Porch Ghouls

Busting up the country blues so they can have fun putting the pieces back together, the Porch Ghouls are a Memphis, TN, four-piece that cross-breeds pure, unpolished Southern blues with the gritty energy of punk rock and come up with a fusion they call "Ruckus Music." The Porch Ghouls were formed in the summer of 1997 as a Gainesville, FL, trio called the Ghastly Ones. The original lineup was comprised of two members of the group Grit Kisser — Eldorado Del Ray and Bon Musclecar — and their pal Son Rocket. The group adopted the name the Porch Ghouls when they discovered a band in California was already using the name the Ghastly Ones, and the unfriendly environment for left-of-center bands in Florida led them to hit the road for New Orleans; after a short stay in the Crescent City, the group settled in Memphis. The group faced a number of personnel changes in Memphis before settling on a stable lineup of Eldorado Del Ray on Dobro guitar and lead vocals, Slim Electro on electric guitar, Randy Valentine on harmonica, and Duke Baltimore on percussion (mostly an amplified suitcase). This lineup cut the group's debut EP in 2001, though by the end of the year, Duke Baltimore had been replaced by a female drummer, Lady Baltimore. In 2002, The Porch Ghouls gained an unexpected ally in Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who heard the band, liked their stripped-back and bluesy sound, and signed them to his newly-formed record label, Roman Records. The band's first album for the Sony-distributed imprint is due in the Spring of 2003.