The Band

Origins

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The Morning Bird formed in early 2018 with the goal of  crafting songs that resonate with the common man. 

Members

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Daniel Rice
Guitar / Backing Vocals

Bio: Daniel hails from Houston, TX where he was born and raised.  He expressed interest in music at a young age, playing Piano, Guitar, and eventually Trumpet.  He settled on Guitar after high school, and started playing at local churches in the Houston area.  His musical influences include - Wilco, Dawes, Jason Isbell, Conor Oberst, The National, among others.

Daniel lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland with his wife Amy and dog Nora.

Jeremy Taylor
Lead Vocals / Guitar

Bio: Jeremy was born and raised on the east side of Cleveland. He always had a liking for songs and would be found singing along while his parents listened to music. In high school he was drawn to songwriting and started learning bass guitar to start a band. Jeremy played in several bands on bass and drums until helped to form Madison East, a six piece rock group that played steadily for several years. He was drawn to songwriting and picked up an acoustic guitar and started writing. He's been writing songs and playing in churches and other places for the past eight years. His musical influences include: Joe Pug, Penny & Sparrow, Ray Lamontagne, Jason Isbell, David Ramirez, John Moreland and John Paul White. 

Jeremy lives on the west side of Cleveland with his wife Emilie, four children, a dog and two cats. 

Mark Mazak

Bass / Vocals

A Northeast Ohio native, Mark started his music career in the 5th grade Band on Cornet/Trumpet.  Later, as the smallest kid in the 7th grade, it only made sense for him to switch to Tuba, which somehow eventually landed him a six year tour across eight countries with the US Army Bands of Europe and Asia.  Over the years, Mark also picked-up electric and upright basses, trombone, euphonium, conducting, and choral singing (bass-baritone).   He has performed with numerous ensembles, including The US Army Bands, German/polka, British brass, Pop, and early jazz bands, orchestra, opera chorus, and in recent years, Cleveland area Indie bands Dr. Scott's Electric Hairbrush and Kalaika. 

Mark lives in greater Cleveland with his wife Akemi, daughter Hana and his cat, Pombo.

David Shullenberger

Drums

David Shullenberger is a Cleveland based drummer with twenty years of experience on the instrument. A native of Indiana, David showed a proclivity for music at an early age and began studying at the age of eight with Eric Schweikert, percussionist and Principal Timpanist for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Fort Wayne, Indiana. David received a solid education in the fundamentals of music from Schweikert, a skill set that he would soon put to use in ensemble settings throughout middle school and high school.  David attended New Albany Middle and High School in Columbus, Ohio and it was here that he would hone his abilities in concert and marching percussion with the New Albany Wind Ensemble and Marching Band (along with various other ensembles such as the jazz band and pep band) as well as his drum set chops with his church’s praise team and several bands with friends. After graduating from New Albany, David attended Miami University where he earned a BA in Music Theory and Literature. Along with his studies in music analysis and history, David continued to study concert percussion and performed in several Miami University ensembles such as the orchestra (principal percussionist for two semesters), marching band, and concert band. In addition, David was blessed with the opportunity to study a wide range of World Music and performed in The Miami University Steel Band, a Balinese Gamelon Ensemble, and a West African percussion ensemble under the direction of Dr. Paschal Younge. David was even able to take his studies abroad, travelling to Brazil with students from Eastern Kentucky University to study drum set and batteria percussion with local musicians in Salvador, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. As a senior at Miami, David joined with several close friends to form the band Says She which allowed David the opportunity to relocate to Cleveland after graduation and with whom David is still actively involved. In addition to Says She, David is also the drummer for a local church in Independence, Ohio.

He and his wife Michelle currently live in Elyria, Ohio.