Mother Jones Band
- About -
Mother Jones is a Los Angeles based band long established on the Americana and Jam rock scenes throughout California and neighboring states. With fans all around the US, Europe and Asia, Mother Jones' music has been heard on terrestrial and internet radio stations all over the globe. Their songs have made the top 20 on Jamband.com's radio charts and listed on Neil Young's website in his top 100 "Songs of the Times",
One of LA Music Awards recipients for "Jam Band Artist of the Year", Mother Jones has assembled a powerhouse of some of the west coast’s finest musicians and vocalists featuring outstanding original songs and energetic, enticing musical jams. Mother Jones was founded by band leader and multi-instrumentalist Son Vo (former bassist of Freshly Baked)- the "Mekong Delta Bluesman" and original Mother Jones guitarist, Tony DiPiano, in 2001.
Originally called "Woodshed", they opted to change their name to Mother Jones, in honor of historical and well known activist, Mary Harris, just before releasing their 1st album, 'Life Is Illusion' in 2003. They soon released their 2nd album, 'Union' in 2006 and 'Better Days' in 2010.
Celebrating 18 years as one of LA's premier Americana/Jam bands, Mother Jones' outstanding line-up consists of members Son Vo (vocals, guitar), Halina Janusz (vocals, acoustic guitar), Steve Janowski (bass, vocals), Ted Kraut (Lead guiitar, vocals), and Chris Kirshbaum (drum set).
Many respected musicians have graced their presence with us throughout the years. These are the ones who weren't mentioned above:
- Neil Shukla: Original drummer. Recorded first demo as 'Woodshed', 2002.
- Larry Breedlove: Original bassist. Recorded first demo as 'Woodshed', played on first album, Life Is Illusion', 2003.
- Albert Estiamba: Drummer, 2003-2007. Played on all songs for albums, 'Life Is Illusion' and 'Union'.
- Mike Dwyer: Percussionist; performed live 2002-2004, played on first album, Life Is Illusion.
- Keith Smith: Keyboardist; Performed live and toured regionally 2004-2006.
- David Abercrombie: Bassist extraordinaire. Played on album 'Life Is Illusion', toured regionally.
- Spiro Nicolopoulos: Lead Guitarist; performed live 2006-2007.
- Doug Monteith: Lead Guitarist; performed live 2007-2012.
- Ted Kraut: Lead Guitarist; played on album, Union; performed from 2006-2008, 2017-current.
- Kenny Kasman: Lead Guitarist; performed live 2006-2017.
- Billy Yates: Lead Guitarist; 2009-2010; performed live and recorded on 3rd album, 'Better Days"
- Chris Nyquist: Lead Guitarist; performed live, toured 2008-2010, recorded on 3rd album, 'Better Days".
- Mark Crenshaw: Lead guitarist; performed live 2012-2014.
- Jeremiah Roiko: Lead Guitarist; performed live 2015-2018.
- Philip Clarke: Keyboardist, Saxophonist, Vocalist; performed live 2015-2018.
- Tim Carman: Drummer; performed live 2016-2017.
- Richard Kaylor: Drummer; performed live 2018-present.
Look for our music on:
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