Feel the blues with Memphis Mudd

The waters off Kempenfelt Bay will provide the perfect backdrop over the August long weekend to one of the main exponents of the blues in these parts… namely, the band called Memphis Mudd.

Wherever they go in Simcoe County, they’re spreading the word of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. Before they land at Kempenfest next week, front man Carey Worrod tells Barrie Today the genesis of the band’s colourful name.

“I have always been influenced by the music that stemmed from Memphis. where the musical styles I love came together to form rock and roll. It is a marrying or ‘muddying’ of blues, gospel, country and jazz. Artists that started in that area include Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Carl Perkins and of course, the King himself, Elvis Presley.

“I wanted a band name that paid homage to that rich history of music and how that single location seemed to be a collective pool of music styles and created something new by muddying up the boundaries.”

The band, whose name appears on every hot spot around Barrie, it seems, has been together for 12 years, and Worrod calls the band a “collective pool of taking all the influences from the formation of rock and roll.

“We want to give our audiences an authentic experience and roots music provides an honest experience, especially in today’s pop music world, which is overshadowed by competition shows and social media.”

Carey tells anyone who will listen that this is a dark time for pop music as a lot of the masters who created have moved on to the next life, “artists like Chuck Berry, B.B King, Tom Petty etc. We just want to be a slight spark that continues the flame they lit well before we ever came around.”

All you have to do when leaving this site is click on YouTube and see and hear the boys in one of their most recent efforts, Revival. Ironically, Worrod and his band see the song as a comment on what technology has done to stifle music lovers and folks in general.

“Revival is a manifestation of my feelings towards the social malaise people get swept up in with today’s social media culture. I wanted the juxtaposition of a stripped down classic sounding rock song reflecting on a current issue.”

Back on drums when Memphis Mudd takes the stage is Tim Shelswell, who Carey calls “the foundation of Memphis Mudd’s sound. Performing live, he is always driving and pushes the band further. He has a vast knowledge of drumming history and that knowledge is reflected in his playing. Listening to Tim is like a history lesson in drumming.”

But what’s rock and roll, or the blues, without the guitar? And that is why Ryan Muller is deemed by Worrod, “the passion of the band. Ryan brings heart and honesty to every performance. Being a multi-instrumentalist, he brings not only musicianship that is second to none but he brings an attitude which is just pure passion.”

Peter Loudon fills things out on the bass, and in so doing, “is just pure groove. You don’t hear his playing, you feel it.”

The boys will be playing Kempenfest for the third time, and Worrod and his mates face this year’s event with a special element of anticipation.

“The festival gives us a great platform in front of a hometown crowd. Performing at Kempenfest feels like a homecoming for us.”

Memphis Mudd hits the OLG stage at Kempenfest, Saturday, August 4 at 4 p.m. If you’d like to know more, click here.