 They were a big band with a horn section, choir, and dancers and performed at festivals and corporate events in the San Francisco bay area.Mader began working as a professional musician at seventeen years old and joined the San Francisco Bay Area band, The Uptones when he was twenty one years old.The Uptones toured the U.S. opening for Billy Idol, UB40, Oingo Boingo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many others as well as winning a BAMMY Award.