Ben Newman (Aiken, SC):  Guitar, Harmonica,Vocals - Ben claims he has been playing TOO LONG.  He started out as a Classical Guitar major at USC, but his heart is in all kinds of music.  He knows no musical boundaries, but lays his hat at the crossroads of the blues.  He's played in some variety bands, the country-rock band "1851", and is a founding member of "The Scratch Band", "The Revolaters", and "The Kool Katz".  Ben says his gear of choice is FENDER! FENDER! FENDER!, playing a Fender Stratocaster (that looks like it has been used as a boat paddle) and a Fender Princeton 112 Plus amplifier for his tone.  He manipulates that tone with a Boss ME-30 foot pedal that he has been "tweaking for years", enabling him to play anything from Alan Jackson to Aerosmith at the tap of his foot.  He is a musical jack of all trades and a master of none, living to play music (he says too bad he ain't any good at it- hah!) and his list of favorite bands is too many to mention here (ask him when you have the time).  Each gig is a new adventure for him, in hoping that someone will feel good by what they hear.  Ben's favorite quote is "Life is 10% what you make of it, and 90% how you take it - PLAY HARD!"


Davie Shull (New Holland, SC): Bass Guitar, Vocals - Davie has been playing bass guitar since around 1980 when he was in the 7th grade. Long before that he was strumming a Roy Rogers model guitar and dreaming of being a cowboy when he grew up (he's still waiting on that to happen!). Music has always been a part of his life - singing in the kid's choir at church; taking piano lessons; playing trumpet in junior high, high school, and college bands; singing in the middle school chorus; and listening and watching wide-eyed at his Dad's first cousin's band, "The Barefoot Five", playing at local community dances. Perhaps it was their example and encouragement that motivated him to take up the bass. Davie picked up some of his first licks sitting alongside their bass player at some of those community dances when he was around thirteen. He can remember sitting at home for hours in his room trying to pick out that bass line to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". His first band evolved out of a small group formed to accompany the middle school chorus. He would go on to play music with some of these same guys on and off for almost 14 years. Some of the band's that he has played with were called "Phoenix", "Southwind", "911", "The Bluz Hounz", "Creole Ride", "Cheyenne", and he is one of the founding members of "Anybody's Guess". Davie has also played bass guitar at Clemson University in the Tiger Marching Band, Pep Band, and Jazz Band. In addition to "Anybody's Guess", Davie also performs in the duo, "The Kool Katz" with Ben. His current bass gear consists of a Music Man Stingray 5-string bass, two Hartke 4-10 cabinets, and a Peavey Mark VIII amp. Of course, he still owns his first real bass, a 1981 Fender Precision Special, and a 12-watt Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp (he also still owns every car he has ever purchased too...a grand total of three!). Davie's influences in music are quite numerous and diverse, but he really enjoys groups with rich vocal harmony like some of his earliest influences: The Eagles, Alabama, Restless Heart, and Little Texas. Besides the pure enjoyment of making music with some really great musicians and friends, Davie gets perhaps an even bigger thrill out of seeing people having a great time dancing and listening to the band's music.

Dwight Bradham (Aiken, SC): Guitar, Vocals - Dwight remembers being 4 years old and seeing this cool guy in a black suit on TV singing and swinging his hips (and all the girls screaming)- it was Elvis during his "1968 Come Back" special. He soon discovered his Mom and Dad's 45 rpm records of Elvis tunes, Jerry Lee Lewis (Da Killa!), and various other early rockers. Bit by the "bug", he wanted to learn guitar, and at age 10 got his first one - a Norma acoustic. Taking lessons from his older cousin (thanks Pete!) he learned a couple of "cowboy chords" and played until his little fingers were red and sore. Frustrated, he gave up on playing guitar until around his 16th birthday, when he walked into a music store in Aiken and tried to play a guitar again (either his fingers were stronger, or the quality of the guitar he picked up was much better, but he could play that one!). He's been at it ever since, "changing guitars and amps like I change underwear" is what Ben says. Dwight has gone through a couple different brands of guitars and amps, searching for his "sound" but has settled on Fender guitars as his weapon of choice (still looking on the amp side!). His musical tastes are far-reaching, but he stays grounded in the blues (the Vaughn brothers hold a special place). He starting out playing with the rockabilly band "Somethin' Else", catching the ears and eyes of Ben, who recruited him to play along with him - they've been joined by the guitar string ever since, playing in "The Scratch Band" and "The Revolaters" for almost 10 years! After "The Revolaters" (of which JD was a member for a time) broke up, Dwight branched out with various musical projects (including one where he first worked with Davie, small world!) until 9/11 came and the world changed forever. Dwight has been a member of the Army National Guard since he was 17, and when the call came, he responded, supporting our country's endeavors during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon his return in 2004, Ben called asking if he wanted to "...play some music". He's been tearing it up with Anybody's Guess ever since (and loving every minute of it - thanks guys for giving me the chance!).

James (JD) Davis (Graniteville, SC): Keyboards, Saxophone, Guitar, Vocals - JD has been playing since 5th grade, when he started with the saxophone. He continued to expand his instruments through high school on up to USC, where he learned to also play tuba, baritone sax, trumpet, trombone, and even did a tour with the percussion section! One of his biggest thrills was playing at USC's Williams-Brice Stadium in front of 80,000 rabid football fans (whew!). His first rock-n-roll band was in the 10th grade, though he can't remember the name of the band, he does remember playing "Smoke on the Water" on a Fender Starmaster organ (cheezy!). He moved on to the jazz band "Fiction" (which included a full 9 piece horn section) playing music by Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Since then, JD has played with the seminal Aiken rock band "Merging Traffic", and a variety group called "Harvest". He crossed paths with Ben and Dwight, playing with "The Revolaters" for a few years, before moving on to form the variety band "Rider". JD currently serves as his high school alma mater Booster Club President (check out their website over on our Links page), and was lured from "musical semi-retirement" to play with "Anybody's Guess". JD says, "I guess I'm just lucky to always find myself playing with top-notch people, because that is how I describe the guys in this band. When you've been playing as long as I have, you really come to appreciate not only musical ability, but people who are just FUN to be around. These guys are talented, funny, dedicated, and above all tolerant of my weird sense of humor and somewhat twisted musical tastes." You can thank JD for the Pink Floyd we slide in right alongside the country (we do- it's fun!).

Steve Davis (Aiken, SC): Drums -  Steve is the one putting that beat in your feet, so blame him if you get out on the dance floor and shake your booty! --- Steve first picked up the sticks around 17 years ago, when the garage band his brother was playing in needed a drummer. He says “I kinda just jumped in and picked up the beat, and have been at it ever since”. His first “real” gigs were played with The Amicks Family, with his dad, Ronnie (who also played with Ben & Dwight in The Scratch Band) on Bass. He went on to play with Tim Cardiere & Creole Ride for 7 years, with Davie rounding out the rhythm section for the last year (see band history for the rest). Steve’s musical influences are to many to list, but Skynyrd, The Eagles, & Little Feat are definitely in there near the top. He credits his dad for teaching him early about timing and staying “solid” with the bassman, and is thankful that his dad was there on bass for many of his first gigs.  Steve beats on Pearl Drums (his first real set) and Zildjian Cymbals with ProMark sticks.



Marshall Sanders (Aiken, SC): Sound Reinforcement - This is the man behind the scenes, keeping us sounding so good.  More on Marshall to come....