Here are a few pages about current and past bands I have been involved in. The duo is currently available for booking and I am also available for solo gigs.
Catmanduo
We playfull call this duo Gandalf and Gollum! Eric Ardnt is a retired Army Corps of Engineers civil engineer and also plays a heck of a guitar, and Banjo! A talented vocalist, he likes to play folk, country, and of course rock and roll. Eric and Howard also play in the Dixie Cats. I like to sing 70’s material and do a hell of a Louis Armstrong impression. Here is a video snippet of our styles.
Open this table to view a partial list of songs we currently perform.
| Times Like These | Foo Fighters |
| what a wonderful world | Louis Armstrong |
| The Christmas Song | Mel Torme |
| You Ain’t Going no Where | The Byrds |
| Wagon Wheel | Old Crow Medicine Show |
| 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover | Paul Simon |
| I’m Yours | Jason Maranz |
| Lucky Man | Emerson, Lake and Palmer |
| Wish you were here | Pink Floyd |
| Lions | Dire Straights |
| A Pirate Looks at 40 | Jimmy Buffet |
| Margarhitaville | Jimmy Buffet |
| Tampico Trauma | Jimmy Buffet |
| Bananna Republics | Steve Goodman |
| St James Infirmary Blues | Louis Armstrong |
| Hey There Delilah | White T’s |
| Just the two of us | Bill Withers/Grover Washington Jr. |
| Year of the cat | Al Stewart |
| Moondance | Van Morrison |
| In the air tonight | Phil Collins |
| Friend of the devil | Grateful Dead |
| Roller Derby Queen | Jim Croce |
| Overkill | Colin Hay |
| Summer Breeze | Seals and Crofts |
| Space Oddity | David Bowie |
| South Ciry Midnight Lady | Doobie Brothers |
| Brain Damage/Eclipse | Pink Floyd |
| The Weight | The Band |
| Romeo and Juliet | Dire Straits |
| Your Song | Elton John |
| Telephone Line | ELO |
| Sultans of Swing | Dire Straits |
| Sweet Melissa | Alman Brothers |
| Nights in white satin | Moody Blues |
| Boat on a river | Styx |
| Brown Eyed Girl | Van Morrison |
| Hurricane | Band of Heathens |
| Train leaves here this morning | Eagles |
| Walking in Memphis | Marc Cohn |
| All of my Love | Led Zeppelin |
| Cats in the cradle | Harry Chapin |
| All I Can Do Is Write About It | Lynard Skynard |
| Suicide is painless | Johnny Mandel/Mike Altman |
| Down Under | Colin Hay/Men at Work |
| Hallelujah | Leanord Cohen |
| Another Brick in the Wall | Pink Floyd |
| Don’t Fear the Reaper | Blue Oyster Cult |
| Chicken Fried | Zac Brown |
| Feeling Allright | Traffic |
| Honkey Tonk Woman | Rolling Stones |
| Tennessee Whiskey | Dean Dillion and Laura Hargrove |
| Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door | Bob dylan |
| Little Wing | Jimmi Hendrix |
| Dust in the Wind | Kansas |
We also take requests! Fill in the form at the bottom of the page if you are interested in booking the Catmanduo at your venue or event.
The Dixie Cats
The Dixie Cats started as an idea our sax player, Richard “Hollywood” Thompson had; let’s get together a band to perform the early New Orleans Dixieland jazz style and bring that to Jacksonville. The core Dixie Cats consist of Ron Palmer on drums, Richard on Sax and Clarinet, Howard on Keys and Vocals, Eric on Guitar, Banjo and Vocals, Greg Lake on upright bass and George Eckenrode on Trumpet. We also have a rotating set of trombone players that attach to the cats depending on availability.
The Dixie Cats are also available as a five-piece band and in that configuration cover more classic 50s, 60s and 70s songs.
The Cats mix classic blue book jazz, Bassa Nova and early New Orleans style jazz with popular tunes to give a really eclectic show. The video below shows some clips from recent shows.
Open this section to see a partial list of The Dixie Cats setlist.
| Basin Street Blues | Louis Armstrong |
| Autumn Leavers | Jacques Prevert |
| Summertime | George Gershwin |
| Ain’t misbehaving | Fats Waller |
| St James Infirmary Blues | Louis Armstrong |
| what a wonderful world | Louis Armstrong |
| Way down yonder in new orleans | Turner Layton/Harry Creamer |
| Bill Baily won’t you please come home | Hugie Cannon – Louis Armstrong |
| Mack the knife | Weill-Brecht |
| Bourbon Street Parade | Bill Bardain |
| Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans | Louis Armstrong |
| Just a closer walk with thee | Traditiional |
| Down by the riverside | Traditional |
| Misty | Errol Garner |
| georgia | Hoagy Carmichael |
| Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out | Jimmy Cox |
| Glory of Love | Jimmy Durante |
| Hello Dolly | Louis Armstrong |
| Amazing Grace/Swing Low | Traditional |
| The Thrill is Gone | Roy Hawkins |
| Goin to Kansas City | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller |
| Stormy Monday | Alman Brothers |
| Spooky | Classics Four |
| Saints | Louis Armstrong |
Fill in the form at the bottom of the page if you are interested in booking the Cats for your venue.
Contact Request!
Fill in the form to request a call about a Solo, Duo, Partial or Full Cats gig!