About Downtown Blues…

Downtown Blues hails from the Livermore Valley of Northern California (yep, in the good ole’ U.S.A.). The band has gone through several “mutations” and name changes, refining its sound and training its focus on Blues and Rock. The band now consists of founder and leader, Bob Cach:guitar, Kate Snyde:vocals/harmonica. Brian Andreson:drums/vocals, Steve Pinto:bass, Tom Metz:guitar and Erol Gokbora:saxophone/vocals. 

 

Band Member Bios

Bob Cach 

Bob is a founding member, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for Downtown Blues. His musical influences and tastes are wide ranging but lean toward BB King, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and other old school blues artists like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Downtown Blues is interested in doing local charity concerts for those that can’t get out to hear music such as people in care homes or veterans hospitals. Please contact Bob if you want to join the band for Jam Night or are interested in a Free Charity concert in the Tri-Valley area.

Brian Andresen

Brian Andresen started playing drums in 6th grade and at the age of 14 he was playing all the beach bars and restaurants around his home in Bradenton-Sarasota Florida. He continued to play rock-n-roll and jazz drums through college and graduate school at MIT in Boston. After receiving his Ph.D. he was involved with many high profile forensic cases during his 30 years career as a forensic science laboratory director. During this time he played drums only for special events. After retirement from forensics he has again taken up the drums full time and is currently in 2 bands (our “Downtown Blues” and a big band orchestra, “Cool Tones”). He has many patents in science and a few new percussion inventions to improve drumming techniques for students and professional drummers. His drums include a gold sparkle 1970 Gretsch jazz kit and a 2007 red sparkle DW Collectors Series drum set. Both kits are arranged with a full compliment of “A-Custom” Zildjian cymbals.

Kate Snyder

Kate is the harmonica player, singer and songwriter for the band. She loves to sing, and Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Eva Cassidy, Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin are some of her favorite female singers. She loves all kinds of music, from the big band sound to mariachi to hard rock and blues. Downtown Blues is her first band, but she says she is definitely hooked. By day, she is a Facility Manager at a research and development company. 

Steve Pinto

No BIO yet for Steve, but if I wrote one I would say “If you were in a building that was on fire, you would want Steve pulling up in a firetruck to get you out!. If your Stradivarius violin was attacked by renegade termites, you would want Steve to be the guy that repairs it! And, if you were starting a local blues band and needed a bass player, you would want Steve to be the guy that shows up for tryouts!”  

Erol Gokbora

Our most recent addition to Downtown Blues, Erol, brings in the vivid sound of his saxophone to build-up the blues base of the band. Erol is a California attorney and financial advisor with twenty-five years of experience. He specializes in estate tax planning, business continuity planning and financial planning. 

 

Erol is active in his community. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION.  He coached CYO Basketball; he is an adult leader in Boy Scouts; and he coached Little League Baseball.  He is also a member of Leadership San Ramon Valley. 

Erol’s high school jazz bands played with guest performers: Doc Severson, Clark Terry, and players from The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  He plays tenor sax in three bands: Downtown Blues, The East Bay Bearcats, and The Cool Tones. His background in “big band” type horns adds another dimension to Downtown Blues’ dance tunes. .  The East Bay Bearcats have been playing Dixieland Jazz, a classic American art form, in the Bay Area for twenty five years.  The Cool Tones is a big band ensemble that has played in the Livermore-Pleasanton area for the past nine years, and plays big band classics, swing, ballads, and jazz.  

 

Tom Metz

A recent addition to Downtown Blues, Tom brings hot licks and a lot of playing experience. When Tom’s in town (he’s quite the Travelin’ Man), he lights up Downtown Blues with some “down home” bluesy guitar, playing slide and bringing-out the best from his ample stable of cool guitars. Tom was a former member of a band that drummer, Brian played in and he’s a welcome addition to the band!