Jo started Grains of Sand in November of 2005, after leaving 4 Corners. She wanted a band that was eager to play original tunes, as well as traditional folk songs, and allow her powerful voice to be heard as the primary lead singer. The band consisted of Bob Miranda, a phenomenal guitar player and co-song writer, who came in from Los Angeles to play most gigs, Louie Levinson on pedal steel, guitar and vocals, Jack Wood on bass, Shanti Foster on fiddle, mandolin, guitar and vocals and Jo Wilkinson, vocals and occasionally guitar. The band has recently gone through a reconfiguration: Gene Holmes, yet another phenomenal guitar player, has joined up, as Bob Miranda can no longer make the trips from Los Angeles. Shanti Foster, whose tremendous contribution is found on their cd, is no longer part of the group.
Our CD: "Jo Wilkinson and Grains of Sand" is a sweet blend of voices and instruments, folk, country, blues, all original tunes, and is getting airtime on KXCI 91.3, Tucson community radio. It is available on this website, as well as lala.com. All of the original members of the band recorded the CD. Most of the members of the band also perform on Jo and Eligh's album, "On Sacred Ground: Mother and Son" released March 10, 2009!
Gene Holmes
Gene, who plays with Louie Levinson's band "Cochise County Allstars", has recently joined up with the Grains of Sand, adding the sweetest electric sounds from his brilliant guitar playing, giving the band yet another unique quality. Gene Holmes has played with some of the greats over the years, including Little Richard!
Louie Levinson
Louie plays pedal steel, lap steel, dobro and guitar for Grains of Sand. He also lends his sweet country voice, now and then. He is a native of Tombstone, Arizona. Louie lived in the Chicago area for 24 years, playing Latin jazz as a founding member of Mestizo and pedal steel guitar with alternative-country groups Utah Carol, Red Star Belgrade, and the Peterbilts. Louie returned to Arizona in 2001. Now living in Tucson, he plays with his terrific country music band The Cochise County All-Stars, his Latin jazz group the Bossa Rhythm Project, and he plays guitar with Big In Vegas.
Jack Wood
Jack Wood started playing electric bass in high school and picked up the acoustic bass in his late twenties. After free lancing on the East Coast, he joined the cruise-ship circuit then returned to finish his English degree at Rutgers Univ., where he played in the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble with Terence Blanchard and Ralph Peterson. There he played often with Kenny Barron who mentored small ensembles as well as play with a number of jazz greats such as Dave Liebman, George Coleman and Sonny Stitt, Cedar Walton, Wallace Roney and Kevin Eubanks. After moving to Tucson to study Computer Science, Jack had an opportunity to play with Bobby Shew, George Cables, Ed Soph, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs, Clarke Terry, Bill Watrous, Charles McPhearson, Red Holloway, Benny Carter, Diane Shuur, Pete Christlieb, Chuck Mahronic, and Brice Winston, among others. Here in Tucson, Jack free lances and is a regular member in such groups as Bossa Rhythm Project, Brice Winston's quartet, the Arthur Statman Group and Big Band Express, among others.
