The Lights Band consists of four musicians who draw from a variety of influences to create a unique brand of music. The group is currently in it's seventh year of existence. The band got together through the jazz program at Neenah High School. All four musicians immediately felt a spark when they played and they decided they wanted to stay together at all costs. This led them to attend the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point to study music together. Now after six years, they have experienced a lot of life, music, good times and bad.... only to find that it has taken their music to a more refined, sincere and meaningful level.



One unique aspect of The Lights Band is that they truly are an equal collaboration of great musicians. They don't have a lead guitar player or a lead singer. Every musician in the band leads the music in some way. Everybody also writes music and everybody sings lead parts for different tunes. This "give and take" quality really becomes apparent when they collectively improvise music. Totally unplanned and uninhibited improvisation is a regular part of what they do.



Eric Ross Bass, Vocals



Eric Ross is a phenomenal bass player and what some people would call a "natural" when it comes to playing. He is probably the most shy, but also the funniest member of the group. He started his musical career as a guitar player and switched to bass in 1999. His main influences include Jaco Pastorius, Phil Lesh, Mike Gordon and Marcus Miller. Eric studied electric bass privately with John Gibson and currently studies jazz and classical music on upright bass at UW-Stevens Point. He has performed in many of the Ensembles at UWSP and recieved several scholarships for music.



Tyler Ross Guitar, Vocals



Tyler Ross is an exceptionally talented guitar player as well as a great composer and arranger. Tyler writes the majority of the original music for the band. He graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 2005 with a Bachelors degree in Jazz Studies-Performance. He then received a Graduate Assistantship from the Jazz program at Western Illinois University. As a Graduate Student, he composes for and plays in the jazz ensembles, and teaches guitar lessons. His main influences include Bill Frisell, Grant Green, and Bill Evans among many others. Tyler has written and arranged music for all different types of ensembles and is an advocate of many different art forms.



Wayne Salzmann Drums, Vocals



Wayne Salzmann is an incredibly versatile drummer. He has performed with musicians ranging from Joe Lally of Fugazi to the National Wind Ensemble in Carnegie Hall. Some of his many honors in music include a full tuition music scholarship from UWSP and taking first place in the 2000 DW/Zildjian drum solo competition. He has studied privately with world famous drummers such as Billy Martin, Bill Stewart, Joey Baron and Ari Hoenig. He graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 2006 with a Jazz Studies degree in drumset and percussion performance.



Kelvin Kaspar Guitar, Vocals



Kelvin Kaspar is an extraordinary guitar player. He has played with many fine musicians around Wisconsin and was the featured soloist with the UWSP Concert Band. His major influences include John Scofield, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, and George Benson. Kelvin studied privately with Brian Algair and Phil Coe. He is nearing completion of his Jazz Studies-Performance degree for guitar at UW-Stevens Point. Kelvin plays A.M. Lutherie Guitars custom made by Andrew Madson.