Let's turn it up to 11 !!
Ed Bartunek, otherwise known as Fast Eddie, has been pounding on the skins since he was six. Not one to join the junior high and high school bands, he studied alone through much of his formative years, before joining The Diffi Cult at age 18, a post-punk all-original outfit from Akron in the early-mid 80’s. He hung that up and focused on “adulting” for a while, then was pulled in, together with Dave and Wendy, for Lots of Noise, a classic rock cover deal in the early 90’s, then tried his hand at another original band with Jade Wayside in the mid-90’s. “You ‘band’ until you can’t ‘band’ no more with the members you’re with” says Ed, always the steady and pragmatic one. When Dave “re-emerges” from his hiatus in the 90’s, Ed, Wendy and Dave formed The Second Floor Basement Band and played private gigs mainly. “Lady Business is unique…two women fronting the band, two lead vocalists, and when they sing, it’s like the best thing playing in town that night,” says Ed, a big fan from the best seat in the house, his drum throne.
The only long-standing dream I’ve ever had is to be a rocker,” says Wendy Hurd, the bass player for Lady Business. She got her first taste of the rock ‘n roll dream as one of the managers for The Diffi Cult, getting a taste of the business end of the music business, making press kits, writing copy, lining up gigs, etc. “The Diffi Cult even got some indie label interest but never actioned on it,” says Wendy, but it only made her yearn to be part of the band. It was only a matter of time before she had her chance. After picking up the bass in the early 90’s and being part of Lots of Noise, an all-cover classic rock band, she also joined forces with Ed and Stefan to form Jade Wayside, an all-original act in the mid-90’s. After a 6- year hiatus from banding, she, Ed and Dave formed The Second Floor Basement Band in the mid-late 00’s, which after the fourth member left, Nancy joined the band and Lady Business was born. “Nancy was such a natural addition to what we had built,” says Wendy, “…she’s my band sista soul-mate. She takes things to a higher level, in all aspects.” And let’s hope it continues for a long, long time.
