The Elbow Jake Acoustic Band, or EJAB for short, is made up of…
John Merry on guitar, vocals and harominca
Kevin Davenport on bass and vocals
Barrie Storm on guitar and mandolin
Andy Berwick on percussion
They play acoustic and harmony-based country rock, blues and folk and cite their influences as Neil Young, Mumford & Sons, Tom Petty and The Eagles.
Derby-born Kevin was in a successful band in the 60s and 70s called Our Dog Winston. They were much in demand supporting famous bands such as Amen Corner, The Tremeloes, The Foundations, The Equals, White Plains and, after appearing on Opportunity Knocks, went on a six-month tour of Germany supporting artists including The Everly Brothers, Ben E.King, James Brown, Percy Sledge and Jimmy Ruffin.
John has previously performed under the name of Elbow Jake and released two solo albums. When he put the band together it was decided, as it is a separate entity, it should have a new identity. As they play and record mostly acoustically, someone suggested the Elbow Jake Acoustic Band which was eventually shortened to EJAB.
In 2014, EJAB released their first album “There Are No Miracles Around Here”. The album contains 15 self-penned tracks
A night out with EJAB is a fun night out. They like to perform their own diverse music, but also cover songs by artists including Steve Earle, Paul Simon and Alison Krauss.