Crooked Eye Tommy Performs at California Avocado Festival

CROOKED EYE TOMMY PERFORMS@CALIFORNIA AVOCADO FESTIVAL Saturday, October 3 - 1 P.M./Main Stage/Downtown Carpinteria   (Carpinteria, CA) - Crooked Eye Tommy is lighting up the Blues scene and quickly raising their profile in the international music community with their critically-lauded new album, Butterflies & Snakes. The Ventura County, California quartet fronted by brothers Tommy and Paddy Marsh have also become a favorite on the Festival circuit, with performances this year at the Ojai Blues Festival, Ventura County Blues festival, New Blues Festival, and now - an appearance at the 29th Annual California Avocado Festival, in downtown Carpinteria, on Saturday, October 3. Main Stage, 1 p.m. Info: (805) 684-0038 or http://avofest.com/.      The eleven originals on Butterflies & Snakes run a rich gamut of sound,  with no two songs sounding the same. From the deep-fried Southern blues of autobiographical title track "Crooked Eye Tommy" and down-home traditional-sounding "I Stole The Blues" (written and sung by Paddy Marsh) to the sexy blues shuffle "Somebody's Got To Pay" and album-ending, country-tinged "Southern Heart", there truly is something for virtually every music aficionado to like on the record. Butterflies & Snakes has received worldwide airplay and has been featured twice on the nationally-syndicated Blues Deluxe radio show, in addition to cracking the Roots Music Report's Top 50 California Album Chart. Crooked Eye Tommy recently took home "Best Blues Act" at the 2015 Ventura County (Calif.) Music Awards. CROOKED EYE TOMMY  - "BUTTERFLIES & SNAKES" - MEDIA QUOTES "The title track kicks off with a swampy slide, crawling king snake Mississippi Delta groove. You settle right in ready for some stories told only the way bluesmen do. I'd like to say Tommy (Marsh) reminds me of Robert Cray meets Molly Hatchet. Tommy's brother, Paddy Marsh, wrote three songs on the album including "I Stole The Blues", a good traditional-sounding song that treats the sometimes campy subject of musical thievery very matter-of-factly, with reverence and with soul".                                               BLUES-E-NEWS "Recorded live in Ojai's Brotheryn Studios, Crooked Eye Tommy's first full-length offers an unsweetened, 100-proof taste of its Southern-soaked blues-rock and a reintroduction to some of the area's finest musicians. CET's range is evident all over this record as it goes from the bedroom to to the dance floor with "Mad and Disgusted", a full-tilt boogie-woogie number from the gut".                                               VC REPORTER "Depend on Crooked-Eye Tommy to SET YOU STRAIGHT about great blues and good music!"                                           BLUES DELUXE                            (Nationally-Syndicated Radio Show) "Eleven excellent songs, ranging from down-home blues, to rockers and ballads..favorite songs are blues shuffles, "I Stole The Blues" and "Somebody's Got To Pay", and the dance-able "Love Divine", with the beautiful twin guitar work of the Marsh Brothers, (Tommy and Paddy). Who dares to bring them to The Netherlands?"                                              BLUESZINE "Crooked Eye Tommy does a great job of explaing the blues the way its supposed to sound. Brothers Tommy and Paddy Marsh tell their stories clearly and back them up with plenty of sizzle. Rhythmically, the band keeps everything moving at a steady pace that's as comfortable as hearbeats in bed".                                       SOUTHLAND BLUES "A rocking blues powerhouse...Southern-style blues with chops and taste... I like a blues band that wants to sound like a blues band, not a group of guys just waiting to get the next screamin' solo. These guys get it done--it sounds like they all turned down the volume just a little and they all play together beautifully."                               SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES PROJECT "Opening with a cool blend of John Bonham- style rhythm and early Lynyrd Skynyrd swagger, the title track tells a crazy myth of Crooked Eye Tommy. Jimmy Reed-style track, I Stole The Blues, stays tight in the groove with rich vocals from Paddy Marsh (who wrote the track) and hot sax work from Jimmy Calire. The release is wrapped up with a pop country track, Southern Heart, which could easily make a run on the country radio market."                                      BMANS BLUES REPORT Crooked Eye Tommy performing "Love Divine" at the Plaza Playhouse Theater in Carpinteria during their CD Release Party this past August.                          http://crookedeyetommy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CrookedEyeTommy Join us on Facebook       Follow us on Twitter       Send us an Email

Plano Road Publishing artist: Crooked Eye Tommy - Butterflies & Snakes - New release review

I just received the debut release, Butterflies & Snakes, from Crooked Eye Tommy and it's actually quite good! Opening with a cool blend of John Bonham style rhythm and early Lynyrd Skynyrd swagger, this track tells a crazy myth of Crooked Eye Tommy. West coast vocalist/guitar player/songwriter Tommy Marsh leads this band in what is undoubtedly his strongest effort. This is a cool track with nice slide work joined by Paddy Marsh on guitar as well as Glade Rasmussen on bass and Tony Cicero on drums. Very cool. Next out of the box is Come On In with a much richer Latin R&B feel sung by Paddy. This is a really hot track putting me in the theme track from the Wire (Cable TV show), Way Down In The Hole, written by Tom Waits. This is a really great song with euphoric guitar work throughout and super drum work by Cicero and joined by Jimmy Calire on sax and keys. Excellent! Jimmy Reed style track, I Stole The Blues, stays tight in the groove with rich vocals from Paddy and hot sax work from Calire. Funky jazz rocker, Time Will Tell, shows off some Allman Brothers style guitar lead with a twist of Larry Carlton/Denny Diaz flash for a poppy radio style track with a cool melody. Tide Pool is a really clean soul track featuring paddy on lead vocal with a rich melody and vocal harmonies. Solid keys carry the load and Marsh gets great guitar tone on his smokey solo making this another super radio track. Somebody's Got To Pay has a nice easy swing and casual guitar soloing. Calire isn't messing around when he steps up with his sax blowing the top off. Love Divine has a lot of 70's styling with and some really nice over the top guitar lines. With it's bright but funky beat and tight vocal package and twin guitar leads, it hits the line. Very nice! After The Burn is a hot, Latin influenced rock number that drives. Marsh plays a really crisp guitar solo on this track reinforcing what we all knew all along... he's damn good! Calire lays out another smooth key solo and Marsh is back again bolting the door closed with nicely articulated guitar phrases. Very nice! Texas style rocker, Mad And Disgusted, gets the joint rockin' with a driving beat and super piano work from Calire. Getting the Southern swagger going again, Calire really kills it on this one. Marsh's vocals really work well with this band and his brother's vocals, a deeper shade of blue is a great contrast. Soulful, Over And Over, has a real nice slower pace, digging for rich blues. Calire brings it on sax again and Marsh grinds out a super solo of his own. There is a female vocalist on this track singing background that is very reminiscent of the Dark Side Of the Moon. Very nice! The release is wrapped up with a pop country track, Southern Heart which could easily make a run on the country radio market.

   

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Crooked Eye Tommy CD Release Party August 7 in Carpinteria

                                                                 

  CROOKED EYE TOMMY RELEASES DEBUT CD, BUTTERFLIES & SNAKES;

  ELEVEN MEMORABLE SONGS IN THE BLUES GENRE FROM VENTURA    COUNTY GUITARIST-SINGER-SONGWRITER, TOMMY MARSH

CD RELEASE PARTY & DEBUT CONCERT at Plaza Playhouse Theater

Friday, August 7 - 7:30 p.m.

  

   (Carpinteria, CA) - Crooked Eye Tommy releases their debut effort, Butterflies & Snakes, marking the occasion with a CD Release Party and Debut Concert at the Plaza Playhouse Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Ave., Friday, August 7. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25. (includes CD); $30. (includes commemorative piece of album artwork and CD). Info: (805) 684-6380 or http://crookedeyetommy.com/calendar/. Buy tickets at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/crooked-eye-tommy-butterflies-snakes-debut-concert-tickets-16946668943.

   Crooked Eye Tommy also performs at the 1st Annual Ojai Blues Festival along with the Alastair Greene Band, Deb Ryder, and Shawn Jones at the Ojai Arts Center, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai, on Saturday, August 15. Showtime is 4 p.m. Tickets $25. available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ojai-bluesfest-tickets-17742088063.

ABOUT BUTTERFLIES & SNAKES (AND) CROOKED EYE TOMMY

  Butterflies & Snakes are eleven memorable tunes penned by Crooked Eye Tommy front-person and band namesake Tommy Marsh and Tommy's brother, guitarist-vocalist, Paddy Marsh (who also plays in the band). Other C.E.T. members: Glade Rasmussen, bass; Tony Cicero, drums; Jimmy Calire, saxophone/piano/Hammond B3. 

 The album's title track, a tasty down-home blues ditty entitled 'Crooked Eye Tommy,' "is sort of an autobiography", states Tommy. "I wrote it when we decided to name the band Crooked Eye Tommy. I was born with two lazy eyes, so the imagined discussion between a nurse and onlookers in the classic baby window at the hospital was a cool way to illustrate the way people can be  cruel without even thinking about it." Rocking blues number, 'Time Will Tell' is "the source of the album's name," states Marsh. "The second verse talks about the duality of women:

             Women are made of butterflies, butterflies and snakes

         Trying to please a woman can give a good man the shakes

   

   Time Will Tell "also talks about the duality of men as well in the first verse...and the dreams we all have (as musicians) to rise to the pinnacle of our profession - and how in each case, time is the equalizer and the test by which these are all proven out." The tune "shows the direction the band is taking with a more Southern hard blues feel", concludes Marsh. 'Somebody's Got To Pay' is a sexy Blues shuffle where Marsh laments in song, "the way the world is today, somebody's got to pay." He explains: "I wrote this song while dealing with a tax issue...I was very frustrated with the whole government and how no matter who is in office, it's always about who has the money." Dancing blues dittie 'Love Divine' is about "the relationships we have made along the way before we leave this world, they are the only real wealth that goes with us."

  Crooked Eye Tommy proudly represented the Santa Barbara Blues Society at the 2014 International Blues Challenge when they erupted onto the Southern California Blues Scene after reaching the Semifinals of this illustrious annual competition held in Memphis. For the last several years, Marsh has hosted a weekly Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored Jam Session featuring some of the biggest Blues artists on the SoCal music scene.

   Featuring scorching performances and original music firmly rooted in traditional blues, which feels familiar but somehow new, Tommy Marsh’s considerable songwriting, vocal and guitar skills have made him a Ventura County favorite. Capitalizing on local talent, Tommy and his brother Paddy Marsh invited the legendary Jimmy Calire on sax and the deeply-grooved, driving rhythm section of Tony Cicero on drums and Glade Rasmussen on bass to join the effort. The result is an irresistible alchemy of veteran experience, raw talent and enthralling original material. Listen and feel what a Crooked Eye can do.

                        

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