Mark Hummel's Harmonica Party

Bassist, singer and songwriter Richard “RW” Grigsby, has logged several lifetimes on the road, and his early rock and roll roots (Rome, GA near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains) burst out like another famous Richard from Georgia on “Road Scholar,” his story of a musician who has spent too much time on the road, working for too little pay. It’s sung by Red’s Blues drummer Tim Wilbur, a pro’s pro (2017 Sacramento Music Awards and Sacramento Blues Society Hall of Fame member), who brought creative percussion ideas — maracas AND the entire group thigh-slapping percussion. “We sat in chairs in a circle and slapped our thighs at certain points in the song to add accent,” laughs Beth.

“Jackknifed” (co-authored with fellow road warrior Mark Hummel) continues the road theme with bio notes from their Golden State-Lone Star Blues Revue adventures.

RW played with Carlene Carter, Gary Primich, Mike Morgan & The Crawl, Finger Taylor, Mark Hummel’s Golden State Lone Star Revue w/Anson Funderburgh & Little Charlie, JamesCotton & all the Harmonica Blowouts since 2008-2019( Magic, Lee Oskar, Kim Wilson, Billy Boy, Jason Ricci, Carey Bell, Lazy Lester, Estrin, John Primer, Duke, Billy Flynn, Elvin, Gravenities, Ron Thompson, Harman, Rod Piazza & many others)

2014 Grammy-nominated and Blues Music Award (BMA) winner bassist RW Grigsby has been playing since he was 14 years old and began his professional career when still a teenager.  He’s toured the U.S., Canada and Europe since the ’80s, and currently juggles playing with Red’s Blues, Mark Hummel & the Blues Survivors and The Golden State/Lone Star Blues Revue. He played and recorded with Texas blues stars Gary Primich and Black Top Records’ Mike Morgan and the Crawl in the 1990s.  RW is the bassist on the 2014 Grammy-nominated and BMA-winning CD, Remembering Little Walter. He was nominated for a BMA “Best Bassist” Award in 2017 and was inducted into the Sacramento Blues Society Hall of Fame in 2018.

Mark opens up on recording his new record and touring with legends.

Anson Funderburgh

Wes Starr

Kedar Roy

Randy Bermudes

Oscar Wilson

Joe Beard

Billy Flynn

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Multi-instrumentalist and singer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most famous for his blues harmonica. Jim began playing drums while in high school during the 1960’s. Played with A. B. Skhy (https://www.discogs.com/artist/1578341) until 1969 when he helped form Short Stuff where he stayed until 1984. Jim also fronted the Jim Liban Combo featuring Greg Koch, still performing, Jim recently released ‘I Say What I Mean” with The Joel Paterson Trio.

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#johnnywinter #chicagoblues  #grammywinners  #aligator 

Richard L. Shurman He has produced numerous recordings by notable musicians including Johnny Winter, Lurrie Bell, Eddie C. Campbell, Albert Collins, Little Smokey Smothers, Jody Williams, Roy Buchanan, Big Bill Morganfield, Larry Garner, Robert Cray, Hip Linkchain, Magic Slim, Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Rush, Johnny Heartsman, and Fenton Robinson. Shurman has also written many liner notes, and is the publisher of Chicago Blues News. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping the Blues Alive” award.[6] He co-produced Showdown!, an album which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1987.

Shurman was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2014 for his multitudinous contributions as a ‘non-performer’.

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At age nineteen, Duke Robillard recruited Greg as one of the earliest members of what became the Rhode Island based powerhouse, Roomful of Blues. The unifying magnet within the group in its early years, 1969 -1971, was focus on the rootsy, retro, danceable, swing sound of the ‘40s and ‘50s. This “new” sound to teenage ears and the recall of this music to the older folks, filled dance floors all over the band’s New England home-base and eventually on the global stage.

For the next twenty-four years, Greg Piccolo had amazing experiences playing with and/or recording with such music legends as Big Joe Turner, Earl King, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson”, Pat Benetar, Red Prysock, Stevie Ray Vaughan, to mention only a few.

As Roomful players would come and go, Greg’s twenty-five year contribution evolved to lead singer and bandleader, all the while being noticed world-wide for his signature “fat” tenor sound, unique sax style, and distinguishable vocals.

After nearly twenty-five years with Roomful of Blues, Greg sensed a calling to go back to his roots and develop his “heavy juice” sound. This “less is more” approach gave him the freedom to cover the gamut of his musical longings, which include traditional jazz, r&b, and rock’n roll. He had compiled a well of songs which demanded their own arrangements and band configurations outside of the classic “Roomful sound.” In 1994 he stepped away and officially formed his own band, Heavy Juice, which led to his first solo release, self-titled, “Greg Piccolo Heavy Juice,” on the legendary Louisiana-based Black Top label.

Following were two releases, Red Lights and Acid Blue, on the famous California-based Fantasy Label (now Concord), and his first all instrumental tenor sax release titled “Homage” on the Pennsylvania-based Emit Doog label.

His most recent release, “Who Did This?” is a tribute to his favorite sax recordings and includes an original recorded tenor instrumental.

Now at seventy years of age, Greg Piccolo is still practicing his horn every day, writing his own material, and traveling the world with Heavy Juice.

Piccolo is an example of someone who has always played from his heart.

Lady Bianca is an American electric blues singer, songwriter and arranger. Lady Bianca has worked as a session singer, depicted Billie Holiday on stage, and since 1995 released six solo albums, three of which were nominated for a Grammy Award. Born Bianca Thornton, in Kansas City, Missouri, her first exposure to music was through gospel, and she studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her first professional gig was with Quinn Harris and the Masterminds, when she was aged 17. Harris dubbed her ‘Lady Bianca’, and the combination contributed two tracks to a compilation album released by Reynolds Records in 1970.

In 1972, she played the role of Billie Holiday in the San Francisco stage production of Jon Hendricks’ Evolution of the Blues. In the mid 1970s, she worked in various clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she met bass guitarist Henry Oden. They were subsequently married for 15 years. She then joined Sly and the Family Stone as backing vocalist and keyboard player, and appeared on their 1976 album, Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back. Starting in October the same year, she toured for one month with Frank Zappa in North America, and a recording of her singing “Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station” appeared in 1992 on You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6. The complete concert of 29 October 1976 in The Spectrum, Philadelphia (with Lady Bianca singing on several tracks) was published on two CDs by the Zappa Family Trust in 2009, entitled Philly ’76, on which she is credited as Bianca Odin. The release included the previously released version of “Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station,” as well as “Dirty Love” and “You Didn’t Try To Call Me.” She is also heard employing the technique of multi-phonics with her voice on a wordless solo in “Black Napkins.” After November 11, she left the band because of conflicts with Zappa.

When not touring, she performed locally in the recording studio, backing musicians such as Lee Oskar, Merle Haggard and Taj Mahal. In 1977, she co-founded the short-lived ensemble Vitamin E, and they released the commercially doomed Sharing album on Buddah Records. Lady Bianca then joined another group, Zingara, which was set up by Lamont Dozier in 1980. The trio included James Ingram, Wali Ali and Lady Bianca, but again, it did not have any lasting appeal. Between 1981 and 1986, Lady Bianca toured with and recorded backing vocals for Van Morrison, appearing on recordings such as Beautiful Vision (1982), Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983), Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (1984), A Sense of Wonder (1985), and No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986). Lady Bianca also worked with John Lee Hooker and Willie Dixon.

In 1984, she met Stanley Lippitt, a songwriter and her eventual husband. She continued to perform locally and undertook more low-key recording work. After recording demos with Lippitt, she was noticed by Joe Louis Walker who helped arrange a recording contract. Her debut solo album, Best Kept Secret was released in 1995 on Telarc Distribution. Her backing vocals work continued in the 1990s, when she worked with Frankie Lee and Maria Muldaur. Lady Bianca’s next solo effort was the critically acclaimed Rollin’ (2001), which was released on the Rooster Blues label. Bianca formed her own record label, Magic-O Records, and with Lippitt have their own production and publishing company. Further albums were recorded and issued on Magic-O. These included All by Myself (2004), Let Love Have Its Way (2005), Through a Woman’s Eyes (2007), and A Woman Never Forgets (2009). In April 2007, at the Bay Area Black Music Awards, Lady Bianca was awarded as Best Blues Performer.

In March 2008, she was voted into the West Coast Blues Society Hall of Fame. In 2009, she appeared with Van Morrison at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Lady Bianca and the Magic-O Rhythm Band have appeared at many blues music festivals, including the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1987, the Sarasota Blues Fest in 1996, and the Monterey Bay Blues Festival in 2008. Three of her albums have been nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Kept Secret, Rollin’, and Through a Woman’s Eyes.

The Dick Bright Orchestra has built a reputation as being San Francisco’s premier social band. They also travel to perform throughout the U.S. for conventions, corporate events, fundraisers, weddings, and private parties. Based on Dick Bright’s colorful career history, we couldn’t wait to interview him and share more with you about what makes him so knowledgable and entertaining. Enjoy! Born in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in West Los Angeles, Rod Serling was president of his junior high school, and actress Katey Sagal from Married With Children was in his high school acting class! Dick’s father was a public school music teacher at the same school for forty five years, taught private lessons, and played weddings and bar mitzvahs on the weekends. Dick attended to Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades where he played in the orchestra and took acting classes – loving both arts. “It’s why I like combining music with a flair for a show and comedy as well. Sybil Maxwell, my violin teacher, was one of the top teachers in Los Angeles (she studied with Jascha Heifetz considered the world’s greatest violinist), and I was being groomed to hopefully grow up and play in a major symphony. When I got to UC Davis I discovered girls and rock and roll. Needless to say, my classical career was over. I went on to double major in music and acting.” Dick went straight from college to play in an original rock band in Berkeley, California called Little Roger and the Goosebumps. We had a novelty hit called Stairway to Gilligan’s Island—the words from Gilligan’s Island and the music from Stairway to Heaven. Led Zepplin threatened a law suit. We got mentioned in Rolling Stone. I was hooked on show biz by then. For twenty five years Dick’s been performing the National Anthem for the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants. “As a sports nut, so this is probably the biggest thrill every year — to step on the court or the field. I feel like I’m about twelve years old! Plus it’s the most nervous I get (no band to cover my mistakes!). I even got to do God Bless America at a World Series game and the anthem for the Home Run Derby when it was at AT&T Park.”

Peter Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock music musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues. He usually plays bass, keyboards, or both in bands.

Pete Sears played on the Rod Stewart albums Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story (which was listed high in Rolling Stone‘s top 500 best albums of all time), Never a Dull Moment, and Smiler. He also played on the hit singles “Maggie May“, and “Reason to Believe“. During this period, Sears toured the US with Long John Baldry blues band, and played with John Cipollina in Copperhead.

Sears joined the band Jefferson Starship in 1974 and remained with the group through the transition to Starship, before departing in 1987. After leaving Starship he worked with bluesman Nick Gravenites, and many other artists including Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Maria Muldaur, Rich Kirch, Taj Mahal, and Mimi Farina. (1992 to 2002) he played keyboards in the Jorma Kaukonen Trio with Kaukonen and Michael Falzarano, and with Kaukonen, Falzarano, and Jack Casady and Harvey Sorgen in Hot Tuna.

Sears has played with many other musicians through the years, including Dr. John, John Lee Hooker, Leigh Stephens and Micky Waller in Silver Metre; Long John Baldry, Copperhead with John Cipollina, Jerry Garcia, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Levon Helm, Steve Kimock, Dave Hidalgo, Sons of Fred, Fleur de Lyse, Sam Gopal Dream, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Brown, Bob Weir, Los Cenzontles, Phil Lesh, Leftover Salmon, and Los Lobos.[5][6] Currently, he divides his time between the David Nelson Band, Chris Robinson and Green Leaf Rustlers, Zero, California Kind, Harvey Mandel, and Moonalice.

Sears has also written and recorded the original score for many documentary films, including the award-winning “The Fight in the Fields” – Cesar Chávez and the Farmworkers Struggle directed by Ray Telles and Rick Tehada Flores. His most recent film, also directed by Ray Telles and co-produced by Ken Rabin, is called The Storm That Swept Mexico (2011) about the Mexican Revolution.

#elviscostello #lindaronstadt #bozscaggs #bonnieraitt #nicklowe Austin de Lone is an American keyboardist who records and tours with his own bands as well as with other artists, such as Bill Kirchen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Nick Lowe, Commander Cody, and Loudon Wainwright. De Lone grew up in suburban Philadelphia, taking piano lessons at age 12. His early influences included Ray Charles and George Shearing. After stints as a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, Harvard University, and University of California, Berkeley, he moved to Greenwich Village.[3] While at Harvard, de Lone composed the song “One for One,” which was the first single released by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. Eggs over Easy In 1969, de Lone formed the band Eggs over Easy with Jack O’Hara and Brien Hopkins.[4] In 1970, Chas Chandler persuaded the band to record in London, but those recordings were not released. A four-night-a-week residency at a pub called the Tally-Ho in Kentish Town lasted more than a year. Eggs over Easy played a blend of blues, country, and rock that became known as pub rock. Regular attendees of their shows included members of Brinsley Schwarz and BBC disc jockey John Peel. In 1972, they returned to California and released their first album Good ‘N’ Cheap produced by Link Wray. The Moonlighters De Lone moved to Marin, California in 1972, where he met Bill Kirchen, who had been performing with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. In the late 70s, de Lone joined Kirchen’s side-project band, the Moonlighters. Their 1983 album Rush Hour was produced by Nick Lowe. Both de Lone and Kirchen later worked with Lowe and Elvis Costello. De Lone and Kirchen still record and perform together. In 2016, they released their duet album Transatlantica. The Christmas Jug Band De Lone is a member of the Christmas Jug Band, a collection of musicians who have been touring locally each holiday season since 1976, and releasing albums since 1987. The band has included musicians such as Dan Hicks, Tim Eschliman, Jim Rothermel, Lance Dickerson, Brien Hopkins, and Norton Buffalo. Richard de Lone Special Housing Project De Lone coordinates an annual fundraiser for eventual construction of the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project, a residential facility for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome, which de Lone’s son Richard is afflicted with. As part of the 2007 event, Elvis Costello reunited with Clover, the band who backed him on his first album My Aim is True.

Bill Champlin was born in Oakland, California on May 21, 1947 to a musical family. His grandparents, mother and sisters have all been singers. After forming the Sons of Champlin in 1967, he focused his songwriting talents on material for the Sons. “They were breathing fire. They were the most talented of all the San Francisco bands”, said Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. The Sons’ first album, “Loosen Up Naturally,” was released in 1969 and followed by six more albums before the Sons disbanded in 1977. After the breakup of the Sons, Bill moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session vocalist on numerous recordings from 1977 to 1985. The artists he worked with included Patti LaBelle, Lou Rawls, Elton John, Boz Scaggs, Donna Summer, Nancy Wilson, George Benson,  Jimmy Smith,  Amy Grant, Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers. In 1978 he released his first solo album, “Single.” In 1979 he won his first Grammy award for co-writing “After the Love is Gone,” which was later recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire. During the Chicago/EWF tours in 2004 and 2005, Champlin was asked to perform this song with them, as lead singer. In 1982 he joined Chicago to record “Chicago 16.” His unique and expressive voice can be heard on “Hard Habit to Break” from Chicago 17. Bill’s 1988 recording of the song “In the Heat of the Night” was picked up as the show opener by the TV show of the same name. The following year Chicago released what turned out to be it’s biggest-selling single and their last No. 1 hit, “Look Away,” once again with Bill on lead vocal. Four more solo albums followed from Bill’s fertile mind: “Burn Down The Night” (1992), “Through It All” (1994), “He Started To Sing” (1995) and “Mayday” (1996). In July 1997 Chicago topped the adult contemporary chart with “Here in My Heart,” as the band once again turned to Bill for lead vocals. That same year also rendered the release of  “West Coast All Stars,” an a cappella project he did with Jason Scheff of Chicago and Toto’s Bobby Kimball and Joseph Williams. The Sons of Champlin reunited in 1997, with a loyal group of enthusiastic fans traveling great distances to see them perform. They recorded “Live At The Luther Burbank Center” in 1998, as well as “Secret” (CD and DVD) and “Hip Lil’ Dreams” in 2002. Bill’s solo release “No Place Left To Fall” (CD and DVD), recorded at The Barber Shop Studios in Hopatcong, NJ for the Dream Makers Music label. It was first released by JVC Japan in September 2008, as well as being released for digital downloading, and later released in Europe by Zync Music in December. The U.S. release by Dream Makers came in August 2009. On the heels of that US release and after 28 years with Chicago, Bill parted ways with the band to focus more on his solo career. “This music is callin’ me,” he said.