Meet The "PANAMA" Band
Bill Dowdell, Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
Bill is without a shadow of a doubt the hardest working guy in the band! His energy is limitless and he is a driver to get things done. Bill hails from West “by God” Virginia and is the self proclaimed “Hillbilly” of the band. Now you might ask why we need a “Hillbilly” guitar player in a band like this…if you come and see him perform you’ll have your answer. Ironically, his influences are Stones, Clapton, SRV, and ZZ Top. His harp playing is more “Blues” than country and even though he can slap out a pretty darn good “ditty”, he will mesmerize you with the high power harp sounds of “Suicide Blond” by “INXS” and “Brother Cane”. Add to that guitar harmonies, vocal leads and harmonies and he becomes indispensable in the make-up of this band. Pretty darn good on the BBQ as well! Bill was a founding member of “Bravo Hotel” with Norm and is now reunited with 4 members of that band; Norm, Lew and Tom and Craig
.
Craig Rosczypala , Keyboards, saxophone, guitar, vocals
Craig is classically trained
in piano and organ and has played in a variety of gigs from church weddings to
piano bars and also in previous bands as the keyboardist in “Bravo Hotel” and
more recently “Proximity Effect” where he mastered the keyboard riffs on
various songs from mega-groups like Deep Purple, Boston, Kansas, and Styx
. In the past he’s also been called upon
for any extra guitar work and sax solos when the tunes required them! He hails from the snowy north (near Niagara
Falls, NY) and brings a repertoire of songs from that region to “Panama” that
compliments the band’s style of funk and southern style rock. The fact that Craig, Tom, Bill, Norm, and Lew
played together previously in “Bravo Hotel” just makes the Panama-sound rock that much
tighter. The added layer that Craig’s
keys provide is what makes Panama’s tunes sound so unique.
