Change of the Guard

After taking a break from his career in broadcasting in 2005, keyboardist Joseph James decided to start a band that could play the original music he had been writing on the side. A year later, James had assembled a pick-up group of musicians off Craigslist and began writing arrangements for the band with the help of his college friend and trumpet player, Brian Crane. In addition to originals, the material included covers from 70s era horn-rock bands.

Word soon began to spread about this new project, a band that would later become Change of the Guard. It wasn't long before Grammy-nominated trombonist Michael Glenn joined the group upon the recommendation of second trumpet player, Kenny Rudzynski. Glenn would stick with the project more than two years before leaving the band for personal reasons. Rudzynski continues to play with the band to this day. As the band gained momentum, it continued to gain the attention of high quality musicians.

When the drummer position opened in 2007, James conducted a regional search for a qualified player. The search turned out to be unnecessary, as James had been working with percussionist Tony Pellegrini in the Naperville Municipal Band (NMB). Not only did Pellegrini eagerly assume the role, he also recommended the rhythm section of former rock band Catch 22 to round out the project. It was at this time alto saxophone player Jen Scarborough, also from the NMB, jumped on the bandwagon. With Pellegrini on drums, Greg Andreas on guitar, Bruce Churches on bass, and Mark Ryan on vocals, Change of the Guard was born.

2008 brought many exciting opportunities to Change of the Guard. In June, the band produced a half-hour music special on local cable, which piqued the interest of the multi-talented Ryan Veitch. Soon after the broadcast, Veitch convinced James to grant him a position in the band. For a limited time, Veitch played rhythm guitar for Change of the Guard. He later moved to bass guitar when Churches left the group. From New Year's Eve in Lincoln Park to Valentine's Day in the burbs, Change of the Guard enjoyed a string of successful performances with this talented group of players.

In 2009, a creative dispute led to the temporary dissolution of the band. As future obligations demanded the project continue to run, it would have been a gamble for James to weather the storm and bring back his dissenting players down the road. Through the Grammy Awards Academy, James located a team of elite musicians eager to re-build the band and record an original album with him and vocalist Mark Ryan. James later invited theatre veteran Charity Benevelli to be featured on the recordings.

After spending nearly a year in the studio perfecting the new release, Change of the Guard set out to produce a live show that would be bigger and better than ever before. Following months of intensive rehearsal, Change of the Guard is happy to announce the show is back on the road!