His powerhouse band, Men of Blues, or MOB for short, is a high energy, swish at the buzzer, in your face, Chicago/Memphis style blues band. At any time it may consist of a combination of some extremely talented musicians! Tim "Dr. Smooth" Hummel. "Diamond" Jim Meyers. Rob "Mr. Bass" Maertz. Matt "Animal" Geiseke. "Smilin'" Russ Allen. "Whoopi" Jim Wilfahrt. "Big Bill" Engels.

The MOB's current line-up! Fronting the band, of course, is Michael "Big Dog" Murphy, singing and playing smokin' lead guitar. His outstanding rhythm section consists of Richard "Smokey" Smith, formerly with Bryan Lee, on bass guitar. And on drums, you'll see either "Smilin'" Chad Wirl, or "Tall Don" Don Berry, formerly with Otis & the Alligators.

And every now and then, the MOB includes one of the best keyboardists anywhere - formerly with Luther Allison and James Solberg - Larry "3rd Degree" Byrne. And, every so often, when the venue calls for another member, Dog calls on his ol' buddy, the master of the Mississippi saxophone, harmonica player extraordinaire - Michael "Jelly Roll" Roy.

And, to Michael, being the MOB means that "..when we're playin' somewhere, and I look out and see a player I know, I get them to come up and play a few with us. It's always fun when we get old friends on stage with us."


...is the name of Big Dog's acoustic duo, and features the combined talents of harmonica wizard, Michael "Jelly Roll" Roy, and the Dog's raspy vocals and guitar. The music is still blues covers and originals, as well as the Dog's singer/songwriter material. More on the folk side of the spectrum! You guys know that Big Dog is penning new material every day, and among the newest are "Lessons", "Live Another Song", "Two Me's", "Don't Waste Your Dime", and the very dark "Tracks." These songs appear on M2's newest CD, "M2: UnPlugged".

Look for M2 appearing at many of the coffeehouses and acoustic venues across the Midwest. They already have a second CD in the works, as yet untitled. It will be available soon. Keep your eye on the Gig Alerts and the website, for future updates on "M2" and, the new CD.