|
 Dennis Pennington
Dennis taught
himself how to play the guitar at the age of twelve, thinking that if the
ugly guys in his favorite band Guns 'N'
Roses could pick up hot chicks playing the guitar, then maybe it
would work for him as well. By the end of high school, the chick thing wasn't
working, so he decided to try out his vocal talents. This landed him in his
first band, Crosstown Traffic. CTT started as a very raw garage band and, after a
tremendous amount of work, became a pretty decent band around the Baton Rouge area.
Dennis and Crosstown Traffic went on to record two CDs,
became the first local band to sell out the Varsity Theatre, won the 1999
Budweiser Battle of the Bands at Club LeVela in
Panama City, Florida, were invited to play VH1's Classics promotion at Tipitina's in the French Quarter in New Orleans, were
featured on the Walton and Johnson Radio Show, and played on Louisiana
Jukebox Live television show. Dennis and CTT
have also opened up for such national acts as the Little River Band, Irma Thomas, Jackyl, and Zebra.
After all of these accomplishments and still no luck with the hot chick
thing, Dennis decided to call it quits with the band and focus on his flying
career. (Maybe chicks dug pilots?!?!) But he still continued to stay active
in the Baton Rouge
music scene by playing acoustic music at venues such as Magnolia Cafe, The
Station, and On the Halfshell in Prairieville,
where you can still see him play every Wednesday night with his old partner
from Crosstown Traffic, Kevin Schexnayder.
Flying was going well and music was too. And then Dennis got a call from this
drummer named Dave Monic who said something about putting a band together in
two weeks and then playing in front of a thousand people......
Dennis plays Gibson Les Pauls through a Marshall 8100 solid
state 100W half stack. When playing acoustic guitar, he plays on a Martin DXM
and a Gibson Hummingbird or Gibson J-45. Dennis's musical influences are far
and wide, with everything from the Beatles
to the Allman Brothers, Guns 'N' Roses to Better Than Ezra, and Lenny Kravitz.
Oh, and the chick thing finally worked out, "supposedly" just by
being a nice guy. Dennis and Gina Frazier tied the knot in October 2006.
|
|
 Dane Monic
Dane Monic, the
seventeen-year-old son of David and Jaime Monic, plays a variety of instruments
and also sings with the Long Neck
Society. Throughout any LNS
performance, you can find him playing lead guitar, saxophone, or Cajun
accordion, as well as poking fun at the drummer, staring in amazement at the
antics of the LNS audience,
or running for his life from middle-aged women charging the stage to cut off
a lock of his hair.
An accomplished Cajun accordionist since the age of six, Dane has played with
a multitude of Cajun and zydeco artists around the
state and country, winning various awards from Cajun music organizations. He
continues to play with his family's Cajun band, the Boudin Cajun Band.
Dane picked up the
saxophone in fifth grade and currently plays both the alto and tenor sax in
his high school marching, concert, and jazz bands. Dane started playing
guitar at the age of nine, first playing basic rhythm on acoustic guitar. At
twelve years old, Dane's grandfather, Louis Monic, gave him a Peavy electric guitar, and Dane started to teach himself
lead guitar. Now an accomplished lead guitarist, his influences include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi
Hendrix, John Mayer, and Eric Johnson. In addition to the above mentioned
instruments, Dane also plays piano and drums. Dane plays a 2005 Fender
Stratocaster through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2X12 and Bon Cajun Accordions
made by Larry Miller.
|
|
 John Nugent
John is the
band’s rhythm guitarist and, on occasion, attempts to help out on
back-up vocals. All of this stemming from a childhood dream of being a rock
& roll star--and the disillusionment of maybe being related to the
infamous guitar great Ted Nugent--John has played the guitar for
approximately 25 years now (although sometimes it's not very evident).
Having grown up with a
classic music influence in his house, his late mother being an accomplished
piano player, this is the gratitude John shows…by playing guitar in
seedy rock and blues joints throughout the Capital City region.
With various musical
influences in the past, John began performing live in high school with a
variety of bands ranging from classic rock to country. After making his mark
on the bar and wedding scene in Crowley, LA, and surrounding areas, John
feels fortunate to now live out his dream in trying to prove to himself (and
his son) that he may indeed be related to the “Motor City
Madman.”
John plays a Taylor T-5
electric/acoustic guitar and Fender Telecasters
through a Matchless Clubman 35 Reverb amplifier and ESD cabinet.
In closing, John notes
that the leadership talents of Dave Monic are indeed passing with flying
colors regarding the influence of chaotic behavior within the LNS world!
|
|
 Bill Grass
Bill is the
band's bassist. Bill, David, and Dane have been stuck performing together for
years with the Boudin Cajun Band, a very active group in
the Baton Rouge
area. Bill's first instrument was the violin, which he began playing in 1984
at the age of nine. In order to appease the good folks who think he should
never touch any other instrument, Bill still performs on the fiddle with
several Cajun bands in South Louisiana. In
1992, 1993, and 1994, he won first place in the Young Adult Division of the
Louisiana State Fiddlers' Championship. In 1994, he also took the prize of
Grand Champion, which led him to strongly suspect that he was the only
contestant.
Bill bought his first
bass, an el-cheapo Mexican-made Fender Precision Bass, around the age of
sixteen or seventeen. Countless hours of playing along with Led Zeppelin and other classic rock
recordings have helped Bill to become a semi-accomplished bassist. After
several years of playing the fiddle in the Boudin Cajun Band with David and Dane, Bill
switched to bass in 2003. He also often shows up unannounced to play bass
with the Bruce Daigrepont
Cajun Band.
Whether playing fiddle
or bass, Bill has performed across much of the United
States including Washington,
D.C., Atlanta,
New York, Memphis,
Nashville, Houston, and Branson. He's even appeared in
France, Belgium, and
the West Side Moose Lodge in Port Allen, LA.
Onstage with the LNS, Bill generally plays a Music Man Stingray 5
bass running through his Gallien-Krueger
1001RB-II amp and Neo 212/Neo 115 cabinets. Due to the excessive rumble &
vibration from his rig, he is often shooed off the stage.
When he's not playing
music, Bill enjoys astronomy, horror movies, NASCAR Nextel Cup racing,
splattering fountain pen ink everywhere, spending time with his family, and griping about the incredible traffic
congestion in
Baton Rouge.
His "day job" is at a Baton Rouge company where he works as a graphic designer. Bill also had a huge lapse in judgment and decided to return to school to get a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. If he can survive quite a few rounds of calculus, he'll be graduating sometime in the next several years.
Bill and his wife
Michelle have two kids, and they all live together in a house that's really too small for everybody.
|
|
 David Monic
David Monic is the drummer and a vocalist with the Long Neck Society. David's parents
started him on the drums at age three, hoping that it would provide a
therapeutic outlet for his anger management. The rest.....is infamy. He
participated in concert, marching, and jazz bands in high school, hoping they
would lead to an easy "A." However, when the school band named him
section leader (failing to recognize his potential for rounding up fellow
students and motivating them towards chaotic behavior), the plan didn't work
out so well.
David has played in
various types and styles of bands over the past 23-some-odd years, with the
bulk of that music coming with the Boudin Cajun Band for the last fifteen
years. Over that time frame, he managed to either con his way (or just sneak)
onto various stages of well-known festivals, including the famous New Orleans
Jazz and Heritage Festival where he disguised himself as a
"musician" in order to play on stage one weekend.
David's experience in playing many different styles of music helps contribute
to the LNS's
versatility; at any given performance, he may attempt to sing rock, classic
soul, Louisiana swamp pop, or zydeco songs. He and
Dennis's harmonizing vocals help to give the LNS its unique sound. While onstage, David especially enjoys showing off his sexy black set of DW drums now that he's retired his ancient Rogers kit. Mistakenly put into a position
once again where he can round up people and motivate them towards chaotic
behavior, David is really enjoying the LNS
experience.
|
