The Subdudes often credit their songwriting to the group as a whole, although the primary songwriters are Tommy Malone and John Magnie, both former members of Little Queenie and the Percolators. Current members of the band are Malone, vocals, acoustic, electric and slide guitars; Magnie, vocals, accordion, keyboards; Steve Amedée, tambourine, drums, other percussions, and vocals; Tim Cook, percussion, bass and vocals; and Jimmy Messa, bass and guitar. They are an Americana band with a rock-based sound that also shows soul, gospel, blues, cajun/zydeco, country, and other American roots music influences. Their former bass player was Johnny Ray Allen, who had not been with the band since their 1996 farewell tour until a brief reunion in 2014. Willie Williams also contributed to three albums: Annunciation, Primitive Streak and Live at Last as a second guitarist. Annunciation was produced by legendary record producerGlyn Johns, who also produced The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, and Crosby, Stills and Nash among others. After regrouping in 2002, Bob Dylan's guitarist Freddy Koella helped produce Miracle Mule. The albumBehind the Levee was produced by bluesman Keb' Mo' and yielded a minor hit, "Papa Dukie and the Mud People". Released in late 2007, the albumStreet Symphony was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Blackbird Studios in March 2007 and was produced by George Massenburg, who has worked with Little Feat. Released in late 2008, Live at the Ram's Head is available on CD or as a two DVD set, with one disc being the live show from "The Ram's Head" in Annapolis, Maryland, and the second DVD being Unplugged at Pleasant Plains, with interviews and live studio footage from the recording of Street Symphony in Nashville. Most recently, the band's self-produced Flower Petals was recorded in Magnie's basement studio then mixed in Miami, Florida by The Albert Brothers and Steve Alaimo. The album was a departure for the band, being much more country-oriented than previous releases. The cover art was by William Matthews, a Denver, Colorado artist well known for his Old West-style paintings. Flower Petals was originally slated to be recorded as the follow-up to Miracle Mule in 2004 but was nixed by the band's record company at the time, Back Porch Records. Five years later, the band members financed the recording themselves then shopped around the completed tapes. The Subdudes' stature as New Orleans musicians was reflected by their inclusion individually and as a group in the HBO series Treme. After a hiatus starting in 2011, the original line-up reunited in March 2014, with Johnny Ray Allen on bass. Allen died on August 8, 2014 at age 56. The band has continued to tour with Tim Cook on bass.
