Plug In With The Burners U.K.

These guys know how to ignite a party and keep it burning - in a word, they burn

The Burners U.K. are:
J Yager - Vocals & Guitar, Matt "Lanky" Pirog - Guitar, Chris Peck - Bass, Chris "CT" Toma - Drums,
Paul Brassard - Keyboards, Tony Gambaro - Trumpet, Chris Barron - Trombone, Tim Veeder - Saxophone
Hometown: Albany, NY
Genre: Rock & Pop
Booking Info: info@theburners.com
Website: www.theburners.com

THE BURNERS U.K. are a high-powered, horn-fueled eight piece band that consistently deliver an excellent live show, making them one of the Capital Region's most requested musical acts. Passion, showmanship, a great repertoire and a genuine understanding of how to entertain an audience; these are the elements fused together at the core of The Burners U.K.

The band is fronted by well known lead vocalist J Yager, the former frontman for upstate NY favorites The Refrigerators. J's dynamic entertainment style is the perfect compliment to the high energy sound of The Burners; he comes alive on stage and is able to involve the audience and make them a part of the show. Matt Pirog handles guitar for the Burners, and has performed in Albany with local progressive rockers The Spellhounds. Bassist, Chris Peck has performed with a many local bands over the years, and is also a highly sought-after session musician. Drummer Chris "CT" Toma started performing publicly at the age of 7, and later went on to study classical oboe and hammer dulcimer in Europe. Paul Brassard is on keyboards and has previous experience with The Refrigerators, Gibraltar, Lois and the Kryptonites, The Kidz, Severin's Fortune,Sweet Talk, and The Matt Smith Band. Paul's recorded works include solo efforts and various independent and intermediate label works.

The BUK 's famous horn section is made up of Tony Gambaro on trumpet, Chris Barron on trombone and Tim Veeder on saxaphone. Tony developed a passion for music early in life and quickly gained national recognition; he was hired by top national artists including Ben E. King, Bobby Vinton, Tower of Power and Bon Jovi and the highly-successful U.S. touring group "The Blues Other Brothers" who he toured with for several years. He subsequently joined Upstate NY favorites "Out of Control" before signing on with the BUK. Chris is originally from Vernon, NY and attended the prestigious Crane School of Music majoring in Music Education. Chris moved to the Albany area in 1996, and has performed with many Capital Region musicians including the The Keith Pray Quartet , Joey Thomas Big Band, The Refrigerators, New York Players, Mood for Thought , The Brian Patenaude Quartet , Carl Landa Band, Supa Kumba and The Empire Jazz Orchestra. Tim started seriously playing the saxophone in high school and later went on to attend the College of Saint Rose studying under Paul Evoskevich. Prior to joining The Burners, Tim performed with Cleen Street , The Alan Payette Band and The New Groove to name a few.

The Burners have have shared the stage with numerous national & international touring acts & artists, including: Barenaked Ladies, Tower of Power, LFO,The J. Geils Band, Seven Nations, The Spin Doctors, B.B. King, and Richard Marx to name just a few. They were recently invited to perform at Parkfest 2005, scheduled to be held at the Altamont Fairgrounds on May 1st. The BUK will be one of the featured acts on the main stage along with Hoobastank, Simple Plan, and Ludacris. In all, over a dozen bands will be part of the day long fest, including a number of other local groups.

Recently the guys helped raise more than $25,000 for Myeloma Cancer Research at a benefit featuring The Burners U.K. and Mojo Lightning held at Michael's Banquet House in Latham, and headlined the Rock 2 ReBuild Tsunami Benefit at the Palace Theatre.

Their performance calendar is always filled with local shows and benefits and this weekend is no exception. They'll play Jillians in downtown Albany on Friday night, April 8th and then head up the Northway to Sandy's Clam Bar in Glens Falls on Saturday night, April 9th.

However, the most important event on their calendar this weekend takes place on Sunday afternoon, April 10th, from 3-7pm at The Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, NY. The boys will be featured at a special Melanoma benefit for Greg Balton, a very close friend of the band who is afflicted with the disease. All of the money raised will go directly to Greg and his family. The benefit is open to the public, so please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Details of the benefit, along with a complete listing of upcoming shows is available on the band's website.