Stockholm Syndrome: Five All-Stars Capture Perfection
By Cynthia Turner
It’s hard not to be damned excited about the all-star powerhouse group, Stockholm Syndrome, a band comprised of five almighty rockers who have joined forces in the name of letting loose and playing their asses off. The Stockholm Syndrome lineup boasts Jerry Joseph (Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons), Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), Eric McFadden (The Eric McFadden Trio), Wally Ingram and Danny Louis (Gov’t Mule). After having taken some time off from the project, the members of Stockholm Syndrome are primed, pumped, and ready to rock your face off.
The band has recently embarked upon a short tour, which has them winding their way across the West, with planned stops in California, Utah, and finally, Colorado.
MoBoogie recently caught up with Wally Ingram, drummer/percussionist extraordinaire, just ahead of the Stockholm tour. At the time, Ingram was in Nashville working with the one and only Sheryl Crow. Though Wally was obviously thrilled to once again be working with Crow, it was clear that he was incredibly eager to hit the road with his fellow Stockholm band mates.
“It’s so cool, I’m so excited,” said Ingram. “When Sheryl asked me to join her band actually, the first thing I said was that I have this tour planned that I really want to do. She was like, no problem; we will get someone else while you do that…I’m just psyched she was so accommodating, because it’s really a big thing for me.”
Ingram seems confident that this tour will be a powerful one for the band. Not only have they made a rather impressive addition to the lineup, with Danny Louis of Gov’t Mule stepping in to take over on keys, according to Ingram, everyone in the band is in a “great head space right now”.
“Jerry just got back from Tibet and Nepal; he’s been wandering around the mountains,” said Ingram. “Eric McFadden is at something like ten months of sobriety and that makes him quite a focused person. Everyone’s just doing really well. This tour, with Danny Louis adding into the mix, is going to be really dynamic. Even though we really miss Danny Dziuk, our original keyboardist from Germany, Danny Louis really takes it to another level! I think that Danny Dziuk is a really complimentary player and did not want to overstep his bounds much. Danny Louis though, he’s not afraid to really just take off!”
Ingram anticipates that Louis will become a permanent part of the Stockholm lineup.
“Danny Dzuik has his own thing and has a family; it was quite a sacrifice for him to be on the road with us in the States,” noted Ingram. “I think he’s quite content with what he’s doing in Germany. Danny Louis, he’s very excited about it! He loves it!”
Ingram has reached a rather profound place in his own life, which has him appreciating his time on the road with Stockholm all the more. In 2006, Wally was diagnosed with stage 4a Squamous Cell Cancer of the Tonsil and Neck region. After having waged an all out, year long battle, Wally at last received the all-clear from doctors in June of 2007. (Learn more about Wally’s experience and the road to his miraculous recovery in MoBoogie’s full interview with Wally, which is coming soon!)
One of the greatest obstacles faced by Stockholm is the lack of time available, considering the already packed and demanding schedules of each of the various members of the group.
“Everyone is so busy that it’s going to be a real challenge just to find time for us to play,” said Ingram. “It has to be when Panic’s not playing, the Mule isn’t playing, Sheryl Crow’s not playing and when McFadden and Jerry are available…so we’ll see. It’s definitely a challenge.”
From Left to Right:
Danny Louis, Eric McFadden, Dave Schools, Jerry Joseph, Wally Ingram
Photo courtesy of StockholmSyndromeBand.com
Stockholm Syndrome began to take shape back in 2002, when Jerry Joseph and Dave Schools began toying with the idea of a joint side project.
After playing together at a friend’s wedding under the name Stockholm Syndrome, the pieces began to fall into place.
“That’s kind of how I got hooked up with Dave and Jerry,” said Ingram. “David Lindley and I played at Diego’s wedding and that’s where I met Jeff Bransford, who is the President of Terminus Records, the label that the Stockholm Syndrome album came out on. He kind of indirectly put us all together and connected us with Compass Point and what not.”
Joseph and Schools quickly penned several songs together, many of which would end up on Stockholm’s first album, “Holy Happy Hour”, released in June of 2004. “Holy Happy Hour” was extremely well received and celebrated for its eclectic flavor. Ingram promises the band’s first album will most certainly not be its last.
“Jerry and Dave, they’ll plug away,” stated Ingram. “They’re the principle writers so I’m sure they’ll work it into their schedules to write some new material. Jerry’s a writing machine! It just flows out of him. So I don’t know when we’ll be able to work it all out, but we’ll try to plan ahead. We’re talking about it, we’re excited about it, and it will happen!”v
Ingram believes the band will likely return to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas for their next studio run.
“I do think it will probably be Compass Point again, because it’s like this magical place. And Terry Manning, the owner and operator of the place, has just got the magic touch.”
In spite of the time challenges faced by the band, the passion, excitement and chemistry between the players will likely go a long way in sustaining the group.
“It feels like a band,” exclaimed Ingram. “It really feels like a band! That’s one of those feelings, I mean I’ve been a “sideman” forever, you know, twenty-five years. And this feels like a band! You really feel like you just know what to do. You play the right stuff, there’s a chance for everyone to shine. It’s weird, when I’m up there, I almost feel like I’m on a Stones tour or something.”
And really, for those in the audience, it feels pretty much the same way. When you see these five heavy hitters take the stage and unleash such pure, unbridled passion via undeniable musical mastery, well it’s a sight (and sound) to behold.
“This is a really good band,” stated Ingram. “It just kind of lights your fire. And I think the fans feel it as well. I think they sense it. And I think the fact that we have had some time off, I think it really creates more of a sense of anticipation. There’s this tension, this positive tension.”
If you aren’t able to catch the band during this round of touring, don’t worry; it doesn’t look as though Stockholm Syndrome is going away anytime soon.
“I really get a feeling that we are going to be playing together for a lifetime,” said Ingram. “We might lose a bit when it comes to our consistency, but I think we’ll gain because it will be such a special time when we do get to play together.”
Amen.
Still to come…MoBoogie’s entire interview with Wally Ingram. Don’t miss it!
Tickets are still available for the following Stockholm Syndrome shows:
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