Bobby "Werner" Strete

Bobby Strete (a.k.a. Werner and/or R.A. Werner) is an American musician who is best known as the bass player in NYC Area pop-punk/garage band Mod Fun and, later, in the industrial combo Crocodile Shop.

Strete began playing bass in 1979 at the age of 12 when he formed the band that would eventually become Mod Fun with childhood friends Mick "London" Hale and Chris Collins. He initially learned the standard 4 string electric bass and, later, stand-up bass (which he occasionally played with a jazz combo at a local restaurant) as well as the electric guitar which he continues to play to this day.

Bobby Strete contributed bass lines and backing vocals to the entire recorded output of Mod Fun from 1983 - 1987 after which he became known as "R.A. Werner" and continued working with Hale in Crocodile Shop until 1997. [See [http://www.crocshop.com CrocShop website] ] In the mid '80's he and Collins also did a brief stint as the rhythm-section of an otherwise all female pop-rock outfit known as The Vertical Smiles.

After his departure from Crocodile Shop, Strete/Werner was the driving force behind New Jersey punk band X-Breed, in which he played bass, guitar, sang lead vocals, and contributed to the songwriting.

In 2004, Bobby Strete re-emerged as the bassist in Crocodile Shop (now known simply as "CrocShop") and participated in the reunion of Mod Fun which has continued unabated to the time of this writing [ [http://jerseybeat.blogspot.com/2005/10/its-mod-mod-mod-mod-mod-world-back-in.html Jersey Beat ] ] . Since reuniting, Strete and his friends in Mod Fun have released a new double-length CD entitled "Now...and Again" and they have performed at a wide variety of venues in New York, New Jersey, and in major cities around the U.S. Between 2004 and 2006 he also served as the bassist in reformed New York power-pop group The Punch Line, which put out an album during his tenure. In 2007, he contributed a good deal of guitar work to bandmate Chris Collins' debut solo album. [See [http://www.myspace.com/chriscollins67 Chris Collins' Myspace page] ]

He continues to write, record, and perform with Mod Fun.

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