Meet The Band

Founder Robert Barclift has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember, strumming a tennis racket and pantomiming to the music of the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five in front of his parents’ stereo.  After a few guitar lessons, he recruited several of his sixth-grade classmates into his first band which quite notably performed for their female classmates via telephone on Friday nights and in a local musical showcase.  

The next year, Robert began playing mostly with older musicians.  When he was 14, his then current group lost its bass player and Robert stepped up trading his electric guitar for a bass.  Within less than a year, Robert was recruited to play bass with an established northwest Alabama band The Soft Explosion.  Among other venues, they performed at the Florence Lauderdale Coliseum and the Redstone Arsenal Officers’ Club.  Robert officially retired from music at the tender age of 17 to pursue his schooling more seriously, though occasionally picking and strumming an acoustic guitar.

Robert earned a law degree and eventually practiced law in his hometown of Florence, Alabama.  He and his family later moved to Birmingham, where he eventually worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and then the Middle District of Florida in Fort Myers.  In Fort Myers, Robert was invited to play bass at church – 23 years after he had last owned a bass.  He bought a bass and an electric guitar and began playing both during church services, and eventually outside of church, as well.  Entering the new century, Robert founded the Alter Ego Band of Fort Myers, a large band with horns focused on dance music from the ‘60s and ‘70s.  In 2006, the band’s lead singer, Tracey Caruso, recorded her solo Country Album, “A Man to Drive” produced by Robert’s Soft Explosion buddy, Steve Melton, on which Robert played bass along seasoned Nashville session players.  Later moving to Atlanta, Robert began assembling a similar band known as The Alter Ego Band of Atlanta in 2020. 

Mike's music career began in the 3rd grade when his mom decided he should play in the orchestra.  The music director said they needed a Viola player.  Mike said “sure”.  Little did he know that alto clef is a fairly useless clef to learn and that Viola wasn’t as cool as violin or cello.  Still he continued to play (rather poorly) through high school.  He picked up guitar at 13 and learned all of John Denver’s greatest hits.  That turned out not to be as great a repertoire as he thought at the time.  

Then, one day while sitting at the lunch table he heard some guys talking about how they needed a bass player for their rock band.  Mike chimed in that he played bass (he did not; but he did play the bass strings on his guitar, so pretty much the same thing). He was then introduced to the world of tall skinny garage band teens who were in love with loud wailing guitar riffs.  They played all the cliche rock tunes of the 70s including great dance tunes like Freebird, Stairway to Heaven and Purple Haze.  

Mike didn’t grow his hair long and he never got tall, but he was forever influenced by the alluring world of testosterone laden rock and roll and what happens when you drink too much beer when you weigh only 115 pounds.  But eventually college arrived (well, not for the most of the band) and Mike turned his attention to his studies.  Being pre-med was all consuming.  Mike recalls trying to study in his dorm outside Legion Field and being annoyed by the loud music of this new band called REM playing for free just a hundred yards away. Mike’s world had changed yet again.

Med school in Augusta GA (“just no place to be”) brought a new chapter in Mike’s life, one devoid of music, or arts,  or fun.  But then, during his senior year he found himself organizing a band for a show for the medical school.  He played the part of Paul Schaffer (yes, he told them he knew how to play keyboard; yeah, he faked it again).  Residency further plunged Mike into the all consuming world of medicine but he found a few guys who wanted to create a band and needed a drummer.  “Sure, I play drums.”  Mike then bought a drum kit from a 12 year old who never touched his Christmas present.  Mike took drum lessons - and before long he was playing gigs at local bars.  Well, at least 1.  Once again his musical world was expanded by bandmates who introduced him to Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Mike got married after residency, moved to Boston for fellowship where his drum kit gathered dust and his guitar remained in its case.  He moved back to Atlanta in 1999 where his family grew and his medical career flourished.  Along the way he realized he was missing something so, once the kids were fairly grown, he decided to take private guitar lessons.  His teacher introduced him to a wide variety of styles including jazz standards, bluegrass, blues and rock.  Mike became a regular with a bluegrass jam group near Emory and started picking up new instruments like mandolin.  Then, one day, he had his friend David over.  David plays saxophone and bass.  They ran through about a dozen tunes and then, weeks later, David told Mike about this band he played in and would he like to come to a practice.  

Mike showed up at the Alter Ego Band of Atlanta practice expecting to be a spectator.  But the drummer didn’t show up so Mike sat in on drums.  At the end of practice the band leader Bob asked Mike if would sing a tune or two.  Mike sang one, then another and then another.  At the end Bob invited him to come back to the next practice and to  bring his guitar.  And the rest, as they say, is history. (Mike is still waiting for his chance to perform John Denver’s Greatest Hits)

Coming soon.

Keyboardist Max Heine grew up listening to albums his father played at dinner every evening, such as classic musicals, Frank Sinatra and the Dixieland jazz of his family’s native New Orleans. As a teenager in Memphis, Tenn., during the ‘60s, he relished the rhythm and blues classics coming out of the city’s Stax and Sun studios. 

Max has played keyboard and bass with bands in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Atlanta. Those include Rockwood, a blues-based rock band, and Cary & Friends, a Western Swing band, both of Atlanta. Heine’s self-produced original songs can be found on Soundcloud.  

After a poorly thought out, decades-long hiatus from performing, David was enticed back into playing saxophone by the opportunity to become part of the Alter Ego band of Atlanta. He previously performed in classical ensembles, marching bands, and jazz bands through high school, and for almost a decade during his medical training with the Washington University Medical School “Hot Docs” big swing band in St. Louis. He is thrilled to be musically engaged again as a part of the outstanding horn section for Alter Ego.

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The drums chose Carlos at age 11 and he’s been providing his impeccable feel and solid groove on congas, bongos, and assorted percussion for more than 30 years. His varied musical influences include Southern Rock, Blues, Jazz, Latin, and African artists. Over decades he has been a part of an array of groups including The Fine Line, THE Percussion Choir, Shiva's Moon, Otter Control, Tres Bromistas, Audiomics, Tiger Kings, and Polly Holliday. As a live performer, he has shared the stage with Calico Mantra, as well as Cam and His Dam Jam Band. His groups have opened for the likes of Michelle Malone, and have played countless performances at venues such as Eddie's Attic.

Through his independent recording artist persona, Captain Highside, Prashant is constantly composing, performing, and releasing a series of buzz worthy music and video projects via online channels. As a Lead Vocalist for Alter Ego, he scratches his itch for the energy and feedback that only live performances with appreciative audiences can deliver. 

Prashant has been drawn to music since before he could walk. Growing up in Austin, Texas, he started with guitar lessons at the age of 7, then became a classically trained wind symphony reed player and section leader. His stage experience as star of multiple college musical theater productions serves him well as he delivers the goods for audiences show after show.

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While in Nashville completing his training in pediatric hematology, he became engrained in the emerging community of blues and R&B, recording his first studio album “Mistake/Mend/Master/Meditate” (released April 2023) on which he wrote, produced or co-produced all of the songs and had invited session musicians who whose credits include the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Smash Mouth, Tito Puente, Brittany Spencer, Michael McDonald and others. His EP “In Southern Cities” was released shortly after in August 2023 to coincide with his move to Atlanta as Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology at Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Prashant continues to release more music in a variety of genres and is gaining traction as a rising talent in independent music.

Steve’s on-stage journey began at age 15 with an 8-piece soul band from Georgia’s Golden Isles known as The Striking Resemblance. In the decades since, he’s performed hundreds of shows at venues including The Cavern in Liverpool, SUN Studios in Memphis and more. Groups include Bill Sheffield, The Psychics, Red Lea, Cruis-O-Matic, The Independents and now The Alter Ego Band of Atlanta. He’s opened for such artists as Martina Mc Bride and Wynonna Judd at the legendary Grand Ole Opry House and in years gone by shared the stage with the likes of The Swinging Medallions and Billy Joe Royal.

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Christopher was an amazing person and a talented musician.  He enjoyed playing trumpet and harmonica in local bands including Lanier Jazz and Alter Ego Band of Atlanta.  It was not unusual for him to sit down at the piano or pick up a bass or guitar and discover that he could jam a catchy tune.  While attending St. John's University in New York, he had the opportunity to travel abroad for a semester.  He would often keep his harmonica on him so that if he encountered a musician playing on the streets of Europe, he could easily join in and participate in creating music.  Christopher certainly understood that music was a universal language.

Christopher was an amazing wine and food expert.  After college, he studied to become a sommelier and became passionate about creating dining experiences for patrons at high quality restaurants.  His talents contributed to 3 restaurants in the Atlanta area acquiring the Michelin star status.

Christopher was always an entrepreneur spirit and loved to find ways to create his own income streams. He created an antique business and loved to search for unique desks and artifacts to sell in his antique booth.  He created a catering business where he would provide incredible dining experiences to small groups. 

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Through all his hardships, he remained a kind soul until the very end, always providing a polite and kind word to those who have taken care of him during his health battles.   He will be truly missed in so many ways by the people who know him and love him.