Roots 66 Music

Cliff Feldman

Cliff got his musical start as a teenager in Tucson, Arizona where he was a classmate of Linda Ronstadt’s. Starting out as a drummer, an early band “The Syndicate” was well known in Tucson, and was heard on local radio shows.

Switching to guitar and vocals, his next band was “Central Heating” with fellow University of Arizona schoolmates including famed Old West historian Bob Boze Bell.. Central Heating did the newest and most difficult material possible from the Beatles, Led Zepplin, and the like. They regularly opened for another struggling band from Phoenix, The Spiders, who would become Alice Cooper.

After moving to northern California, Cliff formed the group, “Occasional Rain” with co-DJ’s from San Jose’s KOME Radio. This band performed an eclectic mix of his original tunes and covers of obscure English progressive groups.

He moved to Santa Cruz in 1984 and traded his guitar for a computer. Cliff completed 2 novels (sadly, unpublished). After teaching his son guitar for 2 years, he was re-inspired, to play again and founded Roots 66 with Ted Porter. Cliff also plays in the classic rock band Phat Chants.

Ted Porter

After discovering the guitar in fourth grade, that was the end of piano lessons for Ted, Mrs Lindstrom's protestations notwithstanding. That was more decades ago than he cares to count, but the guitar has been in Ted's hands ever since. It's his primary instrument but he's also comfortable on the mandolin and lap steel. Ted played for years in various bands in the Washington DC area.

An itch for a change of scenery brought Ted to California in 2000. After taking a few years to get settled into a new home and job, Ted answered a Craigslist ad and has been making music with Roots 66 since.

Ted also plays in the acoustic-rock band Creekwood.

Glenn Morse

Glenn first picked up a pair of drumsticks at age 8. He honed his chops playing in garage bands during high school in Modesto, CA. After graduating, he joined a popular Top 40 band called New York Connection. Their many gigs throughout the San Joaquin Valley in the early 2980s included opening for Elvin Bishop.

Glenn spent a couple of years playing mainly with the power trio The Karey Doolin Band, who did original music. After moving to the Bay Area Glenn anchored the rhythm section for The Crybaby Band, and oldies cover group.

Glenn relocated to Washington Sate in the late 1980s, where he played drums for the Olympia-based original band Brave New World.

He moved to Santa Cruz in 1995 and has played in numerous cover and original groups, including Dueling Julies, Torpedo, and The Juvenators.

Glenn adds experience, versatility, some vocals, and a sold backbeat to make him the ideal drummer for Roots 66

Steve Epstein

Starting at age 14, Steve's guitar career began with the purchase of a Japanese guitar and amp. Inspired by the bands of the "British Invasion," the Japanese guitar was ritually sacrificed in the spirit of Pete Townshend on the auditorium stage of Oakland High School in front of 500 fellow students. Hoping the desired reaction of astonishment from the student body, Steve was rudely greeted with peels of laughter as the crowd had no idea who Pete Townshend was as their listening interests bordered on the Temptations and Al Green.

Steve persisted with his "rock" career until his junior year in college. He had just completed a single release with the Menlo Park ensamble, "Raw Deal." The A side track, "Ruby" was reportedly the "most played single" on the Camp Pendleton Enlisted Men's Mess jukebox for the month of November, 1973. Realizing his career may have reached its zenith in rock, one day, while driving his delivery van, dropping off pharmaceuticals to various hospitals and pharmacies, lamenting over the painful loss of his college sweetheart and why the lyrics of the then current pop music wasn't quite scratching his "itch," he came upon Merle Haggard singing "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down." This had everything he was after, drinking, feeling sorry for yourself, and complaining. Best of all, he could understand the words. He was most attracted to the sound of the pedal steel guitar, which added an emotional presence that reminded him of "whining." He was in need of that connection, apparently as he shortly thereafter proceeded to purchase his first pedal steel. Having no knowledge regarding the method with which to play, coupled with no association with indigenous southern white people, Steve began his quest to free associate "things" on the instrument.

Today he is supported by a community of loving friends and family that he is convinced are all deaf.

Tweed Banister

Tweed comes from the L.A. “scene” and has rubbed elbows with players and producers who have created the Star Wars Soundtrack and worked with the likes of Rick Derringer, Pat Benatar and Steely Dan. He recorded a single that appeared several years later on a Runaway's album.

Tweed joined the Los Angeles Progressive Post punk band "The Deaners.", a Top 30 LA draw regularly playing at the Madame Wong's (east and west), Club Lingerie, etc. The Deaners received airplay on KROQ, KLOS and KMET. Later, The Deaners released the singer and the bands name became Shadow Banister.

Tweed assumed the roll of the lead singer/bassist. Shadow Banister was a huge LA draw and was consistently a top 3 draw at any given club per Music Connection. Additionally, Shadow Banister wrote/played on 10 complete soundtracks for "X" rated movies, recorded a Health Video Soundtrack and a commercial for "Hour Clocks." The Band appeared on Local TV, KLOS, and KMET local radio shows. They released a single “The Six/PInk World and reached the charts. Shadow Banister released a compellation VHS video via Media Blitz in Europe.

Somehow, that led Tweed Banister to Boulder Creek and Roots 66.