The Box Brothers Band - A Brief History
The Box Brothers Band was originally formed in 1997 by friends Tom Box, Dave Belford, Phil Lombardo, and Jim Noxon. All four guys had known each other from the music team at Ames' First Evangelical Free Church. Phil and Tom had played together off and on over the years. Earlier that summer, Box and Lombardo had teamed with Ryan Sheeler and Dallas Thies for a one-off engagement at Iowa Falls' River Bend Rally celebration as "Power Play" which actually was a reused name of one of Tom's old bands.
The four guys (Box, Belford, Lombardo, and Noxon) had discussed the idea of forming a band which emphasized 60's and 70's soul, R&B, and classic rock 'n roll. They decided to form a band later that year in 1997. Lombardo coined the band The Box Brothers Band. The band quickly developed a following by playing classic tunes and providing great entertainment. The band performed for the Iowa Falls River Bend Rally, 3M, Pheasants Forever, and other events during this time.
In the summer of 2001, Ryan Sheeler (ex-Flying Taxi, who was a family friend of the band), joined The Brothers full-time. He debuted with the band that summer at Ames' annual Midnight Madness celebration, in what had to have been one of hottest days in Iowa history! :) The band continued to hone their sound; the addition of a second guitar enabled the band to toughen up their sound and tackle tunes by the Doobie Brothers, Bad Company and others.
Soon thereafter, Phil Lombardo left the Box Brothers in an amicable split, to pursue other opportunities. Enter Rick Soroka. Rick was a recent addition to the church team where Dave, Jim, Tom, and Ryan had been. Rick was a good player, and all-around fun guy who made for a good fit to the band. Rick stepped in during 2002, and made his debut at the ISU SCAVMA Winterfest celebration that year. The band gathered more momentum performing a number of wedding and parties, two shows at Prairie Meadows in Altoona IA. In the spring of 2004, The Box Brothers performed what may have been their greatest triumph, before an fabulous audience in the rain at the social for the 2004 National Veterinary Dermatology Association meeting in Kansas City, MO in April of 2004.
Not much later, Dave Belford moved away from the area and had to leave the band. He was replaced by Des Moines jazz and R&B pianist Clint Clark. This incarnation of the band performed for VEISHEA 2004 at Iowa State, and for yet another round of the venerable SCAVMA ISU Winterfest. (NOTE: If any of you have been to Winterfest, you know how much of a blast it is! )
At the end of 2004, Clint Clark left the band, and the Brothers had to again look elsewhere for a keyboardist. Scott Draper joined the band in early 2005 and he also comes to us from Ames EFree, having played on the worship team with Ryan, Rick, and Jim for several years. Scott brings fine musicianship and much enthusiasm to the band.
Over the years, the Box Brothers Band has honed diverse styles into a signature sound with great musicianship and fine vocals. The band has an active song list of nearly 100 songs spanning some 50 years of American and British popular music. We have an exciting blend of soul, R&B, classic rock, oldies, country, blues, and standards for your listening pleasure. The Box Brothers Band is in demand for their blend of great tunes, creative arrangements, energetic stage show, vocal harmonies, and good, clean fun.
The band is proud to serve the entertainment needs in the Midwest, and we sincerely hope that we can be of service in your next event, party, festival, street dance, corporate event, wedding, or other gathering.