Not too long ago, in a suburb of Cleveland, three musicians struggled to find their sound. Gathered in the basement of drummer Cean Carmichael's home, bass player Dave Blackerby, keyboardist Steve Masek, and Carmichael held court for months as a trio. But the band knew the music they wanted to play needed guitar. After auditioning several guitarists, the band finally welcomed the guitar duo of Curtis E. Leonard and Tim Askin into the basement. Immediately finding common ground within each other's styles, the quintet began exploring a range of cover material as well as writing their own songs. Finally, on a cold winter's night inside of the barn of a close friend, Spot played their first show. The band stayed hot, and the crowd stayed warm, and some would say magic happened in that old barn. Spot soon became known for their inspired covers as well as their blistering guitar duels. As time passed, the members of Spot sought opportunity elsewhere, but still found time to get together to rehash the old magic. Spot enjoyed its greatest success inside the friendly confines of Terrapin Station, a club that was too cool for its own good. Although the group has not performed since the closing of the Terrapin, it seems almost certain that we have not seen the last of this lineup. In any case, the spirit of Spot lives on in the music of the Sultans of Bing.