Artist description Marc Bristol plays and writes all sorts of American Roots music styles, from country to rock'n'roll, and from blues to zydeco and beyond. Marc has various bands going, including Okie Doke, which he started in 1975, Filé Gumbo, which began in 1987, the Shack Shakers which started around 1990, and Blisswater (short for Clarence Blisswater Revival - see more mp3.com tracks under that name!) which was begun in 1992. Marc is lucky enough to play with some of the best musicians in the Northwest, and these versatile players overlap from one group to another on occasion.

Music Style Country, Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly, Blues, Zydeco

Musical Influences Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Willie Dixon, Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Jimmie Rodgers, Buck Owens, Elvis, Little Richard, Clifton Chenier, Queen Ida, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Allen Toussaint, Professor Longhair

Similar Artists Jerry Lee Lewis, Don Williams, Clarence Blisswater Revival

Artist History Marc Bristol came from a show-biz family, great- grandpa owned a circus, his grandma sang in vaudeville from age 5, and his dad sang bass in a progressive barbershop quartet. Marc's own career began in rock'n'roll in Western Michigan in 1964, continued through various bands in high school and college, then solo coffeehouse gigs and a migration to the Northwest where he settled in the Mountains to write songs. After a stint playing the streets in Seattle he formed Okie Doke, which made their first record in 1980. Marc also wrote a "Homegrown Music" column in The Mother Earth News, and now publishes Blue Suede News, a magazine supporting American Roots music.

Group Members Filé Gumbo (current): Doug Bright - accordion/ vocals/fiddle/piano; Marc Bristol - guitar/vocal/ washboard; Orville Johnson - lead guitar/vocals; Rob Moitoza - bass/vocals; Bob Merrihew - drums. Okie Doke (current): Marc Bristol, guitar/vocal/ washboard; Orville Johnson - dobro/guitar/vocals; Doug Bright - fiddle/accordion/vocals; Matt Weiner - upright bass, Marty Vadalabene - drums, Country Dave Harmonson - pedal steel/guitar. Shack Shakers: Marc Bristol - guitar/vocals; Doug Bright - piano/vocals/accordion; Dave Conant - lead guitar/vocals; Joe Anderson - upright bass; Bob Merrihew - drums. Blisswater: Marc Bristol - Guitar/vocal/washboard/ kazoo/jug; Joel Tepp - slide guitar/harmonica/ clarinet/vocal; Doug Bright - mandolin/piano/ fiddle/vocal; Daddy Treetops - upright bass/piano /vocal.

Instruments guitar/washboard/jug/kazoo/saw/harmonica/vocal

Albums This Feelin' (82); Sweet Misery Moan (92); Rockabilly Rhythm & Blues (97); On The Edge Of Romance ('03)

Press Reviews "Bob Wills meets Elvis and Dan Hicks at a bar in the Twilight Zone..." Trace Porter/Milkshake Man (about Okie Doke's first record in 1981) "You guys really know where it's at!" Rockin' Ronny Weiser (on the Okie Doke EP) "Feels as comfortable as a well-worn pair of Levis" Mike McClusky/Valley Record (about Marc's "This Feelin'" LP 1983 "Sweet Misery Moan reminds one of Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell..." Doug Bright/Heritage Music Review (about Marc's WAM BAM BOOM cassette 1986) "This is no toe-in-the-water band striving for authenticity, but rather a full-blooded high- energy band who, without necessarily being strictly zydeco have absorbed the tradition to a remarkably good effect." Chris Woodford/ Now Dig This (on Filé Gumbo's "Big Big Love" CD) "First Class rockin' zydeco album of the year!" Buscadero (on Filé Gumbo's Mardi Gras In New Orleans CD) "Great lyrics, great rhythm, and in common with such 'Cajun' famorites as Del Shannon's "Let's Dance" and Johnny Allen's "Promised Land", makes am immediate impact and demands to be played over and over again" Chris Woodford/Now Dig This (on Marc's song "Makin' Sweet Love To You" from the Filé Gumbo CD Mardi Gras In New Orleans) "I have never enjoyed any band as much as Filé Gumbo - I'm their biggest fan" -Buddy Knox

Additional Info Blue Suede News, Box 25, Duvall WA 98019-0025

Location Duvall, WA - USA

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