The White Tornado is keyboardist and songwriter Bill Peterson, who hails from Iowa City, Iowa, smack in the middle of Tornado Alley. His band is The White Tornado Outbreak, a funky piano-pop trio with occasional horns support that plays original music that gets stuck in your head and slowly, subtly changes your life.

The White Tornado plays piano, sings, writes music and refers to himself in the third person. He is the alter ego of the mild-mannered Bill Peterson, and was born in the blues jams and funkin' jazz jams of Iowa City, though he grew up in the central Iowa ghettos of Marshalltown. The White Tornado tries to write songs that make you laugh, dance or nod your head, and maybe think. He was the kid in your class that drew comic books with himself as the hero and tightrolled his jeans even though you told him he wasn't cool enough.

Kevin Dawson plays bass guitar and lays down sweet vocals. Kevin hails from Houston, TX, but moved to Iowa City to study law, which is what gets him all the ladies. In addition to playing in the Outbreak, Kevin can be found playing and hosting various jams around Iowa City.

Steve Bennet plays drums, and wants to change his name to Steve Bennet when he grows up. He can pull you a shot of espresso that's like the neutronium of caffeine and just as smooth. Kevin comes from the river town of Dubuque, but moved to Iowa City to escape Dubuque.

Long Boring Story

Peterson grew up in Marshalltown, Iowa, where he began taking piano lessons at the age of 10. Managing to remain only subconsciously aware of the 80s and 90s music of his youth, he found himself much more intrigued by the jazz records in his parents' collection and the geek rock listened to by his Dungeons & Dragons-playing peers. Upon moving to Iowa City to attend the University in 1995 - where he has remained since - he was drawn into the multitude of blues, jazz and funk jams in the area, garnering the nickname The White Tornado and over the years obtaining a hands-on education in musical theory and stage performance that perhaps delayed obtaining his degrees in Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy and Philosophy.

Peterson has played with a number of groups in the Iowa City area, including the Blue Tunas, the Johnny Kilowatt Band, and Public Property. An avid writer of stories, poems and songs since youth, it was inevitable that Peterson's music would spawn its own project eventually. From 2004-2005 Peterson fronted the drums, bass and piano trio Band for Life, performing in the Iowa City and surrounding areas, playing much of the original music that would form the basis of the album Seek Shelter. The band dissolved when drummer Dave Hoy and bassist Mike McWilliams left Iowa City, and Peterson took time off from music to pursue a PhD in Physics at the University of Iowa.

Continuing to write songs, Peterson eventually found enough time outside graduate study to gather musicians around him and begin performing again, this time under his moniker The White Tornado, with the band playing as The White Tornado Outbreak. Fueled by the success of local shows, he recorded and released his debut solo album, "Seek Shelter", in May of 2009. Peterson continues to produce music, striving to write songs that are musically intricate and enjoyable to listen to, while containing lyrics that at least hint at emotionally meaningful topics with a dark yet hopeful tone. Already planning the release of a second album and an EP in addition to Seek Shelter, The White Tornado should continue to carve an ever-expanding path of destruction across the Iowa and Midwest music scene for some time to come.