ABOUT THE BAND The Rocket Fuel Haulers are comprised of six West-Michigan natives, including Andy Patterson on vocals and guitar, Jeff Forner on vocals and guitar, John Adams on bass and harp, Melissa Fuehring on vocals and keyboard, Steve Winczewski on drums and Dean Hodges the sound and lighting engineer.   The band brings a variety of genres to their performances, featuring Blues, Rock and Country.  RFH also plays several original tunes ranging from the light-hearted and humorous to classic sounding Rock and Country-Blues numbers.

History

The "DisEduK8ed" Days

Link to Jeff's Page	Jeff Forner Born and raised in Oceana County, Jeff brings a lot of personality to the band as well as strong vocals, especially on blues numbers like "Mustang Sally," and "My Babe," which always fill up the dance floor. He also switches between lead and rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Jeff's musical influences range from Oldies to Country to Classic Rock and even Motown. To listen to him belt out Wilson Pickett, you'd swear he grew up listening to the blues, which has been more of an influence upon him recently. Jeff also serves as the bands promoter and is responsible for booking all of RFH's gigs. Jeff, began his guitar playing days while serving a stint in the U.S. army. He furthered his guitar playing after the army, while living and working in Key West, Florida, where he was influenced by the master of "island music", Jimmy Buffett. Jeff's voice and personality shine the brightest on the numerous blues numbers RFH performs. Jeff's renditions of "Mustang Sally", "Roadhouse Blues", and "My Babe" are highlights of RFH performances. These three songs alone are worth a trip to an RFH performance.
undefined undefined Link to Andy's Page	Andy Patterson Andy's musical background stems from his family.  Andy's mother, who has an outstanding singing voice, loved listening to a wide variety of music in the house while her son was growing up.  Andy's dad, while far from an accomplished musician, could play some guitar and always encouraged his sons to learn. In fact, it was Andy's brother Mitch who had the real musical talent in the family.  A very accomplished guitarist, Mitch inspired Andy to learn. In college Andy always had a guitar somewhere near.  In 1993 his musical interests were pushed further by his friends Pete Terryn and Jason Gale.  Andy and Pete would sing with Jason, who was quickly becoming a very talented guitarist.  It was Pete who helped Andy write RFH's signature song, "Rocket Fuel Hauler."  Though Pete and Jason would go on to play together in a Alternative/Metal band for a couple of years, Andy's interests turned to writing songs and playing a more mellow style of music.  He was primarily influenced by the popular country artists of the day, like Garth Brooks, Clint Black and George Strait, but also enjoyed his favorite classic artists like James Taylor, The Eagles and Tom Petty.   By the time Andy finished college he had penned quite a few of these great songs.  Many were of the country genre.  By far his best creation was a song called, "When the Leaves Fall" (also known as the Becky song), a number with a strong country tenor and a sentimental storyline.  Other well written numbers included "It's about Time" and "Run with Me Tonight." It was actually "Run with me Tonight," that first got Andy, John and Jeff playing music together.  All three were teaching in Walkerville at the time, when they would meet in the band room after school and try to play Andy's original number.  This of course was the beginning of RFH.  As the guys continued to get better and learn more songs, Andy continued to pen more songs like the edgey "Fan Your Little Flame" and the absurd "Half a Doublewide Trailor."  RFH currently works in 4 to 5 of his originals into every gig.  As the year 2009 begins to play out, The Rocket Fuel Haulers have established themselves as a very solid and entertaining local band.  Andy is a key ingredient in that success.  His strong vocals, high energy and original music, help make RFH an extremely entertaining band, wherever they play.
Link to Melissa's Page	Melissa Fuehring Melissa's a West Michigan gal, having grown up in the Hart area, close to the shores of Lake Michigan. Her keyboard abilities and very strong vocal skills were honed over the years by playing in weddings. She has since learned how to play a mean tamborine. Melissa brings a lot talent and energy (and good looks) to RFH. To start with, she has temendous vocal range and power, a fact highlighted in her rendition of "Ode to Billy Jo". More important yet to the RFH sound, her musical knowledge allows her to provide solid background vocals for Jeff and Andy. Melissa also brings outstanding musicianship on the keyboards, providing bass lines, solos, and chords for the RFH sound. Most importanly of all, Melissa brings some great upbeat songs, usually in the genre of country. "Reckneck Woman" and "Down in Mississippi" gets the crowd involved and revved up. RFH took a huge leap forward in the West Michigan music scene when Melissa joined forces with 'the guys'. Prior to joining forces with RFH, Melissa's claim to fame was a front row "wild girl" scene in a Motley Crue concert video.  It wasn't planned, but it was her 15 minutes of fame.  Rumor has it that she also sang on stage with Kenny Chesney on one occasion, or was it Kenny Rogers?  Or was it.......
Link to John's Page	John Adams It has been said that the groove or "feel" that a musician has can make or break a band. Whoever said it first obviously must have been referring to the role of the bassist. It is the groove or feel of the bass player that lays the foundation for most of the songs RFH performs and it is John "Johnny 2Lips" Adams who lays down that foundation.  John was born and raised in Greenville, Michigan. John's musical interest in rock was inspired by Steppenwolf. Upon hearing a local band play "Born to Run" at the local National Guard Armory, he begged his parents for a guitar. That Christmas his wish came true. A few days later he entertained his grandparents by playing "Jingle Bells". The first piece of sheet music he purchased was The Beatles' "Hey Jude", way back in '68, which he still possesses and is framed and hanging in his basement "music room". John began 'blowin' the harp with three of his guitar-playing buddies (Mike Snell, Pete Bennett, and Frank Herman) back in the early 80s. It wasn't long before someone suggested they needed a bass player, and "voila", he picked up his first bass. Prior to hooking up with Andy and Jeff (in DisEduK8ed), John played for 15 years in "Shades of Blue", a traditional blues duo (with Pete Bennett). John has contributed two original songs to RFH's repertoire, "Voodoo Girl", "Backseat Passion",  and "Change My Life" (originally performed with Pete Bennett in Shades of Blue). John has been in the studio twice now, playing harmonica for several songs on Mike Snell's second CD and recently with RFH as they have begun work on their first CD, expected to be released in the fall of 2009.
Link to Steve's Page Link to Dean's Page	Steve Winczewski Steve, originally from Ludington, spent several years performing in the Lansing area, where he played extensively in "working bands", most recently in a funk-rock band. More recently, he spent time honing his percussion skills in California, prior to relocating to West Michigan two years ago. Steve's drumming takes RFH's sound to "the next level" with his knack for layin' down just the right beat, rythym, and accent to their songs. Steve's background includes both touring and studio work for recording artists. When Steve isn't with the RFH gang, he is busy working on his teaching degree at GVSU and teacxhing his newborn son, Alexander (Pork Chop) how to properly hold a pair of drum sticks. Dean Hodges Since Dean has come on board and taken charge of sound and lighting for RFH, they have never sounded or looked better. Dean has an extensive bandground in music. He played bass in a "working band" back a few years ago that was based out of Grand Rapids, but toured much of the Midwest. Dean has handled sound for a host of other bands, and may very well play the most vital role of any of the Rocket Fuel Haulers. Dean has recently been joining the rest of the band on stage for several songs (when John is too busy on the harp to also play bass). Dean currently resides in Chicago and makes the long commute back when RFH performs. The band really enjoys it when Dean gets Skippy (from Grand Rapids) to come up and assist him with lights. He always takes the 'fun meter' up a notch or two.