The miffed

The beginnings of The Miffed can be traced back to the summer of 2006 when high school friends Robert Clark and Jim McMahon took up residence in the historic Tacony Music Hall. The two quickly set up shop and began hosting regular jam sessions with friends who had all cut their teeth in the vibrant Philly music scene of the mid-eighties. These gatherings, in accordance with the fickle finger of fate, somehow delivered James Farrell to the scene.

After regularly paying homage to their local heroes during those sessions, the three realized it was high time someone made a record in the great Philadelphia tradition. “Down the Hall” became that record and offers listeners the syncopated rhythms of the Hooters, the raw roots rock of Tommy Conwell and the acerbic wit of Bob Beru. Clark’s soulful voice binds the body of work together and takes one on a journey through musical styles ranging from the driving pop rhythm of the album’s opening track “Looking for You” to the zydeco flavored “Fix the Roof”.

Clark honed his chops working the Bucks County bar circuit playing Classic and Modern Rock ranging from The Police and Led Zeppelin to 3 Doors Down and Green Day. McMahon, a self-proclaimed “wizard of boxes & buttons” and master of stringed instruments large and small, refined his skills over the past 20 years while working as a sideman with Philly adult bubblegum favorites Nixon’s Head. Farrell, drums and percussion, has played with a number of local original and cover bands including Wait For Rain, who opened for the likes of Four Non-Blondes and Live in the early 1990s. Recently added Lenny Oliveri rounds out The Miffed, combining an impressive guitar vocabulary with soulful backing vocals.

The group all appeared on Enabling Peace on Earth, and founder Robert Clark continues to write songs for other Sandbox artists. They reunited for a scorching set at The Roadhouse Inn, which sadly was the last time the group played as a quartet. The great multi-instrumentalist and founding member Jim McMahon, passed away much too young in October 2013. But his and The Miffed's music lives on.