Crooked rail band

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Will has been playing music in Connecticut and beyond for over 10 years. A brief stint in Jackson Hole, Wyoming saw him play keyboards and guitar with The Morning Gamblers and collaborating with such acts as Steam Powered Airplane, as well as playing cello with the Jackson Hole Community Orchestra. He has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to farmer's markets, and toured extensively in the United States and Europe, most recently playing traditional Irish music in the pubs of London, Dublin, and Galway. Locally, Will plays with several bands, including mandolin with Wires & Wood bluegrass band; keyboards with The Broad Brook Ramblers; and guitar with the Rob Ashley Band, whose most recent studio album Northeastern Syncope has garnered widespread critical acclaim. Will holds a minor in music from the Connecticut State University with a focus in classical cello performance.

 Geoff has been performing regularly since the late 80's. Geoff played in dozens of local acts over the years honing his craft with the Motown Review’s Yesterday Today And Forever band, The Stingrays and Johnny Vibrato & The Razorbacks. Recent projects have included  the Grateful Dead tribute band Shakedown, Boston’s Playin’ Dead,The Eagles Experience, Changes In Latitudes and The Free Spirit Society. He has also appeared with Max Creek, the late Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Blues Traveler. Geoff joins Crooked Rail on Pedal Steel and Keys.

Nick Zacchio from Avon, CT energizes Crooked Rail with his chicken pickin Telecaster twang, acoustic strumming on his trusty 1947 Martin D28, and the occasional cry of a square neck dobro.  Nick also sings high harmony. His musical background is based in country music but is influenced by jam bands like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jerry Reed also inform his sound. Nick performs with southern rock group The Eastbound River Band and jam band The Broad Brook Ramblers, and he is also a former member of the infamous Screamin Eagle Band, known for its bad attitude and ability to attract large crowds.  

Although Mark was born in CT (where in his youth he was strongly influenced and inspired by NRBQ and Roomful of Blues and their antecedents), Mark’s long drumming career began in New York City where he played for decades with the city’s finest Blues, American Roots and Rock & Roll bands, including the well-respected New Orleans R&B band Voodoo Rhythm Kings (which played bars and festivals throughout New England and shared the stage with Earl King, Booker T & The MGs and Beausoleil, among others). He maintains his connection with NYC music through his long-time membership in Shanghai Love Motel, one of the city’s most creative post-punk R&R bands.

After migrating to Connecticut, Mark has become an in-demand drummer for many Blues and American roots projects, including The Amplifires Blues Quartet and The Orb Mellon Trio. Known for his swinging and solid beat, Mark supplies just enough grit and spice to keep the music (and the dancers) moving.  

Ben has been performing publicly on the upright bass since the late 1970’s. Nurtured in the fertile blues and swing scene in Rhode Island of the 70’s and 80’s, he has developed into a naturally swinging player, adept in many traditional genres.

In the early 1980’s, Ben was teamed with bluesman Hash Brown (aka Brian Calway, and his brother-in-law), and they performed with legends such as John Lee Hooker, Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop, Johnny Copeland, Luther ‘Guitar Junior’ Johnson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roomful of Blues, and NRBQ, among others.

After playing in more commercially oriented bands into the 1990’s, Ben helped start Junior Krauss & the Shakes in 1999, and they have become a Connecticut stalwart of traditional blues forms. In recent years, Ben has broadened his musical activities, incorporating bluegrass, jazz and country, highlighting his abilities as a solid section player with an empathetic ear