Musicians rely on a standard medium when scouting for new talent. It�s an index card-sized want ad posted at a local music store.

Jill Towers took a different approach. In 1992, the recording artist learned she had breast cancer. A year later, she had a double masectomy. A decade after that, requiring reconstructive surgery, she arranged a consultation with Dr. Tom Fiala and discovered that he was a real specialist.

Dr. Fiala had played piano since the age of five, studied classical music in his teens, and earned an ARCT degree in piano from Toronto�s Royal Conservatory of Music. Not only did this revelation change the dynamic of the doctor-patient relationship, it changed the nature of the group when Fiala helped turn Towers� duo into a trio. Towers knows she couldn�t have done any better even if she�d posted two index card ads at the music store.

"It turns out that Tom�s probably the best keyboard player I�ve ever worked with. He is so natural -- and that�s how we click. And now I don�t look him as a doctor, because I see him first as a musician and as my friend."

Of the tens of thousands of bands in America, you can bet there�s not a snowball�s chance that another features a cancer survivor and her doctor. And when you toss a dental hygienist into the mix, brother, you�re dealing with even more astronomical odds.

When she�s not prompting her patients to rinse and spit, Marlene Pederson, Towers� original counterpart, is bringing her skill sets for oral hygiene to the band. Stick with this one -- it�ll make sense.

"When patients are getting their teeth cleaned, it�s a stressful experience so I need to be outgoing and make them feel comfortable," says Pederson. "I think the same thing�s happening at a bar or a pub. People come up and want to talk you and you try to put them at ease. You can�t be shy. You don�t want them to feel uncomfortable."

So if you�re a dental hygienist looking to enter the exciting world of rock n� roll, consider these tips from Pederson: Leave your scrubs at work, don�t keep your hair up in a bun, and have a good time.

"There are no outside hang ups in the band," Pederson points out. "And that�s probably because we don�t want to be famous, we want to have fun."

That�s the philosophy that serves the fourth member of Anita Drink. A professional musician for nearly twenty years, Stacy Dudley was playing in bars when he was 15 ("The bass player�d say I was his son�"). Of course, being a professional musician doesn�t mean you make enough cash to quit your day job. That�s why Dudley shows up each weekday at Sawtek, where he�s hanging on the telephone.

"I�m a research technician and I do preliminary testing on devices and products and collect data on microelectronic component pieces that end up in phones for Ericsson and Motorola. It�s very interesting," he insists without a trace of irony.

Having already played on records and on stage across America and Mexico, Dudley understands that the kind of weekend gigs he plays with Anita Drink will be the backbeat of his life.

"I guess what happens over the years when you realize your youth is behind you, you start going on to other forms of income. We�ve all done that. But by then, being a musician or being in a band is such a part of you, you can�t get rid of that, so you have to find a way to keep playing."

Although he�s the newest member, Dudley�s experience told him that careers and credentials wouldn�t mean much when he joined the band. He was right.

"They don�t see me as a research technician, and I don�t consider there�s a plastic surgeon or dental hygienist in the band. You gel because you play an instrument. That�s your common ground. So we�re all pretty much the same� although when we�re hanging around between sets I may ask Tom, �How many boobs did you do today?�"

With four serious musicians, the quartet accepts that there�s little they can do to improve on a collective century of experience -- which explains the handful of rehearsals over the last year and a half. More important than practice, says Towers, is looking past professions to create music.

"When we�re playing, everything else is left behind because we�re playing music from the heart. There are no inhibitions or worrying about our day jobs. There�s absolutely nothing like it."

Adds the cancer survivor, "Music is the best therapy in the world."

Gary McKechnie