BAND MEMBERS
(presented in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner)
Give or take a number of very talented guests and associate members
Guitarist
A band wouldn't be complete without its guitarist, and Bill Roberts Combo couldn’t have asked for a better one than the talented Bill Roberts. After many long and grueling auditions, Bill Roberts Combo selected a guitarist. By an incredible stroke of coincidence, that guitarist was named Bill Roberts. We figured, this has got to be some kind of a sign that this was meant to be. He's been voted Best Electric Guitarist and had Blues Album of the Year as awarded by the Madison Area Music Association. Do. Not Mess. With. Bill.
JOE WALLNER
Keyboardist
Joe Wallner has been with Bill Roberts Combo from the very beginning. As lead keyboardist for the band, Joe is tasked with pressing various combinations of black and white keys until some kind of musically pleasing sound comes out. He is good at this. He is also the visionary force for the band, having rounded up members much like the early scenes in the Blues Brothers, except that Joe was not LET out of prison: rather, he "saw himself out." No one has questioned him about this and lived to tell, however.
BEN SHULT
Bassist
Ben Shult is truly a shining star and has performed across the country and internationally. Crowds always love seeing his zany stage shenanigans, which could include such antics as smiling, occasionally looking up, and sometimes yelling over to the bar for another drink. The band couldn’t be happier to have such a bassist as Ben up on stage and in the studio with them, because the contrast tends to flatter them. Also he owns the PA so...
STEVE DOUGHERTY
Drummer
A lot of people know Steve as a very talented drummer who has performed with numerous first-rate musical outfits across the country and internationally, including Chicago blues royalty. However, we in the Bill Roberts Combo would like to point out, he just hits things with sticks, how hard can it be?
SPECIAL LINE-UPS
Vocals, saxophone, and more
While they do not perform with the Combo on all occasions, but only those rare occasions on which the other band members have bathed and are sober (and when proprietors have budgeted for one of those horn-honky kind of instruments or a killer singer or sublime maraca player), the Combo sports a great line-up of auxiliary players: vocalists, horn players, extra guitar players, even more guitar players, way too many guitar players... whatever you need or want. We can do that. There will be NO calypso steel drum, though. Ever. Not that we don't like that stuff, we do - but, people, this is the upper Midwest. The chances of that are slim.
AND A CAST OF THOUSANDS
Friends, Associates and Guests
The Combo is blessed to know many talented people who we are proud to share the stage with. You never know who you'll see performing with the Combo. Well, I can tell you that you will not see Albert Palfrey of Camden, New Jersey. Other than that one douchebag, could be almost anyone! If you see Albert, tell him I haven't forgotten about the money he owes me.