Rubber Universe personnel
on Parliament of Fooles |
Jim
Brooks |
drums, voice |
Andy Burnett |
bass, guitar,
backing vocals |
Michael
Dickerson
|
lead guitar,
keyboards, vocals |
Li'anne Drysdale |
keyboards,
vocals, percussion |
Scott Holder |
drums,
synthesizer, vocals |
Sandra Holder |
live
sound, Business Manager |
Sara Motley |
flute |
Robert J. Noles |
vocals,
guitar |
Gina Ronat
|
vocals, percussion |
Rubber
Universe was a project that grew out of the Alan Parsons
Project tribute band, Projectronics. As the tribute band grew, a few members
clustered in the Midwest decided to form a group that regularly played
together and which made original music. Rubber Universe's studio album, The Parliament of Fooles,
is a result of that collaboration.
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Jim
Brooks
"After hearing
Tales of Mystery and Imagination and I Robot, I knew at this point in
time this was the kind of music I wanted to make and listen to. I wanted
to emulate Alan Parsons." Jim began his path into the musical world at
age fifteen, when he became the regular DJ for his church youth group.
This lead to a job behind the mixing desk at Maxwell's House club in
Boulder, Colorado, where he ran live sound for Mick Fleetwood's Zoo Band
among other acts. Jim assisted with the studio mix of Blackfoot's
classic 1977album
Tomcattin'.
Throughout the 80s, Jim and his wife Ann ran a mobile DJ business called
Listen to the Music. During this time Jim also worked spinning records
at several Denver-area nightclubs. In the 90s, Jim was
Production Manager at Turquoise Film and Video Productions, Inc., where
he produced documentaries such as
Remembering Bonnie and Clyde,
The Story of Robert, and the
feature film The Prosecutor.
He also worked as a cameraman for Yes' Rhythm of Love
and The Rainmakers' Rainmaker
music videos. Jim also produced several Mel
Bay recordings with artists such as Lawrence Juber, Ben Boldt, Mike
Christiansen, and Bunny Brumell.
Andy Burnett
It is safe to say Rubber Universe would not
exist without Andy Burnett. In 1995, Andy started the first
Alan Parsons mailing list
on the internet. Many Parsons fans developed friendships online in this forum, which lead to the first
APP FanFest in 2000.
Andy plays a
Carvin bass and runs straight into the board through a Line 6 POD amp
modeler.
Mike Dickerson
Mike has been writing songs since he was
nine years of age, and plays lead guitar and keyboards. Mike
and his wife Li’anne wrote most of the first
studio album Parliament of Fooles.
Mike plays a Strat (not pictured!) through a Line 6 POD amp modeler
straight into the board.
Li’anne Drysdale
Li'anne grew up in England and Germany, and began working with Mike
Dickerson in the early 90s. They knew immediately they had something
special when it became obvious that their songwriting styles were nearly
identical. Indeed, they often forget who wrote which part of a song.
Li'anne and Mike together wrote the first
studio album The Parliament of Fooles, which is currently in production.
Li'anne plays a Korg MS2000 analog modeling synthesizer and a vintage
Peavey DPM 3.
Scott Holder
Scott's early
musical influences were from bluegrass bands playing at Georgetown
(Washington DC) bars where his mother worked as a waitress and who would
occasionally take her impressionable son on school nights to observe.
Scott began playing the organ at the tender
age of 6 and hung in there with lessons and recitals for the next 9
years until raging teenage hormones diverted his musical path into decidedly non-musical interests. Somewhere during that time, he also
took up the cello for 2 years which led to his musical truism "ain't no
song written that can't be improved by adding a cello". Flash forward
to January 2004 when Mike Dickerson stuck a pair of drumsticks in his
hand and setup a venerable Roland TD-7 e-drum kit and said "here's how
to play 4/4 time". Since then, every practice is an adventure and
despite showing aptitude for banging on rubber pads, Scott isn't quite
ready to quit his day job as another of Projectronic's faceless gubmint
buearaucrats. But he's trying. Scott plays a hybrid
edrum kit using components from every major edrum manufacturer.
Sara Motley
Sara began playing
flute in 1985 when she was 10 years old. She held first chair throughout
high school. For two years she held third chair with the Dekalb Youth
Symphony and played with the stringed orchestra at her school as well.
In her day job Sara makes sensors for the Navy. She graduated from Georgia
Tech with a BS in applied physics. Her flute adds an orchestral
texture to the Alan Parsons FanFest as well as the studio project.
Robert J. Noles
Robert J. Noles was classically trained in vocals by choral directors
Shirley Wilkinson and Frank Heller III, of Louisville, KY in award winning
choirs and solo competitions in Louisville, KY.
Robert now resides in the distant metro east of
St. Louis.
His first electric guitar was bought on the same day he bought the, now
autographed songbook for I Robot 24 years ago.
Gina Ronat
Gina is a trained singer and pianist with a rich background in singing
and touring with gospel music groups as a youth. Gina claims Bonnie Raitt
as a major inspiration; not gospel, but no less soulful. Gina is the vocal
arranger for the band. Gina is a technical-writing consultant for
the computer software industry.
Sandra Holder
Sandra has a Master's degree in
electrical engineering and is the financial officer for the band.
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