The Summit Underground Blues Band  
 

 

  
  Michael Riley "Bongo" Bob Pettit Lee "Young Pappy" Boynton "Kooch" Kucera  
         
Blues, Funk, and R&B at it's best!
     
 

Leader- Guitar and Vocals

For the past 15 years Michael Riley has led the Summit Underground Blues Band through the clubs around Oregon and they have earned a reputation as one of the best sounding and most danceable bands around. Strong, clear vocals, tasty guitar licks, and exciting arrangements keep the room cookin'!  

     See Michael's Bio 

 
     
    Harmonica                             35 yrs pro

Las Vegas credits include:

Huck Daniels Blues Review, Aladdin Continental Casino Platinum Recording artist Moody Scott, Recording artists The Chambers Bros., James Cotton, Kenny Neal, Lester Chambers Band, Righteous bros., Special Recital at The Maxim Casino for Evil Knevel

Oregon Credits include:

15 years with the Summit Underground Blues Band, 6 years with Richard Day Reynolds Blues Band ( With Muddy Award Nomination), June Rushing Band, Waterfront Blues Festival Blues By the Sea

Other Credits include:

Alaska – The Untouchables Blues Band Maryland – Paul Basil New Mexico – Silver City Blues Festival

 

 

  
   
  Bass                        25 Years Pro

Lee "Pappy" Boynton was raised in Cottage Grove, Oregon.  His dad, Pops Weissbarth, taught him the Blues on piano when he was 8.  Throughout his youth Pappy excelled in music, playing the clarinet, trumpet and guitar.  During his teen years he experienced some hardships that came to be his first exposure of having the "Blues".  It was through seeking for an outlet of his personal pain that he learned that he could translate emotion to the guitar and make it "moan".  Pappy also liked plucking out R&B bass lines on his guitar, too.  He began to focus on bassists such as Jerry Jemmott, Bernard Odum, James Jamerson, and David Hood.  It was clear to Pops that Pappy had a knack for the bass so he got him one when he turned 15.  Since then Pappy has been honored to play with such artists such as Suburban Slim, Dick Powell, Butch Cousins, Little John Crisley, Terry Robb, Eagle Park Slim, Pubcoarn Mann, Ramblin' Rex, Lee Blake, James Bradshaw, Deb Cleveland, and dozens more.  In all, Pappy has worked with many bands and musicians but just hadn't discovered the true spirit of The Blues until his most recent work with NW Blues icon, Michael Riley.

 

  
   
     
  Drums

BONGO’S MUSIC BIO

 ‘Bongo’ Bob Pettit, always inspired by music, started playing drums at the age of 10. He played in stage bands in grade school, high school and college, and studied drums privately with Don Worth in Portland. At the age of 16 he gained his first professional nightclub experience with Sarah Green, playing old standards and jazz. His other projects were rock and roll, his young impressionable mind already  thoroughly pummeled by the likes of Mitch Mitchell, John Bonham, and Bill Ward. Santana inspired a love for Afro-Cuban hand drumming, and in his late teens he found himself in Eugene playing street corner rumba on his congas. This lead to him becoming one of the original members of "Three Finger Jack", a band that also includes alumni Rob Thomas and Curtis Salgalgo.Through the years Bongo has traveled extensively with night club acts including "Paradise Alley", "The Good Time Music String Band","Nothin’ Fancy", "The Fuzz Ducks", "The Ultrons", "Deluge", "The Manics",  and "The Dukes of Juke".Though his paying gigs always seem to find him on drumset, he has maintained his love of African and Latin music, and leads on conga drums in his side project the "Gringo Starrs". His approach to congas is unique in that he simultaneously plays clave and bell parts with his feet, while soloing freely across the top with his hands.Currently, Bongo is lovin’ the blues with "The Summit Underground".