As an accountant (that's scary) and intellectual gadabout (that's absurd) for a local land development company, he relishes the opportunity to be involved in a broad spectrum of corporate assignments. This allows him to focus on one task for a maximum of several minutes each day, which clearly matches his attention span and powers of concentration. But he is very good at what he does; unfortunately there is very little call for a professional synaptic dysfunctional. A stylish dresser and bon vivant, he designs and creates the quartet costumes and is often quoted in Gentleman’s Quarterly as a connoisseur and visionary regarding men’s fashion. When he grows up he wants to be either the plenipotentiary of a small but wealthy tropical kingdom or lead taste tester for Ben & Jerry’s.

Rick Ashby our lead singer is the quartet’s resident Type A personality and legacy (aka, really old) barbershopper. He’s been quartetting since 1972 but has really only been in two quartets - the ever-popular Red Rose Four and ………… uh, ………, Razzmatazz. He’s an active member of the Brothers of Harmony, the Mid Atlantic District Champion Chorus. Claire, his wife is very supportive – actually she insists on him being active in singing because it gets him out of the house. His three children are creative artists; the two boys play in rock bands and his daughter is a professional photographer. Just goes to show that the talent gene, in spite of the incredible advances in medical science, routinely skips entire generations.

As Chairman and CEO of a bank, people often ask him how a stodgy dignified profession like banking can tolerate him making a fool of himself on stage. His response is that he does not view his performances in that light, but rather as an opportunity for him to let the real Rick Ashby break through that boring veneer and come to life in all its resplendent glory! He is retiring in April of 2008 to dedicate his efforts toward becoming a singing golfer

The oldest member of the foursome, his ambition is to become a professional golfer. While he has played with such golf luminaries as Arnold Palmer in the Bell Atlantic Classic, and local legends Tiger Stoltzfus and The Golden Baer. When his handicap gets down to zero he plans to leave his job and try to qualify for the Senior Tour, but if that dream does not become a reality he hopes to become the Prime Minister of The Grand Duchy of Fenwick.

Ed Ludwig is the quartet’s baritone. He is actually a natural tenor but really likes singing the garbage part, which seems like a natural consequence of living in Narvon next to the Lanchester Landfill. We humor Ed and tolerate his many personal quirks because he has a really great van and drives us to all of our singing jobs. He is also the only one who owns a pitch pipe and the only one who can remember the correct key and words for all of our music.

Ed and his wife Shirley have two great kids who are totally freaked out when Ed shows up in his various quartet costumes – especially his fabulous, though somewhat odiferous, monk outfit. Shirley sings in a very popular gospel group, so for career reasons she tends to stay as far away from us as possible. When forced to participate in quartet activities she usually shows up dressed as Mother Superior clutching a silver cross and wearing a garlic necklace.

Ed’s job as plant personnel administrator has prepared him well for dealing with the assorted lunatic personalities of the quartet. In addition to his chauffeuring duties, he is the designated psychologist and mental therapist for the group. In his spare time he is writing a book about his varied experiences with Razzmatazz, and is convinced that his tome is destined to be a best seller, with the potential to find its way to the silver screen. (our opinion is that the only thing silver in its future is a round can with a lid) Ed’s lifelong ambition is to live in a world with an unlimited supply of mashed potatoes and vanilla ice cream, where he can sleep in until 7:30 am every single day.

Don McElroy our bass is the quartet’s youngest member and its resident sex symbol. He was the quartet’s first bass but then left to sing tenor in Massachusetts. During his absence we had two other basses who were great singers, but couldn’t tolerate the somewhat unique chemistry of the group. We eventually got to the point where we waved a lot of money ($3) in Don’s face to get him to come back because he fits in great – he’s as deranged as we are. Immediately upon his return the quartet resurrected one of our favorite packages, the Robin Hood bit, to see if we could recapture some of our old magic. The results were both overwhelming and readily apparent – NO!

Carol and Tyler, Don’s wife and son think we are a Doo Wop group. (Tyler thinks that Bill is a yak, and nobody is inclined to argue with him) Don’s boss at the printing company where he works as customer service professional thinks we are a string quartet. Don’s mom thinks we are a country and western group. Don’s sisters actually think he can sing bass. He’s got everyone fooled!

An accomplished racquetball player, Don successfully participates in local tournaments on those weekends when the quartet is in town. On the other hand, he is a downright dangerous golfer. For those of you that understand the game, he brings a whole new dimension to the concept of slicing and hooking. Many of the quartet’s favorite memories take place on the links, and Don plays a lead role in many, though not all of them. The good news is that Bill is convinced that Don’s problems are primarily caused by faulty golf equipment, and can be remedied by finding just the right set of sticks from his vast warehouse of clubs. To date, after 17 equipment upgrades, the legend continues.

Don’s taste in music is quite eclectic, with personal favorites running the gamut from Eva Cassidy to Janice Joplin, from Julius Eyeglacierless to Jimmy Buffet, from Almostdayus Mozart to Homer Shotsohkovetch, and from Spike Jones to Joe Connelly. His life’s ambition will be realized when he owns the complete Chipmunk’s Collection autographed by David Seville.