Ironhorse is an up-and-coming group with roots in rock and country music. The photo is worth a million words, surpassed only by a live performance. These young men are personable, competent, knowledgeable and approachable.

The band lineup is: Chuck Madsen, lead guitar and backup vocals; Barry Beagle, bass and backup vocals; Bob Merritt, guitar and vocals; Nate Roos, lead vocals, guitar, keyboards; Grant Jaymes, drumset, percussion and backup vocals.

The group has a significant performance history, centered around a core unit. Madsen recalls that early in life, "I had to beg to get my first guitar," and relied on independent study to bolster his skills. He worked in various bands after high school, and met Merritt along the way. Madsen describes an early band as "somewhat successful," noting an opening set for pioneering rock heavy Joan Jett. He was based in Springfield, Ore. In his work he also met Beagle, when he performed in a band that later became the core of Ironhorse.

Initially, Ironhorse was not marketed as a "rock" band, but rather employed a more universal approach, forsaking social comment in favor of entertainment. Madsen's background credits include work with country tunes and he describes the current offering as "rock flavored with country." "If you think we're good, come and see us. It won't be your normal country band experience," says Madsen.

Bassist Beagle's family back ground comes from his great grandfather and great grand mother teaching music. His grandfather was in a touring band, and the entire family worked in various music groups. Beagle's dad played saxophone and Barry got a saxophone while he was in the sixth grade. He played music all through school, covering the Eugene-Springfield area.

Following high school, Beagle entered the rock'n'roll scene, started guitar lessons and immediately took up the bass. He enjoys playing bass and modestly states that he "would like to get good at it." Beagle's background is rock music but he has branched out into the country field of music.

Merritt has been in music performance since junior high school, and claims influences including groups such as The Eagles. He worked in a five-piece country band and all members sang. He cites it as "pretty amazing" for such youngsters. The band won a competition where they competed with other 14 and 15 year olds, to record.

Merritt moved to Portland where he played in a variety of hard rock and country bands. He eventually took the front position as a singer and did well. Madsen would come through Portland with some bigger shows and the two would meet casually. Madsen invited Merritt to come back to Eugene to play guitar with Madsen's band and today Merritt's contribution includes some songwriting.

Ironhorse is generally available in the Portland-Albany-Eugene area. "We cover I-5," they state. Merritt feels that this band requires a high level of commit ment and professionalism. He prefers the "real content" of tunes performed by a country band. He finds that playing guitar in country music is more of a challenge than singing in front of a rock band. Merritt describes his personal motivation as backed by 20 of his 35 years of performing, six nights a week. He does get tired, but he has a huge investment in his career and says, "It's gotta be real to keep your commitment. (You can) have a vision of where it can go if you are doing it on a high enough level."

In December of 1996, singer Nate Roos joined the group. His music training began at age four, on piano. As a child, Roos did not entirely appreciate music lessons, saying that it interfered with participation in sports. He also notes that all the music he personally liked didn't have a piano in it, so he felt that his instrument was "not cool enough" to play in a band like his contemporaries. He was more interested in picking up guitar in stead.

Roos did play sports in school and also worked in a rock band. After high school, a band partner suggested that they do country music, and they could really use piano and keyboards. When the partner moved to Nashville, Roos found himself working in other groups, always with the intention of auditioning and getting a stable spot in a working outfit. Roos met Ironhorse and imme diately liked the fact that they were doing original material. He provided keyboard skills and backup vocals. "We did a lot of really cool stuff," he remembers. "I never really wanted to be a lead singer - everyone always pushed me to be out front." Roos also played guitar and sang out front and still in cludes guitar in his repertoire of music skills. He obtained a good club booking for Ironhorse and was awarded an acoustic guitar as a "finder's fee." Roos states that his whole family is musical; his folks had a band, and they did some recording. All his siblings are players, so his own status as a musician is "kinda their fault."

Grant Jaymes is the son of trombone player Guinn Jaymes. The elder is still working in a big band. Young Jaymes received classical piano instruction until age 14. He remembers that he was "always banging on stuff....pots and pans...." He always listened most to the drum lines in music and was able to start on drums and percussion early in life. He played in his junior high stage band where he hooked up with Beagle. Jaymes performed with marching band, symphonic and jazz bands. Sometimes he played xylophone, requiring not only melodic skills but percussion technique as well. Jaymes also performed at Tokyo Stadium with the Oregon State University marching band.

Beagle was into the rock scene and was eventually joined by Jaymes. This collaboration was interrupted by a three-year stint in the army for Jaymes, during which time he did not play music. It be came clear to him, however, that there was "no escape" and after his military service, he again joined Beagle in a band called The Hunger. The name was a comment on a condition they encountered frequently in the music business.

Beagle and Madsen joined to gether and started writing some tunes. Ironhorse stayed with the rock idiom for a while longer, but Madsen felt strongly that country music was the right way for them to go. It is up to the individual lis tener whether to call their music country with a lot of rock influence, or rock-influenced country. Ironhorse is a story in itself and their interesting path lead them to where they are today. The band prefers large concerts and festival venues because of the high amount of energy generated. They are selective about book ings and are targeting album re lease par ties where they can showcase the band and their original tunes and styles.

The next step is full-time employment for the band. Their current label is Midnight Records and they are managed by Valley Promotions, but they would be happy to get a major contract. Their enthusiasm for a major label is tem pered by their desire to own, pro mote and "be proud of" their product. The original tunes give them the artistic freedom to develop a signature band sound. Ironhorse is now starting to go in a direction they all want. Prior bands were a success, but the members were not totally satisfied with the material, so the new CD project is important in getting their tunes out to the public. This group is an interesting mix of character, style, background and vision. They anticipate the day when the management duties can be reliably contracted outside the band, so that they can put more time and energy into songwriting, develop ment and more.

"We really enjoy this band and we hope that comes across," they say. "We're proud of what we do; we like what we play." The music of Ironhorse is appeal ing to country music fans and rock fans alike. They say they are "just doing what comes out of the five of us." Final word: "We Rock!"

The Ironhorse CD is due for re lease this month, and will be available from the bandstand, as well as other outlets in the future.

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