The band:
Junior Combs — lead guitar, vocals
Jesse Lee Scutchfield — lead vocals, stand-up bass
Mike McCalmet — drums
How they started: Best friends Junior Combs and Jesse Lee Scutchfield had grown up in North Judson playing guitars and listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan when they formed the band as a four-piece with another drummer and bass player in 1995. Since trimmed down to a three-piece with Combs on guitar, Scutchfield on upright bass and McCalmet on drums, The Igniters have evolved into one of the area’s top — and most prolific — live blues bands with two recordings to their credit.
Behind the name: Combs says, “Our original drummer was working at a furnace factory, and he had a box of igniters for the furnaces. He said, ‘How ’bout Junior and the Igniters?’ I thought, hmmm ... it has a certain ring to it.”
Genres: American roots music, blues, rockabilly, country.
Influences: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, to name a few.
CDs: “Roll With It” debut CD includes nine blues and 50s-style original tunes.
“Hot Rod Gal” features originals and covers with guest artists, including legendary blues pianist Pinetop Perkins on Muddy Waters’ “Good Woman.”
Upcoming gigs:
Friday — Casey’s Lanes, LaPorte
Saturday — Kersting’s Harley-Davidson, North Judson
Sept. 15 — Sandbar, Bass Lake
Sept. 21 — The Midway Tavern, Mishawaka
Junior Combs — lead guitar, vocals
Mike McCalmet — drums
How they started: Best friends Junior Combs and Jesse Lee Scutchfield had grown up in North Judson playing guitars and listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan when they formed the band as a four-piece with another drummer and bass player in 1995. Since trimmed down to a three-piece with Combs on guitar, Scutchfield on upright bass and McCalmet on drums, The Igniters have evolved into one of the area’s top — and most prolific — live blues bands with two recordings to their credit.
Behind the name: Combs says, “Our original drummer was working at a furnace factory, and he had a box of igniters for the furnaces. He said, ‘How ’bout Junior and the Igniters?’ I thought, hmmm ... it has a certain ring to it.”
Genres: American roots music, blues, rockabilly, country.
Influences: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, to name a few.
CDs: “Roll With It” debut CD includes nine blues and 50s-style original tunes.
“Hot Rod Gal” features originals and covers with guest artists, including legendary blues pianist Pinetop Perkins on Muddy Waters’ “Good Woman.”
Upcoming gigs:
Friday — Casey’s Lanes, LaPorte
Saturday — Kersting’s Harley-Davidson, North Judson
Sept. 15 — Sandbar, Bass Lake
Sept. 21 — The Midway Tavern, Mishawaka
