Jonas Friddle (guitar) is a North Carolina native with a history in the Appalachian music tradition. He plays the guitar, mandolin and banjo. After graduating from Berea College he spent a year abroad as a Watson Fellow studying community building through traditional music in Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Canada. He currently lives in Uptown Chicago and also works part-time with the Old Town School of Folk Music. JonasFriddle.com

Paul Rodriguez (guitar) has been studying and performing music since he was 9 years old. He started his musical career as First Trumpet/Coronet in the Wood Dale Jr. High Concert Band. Paul studied Classical Voice and Musical Theater for 7 years with Mary Fletcher-Gomez of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. During his time at Fenton High School, Paul taught himself guitar for three years and then enrolled for class guitar lessons. Paul graduated from Elmhurst College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Music Degree after receiving numerous scholarships and honors with emphasis in Classical Voice, Classical Guitar and Electronic Composition. In addition to his collaboration with Musical Chairs, Paul has been teaching music lessons in Wheaton, IL, at Suburban Music Center since 2000. He currently teaches over 40 lessons each week at that location to a wide variety of students, several of whom have continued their music studies in college. Paul strives to instill a love of music in his students and to encourage discipline through study of music. His goal is for students to become musicians, not just guitarists or song-players". As a performer, Paul plays guitar, melodica, and sings in suburb-rockin’ band, “The Funky Miracle”. He is also a member of “The Arbenz”, formerly “Solares”, and played with “Four Card Stud” from 2005-2006. He performed on WBBM-TV, Chicago’s Channel 2 in 2006. He has had the privilege of performing with Jukebox Johnny Szymanski of Chicago’s “My My My”, Spanish-language rocker Luis Solares, beatboxer extraordinaire Smooth Lou, and Latin-funk drummer Rob Wimmers.

Colin Scott (guitar) - Born and raised in the Chicago area, Colin began playing bass and guitar at the age of 14 and has been an active musician ever since. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music business from Southern Illinois University, as well as a master’s degree in jazz studies from DePaul University. Colin has been teaching bass and guitar for 10 years. In addition, he has performed and /or shared the stage with notable musicians including bassist Victor Wooten, SNL bandleader Lenny Picket, and hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg to name a few. He is the current bassist for the longtime Chicago band Underwater People. Colin can also be seen performing on a weekly basis with his band Spare Parts, which has performed across the country as well as internationally.

John Szymanski (guitar, drums, ensemble) has been playing guitar since the age of five, and has since become proficient in many other instruments. He began studying percussion in the beginning band at Leigh Elementary School in Norridge, IL and picked up piano and bass skills along the way. John has a Bachelor of Music degree from Elmhurst College where he studied with many luminaries including Doug Beach, Judy Grimes and Bob Rummage. As a general music teacher at Queen of Angels School in Chicago, he combines all of his musical experiences to teach children in a relaxed yet informative manner. He feels that learning music is often more fun when a student has hands-on experience reading music, figuring out rhythms, and playing instruments - making it a more personal and gratifying education. Outside of teaching, John is a very active performer playing guitar, bass, drums and keyboards in four different Chicago-area bands. He is also currently working on several projects as a composer, studio musician, audio engineer, photographer and video editor. He believes that music is the best form of personal expression and enjoys sharing this with others as often as he can.