Do you
Meet the Oolong Gurus
Bradley Williams
(Guitar/Mandolin/Vocals)
Brad started his musical journey in high school in Davenport, Iowa playing in garage bands and doing high school dances. After a short stint at the University of Iowa, he joined the United States Air Force and remained for 24 years. During this time, he continued to play music wherever he was stationed. This led to performing a wide variety of music. He has been emersed in Rock, New Wave, Punk, Country, Bluegrass and Blues over the years. As the primary song writer in the Gurus, these influences can be heard throughout. The guitar and vocal interplay between Brad and Alan are always fascinating as they seem to naturally know what each other will do in each musical moment. Brad has a simple philosophy of life: Family First, God Always, Music Forever!
Alan Duffy
(Guitar/Vocals)
Alan is originally from Cannelton Pennsylvania. He was taught guitar at an early age by his father who liked Buck Owens. Playing along with the Buck albums he was naturally able to sing the harmonies of Don Rich and pick up on some of the simple guitar licks. Alan went on to play in bands between the Youngstown and Pittsburgh area, including the Mosquito Creek Band. After moving to Columbus, he started to play music with his longtime friend, Brad Williams and his son Aaron. They had a natural chemistry for harmonies as well as guitar work. Everyone Alan has played with noticed that he has a natural ability to sing Neil Young songs with excellence (no small task!). That is why no Oolong Guru show goes by without some classic Neil Young tunes included! “We absolutely love what we do, hope to see you out there at some of our shows!”
Originally from Jamestown, Ohio and a seasoned musician, Doug met Brad while they were doing some recording of a gospel project together. At the time, he was playing in multiple bands around the mid- Ohio area including doing occasional fill ins with the early Gurus. When original drummer, Aaron Williams left for college, Brad asked Douglas if he would be interested in a permanent position with the band. Doug accepted and has been with the band ever since. During the formative years of the group, Spanky (yes, that’s Doug’s nickname) has played guitar, bass, and drums (the only guy that could pull that off!) as various potential members rotated in and out until the current line up was solidified in 2016.
Douglas “Spanky” Baldwin
(Drums/Percussion)
Mark Keck
(Bass/Vocals)
Born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio. Mark has played music his entire life starting with 5th grade orchestra. He began playing guitar around age 15 and is a song writer as well. Until joining the Gurus, most of his music “career” had been primarily little projects for fun, writing and recording music. In 2016 Mark happened to be playing in a trio that mostly played pop songs, adding a hard rock twist. They were doing some recording at Saron Acoustic Recording. Brad noticed Marks musical prowess and asked if he could play bass and would be interested in working with the Gurus? Mark agreed and the rest is history! Mark was the magical fourth member the band needed, and the lineup has remained ever since. Mark comments, “The Oolong Gurus came upon the need for a bassist about six years ago. Up to that point, I had not played bass other than goofing off. Since then, I have discovered a whole new dimension to playing music. I now consider myself a bassist much more than a six-string guitarist.”
