Bman's Blues Report

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 h...

    Tommy Marsh performing at the 8th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival.     Tommy Marsh And Bad Dog Take Home "Best Blues Band" At 2013 Ventura County Music Awards!            (Ventura CA) - Proving that hard work does pay off, Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog took home the "Best Blues Band" plaque at the 2013 Ventura County Music Awards this past weekend, in a lavish ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel.    Marsh - who fronts his band on lead guitar and vocals - for over a year has hosted "The Session," a weekly Wednesday night blues jam also featuring some of Southern California's finest talent sitting in as Special Guests each week, sponsored by the Ventura County Blues Society.  Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog often play as many as three gigs a week in venues throughout Ventura, Ojai and other SoCal locales.    Tommy recently performed at the 8th...

    Fresh off their win for "Best Blues Band" at the Ventura County Music Awards, Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog welcome smooth-sounding blues/r&b guitarist Dave Widow as their Special Guest to The Session this Wednesday, May 22 the at Bombay Bar & Grill in Ventura.         (Ventura, Calif.) - Fresh off their win for "Best Blues Band" at the recent Ventura County Music Awards,  Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog welcome smooth-sounding blues/r&b guitarist Dave Widow to The Session at The Bombay this Wednesday, May 22. Sponsored by Ventura County Blues Society) - 143 S. California Ave.; 8-11 p.m. No cover. Info: (805) 643-4404 or https://www.facebook.com/events/464023660344150/ .     The Chicago blues and soul-inspired music of acclaimed singer-songwriter-guitarist Dave Widow can be heard to fine effect on his recently-released album "Waiting For The World To End," touted by the prestigious Blues...

      Two big shows this week for award-winning blues band Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog: Wednesday, 5/15 at Bombay Bar & Grill, Ventura; and Saturday, 5/18 at The Jester, Ojai.               (For Immediate Release ) - Two big shows take place this week for award-winning blues band Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog : The Session at The Bombay (Wed., May 15 featuring Kelly Zirbes and Perry Robertson from L.A. blues faves, Kelly's Lot; sponsored by Ventura County Blues Society) - 143 S. California Ave.; 8-11 p.m., no cover; and the band's return to The Jester in Ojai on Saturday, May 18 (139 E. Ojai Ave., 9 p.m., no cover).                                     Tommy Marsh performing at the recent 8th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival with Michael John and The Bo...

  The Session:  Ventura County's Premiere Weekly Blues Showcase/Jam Session  Returns To Bombay Bar & Grill - Wednesdays Starting May 1, Hosted Once Again By Tommy Marsh And Bad Dog,  Sponsored By The Ventura County Blues Society              (Ventura) - Beginning Wednesday, May 1 , The Session at The Bombay is once again Ventura County's destination point every Wednesday night for the best blues showcase and jam session in Southern California. Tommy Marsh & Bad Dog will once again host this weekly event sponsored by the one of the most active blues societies around, the Ventura County Blues Society.    This Wednesday, May 1  - The Session's first event at The Bombay  - kicks off with an incredible lineup of guitar playing greats Teresa Russell, Guy Martin, and Mikey Mo, plus Ashford Gordon (the latter coming in all the way from Mesa, AZ). T...

                      THE FABULOUS MS. SHARI PUORTO IS SPECIAL GUEST FOR VENTURA COUNTY BLUES SOCIETY-SPONSORED JAM  - THIS WED., APRIL 10 AT THE TAVERN IN VENTURA           (Ventura, CA) - Holy Crap! The special guests just keep getting bigger and better each week at the weekly  Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored Wednesday night Jam session . This Wednesday night, April 10, host band Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog welcome that blues-singing dynamo, the fabulous Ms. Shari Puorto . It all takes place at The Tavern, 211 Santa Clara Ave. from 8-11 p.m. And there's no cover! Info: (805) 643-3264 .                                          "Shari Puorto's vocals meld Susan Tedeschi self-taught soul, Bon...

                        GIRL WITH GUITAR: LAURIE MORVAN IS SPECIAL GUEST FOR VENTURA COUNTY BLUES SOCIETY-SPONSORED JAM THIS WEDNESDAY AT THE TAVERN  - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27TH           (Ventura, CA) - The special guests just keep getting bigger and better at the weekly  Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored Jam session . This Wednesday night, March 27, the very talented Laurie Morvan is the special Guest of "house band,"  Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog . It all takes place at The Tavern, 211 Santa Clara Ave. 8-11 p.m. No cover! Info: (805) 643-3264.       No stranger to Southern California blues fans and music lovers, Morvan is the 2010 Blues Foundation winner for "Best Self-Produced CD." Playing a blistering brand of red-hot blues-rock, the popular Long Beach-based band's ...

            Johnny Main (l) and Tex Nakamura (r) of the celebrated blues group The 44s are the very        Special Guests at this week's Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored jam, Wed., March 6.                       JOHNNY MAIN, TEX NAKAMURA OF CELEBRATED SOCAL BLUES GROUP THE 44S ARE IN THE HOUSE AT VCBS-SPONSORED JAM THIS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6@THE TAVERN                                                                      (VENTURA, Calif.) - Someone better alert the Ventu...

                                     Wed., Feb. 20: VCBS Weekly Jam             Fri., Feb. 22:  Village Jester                                                                              Ventura Is Ground Zero For SoCal Blues: Tommy Marsh & Bad Dog Shows Why!      (Plus The 8th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival; Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival; And More)     (VENTURA a/k/a/ Blues Ce...