I've Got A Mind To Ramble

By Mike Suttles

"Hey Everybody, DaMudcats Are Back In Town….."

Hey everybody, tell everybody

That DaMudcats are in town

I got a dollar and a quarter

Just rarin' to clown

But don't let nobody play me cheap

I got fifty cents more that I'm gonna keep

So let the good times roll….."

lyrics by Earl King.

Early Mudcats with Jim and Sue

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Doug, Rob and Sue

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Gene Wickliffe

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da Mudcats - Gene in Front

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Let the Good Times Roll" is one of the signature songs sung by Susan O'Neil when she was the singer for DaMudcats, for years one of the premier blues bands in Louisville. Kicking off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, 2015 at Stevie Ray's Blues Bar, a new (and somewhat old) rendition of DaMudcats will take the stage for the first time as an official quintet. Gene Wickcliffe, Rob Pickett and Mike Lynch, the trio who for 15 years have made up the most recent lineup of the band, will be joined on stage by Susan O'Neil and Doug Lamb as DaCats begin their new musical sojourn.

Over the past few years, this mix of singers and players has performed together on at least three occasions. They did a show at Expo 5 and they performed twice at the Garvin Gate Blues Festival. The show at Expo 5 was one of a series of three blues events put on by the club and the attendance was by far the largest and most engaged of any of the shows.

Their Garvin Gate shows were outstanding and the joy emanating from the stage was noticeable. A friend of mine from Chicago, Tom Zanarini, saw the band for the first time in 2013. He was awestruck. In fact, he told me their rendition of "Damn Your Eyes" literally brought tears to his eyes.

Fast forward to Garvin Gate, 2014. It had rained off and on all day, the weather was chilly and harsh. Definite raincoat and sweatshirt weather. It looked like it would be a minor turnout at best. However, when the band took the stage, a crowd of about 150-200 people came from cars, local buildings, and out from under umbrellas to see the band. The consummate professionals played as if the street was filled to capacity. These three shows lit the spark that eventually became the flames of reunion.

DaMudcats were started by the late Jim Rosen and Susan O'Neil in 1985. Basically, it all began when Rosen tired of the band he was in at that time. Other original members were Andy Brauner on guitar, B. G. Johnson on bass and Rob Whitlow on drums. It wasn't long, a matter of a few months when Wickliffe took over on the drums and Pickett was hired to play guitar. Through the years a number of bass players sifted through the ranks: Riley White, Daryl Johnson, Larry Holt, Brendan Lewis and Wayne Carver, all bringing their own unique talents to the band.

The big break for the band came in 1988-89 when they became what was basically the house band at Barry's on Frankfort Avenue. Not long thereafter Doug Lamb began coming into town to play at blues jams and caught the band's eyes. Lamb would continue to play at the jams and around 1990 joined as the keyboard player (when he first came into town, Lamb didn't own a keyboard, so he had to borrow one).

Then in 1992, O'Neil let the band to raise her family and Lamb left for Indianapolis (and a real job, as he says). During the interview, I found it particularly interesting, considering everything you read about bands, that none of the defections centered on anyone being unhappy. It was more of just life getting in the way. The band became a four-piece and stayed that way until Jim Rosen passed away in 1998.

Rosen was the focal point and he always was the driving personality leading the band. Many fans felt – myself included – that the band was bound to disintegrate. It wasn't to be. During his illness, Rosen tried to drop out of the band so he wouldn't effect any chances for work but Wickliffe and Pickett would hear nothing of that. And once he died, the duo were hell bent on keeping DaMudcats alive. I remember one time going to see the band when they had a harp player sitting in with them. Personally I thought it blasphemous, how do you replace someone of the stature of Jim Rosen?

Eventually, after considering whether to go with a harp or keyboards, they decided to go with a three-piece band which had respect for the blues but had its own take on things,. settling on what would loosely be considered blues rock. Mike Lynch was brought on board in 2000 as the bass player. Remarkably, the three of them (Wickcliffe, Pickett and Lynch) have remained as a trio to the present time. DaMudcats over the last fifteen years have done very well for themselves, playing locally, regionally and as far away as the Monterrey Blues Festival in California. They, in short, were one of the stalwarts of the blues scene in town.

What is it exactly that brings the five of them to this point? Happenstance, opportunity and some intense lobbying by certain people played a part.

What does the union of these musicians bring to the table? Gene Wickcliffe can be categorized as the musician's professional. Laid back, unassuming, really serious chops. He's played with the likes of Ben E. King, The Drifters and The Coasters. At the age of twenty, he was at famed Muscle Shoals with the Debow Brothers recording a demo with Tony Joe White. Through the years, he played with Bodeco and currently is part of Louisville Fats and the Rhythm Cats. I asked a few musicians in town which drummer would be best for a blues player coming into town who might want a local drummer. All of them hesitated nary a bit in answering Wickcliffe.

Rob Pickett is a guitar player who holds the respect of other local and regional players for his unique touch. "No one sounds like Rob," is a quote from a whole lot of folk. His playing is what has set the band apart from others, particularly during the last 15 years. Pickett is a talented writer, passionate about the blues and over the years has become an excellent singer. If he or Wickliffe decided at any time to leave the band, it would never be the same. It would be over. They are the bedrock and soul of the band.

What can you say about Mike Lynch? He is etched in the fabric of the blues of Louisville. He hosts two jams each week, he has played with bands such as The Accused, Pond Creek Blues, Murphy's Law and Blue Swing Shoes. He was a part of the KYANA Blues Society's representative at the 2014 International Blues Challenge with HooDoo Blues Band and also currently plays with Blues and Greys.

Susan O'Neil is the consummate blues singer, the matriarch of the local scene. During her time away from the band, she was involved in many musical endeavors. She sat in with folks, sang in a duo, fronted the bands The Blueshounds and Blue Seville plus she and husband, Rick O'Neil, put out a record, Don't Blame The Blues.

Doug Lamb brings an added dimension to the group. He is stellar on the keyboards and guitar and is an outstanding singer. Lamb brings a background of R & B, country, rock and roll, gospel and funk to the mix. He has played in bands such as The Look in Indianapolis and Spotcheck Billy, The Quack and Little T & A. He also has put out a solo record Grey.

What can you expect when you venture out to Stevie Ray's next Saturday? You'll hear some of the standards you've come to expect from the trio and when they've played together recently as well as some solo things from O'Neil and Lamb. As time goes on and they have the opportunity to rehearse more they will add songs written by the band, maybe a little funk. Some hard-edged blues. All of them agree they don't want this reunion to become a parody of what they were. They want to explore new ground. They want to record a new album.

Already the band has signed to play Madison's Ribberfest in August, one of the area's top festivals and they will play Garvin Gate again in October. They have a few other gigs lined up on the schedule as well and hope to land other festivals throughout the summer and fall.

I asked what it was like being together again. "We want this to happen. We want to do this. It's come full circle. This is the way it's supposed to be." There is a sense that age has mellowed the group. It is truly about the music, the love for each other. It's about the heart. It's not about egos, it's not about who gets the spotlight. It's five talented musicians who have a bond that has lasted for years who are eager to take their music to newer heights.