Georgie got his first taste of delta blues when a friend loaned him a Robert Johnson tape. There was something about the music that grabbed a hold of him and wouldn't let go. At that point he knew that the blues was what he needed. One night in the early 1990's, he stepped onto the stage of an open mic blues jam at "The Barbery," took a deep breath, and belted out "Stormy Monday," the only blues song he knew. Fortunately, blues legend Sonny Rhodes, who was hosting that night, took a liking to Georgie and became his mentor. Sonny introduced Georgie to more musicians, and taught him how to be a performer, not just a singer.

At Warmdaddy's, the preeminent blues club in Philadelphia, Georgie hosts the monthly, open mic blues jam, offering aspiring blues musicians the same support he received from Sonny Rhodes. As the house band, Georgie Bonds has shared the stage and played with Hubert Sumlin, Koko Taylor, Bernard Allison, Melvin Taylor, Kenny Neal, Mark Hummel, Slam Allen, Larry Garner, Bill Perry, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Jimmy Vaughn, Carl Weathersby, Bill Branch and The Kinsey Report and the list goes on. He has played in Europe and been invited for a return engagements.

Bandleader Pete Eshelman, on accordion, piano, and vocals, plays guitar with local legends Philly Gumbo, drums for New Orleans Mardi Gras street parade group The Wild Bunch Brass Band (a perennial favorite at Penn's Landing's Jambalaya Jam festival) and has played piano with such artists as Bo Diddley, Sleepy LaBeef, and New Orleans' own Charles "honeyboy" Otis.

Guitarist Steve Chrismar recorded and toured with George Thorogood for eight years before settling in Los Angeles, where he gigged and worked as a studio musician backing many notable R&B/Soul artists including Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Taj Mahal and Chaka Khan.

Saxophonist Carl "CC" Crabtree cut his teeth in the 80's touring the South with novelty R&B prankster Darryl Rhodes but is well-known in Philly, having worked with Grover Washinton Jr., the Ben Vaughn Quintet and many of the area's top Blues R&B and Party Rock bands, including rhythm & blues big band The Dukes Of Destiny.

Drummer Bob Holden, a founding member of The Dukes, has backed national recording artists such as soul-singer Terry Evans and roots-blues legend Otis Rush.

On bass guitar is Randy Lippincott, another seasoned veteran who has worked with dozens of blues greats over the years, including with Pinetop Perkins, Lowell Fulson, and Johnny Littlejohn, just to name a few. Randy fronts his own R&B combo singing and playing guitar, and as bassist and bandleader for eight years with the late Johnny Clyde Copeland, he recorded four cd's and appeared in seventeen countries on four continents spreading world-wide the gospel of soulful rocking rhythm & blues.

Rounding out the group nicely on percussion is newest member Pamela Eshelman, having lots of fun keeping time "chankety-chank" on the rubboard (or "frattoir", a predominant instrument in Louisiana zydeco music)... she brings to the band a swinging sense of rhythm and contagious on-stage enthusiasm.

At rehearsal, Ludovico plays snare with brushes, 40-year old Lou Yorey (who owns the pizzeria) sets up his mini Gorilla amp and plugs in his blue and gold Gretsch, and 34-year old Tony Palumbo, who just ate his way through Italy for two weeks, caresses his beat-up, upright bass with all the confidence of someone who's been playing for 20 years.

The guys have captured R&B's backbeat, country's jittery edge and boogie woogie's horniness. This rehearsal is a musical history lesson - the smoky, blues-edged "Midnight Blue" and the stop-and-go rock frenzy of "Bad Ass" are part of a collection of songs The Spinouts recorded for their upcoming CD "Cruisin' at Night With The Spinouts".

Missing a beat if you go by musical time, detached from the age of Puff Daddy and Green Day, they've created their own community, one that pays ironic homage to the rebellion against the simpler life to which they now aspire. Their errant time machine brought them back, whole, and it sounds just as fresh as the day the music was invented.
 _{- Robbie Woliver, The Long Island Voice, July 1998}

 

...anyway, inspired by gordon's book, i convinced jodi to go down to memphis ... we ate the best BBQ in the world, stayed a night in the peabody hotel (check out peter case's song "walkin' home late" on the flying saucer blues cd for more details), and drove a rented '55 caddy down into the delta pulled into a little town called "tunica" on our way to the stovall plantation where muddy waters was discovered by alan lomax (see Robert Gordon's bio of muddy, "i can't be satisfied" ... another great book) ... a guy came walking up the street with a painting in his hand ... asked him what it was ... "the sugar ditch", he says, pointing to a septic run-off area that we just happened to be standing beside ... he hops in the caddy and we drive him to his parents' funeral home to buy a print of said painting: "the sugar ditch" ... when we return to philly, i start writing these songs ... same characters appear: randy, raney, gene washington, keepers ... i put them in the sugar ditch locale ... a murder mystery ensues ... i stare at the painting while composing the tunes ...
 _{- From: 'History', John Train Website}

For 14 years prior to co-fronting the Double Clutchin' Weasels, Reed Hadley toured the United States with Bill Haley's Comets, (Rock Around The Clock). A majority of the band members also share a common musical experience of performing on stage in the 1970s and '80s at the now-defunct Hurley's Tavern - "home of country music" - which was located at the edge of the oil refineries of Marcus Hook, PA. Debi Schuler, the Weasel's other lead vocalist, began her singing career at the tender age of 11 at the legendary Sunset Park (also, sadly, no longer in existence) in West Grove, PA, where she forgot the words to Roger Miller's King of the Road and fled the stage. She's been singing (and remembering the words to) country and rock 'n roll classics ever since. From country (Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Sr., Webb Pierce) to Rockabilly (Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley) to rock 'n roll (Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry), the Weasels play "American Roots Music" with passion and pride.

David Stone is a Philadelphia born singer/songwriter who has been singing the songs of Johnny Cash nearly all of his life. Inspired by the Man In Black's ABC television show as a young boy, Stone soon learned to play guitar and sing in Cash's unique style. He started the show MAN IN BLACK over three years ago, to an enthusiastic response from fans all over the Philadelphia area. Stone is not a look-alike or an impersonator. Eying the opportunistic and degrading Elvis impersonator industry with apprehension, Stone long ago decided that his rendition of Johnny Cash would observe strict authenticity and dignity in conveying the rich, thought provoking music that made Johnny Cash an icon of American Country music.

Mia Johnson began her career busking for small change. But as she leads her band onto the stage to release their first full-length CD, Driver, 'out-of-place' is not a term you'd use to describe this Michigan girl. In the early nineties, when Mia landed a gig as an intern in a Philly recording studio, an underage kid with a guitar didn't have much to do on the big city club scene. But after sifting through various open-mics and dive bar jams, she found herself a mainstay on the bar circuit, earning the respect of the bar owners and patrons with her smart, sexy and gritty songs. She released an EP called Access and followed it with 2000's Five for Freddy with percussionist Hoagy Wing. As a duo, Mia Johnson and Hoagy toured extensively, honing both songwriting and driving skills along the way. "I put around 250,000 miles on various vehicles…the themes of ground travel are ever-present in my life and work." But although "small set-ups and duos do have their advantages". Mia Johnson's Band now illuminates the area's premier venues. She has played NYC's The Bitter End, Philly's Tin Angel, The Point, The Grape Street and The Trocodaro.

For 55 years Burruss mimicked blues and country performers on the radio while cataloging lyrics, songs, artists, and music history in his head. During that time he developed a series of open tunings and companion finger work that often leave practiced musicians scratching their heads. The difficulties inherent in growing up blind in alcoholism, poverty, and racial prejudice, each add a layer to the grit in Burruss' singular voice.

Three musicians banded together as The Razorbacks with one common goal in mind - to make sure this good ole Rock'n'roll music gets into the mainstream and the people's ears. Several years ago The Razorbacks signed a deal with Fury Records of the U.K. The vast possibilities in the European market for this style of music has been overwhelming for many years, thus making the decision to sign with a European label that primarily deals with Rockabilly an easy one.

The Razorbacks are led by Kenny Duda, who formed the band in 1983. Kenny has been playing guitar since grade school. This shows in his versatile ability to go back and forth in styles from the 'twanging' of Duane Eddy to the raw drive of Brian Setzer. Kenny is more comfortable on the stage performing than most people are in their own living rooms! The band started out as a pub or small club band doing primarily covers and remakes of old Rockabilly tunes. It quickly evolved and Kenny started to concentrate on original songs. Kenny attributes their incredibly large repertoire to this since in the early days the band relied on so many cover songs. The band would sometimes have to play four or five hours at a club.

Rob 'Bobcat' Bundy slaps the double bass. He has been with them for over ten years.

Mark Swartley joined the band several years ago after seeing The Razorbacks perform throughout the Philadelphia area. Mark hailed from Philadelphia where he had been doing some drum session, studio and teaching work.

Tom has played WXPN's World Café Live. He has sung at many rallies, festivals, fund-raisers, including some under the auspices of the Brandywine Peace Community as well as clubs and other venues. In Media he has graced the Media Theatre, Seven Stones Café, Coffee Club, Harvest Books, the Trolley Stop and Earth & State with his musical talents as well as performing two shows in 2005's State Street Blues Stroll. You may have caught him at the Plum Street Mall Stage or Coffee Club. Tom has also played at numerous open mics, monthly sharings, vigils, Quaker schools and meeting houses. Some of his songs have been broadcast on NPR and KYW. Others have been recorded and broadcast in the Independent Media. His photo has been featured numerous times by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily Times wrote him up in their Weekend Section when he performed at Swarthmore Community Hall.

Late 2005 brought the writing and recording of his eclectic EP of instrumental music, "Harvest Dance". Early March began work on a new album "Six Strings Against the War" and he has released a promotional EP of sevens songs previewing its music. This summer he will begin work on a third album of his popular original compositions such as "Hello", "New Mexico", "Coyote Night" and "Julianna".

The band has taken the songs of a bygone era and made them their own. The same passions that drove those in the early part of the 20th century still ring true almost a century later. These tunes, most of which are pre-WWII, have fire. Gather round, y'all . . . things are about to get real hot!

Max "Woodpussy" Spiegel, founding father, picks a guit and a lap steel, blows some harp and sings the blues like his life depends on it, with Carl "Whistlepig" Mazzarelli, a fingerpickin' wizard. Tall Paul Wilkinson provides the bouncing bass lines that keep the ship afloat. Locking in with Paul in the rhythm section is ol' Hellmouth (Andrew Gray) on drums. Stephanie "Iron Pipes" Hewett vocals, songwriter. Lauren Talley vocals. Sean Hoots vocals, mandolin, guitar and tambourine.

In memory of: Leadbelly, Elizabeth Cotton, Rev. Gary Davis, countless field hands, prison gangs, mountaineers, jug bands, holiness congregations and anyone else given to songs of unbridled expression.

Will is a self-taught musician who grew up listening to Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Joan Baez, Nina Simone and Frank Sinatra. He started out on the harmonica, playing the blues with several friends in high school. He later learned to play hand drums & percussion while living in the Republic of Panama, absorbing the many rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean. After moving back to the United States, he began playing bass guitar and piano, fusing all of his musical influences into his own sound.

His musical inspirations include Taj Mahal, Gustavo Santaolalla, Ali Farka Toure, Daniel Lanois, Little Axe, Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder and Mark Anthony Thompson. His eclectic performance will include some obscure covers as well as thought-provoking original songs. This will be the first time that Will performs in the MediAmericana Roots Ramble.

Pat Panther plays finger-pick style acoustic guitar blues, folk and old-time country music. Her life has been influenced by all kinds of music since she was a young child and the love of music has defined her life ever since. Some of her major influences are early rock & roll, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Mississippi John Hurt, Willie McTell, the Carter Family and Bob Dylan. In addition to performing solo, Pat currently performs with the Deep Run String Band and with a Shane MacGowan tribute band.

A benefit concert for Tom will take place on May 13 @ Whiskey Dix Saloon, 421 N. 7th St. Philadelphia from 4pm to 2am. For more details, visit www.tomgillam.com