Joe Baker is an Arizona-based guitarist and singer performing 1920’s jazz, western swing, blues, and early country. Raised in Sedona, Joe first cut his musical teeth with a set of drum sticks, solidifying the deep-seated rhythm you hear in his music today. As he continued his early musical explorations, Joe got hooked on guitar and vocals and quickly dedicated his focus here at age twenty. Not long after, Joe moved to Portland, Oregon where he thrived playing the local club scene with his unique blend of blues and country-influenced rock, punk, and indie.
By the mid-2000s, Joe’s musical interests had honed in on early jazz, influenced by artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bessie Smith. This resulted in the formation of his first trad-jazz-meets-country band, The Barefoot Brakemen, and their release of the 2007 album, “Shook, Broke, Hung.” As his captivation with early jazz continued, 2014 saw the collaboration with singer Joy Pearson to form the wildly popular High Water Jazz Band, playing throughout the Portland area and with appearances at the Waterfront Blues Festival, Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, and Alberta Rose Theatre.
After a few years Joe again felt the urge to sing as well as explore new musical directions. This led to the formation of The Kitchen Men, with regular monthly slots at the local honky-tonk, The Landmark Saloon, and cemented his ideas for the range of material you hear today – original renditions of classics with underpinnings from the earliest days of jazz to Hank Williams-era country.
Nearing the end of his time in Portland, Joe appeared with Thee Carney Bakers, a 1920s jazz band co-led with legendary saxophone player Ralph Carney (Tom Waits).
Joe returned to his beloved Arizona in 2017 and quickly put together both the 7-piece The Jumpin’ Cholla Band and the 3-piece Joe Baker Trio, opening for such national acts as Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, Petunia & The Vipers, and Tav Falco.
Joe can also be found playing in the old-time country duo, Camp & Baker, led by fiddler/vocalist Carolyn Camp (Pick & Holler). Formed in 2018, the pair continues to perform throughout Arizona.
During the radical changes to the live music scene brought on by COVID, Joe took the opportunity to develop his solo act which now keeps him on the road, playing venues all over Arizona and the Southwest.
A local favorite! Rock n’ roller Llory McDonald & COMBO DELUXE. Catch Combo one weekend per month, (vacationing in the Rivera in August . . .) at Spirit Room for all your longtime favorite tunes & some of Llory’s rockin’ originals too!
Musical Background – Llory started her musical career on Clarinet at the age of 6, playing in the band until 8th grade, when her brother threw his guitar in the garbage and she rescued it.
She joined her first rock band in high school, playing guitar, slide guitar and singing at dances and proms in Phoenix. She started playing the clubs in Phoenix at age 17 and formed her own band, The Llory McDonald Band in 1979. They opened for Paul Butterfield, Deep Purple, Iggy Pop, Jerry Riopelle and others.
They were playing concerts and clubs throughout the state of Arizona until 1984, when she moved to Los Angeles. There, she was playing in her own band Odds and Ends and in Jerry Riopelle’s band as a sideman.
She signed to Arista Records in 1988. She recorded a single which appeared on the “1988 Summer Olympics” album, along with various other artists including Eric Clapton and Whitney Houston. She also sang background vocals on Lita Ford’s 1988 release “Lita” on Dreamland Records. She signed a 3-year music publishing contract (1988-1990) with Blue Rider Music, where she sang on various singles and demos.
Dropped by Arista in 1989, she left the music business for the film industry, working as a production assistant and driver on films such as “The Dark Wind” with Lou Diamond Phillips and “When a Man Loves a Women” with Meg Ryan. She moved back to Arizona in 1994 and helped form Combo Deluxe.
Musical influences – Slide guitar players, Bonnie Raitt, Lowell George, also Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and soul music of the late 60’s and 70’s. All were a big influence.
Favorite Artist – Linda Ronstadt, Deborah Harry, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye. She could go on and on . . . and frequently does! One of the funniest women on the rock and roll stage, without a doubt!
Llory’s Equipment – Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster guitar, Fender Hotrod Deville 212 Amp, EV mic, Nady cordless unit, various slides.
Hobbies – Golf and pondering
Likes – Margaritas, Mexico, funky soul music, good films and N.P.R.
Darryl Icard
Darryl Icard is a bass player/singer/songwriter. He has been playing and singing professionally since 1983 in every kind of setting imaginable. He has performed and played all types of music from rock to reggae to punk and country. He has also been writing and recording his own music since music came into his life.
While performing and learning his craft in live situations, he also attended college for theory and performance.
Darryl has recorded and performed music with Jesse Valenzuela, Gin Blossoms, Stevie Nicks, Marshall Crenshaw, J.D. Souther, The Rembrandts, Tommy Keene, Major Lingo, Poet’s Corner, and Los Guys and many other national and Arizona based acts.
Recordings performed on, to name just a few.
Gin Blossoms- No Chocolate Cake
Stevie Nicks-Enchanted the works of Stevie Nicks
Jesse Valenzuela- Tunes Young People Will Enjoy and Hotel Defeated
Major Lingo- All through My Body
Burning Sky-Enter the Earth
Darryl Icard is living in Scottsdale Arizona and has begun a New Journey in the band Llory McDonald and Combo Deluxe. An Arizona based band from Jerome, Arizona and is sure to take music to a new place with one of Arizona Legendary artist.
Steve Botterweg
Steve Botterweg is a native Arizonan and has been performing on drums in bands professionally since he was 13 years old. In high school he started playing in experimental bands playing drums, marimba and synthesizers…arranging, producing and recording. One of the bands, Poet’s Corner (signed to Placebo Records) created a buzz in the early days of the punk scene with live shows in Arizona and California that had US and international radio air play. He has performed on stage with the Red Hot Chile Peppers, Los Lobos, Derrick Trucks Band and many other performing artists. Steve is also the co-owner of Ghost Town Recording Studio in Jerome Arizona. He has recorded and produced many bands and artists. He has worked in the studio with Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna), Steve Kimock (Steve Kimock Band) and a few other well-known artists. More recently he had a twenty-year run as the drummer with Major Lingo, a popular Arizona highway band. He is now playing drums with Llory McDonald, another well-known and respected Arizona musician, as a member of Combo Deluxe along with a musical cohort of many years, Darryl Icard, on bass.
Joe Baker is an Arizona-based guitarist and singer performing 1920’s jazz, western swing, blues, and early country. Raised in Sedona, Joe first cut his musical teeth with a set of drum sticks, solidifying the deep-seated rhythm you hear in his music today. As he continued his early musical explorations, Joe got hooked on guitar and vocals and quickly dedicated his focus here at age twenty. Not long after, Joe moved to Portland, Oregon where he thrived playing the local club scene with his unique blend of blues and country-influenced rock, punk, and indie.
By the mid-2000s, Joe’s musical interests had honed in on early jazz, influenced by artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bessie Smith. This resulted in the formation of his first trad-jazz-meets-country band, The Barefoot Brakemen, and their release of the 2007 album, “Shook, Broke, Hung.” As his captivation with early jazz continued, 2014 saw the collaboration with singer Joy Pearson to form the wildly popular High Water Jazz Band, playing throughout the Portland area and with appearances at the Waterfront Blues Festival, Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, and Alberta Rose Theatre.
After a few years Joe again felt the urge to sing as well as explore new musical directions. This led to the formation of The Kitchen Men, with regular monthly slots at the local honky-tonk, The Landmark Saloon, and cemented his ideas for the range of material you hear today – original renditions of classics with underpinnings from the earliest days of jazz to Hank Williams-era country.
Nearing the end of his time in Portland, Joe appeared with Thee Carney Bakers, a 1920s jazz band co-led with legendary saxophone player Ralph Carney (Tom Waits).
Joe returned to his beloved Arizona in 2017 and quickly put together both the 7-piece The Jumpin’ Cholla Band and the 3-piece Joe Baker Trio, opening for such national acts as Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, Petunia & The Vipers, and Tav Falco.
Joe can also be found playing in the old-time country duo, Camp & Baker, led by fiddler/vocalist Carolyn Camp (Pick & Holler). Formed in 2018, the pair continues to perform throughout Arizona.
During the radical changes to the live music scene brought on by COVID, Joe took the opportunity to develop his solo act which now keeps him on the road, playing venues all over Arizona and the Southwest.
Please join us for a night of music with Stephen Ashbrook & his band! A local favorite. Be sure to arrive early we are always packed when Stephen visits!
West Coast singer/songwriter Stephen Ashbrook had access to only two records growing up (Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and Jesus Christ Superstar), both of which were enticing enough to send the California native on a hunt to his local library to expand his musical horizons.
Citing heroes as diverse as John Steinbeck, the Rolling Stones, and Winston Churchill, Ashbrook honed his chops amidst the fertile late-’90s Tempe, Arizona alt-rock scene, where he took home The Phoenix Tribune’s Best Acoustic Performer title in both 1998 and 2000; he even got to play for President William Jefferson Clinton, at the request of the White House.
Known for his rich baritone, smooth falsetto, and penchant for open-road heartland folk-rock in the vein of Tom Petty, the Wallflowers, and Joe Henry, he released an EP, About Last Night, in 1993, followed by a full-length eponymous studio album with his band Satellite in 1995.
His solo debut, the critically acclaimed Navigator, arrived in 1998, with Drive and American B-Sides, the latter of which featured members of the Gin Blossoms, the Pistoleros, and Dead Hot Workshop, arriving in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
Ashbrook relocated to Portland, Oregon after the arrival of the latter, releasing his first live collection, Double Live @ Long Wong’s, in 2004, and White Balloons, his sixth studio album, in 2008.
Please join us for a night of music with Stephen Ashbrook & his band! A local favorite. Be sure to arrive early we are always packed when Stephen visits!
West Coast singer/songwriter Stephen Ashbrook had access to only two records growing up (Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and Jesus Christ Superstar), both of which were enticing enough to send the California native on a hunt to his local library to expand his musical horizons.
Citing heroes as diverse as John Steinbeck, the Rolling Stones, and Winston Churchill, Ashbrook honed his chops amidst the fertile late-’90s Tempe, Arizona alt-rock scene, where he took home The Phoenix Tribune’s Best Acoustic Performer title in both 1998 and 2000; he even got to play for President William Jefferson Clinton, at the request of the White House.
Known for his rich baritone, smooth falsetto, and penchant for open-road heartland folk-rock in the vein of Tom Petty, the Wallflowers, and Joe Henry, he released an EP, About Last Night, in 1993, followed by a full-length eponymous studio album with his band Satellite in 1995.
His solo debut, the critically acclaimed Navigator, arrived in 1998, with Drive and American B-Sides, the latter of which featured members of the Gin Blossoms, the Pistoleros, and Dead Hot Workshop, arriving in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
Ashbrook relocated to Portland, Oregon after the arrival of the latter, releasing his first live collection, Double Live @ Long Wong’s, in 2004, and White Balloons, his sixth studio album, in 2008.
Alejandro is a local singer-song writer who has lived, worked and performed in Jerome for a number of years now. With a voice that lends itself to entertainment, Alejandro has an infectious energy and will entertain while serenading you.
Join us for an evening of musical stylings by the enchantingly mesmerizing Alenjandro Wood!