the origin of the codetalkers

col. bruce hampton and bobby lee rodgers both knew upon first meeting that they were destined to work together. it has now been 5 years since the pair formed the code talkers, and once again col. bruce hampton has managed to bring us music will tickle your fancy and kick your ass, as he has been doing for over 30 years now. after starting acts such as the hampton grease band, aquarium rescue unit (where he helped start the h.o.r.d.e. tour), and the fiji mariners, in 1999 he formed his most accessible group yet. along the way, col. bruce appeared with billy bob thornton in "slingblade" and in phish's mike gordon’s movie “outside out,” which features bruce as a guitar instructor who teaches "how to play out." the film won best picture at sxsw 2000.

hampton seemed to be astrologically attracted to rodgers, as he immediately guessed his birthday, and went on to discover both shared the same major planetary influences, as well as the same unique sense of humor. hampton also saw a great song-writing and musical talent and set upon the mission to get rodgers' music heard. the band these days consists of hampton on guitar and vocals (and occasionally harmonica,) rodgers on guitar, banjo and vocals, tyler greenwell on drums, and ted pecchio on bass. this line-up has been intact since last spring (when pecchio re-joined after a brief hiatus,) and have really gelled over the past months into one of the tightest jam bands on the scene, thanks in part to this rock-solid rhythm section which keeps things “groovy and neck-nodding as hell (jambands.com).”