Bill Hamel on Drums, Rich Hartwig on All Guitars, Joe Hoover on Bass Guitar, Hal Iwan on Harmonicas, John Kanaras on Keyboard
Influences
B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Rod Piazza, Sonny Boy Williamson(SB2), Muddy Waters, Jimmy Smith, Little Walter Jacobs, Albert King, Big Walter Horton, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, Slim Harpo, Kim Wilson & The Fabulous T-Birds, Howlin' Wolf
The Juke Dukes are a recently formed band that dedicates itself to the artform know as "the Blues." The members of Blues Jukes are seasoned musicians from the blues, jazz, and rock genres. A little about each member of the group is below:
Theon Charity: Drums/Percussion
Like father, like son. Theon was influenced by James Charity, as well as Buddy Rich and began performing live at 17. Greats like James Brown, Elvis & B.B. King helped develop Theon's sound while the road took him to through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and New York. Playing in various soul, rock & blues groups over the years has grown Theon into a well rounded music veteran. Just come to one of Theon's shows and you will quickly see the he loves an audience and wants you to see, feel and HEAR IT!
John Kanaras: Keyboard & Vocals
Keyboard player, John Kanaras hails from the Northwest side of Detroit. He has also played under the name of Rupert Schmidt III. In the late 60s and early 70s he played piano with The Cobwebs, Strange and The Greenhalgh Band. John was influenced by such blues groups as the Stonewall Blues Band, The Bluesbreakers, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Savoy Brown and many others. He was also influenced by such players as Paul LaMar, Wet Willie Cassidy, Chuck Santoni, Muddy Waters, Dan O'Connell, Tom Tassoff, Keith Richard, Otis Spahn, Chuck Berry and last but not least, Frank Sinatra. John tries to live by the words of Lennon and Mc Cartney which are, "in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make". At other times his motto is "Eat Me".
Joe Hoover: Bass Guitar & Vocals
Although there were various instruments around the house while growing up in St.Clair Shores , Michigan , Joe picked up the bass at age 14 and never looked back. “Bass is a powerful instrument, it provides the foundation and for all other instruments, but most importantly it is what makes the music and the listeners move.” Influenced by the likes of Jack Bruce, Bill Wyman, Barry Oakley, John Paul Jones, James Jamerson and some guy named McCartney, Joe soon found himself playing in blues based rock bands. Joe stepped away from performing while pursuing a higher education and raising his family, but kept his hands in the local music scene as a sound engineer for various local bands. The desire to play live music never went away, and eventually Joe helped form Hung Jury, a classic rock and blues band. “The Blues have always been there as a foundation and inspiration to me and I feel as though I’ve come back home with this new band, the Juke Dukes.”
Rich Hartwig: Guitars & Lead Vocals
Rich started playing guitar when he was 16 years old. He liked a lot of the newer English bands as well as the American R & B and Motown styles. He also listened to Jazz guitarists of the era such as Wes Montgomery and Howard Roberts. At 18, he started getting turned onto the Blues scene by way of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Later that year, he became aware of B. B. King which knocked him sideways. He had found his mentor. As time went on he discovered Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, etc.
At the age of 17, he started playing in Rock as well as Blues Rock bands. Between the ages of 22 and 24, he backed up strippers on the west coast. He took a 10 year hiatus from playing. When he returned to playing seriously again, his sharpened focus was on "old school" Blues like Robert Johnson and the like. He moved to Seattle in 1988 and played in several Blues bands in that era. He returned to the Detroit area in 2006 where the roots of his music continue to be his passion and inspiration.
Hal Iwan: Harmonicas & Lead Vocals
Hal in his early years was influenced by many of the rock, R&B and Motown giants, but the harmonica player (Richard Salwitz, aka Magic Dick) from the J. Geils Band hit him the hardest. As the years went by, Hal rekindled his musical desires and studied the masters (both old and modern). To Hal, there is nothing quite like the sound of a gritty amplified harmonica. Hal honed his skills to become one of the hottest blues harp players on the scene and produces a tone so driving, it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and so dirty you'll feel like you need to take a shower after hearing him play.
I started using my blogging tool to highlight some of the more interesting profiles and some of the better music that I’ve ran across on Myspace and I've really been suprised with the response it's gotten.
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