JG and The Cover Kings are a nine member classic rock band that originally began 21 years ago. It started as a jam night for a group of friends (all men) with many different instruments and just wanted a place to play. They called it the Thursday Night Gentlemen’s Club. Eventually they had played together long enough to get their sound right and they started booking some small gigs. They played local bars, some private parties, a few weddings and annual shows at Oaks Park. And of course, they continued their Thursday night jams and still have them today.
The majority of the original members of JG and The Cover Kings are still in the band, as only a few have changed over the years. The most recent and significant change to the band was the addition of a female lead vocalist in Jennifer Gantner. Her father, Curt “Corndog” Nelson was the original lead singer and helped build the band from the beginning. The original name of the band was simply The Cover Kings, but with the addition of a woman, we thought a slight name change was in order. Jennifer inherited her father’s singing talent and frequently joined The Cover Kings onstage at shows around town, both as backup to her dad and as lead on a few songs of her own. She grew up around this group of men and knows them like family.
Sadly, Curt passed away in 2015, but his musical legacy lives on through his daughter and his band. The Cover Kings asked Jennifer to be their new lead singer and they played their first show together in June 2016 at Oaks Park.
The other members of JG and The Cover Kings are:
Rick Berk - bass guitar & vocals
Phil Hornik - lead guitar
Manuel Mateo - guitar & vocals
Paul Yurick - drums
Lonnie Lester - percussion & drums
Mark Borgeson - keyboards
Miguel Maldonado - saxophone
Although classic rock is the band’s main forte, they also deliver a mix of blues, soft rock, soul, and even a little disco and country. They cover classics such as Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett, Hurts So Good by John Cougar Mellencamp, Don’t Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders, Dream by Fleetwood Mac and many others.
JG and The Cover Kings just simply love to play music. They particularly love to play songs that make people happy, get people dancing and want to sing along!
