Dave Maida: Having played stages across the world from the UK to the Kennedy Center. Dave brings his years of performing experience to Relayer, fronting the band with his dynamic and versatile voice. His love of music carries across in his performance, and whether he’s playing his Taylor, or his amazing Les Paul, you know he was born to be on stage. Dave enjoys a wide range of music genres including Rock, POP, Latin Jazz to Heavy Metal, and is no stranger to being in the spotlight. His influences just to name a few are Rush, The Police, Failure, HUM, Jim Croce and Clutch.
Chris Boswell: With the predictable mid-life crisis fast approaching (and some say it’s long since arrived), I’ve returned to the local music scene to join RELAYER. My musical influence is based mostly in the late ‘70/‘80s progressive rock movement that included Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Crack The Sky, and many others.
My gear: 1978 Stratocaster; 2006 60th anniversary Stratocaster; several PRS' ; Custom hand-made (in my shop) double-cut 2009, Mesa Boogie Stiletto Ace, 1970s era Mystro Echoplex EP3, Zen Drive, Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1, Boss Blues Driver, Boss Digital Delay, Clyde Wah, Jekyll and Hyde and many others toys, 2004 Taylor 814-CE Fall Limited
Jay Storey: It was probably inevitable that Jay would become a rock musician, as a young child he was subjected to a steady diet of Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and other British Invasion bands seeping through the bedroom wall of his older brother next door. Jay often found himself in his brother’s room looking through his album collection admiring the haircuts, the clothes, the music, and those oh so cool guitars and amps.
Jay quickly became obsessed with becoming a rock musician, spending countless hours pouring over Sears catalogs, checking out the guitars and amps, starting a love affair with gear (and blinky lights) that continues to this day.
After learning guitar and migrating to bass guitar (after all, Paul was the coolest Beatle), Jay found himself attending college in Gainesville, FL (hometown of Tom Petty) which had a vibrant music scene. During his time in Gainesville Jay became enamored of recording technology, starting a recording studio with a bandmate and performing in numerous local bands. It was during this time he also took a year of electronic music composition, beginning a love affair with electronic music and synthesizers that continues to this day.
After graduation, Jay spent the next 14 months touring central Florida in a rock band called Victim, but moved to the DC area in the early 80’s to join the emerging metal scene. During the 80’s metal era, Jay played in a succession of bands, including Nightwing, Assassin, and finally Roulette. At the dawn of the grunge era, Roulette broke up and Jay spent the 90’s concentrating on writing, recording, electronic music, and production work, including four years as a staff engineer at recording studio.
After a brief stint in the original rock band Alloy Blue, Jay formed the progressive rock trio “Imperial Aerosol Kings” (a reference to a lyric in an old Genesis song) and started a six year run of writing, recording, and occasional live performance.
With changes to their personal lives putting the Imperial Aerosol Kings on hiatus, Jay became interested in forming another band, one focused on live performance of music accessible to a larger audience.
They say many people turn to Craiglist for love, as it turns out many people turn to Craiglist to find musicians. In what had to be the most stunning coincidence of geography and musical compatibility in the history of Craigslist; Jay not only found a group of talented and great musicians, he found them in his own backyard! Unbeknownst to Jay and Mike (drummer for Relayer) they lived within a mile of each other in the same neighborhood. At their first rehearsal, Chris, Jay and Mike immediately clicked musically; and in yet another bizarre Craigslist coincidence, discovered Dave Maida as their singer and front man, literally three miles away. As they say the rest is history, the members had found each other, the fates meant it to be and after spending the rest of 2008 learning material and refining their live show, Relayer hit the ground running hard in 2009 and never looked back.
Jay plays Ibanez, Fender and Rickenbacker basses, uses Ampeg and QSC amplification, Ampeg and Carvin cabinets and D&R strings. When not playing music, Jay’s other interests include sports cars, vintage sport bikes, road racing (Formula 1, SCCA, etc.), and collecting vintage synthesizers.
Instrument – Drums
Drums – Mapex
Sticks – Vic Firth
Cymbals – Sabien
Hardware – Gibraltar
Heads – Remo
Other EQ – Roland SPD-S trigger pad
Mike Ball has been playing drums since he could walk.
His Mother remembers him pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets and beating on them with his hands.
His Step Father gave him his first drum set at the age of 8 and they soon realized that the paper heads and shabby metal construction were no match for Mikes playing as it was soon reduced to a broken heap. There are reliable sources that say some of the drum remains were used to make parts for a bike ramp.
His step father then bought him his first real kit which was a blue Ringo Starr Ludwig 5 piece. This is the kit used most of the way through high school.
After entering his junior year of high school Mike was heavily involved with various music projects both inside and outside school. Under the direction of one of his life mentors, High school music director Sam Ballard, Mike’s drumming ability expanded and flourished.
In 1983 the Manteo NC High School 18 piece stage band traveled to Cary N.C. for a state wide competition that included awards for best trumpet, keyboard, bass guitar and drum solos. After competing against 20+ other schools over a two day period Mike walked away with the best drum solo honors.
Mike was voted “most talented” by his piers in his senior year.
Mike was also the proud recipient of the North Carolina "Louis Armstrong Award" for outstanding achievement in a High School music program.
Over the years Mikes drum influences have been the great drummers that one might expect. Those included would be Buddy Rich, Joe Morello, Steve Smith, Neil Peart, Simon Kirk, Myron Grombacher, Stan Lynch, Steve Gadd and the list goes on. His mucical styles include Rock, Blues and Jazz.
His single biggest drum influence was John Bonham. The big fat drum sound and that unbeatable swing feel to his playing made him the king of all drummers as far as Mike was concerned.
Mike has said many times that he would love to have met and studied with Bonzo.
Mike has played in more that 15 bands over the years and he has nearly 25 years of experience behind the drum set as both a player and a private instructor. Several of his earlier students have gone on to become class A players in their own right.
He has recently upgraded his entire setup to the awesome MAPEX – Pro M series drum kit in the Carmel Fade finish. Not being able to get enough of MAPEX he also purchased the new Meridian Birch series kit in Sapphire fade.
Mike now plays in the Northern Virginia based classic rock cover band RELAYER.
