Steve started school in New Orleans and summered at his grandmother’s house outside of Memphis. His Uncle Royce listened to Hank Williams and “come to think of it, kind of looked like him, too,” he says. There was jazz music in the house, everything from Louis Armstrong to Louis Prima. In the car there was Elvis on the radio.

Steve’s family moved to New York State, and he bought his first guitar at 13, then wrote his first song at 14. He went to college and crossed the tracks to play in a soul band from town, “until Bubba got jail time.” Steve got into writing folk and country tunes in Cleveland while working as a schoolteacher. When he moved to New York City he played solo gigs – restaurants, bars, nightclubs and street corners -- for three years.

Steve now lives in Maryland where he has formed four bands. “The best way to get into a band with really good musicians is to be the founder,” he says. “Anyway, thank god they have always wanted to play the songs I write.”

From a memorable 6th grade trumpet solo of "Swinging Safari", Mike has enjoyed many varied musical adventures over the years - marching with the Bishop McDevitt HS Band at the Miss America Parade in Atlantic City and watching for Miss Pennsylvania; grooving on Kimball console organ with the soul band, "the Motivations"; squeezing out the french horn solo in a Bucknell college orchestra performance of Carmina Burana at Constitution Hall; Bucknell Chorus road-trips with lots of coeds; keeping the drunks awake at the Holiday Inn with Cathy; cutting two successful blues CDs and opening for SOJA and Billy Price with Park House Jam; and now performing some great new Steve Johnson songs with Kings of Crownsville.

Mike likes to mix it up with the Kurzweil keyboard digital samples and is drawn to interesting rhythms, tight arrangements, strong melodies and harmonies. He doesn't pay much attention to lyrics and is no longer trying to keep this a secret. Musical influences are too numerous to mention and ever expanding with help from the discerning ears of fellow "Kings".

Rob started out playing piano at the tender age of 6. Shortly after his first recital, a moving rendition of Long, Long Ago, reality set in and he switched to the drums. Until he graduated from high school, he performed with numerous bands, orchestras and other assorted musical organizations.

After a brief attempt at music school, Rob decided to focus on the things he did best (at the time) which consisted of activities that can't be described in this forum. To supplement his wild lifestyle, Rob performed with numerous jazz and country bands with a heavy dose of show music thrown in for good measure.

Rob attributes his style to the late, great drummer Tony Monforte and his regimen of sight reading and coordination exercises.

In his imagination, John has redefined the trombone as a lyrical instrument on his two Concord Jazz releases, “Gum” and “These is My Chips.” He imagines that his big band jazz release “Giant Chortle” won the Pulitzer Prize because, as the New York Times fictionally put it, “Mr. Harris has found his voice in the richly nuanced colors of the traditional jazz orchestra, and as a composer has established an entirely new musical language that manages to be both accessible and abstract.”An avid sailor, John fantasizes that it was himself and not Pete Goss who turned back into a Southern Ocean gale during the 1996 Vendee Globe to rescue Raphael Dinelli, in what must be the most heroic episode in all of sports history.

In reality, John has a degree in music from Washington College in Maryland and has spent his whole adult life designing and building wooden boats for a living, a life that is only marginally less interesting than the one he imagines.

Baltimore's Pete Miller has played bass professionally since he was 13. His roots are based on contemporary forms of jazz, complimented by musical theatre, big band swing, soul, rhythm and blues, and many forms of rock. Pete began playing Irish music in the early '90's as a member of Shannon Tide, a Washington D.C. based band. Pete also performs with the Eastport Oyster Boys' Back Creek Band - playing original compositions based on local maritime experiences; and with the Spa Creek Jazz Band - a sextet of talented jazz musicians from the Annapolis and surrounding Anne Arundel County areas. He is also a registered architect, graduate of the University of Maryland School of Architecture, working as vice-president of an Annapolis based design firm.

Jim played baritone in high school and quit playing since there did not seem to be a need for a baritone player in the performance world. Upon hearing a "big band" for the first time in the Spring of his college freshman year, he bought a trumpet for $15 and has been playing ever since. He founded a bar band which played around Michigan's Upper Penninsula for about 5 years. Just after graduation, Jim toured with a group of singers before being called up by the U.S. Air Force. Since coming to Maryland, he retired from the Air Force and has started several bands in the area. He regularly leads a big band and jazz septet in the area.