Cockeyed Junior
Cockeyed Junior
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About Cockeyed Junior
Cockeyed Junior is a local Las Vegas band that does mostly original music with the exception of just a few cover tunes by artists like the Allman Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, etc. Their sound is often referred to as "New Orleans" sounding and features a varied mix of Blues, Funk and Jazz. Joel Ferguson – Steel Guitar / Vocals Born in the small town of Dawson, Georgia, Ferguson started singing at age 3 and was the star of his kindergarten graduation singing “She’s a Grand Ole Flag / I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” while dressed in an Uncle Sam costume. He started playing Dixieland banjo at age 6 and got his first drum set at age 8. Always a fan of Bluegrass he started playing 5-string banjo at age 14. He played drums in bands until age 16 when he heard Duane Allman playing slide guitar. That totally changed his direction in music. Slide became his all-consuming quest and he totally immersed himself in learning slide. He played lap steel and slide until he got in a band in college named Steamboat Springs. The leader of that band was kind enough to purchase a pedal steel guitar and Ferguson applied his slide knowledge to the steel, which has ten strings and pedals to change the pitch of the strings. Although the pedal steel is normally used in country music Ferguson only wanted to play rock and blues slide. After opening shows for several bands like Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Gregg Allman, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Buffett in the South, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles where he immediately got in a band, The Midnight Riders, who went on to win the Academy of Country Music Band of the Year and Ferguson was nominated as Steel Guitarist of the Year. Next Ferguson played in the band, Western Union, who won the California Country Music Association Band of the Year two years in a row and Ferguson won Best Steel Guitarist the same two years. Ferguson tired of the club scene, moved to Las Vegas to concentrate on raising his daughter. Always keeping his fingers moving Ferguson won the Nevada Country Music Association Banjo Player of the Year. Having owned his own recording studio for several years he loves writing and recording his own original songs and most recently has found the perfect complement to showcase his unique style of slide steel with his favorite band, Cockeyed Junior. Mike Puggi – Drums / Vocals Originally born in New Jersey, he began playing the drums at age 12 and was often accompanied by his now late brother “Joey” on Guitar, together they would play to records and work out songs. From there he played in countless garage bands doing parties and small gigs. By age 18 Puggi jumped into the Casino business but never strayed from music , when he wasn’t working in the Casino he was playing clubs at the Jersey Shore with bands like ‘New Clear Daze” who ripped out tunes by Cream, Robin Trower, ZZ Top, etc. To further his Gaming career, In 1990 he left New Jersey and headed west and by 1993 was living, working and playing in Mississippi where he soon renewed his love affair with the “Blues”. Like many musicians, the blues had already influenced much of his playing but it wasn’t until he actually lived in the Delta that he realized what it was truly all about. He has played in numerous clubs up and down Bourbon Street in New Orleans as well as Beale Street in Memphis where he regularly sat in with Don “Papa” McMinn at the Rum Boogie Café. Eventually his day job lead him to Las Vegas and has made it possible for him to establish many personal relationships within the music industry and over the last twelve years, Puggi has met and booked such artists as, Don Henley, ZZ Top, Melissa Etheridge, Brooks and Dunn, James Brown, BB King, Buddy Guy, Poison, Bad Company, Joe Walsh, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Alan Jackson, George Thorogood, Reba McEntire and the list goes on. Now at age 48, Puggi throws everything he has to offer musically at the band Cockeyed Junior and loves it, as you may expect his style remains true to the blues but has strong rock and funk undertones that keep’s the groove pumping . Mick Roemer – Keyboards / Vocals Roemer started playing piano at the age of 7 and joined his first band “The Workouts” and at age 13 he got his first gig when the guys in the band heard him playing the song “Money” on a new Farfisa organ he was trying out. He was playing in roadhouses and nightclubs in Oklahoma by the ripe old age of 15. Still in high school he had already toured in six states playing at military bases and nightclubs throughout the south and southwest during the Vietnam War. Early influences were Booker T, Ray Charles, Stevie Winwood, Felix Cavalier and the soul bands of the 60’s, but he soon got into funk and jazz during his college days at Oklahoma State University. Roemer took a slight detour into Top 40 when he was banging the keys for one of Oklahoma’s top club bands, “Krackers” in the mid-70’s. In 1976, Roemer moved to Lake Tahoe and joined the number one band at the lake, “Cedro Willie”. By the early 80’s, he got much more into jazz and starting playing in piano bars and jazz ensembles. In 1984 Roemer decided to began a career in gaming, but he never stopped playing. But music and slot machines had more in common than he thought, and it opened up doors for him to play with some of his hero’s including Ray Charles and Lenny Pickett. Over the years he has had the privilege to play and hang out with some great artists including Hoyt Axton, Harvey Mason, The Platters, Frankie Avalon, Tower of Power and the Saturday Night Live Band. One of Roemer’s favorite memories is playing with Ray Charles at his studio in Los Angeles and then getting to play with him at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. Now at 55, Roemer is seasoned and ready to go again. Ben Williams – Bass / Vocals Williams, a native of Columbia, South Carolina was raised in a family of musical people, surrounded by musical instruments and musical friends. His professional career began at age 15 when he was hired to play bass with the house band, Bob Tyson at a supper club in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Following a path from Newberry College then Charlotte North Carolina and from there to LA and finally to Las Vegas, Ben spent many years as a studio musician in Charlotte, recording several albums with fusion bands, Projections and Flight 108 as well as recording bass tracks for local recording artists, commercials, news / sports music, soundtracks, etc. Despite keeping busy recording, he also found time to run his pipe organ building and service firm during the day. Ben also played upright bass in the Swing 1000 Orchestra for two years until 2003 when he moved to LA to pursue other interests. As fate would have it Williams found himself in Las Vegas in 2005 and now spends most of his musical time here playing with Cockeyed Junior as well as several local big band orchestras.
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