meet the band

Mighty Mules Blues Band photo - Jeff in front

meet the band

Kelvin Dixon, Drums / Vocals - Kickin' the Mule Blues Band

Kelvin Dixon - drums & vocals

Kelvin has sung and played with John Lee Hooker, Charles Brown, Bo Diddley, Otis Rush, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, and Irma Thomas, and toured and recorded with Sylvester, Two Tons of Fun (Weathergirls), Tom Mazzolini’s Blues Cavalcade, Otis Rush, Lady Bianca, and Joe Louis Walker, among others. Kelvin’s Texas-Louisiana roots come through loud and clear with his soulful singing and heavy swamp groove that makes you want to get up and dance. Kelvin received his formal music training under scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Drums
Mighty Mules Band - Jeff Magidson on guitar and vocals

Jeff Magidson - guitar & vocals

Jeff’s musical roots go back to his beginnings. He was born into a musical family, and has been playing one instrument or another most of his life. When he found the guitar, he was heavily influenced by Lowell George, Ry Cooder and Johnny Winter, echoes of which come through in his playing. But there is no imitation here. Jeff’s voice and guitar are strictly his own, a fact that shines through on every track of this album. It’s a rare combination of raw feeling, technical mastery, and imagination. You won’t hear another guitar player do what Jeff is doing.

Members 1
Lee Bloom, piano - Kickin' the Mule Blues Band

Lee Bloom - piano & organ

Lee has worked in many musical genres with a variety of creative artists including Madeleine Peyroux, Hal Stein, Pete Escovido, Denise Perrier, Chris O’Connell, and Dan Hicks. As a pianist, Lee contributed to the tribute recording to bluegrass icon Hazel Dickens, accompanying Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, and Madeleine Peyroux. As a session player, he has participated in a wide range of recording projects—from straight-ahead jazz to blues, singer/songwriter, R&B, funk, heavy metal, and country & western. He writes, not just music but also words, and has had his writings on jazz published in the All Music Guide to Jazz, 3rd edition.

Isabelle Magidson - Bass and vocals
Isabelle Magidson

Isabelle Magidson - bass & vocals

Isabelle is renowned for her disarming vocals and impeccable sense of rhythm. She was born and raised in the French countryside and began her musical career singing and playing the snare drum in a 50’s Rock vocal group. Later, she picked up the guitar, and the Washboard. After 20 years of performing in the old country she, and her husband Jeff, made the move to California. She is the most recent and gentlest mule in the stall.
Members 1
Mike Waters - Saxophone
Mike Waters

Mike Waters - saxophone

Mike adds a touch of jazz and bebop into the mix, having honed his skills with tenor great Hal Stein. Known for his warm and melodic sound, Mike has performed with such Bay Area favorites as MJ’s Brass Boppers and the Jeff Magidson Blues Band.

Sax
Patty Hammond, Bass - Kickin' the Mule Blues Band

Patty Hammond - founder & bass

Patty has worked with blues/R&B greats Freddie Hughes, Tia Carroll, Craig Horton, Lisa Kindred, Johnny Nitro, Birdlegg, and Sugar Pie DeSanto. She has worked with the Bay Area bands Birdlegg & the Tightfit Blues Band, Johnny Nitro and the Doorslammers, the Dave Workman Band with John Broadway Tucker, Phil Berkowitz and the Dirty Cats, MotorDude Zydeco, Tip of the Top, and Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines. Formerly the bassist for San Jose’s acclaimed Gospel Travelers directed by Gospel Hall of Fame Award winner Jesse McDaniel, Patty has played at church programs and celebrations from Oakland to Sacramento and San Jose to Santa Cruz.

Kelvin Dixon, drummer / vocalist

Jeff Magidson - guitar & vocals

Jeff’s musical roots go back to his beginnings. He was born into a musical family, and has been playing one instrument or another most of his life. When he found the guitar, he was heavily influenced by Lowell George, Ry Cooder and Johnny Winter, echoes of which come through in his playing. But there is no imitation here. Jeff’s voice and guitar are strictly his own, a fact that shines through on every track of this album. It’s a rare combination of raw feeling, technical mastery, and imagination. You won’t hear another guitar player do what Jeff is doing.
Members 1
Lee Bloom, piano - Kickin' the Mule Blues Band

Isabelle Magidson - bass & vocals

Isabelle is renowned for her disarming vocals and impeccable sense of rhythm. She was born and raised in the French countryside and began her musical career singing and playing the snare drum in a 50’s Rock vocal group. Later, she picked up the guitar, and the Washboard. After 20 years of performing in the old country she, and her husband Jeff, made the move to California. She is the most recent and gentlest mule in the stall.
Members 1
Mighty Mules Band - Mike blowin' the blues at the Sound Room in Oakland, CA

Kelvin Dixon - drum & vocals

Kelvin has sung and played with John Lee Hooker, Charles Brown, Bo Diddley, Otis Rush, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, and Irma Thomas, and toured and recorded with Sylvester, Two Tons of Fun (Weathergirls), Tom Mazzolini’s Blues Cavalcade, Otis Rush, Lady Bianca, and Joe Louis Walker, among others. Kelvin’s Texas-Louisiana roots come through loud and clear with his soulful singing and heavy swamp groove that makes you want to get up and dance. Kelvin received his formal music training under scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Drums
Jeff Magidson, guitar / vocals - Kicking the Mule Band

Lee Bloom - piano & organ

Lee has worked in many musical genres with a variety of creative artists including Madeleine Peyroux, Hal Stein, Pete Escovido, Denise Perrier, Chris O’Connell, and Dan Hicks. As a pianist, Lee contributed to the tribute recording to bluegrass icon Hazel Dickens, accompanying Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, and Madeleine Peyroux. As a session player, he has participated in a wide range of recording projects—from straight-ahead jazz to blues, singer/songwriter, R&B, funk, heavy metal, and country & western. He writes, not just music but also words, and has had his writings on jazz published in the All Music Guide to Jazz, 3rd edition.
Piano line drawing
Isabelle Magidson - Bass and vocals

Mike Waters - sax

Mike adds a touch of jazz and bebop into the mix, having honed his skills with tenor great Hal Stein. Known for his warm and melodic sound, Mike has performed with such Bay Area favorites as MJ’s Brass Boppers and the Jeff Magidson Blues Band.
Sax

Frequently Asked Questions About Working With Us.

Our fees are always reasonable, but do vary depending on several factors (date, timing, event duration, location etc…) Please contact us so we can begin a conversation to help you determine how we can best serve your needs and requirements.
If you are ready to hire the Kickin’ The Mule Band, please visit our Booking page to start the process.

We typically perform as a quintet though can perform in other configurations (duo, trio, quartet) depending on your needs.

We strive to arrive 45 minutes ahead of the contracted start time.
Yes. We prefer to get the requests in advance but also will do our best to field the requests in real time at your event.

For ceremonial songs not on our list, there is a per song fee for time creating an arrangement and rehearsing the song.

A typical set length is approximately 60 minutes. We can extend sets (per request) to as long as 90 minutes.

If you can have a meal prepared for our musicians, we would be most appreciative. Especially the Sax player! We don’t want him getting Hangry!
We do indeed. We’ve performed as far north as Mendocino and as far south as Carmel. There is a travel fee for events outside a 25 mile radius.
We will happily negotiate an agreement for the extra time. The only caveat is if we have another event to perform at later, but that would be known well ahead of time and discussed with you as part of our agreement.
We come equipped with our sound system. We can also arrange to play a music playlist before the event as well as during the breaks.
We accept Credit Cards, PayPal, Venmo, Check or Cash and require a deposit to hold the date on our calendar.