MARINA GARZA: trumpet player and band leader
Marina has been playing trumpet for more than 20 yrs. but chooses not to reveal her age. Describing her trumpet playing would be similar to the feeling you get when walking under an air blowing vent or riding the mechanical horse one too many times - pleasant with a slight shafing feeling. The most memorable experience for Marina was her trumpet playing in a German beer hall with the "Foompha Fraus" an all woman polka band, wearing a hat with sausage links attached, and singing "In heaven there is no beer, so we have to drink it here". Her most proud moment was performing at the Great American Music Hall, opening for the "B-Side Players", this was a break though point in her music writing career, when she started fusing salsa with funk, and mixing Spanish and English lyrics. She currently spends most of her time writing the music for Orquesta D'Soul and perfecting her vocal abilities. Marina's hobbies include mountain biking (but only when there are no hills or mountains involved) and wrapping her friends in plastic while beating them with a stick.

LIZA JIMENEZ: singer
Liza, a far from shy girl, learned to sing in the shower and has been singing since she first learned to open her mouth. Her style is "heartfelt" and comes from her background in Mariachi music. She recalls her most memorable experience on a gig was during sound check, a man walked up to the stage, set down $50 and said "you better sound good!" But the musical moment she is especially proud of took place in Jalisco, Mexico where she got the chance to sing with a good Mariachi band. "When I sang, an audience member paid the band a $100 tip so I could keep singing!" Some of Liza's hobbies are serious burrito eating, flaming hot cheeto eating and EXTREME sleeping sports!

NIKKI O'SHAUGHNESSY: singer
Nikki started her illustrious singing career at the age of 4 and went straight to the top. Venues played include: The Shower, The Car, The School Gym and a series of coffee houses and bars in Atlanta Georgia. Like Liza, Nikki has been singing since she was able to speak and has also been playing percussion instruments for about 2 years. To describe her music ability would be to say she is flat and sharp with occasional four keys into "one key". As for her g�iro playing she produces the sounds of "Scrapey", "Loud", and "Where is that noise coming from?" Her musical influences are "Chrissie Hynde and Ani Di Franco. An album that changed her life was "SPICE" by the Spice Girls, but not in a good way. One of her memorable experiences on a gig was having her hand licked by a gigantic drunk man. Some of her hobbies are riding horses, eating, drinking coffee and like Liza and Jason she loves to indulge in sleep.

JASON GIANNI: drummer
Jason is a highly trained percussionist, has been beating his drums too damn long, 18 years to be exact! "Isn't there such a thing as getting a lucky break in the profession?!" He describes his playing as loud, obnoxious and foolish. His nick name is "Big Ears" for his exceptional listening skills and large penis. He has many influences from "Rush" to "Stravinsky". His most memorable experience on stage was when his pants flew off as a giant bird landed on his drum set, while the trumpet player with a slight drug problem completely passed out and fell off the stage. Although there have been many an embarrassing moment in Jason's career, there has also been some memorable ones! One special moment was recording the drum tracks for the theme song of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, "Spongebob Squarepants". "Listen to the TV and let me know what you think: jsgdrum@earthlink.net". Some of Jason's hobbies are complaining, whining, bitching, and moaning and sleeping... "I loooove to sleep!"

BRIAN ANDRES: drummer
Brian learned to play the drums watching Animal on the Muppet Show and performed his first drum roll during his birth! 3 words describe his playing: strong, hard, and shy. Some of Brian's musical influences are the Tito's, Puente and Rodriguez. His most memorable experience was playing in front of 14,000 people at Red Rocks in Denver Co. But he is most proud of booking his first gig at a Jr. High School party for $50 when he was 15. Brian's other interests are talking to God, practicing, and reminding Jason that no matter how much better of a drummer he is, Brian will always be taller!

PATRICIO ANGULO: conga
Originally from Los Angeles, Patricio Angulo attended school at University of California, Berkeley and has studied intensively under the direction of Bay Area percussionist Michael Spiro. He also has performed with local artists such as Dr. Loco and his Rockin' Jalapeño Band, Charanson, O-maya and is the co-director and founder of the Bay Area's 11-piece salsa orchestra Quimbombo.

MIKE LAZARUS: bass
Michael is a North California-Bay Area based music professional with touring and recording experience who specializes in Caribbean music. He is a versatile player currently focusing on various salsa/timba orchestras, latin jazz combos, and original music projects. Styles include: Timba, Salsa, Bomba, Plena, Latin Jazz, Reggae, Funk, Soul, RnB, HipHop, Ska, Folk, and Rock. Currently he is the Advanced Bass Instructor at Sylvan Music (831.427.1917) in Santa Cruz. As an educator Michael is dedicated to the oral tradition of afro-caribbean and folkloric Puerto-Rican music. He also co-produced ODS's latest release "Money Money". For more information on Michael visit his website at www.puracepa.com.