Rick Whitwood
He has worked in a variety of capacities in music including on-air Disc Jockey, recording engineer, performing musician, songwriter, Music Store owner and more. Since 1988 his guitar, vocals and songs have been a cornerstone of the Zoar sound. He is a driving force of the bands pursuit in writing and recording their own music. Many of his songs highlight the bands recordings and his own solo releases. In addition to performing with Zoar, he has done many shows of original material in the Rick Whitwood Band. For the band's first decade he often played a Gibson Les Paul Standard, switching to a Fender Telecaster in the late 90's. Fender and/or Carvin tube amps with a Crybaby wah complete his “rig”. For recording it's basically the same set up with vintage Fender amps including a Bandmaster, Twin Reverb and Carvin Bel-Air with the Telecaster, Les Paul or Stratocaster.
Chris Dahill
Having joined the Western New York band Zoar in the summer of 2009 makes bassist/vocalist Chris Dahill “the new guy”. With only a few rehearsals, Dahill quickly had his feet to the fire, as his first job with the band was in Buffalo, timing out at about seven hours. He rose to the occasion that first day and has not looked back. Before joining Zoar his resume included having performed with former members Cort Dunham and Bruce Maybee in separate projects as well as sitting in several times with Rick for his original music. These connections coupled with his talent helped make him the logical choice for Whitwood and Case. After a one year hiatus Chris returned to the band in August of 2016.
Chris brings a style rooted in classic rock and roll to the band while still having a feel for music from the 90's through today. He came of age musically in the area music scene in which Zoar was already prolific. In part his bass style was influenced by long time Zoar bassist, Roger Carlin among others including Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce and Sting. He also brings a great deal of experience in live sound reinforcement that has enhanced the bands sound. Dahill currently plays a Fender Bass through an Ampeg bass rig.
Monty Case
It is nearly impossible to imagine Zoar without Drummer Monty Case. Having performed along with former members Cort Dunham and Roger Carlin in the short lived mid-70's band of which Zoar appropriated the name, Case has been part of the band's foundation since the beginning. His drumming style can effortlessly adapt from the more flamboyant style of the early 70's to a more pocket, groove- like style and many places in between. When creating music, he and guitarist Rick Whitwood share a musical intuition with each other that can speak without words.
Case cut his teeth in the Wellsville, New York music scene watching local drummers like Gary Driscoll (Elf) and Rick Black (Barge, Rogues) as well as studying records by national acts like Mountain, Jethro Tull, Steppenwolf and more. He saved his money and purchased his first drum set and before no time was performing in his earliest bands. Monty has many interests including muscle cars, hunting and martial arts, but music is closest to his heart. Monty's harmony and occasional lead vocals from behind the drum set coupled with his playing make him an invaluable part of Zoar.