About Band
Toast 
Genre: Original, contemporary and Classic Rock
Toast is a band that is all about fun with a variety of original, contemporary, and classic rock music that makes you want to smile and dance! From opening for Collective Soul to playing at many Chicago and North Shore live music clubs, we're having a rockin' good time...let's share the fun!
You like to rock? We do too. Perhaps you'd like a fresh dose of classic, contemporary and original music? Yeah, thought so. Check out Toast a gig... prescribed as serious satisfaction for your innermost rock urges. You do not need to consult your doctor if you think Toast is right for you!
Toast-It Notes
All songs written by Toast can be sung in the shower without the need to get the express written permission of Toast.
Toast cannot be responsible for concert-goers who do not shower.
Photographs allowed only if Toast's "best side" is captured.
If concert-goers do not see a "best side" please make a formal request and Toast will try to find one.
Entrance to the Mosh Pit by reservation only. Toast would like to thank the volunteers from the AARP for managing the Mosh Pit.
Toast-ing music of then and now
January 11, 2007 Pioneer Press
By ROBERT LOERZEL Contributor
Some of the musicians in the North Shore rock band Toast are old enough to remember seeing the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," so it's no surprise that the group plays oldies.
But the guys in Toast also dig new music.
"One of the comments we get from people who come up after a gig is the extreme range of what we play," drummer Howie Winestock says. "Here's a band playing everything from 'White Rabbit' to the White Stripes."
Toast also plays a fair share of original songs, and the band will celebrate the release of its first CD, "Ekstreemleeburnt," with a concert Jan. 20 at Gabe's Backstage Lounge in Highwood.
The group's kid
While most of the musicians are middle-aged, one of them is a college kid. Guitarist Drew Hosfield joined Toast when he was a student at New Trier High School, and now he squeezes occasional Toast gigs into his schedule as a DePaul University student.
As singer-guitarist Jim O'Connell tells it, Hosfield joined after one of his parents asked: "Could you do me a favor and let him step up and do a tune with you guys?"
Once the band heard Hosfield play, they wanted him in the band. "He blew the roof off," O'Connell said.
"I like just about every style of music, from bluegrass to jazz to rock," said Hosfield, who's hoping to switch from his undeclared major to DePaul's School of Music next year.
Toast's members are north suburban residents who have played in various bands over the years and still love doing it, balancing the pursuit of musical fun with their professional day jobs.
Winestock, O'Connell and Hosfield live in Wilmette , as does guitarist Paul Trottier. Singer Chris Zeman lives in Glenview, and bassist Brian Murphy is from Arlington Heights.
Scrambled success
Toast came together July 2004, when Jim O'Connell had planned to play with another group of musicians one night at C.J . Arthur's in Wilmette. The other musicians cancelled, however.
"There I was with a gig and no band," O'Connell said. "So I scrambled around."
O'Connell assembled some of his musician friends for the concert, and it went so well that the group became a going concern.
In 2004, Toast opened for Collective Soul at the Rave Club in Milwaukee. "That's probably the highlight of many of our musical careers," Winestock said.
Like Toast's repertoire of cover songs, the original tunes on "Ekstreemleeburnt" sound like a mix of classic and alternative rock. "It really is diverse," Winestock said.
TOAST
Contact us to rock your event!
"James O'Connell" < jdoconnell@mac.com>,
"Howie Winestock" hwinestock@us.ibm.com ,
"Paul Trottier " paul@toastmusic.net,
Toast 'Official' Website: www.toastmusic.net
(More photos and other content)
Artist Information Toast Ingredients:
Jim O'Connell, Vocals & Guitar
Paul Trottier, Lead Guitar
Brian Murphy, Bass Guitar
Howie Winestock, Drums & Vocals
Chris Zeman, Vocals
Drew Hosfield, Guest Guitar
Biography Influences:
Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Greenday, Steve Miller, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, to name a few
Jim O'Connell - Vocals & Guitar
Jim got his first guitar when he was 7 (an acoustic with action so high it cut his fingers). In high school and college, Jim played folk music on his guitar (CSNY, James Taylor), and performed in musical comedies. After college, Jim crossed paths with Alex Vesselinovitch, who saw him in a musical and asked Jim to do the vocals for a band that evolved into Mea Culpa, a Chicago cover band. With Mea Culpa, Jim performed at venues from the Glenview House to Grant Park during the 1990s. Jim recently finished a CD of original songs, distributed by his own Mystical label (and on amazon.com), and played in clubs including the resurrected (Biddy) Mulligan's under names such as Collectively Unconscious and the Jim O'Connell All-Star Band.
Paul Trottier - Lead Guitar
Began playing guitar at age 11 (Beatles, right?). On to bands & rock'n tunes in High School with bands Damien, Ambivalence, and others on stage for school dances and parties in the Burlington, VT area. Continued on to form Bacchanalia, and later, The Frank Band, playing at frat parties and ski lodges. In those wild days of '79 Paul moved to Chicago and joined The Slammer Band, then Sidekix playing Chicago nightclubs. Influences include Eric Clapton, BB King, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Santana, Jimmy Hendrix, Alvin Lee, Joe Walsh, and others. To this day playing guitar is a passion that's still exciting. Playing with Toast is where the Rock-n-roll hat is currently hung, and loving it!
Howie Winestock - Drums & Vocals
Howie has been a mainstay on the music circuit for 25 years, starting with bands back in 1979 in Canada. For 15 of those years, Howie played with Hansen Records recording Artists, Adam and Kris, and Coral Records top twenty hit singles recording artist, Richard Samuels at clubs in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Maui, San Diego, and Manhattan Beach, California. Following a move to Chicago in 1993, Howie continued his musical pursuits playing with the Greg Walters Band where club stops included Biddy Mulligan's, US Beer, North Beach, Mickey Finns, Chasers, The Glenview House, Whiskey River, Burton Place, CJ Arthur's, and XRT's Friends of the Park, Buckingham Fountain Concert. Howie now focuses his efforts on the band, Toast.
Brian Murphy - Bass Guitar
Dateline 1964: Ed Sullivan and the Beatles inspire me to play guitar at age 9...not alone here. It was a delightful National solid body resonator.....God how I wish I still had that one. 5 years of classical, jazz and pop lessons and Brian joins first high school band but too many guitar players but no bass players......enter the 3 string junk ball bass. .....Hey I like this thing.......sounds really devastating. Plays just like a guitar but Sooooooooo Looooooooooow. 10 years of party and wedding bands and the school of hard knocks is over: Now I play for fun and profit. Brian is also a player in numerous plays and church events. Brian has been spotted on stages as remote as Oregon with his wide nework of musician friends.
Chris Zeman - Vocals
Chris played a ukulele four-string banjo as a child and made some dollars singing harmony on a couple of songs with her little sister singing and playing a ukulele. A claim to fame for Chris is that her second cousins are the Lennon Sisters! Chris entertains her kindergartners with piano playing on a regular basis and has recently begun guitar lessons. Chris's vocal harmonies and Grace Slick emulations now a special part of Toast's sonic texture.
Drew Hosfield - Guitar
The youngest Toast Member, playing as s 'Guest Player' as often as his busy schedule permits. Drew also played guitar in the New Trier Jazz Band. He loves Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, and a diverse array of rock artists that bely his age. Summer 2004, Drew focused on the jazz program at Guitar Camp in California. In addition to rock jams with his friends, Drew now explores the rock side of his guitar interests with Toast. Drew recorded with Toast an original song of his, titled 'No Way Out' .
Are all on the... Toast website: http://www.toastmusic.net
Discography The 'EKSTREEMLEEBURNT' album shows three distinctly different sides of the versitile classic Rock band, Toast.
Skippin Day is an up-tempo feel-good rockn' boogie with steely smokin' guitars.
Too Long is a pop anthem rock'in ballad with an R&B feel, catchy hooks, and a guitar solo based on the original saxophone instrumental when the song was first recorded by Howie's band in Canada.
No Way Out is a haunting metal-grunge foray into forbidden ensnaring secrets showcasing Drew's guitar prowess.
See Toast on You Tube!
