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The Phoenix
Blues Society is proud to present Sugar Ray & the
Bluetones as this year’s headliner for Blues Blast
2012. The band’s current release, Evening, has
been nominated for five Blues Music Awards including album
of the year, band of the year and Sugar Ray has been
nominated in the instrumentalist – harmonica category.
Front man Sugar Ray Norcia’s
career kicked into high gear in 1979 when he and Ronnie Earl formed the
original Sugar Ray & the Bluetones, and it has stayed there ever since.
Norcia has appeared on nearly 50 albums including discs with the Bluetones,
Ronnie Earl, Otis Grand, Ann Peebles, Michelle Wilson, Sax Gordon, Duke
Robillard, and his 1999 “Best Traditional Blues” Grammy nominated
collaboration with fellow harp virtuosos James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite
and Billy Branch called Super Harps.
Norcia spent seven high-profile years in the
’90s with the legendary Roomful of Blues and cut five albums with them
including Grammy nominated Turn It On, Turn It Up. Today Norcia’s
élan and robust tone makes his voice one of the most distinctive,
well-defined and recognizable instruments in modern blues. As Kim Wilson of
the Fabulous Thunderbirds noted, “There is nobody better to represent this
music.”
For more information on Sugar Ray & the Bluetones, visit their website at:
www.sugarrayandthebluetones.com
---
 The
Sugar Thieves, out of Phoenix Arizona, have a sultry blues roots
foundation, and powerhouse delta sound that will take you back in time. They
also come equip with a fresh new style, high-energy showmanship, and a song
list that brings music enthusiasts, of any age, to their feet to shake that
meat! For two years running, 2008 and 2009, The Sugar Thieves won the
Phoenix Blues Society’s Arizona Blues Showdown, and were voted best blues
band in the state. They went on to carry Arizona’s flag to the International
Blues Challenge in Memphis TN (Feb. 2009/Jan. 2010) where they were voted
one of the top ten unsigned blues bands in the world in 09. In 2010 The
Sugar Thieves brought home the “People’s Choice” award for their venue, The
Old Daisy Theatre on Beale St.
It’s not just Blues lovers that appreciate The
Sugar Thieves’ toe tapping tunes. They were also voted best Americana band
in '09 by the Phoenix New Times’ “Summer of Sound Series,” and nominated for
Best Local Band in Phoenix as well. The singular vision that drives this
band is to put on a show that’s worth writing home about.
Meridith Moore’s voice has range
and projection. Her sultry sound will bring you to your knees, and her
energetic stage presence will lift you off your feet. Mikel Lander’s dirty
pounder guitar style will take you back to the front porch pickin’ ways of
the South. His gravely vocals mix almost with perfection to Moore’s. On the
drums is David Libman, a one man wall of sound. He has rhythm and grace
behind his kit, and a life time of experience driving the beat for bands
around Arizona. Shea Marshall is a master on keys, and the crowd goes wild
when he plays multiple saxophones at the same time. You’ll also see Marshall
playing anything from railroad spikes to the clarinet. He’s a professional
show stopper. Newest member of the group, Jeff Naylor, slaps and pops his
upright bass with ease. He is one of the Phoenix valley’s best upright
players, and has been playing bass for decades on a national level.
The Sugar Thieves perform all
over the US, and have shared the stage with major acts B.B. King, Susan
Tedeschi, Blues Traveler, The Wailers, Pinetop Perkins, and Tommy Castro,
just to name a few. They have performed at major festivals such as the 2010
Telluride Blues and Brews Festival in Colorado, 2010 Jazz on the Green
festival in Omaha NE, the '08, '09, and 2010 McDowell Mountain Music
Festival in Arizona, the 2010 Riverside Blues Festival in St. Mary’s Ohio,
and many more. You can find more info on The Sugar Thieves at
TheSugarThieves.com
Members of "The Sugar Thieves"
include: Mikel Lander (Guitar/Vocals), Meridith Moore (Lead Vocals), Dave
Libman (Drums), and Shea Marshall (Sax/Keys), and Jeff Naylor (Bass).
---
 A
strong love for Delta Blues is the tie that binds the duo of Dave Riley
and Bob Corritore. Dave Riley was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and
spent his early years learning Gospel. Barely a teenager he moved to Chicago
and ended up living on the westside near Maxwell Street where he was steeped
in the blues. It wasn't until he was drafted to serve in Vietnam that he
began to take the blues seriously.
Riley later met up with Blues legends Sam Carr,
Frank Frost, and John Weston, and revitalized his career in the mid 90s and
they formed a friendship and a music bond which would lead Dave back to the
Delta and back into Blues full time. Dave has been playing music in the
Delta and taking the Delta back to Chicago just like all those Blues men
before him. Bob Corritore
grew up in Chicago and fell in with the blues early on, taking up harmonica
at age 13, and learning the harmonica style that gave the city its great
blues tradition. A student of Big Walter Horton, Little Willie Anderson,
Louis Myers, Big Leon Brooks, and others, Bob played around Chicago with
some of the greatest of that city's bluesmen, until relocating in Phoenix in
1981. Their sophomore
album, Lucky To Be Living, is a natural progression of the duo’s
five-year musical and personal relationship that developed out of the Deep
South. The duo plays powerful down home blues deeply rooted in the Chicago
and Mississippi styles that represent Corritore and Riley’s respective
upbringings. Their instinctive blues chemistry and enduring friendship
prompts wild, fun and enthusiastic performances.
Highly celebrated and world
traveled with many festival appearances under their belts, Riley and
Corritore’s debut album, Travelin’ The Dirt Road, released in
September 2007, received much critical acclaim. It was a 2008 Blues Music
Award Nominee for Acoustic Album of The Year and Blues Blast Music Award
Nominee for Best Traditional Blues Recording. Produced by Bob Corritore,
Lucky To Be Living continues in the same traditional vein upholding the
tradition of the legendary Jelly Roll Kings with four Riley originals as
well as songs by Riley’s friends, Frank Frost, John Weston and Fred James.
Riley and Corritore will be performing
throughout the day at Blues Blast 2012, providing a taste of blues
between each act.
---
 Big
Daddy D & the Dynamites was founded in 1998 by guitarists (Big Daddy D)
Darryl Porras and Drew Hall. Initially performing on Prescott’s famed
Whiskey Row; the band now performs throughout Northern Arizona as well as
Phoenix as is expanding its sites on touring regionally as their popularity
builds. Winners of the
2007 Arizona Blues Showdown, Big Daddy D & the Dynamites have their place in
IBC lore as they went to compete in Memphis against over 100 bands from
around the world. As their reputation grows, Big Daddy D & the Dynamites
have performed previously at Blues Blast, the Glendale Jazz & Blues Festival
as well as the Bisbee Blues Festival.
The band is comprised of Darryl & Drew on
guitars & vocals, bassist Steve Ayers joined the band in 2006 and
saxophonist extraordinaire Gary Regina of Sistah Monica’s band joined in
2010. Bringing new blood to the band is drummer Sonny Ryan, all of 21 years
old, who will be keeping the back end tight for the band this year.
The band has released three CDs to date:
That’s D Blues, Love Jones, and their current release, Down,
Boy! Down, Boy has spent time on B.B. King’s Bluesville as a
“Pick to Click” and was favorably reviewed in the January 2012 edition of
Blues Blast magazine.
For more information on the band, please visit their Facebook page or their
website at:
www.bigdaddydblues.com
---
 Inducted
into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 2006, George Bowman has been
singing Blues and R&B in the Phoenix area for many years. George gives his
unique flavor to Blues standards and his original songs. George has recorded
two albums of original music, and most recently, one of his earlier
recordings was picked up by Numero Group Records for a blues and soul
compilation.
 Blues
guitarist Lucius Parr is the cousin of the late Albert Collins and
grew up in Yokum, Texas, influenced by the music of Collins and BB King,
among others. These influences can be heard in his unique style of playing.
Lucius has performed in bands in the Phoenix area for 30 years, and has
recorded five albums of blues, with his most recent disc being released in
February 2012. Lucius and George are backed by the Baddboyz Blues Band,
featuring Lucius’ brother Lamar on keyboards, cousin and drummer
extraordinaire Bam Bam, Dominic Therrien on bass, and percussionist Kenn
Wood.
This band performs many styles
of music with an intensity and professionalism second to none, and is the
perfect counterpoint to George’s smooth vocals. If you haven’t heard George
Bowman and the Baddboyz Blues Band before, Blues Blast will be the perfect
occasion to do so. ---
 Common
Ground Blues stands out with tone-filled vibrant guitar work, killer
keyboards, a tight rhythm section and compelling vocals, all delivered with
style. Glen Russell met Brian Eddie in 1998, each looking for the right band
to play in. Together they co-founded Common Ground Blues, and then quickly
became an palpable force on the Blues scene.
The sound is primarily Blues guitar and B3 driven, while Glen sings it out
for the crowd.
Earl Abbott started piano lessons at the tender age of nine, and adds
touches of jazz and blues to give CGB tons of flavor, and enough color to
fill any artists pallet. Timothy Kinsey on Bass is a road warrior, and he
can give a song whatever it needs to move you. Guy Mazzo started drum
lessons at the age of 11, and formed his first band by the age of 13.
Together Guy and Tim lay down the groove for CGB’s Big Blues sound!
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