ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE? No,
don't think of sweaty, over-stuffed, leather-clad bodies bouncing off
booming plywood in a roped cage, but rather, the purring of a fine classic hot
rod motor propelling a sleek streak of chrome along the crisp highways of
yesteryear. THE ELEKTRA KINGS with their collection of surf, spy,
psychedelic blues, and originals, are here to rocket you into another
dimension, part past, part future, all of it energized with sizzling guitar and
bombastic bass woven amidst sledgehammer solid drums. Not only do they
cover classic instrumentals by the likes of THE VENTURES, DICK DALE, LINK WRAY,
DUANE EDDY, THE BELAIRS, and others, they do a collection of classic 60s TV and
movie spy themes arranged in pinpoint precision like a fine grouping on a body
silhouette. Toss in slightly bent blues covers from the same era, and
originals crafted in those various styles to further lubricate eardrums, and
you have a mix that moves like a fine roadster across the cascading hills of
northwest PA and western NY, leaving feet and fingers tapping, fuzzy dice
frolicking, and change jingling in the alcoves of the dashboard.
Guitarist Danny Imig hails originally from Chicago where he headed neo-famous punk/metal band CERTAIN DEATH during the 80s, but he has a long history of genre bending and crafty songwriting skills dating all the way back to his college days at SIU Carbondale, IL where he was known as Danny Sleeze, guitarist for RIFF RAFF, D.S. COOTIE, and KILL 4. Upon relocating to Warren, PA in 1998 he relived the 80s hair-metal days by going bald and playing in Jamestown, NY's cover band MsDEMEANOR. In 2005, playing bass and coaching the finer points of putting together an all-originals band, he teamed up with Warren native Matt Maloof and friends in NORTH OF DIRT. Keeping his chops polished as private guitar instructor and a member of the staff at the Warren County Summer School, he maintains a fleet of original songs waiting to be transformed into ELEKTRA KINGS material, and continues to amaze and confound musical stylists and guitar students alike, wondering, "What carburetor did this crud blow out of?" (See also dannyimig.com.)
Youngest member of the band, bassist Gavin Paterniti is the strangest ambidextrous musician you'd ever want driving your love bus. Born and raised in Chautauqua County, NY, and getting his start in music as a percussionist in school, Gavin wrenches rhythm guitar conventionally right-handed and bass conventionally left-handed, no string flipping, but lots of brain twisting, which manifests itself in wild waves of fluctuating bass lines, the likes of which slosh across the dance floor like an escaped oil change. Gavin's played in various local Jamestown-area bands, most notably GUITARMAGEDDON, and Corry, PA based JOINT EFFORT. Most recently he was chosen to play bass in a back-up band for American Idol finalists Alexis Stone Lopez, Nikki McKibbin, and Michael Johns at the Mt. Airy Casino Resort, Mt. Pocono, PA, which is where he careened into Mt. Ludwig thump-master...
...Jim Sturdevant, who got his first drum kit when he was 10 years old, played with the Warren, PA high school band, took lessons from local jazz great Floyd Williams of Count Basie fame, and also gigged in a regional rock band playing the bar circuit. After graduating he moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music where he wored with a myriad of industry professionals and soon-to-be music stars. Upon receiving his performance degree Jim cruised into the Boston music scene playing first with super-booked, party band, THE VEX, and later as a free-lance drummer with Boston reggae staples JAH SPIRIT. From there his list of band credits revs up and includes blues bands FLIGHT 505, JAMES MONTGOMERY, JOHNNY HOY AND THE BLUE FISH, and CHANCE AND THE CRASHERS, rhythm and blues favorites THE WRECKING CREW, and also heavy rockers ELEPHANT HIPS, as well as British Invasion retro-rockers THE WAYBACKS. Jim's biggest and most notable project, however, was his six-year stint as the rhythm motor under the hood of THE HEAVY METAL HORNS, a 10-piece, brass-driven funk ban which toured nationally, recorded two CDs, and won numerous Boston Music Awards and endorsements from Budweiser beer and Converse sneakers. Jim also secured his own endorsements from percussion industry giants Zildjian and Vic Firth. Later Jim returned to free-lancing, playing with notable rhythm and blues singers SWEET ROY JONES, TINY TAVARES, and K.D. BELL with whom he recorded a CD, and also as percussionist in Martha's Vineyard's world beat band ENTRAIN. Since returning to Warren in 2008 Jim has kept the drum cylinders warm by sitting in with numerous local artists, including jazz legend PETE PEPKE, the aforementioned American Idol Finalists Show, and his other band, a classic rock'n'roll high-school reunion of sorts, BLACK JOHN. (See also myspace.com/ludwigsdad.)
And don't forget to 'like' THE ELEKTRA KINGS on Facebook. (facebook.com/The-Elektra-Kings)