the players

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Listening to a small AM radio in Boston while growing up was how Jim grew to love music. “I always loved singing and just holding a bass in my hands makes me feel relaxed. I feel at home.” Mostly self-taught, he started playing bass at 13 and started gigging at 15. He played R&B gigs emulating Jamerson, Bootsy, Verdine, Larry Graham and especially Louis Johnson. His top  vocal influences were Donny Hathaway and  Stevie Wonder. While in Boston Jim also played in rock bands performing originals and covers. His bass playing was influenced here by Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan and pretty much any bass player that played in a Boston band. Vocal influences were Paul Rodgers, Bowie, and yes, Paul McCartney. As a teen (with a full beard and a good fake ID) he soon developed a reputation for being passionate, professional, fun loving, and a bit wild on stage. But once he heard Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, Jeff Berlin, and jazz artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane he decided to leave Boston and attend Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. Within a month of arriving he began gigging in a Chicago style Blues/ R&B band and continued to play in jazz fusion, rock, funk and as many interesting opportunities as possible. Lots of touring in two very successful original bands led to playing every major club in LA from the Whisky to the Roxy. All of that experience has led him to sing and play bass today in Sweet Liberty. It has also led to one credo, “If you come to our show and honor us with your attention, we owe you nothing less than 100% of everything we have.”

Mike Suico has played guitar since he was 10 years old. He was taught by an uncle who had him learn Beatles tunes as well as some Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Doobie Bros, Chicago, and more. When he was in high school he took an interest in guitar players like Neal Schon, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, and many others on a list too lengthy to tally. Eventually it got the point to where Mike needed to hear something fresh. Like magic, he was turned onto a group called "Return to Forever.” Once he heard the tune "Romantic Warrior" for the first time it changed everything. This inspired Mike to go to music school. It was there that he was able to learn the concepts of jazz and most of all, he was able to play with other musicians like horn players and string players in a variety of styles. Learning these different styles of music made him that much more of a solid player, giving him the confidence to tackle a wide variety of music styles.