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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, Stone
Groove, the Bug Hounds and Skeleton Crew, in addition to his solo
performances. Bill is also the newest member of the legendary Marshmallow
Overcoat and is featured on their newest album.
Over the past fourteen years, Bill has performed at many of Ohio's premier venues including the
Newport Music Hall, the House of Blues, 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, Melvin Seals & the Jerry Garcia
Band, Derek Trucks Band, Hot Tuna, Blues Traveler, Yonder Mountain String Band and
ekoostik Hookah.
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. Over the years, 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,
Stone Groove, 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 Ohio 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 over a decade.
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
immediately joined Stone Groove as a
full-time member, and performs with them to this day.
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, 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 in 2005 on Sound Effect Records which has gained critical acclaim in Greece.
The Marshmallow Overcoat's newest CD The Light Show,
which features Bill on Farfisa organ, was recently 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.
They feature Bill's past-and-present bandmates, and special
guests including Julie Kurzenberger, and Richard Shack from The James Gang.
Bill joined up with The Bug
Hounds in 2007,
contributing his original material to their eclectic repertoire.
He also recently teamed up with the Skeleton Crew.
Currently, Bill
performs live with The Resonators, Stone Groove, the Bug Hounds, and
Skeleton Crew at venues and festivals across Ohio. Several studio
projects are also underway, including
a follow-up solo CD.
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