Drunken Masters at Seamonster Lounge

I wasn't planning on going out tonight, but after getting a fair amount of work and practicing done, I looked online to see what was happening, and found this recurring gig at the Seamonster Lounge, a place I have only been once before, and as a performer at that. I decided that it was providence and hopped in the old Jetta and headed to Wallingford.

Drunken Masters is a trio comprised of Joe Doria, Mike Stone, and Thaddeus Turner. I've known organist Joe Doria (right) for over ten years, and I've always known him be a spark of energy in any musical situation he is a part of, from the early days with my group, the Marriott Jazz Quintet, to my more recent efforts with him in Marc Fendel's Swampdweller. Joe -- known to some as "Hernia Joe" -- is just a straight-up organ bad-ass; I know no other way to describe him. Mike Stone is a ultra-versatile drummer who can play any kind of music you can name, and then some you can't -- I first met Mike when I was 19 at the UW, and I'm always bumping into him across wide array of musical styles, from Wayne Horvitz to punk-rock-jam to whatever. And of course there's Thaddeus, who most people know from Maktub, but he's a guitar force to be reckoned with in any band. I remember seeing and playing with him at the 700 Club back in the late 1990s doing all kinds of things with Vocoders and synths and lots of other toys and goodies.

If you have yet to visit the Seamonster, be sure to stop by on a Thursday. Drunken Master has a great vibe with a real improvisatory aesthetic that keeps every tune flowing from a fresh energy and place. Tunes? Who needs tunes! These guys just need a point to jump off from and they are good to go. Can you say Drunken Master Bandwagon?