The Howling Coyotes formed under the leadership of our mentor, Romeo Champagne. Half French-Canadian and half Algonquin Indian, Romeo was raised in Quebec. During his early years, Romeo grew up learning and perfecting his musical abilities playing songs of the land and of the people. To gain a richer perspective of his craft, Romeo set out to travel the land and experience it's diverse cultural characteristics for himself. Romeo found many pleasures as well as dangers through the course of his journey; women, fishing, saloons, bears, moths, gunslingers, Dave Foley, day spas, more bears, those creepy looking little kids...you know like the ones in scary movies that look all harmless but are really there to kill you and sacrifice you to some crazy god they made up...............and a few more bears. However at the end of his quest, Romeo had yet to find what he was looking for. It was then that he enlisted the help of Danny Sauers, Chris Coalt, Papa Josh Johnson, and Rob "The Alien" Thaxton, to form a band that would incorporate all the styles he had come to love; Funk, Blues, Jazz, Groove Music, Reggae, New Orleans, Midwest Appalachian Spoon Rythms, Southern Kentucky Jug Bands........but add the sounds of the countryside he had heard in his travels. He would take this new creation and combine it with the spiritual essence of what music really is......expression. Romeo always felt music to be a reflection of self and community. "Play according to what's going on within you and what's going on around you.", He would always say to the band. Things worked out fine for Romeo after this.....however one night we were playing this one place, and he put his drinks on some dudes tab......and we never saw him again. So The Howling Coyotes play on, paying our respects to Romeo and his vision with every note we put forth out into the world. Using each show as homage to the great man that inspired us to not just play music, but play love......"Have your audience leave feeling good boys, that's were the love is!", he'd always say. We have a feeling he's still out there, ol' Romeo. Probably just resting up for his next great adventure.
