Histoire
Sue Stein was born singing and, like a fine wine, her voice has gotten smoother and tastier with the passing of years. Sue's voice and presence has graced many stages and usually keeps the buffoons who orbit her in line. David Stein played classical clarinet in the Dark Ages. Concurrent with the advent of hair and the dual distractions of marijuana and women (not necessarily in that order), David switched to the guitar in 1974. He cut his teeth gigging in Indiana, the San Francisco Bay and in Upstate NY, where he helped build and grow with many bands including Binghamton's legendary 100 proof. In ‘86 he and Sue met and married, survived the dreaded musicians 27’th year curse, and have enjoyed a lifetime as soulmates and bandmates. Sue and David fronted numerous bands together in the Boston area, including House of Cards, Hubcap Annie and the Whitewalls, and Soulshine. Upon moving to the Capital Region in ’21 the Steins, with their musical co-conspirators, formed The Roadside Assistants.
Born near the banks of the Potomac river, Steve Barry (guitar/vocals) learned to sing harmony with his sister and in church choir. Drums were not in the cards living in a NYC apartment, so Steve played trumpet in the school orchestra. Steve’s first paid gig, at 17, was on bass on the upper east side of Manhattan. Steve played in several bands on guitar in Dutchess county covering everything from Hank Williams to Frank Zappa to the Allman Brothers. In a recording studio in NC, as lead guitarist with The Copper Creek band from Wilmington NC, the band recorded several songs, published under BMI, which got airplay as far away as Texas and were picked up for the sound track of a road movie. Moving back to NYS, Steve kept up his picking chops jamming with friends from work and at the Sunday night Capital Region Blues Network jams. He joined Roadside in ’22, helping the band get chosen to compete in the CRBN best band competition.
From ‘60’s Woodstock era Rock, progressive to current Pop, always heavily seasoned with Jazz and
Classical, a touch of Bluegrass and Folk & Country and you have the eclectic mix which is Rick Schaut's musical
stew. Growing up outside Buffalo New York, in his early teens Rick picked up the guitar. Versed in music theory,
but playing by ear and watching other musicians, Rick developed his sound playing with musicians whose
styles ranged from Soul to Classical to Rock and Blues, and from Folk to Jazz. In recent years Rick has concentrated on the Bass Guitar, developing a sound that ranges from a gentle flowing background to hard driving Rock, and having more fun than should be allowed!
The backbone of the Assistants is our newest addition, Tony Friello on drums. Tony, who hails from Rotterdam NY has been gigging professionally for 40 years. A pocketmaster with serious chops Tony is also a drum instructor, sharing his knowledge and experience with students from beginner to advanced. Tony performed recently with the Harmony Rocks band and the Eric Peter band. Tony and Rick are the engine driving the Assistants down the road!