Swampy

Description:

Screen Name:

Swampy

Sex:

M

Age:

57

Studio Musician:

Yes

Level Of Commitment:

Just for Fun

Years Playing Music:

40

Gigs Played:

Over 100

Tend to Practice:

1 time per week

Available to Gig:

1 time(s) per week

Most available:

Nights

Our best wishes and prayers are with Jimmy, our keyboard player, for a speedy and permanent recovery in his battle with bone cancer. Rehearsals are canceled until such time that Jimmy is well enough to at least sit in and enjoy himself.

I am available in the interim should you be looking for a musician on a temporary basis.

I started playing music professionally way back in 1965 … even before high school. I put myself through college completing undergraduate studies in bio-medical and electrical engineering, by steadily gigging in New Orleans & the Lake Pontchartrain North Shore areas as well as along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I primarily play electric bass and lead / rhythm guitar (both electric and acoustic) plus perform lead & backup vocals. I enjoy playing most genre of music, but lean toward Country Music (Classic & Modern), Southern Rock (Rock a Billy), & Classic Rock (Oldies & New Orleans Style Swamp Rock). Currently I am playing electric lead / rhythm guitar & performing lead vocals with my band, Millennium Country. We play a mix of Country, Rock a Billy, & Classic Rock, plus the occasional comedy song. I have not played the lounge circuit in a number of years, so gigs are generally just for special events & parties.

Occasionally, I'll fill in on short notice for gigs or studio work if another group is in need of a singer / guitar player / bass player or keyboard player. I suppose I perform way too many gigs for free, but hey, this is my leisure time! Nothing unwinds my mind from all the technical stuff I do with the day job, like a spirited performance while watching the listeners enjoy themselves. Besides, as long as it's fun, it’s not work … no matter how heavy that equipment seems to be getting lately! Unfortunately, due to free time constraints with the day job, I am somewhat limited to playing local venues only. I'm not particularly interested in doing the lounge scene again and having to put up with all the drunks and brawls. (I'm getting too old to duck fast enough to dodge the flying beer bottles, bar stools, and fists!)

Here is an open invitation to jam with me at rehearsal ... who knows, we may both learn a new lick! If you are interested, just contact me & I'll give you time & location. (I'll try to keep rehearsals & engagements posted in the "Calendar" area on my profile page and on my band's [Millennium Country] profile page here on BandMix.)

Should you have further interest, be sure to check out my "Influences" category for more details on communicating with me even if you're not a paying (Premier) BandMix member.

Influences:

My earliest influences were New Orleans Jazz and the big band music of the 1940's & 1950's. I recall a story my mother used to tell about me in diapers being placed on an upright bass and allowed to slap the strings at a rehearsal for Tony Almerico’s band … (Uncle Tony was a renowned New Orleans trumpeter and band leader during the 1940’s & 1950’s.)

In my teens, I was learning to play Rock & Roll lead guitar as those mid 1960’s new songs seemed to be hitting the radio almost daily. One evening at rehearsal, the parent of one of my Rock band’s members urged me to play something different … I was introduced to Country Music. I developed an interest & liking for Country Music ... I suppose the lyrics struck close to home and the simplistic musical structure made it relaxing to play. Since the Rock & Roll musicians refused to play Country Music (ABSOLUTELY UN-COOL back then), so I joined a Country group. After playing with a few different bands and many nights of performing under the belt, I eventually landed gigs playing guitar & bass (acoustic & electric) as part of the house bands for the Ponchatoula Hayride and the Bogalusa Hayloft, where I was privileged to play behind many Country Music big names of the mid to late 60's. I even did a stint on New Orleans TV in the late 60's playing bass with a Country group (The Rollin' Wheels) while backing up a local female singer. (Word of caution here, don’t ride down in the elevator of a high rise with all of the band equipment unless you like free falling! Yes, I drew the short straw!)

I was playing Rock for the kids and Country & New Orleans Swamp Rock for their parents ... it was great being able to play something enjoyable for just about all listening age groups! I continued playing electric bass throughout much of the 70's with a New Orleans Oldies group (The Everyday Special) ... I sure loved the sound we had when those New Orleans style saxes & trumpets filled in or took on the lead!

I sang lead vocals and played lead & bass guitar for a couple of years in the late 70's in and around the Houston area doing the lounge scene ... once again playing mostly Country Music (I think we literally wore out 'Looking For Love' doing that stint! ... 10 times a night was just too much!)

I moved to Pearl River, Louisiana in 1980 and soon I was playing electric bass and performing background vocals with a Slidell, La. area Classic Rock cover group (The Last Chance Band). I stayed with this group from the mid 80's until we finally disbanded in the mid 90's. Soon afterward I again began taking on lead vocals and playing bass, rhythm & lead Country Music with a number of different local bands and back porch guitar pickers in the Pearl River area. Eventually, I applied a name to a group of regulars and Millennium Country was born. We perform locally in Southeast Louisiana & Southern Mississippi, but mostly just for parties and special benefit activities. As the average age of the group approaches retirement and health concerns are starting to show up, the desire to load and haul all that equipment around to play gigs is becoming less and less appealing ... (unless we can count on the grand kids to help!) While we don't perform public venues all that often ... when we do, we pass a grand old time! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

I have found by experience that mixing the music we play with tunes from the 1950's through 1960's Rock N' Roll / Rock a Billy / New Orleans Swamp Rock era, as well as Country Music from the 1920's through modern, we cover just about all genre local listeners want to hear & dance to. My repertoire is a growing compilation of more than 600 tunes & I'm always working out & adding new cover tunes as well as penning a few originals as the urge rises.

Contact Information:
The BandMix' Terms of Use (TOU) does not allow me to list contact information in the "Description" area (But they didn't say anything about listing it here!). You can contact me by email to {jimknoch @ hotmail . com} [leave out the spaces]. If you contact me by email, please be patient ... I promise to reply. If you prefer, feel free to call me at my Mandeville, Louisiana office (985)-867-4638 during normal work hours (0700 through 1600) ... I have voice mail in the event I am in the field when you call.

Equipment List:

1978 Fender F-15 Acoustic Guitar, 1965 Fender Stratocaster, 1966 Fender Mustang Bass, Casio CT-370 Keyboard, 1966 Kustom 200 w/ dual 15's Instrument / Bass Amplifier, 2006 Kustom PA System (KPM8420T-Powered Mixer, KPC15-Speakers and Stands, KPC12M Floor Monitors), Shure SM-58, Shure 585SA, AKG D8000S Mic's

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