There's a hippie hippie shake-up in Chi-town: Windy City jammers The Freddy Jones Band have parted ways with two original members.|

The band's songwriting core -- Marty Lloyd (vocals, guitars), Wayne Healy (vocals, guitars) and Simon Horrocks (drums) -- have scaled back by dropping the Bonaccorsi brothers (Rob on guitar and Jim on bass) and picking up local bassist Mark Murphy.

Freddy Jones Band cites musical differences for the change, and says the departure was amicable. "We've had a lot of fun and great musical moments with Jim and Rob during the last seven years," Horrocks said in a statement from the band's label, Capricorn Records. "They're talented guys, and we know they'll do well in the future."

Murphy, who has known the band for three years, says he would not count himself as a full-fledged member. "Those guys have been working on building their audience for a while and are very protective of letting anyone else in on a permanent basis," Murphy told JAMTV on Monday.

Formerly the bass player for the now-defunct Chicago outfit Citrus, Murphy sees a lot of similarities between the two bands.

"Both bands are kind of jam-oriented, but Freddy Jones has [more of] a big Allman Brothers sound -- the southern, guitar-driven type."

The 24-year-old Chicago native expects to fit in well with Freddy Jones and is excited at the opportunities it will present him.

"The last gig Citrus played drew 500 people. Freddy Jones Band will draw 5,000. They're a big band, but they're super nice guys. [They don't have any] egos, which is very refreshing."

Murphy could not comment on the nature of the band's fracture and denied rumors that the decision to scale down from a quintet to a foursome had anything to do with financial matters. "I think they're just looking to make their sound a little more stripped down and plain. They'd like to focus on showcasing the musicianship in the group." (Isaac Josephson)