Desert Stars

Layne Benson

Born and raised in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Layne loved music from the get-go. He played his first gig at age 3. Standing on a piano bench singing for his mother's church group .
When the ladies lined up to shower him with praise, cheek pinches, and quarters, a lifelong love of performance was born! He started piano at age 5, trumpet at 12, and got his first beloved guitar at 15.
He sang and played in church and high school and was fortunate to have excellent choir and band instructors.
In the mid 80's he relocated to Southern Utah and became a founding member of "The Virgin River Band." Later on he became a charter member of " The Bar-G Wranglers" both of these groups became quite popular and afforded Layne to play a lot of shows and share the stage with the likes of "Restless Heart", "Shenandoah ", "Riders in the Sky" and many others.
Layne is a confirmed "Guitaraholic" and continues to love playing and performing! He feels blessed to play with some of the finest musicians in the area, and ladies, he's single!

Lew Winter

LEW WINTER

VOCALS, GUITAR, MANDOLIN, HARMONICA, PIANO

Lew Winter has been writing and performing easy listening acoustic music for over 50 years with Larry Krause, a co-creator of music written and produced together. Lew loved music from birth; as the oldest of 7 children his mother would sing and play piano often. The 1st instrument Lew learned was the accordion @ 8, then to piano. By 5th grade it was violin. When Lew was 11 he wanted a guitar, so to convince his parents he learned to sing and strum chords on the ukulele. For Christmas on his 12th birthday Lew got his 1st guitar. After taking a couple months of guitar lessons he began TEACHING guitar from 9th-12th grade. He learned to play very quickly. At the music store Lew taught lessons, is where he met Larry Krause, who also was teaching other students. Presently : "Dreamed All Night ", "The Bridge ", and "Enchanted " are 3 albums they have published. He and Larry have performed for school assemblies, weddings, concerts, and seminars, sharing their musical message of love and hope for the future! Lew Winter recently retired (June 2017) from his job as a Learning Specialist working with Learning Handicapped students at Davis High School in Modesto, California, for 25 plus years. He quickly noticed how profoundly music impacted the lives of his students. He now resides in St. George, Utah.

Lew then joined Franky Cerro (drums, vocals) and met Layne Benson ( guitars and vocals ) also was fortunate to become reacquainted with his friend over 50 years, Bill Loucks (bass, vocals). Their soothing blend of vocals and instruments make the "MUSIC" the star that is immediately seen and felt.

BILL LOUCKS (BILLIAM DALLA BASS)

VOCALS, BASS GUITAR

Born into a musical family, Bill Loucks, sometimes going by Billiam or PappaBear, started playing trumpet in 4th grade and changed to bass at 13 to accompany his Jazz keyboard playing father, drummer brother and two eye candy vocal sisters. Bill has played in clubs and restaurants in Ohio, Texas, and Utah. His famlily performed on TV a time or two. Playing during college for gas money, the music career was put on the back burner until his four kids were grown. More recently, with renewed vigor, he has been playing every chance he gets. He enjoys playing country clubs, dinner theater, weddings, night clubs, farmers markets and such. Billiam devours a wide range of music with influences from Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, R&B Soul, Folk, Country, and Alternative. Easy going, he plays for the love of music, thrill of being on stage, and friendships. His motto: True power comes when our diversity becomes strength through unity!

Franky Dee

FRANKY DEE

VOCALS, DRUMS, PIANO

Franky began his musical career at the age of seven playing the piano, singing and recording with the Grace Church choir in NYC, He started playing drums at the age of 13. He has performed with many amazing musicians.. Stevie Wonder (toured), George Benson (toured), Ella Fitzgerald, Dell Shannon, Anne Murray, Sonny Ray and The Del Rays (toured), and recorded sound tracks for many of the beach surfer movies. Recorded Suzie Q on Buddha Records and was a signed artist with Warner Brothers Studios. Toured with The Happenings (3 Gold Records) "See you In September" "I've Got Rhythm" "Go away Little Girl". He was the drummer and arranger for many Recording Studio sessions. He is a signed artist for Canopus Drums for 20 years.