Big Orange Musicians

“BIG ORANGE” MUSICIANS

Tom Delaney

Tom's career began in and around New York City, playing clubs and concerts with the likes of the Platters, the Temptations and the Coasters while still a teenager. He later graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston with a degree in music arranging/composition. While at Berklee, Tom's student band included Keith Jarrett, Harvey Mason, John Abercrombie and Miroslav Vitous. Yikes!

He's played with Stevie Wonder, David Clayton Thomas, Hoyt Axton and Toots Thielmans, among others, and was a featured soloist with the Buddy Rich big band. As a member of various Reno-Tahoe hotel-casino house orchestras, Tom's played with stars such as Linda Rondstadt, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Sammy Davis and Mel Torme.

Tom was chairman of the music department at Sierra Nevada College, and his own big band was the house orchestra in the Headliner Room of the North Tahoe Cal-Neva hotel-casino. He's currently a member of the Free Play Saxophone Quartet. In addition to playing gigs around Reno-Tahoe, Tom supplies bands for conventions and other functions and teaches at a local music store. He has his own music publishing company.

Mike Kirkhouse

Formerly from the San Francisco Bay Area, Mike has been a bassist in the Reno-Tahoe area for more than 30 years. During that time, he's played with musical reviews, orchestras and cabarets, as well as in rock, funk, jazz and Latin bands. Mike is also an in-demand session bassist who's appeared on many recordings.

Billy Slais

Billy is a veteran of several well-known groups, including Cold Blood, Elvin Bishop and Starship. He is currently music director for Craig Chaquico's new group, The Best of Both Worlds.

Billy has roots in his hometown, Memphis, Tenn., where he began his musical recording career with Sam Phillips of Sun Records. After touring with the original Paul Revere & The Raiders show, Bill served in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for entertaining the troops.

Billy has written and recorded songs on some 13 records prior to 2000 and is currently recording his first solo CD.

Chris Smith

Chris is a native of London, England, who now lives in Lucerne, Switzerland. All that banging on stuff seems to have taken a toll, as Chris says he's forgotten 90 percent of the gigs he's done. However, what he does remember includes attending Leeds Music College and working with various bands in England, Germany, Holland, Austria and Switzerland.

Chris was a member of the Alan Wakeman Trio, a jazz group in London. He also toured South America with the Foundations. As a session drummer in Switzerland he has played for many top artists, as well as on TV shows and recording with the DRS Radio Big Band. He plays DW drums and uses Paiste cymbals.

Kevin Tokarz

Kevin is the "go-to" guy around Reno-Tahoe for any act that needs, well...anything. Kevin plays keyboards, sings and arranges -- and does it in any style. Kevin came to Reno from Chicago about 25 years ago with the group Perfect Circle.

Music has taken Kevin pretty far afield, including stints in the Far East. When not stressing out over his beloved Chicago Bears, Kevin has spent the last few years as a key member of the Danny Marona show, playing concerts across the country.

Ben Wilborn

Ben Wilborn plays various stringed instruments, and spends the better part of his day foraging for nuts and berries (see photo). After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1992 with a degree in film scoring, Ben spent nearly a decade writing and touring with his band, the Lazy Eights.

Ben has written music for numerous advertisements, documentaries, and the feature film Ties to Rachel, and he's performed and recorded with, among others, Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers and Willie Nelson.

Ben's score for the documentary, Life in Vine, is available on a special CD that includes bonus tracks from his score for Ties to Rachel. To find out more, click here.

In the rare moments when Ben is not out foraging, he performs with The Willies, mostly around the Reno-Tahoe area. Check out this great band: http://www.thewilliesband.com/