"I had a blowout and needed to replace the tire and remove the spare," said Blevins, leader and guitarist of the Denton-based band, Mingo Fishtrap. "The directions I got said this junkyard was on Mingo-Fishtrap Road, so I drove around on this donut of a tire all through the country, trying to find the place. I finally came upon this intersection and thought ‘what an unusual combination of establishments out here in the middle of nowhere.’ The name stuck with me and that’s what I decided to call the band."

A nine-member band with horn section, keyboardist, and Latin percussionist is certainly an unusual combination in a music scene known for the standard "bass and guitar" format. Mingo Fishtrap’s sound has been described as soul, jazz, funk, blues, and rock, among other things.

"Our sound is hard to categorize. I would describe it as deep fried soul with 60’s and 70’s funk influences and a New Orleans twist," said Blevins. The Louisiana flair comes from Blevins’ father, Roger Sr., who spent time playing bass in bands around Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and who has been a member of the current lineup of Mingo Fishtrap for seven months. The original lineup met in 1992 as students at the University of North Texas College of Music.

While the crowd at Antone’s this particular Wednesday night was not large, there were only about thirty in the audience, those that were there had their heads bobbing and feet tapping. A typical Mingo Fishtrap show has a full dance floor and an audience ready to soak up the energy being emanated from the stage. But the lack of active audience participation did not seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Throughout the show, the horn section pulled off slick choreography and mimicked lyrics, at one point jumping off stage and traipsing through the crowd, Mardi Gras parade style.

Covers of the Cajun classic, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" and the 70s hit, "Pick Up the Pieces" from the Average White Band were there to get the crowd moving, but it’s their original pieces that reflect the band’s tightness and ability to execute smooth transitions between genres. Like on the tune, "People Person," Blevins delivered vocals ranging from smooth Texas blues through a rapid-fire hip-hop delivery.

References to the dream sequence in Oklahoma ("Oh, What a Beautiful Morning") and numbers paying homage to everyone from Otis Redding and Wilson Picket to Cameo and Lauryn Hill made the show a mirthful overview of music history. Throwing in some vocal D.J. scratching and rap licks that would make Will Smith proud, Blevins provided the hub around which this ragtag crew revolved.

"Everyone in the band is real comfortable on stage. There are no pretensions going on. We are all just having a good time with it when we are up there," said Blevins when asked what made Mingo Fishtrap’s live show so captivating.

"The best audiences for us are the ones that are here for the music. They are the ones that know where we are coming from," elaborated Blevins. "We had a great show opening up for The Dirty Dozen because they have such a great following."

Blevins is the band’s chief songwriter, but admits that the whole band contributes something unique to the finished product. "The collaboration process is great, but it’s crazy. I bring a song to the group and everyone flushes it out. Eventually, it is totally different than my original version."

Mingo Fishtrap has one released CD, "Succotash," that can be purchased on their web site www.mingofishtrap.com. Fans will be happy to know that new music might be in the near future.