About The DMTB
Meet The Band
Lead Vocals and Guitar - Gary Wilkinson
Gary Wilkinson is the lead singer and acoustic guitarist for the DMTB. Gary began listening to DMB when his sister got a hold of the bands debut studio release “Under the Table and Dreaming” back in 1994.
Since becoming enamored with that album, Gary picked up a guitar and started to learn Dave songs, eventually making his way through the entire catalog. His passion has turned into a shareable experience with DMB fans around the country.
Drums - David Suriani
David began drumming at the age of 8 years old. He first discovered DMB around the age of 14 and began listening to the debut studio album “Under the Table and Dreaming”. The first song on the album, Best of What’s Around, caused David to take a deep dive into the unique drumming in DMB’s music.
Soon after listening through all of the group’s studio albums, the quest to hear all of the live releases began. David devoted all of his drumming practice to restructuring his drum set up and learning how to play open handed like Carter Beauford. Countless hours were spent studying the renowned “Under the Table and Drumming” DVD as well as any online video that featured Carter’s unique playing style.
David studied percussion and Jazz Drum Set with Eastman School of Music graduate Aaron Staebell from 2003-2011. He has played in various drum corps and wedding bands around Western New York before going full time with DMTB in 2020. Along with Carter Beauford, his other influences include Benny Greb (Benny Greb Brass Band), Dennis Chambers (John Scofield), Petar Janjic (Cory Wong), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), and Jeff Pocaro (Toto, Steely Dan) among many others.
Saxophone - Gresh Laing
Gresh Laing is a sax player who has musical influences including LeRoi Moore from the Dave Matthews Band, Clarence Clemons from the E Street Band, and Lenny Picket from the Saturday Night Live Band/Tower of Power. Gresh Laing served as a saxophone instrumentalist and band leader in the United States Navy Music Program for 23 years, leading bands world-wide including every country in South America, all islands in Micronesia, Australia, South Korea, and many other nations around the Pacific Rim.
Gresh has been playing saxophone for over 35 years, producing bands for over 20 years, and singing pop and jazz for over 15 years. Currently, Gresh has retired from the U.S. Navy and is producing the Wicked 80’s Party Band along with the other amazing musicians in the band. Gresh also plays in The Dave Matthews Tribute Band based in Buffalo NY.
Bass - Tim Sheldon
From concert halls to biker bars, symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles and rock bands, Tim has performed professionally as a musician in many settings. He began playing with DMTB in 2018 and has been having a great time performing the music of Dave Matthews Band. Besides music Tim enjoys red wine, nerdy TV shows and snacks.
Violin - Abe Dewing
Abe Dewing is a multi-instrumentalist who plays a variety of music genres ranging from bluegrass, country, rock and modern pop. Hailing from Boston, MA, Abe is a classically trained violinist and before his time at Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY, Abe played under the baton of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa and performed throughout North America and in Europe. He is a co-founder of Fusion String Ensemble, a group that combines programs of classical and contemporary rock/pop covers with string arrangements of covers he created. Fusion has played in Symphony Hall Boston and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Abe has been featured through articles in Strings Magazine and his stadium rock violin arrangements have been recognized by the New England Patriots, a project he created during the 2020 pandemic NFL season.
Since his amplified career officially began in 2018, he has performed in local venues such as Gillette Stadium, The Sinclair and Roadrunner and worked with several local bands at festivals, farms and donated performances at local community events. Abe also owns his private studio where he teaches multiple instruments to about 30 families. He has two sons and resides near Fenway Park in Brookline, MA. He is an avid chicken wing eater and a mixer of ciders and beers while cheering on his Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins with his prized championship ring collection.
“I am extremely grateful and fortunate to have an opportunity to share music across the country so I look forward to meeting you in my travels. ![🙏🏼](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t7c/1/16/1f64f_1f3fc.png)
”
Guests
Keys - Zach Sweetser
Zach began taking classical piano lessons at seven years old. Alongside the piano, he enjoyed also learning the violin, trombone, euphonium, drums, and singing in an internationally touring vocal ensemble. Ultimately – his primary focus landed on studying jazz piano. Zach discovered Dave Matthews Band when he was 13 and quickly became intrigued by the playing of their pianist at the time: Butch Taylor. Zach initially learned how to transcribe music by way of learning Butch’s integral parts on many earlier DMB albums. At the age of 18 back in 2012, he played his first gig with the DMTB while paying tribute to Butch’s work.
While flying airliners is his day job, Zach loves playing shows with the DMTB part time outside of work. In his free time – Zach also enjoys skiing, flying seaplanes, hiking with his wife and dog, riding his electric dirt bike, and flying radio-controlled airplanes.
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Alternates
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Drums - Benny Montgomery
Benny started playing drums at age 4 and embarked on his first gig at the age of 7. He toured the country with local and national gospel act The Southern Travelers out of Anniston, Al. While on the road he was picked up by Grammy nominee Leomia Boyd from Aberdeen, MS and toured with Mrs. Boyd throughout the Southeastern US.
During his teen years Benny discovered The Dave Matthews Band after a long time friend introduced him to them in 1994. Since then Benny has groomed his style to mirror the great Carter Beauford. Benny has been touring with The DMTB since 2007 and you can catch him on many of the band’s southeastern dates.
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Violin - Sean Bowen
Sean has been playing with the DMTB from the early days dating back to 2004! A life long violinist, he started his classical training at the age of three and has spent time playing with the All State and All Eastern Symphony Orchestras including performing at Carnegie Hall. Over the years Sean’s musical interests have expanded into more bluegrass, folk, and traditional fiddle tunes. He’s been part of a few original projects and has had the pleasure of guest recording on several singer songwriter albums.
His love of DMB started at the age of 13 when he first listened to Under the Table and Dreaming, heard the violin, and realized he could do more on the instrument than just Mozart Concertos! From that moment he was completely captivated by the music and just wanted to perform the songs with an equally obsessed group of musicians. Over the years he has made lasting memories traveling with the band and sharing our mutual admiration of this music with everyone who has come out to a show.
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Saxophone - Eric Wozniak
Woodwind specialist Eric Wozniak grew up in Buffalo, NY. He attended the premier New York music education and saxophone performance program at Ithaca College, where he learned from jazz masters including Steve Brown, Marion McPartland, Bill Goodwin, Steve Gilmore, Phil Woods, and Les Brown. After traveling abroad as a shipboard musician for Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Eric returned home where he performed with The Outlyers, The Pyramid Band, and The Jump Kings. In Buffalo, he soon found himself side by side with a variety of artists including Keely Smith, Dita Von Teese, Kansas and The Cherry Popping Daddies.
Eric started performing with the Dave Matthews Tribute Band in 2021 and can be seen on shows in the northeast and midwest regions.
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Violin - Alex Crinzi
Alex Crinzi is a professional violinist & senior product manager at a fintech startup, currently residing in Buffalo, NY. Starting violin when he was 4 years old, he has had the honor to perform with local professional and community ensembles, including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Southern Tier Symphony, and the Orchard Park Symphony, among many others. Alex enjoys spending time listening to his vinyl record collection, watching the Buffalo Bills & Sabres, playing golf or disc golf at the area’s courses, and of course enjoying the company of his friends & family whenever possible.
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Saxophone - Noah Mosca
Noah, “the BIG NASTY”, has been playing the saxophone for 12 years, and began touring with the DMTB in spring of 2023. His interest in the instrument stemmed from hearing artists such as John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Pink Floyd, and Earth Wind and Fire. After playing through middle and high school band, he decided to further his knowledge of the saxophone and studied music performance at the University of Central Florida, under director George Weremchuk. While attending, Noah played alongside world class musicians, performed in the top classical and jazz ensembles, and was a national finalist in the MTNA chamber music competition. After graduating in 2022, Noah continues to play in his hometown of Orlando, FL in various funk, jazz, and rnb groups.
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Drums - Damone Jackson
Professional Drummer Founder, The Damone Jackson Outcome Music Educator & Mentor DAMONE “A-MIRACLE” JACKSON is a drum set specialist and percussion teacher living in Western NY. Damone graduated from Villa Maria College in 2014 with a B.A. in Music Performance and a concentration in jazz. He has won several awards, including Best Blues Drummer in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 by the Buffalo Music Awards.
Recently, Damone has been on tour in South America and Europe playing shows and teaching master-classes. He is thankful that music has provided the opportunity to play with many truly fine musicians in the Buffalo area as well and all over the world. Damone gigs extensively throughout Western New York and is one of the areas most in-demand drummers for both live shows and studio work. Currently, he is the drummer and founder of The Damone Jackson Outcome.
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Saxophone - Chris Whiteley
Born and raised in Reading, PA and now residing in Phoenix, AZ, Chris hasn’t just moved all over the country, but has performed all over the world. He holds three bachelor’s degrees in music and spent a short 3-year stint as a music teacher before becoming a full-time performer.
Having been given the privilege of working in the cruise line industry as a showband musician, Chris entertained guests while sailing to all seven continents. While onboard, he was fortunate to back up such international talents as Dale Kristien, Fabo Zini, Melissa Manchester and Judy Carmichael. Outside of his US touring with the Dave Matthews Tribute Band, Chris also toured the country with several Colorado-based indie bands before moving to Arizona where he currently works and performs full-time with international production and talent agency TAD Management.
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Violin - Alexei Mejouev
In 2014 Alexei received an email asking him if he was interested in playing the gig at the Myrtle Beach House of Blues. He was just 15 years old. It’s now been over 10 years and Alexei is still rocking out with the band, always excited to see the fans! For his day job Alexei is a filmmaker, directing music videos, producing documentaries and going on tour with artists like Rhiannon Giddens, Demeanor and more.
Alexei’s favorite songs to play: #41, Blue Water, The Stone
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