Who are… J Lee & The Hoodoo Skulls

We get the lowdown from frontman Jason Lee Barratt.

Describe your sound in a sentence?

A contemporary twist to a vintage sound.

Where and how did you and the Hoodoo Skulls meet?

Mainly through playing a lot of function gigs early on – weddings, funerals, circumcisions, you know the sort of thing. Wayne Richies [drums] has played all over the world with some amazing artists. Harun Kotch is the lead guitarist and co-producer for the band. We got talking at a function gig about the music projects we were working on at the time.

I met Mike Hartnett a long time after meeting the other guys.

He’s a great bass player, and a songwriter in his own right.

Let’s talk influences. Who are your go-to guitar heroes?

Eric Clapton, Tom Morello, James Taylor, and of course Jimi Hendrix. No guitarist could miss him out!

And who are the best voices in rock’n’roll?

Personally I’m a sucker for a voice with a bit of rasp to it. Something with a bit of grit, people like Little Richard, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Robert Plant… Currently I absolutely love Jay Buchanan’s voice from the band Rival Sons.

Defining moment in the band’s life so far?

For me it was when I heard the demo for 2 Bit Lovers. This was the very first track that I brought to the table at Harun’s home studio right at the very beginning. I originally wanted to come out with a traditional bluesy rock’n’roll album, but it got slightly twisted along the way, something a bit more contemporary. And I loved it.

When gigs can finally take place again what can people expect from a J Lee & The Hoodoo Skulls show?

We love playing live shows, and I think that comes across in our performances. You’ll get a blend of all the music we love – blues, roots and gritty rock.

What’s next for J Lee & The Hoodoo Skulls?

We’re currently looking forward to promoting and gigging our second album, Beggar’s Soul, due for release in summer 2021. And going back in the studio to hopefully write some more banging tracks.