Fat Danny: Bio
Fat Danny - Vocals, lead guitar, slide guitar
High Desert Bluesman, Fat Danny Bennett, is the heart and soul of the Hard Tymz. He writes and sings all of the original material. Danny's songs come directly from his life. The good, the bad, the ups and the downs. Danny says, "Sing the Blues? Hell, I'm living the Blues." A multi-talented instrumentalist, Danny counts Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Link Wray, and all the "Kings" among his influences.
nickname: Are you kiddin' ??
favorite color: Black.
little known fact about you: I watch a certain soap opera every day on T.V.
Who is da' Man? Albert King. If I was stranded on a desert island and i could have only 1 cd. It would be his 1967 cd Born under a bad sign. There was not a bad song on that cd. It was about as perfect an album as ive ever heard.
What's in your CD player right now? Jimmy Reed
Mike Burnes - Drums & percussion
The quiet man of the group, Mike Burnes, lets his sticks do the talking as he lays down a take-no-prisoners drum beat. Influences include Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, and his former teacher, Tootie Heath. Mike brings an uptown jazzy feel to the downhome blues of The Hard Tymz.
nickname: Don't call me "Sticks"
favorite color: Green... guess why
little known fact about you: Nothing... that's how I keep it little known
Who is da' Man? Dennis Chambers
What's in your CD player right now? You mean in my 8-track?
Doyle Smith - Hammond organ & Wurlitzer electric piano
Born about 20 miles from where Robert Johnson played his last gig, Slim hails from Leflore County Mississippi. He honed his blues chops playing on the Barbeque joints and Elks Clubs on the chitlin' circuit throughout the Deep South. Influences include Billy Preston, Marvell Thomas, Carson Whitsett, and Booker T.
nickname: Mississippi Slim
favorite color: dark blue
favorite blues lyric: "Your husband went to the war and I knowed it was tough... I don't know how many mens he killed but I know he killed enough" -Elmore James
little known fact: shares a birthday with another Mississippi white boy, Mose Allison.
Who is da' Man? - Muddy is the Man!
What's in your CD player right now? "Crawlin' Kingsnake" by Honeyboy Edwards
Eddie Clothier - Electric Bass
Kansas City born and raised, he started playing honky-tonks and private clubs at the tender age of 14 with still long-time friend Jim Feighner. “What an education that was!” He was musically trained in elementary and high schools by former John Phillip Sousa band member Ed Hoskins Sr. and his son Ed Jr. “Thanks for teaching me about the beat guys!”
“Hawaii? Oh Yea! That’s one great place to gig.” Eddie enjoyed playing with Cecillio & Kapono (Frank Zappa - Civic Center Concert ’72) and the Goldrush (Waikiki House Band). Then in 1976 he came to Los Angeles and got lost in the shuffle.
“Been a lot of blues since then, but ain’t none like Fat Danny!”
nickname: FAST EDDIE? Does this mean I don’t get to eat?
favorite color: Midnight Blue
little known fact about you: Drafted a part for the X-30 Space Shuttle
Who is da Man?: There's a lot of "Mens" out there, but I still find Robert Johnson to be very mesmerizing.
What’s in your CD?: Electronic Components, Circuit boards, and Mechanical Parts.