Bios

Terrapin Moon originated in Dayton, Ohio in 2007, and grew out of the desire to explore the music of the Grateful Dead. With a vast amount of experience, the five members, Charlie, Bill, Randy, Butch and Connor transcend in to a musical conversation that brings the material to life in their own unique style.

Terrapin Moon has been featured at festivals and venues around Ohio and beyond to Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. The band has had the privilege of sharing the stage with prominent acts including Willie Nelson, the Rhythm Devils with Mickey Hart & Bill Kreutzmann, Melvin Seals & JGB, Dark Star Orchestra, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jesse McReynolds, Kris Kristofferson, moe., George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Reel Big Fish, Rusted Root, David Gans and many more.

Much like the Dead, Terrapin Moon’s repertoire is sprinkled with classic and traditional covers. We strive to be unpredictable so that every show will be unique and special in its own way. We hope you’ll come and join us in the near future!

For booking, please contact Charlie at mistercharlie59@aol.com . We greatly appreciate the support we’ve received from all of you who’ve come to our shows so far, and we’ll keep this train rolling for as long as you all are there to enjoy it!

Charlie Roark
Guitar, lead & backing vocals

 

 

 

Charlie is a self taught musician. He has played guitar for about 35 yrs., but spent 12 yrs. as a drummer in an original rock band called Six Cents. A native of the Springfield Ohio area, he was exposed to live music at the age of 8, by a musician that was a family friend (Steve Eldridge), a drummer for several local garage bands in the mid-sixties. Spending much of his adolesent yrs. going to as many rock concerts as possible, he developed a variety of influences. Starting a family in his early 20’s, he put playing music on hold until the late 80’s when Six Cents was formed. Having no drummer, Charlie decided to give it a try. With a fair amount of success learning the drums, the band went on to write many tunes & recorded 3 albums. After being enlightened by a close friend, he began to listen to the Grateful Dead, whereupon he became quite obsessed. Charlie spent the yrs. between 1988 & 1995 taking in as many shows as was financially possible until the death of Jerry Garcia in ’95. This was an extremely depressing time, as it was for many Deadheads. To get through it, he turned to playing the music of the Dead on his guitar, leading to the formation of what would become Terrapin Moon. Now, as a grandfather, he hopes to pass the tradition on to the 3rd generation of his family through the performance of the uncountable numbers of songs in the GD’s vault.   

 
Bill Kurzenberger
Keyboards/organ, vocals, harmonica
 
A native of Cleveland, Bill took piano lessons at an early age and learned to play guitar in high school.  He saw the Grateful Dead perform live nine times from 1993 to 1995, and a great deal more performances of the Other Ones, the Dead, Furthur, and Dead & Company.  Bill has been performing the Dead’s music ever since joining his first bands in the early 90’s.  Before joining Terrapin Moon in 2008, Bill played keyboards in ten Ohio-based bands including the Bug Hounds, John Mullins Band, and Skeleton Crew.  His keyboards add to the musical tension and dynamics, with enthusiastic vocals reminiscent of Brent Mydland and Pigpen.  Bill also performs as a solo artist, and has released three albums of his original material.
 
 
Randy Brown
Guitar & vocals

 

 

Growing up in Dayton Ohio, Randy started playing guitar in high school, and played in various rock bands in the 80s and 90s. His first live Grateful Dead show was Buckeye Lake 1993. In 2000, he and Bob Petty formed Skeleton Crew, a Dayton-based jam band playing the music of the Grateful Dead, as well as their own original music. Skeleton Crew played throughout the Ohio area from 2000-2012, with reboots in 2013-2014 and 2019-2020, playing many festivals such as Ripplefest and Harvest Jam, and released one album, Butterflies, in 2005. Randy is delighted to join Terrapin Moon in 2022 to continue to celebrate the music of the Grateful Dead!

 
Butch Weaver
 
Bass Guitar & Vocals
 
 
 
 
Connor Smith
 
Drums
 
 
 
Dave Napier
 
Drums
 
 
 
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SPECIAL GUESTS:
 
David Homel
Guitar & Vocals
 
Tyler Smith
Drums