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Each week Aki brings with him a special guest performer!

www.akikumar.com/tuesday-night-blues-jam

About Aki Kumar:

Dynamic frontman & harp player Aki Kumar is a bonafide star among the next generation of West Coast blues artists and the world’s first professional blues harmonica player to hail from India. A master of the hugely influential Chicago blues sound, Kumar inherits his style from the harp legends of the 1950s and 60s. Aki has a unique voice in the blues, blending elements of blues harmonica pioneers of yesteryear with a signature sound of his own.

“..old school blues at its finest by way of India. And the lad has soul to spare.”
Dan Aykroyd aka Elwood Blues

Born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) – India, Kumar has long established his mark on the West Coast blues scene as a top-notch frontman, vocalist , entertainer and blues harp player. The Aki Kumar Blues Band has been the culmination of his journey through American roots music and constantly showcases his ever-evolving sound. This band performs vintage blues with tremendous skill and energy and is guaranteed to entertain audiences across all venues, from intimate listening rooms to large festivals.

“(Kumar) has a natural propensity for the music, with a rich, deep tone and a sensitive, economic style that emphasizes feel over flash.”
Jonny Whiteside, LA TIMES

In recent years, Aki Kumar has performed all across the United States and internationally (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, India), collaborating with some of the top blues artists on the scene. He has also contributed his blues harmonica licks to numerous recordings produced on the West Coast in the last decade, including several albums produced at the world renowned Greaseland Studios. This year marks another exciting year for Aki Kumar, with upcoming recording projects, internationals appearances and other musical collaborations across the world.

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Thompson was born in Oakland, California, United States, and had mastered basic guitar and slide guitar techniques by his mid-teens.[1] He was educated at Newark Memorial High School, in Newark, California.[2] In the early 1970s, Thompson played backing to Little Joe Blue, and worked solo and as a sideman in San Francisco Bay Area clubs. He joined John Lee Hooker’s backing band in 1975, staying with him for three years. In 1980, Thompson formed his own group, the Resisters, and secured a recording contract with Takoma Records.[1] He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1978, 1979 and 1983.

In 1983, he released his debut album, Treat Her Like Gold. Thompson also found employment separately working with Lowell Fulson, Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Thompson’s second album Resister Twister was released in 1987 and nominated for a Grammy Award,[3] plus 1990’s Just Like a Devil, was taken from his work on Mark Naftalin’s Blue Monday Party radio show.[1]

Thompson’s 2007 album, Resonator was a purely acoustic production.[3]

Pianist Sid Morris as a teenager in the 60’s he began playing piano in a blues band with South Bay blues pioneer Gary Smith. Gary later introduced him to pianist Alberto Gianquinto, a San Francisco native who was a member of the original James Cotton Blues Band. For a short time in the early 70’s, Alberto was his mentor. Currently residing in San Jose, Sid has been performing since 1970 and continues to be an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Raised in Houston, Texas before his family moved to the South Bay, Sid performed at the very first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 and subsequently appeared at four other SF Blues Festivals. During his early years on the scene, Sid was mentored by Alberto Gianquinto. In 1976, Sid participated in the now legendary recording of the album, Blue Bay, an anthology featuring the elite of Bay Area musicians.

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Grammy Nominee, Blues Award Winner, Author, Harp Man Mark Hummel has had a banner year in 2014! Grammy Nominated for his “Remembering Little Walter” CD he produced and performed on, Mark also won Best Blues CD AND Blues Traditional Blues CD at Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Mark’s, “The Hustle Is Really On” climbed to # 2 this year and stayed in the top five for four months in the Living Blues Radio Charts. Hummel’s book BIG ROAD BLUES:12 Bars on I-80, has been garnering rave reviews all around the U.S., and was nominated for best Independent Book release.

Mark Hummel started playing harmonica in 1970 & has gone on to become one of the premier blues harmonica players of his generation. Thanks to over thirty recordings since 1985, including the Grammy nominated 2013 release Blind Pig recording “Remembering Little Walter”, part of the Blues Harmonica Blowout cd series Hummel started in 1991. These events have featured every major legend (Mayall, Musslwhite, Cotton, etc.) on blues harp as well as almost every player of note on the instrument- a who’s who of players.

Hummel is a road warrior – a true Blues Survivor. Along the way, he has crafted his own trademark harmonica sound – a subtle combination of tone, phrasing and attack combined with a strong sense of swing. Mark has been with Electro Fi Records since 2000,releasing five CDs. Thanks to Mark’s earlier albums, constant touring and appearances at the major blues festivals, he’s firmly established his solid reputation around the US and Europe.

Born in New Haven, CT but raised in Los Angeles till he graduated high school. Mark moved to the Berkeley at age 18 to pursue a career in blues music, where he felt the music was taken more seriously.

Mark started the Blues Survivors in 1977 w/ Mississippi Johnny Waters. By 1984 Hummel began a life of non- stop touring of US, Canada & overseas, which he still continues at least 130-150 days out of each year. Hummel has toured or recorded with blues legends Charles Brown, Charlie Musselwhite, Lowell Fulson, Billy Boy Arnold, Carey Bell, Lazy Lester, Brownie McGhee, Eddie Taylor, Luther Tucker and Jimmy Rogers.

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Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s have been the torchbearers of a great American blues musical heritage, not for three years but three decades. Taking their inspiration from the great jump n’ boogie outfits of the late 40s and early 50s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock n’roll. Woods styled his group after the jumpin’ n’ jivin’, shoutin’ n’ honkin’, pumpin’ n’ poundin’ bands of Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Amos Milburn, and Roy Milton. Adding a healthy dose of New Orleans rhythm and blues, piledrivin’ piano, and some of his own contemporary playful lyrics, Woods and His Rocket 88s forge their own brand of music they call “rock-a-boogie.”

Born in Brooklyn in 1951, Mitch Woods began playing classical piano at eleven, but his real initiation into blues and boogie piano had already been assured at age eight. “My mom would hire this superintendent of the building, a black man, Mr. Brown, to take me to school, and we stopped off at his cousin’s house, where somebody was playing boogie-woogie piano. It really hit me.”

Woods was putting together bands in Greenwich Village by his mid-teens. By the time he entered the University of Buffalo, Woods was sitting in at local clubs and discovering records by boogie-woogie pioneers Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson. Woods came to San Francisco in 1970, and for the next five years performed as Mitch Woods and His Red Hot Mama (with singer Gracie Glassman). One night Oakland guitarist Hi Tide Harris heard Woods opening for Charlie Musselwhite and was reminded of the sound and theatrics of early R&B pioneer Louis Jordan. Indeed, Jordan has always been a primary influence on Woods. “I actually did see Louie Jordan in Oakland. He was the bridge between swing and rock and roll. He would do a five or six piece band, get a lot of power out of that.”

That kind of power was to become rallying cry for Mitch’s next project, Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s, which started in 1980 and quickly rose to the top of the Northern California club circuit. Their first album, Steady Date (Blind Pig Records) got hot reviews in 1984 and led to appearances at two San Francisco Blues Festivals, openings for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Blasters, The Neville Brothers, and James Brown. By 1987, Woods was doing a six-country Europe tour highlighted by a rousing performance at the Belgium Rhythm and Blues Festival.

In 1988, the 88s released Mr. Boogie’s Back In Town (Blind Pig Records) and music pundits started to acknowledge Woods’ place in the ranks of American music: “Woods lays down an authentic 50s-vintage rock piano groove, comparable in power and rhythmic nuance to classic recordings by the young Jerry Lee Lewis,” said Keyboard Magazine.

On 1991 album Solid Gold Cadillac, Woods and his band were joined by Ronnie Earl, Charlie Musselwhite and the Roomful of Blues Horns. Woods himself was starting to become a guest star, appearing on that year’s new releases by John Lee Hooker and John Hammond, and the boogie pianist headlined both the Amsterdam Blues Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Woods was developing his passion for band leading and discovering the power of being a strong singer. “I’ll always consider myself a piano player, but my voice has developed over the last few years. It’s an incredible release, when you can sing, it’s like blowing an axe, and it’s great to entertain an audience,” he says. Another interest was taking hold, too – the funky piano-driven music of New Orleans. Woods had long been infatuated with the music of the Big Easy. “I’m a boogie woogie and blues piano player for the most part, but I also incorporate other styles within that, like the New Orleans influence. New Orleans R&B piano playing, like Dr. John, of course Professor Longhair. “New Orleans has been a really great source of inspiration, it’s a piano town. New Orleans reveres the piano player. People respect me and I appreciate that. I’ve always been able to feel a real sense of music there; if you’re a good player, you get in. For the past 25 years it has become my second home, ” Woods says. “I’ve gotten to play with all the great players who live there, and I just hire them, guys from Fats Domino’s band, like Red Tyler, sax player, Johnny Vidakovich, drummer with the Professor, and George Porter on bass.

Woods toured constantly in the mid-1990s, stopping long enough to put out Shakin’ the Shack (Blind Pig Records) in 1998. Woodswrote all but one song, demonstrating how well he’s absorbed the conventions of blues and boogie woogie music, further proving his ability to inject new life into these vintage forms. Woods also realized another dream in 1998 when he brought together some of the surviving kings of the American blues legacy, like John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, Johnnie Johnson, Earl King and Lee Allen, to make Keeper Of The Flame (Lightyear/WEA Records), all paired with Woods in a wonderful run of classic tunes.

Jump For Joy, Mitch’s fifth release for Blind Pig Records continues Woods’ spin down the boogie road. He had always followed the boogie greats like Louie Jordan and Louie Prima, but Jump For Joy keyed off a new influence. “I started to listen to Cab Calloway, and this new one has lots of Cab influence; six horns, eleven-piece band with doubled horn lines. He (Calloway) had a great entertainment style, very similar to Louie Jordan’s, and that’s what we’ve gone for here,” he says. Woods says Jump For Joy will unite all factions in the dress-up-and-boogie scene. “Aside from the blues audience, we’ve been developing the whole swing crowd, so this will appeal to the swing dancers as well as the blues lovers.” On Jump For Joy, Mitch Woods has gone the limit, writing sassy boogie tunes and crafting smooth arrangements that evoke the heyday of the dancehall Forties.

On his CD/DVD project, Big Easy Boogie, Mitch brings together the inner circle of Rock’n’ Roll royalty. Featuring some of New Orleans’ legends including original members of the Fats Domino band, Herb Hardesty and the Blue Monday Horns, and Jimmy Moliere on guitar, the sound is true to the roots New Orleans R&B. It is vintage rock’n’roll and boogie inspired by New Orleans piano greats Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and Little Richard, performed in Mitch’s joyous entertaining style that makes you feel like you are not only in the audience but on stage with him having a ball! Whether it is a pounding piano pumper, a Mardi Gras mambo, or a moody late night blues with cascading piano and sultry sax, Mitch Woods’ Big Easy Boogie will delight all lovers of New Orleans music.

After spending more than twenty five years soaking up the New Orleans sound and performing with many of the Crescent City’s musical elite, Mitch has finally realized his dream of recording his latest project with the founding fathers of New Orleans R&B including Earl Palmer, Dave Bartholomew, and Herb Hardesty. Woods reunited the surviving members of Fats Domino’s original band, played a live show in New Orleans during the Jazz & Heritage Festival, took them into the studio, and filmed the whole shebang. The results are plenty of good-time, rock’n’roll boogie, played by the originators of the style, fronted by one of their star pupils. The CD/DVD, Big Easy Boogie is available worldwide on Club 88 Records. It has been garnering airplay on all the major satellite and cable radio stations, including XM (#3 on picks to click-Bluesville), Sirius, Music Choice, as well as BBC 2 and blues programs worldwide.

Here are what the critics are saying about Big Easy Boogie:
“A two-fisted love letter to Fats Domino and Professor Longhair” — Blues Revue

“if it’s legitimate roots and Soul music from N’awlins that’s your passion, step right up for here it is,…by Woods and company.” — Blues Wax

“Mitch Woods’ Big Easy Boogie is a loving tribute to the vintage New Orleans sounds of Fats Domino, Little Richard and Professor Longhair” —Philadelphia Inquirer

In 2007 Mitch was nominated for Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year Award at the Blues Awards in Memphis. Presented by the Blues Foundation this is one of the highest achievements a blues musician can earn. Mitch continues to tour worldwide with both his Rocket 88’s and Big Easy Boogie. He has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious music festivals and venues, including Jazz A Vienne – France, Umbria Jazz Festival-Italy, San Javier International Jazz Festival – Spain, International Boogie Woogie Festival – Lugano, Switzerland, Lionel Hampton Jazz Club at Le Meridien – Paris, Edmonton Blues Festival – Canada, The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise -2000-2012 , Taiwan Blues Bash – Taiwan, Copenhagen Jazz Festival-Denmark, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and many, many more.

In 2010 Mitch released Gumbo Blues his tribute to the legendary New Orleans blues shouter Smiley Lewis. Once again he assembled his all-star New Orleans musicians, including members of Dr. John, Fats Domino, Alan Toussaint, and Jon Cleary’s bands. Leading to appearances at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and many others worldwide as well as another Blues Award nomination and critical acclaim.
If NOLA isn’t part of your start-up DNA, that can be fixed with a healthy dose of Mitch Woods’ Gumbo Blues. After a listen, you’ll feel as if you’ve visited the Crescent City of the 1950s.

In October 2010, Mitch embarked with his band the Rocket 88’s on a tour of Turkey with the Efes Blues Festival, playing 26 shows in 20 cities over 5 weeks.

“I was deeply impressed with the warmth and hospitality of the people and their openness and enthusiasm for the American musical form we call “the Blues”. It made me realize that we are musical ambassadors-able to cross cultural, religious, and national borders that most people cannot. In this CD and DVD I document our tour of the Republic of Turkey, a secular nation with 99% Muslim population that straddles the border of east and west, geographically and culturally. On this journey I realized in my heart and soul that music truly crosses all boundaries and Blues is certainly beyond borders.”

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“If Tina Turner and Little Richard had a daughter and raised her with the help of uncles James Brown and Chuck Berry, she’d be like Nikki Hill.” -Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Independence has always come easy for vocalist/lyricist/bandleader Nikki Hill, raised by a single mother and two older sisters in close quarters throughout Durham, North Carolina. This inspired not only her confidence at a young age, but a self-reliance and strong curiosity, which informed Hill’s interest in art, reading and writing. The moment she could break free from the long Sunday sermons and weekday choir practices, Nikki traded the pews for barstools, sneaking into venues when necessary, and was soon immersed in North Carolina’s roots scene. She felt oddly comfortable, finding a direct connection between the energy she saw at local shows in Chapel Hill, and the intense praise dancing, gospel shouting church services she attended and sang with up until she was a teen. Seeing everything from Dexter Romweber to Carolina Chocolate Drops, Bo Diddley to Motorhead, her new sermons came from rockers and bartenders, cowpunks and starving artists. Everyone had a story, and very soon, Nikki was in the mix herself, immersed in music, getting into trouble, and making stories of her own.

Hill was always happy to lend her harmonies to bands around town but not much more. But when meeting Matt Hill in 2005, they both found a young friend in each other who could talk just as much about Lightnin’ Hopkins as they could Bon Scott era AC/DC. Nikki and Matt eventually married in 2011. For the pair, it was a friendship turned loving relationship that encouraged both to pursue all life could offer. Nikki also gained a partner who musically understood and supported her ideas. She learned quickly, putting her thoughts into action, and piecing together writing she had saved over the years. Moving to St. Louis after they married to help boost Matt’s own touring career and supporting his solo albums, the pair performed as a duo between Matt’s tours, making money where they could, and giving Nikki a chance to practice and write in between her jobs. Landing a local venue show with other musicians, Hill’s voice quickly rang across St. Louis and she shifted to performing with a full band, asking Matt to play guitar. Nikki’s live shows became quickly known in St. Louis and Chicago for their energy, unique sound, the loving vibe of her and Matt’s interactions, and for her charisma, already highly developed from her pentecostal roots and studying the greats.

By the time Hill released “Here’s Nikki Hill” in 2013, word had spread, for better or worse. The reputation of the live show preceded itself, and heavily. Still, all of this did not translate immediately. With the rarity of modern young black rock ‘n roll singers/entertainers without a long standing career like powerhouses Barrence Whitfield or Lisa Kekaula or Fishbone, Hill found herself in an odd spot, shuffling often between confused local audiences, who had clearly come to see the woman on the poster, wearing a headwrap or natural hairstyle with quasi-retro leanings, and shockingly receiving an unbridled, electric guitar driven performance. But, instead of frustrating, it encouraged Nikki to push herself to the limit in commanding the stage, and showing people that rock n’ roll didn’t have one look or sound. The strong public curiosity allowed Hill the chance to open for a range of artists from Billy Boy Arnold, to Eileen Jewel, to Nelly, before she even had music released. Labels came calling, but were looking for stylings of the more well-known Hill, or of a more boxed in retro feel that could be fully embraced by the purists Nikki had come to abhor from her former years of teen rebellion. Nikki’s DIY upbringing deflected this path, and moved forward to continue developing her sound, where there is a pulpit in the garage; where the girl group turns up the guitar, where southern twang cuts through heavy soul groove.

Hill, with Matt on guitar and a changing rhythm section, played over 20 festivals and close to 200 venue shows in 2013, building audiences across the US and Europe. She also recorded with Deke Dickerson and The Bo-Keys in Memphis, TN, lending her voice to the “Soul Meets Country” EP, expressing yet another side of her limitless enthusiasm for all things roots. Nikki and Matt also moved to New Orleans, LA, returning to the south, and picking up influence through the Gulf Coast. The momentum continued through the release of her second album “Heavy Hearts Hard Fists” in 2015. With fiery soul and heavy R&B with rock n’ roll boogie and tons of attitude to match, the album was received with many accolades from press and fans and kept Hill touring in the US and Europe, adding Australia and India and Morocco to an already impressive tour schedule, and over 30 festivals a year, including Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival and more.

Nikki’s new record, “Feline Roots” will be independently released again on house label Deep Fryed Records. Out November 16, Hill lets her soul rip on this new collection of songs, displaying her now well-known stance to champion for the pioneers of roots and rock n’ roll, while remaining in perpetual forward motion, inviting anyone who wants to come along for the journey. Johnny Thunders straddling guitar, Bad Brains’ rock meets reggae, Stonesy groove, Sister Rosetta Tharpe rave up rockin’ gospel power, all receive nods of recognition. Hill is unafraid of her past or experiences, and puts it out there for the sake of the song. The songs imagine the southern soul rocker at times waving her flag in surrender, then in the next moment finding her way back into the climb, bending through supercharged blues, punk soul, revival tent gospel, rockabilly shouts, whatever it takes to get there. It’s her version of rock n’ roll that can only come from her stories. Nikki has never been afraid to take the road less traveled, and it’s clear with “Feline Roots” that she’s living every word.

Biography
As a singer, he is by known by many as a “bourbon-esque” crooner, performing standards from the Great American Songbook, to others he is a curious oracle of soul and the blues. A pianist and songwriter since childhood, Johnny has arranged and produced two CD’s of his original compositions.
Currently hosting “In the Pocket with Johnny Fabulous” on SCTV, a Santa Cruz television show featuring music and art, Johnny Fabulous also is a performing artist with the Young At Heart Project which provides one hour music shows for senior communities throughout the Bay area. As a vocal coach and piano instructor, Johnny draws upon decades of experience to nurture the growth and development of his students. Johnny Fabulous continues to perform his unique and very distinctive style of music in the Bay area club scene.

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Sunday, December 16, 2018
From 2 – 9 pm
$25/ ADV $30 @ DOOR

Join us for a talent-packed show in support of Ian Lamson and his fight against cancer. All of these bands/musicians, including Elvin Bishop, have a musical relationship with Ian Lamson, and we are hoping that the entire Bay Area blues family shows up and supports this event.

100% goes to Ian Lamson

PERFORMERS:
DAVID KRULL

MOTORDUDE ZYDECO: Lloyd Meadows, Willy Jordan, Billy Wilson, Ian Lamson, Dennis Calloway

THE LUCKY LOSERS: Cathy Lemons, Phil Berkowitz, Ian Lamson, Chris Burns, Kid Andersen, Mike Phillips, Robi Bean

GREASELAND ALLSTARS: Kid Andersen, Lisa Leuschner Andersen, Robby Yamilov, Rusty Zinn, Aki Kumar, Ed Earley, and more

MARINA CROUSE & GARTH WEBBER: D’Mar, Tony Lufrano, Ted
Gould, Ian Lamson

BEASTS OF BLUES: Paula Harris, Ian Lamson, Terry Hiatt, D’Mar, Joey Fabian, Tony Lufrano, Mike Rinta, Bill Ortiz, Tony Peebles

DANIEL CASTRO BAND: Paul Revelli, Steve Erhmann, Tony Lufrano

ELVIN BISHOP w/ Bob Welsh, Willy Jordan

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Hootenanny! is an eclectic Acoustic Rock/Pop cover band from the San Jose Bay Area. We play the absolute greatest songs from the 60s, 70′s, 80s, and more.

Hootenanny! is not your average Acoustic Rock/Pop cover band. Hootenanny! is the songs you love, the songs you grew up with, the songs you want to sing along to, and the songs you forgot about that you can’t believe we’re playing. We play an incredibly wide variety of classic rock and pop tunes, with a little country thrown in for flavor.

If you love music like we do, you’ll love Hootenanny!

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Each week Aki brings with him a special guest performer!

www.akikumar.com/tuesday-night-blues-jam

About Aki Kumar:

Dynamic frontman & harp player Aki Kumar is a bonafide star among the next generation of West Coast blues artists and the world’s first professional blues harmonica player to hail from India. A master of the hugely influential Chicago blues sound, Kumar inherits his style from the harp legends of the 1950s and 60s. Aki has a unique voice in the blues, blending elements of blues harmonica pioneers of yesteryear with a signature sound of his own.

“..old school blues at its finest by way of India. And the lad has soul to spare.”
Dan Aykroyd aka Elwood Blues

Born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) – India, Kumar has long established his mark on the West Coast blues scene as a top-notch frontman, vocalist , entertainer and blues harp player. The Aki Kumar Blues Band has been the culmination of his journey through American roots music and constantly showcases his ever-evolving sound. This band performs vintage blues with tremendous skill and energy and is guaranteed to entertain audiences across all venues, from intimate listening rooms to large festivals.

“(Kumar) has a natural propensity for the music, with a rich, deep tone and a sensitive, economic style that emphasizes feel over flash.”
Jonny Whiteside, LA TIMES

In recent years, Aki Kumar has performed all across the United States and internationally (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, India), collaborating with some of the top blues artists on the scene. He has also contributed his blues harmonica licks to numerous recordings produced on the West Coast in the last decade, including several albums produced at the world renowned Greaseland Studios. This year marks another exciting year for Aki Kumar, with upcoming recording projects, internationals appearances and other musical collaborations across the world.

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Thompson was born in Oakland, California, United States, and had mastered basic guitar and slide guitar techniques by his mid-teens.[1] He was educated at Newark Memorial High School, in Newark, California.[2] In the early 1970s, Thompson played backing to Little Joe Blue, and worked solo and as a sideman in San Francisco Bay Area clubs. He joined John Lee Hooker’s backing band in 1975, staying with him for three years. In 1980, Thompson formed his own group, the Resisters, and secured a recording contract with Takoma Records.[1] He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1978, 1979 and 1983.

In 1983, he released his debut album, Treat Her Like Gold. Thompson also found employment separately working with Lowell Fulson, Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Thompson’s second album Resister Twister was released in 1987 and nominated for a Grammy Award,[3] plus 1990’s Just Like a Devil, was taken from his work on Mark Naftalin’s Blue Monday Party radio show.[1]

Thompson’s 2007 album, Resonator was a purely acoustic production.[3]

Pianist Sid Morris as a teenager in the 60’s he began playing piano in a blues band with South Bay blues pioneer Gary Smith. Gary later introduced him to pianist Alberto Gianquinto, a San Francisco native who was a member of the original James Cotton Blues Band. For a short time in the early 70’s, Alberto was his mentor. Currently residing in San Jose, Sid has been performing since 1970 and continues to be an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Raised in Houston, Texas before his family moved to the South Bay, Sid performed at the very first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 and subsequently appeared at four other SF Blues Festivals. During his early years on the scene, Sid was mentored by Alberto Gianquinto. In 1976, Sid participated in the now legendary recording of the album, Blue Bay, an anthology featuring the elite of Bay Area musicians.

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Jeffrey Halford – biography

“The lonesome singer moaned through the speaker that was blown, while I was driving alone.”
“Driving Alone,” Kerosene

Jeffrey Halford, a singer/songwriter and guitarist, was born in Dallas, Texas, growing up listening to Roger Miller on a $2 transistor radio. In 1963, his parents, Colin and Effie Lou, headed west with their two young sons to a Los Angeles beach town in their ’59 El Dorado.

“Harvesters raked the barren fields, and the windswept towns just can’t conceal the emptiness of a time that’s come and gone.”
“Black Gold,” Hunkpapa

By the time Halford turned 18, he and his family had criss-crossed California multiple times. Led by his father Colin, who sought a better job and better life, the family lived in many different parts of the state. Though Halford’s environment continually changed around him, there was one thing that remained the same: surfing. “Shooting the Tube” remained the only thing that kept him sane at the time, serving as an escape from his real world issues. Halford’s parents had their low points, including battling the bottle, house evictions, car crashes, and times where Ray Charles would describe the condition as “Busted.” Surrounded by the best of AM radio, Halford listened to some of LA’s best music, with Wolfman Jack spinning everything from Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye to Howlin’ Wolf and The Doors. Halford soaked up the best of American music and poetry.

“Dreaming ‘bout the ocean, deep blue sea, boats won’t go out, small craft advisory.”
“Small Craft Advisory,” Hunkpapa

Due to trouble at home and some minor clashes with the law, Halford had the worst attendance record in his high school graduating class, according to his principal. However, next came a sunburnt, resonant nylon string guitar from his father, and things started to turn for the better.

“He strung his line and then he watched it sail, and hoped that all good things would prevail.”
“Cry of Hope,” Rainmaker

After high school, Halford enrolled in architecture school in San Francisco. Throughout the streets of the city, he fed off of the talent and spirit of the street musicians. He was inspired, and joined San Francisco street legends Harry Spider and Jimmy Ventilator, playing at the corner of Market and Powell. For over a year, Halford cut his guitar chops on the street, playing to crowds in Chinatown and Union Square until the police closed him down. His street gigs led him to play with Oakland blues greats Sonny Lane, Mississippi Johnny Waters, and JJ Malone. Halford later formed the popular rockabilly band, The Snappers, playing around the Bay Area for over four years with artists such as the Blasters and the Beat Farmers.

“Meanwhile, down at The Clayton, they were falling deep into the red. Harry said it felt so good living right on the edge.”
“North Beach,” Rainmaker

Over the last 25 years, Halford has been touring the country with his band, the Healers. They have played shows with some of music’s most acclaimed artists and songwriters, as well as Halford’s influences, such as Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, George Thorogood, Gregg Allman, Etta James, John Hammond, and Texas Greats Augie Meyers, Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen. His newest CD, Rainmaker, is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed record Broken Chord and is currently at #12 on the Euro-Americana Charts* and climbing. His original roots rock and roll songs etch a uniquely American landscape.

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Marina Crouse and Garth Webber have put together a seriously rocking band! Marina Crouse is an emerging vocalist in the San Francisco Bay Area blues and jazz scene. “A new voice as strong as the best blues singers of the past as she sings with the intensity of a Koko Taylor, heartbreak of Etta James, raw emotion of Big Maybelle.” (Noel Hayes, DJ at KPOO 89.5FM). Marina has performed locally with Garth Webber, Tony “Macaroni” Lufrano, S.E. Willis & the Willing, Ruth Davies Blue’s Thing, Nancy Wright and the Rhythm & Roots Band, Pamela Rose, Tammy Hall, Danny Caron & the Good Hands Trio, Jeff Massanari and others.

Garth Webber is a Berkeley-based guitarist/singer, known internationally for his signature tone, who has played with Miles Davis, Gregg Allman, Bill Champlin, Mose Alison, Robben Ford, Boz Skaggs, Merl Saunders, Bob Weir, Doctor John and others. His style is a mix of blues, jazz and rock. He has three Solo CD projects out and has played on many recordings for Bay Area artists. His style is modern but with a foundation in traditional blues.

Playing his first gig at 8 years old, James Michael Day is already a veteran of the music business. He currently plays over 4 shows a week mostly in the SF Bay Area but also around the country for Roland Piano Co. and various bands. Well versed in all styles, James has been entertaining audiences with his piano and vocal performances in all kinds of venues. He was even the organist at the San Jose Sharks games for years. Wait—UPDATE—He is AGAIN the Sharks organist as of March 2016. GO SHARKS!!! James knows thousands of songs so come check him out and make a request!

JMD is also an excellent music producer of many genres and can deliver his signature touch on your own songs. He works from his home studio or facility in beautiful Saratoga, CA.

Biography
As a singer, he is by known by many as a “bourbon-esque” crooner, performing standards from the Great American Songbook, to others he is a curious oracle of soul and the blues. A pianist and songwriter since childhood, Johnny has arranged and produced two CD’s of his original compositions.
Currently hosting “In the Pocket with Johnny Fabulous” on SCTV, a Santa Cruz television show featuring music and art, Johnny Fabulous also is a performing artist with the Young At Heart Project which provides one hour music shows for senior communities throughout the Bay area. As a vocal coach and piano instructor, Johnny draws upon decades of experience to nurture the growth and development of his students. Johnny Fabulous continues to perform his unique and very distinctive style of music in the Bay area club scene.

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Evan Thomas

Evan Thomas has that thang. It’s in his inner soul, and that feeling which captures a down home essence, the foot stompin’, and head – nodding style, of the old Mississippi delta blues tone. It’s the grit, in his soulful voice and his cryin’ guitar which sets him apart. Evan Thomas’s classic, electric blues guitar style, is influenced by some of the great guitar players of our time, BB King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Jimi Hendrix. Evan Thomas Blues features some of the best Blues musicians from in and around the greater Bay Area. The Band is experienced and packs a potent performance, full of style and tone. Something fans of the Blues will not soon forget.

Playing his first gig at 8 years old, James Michael Day is already a veteran of the music business. He currently plays over 4 shows a week mostly in the SF Bay Area but also around the country for Roland Piano Co. and various bands. Well versed in all styles, James has been entertaining audiences with his piano and vocal performances in all kinds of venues. He was even the organist at the San Jose Sharks games for years. Wait—UPDATE—He is AGAIN the Sharks organist as of March 2016. GO SHARKS!!! James knows thousands of songs so come check him out and make a request!

JMD is also an excellent music producer of many genres and can deliver his signature touch on your own songs. He works from his home studio or facility in beautiful Saratoga, CA.

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Thompson was born in Oakland, California, United States, and had mastered basic guitar and slide guitar techniques by his mid-teens.[1] He was educated at Newark Memorial High School, in Newark, California.[2] In the early 1970s, Thompson played backing to Little Joe Blue, and worked solo and as a sideman in San Francisco Bay Area clubs. He joined John Lee Hooker’s backing band in 1975, staying with him for three years. In 1980, Thompson formed his own group, the Resisters, and secured a recording contract with Takoma Records.[1] He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1978, 1979 and 1983.

In 1983, he released his debut album, Treat Her Like Gold. Thompson also found employment separately working with Lowell Fulson, Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Thompson’s second album Resister Twister was released in 1987 and nominated for a Grammy Award,[3] plus 1990’s Just Like a Devil, was taken from his work on Mark Naftalin’s Blue Monday Party radio show.[1]

Thompson’s 2007 album, Resonator was a purely acoustic production.[3]

Pianist Sid Morris as a teenager in the 60’s he began playing piano in a blues band with South Bay blues pioneer Gary Smith. Gary later introduced him to pianist Alberto Gianquinto, a San Francisco native who was a member of the original James Cotton Blues Band. For a short time in the early 70’s, Alberto was his mentor. Currently residing in San Jose, Sid has been performing since 1970 and continues to be an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Raised in Houston, Texas before his family moved to the South Bay, Sid performed at the very first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 and subsequently appeared at four other SF Blues Festivals. During his early years on the scene, Sid was mentored by Alberto Gianquinto. In 1976, Sid participated in the now legendary recording of the album, Blue Bay, an anthology featuring the elite of Bay Area musicians.

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Chris Cain’s jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother’s Greek ancestry and his father’s soulful black heritage.

“Nowadays most young blues players are Strat-wielding Stevie Ray Vaughan-a-bes. Not Chris Cain. With a voice that recalls B.B. King and a thick toned Gibson guitar sound reminiscent of Albert King, Cain is forging a unique style. With his own highly personalized songwriting, “Hall Of Shame” is a giant step in the development of one of the most compelling young bluesmen on today’s scene.”
-Larry Nager (syndicated Scripts-Howard music critic)

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Guitarist / Vocalist GG Amos is an artist in the West Coast Blues tradition; having been raised in the California capitol of Sacramento.
Now based in San Francisco, she’s honed her craft as a songwriter and entertainer utilizing the soul, jazz, funk and latin elements that make west coast blues what it is.
For the past 26 years GG’s earned a reputation as a riveting performer with a distinctive, expressive guitar style and an emotionally charged fluid voice…always emphasizing soulful communication with her audience.

In 2011 GG toured Poland, playing to packed houses in theaters and clubs all over the country.
Her most recent single “West Coast”, co-written with longtime musical partner Taki Komori,
is a simmering tribute to the late Johnny Heartsman and the west coast blues. It is available on CD Baby, iTunes and other outlets. She is currently in the studio working on her next release of original material.

GG’s debut CD “Gotts Ta Go” is also available on CD Baby and iTunes. 
A mix of high energy blues and r&b plus a smoldering ballad, this album features the harmonica and lap steel talents of veteran Texas bluesman Nate ‘Snakeboy’ Shiner.
GG and her top notch band has had extensive experience performing at festivals, fairs, special events, benefits, nightclubs and wineries.

Biography
As a singer, he is by known by many as a “bourbon-esque” crooner, performing standards from the Great American Songbook, to others he is a curious oracle of soul and the blues. A pianist and songwriter since childhood, Johnny has arranged and produced two CD’s of his original compositions.
Currently hosting “In the Pocket with Johnny Fabulous” on SCTV, a Santa Cruz television show featuring music and art, Johnny Fabulous also is a performing artist with the Young At Heart Project which provides one hour music shows for senior communities throughout the Bay area. As a vocal coach and piano instructor, Johnny draws upon decades of experience to nurture the growth and development of his students. Johnny Fabulous continues to perform his unique and very distinctive style of music in the Bay area club scene.

VIEW WEBSITE
VIEW VIDEO

Celebrated singer/songwriter Kaye Bohler has captivated audiences from Japan to Alaska for over 25 years. Kaye’s show is bathed in southern Soul, Blues, and Funk as she knocks you and rocks you out. She’s a songbird with a child’s heart and the fire in her belly of Tina Turner. An unmistakably powerful and engaging performer, Kaye Bohler really knows how to pull you in and make you dance, cry and laugh too.

She possesses a formidable triple threat as a singer, songwriter, and bandleader with five CD’s now under her belt. Her latest CD: “Handle the Curves” has received excellent reviews as Kaye continues to build her reputation as one of the best America roots and soul singers working on the West Coast. The publication Blues Matters wrote: “I’m not normally a great fan of titles like “the white Tina Turner” as they sometimes seem to demean both parties but I will certainly go along with it in this case. Kaye Bohler, out of California, has a big strong voice and on this, her fifth album, she proves that she can certainly handle a soul tune with ease and class – take a listen to the opener “Diggin On My Man” – and the blues good and proper as on the slow impassioned blues of the title track “Handle the Curves”. I somehow don’t get the impression Kaye is really talking about the curves on the road!”

Her fourth album “Like A Flower” has garnered tremendous, stellar reviews even comparing her songwriting to Carole King. Every melody and lyric of this CD was crafted by Kaye. “Like a Flower” also features the most notable and seasoned veterans of the Bay Area Rhythm and Blues Sound, including: Tommy Castro, Danny Caron, Garth Webber, Sammy Varela, and Nancy Wright.

This Southern California native now calls the SF Bay area her home. Locally, Kaye can be seen spreading her vocal chops in the jazz and contemporary music genres but holds American root music to be the power and authenticity that drives all the material she covers. With a three octave plus vocal range, a curvaceous silhouette, and a disarming wit on stage, she engages and draws the listener in like few other performers.

Media & Booking Contacts: 408 722-1885

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Join us to ring in the New Year right at The Poor House Studio! This is sure to be the party of the year with dinner, dancing, and of course, champagne and beignets at midnight! Entertainment will be provided by the great Maxx Cabello Jr!

We’ve got an extra special menu in store for you… Take a look!

Appetizers

Oysters on a half shell w/ cocktail sauce
Caprese on a Stick w/ Balsamic Drizzle
Crawfish Corn Fritters w/ remoulade sauce
Andouille Sausage Hush Puppies w/ BBQ ranch dressing

Dinner

Arugula Salad w/ Goat Cheese, Strawberries, & Pecans served with a Balsamic Vinaigrette Collard Greens sautéed w/ Pork (Cochon De Lait)
Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Creole Gravy
Cheesy Grits
Tasso Ham Mac N Cheese
Beef Grillades sautéed in a Spanish Gravy
Southern Fried Chicken Breast
Crawfish Etouffee
Vegetarian Lasagna
Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit

Dessert

White Chocolate Crème Brulee
Beignets @ Midnight

Drinks

FULL BAR- Available for purchase
Chicory Coffee
Champagne @ Midnight