Rolling Stones

Blues on the Coast
2012

BLUES ON THE COAST 2012 SERIES OPENS SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Arena Theater’s much anticipated and highly successful series “Blues On The Coast”, generously underwritten by Gualala Chevron and The Pier Chowder House and Tap Room returns for the 2012 season with 6 shows. The series will open on Saturday, Feb. 25 with harp player and vocalist John Németh.

All shows are on Saturdays and will begin at 8:30 p.m., doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for each show and $120 for the series. Ticket will be available online at www.arenatheater.org or through the underwriting businesses; contact Tracy DuPont at 882-3400. Individual tickets for the concerts will be available online at www.arenatheater.org and at local ticket outlets: Four-Eyed Frog Books and Sea Trader, Gualala; Arena Market and The Pier Chowder House and Tap Room, Point Arena; Tangents, Fort Bragg. The Arena Theater Bar and snack stand will be open.

Here the schedule for all 6 shows:

• 2/25/12: Harp player and vocalist John Németh blends contemporary blues with vintage R&B and 60s Chicago blues, soul and funk. He has wowed critics and audiences alike with his riveting vocals and harmonica prowess.
• 4/14/12: Blues show favorite Tommy Castro returns to Arena Theater presenting his version of the blues, a hybrid of all his favorite genres including Chicago blues, soul music, 1960s rock’n roll and Southern rock, creating "Memphis soul-drenched R&B…top-of-the-line blues", according to The Chicago Sun–Times.
• 6/2/12: Guitarist Dennis L. Jones who combines R&B, blues and Motown Sound and plays “blues you can rock to”. He cites Jimi Hendrix as one of his biggest influences and he “fries the strings of his Strat while singing deep from his soul”.
• 7/21/12: TBA
• August, date TBA: Ryan Shaw is a contemporary blues and soul singer in the tradition of Wilson Pickett, Bobby Womack, and Jackie Wilson. He received two Grammy nominations (2008 and 2011) for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
• 10/6/12: TBA

Showtime:
Saturday, February 25, 2012

Show Starts: 8:30 PM
Doors Open: 8:00 PM

Tickets:
$20 general admission

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JOHN NÉMETH

Blues Sensation JOHN NÉMETH opens 2012 Blues on the Coast Season
Boy! John Németh can really belt it out! - Charlie Musselwhite

You could swear he was freeze-dried in the 1960s, as the music has a driving, rock-'n'-soul punch that makes him seem spiritual kin to long-gone stompers Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Jackie Wilson. - Jonathan Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News

Hands down the toughest young harp player I've ever heard. - R.J. Mischo

Really great blues, great harmonica, great instrumentation, great vocals!

John Németh is a singer steeped in the tradition and reminiscent of B.B. King, Ray Charles and Junior Parker. Since bursting onto the scene in 2007 with his dazzling national debut album “Magic Touch”, harps man Németh has wowed critics and audiences alike with his riveting vocals and harmonica prowess. He is a rising blues star whose decade-long career has found him opening for Robert Cray, Keb Mo', and Earl Thomas.

Németh plays vintage rhythm and blues with an ability to blend retro and contemporary Blues and soul music into something that sounds both old and new. He draws on the classic Blues, soul, and R&B influences that drive his vocal style and lays down a set of tunes that wouldn't sound a bit out of place in the golden years of Memphis or Muscle Shoals. His vocals have the toughness of James Brown and the tenderness of Solomon Burke.

Németh got interested in music at an early age. "When I was in high school, I was listening to a lot of 1950s, '60s, and '70s country, and listening to a lot of rock," he says. "A friend of mine, a guitar player, got his hands on some blues and played that for me, played me Freddie King, and B.B. King, Junior Wells, Blind Blake, cats like that and I really flipped out when I heard the stuff."

"It was just a little different, kind of like rock 'n' roll but funkier, a little tougher, not so many pop sensibilities to the music." When Nemeth began writing songs of his own, the music he heard as a teen would spill over into his music. "There's no escaping all those influences, especially back in the day when the radio was full of those artists, white and black, and it was readily available for everybody to hear."

In 2004, Nemeth recorded "Come And Get It" with the Junior Watson Band. The album received rave reviews and scored well on the independent blues radio charts and in 2006 Nemeth signed a multi-record recording agreement with Blind Pig Records. The buzz around John Németh was substantial, and his Blind Pig debut, "Magic Touch," delivered the goods in spades and won the Blues Blast Award for “Best New Artist Debut Recording”. On the opening track, an ambitious and fully realized reworking of Junior Wells' classic "Blues Hit Big Town," Nemeth's emotive, smooth voice and stellar harp playing introduce a virtuoso of rare depth and power and his uncanny blend of retro-modern blues and soul music will delight purists and young hipsters alike. Since then he has recorded with blues icon Elvin Bishop and artists such as B.B. King, James Cotton, George Thorogood and Tommy Castro.

Stints with Junior Watson and Anson Funderburgh brought him to the attention of audiences worldwide, and earned him a reputation as a soulful singer and electric harp player. His contributions to albums by Nappy Brown and Elvin Bishop cemented his status as a young blues talent and on his latest CD, “Name The Day!”, released to widespread critical acclaim in 2010, Németh re-visits the inspired sounds of the 50's and 60's when Chicago blues was adding funk and rock to the mix. By reinvigorating the sound of vintage American R&B with his spine-tingling vocals and considerable songwriting skills, John has crafted a timeless slice of American music that won him a Living Blues Award as “Most Outstanding Blues Singer”, adding to previous awards: a 2008 Blues Blast Award "Best New Artist Debut Recording” for his celebrated Album Magic Touch and a 2008 Blues Blast Award, the “Sean Costello Rising Star Award”. Baseball fans may recall his 2010 rendition of the national anthem at AT&T Park in San Francisco for the Giants v Dodgers game.

Perhaps there's no better validation than the rather astounding observation by renowned critic Lee Hildebrand, features writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and Living Blues, who said, "John Nemeth...may be the best white blues singer ever."
Local ticket outlets are: Four-Eyed Frog Books and Sea Trader, Gualala; Arena Market and The Pier Chowder House and Tap Room, Point Arena; Tangents, Fort Bragg. Doors open at 8:00 PM and the Arena Theater Bar and snack stand will be open.

Showtime:
Saturday, April 14, 2012

Show Starts: 8:30 PM
Doors Open: 8:00 PM

Tickets:
$20 general admission

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Tommy Castro – A Raucous Good-Time Party!

He can do no wrong…soulful, heartfelt vocals and exquisite, stellar guitar. An inspired blend of blues, R&B, soul and roadhouse rock –Blues Revue

Connecting with his audience and sharing his enthusiasm with his fans is something Tommy Castro does naturally and effortlessly – as countless local fans can attest to!

With his horn-fueled, blues-rocking, road-tested band behind him, Castro never fails to sweep his audience out of their seats and onto the dance floor: he is on a non-stop mission to bring his blistering blues, soulful vocals and stellar band to as many people as possible. His ability to ignite a raucous good-time party – along with the recent CDs “Hard Believer” and “Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue – Live!” – assure that Castro and his band are in constant demand. Listening to Castro’s recordings and seeing him live, believing is not only easy, it’s a whole lot of fun.

Award-winning blues and R&B guitarist/singer/songwriter Castro is one of the most popular and creative roots artists to emerge in recent years. He is famed not only for his hard-hitting, impassioned vocals, soaring guitar work and his blues-infused, rocking R&B sound, but also for his striking, original songwriting and exhilarating stage show.

Recently, he has become the honorary Captain of The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruises, where famous blues stars perform together on the open seas of the Pacific and the Caribbean. Between his fiery shows—supported by his Blues Music Award-winning band —and his leading role in The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue, Castro is succeeding beyond all expectations. In May 2010, he won four 2010 Blues Music Awards—including his second B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the highest award a blues performer can receive) plus Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year and Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year (for his Alligator studio CD, Hard Believer). Blues Revue says, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong…soulful, heartfelt vocals, and exquisite, stellar guitar work. A seamless blend of blues, gospel-flavored R&B, soul and roadhouse rock.”

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He came under the spell of Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield and other blues rock players early on. As he got older, Castro explored the past, falling in love with the blues guitar work of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown.

By his late 20s he was playing in a variety of San Francisco area blues and soul bands and in 1991 he formed The Tommy Castro Band, winning the Bay Area Music Award for Best Club Band in 1993 and 1994. In 1996, Castro's first major release, “Exception to the Rule” on Blind Pig, garnered near unanimous raves from blues and mainstream publications. Hard Believer, released in 2009 perfectly captures the magic of Castro’s power as a vocalist, guitarist and bandleader.

In 2011, Alligator released “Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue – Live!”, a white-hot collection of the highest highlights from the Revue’s recent live performances. In addition to Castro’s stellar fretwork and blue-eyed soul vocals, the album features Alligator Records label-mates Rick Estrin, Janiva Magness and Michael “Iron Man” Burks, along with Debbie Davies, Theodis Ealey, Sista Monica Parker, Joe Louis Walker and the 2008 International Blues Challenge Award winners Trampled Under Foot. The Washington Post called the CD “inspired and phenomenal, horn-fueled and funky.”

Tommy Castro and his band have captured a hold on legions of fans and critics alike around the world with their mesmerizing blend of rock, blues and Memphis soul.

The Arena Theater bar and snack stand will be open.

Showtime:
Saturday, June 2, 2012

Show Starts: 8:30 PM
Doors Open: 8:00 PM

Tickets:
$20 general admission

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Dennis Jones – Blues You Can Rock To!

Dennis Jones is a helluva guitar player, vocalist, songwriter and great entertainer. And you can’t beat him as a human being. -Guitar Shorty

Dennis Jones is a maverick blazing blues trails with great songs and blistering guitar. -Zac Harmon

Blues guitar heroes are like a major hurricane that blows down everything in their path, changing the musical landscape as surely as category 5 tropical storms alter the firma. Dennis Jones with his third release, Pleasure & Pain (Blues Rock Records) has the explosive guitar power, along with his voice and songs, to make his contemporaries quake in their boots.

Jones was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The drums were his first passion and they still inform his relentless grooves. He started playing guitar at 13, took a few informal lessons from a friend who taught him "House of the Rising Sun" and was rocking out with his Marshall stack two years later in a band with older cats. His tastes evolved in tandem with his skills, and the rock of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan and Santana influenced him profoundly, along with 60s guitar greats Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Jimmy Page.

Combined with R&B, Blues and Motown Sound, the result is “a human music machine that can fry the strings of his Strat while singing deep from his soul”.

Spending a few years in Germany in his late teens, Jones gained further experience with a variety of bands. In the mid 80s he made Los Angeles his home and headed a Led Zeppelin-meets-Funkadelic band called Blackhead that attracted industry attention. In the late 90s, Jones formed the Dennis Jones Band and eventually made a commitment to house rocking blues.

Fronting a power trio, and playing an abundance of blues-edged rock and roll, how do you not compare the Dennis Jones Band to other notable three-piece groups like Cream, Stevie Ray’s Double Trouble and especially the Hendrix Experience?

For Jones it’s all about music, "Motown, Country… it’s all Americana to me," said Jones, with a smile. "I love blues, and if I had only one style of music I could listen to, it would truly be the blues. But I’ve been influenced by so many things. I love American Roots music. I love Rockabilly. I love things that touch me inside, not just the visual. They’ve got to deliver something."

Jones is a charismatic singer and a strong writer whose songs are anything but off-the-rack. As long as he continues to follow his heart, there's a bright future for Mr. Jones and the blues. For more information about Jones visit www.dennisjonescentral.com/
The Arena Theater bar and snack stand will be open.