Voodoo Libido conjures two gigs this week
Written by Vicki L. Kroll | | news@toledofreepress.com
John Rockwood recalled when Toledo’s daily newspaper wouldn’t print the band name Voodoo Libido.
“The Blade would call us the John Rockwood Orchestra,” he said with a laugh. “The name [Voodoo Libido] kind of fits the group. We just like to have fun.”
Rockwood has been having fun playing zydeco washboard and harmonica for 15 years with Dave Athanas, guitar; Joel Hazard, piano and vocals; Liz Presley, vocals; and Joe Beuhler, drums.
“We’re a blues band, we play R&B, we do jazz, and we play classic rock ‘n’ roll,” the Toledo resident said. “Some of our influences include Muddy Waters, Jon Hendricks, the early blues shouters like Ma Rainey.”
Voodoo Libido played at Lollapalooza on the experimental stage in 1994; they jammed with Jerry Lee Lewis and Martha Reeves.
“We played the Motor City Music Fest in Detroit with Eddie “Guitar” Burns,” Rockwood said. “We’ve been fortunate to play with so many of our heroes.”
He began rocking in the ‘60s with the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
“I started playing harmonica along with ‘Love Me Do,’ “ Rockwood said. “Then most of us found out they were playing covers of blues guys — Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley. We dug and dug and got back to the real stuff.”
Voodoo Libido will play two free shows this weekend. The band will be at the Toledo Museum of Art at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 2, and perform at RiverFest at 5 p.m. Sept. 4 in Promenade Park.
“We’ll mix it up at the museum. It’ll be more bluesy and jazzy. You can’t get too crazy, but we don’t really play that loud anyway,” Rockwood said. “For RiverFest, it’ll be a bigger stage and we’ll rock out a little more.”
