Ms Marci
& The Lovesick
Hounds

News and Events:

New! listen to Work That Bone from our
newly released CD, "After Last Call"

New! Don't miss the live dates added!

Pictured left: Ms Marci with Muddy Waters.
Photo by Austic Artist G. Hudson

Hey Everyone!
We're Playing At Your Place!
Yes we are...or at least we could be, all you have to do is email us at msmarciblues@yahoo.com and well, maybe get a pair of dancing shoes broken in beforehand. Yep! Thats right, little ole YOU can book us! But before you do, we have a very heartfelt message for you.

News

Our new CD, "After Last Call" is completed!
And, it's already a real winner with endoresements from none other than
Pinetop Perkins and Bo Diddley!

Our new CD has 11 visible tracks and two hidden tracks, 13 all original songs, and over 50 minutes of music! (You web-site viewers have the inside info). There are lots of surprises on this disc, including some great guests like Carl Querfurth on trombone, Kevin McCarthy on guitar, and Kymberly Chevian and Kellie Rameau on backing vocals on both "Work That Bone." a nostalgic swing tune and "Perfumed Garden," a tune that is not "blues" as such. I call it "erotic, Arabic blues!" Every song is unique.

We have two CD release parties scheduled already. The first is on Thursday, April 5 (8:00 - 9:30pm NEW TIME!), the night before Good Friday, at The Hungry Tiger in Manchester, CT, and the second on Saturday, May 5 at Adagio's in New London, CT. Check our gig listings for times and exact locations, and please check our schedule regularly. New information will be added as it comes in. The new CD will be available at our gigs and also on this website. A "shopping cart" is being set up and will be operational soon. You may purchase it now via email.

In other news, my guitarist/husband and I will be appearing on WPKN, 89.5 FM/WPKM/, 88.7FM with DJ Bill Nolan, Sunday, April 1 (no foolin', lol!). Bill's show goes from 6:00 to 9:00pm and we will begin our segment at around 6:15 PM to talk about and play cuts from the new CD. Another radio appearance has also been confirmed for Tuesday, April 3 on Ramblin' Bert's blues show on WHUS, 91.7. Bert's show goes from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Listen to the whole show, you won't want to miss a single minute of it! He always has great tunes and info to share. We may also be appearing on Bert's evening blues show on WECS, 90.1 FM, which runs from 8:00PM to 11:00PM. Please tune in to see if we'll be on. You got nothin' to loose!

You're all invited to my New "My Space" website, where I have lots of photos (check out my slide show in my "Profile" section) and additional info and bio posted. Please go to http://www.myspace.com/msmarciblues and become one of my friends. If you aren't registered with "My Space", it's easy...and FREE! Just go to www.myspace.com.

Well, the new CD, "After Last Call" is near completion. It's very exciting and we're all really psyched! I wrote two new songs for this CD, one is an instrumental and the other is a musical tribute/biography of my blues God-daddy, Mr. Pinetop Perkins! Pinetop has won several Grammy and W.C. Handy awards, and a lifetime achievement award from both. Not bad for a man who is nearing his 93rd birthday!
As soon as we know the exact date it'll be ready, we'll post "CD Release Party" information on this site. Please come back regularly to check on the progress and view our performance dates. Thank you again for your support!
Sincerely in The Blues,
Ms Marci.

We're Playing Near You!
Yes we are...along with our loyal and true members, Jim Hooper on rhythm and some of the best roots Rock 'n' Roll leads you'll hear on the planet, and keyboard wizard and showman, Dayne Laskey tickling the ivories, these gigs will also feature the members of our new line-up, with returning "Hound," the dynamic Brandt Bedard on guitar, the lovely Ms Lyn Ryan-Porter on saxes! Formerly of "The Patty Tuite Band" and band-mate of mine with "AngelFire"...a few years back, she adds a nice "BAMM" to the band. Also, we're welcoming brand new "Hound" drummer John Bruce! This guy could make the anybody dance with his great rhythms! Mark your calendars. We're gonna rock a joint, near you so, "Be there or be square!"

Well, that ended with a bang!
My guitarist/husband Jim Hooper and I went out to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary on Friday, December 30th 2005. As we did on the evening of our wedding, and every year since, we went to see Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson. This year he was at Chan’s in Woonsocket, R.I. I’ve jammed with Luther many times before, but this time was special for obvious reasons. I lost count of how many tunes I sang with him…somewhere around four or five. Along with Luther’s band, the lovely and talented Diane Blue was on stage blowing her heart out on harp, and joined me singing some backing vocals with Luther. We took a photo after the show to commemorate the occasion. The photo we’re holding is from our wedding night at The Last Call Saloon in Providence, R.I.

Pictured left to right my husband, Jim, myself, and Luther on our wedding night and ten years later.
To learn more about Diane Blue, go to http://www.dianebluemusic.com.

Latest CD news: Our new CD, "After Last Call" is nearly completed.
We've laid down the last tracks! (I could almost hear the angels sing, lol!) We're going to take a little breather then all that's left is the mix-down. This CD promises to be a real winner! This CD will have 11 shown tracks and two hidden tracks, 13 all original songs total (You web-site viewers have the inside info). There are lots of surprises on this including some great guests like Carl Querfurth on trombone, and Kymberly Chevian and Kellie Rameau on backing vocals on both "Work That Bone." a nostalgic swing tune and "Perfumed Garden," a tune that is not "blues" as such. I call it "erotic, Arabic blues!" Stay tuned for more progress reports and news of the pending CD release parties.

New! listen to Work That Bone from our newly released CD,
"After Last Call".

Photo at right: After Last Call, our newly released CD, design by Dorry Clay

"Ms Marci and The Lovesick Hounds are a tour de force"
By Susan Dziedzic (of The Reminder 11/18/05)
see review
"Ms Marci (aka Marci Chevian-Hooper), is the driving diva behind the Lovesick Hounds. She’s a commanding presence on stage as she grasps the audience with her musical sleight of hand from the first note she plays on her lipstick-red bass. Her talent gives her a range of styles – from R&B to rock and roll; jazz to swing – all with equal skill. Chevian-Hooper has been a winner in the preliminary Connecticut Blues Challenge contests, as well as sharing the stage with some of contemporary music greats like Muddy Waters, Luther Guitar ‘Junior’ Johnson, Pinetop Perkins, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and B.B. King."

Kent Kirkland of The CT. Blues Society wrote:
"Ms Marci wows judges on 4th night of CTBS Blues Challenge Prelims (6/23/05): Congratulations to Ms Marci and Lovesick Hounds who garnered the most votes from six judges at the CTBS Blues Challenge last night. Blackeyed Sallys was filled with musicians and fans all night long in a most enjoyable evening."

Photo at right: Pinetop Perkins with Ms Marci,
then and now.

More Ms Marci & The Lovesick Hounds:

Here is the complete list of live dates.

You can now purchase our CDs online.
Price of CDs includes shipping & handling fees.

Latest CDs: Big Sneak Preview

About Ms Marci:

Ms Marci (Chevian-Hooper) was born and raised in Worcester, MA, where her passion for music began early as an escape from the pain and loneliness of being raised in a foster home, and being the only Baptist in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood . She joined the junior choir at the Baptist church she attended, and, by the time she was twelve, had formed a folk duo with a fellow choir member. At sixteen, she was singing lead and playing bass in an all female band, 'The Broad Explosion.'

During this time she was introduced to Jimi Hendrix at Clark University, where he was playing a concert. Jimi encouraged Marci to follow her heart, and the blues. So, even though the band's focus was top forty, Marci found herself more interested in the songs and writers of the single's B-sides, and album's lesser known cuts for inspiration.

Names like R. Johnson, W. Dixon, E. McDaniels, Chuck Berry, and M. Morganfield were all over recordings by The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Yardbirds. Even The Beatles covered these legendary songwriters. Wanting to find out more about these inspirational music-masters, she sought more of their tunes to perform them herself. But this estranged her from the band, and by the time she was eighteen, she hit the road looking for the blues.

Over the years, she began to hone her song writing talents. She played with as many other musicians as she could find. Then on July 4, 1976, at a blues festival in The Providence Civic Center, Marci found herself talking with Muddy Waters sideman, Luther Guitar 'Junior' Johnson. After jamming with him backstage, he suggested that she ask Muddy if he'd let her sit in . Luther made a brief introduction, and a star-struck Marci asked Mr.Waters if she could sit in with the band. Muddy looked her straight in the eye and responded 'Honey, you can sit in on anything of mine.'

Photo at right: Singing and celebrating Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson's birthday at Theodore's in Springfield, MA.

Muddy invited her to come to an upcoming show at the Shaboo Inn in nearby Willimantic, CT. She accepted the invitation, and became a regular sit-in at shows all over New England and New York until a few months before Muddy's death in 1983. But it didn't stop there. She continued to sit-in with Luther and other Waters alumni: Pinetop Perkins, Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith, Steady Rollin, Bob Margolin, and Calvin 'Fuzz' Jones. Continuing her pursuit of the blues, she found herself opening up for, jamming with, and sitting-in with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, B.B. King, and Taj Mahal, among others, garnering all she could to fine-tune her musical ability.

When asked about her title as 'Ms Marci,' she responds, 'Oh, that's an abbreviation for 'Mistress.' See, a lot of people feel that because I'm white, I couldn't possibly know about the blues. Well, we may not be legitimately wed - but the blues an' me have been romancing for a long time.'

Today, even though her first love in music is the blues, she has written songs in a myriad of styles, ranging from classical to Delta blues, and she continues to let the creative juices flow.

Photo at right: Sitting in with Hubert Sumlin at Chan's, Woonsocket, R.I.

Ms Marci & the Lovesick Hounds
Biographies

Ms Marci Chevian-Hooper, lead singer, bassist, and songwriter for the Lovesick Hounds has been singing and playing bass for over thirty years, starting in an all female band in the mid-sixties. A chance meeting with Jimi Hendrix lead to a multitude of other blues connections, and eventually brought her together with Muddy Waters in 1976. Ms Marci became a regular sit-in with Muddy until his passing in 1983, honing her singing and songwriting ability, and establishing a lasting friendship with Muddy's back-up band.

Photo at right: On the concert stage with Bo Diddley at The Wachussett Mountain Blues Fest

She has shared the stage with many other legendary blues and rock"n"roll artists, including Pinetop Perkins, Luther"Guitar Jr." Johnson, Bob Margolin, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Son Seals, Duke Robillard, and Roomfull of Blues, to name just a few.

Recently, with the Lovesick Hounds, she has returned to her past love for playing bass guitar and singing, and performing more and more originals.

Jim Hooper, (a.k.a. Shake-bama-lama - a nickname Taj Mahal gave him) the Lovesick Hounds' rhythm and lead guitarist, was born and raised in Alabama, where he grew up listening to what was then called 'Race music.' He also started playing in various bands at a young age listening to R&B pioneers like Little Richard, and blues artists like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf. Until recently, Jim played mostly as a hobby, but teamed up with wife Ms Marci in 1995 at a jam session, and has been playing with her ever since. Jim was in the band lineup, and provided a strong foundation for the band's opening up for and backing up of Pinetop Perkins.

Dayne Laskey, born in 1987, this keyboard genius began playing classical piano at the age of 11, and quickly moved on to playing blues and rock 'n' roll. Known in his area as 'the kid on the keyboards,' he has performed at many town events. Over the last few years, chance has brought him a synthesizer and organ, which have expanded his capabilities greatly. All of his influences can be heard in his playing, including Pinetop Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and his piano teacher, Glenn Hardy. Dayne's keyboards have added a whole new dimension to the music of the Hounds.

Al Dziedzic hails from Barrington, R.I. where he started Piano lessons at age 10 and taught himself Saxophone at age 15. He has spent many years performing as a saxophonist with Connecticut blues bands, Blue Moose, Blue Phoenix, the jazz ensemble, The Al-D Quartet, the Motown band, Splendid Blend, Mack Truck Mary and The Great Garage Band Reunion. Al was a musical cast member (saxophone and keyboards) for over 60 shows in the hit musical "The Buddy Holly Story" at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA. While blues music has always been his passion, Al has also spent time performing in other genres like The Connecticut Opera Guild and directing both secular and religious choral groups. Al presently lives in Ashford, CT.

Johnny Bruce (Drums) Drummer, Johnny Bruce, was born in Hartford, Ct. in 1969. Johnny started playing music at the age of seven on the violin, cello, then onto bass guitar in his elementary years. He moved onto playing guitar when he was around 13 and still plays it to this day. He started playing drums in his early twenties playing with plenty of basement dwellers. He soon found himself gigging in his first band, The Dakota Blues Band, where the band played just about anywhere they would let them play.

Johnny has shared the stage with and still continues to jam with many great talents including The Rick Harrington Blues Band, Jason James and the Bay state House Rockers, Captain Zero, Lisa Marie and All Shook Up, The Blue Steel Band, Louie and The Groove Blenders, Billy Blue, “Mojo” Scott Bronnes and many more.

His biggest influences are Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Duke Robillard, B.B. King, Brian Setzer. His main passion is swinging jump style blues. He says, “I feel the stuff!” He also loves playing R & B, rockabilly and country, too! The Lovesick Hounds are happy and proud to have Johnny Bruce onboard!

Brandt Bedard (lead and rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals) is a self-taught guitarist/musician. He grew up listening to oldies music and country. His earliest influences were 90's grunge bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, The Pixies and The Smashing Pumpkins. It wasn't until early high school that he started playing the blues. Jimmy Page was his favorite guitar player at that time but also sites Johnny Winter, Greg Allman, Warren Haynes, B.B. King, along with many other guitarists, as his mentors. Brandt has played in The Hill Billy Grahamcrackers (electric mandolin, psycho gospel rock), Bonnis Herd (former house band of The Station in Warwick, R.I.) and Fat of the Land. Brandt continues to attend blues jams and learn as much about music as he can. As a returning band member, he continues to add his many talents and distinctive style to The Lovesick Hounds line-up has garnered critical acclaim wherever he performs!