Episode 20 The Muddy Sons
The Muddy Sons were created when a South bound train out of Chicago collided with a North bound
train out of Mississippi. Not literally, of course, but that's the intensity you can expect from this brandnew two-man band whose members are anything but new to the blues.
The Muddy Sons are comprised of Madman Sam, an intense songwriter / singer / guitarist from
Portland, and Jeff "Drummerboy" Hayes, a drummer from Seattle with many years experience playing
drums for all types of blues and roots music bands. Both Sam and Jeff draw heavy influence from the
deep past of traditional blues while keeping a firm grasp on the present and future of today's music.
They deliver intense performances with a strong emphasis on good songwriting that keeps their
audiences truly captivated.
If you ever wondered what it would have been like if those old acoustic blues guys had gotten their
hands on electric guitars, Madman Sam may be your answer. Sam has spent the last 20 years as a
solo acoustic blues musician playing some of the rawest, most original delta-style blues since Son
House. His acoustic guitar playing is hard and rhythmic like the country blues of the early 1900s, yet
full of 1940s and 50s Chicago style lead guitar playing as well. Now, after 20 years, he has taken that
acoustic playing strength and applied it to electric guitar for a truly unique, finger-picked electric guitar
style.
Madman Sam's vocals are loud, powerful, and seriously attention grabbing. Sam learned to sing the
blues by listening to music made by people who were around before microphones even existed...and it
shows. His powerful singing style combined with his intense and often humorous lyrics, often draw
people in from outside the venue, just to see what the hell is going on!
Madman Sam has released 4 solo albums of original material to date: Back On My Feet Again (1994),
Madman Blues (1998), I Feel So Evil (2010), and the 2011 Muddy Award Nominated CD Nothing In The
Clouds But Rain (2011). He also represented the Cascade Blues Association in the 2012 international
Blues Challenge as a solo act.
The dynamic drumming style of Jeff Hayes, also known as Drummerboy, fits well with any style of blues
whether it be early 1900s delta style, or the more modern rhythm and blues styles of later years. His
versatility as a drummer works perfectly with Madman Sam's often odd-rhythm style of playing that
tends to have a fluctuating feel and tempo. Jeff's ability to listen to, feel, and grow with the music as it's
played helps to give their music that unique organic flavor that makes it stand out as something truly
different.
The multi-award winning drummer has been featured on dozens of recordings, with almost as many
bands, not only as a drummer, but as a singer / songwriter as well. He has traveled the world to play
music and has played with some of the best talent in the industry, at some of the greatest venues and
festivals. His current personal project, Drummerboy: A Revolution in Roots Music is a regular live show
featuring a rotating cast of some of the best musicians the Pacific Northwest and beyond has to offer.
Madman Sam and Jeff Hayes met at the 2011 Waterfront Blues Festival after Sam's solo acoustic
performance and spoke briefly about their mutual love for old delta blues. Over the next several
months they had the chance to play together a handful of times and were thrilled with the results. Sam
was very impressed with Jeff's range of drumming and extra impressed that he seemed to have the
same crazy personality type as him. Nine months after their first meeting the Muddy Sons were born,
offering a whole new look at traditional blues, breathing fresh air into that old raw sound. The result is a
Chicago flavored delta blues that is intended to be music for today, not a history lesson.
The Muddy Sons are currently working on their debut album, tentatively planned for release in June of
2012.
