Biography
The members of The Time Of Our Lives Band hail from upstate New York, Mississippi, West Virginia, Long Island, and North Carolina. With previous bands, musical projects and national acts, they have performed, toured and/or recorded across America, Europe and the Caribbean. Between the six, there is over 100 years of performance experience!
With diverse backgrounds and starting places, their paths finally merged in Tampa, Florida. AJ and his wife Cindy, tired of working in separate musical projects, decided to start a band where they could play together. Wanting to play good music that was fun for the audience as well as the band members, they decided to create a band that played dance music! “We wanted to have the time of our lives, and so that’s what we named the band!” says Anthony.
First, they sat down and put together a roster of talents needed for the band. At the top of the list was great musicianship and solid experience. However, this list of “must-haves” also contained other criteria that were equally important – good character, great personality, honesty, high work ethics, ability to share the spotlight, and a team spirit that would encourage and support the other band members.
Because Anthony could play guitar or bass, but did not care to sing lead, they first put out a call for a male lead singer who could play bass or guitar.
After many hours of auditioning singer/musicians, they met with Phil, who with his wife and son had moved to Florida just a few months earlier. On the phone, his personality was great and he seemed to meet all the criteria – but could he really sing? The answer to that question was YES! At his audition, he blew them away with his ability to sing, play guitar, as well as bass AND keyboards. The icing on the cake was his phenomenal talent as an arranger. They had to look no further – Phil was in!
Next was the search for a drummer. A drummer can make or break a band – because if the rhythm isn’t right, everything falls apart. For a dance band, that holds especially true! They interviewed and auditioned several drummers, and it was clearly obvious that John was the perfect choice. Funny (he knows a million jokes!), kind, smart, and a FANTASTIC drummer, his experience playing many different kinds of music give him a broad range of styles and techniques. As an added bonus, he plays guitar, keys, trumpet, and he sings! A very natural singer, John shares Cindy’s love of harmony, and the two of them blend beautifully.
Finding four musicians who play well together and get along off-stage is considered very good luck. AJ, Cindy, Phil and John knew they had a good thing, and were very careful in their consideration of asking another musician to join the mix. Then, they met Bill. Classically trained with a heart for rock and roll, Bill is smart, experienced, and a super pianist and keyboardist. His quiet sense of humor, laid back attitude and excitement about the project made him the perfect fifth note to the chord!
Thinking that five was the perfect number, they started working on arrangements and playing gigs. Finding “Big Irv” was just one of those coincidences that life arranges on her own and everyone knew that adding him to the group was icing on the cake. A killer bassist (precision or stand-up), his deep baritone voice blended with Cindy’s and John’s to build beautiful backup harmonies.
This is a band that enjoys playing together, and their enjoyment spreads out over the audience in waves. You can’t keep your feet still or stay in your chair when The Time Of Our Lives Band starts to play. Their goal is to make sure that you have the time of your life!