Rev and Friends is my "miscellaneous" category. What it currently means is any gigs where you will be seeing me playing my electric guitar with other musicians. Because I don't currently have an electric band, as in anything resembling a steady lineup, or a demo kit with which to get work, I'm basically banking on my personal reputation in places where I'm known. That means club owners are hiring my "band" because they trust me to provide good music. Well, if they're hiring me out of trust, then they're getting ME. In most of the places where you'll see me doing a "Rev and Friends" gig, I'm known to a lot of the clientelle as well as the management. So I'm putting my name right out there to hopefully draw in some folks. Truth in advertising. If I get hired to do a band gig somewhere, I'm going to show up to play it with some friends. At this point, any given night you see me it could be a completely different set of Friends.

Every Wednesday night you can see a version of "Rev and Friends" hosting the electric open jam at Jimmy's Seaside on Cove Rd. in Stamford, CT. Jimmy's is fun and the jam can be really fun. The official lineup of the house band there (actually billed as Rev and Friends) is me, Kiko Gonzalez (bass), JJ Clarke (drums), and Stan Hammond (keyboards) from The Grapes. However, from week to week that tends to change a bit, so any given night you might find Juan Vega, or Ron Rifkin, or Curtis Long, or Rob Langer, or any of a hundred different "friends" in the band.

Currently there are a few Rev and Friends gigs booked for 2008. Check out different incarnations of Rev and Friends in the coming months at The Black Duck in Westport, CT, the Cyber Cafe in Binghamton, NY, Southport Brewing Company in Southport, CT, and, most likely, at Jimmy's Seaside. Many of the upcoming dates will include the awesome drummer JJ Clarke.

Also, there's a new version of Rev and Friends. It's a 3-piece setup featuring Rev and John and Clint from Hypnotic. The music will be a bit different from what people may be used to seeing Rev do on his own. You'll hear some of the usual groovy stuff by the Stones and other old acts, and a little bluesy stuff, but you'll also hear some newer stuff from the 80s and 90s and 00s, which is what Hypnotic focuses on. Check out our first date at the Southport Brewing Company in Southport on January 25.

Rev and Friends is NOT intended to be Sol Dog with a different drummer. It will hopefully evolve into its own entity over time. Keep supporting Sol Dog in the future, even though I won't be there.

Hopefully Rev and Friends will eventually resolve into an actual band with a set line-up. But don't worry, no matter who shows up as "and Friends," I guarantee the music will be great.

Voof!