Bandmember Biographies

Jennifer Cutting's The New St. George

Bandmember Biographies

by Mike Martin

Frozen in historical musical time, at the peak of the band’s powers (and the height of individual members’ artistic pinnacles) come these bios in the presentest of tenses (circa 1995). Artifacts of another folk era when the band seemed well on their way to a major indie label, these sketches illustrate the potent musical brew of the NSG that was drained before its time (1996 would have been a vintage year).

Jennifer Cutting, on keyboards and accordions, is the band’s Guiding Vision and principal writer/arranger. She brings to the band a precision craftsmanship born of her two degrees in music and a passion born of her devotion to the tradition. Her arrangements combine elements of traditional music with progressive rock, pop, jazz, and art music, shaping The New St. George’s eclectic sound. She was lucky enough to have been one of the last disciples of the late great English folk revival leader Bert Lloyd. See more about Jennifer on her Homepage.

Italian-American Lisa Moscatiello is the lead vocalist and plays tin whistles, acoustic guitar, and bouzouki. Lisa was first inspired by her parent’s Peter, Paul and Mary records and taught herself guitar by listening to them. Her love of Celtic music began when she heard Clannad (the early pre-synth version). In college, she joined an a cappella jazz-inspired group called Red Hot and Blue. Back in DC, she was playing traditional Irish music again, in bands like Sodabread and Celteori and as a duo with Grace Griffith. She went to see The New St. George with a friend and fell in love with their sound. When she heard there was an opening for a singer, she auditioned and was hired.

The other Italian-American, Rico Petruccelli is bassist, co-producer and backing vocalist. Rico has been a part of the Washington area music scene since 1968 as both performer and a producer. He studied classical piano as a child. When he discovered jazz he took up guitar, bass, and saxophone, and earned a Master’s degree in musicology. Rico has worked with Chuck Berry, Jonathan Edwards and Charlie Byrd. He played bass on Mary-Chapin Carpenter’s first three albums and was a member of her touring band for four years.

African-American Juan Dudley is the band’s drummer and percussionist. Another longtime DC area musician, Juan has played with the classic rock band Pilot and the new wave/alternative band Big Bang Theory, as well as various jazz bands. Like Rico, Juan began his musical education with piano lessons. He started playing drums at the age of seven. When he was about 10, his brother-in-law gave him a record called The Soul Of Jazz Percussion featuring Art Blakey, Max Roach and Philly Joe Jones, and he immediately fell in love with jazz. Juan later discovered folk music as the co-founder of a college coffeehouse. While a member of Big Bang Theory, Juan filled in as drummer for The New St. George. When his gig with Big Bang Theory ended, he later became NSG’s permanent drummer.

Bob Hitchcock, lead guitarist, mandolinist, and vocalist, hails from Brighton, Sussex, an area steeped in the English folk tradition. Like Jennifer, Bob cut his teeth in high school rock bands, as well as folk groups. Along the way he also took four years of classical guitar lessons. He moved to New York City in 1975, played a bit there and eventually ended up in Washington. There he joined the sea music group The Boarding Party and recorded two albums with them before forming The New St. George in 1986. Bob left The New. St George in 1994 to pursue other interests.

After Bob’s departure, Eric Rose shares the electric guitar duties with Al Petteway. Eric comes to NSG from the world of major-label session work in L.A. and New York (Warner Bros.). He was a former member of the RCA retro-pop cult band, The Sidewinders, and has played in numerous musical lineups.

Guitar and mandolin wizard Al Petteway joined NSG in 1995, alternating with Eric at live appearances. Al recorded four multiple WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Awards) winning solo albums before joining NSG. He continues to perform as a solo artist and with wife Amy White. Al has also recorded with Jonathan Edwards, Cheryl Wheeler, Debi Smith, Grace Griffith, and many others. For more info on Al, see Al’s own webpage.

Eric’s photo by June Martin.
Al’s photo by David Vennell.
Remaining photos by Christopher Moscatiello.