The C.O. Jones Band brings blues to gazebo

If you’re craving the down-and-dirty blues, The C.O. Jones Band will satisfy the hankering at the Madison Gazebo Concert on July 19.

The C.O. Jones Band will perform at the Madison Gazebo Concert on July 19.

“We play the blues … but it’s raw and in-your-face blues,” band member Karl Dunlap said. “Our music is not the crying-in-your-beer kind that some people associate with the blues.”

The C.O. Jones Band played at the gazebo last year. “We had a fantastic time and had people up dancing. It’s a great opportunity to bring music to people in the community,” Dunlap said.

“Most folks seem to like the emotion that we put into the songs,” Dunlap said. “We’re good at ‘suspending disbelief.'”

Crowd favorites by The C.O. Jones Band include Albert King’s “Wrapped up in Love Again,” Freddy King’s “Big-Legged Woman” and a blues version of “Heartbreaker” by Led Zeppelin. “We may throw in some Johnny Cash and Allman Brothers,” Dunlap said.

Band members, all on vocals, are Dunlap, bass; Freddy Earl Faust, guitar; and Eddy Russell, drummer.

For the past 12 years, Faust has hosted the Sunday night blues jam at The Kaffeeklatsch in Huntsville. “Lots of people come out and jam with us and play the blend that we play,” Dunlap said. “We play different choices from what a lot of the blue bands play.”

The C.O. Jones Band organized three years ago. “I met Freddy through other blues players,” Dunlap said. “Eddy and I have known each other for years. I used to own The Filling Station and met lots of blues musicians.”

The band “tries to play music that not every other band plays. We try to ferret songs on ‘B’ sides (of records) of old, obscure material that lots of folks don’t know about,” Dunlap said. The bands presents the music in a way that is “approachable by younger folks and audiences where we play.”

Most of their gigs are in North Alabama from Birmingham to the Tennessee line.

For more information, send email to bluesbass060@yahoo.com or visit Facebook/The C.O. Jones Band.