MUMBO GUMBO is, from left, Steve Stizzo (keyboards, accordion), Rick Lotter (drums), Tracy Walton (vocals, guitar), Jon Wood (guitar), Reggy Marks (sax), Mike Palmer (bass) and Chris Webster (vocals). The band will perform Saturday at Benicia’s Stone Hall as part of the Spenger Garden Music series.
Courtesy photo

‘A lot of ingredients’ in band’s musical recipe

By Bethany A. Monk
Assistant Editor

Manager and former band member Bill Fairfield says Mumbo Gumbo lives up to its name.

“The name implies a big stew of lots of ingredients,” Fairfield said last week. “(Our music) encompasses a lot of everything.”

The 20-year-old Bay Area-band will perform in Benicia for the first time Saturday as part of the Spenger Garden Music series.

Referring to their music as “genre-bending Americana,” Fairfield said the seven-member band mixes the sounds of rock, soul, afro-pop, lush balladry, zydeco and country — turning it all into “a celebratory, danceable noise.”

Sound original? That’s no mistake.

Courtesy photo

“We have these really great female vocalists,” Fairfield said of the band’s two lead singers, female vocalists Chris Webster and Tracy Walton. “There’s a lot of female harmony with a varied groove.”

The band’s music — the other members are Mike Palmer, bass; Rick Lotter, drums; Steve Stizzo, keyboards and accordion; Jon Wood, guitar; and Reggy Marks, sax — is all original, Fairfield said. Both Webster and Walton write most of the songs. “They like to write their own songs,” he said. “It’s quite a mix.”

If you watched a lot of TV in the early ’90s, you might be familiar with the band’s music, which was used in the show “Northern Exposure.” And one of Fairfield’s songs, “Restless,” was featured in the motion picture “Her Minor Thing,” directed by Charles Matthau.

The band started up in the mid-1980s, going by the name Spydelz. In April 1990, the band changed its name to Mumbo Gumbo to pay homage to its Americana style.

Since then Mumbo Jumbo has won many Sammie Awards as best world music band and has collected multiple Best of Sacramento awards for “Best Band.” Mumbo Gumbo is a regular at San Francisco clubs like Slims and the Great American Music Hall and frequently tour the western U.S., performing at festivals throughout the region — but never forgetting their home base in Northern California.

And that home base hasn’t forgotten them. Mumbo Gumbo’s shows are always highly charged, well-attended affairs.

“We’re a festive dance band,” Fairfield said, adding that all ages are welcome. “We’re very up.”

If You Go
Mumbo Gumbo, presented by Red Dragonfly Productions, will perform at 8 p.m. at the Spenger Garden, 2024 Camel Road, in Benicia. Tickets are $20 per person, and may be purchased at www.beniciahistoricalmuseum.org or by calling 745-5435. Beer and wine will be available.

Sharing is caring!