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The King Cake Story as told by Frog Boy: I started hanging out in rest stop bathrooms and met up with Joe while selling cigarette butts to desperate smokers. In 1979 this was not a good business to be in but, I was feeling kind of addled at that point in my life as I had been abducted by aliens and taken aboard a UFO for an unspecified amount of time during the previous October... Playing music together just seemed to be the logical thing to do. At some point later on we met up with Turk when we found ourselves suddenly under a bridge on an abandoned stretch of railroad tracks. He claims to be an alien and I'm inclined to believe him, though not totally convinced.... The three of us walked a few miles and pretty soon we came to a refrigerator box city where we met up with Todd who had played with Moon Mullican back in the '40s. Joe, Turk and I pooled our 46 cents and were able to get a box for the night. It turns out that many of the people in this cardboard community had come from missing or crashed airline flights. Black helicopters would occaisionally drop supplies.... but that is another story. Three days later finally made it out of the woods to the main road. Frank picked us up hitchhiking, or so we thought. Actually he had gotten out of the his seat while driving to change an 8-track tape in the deck that was under the back seat. The van had driven off onto the shoulder and come to a stop. By the time he realized what had happened we had all piled in. Grateful to have help changing tapes he agreed to give us a ride. About a hundred miles later we coasted into the parking lot of a seedy road house in east Texas on fumes and realized that we were broke with no money for gas or food. The owner desperate for a band because the band he had booked had cancelled hired us on the spot. And the rest is history..... |
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Michael Bloomer - Guitar
Michael Bloomer has been playing guitar and writing songs for over 40 years. Mike melds a melange of Blues, Honky Tonk, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, New Wave, Psychedelic Rock and New Orleans influences into an acomplished musical style that is exciting and versatile. His rich baritone voice is equally at home belting out the Blues, or crooning a country tearjerker. Mike was a founding member of the Bluestalkers, long a fixture on the CT Blues scene, and has toured locally and nationally with the Zydeco Hogs. An in-demand sideman he has played with James Montgomery, Guitar Gabriel, and LA Jones among others. He cites Tony Joe White, J.J.Cale, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Johnny Cash, Sleepy LaBeef and Ernest Tubb among his influences. Todd (Moon) Milanese - Keyboards
Todd Milanese has been playing for more than 35 years. He got his start at the tender age of 4 when he picked out "BIlly Don't be a Hero" on the famly piano. Soon brother Luke joined in guitar and together they formed their first band playing classic rock at local bars under the watchful eye of their parents. Influenced by the likes of Leon Russell, Billy Powell, the Beatles, Neil Young, and Gregg Allman to name a few. Todd's virtuosic playing is always full of surprises. Tom (Turk) Nielsen - Bass
Tom "Turk" Nielsen has been playing for longer than he cares to remember. He started playing to "drown out the voices in his head" and claims it has worked (for the most part...). Starting on guitar and later switching to bass ( no doubt at the bidding of the voices) he cites such diverse influences as: James Brown, the 3 Kings (Albert, BB, and Freddie) Clifton Chenier, Dr. John, Flatt and Scruggs, Bela Fleck,Harvey Brooks, Charles Calamese, and Alan Toussaint... Frank (Hot Dog) Busse - Percussion
Frank Busse has been playing drums and singing professionally for more than 38 years— "I grew up in a household full of music. My father played guitar, and he taught me to play at the age of six. I was mesmerized by the drumming antics of Keith Moon . I signed up for drum lessons in school the next day. I was 11." Apparently, he was a quick study. Frank made his professional debut at age 12 and went on to perform in a variety of styles and venues over the years. Joe (the Cat) Lemieux - Drums
Joe Lemieux started taking drum lessons in 1970 after being inspired by hearing the Beatles. |
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