Endless Boogie

"Meet Endless Boogie, the best-kept secret in New York's rock scene. They have the best name (taken from John Lee Hooker's 1971 album), the best onstage vibe and the best head-nodding jams. In a sea of derivative and freshly outfitted young bands, Endless Boogie -- with a combined age of 169 and members who count Canned Heat as one of their influences -- doesn't have a big agenda. They just want to rock with you, preferably all night long.

"We try boogie sometimes, but boogie's hard," says guitarist Jesper Eklow (aka "The Governor") self-effacingly. "Boogie takes skill and we haven't honed those skills yet." The band's sound is a meltdown of metal, psychedelic and classic rock with a heavy dose of riffage, a kick-ass beat and super-cryptic lyrics. It's thunderous and mellow at once. To put it another way, it goes well with beer.

Aside from Eklow, the band is made up of Paul Major (aka "Top Dollar," left) on guitar and vocals, Memories from Reno (right) on bass and Chris Gray (aka "Grease Control," second from right) on drums. Needless to say, their collective knowledge of music is so expansive it's a little scary. Endless Boogie played their first show in January of 2001 when their friend Steven Malkmus asked them to open for him at the Bowery Ballroom. Since then, they've been "working on improving." The band has two as-yet-untitled new albums coming out on Subliminal Sounds and No Quarter Records this summer."