by Kate Langenburg

Created on: November 21, 2008   Last Updated: January 26, 2009

As it turns out, East Stroudsburg University's own Chuck Kagel is leading a double life: University Store employee by day, funky bass player by night. If you've ever been to the bookstore to buy textbooks, you've seen him. He sits in a small office in the back of the store, drinking coffee and typing away at his computer. But if you happened to be at the Tannersville Inn on September 13, you would have seen him at his night gig, playing with his band Who Knows.

Kagel, along with the other five members of Who Knows, come from the Pocono Mountain area and offer so much to its music-loving locals. Not only do each of these musicians play an instrument, but in most cases, they play two or more instruments and sing! (Not at the same time, of course).

Who Knows violinist Dale Barth plays his violin, acoustic guitar, harmonica, and contributes vocals to their sound. Not to mention his crazy antics on and off stage, like putting a chair in the middle of the dance floor, climbing on top of it, and playing directly to his fans. He seems to play the part of the comic relief, which was loudly illustrated Saturday night by the shirt he wore, proclaiming him to be "hot as balls."

Besides Barth and Kagel, guitarist Keith Naylor brings quite a bit of talent to the band. His strong vibrato makes up the voice of the band. Naylor has been playing for many years. In that time period, he has opened for Willie Nelson and also played for John Denver. His roots are in the rock and folk genres.

Of course, I can't leave out drummer extraordinaire Jack Boyer, who plays every kind of genre, including swing, blues, reggae, and rock just to name a few. When it comes to his drumming, he says, "Drumming is an element of living I can't dismiss. It's more fun than anything I know. It has tremendous power and brings satisfaction. I can't quit."

Guitarist Mike Strunk is responsible for all the loud guitar solos Who Knows fans hear during their shows. "He's the one we all pick on," said Kagel. At last Saturday's show, the band told their audience that Strunk was turning 86, an obvious lie, but all in good fun.

Speaking of which, I think the main goal Who Knows aims for is just to have fun. They have a strong relationship to each other and that is made apparent by the way they act on stage. Taking jabs on each other every now and then and making jokes about themselves is merely something that makes them sort of a musical family. It also makes the audience able to relax and, in turn, they feel closer

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