MARAUDER began their existence as Blue Voodoo in the fall of 2005.Their focus was to perform strictly a blues format featuring songs from all eras of the blues,new and old.Michael Lee and K-tron had enjoyed local success with the band Sonic Pie which had an emphasis on old style blues such as Muddy Waters,Wilson Pickett and Robert Johnson.Their guitarist was Robert Kinder,one of Hickory NC's finest blues players.Robert had performed with many great blues men including Bob Margolin,formerly of the Muddy Waters band.
    When Kinder left the band in mid 2005 to pursue other musical interests,the remaining members launched a search for a competent replacement.Mr Sludge was a guitarist the two had known for close to twenty years.He had a hair raising style that complemented their hard driving rhythms and was far more exciting than the tones provided to them by the Pie.Sludge had previously performed in the band Final Drive along with Taylorsville blues prodigy Jamie Trollinger.Trollinger would go on to reach success with the Wilkesboro N.C. band Rude Mood with whom he still plays today.
    Now the stage was set for some serious grooves as the three started to form the nucleus of what was to eventually become Blue Voodoo and ultimately MARAUDER.
    K-tron,who had been predominately a bassist for years,had been working on regaining his guitar skills,which he hadn't used since the late 80's.On the opposite end of the spectrum,Sludge had played guitar for years and and for the last five years had been honing his skills on the bass guitar.A plan was hatched and the two decided that it would benefit their performances and add to the bands flexibility if they were to both play bass and guitar.The result was a product that would give their listeners a broad 
spectrum of musical styles to choose from.
    During this time,K-tron was handling vocal duties for the band.However because of the strain of perfecting his guitar skills,it was decided that it was time to look towards finding a singer.This spot was filled by Granite Falls N.C. native Chuck Oakley.A veteran of the stage wars,Oakley brought a soulful mix of blues and classic rock stylings that mixed real well with what the band were trying to achieve at the time.
    Around this time the band migrated away from the solid blues shows they had become known for.The band members had noticed crowd reaction that resulted from a few classic rock songs they had added to the set.After this the band started experimenting with more songs of this type and added southern rock to their agenda also.This would prove to be a smart move as crowds seemed to be more receptive to the new format.
    Throughout 2006 the band performed an array of shows in the unifour area.In May of 2006,Sludge had traveled to Myrtle Beach S.C. to perform at Spring Bike Week with another group.This would lead to a working relationship with Suck Bang Blow,the areas premier biker bar,that continues to this day.
    In the spring of 2007 Sludge and K-tron started a side project with other musicians.They named the project MARAUDER,which was taken from the Blackfoot album of the same name.
   After Blue Voodoo performed a one week engagement at Spring Bike Week in May 2007,vocalist Chuck Oakley,who had always preferred harder edged rock,decided to part ways to form his own project.Sludge and K-tron decided to merge both bands and went with the name MARAUDER,which they felt personified their hard hitting music style more than their previous name.
    Now the stage was set.K-tron returned to the microphone as lead vocalist and Mr Sludge assumed backing vocal duties.The result would turn out to be the perfect combination of musicians and the formula that would propel the band into a promising musical future.
    Do yourself a favor:SEE THIS BAND