Prior to getting involved in music, Matt earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from The Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. A life-long music afficionado, Adolf decided two years ago to make the leap from listening to music to actually playing it.
Self taught on Keyboards, he joined the eclectic folk band Cultured Cowboy, and has been playing ever since. He is heavily influenced by the works of Oscar Peterson and Moby.
Matt is very excited to be a part of Willie Kuklis and the Disappointments and looks forward to the future.
Aaron started his music career as the Bass player for the first incarnation of Cultured Cowboy. Since then Burnett has included his talents on several CDs and musical projects in and around the Vancouver area.
It has been quite a journey since Chris picked up drum sticks for the first time in January 2003. Without any formal training Fowlie and his band Boomchang, played their first gig in May of 2003. Their eclectic choice of cover songs made them a popular band at venues around Vancouver.
In late 2004, Cultured Cowboy approached Chris to play with them, which was quite a daunting task since Cultured Cowboy never had a drummer before. The Band's last appearance at the 2005 Vancouver Sun Run was the first with Fowlie as their drummer. Even though the band was well recieved, they disbanded shortly after, and Matt Adolf, Aaron Burnett, and Chris reformed as The Disappointments to back Willie Kuklis' new project.
Fowlie, a self proclaimed drum novice has a very tight, and at times thunderous, beat. His appreciation for all music genres keeps Chris learning new rhythms and developing his own passionate style.
Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (now residing in Victoria, B.C.), Willie Kuklis began writing and composing music at the age of 19. A self-taught musician, Kuklis incorporates a variety of strings (including guitars, mandolin and banjo) and harmonica while writing. He finds inspiration in diverse artists such as Ani Difranco, Paul Simon, Dave Matthews, Martin Sexton and David Byrne. Kuklis maintains a unique style of music that he describes as "Neo-Folk...for lack of a better term."
A founding member of Cultured Cowboy, an eclectic folk band, Kuklis started playing in the cafes and road-houses of Vancouver, toured most of B.C. and recorded two full-length albums, Cultured Cowboy and Cultured Cowboy: Live at Orphan Studios. Willie's music can also be found on the soundtracks of two indie films, Café Surrey, written and directed by Trevor Cameron, and X Spots The Mark, written and directed by Matt Wakefield.
Since the release of Willie's last solo album The Price We Pay recorded in 2002, Kuklis has been heard on several radio stations including the CBC and has also been featured on the New VI's television morning show New Day. Willie has also played music festivals including The Edge of the World Music Festival on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and has toured throughout B.C. and Alberta playing sold-out shows alongside Ana Bon Bon, John Bottomley, David Ross MacDonald, The Clumsy Lovers, and The Be Good Tanyas.
Aside from working and writing with the new band, Willie is currently writing his next album, working on the soundtrack for a full length documentary and is planning further tours of the United States and Canada.