The Liberty Street Blues Project: From the UFO Bass and Music Portal

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"...Gritty vocals, Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque guitar and funky rhythm section...these guys are some of the

best blues agents in town..."

- Ann Arbor "CURRENT" Magazine, May 1996

Music Style: Stevie Ray Vaughan style electric blues, soul music covers, jazz instrumentals, occasional Hendrix, U2. Long guitar solos featuring guitar wizard Danny Pratt.

Background: This was my favorite band, over 4 years we played over 100+ live gigs. The band officially started when we played at an open mic night to see if we had enough horsepower in front of a bar crowd. Matt Highland, who had seen us play before and wanted to be our singer, belted out Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe", Danny Pratt played a 5 minute guitar solo with all sorts of amp feedback, the crowd loved it and the rest was history. The Liberty Street Blues Project went on to play just about every bar in the Ann Arbor area regularly and extended into the Metro Detroit area as well. This original lineup of Matt, Danny, drummer Kevin Logerquist and myself gigged several times per month from about 1995 - 1998.

"Phase II" of the band happened as veteran and nationally known singer Kristina Austin took over lead vocals along with a number of different guys filled the drum chair (I don't remember all of their names, it was kind of like "Spinal Tap"). Our line-ups with Kristina were successful but the original line-up of Matt Highland, Kevin Logerquist, Danny Pratt and myself is best remembered and we laid the original foundation for the band's success.

Streaming/Downloadable MP3's: All by Matt Highland (vocals), Danny Pratt (guitar), Kevin Logerquist (drums), UFO (bass)

"Commit a Crime" (Live) (1996): Listen to teen-age Danny Pratt's exceptional guitar playing on this one.
"Honeybee" (1996): You can hear us setting up the studio at the beginning of the track, this was a fun blues song.

"Eddie's Gospel Groove (Live) (1997):" Danny's guitar was on fire on this hard hitting instrumental.

"The Wind Cries Mary (Live)" (1997): We closed a gig by playing this Jimi Hendrix tune, Danny plays a very mellow guitar solo in the middle.

"Walkin' Blues" (1996): Singer Matt Highland puts his stamp on this tune from the Robert Johnson era.

"Zarimar" (1996): A rare straight-ahead jazz performance by the Liberty Street Blues project. Kevin Loqerquist lays down killer drums, I play a classic jazz bass line.
"Day Tripper" (Live) (1996): Beatles tune with Rockabilly solo. As Matt says, "This song rules, doesn't it?"

"Compared to What" (Live) (1996):" This offbeat song with driving rhythm was a crowd favorite.

"San Ho Zay" (1995): Listen to Kevin Logerquist's massive drum playing on this instrumental.
"Humbuggin' Me (Live)" (1997): Singer Matt Highland had the crowd dancing on this one.
"Humbuggin' Me" (1996): The studio version of the song above.
"Tin Pan Alley" (1996): Matt Highland sings this mellow but powerful Stevie Ray Vaughan cover.

How were the recordings made?

None of the recordings are very high quality because a) in the 1990's it was hard to record (there wasn't the computer-based recording tools available today) and b) we didn't really take time to record ourselves too much. The "non-live" recordings above were recorded for demo tapes onto 4-track tape via a Tascam 424 Portastudio recorder. The "live" tracks were recorded either via the Tascam 424 or sometimes we just put a boombox onstage and hit "record". In general, we did the best we could, but we weren't professional sound guys and the quality of recordings varies. In 2002 I dug out the old tapes and transferred some of the recordings to .WAV format via my ZOOM PS-02 digital recorder and used my laptop to convert them to the MP3's above. I still have other original 4 track recordings that I may some day compile, including live versions of "Secret Agent Man" (with keyboard solo), "Angel of Harlem" by U2, and others.

Where are they now?

Kevin is still playing drums actively and with his church while balancing a successful career with a well known Fortune 500 software company. Matt is singing on various projects and has moved to the southern U.S. for his career as well. Danny is still playing in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area and I am in touch with all members occasionally.

Photo Gallery:

The original line-up: with Matt Highland as lead singer:

Me and Danny on stage at a sports bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, c. 1995. I am doing an Eddie Van Halen style finger tapping intro on the bass to the song "Bo Diddley".

Playing Ashley's, on the University of Michigan Campus in Ann Arbor. Danny had to fill in on vocals because Matt was at the hospital for the birth of his son, October 1995.

Band publicity photo, taken at city-wide "battle of the bands", where we finished 3rd in the Ann Arbor-wide competition. June, 1996.

Photo from our practice facility, where we spent many Saturday mornings coming up with new music, c. summer 1996.

Another practice photo, just the rhythm section, c. summer 1996

One of many press clippings about the band.

12/31/1996- One of our many New Year's Eve gigs over the years, this one at the Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan where we played a few times. A rare shot of me playing my red Fender Jazz bass, which I played for certain songs.

Watching Matt for cue to end the song.

12/31/1996- Sitting down to play the jazz song "Zarimar" in between playing raucous electric blues tunes. Guitarist Dan Pratt wrote this song when he was just 17 years old.

Another New Year's Eve shot.

"Phase II": with Kristina Austin as lead singer (see www.kristinaaustin.com for more on Kristina) :

All grown up at the age of 21, Dan Pratt plays guitar solo at Eastern Michigan University Gig, c. 1999

I'm still holding down the rhythm section with Terry, one of the many drummers we had, c. 1999