Saturday, 5pm
Ziggy Jagger , Rutland VT
Most people would think that Ziggy Jagger was formed by it's front man. But it wasn't.
Tom Irish (who does a rather spot-on "Mick Jagger") had been performing an eclectic mix of classic rock covers as a solo acoustic act for decades and was co-hosting an open mic when the bar manager decided he'd like like to see Tom with a band behind him. John Browne of Three D's took it upon himself to ask drummer Will Hagenlocher if he'd be interested and together with the bass player Will had been touring with in Rattlesnake Ridge (which disbanded at the end of that tour) they approached Tom. "Sure!", was the answer.
The original bassist got a new touring gig before Ziggy Jagger got a chance to begin, and the extraordinarily talented Jeff Poremski (who plays with Duane Carleton) was recruited as bassist. They began playing as the three-piece you see pictured here every Sunday night without the benefit of rehearsal. Two months in, "The Samples" bassist Jared Johnson recorded the trio live and enjoyed it so much that he asked if he could come in on keyboards when not touring with "The Samples". A few weeks after that, Jeff invited Chris Johnson to come in on bass, moved over to lead guitar, and now with 16 months of Sunday's and numerous other gigs under their belts, they are the five-piece unit you'll be seeing at this event.
You never quite know what to expect from this group as the simple rules they started with remain in place today - they don't rehearse and they don't follow set lists even when they take time to make one! You can pretty much be assured of hearing some Rolling Stones and David Bowie covers, as well as some Steely Dan, but beyond that, you could be hearing anything from Frank Zappa to Warren Zevon - The Jim Carroll Band to Tommy Bolin. This is stuff you don't hear bands play everyday and that's what attracted the calibre of musicians involved.
Ziggy Jagger is :
Tom Irish - Lead vocals, guitars, harmonica
Jeff Poremski - Lead guitar, vocals
Chris Johnson - Bass, vocals
Jared Johnson - Keyboards, vocals
Will Hagelocher - Drums, vocals
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