Poke Chop and The Other White Meats
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Poke Chop and The Other White Meats

Charleston, SC | Established. Jan 01, 1990

Charleston, SC
Established on Jan, 1990
Band Americana Blues

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"Poke Chop and The Other White Meats"

Performance on the show "207" in Portland Maine. - WCSH Channel 6 Portland Maine


"Blues Brews and Barbecues"

short phoner on the band name - WQCB Brewer Maine


"The Cage Hits The Blue Notes"

The Cage hits the blues notes
By Andie Hannon , Staff Writer Wednesday, April 23, 2008
LEWISTON - From the outside, The Cage looks like a typical bar in the heart of Maine, but listen carefully on Thursday nights and the breeze carries a harmonious mix of bass, guitars, drums, harmonica, keyboards and the occasional brass or woodwind out the front door.
Pack that with powerhouse vocals and the normally quiet downtown neighborhood comes to life as the Maine Blues Society hosts a weekly open mic blues jam that not only promises but delivers good music, good times and a great chance to catch some local acts in a totally different light.
"Jammers don't want something fancy. The want a little hole-in-the-wall," Maine Blues Society President Duanne Little explains as he looks out at the gathering crowd, some bearing musical instruments, some making their way to their favorite corner as they shout out, shake hands and sign up on the list.
"It's not fancy. It's not showy. It's a place to come and play," he said.
And play they do. From Chicago to the Mississippi Delta - speakeasies to honky tonks - musicians from as far away as Augusta and Kennebunk make their way to the small venue each week. According to Little, the weekly event is hosted by a different house band every couple months. This month, the blues society features Poke Chop & The Other White Meats from the Saco area.
"This is when you get people who never play together playing together," said Ron Gill, a.k.a. Poke Chop. "At a jam night, you never know who's going to show up."
Gill explains how the tradition of jam sessions has deep roots in the blues. Years ago, musicians would gather midweek, when most musicians were free and had no other gigs, to play at house parties and juke joints.
And for musicians like Gill, his band mates and all the Thursday night jammers, the open mic session is a prime opportunity for them to test the waters, challenge their abilities and expand their melodic repertoire. One example would be local musician Tim Treadwell of Auburn, who often sits in with area rock 'n' roll bands when he isn't working his day job.
"This gives you the opportunity to do something you might not always do," Treadwell says after playing guitar during his set with the jam session. "You're going to see a lot of combinations of people that you might not always see."
He is but one of several area musicians who try their hand at the blues each week down at The Cage. For some - such as Gill - blues is their signature style. For others - such as Treadwell - it's a craft and a reason to sit in each week with veteran players like Gill. And while rock may be the norm for Treadwell, he is quick to point out that some of his favorite rock guitar players often double as excellent blues players as well.
For still others, such as Sue Rosenbaum, it's a matter of supporting local music. Her husband, Bob, loves to play guitar and the couple travels to Lewiston from Mechanic Falls for the open mic jam nights as often as their schedule allows.
Rosenbaum points out how there are few area venues that feature live music on the menu. She loves the sense of camaraderie found among the musicians who come out for the jam sessions.
"I like the mixture of the many different combinations together," Rosenbaum says as she claps her hands and taps her feet to the beat. "It's always different and you never know who you're going to play with." - Lewiston Sun Journal


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Bio

Whether it's a rootsy rockin, party on the dance floor, a kicking up your heels hoe-down, or a sultry evening of down home blues; With  Poke Chop and TOWM (The Other White Meats), the music will be a hit.  We have recently been voted BEST BLUES ACT in the Portland  Phoenix's Best of 2013 music poll and have received a NOMINATION FOR BLUES ACT OF THE YEAR from the New England Music Awards, opened many a show for touring acts and played international dates from Colorado to Minnesota to Maine to the Marshall Islands to entertain.  Everywhere we go a good time certainly follows.


The band, formed originally on the front range of the Rockies, playing the Denver and surrounding area since the early '90's. The guitarist/vocalist/front man for the 4 piece "Rockin' Blues, Rockin' Soul, Rockin' Country and Rock and Roll" band is Ron Gill based in the Charleston SC area. Forming the rest of the band are Bruce Couillard on saxophone; Ryan Halliburton on bass and Steven Forest Hamblen on drums.

Our schedule gets us ranging wide, with over 120 performances a year, you'll find this has led to a serious understanding of the dynamics of the entertainment business. 
 
As we would like to offer our entertainment services in the near future may I direct you to our all encompassing website, http://www.poke-chop.com/ for little glimpse of what it is we can provide.  There you can find audio, biographies, and links to our appearance at the 2012 International Blues Challenge in  Memphis TN as well as , as well as an appearance on the show 207.  You can also find our single "Sweet Pea Boogie" recorded at Sun  studios.  I hope you'll recognize a few strong points we bring to our show.

First we're here to entertain. We believe in high energy classic danceable music with good personal interaction with your clientele. We are well rehearsed and play some well recieved originals as well as many popular favorites.

Next, as a group with over 100 years of experience, we take an extremely professional approach to our act and try to 'raise the bar' for live music. We have an eclectic mix of both recognizable and somewhat obscure numbers to which we give our own unique touch as well as our own compositions. I think our track record attests to the confidence of our hosts in our ability to entertain and excite. Whether it is behavior, dress, audience interaction, or exceeding a venues' expectations, we stress an air of professionalism at all of our performances, we work with you to help you be successful. Keep the show rolling, keep the audience entertained.

You can see by the historical schedule that we've been working in Maine for the past 10 years and are now branching out.  We have a wealth of experience interacting with our audience from hosting weekly blues jam events in the southern Maine area and everywhere we play there are a lot of great comments on how the evening went. References are available upon request.

Band Members