The Muddy Waders plays with music spanning a range of genres, both instrumentals and songs, applying their interactive improvisations with sensitivity to groove and dynamics that is built on their long musical friendships. Rock, Country, Jazz, Bluegrass, original newgrass, Americana, Folk. Collectively the quartet has diverse and extensive performance and recording experience (see below).
Clockwise from top left in photo above:
Bill Edwards on electric and acoustic guitars and vocals
Bill Dakin on bass, guitar and vocals
Sean Feder on lap steel, banjo, dobro, bass and vocals
Albert Vasquez on percussion, drums, vocals
Al Vasquez is a percussionist and singer who has toured with Nell Robinson and The Jim Nunally Band:Jim Kerwin, and Pete Grant. Al has performed on the Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf Festival and Freight and Salvage stages with Rob Ickes, Jim Nunley, Joe Craven, John Reischman, Greg Spatz, Laurie Lewis, Nina Gerber, Mike Marshall and recorded with Tony Furtado, Sally VanMeter, Scott Nygaard ,Steve McQuarry, Kathy Barwick, David Balakrishnan, Howard Wales and Gary Lee Yoder. Percussionist for dance accompaniment credits include: Alvin Ailey, Pamela Trokansky, Mark Morris, Parsons Dance Companies.
Bill Dakin exudes a deep love and knowledge of a wide range of American roots music, from old country duets through psychedelic rock to modern roots singer songwriters (think Robert Earl Keen, Tim O’Brien, etc.). His upright bass playing is at once solid and adventurous, with a big round elevating tone. Bill is bassist and harmony vocalist for Rita Hosking, with extensive performance experience on the best folk stages in California, including Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf, the Freight & Salvage and more. He is also known for picking up his Collings dreadnought and purposefully belting out songs that audiences and band members readily connect with, typically resulting in hardy applause.
Sean Feder is a multi-instrumentalist. As a percussionist he has performed with a multitude of ensembles, and extensively with Joe Craven, in Sammie award winning combo “Big Frito”. He percussed on Craven’s first solo album, on a Boston Pops holiday show, and for years with the Irish band Driving with Fergus. He started on guitar at age 10, and currently focuses on dobro, banjo, harmony vocals, and guitar. Sean regularly performs and tours with his partner the award winning singer-songwriter recording artist Rita Hosking, including five tours of England and the Netherlands, and multiple appearances at all the major California festivals and venues featuring ‘folk’ and ‘Americana’, such as The Freight & Salvage, Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf Musical festival, Sierra Nevada Big Room.
Bill Edwards is a seasoned Northern California multi-instrumentalist, who has played with Way Out West, Mumbo Gumbo, and also plays with Chris Webster and Tracy Walton as Webster Walton Edwards. He brings a stunning tone and melody as well as several original tunes to the Waders mix.
Sketch from Robin’s Nest by Marie-Therese Brown (http://marie-theresebrown.com/)
The Muddy Waders 