About the Band

At the intersection of swing, rockabilly, and jump blues is where you'll find King Teddy, happily hanging out and humming Beatles tunes. Although our influences are varied (including everyone from Louis Prima to Sam Cooke to Gene Vincent to the a-fab-forementioned quartet), we are single-minded in our musical mission-- to swing, baby!

King Teddy is:

Mike Sottong- lead vocals, keyboard

Mike is a simple chap. He loves hamburgers and french fries, or fish sticks and french fries, or just french fries. And really, french fries to him are just an excuse to eat ketchup. He is easily angered when behind the wheel of a car, but is otherwise docile and good-natured in a profane sort of way. Mike is uncomfortable in clothes, but even less comfortable without them, and is rarely seen in any shoe that isn't a sneaker. E-mail at mike@kingteddy.com.

Dan Rivizzigno- guitar, vocals

Dan, the hot-blooded Italian of the group, is actually merely warm-blooded. He is frequently seen smiling and socializing, but has little patience for gabby drunks or uncreative hecklers. He plays with a joyous abandon that sometimes causes the strings of his guitar to break, but will then crush those feelings of joy in order to deftly re-string his instrument, unfettered by what he mysteriously refers to as his "emotional human side." E-mail at dan@kingteddy.com.

John Rowny - drums, vocals

John knows everyone. If you're ever just walking down the street with John, you'll be shocked at how many times he pauses to have a chat with someone he knows. We initially credited John's personal magnetism as the reason for his popularity. The more ominous truth is that everyone owes John money, including us. John is typically gregarious and easy-going, but when enraged becomes a kind of passive-aggressive Hulk. When your drummer is 6'2" tall, passive-aggression is just fine, thank you! E-mail at john@kingteddy.com.

Moe Nelson - bass, harmonica, ukelele

Although Moe's first allegiances lie with his band, the Hula Monsters, King Teddy has shamelessy adopted him as their very own bass player, and regard his other obligations as "his problem." Moe's musicality, easy-going nature, and willingness to play his standup bass while lying on his back make him a local favorite among musicians and audiences alike.

and featuring on sax...

The plan was to get a steady sax player. In order to play gigs while we were searching for one, we were able to convince some of the Washington area's finest saxophone players to join us in the mean time. It didn't take us long to stop trying to fix what wasn't broken. When guys like Chris Watling, Al Williams, Jerry Queene, Ron Holloway, and Gary Gregg are covering sax duty, there's simply no need to look further. Thanks, gentlemen!