The Red Dogs Band

Biographies (still with band):

Steve Elliott:
lead guitar, band leader

Doug started playing saxophone in school bands at the age of nine. Doug and his best friend,
Steve Elliott, started a rock and roll band while in junior high school . By high school their group,
The Limits, was playing most weekends. In high school Doug also played with the Phillip
Petroleum Company Orchestra. The Limits continued as Doug and Steve went to Oklahoma
State University changing their name to The Red Dogs in 1965 when they begin touring with
John Brown and Mid-Continent Entertainment. Doug left The Red Dogs for the “call” of the U.S.
Air Force. He finished his B.S. degree in Computer Information Science and received his M.B.A.
from U.C.L.A. Doug worked in information technology consulting for Andersen Consulting (now
Accenture) for 27 years. He retired in 2000 as Office Managing Partner of Accenture's Southern
California offices. Doug and his wife, Carlene, have two children, Sara and Matt, and seven
grandchildren. They're thrilled with the reconnection of his former band mates and playing
again. Doug says “Music keeps us young!”.

Doug Cunningham:
sax, webmaster

Shawnee Mission East High School , Kansas City. Jerry continued playing at Kansas University
where his band included his brother and others who went on to Grammy nominees, hall of
fame members and the owner of a successful speaker company. Jerry was playing with
Spider and the Crabs when he joined The Red Dogs in September, 1965. Jerry transferred to
KSTC in Emporia in 1967. After the 1968 Red Dog bus wreck, he joined the Blue Things,
rejoining The Red Dogs once they decided to regroup. Jerry has been self-employed since
college and the band. In the 70's he and his brother founded The Brothers Fish, multi-location
pet stores. In the 80's they owned several Quick Silver One Hour Photos in Missouri, Illinois,
Colorado, and California. In the 90's they had a proprietary waterproofing product for new
construction. Since 1990 Jerry has devoted full time to real estate development and
ownership. In church for the last two decades he's played contemporary Christian music. Jerry
has two children - Christen and Hunter.

Jerry Knaack:
vocals, rhythm guitar,
chief song writer

Don started with music in 4th grade. At 12 he would sit on his uncle's drum cases while his
uncle played for University of Kansas dances.   Don attended The Midwestern Music and Art
camp on a music scholarship.   In high school he started a band called the FIre-flys and later
spent a summer playing in Branson, MO. Don played with Ann Brewer and the Flames and in
1962 started a group called the Commancheros with Kent Leopold. He was an original
member of Spider and the Crabs. Don met and married Barb after knowing her 3 weeks (41
years ago). He played with The Red Dogs from August, 1965, until entering the military in the
fall of 1967. He later played with The Rhythm Kings, while at Ft. Benning, GA.   Don returned to
college and completed his degree in Math, Music and Computer Science in 1971. He then
moved to Topeka where he owned a Magnavox Electronics store. Next, Don worked for the
Juvenile Court as a probation officer when he completed all the college classes in corrections
and law enforcement. Don moved to Las Vegas in 1977 where he started a swimming pool
service and repair company.   Don and Barb have two children, Steven and Brandon (deceased
2004 at age 28). In addition to The Red Dog hall of fame inductions, Don was inducted into the
Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2006 with Spider and the Crabs and in 2010 received the Bob
Hapgood award at the Kansas Music Hall of Fame for his work with The Comancheros.

Don Lindley:
drums

Randall was born in Climax, Kansas. He took piano and trumpet lessons; played with
Mouse's Minis; Classn's Assassins; The Weeds; and joined the Red Dogs in March of 1966.
He played in the Red Dogs until May of 1969 when he was drafted and joined the Navy. Most of
Randall's working career was in developing, installing and training users in application
software for universities….and playing some church music. He rejoined rock and roll for The
Red Dogs Kansas/Iowa HOF inductions in 2005. Randall also played keyboards with Spider
and the Crabs for their 2006 HOF induction. He says he" loves playing music....can't wait to
play with The Red Dogs in future gigs!" Randall and his wife Pat live in Ocanside, CA.

Randall Grundy:
keyboard, trumpet, vocals

Evan Johnson:
drums

PHOTOS ABOVE BY
JOHN BROWN

Rob started playing trumpet in the 4th grade in El Dorado, KS. A move in his junior year of high
school to Longview, TX introduced him to big band jazz as their stage band won first in the
nation at the Brownwood stage band festival. Another move to Tulsa, OK in his senior year
resulted in him playing as the lead book player in the nationally recognized Tulsa Edison stage
band. After a year at Southwestern State College on a music scholarship, Rob transferred to
Oklahoma State University. During that summer he was invited to tour Columbia, South
America with the All American Jazz Ensemble as the only horn player with a rhythm section!
The associations formed at OSU created opportunities to perform with jazz-rock bands and
other appearances including with Bob Hope and Jerry Fisher of Blood, Sweat and Tears. Rob
played with The Review of Enid, OK; then with The Shadow Lake 8 which broke up as several
members went on to long time was with them until May of 1969. He later played with the
Oklahoma National Guard Band in Oklahoma City. Today Rob lives in Tulsa, is married to
BelvaLee, and works as a manufacturing engineer in the pipeline services industry.

Rob Barr:
trumpet

Terry was the consummate band nerd in high school when he landed his first rock band gig
with the Marcs, an established band in the Manhattan area in 1966. After starting college at
K-State and a brief encounter with a garage band, The Process, Terry joined the Kopi Katz, a
well known show band in the Manhattan area. That band later became Spider and The Crabs,
joining a long and illustrious list of musicians. The band played the Mid-Continent
Entertainment circuit for several years in the early 1970's. In 2006, long after the music ended,
the band was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. These days his day job is a
researcher at the University or Kansas, School of Social Welfare. Terry has two adult children
with his wife, Denise. He revived his trumpet chops to join The Red Dogs in 2006 finding a
great bunch of guys and once again finding great joy in playing music.

Terry Moore:
trumpet

Chris joined The Red Dogs in the summer of 2006. A member of the early 1970's generation
of the Sensational Showmen, Chris was invited to be a Red Dog after performing with Spider
and the Crabs at the 2006 Kansas Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Hailing from
Parsons, KS, Chris earned a music education degree from Kansas State College of Pittsburg
(PSU) and was a school instrumental music educator and a long time music dealer. He
continued to perform with community bands and orchestras, the Capital Brass
Quintet, and some occasional solo work. Chris is married to Cindy and they live in Topeka, KS.
They have one daughter. Chris is currently employed in A/V production. "I am pleased to be a
member of this legendary band. Thanks to The Red Dogs, the opportunity to play rock and roll
again is an unexpected reality. Good songs, good band members and a good time -- one
couldn't ask for more"!

Chris Cruz:
trumpet

For more go to Prior Band Members

Evan began his musical career with formal piano, then drum lessons. Drums were his favorite
and he played different musical styles from junior high school through college, including
concert band, orchestra, stage band, and marching band. Evan also gave private lessons.   He
has played in jazz combos, big bands, and his first rock band was The Group from Topeka,
featuring Lane Tietgen on guitar and vocals. Evan joined The Red Dogs in 1966 – replacing
drummer Don Lindley.    Following The Red Dogs, Evan established Central Standard Time
(CST) which included several former Red Dogs. With his business partner, Kent Leopold,
Evan took CST on the road full-time – playing across the country and as far north as Canada.
Evan left CST in 1970 to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in Math at Washburn University
in Topeka. He continued to play in different local and regional groups thereafter.   Evan now
works in the financial services industry. He says he was thrilled to have the opportunity to
revive his musical career with the 2005 reunion of The Red Dogs. Evan thanks the fans of The
Red Dogs for their support through the years and looks forward to playing for them again at
future gigs!

Steve was born in Louisiana but grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He started playing guitar in
Junior High School at his mother's insistence. Steve attended College High School where he
started a Rock and Roll band with his best friend, Doug Cunningham. We were inspired at the
time by Lonnie Mack, Ronnie Hawkins, and Rodney and the Blazers. Steve attended Oklahoma
State University and continued his band interest. Their band, The Limits, eventually auditioned for
John Brown in Lawrence, Kansas, and the band became the Red Dogs shortly thereafter. Steve
played in the Red Dogs for 4-5 years before graduating in 1969 and giving up the music
business in order to pursue an engineering career. He worked for McDonnell Douglas
Corporation in California for several years, starting on the Skylab program and then moving to
Ballistic Missile Defense programs. Steve, his wife Jan and their family moved to Virginia in 1990
where he is currently working for a small company, Decisive Analytics Corp. His current role is as
a sub-contractor to Lockheed Martin on the National Team Missile Defense System Battle
Management program. Steve has four children and two grandchildren.

about our band members (also see Our History )

Mike Hatfield:
sax, flute,
horn arrangements

Prior to joining The Red Dogs in 1967, Mike played in several rock and dance bands in the
Kansas City area. Later, he toured with US Air Force bands in US and Europe (late 60' - early
70's). Mike received a Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska. After college
Sullivan Show, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, David Clayton Thomas, and did studio work in
Omaha and Kansas City. He now plays woodwinds with several rock, blues and jazz groups in
Kansas City including a twenty piece orchestra. Mike and his wife, Linn, live in Raymore, MO.