Tijuana Hercules

Tijuana Hercules, a mutant-blues trio, was fronted by singer and guitarist John Forbes. An Indiana native, Forbes first appeared in the late 1980s as a member of the Atlanta band Phantom 309, whose lineup also included Mac McNeilly, later the drummer for Jesus Lizard. After a subsequent run with Dirt, Forbes settled in Chicago in 1993, formed the noise merchants Mount Shasta, and released four LPs on the Skin Graft label. Chad Smith, who would later room with Forbes, occupied the drum chair for Mount Shasta in the months before the group dissolved in 1998. The two men launched Tijuana Hercules together in early 2000 and completed the original lineup by adding percussionist Mike Young. Rooted in vintage blues, rockabilly, and gospel, the band began as a cover act, though Forbes’ own material gradually took precedence. Young’s stint proved short, so Forbes and Smith recruited horn player and percussionist Zak Piper in time to cut the self-titled 2001 debut EP on their own Black Pisces label. A second EP, When the Moon Comes Up Wild, arrived late in 2002. After years of preparation, the trio’s eponymous full-length debut finally emerged in mid-2005.