The band

The band:

Taking its name from the nearby scenic highway, Bellingham, Washington band Chuckanut Drive's sound often weaves over the lines separating musical styles. Chuckanut Drive counts such rock icons as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Band and The Beatles among its many influences; the band also tips its hat to earlier American songwriters such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, as well as contemporary artists like Wilco and Whiskeytown.

The band started to take form in 1999 when songwriter/guitarist Steve Leslie and longtime partner-in-crime, bassist Aaron Ansley, talked about starting a band. Leslie had originally moved to Bellingham to get away from music and finish college; Leslie's previous band Bloomsday had called it quits after a year on the road, a full-length album and two EPs. Bellingham's budding music scene and wealth of talented musicians, however, kept Leslie from abandoning his musical ambitions entirely.

After early rotations in the lineup, Leslie and Ansley began to jam with jazz drummer Erik Anderson and guitarist Mark Sobolesky. Nearly two years of gigs and dues-paying followed before the band parted ways with Sobolesky and entered into a short hiatus while searching for a new guitarist.

In February 2003, Leslie spotted Wastelanders guitarist Loren Huggins at the famous 3B Tavern - long-time heart-and-soul of Bellingham's live music scene - and approached him about joining the band. After a brief session, Huggins was on board as Chuckanut Drive's new lead guitarist, giving the band the energy it needed to get back on stage. With its self-titled debut album in the can, the band is once again hitting the road with a newfound fervor to share its music.

The band isn't afraid to blend old sounds with new, and does so with soul and skill. Leslie's songs radiate a human warmth rarely heard in today's popular music. Chuckanut Drive plays pop music, but Leslie's lyrics often have an intimacy you would expect to find in a folk singer. Chuckanut Drive plays rock music, but Huggins' twangy guitar lines evoke a sprit of the by-gone honky-tonk era. The result is the vibrant sound of an American band carrying on an American musical tradition.

Steve Leslie

Steve Leslie was born in Houston, Texas in the mid-seventies (urban cowboy era - his dad actually rode the bull at Gilley's.) By the mid-eighties, he and his family had relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Four years later, they uprooted once again and moved to Lake Stevens, Washington just in time to watch Seattle explode onto the musical map.

Steve and his older brother Sam quickly began to learn how to play music and formed a rock band with Steve on bass and Sam on guitar. By the time Steve was 17, the band was playing in bars from Everett to Seattle, unbeknownst to their parents. After a few years, the band fizzled and Steve started playing bass with a band called Bloomsday.

When Steve was 19, Bloomsday got signed to Brainstorm Records, released two albums, toured the United States twice, and promptly broke up. Shortly thereafter, Steve picked up a $100 acoustic guitar, moved to Bellingham, and began writing more songs. Soon, armed with a six-string and 3 or 4 chords, Steve was releasing songs under the name Chuckanut Drive.

Over the next few years, as Steve came into his own as a singer/songwriter, he crossed paths, befriended, and began making music with the members of the raucous bunch that now make up Chuckanut Drive.

Loren "Hot Sauce" Huggins

Loren began pickin' guitar for Chuckanut Drive in February of 2003. Originally from the dusty little logging camp of Sedro-Woolley, WA, Loren moved to Bellingham in 1999 in pursuit of educational goals. Playing music began to occupy him more and more throughout his four year tenure at WWU. In 2002, Loren formed the Wastelanders with bassist Ryan Roullard. While the Wastelanders' gritty high-octane homebrew satisfied his thirst for ROCK, Loren's desire to return to roots was left unfullfilled. Steve Leslie approached him in a bar about sitting in on a session with Chuckanut Drive. After a brief jam, it was agreed that Loren's twangy approach fit the band and the rest is history in the making.

Kubby

Smooth; too much so to have a bio. Actually no one knows much about Kubby. We suspect he is not of this Earth but have no clue as to his actual origins. This is one of life' s many mysteries that remains to be answered. He is often caught napping and seems to be comfortable where ever he ends up. Please stay tuned while we uncover Kubby's mysterious past for this here fine website.

Ryan Roullard

Longtime bandmate of Loren in The Wastelanders, Ryan was the logical fit when Chuckanut's bass slot opened up. When not holding the low end in Chuckanut Drive, Ryan holds the low end in as many other bands as possible.

Our former members aren't slouches:

Chris Hess

Chris was born closer to Motown than he was to any part of the country that invokes thoughts of roots music. Hearing more Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson than Willie or Waylon didn?t stop him from driving a pickup truck and developing a borderline unhealthy fondness for Johnny Cash, if such a thing is possible. His academic pursuits eventually brought him to the Northwest, and as an outlet for the countless hours splicing genes, he picked up a Fender Bass, quickly fell into a "root-five" bass line, and hasn?t stopped for anything but a walkdown to the next chord since.

After a short stint in the band Sedgwick County Turnpike, he was fired for such indiscretions as ?having fun? and bringing friends to the show. A fortuitous email to pedal steel wizard Garth Highsmith landed him a spot in the Seattle alt-country band Mayor West, which was unfortunately short-lived. As soon as former Chuckanut bass player Aaron Ansley decided to leave the band, Garth fired Hess up on his speed dial. When Chris isn?t bringing the "low and loud" he is generally found analyzing bird DNA or singing the praises of Charles Darwin to impressionable young college students.

Garth Highsmith

Garth was born in a community in the Upper Midwest that cannot be found on any map on a date that appears on no calendar. He joined Chuckanut Drive, or Chuck D as he prefers to think of it, during the summer of 2004 after repeatedly informing the band that "y'all need a pedal steel." His previous projects include Mayor West and Grownup Trouble and he has appeared on albums by North 19 and Muckner. A cursory listening will reveal that there is no truth to the rumor that Garth has an autotune unit hidden in the undercarriage of his steel guitar.

Garth is currently pursuing graduate studies in the field of information science or, as it used to be known, going to librarian college.