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The BandRon Sacksvocals and keyboardsSteve Smithguitar and vocalsMark StevensbassMike Keefeguitar, harmonica and vocalsJ. D. Townsenddrums and vocals
As a high-schooler in Beverly Hills, he fronted the bands, Our Gang and Boys Town. In 1968 and still a teen, Sacks and his group opened for The Rascals and The Dave Clark Five. He moved to Colorado in 1985. After ten years with few opportunities to perform, he began jamming at Pennington’s Evergreen Music Store, met Mike Keefe and formed the band, Toast. For a short time he also took a turn as the head of Jam Crackers, an unfortunate group that had a “chicken-wire experience” (see THE BLUES BROTHERS) at a foothills roadhouse called Reggie’s Will o’ the Wisp. The bar burned down a week later. Sacks was never questioned by authorities and denies any knowledge of the incident. He and Keefe recorded “E-mail Female”, a collection of originals in 1999. He still has a boxful of the disks that he’d like to unload. Talk to him about it. Today, Sacks is the lead singer and keyboard player for Falling Rock. During the day, he plays golf. Tough life.
In 2002, Smith joined Falling Rock as rhythm guitarist. Soon after, Ron Sacks pressed him into duty as a back-up vocalist. He was surprised to find that he could hit the high notes and the falsettos. And he’s the big guy in the group. Although his job consumes most of his time, he has indulged his hobby of collecting handsome guitars and honing his fret-board skills. He spends the rest of his leisure time --- what little he can find --- with his Harley, the free weights at the gym, his wife, his two grown children, three grandsons, and one very spoiled granddaughter. Not necessarily in that order. At times Smith has been known to act as the self-appointed marketing manager for Falling Rock. His bad temper is notorious throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
Life as a reporter took Mark back to Boston. He moved in with the band known as Orchestra Luna, where The Shirts and other New York bands would come to stay. One of the Orchestra Luna singers was Karla DeVito, who went on to sing with Meat Loaf and marry Robbie Benson. Mark saw Talking Heads in a tiny Boston bar before their first album came out; The Ramones, too. Transferred to Los Angeles, Mark formed The Dadz, a band that practiced for a year and then played one gig, a wedding. The drummer designed album covers for lesser-known artists like ELO and Linda Ronstadt. Mark's next stop (and so far, last stop) was Denver for more journalism work. At The Denver Post in the early 1990's, Mark formed a band with reporters that was dubbed "The Corrections." That band evolved into Toast, which had a high point near the end of its 10-year run, playing for 15,000 fans at the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival. Fans, that is, of the headliner, Styx. Mark joined Falling Rock in early 2005 and still fends off Ron's demand that he buy replica Cavern '61 Vintage Hofner Bass. By day, Mark works in communications at the state department of education.
When he was twenty, in Kansas City, he played bass in Open Trench, an impromptu band whose one big gig was a high-school prom with a nine-year-old drummer on a beginner’s kit. The group disbanded shortly before its members (minus the drummer) were drafted into military service. Keefe ended up in the Marine Corps where he learned to spit-shine boots and play blues harp on guard duty. In Denver, he was a member of a half-speed Bluegrass band called The Lasagna Brothers with a side of Mary Lou. On mandolin this time, Keefe was never good enough to play at regulation tempo. But he took solace in the fact that the other guys were just as pitiful. Keefe has played guitar and harmonica with The Corrections, Jam Crackers, Toast and, since the turn of the century, Falling Rock. He prefers slow Blues solos mostly because of nightmares he had as a Lasagna Brother. In the real world, Keefe is the nationally-syndicated editorial cartoonist for The Denver Post. Click here to view his cartoons online.
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Ron
Sacks's band history began in
junior high in southern California where he played keyboards and sang
with The Four Speeds. He was huge fan of Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder,
Jackie Wilson and Ray Charles. 
As
a young man, Steve
Smith had the
good sense to leave Wichita Falls, Texas for the Colorado high
country. He lives in the foothills outside Denver and has absolutely
no plans to leave the area. He's worked for the same company
for over 30 years, and really enjoys the interaction with customers
in his position in sales.
Born in Northern California, Mike
Keefe grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he listened to the black radio
stations from the Illinois side of the Mississippi. Ike and Tina Turner,
Jimmy Reed and Chuck Berry were early favorites.
Colorado Springs native J. D. Townsend was given his first set of drums at age 14. Six months later, he began playing with the Persuaders at the Pizza Inn, a dubious 3.2 (% alcohol) beer house where patrons enjoyed the fights as much as the music (maybe more).