Members
George Zlupko
Vocals, Harmonica, and a little Trumpet
George's musical influences begin in the backwater blues towns of the Mississippi Delta with names like Muddy Waters, Red Rooster, and John Lee Hooker. It then crosses the Atlantic and finds voice in the likes of Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Roger Daltry, and Mick Jagger. Back stateside, it melds with country to form Southern Rock in groups like the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top.
Steve Breske
Drums, Lead & Backing Vocals
Steve began playing drums at the tender age of 10, courtesy of a "Sterling Beat" kiddie set that his Grandma bought him at the old Toy World in Prices Corner. He added a silver-sparkle Zim-Gar snare from the Swapper, some crappy cymbals, and a hi-hat stand from the JCPenney catalog (yeah, baby), and played the skins to records on a turntable that he rewired to a big-ass 12" speaker taken out of an old TV/stereo cabinet. Early vinyl included the 45 of Le Freak (Chic), the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and Kiss Alive II. After moving up through several used "real" kits over the years (ever heard of Mica-Sonic?), he finally bought his first new set (Pearl Export Series 5-piece) in 1993 (cheap bugger!) Steve prefers Paiste cymbals, although his ride is a wonderful old Zildjian, and there is one Sabian thin crash in the mix. Influences include Stewart Copeland, John Bonham, Neil Peart, and Alex Van Halen. Steve played and sang for The Rhythm Method back in the early 90's, and has sat in from time to time with other bands over the years.
Kevin Brace
Saxaphone
Kevin grew up in Woodstown, NJ (suburb of Cowtown) in a hotbed of absolutely nothing. He started playing the Alto saxophone in third grade and switched to Tenor in sixth grade. Kevin continued playing the saxophone through high school, performing in the various school bands, and forming or trying to form numerous bands outside of school. After high school Kevin attended West Chester University and earned a degree in Marketing, but not playing the sax much until after he graduated. Since then he has played in a wide variety of musical ensembles from an avant-garde jazz band called "Firedance" to a dance/funk band "The Works", as well as pit orchestra's and church ensembles. Besides Runnin' Late, Kevin also plays with a jazz/world fusion group "Flying on Instruments" which plays originals, jazz standards and a wide variety of music from around the world. Kevin's gear includes a Selmer Super Action 80 tenor saxophone, an Alpine Soprano saxophone (soon to be upgraded) , and a Yamaha WX11 Wind Synthesizer w/ a WT11 and VL70M sound module. His influences include Michael Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins and Jeff Coffin.
Rich Zambito
Electric Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals
Rich started guitar at the age of three and therefore should be a lot better than he is (his words). He used to have hair, now he just wears a hat (also his words). While his true love is the blues, his greatest asset is musical versatility. Connecting his engineering career with his musical skills, Rich can get just about any sound imaginable for any style of music. He plays both lead and rhythm and owns 16 guitars (mostly Fenders and Gibsons). He still does not have a good answer for his wife who occasionally asks for a reminder of why he needs 16 guitars. Rich also supplies backing vocals for Runnin’ Late and lead vocals on a few songs. His original music has a heavy blues influence with a funky modern groove - avoiding the cliche sounds that can be associated with the blue.
Mark Samworth
Bass
Mark began playing music in 3rd grade when he took up the trumpet. He played trumpet and baritone horn through junior high school until he left "organized music" because his band teacher refused to consider playing Led Zeppelin at the spring concert. Mark then took up bass guitar and helped form the band "Paragon" in high school - playing school dances and other events. He played off and on through college, then with "Green Eggs and Sam" in the 90's. He has sat in with numerous bands over the years. Mark likes rock and and jazz and particularly rock with a jazz influence. He also writes original music. Mark does not sing. His singing is so bad that he struggles to sing his own originals when teaching the melody to Runnin Late's real vocalists. He plays a Fender Precision bass because that's what the music store sold him when he asked for a "regular bass". He has a big black amp (his description).
Steve Kushner
Keyboards
Steve Kushner (“Kush”) is originally from Queens, NY and has been playing piano for as long as he can remember. Not enjoying classical piano lessons, he then studied jazz, though always preferring to play pop/rock tunes. In high school, Kush played in a number of school productions. A high school classmate’s father was leader of a club date band and hired Steve as a roadie to set up the sound system and keyboard. In actuality it was an apprenticeship where Steve would get to sit in with the band at weddings, dinner dances, etc. and learn to play the popular music of the day, show tunes, and the old great standards. This continued through high school and on college breaks. Steve feels privileged to have been asked to play the piano for a variety of social functions through the years. Less hard rock than the other guys, some of his influences include Billy Joel, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles, the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. When George asked Steve to join Runnin’ Late, Steve realized it would be very cumbersome to lug around his acoustic piano, so he purchased an awesome Roland RD-2000 digital stage piano and is having fun programing and playing it.