Al Tsacle

Al Tsacle is a founding member of the band. He hails from San Francisco, where he began his musical career with classical training at the Ghiel Irving Parsons violin school. He played in the San Francisco youth symphony orchestra and was a member of the Beethoven Trio. In the late 1960s Al switched from classical to folk music and played for many years with the popular bay area Balkan folk band, The Merakledes. He began to play Bluegrass music in 1996 when the Fog Valley Drifters band was formed by a group of professors at California State University Stanislaus.

Brooks Judd

Brooks Judd was born and raised in Hayward California where he developed a love for all types of music. Brooks is a huge fan of bluegrass music and of Jerry Garcia. He converted from an avid music listener to a performer when a good friend of his gave him a stand-up bass in the mid 1980s. Brooks played with the Heartland String band for several years and in 1996 formed a band, also called the Fog Valley Drifters. Brooks joined us in 2000 and was instrumental in giving the band its current name.

Rachel Bennett

Rachel Bennett showed exceptional talent in music when she was a young student in Monterey. She mastered both the guitar and the mandolin at an early age. Rachel is also an outstanding singer and composer. The band regularly performs her original compositions and has included some of her work in the latest Fog Valley Drifters CD - Old Songs For New Times.