concerts
02/26/10, 9:00 pm, Brunos, Charleston, WV
11/20/09, 9:00 pm, Brunos, Charleston, WV
08/14/09, 9:00 pm, Brunos, Charleston, WV
07/03/09, 9:00 pm, Rivers Edge Cafe, St. Albans, WV
06/05/09, 9:00 pm, Brunos, Charleston, WV
09/20/08, 8:00 pm, Private Event, Teays Valley, WV
07/12/08, 9:00 pm, O'KAYS, Charleston, WV
05/17/08, 9:00 pm, O'KAYS, Charleston, WV
04/11/08, 9:00 pm, O'KAYS, Charleston, WV
02/22/08, 9:00 pm, Blues Barbecue, Charleston, WV
09/29/07, Private Event, Pipestem, WV
09/15/07, 9:00 pm, Blues Barbecue, Charleston, WV
08/25/07, Private Event, Scott Depot, WV
08/18/07, 9:00 pm, Blues Barbecue, Charleston, WV
07/21/07, 9:00 pm, Blues Barbecue, Charleston, WV
06/16/07, 9:00 pm, Blues Barbecue, Charleston, WV
05/19/07, 8:00 pm, 1st Presbyterian Church Coffee House, Charleston, WV
07/29/06, GHHA Brewfest, Huntington, WV
06/17/06, Private Event, Scott Depot, WV
11/12/05, 11:00 pm, River's Edge Cafe, St. Albans, WV
Quickly becoming our home away from home, the White Mo boys invaded the top floor of the Cafe on Saturday. As usual, the place didn't really get crankin' until around 11:00pm. A decent crowd was on hand to see the re-appearance of White Molasses as a four banger. As Mark will be "swingin" in and out on stunt harp, the band gets back to a little more edgy, blues rock type of show. A few new songs were let loose including an edgy Stones - style version of "Mustang Sally". "Badge" was also played out for the first time (Mark understands the irony here). Best crowd reactions came from "Hard To Handle", "Midnight Rambler", and the Red Devil's version of "She's Dangerous". Once again, the good folks at the Cafe took good care of us and we enjoyed the experience. We also got to meet and greet some of the hard working kitchen staff this time around (swear to God we did, man!). You guys rock! A good time was had by all! We miss ya Mark, don't stay gone too long. Until next time...
07/30/05, 8:00 pm, Mountain Brewer Open, Huntington, WV (private event)
Fellas, it was hot. The Greater Huntington Homebrewers Association (GHHA) chose a real sizzler for their Summer Brewfest, and we had to set up in the heat of the day as both the first band of the night, Big Rock and the Candy Ass Mountain Boys (great name!), and White Mo were using the White Mo sound setup. We threw in use of our sound engineer, John Boggess, so maybe he could pretend we were giving him an opportunity for a sound check. The smell of smoking salmon permeated the fetid summer air. When you say it like that, it doesn't sound so good, but the salmon was delicious! Thanks to Joe Snavely (GHHA President) for the excellent victuals. Much of the crowd had been involved in various degrees with beer judging all afternoon, and many had bypassed judging to head straight for hearty consumption. An ideal crowd for White Mo!
BRATCAMB got their set of acoustic mayhem underway around 6:30, and dished out some fine stuff and an assortment of songs about beer that you won't hear anywhere else. It was somewhat discouraging that at the time they ended their set and announced WhiteMo was up next, the crowd began to thin quite rapidly. After getting things straightened out, we got underway with our usual early 1960s experimental rocket launch precision. The first set had some few moments of mediocrity but got stronger and showed some real promise as it went on. The crowd indicated a great willingness to be entertained and tremendous leeway in what comprised acceptable entertainment. As I said before - an ideal crowd for us.
The second set began with the reedman from BR...M, Ted Harris, asking to sit in on a number. What followed was a beautiful, stretched out "Thrill Is Gone" with some fine interplay between Chris and Ted's sax. And we didn't let Ted go for the rest of the set. Horn stabs on the harp were filled out magically with Ted's rhythmic intuitiveness and harmonic sensibility. Jeff had a tough time singing around the grin he was wearing, old songs sounded fresh - it was just plain fun to be playing music. Ted, thanks! In fact, thanks to all the White Molasses boys - you all rocked.
Normally, the teardown process after a long hot day would be a dreadful affair, but several GHHA guys and gals, along with our unofficial manager Rick Robinson and his lovely date, Diane, stuck around and toted equipment off the hill with us. Let's shine a big Berlin Wall-quality floodlight of thanks on these fine folks! Thank you, baby. Let's do it again next year.
03/19/05, 9:00 pm, River's Edge Cafe, St. Albans, WV
It didn't start off to be an epic night of blues; in fact, it almost didn't happen at all. But, it did...
We were originally scheduled (according to Chris, whose negotiation tactics managed to shave 20% off our previous pay for the same gig) to play at 9 pm. But something bigger was going on - the Mountaineers of WVU had been transformed into the Hickory High team in "Hoosiers." Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle took turns playing Jimmy Chitwood. Beilein looked more than a little like Gene Hackman. "Shooter" was in the house - in fact many of the WVU faithful were undistinguishable from Dennis Hopper's memorable portrayal of a drunken hoops has-been. And against all odds, the Mounties kept winning. Coming off a sensational run in the Big East tournament, they handled Creighton and were poised to take on the ACC buzzsaw that was Wake Forest. At 8:00 pm. So we were told that we could start playing at 10:00 pm. The Mounties had other plans. A SRO crowd watched in increasingly raucous wonder as the underdogs scrapped their way into first one overtime, then another. When the game ended w/ the Mounties victorious! around 11:25 pm, the full house was emotionally drained, and more than a little in their collective cups.
White Molasses declared a blues jihad. So did the Savage Hoodoo Kings. You see, we had arrived at an impasse in our quest for a new name and even though we had decided to go ahead with Savage Hoodoo Kings, when it got down to it, we couldn't abandon all the mojo that had attached to White Molasses. And so (insert name here) churned out an onslaught of hot, gritty rockin' blues that pushed the assembled masses right out to the edge of their party precipice. As we tore down, we looked around in wonder - there was not a flat surface anywhere not completely covered in empty beer bottles, glasses and pitchers. Critical blues mass had been achieved. White Mo would play this room again...
12/18/04, Psy-Care Christmas Party, Charleston, WV
The 2004 wrap-up gig promised to be a light-hearted affair. We were playing for our drummer's mental health business Christmas party - no worries. Naturally, the resident manager told us we had better knock off promptly at 11 or the cops would be called. Just because Chris has what appears to the untrained eye to be a "stadium rig", primed to "blow it out." We had some initial concern about lack of access to power, but set-up proceeded smoothly right up to the point Jeff powered up his amp and checked his mic.
Think of Mike Myers as Deiter doing the dance where he wraps his arm over his head and around his face, only more spasmodic and, dare I say?, comical. A startling cry escaped his stinging lips, and after a few moments (when his arm stopped twitching) we realized Jeff had been shocked. For a brief time it appeared the Victoria was the culprit, but that was quickly (and thankfully) ruled out. It seems that the Charleston Tennis Club clubhouse wiring made no provision for electrical grounding, other than that provided by unwitting singer's lips. The prospect of spending the evening "kissing a cobra on top of its head without getting bitten" fazed Dr. Jeff not at all. "I just won't sing," said he logically, if not bravely. As the lyrics provide the only real structural integrity to our arrangements, this solution was ruled right out. John began doing things that I'm sure are nigh on mystical but which bore striking resemblance to flipping all switches within reach and stopping when the loud buzz goes away. Which it did, mostly.
It's too bad that the 11 o'clock curfew was rigidly enforced, as the good folks of Psy-Care, at least the ones who had locked in, lemming-like, on the route to and from and to and from the bar, were in a dancing, partying frame of mind. Jeff even took a little Guitar Slim stroll onto the dance floor, dragging a knotted mass of guitar cord and tuner behind him. Maybe not our best technical performance, but a good vibe was in the house, and we had the pleasure of giving these dear, caring souls a brief time of escape from the rigors of dealing with mental health issues all day, a time which maybe a few will remember vaguely.
As White Mo reflects on the last 12 months (and we do reflect collectively and refer to ourselves in the third person(s)), we want to thank all the folks who showed up at gigs, especially those who stayed, those who said they were going to show up but never actually made it, and that girl in the white sweater. Oh, and our families - they are really, really important to us, too. Continuous thanks go to Ted and Ada Boggess for loving their sons so much that they built a place for us to practice, a safe distance from their house. And mad props go to our friend and webczar, Loren Claypool, who helped get this little thing going back in the day.
Thank you, baby!
11/05/04 & 11/06/04, 7:00 pm, Uno's Chicago Grill, Charleston, WV
The Uno's Marquee read:
Live Tonight
White Molasses
7 till 11
Little did we know what lay ahead...
After lengthy, arduous negotiations with lower and middle Uno's management, Jeff was able to secure an agreement for us to play there for two nights for only 33% less than we had originally agreed upon. Right away, it was established that this was to be all about the art - the alchemy of the blues, as interpreted by White Molasses.
Friday's crowd, stocked as it was with friends, co-workers, family, and assorted diners shocked to have their evening meal interrupted by the blues juggernaut that is WM, kicked us into high gear right out of the gate. Playing in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, the boys laid down some brutal, take-no-prisoners blues. Local singing legend Scott McCracken was so caught up in the magic that he begged to share the stage on a couple numbers. Or maybe it was because the dancers were getting a little....scary. At any rate, he gave us a nice boost as we sped into the last bit of the second set. A hastily arranged set switch allowing Johnny to sing one for his dear wife proved calamitous. We chose five independent tempos -all way too fast, for "Ain't No Sunshine". It wasn't until the "I know, I know..." section that we managed to lock in on a Ramonesque double-time stampede for the finish. Fortunately most of the crowd had already stopped paying attention, and we ended the night on what several people believed was an up note.
Saturday, we again denied John the luxury of a sound check for his live recording, mostly out of habit and a feeling that it's nice to have an excuse like, "Hey we didn't get to do a sound check" to fall back on for yet another disappointing recorded performance. But we started strong and picked up steam for what turned into one of our better efforts. Taken as a whole, a very positive weekend of playing and singing for the band about whom more than one person has said, "What does 'White Molasses' mean?"
Just ask the folks doing the shim-sham-shimmy on the dance floor. They wouldn't lie.
08/08/04, 9:00 pm, River's Edge Cafe, St. Albans, WV
White Molasses: We sound better if you keep drinking!
Saturday's job at the River's Edge Cafe was another evening with highs and lows aplenty. For each positive (we're getting paid to play!), there seemed to be a Newtonian, equal and opposite negative. Mostly this consisted of the 33 narrow steps up which all our gear had to be carried, and which had, by 2:00a.m., grown to be a grueling 733 stairs. Perhaps this was exacerbated by the astounding number of things we tote along to play. The bar patrons who were there when we began carrying in, asked how many band members we had, as we seemed to be moving enough stuff for a full-scale "Up With People" revival. Which would have been appropriate, as the hometown crowd (well, it's home for everyone but the drummer) may have been small in number, but they were vocal, enthusiastic, and had staying power.
Sets ran a bit long, Chris got loose and stretched out a bit more to the crowds' delight, we debuted a few new songs, stumbled through a few we thought we knew but had apparently forgotten, and achieved some truly impressive sound pressure levels. Mike the Barman made sure we didn't dehydrate; we got a couple requests which we, of course, didn't know, saw some folks from our salad days and caught up, and saw the tally of delicate women's undergarments thrown on the stage skyrocket to nearly none. For White Molasses, nearly a perfect night.
06/26/04, 7:00 pm, New London Commons, Teays Valley, WV
It coulda been the fact that we were playing outside for a group of well-behaved suburbanites and their children, bent on relaxing in the first nice weather in who knows how long. It may have been the fact that these same trusting souls paid us up front, before we'd sounded the first note. It may have just been an off night. Or it may be that White Molasses is a crapshoot - at times, a competent blues band with moments of joyous musical interplay; other times a train waiting for a wreck, an experimental ending, an uncertain beginning, going raga when you shouldn't.
Whatever the case (okay, we know what it is) Saturday's community festival in New London Commons witnessed one of WMs less-than-stellar performances. The genuinely nice crowd of fine American families responded to many of our offerings with murmured discussions of lawn fertilizing techniques, or gentle admonitions for some kids to be still. And who's to say that's not the proper response to what we laid down? Once the ruthlessly efficient food line was shut down (Thanks, Kathy!), we played about three hours - the weather was gorgeous, the crowd achingly polite, the sound clean and full. We were just a bit off. Not so's folks were put out with us or felt comfortable enought to heckle us, it was just one of those nights when things didn't mesh as they have at some point, I'm certain.
Jeff should post the highlight video clip of the opening - funny stuff. We'll be starting the "Blues Jihad" tour soon.
Next gig to be announced.
05/28/04 & 05/29/04, 8:00 pm, Uno's Chicago Grill, Teays Valley, WV
12/18/03, 7:00 pm, Psy-Care Christmas Party, Sam's Uptown Cafe, Charleston, WV
Positives: We get to play early and be finished by 11:00 pm
Negatives: We have to haul equipment up 20 steps to the second floor.
A small crowd showed up for the Psy-Care Christmas bash, most likely due to very poor weather (snow/sleet). However, those who braved the weather enjoyed some decent blues and alot of band/audience banter. John Boy hooked up the 16 track recorder and the show was recorded for posterity (it likely won't be good for much else). Althought there were some nice "stretching out" moments for the band, I'm not sure there was a "keeper" from start to finish. Of special note is where John loses all
bass signal and we attempt to "bring it down" low so it sounds as if we meant to do it. It would have worked if John, elated that he fixed the problem in a mere 15-20 seconds, had not jumped back in at full volume. Thank you, baby! Anyway, not a bad outing and the fine folks at Sam's want us to come back and be on the regular band bill.
11/22/03, 9:30 pm, Julie J's, Charleston, WV
Saturday night gig at Julie J's. A very small crowd was at hand as White Mo took the
stage at around 10:pm. That crowd improved as the night wore on and the band opted for three shorter sets rather than two lengthy ones. We were all shaking our heads as to why until we remembered that it was the first day of hunting season in WV. I'm sure a bunch of folks were just too tired to to make it out. Musically, things went pretty well as the band "stepped out" a little with some extended song versions and on-the-fly add libs. This appears to be getting easier as the band continues to "gel". I was dissapointed with my guitar tone most of the night. The reason became apparent towards the end of the last set when the Traynor "died". Likely a pre-amp tube that was dying all evening. Oh well! All in all, a pretty decent show.
09/20/03, 8:00 pm, PSI-MED Corporate Party, Snowshoe Mountain Resort
What a blast on top of the mountain. Everyone was ready for a blow out after
two days of lectures, seminars and talks. After a somewhat slow start, the free bar kicked in and people were dancin', jumpin', and generally making fools of themselves. Lots of kids were around early and they seemed to really get into the show. We experienced our first "call and response" amongst the crowd during a lengthy version of "Move It On Over" (felt like the college frat rock days!). Beyond the silliness though, we were very well received and you could generally
see the shock and dismay on some of the folks faces as they witnessed the blues alter egos of Drs. Dreyer & Boggess. I had run off about 30 copies of our promotional CD and they were swapped up quickly. Song wise, there were no trainwrecks and we even payed homage to the man in black with a rendition of "Folsom Pison Blues". We also worked up "Hard To Handle" as a special request for one of the Psy-Care employees (ok, so we were threatened). All in all a great time! There is already
talk of having the band play a Christmas party for the company.
09/06/03, 8:00 pm, Tomahawks, Jefferson, WV
This was a surprise 40th Birthday Bash for JTB which was arranged by his lovely wife Laura. White Molasses took over the stage at Tomahawks in Jefferson (The Badlands) West Virginia. The birthday
boy arrived and departed via limousine and the rest of the boys pulled double duty as far as set up goes. Thanks guys (see "News" for a more formal thank you!) !! Jeff was also presented a new Heritage 535 guitar as a gift from his family (see Guitar page). The venue is a nice restaurant/bar adjacent to an Indian motorcycle dealership and overlooking the scenic Kanawha River. A nice (and sometimes exuberant) crowd welcomed the first ever appearance of the revamped White Mo with Dr. Steve on drums. In fact, it was the first time Steve was actually able to play his own set. Sound quality was very good and so a heads up to John Boy for a set up that only included a 5 minute sound check. No train wrecks or derailments and our bluesy version of "Ain't No Sunshine" appeared to be the crowd favorite. Jeff tried out his harp skills for the first time on two numbers and things went about as well as could be expected (i.e., no real expectations here). A fun night and a pretty nice "kick off" for the new White Mo.
06/08/02, 6:00 pm, Farewell to the Farm Bash, Boggess Farm, WV
It's been the scene of countless parties, beer contests, weddings and
bachelor parties, Democrat campaigning, and maybe most important, the practice site for Wino Bob/White Molasses for about the last dozen years. So it was with some sadness that about 50 or 60 gathered to eat chicken wings, drink homebrew, eat more chicken wings, catch catfish, bass and bluegill, drink Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and pay tribute to the part of the Boggess Farm that progress says must go. 3/4 of the band gave a half-hearted attempt at some acoustic playing, we set off a few fireworks, and wondered, "How in the world are we gonna eat all these bleeping chicken wings?" Thanks to Ted for springing for the chow and to Jeff for having good taste. Will things be the same on top of the hill? I was hoping we'd get better...
06/01/02, 9:00 pm, Julie J's, Charleston, WV
Graduation night at Julie J's - White Molasses back for a return engagement.
Another night of ups and downs: Lee Hines again joined for some really inspired drumming, Jeff's vocals were strong, Chris wowed as usual, and there weren't any real train wrecks. Just a few close calls. The highlight of the evening had to be the appearance of E.A.P (da King!), who must find the afterlife a bit of a drag, since he spent about 1.5 hours listening to us play and snapping action pictures of us. Perhaps we made him feel a little less pathetic. We really need to dust
off "Suspicious Minds" for these occasions. There will probably be no concert reports for a while, as our practice location is being turned into an interstate exchange. Stay tuned for White Molasses sound equipment eBay auction updates...
04/12/02, 9:00 pm, Joey's, Teays Valley, WV
White Molasses played a return engagement at Joey's in Teays Valley on 4/12/02. It was an unusually warm night full of sweatin' blues. The crowd was spotty, as were some of the performances, but overall it was a good show. Old friend and great musician, Lee Hines, sat in on drums for a few numbers so Mr. Coppala could play a bit of harp. Mark was the highlight of the show, blowing his harp with great conviction. John's original song went over very nice and received a warm reaction from the crowd. During setup, Chris commented on the absence of window covering on the patio bandstand; this came into play around 12:20 a.m. when Putnam County Sheriff's deputies showed up in response to a noise complaint. The set ended one quite loud version of "All Along the Watchtower"
later... The next Joey's gig may have to be in the afternoon!
03/09/02, 8:00 pm, Annual Mardi Gras Party, Boggess Farm, WV
White Molasses performed before a rowdy crowd during the Mardi Gras party at The Boggess Farm. A large crowd braved the wild weather (65 F at 6:pm - 18 F at midnight) to hear the band accompanied
by some special guests. Sandy Cormack was in from Baltimore and ripped it up on some pretty looking Hamers. Another surprise was a late appearance by former St. Albans standout Lee Hines on the drums. Things got ugly late with the obligatory AC/DC and Led Zep covers performed under heavy inebriation.
02/01/02, 9:00 pm, Joey's, Teays Valley, WV
Plenty of room to play here and a large and appreciative crowd for a Friday night. The bar hadn't had a live band for over a year, but were quite pleased with the turn out and music. Sets go well
and it almost seems like the boys are getting confident?
12/22/01, 9:00 pm, Julie J's, Charleston, WV
Bigger and better crowd for a Saturday, though the Bandstand was quite small. We crammed it all in and gave the best performance so far. First time without Mark D. but all goes well. Sound is probably
the best yet (way to go John Boy!)
11/08/01, 9:00 pm, The Blue Parrot, Charleston, WV
Decent crowd for a Thursday night and our first "club gig". Mark D. sits in for some tunes and that Blues legend from Chicago, Loren Claypool flies in for the gig. Solid performance and a great time
playing w/ Loren again.
07/14/01, 7:00 pm, Summer Sounds Festival, Huntington, WV
We were the warm up band for "Totally Confused" (a big band blues/swing act out of Baltimore, MD). Another short set, Mark D. plays the whole set. Overall positive response from the crowd.
03/08/01, 8:00 pm, Annual Mardi Gras Party, Boggess Farm, WV
We celebrated John's 40th birthday with the 1st public appearance of White Molasses. A short set, but solid and clean. Johnboy receives his gift: Fender American Standard Precision Bass.