Jerry Johnston (guitar/vocals) - Jim Schaffner (saxophone/vocals)
Steve Graham (keyboards/vocals/trombone)
Jim Spears (bass guitar) - C.J. Puhala (drums/vocals) - Dino Capestrani (percussion)ne
We walked so far yesterday, we wore the heels off of our shoes. now all we've got left is SOUL! The great sax man, Maceo Parker, says that soul music is happy music... "it makes you want to wiggle your legs and tap your feet"... and that's just what Vanilla Soul wants to do for you. If you love those great
R & B and soul grooves from "back in the day," you're invited to the party. Vanilla Soul's blue-eyed soul brothers have toured locally and nationally, recorded, appeared on TV, and have worked with many notable music-makers over the years. Our veteran musical performers have jammed in just about any social venue imaginable and we're
available, on a limited basis, to put a little move in your groove. If you're planning a party, dance, or some other social event and sweet soul music is what you want to hear, then Vanilla Soul is ready to deliver. Remember, we put the funk in your function. Click on our "Bookings" button for information on how you can connect with us. So if you won't settle for heavy metal. you can't lose with rhythm and blues... if you think that punk is bunk, and you've got to get that funk..... check out Vanilla Soul.

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We will have more band info soon!

Jerry Johnston (guitar/vocals)
The Rround Mound of Sound" has been hooked on soul music since childhood. Jer has always had the great good fortune to work with abundantly talented musicians and singers, having performed with the likes of B.E. Taylor, Crack The Sky's Rick Wittkowski, The Fantastic Johnny C, and of course his current band mates. Jerry has written and played original music at the Capitol Records Showcase in L.A. He has collaborated off and on musically for nearly 3 decades. "Double J" studied with the late Mel Blanc, and has also gained recognition for his talent as a commercial actor and voice-over artist with local,
regional, and national credits

Steve Graham (keyboards/vocals/trombone)
Some of Vanilla Soul started by playing in rock bands. Steve dreamed he'd one day make a living playing music after his trumpet teacher took him to hear Maynard Ferguson's big band in the mid 1970's. Steve reflects, "Maynard's band was unbelievable and like nothing I'd ever heard before". They had an electric rhythm section much like a rock band but with 3 saxes, 2 bones and 4 trumpets plus Maynard. "After that I was hooked" and I tried to listen to every horn based band that was out there. Steve grew a huge record collection with groups like Tower Of Power, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago and Earth Wind and Fire. The Crusader's, Average White Band and Brian Auger were soon to follow. "I like anything that grooves" says Steve.

Steve's played with many national acts such as The Temptations, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Crack the Sky, Wild Cherry, Peter Noone, and even Connie Francis! He was a founding member of Sputzy's Soul Providers and wrote many of the band's horn arrangements during his tenure and has performed with such local artists as B.E. Taylor, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, Donnie Iris, and the Flashcats. He has appeared as a trombonist on Cd's by B.E. Taylor, grammy nominated Contemporary Christian Artist Kathy Troccoli,
Wild Cherry, Joe Grushecky, Bill Tom's and Hard Rain, Sauce, 8th Street Rox and others.
You've probably heard him on music spots for Nickelodeon and Bravo Network.

Jim Schaffner (saxophone/vocals)
Those who make the things they do look easy, most often must work very hard to make it seem so. That's the case Vanilla Soul's resident sax man, Jim Schaffner. Jim studies his instrument diligently, and it shows when he revs up to solo. A veteran of many great local rock bands like Full House and Max Packard, Jim has also demonstrated his talent for playing all styles in the duo Past and Pleasant with keyboardist Don Dunn. Jim and Steve provided horn support at Star Lake Amphitheater and other venues for Pittsburgh rock icons Joe Grushecky, and B.E. Taylor among others. Jim's family shares a heritage of musical ability from his dad, Eugene, to brothers Steve and Chris, to son Brian and daughter Kristin, who is studying piano at Carnegie Mellon. His blazing sax riffs are matched only by his scorching wit on the bandstand.

Jim Spears (bass)
While no one in the Spears family was particularly musical, there was always music on the radio or "hi-fi" in the house while Jim was growing up. It was a snooping 16-year old Jimmie that found an abandoned Silvertone acoustic guitar in a closet. That discovery lit a spark that led Jim into a life-long love of making music.

In high school, Jim found a local band that needed a bass player. He switched from guitar to bass and never looked back. In the 70's, Jim played weddings, shows, and bars across Butler and Lawrence counties with local groups "The Glass Reflection" & "Fat Chance" (where he first worked with Vanilla Soul's Steve Graham). Jim traveled around the tri-state area with the dance-band Sojourn and the Lightstreet dinner-show (where he first worked with Vanilla Soul's Jim Schaffner). Then, Jim headed for Los Angeles to study at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California. After returning to Pennsylvania, Jim played with a wide variety of local and nationally recognized artists, including - The B.E. Taylor Group, Leslie Gore, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Platters, Sputzy & The Soul Providers, Tommy Roe, Joe Grushecky &
the Houserockers, and 8th Street Rox.

C.J. Puhala (Drums)
Over 40 years experience as a professional musician both locally and nationally. C.J. began his career with a local Pittsburgh Rock band known as Glory in 1968. He honed his skills performing in local clubs and area colleges and opened for names like Rare Earth, Amboy Dukes, Jorge Santana, Grass Roots, Classics Four, and Little Feat, to mention a few. After attending Duquesne University in 1973, he was asked to become a member of BHQ, a funk/ show band that developed an extensive local following. The group became a staple within the Pittsburgh music scene. BHQ toured the country extensively until 1979. While in Los Angeles, California, after the breakup of BHQ, he became an integral part of the group "Carter and Chanel", a funk/soul entity. C and C was awarded a contract with MCA records and toured extensively throughout the U.S. Previous to his entry into Vanilla Soul, he was a member of The Jeff Frand Group and filled in, as needed, with area musicians. C.J. feels most comfortable within the funk/soul genus. A few of his favorite groups within this genus are Tower of Power, Earth, Wind and Fire, James Brown, Cameo, Parliament Funkadelic, LTD, etc

Dino Capestrani (percussion)
Dino adds a new dimension to the tunes of Vanilla Soul with his percussion work. His uncle Pete, a jazz aficionado, gave Dino his first set of bongos teaching him the smooth grooves of jazz while he was in high school. Since that day, Dino's been tapping, slapping and shaking ever since. Dino has played congas and other percussion instruments with his soul mates at Vanilla Soul as well as playing by invitation at outdoor festivals in Philadelphia to contemporary Christian praise bands locally.

Dino finds it pretty funny that his daughters are the only kids in their grade who can recognize these old soul tunes, especially when they're used as soundtracks to today's hottest TV commercials. The house and all cars are filled with smooth contemporary jazz tunes. Dino's favorite TV network is BET's Jazz and his favorite percussionist is Steve Reid. "The world's greatest jazz players can be seen on this network, you can watch every groove, every beat, man...I can get lost for hours!