THE BADLEES
Bret Alexander Guitars, Mandolin, Vocals	Pete Palladino Lead Vocals, Harmonica	Ron Simasek Drums and Percussion	Paul Smith Bass, Vocals

 
The Badlees have been making music for over two decades and their are many great tales within their larger story. A comprehensive profile of the band was published in 2010 on the site Modern Rock Review and this site contains a five page biography as well as a complete discography.

Below are short bios of the current individual members of the band.
 
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Pete Palladino

Lead Vocals and Harmonica, 1989-Present

Making the decision to be a band that performs purely original music was a risky venture in Central Pennsylvania in the early nineties. Most audiences in that location and era had little tolerance for unfamiliar material. But this strategy worked for the Badlees because of their highly entertaining live shows. Lead vocalist Pete Palladino was the band’s showman-in-chief performing zany antics on stage such hanging upside down from the light racks while singing. He played a vital part in introducing fans to the Badlees music, which soon caught on and led to high album and merchandise sales.

Pete is originally from Franklin Lakes, NJ and attended Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA where he formed the band Anthem. The group went to Susquehanna Sound studio to record some demos where several members of the band Bad Lee White worked as engineers. Impressed by his talent, Pete was soon invited to join the band which decided to alter their sound as well as their name, becoming The Badlees. Beyond being the band’s front man, Pete is also the resident artist, having designed album covers and done artwork for every album starting with 1993′s The Unfortunate Result of Spare Time. He also recorded and produced the live album 50:45 Live by Pete, Jeff, and Ron and he wrote and co-produced his debut solo album Sweet Siren of the Reconnected in 2001.

In a 1995 interview Pete confessed, “Someday I’d like to go to cooking school and open a restaurant”. In the late nineties Pete moved to Philadelphia and started working in the restaurant business as a side-job while the Badlees were taking a break from touring. He quickly excelled in this business as well and was soon promoted to manager. After about three years of running the Philadelphia restaurant, Pete was offered the general manager position at Daddy O Restaurant and Boutique Hotel on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, a position he still holds. Still, Pete finds time to record and perform with the Badlees, often commuting to Pennsylvania for a gig after putting in a shift at the restaurant in New Jersey. He explains how it all gels together stating, “the restaurant business is not unlike the music business – it’s all entertainment.”

More Info on Pete Palladino
Pete on Facebook
Daddy O Website
The Badlees Story

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Bret Alexander

Guitars, Mandolin, Banjo, Dobro, Vocals, 1988-Present

On his way to a job interview, a recent graduate from Bucknell University named Bret Alexander decided to stop by the studio where he had interned in college, just to say hello. As fate would have it, that same day the owner of Susquehanna Sound and his staff got an offer to build Whitney Houston’s personal studio and they needed someone to engineer the sessions at Susquehanna. Bret was offered the job on the spot and never did make it to the original interview. About a year later, Bret was working on an album for a band called Bad Lee White and offered to do some guitar overdubs. The band was impressed by his musical skills and asked him to join.

Bret is originally from Canton, PA where excelled academically and at football, getting many scholarship offers before he decided on Bucknell. But his first love had always been music, influenced by his grandmother’s love of Johnny Cash and his own affection for many classic rock bands, especially the Beatles. He played trumpet in high school but soon migrated to guitar and got the gig with his first band, Masque, when the previous guitarist got in trouble with the law. When Bad Lee White morphed into the Badlees, Bret started to assume more and more songwriting duties. He would eventually compose the vast majority of the band’s original material along with sometime co-writer Mike Naydock. Bret also introduced many acoustic and ethnic instruments into the band’s predominantly rock sound, giving the Badlees their own specialized genre of “roots rock”.

Through all the success of the Badlees, He never really lost his desire to do studio work and started to play a large role in the band’s recordings and production. Bret slowly built a home studio and used it for the complete production of the band’s 1999 album Amazing Grace. Later that year, he started Saturation Acres Recording Studio along with Badlees bass player Paul Smith, Through the years, the studio has been used to record hundreds of professional albums, movie scores, commercials, and radio spots. Bret has also been very prolific with side projects beyond the Badlees including the Cellarbirds album, Perfect Smile, and his debut solo album, Gentleman East.

More Info on Bret Alexander
Bret on Facebook
Bret Alexander Productions
The Badlees Story

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Paul Smith

Bass, Synths, Vocals, 1991-Present

Adding a solid, melodic bass line along with great, high harmonies, Paul Smith has always been an innovator in the Badlees sound. While primary songwriter Bret Alexander is kind of classic and old school, Paul is a nice counter-balance by adding adding another dimension to the band’s sound. He is great with the latest technology and enjoys trying out sequencers, loops, and foot pedals to trigger studio samples during live performances. This juxtaposition of his high-tech preferences and Bret’s classic tendencies worked well and kept the Badlees sound ever evolving.

Paul hails from Camp Hill, PA and attended Lebanon Valley College, where he got his Bachelor of Music degree in Recording Technology· He started out as a guitar player and later worked at Susquehanna Sound with other members of the Badlees and was well liked and respected. When former bass player Steve Feltenberger left the band to join the Marines, the Badlees eventually approached Paul to be the permanent replacement switching to bass. Starting with the 1992 album Diamonds In the Coal, Paul doubled as bass player and as engineer for the band’s recordings. He also added some great harmony vocals and even sang lead on the Badlees song “Ain’t No Man” and the Cellarbirds’ “Any Given Day”.

In 1999 he co-founded Saturation Acres Studio along with Bret Alexander and worked on many projects as a producer, engineer, and/or session bass player. Paul currently holds a position in the Music Department at Susquehanna University while still recording and performing with the Badlees.

More Info on Paul Smith
Paul on Facebook
The Badlees Story

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Ron Simasek

Drums, 1988-Present

“I just like to hit things.” This was the succinct way Ron Simasek described his musical ambitions. Ron is first, foremost, and everywhere in between a drummer and percussionist. He is the only Badlees member who does not sing or play multiple instruments, concentrating all his efforts on creating a solid and steady beat for the band. He has been the drummer on virtually every one of the “side” projects by band members. As the official session drummer for Saturation Acres studio, Ron has been featured on hundreds of recordings by a vast range of artists.

Ron was born and raised in McAdoo, PA and started playing in rock band while in high school. Knowing from a young age that he wanted to make a living in the music industry, he attended Mansfield University as a Music Education major. This is where he met Jeff Feltenberger, one of the founders of the Badlees, and Terry Selders who would manage the band for many years. After graduating from Mansfield in 1985, Ron went to Florida where he performed with various bands and symphonies as well taught music. After about a year, Ron moved to New York where he joined the Brooklyn based rock band Kaos. In 1988, he was contacted by Selders about joining a band that Feltenberger had put together and was preparing to enter the studio. Ron joined the band, moved back to Pennsylvania, and suggested the name “Bad Lee White” for the band (which evolved into The Badlees a few years later). Since then, Ron has played on every single studio track by the band and has never missed a gig.

Today he is the senior member of the Badlees and handles much of their publicity and merchandising. He is also an avid reader and dabble in art and photography (he designed the cover of the Bad Lee White album and took the photo on the cover of the EP It Ain’t For You). When asked if there was anything he always wanted to do musically but hasn’t gotten around to yet he answered simply, “No, I’m doing exactly what I wish to be doing.”

More Info on Ron Simasek
Ron on Facebook
The Backbone of the Band
The Badlees Story

We will soon be adding much more Badlees music, videos, and photos. We’d also like your help in constructing a Badlees timeline of events, by adding pictures or videos, or by just lending your opinion.