Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots

Today I say goodbye to Alan "Doc" Mock  as a Hot Shot.  He's been a member of the band since 2000, and we've had many great experiences together.  He was a hard worker and will be missed.  He's offered to play his remaining calendar dates with us, and then he's moving on with his musical interests.  Play well friend!

Mike

Here it is!  Eleven years together, AND the new CD is done!  Live from Water Street is FINISHED and will be first released at our party at Water Street on April 17!  Be there.  Rich Higdon and Doc Mock will both be in town for the big event.  Hear the entire crew of Water Street Hot Shots.

A special big thanks from the band to Doc Mock who took on the producing headaches of the CD.  His time, sweat, and money went to get it done!

And eleven years too!  Thanks to all of you that keep us going.  We love to play, and we are proud of our friends at Water Street.  Our harmonica friend and pro musician from Milwaukee, Steve Cohen, called our gig the longest known to MANKIND!  No Doubt!

Put down that damned remote and come join us!

 

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

Well its already mid-October and we have various news bits to pass on.  Hot Shot Doc Mock is working with our sound engineer on the live recording made at The Water Street Pub.  Its got great energy, and lots of tunes to choose from.  Keep checking with him for the latest.  He hopes to have it available in a month or so.

Hot Shot Rich Higdon has a month long gig playing and performing in the Milwuakee Chamber Theatre's production of Main Travelled Roads.  They've received good press, and have shows through October 31.  More info at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.com .   He's promised everyone that he will not walk through the curtain before he should!  (Ask a Hot Shot about Higdon and the theater curtain!)

Michael Ammons  just won the Grafton Solo Blues Challenge.  This win sends him back to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge,  in February 2011.  Ammons had to stretch out of his comfort zone when he played some solo electric guitar, original tunes, and didn't have the Hot Shots by his side!  Go cheer Mike on in Memphis if you can!  Everyone had a great time last year.   More info on the I.B.C. is at www.blues.org

One decade seems like a long time. It is! We can't believe its been that long already. We feel fortunate in all of our successes, but we are ready for more. Thanks everyone at Water Street! Please join us on March 14 for our party. Here's to the next ten!

Well its hard to believe we are closing in on the end of another year! We are proud of our accomplishments and thankful for our fan support as always. The Grafton Blues Festival and Summerfest were some of our favorites this year. The Water Street Hot Shots won the 2009 Grafton Blues Challenge. (Thank you very much Sinkaphone!) We are honored to represent the Grafton Blues Association at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, January 2010. Thanks to all our friends and family that are planning to make the trip to cheer us on. We'll take all the support we can! Don't miss our road to Memphis Fundraisers if you can make them. Proceeds help get us all to the IBC. Next dates for these are December 12 at Circle B, Cedarburg, and Jan 9 The Black Swan, Grafton. Check the Grafton Blues Association for more info and events. Our friends Bill and Vickie made some great new HOT SHOT T-shirts. email us if you are interested in checking these out. Thanks Bill and Vickie! Thanks to all the die hards at Water Street. You keep us going! We are now closing in on 10 years! Stay tuned for info on our party this winter. It was really a treat sharing some stages with some great musicians this year. Thanks Steve Cohen, Lil' Rev, Joe Filisko, Dave Boyles, and John Fabke for playing a show or two with us. Its nice to have you guys around for the help! We are planning on some new stuff for 2010 like that CD we've been promising! You all will be first to know about it. Thanks for your interest. Please say "Hi" at our next show. Michael Ammons

Well that year went by even faster! We were playing our show last week and mentioned the first performances at the pub nine years ago. Then our friend Molly reminded us that she was 12(!) at that time. Ouch! Please join us on Sunday, March 1, for our anniversary party. Look for free food (or bring something to share) , maybe a drink special, dancing and lots of fun. All the Hot Shots will be there for an extra special show. Meet up with some old friends and chase away those Smarch Blues! Get off the web and put down that damned remote! See ya there! In other news Doc Mock has started his solo recording project. Not necessarily blues, but lots of originals and old favorites of his. Looks like the band will help him on various tunes, too. Ammons is working to secure some recording time in Madison for the next Hot Shot CD. You can't rush perfection! We want to say thanks to the folks down at the Paramount Restaurant in Grafton for all their efforts! We were very sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you, and we will miss playing there. Hard times! Thanks to the pub manager Doc at Water Street. He kept us there through some leaner times and improved the lights and sound system for us. Doc has now left Water Street for new challenges. Good luck Doc. We encourage all visitors to sign up for email news. We value all our fans and just want to keep you informed when big news hits. We promise not to bombard your inbox! Thanks again for nine years everyone! Michael Lee Ammons

Well that went fast! We sure had a ball playing for all of you. Thanks to The Grafton Blues Association, Gays Mills Folk Festival, The Black Hawk Folk Society, The Red Barn Coffeehouse, The Jacksonport Bakery, the Gandy Dancer Festival crew, and the couples that had us provide the music for their weddings! We are honored to play for a wide variety of events. We are moving forward on getting the next CD completed. Its a lot of work, but we need get back to the studio. Please notice that we've added video to the website. Thanks Kristin for your help with the shooting! See you all soon, Thanks, MLA

Hi Folks, I thought I'd pass on a few invites that I think you will find well worth your time. I've just read David "Honeyboy" Edwards autobiograghy "THE WORLD DON'T OWE ME NOTHING" from Chicago Review Press. Here's the real life experiences of a 94 year old delta bluesman in his own words. Seriously, movie writers couldn't make it this good! His take on working, women, whiskey, gambling, hoboing, and his recollections of all the blues players he crossed paths with make this book a true jem. Lets call it a must read! Try it, and let me know what you think. Speaking of true jems, be sure you've got your tickets for the Legends of Chicago Blues on March 29! Go now to www.graftonblues.org and get it done! NOW! How many chances are you gonna get to see Hubert Sumlin or Pinetop Perkins? These guys are IT! The blues! They helped make Chicago Blues what it is with Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf! Don't be afraid to put down that damn remote! Come have some fun with us! Michael Lee Ammons

Another year together and we feel like we are just getting warmed up! Thanks for all the support you've given us. We are excited about a busy 2008, with some great gigs in the works. We can't wait to open for The Legends of Chicago Blues next month (March 29). It looks good for us returning to the Paramount Blues Festival in the fall, and we are in the process of booking The Gandy Dancer Festival this summer, as well as the Black Hawk Folk Festival. Don't forget our first appearance at the Gays Mills Folk Festival in May. We are also getting our ducks in a row for our next CD. We have many new tunes we want to share, as well as some new instruments to show off, including the awesome Sinkaphone. Stay tuned for the progress on that. Please stay in touch and drop us an email sometime. We always enjoy hearing from you.

Hello everyone! Thanks for a great fall season. We are proud of all we played this year. One of my personal highlights was talking with David "Honeyboy" Edwards at The Paramount Blues Festival. I asked him if he was having more fun playing now, or was it better in the 1930s. He replied with a wink that he was a lot younger then, and therefore he had more fun. He also said that he (at 92!) was "getting too old for all this bullshit!" The Hot Shots are excited about some great performances next year, including The Gays Mills Festival and The Blues Legends show next spring. There has been some discussion and planning for the next CD, with recording hopefully started this winter. Be sure to get copies of "This Will Bring You Back" for all your friends this Christmas. They make great stocking stuffers! Don't forget to tell The Hot Shots and the world what is on your mind with our guestbook. We welcome all comments, especially the good ones. Thanks Water Street for another year. You all are great friends. Michael Ammons

More hot news for the band includes a confirmed spot at the Paramount Blues Festival for 2007! The date is Sept 22 and tickets will be available soon for this all day blues event. More information can be found at the Grafton Blues Association website. Check our links page or our calendar for it.

Sunday Feb 11 was our anniversary party at The Water Street Pub in Sheboygan. We had a GREAT night with all our Water Street friends. A good time was had by all. Thanks for the continued support. It makes us play bettter! Also thanks to Brandon and Doc at Water Street for their dedication.

Happy 2007 everyone. We are excited about a new venue for us, the Paramount Restaurant in Grafton, WI, where we will play on Jan. 27, 8:30pm. We would like to invite all our fans to come join us for a night of blues in the town that saw so many great blues artists during Paramount Records heyday. Also thanks to all the fine folks that saw us perform at the Plymouth Cultural Center. We had a great night. Here's to culture!

Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots' CD "This Will Bring You Back" is reviewed in the latest issue of Blues Review Magazine. Although we don't agree with ALL of it, we are thankful for the mostly positive review. Click our Press/Reviews option to check it out!

Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots are proud to be a part of a benefit for the family of the late Henry Townsend. Mr. Townsend died during his visit to Wisconsin last month. He was to perform in Grafton at the first blues festival. Working with The Grafton Blues Society, The Water Street Hot Shots will be one of five acts to play on Oct 27th at Grafton's Legion Hall. Please help make it a successful evening and enjoy a night of blues!

Here comes September and we are excited about some fun fall dates. We want to thank all visitors to our website, as our number of visits grows each month. Also thanks go to to some of our latest venues that have given us new audiences. We are excited to mention that Arctic explorer Eric Larsen made the first summer crossing to the North Pole with his teammate Lonnie Dupree. With the world watching their progress, they completed the hazardous crossing to bring home the real threat of global warming. Supported by Greenpeace and featured on the Tonight show with Jay Leno, they are sharing their discoveries with a huge audience. The Water Street Hot Shots are PROUD to mention that Larsen enjoyed our music on his ipod during his journey to the pole! Old-time music really can help the planet.

Hi everyone. Thanks for a good spring. We're happy that our calendar has been filling up nicely for summer. We are also excited about Pat Kennedy coming back to Wisconsin for a visit. He'll be playing with The Hot Shots on July 16. Please see our calendar.

We are proud to point out that The Water Street Hot Shots have been asked to provide the music during the holiday celebration at the harbor in Fish Creek, Door County, WI. Be sure to check the link on our calendar (July 1) for more information on this vacation tradition.

We want to thank all of you who have purchased our CD online and for giving us a listen. We are also thrilled to have many international customers. Feel free to check in and let us know what's up.

We started at The Water Street Pub six years ago this month, and we want to thank all the folks that have supported us over those years. Join us for a CD and anniversary party at The Water Street Pub, Sheboygan, on March 19, 8pm. Old-time blues, food, and prizes will make for a great celebration. Be there!

Hi Folks, Now that Lil' Rev is back from his tour, He and Ammons join forces for a great night of music at Legend Larry's, Sheboygan. Don't miss this show! Saturday March 4, 8:30-11pm.

What a trip to Minneapolis! We wish we could say we won the battle, but we didn't. Lots of fun had by all. We felt that there were more bands (23) than anyone should have to hear in one day, with many not coming close to the traditional sounds of early jug bands. But it was all for fun, anyway. We made some friends and enjoyed playing for all the folks who came out for the day. Congratulations to Grandma's Saggy Jug Band, for taking the waffle iron this year. Special attention goes to our own JR who rose to the occasion and played jug. He and Rich sounded great when they performed with their jugs---simultaneously!

Well what a great month its been for The Water Street Hot Shots. Ammons and Higdon thank all those who made it to the sold-out show in Fish Creek. Also a howdy and big thanks to all the students and faculty at Lakeland College who made our performance there so much fun. To all those who have suported us with a purchase of the new CD, THANK YOU! Please stay in touch. The last note of news is that the Hot Shots are in the 24th Annual Jug Band Battle in Minneapolis on Feb. 12 2006. After some initial confusion and disappointment, we've now learned that we are in, and we are ready to do battle!

Please plan on attending our performance at the Water Street Pub on Jan. 8th! The Hot Shots welcome our friend John Fabke as our special guest. Expect to hear great old-time classics from this mandolin and guitar expert. Three thumbs up!

We are happy to announce the news that the CD's are in and ready for you! Online distribution will be ready soon, but you can contact us directly for your copy. Have a great holiday season!

Due to popular demand we have finally released our CD, "This Will Bring You Back" on Perkatone Records. An assortment of our favorites, this record includes tunes that feature all members of the band. Our old friend Pat Kennedy, on harmonica, fills out the roster as our special guest. The first shipment is due to arrive Dec. 21 2005. Thanks for your patience!