| HeartBreaker Bio |
| HeartBreaker began forming in October 1999 by the groups lead vocalist, Pam Edgar, who has been a long time fan of the 80s Arena Rock Diva, Pat Benatar. She knew she had her work cut out in finding the right musicians to cover this great material by these exceptional artists. As the audition process progressed it became ever-more evident that this would be one awsome band when finished, it would have to be. To attempt to pay tribute to such great artists in any other way wouldn't be fair. HeartBreaker takes great pride in paying close attention to every note, lead, keyboard sound, and drum beat, in order to emulate Pats polished rock sound, from from her powerful commercial rock hits to her haunting ballads, with all the "high notes" included. The group concentrates mainly on the earlier material however includes some album cuts and other "Benahead" favorites right up through Pat's eighth album, Wide Awake In Dreamland. Pat has four grammy's to her credit and her "Crimes Of Passion" LP sold enough copies to earn her a quadruple platinum rating. As well Pat Benatar was an MTV pioneer having been one of the very first artists to have a video in rotation, and even tougher a female artist! Her video, You Better Run, was one of the few played in MTVs very first hour on the air.To date Pat has sold over 35 million albums and is still writing and touring with a new album due out summer 2001. HeartBreaker's first live performance was in June 2000 in Marina Del Rey, CA. Since then HeartBreaker has earned a reputation of being one of Orange County's most popular tributes (as recently quoted in the Orange County Register), and respect from fans and piers, paying homage with groups such as The Atomic Punks (Early Van Halen), Sicky Fingers (Rolling Stones), Led Zepagain (goes without saying), Escape (Journey), Peace Frog (The Doors), The Steely Fan Band (Steely Dan) and many other top tributes in the L.A./Orange County area. HeartBreaker has even had the opportunity to appear at the world famous House of Blues on the Sunset Strip (where Pat herself has appeared recently) and open a show for Dale Bozzio's Missing Persons (Destinatin Unknown, Walkin' In L.A.). HeartBreaker is available for bookings by e-mailing Pam at HeartBreakerBand@aol.com |
| Introduction |
| Members Pamela Edgar - Lead Vocals Patrick Montoya - Lead Guitar Johnny Bruhns - Keyboards and Rythym, Guitar, Backing Vocals Leo Valenzuela - Bass Guitar Larry Paschall - Drums and Percussion |
| Pamela Edgar - Lead Vocals Born on the 17th of May, Pam has been singing in L.A. and Orange county Top-40 (and some original) bands since 1979. As well as having formed and booked many of her own groups, she has studied voice classically by private instruction and in college. Some of her college interests were musical theater, theater arts, art and psychology. Growing up her interestes included singing (a LOT of imitating what she heard on the radio), playing her piano and acoustic guitar, ballet and tap dancing, ice skating and yes, working on hot rods and lowered cars! Pam spent most of the 80s and part of the 90s earning the majority or her living in finance and mortgage banking. During the late 80s Pam opened a photo studio that specialized in band promos and live photos. Pam also shot for a local 80s rock publication and was hired by a popular wardrobe designer to shoot photos of the artists she had designed clothing for. But she has never stopped her music and has always spent time in some musical project regardless of the other interests. Today Pam works as a Sales & Marketing Associate for a top musical entertainment equipment manufacturer (Karaoke machines). She writes and edits advertising and box (packaging) text for new products. As well as, being responsible for placing some of the company's products into large chain accounts such as Guitar Center and Sam Ash Music Stores. |
| Patrick Montoya - Lead Guitar Another Taurus, Patrick teaches guitar twelve to fifteen hours a week, outside of his regular job in Sales and Marketing, and has the patience of the most patient person you've ever met. Pat has taught in the same music store for twenty years and now enjoys seeing some of his long-time students playing in such famous Hollywood venue's as the Whiskey and Roxy, in their own original bands. Pat learned to play his guitar at an early age and has spent countless hours learning and perfecting his skills, including playing classical guitar. His guitar playing roots however are in blues and his favorite influences include Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Robert Cray as well as a host of other fantastic blues and rock artists. Pat was playing and writing in original rock bands with his younger brother, who plays bass, at, as early an age as fifteen. He cointinued to play the Orange County and Hollywood original rock band scene throughout the eighties and sights other influences such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and KISS, to name a few. Pat brings a lot of skill and talent to HeartBreaker with his persistant and meticulous learning style. Picking out each note in a lead to perfection, he truly pays tribute to Neil Geraldo's creative and awsome guitar playing style. (We're really proud of Pat, come and see why! We think you'll agree). |
 |
 |
 |
| Johnny Bruhns - Keyboard, Rythym Guitar, Backing Vocals Johnny brings an incredible amount of skill and professionalism to the band. Johnny is also a lead guitar player although doesn't get to exersice that skill much in HeartBreaker. But Johnny has led and organized his own bands, musical projects and original material for years. He is truly a core member of the band and I have had the opportunity to work with Johnny for almost two years prior to HeartBreaker. Johnny is an accomplished musician in that his knowledge of music, the language of music, is intrigal in his ability to learn and write material with incredible ease. It makes working with him a genuine pleasure. Johnny also has an uncanny knack for "dialing in" keyboard sounds to perfection and is a wizzard at programming and using the latest electronics to enhance his part of the performances. But Johnny not only brings these awsome skills to HeartBreaker, but brings backing vocals as well. Whether it's sampling a voice or hitting those notes himself, he's perfectly capable. Johnny also plays mandolin and occasionally performs a couple songs with one of our favorits, Led Zepagain. We truly depend on his talent and, likewise, he is a dependable talent. |
 |
| Larry Pacschall - Drums, Percussion With his nutty sense of humour, Larry is always a welcome wealth of character. But Larry is a "parts-man" when it comes to drumming. He picks out every drum beat and puts all the accuracy you can imagine into what he's playing, we don't have to worry about him. Larry definately holds his own... "drums". (That would be like an example of his humour). Larry is from Pensylvania and has played in many bands over the years, cover and original and taken part in some recording. Currently Larry also performs in a nine-piece blues (cover and original) band called Reno Jones, visit their website. As well I have had the opportunity to work with Larry prior to HeartBreaker and can always depend on his drumming (except when he's giging with Reno, just kidding Lar). But Larry and Johnny go back many years so there is additional comdaderie here to be counted. All these factors (and Larry's drumming) make for a tight band and good band relationship. |
| Leo Valenzuela - Bass Leo truly holds down the bottom end of HeartBreaker. With his musical background and education, he is an extremely versatile bass player. Leo reads charts and can adapt to any bass playing situation with ease. I've seen it. Leo, John and Larry have worked together for several years prior to HeartBreaker and I as well have had the opportunity to work with Leo in another project. Leo also contributes with his very full sound. His bass equipment speaks for itself and adds a warmth and presence to the performance. Leo is a dependable and friendly addition to the bands he contributes to and we're happy to have him playing for us. |
 |