CALEB COATS (ACOUSTIC GUITAR & VOCALS)
From many parts of Arkansas, but claiming Green Forest as home. Caleb was pestered in a musical direction by his mother who is an accomplished pianist. Caleb did not wish to become a pianist. Caleb's mom did not care. Caleb fought to the bitter end and can really only play the theme song to the Pink Panther, but has been able to pick up chord progressions ever since which has come in really handy when writing songs. After Caleb's mother gave up on the forced piano lessons, Caleb started to take an interest in music, beginning with singing. Caleb's brothers started a band called SBF (Synchronized Brothers of the Faith) and Caleb liked what they had. While his much older brothers began playing a variety of church venues, Caleb picked up a saxophone. Caleb played that saxophone for some 7 years, taking instruction from David Townsend. When Caleb graduated high school, he wanted a talent that would set him apart to impress people when he went to college so he learned to play guitar. Turns out, everybody plays the guitar so Caleb ended up being average again. Less than average, really, because he had only started learning like 2 months before fall enrollment. However, Caleb stuck with it and developed his talent. Caleb eventually found out that life can be very stressful and at a very dark and painful time in his life, he was invited to open up for a Sean Michel show. He wrote three songs and performed them a week later with a variety of other covers. It was then that he realized that not only did he enjoy music, music kept him sane. So, Caleb never turned back and has slowly been traveling down the road that has led him to Facing Sunday.
I hope our music can bring you a little sanity too.
ANTHONY BENEDETTI (PERCUSSION)
A brief history: Wunderkind, drum line captain, UMKC Conservatory, Charlie Parker Institute. Rock, funk, classical, jazz, blues, fusion, latin, afro-cuban, bluegrass, alternative. Neal Peart, Keith Moon, Jon Bonham, Steve Gadd, Dave Garabaldi, Louie Bellson, Jack DeJohnette, Peter Erskine, Alex Acuna, Carter Beauford. The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, U2, The Clash, Weather Report, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Mike Stern, Soul Coughing.
What I have learned: Chops come from the woodshed, technique is in the mind, but groove is in the heart. Also, people got to be free.
ROB SANDERS (UPRIGHT BASS)
Hailing from Independence, Missouri, Robert Sanders started his muscianship taking guitar lessons while attending Harry S. Truman high school, mainly to impress girls. The highlight of this long-gone-by-era was his stint with The Termites playing rythem guitar. In college, between playing in a succession of wannabe bands, Rob did some broadcasting for campus radio and a bit of DJ'ing fraternity parties. After graduating from college, getting married and working in Kansas City, Rob moved with his wife Whitney White (former Arvada West doubles tennis legend) to the Denver area in 1996. With its jazz, barbecue and Bible thumping midwestern influence, Kansas City had left its imprint. As pilgrams on the plains near the Rocky Mountains for nearly 13 years now, Rob with the intimate help of his lifetime companion and wife, Rob has extended his midwest values and added to his tribe two musicians by birth (Caleb & Olivia) and one by adoption (Melesse from Ethiopia). In Colorado, Rob has played upright bass with a gospelgrass band called No Small Stir (Dale Diehl), with local singer-songwriter George Christiansen, and with Brady Bullock as a part of an acoustic duo named the10stringTHING. Rob pretends he is influenced by and enjoys the creative artistry and musicianship of Paul Simon, Sting, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, David Byrne, Jack Johnson, Johnny Cash, Fanny Crosby, Keith Jarrett, Andrew Bird, Charles Mingus, Mozart, Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan, Isaac Watts, Bill Monroe, Sufjan Stevens, Kevin Brereton, Van Morrison, Rob Drabkin, Paul Weller, Randall Goodgame, JJ Heller, his mom (Connie) on the piano singing hymns, and more recently, Caleb, Olivia and Melesse. Rob also enjoys listening to bands like the only band that matters , The Who, Cake, Devotchka, The Whitest Boy Alive, Vampire Weekend and Wilco to name a few. In addition to his wife Whitney, a well deserved shout out goes to Rob's step dad, the former John Porter, who paid for guitar lessons as a kid, his sister Cindy who married his good friend and percussionist Anthony Benedetti, and former bass teacher and local jedi bass master Blake Eberhard.
THE TRIO
In 2008, after his project with Brady Bullock ended, Rob is said to be responsible for finding Caleb Coats and stalking him on MySpace, though he gives credit to the Divine for their colaboration. According to Rob, once Caleb was vetted, his song writing ability and talent proven, and the general vibe verified, Anthony was brought in. Anthony, once Rob's friend (now his brother-in-law) was finishing up a recording project with George Christiansen. As the trio's relationship grew, Divine positioning seemed to be confirmed as Caleb and Rob learned their fathers were on the same Navy ship in the late 1960s, linked together through a Namibian friend, the late Lena Markus, and having grandparents from the area near the tiny town of Viola, Arkansas. This is not to discount important differences which the band members have chosen to set aside. For example, Anthony and Rob, both from the Kansas City area are George Brett admirers, while Caleb an expatriot from Northern Arkansas (like most Ozark folk) is a Saint Louis Cardinal fan. Subsequently, there continues to be some ongoing discussion as to the final outcome of the I-70 Showdown Series. In particular, one, possibly two, turning point calls in Game 6. There is also the generational difference which seem to divide personalities regarding the matter of Star Trek versus Star Wars, and the artistic importance of Burning Down the House by Talking Heads. However, the band's collective love for quality music, the collaborative synergy of trio members, and shared mutual grace has helped keep Facing Sunday moving forward together.
