What's Going On?

September 2010

Well it's been an interestng year to say the least. Very exciting on personal level as well as musical. We were sad to see our bass player and cofounder of the band, Jay Looney, had to take a break from the band due to illness. Jay was such a driving force behind the musical direction of Unlikely Heroes and he is missed. Jay is working hard to get healthy and we look forward to having him back playing with us some day!

The band did add two new members! Bass player, Leighton Wingerd and vocalist/percussionist Cheryl Chesser. What a great addition to the band they have been. We have added new songs and a new band! Yep a new band. Unlikely Heroes will still play out under that name, but the same band members will also be playing out at Shelter! Shelter will be playing hit songs from the last five decades.
Check out the band at www.mytedwebs.com/shelter

I had to come up with a bio and I wanted to get a bit creative instead of the boring bio of each band member and there list of bands that nobody heard they each played in.
So, here is my story about the band....

So who is "Shelter" and how did the band get started? It all started when singer, songwriter, keyboardist, Ted Fillhart, met singer,
songwriter, guitarist Craig Glasheen about a decade ago. It was then that Craig Glasheen's band opened up for Ted Fillhart's band and the two guys quickly became friends. Ted went onto a solo career and by the time he was ready to record a second CD he asked Craig to add some guitar tracks. Over the course of the next few years Ted asked Craig to accompany him at various appearances. Craig's band had continued to play out and eventually recorded a CD of their own and Ted returned the favor and recorded keyboard tracks for a song. As Ted's solo career continued on so did Craig's band as he recruited new members, drummer Bill Germiller and guitarist, Leighton Wingerd. Craig and Ted continued to stay in touch as they pursued their musical endeavors. Years past on and Ted was forming a new band and his first choice of guitarists was Craig. Unfortunately, Craig was already playing in another band separate from Bill and Leighton. Ted's new band formed and immediately started booking events. Due to various circumstances the band went through two guitar players during it's first year. Ted went back to Craig again and this time he was available. The band continued on playing events and recorded a CD.
Things were looking good for the band until the drummer, one of the founding members, had to retire from the band. Without any second thoughts Craig called upon his former drummer Bill Germiller. Bill, a seasoned drummer with vocal ability, agreed to join and the band didn't miss a beat as they continued to play events.
Backing up a couple years Ted met Cheryl Chesser through church and quickly saw how talented a singer she was. They had kept in touch and one fall day Cheryl sends Ted an email asking if the band ever needed a backup singer that she was interested. Ted didn't dismiss the idea but at that time the band wasn't planning on expanding.
Fast forward a few months and how quickly things can change. Cofounder and the band's bass player became seriously ill and had no choice but to leave the band to take care of his health. Ted, Craig and Bill were devastated by loosing a great friend from the lineup. So, the search for a new band member and bass player was on. Fortunately the search was quick and the band was happy to include a good friend of Craig and Bill, the very talented and laid back, Leighton Wingerd in the band's lineup. Soon after the addition of Leighton, the band discussed the possibility of adding one more member, a female singer. There was only one they had in mind and that was Cheryl Chesser. After her first practice with the band it was unanimous decision to have Cheryl take over as the primary singer. So, "Shelter" was formed. So what's the story behind the band's name? The first song the the guys played with Cheryl was titled "Shelter" from a band named, Lone Justice. The band was so impressed on how well they intially pulled off the song they decided to name band after the song, which is about hope and reaching out to someone in need. So, that's the story of how Ted, Craig, Bill, Leighton, and Cheryl all got together to create the Raleigh based band, Shelter!