The Wagon Wheel Gang
The Wagon Wheel Gang is an ever-growing, eclectic group of artists from diverse musical backgrounds with the common goal of spreading joy through music. Members of the Wagon Wheel Gang have been known to congregate and perform at picnics, beaches, rodeos, campfires, hootenannies, farms, crowded vehicles on long family trips, docks, porches, barns, back yards, cook outs, ranches, church bazaars, ice cream parlors, bait shops, old folks’ homes and anyplace the magic of music can be appreciated even if only by the performers themselves.
The Artists
Tim Brockland plays trombone on two cuts and rub board on another on the CD. He lives and Miami and is currently forming a Cajun-Zydeco Band and sitting in with bluegrass bands.
Craig "Corn Cob" Carey is the washtub bass player and lead vocalist for many of the WWG live gigs. He is also a pilot and even though he was raised on a farm, he has excellent table manners.
Tappie Carey plays guitar and keyboard at live WWG shows and is pursuing her PhD in biomedical engineering while doing research on upper limb prosthetic design. She is also married to Corn Cob and the sister of Big Donald and Slow Water.
Joe Contillo lends his vocal talents to several Tracks on the CD. Joe is the lead singer in the Big Fin Blues Band and plays guitar and sings in Miami’s favorite coastal acoustic combo, Live Bait, and with the local bluegrass outfit, the Peddlers. Joe lives in Miami and is also a biologist studying the behavior of bottlenose dolphins in Biscayne Bay.
Chris De Angelis plays upright bass and sings on many tracks on the CD and, in addition to many side projects, he plays with The 18 Wheelers, a Florida band famous for their “truck driving music.”
Big Donald. If you have seen the Big Fin Blues Band or Will Thomas and the Redneck Orchestra performing in Florida, then you have seen Big Donald. He’s the blur of sweat and hair behind the drumset. In addition to playing the drums drums on the Wagon Wheel Gang CD, Big Donald makes his debut attempt at playing banjo.
Eric Garcia, an avid boxer, plays harmonica and sings on the CD. He also is a member of Miami bands the Big Fin Blues Band and King Bee and fronts a new blues band called Juke.
Luis E. Gonzalez plays fiddle on the CD and also owns and operates with his brother, Center Tone Studio, where the CD was recorded and mixed.
G. Alex Haw plays guitar on this CD and with the Big Fin Blues Band and has won awards playing La Crosse in New Jersey, Virginia and Florida.
Deblois Milledge has a mystique that is both down home and sophisticated which works wonders on the songs she sings on the Wagon Wheel Gang CD. She lived in Costa Rica for 5 years running a surfing school and now lives in Miami and has recently released her first solo CD, Leviathan, to critical acclaim.
Robert Plessett hails from the great bluegrass state of Pennsylvania and plays mandolin on the CD. His musical heroes include Bill Munroe, Django Reinhardt and David Grisman. Occasionally, you can catch Bob’s band, Swing From The Hip, styling on ‘30’s Hot Club swing around Miami.
Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone is a New Orleans-based bluesman and sings and plays harmonica on Slam ‘em Down on the CD. Johnny has won numerous awards for his own recordings and his contributions on other projects. He also collects vintage motorcycles.
Struttin’ Stu is from New Orleans (at least we think he is), but seems to be a well-known local character anywhere he has been spotted (from Mexico and the Caribbean to the Midwest and West Coast). This mysterious character has a very unusual approach to playing many odd types of musical instruments. For this project, he recorded tracks on the harmonica, Jew’s Harp and Washtub Bass (which he made out of parts that he found at the producer’s garage and neighborhood trash piles). He doesn’t like to be photographed or tell anyone his real name.
Will Thomas is a singer/songwriter now living in Miami Beach. Will carries the mantle of what he calls Alabama Music: a mixture of blues, country, Southern Rock, folk, and R&B. He grew up in Alabama and returned to his roots to record two CDs, "I Will Not Look Like Them" (1997) and "Alabama Day" (2000).
MC Tripod wrote the lyrics and performed a song for the CD. He also sells heavy-duty tools and fasteners and plays kickball in a local adult league in Miami.
Slow Water is a ukulele player and luthier from Tampa, Florida. He also owns and operates the musician-friendly venue, Dockside Bar, on the Hillsborough River and works to beautify the City of Tampa’s outdoor spaces.
The Wagon Wheel Singers provide group vocal arrangements and percussion for many WWG performances and on the CD. They are: Joan Lutton, Andrew Lutton, Lorraine Lutton, Craig Carey, Stephanie Carey, Kate Lutton, Alex Lutton, Matt Lutton.