BILL FEAHENY - Founder, Songwriter, Bass Guitar...
...is not only responsible for the band's melodic backbeat but is also the creative force behind many of the original songs which define Juniper Row's unique lyrical and musical perspective. Bill, a true New Orleans native whose first memories were of his early childhood in the French Quarter, began his formal musical training as a trumpeter. However, a couple of high school friends convinced him to trade his brass mouthpiece for a 1973 Fender Precision and the freedom of Rock and Roll. While attending Louisiana State University, Bill sold his prized bass to help finance a car and temporarily shelved his musical aspirations. Shortly after completing graduate school and upon his return to New Orleans in 1991, Bill was approached by a former high school buddy who wanted to get together and just jam. Unbeknownst to him, this chance meeting would provide the impetus for Bill to embark on his true musical odyssey. Bill's prior musical projects have included local bands "Trigger Happy" and "Spirit Dog". With a dual career as both a musician and full-time environmental professional, Bill is not only creatively contributing to repairing the damaged psyche of the city but is also providing his professional indoor air quality services to rebuilding Post-Katrina New Orleans.
STEVE NORTON - Songwriter, Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Originally from Northern New Jersey, Steve moved to New Orleans in 1974 to work for Shell Oil after receiving a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He played in bands in Northern NJ and NYC all through high school and part of college until he realized that he wasn't going to make it out of college if he didn't stop gigging every weekend. Biggest claim to fame was playing at the Cheetah in NYC in 1969 with his band "The Young Republic". The bass player in that band was Vincent Curatola who played gangster Johnny Sack on "The Sopranos". That band also included drummer Gerry Davis, who played with the "LA Boppers" and other Southern California bands and Rory Solga who went on to play in the NYC area in the "Basic Black Band" with drummer Frank Marrara and guitarist Richie Orlando. Steve also played with Larry and Alfonse Mizell who wrote for "The Jackson Five" at Motown and went on to produce some fine records at United Artists/Blue Note. He also got to work for Larry Rosen of GRP fame in his original music store, The Drum Workshop in Englewood NJ.
Work prohibited actively participating in the New Orleans music scene until taking early retirement from Shell. Steve joined Juniper Row in January of 2004 and is enjoying a second career in music.
JULIE DRUMMOND - Lead Vocals, Keyboards
A former navy brat who calls Seattle home, Julie has been singing and playing the piano since she was 7 years old. After growing up singing mostly classical and choral music, she took some time off to focus on college and graduate school. Realizing that she missed having music in her life, she started performing in musical theatre as a hobby. It quickly became much more, and after paying off her student loans, she quit her legal career to work in the theatre professionally. During this time, she also began expanding her musical tastes, often spending her weekends jamming with friends who were in various Seattle bands. Eventually she made the move from Seattle to New York, where she ended up transitioning to cabaret work and stand-up comedy. She moved to New Orleans in 2013, joined Juniper Row in 2017, and is excited to branch out again - this time to rock and roll!
JOHN WALDEN - Drums, Vocals...
... skillfully weaves the essence of the song through a heartfelt groove. A New Orleans native, John had his first exposure to music from his mom who played records from all different genres and through local radio where he first heard KISS and Alice Cooper. This drove John to learn to play drums, which lead him to play in the school band. John took lessons with Ray Fransen at Fransen's Drum Center. Prior to High School graduation, John formed a new band which was in need of a bassist. Due to the lack of qualified bassists, John picked up the bass and has been a duel threat ever since. John is a student of Mandy Flowers who studied under Ray Brown in New York.
John has lent his sense of time and feel to many independent artists and most recently has been playing with The Mick Donovan Band in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has played many live performances in Nashville, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Portland and his home town of New Orleans.
John is joining Juniper Row upon his 2011 return home and hopes to help take them to the next level.