Straw Hat String Band Bios

Leslie has the dubious distinction of being one of the two Pacific Northwest musicians who hold the world record for singing "Casey Jones" and "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" the most times ever. This was done during a 12 year stint on the "Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad," performing for thousands of tourists every summer on open-air, moving vintage railroad cars. As a result of this experience, she has a banjo full of bugs and an uncanny ability to play under adverse situations and never get motion-sickness. She has also performed at numerous schools, libraries, weddings, and festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest; including ten years at the Pacific Science Center's Annual Model Railroad Show; and was one of the original "Coal Country Cloggers" of Pittsburgh, PA.

Deb is a Pacific Northwestern native with an infectious passion for the 'Fiddle.' Her musical family background runs through her veins, thanks to her father, who is a musican. While growing up, she was witness to many jam sessions in her home. Musicians would come and go, leaving behind their legacies that encouraged her to pursue her current career in the music industry.

Professionally, she performs with her husband as the duo, 'Green Mountain Acoustic Music,' and is also a member of the 'Straw Hat String Band.' She can be seen around the Puget Sound area at open mics, jam sessions and volunteering her time to organizations. When she is not on the stage, she puts on her teaching hat and shares her love of the instrument with students in her home studio, in Olympia, and at Ted Brown Music Store, in Tacoma.

She runs a Tune-A-Week program in both Olympia and Tacoma, which gets beginners off to a great start learning how to play fiddle tunes from all over the globe. She is also an instructor at Pierce College, in Puyallup, where she has helped many students learn fiddle tunes from all over the Celtic Nations and beyond.

For more information about Deb, check out her web sites:
http://home.comcast.net/~zoukman/Fiddlebits/home.htm
http://www.learningmusician.com/fiddlebitsacademy

Greg has been playing music since he was 8 years old.
His first instrument was the french horn, playing in various bands and
orchestras through high school and ending up playing in the 1972
All-Northwest Orchestra in Vancouver, Wa.
Since then it's been the guitar, bass guitar and anything else that
seems interesting.
After a number of years playing rock and blues , Greg began focusing on
primarily acoustic music, and has dived wholeheartedly into the folk /
traditional music scene in Olympia and wherever else the tunes take him.
Greg is also an accomplished singer songwriter.

When he isn't digging in his or someone else's garden, or figuring out
how to cook that yummy dish they ate somewhere the night before, Greg is
usually playing music somewhere with his wife and friends. In an old
house full of guitars, fiddles, harps and other instruments, life
proceeds at an energetic pace and is often the source of inspiration for
the original songs and tunes, the musical 'hairballs' that he coughs up
on a regular basis.

Pat was lucky enough to be born into a musical family with a mother, aunt and grandmother who all sang and played instruments. Making music was an everyday thing and he grew up singing in church and school choirs and performing at various events.

When Pat reached his teen years, Grandma gave him her old guitar and he started trying to figure out how to play it. The light bulb clicked on when he realized that with three guitar chords, he could play about 90% of all the rock‘n’roll, folk and country songs that he liked. When he sang at a party and overheard a girl remark, “Oooh, he sings just like Ricky Nelson!”, he decided that playing guitar was an easier way to impress girls than playing football and a lot less painful.

Over the decades he has played and sang in a number of bands and musical groups playing a variety of styles. Now retired from a “regular job”, he devotes his time to playing music with his friends in Olympia, spoiling his cat, Buffalo Bart, and adding to his guitar collection.

“I really appreciate the various influences and origins of Americana roots music and love to play it all. It’s a pleasure playing in the Straw Hat String Band; they are all strong players and willing to try anything. I like the fact that we’ll put together a medley of an Irish style slip jig, paired with an old American jazz song.”

Julie started out on the clarinet in the 3rd grade becuase she liked Benny Goodman. later on she moved to snare drum and orchestra percussion including tympany. Then she heard Smoke On The Water and decided the drum set was "the way", driving her parents nuts. In 1994 Julie broke a foot leaping off a stage after a gig, giving her the oppurtunity to focus more on the Irish drum. She has been playing the goat skin ever since. Julie frequents local Irish session jams as well as playing percussion with
Samba Olywa, a local brazilian dance and drum group . When she's not playing music she's out photographing the natural world, bicycling cross country, or doing creative projects with wood.

Jesse has been actively pursuing music since the age of 5 1/2. At 21 he took to the road with his guitar and spent half a year wandering the country as an itinerant busker. Since returning to his roots in the Olympia area he has developed a passion for the fiddle that borders on total obsession. When he's not locked away in his room practicing maniacally for hours on end he occasionally indulges his interests in cycling, literature, and home brewing. He has performed throughout Western Washington in various ensembles, and can often be seen busking with a friend or two at the Olympia Farmer's Market.