“These are
serious musicians out to have a hotter than hot good time. It’s tough to stay in
your seat when Estrin and his musical cohorts get cooking.” –Chicago
Sun-Times
“Fabulous,
remarkable original material” –Billboard
 |
You Asked For It...Live! was recorded on October 5, 2013, (Estrin's birthday) at San Francisco’s Biscuits & Blues. According to Estrin, “Cutting loose and stretching out in an intimate, nightclub-type setting is the natural environment for the Nightcats to kick maximum ass. The fact that it was my birthday, in the town where I was born and raised, only added more fuel to the fire.”
You Asked For It...Live! has the immediacy, feel and fun of a true Rick Estrin & The Nightcats performance. “No matter how much fun we have and how relaxed we can be in the studio, there’s still nothing like being in front of, and interacting with, our live audience,” Estrin says. The album features some of Rick Estrin’s best-loved and most-requested songs, dating back to his days as lead singer, songwriter and harmonica player of Little Charlie & The Nightcats (featuring Little Charlie Baty on guitar). The album is an up-to-the-minute and totally accessible slice of original, wry and witty blues with a simmering, funky rock edge fueled by Andersen’s blazing genre-hopping guitar and Farrell’s and Hansen’s dazzling keyboard and rhythm work. One listen makes it clear that this is a group comprised of four world-class musicians, who together form one of the tightest and most original bands in any genre.
Rick Estrin, who holds the 2013 Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist–Harmonica, is, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, “an amazing harmonica player, a soulful lead vocalist and a brilliant songwriter.” He ranks among the very best harp players, singers and songwriters in the blues world. His work on the reeds is deep in the tradition of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter Jacobs, while at the same time pushing that tradition forward with his unforgettable original songs. And his hipster, street-smart vocals are the perfect vehicle for driving those songs home. Blues Revue says, “Estrin has created some of the finest blues songs of any artist on the planet. His carefully wrought lyrics penetrate human weakness with the precision of a boxer, though more often than not, he chooses to leave you laughing after the blow’s been struck.”
Born in San Francisco, California in 1949, Estrin grew up following his own path. He discovered an entirely new world when, as a 10-year-old boy, he made his way to the tough Market Street area and befriended many of the neighborhood characters. He had another revelation when his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings The Blues when he was 12. Albums from Jimmy Reed, Champion Jack Dupree, Mose Allison, Nina Simone and others soon followed. By the time he was a teenager, Estrin had completely identified with the urban, African-American culture surrounding him. He got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. Estrin moved to Chicago when he was 19 and worked with South Side bluesmen Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay and Johnny Littlejohn before meeting and jamming with Muddy Waters, who told Rick, “You outta sight, boy! You got that sound, boy! You play like a man, boy!” Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but due to nothing more than a missed phone call, it never happened. Rick eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats.
For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick fronted the band, featuring Baty’s one-of-a-kind guitar acrobatics. The band won international acclaim and toured the world repeatedly. They were nominated four times for the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. With Charlie’s retirement from touring in 2008, Rick rededicated himself to his craft. Hansen and Farrell wanted to keep the band going. Estrin knew the only way to replace Baty’s crazed and unique guitar style was to find someone with an equally insane and individual approach, and he knew that would be a tall order to fill.
As luck would have it, Kid Andersen, who had been working with another harp legend, Charlie Musselwhite, became available. “Kid’s a fearless nut on the guitar,” says Estrin. “He’s really the only guy who could fit in with us.” With an unpredictable, no-holds-barred style that perfectly meshed with Estrin’s wildly imaginative original songs, the new band charged out of the gate with Twisted in 2009 and One Wrong Turn in 2012. Blues Revue raved, “Rick Estrin & The Nightcats are one of modern blues’ most versatile and original bands.”
As a testament to their talent, audiences at their consistently ask to go home with a CD that reflects what they just witnessed. Now, with You Asked For It...Live!, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats can satisfy their fans’ demands. Estrin recalls, “After shows, people are always asking, ’Are any of these CDs live? Which of your CDs is most like what you did tonight?’ Now, I can tell them, ‘This one right here. Thank you. We’ll be happy to sign it.’”
Roger Naber's 35 Year Anniversary as a music promoter is considered
quite a milestone for what began simply as a passion for American Blues Music.
In Kansas City, Roger is mostly known as the co-owner of the Grand Emporium live
music venue from 1985-2004. During his 20 year run as booking proprietor, he
featured live music 6-7 nights a week at the well established venue. 
Blues giants such as John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Bobby
"Blue" Bland, Koko Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray performed, plus
the newer generation, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny
Lang and Joe Bonamassa. Jazz, reggae and rock musicians such as Harry Connick
Jr., Wynton Marsalis, The Neville Brothers, Chick Corea, Jimmy Cliff, Dave
Mathews, Wilco, Flaming Lips, and The Wallflowers also had their turn at the
midtown venue. The Grand Emporium twice received the Keeping The Blues Alive
Award as "Best Blues Nightclub." The Grand Emporium musician and poster archives
can still be seen at the UMKC Marr Sound Archives, UMKC Miller Nichols LIbrary,
5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110 or online at 
Gerome has paid his dues working Delta cotton, Carolina tobacco and factory work in Jackson and Milwaukee. In 1965, Gerome moved to Milwaukee. He later met Johnny Rawls who took him under his wing and launched his music career.
Siblings Danielle, Kris and Nick Schnebelen grew up with the Blues. Their parents, Bob and Lisa, were active in the thriving Kansas City Blues scene, playing in local bands and competing in the Kansas City Blues Challenge. Bob and Lisa’s band didn’t make it to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis — but their kids did. When TUF arrived in Memphis for the 2008 IBC they were followed by huge, wildly enthusiastic throngs of hometown supporters, eager to cheer for their favorite musical family. And when TUF took First Place in the competition and Nick won the Albert King guitarist award, it was a sweet victory for the Schnebelen family and for Kansas City itself. TUF has been on a roll ever since, becoming one of the most sought after blues bands at clubs, festivals and cruises around the world. Trampled Under Foot’s brand new CD, Wrong Side of the Blues was produced by Tony Braunagel, and features guest appearances by Mike Finnigan and Kim Wilson.
Mato Naji, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter of Indigenous. formed the band with his two brothers and sister back in the late ‘90s. They released their much-talked about debut, Things We Do, in 1998. While the band’s growing electric blues was totally legit and truly exciting, the little family band from the Nakota Tribe of South Dakota never expected the incredible, widespread reception they got from the blues and rock communities. “It was really surprising,” says Mato, of the siblings’ success. “We never anticipated the band going national so soon.” But so it did, and over the course of five years, Indigenous rode a wave of promise and acceptance they never dreamed of.
For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick Estrin fronted the jumping, swinging Little Charlie & The Nightcats, featuring guitarist Little Charlie Baty. With Baty’s recent retirement from touring, Estrin – along with the Nightcats’ longtime rhythm section of J. Hansen and Lorenzo Farrell and a new member, fiery guitarist Kid Andersen – takes the lead on his own.
Matthew Curry & The Fury deliver energized blues along with great show. Matthew, at 16 and already a veteran performer, is astonishing audiences with his lead guitar playing, original songs, and soulful voice. Matthew Curry is backed by The Fury, pro players including Greg Neville, (drums) and Jeff Paxton (bass). Horns and back-up singers add to their solid sound. Their debut CD, “If I Don’t Got You”, was released to rave reviews in October, 2011. Quickly receiving wide acclaim, Matthew Curry & The Fury were recently featured as an Emerging Artist on the House of Blues Radio Hour.
Alex picked up the guitar at five years old and never put it down and is running with one of the toughest bands on the scene today. A versatile musician, Alex effortlessly switches between genres. He plays everything from sweet Beale Street blues to West coast swing. From hard Texas grinders to stone cold Chicago grooves with a feeling that's said to be timeless. Alex's style and tasty originals matched with his undeniable stage presence and unmistakable guitar style will drive you to the dance floor. To say that Alex Wilson is one to look out for down the road is an understatement. Taking the Midwest by storm, this young musician is a force to be reckoned with.
English born, but raised in Perth, Australia, Harper is a fiery singer-songwriter who blurs the lines between blues, soul, rock and world music. By combining traditional and modern influences and borrowing from Western and Aboriginal music, Harper has created a highly original, take-on-the-roots genre which many have labeled “World Blues”. His innovative use of electronic enhancement and feedback, breaks the traditional boundaries of the harmonica, giving his music its distinctive harmonies and effects. The powerful guitar sounds and the unique drone of the didgeridoo create raw yet eerie sonic textures, somehow sounding primal and contemporary at the same time.
Formed in late 2010, Tweed Funk has quickly gained recognition nationally with the release of their debut CD, “Bringin’ It”, which spent 18 weeks on the RMR Blues Internet Charts. The band brings an edge to the music of their forefathers by wrapping together blues, funk, and soul in show-band style. The band also represented Wisconsin’s Grafton Blues Association in the 2012 International Blues Challenge.
At a young age, Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. Born in Harlem, New York in 1979 and still in her 20s, she's opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics’ choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times and The Times of London) and shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Taj Mahal and John Mayer.
Although The Steepwater Band got their start as devotees of delta blues, they have since been expanding on their influences taking on everything from psychedelia to Americana, and of course, rock and roll music. Formed in Chicago in 1998, the band’s signature sound is at once a nod to earlier rock n’ blues combined with a raw and gutsy musical approach. Band members Jeff Massey (vocals & guitar), Tod Bowers (bass) and Joe Winters (drums) have a synergy that comes from years of playing together.
Growing up in the swamplands of northern Florida, down home roots, rock and soul artist JJ Grey became a realist early on. “You fall in love with a pig,” he says, “and then one day your granddad knocks it in the head and bleeds it for butchering. You tend to grow up with a certain amount of realism in your life.”
“…one of the hottest power-trio outfits on the scene today. They successfully mix the blues of the Delta with the psychedelia of the Sixties…”
