Meet the Band

Get to know the members of our band

Rhonda Styer (keyboard, violin & vocals)

Rhonda, originally from Wayne County Tennessee, moved to Shelbyville in 2011 where she met and married Tom Styer. She grew up playing the piano and singing in church and has been the pianist for Calvary Baptist Church for ten years. Rhonda also plays with a Celtic band called Band of Pearls. Rhonda heard Bill was wanting to meet other musicians with an interest in playing 1930's era swing band music. They met through a mutual friend and Downtown Sound Swing Band was born. Rhonda is the soloist on a number of period songs and often adds harmony when other vocalists are singing. She is a founding member of Downtown Sound Swing Band.

David Thibodeau (guitar, mellowphone, trombone & vocals)

David, raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, currently resides in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He enjoyed a 25-year career in music editing, arranging & transcribing, freelancing for such publishing houses as Universal Music, Time/Warner, Provident, Word Music, BMG and many others. He holds a bachelor's degree in music from Nicholls State University and a law degree from Belmont University. He has taught music at all levels. David currently serves as an Assistant District Attorney in Shelbyville and as the worship leader at Calvary Baptist Church in Shelbyville. A native of southern Louisiana, David has lived with his lovely wife, Toni, for nearly 30 years. David & Toni have 5 lovely children and 5 precious grandchildren. Besides being an instrumentalist he sings vocals and often adds harmony. You can see the cajun come out when Dave bears down on New Orleans blues and jazz! (You'll love his rendition of "Sugar Blues!) The band is so fortunate to have this multi-talented individual join us on stage.

Roger Wood (drums, banjo & harmonica)

Roger hails from Maury County, Tennessee but moved to Shelbyville in 1984 where he met the love of his life, Sharon King. Roger & Sharon married and have a combined family of 6 children, 12 grandchildren, 1 great granddaughter and a great grandson on the way. Roger was a corporate marketer for 32 years. He served in the United States Air Force from 1969 to 1973. His musical career started in 1967 where he performed in the music industry with the Nashville Musicians Union until 1982. Roger plays drums, banjo & harmonica and was persuaded to join Downtown Sound Swing Band this year. We are very fortunate to have his talent on our stage.

Bill Copeland (string bass and vocals)

Bill's love for music began in the sixties when he played guitar with several local folk groups and friends and those relationships have lasted more than 50 years. When he and some of his high school buddies were asked to play at a reunion show, Bill decided to get a bass fiddle and fell in love with that instrument. He studied string bass with Jim Wood and took voice lessons from Inge Wood for 9 years and enjoyed a short stint studying with Nashville musician Justin Branum. He continued playing the bass with the local string band "Horse Mountain". Looking to form a swing band, Bill was introduced to Rhonda Styer who also liked swing music and Downtown Sound Swing Band was born. Bill is a retired attorney, having worked in the Franklin County District Attorney's office for the better part of 20 years. He has 1 daughter, 1 son and 1 granddaughter. Bill was a founding member of Horse Mountain String Band and also a founding member of Downtown Sound Swing Band.

Ned Coleman (drums, trumpet, keyboard & vocals)

Ned Coleman hails from Murfreesboro although he lived several years of his younger life in Louisiana. So yes, that means we have 2 cajuns on staff. So now you know why we wander off into New Orleans blues and jazz from time to time. Ned is an attorney and lives in Murfreesboro, and believe it or not he also did a stint working in the District Attorney's office. He is also a Karate instructor (which adds to the security of the group and we can boast we travel with our own bouncer!) Ned has been a part of the music business for many years and plays many genres of music and also plays piano at his church. Born in Baton Rouge before his family moved to New Orleans, Ned was playing the piano at the age of 3, sitting on phone books to reach the keys. In elementary school, he began playing the trumpet, and by the age of 12 was the drummer in the house band for American Legion Post 82 in Nashville. From jazz and swing to country and rock and roll, Ned enjoys playing all types of music. We asked Ned to join Downtown Sound because we needed a drummer and Ned fit the bill - until we found out he also played trumpet. Ned moved to trumpet and Roger filled his spot on drums. Ned also plays keyboard and performs vocals. Ned has become a valued member of our band.

Rick Lee has been playing trumpet off and on since elementary school. After college, with a degree in music education. he played professionally for several years, Later he worked on his masters degree in music conducting and then concentrated on music ministry. Rick also plays drums and keyboard and enjoys singing, songwriting and probably could be coaxed onto the dance floor with an invitation from a pretty woman. Rick lives in Shelbyville and is retired, although he stays busy with his music and family. He is a valuable asset to this band and we're so glad to have him. ( Hint: listen for Rick's "rides" on jazz tunes and hold on to your chair when he hits those sky high trumpet notes!)

Learn about the band members and their musical journey

Rick Lee (drums, trumpet, keyboard & vocals)