Rockin the Channel:Rockin the Channel:

By Cara Sievers

The OC-192 Band members dont want to work they just want to bang on their drums all day!

If youve been to a telecom event in past decade, chances are youve seen Bruce Barnes, Greg Stilwell, Jeff Waddell and Rick Sheldon rockin out as The OC-192 Band. Greg and Bruce started recording at studios and playing gigs together in 1979, and Jeff started sitting in with the band in 1984. The entire band relocated to Orlando in 1985, where everybody got into the telecom business for their obligatory day jobs. Although the members have moved to different telecom companies, and lived in different states throughout the years, the band has always continued. Greg currently lives in Dallas, while Bruce and Jeff are in Vancouver, WA. In 2004, Bruce was working in channel support for New Edge, and master agency Intelisys was one of his accounts. He offered up The OC-192 Band for a party Intelisys was hosting in Las Vegas at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, and Intelisys co-founder Rick Sheldon was invited to sit in for a few tunes. When the band got together, Rick turned out to have great chops, and was having a great time, so he started playing with the band at all of the performances, says Bruce.

Prior to garnering the moniker, The OC-192 Band, the group was also known as Thoze Guyz and Band-O-Gram, and they also have done a parody act called Amish Rage. They used to be the backup band for Tommy Tutone, and they also have done backup for various artists, such as Dee Clark and The Tymes; they even opened for bands such as Rare Earth, The Ventures and Lynn Anderson. The band usually practices every couple of months and performs about once per month. In addition to telecom gigs, the band does a lot of winery parties in the Northwest, along with private parties, corporate events and weddings. They play popular party music, heavy with hits from their heyday in the 80s, including artists like ZZ Top, The Police, Steely Dan, U2, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Beatles and Elvis.

The band members admit that playing with The OC-192 Band has enhanced their networking abilities when theyre jammin on their home turf of telecom. Theres nothing like singing Play that Funky Music at the top of your lungs one night with the same person with whom youll be discussing the details of your commission structure the next day. Wild Cherry would be so proud!