About Us
Our Story:
Sugar Face began in the Fall of 2016 as a secondary musical project for Pam Banks, Steve Harris, Buddy Hassler, and Bob Norcross. The goal was to play a lot of tunes that we were not currently playing in our already established bands. Our musical direction is classic rock, Southern rock, and country (both old and new). As the band has evolved, we have added a lot of music that has been requested by friends and we are very happy with the results that we are getting as well as the feedback that we have received from all of our friends.
We did not realize at the time we began that we would turn into a very well liked and often requested 5 pc band. Our enjoyment of entertaining people at venues has been well recieved and we are looking forward to continued growth.. We are so very Grateful to all of our friends and family members for the encouragement and support since starting this band. We love each one of you so very much and each person that has had a hand in our journey is so important to us. We couldn't do what we do without YOU! From the family members who put up with our Rehearsals, the friends that like, share and support our shows, each person that attends the shows, the clubs, venues and booking agents that book us to play their Facility, Party, Festival, etc..... We Thank You!
We perform to ENTERTAIN our audience. We believe that our biggest job is to make sure people walk away from our performance happy with what they have seen and heard from our band. We are a high energy band that loves to interact with our audience. We have recieved GREAT reviews on our Social Media Pages. Please go check out our Facebook Page, Sugar Face Band and also Join our Friend Group called Sugar Face Band Friends
We do Clubs, Bars, Private Parties, Wedding Receptions, Festivals, etc...We consider bookings in all areas, we are based out of Birmingham, Al.
Sugar Face is:
Pam Banks - Keyboards, Bass Guitar, and Vocals
Pam was exposed to music at a very early age because her father is a Bluegrass and Southern Gospel Musician and Vocalist.
She began playing piano at 11 years old and was hired as the church pianist at 13 years old, serving in this role for 19 years.
She began playing bass guitar in 2002 and later co-founded the Bolt Bin Band with her friend, Tony Cousins, playing classic rock, country, and Americana music at lake events and private parties.
in 2009, she joined the band, RUCKUS, playing classic rock and country as their keyboardist and vocalist in the State of Mississippi.
She has contributed and helped grow two different Open Mic Night events in the Leeds/Moody Alabama area over the past 2 years and in 2016 co-founded Sugar Face with current members, Buddy and Steve. She finds entertaining people most enjoyable.
Buddy Hassler - Bass Guitar, Keyboards, and Vocals
Buddy has been playing music for over 44 years.....trumpet and guitar in high school, keyboards in various rock bands from around '82 til the end of 2013.....bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals in a few bands and in church since around 2000. He says that playing music just gets more enjoyable every day and cannot imagine not being a musician.
Playing career June, 1973 - Present:
Pizitz Middle School Beginner Band - Trumpet
Pizitz Middle School Advanced Band - Trumpet & French Horn
Pizitz Middle School Stage Band - Lead Trumpet
Vestavia Hills High School Concert Band - Trumpet & French Horn
Vestavia Hills High School Marching Band - Trumpet
Vestavia Hills High School Symphonic Band - Trumpet
Vestavia Hills High School "B" Jazz Band - Lead Trumpet & Soloist
All-State Jazz Band - Lead Trumpet
All-SEC Jazz Band - Lead Trumpet
The Allies - Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
Spectre - Keyboards & Vocals
Caliber - Keyboards & Vocals
4th Balloon - Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, & Vocals
Skyline - Keyboards & Vocals
1620 Sunset - Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Trumpet, Percussion, & Vocals
Crooked Road - Keyboards & Vocals
Joe & The Kid - Bass Guitar & Vocals
The Haulers - Keyboards & Vocals
The Sassy Brown Blues Band - Keyboards & Vocals
K.D. Battles & The Hillbilly Hustlers - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Coyote Jack Band - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Hutch Edwards Project - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Sugar Face - Bass Guitar, Keyboards, & Vocals
Steve Harris - Lead Guitar and Vocals
From Leeds, Alabama, Steve's influence in music came early from his Father who played Guitar and performed around various clubs in the Birmingham area when he was a child. As a youth, Steve got involved in church and Gospel music, There was always a well maintained guitar in his home waiting to be picked up and played on the spur of a moment. Steve learned to play along with his two older brothers. He branched out into other genres of music and formed his first band in 1988. He has been in bands ever since that have played all over Alabama and surrounding states and always looks forward to the next gig and to the next opportunity to entertain people.
Chris Crisler - Drums and Percussion
Christopher “Chris” Crisler began playing drums as a young boy, getting his first drums for his birthday at the tender age of eight. In beginner band, Chris played not only concert snare drum, but played his drum set in his first concert - the first time that had ever been done by a member of the Hazlewood High School Beginner Band. By the time he was fifteen, he was playing with southern rock and country cover bands in beer bars in southern Tennessee. (Yes, his parents signed a waiver allowing it to be “all legal and stuff”)!
At the age of sixteen, Chris played the drum tracks on a ten-song gospel album with the “Robert Allen Singers” of Sheffield, Alabama. The album, which was actually pressed on vinyl, was recorded at the Sound of Birmingham studio and engineered by the legendary Don Mosley.
A few short years later, Chris played drums and percussion on several demo tapes in various studios in and around Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
While attending the University of North Alabama in Florence and working at WQLT as a late-night disc jockey, Chris was also playing with various bands around the Tennessee Valley region. A job offer to go “on the road” with a six-piece show band was (in the mind of the 18-year-old drummer) too good to pass up. He quit school and his job and played in venues with horns (like Elks Lodges and Moose Clubs) as well as VFWs, American Legions, supper clubs and country clubs in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. He played on weekends with “Neon Leon and the Midnight Express”, the house band at a club in Lincoln, Alabama. He also played in the praise bands at Meadowbrook Baptist Church and at Crosspoint Church in Gadsden, Alabama in later years.
Chris found out about “Open Mic Night" at a club in Moody, Alabama and decided to check it out. After playing there a couple of times, he was approached by the members of Sugar Face (with whom he had ‘jammed’ a few times). They invited him to play a gig with them and at the end of that evening he was invited to become their regular drummer. Crisler says of his first experience playing a full show with Sugar Face: “It was like we’d been playing together our whole lives. It’s so comfortable. The groove is there and it just FITS!”
Jimi Layne- Lead Guitar and Vocals
When Jimi was 8 years old lost his eye. While he was in the hospital, someone brought him a guitar to help him find something to do during recovery. He began to learn Guitar and in about 4 weeks, he was playing well. He decided to learn to record and
did this by taking 2 cassette decks and recording a rhythm track on one and then playing back an recording a solo track on the other. He first performed on the stage at the Cain Break Supper Club in the early 70's. He played in several High School Bands, was hired to play in Boogie Junction and played at Hogan's in Downtown Birmingham until it closed. Jimi joined MainStreet and played with them for 18 years. He studied for 18 months at Blackbird Academy in Nashville, TN to learn how to record audio. He opened a Music Store and Recording Studio. Most recently he joined Sugar Face Band.