In the beginning ...
It all started in 1983 at Catholic University.  Doug Pritchett, Don Laux, and John 'Red' Redling crossed paths.  One saw another walking across campus with a guitar case, and each having long hair, kind of made an instant connection.  So,  in the dorm rooms and stairwells of Catholic U, these three started jamming and singing and they were all kinda blown away at how good it sounded and how easily they all fell in together.

Thus, Wood 'n' Steel was born.  An acoustic trio with three part harmonies playing everything from CSNY, the Beatles, the Dead, and Bob Dylan.   Parties around campus turned into gigs at the Kerry to Derry pub.

Over the course of 1985-1986 drummer Chris Armenio, guitarist Rich Della Fera, and bassist Dana Smith became involved and the New Potato Caboose was born. 

Back in the Day ...
Did you know that bands like Widespread Panic, Blues traveler Dave Matthews, and Phish used to open up for NPC?  The Caboose blazed a lot of trails up and down the east coast paving the way for a lot of jam bands who are really crankin' now. Cities including New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Boulder, Nashville, Atlanta , and Tuscaloosa were rocked and rocked hard by monthly recurring Caboose gigs that opened the eyes of college kids and club owners alike to the fact the rock & roll was still very alive and well and comin' to a town near you.

The hard work of Manager/Lyricist Mark Mondok, Promotions Managers Greg Robinson and Chris 'Lightnin' Rod' Lee, Road Manager Jimmy Paratore, and the excellent road crew of Jeff Wagner and Jeff Aquillia (sound), John Bartol (stage), and Chris Weber (lights) all worked behind the scenes in helping to make this band what it was.  Of course the music was where it was at.  Anywhere from 2 to 6 hours of driving, four and five hours of setup, and two hours of tear down was average for a standard three hour Caboose show.

The break up of the band began shortly after the release of Promising Traveler, the band's first CD, in 1988.  Guitarist Rich Della Fera left the band in 1989.  Sam Pointer then joined the band and a handful of new songs came out of the Caboose.  It generally went over pretty well.  A little less than a year from Rich's departure, bassist Mike Mahoney left the band.   Shortly after that, drummer John Trupp and percussionist John McConnell ended up leaving the band as well.  It was back to the core: Don, Doug, and Red with Mark Mondok still writing and managing.  The band hired some studio players from New York to handle the bass, drums, and lead guitar.  At this point the New Potato Caboose changed their name to just 'Caboose' and cut their second album "Winds of Change".  This CD contains some great songs, most of which are still part of the NPC/Radio Mosaic live shows.  "Winds of Change" was recorded in Florida and financed mostly by the Caboose with a minimal budget from RCA.  It was around this same time that Mark Mondok had to exit for personal reasons after managing and writing for the band since 1984.

Wood 'n' Steel also recorded their first CD not long after the release of "Winds of Change".  The self titled "Wood 'n' Steel" CD included guest musicians Mike Mahoney on bass and percussionist Tony McGhee on a few of the tunes.

Post Caboose ...
Somewhere in 1996 the Caboose stopped playing altogether.   Not to be discouraged, Don and Doug began playing regularly at a small club in Fairfax, VA called Fat Tuesdays as an acoustic duo.  At some point bassist Mike Mahoney began to sit in once in a while and conjuring up some of those old Caboose vibes.   Percussionist Will Rogers also started to play with Don and Doug on the off occasion.

Well, eventually, the four (Don, Doug, Mike, and Will) ended up playing regular acoustic, 4-piece gigs at Fats.  It remained billed as Don and Doug for quite a while after that.  When Mike learned that Will also played regular drum kit and had one at home, he began to push the guys to do an electric show.  Don was really the one who needed to go electric - Mike already was.  Eventually Don and Doug were talked into it and they did an opening acoustic set followed by two electric sets.   It was so freakin' good that the band never played acoustically after that night (except the for the very rare acoustic opener set here and there).

So, what do we call it?  Naming a band is hard; the good ones all seem to be taken and most of the suggestions weren't doing it for us.   AND everyone in the band has to agree on it.  Radio- something was agreed to and the permutations were far reaching.  Eventually Radio Mosaic was chosen.  When announced to the regulars at Fats, there was a definite deflation of anxiety - hmmmm - they didn't like it, did they?  Ahhh, they'll get used to it.

So ... Radio Mosaic now lives but the story still has a long way to go.  Drummer Will Rogers took off for Charlottesville for a few reasons and the band brought in long time Caboose fan Tim Foster.  Tim was with the band for a few months when Don announced that he and his fiancée were moving to San Diego - again for a lot of different reasons.  Many feared this would be the end.  But Mike, Doug, and Tim Foster were determined to continue on.

Enter guitarist Dave Simmons.  Dave played on the Caboose's Winds of Change CD and toured with the band for a while.  He was moving up from Florida and looking for a gig.  Well, hi-dee-ho, what a coincidence, we needed a guitarist.

I think Dave was with the band for all of two months.  Things didn't go right with his plans up here and he split back for Florida.  At this point, Mike began petitioning for a guitarist named Tim Pruitt.  Mike had been pushing for him when Dave came along so now he was pushing harder.  Mike had been playing with Tim in the Baltimore-based R&B band the Medicine Rattlers off and on for about eight years.  This had to happen.

Tim came down and auditioned for the band and everyone was happy with what they heard so, viola, another new lineup and now there were two Tims in the band.

No, it's not over yet. 
Yeah, go get a drink or something and come back, We'll still be here ...

In December of 1997, Doug organized a reunion of the original promising Traveler - era band: Rich, Doug, Don, Red, Mike, Trupp, and McConnell.   This show was 12/23/97 at the Bayou in Georgetown.

Now, Tim Foster got an offer to join the corporate ranks at Domino's and just couldn't refuse.  Exit Tim Foster.  By this time Mike and Doug were getting tired of dealing with looking for new members.  It justso happened that Doug had been talking to ex-Caboose drummer John Trupp about an upcoming golf game when the situation came up.  Wouldn't you know that Trupp was looking for a band?  Actually he had another lined up and was about to join them when he spoke to Doug.

Trupp is an incredible lyricist as well as a great, multi-talented musician.  To pass this up would be foolish, indeed.  Not being fools, Mike, Doug, and Tim Pruitt snapped him up like a dog eats a Liv-a-snap!

On December 26th, 1998 Doug again organized the Caboose Reunion II at the Bayou. This would be the last Saturday night show at the Bayou forever after. The Bayou was torn down and swanky digs were put in its place.

At the end of the year Radio Mo left their long time every Thursday home base of Fat Tuesday's and moved to T.T. Reynolds.

Not six months after Truppy joins, Radio Mosaic is in the studio recording their first CD "Look Around." Not only do the boys make Truppy sing all the high chirpy parts but they also enlist him to produce the record as well. New guy's gotta pay some dues.

This record is packed full of original Radio Mo songs; something new for the band. Radio Mo recorded this record at EOP Recording in Bethesda with the fabulous Rich Krents and our good friend Doug Derryberry from the Bruce Hornsby Band mixed it.

Not long after this record was released, Mark Mondok, the manager of NPC, passed away. This was met with shock and sorrow. We miss Mark very much and thank him for being a great friend and source of inspiration for all who knew him.

Standing in the Shadows was the last song he and John wrote together is on "Look Around." He was an incredible lyricist and will be greatly missed.

NPC couldn't play at the Bayou (since it was a huge hole in the ground at this point) so they went to the State Theatre. This is an 800 seat former movie theater. But, NPC still sold the place out. Not bad for having been broken up for about a decade. [NPC continues to play reunions every year at the State Theatre] 

Radio Mo went back into the studio (EOP again) to record "Roll." The CD also featured a new crop of Radio Mo originals. Having been playing with some of the Caboose guys at the reunions RM invited John Redling and John McConnell to come and jam on some of the songs. They also recorded some of the old NPC classics like "Y Dance," "What Good is Money," "Stew" (formerly, New Potato Stew), and "Party."

In the following year the band went in a new booking direction. They dropped the Thursday T.T.'s regular gig and decided to play different places more often. But considering the many new events in people's lives it was difficult to maintain a regular schedule. John had 2 kids (Julian and Sophia), Doug and Tim got married and pregnant (well, their wives did) and Mike's business was really taking off. Radio Mo still managed to carve out a home in clubs like Whitlows in Arlington and Andy’s in Chestertown.

In the spring of 2003 bass player Mike Mahoney and his wife Jenn decided to move to Columbia South Carolina leaving Radio Mo with the task of finding a new bass player. Enter Chris Sussman. Chris was playing bass with the band Three Quarter Squeegee and had done a few shows with Radio Mo so he was familiar with a lot of the material. Chris played his first show with Radio Mosaic on November 1, 2003 and Doug, Tim and John couldn’t ask for a better fit.

And that's right where we are today (11/03). Whew!

Stay Tuned. This is a work in progress and will be updated as more material and details are contributed.