Meet Mes Amis!

Steve Lynnworth

Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:08:03 -0400

Originally from Waltham, Massachusetts, Steve Lynnworth started playing guitar at age 17. He was fortunate to study early on with Boston area jazz great and Berklee graduate Gerry Beaudoin, giving him a strong foundation in jazz and music theory. Later, he was mentored by blues virtuoso Ronnie Earl, who gave his lessons on stage; he'd hand over his vintage Stratocaster and let Stevie front the band at the Sit'n'Bull Pub, Harpers Ferry, and The House of Blues. Since moving to Maine with his wife Nadine in 1994, Steve has played in numerous local bands. His own group, the Swinging Blue Matadors, playing original compositions, won the 1996 battle of blues bands sponsored by the Portsmouth NH Blues Bank Collective. He has backed up national artists Shirley Lewis and Pinetop Perkins, jammed onstage with Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, and opened shows for Johnny Winter, Dickie Betts, and B.B. King. In 1998 he was asked to take over the guitar chair for the band Big Chief, and has been playing with them ever since. He has been teaching private lessons at Musician's 1st Choice in Augusta since 2002, and is the guitar instructor at the University of Maine in Farmington. Steve is also the author of Understanding The Chords, an instructional reference book for guitarists who want to understand music theory and their instruments without having to learn to read music.
Steve always had a love for jazz guitar, but didn’t really get bitten by the “Gypsy” bug until 2008, after stumbling across a Joscho Stefan video on YouTube. He was lucky enough to find a Gypsy style guitar at a local music store, and immediately started practicing the new and demanding techniques. A workshop with the French Gypsy guitarist Stephane Wrembel in 2009 was life-changing, completely revamping Steve’s approach to practice and playing. Ameranouche lead guitarist Richard Sheppard’s recommendation to get Michael Horowitz’s book Gypsy Picking was also extremely helpful.
In 2010, Toby Tyler came to see Steve for lessons in Gypsy Jazz. Steve quickly realized the two really just needed to play music together, and shortly thereafter they formed Mes Amis. In 2013 the band released their debut CD Tomorrow Is Another Day, featuring thirteen songs, including seven of Steve’s originals.

Harry Richter

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:47:29 -0400

Harry and Steve have been close friends and “guitar-buddies” ever since they were introduced several years ago. And after subbing for Mes Amis occasionally over that time, Harry joined the band full time in 2014. Harry is a very accomplished guitarist and a veteran of several groups, including The Hot Club of Portland and Fourteen Strings. He has also been a frequent attendee at “Django in June” which has allowed him to study with some of the best Gypsy Jazz players on the scene today.

When Harry isn’t busy playing guitar with Mes Amis, he is a violin maker. He studied with Karl Roy (former director of the Mittenwald State School for violin making in Bavaria, Germany) at the Violin Craftsmanship Institute at the University of New Hampshire, Durham. Harry is a member of the Violin Society of America.

Harry opened Somerset Violins in 1994 in Skowhegan, Maine, and in 1996 moved to the current location at Railroad Square in Waterville.

Wells Gordon

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 11:50:47 -0400

A native of Skowhegan Maine, Wells has been playing bass professionally within the south eastern United States for the past 20 years. He recently returned to Maine and joined the faculty at Husson University's New England School of Communications. At NESCom, he teaches Audio I and II, Critical Listening, and Structure and Style of Music for Audio.
Wells has been playing fairly regularly with Mes Amis since the group formed in 2011 and is now the primary bassist for the group.
Wells has earned a BS in Audio Production, a BM in Jazz Studies and a MM in Bass Performance. He studied with John Brown and Robbie Link (Duke University) and Grammy award winning bassist Eliot Wadopian as well as New York City's Jon Burr and Eric Revis (Branford Marsalis Quartet). Ensembles have included; Jazz Faculty Ensembles of North Carolina Central University, Western Carolina University and Elizabeth City State University, the Nouveau Passe Orchestra and Asheville, North Carolina's own gypsy jazz group One Leg Up. Wells also spent several years backing singer Katheryn Whalen of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Shane Ellis

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:58:53 -0400

Shane Ellis is the owner-operator of Ellis Bands of Maine. Shane is a Maine artist, Master Woodwind player, Music Educator, Music Arranger, Audio Specialist, and Band Leader. He is available for consultation, music arranging, and private instruction on Saxophone, Clarinet, and Flute.

Toby Tyler 1955-2014

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:36:44 -0400

Toby Tyler passed away on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 after a long and tragic battle with cancer. He founded Mes Amis along with Steve and was the band’s rhythm guitarist from its inception until his death.

Toby started listening to Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli as a teenager in high school in the early 70's. He fell in love with the music but couldn’t find anyone else interested in playing it with him. After college he formed a country rock band which gained considerable success and worked together for 10 years. In the early 80's Toby started a new band, and hired a female singer by the name of Pam Richards who became his wife.

After having children Toby and Pam decided that being in a band was no longer possible. In 1990 they started a small roadside vegetable stand in Oakland Maine, and over the years it evolved into a 120 seat restaurant and specialty food market carrying fine wines, cheeses and other gourmet foods.

However, that Gypsy sound still beckoned. Fate stepped in and led Toby to Steve Lynnworth. They hit it off immediately, and within a few weeks decided to form a band. As the rhythm guitarist for Mes Amis, Toby finally got the opportunity to play the music he truly loved.

Pam Tyler

Sun, 27 Oct 2013 11:16:17 -0400

Pam grew up on a potato farm in Caribou. She was surrounded by music from a very young age. Her mother sang and played both guitar and piano. Pam learned to play by ear by spending a lot of time in the "music room" where her parents had provided every instrument they could find. That room saw a lot of jam sessions with Pam and her brothers and sister.

Growing up, Pam's parents hosted house parties where friends and relatives would bring their instruments and they'd all play, sing and dance. Pam always looked forward to these events when she could be taught a few new chords and songs by the musical elders.

Pam sang in several country bands throughout high school either playing rhythm guitar, bass or drums. She and her sister became known for their harmony vocals and performed at many weddings, nursing homes and talent shows in the area as "The Richards Sisters."

In the early eighties the sisters were seen at a DECMA awards show in Alton, Maine and were asked to relocate to Waterville to form a group which became known as The Happy Medium with B.J. Moreau and The Richards Sisters. This group was very popular and performed at dance halls throughout Maine, and opened for major country artists including Dick Curless, Tom T. Hall and Bill Chinook. The group eventually recorded four original songs in Nashville, Tennessee.

Pam's parents built a dance hall in Caribou called Spruce Haven in hopes that the sisters would move back home and have a place to perform. Her sister did return to Caribou, but not Pam!

She first met her husband Toby while trying to recruit bands from central Maine to perform at Spruce Haven. They played in several bands together, got married, had two beautiful children, and started Riverside Farm. In Mes Amis, they got the chance to play music together once again, until Toby’s untimely passing in 2014.