Jean Sudbury

Jean Sudbury has been a musician all her life. She began her career as a violinist in LA as a young adult and has played a vast diversity of music styles in a colossal array of musical settings. From symphony orchestras to chamber groups, big bands to solo acts, tavern bands, rock bands, movie scores, TV shows, intimate settings, large crowds; she has added her personality to these occasions through her music.

When she was just a child, she learned to sing songs of the 30s and 40s with her family. This early emphasis on listening and harmonizing has inspired her to always try to emulate the smooth phrasing of vocal styles when she plays her violin and mandolin. To the Tumbling Tumbleweeds, the ensemble whose focal point is vocal harmonization, she adds a wonderful compliment with her fiddle.

Her formal training in music is classical violin with a strong emphasis on solo violin pieces, symphonic literature and chamber music. Her less formal training is music of the world and of her heritage. Fortunately this covers a vast array of styles. One style which is prevalent in her musical heritage is Western music, songs of the pioneers of the Early American West. Because many of these songs have contributed to Jean’s development as an artist, it is only natural that she not only fits in with the Western Music genre of The Tumbling Tumbleweeds but that she adds such an amazingly intuitive element to their sound. 

Dan Dungan

When Dan was about eight years old, his father took the family to the Flying W Ranch outside of Colorado Springs. It is a dude ranch with activities like fishing and horseback riding. Later, the ranch provided a great chuckwagon barbeque complete with a show by the Flying W Wranglers. Dan was hooked on cowboy boots and western music ever since!

After singing in church choir and playing the French horn as a youth Dan quit his job to be a musician, playing rock and roll on the electric bass. He soon forgot all about his earlier influences until one day about three years ago, while playing with One Night Stan at the Gene Autry Museum.  There was a jam in the courtyard with a couple ladies from San Francisco called “Sagebrush Swing.”  Dan joined along the jam seeming to know this music intuitively.  He vowed from that moment on to find a band to play western music with!

It happened again at the Gene Autry Museum, where he met Tumbleweed Rob. Rob saw Dan thumping along on his bass at a jam with everyone who stepped up with a song and was amazed at how adeptly Dan played along with every song.  Rob, who had been in search of a bass player to play with The Tumbling Tumbleweeds, invited Dan to record with them as a Guest Artist on The Tumbling Tumbleweeds' debut album.  Dan eagerly agreed and, like Jean, has been a featured Guest Artist with The Tumbling Tumbleweeds ever since.