Wallace Hartley may have been the bandmaster on the Titanic, but this band definitely did not go down with the ship this Friday night at the Blues Saloon. In fact they kept the ship floating all night long. The loyal fans of this band are young, loud and fun loving...and there are lots of them.
The group, originally from North Dakota and now living in the Twin Cities, is made up of Joel Schaan on guitar and vocals, Toby Schaan on bass, Pat Phillips on guitar, Eric Redding on organ, Zach Swanson on drums, Todd Stewart on baritone sax, Matt Darling on trombone, Daryk Narum on tenor & alto sax, and Andra Suchy on vocals. They play a mixture of jazzy, jump blues that is made for dancing. They also add in some classic blues, some big band jazz and even a little classic rock...all done with high energy and a definite up tempo groove...its no wonder the audience can't keep from dancing.
The guitar playing of Phillips and Joel Schaan is outstanding with some nice slide by Phillips and some fun blues/rock twin guitar playing that was very pleasing. Having the horn section and keyboards adds a full sound to the group and allows them to play many different styles of music with ease. When Andra Suchy took over on lead vocals we were all in for a real treat. Even though she doesn't like the comparison she sounds a lot like Janice Joplin. She has a great voice that also has a strong soul influence and it was just a pleasure to listen to her.
The group's first CD was released in 1995 called Wallace Hartley & the Titanics and features the high energy jump blues heard at the Blues Saloon. If you enjoy dancing to a big band sound or just want to have a good time you can't go wrong with this group.
Copyright 1997 by Ray M. Stiles. All rights reserved. All reviews are copyright protected. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.