Hot Rize started performing January 18, 1978, with Tim O'Brien on mandolin and fiddle, Pete Wernick on banjo, Charles Sawtelle on bass and Mike Scap on guitar. Scap left the band with Nick Forster (electric bass) joining in April, thereby allowing Sawtelle to switch to acoustic guitar. That established the four-man line-up that lasted over 20 years: O'Brien on mandolin, fiddle and lead vocals, Forster on electric bass, harmony vocals, and emcee work, Sawtelle, on guitar and occasional lead vocals, and Wernick as "Dr. Banjo".