What do you think is on Gerloff' s mind when he describes his music? 
I dunno... maybe some cross pollination from the sixties?  Who really cares?  Perhaps it has something to do with tent show pit bands and low rent dance hall trios… or street corner serenaders with teary voices. Or he may just like the giggle factor of knowing this to be another factor in the theory that "some things should exist on their own, without deep ponderous thoughts to complicate them."  So what does this mean to me?  Ancestor Worship?  Alright, I'll tell you....

These are the things that I consider part and parcel to my music: swing/bluegrass- rhythm and blues/reggae - soca and gospel - country blues and Bakersfield - Cajun and Old Time - jump and dance hall - folk and beach music - jazz and rag time - show tunes and Celtic rock.  I guess I'm dealing with equal parts ethnomusicology and ancestor worship.  It's been everything from the siren call of Sonny Boy Williamson and Bullmoose Jackson, and all pulled by the magic of a big B3.  These are the ancestors that I worship.

Extraordinary moment in life: climbing the stairs of the Tantilla Ballroom to the rooftop garden and witnessing the power of the Tams Band and Show propel and mesmerize the sold out dance floor.  Never before had I observed how the authority of joyous, happy, big rhythm and blues music could hold sway over a crowd - that was a moment of transcendence.   And yet, almost concurrently becoming aware of the musical rumblings of the San Francisco scene.  Truly I was enjoying the vortex of the greatest of times in music evolution.  I never felt that one musical form needed to explain or reconcile another, in other words, "a good tune is just a good tune."  I searched my music roots via folk music to the rewards of blues, country blues, Kansas City and Chicago blues.  These experiences told me I will always be a blueser first.  The heroes I look to are embodied by everyone from Dock Boggs to Arthur Alexander, Bob Dylan to the Stanley Brothers, Ry Cooder to Marc Savoy.  Doug Sham,  Jerry Garcia, Riley Puckett, and Keith Richards.  Can't throw out Otis Redding and Charlie Poole, or Arthur Smith and Stephen Stills, or Louis Prima and Bob Marley, all sittin' on a couch listening to Harold Arlin.  I've worked with some great musicians, and they all seem to be one person.  They do what they do because they love it.

Some Musicians I Have Worked or Shared the Stage With:

Albert Collins

NRBQ

Danny Gatin

Rodney Crowell

Robben Ford

The Jerry Garcia Band

Johnny Hott

I have been fortunate enough to have been associated with master musicians such as Steve Bassett, Charles Arthur, Johnny Hott, Gary Fralin, Page Wilson, Susan Greenbaum,  Sarah Arthur, Jeff Tozer, Tom Briner, Joe Conner, and John Leedes.   These people have breathed magic into my music.