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If you hear a police siren ringing through downtown Huntley about 7 p.m. Tuesday, say a prayer for Jake and Elwood.
The musicians and their band will be storming the Town Square stage on a mission from – the village – a mission to kick off Huntley’s summer concert series and get everybody shaking their tailfeathers.
The Blooze Brothers show is the second in a series of seven free concerts organized by the village of Huntley and the Huntley Park District.
The tribute band, complete with a full horn section and even its own Bloozemobile (a 1974 Dodge Monaco) will play songs straight from The Blues Brothers movie along with soul and R&B classics.
Fans can get their groove on to “Soul Man” and sing along with “Sweet Home Chicago.” In addition to tunes made popular by the 1980 film, the band also will play songs from Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago and Motown favorites.
“We even play ‘Uptown Funk,’ ” said frontman Chuck Little, who plays Elwood in the show. “We kind of look at it like, if [the original Blues Brothers] were still together, what would they play.”
The original Blues Brothers, an American blues and soul revival band, began in 1978 as a Saturday Night Live skit by Dan Akroyd and the late John Belushi. The lark had legs and eventually led to the cult classic Hollywood movie, “The Blues Brothers” and a sequel in 2000.
Much like the original band, The Blooze Brothers started out as a gag.
Little, of Poplar Grove, and the group’s original “Joliet Jake,” John Aguila, first donned fedoras and sunglasses about 25 years ago for a Halloween party.
“We dressed up, learned a couple of songs and sang over a couple of back tracks on a cassette,” Little said in a phone interview with the Northwest Herald.
For the next two years, the friends would go out, shades and cassette in hand, and play weddings, parties and other small events for friends.
After about two years, Little and Aguila felt a pull to take their act to the next level. Channeling a little John Belushi, Little recalled the fateful week things changed.
“We needed to put a band together,” Little said.
The same week the Blooze Brothers decided to trade in their tape for a real band, an ad appeared in Illinois Entertainer Magazine.
It read: Blue Brothers band looking for Jake and Elwood.
Little and his then-partner made a call, and that very night, members of the group who were then-looking for new frontmen, drove to Joliet and watched Little and Aguila in action.
The next night, the Blooze Brothers found themselves rehearsing with the band.
“It was like a match on a stick of dynamite,” Little said.
During the past 26 years, the group has lost a few of the original members. Today, Joliet Jake is played by Kevin Pollack of Buffalo Grove.
“But we always quickly fill in,” Little said. “And we’ve expanded. … Today the band features some of the best musicians in Chicagoland.”
The Blooze Brothers, today, features 11 members, including the powerful lead vocals of Sheila Pepple of Wadsworth.
The group plays about 50 shows a year and has performed all over the country.
The Blooze Brothers show will begin at 7 p.m. June 27. The concert is free, and patrons should bring their own seating.
Parking is available in the public lot downtown behind Main Street; the lot next to the Huntley Chamber of Commerce on Coral Street; and on all streets except for Coral Street, according to the village.
All concerts are planned as outdoor events, but will be moved indoors to Cosman Center, 12015 Mill St., if it rains, said Barb Read of the Village Manager’s Office.
For information about the Blooze Brothers band, visit www.bloozebrothers.com.
Schedule of Huntley Summer Concerts:
Date:
Band
Location
June 20th
DJ in the Park & Family Picnic
Deicke Park
June 27th
The Blooze Brothers
Town Square
July 18th
Rock Paper Scissors
Deicke Park
July 25th
Pirates Over 40
Town Square
August 15th
The Young Guns
Deicke Park
August 22nd
Bella Cain
Town Square
August 29th
The Four C Notes
Town Square
Meet the Blooze Brothers:
Chuck Little ( aka Elwood Blooze) Vocals, Harmonica Poplar Grove IL
Kevin Pollack ( aka Joliet Jake Blooze ) Lead Vocal Buffalo Grove IL
Sheila Pepple ( Lead vocalist) Wadsworth IL
Tommy Leershen (keyboards /vocals) Plainfield WI
John Kattke ( lead guitar/vocals) Lisle IL
Jay Olaszek ( bass guitar/vocals) Plainfield IL
Gina Knight ( drums) Joliet IL
Daddy O Dave Picco ( Alto/bari sax) Shorewood, IL
Andy Blanco ( tenor sax) Rolling Meadows IL
Brian Finn (trumpet) Lemont IL
Kevin Cline ( trombone) Chicago