You say you're in the mood for something different, something new?

Tonight, at Romie's Barbecue in Tupelo, MS, it's the debut of the John West Band, with Gavin McGee on bass, Corey Bell on drums, John on guitar and vocals, and yours truly on lead guitar. This is not the blues thing you're used to hearing me do, nor is it the usual from John, but is something completely different. I've been hinting at this project for a few months now, and have even posted a clip or two for a tease, but tonight, you'll get to hear it for the first time, and I'm really excited about it.

It may shock you to know that blues is not the only thing I can do. I started my "guitar career" playing 80's hair metal in a band I started out of high school called Little Dreamer. We had a pretty good run of it, off and on for around 12 years, but it wasn't really where my heart was.

Little Dreamer broke up, and I joined another band called Novus Jove, which was basically an alternative band when I joined. I had no use for Alternative at the time and quickly started rearranging the songs to make them more "mainstream," at least to my mind. We became what is now referred to as a "Heavy Metal" band, a category I really didn't like and tried hard to remove myself from. I've always considered myself a blues-based player, and Heavy Metal was full of those technical players, you know, the "wheedley, wheedley" type players. But we had a really good run, with 2 full length albums and pretty constant touring, even with all of us having day jobs! I played with Novus Jove for 5+ years before we all went our separate ways.

John and I have played shows together off and on for the last 4-5 years (time sure does fly by when you're old!) and have even made attempts at putting together a full band, but it wasn't until February of this year that the lineup solidified into something substantial and we began rehearsals. With Gavin and Corey as a rhythm section, and John's songwriting ability, the music just flows out and hits you right between the eyes! The show tonight starts at 9:00 pm and we will be playing until midnight. Come on out and check out the John West Band at Romie's Barbecue, 206 Troy St., Tupelo, MS.