The Bonedaddys
The Bonedaddys, are L.A.'s original "Worldbeatniks" (since 1985) and one of the very first American bands to be described as Worldbeat. The Bonedaddys still take a "wide stance" stylistically, and claim influences ranging from Charles Ives to Burl Ives and much in-between; with the common musical denominator being a fun, dancable party ambience.
The Bonedaddys were formed in Los Angeles by
percussionist Michael Tempo and the group's sprawling, ever-changing roster would variously include singers Kevin Williams, King Cotton, Billy Sheets, Gregg Sutton and now Kaspar Abbo.
Their album debut was in 1988 with A-Koo-De-A!, (although they had earlier written and recorded a song about Bo Diddley with Bo Diddley on vocals and guitar; which was not released until a shortened version of it appeared on their CD “Garage Sale.”)
After “A-Koo-De-A!” The Bonedaddys subsequently issued a series of albums including "Worldbeatniks", “To Jam Is Human, to Gig Divine”, Jungle/Jungle, and Garage Sale.
The Bonedaddys have now released their 6th album "waterslide." The all original songs on "waterslide" are designed to move butts of all persuasions and
feature soulful vocals by front man and tunesmith Kaspar Abbo and King Cotton (named after Elvis' favorite brand of bacon) who are accompanied by the twin guitar attack of Marcus Watkins and Phil Gough, with Jay Work on saxophones and propelled by bass (Rick Moors), drums (Casey Jones) and percussion (Mike Tempo.)
The 13 grooves on "waterslide" are a merry-go-round of styles and range from funk, rock, blues mambo, soca, Latin, rock-steady and psycho-billy two-step to an afro-surf twang meets spaghetti-western
instrumental.
"waterslide" is a gumbo stirred up in light refracted through a prism called Los Angeles.
For The Bonedaddys, Worldbeat has come full circle to include an expression of American roots music.
The Bonedaddys
THE BONEDADDYS have been together for a while, and many people have been a part. Thanx and a tip ‘o the Bonedaddy fez to:
BONEDADDYS WE HAVE KNOWN
SINGERS- King Cotton, Kevin (Honey) Williams, Dexter Dickerson, Billy Sheets, Gregg Sutton, Kaspar Abbo*, Gia Ciambotti.
GUITAR PLAYERS- Paul Lacques, Larry Knight, Philip Gough*, Jai Vatuk, Dave Wakeling, Ray Symczyk, Tony Lee, Marcus Watkins*
ON BASS- Eric Gotthelf, Simeon Pillich, Kelly Nickson, Miiko Watanabe, Rick Moors*
SAXOPHONES- Jeff Hollie, Jay Work*, Danny Moynahan, Michael Rose
KEYBOARDS- Jack Price, Ron Froese, Frankie Hill, Jelani Jones, Rudy Richardson, Gary Johnson
DRUMMERS- Marvin Kanarek, Tony Braunagel, Bryan Sebastian, Jerry Angel, Russ Kammerer, Rock Deadrick Johnnie Kirkwood Jr., Roderick Njoes, Paul Tchounga, Willie Green III, Casey Jones*
PERCUSSION- Mike Tempo*, Baba Kwashi, Bobby LaKind, Lenny Castro, Kevin Riccard, Cyro Baptista, Al Keith, Marcel Adjibi, Francis (Poppypea) Paulino, Chatuye
HARMONICA- John “Juke” Logan, Dan Patrick
TRUMPET - Ralf Rickert, Paul Litteral
ACCORDIANS- Steve Jordan, Eddie Baytos, Gary Johnson
TROMBONE- Skip Waring
SOUND MEN, LIGHTS, ROADIES, BUS DRIVERS, SWAG MERCHANTS, AGENTS & MANAGERS - Tommy Wright, Rik Reeder, Mark Burrage, Willie “Buckethead” Huggins, Truk Cunningham, Rodan, Geoff Hagins, Gerry Fialka, Rich Stilson, Dave Boyle, Dave Hardie, Ray, Freddy Ginns, Shaker, Clark Lough, Will McCrae, David Lumian, Chris Goldsmith, Kevin Morrow, Mac Faulk
HONORABLE JAMMERS-Bo Diddley, Tim McGovern, Bruno Coon, Steve “Duck” McClain, Patrick Pearce, Martin Chambers, Greg Bissonette, Dennis La Plant, Carlos Guitarlos, Jimmy Wood, Top Jimmy, Donny Gerrard, Arny Young, Barry “The Hatchet” Wisdom, Tim Moynahan, Wally Ingram, Johnnie Bone, Dave Leathers, Jimmie Roberts, Bill Lynch, Pat Rodgers, Carlos Vega, Ritchie Hayward, Alfredo Lopez, Debra Dobson, Scott Breadman, Marc Doten, that guy from Venice Beach.
* - Denotes current member
The Bonedaddys
The Bonedaddys have recorded, toured or performed with many artists, including:
BO DIDDLEY
BOBBY “BLUE” BLAND
BURNING SPEAR
TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS
NRBQ
ROBERT CRAY
CARLOS SANTANA
JIMMY CLIFF
MANU DIBANGO
SHAWN COLVIN
GANG OF FOUR
SCREAMING JAY HAWKINS
KASSAV
TITO PUENTE
NO DOUBT
THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS
WARREN ZEVON
THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS
TOWER OF POWER
THE SUBDUDES
THE MIGHTY SPARROW
JOHNNY OTIS
THE NEVILLE BROTHERS
THE MEDITATIONS
FISHBONE
BRAVE COMBO
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
THE TUBES
BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO
ROCKING DOPSIE
THE TIBETAN MONKS
BLUES TRAVELER
THE INDIGO GIRLS
MARY WILSON
BELA FLECK AND THE FLECKTONES
YELLOWMAN
BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY
LEO NOCENTELLI
JOAN JETT
DAVID LEE ROTH
JEFFERSON STARSHIP
STEVE MORSE
PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
ZULU SPEAR
HOT TUNA
JAMES HARMAN
DAVE WAKELING
CANDYE KANE
JOHN CAFFERTY AND THE BEAVER BROWN BAND
THE BLASTERS
THE PALADINS
MELVIS
BILLY SHEETS
THE REBEL ROCKERS
ROTONDI
OINGO BOINGO
The Bonedaddys
THE BONEDADDYS serve up a wild party mix of African, Caribbean, R&B, New Orleans and Rock & Roll rhythms but the bottom line is always a soulful and danceable ambiance. THE BONEDADDYS are in their third decade creating music that has been described in performance as an unstoppable, sweat-ridden orgy of rhythm.
>MIKE TEMPO – CONGAS, TIMBALES, TALKING DRUMS & PERCUSSION - Fearless/feckless leader of a band of brilliant misfits. At least he thinks so. Returns phone calls. Defines musical instruments into two categories: Bongos and Devil-boxes.
>KASPAR ABBO – LEAD VOCALS, SONGWRITING & OCCASIONAL GUITAR – Handsome British/American with soul-to-spare. Make no mistake; Kaspar is the musical chameleon that makes it possible for The Bonedaddys to do what they do. Capeesh?
>MARCUS WATKINS – GUITAR – Cut musical teeth with The Bonedaddys when he was too young to be in clubs. Grew up. Grew a beard. Traveled the world. Now back and writing songs and rocking hard!
>PHIL GOUGH – GUITAR & VOCALS – Tiki King and long-time Pillar of Guitar Fire in The Bonedaddys community. Phil is also a songwriter and intrepid producer of the 2 latest releases by The Bonedaddys…”Garage Sale” and “waterslide.”
>JAY WORK – SAXOPHONES & VOCALS – Stalwart reedman & strong background vocalist, as well as a seasoned accompanist to strippers extraordinaire. Has traveled far and wide with The Bonedaddys. Good at directions –but has a flawed record judging gas mileage.
>RICK MOORS – BASS – The grease. Deserves our gratitude for combatting government cloud-seeding efforts with clever homemade devices. When performing, his toes look a lot like his fingers.
>CASEY JONES – DRUMS & VOCALS – Rock steady power plant that propels bands from the U.S. to China. Fully recovered from that unfortunate train wreck which made him famous and now drives The Bonedaddys rhythmically.