Meet

When Michael was 13 years old he received a guitar for Christmas and he began to work, taking lessons and learning songs from the current top ten. By the time he was 15 he’d found other like-minded musicians and formed a band. As the band went on to play high school dances, social clubs, etc., a musical career was born.

After years of playing dances Mike’s career expanded. In 1970 he joined Theater 5 in Kingston as its Musical Director. In this role he began composing for the company, providing music for plays and teaching actors their musical parts and he even occasionally acted with the group. His time with Theater 5 lasted through most of the 70s and 80s, during which Michael frequently toured throughout Ontario.

During the 90s Michael became a regular performer on the tourist boats touring the 1000 Islands Region. He usually played 2 cruises a day as a solo or duo and continued this for 20 years, entertaining thousands of tourists from around the world.

Throughout all of this activity Michael continued forming bands, duos and trios; some of which included The Growing Pains, Paddy Whack and The City Slickers.

One of Mike’s finest projects was putting together The Bobby Show. It features the crooners of the 50s and 60s named Bobby; i.e.: Bobby Vinton, Bobby Curtola, Bobby Darin, Bobby Vee, etc. The Bobby Show was widely received in Kingston and sold out the 700 seat Grand Theatre.

To this day Mike currently sings with Hat Trick, The Cool Knights and of course, The Big Phat Horn Band, and continues to work as a solo performer.

Michael K. Myers is a songwriter and has released four CD albums (the latest one in 2020), an EP, and a cast recording of two theatre productions all containing his songs. He also has two instrumental albums (one of which has just been released) to his credit.

His ageless voice, vast repertoire and charming stage personality keep Mike as active in the music business as he ever was.

Michael is proud to be the vocalist/frontman of The Big Phat Horn Band and counts it as one of the major highlights of his long and varied career.

Mike was born and raised in Kingston and spent his youth in drum corps leaning the fundamentals of drumming. Later, he took to Toronto where he spent 10 years learning his craft in several touring bands. Playing for The Coasters (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees), and also Jack Scott (Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee), helped Mike develop his craft and also a keen sense of showmanship and stage presence.

Upon returning to Kingston Mike became a mainstay in many of the city’s most popular bands with longevity and managed to play and record with several of them simultaneously. Wild Blues Yonder (8 yrs), Michael George and the Jive (7 yrs), Blue Monday (10 yrs), Soul Survivors (5 yrs), Filet of Soul (10 yrs), and Ghetto Express are just a few to be mentioned; plus he has many other recordings to his credit from his time in both Toronto and Kingston.

His versatility has always been his greatest strength and why he keeps so busy. He’s a master of many styles of music and sings well, both lead and harmony vocals. He’s even played theater runs at the Grand Theater in Kingston and acted in some of those productions.

Mike is always ready to bring all of his talents to the stage and help make an evening’s performance memorable.

Winston studied under two of Kingston’s finest bass players; Zak Colbert and Alec Barkin. Additionally, he also studied at Humber College in the Jazz Performance Program. This path of study quickly moved Winston up the ranks of bass players in Kingston and he was quickly in demand from many different bands.

Winston is at home playing in clubs, concerts, parties or theaters and over the years Winston has played with several of Kingston’s finest bands, many of which are recording artists. Some of the artists and bands include Spencer Evans, Rocket Surgery, Chris and Dee, Jenica Rayne and the Kim Pollard Band.

Recently Winston played in the stage production of Jersey Boys and is also the leader of Super Vinhtendo.

Winston started with The Phats as a substitute bass player, filling in when the regular bassist couldn’t make the job. In January of 2023, following the retirement of our regular bassist, Winston became a full time member of the band. His superb command of his instrument coupled with his ability to play several styles of music helped make him a natural fit in The Big Phat Horn Band.

Brooke is a versatile saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist from Kingston, Ontario, with over 15 years of playing in big bands, horn bands, quartets, ballroom orchestras and everything in between. In several of these musical groups Brooke also acted as the leader.

With her passion and talent for music, Brooke continues to make a name for herself in the Kingston music scene, playing soprano, alto and baritone saxophones and collaborating with fellow musicians and performing as much as possible, even while balancing a busy career as a business entrepreneur.

Sandy grew up in an environment where music played a central role at home. Her audiophile Father played music all the time and her siblings all played music at school.

Sandy studied piano from a young age and acquired her Grade 8 from the Royal Conservatory. She began saxophone in elementary school and in high school she played in both the Jr. and Sr. concert bands as well as the Jr. and Sr. jazz bands. Her high school jazz band went to the National Finals in Edmonton and Sandy also played with the renowned National Youth Orchestra. Throughout her high school years she also spent 3 years playing with the HMCS Cataraqui sea cadet band. One has to wonder when she ever had time to study other subjects!

With so much music in her life it wasn’t a stretch that Sandy would apply to a music program in university, which she did and was accepted. However, Sandy had a change of heart and chose to study nursing and eventually became a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, which she still works at. Throughout her college years Sandy joined the Naval Reserves and played with the HMCS Cataraqui Naval Reserve Band. While nursing Sandy kept her musical chops up by playing with the Frontenac Community Concert Band.

She is a founding member of The Big Phat Horn Band. Her winning personality and musical skill made her an easy fit into the band. The Phats is Sandy’s first professional band, in fact she’d never played in a club until 2012. She loves the fact that she has an outlet for self-expression and she’ll admit that she’s hooked on playing a diverse repertoire with a professional band and hopes that she can continue for many years to come.

Whether bandleaders need a lead trumpet in Concert Bands, Pop Bands or Swing Bands, Chris Hammond is considered the best Kingston has to offer.

Most musicians get their start and inspiration in high school, and Chris was fortunate to be schooled in a great program at Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa under the tutelage of Mr. Stanley H Clark and Mr. John Nichols.

There were three Concert bands plus a Junior and Senior Stage Band which would rehearse two or three times a week. The Senior Bands travelled to places as far away as England and Guyana and some places closer to home like Buffalo and Kaslo B.C.

After high school, Chris went to Queen’s University where he received a B.Sc. (Hons.) and his M.Sc. Then he went to McGill for Dentistry. While at University he continued to play with the Don Morrell Orchestra (a dance band in the Ottawa South area) and while at Queen’s, joined the local Frontenac Community Band.

After university, Chris returned to Kingston and re-joined the Frontenac Community Band. He later joined the Don McCallum/Paul Chabot Big Swing Band. Currently, he plays with Ed Thompson and the Dixie 6 plus 1, the Nostalgic Sounds Swing Band, Heatwave as well as the Big Phat Horn Band.

Chris seems to have a boundless energy, holding down a full-time professional practice, playing in various bands and having a rich family life. In his ‘spare time’? Chris likes to rebuild vintage automobiles in his barn and also produce gallons of maple syrup from his sugar bush, fish and spend time with friends.

He’s an original member of The Big Phat Horn Band and maybe its most dependable member, as he’s never missed a single rehearsal. His exciting style of trumpet playing helps make the music sparkle and is guaranteed to bring applause from the audiences several times a night.

From a very early age Janet’s life has been filled with music. She began piano lessons at the age of nine and took up the trumpet while in elementary school, Grade 8.

Throughout High School Janet continued her piano studies and received her Grade 8 from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She also played trumpet in the Concert Band, Jazz Band and the Wind Ensemble.

Someone noticed that Janet had an abundance of musical talent and at the tender age of 15 this girl from Centreville began private study under Bob Oades in Ottawa, the Principal trumpet player of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. This began a yearslong relationship under his mentorship. She continued her studies under Mr. Oades until she graduated from high school and entered Queens University to study music.

At Queens Bob Oades was the trumpet instructor and she studied with him for another 3 years. During her time at Queens Janet began playing occasionally with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, Greg Runions, a well know jazz musician and instructor at Queens, and performing in musical theater.

After 3 years at Queens Janet decided to study Philosophy at Western University for 3 years, a period during which she didn’t play.

In 1994 Janet returned to Kingston and once again began to study with her long time mentor and teacher, Bob Oades for another 2 years.

Janet resumed playing on an occasional basis the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, The Don McCallum Swing Band and various groups.

In 1997 Janet crossed over from mostly classical and jazz into Pop music, and went on to play in R’n’B bands, Funk bands and Pop bands.

Some of the bands she has performed in are Soul Survivors, The Swing Cats, Funkelstiltskin, Filet of Soul, and The Big Phat Horn Band; all as an original founding member.

From 2008 until 2020 Janet played in Brasswerks, an 18 piece brass ensemble, performing dozens of concerts.

Given her abundance of talent it’s not hard to see why Janet has been called to be in so many different bands. Her depth of training under Bob Oades and deep understanding of music has made her an invaluable member to so many different horn bands.

Marc Eaman had a unique entry into the music business. From the age of twelve he was playing professionally on stage and continued to do so until he completed his music studies at McGill University where he acquired his Bachelors of Music degree in performance.

Due to his versatility in jazz, classical, and everything in between, Marc continued to perform professionally after university. He performed regularly at weddings, parties, clubs, concerts, and CBC sessions.

Some of the groups that Marc performed with during his Montreal years include The Drifters, Vic Vogel Big Band, Opus 17, Denny Christiansen, Dixie Brew, and multiple symphony orchestras.

In 1997 Marc entered the San Francisco Bay Area music scene and continued to perform in studio sessions; as principal trombone in several classical orchestras; and as lead trombone with the acclaimed big bands, "A Touch of Brass" and "Full Spectrum".

When not playing trombone, Marc was the Corporate Evangelist at Adobe for 25 years. He is now retired and enjoys life on beautiful Wolfe Island and is acquainting himself with the Kingston music scene.