About Us
 
        The band’s founder and leader is accordionist-keyboard player-singer- songwriter Kenny Margolis, www.kennymargolis.com, an ex-member of Mink Deville, who's also toured with and appears on albums by Cracker, The Smithereens, Freedy Johnston, and The Silos among others.  Billy Roues (guitar/mandolin/vocals) and Steven “Muddy” Roues (standup bass/harmonica) have brought their songwriting and experience producing, writing, playing and recording with roots artists as diverse as Jo-El Sonnier, John Lee Hooker, Carl Perkins, Lonnie Mack, Lenny Kaye, Wayne Kramer and Stax & Muscle Shoals soul greats Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. Percussionist, Boris Kinberg has played with Mink DeVille and Robert Gordon. Rounding out the band is the solid drumming of journeyman, Bill Rankin.
         After honing its style in sweaty New York clubs, the UpSouth Twisters (under their former moniker) won favor on a series of European and Canadian tours earning praise as "a heavenly party band" (Sweden's Expressen) and "pure fun!" (Germany's Musick Szene).  Toronto's Now said, "No doubt about it, New York's Lucky 7 is among the most fun, freewheeling live acts going."  An awesome show at the Montreal International Jazz Festival won over thousands of new fans.
          Several songs from the band's repertoire have landed in feature films and also on compilation albums including the Margolis/Roues instrumental, "Holiday Depression” which was in the soundtrack to one of James Gandolfini's first movies, "Italian Movie". It was also released as part of a Swedish compilation called "Rockin' at the Barn" on Dusty Records (1999). Most recently their cover versions of Dave Alvin’s “So Long Baby Goodbye” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Valentine’s Day” were included on highly acclaimed tribute CD’s to their authors. (Blastered: A Tribute to the Blasters on Runwild Records and Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen on Schoolhouse Records).
The UpSouth Twisters are back with a vengeance, playing their greasy, Southern-fried-with a side of salsa music.  Kenny Margolis says he doesn't mind the southern comparison.  "A lot of our music does have roots in the South," he admits.  "But growing up in New York City, we have interpreted it differently than a Southern band would.  Sort of like the British Invasion bands of the Sixties like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and Cream interpreting Chicago blues."