Sugar Ray & the Bluetones CD Release
12-23-2016
Sugar Ray & the BlueTones - Blues harp master Sugar Ray Norcia has fronted the Bluetones for over three decades. Their new CD "Seeing is Believing" contains 11 originals and a scintillating instrumental cover of B.B. King’s “You Know I Love You,” which sweep out of the speakers with the power of a gale force wind. This follows their highly-successful 2014 CD, "Living Tear to Tear," which garnered them seven Blues Music Award nominations, including “Best Band,” plus individual nominations for Sugar Ray as “Traditional Male Blues Artist” and “Instrumentalist - Harmonica,” and a song nomination for “Things Could be Worse.” At the most-recent Blues Music Awards in May, the group was again nominated for “Band of the Year,” as well as individual nominations for keyboardist Anthony Geraci, guitarist Monster Mike Welch and bassist Michael Mudcat Ward.
Sugar Ray and The Bluetones are part of the "blues syndicate" that grew out of Rhode Island in the late 1960's and 70's. They have been playing their unique style of blues the world over for almost forty years. Not limited to one style, but able to play Chicago Blues in the style of Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Billy Boy Arnold; Kansas City Swing in the style of "Big" Joe Turner; Texas Blues like "T" Bone Walker and Freddie King; and the swampy Louisiana sounds of "Lazy" Lester. And they do it all with the distinctive originality of band leader Sugar Ray Norcia on vocals and harmonica, "Monster" Mike Welch on guitar, Anthony Geraci at the piano and Hammond Organ, Michael "Mudcat" Ward playing acoustic and electric bass, and Neil Gouvin on the drums. All of these band members have been featured on other artists recordings including Hubert Sumlin, John Hammond, Johnny Winter, Otis Grand, Pinetop Perkins, The Mannish Boys, Sugaray Rayford, Debbie Davies, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl and many more.
VIDEO
Sugar Ray & the BlueTones - Blues harp master Sugar Ray Norcia has fronted the Bluetones for over three decades. Their new CD "Seeing is Believing" contains 11 originals and a scintillating instrumental cover of B.B. King’s “You Know I Love You,” which sweep out of the speakers with the power of a gale force wind. This follows their highly-successful 2014 CD, "Living Tear to Tear," which garnered them seven Blues Music Award nominations, including “Best Band,” plus individual nominations for Sugar Ray as “Traditional Male Blues Artist” and “Instrumentalist - Harmonica,” and a song nomination for “Things Could be Worse.” At the most-recent Blues Music Awards in May, the group was again nominated for “Band of the Year,” as well as individual nominations for keyboardist Anthony Geraci, guitarist Monster Mike Welch and bassist Michael Mudcat Ward.
Sugar Ray and The Bluetones are part of the "blues syndicate" that grew out of Rhode Island in the late 1960's and 70's. They have been playing their unique style of blues the world over for almost forty years. Not limited to one style, but able to play Chicago Blues in the style of Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Billy Boy Arnold; Kansas City Swing in the style of "Big" Joe Turner; Texas Blues like "T" Bone Walker and Freddie King; and the swampy Louisiana sounds of "Lazy" Lester. And they do it all with the distinctive originality of band leader Sugar Ray Norcia on vocals and harmonica, "Monster" Mike Welch on guitar, Anthony Geraci at the piano and Hammond Organ, Michael "Mudcat" Ward playing acoustic and electric bass, and Neil Gouvin on the drums. All of these band members have been featured on other artists recordings including Hubert Sumlin, John Hammond, Johnny Winter, Otis Grand, Pinetop Perkins, The Mannish Boys, Sugaray Rayford, Debbie Davies, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl and many more.
VIDEO