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About Downtown
Before the
Blues Brothers, before the Big Chill, before the Commitments, there
was Downtown. Anticipating the resurgence of classic R&B
and the soul explosions of the 1960's, a group of talented singers,
musicians and songwriters established a musical powerhouse with a
revolving door. Through that door came musicians of every stripe who
had two things in common: Great talent and a love for soulful
music. Their graduates really went somewhere: A guitarist to The
Eagles (Steuart Smith), a bass player to Bruce Springsteen (Jim
Hanson), a drummer to Pink Floyd (Timm Biery).
The players
come and go, but the influence of this group on contemporary music
continues, as does their strong support of a great American musical
heritage. And, the nice thing is, they’re still going
strong and can play at your event. Like most great vintages, they
travel well.
Click on
band member’s button to see their complete bio.
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Jeff Watson
Lead Vocals
Musicians in
Washington, New York and L.A. agree this is the singer you've heard
about that can "sing the phone book," and get an
encore. Two decades of singing soul standards with Downtown
have honed an uncanny ability to reach the heart of any song and the
souls of the great rhythm and blues singers and present the music in
a reverent yet original format. A recording artist since his
teens (Capital Records, Columbia Records, Sceptre Records,
and more recently, Columbia Sony), his technical skills have
been recognized by Clio, Grammy and Tony award
winning producers; both the Democratic and Republican parties (his
list of campaign songs for winning nominees is impressive); and
legendary jazz, pop and R&B performers.
In addition to
Downtown and his recording calendar, Jeff enjoys performing with the Texas
Chainsaw Horns and with his friends, Steve Hudson,
guitarist and comedian, and keyboardist/vocalist, Ed Lambert in
a popular Washington trio, Lambert, Hudson, and Watson. |
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Mickey
"Way" Jones
Electric and
Acoustic Guitars; Lead and Background Vocals
Son of country and
western guitar player Herb Jones, Mickey's musical epiphany
occurred at the age of 5 when he accompanied his father and country
great, Jimmy Dean, to a television studio in Washington, D.C.
and watched them play with Elvis Presley. Four decades
later, music is still is passion. He is what musicians refer to
as a "triple threat”: powerful performer, excellent
vocalist, and a guitarist of great skill. Off stage, he spends
most of his time in Lost River, West Virginia, with his wife, Patricia,
writing songs for other artists and publishers. 2004 was a
boom year for his song writing career, but you only have to see him
play to know that the performing stage is his natural element. |
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Bobby Fagel
Drums
For timing and
dynamics, Mr. Fagel has few equals in the business. For humor
and the driest of wit, his has none at all. If you doubt it,
just visit his web site (Texas
Chainsaw Horns), and get on his hilarious e-mail
list. The real pleasure of knowing Bobby, however, is playing
with him in Downtown, and his 11-piece music extravaganza, the Texas
Chainsaw Horns. Bandleader Jeff Watson says, "I've
worked with great drummers: Elvin Jones, Bernard Purdie, Allen
"Chip" White; I wouldn't trade Bobby for any of them.
Without him, either my career or I would have been dead years
ago. I love the guy." A native of Canada, he now
resides in Reston, Virginia, with gorgeous and talented wife,
vocalist, Rena Ray. Lucky guy. |
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Scott "Big
Daddy Love" Thorne
Bass Guitar
and Vocals
An accomplished
practitioner of 4 and 5 string and fretless bass, Big Daddy Love is
famous for a big, comfortable groove reminiscent of Motown legend
James Jamerson and Stax Volt/Memphis giant Donald "Duck"
Dunn. His mellow baritone voice matches his personality
perfectly, making him an unparalleled performance package.
Big Daddy Love
also brings to the table extensive studio experience and advanced
degrees in sound engineering and studio technique. He and his
wife, actress/singer Donna Winchester Thorne, are raising a
new generation of performers in Leesburg, Virginia
Mr. Thorne also
plays with Jeff and Bobby in the Texas
Chainsaw Horns. |
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Sonny Petrosky
Bass, Vocals
Like Mickey, Sonny
has enjoyed an early advantage in his career: his father was a
respected drummer and music lover; his uncle was legendary D.C. bass
player John Herbert. Sonny's incredible skill and
versatility prove that talent doesn't always skip a generation.
One of the best
bass players on the East Coast, he enjoys the respect and affection
of his peers for his soulful vocals and amazing chops on fretted and
fretless instruments. When he can't stand to leave his family,
he subs out his job to wildly popular Washington bassist, Scott
"Big Daddy Love" Thorne (Texas
Chainsaw Horns) or Scott Ambush, brilliant
bassist of internationally renowned jazz ensemble, Spyro Gyra. |
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Mookie Siegel
Keyboard and Accordion
Mookie plays
keyboards and accordion and resides in Baltimore, Maryland. He has
been performing and recording with national and area musicians and
bands for over 20 years. Some notable long term associations with
regional acts include: The Lone Starlet Band, Billy Kemp
and the Paradise Rockers, Kevin Johnson and the Linemen, The
Grandsons, Section 8, Mambo Combo, Tommy
Conwell and the Young Rumblers, Solar Circus, Living Earth,
and many others. Some of the more nationally known projects that he
is currently or was previously involved in are:
David Nelson Band
- For the last eight years and through four CDs on High Adventure Records,
Mookie continues to perform around the country with the former New
Riders of the Purple Sage and Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band's
guitarist, David Nelson. David was the singer of the New Rider's
biggest hit and counter culture anthem, Panama Red.
Phil Lesh and Friends
- In the summer of 1999 and on other occasions Mookie performed with
Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh in his popular post Grateful
Dead endeavor. The ensemble's revolving cast at the time included
drummers Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead) and John Molo
(Bruce Hornsby and the Range), Guitarists Barry Sless (David
Nelson Band, Kingfish), Steve Kimock (Zero), David Nelson
(New Riders of the Purple Sage), and Robben Ford.
Bob Weir's Ratdog
- In 1996-97 Mookie was a member of Grateful Dead guitarist/ singer/
songwriter Bob Weir's post Grateful Dead project, Ratdog,
which included Bassist Rob Wasserman and legendary Chuck Berry
pianist Johnnie Johnson.
Kingfish -
Although the group is currently dormant, Mookie has been a longtime
member of this legendary San Francisco band from 1992 until present.
Originally formed as a side project by the Grateful Dead's Bob
Weir in the mid 70's, it went on to have a life of it's own with
Weir occasionally rejoining the fold. Their 1999 studio release
included contributions by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and
many other notables from the San Francisco music scene.
Tommy Conwell
and the Young Rumblers - Mookie briefly joined the group in 1991
as they were promoting their hit single, I'm Seventeen,
off their then new Columbia Records release, Guitar Trouble. |
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Dan Leonard
Lead and
Rhythm Guitars
Dan began playing
guitar at the age of sixteen and through hard work and experience has
matured into one of the most sought after freelance and studio guitar
players in the area. Dan honed his skills in college while studying
classical guitar and composition. He was the winner of the Mid
Atlantic Great Guitar Search and has received acclaim from the Songwriters
Association of Washington. He won first place in 1998 for Best
Jazz/New Age song, and in 1999 was recognized with honorable mentions
for three of his compositions from his solo release, Time Alone.
His discography includes credits with such artists as Michael Sheppard,
Bruce Guttridge, Doug Segree, and Benji Porecki.
Dan's studio credits include America's Most Wanted and The
Learning Channel. For more info on Dan, check out his site: www.danleonard.com. |
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Dan Reynolds
Jazz Piano
and Keyboards
Dan Reynolds'
diverse performances and recordings have reached enthusiastic
audiences world wide . His soulful jazz piano and keyboard work has
been heard on recordings and performances with Eddie Harris,
Larry Coryell, Najee, Ken Navarro, Tim Eyermann
& East Coast Offering, Origem, and many others. His
own CD's, 1993's Never Alone, 1994's Lifeline,
and 1998's To Be Sure (on Never Alone Music)
have received several Wammie™ nominations and high
acclaim from such publications as Jazz Times, Jazziz,
and Italy's New Sounds magazine. The Washington Post
calls him "a charismatic entertainer".
Dan was born on
April 14, 1963 in Morgantown, West Virginia, and has resided in the
Washington, D.C. area since the age of 7, at which time he began his
piano studies. A steady regimen of classical training combined with
lots of "on-the-job training" in blues and rock & roll
bands throughout his teenage years, culminated in a "Music
Performance" bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland
in 1987. His keen interest in and great enthusiasm for jazz had been
growing for several years and he decided upon graduation to pursue
his career as a jazz performer and recording artist. |
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Paul Soroka
Saxophone
and Keyboards
Paul started his
musical career playing the club circuit. He then secured a gig that
put him on the road with The Greg Arnold Show
(the character "Nuke Lalush" was based on "Bill
Durham"). This led him to the San Francisco scene where he replaced
Robben Ford to perform with the Gary Smith Blues Band.
Paul is more than capable in all styles; fusion, jazz, rock, pop,
R&B, folk, funk, gospel, and country. He has credits which
include T.V. themes and commercials. The list of bands and players
Paul has left his imprint on include Royal 5 Plus 1, Wishbone,
Doug Atwell, Hurricane Hoover, Crack the Sky,
and Tony Sciuto (Little River Band). He is a co-writer
with Dennis Chambers on Getting Even; Carl Filipiak
on Electric Thoughts and Peripheral Vision;
and Stuff I Like. Paul is currently performing with Carl
Filipiak and the Shameless Mooks from Baltimore while also
lending his talent on saxophone and keyboards with Downtown. |
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Joe Kaplowitz
Jazz Piano
and Jazz Organ
Joe Kaplowitz is a
versatile jazz pianist, jazz organist and composer who spent most of
his youth growing up in the Washington DC area. He began playing the
piano at age seven and was playing piano and tuba professionally by
15. In his youth Joe was a devoted student of his parent’s
record collection and was inspired by the music of Thelonious Monk,
Bill Evans, Charles Mingus and many other great jazz
musicians. In 1995 he completed his degree in music from Youngstown
State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Joe remained in the
northeastern Ohio region for several years and performed regularly
with his own trio and was a first call pianist in the area.
In 1996 Joe began
to play the Hammond B3 organ. Since then he has been working to find
new sounds and to use the instrument in new musical settings. One
such setting is a duo with New York percussionist Phil Kester
in which musical ideas from around the planet are being infused with
improvisation. Joe has returned to live in the Washington DC area.
His discography includes a piano trio recording titled Trio Construction. |
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Benji Porecki
Keyboards
His artistry is
soulful and his approach original and timeless. Benji has always been
drawn to jazz and blues and after attending the Berklee School of Music
for a semester decided to pursue music full time. He began gigging
with three bands simultaneously which provided him a lot of musical
diversity. He chose, as his focus, jazz and blues, and then found
himself sitting in with musicians like Ron Hollaway, Marshall
Keys, and Chuck Brown. His chameleon-like ability to play
different styles of music on piano, synthesizer, and organ caught the
attention of Severn Records. Benji was offered a record deal
and recently released The Rest of My Life. He is
currently touring with Pieces of a Dream as well as performing
with various other acts. For information on Benji’s
recordings, visit www.Severnrecords.com. |
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