Appreciation

Bill Winchester would like to thank all the talented musicians that I was able to perform with during my 40 years in the rock band Sundown Express, but especially, my best friends, the amazing drummer and singer Steve Shannon, and that solid bass player and singer Henry Scott. These two started a band with me many years ago before we were known as Sundown Express and at that time we were called “The Dying Need”.  Our first gig paid us a total of $6 which Steve still has his $2 share of the money framed.  

In later years, we all played in Sundown Express as a three-piece band which at times was a 3 days a week schedule and included many wedding gigs until we added other talented musicians. They would stay for years and added allot to our sound, but then they would leave to work on other projects. After about 15 years Steve hung up his sticks, and Henry and myself were left to directed the band’s path on our own.

 I must acknowledge and thank our favorite members in Sundown Express.  These were the musicians who were our lead guitarists, John Hill and Bruce Batchelor. They were our backbone for many years. Lead Guitarist Ross Hotaling, Billy VanWormer and Bill Cherry also loaned their amazing talent to our sound.  

Sundown Express had four other incredible drummers who really inspired the rock sound. Doug Wilder “Sticks” who could play anything from Metal to oldies and looked very impressive doing it while spinning and throwing his sticks in the air and still maintaining the beat, Dave (Monster Dave) Hyldelund who could sing a solid low harmony, Mario Ruano who had performed with some very major bands, and Mark Scarchilli, the jazz enthusiast.  

Additionally, Sundown Express had two other bassists from time to time, Barry Lill and John Brehm” Johnny Bingo”, and along with our talented keyboardists, Mike Moss and Michelle Wieczerzak helped to mold the Sundown Express rock sound.  Thank you all for the great sound and fun times over the 32 years of Sundown Express.

In 2022 Henry, Bill and John decided to put the band back together for a few gigs. They added a very talented musician Percussionist, Paul Devino, and with his talented drumming skills started performing again. Their first gig was at a Campground in Cooperstown and after a major success there booked gigs at The Dancing Grain in Moreau New York, the American Legion in East Greenbush and also other venues around Albany NY. The response has been overwhelmingly favorable and so the fun continues with what is now called Classic Rock.

This is the same music that was considered top 40 songs some 40+ years ago when we first started performing these great modern music songs, and then they were considered oldies in the 1980s, which now has morphed into Classic Rock and Roll. The Rolling Stones, Lynard Skynard, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Allman Brothers and of course the Beatles have seemed to withstood the test of time. We are proud to share our versions of these classics and hope to continue adding other songs to round out our sound for the enjoyment of fans and ourselves.