Johnny & The Mongrels, the fast-rising champions of deep-fried Louisiana music, release their latest video today. Titled “Mama Said,” it celebrates the first lady in all of our lives over a greasy blues guitar lick and the band’s trademark thumping, lowdown groove, as lead singer/songwriter Johnny Ryan soulfully recounts the lessons learned from his mama, including “Sing loud, sing proud, give em all that you got.”
“Mama Said” is the fourth video release from Johnny & The Mongrels’ critically acclaimed album, CREOLE SKIES. Director Jim Mimna shot the video at Ryan’s Colorado ranch, with bassist/singer Jeff Bostic, keyboardist/singer Bill McKay, drummer Eddie Christmas and bass legend Lee Allen Zeno rocking in the studio as kids play, dance and clap along. The music and the visuals remind children and grownups of who inspired them, got them ready for the real world but will welcome them back whenever they need to come home.
It is a minor miracle that one of the greatest advocates for Louisiana music hails from Colorado, where somehow the two founding members, Ryan and bass guitarist/singer Jeff Bostic, got their fingers on the pulse of swamp blues, zydeco, raw soul, Bourbon Street jazz and all the other traditions that have made the Pelican State the fountainhead of American music.
Produced by JoeBaby Michaels (Neville~Jacobs, Shaun Murphy) and Scott Sharrard (Gregg Allman, Levon Helm), CREOLE SKIES is available for download on all major platforms. Critics have lavished praise on its authenticity and musical mastery. In Deep Roots David McGee calls their music “meaningful and built to last … fresh and true to the human experience … a beautiful thing.” In Making A Scene Magazine, Richard Ludmerer describes CREOLE SKIES as “an auspicious debut,” while in Music Matters Magazine Austin Carlyle proclaims it “soulful and funky, with great stories and nonstop jamming … a Top 10 album of the year” and ParcBench’s Greg Victor promises that this “superb” music “will transport you to the Bayou and beyond. Your soul will be grateful for the musical voyage.”
Raves have also run in American Songwriter, Relix, Americana Highways, Fervor Coulee, This Week in Americana, American Blues Scene, Blues Blast Magazine, Living Blues Magazine, Las Vegas Tribune, Digital Journal and Center Stage Magazine. Previous Mongrels videos have run in high rotation on broadcast outlets such as TCN’s Americana playlist, Ditty TV and IndiMusic TV. The band has been heard over WUSB-FM, WWOZ-FM and other major market radio stations. CREOLE SKIES held the number one spot on the AirPlay Direct Americana Chart in both July and August.
Johnny & The Mongrels are a high-powered, New-Orleans-influenced band that has been described as “the perfect combination of a funk-filled heart and a deep Bayou soul.” Its founders, currently based in Fort Collins, Colorado, are singer/songwriter Johnny Ryan and singer/bassist/songwriter Jeff Bostic. The band has played many prominent venues and music festivals nationwide, sharing stages along with way with Scott Sharrard, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Bob Malone (John Fogerty), Deanna Bogart, Shakedown Street, Samantha Fish, Honey Island Swamp Band and Bobby Messano (Steve Winwood).
Johnny & The Mongrels
*Feature image credit: Jim Mimna courtesy of So Much Moore Media
