Sydney band Mississippi Shakedown have just released their 5th CD, appropriately named … 5th. If you like music like good old style rock’n’roll, mixed with some gospel, and all infused with a solid blues backbone, then listen to 2RDJ this month to catch our artist of the month.
There’ll be music and interviews, but as a bit of a teaser, here’s a little bit about the band, taken directly from their website – http://www.mississippishakedown.com.au/
Mississippi Shakedown was created for 3 reasons:
- our insatiable love of the music of Elmore James
- the love of the sound of a distorted Slide Guitar
- Bruce Iglauer from Alligator Records (US), the world’s leading blues label, liked some songs that Jeff Cripps (our guitarist) had written for other bands… so then it was 3 phone calls… hey let’s start a band! We did and we have.
When we started our strategy was to play Anywhere for Anything, just to develop our sound… it worked and we’ve got it! More style than the (unsunk) Titanic!
Mississippi Shakedown is a band with a minimum of FUSS with a maximum of EFFECT. A 4 piece unit led by blues charged SLIDE GUITAR… with a “Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus” attitude.
With influence from the deep south, these guys have heart. This band was not created to play in a restaurant.
Just take a listen to their 4 CDs, original songs, with an original attitude. The band takes no prisoners on their journey to Shakedown an audience. Once seen, never forgotten, once heard ALWAYS loved!!!
With every GRAND performance, it has been proven without a shadow of a doubt, Mississippi Shakedown never fails to please an audience, whether it be an audience of blues afficienados or Smokey Pub Joe Public – Mississippi Shakedown always hits the mark.
Fronted by Mississippi Jeff Cripps, (well known owner of A# Sharp Recording Studio and three times Australian Blues Music Awards’ Producer Of The Year, with a dozen of his artists also having won Australian Blues Awards) on slide guitar and vocals and Wayne Leffler – Mandolin / Harp / Guitar / Fine Vocals, the Band is driven by John Gannon on bass with Derek Smith on drums in the engine room!!