MUDDPIGGS: "Born In Chalmette and Raisin' Hell In Texas!" Originally formed by Jamie Miller (Jamie James) and Al Hodge (Big Daddy Bear) in April of 1990. Who went by the names of "Bubba Dix" and "Alvin Leigh" respectively back then. The two got together in Chalmette, Louisiana and threw a tape recorder in a room and played 3 songs that they made up as they went along. "It was just pure noise and whatever we felt like playing. I brought my guitar to Jamie's place and he had this little keyboard that had a sampler on it and some drums beats and we just went from there. The song titles were like "Gene Simmons Love KISS" and "Eating The Algebra Teacher". We actually stuck the tape in a few little s***ty record stores in Chalmette to see if anybody would buy them, and some people did. The inside of the tape had the tracks listed and this phrase "this tape was recorded". But I think the seller was the cover, which was a picture of the janitor of the local middle school" commented Big Daddy Bear. PHAZE 2 of THE MUDDPIGGS.... During the course of the early 1990’s Jamie was busy as the guitarist for the New Orleans psychedelic/alt rock band KING FRIDAY. While Al fronted the heavy metal thunder tyrants from Chalmette known as TUNGSTEN. Both bands were busy tearing up the club circuit during the early and mid 1990’s. “In 1998 and early 1999 we started really hanging out a bunch again and we started going to bars and having some drinks on Decatur Street. We’d jam to MOTLEY CRUE’s “Shout At The Devil”, the first L.A. GUNS album, some MISFITS, old KISS and TURBONEGRO on the ride there to get us in the mood to have a great time. I think those bands sort of influenced the early jams that we had. So we’d get loaded then all of us would end up at Jamie’s place the next day in the jam room writing a song about the night before. Brandon Miller (aka Jethro Tall) who is Jamie’s brother started to write lyrics and sing for us. We made up about 15 songs that year. Occasionally Melissa, also known as “Daisy Pukes” or “Pigie99” would play the bass with us and she even sang on one of the songs. We’d write about the bars or the restaurants that we went to and just had fun with the music. During these sessions, Jamie and Brandon helped me write a song that ended up on a TUNGSTEN album called “Who’s drinking with the devil tonight?” said Al. During the course of 2000, THE MUDDPIGGS demoed more songs as well. The next 2 years saw Jamie and Brandon focus on their, as of yet unnamed group (which eventually became THE MILLER BROS.) They recorded a ton of songs that were in the vein of Jamie’s previous band KING FRIDAY. Al focused on the 4th TUNGSTEN album that was released in April of 2003. PHAZE 3 of THE MUDDPIGGS.... “At the tail end of 2003, we started to jam again, but this time we had more focus and we wrote a batch of killer songs about drinking, f**king and smoking. We changed our names and started to pass out copies of the CD in 2004. We wrote a song about one of the cool little places that we all hang out in Chalmette called “The Shack” and it’s become a standard on their jukebox now” commented Jamie. So they adopted a new identity, as Jamie would now be known as “Jamie James”, Al would be known as “Big Daddy Bear” and Brandon adopted the moniker of “Jethro Tall”. “This band is a rock and roll band with elements of classic rock. We all grew up on WRNO, so we got our healthy doses of ZZ TOP, THE STONES, THE WHO, AC/DC, SKYNYRD, FOGHAT, and ZEPPELIN over the years and it has really left it’s mark on us” said MUDDPIGGS front man Jethro Tall. PHAZE 4 of THE MUDDPIGGS...June 3, 2005 the band made their live debut in front of a packed crowd at The Shack in Chalmette, Louisiana. "This was 15 years in the making and worth the wait" commented Jamie James. The band are now on the playing circuit and are about to record their very first album. After Hurricane Katrina Hit New Orleans/Chalmette, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005 and crushed the gulf coast states, this caused the levee systems of New Orleans to "breech" and flood/destroy all of our homes and our gear. After seeing the destruction and the warzone that our home town turned into after the storm and the lack of anything being done to prevent it from happening again by the "leaders" of Chalmette/New Orleans and Louisiana, it was time to close that chapter of our lives and head west. We have relocated to TEXAS our new home! The people and the towns have welcomed us with open arms and have showed us what true Southern Hospitality is all about. This will never be forgotten either! HAIL TEXAS!!! THE MUDDPIGGS would like to send a big THANK YOU to the Music Cares Program and to Musician's Friend for granting the band music equipment to get back on our feet after suffering the losses from Hurricane Katrina and the destruction of our home town of Chalmette, Louisiana. 2007 saw MUDDPIGGS play the Raise The Dead Festival in New Orleans in January, many gigs in New Orleans, Chalmette and across Texas. See also TUNGSTEN and THE MILLER BROS.