It started out as 3 friends from Penn Hills, PA.  Mike Mainier, Jason Mazzicolli, and Aaron Apter, they formed a friendship bond, then formed a band and later picked up a female bassist.  Smokin' Souls as they were named, played small gigs around the area and once at Club Laga in Oakland. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Well before their first year of college they kicked out their bass player chick, and took a break.
	Mike's talents include playing the keyboard/piano since the age of 3, and playing the guitar for the last 3 years.  He is a Gemini, has a Takamine acoustic guitar, uses whatever strings are on sale, and is and RA at his college of Robert-Morris.  He uses only Roland brand keyboards because they  ćkick assä  and he loves his girlfriend Jen very much.
	Jason met Mike in 8th grade to form various bands throughout high school and now owns a Fender Stratocaster guitar.  Influences include the Beatles, Oasis, and Dave Matthews.  He goes to college at Pitt University in Oakland, PA and is studying engineering.  He works at Frank and Dom's produce store during the summers in Penn Hills.  He sells fruit and flowers...
	Aaron attends Capitol University in Columbus, Ohio. He is majoring in music and plays the drums.  He has been a jazz percussionist for a great number of years.  A very talented musician makes Aaron a very much needed and appreciated member of this circle of friends.
	Succeeding in college by recording an album of their own, Jason and Mike wrote 14 songs and titled the album, Songs From The 4-Track.  Mike designed a cover for the CD as well as the casing.  Songs From The 4-Track included 13 originals, two of which are instrumental, and one cover of Talk Tonight, by Oasis.  The name they made for themselves now is LeFt oF WiLLiNg.  During their first year away at school, while Mike attended Robert-Morris, Jason attended Pitt, and Aaron attended Capitol, a private school. Aaron on the other side of the Ohio border, was a part of various music groups and ensembles as a percussionist.  On this side of the PA border, Mike and Jason found practice time after recording their album and booked gigs at local coffee houses.  Most were held at Moon Flight, a coffee and tea house in Moon Township by Robert-Morris College.
	After school let out they began to broaden their horizons by looking for bigger venues and pulling a whole band together again.  No more just Jason and Mike, guitar and keyboard, now Aaron was back and welcomed with anticipation.  Left Of Willing then entered an Acoustic Rock Challenge at Maggie Mae's Bar in North Huntington Township. We won't discuss that too much, as seeing how the groupie girlfriends had to watch from the parking lot and witnessed  a bar brawl....but the show was good, and we still donāt know who won that evening?  A bassist was needed and a few were given a chance, the one decided on is Tony, from the North Hills.  Aaron had played with him in jazz ensembles growing up and describes him as an amazing bass player, which he, in turn, is. The most recent publication for Left Of Willing was in the In Pgh weekly newspaper, it listed their upcoming shows.
	The best way to describe their musical style is to that of Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, and a little bit of Oasis.  It is a style that can very easily be turned acoustic and has a mellow sound. With the addition of a bass player again, and improving what Jason, Mike and Aaron already have, it is sure to change the sound and overall performance of Left Of Willing.  Mikeās soothing voice blended with Jason's higher harmonies ends up being a pleasant mix of male vocals.  Jason's guitar solos, Mike's tickling the ivories, Aaron's pacing the team with Apter style drumming, and now Tony's new added twists make up Left Of Willing's new sound.  Old sound mixed with new sound equals an improved chance at getting bigger and better gigs, and getting the name out more.  Give them a chance, lend them an ear, and if you like, buy their CD, a new one will be expected in the future sometime soon.
	To contact the band...or for directions to upcoming shows-
email-   leftofwilling@hotmail.com