Little Mountain Band

Little Mountain Band has been lighting up the greater Buffalo, NY music scene for a couple of years now with a true jam band sound that is as unique as it is contagious. The band consists of Aaron Ziolkowski, Taylor Locking, Donavan Cudmore, Adam Schmidt, Brian Seibel, and Rob Enderle.

Each member of the band brings an incredible amount of talent to the stage. They have great stage presence and band chemistry which is evident in their song writing and tight improvisational abilities that are an amazing blend of jam and bluegrass. - bandsthatjam.net

Little Mountain Band was featured in the Buffalo News as the Coolest New Local Band on December 26th, 2010 -- - Buffalo News

Buffalo's Little Mountain Band appears to be destined for great things. The group -- bassist/vocalist Donavan Cudmore, guitarist Rob Enderle, vocalist Taylor Locking, keyboardist/vocalist Adam Schmidt, drummer Brian Seibel and guitarist/vocalist Aaron Ziolkowski -- recently released its self-titled debut disc and spent much of the summer touring, honing its collective chops and endearing itself to the open-minded among the jam-band fan base. The LMB album is a strong and richly varied one, consisting of nine original tunes that blend, as the band's MySpace page suggests, elements of blues, rock, folk, and the multi-idiom stew that fits beneath the "jam band" umbrella.

In concert, the group is well known for its ability to take these strong songs and employ them as launching points for heady improvisation, though the groove tethering it all to the Earth is never sacrificed during these flights of fancy.

The Little Mountain-eers will be heading back out on the road for a bit this fall, but prior to that, they'll spend this weekend pleasing the Buffalo base, with a gig opening for Big Leg Emma this evening, inside Club Infinity (8166 Main St., Williamsville), and a slot alongside New Clear Fusion at Nietzsche's (248 Allen St.) on Saturday.

Hear some tunes and find additional info on this weekend's shows at www.thelittlemountainband.com > -- Jeff Miers

Copyright 2008
- Buffalo News

Re-energized Little Mountain Band to play in Erie
By Dave Richards, Erie Times-News
Staff writer


At 14, Aaron Ziolkowski sneaked into Buffalo bars to see Sonic Garden, a Grateful Dead tribute band.

"I remember saying, 'I want that drummer in my band someday.' Twenty years later, here I am," Ziolkowski said.

He was thrilled when Corey Kertzie (that drummer) agreed to join his Little Mountain Band, an accomplished, Buffalo-based jam band firmly rooted in heritage artists such as the Dead, Little Feat, the Band and Bob Marley.

"We had many auditions for drummers. When he came in, it was like the shoe was on the other foot, like he was auditioning us," Ziolkowski said.

Kertzie could afford to be discerning. He's jammed with Steve Kimock and Robby Krieger and played in plenty of bands.

"He has to pick his projects wisely. He's married with two kids, which is cool. His wife lets him do what he wants, but obviously he can't be wasting his time," Ziolkowski said. "He called me up the next day and said: 'I discussed it with my wife. I guess I just joined Little Mountain Band.'"

Since Kertzie joined in 2009, LMB has raised its game.

"I do think our songwriting has evolved," Ziolkowski said. "I like both of our previous albums, but now that Corey is in the mix on drums, they're all brand new songs. He's re-energized everyone as far these old songs are concerned."

Little Mountain Band includes original member Donovan Cudmore on bass and vocals; keyboard player Adam Schmidt, and guitarist Rob Enderle. Their songs are driven by Ziolkowski's Dead-influenced guitar work, but Schmidt adds color, while the super-limber rhythm section keeps feet moving and heads bobbing.

Ziolkowski became a Dead fan as a youngster. Seeing the Jerry Garcia Band live in 1993 cemented his musical direction.

"To be perfectly honest, you look at the set list, and it was almost every song you could ever want. It was one of those shows that was life-changing for me."

He's also an Allman Brothers fan so he was disappointed in August. Little Mountain Band was set to open for Greg Allman at Artpark near Buffalo but Allman fell ill and canceled. LMB would likely have played before its biggest crowd yet.

Still, with this band, you get the sense that even if nobody showed up to see them, they'd play anyhow to make themselves happy.

"Obviously, we're playing for people and that's the point, but we are up there doing it because it's fun and we love doing it," Ziolkowski said. "It's very rare when anyone has a chance to make a living doing what they love to do."

They plan to record their next CD soon, so expect plenty of originals on Friday, including crowd favorite "Miss Molly and the new, reggae-influenced "Door Is Open, Let Yourself In."

Opening the show will be Shotgun Jubilee, which is up for Album of the Year at the 2011 RockErie Music Awards for its self-titled release. - goerie.com