come and go but, 6 members, shown in the two pictures below, were the core of her group and
worked with her over an extended period of time.
These member were:
Steve Slayton - Drums
Chuck Griffith - Drums
Cass Moore - Keyboards
Richard Theisen - Keyboards
Scott Nielsen - Guitar
Ken Brasher - Bass
Candy Mountain recorded this song written by Cass and Richard. Click on the link to hear.
Baby I'm Gone
Steve Slayton, Cass Moore, Richard Theisen and Ken Brasher played with Sami throughout the last
few years of her concert and club appearances. These members also recorded songs with
Sami that were never released. Some of the songs were never finished and by that I mean,
background vocals were never added, and some instruments were never added to the final mix.
There are also some recordings of songs that Sami and the group did in their concert and
nightclub performances.
Here’s a brief note from each member of the band.
Steve Slayton – Self taught on the drums, Steve left high school at age 16 to begin his professional music career traveling with a National touring band. He has played in over 40 States and several countries. He learned very early on, the importance of being versed in all styles of music and honed his drumming skills playing Rock, Blues, Country, Pop, Jazz & Dance music. Steve has played shows with Bo Diddley, the Drifters and the Coasters and has worked with bands opening for Bob Hope, Hewy Lewis and the News, Doc Severinsen, Alabama, Merle Haggard and many others. In the early 80's Steve was playing drums for country singer Sami Jo Cole, who was the designated opener for two of the biggest touring acts of that time, Eddie Rabbit and Mickey Gilley. “Playing concerts for 10 to 15 thousand people a night was such an incredible experience.”
When Steve was 29 he married Cindy, the love of his life and two years later Stephanie (their first of 3 children), was born. “This was truly my crossroads in life.” Steve left the rock band Windfall and retired from the road gigs. He entered college and played locally in Dallas with the Emerald City Band. Over the next 7 years Steve earned his Bachelors Degree and Master Degree in Counseling Psychology. He worked as a therapist in psychiatric hospitals and eventually advanced into healthcare management. In 2003 Steve was recruited into the Long term care industry and is currently a Senior Executive Director for Emeritus Assisted Living. Steve joined Granbury Live in 2004 and moved his family to Granbury in 2005.
Another great turning point is Steve's life was getting the opportunity to play with Trent Blackly & Dallas Manly in the 4Front praise band at First Baptist Sunnyvale, where he experienced fantastic times doing contemporary services and music ministry tours to Brazil, St Martin and New York City.
He continues to play with praise bands every opportunity he gets and loves the fact that he actually gets to play his drums in church.
Steve, Cindy, Stephanie, ( Texas State College), Taylor (Tarleton State), and Madelynn ( Granbury High School) live in Pecan Plantation. They love to stay active and take family vacations and their favorite destinations are Hawaii and Colorado.
Although he works very hard at his corporate job, Steve has been committed to performing every weekend at Granbury Live since 2004. He set a goal in 2007 to do a triathlon and will complete his 4th one this year. He loves to bike, run and swim but most of all Steve just loves to play the drums- he says it is his “therapy”. “I love my family and try to stay balanced in my very busy life. I am truly blessed in so many ways.” The Slaytons are members of Stonewater Church.
Cass Moore – Cass has been involved in music for over 25 years. Along with his keyboard versatility, his talents include sound design, live stage presentation, industrial film and television scoring, and editing music for dance/drill team competitions. A graduate of The Major School of Hard Knocks, with a minor in Trial By Fire, Cass successfully completed his OJT (on-the-job-training) while working with Sami Jo and Candy Mountain. He worked tirelessly arranging, writing, and conducting her shows with Bob Hope and Eddie Rabbitt. He's also played for acts such as The Drifters and Chuck Berry, and he performed with Russ & Wendy Hearn and Linda Morgan in "The Really Big Show" for eighteen years. For seven years, Cass served faithfully with the worship ministry at Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury. Cass's bride's name is Carolyn, and they have two daughters, Danica and Courtney. Cass is now a member of the cast at Rockbox Theater in Fredricksburg.
Ken Brasher – Ken now resides in Eagle, Idaho. He has worked as a Graphic Designer
since leaving the band in 1984. Today he still plays bass and sings in a local band that
plays parties and dances in the Boise area. Ken lives with his wife Mary and their dogs, Tucker
and Ellie. They have 3 children, Bryan, Julie and Andy and one grandchild, Lillian.
Richard Theisen – Grammy Award Winner. Richard has built a successful career in the
music business from the studio to the stage. Richard started playing the piano at age 6.
He grew up with a love for music, starting his own band at age 12. In his twenties he toured the
country with international recording artist Sami Jo Cole, and opened for such stars as Eddie
Rabbitt, Frankie Avalon, Mickey Gilley and Bob Hope, just to name a few. His theatrical
credits include co-writing and performing in the international touring production of
American Jukebox. Richard’s film credits include: Beverly Hills Cop as co-writer of the grammy
award winning album cut, “Rock n Roll Me Again” performed by The System; and Thinking
Big & Perfect Profile as the composer of the sound tracks for AFC Pictures. Richards
dueling piano career began in 1990 at Alley Cats, one of the original Dueling Piano Bars in
Dallas. Since then he has performed the dueling piano act all over the United States and
continues to amaze audiences every where with his piano, harmonica and quick wit.
Scott Nielsen – Since leaving Candy Mountain, Scott has been out of the music business.
He started his construction company in 1986 and has continued that until the present.
Scott and Linda celebrated their 40th Anniversary last December. Their 3 children and
5 grandchildren all live in the Dallas area and they get to spend plenty of time with them.
Scott and Linda travel to Mexico or Belize for fun or wade fish for ‘reds’ in the Laguna Madre.
Other musicians that worked with Sami for a short time are:
Ben Vegas – Guitar (you can also visit Ben at: www.hisurf.com/ben)
Will Barnes – Guitar
Del Riker – Guitar (Del lives in Bothel, Washington and is still doing well)
Mike Finger – Guitar
Chuck Griffin – Drums
Monte Wells – Drums
Frank Felix – Drums
Mike Collier – Drums
Jimmy Ward – Keyboard
Dennis Cavalier – Keyboard
Jim Carsey – Bass