Cristina Battani
VOCALS & RHYTHM GUITAR
Cristina grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where Motown and Bob Seger dominated the airwaves of her radio. The day after she graduated from college she moved to New York City to pursue a career in music, where she quickly built her reputation in the city’s highly competitive and diverse music scene. She has performed in many of its best known venues, such as The Bitter End, Nell’s, CBGB’s, Kenny’s Castaways, S.O.B.’s, and the Wetlands. Her various bands spanned a variety of styles, including alternative rock, reggae, jazz and blues. Completely immersed in music, she held senior executive posts as a VP at RCA Records, Volcano Records, and Velvel Music alongside legendary music executive Walter Yetnikoff. Her daily routine afforded her substantial exposure to some of the world’s greatest musical talent, many of whose influences can be heard in her vocal style today.
Ray Brindley
LEAD GUITAR & VOCALS
Ray Brindley comes from a musical family in North Alabama, where he learned piano, drums and tenor saxophone before settling on the guitar. He was playing jazz and popular standards in his grandfather’s big band at a young age while also absorbing the influences of classic and southern rock such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Dixie Dregs. After leaving the South, he was a guitarist in the Stanford Jazz Band, had instruction by saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist John Scofield, and played jazz and rock music in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston while pursuing a medical degree. Despite his range of musical interests, Ray finds that while he can take the guitar out of Alabama, he can’t take Alabama out of the guitar.
Anna Buchmann Gilbert
DOUBLE BASS, MANDOLIN, HARMONICA, & VOCALS
Anna has a diverse musical background – as a kid, she sang jazz standards in her grandparents’ big band, studied piano and was an Alabama All State clarinetist and choir member, in addition to playing in the German band. She played lead roles in musicals in community theater in Alabama and college theater at Georgetown University, and also sang with the National Cathedral Choral Society. She eventually found her way to California and rock ‘n’ roll, learning guitar and taking up songwriting. She and Ray formed the roots rock band Dry County Runners and performed at the W.C. Handy Music Festival in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as well as Northern California coffeehouses. Since joining multiple Bay Area bands she’s broadened her range to include mandolin, banjo, harmonica and that Oktoberfest staple, the accordion.