Band Member Biographies

Bill O'Donnell: Bass, stomp box, vocals
Bill started his musical career playing French Horn in school bands. By the time he had graduated from high school, he had picked up a guitar and never looked back. He has performed folk, country and old-time R&R before settling on the Celtic genre of music. Bill was the long-time bass player for Colorado Music Hall of Fame folk legend, Walt Conley. Bill now devotes full time to playing bass, writing and arranging music, and handling technical matters for the band.

Nate Hixson: Guitar, mandolin, vocals
Nate is a multi-instrumentalist who has been performing Celtic music for years. Playing music his entire life at school, church, and numerous bands, Nate finally began to really hone his craft fronting the punk band Nucklehead. Finally, as the years of Irish, bluegrass and folk music called to him like a siren song, Nate and two close friends began having Celtic jam sessions which evolved into the band Slainte. Nate has been dedicating most of his musical duties to the Juice since 2016 but also performs solo and in a duet with his wife in On Belay.

Steve Franklin: Guitar, mandolin, and vocals
A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Steve is no stranger to Irish/Celtic music, having opened for Eileen Ivers at a Keystone, CO show and backing performances in the finals at the National Fiddle Championships. Over the course of his music career, he has opened for Garth Brooks, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Firefall. He has performed at the Lake Dillon Ampitheater, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Grass Bluegrass Festival and the Taste of Colorado, as well as performing live on KGNU radio in Denver. As a member of Musicians On Call, he also does volunteer performances for patients at the Children's Hospital of Denver and at the Denver VA Hospital.

Jennifer Lee: Fiddle
Jennifer has been involved in and loved music for as long as she can remember. She has roots in Irish/Celtic music as the long time fiddle player for the Celtic Progressive Rock band Indigent Row. She has played for numerous musicians of note, rose to the position of Concertmaster of The Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha at the young age of 17, where she served in this distinguished position for 8 years. She has studied under some outstanding violinists, such as Keith Plenert and Enion Pelta-Tiller. But she was truly musically "raised" by the musical inspiration Chuck Penington, who may be most well-known for his work with the musical group Mannheim Steamroller. Outside the band, Jennifer is a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist. She firmly believes that music can have a positive impact on mental health, and volunteers as a violinist with the notorious Clown Troupe "Wheeels and Friends" to help improve the lives and morale of patients and their families at hospitals, the Ronald McDonald House, and nursing homes.