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Bill
Kurzenberger is a dynamic keyboardist/guitarist/singer/songwriter from
Columbus, Ohio. Bill currently plays keyboards and Hammond organ with
The Resonators, the Bug Hounds, Skeleton Crew and Terrapin Moon, in addition to his solo
performances. Bill is also the newest member of the legendary Marshmallow
Overcoat and is featured on their recent album.
Over the past fifteen years, Bill has performed at many of Ohio's premier venues including
the LC Pavilion (Promowest Pavilion), the House of Blues, the
Newport Music Hall, the Beachland Ballroom, the Winchester Music Hall,
and
Legend Valley. With
various bands, he has supported and shared the stage with renowned artists
such as the Marshall Tucker Band, Derek Trucks Band, Hot Tuna, Blues Traveler, Yonder Mountain String Band,
Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band.
Bill was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where he
learned to play piano at an early age. While attending Ohio Wesleyan University, he joined his first bands:
Lava
in 1991, and Abra
Cadaver in 1993. As his songwriting developed, he
formed the Columbus-based band Melting Pot in 1994 with Justin Mason.
In the 1990's, Bill also became a regular player at many of Columbus's open stages.
After playing acoustic and electric
guitar for nearly a decade, Bill found his true calling to be back on the keyboards.
He proceeded to play keyboards in a number of established Columbus-based bands including
STATION, Sugar
Pill, Current, Wazzin',
the Ritchey
Brothers Band,
John Mullins Band, and Grasshopper Pie.
In 2004, John
Mullins reincarnated the Mullins
Band with Bill on
keyboards and Hammond organ. Bill toured with the Mullins Band
around the Ohio valley until John rejoined ekoostik Hookah in 2006.
Bill has crossed
paths with ekoostik
Hookah as a fan, supporting act, and friend of the band for the past
fifteen years.
He graced the stage with
Hookah in October 2004, adding keyboards to their song Loner at Frontier Ranch Music Center. And in April 2005, Bill filled in for Dave
Katz
on keyboards for a memorable show at
Nelson Ledges Quarry Park. Bill has also played with Hookah's present
and past members in various formations.
In the summer of
2005, Bill joined Stone
Groove onstage at Legend Valley, with Cliff Starbuck on bass. Bill
then joined Stone Groove as a
full-time member, and performed with them until the fall of 2009.
Grasshopper
Pie invited Bill to join their touring lineup in 2006 in what would be the swan song of
their eleven-year history. As well as supporting national acts
such as the Marshall Tucker Band
and Blues Traveler, they headlined several large events including the annual
Tabfest, and G-Pie's historic farewell show in October 2006.
In addition to
playing with numerous bands, Bill is an established yet emerging solo
artist. In
2005, Bill self-produced his debut CD entitled Suspending
Disbelief, which showcases six songs selected from over a decade of original material.
The CD also features Ed Ritchey, Scott Maruskin, Scot Gassen, Julie
Rearick and Craig Harpley. Suspending
Disbelief
has received international radio airplay and is available at Apple
iTunes,
CDBaby,
Napster,
Rhapsody, Amazon.com, and music outlets around the
world.
As a
session musician, Bill has
recorded several studio sessions with world-renowned garage-psych
masters The Marshmallow Overcoat and their alter-ego Thee Hands of Tyme.
They
released a '45 vinyl record on Sound Effect Records in 2005 which has gained critical acclaim in Greece.
The Marshmallow Overcoat's 2008 CD The Light Show,
which features Bill on Farfisa organ, was recorded at Waterworks Studio
in Tucson, Arizona and released on Garage Nation Records.
Bill has received
national media recognition in several music magazines. Bill was
featured in the February 2007 issue of No
Cover Magazine, available at music stores and bookstores
nationwide. Bill's original song "Venom Wine"
was released on the nationally-distributed Groupies
Suck Volume #9 compilation CD that accompanies No Cover
Magazine. Bill is also featured on Rolling Stone
Magazine's official website.
After the success
of the Suspending Disbelief CD, Bill formed The
Resonators. The
Resonators feature Julie Kurzenberger, as well as Bill's past-and-present
bandmates, and special guests including Richard Shack from The James Gang.
Bill joined up with The Bug
Hounds in 2007,
contributing his original material to their eclectic repertoire.
The Bug Hounds have recently performed at events for crowds of several
thousand, including the 2009 Slice of Columbus at the Lifestyle
Communities Pavilion.
In 2008, Bill teamed up with
two Dayton, Ohio-based bands, Skeleton Crew and Terrapin
Moon.
Currently, Bill
performs live with The Resonators, the Bug Hounds, Skeleton Crew,
Terrapin Moon, and as a solo artist, at venues and festivals across the
Ohio valley. Several studio
projects are also underway, including
a follow-up solo CD.
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