Get ready to rock out to old-school vibes and guitar-driven originals as San Diego–based Electric Mud makes their Santa Cruz debut. Named Best Rock Band in the San Diego Music Awards, Electric Mud has played the legendary Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles and the Belly Up in Solana Beach, and even opened for the Rolling Stones this past May at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
How did that happen? “The Stones get local acts for wherever they’re going to play,” says guitarist Colton Cori, who grew up in Prunedale. “It was a little bit of family connections and their checking out our music and wanting to have us.”
Started in 2008 with brothers Matt and Marc Hansen, hailing from Staten Island, NY, the band started jamming with Cori while all were in the U.S. Navy and stationed in San Diego, where Cori was assigned to the same ship as Matt, the drummer. Cori officially joined the band in 2013. The bass player is the Hansens’ cousin, Matthew Sorena. (Speaking of relatives, their aunt is Patti Hansen, who just happens to be married to Stones guitarist Keith Richards.)
Just as the Stones were named in tribute to Muddy Waters, the band’s moniker pays tribute to Waters’ first album. “It’s kind of how the Stones wanted to pay homage to the blues guys before them,” Cori said. They list other influences, such as Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Tom Petty and Waylon Jennings.
Presented by SoulGood Entertainment, the show kicks off at 6pm on Sat., Aug. 17 with an acoustic set by Colton Cori and openers the Birdcalls. Woodhouse Blending & Brewing, 119 Madrone St., Santa Cruz, 313-9461. Ticket: $25 via EventBrite.
