14 and continues
to do so. Over the years he has written and recorded
original music in a variety of genres from jazz to
choral and orchestral music as well as pop to soft and
hard rock. Steve was heavily influenced as a child by
the talents of Michael Jackson. Learning the dance
moves to "Bad" is quite an accomplishment for a 7 year
old.:)
Steve earned his Bachelor of Music in piano
performance from Valparaiso University in the Spring
of '03. During this time, he and his roommate entered
an N'SYNC MTV talent competition and WON! (You might
see Steve bust a few dance moves when you come to the
Big Bang St. Louis!) Steve actively stars in and
music directs musicals at his home church, Christ
Memorial Lutheran. He earned his first Arts For Life
(local "Tony") award during 2005 in "Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for Best Musical
Direction. When you come to the Big Bang St. Louis
and you see a Justin Timberlake/Lance Bass or perhaps
Eddie Van Halen or Slash impersonator on stage....it's
probably Steve. (more info. see
www.stevenluhmann.com) "Grab a cocktail, be ready to
sing, and fasten your seat belts!"

It was 1982 and Mike's mom took him to see Billy Joel in concert at the Checkerdome in St. Louis. Mike was 7 then and ever since has loved Billy Joel...that was the groundbreaking to what Mike is doing now...playing Joel (not to mention McCartney, Elton, Prince and on and on) night after night with enthusiasm and passion.

Mike's education background is actually not that of music, but rather marketing and political science, graduating in 1996 from University of Missouri-St. Louis with degrees in both those fields. It was the summer of 2002 when Mike first came to The Big Bang as a patron and was encouraged by his friends to possibly get a job there. He of course did and started doing happy hours while maintaining his "9 to 5" day job. Not too long after that Mike became a full time entertainer at The Big Bang St. Louis and he apparently does not miss his old daytime work.

In addition to the artists mentioned earlier, Mike loves the pop rock stuff from the 80's. Tears For Fears, Mr. Mister....anything played on MTV around 19..19..1985.......that's what Mike digs.....but he'll play anything for you!

I grew up in Granite City, Illinois. I have a wonderful family that raised me in a loving, Christian home. I started piano at the early age of 4, and got my first experiences playing in church as a youngster. I continued playing throughout grade school and high school where I also began playing the drums. ( I was a band dork, and loved every bit of it.) My Big Bang journey started in St. Louis, Missouri, and in 2003, I moved here to open the Big Bang in Tempe. I feel very blessed to have worked with the Big Bang and look forward to the future with this awesome and talented company. I would like to “give a shout out” to all my big brothers that have made me feel like a rock star in this gig. (you know who you are!!)

Enough with the boring background…. Let’s talk about me. I am a very bubbly, and energetic gal, that loves to hang out and chill on my off time. I love to be the center of attention but I also get much joy in doing things for others. I love pizza, baking cookies, doing laundry, and if you invite me to your house, I will probably clean and organize it for you without you even asking. I enjoy simple things like playing board games with my friends and just spending time with the people I love. I am a huge fan of nineties rap, and if possible, I would like to be a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. And no….. Laura Saunders is not my sister so don’t ask. Later.

Jill Ragee has performed all over the world for the past 10 years as a vocalist on Carnival Cruiselines, Radisson Cruiselines, and Norwegian Cruiselines. Her unique smoky vocals have made her a favorite to crowds across the globe. Jill is a FORD model and has graced the covers of over 30 magazines for her spokesperson Always campaign by Proctor and Gamble. You can also see Jill in the opening of Sex and The City television show when Carrie gets splashed by the bus, as well as Season 2, the "Tantric Workshop." Jill's acting and modeling career has relocated to her NYC, LA, Miami Beach, and Cittavechia, Italy. Jill's dueling piano career started in North Carolina two years ago and she freelanced the country at various clubs until joining the ultra-talented duelers at Big Bang Tempe last October! Jill calls Arizona home now and enjoys writing original music in her free time.

Kevin Reeves' musical journey has been an amalgamation of many styles, each day bringing new forms of artistic expression. As the son of a young member of the U.S. Coast Guard, his family moved numerous times allowing Kevin to experience different cultural communities. From the down-home country music of Alabama, to the many forms of Hip hop originating in California, Kevin assimilated these musical styles and incorporated them into his arsenal of musical ideas.

at 6 months, he was diagnosed with Optic Nerve Atrophy, a condition, which caused him to be totally blind. This visual impairment did not negatively affect his young life. Kevin's early childhood was met with total inclusion into the sighted world around him and daily filled with the music of Billy Joel, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Grover Washington Jr. and the Electric Light Orchestra.

Throughout elementary school, he tried to take up piano as an academic instrument but to no avail. He was too free spirited to exert the discipline needed for learning written pieces. Instead, he spent his time working with his keyboard and the family's upright piano exploring his musical world for himself.

Toward the end of his Junior High career, he began to take an interest in choral music and began his classical vocal training that he continued off and on until the completion of his college career. He also once again attempted to take piano lessons, coming under the tutelage of jazzer Dean Solan, who brought to Kevin's musical journey the influences of jazz and blues. Kevin soon learned the basic theoretical concepts behind these styles, later building on them as his musical ability increased.

Throughout high school and college, Reeves began to study audio production, sound re-enforcement, as well as pop songwriting and electronic music composition. He graduated in the fall of 03 from Greenville College with a B.A. in Contemporary music industry studies with an emphases in vocal performance.

He currently lives in Nashville, where he works at The Big Bang, as well as operating a small studio during the day, writing and recording his own albums, as well as the music of others.

I am originally from O’Fallon, Illinois and for those of you who have no idea where that is, it is just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Therefore, I am definitely a Cards fan and hate the Chicago Cubs. I just recently moved here to Tempe to become part of the Big Bang Crew. I have been singing for as long as I can remember, and after being forced to take piano lessons against my will, I soon took a liking to that as well. Throughout my high school years, music occupied the majority of my time, and yes, I was the choir nerd who was involved in everything possible. Music took a backseat when I went to college but was still a hobby for me in my spare time. I have been singing and playing in church and for weddings for quite some time, but the Big Bang atmosphere is very new to me….. and I must say that it is the most awesome venture that I have ever been a part of. It is an honor to work with people of this talent who have as much passion for music as I do, and I look forward to a wonderful career here.

Now about me in a short paragraph…… I am a Christian and love God because he has blessed me with all of my talents… I have the best family in the entire world, I love to shop, I love to play cards, (and I am very good so just be prepared if you ever play with me), I am addicted to diet coke, and I believe that Whitney Houston is the greatest singer of all time. And no…… Julie Martinez is not my sister so don’t ask. Peace.

Geoff has been with the Big Bang since it opened back in 2001. Geoff began dueling piano work back in 1995.
Geoff also was on the opening team of the Dutch dueling piano bar, Crazy Pianos originally in Rotterdam.
Geoff Smith was born in 1972 and is also an independent artist based out of Nashville TN.
His massively catchy power pop styles are reminiscent of the Beatles, Ben Folds and Squeeze.
More stuff about Geoff can be found at his website
www.thegeoffsmith.com

Geoff has gotten a bit of name for himself in the online new media circles and gets recognized for his jingles heard on Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code Podcast, This Week in Tech, GeekBrief.tv, Radio Lingua Network, Tips from The Top Floor, ScreenCasts Online and the successful www.iYule.tv

Geoff began composing jingles and theme songs for podcasters back in 2005 and has written hundreds and hundreds and the list keeps growing.

Geoff is also the keyboard player for the Nashville based power pop band, Codaphonic as well as the bassist and lead singer with Chicago based Police Tribute Band, One World.

Geoff is also partner and producer of www.ringtonefeeder.com, a new an innovative iPhone ringtone service.

Geoff Smith has been an active supporter and composer for the Songs of Love Foundation since 2006. Songs of Love Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing personalized songs for chronically and terminally ill children and young adults.
Learn more at www.songsoflove.org

Danny, grew up in Atlanta, GA and has played piano by ear since the age of three. As he grew older and wiser, Danny began picking up any instrument that seemed to get the chicks - and also trombone. After struggling for 4 months as a chin model, Danny decided to accept his mandible malformities and try his luck with a band. They agreed to play only instruments that got the chicks and hit the road. They moved to Austin, Texas and after a couple of anti-climactic record deals, the band broke up over an argument about who stole the Danny's eyeliner. The next day the drummer had pink-eye - just like Danny. He then started playing at a dueling piano bar in Austin followed by Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Walton Beach, Florida etc. No one stole his eyeliner. In early 2007 he moved to Nashville to play at the Big Bang. His current band "Ameritrash" can be found on Myspace. Ameritrash CD's are on sale with a free high five with every purchase. Danny aspires to learn "Don't Stop Believing" in a minimum of 7 different languages and is petitioning it's publishing company to rename the song "Just a Small Town Girl."

For more info check out
www.ameritrash.net

At age 4 Mike started collecting Kiss trading cards and rebelling against his parents by listening to his big brother's Ted Nugent 8 Tracks and Led Zeppelin albums. Though his Mom took those away, MTV came along and in 1984 Mike saw Bon Jovi's Runaway video. He had to ROCK. With a piano allready in the house he started taking lessons and impressing girls.

That path led Mike to be the frontman in one St. Charles, MO favorite bands from 1992-1994, Pyscho Love Child during his Duchesne High School days. Mike quit the band to go to college (loser) at Lindenwood University and study music, theatre, and business. During his time at Lindenwood an opportunity came along to play at Key's Dueling Piano Bar at Westport Plaza. So at the age of 20, Mike started the dueling piano act and was trained by "Super" AJ Cancelada.

After Key's closed in 2000, Mike joined Geoff Smith, Eddie Thompson, and Sam Leatherwood at Howl at the Moon San Antonio, TX in May of 2000. A year lated they would move to St. Louis to open the first Big Bang along with Meredyth (Nichols) Mueller and Sam's brother George Leatherwood. It was and still is AMAZING. Though the other guys left to help open new Big Bang's, Mike is still there Rockin' harder than ever. Please don't hesitate telling him that you love his hair. He really appreciates that. Oh, try to stump him on a Bon Jovi request. If you can he might buy you a drink.

Mike recently recorded piano tracks for Universal Republic artist Shannon Nicole and is playing piano/keyboards in her band. She is opening for Joss Stone at Fair St. Louis/Live on the Levee on July 4th of this year under the Arch. Come to the show and then go to The Big Bang!

Eddie is also a great guy

I started Piano lessons @ age 6 on, studing to be a classical concert pianist. Attended The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, University of CT, and the Berklee College of Music .
I was elected to the All State CT Chorus three times, and to the All Eastern United States Chorus one time. I was also melected to the CT Eastern Regional Band as a Tuba Player. My Great great grand father was a member of John Phillip Sousa's band in the early 1900's. I played my first professional job at age 16 with my Uncle Dan Vece, who wound up playing professionally until the age of 100.

Experience- 27 yrs as a working professional musician, mostly as a piano player.
I played along the Connecticut Shoreline in the early 1980's, and in Boston from the mid 1980's till the mid 1990's.
I was the keyboardist at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Colombia, MD for the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1984.
Dueling Piano Experience- 17 yrs, including Jake Ivory's in Boston & West Bridgewater, MA, Howl at the Moon in San Antonio, TX & Miami FL, and The Big Bang in Tempe.
Other Musical Situations- Led my own Dixieland Band in the early 80's, Led an Oldies Band in the mid 80's. Led a punk and r&b band in the early 90's.
Band names: Billy and the Boys- The Incredible Dixieland Band, The Tall Boys, Blue Moon, B.O.M.B.(Boil On a Monkey's Butt), The Undertakers, The Ozone Rangers