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Bio

The Dead Beetles have been performing regularly in the Portland, Oregon area since 2005, originally as the John Reynolds/George Turner duo. They debuted under the name The Dead Beetles in August 2006 at Edgefield Winery and their self-titled first CD was released the following November.

The current line up of the band offers a huge pallet of sounds, including four part vocal harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, cello, flutes and clarinets, trumpet and flugelhorn, keyboards, drums and percussion.

The show is full of fun and unexpected turns as the band romps through its eclectic repertoire of great songs, spanning seven decades. Original songs and covers alike have that unique Dead Beetles flavor, and the crisp, fresh smell of mountain air in the springtime!

John Reynolds is lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and arranger for The Dead Beetles.

Obsessed with all kinds of music since childhood, he's been performing in bands since 1964. A professional audio engineer and producer, John has worked in the studio with artists from many genres, both in Northern California and Portland, Oregon, including Pele Juju, Zun Zun, Bossa Nouveau, Scott Fisher, Bhagavan Das, Vivid Curve and James Faretheewell. He has mixed concert sound for many international touring artists, including Ray Charles, Shawn Colvin, James Brown, Etta James, Laurie Anderson, Tuck & Patti, Stephanne Grapelli and Gladys Knight.

George Turner is an accomplished musician, songwriter and sound engineer, bringing bass, cello and vocals to the Dead Beetles. He moved to Portland in 2004 from Austin, Texas where he had been playing in bands and studying audio engineering at Mediatech Institute. He records and performs regularly in Portland and beyond with Sketchy Ted and as songwriter and arranger with My Fellow Traveler. George’s original music appears in the feature film West Acre, released in 2006, for which he served as Music Director.

Margot Monti plays a wide variety of woodwind instruments with the Dead Beetles, including flute, alto flute, alto clarinet and contra alto (really huge!) clarinet, as well as vocal harmonies. Margot has been a member of the Pacific Crest Wind Symphony for over fourteen years. The symphony performs an adventurous repertoire, including their acclaimed collaborations with Three Leg Torso. She also performs and records with the didgeridoo groove band, Vivid Curve.

Casey McBride has played drums at showcase clubs in the San Francisco bay area and in the Northwest as songwriter and arranger with Audio Fatigue. In addition to trap set and hand percussion, Casey also adds vocal harmonies and sampled sound effects to the Dead Beetles.

Ben Davis brings keyboards and vocals to the band. He has performed with many celebrated Portland bands including The Odds, Stunning Ray Guns and Fashion Ambulance.

Cliff Jetton plays trumpet and flugelhorn. A veteran of the Northwest music scene, he has performed and recorded with many area artists, and has opened for the likes of Dizzie Gillespie, Edwin Hawkins and Sneakin' Out. Cliff can be seen performing with the Gil Reynolds Quartet and the Gentle Rain jazz quintet.

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