jon lawton/little jonny and the giants

Little Jonny and the Giants have been together since 1991. In the SF Bay area Little Jonny is a highly respected guitarist and band leader with 6 CDs to his credit with the Giants. The band currently is a 5 piece rockin', boogie-style blues band. But it is not in the spirit of ZZ Top. It is a more traditional sound with piano, harp and guitar out front, and a backbeat rhythm section holding it down. Sid Morris on piano is rooted in New Orleans RnB with a great big bunch of Texas/California jump thrown in. Mark Fenichel on harp is rooted in blues, with acoustic and electric styles equally represented.. Rice Miller, Little Walter, and Slim Harpo come to mind when he plays. Marty Dodson on drums has spent the last 10 years touring with blues man Mark Hummel. Marty has backed all the great living blues men and really earned his stripes as a fine shuffler. He also is quite familiar with the more difficult Professor Longhair beats that Sid likes to throw in once in a while. Eddie B. on bass is the kind we all love in the blues - whole, fat notes with a big rhythmic feel. He'll do some singing too with an emphasis on Chicago and West Coast blues. Jon Lawton has played guitar since 1968. During the 80's and into the 90's he toured extensively in the US and a bit in Europe. He was a member of the Santa Barbara based band - the Pontiax. It was while with the Pontiax he recorded and was prominently featured on their very well-received CD '100 Miles to Go'. The band backed Snooky Pryor, Kim Wilson, George Thoroughgood, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, William Clarke, and did shows with all the premier blues band of the time. since 1991 the Giants have been the primary band for Jon Lawton. The band has been 3,4, and 5 pieces. It is a perfect dance/party band, and is consistently regarded as a musician's band as well. Jon has the best musicians and they all get a chance to shine. The soloists are exciting, fun and right. The beats are funky, strong and feel good.

The Backyard Party Boys are just as that sounds- a good time, party, old-time, acoustic band. The band started around the kitchen table around 2000. It fell together organically over the last 8 years with the final addition of Bruce Campbell on bass in 2005. In the last 2 years the band has been gigging more regularly with shows in the Bay area at all the spots. Starry Plough, Plough and Stars, Atlas Cafe, the Jupiter and many others. in 2007 the band released a CD - 'Rockin' in a Weary World'. It has been well received and sells well at shows. Private affairs are where this band shines as the band can play all kinds of musical styles from Hawaiian to bluegrass, early country to blues. Kids love this band too, because it is full of fun songs and smiling musicians.

Jon Lawton - solo singer/songwriter
Having played since 1968, Jon started out writing songs and playing with friends. The folk of the 60' and 70's were serious influences. And as he relocated to the midwest in the mid-70's, Jon really started to blossom with forays into Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard, and the blues of Sonny Terry/ Brownie McGhee and Lightning Hopkins, among many, many others. Jon has always written songs. His lyrics can be funny, biographical, abstract, and tender. He will play in any given show, the National Steel guitar, 12-string and six string guitars and a banjo. There will be some stories, ruminations and a wry wit that keeps the show real.