Phantom Blues Band featuring Mike Finnegan, Monophonics / LJWorld.com

Details

Categories: Blues
Event posted: April 23, 2012
Last updated: April 25, 2012

Event details

Monday, July 23, 2012, 8 p.m.
The Bottleneck, 737 N.H., Lawrence
Age limit: All ages

Odds are that if you grew up as a musician in Kansas you heard tales of the legendary Mike Finnigan. The story is told of how Mike played a Hammond B3 organ with one hand playing the solo, the other playing the chords, his feet working the bass pedals and to top that he sang the meanest blues over the top of it all. Another story often heard explains how he bumped into Jimi Hendrix in New York and within a few days was playing on the Electric Lady Land album and was put on a list of people Jimi wanted in his next band. Whenever his band Finnigan and Wood were playing a bar in Kansas, They drew such a huge crowd that the other bars for miles around would close up shop for the night and put a sign on their door that read -- "CLOSED - FINNIGAN AND WOOD IN TOWN - GO SEE THEM" Coming to Kansas in the Early 1960s on a basketball scholarship to KU Finnigan soon found himself playing keyboards in local bands and decided to leave the basketball career behind. A big loss for basketball but a great win for the music industry. Finnigan has played with: The Serfs, Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother and The Holding Co., Dave Mason, C.S.& N, Rod Stewart, Taj Mahal and Etta James. His latest project is The Phantom Blues Band, which was formed as a studio band to backup Taj Mahal on his CD, 'Dancin' the Blues'. Having spent many years as part of the Texas blues community, the members of the Phantom Blues Band backed and recorded with many Texas blues greats including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, Jimmy Reed, Albert Collins and Chicago legends Buddy Guy and Otis Rush. The Phantom Blues Band members are all in their own right successful session players, producers, arrangers, composers, songwriters and recording artists. The Phantom Blues Band are two time Grammy winners and 2001 W.C. Handy Award recipients as Band Of The Year with Taj Mahal. After circling the globe playing major Blues and Jazz Festivals in Europe, Japan and Australia with Taj Mahal, The Phantom Blues Band released their first CD, 'Limited Edition' in 2003.