Editor’s Note: The Dispatch will profile each band slated to perform in the Columbus Main Street-organized Sounds of Summer concert series.
Starkville-based blues band “Stormy Monday” will break from its regular gigs at Anthony’s Good Food Market in West Point and Little Dooey’s in Starkville to play Thursday at Columbus’ 10th annual Sounds of Summer concert series hosted at the city’s downtown Riverwalk.
The band will play from 7-9 p.m.
According to lead singer and guitarist John Gholston, the four-member band is a “down home blues band” with dreams of making its mark on the Delta-bred genre.
“As far as the blues music we cover … we play a lot of Delta blues,” Gholston said. “We also have our own originals which are inspired by that same vein.”
Gholston said the band’s sound is influenced by artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Mississippi’s own Muddy Waters and Albert King.
“I think we have an obligation to play this music because it’s music that’s been handed down through generations, and I think it’s the job of those who love this music and care about it to carry it on into the future,” Gholston said.
Since the band’s first gig at Starkville’s Rosey Baby’s in May 2013, “Stormy Monday” has played more than 70 shows and small-town festivals throughout Mississippi. However, according to Gholston, the blues hasn’t always been on his mind.
“I had grown up in Mississippi, but until I moved off to Tennessee to go to college and work, I had never really payed attention to the blues, which is Mississippi’s music,” Gholston said. “And I couldn’t believe I’d been missing out on it.”
Gholston, who now works for Innovative Broadcast Services in Starkville, said he was exploring the recording industry in Nashville when he first heard the song that sparked his interest in blues.
“One day I heard a Buddy Guy song on the radio, and I got so excited,” he said. “I went and bought his album, and listening to that really inspired me to learn how to play blues guitar.”
“Stormy Monday” united in January 2013 when Gholston, the only remaining original member, sought musicians to complete his ensemble. His friend Scott Munsell promised Gholston if he could gather other musicians, Munsell would play bass. After advertising on Craigslist and networking at his church, Gholston added a drummer and a guitarist to the mix.
The only things missing were a name and the music, which came hand-in-hand.
“Stormy Monday,” a blues song originally performed by T-Bone Walker, was the first tune the group learned.
“We liked the song and decided we were gonna pick that up,” Gholston said. “I hoped people would see that song and recognize us as a blues band from the name.”
Gholston’s bandmates now include Mitch Shurden on bass, Zachary Ashmore on drums and harmonica and Drew Dieckmann on guitar. Ashmore works for the Mississippi State Extension Service, and Shurden and Dieckmann are full-time musicians.
While the band’s members have changed over the past few years, the inspiration has stayed the same.
“We play this music because we love it,” Gholston said. “We want to express our instruments and our voices in a way that can move others.”
Ashmore, who joined the band in March 2014, said he and Gholston have been the primary songwriters for their one album, released July 2016.
Ashmore is a self-taught drummer and harmonica player. When he heard “Stormy Monday” needed a new drummer three years ago, he thought “I need to be doing that.” Ashmore picked up the harmonica shortly after joining and said he likes playing it “in a real, dirty blues way.”
“When I’m up on stage performing for people, it feels like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” Ashmore said.
Gholston and Ashmore hope the band can show audience members a good time at Sounds of Summer.
“We’ll hopefully get them up there dancing,” Ashmore said.
Mark Tribble, owner of Liberty Bell Barber Shop in Starkville, will fill in for Shurden on bass Thursday evening.
And yes. The band will play “Stormy Monday.”
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