New lineup, new gig!

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS BLUES LOVERS!!! Just a short note to say how stoked the band is to play this month. We are trying to be more flexible with the players to match our gigs, but the basic line up will be a 5 piece horn band. Besides me on bass there will be Ray Davis on guitar and Jim Buix on drums with the "Heart Attack Horns" consisting of Joe McCarthy on trumpet and keys with Allen Jackson on sax. Our first club date will be Jan. 12 & 13 at a new non-smoking blues club called OUT OF THE BLUES, at exit 290 on I-5 (Lake Oswego /Durham exit) near Bridgeport Village. It's a nice new non-smoking blues club with great food, so come out for dinner. In case of bad weather better call ahead (503-598-6682) to see if we made it--it might snow next weekend.

We've got lots of new tunes we are recording at E.Z. Acres with lots of guest singers and players, and we hope it will be mixed by then, so keep a eye open for it. We've got a few more possible gigs lined, so keep in touch with us by calling the Jumpers Hotline at 503-829-5833 for the latest.

We're be up dating the website soon, so it's better to call. Anyway we hope you all have a happy and safe new year. As always God Bless

E.Z.EDDY & THE JUMPERS

Jumpin' at the VRC...

Our favorite gig...the Valley River Inn across from the Valley River Center Mall in Eugene. Sweetwater's is the name of the lounge, nested comfortably on the banks of the mighty Willamette. Rooms, food, beverages, beautiful people... Livin' the dream, man...

Uh, oh... anyway... Nico's mom, Ann, has been offended that we don't have any pics of Nico on the site, and, well, it's true. But there's a reason for it...or excuse...sorry, Mom... and here it is: All work on this site is done on a volunteer basis, and, granted, the way I've set it up, maintenance of it is a bit time-intensive (for the sake of design), SO, "when I get a round tuit," things WILL and DO get done. So, please have patience. We love Nico, and in no way is this a slap in the face, despite the way it may look.

That said, I had our band photog and chief Eugene swing-dancer, Greg Shaver, snap a few shots with my little Kodak EasyShare...(click for larger image, then BACK)

So there!

Ann also turned me on to a cool source of "street jumpers" video, to maintain the street cred of the band. Check out - http://www.ejbdotcom.net/content/1453.html

Thanks, Ann!

Who are the Jumpers...REALLY??

Because there are so many possibilities with the name "Jumpers," we get people coming up to us all the time asking which one is it? Are we JUMPER cables? Are we gymnasts, or track & field guys? Are we paratroopers, or tiny pieces of hardware on a computer motherboard? Maybe we just like that Van Halen song from 1984, or maybe we're the ones David Lee Roth is singing about in the song? On the darker side, we could be suicidal, or... Nico sent me this... You decide!

Ya Ya in Yachats!

It promised to be an interesting weekend, anyway, mainly because Gordon had a family wedding to attend, so Ray Davis replaced him, and then, for Saturday night Nathan had concert tickets he'd gotten for Christmas, so we had to replace him. So, for Sat. we had TWO SUBS. And, well, it turned out better than we could have hoped. Both Ray and Steve did outstanding jobs, and with Steve being from Louisiana, with his zydeco feel and raspy voice, it was just great entertainment.

The owner, Bruce, told me and Nico that we had "redeemed" The Landmark, on account of the apparently horrific music acts that had been in there the past few weeks. "Everything has reached harmony once again," sighed Bruce with a big transcendental smile.

It seems nearly every time we go down to the Landmark, we have a sub, so we're looking forward to St. Patty's Day when we can have the full crew. Not to say Ray and Steve weren't great--they were--it's just that it limits some of the "production" numbers we do.

The weather was horrific that weekend (Jan. 27-28), but it really didn't put much of a damper on attendance. Friday night was better than expected, but Saturday night was positively wild. The night started off with a group of about 15 50-somethings from Eugene who had attended some sort of Clam Festival. They were seriously looking to dance and drink, but pooped out early. But around midnight the professional partiers made the scene, and whooped it up non-stop until 1 AM. The wait staff was running around like headless chickens for a while there, while Bruce and his wife sat back and enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

Nico, Mrs. Bruce, and Steve's wife

Friday night between about 1:30 and 3 AM, 70 MPH winds kicked up replete with thunder and lightening and driving rain. Ray and I were upstairs in the apartment above the club, and that whole building was shaking. I literally thought we were having an earthquake! Then, as suddenly as it came on, around 3 AM it just stopped. I heard that Sunday night was even more intense, but we'd left by then.

Yachats is a funky, comfortable little town, quaint in its community-ness, and is really a great place to visit. So definitely make it a destination and come rock out with the band! We'll be down there again St. Patty's Day weekend--have a green beer on Eddy!

On the cover of The .... Positively Entertainment

Yet another 15 minutes of fame has come and gone for The Jumpers, with a big hats off to my friend, Bonnie Carter, editor of Positively Entertainment. Bonnie has been THE greatest advocate for Portland musicians and the Portland music scene for over 25 years. She has featured The Jumpers on the cover of her monthly mag, with an article. Although the band members giggled some at the factual errors, the heart was in the right place, and that's what counts. I've emailed the webmaster at the Positively Entertainment website about correcting the errors there, so don't be alarmed if you read about Eddy being an "electrical engineer"--he's actually just a contractor--which, in the trade, is a big deal. We're checking into whether or not he can be jailed for misrepresenting himself...

There were actually a couple of people who came to the Tippy Canoe gig as a result of the article in PE, so once again, Bonnie, thanks.

Tonight we play at the First Avenue Pub in Newberg for the first time. It's a new venue in the hometown of George Fox College, so we're looking forward to getting a foot in the rotational door, hopefully. I'll take the camera and take some shots, and post them here.

And, where'd that name come from?

Adding to the FAQ list for The Jumpers...about that name... Some of you who actually listen to lyrics (unlike me...it's all bass and drums, baby), and who were paying attention back in 1974 (huh?), The Jumpers are mentioned in Johnny Winter's recording of "Rock & Roll Hootchie Koo." I'm not sure Eddy even remembers that--"uh, just a band name," he'd say. And, come to think of it, I'm not really sure why I was listening to that song the other day, AND happened to be listening to the lyrics... oooo... spooky...

In honor of The Jumpers' appearance at Newport's Microbrew Fest this past weekend, Jon Nyberg of ColCo Entertainment Arts who booked the festival, came up with a great graphic/logo for the band. There are so many meanings for The Jumpers--everything from basketball to electricity... Hail, hail, Rick Derringer!!

A big transition....

Welcome to the world of musical chairs... Jeannette (Kid), has decided to step down as the lead singer and namesake of the Kid Lopez Band. She's feeling a stronger calling for other adventures than hanging around with us old farts :-)... We wish her the best. She'll be helping us out through October '05, and then we'll be welcoming the wonderful, stunning and fabulous Nico Wind. Nico brings a lot of great material to the band, and we're excited to see where things go.

As far as the name change goes, we decided to re-instate The Jumpers--Eddy's band name from the 80's. Somewhere very, very deep in the collective unconscious that name will ring a bell someday for someone, and, hey, maybe we'll get a call from Jay Leno...

Anywho, the long AND the short of it is: The Kid Lopez Band is now The Jumpers. Check us out!