Is We Ain't:

Rocking Blues to Move Your Shoes

Is We Ain't is a group of four Cape Cod musicians who love to play what they describe as "rocking blues to move your shoes".

Pianist Chris LoCascio is a veteran of such Cape favorites as Joe Sutton's Safe Sextet, Dreamwork, East Wind Blues, the Shirley Lewis Expeereance and Little Omer Jr. and the Cod Squad. Vocalist and bass player Melissa Roberts Weidman studied bass with world-class bass players Victor Wooten, Gerald Veasley, Chuck Rainey and Steve Bailey, and has also played regularly with Shirley Lewis and George Gritzbach. They are joined by Todd Johnson on harmonica, another Safe Sextet alumnus, as well as by Jim Royce on drums. Jim was previously percussionist for the Boston-based rock/blues/reggae band Razor's Edge, opening for acts such as Jimmy Cliff, Andrew Tosh, John Butcher Axis and the Wolftones.

Is We AIn't plays a creative mix of familiar blues standards and innovative originals, all influenced by a rhythm and blues sensibility, with a big dose of hot jamming thrown in. From Robert Johnson to T-Bone Walker and Ray Charles, Tracy Chapman and Keb Mo', band members have picked their favorite sources to bring to the mix. The band's name, Is We AIn't, refers to the dilemma of pigeonholing their music as any one particular style.

LoCascio says, "This group is a great opportunity to play familiar songs we all love and try a new approach to them."

Johnson adds, "It's a chance to push improvising too, where we all share the limelight and have a lot of fun doing it."

And drummer Jim Royce comments, "What I like best is that we have so much variety in our dynamics. We're not just another loud bar band. You can have a conversation when we're playing, or you can enjoy just sitting and listening, but you can also dance your socks off."