One hot August night in 1977, a Dallas rock band packed up and loaded the van one last time, and then went their separate ways. Thirty years later Rhandy Simmons, Fred Howard, and Tim Grugle somehow ended up as neighbors in East Texas. Now with the addition of Kent Gooding and Wes Hendrix, they are slightly grayer and play slightly quieter.

Kent Gooding is an accomplished songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and percussionist. Kent has played with many artists and bands during his career including Gary Porterfield, Michael O’ Neal, Cas Haley and Woodbelly, and Post Oak Savannah. He is currently busy recording a solo album at Siesta Ranch Recording Studio.

Wes Hendrix shares the vocals and is also a smooth operator of a six string. Wes brings a soulful and gritty style to the mix. He paid his dues working as a house musician in 1979 at The Steak Pit on Harry Hines in Dallas where he met songwriter David Patton and formed the David Patton Band, from whom many lessons were learned. In 1981 Wes formed the country band Stallion and for 14 years toured with great success. In 1995 he toured with Sony recording artist Ty Herndon. Wes now works freelance with artists such as Kacey Musgraves.

Fred Howard can rock, as he did with Dallas area bands Thrust, Lodella, and Pandora, but he is also influenced by musical styles that range from classical to blues to jazz-fusion. With this diversity, Fred brings a quirky element to the group, as is evident in his songwriting. After total immersion in a vast web of electronics, electrical engineering, and computer networks, Fred was reborn as a session guitarist for Siesta Ranch Recording Studio.

Being elected as a Buddy Magazine Texas Tornado in 1991 was one of the highlights of drummer Tim "Chopper" Grugle’s career. It all started when his parents noticed that he beat everything in their house with wooden spoons and sticks. Also a recording engineer and producer, Tim has played with, recorded, or produced for most major and major independent labels, and acts such as Metallica, Chuck Berry, John Nitzinger, Raizin Cain, and Pantera. His band Bellicose was an icon in the Texas music scene, and their CD “Love On Ice” went to number one on many stations.

Bassist Rhandy Simmons started out with Fred and Tim back in the ‘70s and went on to play with numerous notables including Danny and Darius Brubeck (Dave’s sons) and Roomful of Blues. Rhandy won the Buddy Magazine Texas Tornado award in 1987, and was with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets when the band won the 1992 W.C. Handy award for Best Blues Band. After touring and recording with Mike Morgan and the Crawl, Rhandy established Siesta Ranch Recording Studio where he has recorded and produced dozens of CDs.