Way back in September 2004, three blues loving musicians, all busy and active in other area blues bands, decided to put together a very special side project. This band was to take the form of an acoustic-based, lighter-volume blues trio. The kind of band that you can listen to and enjoy while eating a fine meal and sharing dinner conversation with a few friends. The goal of the project was to provide quieter, soulful blues covers and original tunes to area restaurants, private parties and night clubs, while at the same time not forgetting the real reason for playing the blues which was just to have a passel of good fun.
Two of the "Smokehouse Ramblers" were already enjoying some local celebrity with the West Chester based band Voodoo Deville. They are harp wizard and Voodoo front man, Buddy Cleveland. Also from Voodoo Deville, Steve Cocchi supplies vocals, keyboard, guitar, slide, drums and just about any other string instrument we can think of. As luck would have it, Buddy was doing some side harp work with the Reading based Dave Mell Blues Band with his good friend, blues singer/songwriter, Tom Malafarina, who agreed to team up with the boys and in addition to original songs, provides vocals, bass guitar and acoustic guitar to the trio.
These fellas figured with three lead vocalists all capable of providing harmonies, honest to goodness musicians with the ability to play a whole mess of different instruments, a bunch of radio friendly original tunes and an intense love for the blues, how could they possibly go wrong? So the three got together and recorded a few covers as well as some original tunes, sat back, took a listen and said "well roll me on the beach and call me Sandy, this stuff ain't half bad." And the rest is history.
The boys are in the process of recording a 'home grown' CD, engineered by the Ramblers' own Steve Cocchi. They will be making it available to restaurant and club owners for promotional purposes, and for purchased either through the band's web site or from band members at their gigs.
They asked old 'Inbred Hank' who hangs out behind the smokehouse to give his unbiased review of the CD and he said, "(heavy breathing) uh…ya..ya know what? … you got a real pretty mouth." Oh boy! Ok, so maybe he wasn't the right guy to ask. But you can judge for yourself.
So stop by sometime, sit a spell, take a load off your feet and enjoy the Smokehouse Ramblers' own brand of "Foot Stompin' Butt Shakin' Rib Stickin' Good Time Acoustic Blues".