CONTACT || Chas Williams: (614) 214-8182 || email: cwilli6711@gmail.com

Past and Upcoming Gigs

Friday, March 4, 2022 from 7-9 pm at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, April 1, 2022 from 7-9 pm at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, May 27, 2022 from 7-9 pm at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 

Sunday, June 5, 2022 from 4-7 pm at Combustion Brewing Co, 80 W Church St, Pickerington, OH

Sunday, July 10, 2022 from 6-8 pm at Hilliard Summer Music Series, Hilliard, OH

Friday, July 15, 2022 from 7-9 pm at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, July 22, 2022 from 6-8 pm, Ohio Sunset Concert, Lorain, OH

Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 6-10 pm, Private Party

Friday, October 21, 2022 from 7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, November 18, 2022  from 7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, December 16, 2022  from 7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, March 24, 2023 from  7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Thursday, April 27, 2023, 6-8 at Natalie's,  945 King Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, April 28, 2023 from  7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Sunday, May 7, 2023 from 4-7 pm at Combustion Brewing Co, 80 W Church St, Pickerington, OH

Friday, May 19, 2023 from 6-8 pm at Woodlands Tavern, 1200 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, June 2, 2023 from  7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Saturday, June 3, 2023 from 7-10 at Uncle Buck's, 73930 Buck Ln, New Marshfield, OH 

Friday, July 14, 2023 from  7-9 at Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, October 13, 2023, 7-9 at  Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Saturday, October 14, 2023, Uncle Bucks Dance Barn,  73930 Buck Ln. New Marshfield, OH 

Sunday, October 15, Private Party

Friday, December 15, 2023, Byrne's Pub, 1248 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH

Friday, March 29, 2024, Byrne's Pub, 1248 W. 3rd Ave.,  Columbus, OH

The Band

The Wood Pickers is a bluegrass and country band formed in 2018. The band brings to the fore the many years of musical experience of five great players from the Columbus, Ohio music scene. The band consists of Pete Remenyi, playing resophonic guitar, harp, vocals; Chas Williams on fiddle, mandolin, vocals; Tom Zinser playing guitar, vocals; Heidi White on bass, vocals; and Mike McGannon on 5-string banjo. Their three and four part vocal harmonies touch the high lonesome bluegrass sound, the rough and raw of old time music, and the tight sounds of country music.

The band is an amalgam of several great bands including One Riot One Ranger, Death by Banjo, Grassahol, and the North Fork Rounders. The musical tastes of The Wood Pickers brings together the various traditions of these bands to combine for a mix of traditional bluegrass, modern bluegrass, country music, blues, and original material

Band Member Bios

Pete Remenyi is a mainstay of the central Ohio music scene since the 1970's. After being a founding member of The Red Mountain String Band, Five Guys Named Moe, and the Deltones, Pete moved to Southern California where he played blues harp up and down the west coast, based out of San Diego.

After returning to Ohio, Pete was an original member of One Riot One Ranger where he teamed with fellow Wood Picker, Chas Williams. The band recorded three well-received CD’s, played nationally, and had their last CD chart for six weeks in the top 20 on the Americana charts in 2001. In 2005, Pete joined the original lineup of Death by Banjo where he teamed with fellow Wood Picker Tom Zinser, along with Paul Brown, and the late Sid Omasta.The band played for ten years in central and Southern Ohio and recorded a CD.

Pete is a multi-instrumentalist, adding his signature Resonator guitar (dobro) style and blues and country harmonica to the Wood Pickers as well as sharing bass duties with Tom.

Pete has played on numerous sessions for other artists over the years, and continues to add dobro and harmonica to other projects when the opportunity arises.

Chas Williams has played country and bluegrass music in and around Columbus, Ohio since his teenage years.  Chas plays the fiddle, mandolin and occasionally bass with The Wood Pickers.  Chas is a prize winning fiddle player and also is the chief songwriter for the band.

Chas has played in many bands over the years including The Coot Brothers, One Riot One Ranger, and most recently with Grassahol.  Chas played with Pete Remenyi in One Riot One Ranger, a nationally recognized band which toured extensively in the US for over 15 years and has three CDs to its credit.  Chas fortunately has found himself again playing music with Pete Remenyi after having gone in separate directions over the last ten years and is pleased to know that friends can stay friends, even after bands break up.  Chas is thrilled and grateful to be playing with such a great group of musicians and singers, including Tom Zinser with his strong vocals, long history in music and recent tour with Death by Banjo.

Tom Zinser is a man of multiple musical talents and a rich history of experience as an instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and musical instrument purveyor.

The 60s music scene in Mansfield was the genesis of Tom’s career, beginning with Tommy Z and the Sleepers and continuing with the Wildlife, a band that was signed by Columbia Records and gained regional fame by performing Tom’s original tunes and opening for notable national bands like the Doors, The Who and the Jefferson Airplane.

The Wildlife morphed into Owen B in late 1969. The band toured the Midwest, opening for Joe Cocker, Spirit, and other popular bands. Owen B produced an album and two singles. Most were Tom Zinser original tunes including Mississippi Mama, which gained national fame and reached Number One on the regional charts.

Despite the local fame they had achieved, Tom and fellow Owen B member Terry Van Auker were realists. Their mantra “Don’t give up your day job”, led them to the purchase of the Columbus Folk Music Center on the OSU campus in 1972. Success with the music store didn’t stop Tom and Terry from embracing their fundamental identities as musicians. Their duo A Good Example performed in local restaurants and produced another album of Tom’s original tunes.

The Columbus Folk Music Center was a center of multiple music-centered activities, providing lessons, instrumental workshops, instrument repair and a haven for local musicians of all genres. At the CFMC, Tom’s eclectic musical tastes expanded into an interest in bluegrass, leading him to join A Likely Story and Full Circle, bands that performed at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Columbus.

By the 1980s, The Pleasant Mountain Boys, a country, bluegrass and swing band from Lancaster, Ohio, recruited Tom to play bass and sing.  The “Boys” recorded two albums and appeared at county fairs and other outdoor festivals. Tom continued to write music, and many of his tunes can be found on the second album.

Like many bands, the “Boys” had a limited life, and disbanded after a few years.  One of their members, Paul Brown, was a singer and songwriter like Tom. Paul’s fiddle and banjo were perfect complements to Tom’s guitar, resulting in the creation of Travelin’ Tom and Dr. Paul. The duo produced two CDs and toured the Midwest. Seeking to expand their sound, Tom and Paul found dobroist Pete Remenyi and bassist/mandolin player Sid Omasta. Death By Banjo played for ten years, offering their unique brand of “Neo-Appalachian Old-Time New Age Hillbilly Retro-Punk and Roll Grass.” Sadly, Sid’s untimely passing prompted the group to disband in 2016.

Tom and Paul briefly formed a new group in 2017, Fiddle Me This, with bass player Nick Weiland and mandolin player Zeke Hutchison, a group that also had a limited life. 2018 brought Tom to The Wood Pickers bluegrass band with Chas Williams and Pete Remenyi.  Tom values his great memories of all the bands he’s played with and appreciates that he’s still “kickin’ and pickin’”!

Heidi White has been playing and singing harmonies with her family since childhood. Playing piano and then guitar, she played single singer/songwriter shows during her college years at Ohio State. She spent several years singing lead in rock bands where she met her husband, Chris White, the noted Columbus blues and jazz drummer. After hearing bluegrass music live, she had a musical epiphany and took up the bass to play and sing with friends in bluegrass jams and music circles. She soon became known for her rock solid bass and her haunting voice which adds so much richness to the bluegrass sound. Heidi plays with The Wood Pickers as the newest member after the departure of Dennis McCarthy, who left for warmer climes. Heidi played for years with Grassahol as an original member and there met Chas Williams who joined a short time afterwards.  Heidi continues to enjoy the close friendships enjoyed by the bluegrass community, and we know Wood Picker fans will always look forward to hearing her voice and watching her play. 

Michael McGannon

Mike McGannon has spent his life balancing acoustic and electric music performances. From early work as part of a duo with Randy Stockwell, as guitarist and conductor for the hit 60's group "The Angels" (My Boyfriend's Back), bluegrass with A Likely Story and currently a member of local high profile project, The Guitar Company. Now happy to join old friends playing banjo with The Wood Pickers. The adventure continues! 

Music

Midnight Moonlight

Please Don't Break My Heart

I'm Going Somewhere

Bartender's Blues

Lonesome Pines

Videos

In the Jailhouse Now

99 Years

Live Show at Byrne's Pub - Links Below