Too Tall String Band website

The Too Tall String Band

Bruce Lawson, Rod Driscoll, Hap Wheeler, Pete & Bernie DeMaio.

Celtic, Adirondack, Americana, Original & even Country!

The Too Tall String Band was formed 40 years ago. The original members were Al Reisman , Pat Duniho and Rod Driscoll. Rod is the only original member of the band still in the group. Many local musicians have sat in with us over the years, always a nice surprise. We have also played for contra dances and backed up the North Country Cloggers dance group.

The current lineup includes Rod Driscoll (vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhran, dulcimer, hammered dulcimer & bouzouki), Hap Wheeler (vocals, dobro, banjo, mandolin, guitar), Bruce Lawson (vocals, bass, guitar), Pete DeMaio (vocals, guitar, bass) & Bernie DeMaio (Guitar).

Too Tall has performed all over northern & central New York, southern Quebec and northern Vermont. We have been featured at the Lake Placid Goodwill Games, The Adirondack Folk Festival, the Watertown Goes Green, Concerts on the Bluff, Saranac Lake First Night, JEMS Concert Series, Bristol, VT 1st Night, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, Saranac Lake 1st Night and had a 17 year run performing pub tunes at the Battle of Plattsburgh’s Israel Green’s Tavern, drawing large, enthusiastic audiences.

We take our musical queues from many places. Bruce is our country music and specialist, performing roots country tunes from artists like Tennessee Ernie Ford and Hank Williams. For many years Bruce and his wife Jodi ran the, highly successful, Palmer St. Coffeehouse in Plattsburgh, NY. Bruce is a retired sales director at WPTZ.

Hap is our link to groups like the Kingston Trio, performing songs like "Charlie on the MTA" and his creative original songs. Recently, Hap has added the dobro to his fine instrumental work on the 5-string banjo & mandolin. Hap retired as network manager for Plattsburgh State and continues to work in the IT field in his own company. He is a leader in the local Trout Unlimited chapter, serving a number of terms as president. Hap has taught dobro to kids and college students. He took over the running of the Palmer St. Coffeehouse 5 years ago.

Rod takes influences from ragtime music, fiddle tunes, American/Celtic/English folk, early country/string band, traditional pub tunes and bluegrass. He has organized many musical events in the North Country, including: the Peru Coffeehouse, Concerts in the Park for the City of Plattsburgh, the 1998 North Country Ice Storm Benefit Concert and the YMCA Camp Jericho Banjo/Fiddle Contest/Festival. Rod has been performing on, and building, dulcimers since the mid 1970’s. For 32 years Rod taught government, economics, history and psychology at AuSable Valley high school, sometimes subjecting his students to sing-a-longs in class. He recently retired from his job as principal for the Learning Academy at Whiting and Sudbury (Vermont)

Pete DeMaio performs on the bass & guitar. He has a vast amount of performing experience in rock, Americana and folk. We're very glad he has joined the band. His talented wife Bernie sits in with us during our winter gigs.

Over the past few years, the band has been adding in its own interpretations of 50’s, 60’s and 70’s "Americana" to our performances, which has been extremely popular with our audiences, who love to sing along with us on their favorites.

The band’s current CD, it fourth recording, is a collection of live performances of pub tunes, fiddle tunes and sea shanties called “While We Are Together”. It gives the listener a good sampling of our live concerts.

This summer the band will be featuring folk, Americana, Celtic and Old Time fiddle tunes, along with unique audience participation.

See you soon!