Mudslide Charley is a Missoula, Montana born band that plays gutbucket blues and house rockin' roots rock. We draw inspiration from a more antiquated era when Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker first fused the rough and rural vibes of Southern acoustic blues with modern electric instruments.
The band writes and performs original songs pumping with vital relevance and emotional fervor that exude a true reverence for the blues musicians who have paved our way. Using gritty electric guitar, elastic bass, chest thumping backbeat, and rich soulful vocals punctuated by harmonica, piano, and saxophone, Mudslide Charley creates a musical gumbo that rattles bones and loosens limbs.
Musicians:
Marco Littig: slide/lead guitar and vocals
That singular gliss of pain and hope that chimes from slide guitar, fused with the defiant and mournful resolve of Delta blues penetrated the haze of collapse around 26 year old, Marco Littig. Living in New York City, and desperately holding on to an inevitably failed marriage, he dropped out of graduate school to chase the inspiration of a muse he knew nothing about. Marco, picked up the guitar for the first time with the expressed intention of playing and singing Delta blues.
After thirty years, seven albums, over a thousand live gigs, a new marriage, family, and business, the passion for the blues that guided Marco out of hell, still inspires purpose and joy. When asked by a co-worker, who came to one of Mudslide Charley’s early shows on a late Wednesday night, with only five other patrons in the room listening, “Why, do you do this?” Marco paused, and then replied, “This what I do.”
Liza Ginnings: vocals
A born and raised Missoulian, Liza started her blues career on the front porch steps of her childhood home, singing with her dad. Her first taste of recording came in the studios above the Top Hat at age seven, and from there she was hooked. She attended the University of Montana for political science while guesting with bands, singing in shows, and soaking up as much opportunity as the musically rich valley could provide. Throughout various political campaigns, moves, and career changes, music remained the only true central force in her life. When the opportunity to sing for Mudslide Charley came along in 2021 she jumped at the chance. First auditioning with ‘Papa’s Coming Home’ - she absolutely flubbed it. ‘Why Baby Why’, ‘Don’t Stop Me’, and ‘Sweet Nostalgia’ went by in a blur, but by the time she sang ‘Bootsie Basil’, the band’s new lineup was established. Liza continues her family tradition of playing the blues, celebrating the devastating heartache and utter joys of life through singing and making music with the men of Mudslide Charley,
Paul Kelley: bass and vocals
Born in Houston, TX, Paul moved to Austin in 1973. Jumping into the thriving music scene and playing with many of the locals including a sting with Nanci Griffith, he met up with the Lost Highway Band from Missoula, MT. He toured the West, Midwest, and Canada with them, releasing several albums.
Settling in Missoula, he has played with Hot Diggity, The Frederico Brothers, and Full Grown Band. As a solo artist, Paul has opened for John Prine, David Bromberg, John Sebastian, and more. Having grown up listing to Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bobby Bland, Mance Lipscomb, and many other in the Third Ward clubs of Houston as a kid, he is a devotee of the blues.
The Bass is his love and the Blues is his mistress!
Roger Moquin: drums and vocals
Roger Moquin, aka "Rockin' Roger", decided at an early age that music would be a main theme in his life. From elementary school through high school he was involved in marching band, orchestra, symphonic band, dance band, and a rock and roll band that played at dances after school. After high school he attended Berklee College of Music for two years and joined the 126th Yankee Division National Guard Band for six years where he played tympani in the concert band and snare drum in the marching band.
Needing a change of scene, Roger moved to the West Coast and played the hotel circuit in San Diego for ten years. He’s toured the Hawaiian Islands and been on the road playing Red Lion Inns up and down the West Coast. This journey brought him to Missoula, MT where he is actively involved in the music scene. He has been the drummer for Mudslide Charley since 2007 and concurrently has been exploring West African rhythms and grooving the backbeat for multiple other bands.
Phil Hamilton: harmonica, baritone/tenor/alto saxophone, and vocals
Phil Hamilton was drawn to the blues at 15 years old. The Animals’ version of Smokestack Lightning led him to an exploration of the roots of American pop music, to artists like Slim Harpo, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. He learned to play drums by jamming with a neighbor who played guitar, and subsequently launched his career in music. Adding harmonica and percussion to his palette, he never strayed too far from blues and roots music. After a great stretch in Austin, TX and years on the road with the Lost Highway Band, Phil honed his skills and eventually added tenor sax to the arsenal of instruments in his bandolier of musical merriment. Phil has played drums with The Moonlighters, harp and sax with Big Daddy And The Blue Notes, and founded the jump blues swing ensemble Full Grown Band. Phil joined Mudslide Charley in 2008. In addition to harp and tenor sax he has since added baritone sax, alto sax, and writes songs.
Russ Parsons: piano and organ
As a kid, Russ fell in love with the piano at 6. Early Suzuki (ear training) lessons were a benefit, but later proved an obstacle, as he often got in trouble with his piano teacher by playing by ear instead of reading the music. It turns out that playing in the wrong key is a dead giveaway. Who knew? In high school, Russ played in a café for the brunch crowd, where he was introduced to New Orleans style blues by some fans who gave him tapes of James Booker, Dr. John, and Professor Longhair. After playing with a few other bands, Russ came to Mudslide Charley in February 2019. He loves the old blues bones that make up this band’s DNA, and the new life they breathe into them, every time they play.