The players

Dana Silvercloud started playing in his family's gospel music troupe at age 9. By the time he joined the Navy in his mid-20s, he had already played professionally in three R & B bands. He began his 24-year Navy career as a gunner but quickly moved on to music, rising to unit leader of the prestigious Atlantic Express Band, one of four ensembles in the 70-member Atlantic Fleet Band.

Dana was the recipient of the 2005 Bass Player of The Year Award from M.E.O.N.A. He sings, composes, arranges and plays a variety of other instruments including guitar, horns, keys, drums and percussion.

Dana has shared the stage with world-class players including Kool & The Gang, Dave Matthews, Mike Utley and Fingers Taylor from Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, and has opened for Little River Band, Average White Band, and The Doobie Brothers, to name a few. He played for over 10 years with Island Boy; an established 6-piece high-energy band from Virginia.

Marty Akerson, from Roanoke Va., has been a staple in the Hampton Roads music scene for twenty five years. In the mid-eighties he was the drummer for the Grammy and Tony Award winning Jennifer Holiday and toured with the R&B singer Peabo Bryson. Since then he has played in a number of bands from Hot Cakes to Element to Plastic Eddie. Now bringing to the New Direction not only his drumming prowess, but also lending his soulful lead and background vocals to round out their already strong, distinct style.

Andy Harrell was born in Portsmouth, Va. He began playing piano at age 6 and guitar at 11 and has performed in bands since age 13 including local acts Archangel, Pressure Point, Leisure Time and Synergy With Island Boy, he played clubs from Ocean City, Md. to Margaritaville in Key West, Fla., opening for Average White Band and Little River Band and sharing the stage with Dave Matthews, Fingers Taylor and Michael Utley.

Andy released two CDs of solo and band material, The Andy Harrell Project (1995) and Chasing Our Dreams (1997) and played on the first two Island Boy releases. He also worked over 20 years for the US Navy and holds a Masters in Engineering Management degree from Old Dominion University and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Greg Markowski hails from Havelock, NC and went to North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He has worked as a freelance trombonist for years, performing with such names as Jerry Lewis, Smokey Robinson, Charlie Pride, Vince Gil, Glenn Campbell, the Temptations and Four Tops to name a few. He also performed with jazz greats Gerry Mulligan, Joshua Redman, Steve Allen, Louis Bellson and Nicolas Payton. Greg is currently teaching jazz improvisation at the Navy School of Music located at the Little Creek Amphibious Base in Norfolk, Va. and co-owns Sound Guys Pro Audio, a recording and live sound and production company.