dann russo: Bio
Dann Russo - Vocals, Guitar
The curtain goes up the lights go on - onto the stage steps the next acoustic prophet of Rock and Soul.
Dann Russo pours rock, blues, country, gospel and every other type of real down-home music into his performance like the sweat that pours from his brow. He doesn't strum - he beats his guitar, wrenching emotion out of it. He doesn't sing - he energizes crowds with his sometimes gruff, sometimes gravelly, sometimes sweet voice.
Dann also serves as the inspiration for the character Theo Christmas in the upcoming Penguin/Putnam release "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies" by Erin Dionne and the book includes lyrics and mentions of "Ruby Red Hair" and "Dreaming Without You" (both available for download at this site.
Both live in Boston and NYC among other places and in the studio, Dann is a force to be reckoned with, a "soon to be phenomenon" (NorthEast In-Tune Magazine) with "rock-and-roll abandon" (Newark, NJ Star-Ledger).
As "Dann Numbers" on the wildly popular world of "Second Life" (http://www.secondife.com) Dann has become one of the more popular acts in-world, complete with over-filling venues and crashing servers! These shows' locations are listed as "other" on the calendar at http://www.sonicbids.com/dannrusso and are Pacific Time, streaming from the confines of his basement to computer speakers around the world.
Christian Kolarz - Violin
Christian Kolarz has been playing the violin for 24 years. He met Dann in 1994 during their freshman year of college and began applying his conservatory training to modern music writing. Since then, he's performed all over NYC, the east coast, and the best vodka bars in Poland. With degrees in Music and Clinical Psychology, Christian now builds a career as a fashion industry executive. When he's not rockin' out with The Whisky, Christian lives phabulously in Astoria, NY.
Frank Colagiovanni - Drums
Frank J. Colagiovanni has been playing the drums for over 24 years. When he’s not playing the drums, Frank - a Boston area marketing writer - spends his time in the Fenway stands watching the Red Sox, rooting for Boston College, and adoring his wife.
Brendan Russo - Bass, Vocals
Brendan Russo met Dann back in 1985, and their relationship just took off from there. Growing up, playing mostly piano, Brendan experimented with various other instruments - among them the bass. He loves traveling overnight on crowded buses to wherever in the country the next DR&TW show happens to be, just because that's how he rolls. He is currently a film student at New York's School of Visual Arts, and moonlights as a writer, director, actor and superhero. Brendan also lives with the knowledge that every time he asks Dann if they're gonna play "Footsteps", he'll be shot down, though he finds solace in Christian's unfettered love for color. Brendan's home base is in beautiful Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, NY.
John Russo - Piano, Vocals
John is a member of the Flea Theater's BAT company in NYC. He suggests you check out their shows (www.theflea.org) and sign up for improv everywhere (www.improveverywhere.com) -- you'll find yourself shirtless in an Abercrombie before you know it. John plays keyboard and sometimes the saxophone. He sings. He loves you.
Gary Ames - guitar, vocals
Gary is an aspiring writer, actor, and musician, currently a student at Emmanuel College in Boston. Classically trained at piano and self-taught on guitar, he works on as many projects as he can handle. Gary’s friendship with Dann has led to his being invited to perform with Dann on numerous occasions, lending his guitar leads and vocals to flesh out the trademark Whisky sound. Gary was inducted as a full member of the band following their excellent performance at the Emergenza Festival at The Middle East in Cambridge on 12/8/05.