Stumbling Mice
STUMBLING MICE are… Tom Blower: guitar & vocals; Tom “Pepsi” Piepszowski: harmonica & vocals; Joe Sykes: bass & vocals; Myles Rutledge: drums & vocals; Bob Monteleone: guitar & vocals. The band’s history goes way back…
All the guys (except Bob) played together roughly 10 years ago as T-Bone Pepper. Myles left to play with MY MACHINE and other original bands. Joe and Bob played together 25 years ago in WAYCO. Bob’s known Tom “Pepsi” for about that long as Tom P. sang with ROADHOUSE which formed out of the remnants of WAYCO.
The band was officially christened THE STUMBLING MICE late in 2005 when they held a twice monthly house gig with a different drummer at a defunct Detroit restaurant called Mile’s World. Eventually, Myles Rutledge rejoined and the band started playing regularly at biker bar Erin Pub along with other Detroit “joints”. The late, great Jim Noel filled in on keyboards when Bob couldn’t make it.
In early 2009, Bob had the idea to record the band live in his studio/living room. The band laughed. Bob said, “No really, let’s set our stuff up in one room, and play our sets like we do at a gig. Right next to each other, with the PA blasting, track leakage be damned!” And that’s what they did. Right around 9:30PM on a Saturday night, about the exact time they would start their usual gig, they played and they partied like it was a real gig. And… they rolled tape! And for good measure they got together the next day and did it again. The results of this are what you hear on the self-titled CD “THE STUMBLING MICE”
The Stumbling Mice have been spending the last few years playing showcase rooms (Callahan’s Music Theater) and festivals (Royal Oak’s Arts, Eats & Beats) as well as the occasional benefit, bar gig or special event (North Channel Yacht Club’s Annual Ribs Competition). They have started recording at Bob’s Sterritt Sound studio and hope to have something to offer the world in 2016.
