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The Sound Effect is a high-energy dance band, providing a wide variety of music for both dancing and listening. Our repertoire includes music from today's rock and pop genres, some motown, rhythm and blues, soul, ballads, 40's big band, and a sprinkling of funk and disco. With a balanced mix of jazz and rock musicians, we gel as a unit to provide a diverse set that can be tailored to any audience. Our four-piece rhythm section lays down a groove to keep you on the dance floor, while our vocalist and saxophonist add their unique color to the rhythm canvas. With our unique blend of jazz and rock musicians and our diverse repertoire, we can provide you with a unique musical experience for your event, beginning with a jazz trio or quartet for cocktails and dinner, up to a full dance band to bring the dancers out. Band History The Sound Effect began coming to fruition when Scott and Dave, now the sax player and keyboardist for The Sound Effect, got together one evening and began discussing where they next wanted to go musically. These two musicians have played together with various Big Bands since the early 1990's, but had a common interest in starting a project that spans a wider variety of genres. A mix of the jazz that they had been performing with other groups and the rock they grew up with became the foundation of The Sound Effect. Scott and Dave examined the song styles and song lists of other popular bands throughout the US that featured a similar variety of musical genres. The result of this study was the initial song list on which The Sound Effect would concentrate. Once the general decision on genres and styles was determined, the next month was spent determining the initial 100 songs in the song list. Scott and Dave studied the songs most requested of other bands and DJs, and the initial song list represents the most requested musical variety available. Following that, three solid months were spent writing arrangements of the initial song list, with a focus on arranging to take advantage of the instrumentation and vocal color of the group. The recruitment process also occurred during this time to fill the remaining slots in the group. In order to accomplish the desired variety in the group and not recruit solely from their contacts in the jazz world, it was decided to advertise for and hold open auditions for vocalists and the remainder of the rhythm section. The auditions were held, and the results are the current embodiment of The Sound Effect, consisting of male and female vocalists, guitar, keyboard, bass, drums and sax. The rhythm section consists of a keyboard player and drummer, both of whom come from a jazz background, and a bassist and guitarist, both of whom come from a rock background. To this rhythm foundation, a jazz-oriented sax player is added, along with a rock-oriented vocalist. The lead singer, along with the vocal ability of the bass player and guitarist, create a varied and talented ensemble that offers a richness and depth rarely experienced from a local live band. Our Members Will Hopkins, Vocals Will Hopkins began his musical career at the tender age of three when he discovered his passion for karaoke and Elvis Presley. He mastered the ability to sneer his lips and swivel his hips and, by the age of six, was winning talent contests aboard European cruise ships. The bigger the crowd, the better he performed. At the age of thirteen, Will began trumpet lessons with Ronnie Smith of the Ronnie Smith Big Band, whose music is somewhat legendary in the south east of England (where Will himself was born and raised). A natural on the trumpet, Will went on to win several young musician awards in the Sussex county. However, his trumpet career was short lived. After three years of playing trumpet at the back of the stage, Will decided he had had enough of going unnoticed. The natural-born showoff knew that only the spotlight place behind the microphone would do for him. At sixteen, Will moved to south Wales, where he formed a fairly successful tribute band honoring the 'Blues Brothers.' He then went on to form a band honoring his idol, the King. After that, Will joined the rock and roll band, 'B Sharp,' which played in a number of outdoor festivals. His favorite musical moments were when B Sharp toured in Sweden and played three sell-out gigs, all receiving excellent reviews from the press. In December 2004, Will moved to the United States where he lives with his wife and little baby girl. He is enjoying a new musical chapter with 'The Sound Effect.' Scott Switzer, Saxophones Scott Switzer was first introduced to the saxophone in 1972, immediately after auditioning and landing a spot in The Junior High School Band Of America. The only problem was that he auditioned on bass clarinet, but was asked to lend his musical talent to the tenor saxophone section. With only 6 weeks before the tour, Scott immersed himself in learning the saxophone and is in recovery from this experience to this day. Since moving to Northern California in the early 1980's, Scott has played with the De Anza College and West Valley College Jazz Ensembles, The Santa Clara University Jazz Ensemble, The Mike Sloan Big Band, The Joe Ferrari Big Band, The Swing Solution, The Elby Coy Band, The Sultans of Swing, The Los Altos Big Band, and, for a change of pace, the Blue & Red Circus Band and Gustine City Band. In addition to his jazz and big band experience, Scott also played a mean baritone saxophone with the funk band Goodfoot. Scott has performed with local artists Dave Ellis, Wayne Wallace, John Calloway and Danny Caron, and has also performed live on the radio station KFOG. When he's not holding a sax, he is a computer engineer, working with a computer chip design software company. Scott is the founder and arranger for The Sound Effect. Dave Miller, Keyboard Dave Miller, like most of us, has lived most of his life dreaming in black and white. The only thing that has differentiated Dave from most of the rest of us is that his dreams have been filled with images of white rectangles and smaller black rectangles, separating the white rectangles in groups of three, followed by groups of two. One day at the tender age of four Dave accompanied his parents to the neighborhood music store, and, after examining his first keyboard, a prodigy was in the making. Being a local Silicon Valley boy, Dave continued his musical aspirations by studying first at De Anza College, where Dr. Herb Patnoe took the impressionable teenager under his wing, and later at San Jose State. During his studies at San Jose State, he fell in love, and the desire to provide for his wife and future family took priority over his desire to make it as a musician. Dave exchanged his desire for black and white keys for sets of black and white insulated wire and became an electrician as he raised a family of three wonderful children with his wife. With his children mostly grown (in fact two of them founded a popular ska band that has toured throughout the West Coast), Dave continued his passion of playing keyboard by joining The Swing Solution and later, The Mike Sloan Big Band. Ssaxophonist Scott Switzer was a member in both of these bands as well, so, over they years they learned that their desires and musical passions were similar. Dave and Scott ended up with the vision of The Sound Effect in January, 2005, and are pleased and proud to present the group to the public. Tom Quade, Guitar & Vocals Tom Quade's first exposure to music was through drums, which he took up in grade school. Tom continued to play drums in the jazz band in junior high, and he began playing guitar in the jazz band at his high school. Tom has encountered some great musicians in his musical career, including Colby (of The Heartbeats), Kinya Pollard, and Chris Cain, and members of Nitecry. During his early years Tom also played as a drummer in the 19th Street Band, performing at the Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival and at Cinco de Mayo Celebrations in downtown San Jose. Although he took a musical break while busy rearing kids, Tom continued to perform at Caeser Chavez Park, as well as at private parties. Before joining The Sound Effect, Tom has recently been a guitarist with Bad Plaid and Counterfeit. Dan Morris, Bass & Vocals Dan took up guitar in high school, playing in an authentic garage band for several years (covering Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, and the other noisy sounds of the 90's). In college, he spent more time with his acoustic, enjoying the typical college guitar-on-the-green experience, playing the Beatles and Pink Floyd. He sang a cappella before starting grad school, but he recently found himself missing the full-band experience, and took up bass as a new route to rock and roll. He played with several Bay Area bands before landing in The Sound Effect, and he continues to work on his own acoustic material. Dave Powell, Drums Dave Powell's parents knew that he was going to be a musical guy when he started carrying a homemade set of drumsticks everywhere he went at a young age. Although almost anything goes out here in California, this was seen as somewhat unusual in Kentucky, where he was raised. Dave's interest in the drums continued to such an extent that he ended up in San Jose and majored in drums and percussion at San Jose State. During and subsequent to his school years, Dave has played with many various rock and jazz groups in the Silicon Valley area, most recently with The Mike Sloan Big Band and the South Bay Big Band. Dave holds a Masters Degree in music from San Jose State University.