Rotating cast. So far: Brian O'Neil: vibes, keys, drums, perc.; Ducky Carlisle: drums; Andy Plaisted: drums; Jerome Deupree: drums; Billy Beard: drums; Billy Conway: drums; Paul Ahlstrand sax; Brother Cleve: keyboards; Joe Kowalski, keyboards; Mark Sanchez: trumpet; Joe Stewart: trombone; Ken Field, sax; Jon Fraser: trumpet; Marc Hickox: bass; Dimitri Fane: bass; Ed Spargo: bass; Jim Moran: bass; Courtney Naliboff: trumpet, vocals; Pat Wallace: bass; Jackson Cannon: bass; Rich Cortese: bass; Scott Aruda: trumpet; Chandler Travis: guitar; Asa Brebner: guitar; Russ Gershon: sax; Chris Barrett: trumpet; Rob Lee: sax; Randy Wong: bass; Abe Lagrimas Jr: vibes; Dan Teager, trumpet
Influences
In no particular order: Ernie K-Doe, Gil Evans, Tom Waits, Jeff Beck, Jack Hamm, Latin Playboys, Chuck Bednarik, The Clash, Louis Armstrong, The Hawks, Airto Moreira, Jacques Pepin, Albert Collins, Alan Toussaint, Sandy Kofax, The Who, Juan Garcia Esquivel, bourbon.
Sounds Like
"Loose, staggering, rhythm n' blues + riff-orientated jazz-punk-soul. Explosive gold Strat and chocolate voice, Wortis shouts out hip-sway shaman rock and soul. It's a sonic elixir treated with an unlikely handful of alley dust and very fine smoke bourbon -- thoughtfully Ernie K-Doe New Orleans ragamuffin R&B with strains of Gil Evans, Sandinista Clash, Latin Playboys' lo-fi sonic frolic, and shadows of Jeff Beck from that gold guitar." - Weekly Dig
"The show coalesces around Wolf's puissant vocals, wicked swagger, and gold-topped Strat, which he sweatily grips like a drowning man. The Devil's music, they say? If Beelzebub himself were in the room tonight he'd have one thing to say: "Watch out where you point that guitar, mister." -The Noise
"Finely crafted tunes" -Billboard Magazine
"Shaun Wolf Wortis teeters, at times, on the brink of the void." -The Tab
Gato Malo is Shaun Wolf Wortis' (Slide, Leah Callahan, Mardi Gras Balls) latest project. A spralling ad-hoc band made up of some of Boston's best musicians, Wortis wants tight, R&B/Soul/Pop songs played in perfect arrangement - but on the fly with no prior rehearsal. That's the premise basically. Plus the occasional song written on the spot. Wortis' songs seem to love a horn section, vibes, keys, (six drummers once); whatever is available. He's pretty good at QBing the whole affair. Everyone goes home happy.
Wolf's Annual Mardi Gras Ball (and Bastille Day A-Go-Go in the summer) is a celebration of New Orleans' music, and of the Boston rock music scene's diversity and abilities. Shaun Wolf Wortis leads a large band through a night of the irreverent and quirky rhythm and blues music which exploded out of New Orleans in the 1950's. Special guests -- local rock luminaries -- come up to join them for a few songs each throughout the night.
From wikipedia.com: American rock band Slide emerged from Boston in 1992 and had some indie success throughout the 1990's. The eclectic quartet featured Shaun Wolf Wortis (guitar), Suzi Lee (keyboards, accordion), Dimitri Fane (bass), and Ken Schopf (drums).
Slide released three recordings: Forgiving Buckner, Whipdang!, and Pulling Teeth. Forgiving Buckner has been added to the collection at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leah Callahan
[Producer, guitarist]
"Boston chanteuse Callahan’s wonderful songs sound as though they’d been compiled from half a dozen different brilliant European art films. Unaffected singing meets a world’s worth of styles ranging from Transylvanian soul to Brazilian fleshpot ..." -Village Voice
"(Callahan) knows exactly what she wants to sing and she's doing it in a style that's as original as any sung around these parts in years. 'Even Sleepers' has an endearingly bent feel to it that's devilish and innocent-sounding all at once. Callahan's delicately precise voice can come across as both otherworldly and earthy within the span of a single song, and the spare arrangements by rock musician Shaun Wolf Wortis highlight influences as disparate as tango, fado and cabaret." -Boston Herald
