<back - STONECRAZY - Danny Klein, bassist and founding member of the J.Geils Band, has for the past 6 years found life after the  J.Geils Band with 'Rockin' the Blues' powerhouse STONECRAZY. "StoneCrazy has been the most natural progression for me after 17 albums with the J.Geils Band," said Klein from his Hyde Park home in the Boston area. "Our sound has a lot of the classic Chicago Blues style, but also a good amount of Rock n' Roll.

A lot of the J.Geils Band music for so long came from both of those two sources. "The obvious comparison for our band, I guess, would be to Bluestime", sez Danny. "Given that common element of X-Geils Band (J.Geils n' Magic Dick) personnel. But I think there are some clear differences between the two bands in style. Bluestime is more traditional as far as playing the Blues and Swing roots styles. They use the acoustic standup bass and generally draw more of their material from the 40s and 50s. Our style is more rooted in 60/70s R&B, like Stax/Atlantic Rock, R&B and Soul, more electric and contemporary" Danny states. Along with Danny Klein on bass, StoneCrazy includes lead vocalist and harpist Babe Pino, his brother and guitarist Ken Pino and drummer Mark Hylander. Ken Pino was previously rhythm guitarist for 10 years and seven albums with the Grammy-winning Texas Bluesmaster and guitar-slinger Johnny Clyde Copeland. Brother Babe was once called by Muddy Waters "one of the finest harmonica players in the country" and has opened in concert for Muddy, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt among other Blues icons. Mark Hylander has toured/ recorded with Duke & the Drivers, an the infamous Swinging Johnsons.  After the J.Geils Band disbanded in the mid-80s, Danny was out of music for a number of years and worked mainly as a chef. His re-entry into the music fray came when he and guitarist Ken Pino joined Blues guitar diva Debbie Davies on tour in Europe for 2 years in the mid 90s. The idea to form their own band came along the way. StoneCrazy has recently completed its self titled debut CD, containing four Blues-Rockin' originals plus songs by Johnny Clyde Copeland, James Cotton, Delbert McClinton and a remake of Otis Rush's 'Homework'. Produced by Jay Geils, who also plays on some tracks as does former Geils keyboardist Seth Justman. The band is currently performing in the Boston area and shopping around for a distributor for their self-titled disc. -LivinBlues  MP3- Mr. Blue | Homework |