Loose Juice were formed at the start of 2004 during a poorly attended rehearsal of drummer Rick Hudson’s former band, “Rick Hudson and the Boogaloo Band.” Only Rick, bassist Tiago Coimbra and guitarist Justin Dwyer turned up so they thought “sod it let’s just have a jam.” During the session they started to realise that they’d stumbled on a damn good formular. Loose Juice was born and the Boogaloo Band folded shortly afterwards.
The Boogaloo Band had been a successful venture with the group playing several prestigious venues such as the 100 Club, The Jazz Café and Ronnie Scotts - as well as supporting the James Taylor Quartet. The band also released an album on Blow It Hard Records. However, by the end it was proving difficult to get the band together for rehearsals and gigs and Rick had had enough.
After the massive amount of effort that Rick had put into the Boogaloo Band, Loose Juice was an opportunity to simply enjoy playing the music without any pressure. The band have still had some notable successes, playing the Wardrobe in Leeds, the Ascot Club in Southampton and The Jazz Café in Camden.
2007 saw the band secure more gigs than in the previous 3 years put together and included a three day residency at the London Food Festival. 2008 was a year of transition for the band with the recrtuitment of new guitarist Phil Stevenson as they strived for a new, funkier, leaner sound. Key's player Tom O'Grady was also recruited, a batch of funky new tracks was penned and in December a new album was recorded which featured top jazz sax player Paul Booth. The new album, The Blue Barns Sessions, was recorded early in 2009 and the album is now available from www.jazzcds.co.uk.
There was another change in personnel in 2009 with the departure of guitarist Phil Stevenson to focus on other projects. He was replaced by jazz / funk guitar maestro Jem Watson who drummer Rick already plays with in a jazz trio. Hopefully the band will enjoy a period of stability now that will see them progress and achieve their undoubted potential on the jazz scene.
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