I had always loved the Allman Brothers Band from the beginning and played a lot of their music in previous bands, so it was a natural move for me to join Deep South when I had the opportunity in 1995. I guess you could call this a tribute band because we only did ABB material, but we didn’t try to play characters or look like them in any way. It was all about the music. Based in the East San Francisco Bay Area, Deep South eventually became Southbound when John departed. Daren replaced John for a short time; then Ed replaced Daren.
This band continues to the present day (with different players) under the name “Idlewild West”.
- James Lemke – lead vocal
- Rob Waxman – bass
- Bill Swanson – drums
- Michael Loomis – guitar
- Ed Feifert – guitar
- Robert Hrubes – Hammond organ, piano
- … previously …
- Bob Heavner – lead vocal (left shortly after my arrival)
- John Maracotta – guitar, slide
- Daren McGavren – guitar
6 replies on “Deep South / Southbound”
Thanks for putting up The Deep South Band/Southbound history and photos. I’m going to help you with more names and dates.
Great. Thanks, Rob!
Thanks Michael for this. Southbound is where we met and I’m forever grateful for that. I love playing this music and it was made even better because of the way we communicated musically. It was never easy but it was always great.
Thank you, Ed. I feel so fortunate that you and I got to play music together, and to become friends. Especially in a band like this where we could play those classic Allman Brothers guitar harmonies and trade licks back and forth. May there be more of that in the future.
Hey Michael: Thanks to your photos (and Rob Waxman making me aware of your web site), another ghost from the past (me–Robert Hrubes) has surfaced. Your photos bring back a flood of indelible memories. Kind of scary how many years have elapsed since that time. I hope that all is well. R.
Hey, Robert! Thanks for the post. Those were good times for sure!