Buck Buchanan
Guitar, Vocals & Songwriter
Raised north of Boise, Idaho, on a small
cattle ranch, Buck Buchanan attributes his love for music to
his mother, who helped to organize hootenannies that would last
until early morning hours. Buck
moved to West Yellowstone, Montana, in 1976, to form a band with
current Twang guitarist Jim Lewis. In 1979 he moved to Bozeman
to attend Montana State University. He has taught science at
Belgrade Middle School in Belgrade, Montana, for 19 years, enjoying
a home in nearby Manhattan with his wife, Carol, and son, Garret,
who share his musical interests. In 1998, Buck and drummer Johnny
Regan organized WWW.Twang,
so they could play original, danceable tunes with longtime friends
and area musical legends. "I've always wanted to do what we're
doing," says Buck.
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Jim Lewis
Guitar & Vocals
Jim Lewis was born in Pennsylvania,
and raised in Vermont and Yellowstone National Park. He started
playing ukulele at age eight, and turned to guitar at age ten
after watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Upon high
school graduation, he moved directly to southwestern Montana
to play music, settling in Gallatin County in 1972. Through
the years, he has played rock-and-roll, blues, and country.
Jim's
Telecaster provides a resonant flare that creates WWW.Twang's
distinctive country sound.
In addition to playing music, Jim works
as a paint contractor, favoring the challenge of Victorian
homes. He and his wife Chiyoko live in Bozeman.
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Johnny Regan
Drums & Vocals
Johnny Regan was born and raised in Miles City,
Montana, not far from where his daughter and two grandchildren
still reside. Starting with classical piano training as a youngster,
Johnny acquired a drum set during the summer before grade nine
and was playing for money the next week. After high school, he
played for rock-and-roll and country bands, living on the road
and traveling countrywide for twenty years. He would rest, occasionally,
in Livingston, Montana, his home since 1980. During his adventures,
he somehow found time to earn an industrial electronics degree.
Johnny’s seasoned drumming
is crucial to Twang’s toe-tapping music and country dance
groove.
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Russ Olsen
Bass & Vocals
A Gallatin Gateway, Montana, native,
Russ Olsen's musical interests ignited when, as a boy, he met
a honky-tonk guitar player passing through his rural community.
Russ taught himself to strum guitar and years later played
bass with the house band at Stacey's
Old Faithful bar. In the early 80’s, he played with Sandy
Dodge and other popular local musicians, acquiring a reputation
for his talent. When WWW.Twang was
forming in 1998, Russ was the obvious choice to fill the role
of bassist and singer. Along with Johnny Regan on drums, he provides
the rhythm section for the band.
Russ works as a contractor for his business
partnership, R&R
Taylor Construction, Inc., when he's not playing music. He lives
in Gallatin Gateway with his wife, Lauri, and their three daughters.
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Sandy Dodge
Steel Guitar & Vocals
Born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in the
San Francisco Bay area, Sandy Dodge played acoustic guitar in coffee
houses as a high schooler and has worked as a professional musician
ever since. In fact, when he received a B.A. degree in mathematics
from San Jose State the university had to mail it to him because
his band was on the road. Sandy
learned steel guitar in the 70’s, playing folk/rock and urban
country. He settled in Montana in the 80’s and soon created
a niche for himself in the local country music scene. Today, his
art provides the prominent twang sound for which his current band
is named. When not performing, Sandy maintains the www.twang.org website
and serves on the Bozeman
City Recreation and Parks board. Sandy lives in Bozeman with
his wife Penny.
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