Tijuana Dogs

Matt Mauser – Vocals
Mike Holowatch – Drums
Dave Murdy – Guitar
Daniel Pearson – Bass
Jason Toney – Percussion/Vocals

MATT MAUSER

Matt’s love for music was apparent even as a little boy. His father was a guitar player and noticed that Matt and his little brother Gabe would dance, sing and make up their own lyrics to Elvis songs while still in their diapers. At the age of seven he got a job selling stereos and speakers at the Orange County swap meet with his uncle. Forced to listen to his seventeen year old uncle’s music it was at the swap meet where he was exposed to rock bands like Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Queen, The Beatles and Van Halen. At eight years old his mom bought him his first guitar and he wrote his first song that week.

In Jr. High Matt was exposed to pop music and fell in love with the songs of artists like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. He would practice his Michael Jackson moves for hours and was always very popular at school dances. Once he unknowingly cleared the dance floor while dancing to Billy Jean. Classmates at the time said he was in his own little world.

He continued writing music and learning to play the guitar through high school and college, postponing starting a band until his athletic career as an All American swimmer and water polo player were through. When Matt graduated from college his first priority was to start a band.

He founded the Tijuana Dogs with original member Marcos de la Cruz in 1997. Later that year he asked his college guitar teacher (Dave Murdy) to join the band and in early 1998 long time friend and bass player Rick Deeb joined the group.

Matt is a Spanish teacher at a private school in Corona Del Mar and is a Huntington Beach lifeguard during the Summer. He loves playing basketball, swimming, water sports, traveling, writing music, going out to dinner and watching movies.

He hates birds.

MIKE HOLOWATCH

DAVE MURDY

Dave received his bachelors degree from U.S.C. in Jazz and commercial guitar. Since graduating Dave has gone on to lead a very diverse musical career. Dave has performed with a wide range of artists from Jazz to classical to pop, Rock and Country.

Dave was an original member of Kilauea, a very successful pop Jazz band that Dave toured the country with and performed on four c.d.’s, two of which went top ten on the Billboard charts. While performing with Kilauea, Dave released his own Jazz c.d. “That Goes to Show Ya” which made it to the airplay charts and was heard around the country.

Dave has performed with Jazz artists as varied as Art Davis, Brandon Fields, Eric Marienthal, Tony Guerrero, Bobby Shue, Warren Hill, and many others. Dave has also performed with 60′s pop stars Mel Carter and Jackie Deshannon.

Currently Dave has released two c.d.’s with his trio, Toxic Jazz and also performs with the Big Band Wartime Radio.

Last Summer he performed and toured back east with “Steely” an independent artist with a national release and airplay.

Dave continues to be very active as a session musician playing on numerous independent releases, as well as arranging and writing. Dave has written, arranged and recorded original music for Universal Studios theme parks, as well as composed original music for “Muzak” which is heard around the world. Dave continues to be involved with education, teaching the studio guitar course at Orange Coast College and several private students as well as writing his own
guitar book.