THE STARLIGHT SEARCHERS BIOGRAPHY
It all began in 2010 as a touring band for Louie Fontaine, but as time passed by, Starlight Searchers merged into one unit with Louie immersed within the band and new music was created together instead of solely as a solo act.
Drummer John Dc Washington (New Orleans) joined the band in 2013 and the band was finally completed by Egon Kronberg (Guitar), Martin Burke (Bass) and Louie Fontaine (Vocals, Guitar). Additional musicians on live tours are Rick Heart (Organ/Rhodes, Steel Guitar), Terry Lagarde (Guitar) and the Fab Twin (Choir).
Louie Fontaine has been writing music for over 20 years and has 5 Cd’s behind him. He has played as Louie Fontaine since 1999. One of his outstanding projects was with his homemade drum machine, The Beat Machine, which took him all over the world. Before that, he was in the Fischer Fontaine Band, a Rock Touring Musical that preformed close to 300 shows before spliting up in 1997.
Louie, is without doubt, the leader of the band and still writes the majority of the songs, but the Starlight Searchers is the right band for him to be in and therefore he brought it all together and skipped his own name.
Egon Kronberg (EK) and Louie make for a great team on stage. Kronberg is a well known rock star in his home country Latvia, playing in bands such as Skyforger, Hobos, Ilgi …he’s a busy man. Ek is great player and knows his stuff to create a magic feel on stage.
Martin Burke has backed up Louie for many years in other projects and also played in The Hobos with EK for over 10 years. Burke supplies backing vocals of the band as well.
John DC Washington was picked up by Louie in New Orleans in 2012 where they used to live together throughout 2000-2003. Mr.Washington was playing with Louie in US/Europe during this time with his Beat Machine. Mr. Washington has played in several bands, the biggest most likely being The Machine Sreew. They were the first band to broadcast live on the internet for the Discovery Canal. John was raised in New Orleans and he has a flavour that only people from that area have, and that fell fits in well with the music of Louie Fontaine.
In 2011, Starlight Searchers made there first recordings, a small movie called ”The Most Expensive Band In World”, followed by a tour. Louie has made videos for the songs, Mama Hell Road and Buried & Blessed by himself in his second home of Venezuela. The band is getting more and more busy on the road, touring as much as possible.
In 2014, Starlight Searchers released the album ”Don’t Bring The Kids”. The band also toured in Europe throughout spring and summer with the aforementioned CD ”Don’t Bring The Kid”.
In 2015, J.Z.DC Washington Jr joined the band, he’s the most incredible drummer/singer ever seen. At just 24 years of age, he plays like he was born in heaven. He joined the band after his uncle, the late John DC Washington (RIP New Orleans) accidentally ran his motorbike over a cliff into the sea and died a horrible death. His body was never found.
What To Expect
Starlight Searchers music has all aspects of Rock n Roll. Fontaine’s writing ranges from murder ballards to speeding Rock or even country, often with a injection of tex mex, deep guitar melodies and voices with lots of backing vocals. You can hear this in songs like Running Hot, The Fight, The Pill, I Can’t Resist No Pain and many more. These tracks are timeless in style. The music can not be, as bands often are, compared to other artists and it’s just one of the reasons why this band must be heard.
The Band belong at the top of the music. Since this is what it’s all about for the Starlight Searchers, in 2015, the band plays central Europe in September/October and continues in the USA in early spring of 2016.
Current Line-up
LOUIE FONTAINE: Lead Vocals, Guitar
EK: Guitar, Backing Vocals
MARTIN BURKE: Bass, Backing Vocals
J.Z.DC WASHINGTON JR: Drums, Backing Vocals
RICK HEART: Hammond, Pedal Steel Guitar
Stay tuned, this band rocks…