It was the spring of 1989, the
Western Pool & Spa Show had just
ended, and Eric Christiansen was
enjoying some beverages in a bar with
his fellow trade show attendees. He’s
a musician, so naturally, he had his
guitar with him and due to the lack of
nightly entertainment, he decided to
get it out and play a few songs.
After a few beautiful tunes, what
was once just a typical moment in
a bar was transformed into a united experience through the magic of
music. Ironically, there were other
industry professionals in the bar crowd
who were also musically gifted, and the
only possible thought between them
was: We should put together a band —
a pool man’s band!
And the rest is history. “We formed
the first version of The Pool Man’s
Band,” Christiansen says, “and it just
snowballed from there.”
The Pool Man’s Band played
regularly for years at both the Western
Pool & Spa Show in the spring and the
Pool Industry Expo in the fall; however,
it’s been a couple of decades since
they have performed in Long Beach,
Calif., for the Western Show. The PIE
Show this month in Monterey, Calif.,
remains their steady (annual) gig.
“We perform mostly covers of
classic songs,” says Christiansen.
“Rock n’ Roll, Country and Country
Rock are our genres of choice. Typically,
whoever is singing the song will pick
it, and since all of our vocalists have
slightly different musical tastes, there’s
always a variety of hits in our setlist.”
The Pool Man’s Band will put on
three, 45-minute shows at the Hyatt
Hotel in Monterey, Calif., on the night
of Friday, September 15 from 6 to 9
p.m. PDT. Current band members are:
Greg Crumbo, lead guitarist, Diablo
Valley Pool Pros; Eric Christiansen,
guitarist and vocalist, Pentair Aquatic
Systems; Dean D’Orio, bass guitarist
and vocalist, Superior Pool Products;
Brandon Hendrickson, guitarist and
lead vocalist, Aquascape Custom
Crafted Pools; Nick Woodson,
drummer and vocalist, Pentair Aquatic
Systems; Joe D’Orio, drummer,
Advanced Pool Service; Lindsey Spight,
keyboardist and vocalist, POOLCORP.
“Anyone who has ever been in The
Pool Man’s Band also works, or has
worked, within the pool industry,” says
Christiansen. “My idea was not to put
just any band together, but to put one
together that consisted of musically
talented pool and spa professionals
because I wanted to entertain fellow
pool people at our industry trade
shows. Our performance is a nonprofit
deal; we don’t do this for the money,
we do it for the fun of playing music
together.”
This article first appeared in the September 2023 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.