Acoustic Alternatives

Jack Schultz and Sherry Winchester Schultz have performed at the Riverfront playhouse in Aurora together since the 80’s. They have been married 21 years and have two incredibly talented children, Jackson and Heidi. They met Kathleen Dooley at the Riverfront in 1989. The three did various stage and variety shows together. While performing in a sketch comedy group, Slapstick!, all three played a back up band to the Triangle Blues Man while doing song parodies. Shortly after the success of the sketch, they decided to form Acoustic Alternatives and perform for local taverns. They have been performing in the Chicago Suburbs ever since and have been voted Best Acoustic Band in the Suburban Nitelife Magazine Best of the ‘Burbs contest for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008.

Jack is a great great great great great grandson to the guy who wrote Silent Night (Franz Gruber [with an umlaut over the "u"]) and is trying to figure out a way to collect the royalties. He's also written and performed in some of the Riverfront Playhouse’s most successful original musicals, Fat Bill’s Roadside Café, Night of the Living Dead: The Musical, and A Christmas Carol among his many theater credits.

Kathleen plays keyboards and guitar (sometimes), and writes music, theater scores, records, and does all sorts of really useful stuff. In Acoustic Alternatives, she primarily sings, makes sure the next song is up and ready to go, and makes some extraneous rhythmic sounds with clacky things, jingly things, and poundy things.

Sherry is an alto, and is actually related through a variety of hitch-ups to Merle Travis. She's our own personal booking agent and works the PR for the group. Aside from singing most of the songs that are written in lower keys, she's also responsible for making sound with the clacky things, jingly things, and poundy things. Her personal turn on’s include men without hair. Don't ask. Just take off your hat and stand in front of her.