Appaloosa was born in early 1971 with original members Chuck Ansell - keyboards, Mike Flaherty - drums, Frank Frazier - bass and Jimmy Neeson on guitar. In 1977, Rob Finecey replaced Jim Neeson. His tenure lasted from 1977 - 1982 while giving the band excellent vocals, lead guitar, and songwriting. Larry Neeson joined the group in 1978 as the main lead guitarist, making the band five members. He stayed until '82 when the band went part time. Honorable mention of additional members: Bill DiNisio on lead guitar, Leo Kelly on bass, Dave Fenwick lead vocals and second guitar, Sharon Donovan vocals, John Bell on lead guitar, Tim Lawrence on bass, and Dave Marsh on bass.

The original vision of a full vocal band with steady playing of songs during their performance all the while pleasing the crowd with their party atmosphere is still with Appaloosa today. After a great 24 years with the group beginning in 1983, Joe Cowman, lead vocalist and second guitar/keys had a career opportunity and re-located out of the area with his family in 2007. The current line-up is Gordon Holder on lead guitar, Tony Cesenaro on bass, Mike Flaherty on drums, Chuck Ansell on keyboards and Ed Knuckey lead vocalist. When requested for special events, Appaloosa can become six members including a female vocalist. Accenting the sound, Appaloosa was proud to have Marc Pena, AKA Midnight Marc, as part of the team from 1999 to 2008 doing sound and providing outstanding DJ music. Appaloosa is now fortunate to have sound man Chris Laatsch, a graduate of Sheffield Studios in Phoenix, MD. Stability and professionalism strike deep into the core of the band's existence even to this day.

It's a good chance Appaloosa played your prom, school dance, CYO/Teen Center, social function, favorite night club and maybe even some of the readers' weddings over the years. Appaloosa takes pride in providing a first rate performance and being a strong dance band. This group still kicks!

Gordon Holder

Gordon has been performing music "professionally" since 1980. He has performed lead & rhythm guitar playing for a variety of Baltimore-Metropolitan rock & roll style bands. His musical studies and influences have encompassed guitar styles ranging from jazz, country, rhythm & blues, and rock & roll. In 1988, he proudly joined the Baltimore based band Appaloosa and has been supporting the musical group with his lead & rhythm guitar talents since!

Tony Cesenaro

                                                                                                                                                                        Tony Cesenaro joined Appaloosa in 1993 as their bassist. Tony started playing at the age of 12, influenced by the sounds of Motown quality groups like Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and the rich "Doo Whop" vocals of the 50's sounds. Tony has provided Appaloosa the fortune of a continued list of strong musicians with a stable attitude and a solid approach towards entertainment and a professional attitude to his music.

Ed Knuckey

After more than a few years with MD party band Far Cry, the inevitable happened, and due to a change in personal interest, we disbanded. I then spent several years playing with some really great musicians throughout MD. Nothing seemed to come together to produce anything valid though. I figured I'd try something different, and ended up singing in one of Md. top southern rock groups, The Boot Hill Band. This was alot of fun but still didn't fulfill what I was looking for. After Playing in Boot Hill I figured I was done, but curiosity got the best of me, and I checked out the musical want ads to find that Md. long time band Appaloosa was searching for a singer. I auditioned twice for the band, and they welcomed me aboard. It didn't take long to see why these guys have been around for so long. They have fun at practice, they have fun at gigs, they just have fun. I feel really blessed to be a part of this band, and I hope you all can come out and be a part of this magic. 

Chuck Ansell

Chuck Ansell has been performing in bands since he was 16. He started out as a lead vocalist while being caught up in the "British Invasion" and the Motown Sound in the 60's. Then at 19 he picked up keyboards. After playing in several bands and developing a vision for what he considered to be a successful formula for a group, he formed Appaloosa in 1971. Success came quickly and over the years, Appaloosa has experienced good fortune and stabilty while added by wonderful chemistry amongst the members.

Mike Flaherty

Mike Flaherty is the drummer/vocalist. Along with Chuck, he is an original member. Mostly self taught, he has been playing since the age of 12. He played in the marching and concert bands in high school. Mike performed with several local bands including a 14 piece soul band called the Expressions featuring the Delvons before finally settling in with Appaloosa in 1971. He also plays and sings with the St. Ursula Contemporary Worship Group on Sunday mornings and at other church functions.

Mike is a proud dad of his daughter Melissa and his son Matt. He works for Nelson White Systems, a large Baltimore based audio/video contractor selling, designing, installing and servicing sound and video systems for schools, churches and corporate boardrooms.

Some of the highlights in his musical career have been performing in Caracas, Venezuela and as the warm-up act for Slade, Hall and Oates and the Edgar Winter Group and performing at the Inner Harbor Summer Concerts. Another memorable experience was recording at Todd Rungrens studio in Manhattan, New York with famed keyboardist Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals.

Mike says the great thing about playing in Appaloosa is being able to perform such a wide variety of music while entertaining audiences. Music is such a big part of my life that I cant imagine not performing in some capacity.