www.evanjonesmusic.com
Jeff Koller
Jeff was brought up around music. His father played guitar and sang in DK and the Coachmen (he was the DK..Duane Koller) when we were all just kids. Jeff would often sit in with DK on various gigs when they needed a drummer. Duane passed away a few years back, but back in the day you would see Duane from time to time sitting in with Wakefield or one of Jeff's other bands around the Sioux Falls area. The story goes that Jeff got his first drumset mainly because sister Jenny complained that her Barbie Doll cases were being destroyed by Jeff, as he set them up around himself (as if he had a set of drums) and pounded holes in them with whatever he could use for drum sticks!
I first met Jeff sometime in the mid 1970's, before I had met Geoff. I saw him play at a Jr. High School sock hop and sometime later went to his house to see his kit and hear him play. For me, he was quite astounding. I was in the "get some music, read it, practice it, and eventully play it phase" of my musical development, while Jeff was already very advanced. He could play virtually anything on the drums, and often, better than the drummer on the recordings we were listening to. In addition, he could play guitar, piano, and when he sang with records, he would pick out and sing the harmonies while I was barely able to pick out and sing the lead part. I remember feeling embarassed that I had brought sheet music to play for him, and when I had left his house, thought to myself that I was like a musical infant in comparison.
I went off for the next couple years, and tried to play musical catch up (a feat I can honestly say I never did). During this time I met Geoff, started Shadowfax, and started playing gigs around Sioux Falls. It wasn't until Shadowfax broke up, that Geoff and I reapproached Jeff to see if he would be interested in starting a new band. The rest is sort of history.
Today, Jeff plays in the Ron Keel Band in the Sioux Falls area. He was born to be a rock drummer, and he is the best you will hear. There are only a few people that I've ever met that I could honestly say had the level of talent that compares to anyone you can hear anywhere. Jeff is one of them. If you get a chance, go to a Ron Keel Band show and see what I mean.
