Jeremy Lyons (born March 24, 1970) is an American musician, currently based in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Musical career

Jeremy Lyons began his professional music career playing blues guitar and singing on the streets of New Orleans, and went on to make a name for himself in that town by blending elements of rockabilly and delta blues with the Deltabilly Boys. Subsequent to the disaster created by Hurricane Katrina, he resettled to the Boston area and eventually diversified his career to encompass rock, folk, jug band, children's music and education. Lyons was born in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, United States. As a teenager, he learned from friends and first studied guitar with British folk musician

Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...

in Ithaca. After moving to New Orleans in 1992, he made his living playing in the streets with

the Big Mess Blues Band ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

for five years. He immersed himself in the local scene, playing Delta blues, zydeco, Cajun, gospel, R&B, traditional New Orleans jazz, and Harlem swing. Along with drummer Paul Santopadre and Greg Schatz, he founded the Deltabilly Boys. They played in the United States and Europe. Some of their albums included ''Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch'' (1999); ''Live at the Dragon’s Den''; ''Death of a Street Singer''; ''Live at Fribourg''; and ''Jeremy Lyons and the Deltabilly Boys''. He moved to Boston in 2005, fleeing from the flooding caused by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. There he met

Dana Colley Dana Colley (born October 17, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the baritone and tenor saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early life Colley was born in Portland, Maine, but he was raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, wh ...

Jerome Deupree Jerome Deupree (born November 9, 1956) is an American musician, based in Massachusetts. He is best known as the original drummer in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early career Deupree started playing drums at the age of six, with the hel ...

and Billy Conway from the then disbanded

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

and they started playing together, informally at first. In 2009, Colley and Deupree formed Members of Morphine, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the sudden death of frontman

Mark Sandman Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

. Colley invited Lyons to play the two-string bass and sing in the newly formed band. The group later changed its name to

Vapors of Morphine Vapors of Morphine is an American rock band founded in 2009 by the remaining members of the alternative rock band Morphine, saxophonist Dana Colley and drummer Jerome Deupree, along with blues guitarist Jeremy Lyons. Jerome stepped down in early ...

, and they had been playing weekly in Atwood’s Tavern, a small venue in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, since the spring of 2009. Lyons also performs regularly for children at schools, libraries and special events. In 2014, he released a solo album called ''Make it Better'', and beside his work with Vapors of Morphine. Since 2015, Lyons has performed with increasing frequency with his group The Busted Jug Band, described on their website as "High Energy Music From the 20's and 30's played by men in top hats and derbies....a festive romp through time featuring group vocals, swinging rhythms and novel instrumentation. Inspired by the street bands of the early 20th Century, the group features kazoos, washboard, mandolin, banjo-uke, washtub bass, harmonica, accordion, jug, rhythm bones, National guitar, slide whistle and bicycle horns." The Busted Jug Band has released one eponymous CD and a "silent music video" of "When the Sun Goes Down in Harlem" by the Harlem Hamfats on YouTube. The band members all have stage names: Jeremy is known in the group as "Smiling Pee Wee Hernando; other members are "Rude Boy" (Rob Rudin), "Early Bird" (Mark Early), "Lefty Boom-Boom" (Den Poitras), and "Kayola O'La" (Kevin Byrne).

References

External links

Jeremy Lyons' official websiteVapors of Morphine's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Jeremy Living people Musicians from Ithaca, New York 1970 births