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About Bob Tatum… From almost as far back as Bob can remember, music and singing has been like breathing – something that he did because it brought life. Whether he was banging out tunes on an old out-of-tune upright piano or picking out melodies on a cheap, hard-to-play guitar at his home in Savannah, Georgia, music was always his soundtrack for existence, connecting deeply to his soul. Bob played in several groups including Shalom, Sunset, and Echoes & Shadows before moving to North Carolina in the mid-1980s. He wrote and performed in an original Christian musical entitled Breath Like a Wind which was presented in the Western North Carolina area for three seasons. Later, Bob became a founding member of Crossties, an acoustic quartet that featured close harmonies, reminding many of Peter, Paul and Mary. Throughout much of the past two decades, Bob teamed up with the incomparable vocalist Ellie Hjemmet to establish the well-respected group Bob & Ellie and its variant Bob & Ellie with Patty. The group played for enthusiastic audiences at such venues as the Orchard at Altapass, Jonesborough Days’ 4th of July Celebration, the Acoustic Coffeehouse, Valle Country Fair, Roan Mountain Amphitheater, the Wooly Worm Festival, the Music Fest in Sugar Grove, Banner Elk Winery, Carolina BBQ, and numerous other venues in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Bob plays lead guitar, mandolin, and harmonica while adding lead and harmony vocals. With his recent move to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Bob eagerly anticipates building his new group Sound Traveler into a successful musical venture that will feature a variety of instrumentation and expression. Bob has an original Christmas song that was released on the CD Christmas in the Mountains: Volume III.

About Patty Kunze… Growing up in Orlando, Florida, Patty can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a musical soundtrack running 24/7 in her brain. After performing as a trumpet player in two Up With People casts (North America and Europe) and a jazz orchestra (Nagoya, Japan), she picked up the guitar and co-founded a contemporary Christian acoustic duo called Beautiful Day which performed at various events around Florida. When she joined forces with Bob and Ellie in the spring of 2007, she discovered her love for the bass guitar. She also plays trumpet, concertina, and doumbek while adding lead and harmony vocals. Although Patty lives full-time in Cape Canaveral, Florida, she is in her second home of Avery County, North Carolina during the summer. Patty is looking forward to the expanded development of Sound Traveler throughout the central Florida area in 2010 and beyond.

About Sound Traveler… Although Bob Tatum and Patty Kunze each have expansive musical backgrounds, Sound Traveler represents a new and exciting chapter for both of them. Having performed together for the past few years with the well-known Appalachian acoustic trio, Bob & Ellie with Patty, the two now embark on a related but different musical expression. Sound Traveler features acoustic vocal and instrumental renditions of popular classics from genres as diverse as folk, rock, country, blues, light jazz, and gospel. Instrumentation includes guitar, trumpet, bass, mandolin, harmonica, concertina, and doumbek, with various other sounds added on occasion. Already audiences in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida have responded positively to the acoustic energy of this pair. Venues to date include private parties, Carolina BBQ, the Banner Elk Cafe, the Highlands of Sugar, the Barberville Folk Festival, and Nolan’s Pub. Sound Traveler is on the move and available to perform for private or public events, indoors or out. Get ready for a new and entertaining musical experience with Sound Traveler.