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Meet the band.
Too Tall String Band has been together since 1984, but some of the players have changed. Here's the current scorecard.
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Rod Driscoll
Rod performs his vast and varied repertoire on the hammered and lap dulcimers, guitar, banjo, bouzouki, bodhran and bass, as well as singing lead and backup vocals. He has been active as a performer and promoter of folk music in the Adirondacks of New York for the last 40+ years. Rod has performed with the Old Mountain and Friends Union String Bands as well as many solo appearances over the years. As a promoter of music in the North Country, he helped start the Plattsburgh Concerts in the Park series, started the Peru Coffeehouse series and organized many other benefit concerts over the years such as the concert to aid victims of the great North Country ice storm of 1998.Recently Rod has hosted and organized the Adirondack 2 Step Celtic/Contra Dance session band, which meets biweekly to learn and perform Celtic, Irish and Scottish fiddle tunes. Since the beginning of Covid, Rod has hosted a Zoom open mic, which meets biweekly on Wednesdays, giving musicians from a wide range of locations an opportunity to perform and share their music. Rod builds the dulcimers he plays at his workshop “O’Driscoll Folk Instruments” located at his home in Peru, NY. (roddriscoll.com)Rod retired from his job as principal of the Sudbury/Whiting Learning Academy in Vermont in 2018. In 2016 Rod retired from his long career at AuSable Valley High School, where he taught history, participation in government and psychology. Rod is the former president of the AuSable Valley Teacher's Association. He also served for ten years as a member and president of the Peru Central School Board of Education.He also writes op eds on politics, economics, society and education that have appeared in the NY Daily News, Burlington Free Press, Albany Times Union and the Plattsburgh Press Republican.
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Bruce Lawson
Bruce Lawson is the band's bass player and as our "country music specialist" takes the lead when the band performs the other two major types of music: country and western. Bruce also has added some pop/Americana tunes to his repertoire, with tunes like: Save The Last Dance and 16 Tons. He has a wealth of experience in the music field as a performer, producer and studio owner/operator. Bruce and his wife Jodi ran the, highly successful, Palmer Street Coffeehouse for many years.Bruce retired a few years ago from his position as Sales Manager for WPTZ and WNNE television, the NBC stations for the Burlington-Plattsburgh market. Since his retirement, Bruce has served as assistant to the mayor of the City of Plattsburgh and is a member of the board for the United Way of Clinton County and the Lake Champlain Commission. He has also performed as part of the acoustic duo "Crossing North".In the winter, Bruce plays bass in the oldies band "The Hurricane", a very popular band on the west coast of Florida.
www.crossingnorth.com
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Hap Wheeler
Hap Wheeler retired as the computer network manager at Plattsburgh State University two years ago. He performs on banjo, dobro, bodhran, mandolin, and guitar. Hap is also a songwriter who likes to poke fun at yuppie life, computer life and life in general. He performs many of his original compositions with the band. Hap has taught dobro as part of the "Bluegrass For A New Generation" program at SUNY Plattsburgh and the 4H bluegrass for kids program. Hap is an avid fly fisherman and naturalist. He is very active in Trout Unlimited, has served as its president and has done many presentations promoting fishing and preservation of habitat in the Adirondacks. His hand tied flies are works of art. Hap also has an extensive jackknife and tool collection (the running joke is that he pretty much has two of anything ever made).
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Pete and Bernie DeMaio are a duo from Paterson, NJ. They blend their musical backgrounds from blues, rock & roll, traditional, folk, Americana, pop, country, ballads and Celtic tunes. Pete plays bass and lead guitar and Bernie plays rhythm guitar, both adding sweet harmonies to their vast song list, which continues to grow. The DeMaios moved to Plattsburgh in 2019, where they were introduced to Rod Driscoll at his weekly jam session. They are now happy to be partnered up with Rod and his bands.
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