Jam Chowder

Jam Chowder

Jam Chowder is a brotherhood drawn together by an intense love for music across multiple genres bound by a common aesthetic. We take elements of rock, blues, jazz, country, funk, and psychedelia and toss them into one giant melting pot. Then we add some spice, mix it up, bring it all to a slow simmer, and just simply call it Jam Chowder.
In spite of the fact that we lead full and busy lives, we've been able to keep music front and center. Besides music we pursue numerous other passions - motorcycling, boating, photography, automobiles, family, pets, travel, cooking, reading, motorcycles, spending time with our better halves, and making new friends. Hope to count you among them soon if you aren't one already! Check out our individual bios below to get to know the gang befter!

STEVE "FINGERS" LACKEY - Guitar

INSTRUMENT - Guitar

PRIOR BANDS - Roadhouse Rockets, Stonefly, The Sud Brothers, The B-sides, Last Call, Entity, The Experience, Funhole, Tundra, The Trip, Bullfrog, Blue Collar, Slim Hippo

INFLUENCES - Strongest influences have been my past and present bandmates and co-conspirators (you all know who you are so we won't do an Oscar night-worthy listing). Without this collective group of musician friends I've been blessed to know, I would still be playing in front of a mirror imagining I'm Jimi Hendrix. Now I get to do that in front of others - some of whom actually indulge and encourage me. I would be remiss without one special shout out to Tim Barry, a veritable Kevin Bacon of the shoreline music scene. Without Tim I would not have gotten to know so many of the talented mofos from the local scene. So Brother Tim, no one casts a bigger and friendlier shadow than you - many thanks for your musical kinship and generosity.

GEAR - Guitars: '70 Gibson SG Special faded cherry, '72 Gibson ES-335 walnut, '74 Fender Stratocaster olympic white , ‘74-75 Fender Telecaster Custom black, ‘92 PRS Custom 24 sunburst, ’95 Fender Telecaster butterscotch blonde ‘52 reissue, ’01 Gibson Les Paul ’57 Heritage reissue Goldtop LPR-7, Fender Custom Shop olympic white '60 reissue Stratocaster, Cherry Red Fender Squire 'Esprit' (Robben Ford model); Fender Made In Japan Telecaster w/B-bender in Lake Placid Blue; Daisy Rock 12-string in pearlescent white; Amps: '64 Fender Band Master, '67 Fender Super Reverb, '74 Fender Deluxe (black-faced), '79 Fender Vibroluxe (black-faced), '65 Gibson Ranger 2x12 50w; Effect Pedals: Analog Man 'King of Tone', J. Rockett Jeff Beck Archer overdrive; Zen Drive, Marshall Guv'nor (made in England), RMC wah-wah, Analog Man Bi-Comprossor, MXR Carbon Copy analog delay, Neo Ventilator II Leslie simulator , TC ELectronics chorus, Electro Harmonix Memory Man delay (original), Fulltone Deja Vibe 'univibe style', Analog Man Sunface NKT distortion, Flip VT-X tube tremolo, Boss Tremolo with Keeley mod, Electro Harmonix Micro-Pog octave, Trutron 3X Mutron pedal, Boss T-Wah envelope filter (made in Japan), Boss Chorus CE-2 (made in Japan), Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah Wah, Boss DD-6 Digital Delay, Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 with Keeley mod; Boss Tuners.

BEST CONCERTS - An impossible choice with so many genres I love. Lucky to have seen so many of the greats

DRINK OF CHOICE - Nice hazy New England IPA

WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE - My pride

PET PEEVE - Metro North commuters talking loudly on the phone

JOEY "NUMBERS" PECORARO - Percussion

INSTRUMENT - Drums/percussion

PRIOR BANDS - The Reactions, Secondhand Smoke, Muddy Rudders

INFLUENCES - Influence is like a river. Factors that have affected my boat include music artists such as Jaimo Johanson/Butch Trucks, Mickey Hart/Bill Kreutzman (Dead), Jim Gordon (Derek & the Dominos, Delaney & Bonnie, sessions galore), Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band). The music of Godspell. My wife Donna, son Matthew (guitar), daughter Emily (sax/clarinet/flute), father Joseph Eugene (piano), and my band mates have profoundly impacted my music development over the decades.

GEAR - Too many Gretsch Renown maple kits deployed throughout CT, some Yamaha Custom Shop birch kits, Ludwig composite drums. Enough Zildjian, Sabian and Paiste cymbals to shade Turkey.

BEST CONCERT - CSNY, 1973

WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE - Most certainly occurred in China

PET PEEVE - out of tune tom toms

TOM KNAPP - Vocals, Guitar, Sax, Flute, Harp, Washboard, Percussion

JOHN JACKSON - Bass Guitar

INSTRUMENTS - Bass, some guitar, a little violin

PRIOR BANDS - The Mothers' Auxiliary; Hazy Shades / Shade; Stan Hammond Band; Tabor Blues Band

INFLUENCES - Bach, Beethovan, Vivaldi, ee cummings, Poe, Jaco, Cream, Deep Purple, Mahvishnu Orchestra, Dr. John (the night tripper), Yes, Jethro Tull, Paul McCartney, Phil Lesh, Nathan East.

GEAR - 1967 Gibson EB-0, Fender American Vinatge '75 Jazz Bass, Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling, Gamma P-15, Squire Jaguar Bass, Squire Telecaster, Dean Accoustic/Electric. David Eden WT 400, Markbass Little Mark Tube 800, Hartke 2500, SWR Little Goliath 2x10, David Eden XLT 410

BEST CONCERT - 1969 Newport Jazz Festival

DRINK OF CHOICE - Whiskey or craft beer.

WEIRDEST THING EATEN - Octopus sushi

PET PEEVE - Closed minds

RALPH MARCARIO - Keyboards

INSTRUMENT - Keyboards, Vocals

PRIOR BANDS - Penny Lane (current!), Bad Neighbors, Yesterday Today, Cryin' Out Loud, Back Pages, Return to Bedrock, Missing Lynx, Dark Moon

INFLUENCES - I was a real prog rock guy in my teen years, so Rick Wakeman and Jon Lord got the young piano player psyched to rock out. Chick Corea and Wynton Kelly convinced me to add some jazz/improv chops. Needed to look no further than Stevie Ray for some soul (and Reese Wynans for how to play it!). Chuck Leavell in recent years has impacted my style for sure. Everything I needed to learn about singing harmonies came from the Beatles (with nods to CSNY and prog rock bands like Kansas and Yes as well).

GEAR - I've turned into a real Nord guy...Electro 5D and 2 are the go-to's. Still lug around an old Ensoniq KS-32 when I need some synthier sounds. Lots of guitars and basses too, but not for this band!

BEST CONCERT - Tossup between David Bowie at Giants Stadium in the late 80's (with Frampton on lead guitar, whaaaaa?) and Stevie Ray at the RPI Fieldhouse circa 1986 or so, in front of "maybe" 500 people.

DRINK OF CHOICE - You name it, I dig it...but if I have to choose one, a really good Chianti DOCG is tough to beat.

WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE - sea cucumber in China. They do not taste anything like cucumbers fyi...they have the consistency and flavor similar to that of boiled rubber galoshes I would imagine...

PET PEEVE - Slooow drivers in front of me on a back road with no passing lane. The gas pedal is the one on the right, man...let's ease 'er up into second gear...

Matt Pecoraro - Guitar (emeritus member)

INSTRUMENT - Guitar, Mandolin

PRIOR BANDS - Friends Like These, Minnow, You Again, plus more fill-ins and one-off gigs than I can count

INFLUENCES - This is an ever-evolving list ranging from my friends and bandmates, to old school jam-band rock to contemporary bluegrass. Music blending improvisation and composition has always resonated most strongly with me. Early on, bands like The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, Clapton’s work in Cream and Derek & the Dominos, and others of the era caught my ear. That led to deeper explorations into modern musicians including Trey Anastasio (Phish), Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule), Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band), and many others.

GEAR - More than a little...less than enough. Go-to guitars are a Gibson Les Paul, a PRS Custom 24 and a Fender Telecaster. Amps include a Fuchs ODS-50 and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. The mandolin is a Collings MF5V.

BEST CONCERT - Either Dead and Company, 2016 or Allman Brothers, 2010. Both seen with my father (and Jam Chowder drummer), Joe.

DRINK OF CHOICE - Anything brewed by Trillium in Boston

WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE - A dish prepared by someone close to me…for my own wellbeing I will say no more...

PET PEEVE - The question, “why do you need more than one guitar?”

RICK COMES - Vocals (emeritus member)

INSTRUMENTS - Lead vocals; harp; shakey things
PRIOR BANDS - The Outhouse Boys; The Sandworms; Secondhand Smoke; The Reactions; The Muddy Rudders
INFLUENCES - How much time ya got?
GEAR - 3rd
BEST CONCERT - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Crystal Lake Ballroom, 1973
DRINK OF CHOICE - Johnny, Black
WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE - Let's not go there!
PET PEEVE - Don't DARE block my garage door!

GREG BAKER (emeritus member)

INSTRUMENT - Guitar

PRIOR BANDS - Faces of Id, Bionic Bush, Sandworms, Secondhand Smoke

INFLUENCES - Duane Allman, BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Dickey Betts, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Don Felder, Santana, Jerry Garcia, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Peter Green, Trey Anastasio, Joe Walsh, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck

GEAR - Gibson SG Derek Trucks model ('61 reissue), Gibson goldtop Les Paul VOS ('57 reissue), Baker Bushwacker, PRS Custom 24, Fender Strat US Standard. Amp -Eganater Renegade 65 watt head with 2x12" or 4x12" cabinet. Effects - Morley volume pedal, Dunlop Crybaby wah wah, Maxon AD-9 auto filter, Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor overdrive.

BEST CONCERT - Allman Brothers New Haven early 90s

WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE: Tequila worm

PET PEEVE - Being late for anything, especially dinner

JEFF MEYER (emeritus member - bass)

INSTRUMENT - Bass, background vocals
PRIOR BANDS - Out of Touch, Blue Steam, Hat Trick Band, Dirty Bottle Jazz Band, toured nationally with Johnny Rawls Blues Revue ('99), worked with New Riders of Purple Sage ('94)
INFLUENCES - Hunter Thompson, John Malkovich, Jon Anderson, Jon Hassel, John McLaughlin, Prog rock, Jazz, Reggae, East Indian music, African music
GEAR - lots of basses and a few amps!
BEST CONCERT - Mahavishnu Orchestra, Fairfield Gym, 1973
DRINK OF CHOICE - Agua
WEIRDEST THING YOU EVER ATE - Chinese and Indian bitter melon
PET PEEVE - I don't have a pet peeve, I have whole kennels of them!

TED ERVIN (emeritus member - bass)

INSTRUMENTS – Bass Guitar, Vocals

PRIOR BANDS – Chipper Ted and the Stupid Notes, Scarlet Fire, Sandy Connolly Band, The Knuckleheads Cinnamon Sky. First-call sub for: Blues on the Rocks, Mojo Boys, Take Two and Call Me in the Morning, Johnny and the Nolftones

INFLUENCES – I get influenced by just about every player I hear, but for local players I’d have to say Bill Conroy and Frank Bacher. My playing has also been affected (hopefully) by Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, Berry Oakley, Bill Wyman, Alphonso Johnson, Armand Sabal-Lecco, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Paul Chambers, Scott Lefaro, Roy Huskey Jr.

GEAR – Bass Guitars: Ibanez DS924L Musician, KSD Proto J 4-string & 5-string, Ibanez RB650L with EMG active electronics, Ibanez RB650L, Carvin LB-70 Fretless, Guild BC4E acoustic bass guitar, Martin B15E acoustic bass guitar (x2). Amps/Cabinets: Acoustic Image Contra Series IIA with Extension cabinet, SWR Grand Prix Preamp, Symetrix 501 Compressor/Limiter, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Carver Power Amp, Eden D410t cabinet, TC Electronic RH750 Head.
BEST CONCERT – Grateful Dead, Greek Theatre, Berkeley CA, June 15, 1985.
DRINK OF CHOICE – Typically a nice, hoppy IPA or DIPA, and occasionally a nice single malt Scotch.
WEIRDEST THING I EVER ATE – The worm.

PET PEEVE – being late (only applies to me, not to others)