Erica Buda-Doran started her singing, dancing, and acting career at age 3, and has been commanding the stage ever since. She grew up in the Southern Tier of NY then moved to Western NY where she studied music education and theater at SUNY Fredonia. While there, Erica put her big voice to work by cheering for the Buffalo Bills as a Buffalo Jill NFL Cheerleader. The leader of Nik and the Nice Guys heard her sing the National Anthem for a Patriots vs. Bills game, and recruited her to sing for that well known Rochester based twelve piece party band.

While with Nik and the Nice Guys, Erica traveled all over the country performing for public and private events including VIP parties for the Rose Bowl, Gator Bowl, and Orange Bowl, events for oil tycoons in Texas, and the annual blowout bash at the brewery after the Boilermaker in Utica.

Erica left the Nik crew to start a family and has been in the capital region now for two decades. She is well known in the musical theater community for her roles both on and off stage, specifically as the Leader of Education for Schenectady Light Opera Company. She is honored to be the only woman in Headfirst and loves sharing the stage with the guys. As a music teacher by day, Erica influences the young rockers of tomorrow. As a classic rocker by night, she breathes new life into our favorites of yesterday.

Brian’s musical journey began not in a smoky dive bar, but in the sterile, fluorescent-lit music room at Scraggy Hill Elementary, where he first grasped the mighty saxophone. The affair lasted for years but eventually ended after hearing the celestial roar of a Gibson Les Paul through a Marshall stack on the musical masterpiece: Frampton Comes Alive! It was louder. It was brighter. It went up to eleven. Naturally, the six-string became his soul-shredding destiny.

After decades of "paying dues" (mostly in the form of musty basement and backyard bbq gigs), a long and winding road—longer and windier than initially planned—led him to join forces with Mark Conerty in the On Your Mark (OYM) band.

OYM was yet another victim left in the wake of the infamous “Wuhan Flu” but like a phoenix emerging from the ashes of a completely unnecessary drum solo, Brian and Mark joined forces and formed Headfirst. Now, along with a ridiculously talented group of musicians, Brian continues his quest to rock the stages of the Capital District and beyond, delivering the hits you love, just louder than the previous band played them.

Phil Chieco (Guitarist) began making noise at age 12, likely horrifying his neighbors and leading to the brilliantly named college band "Phil N The Blanks." He then co-founded OMB, a group of "Old Men In The Basement" who successfully used music as a noble excuse to escape parental duties for over 30 years. Now retired from the mainstream workforce, Phil has committed his remaining days to making glorious noise with Headfirst, living by his simple philosophy: life is short, music should be fun, and simplicity is better.

Mark Conerty is a true fixture of the Capital District music scene, a bassist whose career has spanned an incredible five decades and counting. Born and raised in the area, Mark began his journey with four strings back in the 1970 when his father bought his first bass reasoning that four strings is easier to learn than six strings. He has honed his craft in numerous local garages, bars, and storied music venues that have long defined the region's live music landscape. Through music, Mark met his best friend Jim Roy in 1973, and they continue to play together with Mark’s oldest son Zachary in the acoustic band “Jimmy’s Garage.” Mark has had the honor of sharing the stage with some of the Capital District’s best musicians including (HeadFirst) Brian Smith, (On Your Mark) Steve Phelps, Michael Van Hoesen, Mike Jessup, Jim DiMenno, (Legend) Jim Roy, Artie Brown, Mike “Bates” Miranda, Bernie Mignacci, and (Jynx) Jim Roy, Nick DeAngelo to name a few. And a special acknowledgement to his wife Debbie, without her support Mark’s band adventures would have ended long ago.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Mark’s musical journey is his truly legendary, and perhaps financially questionable, passion for collecting basses. A shout out to Steve Aldi who introduced him to Lakland and Pedulla basses. It's rumored that for the past 55 years, he's acquired a new bass weekly, a dedication that ensures he always has the absolutely perfect instrument for any musical situation imaginable. While his collection might require its own zip code by now, it certainly keeps the local music stores thriving and provides endless material for bandmate jokes.

Dan Walczyk, a mild-mannered engineer by day, is Headfirst’s drummer and a background vocalist. For the past 50+ years, Dan has banged on the drum kit for many working bands and ensembles (17). He is comfortable playing many musical styles including modern and classic rock, progressive rock, pop, punk, oldies, country, polka & waltz, Celtic rock, latin, jazz, and big band. Growing up near Syracuse, NY as the youngest of six kids in a musical family, he started playing at 10 years old when his older siblings needed a drummer for their band. After being a band nerd in High School, he honed his craft by minoring in music as an undergraduate during the 1980s and playing in college jazz bands during graduate school in the early 1990s.

Arlen's mother sold the family tractor in Texas to buy a piano when he was three. He learned to play while sitting on her knee. He cut his teeth in Austin, where he was surrounded by Texas swing, punk, jazz, rock, latin, reggae, country, blues and everything in between. He made his way to the northeast to study early music and ended up (like so many musicians) as a web developer. An erstwhile composer and choral conductor, Arlen's musical tastes are wildly eclectic which leaves him easily confused - causing the band to have to go fetch him off the lawn.

Don't be surprised if you find him listening to Rick Wakeman, Chucho Valdez, Art Tatum, Marsha Ball, Stravinsky, Gorillaz, and Dua Lipa. ...all at the same time.

Also a chorister in the Capital District for years, when not playing with HeadFirst, Arlen might be spotted singing a bit of Josquin or Byrd.