Toby Myers, born Jeffrey G. Myers on September 26, 1949, is an American bass player best known for recording and touring with

John Cougar Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

as the bass guitarist. Myers was raised in the

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

area where he attended art school at the

John Herron School of Art Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredite ...

from 1968 to 1971. He developed an interest in music and began playing bass in a music shop next to the laundromat where his mother did the family's laundry. Myers began playing in bands in high school. Myers lived next door to keyboard player Michael Read, one of the founding members of Pure Funk, a popular Indianapolis college funk band. Myers joined Pure Funk as their bass player in 1971. In 1974, Pure Funk had changed its name to Roadmaster. Roadmaster was a fairly successful pomp rock band which was discovered by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

and ultimately recorded four albums for Village/

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. When Roadmaster's fourth album (''Fortress'') failed to hit the charts in the early 80's Mercury Records dropped the band. Nine months later Myers was recruited by members of John Mellencamp's band in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

to play bass for "John Cougar," as Mellencamp was then known. After only a few weeks of rehearsal with the band, Myers' first gig with Mellencamp was their appearance on Saturday Night Live ( SNL) April 10, 1982. In 1983 Myers, along with Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic on guitars,

Kenny Aronoff Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American session drummer. Early life Aronoff grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts He developed an interest in music at an early age and gravitated to the drums as "drumming was one hundred percent ene ...

on drums and percussion, and John Cascella on keyboards recorded Mellencamp's 1983 album '' Uh-Huh''. This was the backing band Mellencamp settled on and would retain for the next several albums. In 1988, Rolling Stone magazine called this version of Mellencamp's band "one of the most powerful and versatile live bands ever assembled." Myers toured and recorded with John Mellencamp from 1982 to 1999. His final show with John was the sold out New Year's Eve show in Indianapolis. In 1992, Myers appeared as "Luke" in the John Mellencamp-directed movie, '' Falling from Grace''. Myers celebrated his 60th birthday in 2009 with a large party in

Nashville, Indiana Nashville is a town in Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana, United States. The population was 803 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Brown County and is the county's only incorporated town. The town is best known as the c ...

, where he now lives.Toby's Bar & Grill
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References

External links

Toby Myers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Toby 1949 births Living people Musicians from Indianapolis People from Brown County, Indiana Guitarists from Indiana 20th-century American bass guitarists Herron School of Art and Design alumni