West Michigan's Premier Classic Rock Band
Bio......By Carl Andrews
I guess a little background is in order. If you’re not familiar with the history of the band, check on the history section of the website, but in a nutshell our band was together for many years back in the 70’s and 80’s and then we took a little break (13 years or so!) and “pursued other interests”. In no particular order they were:
Jerry Adams (Lead vocals, congas, guitar, upside down left-handed Fender bass) – Moved to Florida where he established a painting/contracting business. He continued to play music (along with his son Brian, who we’ll deal with shortly) and also established the world-renowned “Paint Your Own ‘Gator” roadside tourist stand. The idea of letting children capture and decorate their own live alligator was progressive for it’s time but was, unfortunately, in violation of several really nitpicky federal, state and municipal laws. Jerry recently moved back to Lowell with his wife Suzie where he relaxes by making pieces of wood look like something other than pieces of wood.
Cindy Kropf (Lead vocals, trumpet, percussion, wacky antics) – At the end of the band’s tenure Cindy was pregnant, which resulted in the birth of a small Kropf named Kyle. Eventually, she had another child, Mattie, and Cindy decided to study nursing, in part to figure out how to stop producing children, and was eventually to become a Registered Nurse, which is apparently a way of keeping better track of them. (If you find yourself in a hospital with a free-lance nurse that just goes from hospital to hospital randomly taking temperatures and extracting blood, check with your HMO and see if your coverage has lapsed.) Cindy spends her leisure time knitting dog sweaters and occasionally yelling out the back door for no reason.
Dan Lomas (Lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, french horn, ) – When the band broke up, Dan went to work as an advertising executive. Some of his earlier ideas were met with some criticism. Some people questioned his Playboy Magazine promotion (geared toward young men 25 to 39) titled “Win A Dream Date With Ellen DeGeneres." When Taco Bell was looking for a new mascot for an ad campaign, Dan was near the mark but not quite dead center with his idea for the Taco Bell Cockroach. Dan learned the ropes and now lives comfortably with his wife Carol and their son Colin on a golf course. (Presumably they pay a great deal in greens fees to live there, but their lawn is always very nice.)
Carl Andrews (Drums, vocals, odd noises) – In 1988 with the band breaking up, Carl’s attempt at a lifelong dream fell somewhat short when he was rejected from Jockey school for “questionable horse-related activities." After a brief stint as a Cable-access TV evangelist he moved to Lansing to pursue a politicalcareer. Frustrated by the over-abundance of integrity in politics, Carl settled on a job in restaurant management, which he finds “is just like being a Supreme Court justice except mostly people just yell at you about weird stuff they found in their food.” Carl and wife Susan have two children, Daniel (age 10) and Stephen (age 5). They relax by collapsing and closing their eyes.
Eddie Eicher (drums) – A popular figure on the West Michigan music scene, Eddie joined Alive & Well upon the retirement of the band’s original drummer, Carl Andrews, in 2013. Known for both his live performances and studio work, Eddie’s resume includes the award-winning CD's of Fiction Switch (John Lennon Songwriting Contest), Karisa Wilson (Jammie Award), Roger MacNaughton (ArtPrize Music Award), and AnDro (Jammie Award). Eddie is perhaps best known as the drummer for the R&B horn band, Hip Pocket, and has also worked with David Molinari, Drew Nelson, J. Oscar Bittinger, Kathy LaMar, Ed Clifford, Brant Satala, Mark DePree, and many others. You can learn more about Eddie and his various music projects at his website www.EddieEicher.com
Roger MacNaughton (Keyboards, vocals, more keyboards, guitar, flute, saxophone, tenor beer can) – Roger’s musical career continued after the band called it quits. He put together a new band, “The Roger MacNaughton Sunnysiders Revue," featuring promising newcomer Tad Brinkner. The band received critical and public acclaim for their positive, up-tempo song stylings until local law enforcement officials discovered Tad’s collection of heads in his trunk during a routine traffic stop. A now desperate Roger took a job under the name “Reg McNotnow” portraying Richard Carpenter in the touring company of “Carpenter-Mania!” (Not the Carpenters…Just An Incredible Simulation!) Forced to leave the production due to a synthetic hair allergy, he spent a brief period as musical director of a local theatre, eventually persuading them to stage his one man show, "Kimosabe!”, a musical based on the life of Jay Silverheels. He currently resides in Ada, Michigan with his wife Megan who constantly tells him how nice his hair looks.
Dale Kropf (Bass, tenor sax, vocals, gorilla) – Throughout his musical career Dale continued to study and eventually received his teaching degree in Elementary Education. Dale finds teaching very stimulating and keeps his students riveted with his combination of classroom antics (He will occasionally spring from behind his desk and hit grounders to the class using real baseballs!) and stories from his days as a groovy rock musician traveling the country playing “gigs” for lots of adoring fans. (This is where the kids roll their eyes and actually focus on doing their homework.) Dale, or “Mr. Kropf” as he is affectionately known by the students, and his wife Cindy (you know, Kropf…you read about her up above?) reside in a geodesic dome out on Murray Lake in Lowell. In the summer Dale can be found digging random holes in the yard while Cindy mutters at him.
Brian Adams (Lead vocals, congas, guitar, egg, leaping about) – Brian joined the band when they re-formed recently, taking the place of his father, Jerry, who was in Florida at the time and stubbornly refused to commute to Michigan, despite the promise of tens of dollars. When the band was breaking up, Brian was, like, twelve or something and I don’t really know what he was doing other than spending way more time in the bathroom than was really necessary. Bringing a younger and different perspective to the band Brian also enjoys some of the older selections the band performs despite it being mostly "a bunch of old fart’s music.” He enjoys bringing in new songs for the rest of the band to listen to and we usually just smile and nod and then go about our business as if it never happened. Brian, it turns out, never relaxes.
Well that’s it for now. Check back on the website frequently and write to us if you have stories about the band. It might help fill in some of the gaps, especially in the 70’s.
