Join the jam at Block Party
Published 8:30 am Thursday, July 14, 2016
Eastside Jam, a band comprised mainly of North Bend residents, is a regular at community events like this weekend’s Block Party — on the Main Stage at 5:30 p.m. They’re a perennial favorite for local crowds, and the feeling is mutual.
“We love playing in the Valley because we love playing,” said Scott Smith, lead singer and guitarist.
He’s been with the band through changes in name and membership, and answered a few questions about the classic rock and blues cover band.
Who’s in Eastside Jam?
In addition to Smith, bandmates include: Amber Sinclair on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Steve Carter on percussion; Kris Hatlelid, keyboards; Don Oatman, bass; Ben Cockman, harmonica; and usually, Christine Carter on the sound board, but she won’t be at the Block Party.
“We originated out of North Bend and the band went through a few ‘morphs’ and now we have a couple of foreigners,” wrote Smith. “Our keyboardist is from Sammamish, Don lives in Issaquah and Amber lives in Snoqualmie. Steve, Ben and (I) are all long time natives of North Bend.”
Why the name?
They used to be Locked & Loaded, but couldn’t acquire a Web URL, so decided to change the name.
“We zeroed in on Eastside Jam as we are all from the eastside of Seattle, we do a lot of jamming within our set and we could get the website.”
How did you get together?
“Our band has had three lives. It started out as a group of five from North Bend and we originally teamed up with Danny Kolke of Boxley’s and started out as The Boxley Creek Blues Band.”
When the band lost members, it “took some down time” and restarted as Locked and Loaded, a three-piece band with Smith, Carter and bassist Rob Potoshnik, then grew to include keyboard, harmonica and a woman vocalist. When Potoshnik left the band, Oatman joined.
“Having the incredible vocal ability of (Sinclair), the band has been able to keep its rock blues roots but really add some texture with songs by Journey, Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt and others that just can’t be sung by most vocalists…. the group has been in place as is for about 18 months.”
What is your jam?
Eastside Jam plays classic rock and blues cover songs. Artists they cover include Bob Seger, Billy Joel, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Eric Clapton.
“Our favorite gigs are weddings and wineries. We love playing where the audience knows our music and engages with us.
“We will always do some sing-along songs like ‘Margaritaville’ or ‘Old Time Rock-n-Roll’…. It is a blast when folks are dancing or singing along.”
