Honey Island Swamp Band to rock Oyster Bar

The Honey Island Swamp Band is one of New Orleans's best groups, even if the group formed in San Francisco.

After Hurricane Katrina, said Aaron Wilkinson, who handles mandolin, guitar, harmonica, vocals and co-songwriting duties for the band, he, Chris Mulé (guitar, vocals, co-songwriter), Sam Price (bass, vocals) and Garland Paul (drums, vocals) all ended up in San Francisco for separate reasons.

"But none of us realized that any of the others were there, because for months after the flooding none of our phones worked," Wilkinson said in a previous interview with the Advertiser.

But New Orleans musicians in San Francisco often gravitate to John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room, he said, and one night all four showed up and were surprised to find out the others were also in San Francisco.

They decided on the spot to start a group, and that same night asked the owner of the club if they could play there.

He agreed to let them play every Sunday, but asked them a tough question — the band's name.

"We had to come up with it right then," Wilkinson said. "We decided to call ourselves the Honey Island Swamp Band after the Honey Island Swamp, which is just northeast of the city (New Orleans)."

While it was a gig, it wasn't their main gig, Wilkinson said.

"We all had other bands we were working with ... so for the first year or two it was just a side project — something we did when we weren't out on the road working with other bands."

That changed around the middle of 2008, when they moved back to New Orleans and decided to focus on their own band. Since then, the group and its music have been taking off.

That was three CDs, a world of touring and a shopping cart of New Orleans' top music awards ago. The group has also added Trevor Brooks on B-3 organ and piano.

After all these year's it's still hard to pigeonhole the group's music. One critic called their music bayou Americana.

"It's a pretty good description of what we do because it is Americana, but it definitely has that bayou swampy feel that is part of New Orleans, and we are proud of where we are from and the culture we represent."

If you come to their shows expect to hear, well, almost anything.

"We don't just play all one style," Wilkinson said. "We cover a lot of ground. I think it has a little bit of everything for everybody, just like New Orleans."

Want to go?

What: The Honey Island Swamp Band

When: 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Capitol Oyster Bar, 617 Shady St.

Cost: $15

Information: 239-8958, or log on to www.capitoloysterbar.com/