bio
Sharla June & the Mayhaws play an eclectic mix of blues, folk, bluegrass
and rock and roll that makes Bessie Smith sound like Iggy Pop, and the Ramones
sound like Hank Williams. They innovate, but with a respect for tradition,
walking a line between the sunny sounds of old-time folk and bluegrass and
the gritty darkness of old blues and hardcore gospel and country songs.
The band has featured a number of journeyman players over time, constantly
evolving and exploring new musical terrain. Smoky-voiced lead singer Sharla
June has been a mainstay on the Tallahassee music scene since the punk-rock
1980’s, writing and performing in a dizzying number of genre-spanning
projects. Mandolinist Dave Leporati came to The Mayhaws via a traditional
bluegrass background and a nontraditional affection for rockabilly, honky-tonk,
and the edgier arts and literatures. Drummer Deb Berlinger has been banging
on things and syncopating the blues since childhood, and bassist Chelsea Chason
studied jazz performance and music therapy is now giving vent to her long-standing
desire to rock out.
Together they create soul-feeding music: smart, dynamic, sassy and telling
of the truth.
It’s the sound that wafts out of green-lit dashboards in big old 50s
cars as they rocket through the soft, black summer night. It’s an after-hours
jam session in the kitchen of that juke joint off the highway, the one your
mama told you to stay out of.
But of course you don’t stay out. How could you? Not when the Mayhaws
are in town.