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Bud Carlson
lead vocals / percussion
Bud came from a singing and dancing family. His three older sisters were always singing and harmonizing at family events and the seeds were deeply planted. Early on he played drums in a garage band and also took guitar lessons. Although he is currently the lead singer for STRATA, he has always had a natural gift for harmony and background vocals. His early influences included the oldies bands and main stream bands such as the Beatles, the Monkees, and Chicago just to name a few. Later 70’s rock became his passion. His public performances began with contemporary Christian music in church in the 80’s and eventually he was reunited with his roots when he joined STRATA.
George Lisle
lead guitar / backing vocals
George has been playing the guitar since the 60's with bands like The Henchman (surfin' music), Danny and the Twisters (oldies), Chasin' Time (blues), and Professional Confusion (originals). George has now come full circle musically by joining STRATA.
Jim Kuehm
bass guitar
Jim has been playing bass since 1967 learning by listening and playing dances in rock bands in high school. He started reading music in college at Wright Jr. majoring in Classical Double Bass Performance and Music Theory/Composition. He started his own band during college and played the clubs for 6 years. While raising a family, Jim played weddings and parties in various groups with various styles. Jim has been a contemporary worship director since 2005 at various churches. Jim grew up with the songs STRATA plays so he enjoys rockin’ the songs of his youth again.
Tony Heredia
drums / backing vocals
Tony grew up on a steady diet of 90’s Alternative Rock and Grunge, but at the end of the day, he just loves to play. In college, he played with bands that shared the stage with nationally recognized and touring Indie rock bands. More recently, he has backed bands of all different styles: Big Band/Swing, Alternative, Funk, Soul, Pop, and now, STRATA! Tony took a shine to learning the drums at age 12 and taught himself how to harmonize vocals, in addition to playing a little guitar and bass. He ultimately stuck with the drums and is perfectly content with laying down the groove and hanging in the background.
Alex Falls
keys / backing vocals
Alex grew up in a musical family; his parents signed him up for piano lessons at a young age to learn classical music, but he dreamed of playing rock and roll. He followed his dreams and studied Commercial Music at Millikin University and Jazz at UIUC, playing and singing in the recording studio and jazz clubs every chance he got. Today Alex works as a worship director and music educator, and he hopes to add his own brand of soul to STRATA.