Born in Chicago , John has been on the Madison scene for the past 8 years. After having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a degree in Music Education , John moved to the Madison area to pursue a career as a teacher and as a bassist. At UW-Whitewatter he was also a founding member of the Jazz Symposium , and performed on the groups two tours throughout Europe. Among his teachers were UW-Madison professor Richard Davis , and Jeff Eckels. He is currently the Orchestra Director at Mount Horeb Middle and High Schools.

A versatile bassist , John can be scene playing both electric bass , as well as double bass around town in a variety of settings. Some of these include The Madison Jazz Orchestra , Gerri DiMaggio, Joe Scallisi and the Dry Martinis, and Vibe Syndicate.

Band Bios

Carolynn Black - Vocals

NY orig.. laid-back, female singer-songwriter-blues mama, known to encourage happiness, dancing, and good vibes through music. Currently, she can be found lurking around the stages of Madison, WI with Vibe Syndicate and Clyde Stubblefield, searching for people in need of a Cheshire-cat smile of a song.
Accused of sounding like the freaky lesbo love-child of Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin, Carolynn describes herself as a blues-inspired-rootsy-funky-country singer. She is all those and some.

Aaron Streicher - Drums

Simply put, Aaron is one bad ass groove machine, kickin' it on a beautiful Noble & Cooley drum set and Roland V-Drum system.

Aaron is a Madison native and has been the driving rhythmic force behind many successful bands, including most recently Universal Soul Ensemble.


Todd Thomas - Guitars

Todd Thomas is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has lived in Madison for the past ten years. He is a huge song writing contributor and serves as the primary booking contact for the group.

Todd has played with Milwaukee bands including: First Light, Life on Other Planets, Symposium and The Pawns to name just a few.


Wade Alters - Keyboards/Clavinet/Organ

Wade is an expert pianist and plays a veritable museum of vintage keyboards and organs, including a Horner Clavinet, a 1943 Hammond B3 organ and a Wurlitzer electric piano.

His style is as funky as it gets. Need we say more? Sure. He's also definitely got the largest fan group! Big ups to all of Wade's friends who make our shows a Wisconsin party favorite!


John Mesoloras - Bass

Originally from the Chicago area, bassist John Mesoloras, moved to Wisconsin to pursue a music degree at UW-Whitewater.

By day he is the director of orchestras at Mount Horeb Middle, and High Schools. By night he's a gigging bassist, working with local jazz groups such as Gerri DiMaggio, and Ray Rideout, and Joe Scalissi, in addition to Vibe Syndicate.