You might not know Russell Nelson, but there is a pretty good chance you have heard his work.

Among other things, Russ is the director of the band at Butte Central Catholic High School. It is a band that is unlike any other band you will see at a high school sporting event in Montana.

The band is not your traditional marching band. Rather, it is the kind of band that you are more likely to see on a stage in a bar or music venue.

The band has great range, too. Some of the current bands and musicians they have been sampling lately include Ozzie Osborne, the Dropkick Murphys and Toby Keith. Russ lets his band members pick out the songs to learn, and he is usually playing the guitar or drums to accompany the band members.

In nearly a decade directing the band, Russ has launched music many music careers. He also got students who never thought of themselves as singers to become singers.

It really has been something cool to watch.

Russ is a 2007 graduate of Butte High School. He wrestled briefly for Butte High, but spent a lot of his time in those days in the weight room. He won multiple state championships in power lifting, and he competed in body building competitions as a youth.

Then, he went to Los Angeles to follow his first love, music.

You can catch Russ in action tonight at the Butte Depot, playing with Levi Bloom’s band. You don’t want to miss that show, which starts at 9 p.m. It is part of the Northwest360 Winter Fest.

Listen in to this podcast as Russ talks getting into working out so intensely as a young boy and why. Listen as he talks about his job at Butte Central, where he teaches different types of music classes all day.

Listen as he talks about his No. 1 goal when he got into music: being as cool as his uncle John Montoya.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.