Frank is the Coyotes' lead singer and guitarist. Frank is originally
from Virginia but has also been playing for 15+ years in and around the
Bay Area. Frank's musical roots and branches cover much territory. He
brings material to the group from blind city alleys to high lonesome
mountaintops, from sources familiar and obscure, and even makes up his
own on occasion. He takes requests, but there's no telling what he may do with them. When he breaks into 'dub style rambling and raving, even familiar material may veer into uncharted territory. His personal mission in Coyote Blue is to keep the band on its toes, a sentiment returned in kind and with interest at every musical turn.

Topher Gayle or, even better, "Tophie Ray" brings a suspiciously furry face, an east coast flavor, and vocals reminiscent of Ry Cooder's famous tired hobo tones to the Coyotes. He's been playing various instruments including mandolin, mandola, guitar, ukulele, hand drums, and bass, for over 30 years and has been in far too many bands to count since he plays in several at once - including the 3 or 4 bands he is currently in. Tophie Ray favors some of the older traditional tunes and arrangements, and wry, funny tunes you can dance to in roadhouses and such. He particularly admires the Austin Lounge Lizards. Which should tell you something about his personality and sense of humor. Though seeing and hearing really makes for believing in his case. We have no idea how many genres Tophie Ray really is familiar with. And suspect he doesn't know either. His memory comes and goes some. But it is a whole bunch. He even plays electrified rock'n roll from time to time - and really likes to bend and abuse genres. So watch for the occasional funk or soul lick from him. At least that is what he claims he is doing. He also gives private lessons on various instruments and styles from his home in San Jose - contact him if interested at music@tophergayle.com.

Pete grew up in Palo Alto, California and brings particularly strong classical music backround and training to the Coyotes. He grew up playing the violin and other instruments in orchestras, quartets, jazz combos, etc. We don't know how many instruments or musical genres he really plays. But like Topher, it is a whole, almost obscene bunch. And he seems able to learn 'em (both instruments and genres) with maddening ease in about a casual weekend each. We came upon Pete at a swing jam a couple of years ago, loved his tone, style, and adaptability, and immediately set about corrupting him in various ways — including morphing him into a fiddle player. None of which he resisted in the slightest. One evening we asked Pete how long he'd been playing the violin. He thought about it for a while and said "Since I was two." So we all thought about the implications of that for a bit. Then we asked him if the violin was therefore something that had been a part of his conscious life as far back as he could remember. He thought about it for while and then said: "Uh, yeah. I guess you could say that..."