Red Planet is Dean Magraw, Chris Bates, and Jay Epstein. When the guys from Red Planet last landed on the stage, their interstellar funkiness transcended musical language barriers. Dean Magraw paints pictures with his guitar work, informed by influences ranging from raga to hard rock. His creativity truly shines when working with other sonic explorers, and Chris Bates (bass) and Jay Epstein (drums) are ideal fellow travelers. When Chris Bates plays bass, you can practically hear him listening to his band mates -- his dexterous range is both sympathetic and challenging. Jay Epstein adorns his bedrock beat with exquisite cymbal work that floats around the groove. If this all sounds pretentious, Red Planet is not. They're having so much fun on stage that it's an invasion of the grin.

Dean Magraw is more than a guitar virtuoso.  His utter unity with the instrument creates a musical experience that emanates from the stage, but cascades over the room in sheets of rejuvenating spirit. Magraw’s many musical associations have included a long-time duo run with Peter Ostroushko, stints with Ruth McKenzie, Claudia Schmidt and Greg Brown, and an acclaimed 2006 recording with Chicago heavy hitter John Williams.  Dean won the NAIRD 1994 Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year for his solo debut, Broken Silence.

“As reader or singer, Lucia Newell is a magnificent interpreter who communicates through intonation, phrasing, faultless diction (in two languages) and a husky contralto... Lucia turns her heart inside out, filling the air with the emptiness and despair the lyrics demand.” - Andrea Canter, Jazz Police