About

SPILLAGE started as the vision of guitarist Tony Spillman. In fact, it was the mid 90's when Chris hooked up with Tony in a band called Epitaph as a fill-in drummer for them. Then later, when Chris contacted Tony about the open drum chair in Earthen Grave, they discussed it and Tony asked Chris to join the Spillage project. 

The original lineup of SPILLAGE included Lothar Keller on vocals, (Bruce Franklin guest guitarist) and Willie Max on bass, along with Tony, Nick Bozidarevic, Paul Rau and Chris Martins. After the release of their first album in 2015, Lothar and Willie left SPILLAGE  to pursue other musical endeavors. It was at this time, SPILLAGE brought in Billy McGuffey as their new bassist and backup vocalist. 

As a point of interest, the members of SPILLAGE have known each other on and off for nearly 40 years, growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. 

It wasn't until SPILLAGE was scheduled to play the Maryland Doomfest in 2016 that they met with singer Elvin Rodriguez, who was able to learn their songs in a very short amount of time and essentially performed his "live audition" at that festival. Needless to say, he got the gig. The group shares a passion for their own unique sound, allowing each member brings their musical contribution to the band! Most listeners will agree: over the years their efforts surpass that of the previous.

Nick first picked up the guitar at age 13 and was drawn right away to heavy rock artists of that time: such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Montrose. Nick cites his early guitar influences to be Ace Frehley, Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, Uli Roth and Frank Marino. Nick began to teach himself guitar licks and songs and soon crafted a style of his own. Primarily self-taught, he has played in a number of bands and some 40 years later is currently surrounded by high-school friends and some long-time bandmates in SPILLAGE (along with singer Elvin Rodriguez, who upon joining, instantlyclicked with the band). 

Nick enjoys classic horror movies and has openly shared his enthusiasm for it with his bandmates, fans and friends. Some of the songs written by him were influenced by his passion for this film genre, and lyrically the song “Book of Secrets” is influenced by Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Frankenstein.

When not on tour with SPILLAGE, Nick enjoys spending time with his family going to scenic places, and is very involved with his church, sharing his musical gift with the congregation there. He also spends some time with a few Spillage bandmates covering some hard rock classics in the cover-band, Band of Brothers.

 “Bigman” Chris Martins was born on the lakefront of Chicago and started playing music at an early age. Playing bugle for a local Drum and Bugle corps, he quickly found the drumline calling to him, and the rest is thunderous history! In 1976, Chris moved to West Chicago, IL where he met and developed a musical relationship with keyboardist Paul Rau, and guitarist Nick Bozidarevic (HALF of SPILLAGE). They played around the local scene in various bands and insists that playing together for so long is one of the reasons SPILLAGE works as well as it does as a band.

Influenced by all the “jazz greats”, Chris’ style would be cemented by the mighty Bill Ward, with a dash of Tommy Aldridge and a hefty helping of Cozy Powell to bring his drumming skills to the next level behind the kit!

When he’s not laying down a smooth, tight groove behind his drum kit, Bigman Chris has worked as a world-class CNC machinist for over 40 years. Chris occasionally wears a “gnome hat” on stage which eventually became a signature style and gave birth to a new nickname (Chris is affectionately referred to by his bandmates, fans and friends as “the World’s Largest Garden Gnome”) . He has also been known to adopt cats and provide them with a good home. 

Paul's love of music started at a young age, listening to his Dad's classical records, and his Mom's rock and roll records. That mixture of Beethoven, Mozart, Motown, and Crosby Stills and Nash would be hugely influential later. He started piano lessons in first grade, but it wasn't until fifth grade that Paul finally discovered that improvising and accompanying other people opened up a whole new world of music. In Jr. High, Paul and Nick were inspired by their choir teacher, Mr. Joe Higgins, who introduced the students to music by Bach, the Beatles, Chicago, Led Zeppelin, and many others.

In eighth grade, Nick, Paul, and Chris were prodded by a mutual friend, Bob Dieter, into starting a band. Again, diverse musical interests played a part in attempting songs by Kiss, Elton John, Deep Purple, Rush, Chicago, Pink Floyd, UFO, J. Geils Band, The Doobie Brothers, and many more. Not long after, they started writing and recording original material. After many years playing together, Paul, Nick and Chris find themselves still playing together, but now with longtime friends Billy McGuffey (bass) and Tony Spillman (guitar) in SPILLAGE. True to Tony's vision of SPILLAGE, the diverse tastes and backgrounds from their youth, bring a unique sound to SPILLAGE. SPILLAGE stays true to their desire to write brand new music with an old school honesty and integrity. Beethoven meets Black Sabbath. (It's all the same seven notes)

Outside of the band, Paul is happily married to Lynn, and has four children, Jon, Sean, Keira, and Andrew. His “day gig” is as a music teacher and music director/organist at St. Odilo Catholic Church in Berwyn, IL. Paul enjoys fitness, gardening, cooking, and in the presence of mountains, Paul will always find one to climb!