Wedding Bands

The Essex Band History:
Mikey, the lead guitarist, is the last surviving member of the original ESSEX group that started in March 1999. First performances were at Crawdads on the Sacramento river, the street fair in Woodland, and clubs in downtown Sacramento. Mikey, along with two other members, splintered off the original group in November 1999 and continued to perform with various respected members through 2001 -- at Jan's in Citrus Heights, and venues on the Delta and the town of Jackson. The group went through two lead vocalists and a second guitar player during this era, and eventually performed steadily without a lead vocalist through the last half of 2001. The group ended the year with New Years at the Velvet Hammer in North Highlands. During this year, the group attracted the interest of local talent agents.

Mikey met Grace (previously from the metal band, "Foil") in February 2002. Grace immediately became the lead vocalist for the band, as the group (now in the third year as ESSEX), performed at venues such as Referee's and Jan's in Citrus Heights, the Eagles Nest in North Highlands, venues in Dixon, and clubs down on the Delta. There is no question that Grace had a pivotal impact on the band. Her confidence, professional stage presence, keyboards, and strong vocals thrust the band into a position of higher recognition throughout the area.

Johnny joined the band in August 2002. By this time, the band was becoming quite established, however, Johnny quickly brought the band to a level never experienced before. As the next important piece of the puzzle, things really started coming together quickly with Johnny's vast experience and very strong work ethic.

John Sandwich and Val Starr joined the band in May 2004. Both are very experienced professionals from both the Los Angeles and San Francisco club scene, and bring a very dramatic polish to both the music and vocals of the band.

Among other cities, Essex may serve the following areas: Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Chico, Merced, Rancho Cordova, West Sacramento, Auburn, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Lodi, Roseville, Turlock, Vacaville, Yuba City, Atwater, Carmichael, Davis, Folsom, Grass Valley, Manteca, Oroville, Paradise, Riverbank, Rocklin, Tracy, Woodland, Artois, Arnold, Arbuckle