SUNDOWN BIOGRAPHY

Sundown is proud of the fact that they are hard to place in any particular musical genre! Bill Wade, Gary Kaiser, and John Geiser describe themselves as “three aging guys who simply love playing music.” The band plays a fair amount of country, some blues, some classic rock, a little bluegrass, a little jazz, quite a few ballads, some folk music, and a little swing. They like the fact that they play at least two or three songs from every decade from the 1940s through the present. They have performed widely at local events around the state and once opened for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Music has always been a passion and a side job for the members of Sundown and they now play mostly for fund raising events, community associations, and private parties. Sundown self-produced its first CD in 2006. The core of Sundown, Bill and Gary, have been playing together since 1976.
 
Bill Wade is the band’s one-man rhythm section. He sings lead vocal and plays acoustic guitar and banjo. Bill comes from a family of musicians whose father and aunts toured locally, singing at country venues on the East Coast. Bill started singing and playing fingerpicking-style acoustic guitar during the folk era of the 60's, performing at local musical events and appearances at the old Patched 15 Below.  He had the honor of sharing the stage with such talents as Emmy Lou Harris, Cheryl Wheeler and other notables of the then folk era. Bill performed as a solo performer until the 70's when he joined with Gary Kaiser to form Sundown.  Bill recently retired as Director of Plant Operations at The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus.

Gary (Gus) Kaiser is the band’s woodwind section, playing baritone, tenor, alto, soprano, and sopranino sax, as well as soprano and bass clarinet. He also plays acoustic guitar, lead electric guitar, mandolin, and sings harmony. Gary started out in Illinois playing guitar and sax in rock bands during the early 60’s and, like Bill, moved on to playing solofingerpicking-style acoustic guitar in coffee houses in the late 60’s. Gary moved to Maryland in 1970 to earn a Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Maryland. Upon successfully defending his dissertation, he immediately bought a new Martin D35 guitar - literally on his way home from College Park - and also started playing tenor sax again. Soon he joined up with Bill to form Sundown. Gary is a professor of microbiology at CCBC.

John Geiser has played upright bass and electric bass with a variety of folk and country groups in the Baltimore area. He joined Sundown in 2000. Continuing the CCBC connection, John Geiser is currently a Systems Analyst for Applications Development.

And welcoming the newest member of Sundown...

Ruth Hulett joined Sundown in 2008. A fourth-generation Bal'morean (hon), Ruth earned her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance at the University of Maryland at College Park. Together with her husband Michael, she formed Musical Artists Theatre, a not-for-profit company of professional theater artists whose goal is to develop original musicals and showcase contemporary American works. Ruth founded and directs the MAT Summer Camp for children at the Carver Center for Arts, the Chesapeake Arts Center, and the Key School in Annapolis, now in its 11th year. Her latest project is Riverside Stage, South Baltimore's new performing arts space, which MAT launched in April. Ruth's vocal styles range from classical to musical theatre, jazz, pop, and folk. She appears regularly in local theater productions, gives concerts as a soloist with orchestras, swing bands and in more intimate settings accompanying herself on guitar. Ruth conducts acting and vocal workshops, and teaches voice lessons in her private studio.