Artist description On a trip to New Orleans, Eldorado Del Ray discovered the Ruckus music of Blind Bim. He soon became obsessed with mixing the blues of North Mississippi and Memphis with New Orleans’s Ruckus. One too many warrants in New Orleans made Memphis the more obvious choice to begin this project. Enlisting Memphis local, Slim Electro and former Texan Lord Baltimore, Eldorado Del Ray would create an all new Porch Ghouls. The line-up wouldn't be solidified until Randy Valentine joined and Lady Baltimore replace Lord Baltimore And that's the story of The Porch Ghouls.

Music Style Traditional Rukus with some more contemporary elements

Musical Influences Blind Bim, Memphis Jug Band, Howlin Wolf, The Delta ans Papa Legba

Similar Artists Doo Rag, The Grifters, Gritkisser, Memphis Jug Band, Memphis

Artist History Being in a rock band from Florida is tough. Just ask Lynyrd Skynyrd. No one takes you seriously because you live in the land of Disney World and you’re a 30 hour drive from the nearest major market. Most bands end up moving to one those major markets, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago or even Seattle. Not the Porch Ghouls, they up and moved to Memphis. Don't get me wrong, Memphis is the coolest city in the whole world but a major metropolitan area it ain't. The Porch Ghouls officially began in the summer of '97 as a band called The Ghastly Ones. Threat of a lawsuit by an established California band of the same name forced this Gainesville, Florida band to change their name to the Porch Ghouls. The original Porch Ghouls line-up featured Eldorado Del Ray and Bon Musclecar of the band Gritkisser, and their good buddy Son Rocket. The Porch Ghouls focused on Memphis blues forsaking the surf and rockabilly associated with Gritkisser. On a trip to New Orleans, Eldorado Del Ray discovered the Ruckus music of Blind Bim. He soon became obsessed with mixing the blues of North Mississippi and Memphis with New Orleans’s Ruckus. One too many warrants in New Orleans made Memphis the more obvious choice to begin this project. Enlisting Memphis local, Slim Electro and former Texan Lord Baltimore, Eldorado Del Ray would create an all new Porch Ghouls. The line-up wouldn't be solidified until Randy Valentine joined and Lady Baltimore replace Lord Baltimore And that's the story of The Porch Ghouls. Didn't cha like it?

Group Members Randy Valentine -Not a lot is known about Valentine except that he's originally from Idaho, but he's been on the run for so long we're not even sure of that. Hellhounds been on this harmonica players trail since the first time he shacked-up with the preacher's wife. Slim Electro-Electro lost a bet and was forced to join the band. His striking similarity to Grifters singer guitar player is purely coincidental. Rumors that he had one of his fingers removed and a chrome slide permanent attached is completely factual.EldoradoDelRey-Mr. Del Rey is a musical genius, just ask him. He'll tell you all about his grossly under appreciated but heavily influential early bands, Fluffy Kitty and Grit Kisser.Lady Baltimore- A suitcase drum set may be a simple thing but it ain't easy. The lovely Ms. Baltimore makes it look easy, though. Her fierce right hook and wicked tongue offset her affection for John Hughes films.

Instruments 2 Guitars, harmonica, suitcase drums

Albums "Sun Sessions" coming soon

Press Reviews “It may be simple, but it ain’t easy,” said El Dorado Del Ray of the trash-blues band the Porch Ghouls at a recent show at the Hi-Tone Cafe. Del Rey (aka Mick Walker) was specifically talking about his new drummer, Lady Baltimore (Lori Gienapp), but he may as well have been talking about his group, a band that plays stripped-down seemingly basic music that nevertheless takes a lot of skill and conviction to play as well as they do. Del Rey formed the Porch Ghouls after moving to Memphis from Gainesville, Florida, in January. The musical vision Del Ray brought with him was focused on ruckus, a slang term from the ’20s and early ’30s for a type of stripped-down jug-band-style blues. But the music as interpreted by the Porch Ghouls is more of an amalgam. Traditional and modern blues styles mix with soul, rock-and-roll and some of the loose manic energy of punk.“I try not to say that we’re blues because I’m a 30-year-old middle-class white male,” says Del Ray. The result of all these influences is a group that mixes white and black, blues and rock in a way that Memphis has always done to unique effect, whether it be Elvis or more-recent, less-celebrated bands.“These guys are massaging my Oblivians muscle,” said one Hi-Tone observer, referring to the beloved but now-defunct trash blues band. But where that group stayed pretty loyal to its punk roots, the Porch Ghouls sounds almost like traditionalists. The old microphone Del Rey sings (screams?) through goes a long way toward establishing the feel, giving the vocals a thin, tinny sound reminiscent of an old 78 being played on a mono record player. The material is a combination of obscure old covers and originals in the same goofy, down home style. The sole exception being a spirited cover of “Take Me to the River.” To give his ghouls form, Del Ray has enlisted Slim Electro, better known as Grifter Scott Taylor, whose tasteful and skillful guitar gives the group the solid musical anchor it needs. Meanwhile, Randy Valentine (né Sam Tibbs) contributes firey, if underutilized, harmonica playing. He may not be able to hit as many notes as some of the soulles virtuosos who pass for mouth harp players, but he has more feeling than most. Lady Baltimore was playing her first gig with the band this night. Like her predecessor, Lord Baltimore, she plays a beat-up suitcase with a tambourine on top, the whole apparatus tied to her chair to keep it from slipping away. Sloppy drumming, especially in this context, is okay, but all is forgiven when she puts the microphone to her mouth and belts out a Little Richard tune like a barrelhouse mama. — Mark Jordan for the Memphis Flyer jordan@memphisflyer.com.

Additional Info free matches, nice kids

Location Memphis, TN - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).