MEET THE BAND
Lisa Allen
Founder, Lead Vocals
Lisa studied classical voice in the bel canto style under dramatic tenor Carl Franzen at the Franzen Opera Studio in San Jose, California. After performing in many local musical theater productions and classical concerts, she entered the world of live band performance and was hooked!
She possesses a near four-octave vocal range and embraces the challenge of singing across a variety of musical genres. Her powerful, resonant voice and energetic performance style keeps audiences entertained! After singing primarily male material in a few different bands, Lisa was inspired to create a female tribute concept that would be both marketable and unique - Glory! When she is not singing, you might find her working or training at the gym, gardening, or chilling with her two dogs, Anya and Isla. She is incredibly grateful to the talented musicians of Glory for embarking upon this journey to bring 100% girl music to Jacksonville, Florida!
Magdalena Velasquez
Lead Vocals, Harmonies
Originally a Southern California girl, Maggie is thrilled to call Jacksonville her new home! Given the gift of music in elementary school, the violin, choir and appreciation of music consumed her world. She feels fortunate to have enjoyed some of the greatest decades in music and her taste in music includes Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin and the greatest Philharmonic Orchestras from around the globe.
Maggie discovered the stage later in life and her ten wonderful years in community theater were a real adventure! As an alto, she enjoyed several principal roles, sometimes without a microphone, and learned the art of projection. Theater introduced a friendship with Lisa Allen that would carry her to the world of live music. A classic rock and two 1980s bands have provided lots of experience to push her forward into this latest endeavor with Glory. Maggie's performance style will make you call for MORE! She thanks her many muses throughout her life for the tools they provided leading up to this very moment in life.
Mitch Biskup
Bass Guitar
Mitch grew up in the rich, diverse music scene of South Florida, playing bass professionally starting at just 16 years old. He had the opportunity to perform in clubs from his hometown of Fort Lauderdale throughout Miami and the Florida Keys. These hotspots included Fontainbleau Hotel, The Diplomat, Marlin Beach, The Button, Playpen South, Bachelors 3, and Yankee Clipper hotels, just to name a few. In those days, show bands, costumes and themed song sets were hot and Mitch enjoyed working in this environment for a decade.
Mitch put music on a backburner for many years to pursue a career in business management and ownership, and he eventually moved to North Florida. When he was ready to return to his first love of music, he pulled out his vintage gear, and began to study music theory. He had the opportunity to gig with his music teacher and found himself immersed in the music scene once again! He was recruited to join several bands in St. Augustine and Jacksonville, and finally settled in with a group called Rumble Street, and he performed with them at many events for years, including Daytona Bike Week and Biketoberfest.
Rumble Street parted ways in 2019 and Mitch played occasionally, waiting for the right group of musicians that might offer an exciting new opportunity. He loves the concept of Glory and is pleased to be part of the project!
Mark Dietrich
Drums, Percussion
A native of northeast Ohio, Mark moved to Florida in 2008. Mark began playing the drums at age 13 and was mentored by a veteran wedding band drummer who emphasized a solid foundation of good meter, technique, and consistent practice habits. He encouraged Mark to gain exposure to other styles of music beyond rock, such as reggae, salsa, funk, etc. Mark has 30 years of stage and studio experience playing different genres of music. He has worked as a drum instructor for a local private music school and is currently a professional in the printing/marketing industry.
Mark's biggest inspiration is his father who encouraged him a to be disciplined with a strong work ethic, and his two sons who have taught him patience and understanding. His musical influences include John Bonham and Stewart Copeland. From the great Steve Gadd: "Fills bring the thrills, but the groove pays the bills."
Steve Nesbit
Lead Guitar, Music Director
Steve grew up in Virginia, went to college in West Virginia, and spent his professional years in
Pennsylvania as a college professor. In 2021, he retired his chalk and snow shovel and moved to Florida.
Steve has been playing the guitar for over 20 years and performed with several different cover and wedding bands. His music education consisted of many lessons from the music faculty at Lafayette College where he used to work. His first professional gig was with a Conway Twitty tribute band. He got the gig because no one else wanted it! He was woefully underqualified at the time, but learned a great deal from the experience which translated to all his subsequent bands. This taught him a powerful lesson about seizing opportunity regardless of circumstance. He most enjoys playing high energy music, such as 1970s and 1980s dance, funk, R&B, and disco. His longest tenure band was “Flirtin Wit Mamma” which played the type of dance music he prefers. However, he has also played classic rock, country, dance, pop, and some jazz. He greatly enjoys the challenge of learning new songs and working them to performance level with his bandmates.
He is an avid hiker and cyclist, and a self-described frustrated surfer. He enjoys going to the beach, working on his car and hanging out with his attention-seeking cats as he practices guitar. Becoming a part of "Glory" has been an exceptionally rewarding experience due to the vision and talent of his fellow bandmates.
Stevie Saracson
Keyboards
Stevie Fingers Saracson started music lessons at age 8 and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University. He plays all keyboard instruments, accordion, and sings as well as composes and arranges music for small combos up to big bands and symphony orchestras. He has been performing professionally since 1974.
He is well-rounded stylistically in all genres of popular music from rock, country, jazz, zydeco, top 40 pop, Latin, and R&B, as well as European ethnic music. Some of his impressive accomplishments include becoming music director for James Brown trumpet player Teddy Washington straight out of college, a synthesizer player in the Alhambra Dinner Theatre, and a three-month residency contract as an piano and accordion player for the St John's Dixie Five at the Knoxville World's Fair! His most recent contract was a ten year engagement as a resident entertainer for American Cruise Lines.
Stevie feels blessed to be able to share his talents in venues worldwide!
GLORY-OUS SUBS
Select Performances
Pete "BamBam" Boglino
Percussion
Pete, aka “BamBam” was born in Long Island, New York. He began playing drums at age six in the elementary school band and continued through junior high school band. He was inspired by the rock bands of the day, including Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
He has lived all over New York State, in Pennsylvania, finally landing in Florida. Over the years he has performed in a variety of bands of many genres including blues, funk, R & B, soul, dance, disco, rock, latin and country. Most recently, he greatly enjoyed six years in the Florida Keys playing several nights a week with four different bands.
Pete has proudly been playing drums for 55 years! His longtime muse is John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.
Bill Cain
Drums, Percussion
Bill Cain is a percussionist originally from the Philadelphia area where he has performed with many local ensembles and artists who have visited the area. He Studied music at Temple University in Philadelphia and was fortunate to study under Alan Able of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has 35 years of experience as a middle school band director at the Wissahickon Middle School where he started and developed the Jazz band and the marching band programs. Some of his students have gone on to become professional musicians and teachers and it makes him very proud to call them colleagues.
Bill has had the opportunity to perform with many great musicians in settings such as the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater in New York City, the Hippodrome in Baltimore, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC to name a few.
Bill has performed with many Symphony Orchestras in the Philadelphia/NewYork/ Baltimore area as well as with TBA Big Band, the Straight Ahead Big Band, Doc Severinsen, Ray Charles, Roger Daltry, Amy Lee and Evanesence, Luciano Pavarotti and many others. He currently lives in Atlantic Beach with his wife Debbie and their two golden retrievers. He considers it an honor to be a part of this group of outstanding musicians and the concept of a band that plays an “All Girl Music Dance Party”!
Keith Hall
Keyboards
Keith was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and currently resides in Jacksonville Beach with his family. He began playing piano and keyboards by ear in elementary school and has cultivated his natural musical ability into the musician he is today. He draws inspiration from pop/alternative music of the 1980s, popular hits from the 1960s and 1970s, and also reggae music.
Keith spent years as primarily a reggae keyboardist. As other genre groups took an interest in him, he branched out to be more of a versatile player. He has mastered the art of modern keyboards using technology which allows him to bring the nostalgia of the hit songs from the past while keeping up with the present sounds of today.
He loves meeting new musicians that he can collaborate with. He has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many great local bands and performers. Keith is now excited to also be a part of Glory!