About the Band

The Syndicators is a four-piece blues band- guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. We feature two vocalists- both Matt (our founder the guitarist) and Amado (the keyboardist) sing. We get to do a wide variety of material that way.

Grab your pencils- there may be a quiz at our next gig! It all started in 2000 in Brevard County, Florida (known as the "Space Coast"). That's East of Orlando and home of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral and, unbeknownst to many, a quiet little hotbed of Blues activity.

Our fearless leader, Matt Sams, had been kicking around the scene for a few years, working with drummer pal Jay Sheppard on a few occasions. Well, one day Jay called Matt and said "it's been a while, let's do something." So that's just what Matt did.

Matt found Amado, then a recent transplant to the area, at the "Free-Form Rock" open jam held Monday nights at That's It Antique Bar. Matt asked Amado if he wanted in. Amado responded "sure, just as soon as I'm done with this Progressive Metal album I'm recording. By the way, do you guys do Jazz?"

Scott Mayo, a mainstay of the Space Coast Blues scene, also joined up, and it just took a few rehearsals before we did our first gig (at That's It, on the last weekend of July 2000). We got great reviews haven't looked back since.

It's nearly four years after our debut on the Space Coast and subsequent adventures here and in the Frozen North (Orlando, that is). Since Jay left the drum throne to spend more time with family, we've played with some of the best drummers in the area (Tom Van Dyke, Chris Epler, Randall Brown, Wayne Myers, Doug Grover) before meeting up with our current guy, Mighty Joe Luley, formerly of the Winos for Peace. And since Scott moved on to pursue other opportunities, we've had the good fortune to work with some great bassists, including Willie Fingers, Mighty Joe's pal Mikey Tolnay, and Joey Z.

Always something different! Just the way we like it.

Need more? Really? Cool. Read about the members.