This blog isn’t really about me (Stix), it’s about this incredible group of musicians that we’ve gathered. We really owe it all to our keyboard player, Steve. Not only does he have an incredible flair for putting on a great show, but he’s a terrific keyboard player, great on the harp and adds his vocals to round out a couple of key songs. Then there’s the wigs, but we’ll get into that later. Most importantly, he hooked us up with some outstanding musicians. After Steve, Greg and Maureen parted ways with The MidLife Crisis Band, Steve brought in Mike, one awesome bass player, and Bob, our lead guitarist, without whom we wouldn’t be nearly as tight, nor would we be able to deliver such balanced sound.
We owe our name, Jammin’ With The Boys, to two things. First, we were all having too much fun jammin’ and drinkin’ Mike’s homebrew to spend much time on a name. And second, when the band was “in formation” (i.e., were winding down with the old band and flexing our chops with the new band), our drummer, Maureen, would email our rhythm guitarist (and her husband), Greg, at work to see if he was interested in jammin’ with the boys each week. Hence, the subject line of the email: Jammin’ With The Boys, became the defacto name of the band.
Now, on to phase two. Again, Steve brought in some tremendous talent. First, Bill, a.k.a. “Slowhand” who immediately added a different musical flavor to the band (Bowie, Cream, etc.). Along with Bill came Saxy Bob, saxman extraordinaire. Talk about adding dimension! We’re rippin’ some cool saxy tunes with Bob.
Then, the pièce de résistance , our lead female vocalist, Tina, the “Chrome Nun” (if you don’t know, just ask her at our next gig). Naturally, Steve was our connection to Tina (surprise, surprise), and she joined us one night to jam. On a whim, Steve played Gimme Shelter, and Tina just
crushed the vocals. I mean, we all had the chills, and looked at each other as if to say, “OK,
there’s the missing piece to this band”. With Tina on board, we refocused our set list to highlight her sensational talent.
So, here we are, the eight of us, wondering how we all ended up living such a dream and having so much fun doing it. A very cool, laid back group of folks who just enjoy having a good time and playing fun music that most bands wouldn’t dare touch. We mix up some fun party tunes with more challenging pieces that showcase the variety of musical gifts that we’ve been given, and that stretch our capabilities. Speaking for Greg and myself, we’ve really been given the opportunity to raise our game to new levels (and we don’t just mean volume!).
We wish you all the best, and hope to see you at one of our upcoming gigs. We guarantee a good time!!
