Memphis Mike put
together his first rock and roll band at age 13. More bands followed from blues
to punk. He played in all the seedy honky tonks, dives, redneck bars and Moose
lodges up & down the Ohio River in Ohio and West Virginia. By age 16, Memphis
was gigging regularly with a rockabilly band called THE SWINGIN' CADDILACS. When
their bass player quit, Memphis took over on bass, where he spent the next 8
years, all the while yearning to play guitar.
The late 1980's found Memphis playing with numerous bands as well as the Swingin'
Caddilacs and starting to do session work, most notably with cult rockabilly
legend Alan Leatherwood, with whom he recorded Leatherwood's 1988 Ohio Moon
Records release "BURN IT". 1990 found Memphis traveling the east coast and
finally settling back home in Pittsburgh. Here, he started hitting the blues
jams and open mike nights looking for work as a guitar player. Finally, Memphis
hooked up with former Radio Kings lead singer James Morrow and formed the Rowdy
Bovines. The Bovines spent the next 5 years gigging relentlessly and going
through rhythm sections and artistic differences and finally went their separate
ways. After that a short stint playing with a band called Monkey on a Stick,
featuring Nicole Ferraro originally hand picked to replace Natalie Merchant in
10,000 Maniacs.
Memphis decided that this just wasn't his scene and got the ball rolling with
the Tremblers. Bassist Shawn Moyer had been a staple on the punk & Oi scene with
his band Best Defense. Drummer Bruce Martin was a well known drummer in the
regional Blues, Jazz and R&B scene. After only 2 months, they recorded their
first album for Ohio Moon Records, with Memphis' old friend and mentor Alan
Leatherwood producing. The album was recorded in one day and contained the
classic Memphis Mike track, SKOODLY BOOP.
Memphis Mike & the Legendary Tremblers went on to work with the likes of Sleepy
LaBeef, Ronnie Dawson, Robert Gordon, Wanda Jackson and many more. Memphis Mike
was also sitting in with his blues heroes like Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde
Copeland and James Peterson. The 20th century closed with Memphis Mike taking
over his old friend Danny Gatton's guitar spot backing rockabilly queen LesLee
"Bird" Anderson at a few festivals in the US. Memphis Mike became a regular with
the house band at Jackson, TN's Rockabilly Hall of Fame concerts, playing with
the likes of Mack Self, Matt Lucas, LesLee "Bird" Anderson, Billy Poore, Rayburn
Anthony, Big Al Downing, Billy Adams and more.
Memphis Mike & the Legendary Tremblers have put out three CDS ("Diamonds,
Cadillacs & other Lost Gems", "Live & Loud, Big & Ugly, Warts & All" and "Back
From the Dead" all on RUSTED RECORDS) and have been featured on Various Artist
compilations around the world. There have been a few line-up changes and tours
of the USA, UK and two highly successful tours of Australia( where Memphis and
the boys have been joined onstage by the likes of Fiona Boyes, Matt Corcoran and
Brigitte Handley). His songs have even been covered by some of his heroes, most
recently by original SUN RECORDS artist, Hayden Thompson. How did a guy from
Pittsburgh get a name like Memphis Mike? All the good names were taken.