Meet the Fare Boys
Gary
Its been a long journey
My first musical memories are of Chet Atkins and Sons of the Pioneers on my parents’ RCA Console stereo -- me with my plastic Roy Rogers guitar. At 7 years old, The Monkees really turned it up for me: I wanted to be like Mike Nesmith and play a Gretsch. However, my first guitar was not a Gretsch. It was a very used Kay Super Jumbo Concert. It felt like I was playing an upright bass on my lap, but I was determined.
My music moved on from The Monkees to the Beatles, John Denver and the music on my brother’s 8-track: The Moody Blues, Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears. My eclectic taste really bloomed at the Public Library. I spent time every week in the music section, finding my earliest influences: Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, and David Gilmore.
Even with all this Eclectic Electric music and two years of jazz theory running in my brain, I still leaned toward playing the "folkies:" Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor and, yes, John Denver.
In college I played solo in small showcases and coffee houses, and as “filler” for larger events: until hosted a University Wide Talent Showcase, and ran into Kim Polk, a big name on the local acoustic circuit who said: "I’m putting a band together -- you are going to be my guitarist, and band leader: Get a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboard player. We will start next month." I jumped at the challenge.
I used the last of my student loans to buy an Electric Guitar (Yamaha SBG 500, like Carlos Santana,) Amp, and PA. I found a bassist, who knew a drummer, who brought with him a keyboardist; rehearsals commenced. Kim quit before her first practice, and we decided to go on without her. We hired a friend of a friend, and The Tease – a female fronted new wave cover band-- was born. Over the next two years The Tease went through several lead singers, two drummers and traded the keyboard for a second guitar, then morphed into a thrash band called KGB Secret.
At the onset of the Tease, I found out that I could not learn recorded solos because I had spent all my practice time working on scales and "shape theory." All I could do was improvise, then (hopefully) learn my improvised solos over time. Meanwhile, I discovered the Edge, Andy Summers and Adrian Belew and wanted to emulate the nuanced textures of these masters. KGB’s sonic bombast did not allow for nuance. The music that I had started writing, with nuanced textures and pop sensibilities, didn’t fit.
KGB Secret, the band that I started, fired me. I was relieved that I didn’t have to quit. Shortly after being fired, I formed Circle 13, with bassist Chris Z and KGB’s Mike Johnson on drums to play nuanced, textured pop songs. We had 13 songs and opened for my friends’ bands. C13 shortly morphed into Modern Logic.
Modern Logic by the Numbers: 10 years, 1200+ shows, 6 Bassists, 2 drummers, 6 Acoustic spin-offs. An untold number of managers, agents, road managers, engineers, roadies, techs and flunkies (and the wonderful Modern-Logic-Ladies-Auxiliary Corps); 1 pilot, 2 trucks, 4 records (one unreleased); 2 movie tie-ins, 1 cancelled tour of the Soviet Union. 1 record contract that died with Freddy Mercury.
After Modern Logic retired, I was broken and no longer pursued music full time. I joined “normal reality(?)” and found that I resented it. I did some time with Yesterday’s Boy, Uncle Remus, CowGoMoo, and Neon Kings, but after Neon Kings ended, I hung up my guitars “for good”. I didn’t pick up a guitar for a long while, except for the occasional benefit.
Then I met Adam JR Stoffel. He played drums in Ice House Road and was excited about music. His enthusiasm rubbed off on me. When I saw IHR, they were a hot mess, but I saw the real and felt the soul. They bent genres with great songs about cowboys that just needed some guitar. My guitar.
But alas IHR was not my forever band either. After years of County and State Fairs, Honky Tonks and Rodeos, the singer’s job took him away from IHR. I was not happy, because they had dragged me back into this, so I called our Artist Rep to book some solo shows for me.
I hadn’t played a full solo set in over twenty years. I was terrified, but… JR couldn’t stop either and joined me to create BiG!. BiG! played everywhere we could as often as we could. Until we had to go electric again and released a well-received CD in 2019. BiG! became thebandbig! and then ToBe Fare because of legal/branding issues. Then JR got bitten by the acting bug and our band dates became limited, and rehearsal became rare. I became restless, again. ToBe Fare was still a going concern, but I couldn’t deal with playing less. So, I went back to open mics. Then guitar master Carl DeTroia began a night for song writers at a little gelato shop in Palmyra, promoted by Margo Renfro. After a few sets, Carl and Margo persuaded me to return to solo performance.
So here I am. I have returned to full time music. After completing almost 6+ months of 2 weekly residences to get my chops back, I am back, -- playing 3-4 shows a week, prepping for the first show of my new side project, and helping some younger songwriters hone their craft. And oh, yeah… ToBe Fare has released the new “hits” album (plan b). I have wrapped up my first-ever solo tour. I’m writing and learning new songs and I look forward to playing them for you soon. That brings us to the present day.
And this time I have a plan b
~g
J.R.
Mr Positive
Adam “J.R.” Stoffel is the drummer for ToBe Fare. He started his drumming career in his basement when his (now ex) wife bought him a set of drums for Valentine’s day in 2006-ish. She’s been regretting that decision ever since. JR taught himself how to play, alone, in his basement. When he had the chance to play drums with other people he jumped and didn’t look back.
He formed a band with his friends. Ice House Road played many dive bars and bull rides, and their music reflected the cowboy lifestyle. Gary Hawthorne joined the band several years later and gave the band a harder edge, a boost of energy, and some new songs.
When Ice House Road began to fizzle out Gary and J.R. started playing acoustic sets at breweries and bars. Gary on acoustic guitar, and JR on a cajon. The amount of sound emanating from the stage inspired the band name BiG!. It was a lot of sound for just two guys playing acoustic instruments and singing their asses off.
He also became a founding member of the band Pale Blue Dot to broaden his horizons and hone his chops. It proved to be a very worthwhile and educational gig, even if not permanent.
BiG! recorded an acoustic album, scrapped that, recorded a “blues adjacent’ electric album, changed their name, recorded some more songs, and then changed their name again. (try finding a band called BiG! on any streaming services-- good luck). The new name, ToBe Fare is inspired by a little bit more knowledge about how Search Engine Optimization works, and the show LetterKenny (JR’s a big fan).
When he’s not drumming in ToBe Fare, JR can be found doing a multitude of other fun stuff. He performs on stage in musical theater, does stand-up comedy, plays disc golf, rides his motorcycle (he’s a bit of a badass), and produces the podcast Bands You’ve Never Heard Of with co-host Gary, for Ranch Hand Records.
--Gear
JR has used myriad mixed up, hand-me-down drum kits. He finally bought a nice set of drums that fit his style: oversized, big, boomy, and powerful. John Stubblefield is a Charlottesville musician and drum builder, and to get a set of Stubblefields is kind of a big deal around here.
Thanks to the eagle eyes of bassist Bryan McKenzie keeping a close watch on Facebook marketplace, JR was able to score a set of Stubblefields directly from John, a set he had been playing himself for several years. The kick and toms are blue, the snare is red, and, To Be Fare, they sound BiG!
JR uses Zildjian cymbals, and his preferred sticks are the Lars Ulrich signature AHEAD sticks wrapped in a copious amount of grip tape. (He still drops (flings) them toward Bryan from time to time)
Mac
Allegedly knows what a B flat is
Mac McKenzie grew up in a musical family. His father is a fan of hillbilly music, and his mother was an operatic-trained mezzo-soprano and classical pianist who could read a staff of choral music and hear the instruments and the voices in her head.
Mac, who also can hear voices in his head, grew up on the sonorous tones of ‘60s rock stars such as Johnny Rivers, The Mamas & The Papas, The Beatles and The Guess Who. He dreamed of being an ax man with a fine blade like George Harrison but soon discovered he lacked the long, thin, weak and womanly fingers of a guitar princess but possessed instead the muscular stumps of a bass man with fingers that look like Jimmy Dean Breakfast Link sausages.
It was all good. It turned out that all Mac heard, anyway, was the bass. Joe Osborn, Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, Sir Paul Mac, the sounds just came without trying as opposed to the painful contortions it took to play a freakin’ F chord.
After learning the notes of the first two strings, Mac was gigging with a high school band appropriately called Noise. He played for a short time in a college band called Band Name Here and then gave it up to focus his time on work and learning the other two strings and playing higher than the fifth fret, which likely drove his first ex-wife to divorce him.
He later helped found the late 80s band Dwarftoss, which gave up its cool name with the lightning bolt 'SS' and two dots over the 'a' to look Satanic and became a B-side blues band called Bad News.
That was his first successful bar-gigging band. Bit hard by the performing bug, he immediately ran to Walmart to buy a sport coat to go with his black POW-MIA flag T-shirt and the biker boots he wore on stage.
After a 20-year hiatus, during which his attempts to learn cello convinced his second ex-wife to leave him, Mac began playing again with the Central Virginia Blues Society. He then joined other members to create the band Someday.
Having met Gary years before while hanging out at Charlottesville Music, he casually mentioned that he’d love to play in any band that Gary created. When Gary discovered that Mac knew what the B with the little b next to it meant, he asked him to join BiG! and then thebandbig. To be fair, since he was already in the band, he was also asked to be in ToBe Fare.
--Gear
Mac has Goodwill-sourced sport coats, ties and hats to match every one of his several bass guitars because if you can’t play good, you should at least look good.
He’s a fan of the defunct amplification company Genz-Benz, created by Jeff Genzler. He recently upgraded his amp and cabinet system to the new Genzler Amplification Magellan amp and bass array system.
For ToBe Fare, he relies on “Michelle,” his Drake Custom Bass Model 7 created by Iowa luthier Andrew Drake. The sonorous instrument is named after his third wife, who encouraged him to get back into the music biz.
She has yet to grow to hate him.
Give it time.
Frosty
ToBe Fare's Pat Smear
Once upon a time, an old punk rocker was brought out of classic blues rock bass purgatory to play the music that he was always meant to play...
Juan “Frosty” Sarmiento is a guitarist and lifelong devotee of original rock and roll, shaped by the energy and evolution of the Washington, D.C. music scene. Growing up in the DC suburbs, he picked up guitar at an early age, but his musical foundation was built across a wide range of instruments—first violin and cello, then electric bass, which he played in his high school jazz band.
Frosty cut his teeth in the world of original pop-punk, performing with bands such as Steve and the 3, Flowers of Evil, and Luther Kitchen. As an active witness to the rise of the legendary DC punk movement, he absorbed the raw spirit of bands like Scream, Void, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and countless others who helped define an era.
In the early 2000s, Frosty stepped away from performing to raise a family, but the pull of music never left. By the 2010s, he returned to the stage, performing in multiple projects throughout Central Virginia and reconnecting with his rock and roll roots.
When Gary invited him to join ToBe Fare as the band’s second guitarist, Frosty hesitated—he hadn’t played guitar in a band setting for years. But the chemistry with Gary, Bryan, and JR was undeniable. From the first sessions, it was clear that this was where he was meant to be. Today, Frosty brings decades of experience, passion, and authenticity to the band’s evolving sound.
Gear:
Frosty is simplicity in progress, playing Telecasters (one of two) through the Valeton GP200 Modeler.