After
being asked to provide some entertainment at the City of Lake Jackson’s
50th birthday party, Donnie Harris thought it would be humorous to
name the temporarily formed blues band he was putting together The
Keepers.
They were a hit! Made up of a group of guys that all were playing
for other bands, they never thought it would turn into anything permanent.
Not long after their Lake Jackson performance, some folks from the
City of Surfside asked them to perform at the 1993 Thunder On The
Brazos festival. Then they were asked back by the City of Lake Jackson
to play at the city’s Festival of Lights.
The members of this temporarily formed band, The Keepers, were starting
to have more fun with this than expected. Not long after, they decided
to put something together full time. The first official performance
of the - no longer temporary - band was at the 1994 Thunder On The
Brazos festival. The Keepers were a hit!
The Keepers present a unique blend of blues influenced rock and country
music. “If it’s not blues, you’ve got to be able
to taste the blues” according to Thomas. Hence their second
name tag, Almost Blue.
The band is made up of long time area residents Thomas Harris, Marvin
Plander, Brian Armstrong and Jim Clark. If you ask who influenced
them as musicians, you’ll hear such names as Muddy Waters, Eric
Clapton, Credence, Steve Wariner, Jack Bruce, Pete Anderson, The Beatles,
Elvis Presley, Todd Rundgren, Roy Orbison, Billy Gibbons and, of course,
Stevie Ray Vaughan among many others.
Since their initial performances, The Keepers have opened for guitarist
and vocalist Van Wilkes, 70’s rocker Pat Travers, Trout Fishing
in America, and the legendary blues singer/songwriter Doyle Bramhall.
With a solid rhythm from Brian on drums and Jim on bass, the broad
range of vocals by Thomas, and the life threatening guitar solos of
Marvin, the band focuses on performing the music and having fun. Sit
back or get up and dance, enjoy the music and have fun!
The
Keepers are currently building their own web site so visit here again
soon for a link to that page.
