Leslie West (from Mountain) + Special Guest Scrapomatic May 17, 2010

Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen are Scrapomatic, also known to their diehard fans as "The Great American Music Machine." The duo pour their influences in the top and out come perfectly calibrated Americana gems. Scrapomatic have recorded three critically acclaimed blues-roots albums since 2002 -- "Scrapomatic," "Alligator Love Cry" and 2008's "Sidewalk Caesars," which they are currently supporting on a nationwide tour.

Their mission: Make music rooted to the blues canon, but dodge becoming a museum piece by taking up the flag of the modern blues innovators -- Taj Mahal, Nina Simone, Dr. John; artists who used their deep-seeded knowledge of the genre to push it into the future. Needless to say, the Great American Music Machine is not afraid of its influences.

Both Mattison and Olsen were raised in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mattison started his music career as a bass fiddle player with a jones for Ray Charles, whom his mother took him to see seven times before the age of 11. Mattison attended Harvard University, where he served as vice-president of the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine, and graduated in 1991 with a cum laude degree in English and American Literature. He split the country soon-after to sing jazz in Budapest, Hungary. Upon his return, he met Olsen in Minneapolis, three hours into a P-Funk concert. A musical partnership was born.

Olsen began studying guitar in the second grade. At the age of 17, he became the de facto sideman to local blues legend Little Bobby E. His prowess earned him a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where -- between blues gigs at night -- he studied classical and jazz guitar, and earned a degree in composition.

After being recognized with Minnesota Music Award nominations for Best R&B Group and Best Male Vocalist, the duo decamped to Brooklyn, NY in 1997 and formed Scrapomatic. They proceeded to stomp their way through nearly every venue in the New York area, including Carnegie Hall.

In 2002, Mattison joined the Derek Trucks Band as its lead singer. To date he tours year round with the Allman Brother's slide player and erstwhile Eric Clapton sideman, and has appeared on three DTB albums -- 2003's "Live at the Georgia Theater," 2006's acclaimed "Songlines" and the group's next major-label effort, to-be-named and released in early-2009

2002 also saw Scrapomatic release its self-titled debut album under the tutelage of renowned jazz-producer John Snyder, on his Artists House label. The Boston Herald named the album -- recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Lousiana -- one of the year's "Top Ten 'Hidden Pearl' releases." In 2006, Scrapomatic made the move to Atlanta's Landslide Records with the release of "Alligator Love Cry," also recorded at Dockside and produced by Snyder. Blues Revue called "Alligator," "primal and tasty... one of the most impressive releases of the year."

Scrapomatic's most recent effort, "Sidewalk Caesars," was recorded in Atlanta at Bakos Amp Works over three weekends in the fall of 2007. The eclectic Landslide album was produced by Mattison and engineer Jeff Bakos, who strove to give the group more power and presence. Scrapomatic was joined by Ted Pecchio on bass and Tyler Greenwell on drums, late of Col. Bruce Hampton's Codetalkers, and both currently backing Grammy-nominated blues chanteuse Susan Tedeschi. Dave "Copernicus" Yoke rounded out the group with his unlikely, ear-friendly guitar, and is now also a member of the Susan Tedeschi band.

As Scrapomatic watches the accolades for "Sidewalk Caesars" roll in, Mattison continues to perform over one hundred domestic and international dates a year with the Derek Trucks Band. Olsen remains active in NYC as a bandleader and ASCAP award-winning songwriter. The nationwide tour rolls on, and the duo are already hard at work on their fourth album. As Olsen says, "You gotta feed the Machine!"
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One Man, Many Talents - A Distinctive Voice In All He Does

Leslie West has gained fame the world over during his 30-plus year career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time. With Mountain, he climbed the heights of rock stardom on the strength of a unique, signature guitar sound and classic songs such as "Mississippi Queen", "Never In My Life" and "Theme From An Imaginary Western",and Nantucket Sleighride which are still staples of rock radio to this day. Leslie has earned the admiration of a long list of famous peers. During his career, he has recorded or played with a litany of rock icons including Billy Joel, Van Halen, The Who, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix, to name just a few. In fact, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and Richie Sambora have all cited Leslie as an important influence on their own music.

Leslie's bold, expressive and unique guitar style is really a mirror of his own personality. Spend a little time talking with this larger-than-life figure, and you'll realize that he is as charismatic without a guitar in his hands as he is with one. Possessing a sharp sense of humor, he is at once gregarious and gruff while recounting stories from his legendary past. And when discussing his newest projects, he exudes an infectious enthusiasm and excitement.

But Leslie has never been one to rest on his impressive laurels. His boundless creativity has often involved him in projects that take him outside his traditional roles of guitarist, singer and songwriter.

In 1986, he acted alongside Tom Hanks and Shelley Long in the hit comedy film, The Money Pit and has lent his distinctive voice to the popular animated series, Beast Wars Transformers which ran for three seasons on the WB network beginning in 1996 before going into syndication. He has also contributed the theme music to the new WB show, Mutant X.

Leslie has long been a popular personality on the Howard Stern Radio Show and was Musical Director for the shock jock's FOX series, as well as for the late comedian Sam Kinison. Most recently, he lent his production and songwriting skills to an album by Atlantic Records' modern rock group, Clutch, and has just released his own instructional guitar DVD, Big Phat Ass Guitar.

Leslie West has been a creative force for over three decades and shows no sign of losing his ambition or his desire to continually reinvent himself. His ability to adapt his creative spirit to a diverse range of projects is a key ingredient in the longevity of this multi-faceted entertainer's success. All humans have a unique fingerprint. In the world of guitar, Leslie has that distictive sound and tone that is unique to him. There many clones, but few who have voice of their own. When Leslie hits a note, you know it's him and that's what makes him one of a kind.

http://www.mountaintheband.com/leslie/leslie.htm
http://www.myspace.com/scrapomaticnyc

Official Website: http://www.jamminjava.com/