Troy Minaldi : Guitar & Lead Vocals
Well, lets see here. I was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and grew up in Dallas and Plano. As far back as I can remember, there was music around our family. Jamming to Elvis, The Beatles, Glen Campbell, or Neil Diamond was a common occurrence in the Minaldi household. I had the bold claim when I was a child that I knew every lyric to every song that they played on KVIL!
When I was just a small kid, my uncle Bob Minaldi bought me an acoustic guitar on one of his trips overseas in the Navy. It was very cool...and very BIG. As a matter of fact, it was so big (or was it that I was so small at that age?) that when my mother enrolled me in lessons, after the instructor watched me struggle to reach around this guitar he suggested I wait until I grew a bit! Undaunted, I maintained my interest in the guitar and eventually got big enough to play!
I took some basic lessons and learned my "cowboy chords" as a junior high kid and then began my journey of teaching myself and picking things up by ear. With the generosity of my cousin, Kelly Grimes, I had a Gibson SG and a Gibson Falcon amp to experiment with and basically make enough noise to coax that famous line from my mother, "Troy, turn that @#$%&* down!"
I eventually formed a "band" of sorts with my cousin and another friend who played drums. I talked my wife into letting my friend set up his drums in our game room for "a few weeks just so we can jam and have some fun." SIX YEARS LATER, when we had our daughter the drums finally had to go and that first band came to an end. Fast forward a few years to when I was laid off (one of several times!) and I met Ron Goldman (not THAT one!) and discovered that we both played guitar and subsequently got together to jam at his house. A revolving door of players would come over and jam but eventually it became a regular group of 5 of us that formed Group Therapy. Over the years we have had some different folks take a swim through our little band but James Barron and I have been the constants.
I am quite the guitar nut these days. I play, collect, and have even learned enough to be dangerous and build a few guitars. I must say, though, if it doesn't plug in and "go to eleven" I am not too interested. My current collection totals 20 guitars, numerous amps, and a boat load of rack and stomp effects, most of which I put to good use in my playing rig (which is constantly being changed and tweaked)!
My primary influences are Pat Travers, Eddie Van Halen, and Tom Scholz (of Boston). I really love playing in a band. It is truly a passion and I have tons of fun!
Oh yeah, I still LOVE making lots and lots of noise to this day!
Nick Shovlin : Keyboards & Vocals
I am originally from Santa Clara, CA and started playing piano at 10 years old. My musical consciousness started with Boston, The Bee Gees, Rush, Queen, Saga, Toto, Genesis, Asia, and Judas Priest. In the early 80's my older brother (bass player) and I learned the entire first Asia album. At the time I was armed with an early version Casio with 7 sounds (one of those sounds named "Frog).
I started playing in bands in high school and continued on through college. Here are a few of the bands: The 4th Dimension, The Sea Mammals, Catch 22, and Creature Comforts. My main keyboard influences are Jeff Lorber, Rick Wakeman, Tom Schuman, and Chick Corea. I am drawn to tunes with strong keys, good guitar, groovin' bass, and a beat that will get the room hopping.
Current gear: Roland D50, Yamaha MM6, and a Roland Juno Di.
Dwayne Bowden : Bass Guitar
Put simply, Dwayne kicks ass on the bass! A veteran of the music scene in all aspects for many years, Dwayne has a great passion for all things bass and gear! A consummate collector of basses, amps, recording gear, and just about anything musical, Dwayne keeps Group Therapy groovin'.
James Fellhauer : Lead Guitar & Vocals
James has been in & out (and back in) of the DFW music scene since the late 80's, playing in various original projects and Top 40 bands. In the 90's James spent the first half of the decade playing full time in the popular Top 40 Dance band "Groove Posse" and the second half getting married, having kids, starting a business and, you know..."growing up." Influences include all the icons, Clapton, Page & Beck, to SRV, EVH, Nile Rodgers, and more "modern" guitarist including Steve Lukather, Robben Ford, and David Grissom.
After a couple of years playing in the Classic Rock outfit "Playback", James is "amped" to be part of Group Therapy!
James Barron : Drums & Vocals
Music was always around my house when I was just a wee lad. No one played any Instruments but we listened a lot. My father was a Beach Boys fan. I can remember going to the model shop in my dad’s ‘76 vette with the T-tops off and Beach Boys endless Summer playing loudly in the 8-Track. If it wasn’t the Beach Boys then it was 70’s country artists. That same summer I made my first journey by myself to visit my uncle Frank and Aunt Joey in Pennsylvania and my uncle took me to see a concert by a band that I had not heard of yet. That band was Rush and the tour was “2112”. While I couldn’t understand anything that Neil Peart played I was amazed by the immensity of his drum set and percussion paraphernalia and that sickly sweet smell that permeated the arena.
I had a friend named Ed Cooper that turned me on to a wild band named KISS. During the spring after school we would air band to the album “Destroyer”. I didn’t know that much about the band but it sounded a little dangerous and stirred something in me. I could look at pictures in Teen Beat or Tiger mags of the day and read about all the mythology that seemed to surround the band. That summer I went back up to see my uncle and aunt. I begged him to tell me what show he would take me to. It was a surprise. When we drove up to the arena and the billboard read KISS LIVE I just couldn’t believe it. I don’t know whether it was the music, the lights, the fire, or that same smell or it all rolled into one big thing but I realized right then and there that “I WANT TO DO THIS!” The rest is Rock and Roll history. Probably obscure history but my history.