Martin Zellar and the Hardway's CD Release

Supporting Acts: Charlie Parr

Martin Zellar and the Hardway's

Martin Zellar is a Minnesota based singer-songwriter best known as frontman of the country-tinged rock band the Gear Daddies. While still in high school, Zellar formed his first band, Fallout, with childhood friend and bassist Nick Ciola. Zellar and Ciola have played together for more than 30 years. Upon graduation, Zellar moved to the Twin Cities and in 1984 joined Ciola, guitarist Randy Broughton, and drummer and fellow songwriter James "Billy" Dankert as the Gear Daddies. The band enjoyed much local and some national success, and released three albums. They officially broke up in 1992, but began playing enthusiastically attended reunion shows a few years later. In 1994 the prolific songwriter began making albums and touring with a band that would become known as Martin Zellar and The Hardways, including at various times Nick Ciola, Scott Wenum, Dan Neale, Adam Levy, Noah Levy,Jon Duncan, Marc Retish, Patrick Tanner and Randy Broughton. In the late '90s, Zellar began performing with a Neil Diamond tribute band that remains popular into the present. Neil! includes musicians Ali Gray, Patrick Tanner, Scott Wenum, Nick Ciola, and another guitaurist. In 2007, Zellar and the Gear Daddies' most commercially successful song, "I Wanna Drive the Zamboni (Zamboni Song)",which appears in various movies and television shows, and is ubiquitous at hockey games, was released as a single. The song was originally a hidden track on the Gear Daddies album "Billy's Live Bait". Martin Zellar continues to play an active schedule of gigs with the Gear Daddies, the Hardways, Neil!, and solo acoustic, and has announced a new studio album, Rooster's Crow, due for release February 7th, 2012.