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Invincible is...
MICHELLE McDOWELL
LEAD VOCALS
I performed my first solo when I was in fourth grade. I was always singing in my bedroom with a hairbrush as my microphone. Unlike my bandmates I wasn't in Rock 'n Roll bands growing up. I sang in school choirs, church choirs and various talent shows. I performed in live shows at Cedar Point. I had leading roles in musicals. In fact, I have a BFA in Musical Theatre. Much like the amazing Pat Benatar when she started, I was NOT a rock singer. Zero microphone technique. Then one fateful day I met Lee Silvis. I auditioned and was given the opportunity to be a vocalist for a project that he was already involved in. The set list consisted of artists like Pink, Katy Perry, and, of course, five or so Pat Benatar songs. The Pat Benatar songs were always well received and after a couple years we left that band and formed Bringing Benatar, which evolved into the band Invincible. With Lee's guidance and quite often "tough love," I finally developed and settled into my rock chops. We are headed into our 15th season loving every moment on stage performing for wonderful Invincible Fans! I am so grateful and blessed to share the stage with Lee, Kristin, Danny, Roy and Marty !
LEE SILVIS
GUITAR & VOCALS
I started playing guitar at age 13 years old. By the time I was 15 years old, I was playing in bands at the high school talent shows.
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After high school I focused on a career and music took a back seat. In the mid 80's I picked up my guitar and started playing clubs in a hair band. By the early 90's I put it back down to start my own business. By the late 90's I was back at it, this time fronting a band and playing guitar in a band that ran its course by 2007. That’s when I met Michelle. It was in a new start-up and she auditioned. She got the gig! Of course with that voice we had to have some Benatar on the set list. After a year or so we decided to leave the band to form Invincible and 15 years later here we are, still at it and loving what we do.
KRISTIN KRETZLER-RYBA
KEYBOARD & VOCALS
Prior to joining Invincible, I was in a Cleveland-based cover band called Temptress. Looking for something more, I joined BandMix, an online community where musicians can find and connect with each other. It was through that site that Lee's brother, Merle, found me. He sent a quick note through BandMix, inquiring if I'd like to audition to play keys for a partially formed tribute to Pat Benatar, Bringing Benatar, for which he played drums. I jumped at the chance, but to the shock (disappointment and befuddlement, too, no doubt) of Lee, Michelle, Dave, and Rich, I showed up to my audition without a keyboard at all. The way the story goes – at least as Lee tells it – the band played a few songs and I sang, harmonizing with Michelle. Afterwards, Michelle and Lee agreed that they didn't care if I could play a single note on the keys – I was in. The blend was just too perfect.
Luckily, I made good on my promises and eventually showed up with keys. The rest is history.
DANNY SIDOTI
GUITAR
I started playing lead guitar with the band Teaser. That was when I first met Lee and Michelle. From time to time I would run into Lee and Michelle at other musician's fundraisers. I was starting my 11th year with the band TEASER and was forced to leave because of a heart issue. Lee stepped forward and organized a fundraiser to help me with my medical expenses. When I fully recovered, the door was held open by Lee and Michelle, and I became part of the Invincible family.
ROY TANNER
BASS GUITARIST & VOCALS
After playing bass or guitar in bands throughout high school and college, I became a bit of a nomad living in Arizona, Connecticut and New York. Wherever I ended up, I managed to find bands to play with which was a great way to meet kindred spirits. Eventually, I ended up in the tropic of Cleveland where, in addition to its famous parks, I found that Northeast Ohio is blessed with a vast network of talented musicians. Through this network, I learned that a Pat Benatar tribute band called Invincible needed a bassist. She'd always been one of my favorite artists growing up and I recall wearing out a few of her records. Due to this, and having a great time seeing Invincible perform in the past, I contacted Lee right away to get the 411. It turned out that they already found a bassist but needed someone to sit-in for a practice that evening. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play some of my favorite songs and meet the band. I had a blast that night and was impressed with the band's talent and obsession with entertaining audiences. After that fateful night, I worked on various musical projects with Lee and secretly learned Invincible's setlist hoping they would need me to sit-in again. Yadda, yadda, yadda - eventually a spot opened up and I jumped at the chance to play great music with awesome musicians and haven't looked back. If you come out to see us, hopefully you'll notice that we look like we're having fun - and that's because we are! ;-) INVINCIBLE ROCKS!!
MARTY ZLOCKI
DRUMS
I’ve been playing the drums for most of my life, emulating my drumming heroes that have inspired me over the years while networking with a variety of different Rock ‘n’ Roll bands beginning in High School. To me, the drums have been the nexus to the rest of the outside world of musicians and friends since I was a kid; music had become a kind of “social networking platform” that has enabled me to perform with a lot of great musicians around Cleveland all these years later! When I saw the ad for a drummer for a Pat Benatar tribute in 2012, I was intrigued. To me, there was a brief era of particularly interesting rock music developing from 1979 through 1983 and Pat Benatar’s hits were a big part of that in my life! I had always admired Pat Benatar’s drummer, Myron Grombacher, and immersed myself in his style to try and secure the audition.
It took a couple of (long!) weeks to find out I’d been selected to play in the band, then known as Bringing Benatar. I took a hiatus from Bringing Benatar to play in a Progressive Rock Band ProgNation for a few years and have recently accepted an invitation to return in 2023. It’s great to be back, now performing with the Northeastern Ohio Pat Benatar Tribute known as Invincible. Love these guys!
