Mellencougar
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Mellencougar

Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF

Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF
Band Rock Cover Band

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Saturday Spotlight: Mellencougar"


With Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp not willing to play most of his biggest hits on his current world tour and his penchant to reinvent and re-stylize the few he is performing, the time has never been better to catch the rockin' group Mellencougar.

Chicago-based Mellencougar is an outstanding live tribute that includes all the hits just the way they were recorded by that lad from the "small town" of Seymour, Ind.

They are a collective of musicians from the "heartland" of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin - fronted by lead vocalist Don Wilson.

Mellencouger has been steadily winning over venues, fans and other musicians with their dead-on live shows filled with solid gold favorites and a smattering of album cuts and forgotten favorites from the deep Mellencamp catalog.

Audiences sharing the experience of a Mellencougar show time trip back to the MTV years with such tales of youthful lust and wild times as "I Need A Lover," "Hurt So Good," "Jack And Diane," "Rumbleseat" and "Ain't Even Done With The Night."

Fans are also treated to many of Mellencamp's songs of social commentary with lyrics about the life and times of common folks ("Small Town," "Rain On The Scarecrow," "Your Life is Now," "Pink Houses") and reflections from a mid-life perspective ("Cherry Bomb," "Minutes To Memories," and "Our Country").

To underscore just how good Mellencouger actually captures the music and sound of the real deal, bassist Toby Myers, a former Mellencamp band member (1982-2001) and longtime Mellencamp friend, is a member of Mellencougar and plays with the band whenever his schedule allows, as is Moe Z M.D., former Mellencamp band keyboardist (1995-2001).

Region rockers may also remember Myers from his years of making albums for A&M Records with the Indianapolis-based hard rock group Roadmaster, during the 1970s.

Rounding out the group is violinist Susan Rudny, drummer Jimmy Knight and guitarists Howard Rudny and Joe McDowell. Kenji Juravic plays the bass when Myers is unavailable.

Mellencougar has shared the stage with Eddie Money, Blake Shelton, the Spin Doctors, Styx, Night Ranger, Jamey Johnson and many other national acts, along with headlining many festival dates of their own.

If you feel the need this weekend to "R-O-C-K in the REGION," then catching Mellencougar at Northwoods is just the thing.

- NWI Entertainer


"Where to catch the best music at suburban fests"

• Gurnee resident Don Wilson once belted out a karaoke version of John Mellencamp’s song “Pink Houses” at a bar, and people kept telling him how much he sounded like the Indiana rocker. So Wilson formed Mellencougar, a tribute band that has since played venues big and small all over the Midwest. The band will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday on the Main Stage at the Palatine Jaycees Hometown Fest. Go to palatinejaycees.org.

- Daily Herald


Discography

Hear samples on the media page of www.mellencougar.net

Photos

Bio

Mellencougar: Check It Out
By: Mario Bourzac

It's not everyday that a person gets to live out one of the biggest dreams. All too often it seems a great deal of people go their whole lives never knowing what it's like to reach their long desired goals. But that only makes those who do achieve them that much more remarkable.
One such man is Chicago's own Don Wilson.
Currently living out his dream of performing his favorite John Cougar Mellencamp songs, live on stage, Don Wilson is the lead singer for Mellencougar, one of the country's most authentic John Cougar Mellencamp tribute bands.

Having not only received the blessing from the man himself, Mellencougar also features several previous members of the JCM's own backing band. That experience, plus their genuine love of the material, has made them a devastatingly accurate tribute band.

Over the course of the last four years Mellencougar has been belting out their favorite and most often requested JCM tunes at venues throughout the Midwest. While their performances have garnered them a fair amount of notoriety, it wasn't always this way. For a band that originally started on a whim, they have come quite a long way in a relatively short period of time.

But it is these same simple beginnings that keep the band so close to the spirit of the music. Much like JCM himself, Mellencougar has come from a modest background and developed through a love of the music.

In addition to their similar backgrounds, Mellencougar also shares a few other key connections with JCM. Those connections come in the form of two band members, bassist/guitarist Toby Myers and keyboard player Moe Z M.D. Both Toby and Moe spent a significant amount of time in JCM's backing band before becoming permanent members of Mellencougar.

"In July '09 I was contacted by Toby Myers who was John Mellencamp's bass player from 1982 to 2000 to sing at his birthday," Wilson said. "We hit it off and I decided to make Mellencougar even more authentic when Toby and Moe Z M.D, another JCM former band member (1995 to 2003), told me they wanted in."

As a lifelong fan of JCM, these new additions were without a doubt a monumental moment for Wilson.

"I remember coming out of the bridge on the song 'Check It Out'" Wilson said of one of the first shows with the new members. "I look over and see Moe and Toby singing and thinking 'This is the best seat I've ever had.'"

Despite their obvious love for the music of JCM, as well as the collective talents of the band, being in a tribute band still provides them with some unique experiences that the original just doesn't get. And after one particularly riotous show, Don experienced one of these truly unique moments.

"A drunk guy slurred as he asked for my autograph and told me 'Jack and Diane' was the best thing I've ever done," Wilson said. "I signed his shirt Don Wilson and said I had to catch the bus."

He then added, "I get the feeling he wasn't that happy about his shirt when he sobered up and could read."
www.mellencougar.net