She got a taste for performing when she was asked to join a contemporary rock band in 1978, as lead singer. Jane spent many subsequent years playing in colleges, nightclubs and private functions with many different bands, namely Odyssey, Illusion, Montana and Jumpstart, playing all genres of music. She was influenced primarily with the sweet voice of Emmy Lou Harris, strong vocals of Linda Ronstadt and haunting ballads of Karla Bonoff along with the rockers like Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac and The Pretenders.

Throughout her tenure as a rock and country musician, she maintained her love for folk and unplugged music, always learning new material she could play while camping and with family. Every family event included hours of music with Jane, her sister-in-law, Rita Bernier, brother-in-law, Don Bernier, and husband, Richard Bernier. Sweet singing harmonies, guitar picking and fiddling filled the house on holidays and every gathering. When musical instruments would be taken out - crowds would gather to hear the rockabilly/country music the Berniers were playing.

After a break from playing professionally in 1995, Jane, Richard, Don and Rita decided to explore forming a family band. They started learning material from the Dixie Chicks, Emmy Lou Harris and Patti Loveless among the few. The untimely death of Rita (who was like a sister to her) left them heartbroken and the band plans fell apart.

In 2000, she attended her first bluegrass festival and had the privilege of picking and singing with a headliner band from Kentucky. It was then that the bluegrass bug hit her. The similarities to jigs and reels of old and the harmonies really captured her attention, leading her down the path to listening intently and learning from the greats.

The Nitpickers were formed in June 2007, after a great night of field picking. Jane's philosophy is make music pleasing to all ears.

Jane makes her home in Minot, Maine with her husband, Richard. They have two children, David and his wife, Jennifer, and Gregg who are also musicians.

Richard Bernier Dobro, Guitar, Lead, Harmony

Rich was born in Lewiston Maine on September 30 1955. Brought up in a family loving country western music, Rich's first influences were Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Eddie Arnold. At age 10 rock and roll took hold with the Beatles and Rolling Stones as well as other bands. Rich begged his parents for a guitar and on his 11th birthday was rewarded. Money being tight he began teaching himself. It did not take long for him to start playing lead guitar. He did not listen to the music of his age group and preferred bands like, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

At age 14 he started his first of many bands. When Rich turned 20 he joined a band named Lotus. The band played songs by Aerosmith, B.T.O. and Bad Company. After 2 years the band broke up and he formed the band Freebird which lasted 2 years. From there was Odyssey and Illusion. In 1981, Rich along with his wife Jane and brother Don started the Southern Rock band Montana, playing with music by Rosington Collins, the Allman Brothers as well as Molly Hatchet and the Charlie Daniels Band. With fiddle, twin lead guitar and strong vocals the band took the state by storm. After 6 year the band broke up and Rich and his wife took a break.

In 1987, the band Jumpstart was formed. This band had many different members and played everything from blues, rock, country and fusion. The band broke up in 1994 and Rich decided to retire from the rock scene. In 1995, the family got into camping and was playing music around the campfire. Country and Bluegrass seemed to be the main theme with an occasional rock song. The talk started about forming a band with sister Rita, brother Don and wife Jane.

In 2001, through much coaxing from Don, Richard attended his first Bluegrass Festival. Soon after he and his wife were going to as many festivals as they could. That's when his desire to play the dobro hit him. He bought his first Dobro in 2004. With no one locally to teach him he started to teach himself. In June of 2007, the family decided to try forming a Bluegrass Band.

Thru the help of a friend named Ken, the missing ingredient was found, a bass player named Woody. And now you know the rest of the story!

To email Rich, Click Here.

Rick Dale Banjo, Lead, Harmony

Born in 1955 in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, Rick grew up with a mother and an older brother who were accomplished musicians. While he did play trumpet in high school, he never touched a stringed instrument until he was 21 years old. Soon after college, a friend asked Rick to learn to play the banjo as part of a fledgling bluegrass band. Although he wasn't sure what bluegrass was, Rick remembered hearing a banjo for the first time on two occasions during his senior year. Not one to ignore such synchronicity, he built a Saga banjo from a kit, bought Harold Streeter's beginner's bluegrass banjo instruction book, borrowed a copy of "Old and In The Way," and began teaching himself to play.

After only several weeks of practice, Rick was playing in a band called Cold Spring Bluegrass. He could barely play three chords and keep a roll going, but he persevered and, because of that experience, still advises learners to play with others as soon as possible. Two years later, in 1980, three members of Cold Spring reformed as North Fork Alliance, a bluegrass band that celebrated 25 years together in 2005, releasing its 7th recording to commemorate its longevity. North Fork established a strong reputation in the Pennsylvania-New York region, opening concerts for Hot Rize and the Osborne Brothers, and playing bluegrass festivals featuring nearly every major act at one time or another. One of their recordings, "Fresh Tracks," received a rave review from Bluegrass Unlimited magazine.

One of Rick's proudest musical accomplishments was being chosen for the cover of Banjo Newsletter in September 1992. The cover story included an interview with Rick and a tab of one of his original instrumentals, "Red Ledge Ramble." North Fork performed a number of Rick's original songs, many written about the local area such as "Pennsylvania Morning," "Cry of the White Pine," and "The Secret of the Annie S."

In 1994, Rick moved to the Harrisburg area in Pennsylvania, where he began playing with an established bluegrass band, High Strung. During that time he had the privilege of taking lessons with Tom Adams, who lived nearby in Gettysburg. In 2002, Rick moved back to the Wellsboro area and North Fork began anew with a changed roster that included Jeff Wisor, David Bromberg's fiddle player. Jeff played on North Fork's last three recordings. During this time, Rick also started a solo career, playing guitar and singing bluegrass, folk, and originals.

In 2005, Rick met his partner, Crystal, a native Mainer, and he moved to Maine in 2006. He teaches at the University of Maine at Farmington and lives in Belgrade Lakes with Crystal, her two sons, and Rick's two cats. Rick has one son who lives in California.

Rick connected with The NitPickers by chance one evening when he saw Woody playing in Hallowell with the Jonah Howard Band. Jonah asked Rick if he brought his banjo, Woody's ears perked up, and the rest, as they say, is history.

To email Rick, Click Here.

Woody Woods Upright Bass, Lead, Harmony

Born in 1957, in New Haven, Connecticut, Woody's Grandmother had been a stride-bass jazz piano player with her own band for over 20 years. So, when Woody started pounding on pots and pans with wooden spoons, they figured he was bound to be a jazz drummer and bought him a real set of Slingerland drums for Christmas when he was 7 years old. The next year Woody won a talent contest against mostly high school kids where he played drums and did a pantomime act imitating Jimmy Durante and Sammy Davis, Jr. With that win, Woody caught the bug for live performance and never looked back.

Through high school he played 3 nights a week with a jazz band and later played 50s & 60s rock and performed occassionally with an old-time country band called The Wagoneers. Woody was a percussion and voice major in college. In the late 70s Woody moved to Texas and played drums in a progressive country band before relocating to Portland Oregon in 1979. Oregon was very supportive of bands that played original music so with a couple of co-writers they played all original music in a very popular band called Full Circle.

Woody moved to Los Angeles in 1985. By this time, he could hold his own on stage playing drums, guitar, bass or keyboards and joined a band where all the members were multi-instrumentalists and switched around continuously.

With his family in tow, Woody moved to Sabattus, Maine in 2001, to get back to his Northeast roots. He lives on the lake with his wife Annie.

Currently, Woody plays electric bass guitar and drums in a couple of bands around the Hallowell, Maine area. However, Woody fell hard and fast in love with Bluegrass music at the June 2007 Blistered Fingers Festival where the NitPickers were formed. He bought a new "doghouse bass" and starting rehearsing with the NitPickers a week later.

Woody has been performing onstage since he was 8 years old and 44 years later shows no sign of slowing down.

To email Woody, Click Here.