Well...First you've got Hobo Matt "King" Coleman - Vocals/Guitar. The primary songwriter & guitar player for the band, Matt's voice & lyrical ability really shine with the Hobos. The songs he writes for 'Hobo Jazz' are some of the best I've ever heard. He's truly a great talent & we consider ourselves very fortunate to be in a band with him. His bare-nuckled guitar style puts many fine hobo songs in high gear!Email Matt!

Hobo Joe Perez - drums/vocals, the wildest in this bunch of bananas. Joe is one of the more sought after drummers in the scene. Also a member of 'Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys', Joe has played with a slew of talented acts; Rockin' Ryan, Rip Carson, Eddie Nichols, The Rumble Kings, Darrin Stout, The Blue Suedes and a host of others. His dead-on jazz stylings are a big part of the Hobo Jazz sound and with-out him we're not a complete set. Come down to a show to see what I mean. He so good it make yer butt jiggle!

Then you've got Marquis "M. W. Hobo" Howell - Upright Bass/Vocals, That's me! I met up with Matt at the open-mic nite at The Coffee Depot a couple years ago & we've been cookin' ever since. We've been at this band for over 4 years now & it's gettin' better & better. Someone asked me to put some of my infulences here..so here; Emmet Miller, Cliff Edwards, Louis Prima, Fats Waller, Johnny Cash, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Siouxsie Sioux, hot jazz..you get the picture. Email Marquis! Myspace. I'll be spinning 1920's thru 1980's Jazz, Blues, & Soul every Thursday at The Vault Martini Bar in Redlands. Come down & check it out!

In the long History of Honorary Hobos there's Fiddlin' Brian Price with his fiddlin' fingers of fury! Chad Villareal is our main back-up drum beater & Oso Rey has filled in well on a few occassions, Dave "Old" Brown "Shoe" on the Bull Fiddle, Saxy Gabe on the Sax, Craig Hobo (a.k.a. Piano Drag Craig) with the Electric Bass/Washboard, & Fernando on the upright bass started us out right.

People ask us sometimes, "Where'd you get that name, hobo jazz?" well, lemme tell you. Matt's other band 'Totem Maples' had a night at the Coffee Depot that they couldn't fill so Matt had to fill the time. He invited me (Marquis) & another fellow to jam with him. That show went alright so Matt & I did another show billed as 'Matt Coleman & Marquis Howell' (Also playing that night were Mark & Lisa from Bucksworth!). That show went well enough so we decided to do another. This time Matt called on a couple friends to supply some upright bass (Fernando) & drums (Joe). That show was a hoot, we weren't quite 'Hobo Jazz' yet until after a fella was talking to Matt after the show and told him that we sounded like '..some kind of wierd hobo-jazz'. Well Matt asked me if I liked it, I told him hell yeah, & that was that.

Some might call us a skiffle band, some might say blues, hillbilly, folk, or even jazz. We just say we're Hobo Jazz & dispense with all the fancy words. We play the music of the contemporary 1930's hobo country bluesman. This is part rail ridin' music, part field hollar sonnet. Part rock-a-billy cadillac, part 1932 Fordor Wagon. One part dirty hobo, one part hot jazz.

We're Hobos in the free & vagabond sense of the term. Hobos aren't bums, Hobos aren't beggers. Hobos want to earn their way with various odd jobs. Never staying in one place to long, hobos lived life their own way, much in the way jazz makes music it's own way. Jazz isn't about a soothing horn over a mellow bass line, it's about jubilation & excitement. The syncopation feeds your jive hungry feet & the flirtatious melody makes your jeans wiggle. Hobo Jazz is our honest interpitation of this vintage joy that we feel is best not left to history.

But Hobo Jazz is more than just us goofballs, it's in the spirit of Johnny Cash & Louis Armstrong. It's in the spirit of anyone influenced by an Emmet Miller yodel or a Louis Prima yelp. This is american roots music with roots all over the world. Whether based in blues, folk, jazz, or gospel, this is the music we play. We hope you come see a show & we hope you like it.

Hobo Jazz on Myspace!