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Fretless & The Particulars

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About

Our Music: Fretless and The Particulars cover songs from 90s alternative (R.E.M., Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket) to new wave (Talking Heads, The Cars, The Police, The Cure), to the 2000s and 2010s (Sheryl Crow, Cage the Elephant, Train, Jack Johnson, Santana, The Killers), to rock staples (U2, Peter Gabriel, Queen, Tom Petty) and of course The Beatles. At every show, we hear how much folks love these songs.

Our Sound: We're an acoustic band that loves this music and lets our instrumentation show why. Our arrangements are full and layered with plenty of subtle detail, but they're also lively and built to engage. Our unplugged vibe is perfect for wineries, breweries, bars, cafes, and restaurants, with plenty of energy for lively clubs and festival stages.

One Band, Three Formats: We understand venues have different needs and offer options to suit. The Particulars is a trio suited for neighborhood spaces, and also available as a duo for smaller stages and more intimate performances. Both formats offer a complete live-music experience with two voices and multi-instrument arrangements; the trio adds acoustic percussion.

Fretless is the full four-piece, three-voice lineup featuring more elaborate arrangements, higher-energy songs, and three-part vocal harmonies.

The band is based in the Greater Sacramento region.

Band Members

Bill

Bill (vocals, guitar, bass, pedal keyboard, percussion, mandolin) grew up in a richly musical household, with his father playing Flamenco guitar and his mother playing piano. Although he received formal instruction on various instruments and voice, he gravitated toward teaching himself, relying on his ear to learn songs and deconstruct their components on the piano. His curiosity extended beyond simply playing—he wanted to understand the mechanics of music itself.

As a teenager, his parents moved the family’s Lowrey organ into his bedroom, an instrument that perfectly aligned with his musical interests and deepened his exploration.

Later, Bill pursued classical nylon-string guitar, achieving proficiency and finding it immensely rewarding. However, the solitary nature of classical playing left him longing for collaboration. This desire led him to switch to steel-string guitar, bridging his various musical passions. Ultimately, he expanded his repertoire to include bass and developed techniques to integrate foot pedals and percussion, allowing him to craft a full-bodied sound in a band setting.

Dan

Dan (vocals, guitar) first picked up a guitar in the early 80s (high school timeframe) and took lessons for a few years. He didn't play guitar to an audience often, but he did get a 4-track cassette recorder in college in the early 90s to record songs. Despite not playing out publicly, he was mesmerized by live music. Since college, he would go out and listen to all sorts of bands, a Madness-inspired band, blues groups, a rock/funk band, a classic rock band, or whatever. He found the fact that live music is made by ordinary mortals was shocking. Dan started playing again for an after-work open mic at Yager's in Folsom in the early 00s. He played a few songs sitting in with musician friends before forming a band with Bill. For the most part, singing and guitar playing was learned on the job.

Serafin

Serafin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, percussion) learned basic guitar chords in fifth grade and is purported to have taken violin and flute lessons in his youth. Beyond that, he is self-taught, heavily influenced by musicians in his family. His paternal grandmother taught piano at a conservatory. His father played the violin and always had classical music playing on the stereo. Singing the Great American Songbook around the piano was a standard feature at gatherings on his mother's side of the family. Serafin has been part of many different music projects over the years; from his Rutgers college dorm rock band BBI to his co-worker garage band the Sorry Guys, to a company cover band that performed at business functions and industry conventions ("we played Vegas"), to community theater (Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors). In the 90s, Serafin backed folk singer/songwriter Kim Weiss at cafés and festivals around Boca Raton. In the aughts, he co-fronted the popular Sacramento area party/cover band Azuar. Serafin first performed with Fretless in 2009. He became a full-fledged member of the band in 2019. Before finally delving into music full-time (and bichon-sitting part-time), Serafin slogged through a series of odd jobs in tech over which he chalked up over a dozen U.S. patents. When he isn't playing with Fretless or walking Louie, Serafin often sits in with other musicians performing in the area. On Sunday mornings, you can find Serafin directing a music ensemble at church.

Steve

Steve (percussion) has lived in the Sacramento area for over fifty years and has been playing drums since the age of eighteen. He has performed at private parties, weddings, fundraisers, park festivals, patio events, wineries, beer gardens, and grand openings throughout the Sacramento region. He has taken drum lessons throughout the years from some of the most prestigious drummers in the Sacramento area and is skilled enough to read and write percussion music. He performs all kinds of music including original rock, pop classic, contemporary pop, blues, country pop, and vocal covers. He has experience playing acoustic drums, electronic drums, cajon, and various percussion instruments.

Your favorite unplugged mixtape – live! – fretlesstheband.com – particularsmusic.com

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