TROY
HEINZ
Troy Heinz was born in the mid-western city of Green Bay, WI. His father was a truck driver and his mother worked in a factory her whole life. He grew up in a very blue collar family with his 2 brothers and 1 sister. They were common folks and struggled to get by just like most others at that time. Troy's father was also a tavern owner and this is the institution were he was first introduced to the sounds of music. He and his brother would spend countless hours listening to 45's that had been retired from the tavern's jukebox. Everything from Hank to Hendrix and a heavy dose of Merle Haggard, Waylon, Willie and the boys. Troy's mother was mesmerized with Elvis Presely and cried for days when he passed.
​Troy's parents split ​​when the kids were pretty young and he and his older brother relocated to the hills of North Carolina to live with their father and experience a new culture and way of living. The boys loved the warm weathered winters and the laid back demeanor of the south. Troy started listening to southern rock and bluegrass music around this time. After graduating high school and a stint in the US Marine Corps, Troy finished his education @ Appalachian State University which was hidden deep in "the bluegrass capitol of the world". He spent many weekends traveling to different bluegrass and music festivals all over the South East with his friends. His uncle gave him a guitar and he has not stopped playing it since.
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Around 2001, after a soured relationship and a depletion of funds, he packed everything he owned into a 1984 VW Vanagon and ventured back north to his home in Wisconsin. Soon after settling back in, Troy found himself performing live ,for the first time, at several local open mics. Within these performances he met an individual named David Wanie,whose musical tastes and stylings were quite one in the same. In early 2003 The Bar Tab Band was born. After a few line up changes, the band of Heinz, Wanie, Jerry Sparkman, Tom Clay, and Scott Brown was solidified. The band's sound walks a fine line between alt-country/early Grateful Dead styled rock and roll. This sound is founded with one of the finest rhythm sections around and attacks with telecaster twang and bar room style piano. The band thrives on live performances and has played hundreds of shows at bars, festivals, and venues throughout the state of WI for the past 10 years.
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Troy's southern rock and alt-country roots carried over to the foundation of another musical vessel and in 2008-2009 the band "Farm League" was born. Heinz along with friends Joel Heinen, Randy Roethle, and Jeff Smith wrote and recorded their self titled 5 song EP @ Rock Garden Studio in Appleton, WI with award winning producer Marc Golde. The band quickly found it's "stage legs" and performs regularly with ambitions of a full length recording somewhere in the near future.
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Troy Heinz is currently performing as a solo artist, with The Bar Tab Band, and as a member of Farm League. His passion is and always has been listening to and performing music for himself and others.
