Artist description The World's Only Double Doubleneck Lefthand Band! Emotive, creative, musical, powerful, exciting and fun funky rock and blues.

Music Style Blues-charged rock, pop, and funk

Musical Influences The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elmore James, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, the Allman Bros Band, James Brown, Prince, Howlin' Wolf, Nils Lofgren, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Albert, BB, & Freddie King

Similar Artists Beatles, Rolling Stones, Santana, Dave Edmonds, Jerry Donahue, Danny Gatton, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Moses Guest, Hadden Sayers, Leon Russell, Tom Waits, Beefheart, Jimmie Vaughan, Little Richard

Artist History In November 1995, the other members of Joe Gagan's band Bammo were unable to make a gig that had come up. So, Joe called his brother Tim, who was just back in Santa Fe from a trip abroad and therefore bandless, to play the gig, saying the two of them could switch off on guitar and bass throughout the night. Tim liked the idea, so he called his friend Dave Wayne to play drums with them. The three of them had so much fun, they decided to make a regular band of it.Eventually Joe and Tim wanted to take the Gagan Bros Band on the road. Dave's day job as a scientist prevented him from being able to travel much, so in early 1996 the bros hooked up with Matt Tessler, a drumset powerhouse from Brooklyn who'd recently moved to New Mexico. Shortly after Matt joined the band, they landed a weekly Tuesday gig at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Santa Fe. That weekly gig, in addition to regular weekend gigs, allowed the band to tighten up and get their sound down. Around this time, they started recording tracks for what was to be their first CD, "Happy Time." Before the recording was finished, Matt was out of the band. Although the recording project was consequently put on hold, Joe and Tim kept The Gagan Bros Band on a busy gigging schedule, using various pick up drummers from around Santa Fe and Albuquerque. In early 1997, Niko Magadini joined the band as drummer. Before his departure later that year, the recording project was finished. “Happy Time” was released toward the end of 1997.At the beginning of 1998, with their first CD to promote, Joe and Tim again found their band drummerless. A drummer named Tim Rideout blew into Santa Fe from Montreal just about that time, and liked what he heard the Gagans playing one Tuesday at the Cowgirl. He played with the bros throughout his stay in Santa Fe, climbing into the truck with them for their first tour of Texas, and recording a couple shows with them at the Catamount Bar & Grille in Santa Fe for release on CD. Rideout left Santa Fe in May 1998, and Matt Tessler returned to play with the bros through most of that summer. Matt left New Mexico as well to return to New York in August, so Albuquerque drummer Bill Veitch filled the drum chair. However, by 1999 Matt was back in New Mexico, and back in the band as full-time permanent drummer as of May 1999.Throughout the band’s history, the Gagan Bros Band has retained its original concept of having southpaw brothers Joe and Tim take turns on guitar and bass. After a couple of years of stopping sets during shows so the brothers could trade instruments, Joe realized that doublenecks would be the way to go. So he put together a prototype from a guitar and a bass, and developed a visually-pleasing and well-balanced design. Skip Helms, a guitar-building friend of the Gagans in Santa Fe, built Joe and Tim each a doubleneck from Joe’s design in the summer of 1999. By September 1999, the Gagans had their custom doublenecks in their hands, making them the world’s first and only double doubleneck lefthand band and taking their shows to a new dimension. Audiences love the sight of the two Cadillac-copper colored upside down doublenecks side-by-side on one stage. In addition, the bros can trade instruments simply by switching necks, rather than having to put down a bass to pick up a guitar. They even switch instruments in the middle of songs! In November 1999, the band’s second CD, “Live at the Catamount” was released. Taken from the live recordings done with Tim Rideout in 1998, fans say this CD indeed captures monstrous energy the Gagan Bros Band puts out in performance. As of April 2000, the Gagan Bros Band has recorded its third CD, produced by Hellecaster Jerry Donahue. Read about this project at The Gagan Bros Band's home page, and hear a cut here at mp3.com!

Group Members Johnny Benoit: drums, vocals. Joe Gagan: doubleneck guitar/bass, vocals. Tiger Gagan: doubleneck guitar/bass, vocals.

Instruments Custom made doublenecks, home-made amps, Yamaha drums

Albums Happy Time, Live at the Catamount, Shock to the System

Press Reviews “When they burn (which is much of the time), they burn white hot. Far from your average blues trio, the Gagan Bros play an eclectic mix of classics and originals, each with a slightly off-kilter twist that makes their music sound fresh and inventive.”The Alibi (Albuquerque, NM)“…a pedal-to-the metal picture of a travelling band in high gear.”The Santa Fe Reporter“...the brothers are known for their skill, creativity, and sense of humor.” The Santa Fe Sun“The Gagans have long combined technical wizardry on the guitar and bass with the novelty of swapping instruments mid-set.”The Journal North (Santa Fe, NM)“Joe Gagan demonstrates a spectacular display of guitar prowess right down to a Henrixlike groove.”Pasatiempo (Santa Fe, NM)"...the perfect soundtrack to a party,--driving, danceable, and not a bit boring." Venue (Albuquerque, NM)“...guaranteed to make you smile...” Pasatiempo (Santa Fe, NM) “...they jam as if joined at the hip...a finely tuned bootie-shaking machine...” Demo Universe (Online magazine www.outersound.com/demou/)“The Gagan Bros Band proves that good old American blues-based rock’n’roll is alive and pickin’.” Next (Wichita Falls, TX)“(Gagan’s) one of the best guitarists that I’ve ever seen!” LA Rock Review (Los Angeles, CA)

Location Santa Fe, New Mexico - USA

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