THE BAND
'MARVELOUS' MARIELLE DEAN
Born in the cultural center (and geographical extremes) of America Marielle grew up in a musical family absorbing the New York City arts culture. Gravitating towards musicals she sang on Broadway for a while, but when the family moved to 58th Street she sang at her new address there. OK, so that may be a bit misleading, but Marielle is a great talent and loves to entertain. Joining the band just in time for the Pandemic to drive Severe Pleasure into hiatus, we are now happy to feature her sharing lead vocals. A multi-talented lady, her professional life is consumed as a contracts administrator for a large bay area company.
You will enjoy her musical skills!
'BADASS BASSMAN' DAVE de CARION
Dave, too, was born in New York. Early on, the family recognized California as the land of opportunity, but being of quite modest means and unable to afford a car, they ended up crawling across the country on their stomachs in hopes of making their fortunes. Although they made it to the Promised Land they weren't able to secure their fortunes; all they got were a bunch of tire marks from the crawling part. OK, so that may not be quite accurate, but the family did OK and Dave went through multiple careers: Chemist, Long Range Planning Economist, Commercial Real Estate Broker and Attorney. He took up the bass on his 67th birthday and although not skilled on the instrument, he makes up for it by playing loud. In spite of all this he loves to play and loves to share Classic Rock music.
REX 'THE MANIAC' NICODEMUS
For lead guitar and vocal, Rex is Da Man! Rex got his name,The Maniac, for his frenetic style on guitar, a definitely apt description. He began playing a long time ago in high school when guitars were much more difficult to play because they were much heavier. In fact, you needed an assistant to move them onto the bandstand because then they were all chiseled out of stone. His maniac personality also comes out in sports, having played QB on his high school football team, ice hockey and golf. As
many professional musicians do, Rex plays in multiple bands and has an
active lesson program.
'DYNAMITE' DOUG DEAN
OK,I know what you're thinking. How could this guy have played with the Bennie Goodman jazz band when he looks so youthful? Well, he didn't. But if he had, he'd look much older. Right? Anyway, the best way to describe Dynamite Doug is to say there may be a few rock drummers around that are as good as he is, but there's nobody better. A big and powerful dude, we are all happy he finished his anger management classes.
PAM 'PAMMA JAMMA' ARTHUR
Pam, aka "The Goddess of Groove" joined Severe Pleasure in 2023 having an immediate impact: broadening the performance repertoire, adding a rich texture to our sound and presenting an exciting stage presence. Pamma Jamma, as she is also known, impresses with smokin' hot B3 Solos in the Jimmy Smith mode, and issuing tasty jazz/blues piano renditions and classic rock and roll stylings. Although appearing to be 30 years old, she has been performing for more than 30 years on the national blues stage to the jazz concert stages in Europe. A true talent and a true treasure. Quickly commandeered as lead keyboardist for Lady Bo (formerly with Bo Diddly), she turned more than a few musical ears in Europe and venues North. Severe Pleasure is fortunate to have such a wonderful talent.
MIKE 'THE MAGICIAN' MENDOZA
Mike Mendoza is a woodwind player based in San Jose,. Performing for over 30 years, Mike has entertained many audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the West Coast, from San Diego, CA to Vancouver, Canada. His talents encompass Jazz, Rock n' Roll, R&B/Soul, Funk, Latin, and Classical music, all while practicing Safe Sax.
In addition to playing with Severe Pleasure Mike performs at Bay Area Wineries, Restaurants and Private Events as a solo saxophonist with his unique and whimsical Jazz, Pop, and R&B show, 'Sax Sessions with Mike Mendoza'. From Frank Sinatra to Bruno Mars, Sax Sessions has music for listeners of all tastes and ages. As if that wouldn't keep anybody busy enough, Mike has performed the National Anthem for the SF Giants, SJ Sharks, SJ Giants, and SJ Earthquakes. Quite an accomplishment for a fellow who is on 11 years old, no?
STEVE 'THE PROFESSOR' STROM
An unusual fellow, The Professor is at home writing music as
he is discussing Eastern philosophies, although not at the same time. He
has been our music director since Severe Pleasure was formed, and to this day, nobody has figured out what he does. That’s an exaggeration, of
course: Other than working out vocal harmonies and figuring out charts
Steve can play virtuoso bass, rhythm guitar, keyboard, drums and trumpet.
He is an excellent sight reader which some of us find annoying because we
can’t, at least nearly as fast. Not only does The Professor lend his talents to
Severe Pleasure, but he plays in two other bands and has an active
teaching program. Although currently on a leave of absence we are lucky to
have him.
EMERITUS
TOM 'THE BIG BOY' MARTIN
JIM 'BUCKAROO BONZAI' MARTIN
ALAN "SAX SYMBOL" COLE
GARRY "MR WARMTH" MAHAN
