The Dow Jones and the Industrials sell out 'the Listening Room at Lakeside Legacy Foundation in Crystal Lake, IL on May 11th.
On Saturday, May 11th, the Dow Jones and the Industrials played to a sold out crowd at ‘the Listening Room' at Lakeside Legacy Foundation in Crystal Lake, IL. The Dow Jones and the Industrials are the veritable Who's Who in the Crystal Lake area. The Dow Jones and the Industrials is a local band featuring the talents of Chuck Stevens, J.T. Wheeler, Wenzel Rossler, Penny Johns-Thompson, and Bob Blazier. Marti Bonne the pianist from Together Again and Geoff Demuth a pedal steel guitar player sat in with the band. Their set on Saturday, May 11th featured songs from the 60′s, 70′s plus, blues, country and popular ballads. Dow Jones got together about 2 years ago and love to play a variety of songs and have lots of fun doing it.
Chuck Stevens founded the Dow Jones & the Industrials as a basement band with people that loved to play music. Chuck credits Bob Blazier “Mr Crystal Lake” with coming up with the name—since they were like the ‘Market'–up and down. Chuck has been playing since his teenage years and enjoys a wide spectrum of music. He retired a few years ago from GATX Corp where he served as Chief Technology Officer, and has been active in the community currently serving as Vice President on the Board of Directors of the Raue Center, and most recently as President of the Crystal Lake Country Club. Chuck is a Pittsburgh native and has resided in the area with his wife Eileen for the past 25 years.
Penny Johns-Thompson has been a local McHenry County resident since 1969. She started her singing career in church choirs and at local events and the Annual Rotary Auction. Penny was discovered while she was singing her signature song CRAZY at the Rotary Auction, and Chuck signed her up for the Dow Jones band. Penny is a Bank Manager for BMO Harris Bank in Crystal Lake, and is a Charter member with the Rotary Club of Crystal Lake Dawnbreakers. Penny and her husband George live in McHenry.
Bob Blazier fondly know as 'Mr. Crystal Lake' has been playing drums since his teenage years. He is a former Superintendent of Crystal Lake schools, past President of the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, has worked at Centegra in an Executive position, and is currently employed by Home State Bank as an Ambassador. He and his wife Rosemary are long term residents of Crystal Lake.
J.T. Wheeler has been playing guitar in Nashville studios for 30 years, and has written and recorded many songs to his credit. J.T. has also played with some of the best known country stars in Nashville. J.T's band is called Robbins and Wheeler.
Wenzel Rossler played with the band Echo. Currently when Wenzel is not slapping the bass for Dow Jones you can see him every weekend playing in Woodstock for First United Methodists and Grace Lutheran Church. In the summer Wenzel plays in the Woodstock City Band, which he has done for the last 16 years.
Marti Bonne plays keyboards and is the keyboardist/musical director for the Together Again band. She and Together Again have performed at Lakeside at many First Friday gallery events. Marti also performed at the grand opening of the “Listening Room” with her band mate Geoff DeMuth, who joined the Dow Jones and the Industrials on pedal steel guitar.
Lakeside is proud to present its new endeavor “the Listening Room”, a destination to be enjoyed by both the performer and the audience. Lakeside Legacy Foundation dedicated this beautiful venue on September 13, 2012, and was made possible by the generosity of a special group of individuals from Beach Cite, Inc. ‘the Listening room is an atmosphere that is as intimate as a house concert, with the production value of a large concert hall. The venue comfortably seats 88-100 people and features a Steinway piano and professional lights and sound equipment. If you missed the Dow Jones and the Industrials on May 11th, tickets are on sale now for the June 9th Fareed Haque concert with Tony Monaco. Fareed Haque is Sting's former guitarist and Tony Monaco is a jazz wizard on the Hammond B-3 Organ. The June 9th concert is at 2pm and tickets are $20 a seat. For more information on ‘the Listening Room' and to purchase tickets, visit www.LakesideLegacy.org.