Musicians momentarily crossing to produce an eclectic brand of original music.
So it is with The Joe Milligan Project: Joe Milligan (guitar and vocals), Bill LaGrandier (percussion), Russell Roush (bass), Douglas Lichterman (lead guitar), and Mandy Frick (background vocals). Other local luminaries who have appeared and or recorded with The Project include Amanda Gerttula (violin), Rebecca Zapen (violin), L.A. Moore (guitar), Christer Saarikko (violin and mandolin), Michelle LaGrandier (vocals) and A.J. Swearingen and Jayne Kelli - recognized nationally for their Paul Simon Retrospective shows and performances with the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Edmonton Orchestras.
The Joe Milligan Project is a diverse cast of musicians whose individual credits include shared billing with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Wishbone Ash, Kris Kristofferson, Kansas, Brewer & Shipley and John Prine. The Joe Milligan Project has appeared live at popular local venues including Skipper’s Smokehouse, Sacred Lands, and The Ale and the Witch, and also regularly appeared on the Florida Folk Show, Live Music Showcase and the Acoustic Peace Club on WMNF.
Ranging in style from stripped down acoustic folk and country to full band rock and roll energy, the Joe Milligan Project presents an eclectic sound. It is as comfortable and appropriate in a home concert setting as a 100 seat listening room venue. Their most recent CD, Anticipation, captures this eclectic sound, and is covered with the fingerprints of Chris Harmon, a founding member of The Joe Milligan Project, who died in 2015. Without Chris, there would have been no Joe Milligan Project.
In its present incarnation, the Joe Milligan Project aspires to honor the influence of Chris Harmon, who truly understood the role of nuance and space, and paid more than lip service to the time worn adage that beauty is in the space between the notes. Although his physical absence cannot help but be noticed, his spirit lives on in the music.