The Retrobates

Mylos “Boogie” Sonka, the Retrobates trail boss, plays both steel and standard guitars, as well as the fiddle and tiple. He sings all vocal parts, though seldom at once. He has been an ace fancy yodeler since the tragic barbed-wire high jump accident. His main interest is western swing music, though back in the day he performed with bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, toured up and down the West Coast with The Frank Wakefield Band, and co- founded High Country. He played with the jump vocal swing group On the Air over the years, and these days he’s also chopping Freddie Green-style rhythm guitar with the 17-piece Ray Simpson Big Band. He was recently inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame.

Emily “Zee Zee” Bonn leads her own band, Emily Bonn and the Vivants, and met the Retrobates backstage when they shared billing at a festival. They got to jamming and soon discovered she wanted to sing more swing and the Retrobates wanted her in their big-band-style harmony mix. Emily honed her original songs from busking in San Francisco BART stations to touring Europe in 2010 with The Vivants. She now makes frequent appearances in Bay Area clubs and festivals. As a featured vocalist with the Lone Star Retrobates, she finds inspiration from such pre-rock legends as Bob Wills, The Boswell Sisters and Louis Jordan.

“Fiddle” Ray Landsberg, our musical professor, is a pint-sized saddle pal with ten gallons of talent. He has played with many well-known jazz and country artists. In the jazz field these have included Bart Bales, Dick Oxtot, Barbara Lashley, and Norma Teagarden. In country: Pat Cloud, Rhythm on the Range, and Fred Maddox. He also produced and appeared on the Melissa Collard CD, Time Changes Everything. Ray's fiddling has been influenced by Bob Wills and Louis Armstrong. His deadpan humor, often impossible to detect, is featured on Mal Sharpe's comedy record, The Meaning of Life, on Rhino Records. He is not on a record with Norton Buffalo but met him once. Recently Ray has recorded with Paul Mehling's Hot Club of San Francisco, Dan Hicks, the Monogram Boys, and the San Francisco Starlight Orchestra.

John Tuttle moved west to California in the 1970s. He is an award-winning songwriter and brings an array of talents to the Retrobates: he is a solid four-to-the-floor rhythm man and he knows his way around big-band style swing vocal harmony—and he switch hits on accordion or boogie-woogie piano as required. John can frequently be heard playing around northern California and Nevada with the Quake City Jug Band (www.quakecityjugband.com). His previous associations include The Jazz City Singers, The Les Moore Band, and Little Mo.

Multi-instrumentalist Dale Alstrom has had his arrangements and compositions performed by numerous symphony orchestras, vocal ensembles and swing, jazz and rock bands. He has played with numerous big bands, including Freddie Martin, Alvino Rey, Ray Price and his Cherokee Cowboys, Tex Beneke, Louis Bellson and Walt Tolleson as well as spending a number of years playing and singing with various lounge groups in the Reno/Las Vegas circuit and Hawaii. He has played for many name acts such as Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Steve Allen. A bandleader in his own right, he is known by many as "Fairfax Sax", and has lead Dale Alstrom’s Jazz Society for over 30 years. Dale and his ensemble can frequently be heard with his daughter Erika Alstrom, a well-known Bay Area jazz singer.

Ray “Idaho Slim” Green on trumpet and vocals. Ray has headed up his own outfit, the Ray Green Band, for the past ten years. He performs regularly as a big band vocalist with the Ray Simpson Band, and channels Louis Jordan equally well.

Drummer Peter David Lind has played with Lowell Fulsom, the Coasters, Slim Gaillard, Jimmy Witherspoon, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, John Allair (of Van Morrison’s band), Gene and Eunice, and Dee Clark, to name but a few. He has recorded a number of CDs with John Allair, a jazz album with Randy Quan (Booker T. & the MG’s guitarist), the “Out of this World” album with Art Rosch, and the Amy Threadmill album.

Michael Price was bassist for Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks from 2012 until the time of Dan’s death in 2016. As a bass player he's had broad experience playing many kinds of music, but his approach to swing— his tone and attack— blend perfectly with the Retrobates’ vision of the central importance of the rhythm section to a dance band. Aside from playing with the Hot Licks, Michael and his bass can be found in a variety of settings, primarily Bay Area based jazz events; he is the leader of the American Alley Cats, the Saturday Night Jazz Band and the New Moldy Figs. He teaches piano, guitar and bass privately.

Awards

Bandleader Mylos "Boogie Sonka" inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame, 2012