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Toolshed Ginger
Type of Music: Rock/Classic Rock
Covers & Originals
mp3's/Videos:
Song List
In a world filled with too much seriousness, thank God there are a few folks who play music that don't take themselves too seriously. With a name like Toolshed Ginger, you would have to bet that this is the case.
Jay Still and John Meyer have known each other since 1969 when John moved to Macon, Ga. from Atlanta at the age of 5. They formed a friendship that remains as absurd today as it was almost 40 years ago. John met Gene Bass while in school all the way back in 1977. None of them cared for the disco fever that was sweeping the land, but much preferred the sounds of Allman Brothers and the Southern Rock thing, but were also big fans of Sabbath, Floyd, and many other classic rock bands, as well as a lot of fusion stuff as well.
Finally, John and Gene started playing guitar and drums in around 1980. Within a year, they were playing high school drinking parties - just the 2 of them. Lots of drunk kids liked it, though, as the crowd provided the vocals. Thankfully, they were all drinking enough not to realize the absence of bass! They did this for a little while until John started playing in a metal band called "St. Savage" in '83, and then took off to Vancouver, British Columbia and toured much of Canada for a while with a band called "Flamin' Sally" (remember that old Macon bar?).
John made his way back to Macon and started playing in a band called "Vex" in the later part of the 80's with Gene once again. There was that same old sick thing Gene and John had going again. However (like most bands do), that came to an end in the late 80's.
Finally - Jay started playing the guitar at the age of 60 (slight exaggeration), and started playing with a few bands in the late 80's and early 90's and John got bored with music and started working in the credit industry (of all things) and fished. Jay was really getting into the music thing, though (regardless of his normal job). He played with such Macon bands as Used Karma, The Sabbatical, the Stiff Nixons, the Cereal Killers, and finally Page III.
Gene had good success by joining Jupiter Coyote in 1989. He played more shows than most normal people could ever count, but finally ended that run in 2000 when he somehow managed to produce triplets. It was time for Gene to stay at home.
Right after Gene left Jupiter Coyote, he and John started playing a little with Jay in Page III. John was actually playing mostly bass (just for the hell of it), while Jay was on guitar. They had fun, but the music was a bit too restrictive for them to branch out and experiment with, and the creative flow was stagnant. It eventually ended at some point - nobody knows when.....
Eventually, in 2006, John, Jay, Brian Adams, and Derek Hodge (founder of the name Toolshed Ginger) got together and started playing. All old and in their 70's at this point, they started playing to receptive crowds through Middle Georgia. Being too old to travel, they figured it would be a good thing to keep it local. Touring is a young man's game, right? Derek stayed through 2007, when work prohibited him from playing, and that's when Dr. Bonnethead (Gene) arrived on the season. The cover songs were different, and the improv they supplied was not out of anybody's book. After knowing each other for so long, these guys were finding themselves in chaotic mysteries of unsurpassed jamming.
In March 2009, Matt Lang joined the group as singer/guitarist. Matt has played around the area with a few other bands, and has an absolutely sick range to his voice. Anything from Allman Brothers to Otis Redding to James Brown to AC/DC and Black Sabbath & Zeppelin. Ginger lucked out. Nobody can cover all those bases and do them well!
Finally in May 2009, Lewis Smith (good friend of Matt's) has come to round things out. Lewis is a "jack of all trades". Providing mostly keyboards for us now, he's also a fabulous singer and guitar player as well.
Though Matt & Lewis are only 25 (Gene, Jay & John have scars older than these cats), they've got the love of the same type classic vein that the old men do, and it has gelled to an absolutely awesome sound. It's great. They all get along, and they absolutely love it. Whether they play in a room of 2 people or 200,000, they're going to get off no matter what.
Be Gingerized....
Toolshed Ginger is:
Gene Bass - Drums
Matt Lang - Vocals & Guitar
John Meyer - Lead Guitar & Extreme Background Vocals
Lewis Smith - Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar
Jay Still - Bass & Extreme Background Vocals
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