The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!
This is not your father’s blues – it’s more like your grandfather’s…if your grandfather was a preacher in a Mississippi Baptist church.
“These guys are amazing. The closest thing to Hank Williams Sr. this side of Heaven.” – Jim Chum
“One of the best throwback blues groups on any side of the Hudson.” – The Jersey Journal
“When you hit the stage, it was like we were hit with a bolt of lightning! Truly electrifying! Really brought the place to life! You guys owned the stage like few have at The Way Station.” – James Coyle
“You are the sound of America. Starting at the intersection of all the best influences!” – Greg Gutbezahl
“…perhaps the hardest working band on the East Coast, the Sensational Country Blues Wonders!” – Jim Testa
“The Wonders! A unique act and a crowd-pleaser. They seem to cut across all kinds of boundaries and reach every kind of demographic.” – Dave “Ace” Case
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Booking: gary_vanmiert@hotmail.com
Biography
“The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!” are a band that replicates the original instrumental lineup of acoustic rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar and upright acoustic bass used on the first rock and roll records recorded by Elvis Presley at Sun Studio in Memphis, TN. The “Wonders” are a group that has it’s own unique interpretation of American Roots Music – classic Country music from the fifties and sixties, down-home spiritual songs from the Golden Age of Gospel, and time-honored Blues numbers that go back to the greats hailing from Mississippi and Chicago. They combine all these elements to create a “one of a kind” musical experience!
Since their inception in late 2012, Gary Van Miert (acoustic guitar/vocals) and Malcolm Marsden (electric guitar) have been busy, performing on a regular basis in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Harlem, Jersey City, and Hoboken.
Gary had been playing and singing old Country and Blues songs for years, more or less as a hobby, when he came up with the concept for “The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!”. He cobbled together the band’s name from the names of different groups from his extensive collection of Gospel 45’s. Gary met Malcolm at an open mike in Jersey City. The two found that they shared a passion for American Roots Music and began a musical partnership that took them from the open mikes in Jersey to the clubs of Manhattan and Brooklyn and beyond. Not only do they continue to play traditional venues, but do many other non-traditional gigs as well. They’ve performed at a vintage car show, a historical cemetery, a custom motorcycle show, a lumberyard, a chili cook-off and even the Men’s Department in Macys. In 2015, the “Wonders” added John Warren on bass fiddle to the group.
Their influences include many seminal figures in American music, such as Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Reverend Charlie Jackson, Wilbert Harrison, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Brother Joe May, Charlie Feathers, Carl Perkins, Ernest Tubb, Smiley Lewis, Brother Claude Ely and Lloyd Price.
Booking: gary_vanmiert@hotmail.com