ACE AND DAN - Key Persons

Born and raised in Lincoln, NE, Acie (Ace) Bettinger was exposed to music at an early age. Growing up in a family where his mother and father played guitar and almost all of his sisters sang, the weekends were filled with family gospel. There was also plenty of country music played throughout the house. Some notable artist were Hawkshaw Hawkins, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Marty Robbins. At the age of 15, Ace picked up a guitar, but instead of learning to read music, he learned to play music. As a 9th grader, he helped form a local band, called The Fading Times, with several long-time friends. The music of this band was centered around the likes of Eric Burton and the Animals, The Rolling Stones, and, of course, the Beatles. His next venture came in 1970, after his senior year in high school, with a country group called The JBs. With this band, he played the traditional country music listened to in his younger years. Ace spent a few years living in Erie, PA, and continued playing with some country bands there. This was also the time when Ace's musical influences shifted from country to folk, rock, and blues. On his return to Lincoln, he became a part of a 3-piece acoustic rock/bluegrass band, named Southbound. Ace played both guitar and bass and provided vocal harmonies. Southbound performed at private parties and local-area bars, becoming the popular house band at Oscar's Bar in the late 1970's. Following Southbound, Ace joined the rock band J.J. Buxson, covering artists such as Neil Young, The Eagles, The Band, and Eric Clapton. In the 1980's, Ace became a regular at various open mics around Lincoln. It was at these open mic sessions that Dan and Ace met and began sharing their love of music. Ace is a self-taught musician who states, "When it come to playing or listening to music, I do not draw any lines. All any type of music needs to do is evoke an emotion. If it does that, then it is good music."

Dan Cox has played guitar for more than 25 years. Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961, Dan began studying music at an early age playing piano and violin. Inspired by the folk, rock, and blues music of the 60's and 70's, Dan began playing guitar and harmonica at the age of 13. Early influences were the acoustic blues guitar player Lightnin' Hopkins and the usual electric guitar heroes Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Carlos Santana as well as Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead. Some groups that had a huge influence at an early age were Cream and The Doors. "I have gone through several stages of obsessions with certain groups and musical genres, including Santana, Little Feat, The Grateful Dead, Reggae such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots and the Maytals, and Jimmy Cliff; and later Jazz which I have studied on my own. I have always been impressed with the philosophy of song lyrics and I try to incorporate that in my original songs. My brother, Wally, also plays guitar and I have learned a lot of music from him and other musicians I have played with and I have learned a lot from watching professionals play live.