The Jump'n Jukes will play at the Wild Wings Cafe on February 11th. Cumming band members, Steve Sams and Juha Saily, say their band plays a variety of blues styles of music...
Cumming residents Steve Sams and Juha Saily, of The Jump’n Jukes, a local “jump & juke joint blues band”, are still amazed at how far their band has come so quickly. “When we first pulled a band together we wanted to jam and have some fun and eventually try to play out in a few clubs and restaurants” says Steve Sams, the band’s front man, playing blues harmonica and vocals. In less than a year from their first club gig in March 2004, The Jump’n Jukes now find themselves playing as much as six times in a given month. “The response were getting is tremendous, practically everywhere we play we keep getting asked back”.
According to Juha Saily, The Jump’n Jukes’ guitarist, “We play a variety of blues styles, from foot tappin’ gut-bucket juke joint blues to a more upbeat jump or west coast swing style. Our tunes are highly danceable and most find it hard to sit still when we play!”
“The music we play is very accessible to many folks” says Earnie Earnest, the band’s bass player. “We play at rib joint restaurants where young children enjoy our tunes just as much as older ones in the crowd. We go over well at both the fanciest restaurants and clubs down to the gritty smoke filled bars we play in.”, according to Earnest. Rounding out The Jump’n Jukes rhythm section is Brian Crum on drums from Athens, GA.
Some of the band’s highlight shows in 2004 were private shows. “A lady I work with had heard us and wanted us to play at her big family reunion”, according to Sams. “Now we were a little nervous about playing, since this was for an African-American family, with roots in Memphis, TN and the Mississippi Delta. The ancestors of this family came right out of the birthplace of the blues! Everyone had a great time…it was a real complement when older family members told us how good we sounded”. Another one of The Jump’n Jukes’ private shows was for the North Georgia Republican Rally, this past Fall near Dahlonega, GA. “We played for about 1,200 people as the opening entertainment for this Rally”, says Sams. Additionally, The Jump’n Jukes were honored, when asked by the Atlanta Blues Society to perform as the Host Band at it’s meeting.
What’s in store for The Jump’n Jukes in 2005? “We hope to have a ‘bootleg’ live CD soon for our fans, also we are considering going into the studio to produce a record. I’ve written lyrics for a few original tunes and Juha has composed some nice instrumental pieces we would like to include on the studio CD. The main thing is we want to keep having a good time…while bringing some great music to our friends and fans” says Sams.
Additional information about The Jump’n Jukes, can be found at their website: www.freewebs.com/jump-n-jukes.
The Jump’n Jukes will be playing at the Cumming, Wild Wing Café on Friday, February 11, 2005, 419 Atlanta Road, Cumming, GA 30040, Phone (770) 205-9453 (where the Decker’s restaurant was formerly located).