The Bands of June Jam!

Dirty Boots, fronted by Gretchen Emery, creates a musical collage of Blues, Rock, and Soul while blending Memphis power blues with passion and vitality. Whether you get up and dance or find yourself lost in a sultry oasis, Dirty Boots is sure to leave you wanting more........................................................................................................ Gretchen Emery - Vocals, Flute // Gretchen Emery was born and raised in Dover, DE to a family with diverse and superb musical talents. She had early classical training in piano, flute, and choir. Her first musical epiphany occurred at the age of 3 when she was exposed to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", over, and over, and over (and over). Then, in her early 20's she was transformed by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin, and later by Susan Tedeschi. Performing in local bands English Garden, The Condors, and Red House she played at various blues festivals and local Tri State area clubs such as WarmDaddy's and The Stone Balloon. This fiery red-head sings both soft and sultry ballads and powerful, get-up-and-dance blues with a passion for music that runs deep in her soul.......................................................................................................... Kenny Windle- Guitar // Kenny Windle was born in Philadelphia and raised on the sounds of Motown. Influences include Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, James Brown and the Funk Brothers. As a teenager, he began performing in local clubs up and down the East Coast. He later played with the band Spanky Albo, who was signed to Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records (The Sound of Philadelphia). Kenny's love of the blues is evidenced by his passionate, soul-stirring guitar style......................................................................................................... Bobby Raynor - Guitar, Vocals // With influences ranging from Django Reinhardt to Chet Atkins to Jeff Beck, Bobby adds unique textures and flavors to the Dirty Boots sound. Prior to joining Dirty Boots, Bobby was a founding member of The Cats, and also played with Yawa, Ax Factory and Peggy Lynn and the Raiders. His harmony vocals add yet another dimension to GEDB....................................................................................................... Lars Mitchell – Bass, Vocals // California born and raised, Lars spent many years as a session man and as a member of seminal San Francisco bands, XYZ , The Verbs, and Das Blok. He has performed and shared the stage with Chris Isaac, Elvin Bishop, Talking Heads, The GoGos, Devo, The Romantics and many others. His melodic, in the pocket bass style is reminiscent of James Jamerson and Duck Dunn........................................................................................................ Jack Taylor - Drums // Jack has been a fixture in the Delaware music scene for many years as a drummer and percussionist , providing a solid backbone for many acts such as Captain Flash, Shytown, The Boni Dahl Band , Shatterproof, Austin Junction, Monterey Popsicle, The Snap and TopCat. He has played up and down the East Coast, opening for Kool and the Gang, The Ramones, The Bouys, Jo-Jo Gunn, Witness and many others.

A “you’ve got to see her live” entertainer, the D.C. based Deanna Bogart has proven to be one of the most engaging and energetic performers on the scene, consistently standing at the top of her field as a powerhouse boogie-woogie piano player and tenor sax player. Bogart and her outstanding band paints a musical landscape with a distinct Blues hue and moves effortlessly and fluidly from Jazz to Funk to R&B to Country; throwing in Rumba beats here and there.

A Professional Musician at 16 Dana has been around the world demonstrating the more contemporary version of the power and passion of the Blues with a little Rock and Roll thrown into the mix. Dana has been called a “phenomenon” and has been compared to the legendary Janis Joplin. With the onstage energy of Mick Jagger, Dana and her show continually bring’s folks to their feet. Influenced musically by the Stones, Dylan, BB king and vocally compared to Etta James, Aretha Franklin, & Janis. Her warm, powerful and textured voice will leave you mesmerized.

The youngest of six musical children, Dana was raised in a small town in rural Florida surrounded by music- her older siblings' band playing classic rock in the garage, Ray Charles and Hank Williams on her parents' turntable, and a big dose of 70's and 80's funk at school. At the age of 12 she joined the First Baptist Gospel Choir and was singing, shouting, and praising the lord every week in a small black church on the outskirts of town. At 16 she was fronting a popular local band at a roadside Holiday Inn. It was the beginning of a hunger for singing and the stage that Wildwood, Florida couldn't possibly satiate. Soon she was headed north telling friends and family she was "going to New York to sing the blues."

Arriving in NYC alone and broke at the age of 19, Dana soon found herself down and out on Manhattan's Lower East Side. After the wake-up call of her older sister's suicide (Donna was Dana's first musical mentor), Dana pulled herself together, determined to reconnect with her passion for music and began hitting the local blues jams with a vengeance. It was at one of these jams that she met Jon Diamond, an established NYC guitarist who had toured with Joan Osborne and W.C. Handy Award winner Debbie Davies. Immediately recognizing a musical chemistry they formed the Dana Fuchs Band. Within a year the band was a feature act at NYC's best blues clubs, often sharing the stage and performing with the likes of John Popper, James Cotton, and Taj Mahal. For another year Dana immersed herself in the blues, playing 3 long sets a night, 4 nights a week until 3 am, honing her already formidable vocal power and performance style, and building a large, loyal
following.

After 2 years of working the blues circuit Dana knew it was time for a change and decided to tell her own story and create her own music. She and Jon began writing intensively, putting together a solid body of original rock songs. Soon Dana was back on the Lower East Side again, only this time on stage with the band, debuting her songs to a packed house at Arlene's Grocery. The fan response was overwhelming. The band was soon selling out shows at The Mercury Lounge, The Stephen Talkhouse and BB King's, sharing the bill with national acts, Little Feat, Marianne Faithfull, and Etta James.

Not long after the producers of the off-Broadway hit "Love, Janis," hearing raves about Dana from various cast and crew members, asked her to come in for an audition. Dana went in, sang a few bars of "Piece of My Heart," and, on the spot, was offered the role of Janis Joplin. Playing Janis 4 nights a week garnered Dana a whole new audience who were soon at the DFB's shows listening to Dana performing her own music.

These songs can be heard on the band's debut CD, Lonely For A Lifetime, which was released to an enthusiastic response from both press and fans. Drawing from influences ranging from '60s Stax/Volt R&B, Lucinda Williams and The Rolling Stones, Lonely for A Lifetime, hints, lyrically, at Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, among others. Says Fuchs, "I wanted to capture a soulful and rocking vibe...but with an earthiness to it." Vocally Dana was inspired by legendary singers including Etta James, Otis Redding, Bobby Bland, Aretha Franklin, and Mavis Staples.

Notable tracks include 'Strung Out," "Lonely For A Lifetime" and "Bible Baby." Explains Fuchs, "These tracks are about addiction and religious hypocrisy, and like all of the tracks on the album deal with subjects that I have a deep personal experience with. It's crucial to me to have a passionate connection to what I'm delivering in order to create a sincere representation of me, my life and my influences."

Producer, co-writer, guitarist Jon Diamond says: "Dana is blessed with an incredibly warm, powerful and textured voice. Her lyrics are direct and real. And while she has really studied the great soul, rock & blues singers, she has synthesized those influences into her own unique sound and style."