Dave Helman wears many hats and is lovingly called “Mister Bluegrass of 
 Western Mass” by his wife Rose. He was born in West Virginia at an early 
 age and grew up in Western Maryland and was influenced by the country
 musicians in his neighborhood and by the records his mother had in her
 collection. Dave’s mom thought he was upstairs sleeping when in fact he 
 was listening to Lee Moore The Coffee Drinkin’ Night Hawk on his midnight
 to dawn radio show on WWVA in Wheeling, WVA. and Wayne Rainey on 
 WCKY in Cincinnati. Dave eventually met his radio mentor Lee Moore and
 hired him to perform at some of his functions. His Uncle Sam brought him
 up to Massachusetts to Westover AFB in Chicopee in 1962 for a stint and was
 married here in 1966. Still listening to country and bluegrass and collecting
 records he discovered the Country Blues and Bluegrass show on WMUA at the
 University of Massachusetts. Upon calling the show one Sunday afternoon he
 was able to eventually become one of the deejays there which was a life-long
 dream. In 1983 a move was made to his current position at WTCC at Springfield
 Technical Community College with his Country Corner Show featuring vintage 
 country and bluegrass on Saturdays. Dave has been instrumental in the 
 promotion of the One Day In May BG Festival, Bluegrass At Buttery Brook, 
 the Country Corner Coffee House concert series as well as being an MC, 
 promoter and sound engineer. The bass is his instrument and he has played 
 with several bands over the years which include the East Mountain Ramblers, 
 The Cowtippers,  Dan Helman and Marking Time and The Good Samaritan
 Singers. 

Dan Helman,  Guitar, Mandolin and Vocals

a nursery and garden center owner on Cape Cod Massachusetts, has always had a strong passion for music.  Having been born and raised in the Western part of the state Dan enjoyed many types of music and along the way was exposed to the old country and bluegrass sound.  He can credit his father Dave Helman for part of that exposure.  In grade and high school Dan played percussion where he won a state wide snare drum competition and was a member of the Lions Club International Band. 

In his early twenties Dan's background in percussion, country and bluegrass music and his general love for music, all lent itself to learning the mandolin and rhythm guitar.  It's also at this point that he began to become aware of his songwriting abilities.  His love for the vintage sounds he grew up with led him to form a band called Dan Helman and Marking Time.  This group played New England festivals as well as other venues and a CD titled Shadow On The Wall was recorded.  Dan also can be found hosting a weekly open mic on the Cape, as well as organizing the Cape Cod Songwriters competition series which is dedicated to promoting local artists.

Dan is an asset to OCR and performs some of his original songs and can sing lead and harmony along with playing guitar and mandolin. 

 
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Ron Jackson, Vocals
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 Ron Jackson, a retired life insurance executive and Lt. Col. in the USAF/ANG, 
 honed his love of country music on Hank Williams, The Louvin Brothers, Carl
 Smith, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, and so many others. However, 
 the biggest influence to shape his country music love was his uncle Fred, who
 came back from WWII playing guitar and singing country music. An accordion
 player by trade, in his mid-teens, Ron was playing in local Honky Tonks with
 area country bands. In his retirement years, he thanks his wife. Gail for 
 allowing him to live out his dream of playing good, old country and bluegrass
 music with his friends.

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Peter McLean, Dobrojj 

 Peter Mc Lean lives in Worthington, Massachusetts. He is a Fine Artist and 
 Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts from the Hartford Art School at The University
 of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut. His work has been exhibited in
 Regional, National and International Shows in Drawing, Painting and 
 Printmaking. His work has been included in many competitive National Shows
 as well as in Group and Solo Collegiate Exhibitions.   Mr. Mc Lean is an 
 accomplished musician on Dobro, Pedal Steel and Lap Steel  Guitars. 
 He began playing Hawaiian Guitar in 1945. His training began at the 
 Pizzatola Music Studios in Holyoke. Massachusetts in 1945-1952. During 
 the 1950's he organized a dance band, playing in a variety of venues in
 Western  Massachusetts.  While in the U.S.Army in Germany during 
 1956-1959, he played professionally with Country/Western and Rock Band
 as a lead guitarist. These include, "Smokey Paul and the Ranch House Boys"
 and with Vaughn Meader, (JFK Impersonator 1960's), in a Rockabilly-Country 
 Band in the Heidleburg and Manheim Germany areas during 1958-1959. 
 During the 1970-1980 he played with Wild Turkey (Country Rock) and Sugarbush
 (Bluegrass), two Hilltown Bands. In more recent years, he has been involved
 with Bluegrass and Blues Bands. He plays with his friend and guitarist, 
 Michael Ingram from West Hartford, Connecticut. They have played at Coffee 
 Houses and at Open Mikes in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Most recently 
 they played at the Helsinki Lounge in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 
 Currently, Peter plays the Dobro for "Old Country Road", a regional  
 Western Massachusetts Bluegrass Band.

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Dan Pilachowski, Flat Picking Guitar  

Dan Pilachowski was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, a hotbed
of bluegrass music in the 60’s and 70’s.  He became familiar with 
the music when he got a hold of a guitar at age twelve.   One of his
mentors was the late Pudge Warfield, a noted lead guitarist from 
Martinsburg, WVA. Attending bluegrass festivals in Berryville, VA and
Indian Springs, MD helped to hone his skills on the guitar and in
bluegrass music in general. In 1980 Dan moved to South Hadley, 
Massachusetts and one weekend he attended the One Day In May Bluegrass
Festival in Granby at Dufresne Recreation Area. There he met and 
befriended Dave Helman, the festival organizer and fellow Marylander.
Later Dan became one of the founding members of the East Mountain 
Ramblers along with Dave and his son Daniel.  He has played in 
several other groups including the Good Samaritan Singers. He is also
a sought after lead and rhythm guitar player at any area jam session.