Brothers Nick & Dennis Kipridis' fascination with vintage blues led to putting a group together, modelling themselves on the classic sound of early Muddy Waters. The initial lineup of guitar, bass, drums and harmonica
was soon implemented by a 2nd guitarist (Sav Palaktsoglou).
This lineup continued until 1992 when the group's Delta/
Chicago/Swamp sound was stretched to include "Big-Town"
blues styles (BB King/T-Bone Walker), with the harp
replaced by a two-piece horn section and a new
drummer (Neil Mildren).
Around this time, Nick, Dennis & Sav put together "The Flying Geronimos", a trio playing raw,
funky blues in the vein of Elmore James and Hound Dog
Taylor.
1994 saw Harry Milochis take the drum seat;
it was this lineup that recorded four
tracks for local blues compilation, "Deep South".
This CD earned them a "Best New Blues band" award at the
'94 Lithgow blues festival, NSW.
Their opening track "Hummingbird", came runner-up as
"Best blues song" and Nick as nominee for "Best new
male artist".
In 1995, Steven Peterka was enlisted on drums and the
horns dropped for a back-to-basics sound.
It is this lineup which continued up until the Moondogs CD.
A high watermark in the group's career was the recording
of its debut, full-length CD in 1996.
"Waiting on you" independently went on to win new fans,
both nationally and overseas as word spread about this
bunch of unknowns with that sound.
A third independent release in 1999, further sealed the
group's reputation as a fresh, vibrant new musical force
in the blues/roots field.
"Two minutes to curtains" was a seven-track live EP;
an accurate snapshot of a band constantly evolving.
By the time their 3rd long-player "Under the Moondogs"
was recorded in 2005, years of gigging, personal circumstances and other influences played a key role in reshaping the band's sound,
resulting in a diverse, yet interweaved set of tracks
that continue to inspire new audiences.
Over the years, the band has been fortunate enough to play
with some popular performers in the blues field, namely:
Junior Wells, Charlie Musselwhite, The Holmes Brothers, Carey Bell, Big Jay McNeely, Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges,
Dave Hole, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Scottie Miller, Taj Mahal and Joe Louis Walker.
2008 and Sav leaves the group as long-standing guitarist, to be
replaced with Billy "Bob" Rankine on guitar and Deryck
Charles on keybords. As a quintet, the band's sound changes
once again to include more rock/blues stylings. Work on a new
album commences.
"Signs" released August 2009. It's the first
album to feature the new five-piece line up.
"House of fire" released November 2014.
"Kicking back the blues" released June 2019.
©Streamliners 2019
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