Michelle Moughton

 Mezzo-Soprano, Michelle Moughton, is well known for her velvet voice and expressive nature on the stage. Michelle earned her Bachelor of Music (Opera Performance) from the renowned Cleveland Institute of Music at Case Western University where she studied with legendary tenor, Vinson Cole. From 2018-2019 she was one of ten singers worldwide chosen for the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with William McGraw, widely considered the preeminent voice teacher of the day. The ten singers chosen for this program each year are considered the top 2% of young opera singers in the world. While in Cincinnati, Michelle was given the distinction of workshopping two new operas alongside their composers and dramatic teams with Cincinnati Opera and The Metropolitan Opera. She performed the role of Big Stone in Matthew Aucoin’s workshop of his new opera, Eurydice, on the stage of List Hall at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In the second workshop with Cincinnati Opera, Michelle represented the real life exonoree, Nancy Smith, in Scott Davenport Richards’, Blind Injustice. Michelle has performed several roles with companies such as Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Dayton Opera, and Musical Theatre International in Rome, Italy. Roles include: the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Mercédès in Carmen, Flora Bervoix in Verdi’s La Traviata, Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, among others. She has also been the Alto Soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Early Music Ensemble at UC Davis and in Cincinnati with the CCM Philharmonia. Mrs. Moughton has also graced the opera concert stage throughout Europe, including concerts with full orchestra in places such as Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.   Michelle had the opportunity to join her husband on stage and sang the part of Sister Mary with Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime.

Hailing from Seattle, WA, guitarist Scott Moughton is the former lead guitarist and original member of Geoff Tate's Operation:Mindcrime (former singer for the iconic multiplatinum band Queensryche). He performed for over 8 years with the band, traveling to 49 countries as well as wrote material for and recorded on 4 international releases during his tenure. Prior to that, he was the guitarist and main songwriter for the modern funk/blues band The Voodoo Roosters, which is how he originally became friends with Geoff. Geoff would come and join the Voodoo Roosters' horn section adding his hidden talents as a sax player whenever he was not on tour with Queensryche. Scott has also worked with members of the Tower of Power horn section, who performed on the Voodoo Roosters second album "Heavy Loaded", Eddie Money, John Moyer of Disturbed, Simon Wright of AC/DC and DIO, plus many others. He was also a studio engineer at Triad Studios in Seattle, working with bands such as Earth, Wind, and Fire, Kenny G., and video soundstage work with The Love Mongers (Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart), plus world renowned record producer Timothy Eaton. His multi talents and wealth of knowledge help bring the sound of Love Alive to to the stage and video screen.

Larry is a bassist that has a wealth of experience and energy from years of playing and recording with top shelf talent from a vast array of shows and venues. From rock to jazz, country or blues, Larry has held his ground and played with some of the greatest musicians like Carmine Appice, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Mangione.

Born in the San Francisco bay area1, Larry started playing bass from the inspiration of his mother and the Beatles. Most people know Larry as a rocker, but his career started with Jazz. Big band jazz was the driving force for his ability to play and read all styles of music. In high school, his music teacher, Joe Foster, sent him to multiple jazz camps like Don Ellis, Stan Kenton, and the Reno Jazz camp. At the age of 17, Larry performed at the Monterey Jazz festival with Chuck Mangione to a crowd of seventeen thousand. This was only the beginning. 

Larry went on the road as soon as he could reach the pedals, playing clubs and casinos. This would take him to Atlantic City, Reno and Vegas. In the early eighties Larry decided to get off the road and came to Sacramento for a change. After a few months in town, he met Ronnie Montrose. This would change things for Larry in a big way. Not only did Larry tour with Ronnie for two years, but Ronnie’s influence would lead him to groups like Northrup and King Kobra. 

The King Kobra 111 record was very successful, finding its way to number 6 on the hard- hit charts along with a number one song in Germany. The record also features the video (Take It Off). This MTV video was on strong rotation for a year.

People Larry has recorded or played with include:

Carmine Appice, Ronnie Montrose, Eddie Money, Chuck Mangione, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul Shortino, Bobby Kimble, Frank Hannon, Jeff Keith, Paul Holdgate, Matt Apts, Leonard Haze, Carlos Vega, Johnny Edwards, Jeff Northrup, Terry Illouis, Johnny Gunn, Wesley Orsoli, Roger Smith, Steve Price, Steve Brown, Kyle Martin, Tony Providence, Keith England, Stevie Keys, Eric Rango, Mark Allen Lanoue, Rory Faciane, and Randy Scoles.

 Rick Deputy began playing drums at age seven, raised in a musical family where his earliest lessons came at his grandmother’s side. That early nurturing set the stage for a lifelong career behind the kit and behind the console.

In his formative years Rick cut his teeth in countless club bands throughout Sacramento and Northern California, and later in the Tahoe/Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City scenes. His hard-earned reputation and dynamic playing led to an invitation from Montrose, where he connected with fellow musician Larry Hart. After his tenure with Ronnie Montrose, Rick spent more than two years touring as the drummer for Tommy Tutone.

Parallel to his work as a performer, Rick built an impressive career as a monitor engineer. His engineering credits include Tower of Power and a remarkable 20-year run working with Grammy-winning Los Lobos, taking him around the globe and solidifying his reputation as a trusted live sound professional.

After retiring from life on the road, Rick made his home in Murphys, California. There he teamed up with friends to form the locally beloved band Star Dogs, and more recently has been enjoying new challenges—learning material for a Heart tribute, supporting longtime collaborators Scott and Michelle, and reuniting musically with Larry Hart.

Rick Deputy’s career spans decades of drumming, touring, and live engineering—a musician equally at home grooving behind the kit or shaping the sound that reaches the audience. 🤘🏻