Ricky Breland
Bass
Years In the Band: 1
Ricky is the bass player for Mother’s Little Helpers.
Doug Thompson
Bass
Years In the Band: 1
Originally from NOVA, Doug started playing bass guitar at 16 in a local band with high school friends. He moved to Richmond to attend art school at VCU and liked it so much he stuck around. He has been playing gigs throughout Central Virginia with variety of bands for over 25 years.
Gary Fralin
Keyboards
Years In the Band: 1
Gary Fralin is the keyboard player for Mother’s Little Helpers.
Jon Barnes
Lead Guitar
Years In the Band: 1
Jon Barnes is the lead guitar player for Mother’s Little Helpers.
Tina Marie
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Tina Marie is a vocalist, guitar player and keyboard player for Mother’s Little Helpers.
Mark Szafranski
Keyboards, Vocals
Mark Szafranski is a vocalist and keyboard player for Mother’s Little Helpers.
Dean Berry
Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Years In the Band: 5
Dean began taking guitar lessons at the age of twelve. It didn’t take long to see that this would be his identity for the rest of his life. Almost immediately he began playing in a band, forming a partnership that would last for eight years.
Studying classical guitar at Marshall University was key in giving Dean the discipline to bring his abilities to a professional level. His band The Change was a well-known name that people would anxiously come out to see what songs they were writing next. They were a fierce entity.
Upon moving to Richmond, Dean immediately joined a new band and hit the local scene. He would join many different groups of various styles over the next few years ranging from 80’s metal, to speed metal, to southern rock, to blues and country. Here is a brief list of bands that he has played in: Stretch Tracy, Hot Trigger, Kyle Davis, Undone, Ruby Jones, SNAFU, Sin City Revival, B-Side Electric Blues Band, Dawg Mama, The Fuzz, Honkytonk Heroes, Sportsbar Rockstar, and now he has the privilege of playing in the ultimate line-up of Mother’s Little Helpers, taking Rolling Stones music to the next level.
Larry Nelson
Keyboards
Years In the Band: 1
Larry Nelson is the keyboard player for Mother’s Little Helpers. He’s been the keyboardist of the Grass Roots since 1984.
Tom Crosby
Bass, Backing Vocals
Years In the Band: 14
Tom Crosby started his bass career in middle school, and has been active in the Richmond Music scene for over 30 years after returning from Nashville where he played in various bands during college. Bands in Richmond he has been in include King Solomon’s Marbles, The Bart Chucker Band, Vinyl Tease, Sister Sweet, Fennario and Outside Help among others. He’s been a member of an REM cover band (Onion Head), a Beatles cover band (Instant Karma Band), a Grateful Dead cover band (King Solomon’s Marbles), and blues bands (Outside Help, The Blues Gnus, Three Borne). His love of playing Stones originated with his first band in middle school where several Stones songs were a part of their repertoire. Currently he’s also a member of Kooler Heads, a jam band playing originals and covers.
John Leslie
Saxophone, Backing Vocals
Years In the Band: 14
John Leslie has enjoyed a successful career as a professional saxophonist. Having graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, John went on to perform on scores of arena stages throughout the world. He has made numerous television network appearances, including NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MTV’s MTV Music Awards, and NBC’s The Show Formerly Known as Martin Short, and has participated in numerous recording sessions. He has worked with the likes of The Monkees, The Righteous Brothers, Eric Carmen, Wilson Phillips, Debbie Gibson, and Merry Clayton (Gimme Shelter), among others, earning multiple gold and platinum records along the way.