Comfort zones are a no-no to the Freddy Jones Band, said Rob Bonaccarosi, one of the three guitarists in the band.
"We are always trying to find a way to the next level," Bonaccorsi said during a phone interview from Mancado, Minn. "It's so easy to play a thousand places and sit on your butt and do nothing else."The Freddy Jones Band - featuring Bonaccorsi and his bass-playing brother Jim, drummer Simon Horrocks and guitarist/vocalists Marty Lloyd and Wayne Healy (notice, there is no Freddy in the band) - will play the Wolf Mountain dome, Sunday, Nov. 5. Rocking rhythms and harmonies of Sonia Dada will open the show at 7:30 p.m.
"The band's name came about as a running joke," Bonaccorsi said. "But there are many different versions of how the name actually came about. The one I'm familiar with is the band's name was originally called Fred. Then as time went on Fred needed a last name. And it went from there. But when people don't know there's no Freddy Jones, they get really confused when they come see a show. We have three singers/guitarists."
But Bonaccorsi said they've solved the mistaken identity problem.
"We all introduce ourselves as `Fred,' he laughed.
Freddy Jones Band began as an acoustic ensemble with Lloyd and Healy in the early 1990s, playing smoky venues on the north side of Chicago. After the band recruited Horrocks and Jim Bonaccorsi, it began playing rock clubs. The lineup was complete when Jim asked Rob to play guitar.
"We started getting into the electric scene by then," said Bonaccorsi, who considers himself the new guy in the band. "We went through the usual stages of development and kept the drive by playing all over."
Eventually the band's reputation for playing good clean blues-based rock and folk - much like Dave Matthews Band and Hootie and the Blowfish.
"It took a bunch of hard work and determination to get where we are now," said Bonaccorsi. "But there's still new levels to reach."
Bonaccorsi spent his guitar-shaping years getting into Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers.
"Those guys really got my blood going," he said. "But I was also taking classical guitar and jazz lessons. I used those to make up my own style."
Bonaccorsi said the band in general is well-rounded when it comes to musical styles.
"We don't just listen to one type of music," he explained. "We all have our likes and dislikes and we're all influenced differently. But when we get together, we're able to make the music we love."
- Sonia Dada - featuring bassist Erik Scott, drummer Hank Guaglianone, keyboardist Chris "Hambone" Cameron, guitarists Daniel Pritzker and Dave Resnik, and vocalists Paris Delane, Sam Hogan and Michael Scott - will warm the night with soulful harmonies and blues-based tones.
Not only does the group share the same hometown as the Freddy Jones Band, but the same record label (Capricorn). Good, tight harmonies and funky dance lines are also a part of Sonia Dada's repertoire.