Local band consists of University instructors, teacher – The BG News: Entertainment: erin cox, the solar 8, 8-track, stutzman, werdebaugh
The band the Solar 8 consists of two University instructors anda public school teacher – not the typical Bowling Green collegeband.
Dan Stutzman, Phil Dickinson and Ron Werdebaugh all started outplaying in various bands throughout their younger days, but in 2008they decided to get together and form their own band.
“We were basically sitting around bored and just decided we mightas well start a band together, just for something fun to do,” saidStutzman, bass player for the Solar 8.
The three friends met while attending the University. both Stutzmanand Werdebaugh were undergraduates and Dickinson was in graduateschool.
Dickinson, the drummer for the band, is actually from England andhad not started his hobby in music until he came to the UnitedStates.
“I didn’t even start playing the drums until I was about 30 and itwas just self taught,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson now sits as the associate chair of the English Departmentand is a senior lecturer in English, Werdebaugh also works in theEnglish Department and Stutzman teaches at a public school in thearea.
“I think we’re all done with any illusions we had of doing anythingreally big with our music,” Stutzman said. “Now it’s just somethingfun and creative we like to do and if others enjoy it, then that’seven better.”
The name the Solar 8 came from an old 8-track player Werdebaughowned.
“Ron had a weird old 8-track player from the 70s with disco lightsand it was called the solar 8-track, so we just dropped the lastpart and that’s how we got our name,” Dickinson said.
The band of three writes all their own songs and classifiesthemselves as rock and roll.
“We’re kind of on a slow track right now because both Ron and Danhave young families, but we usually try to rehearse at least once aweek,” Dickinson said.
The band tries to practice every Sunday morning at Grumpy Dave’sPub.
“We let them practice here so they don’t disturb their neighborsand one of the guys worked part time in the kitchen here,” said Pubowner Dave Harper.
Full-time jobs and family commitments have kept the guys from onlyworking on their music, but they have started work on recordingmusic with 10 tracks ready to put on an album.
Right now, however, they mainly just like to play for fun.
“Live anything is good and I think that so many people listen tomusic on their computers and mobile devices, it’s just fun toperform live,” Dickinson said. “We can feed off the audience’senergy and they can feed off ours, so it’s mainly just fun.”
The Solar 8 sticks to playing in the Bowling Green and Toledo areasince work and family restrains any long-distance traveling.
Both Dickinson and Stutzman enjoy playing at Howard’s Club H themost.
“Howard’s has a big stage, a good sound system and nice people,”Stutzman said. “We’ve played there before and it’s alwaysfun.”
The Solar 8 performed January 13 at Howard’s.
Howard’s bartender Ted Truman enjoys listening to the band whenthey play at the venue.
“They’re very cool and their style is very unique,” Truman said.”They’re like a breath of fresh air because they’re not just yourrun-of-the-mill rock band.”
Vince Driver of Bowling Green attended the show to see Werdebaughperform because he had him as a professor and had heard some of hismusic.
“I thought their show was a lot of fun,” Driver said. ” It wasnoisy, it was dirty, it was great.”
Stutzman said to look for the band next at Cla-Zel Theatre inFebruary.
