Listening to Eight to the Bar is a lot like driving along a time-warped highway precisely halfway between Count Basie's Kansas City and Fats Waller's Harlem, where the car radio picks up everything from “Take the A Train” to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Their material, like their outlandish wardrobes and onstage choreo, is a colorful mix of forties jive and swing, jump blues, and their own swing-influenced tunes. With their female vocals, saxophone, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, this unique sextet pack a musical and visual wallop not seen in New England since the group's inception in 1975. Since that time they have released 11 CDs, 7 videos, have appeared nationally on HBO, VH-1, P.M. Magazine and have excited audiences from Europe to the Caribbean. At this time the band has released its eleventh CD, The Romper Room.
CDs
This Joint Is Jumpin' (originally released on vinyl)
Swingin' School (originally released on vinyl)
Redheads of Rhythm
Something Old, Something New, Something Rhythm, Something Blues
Beat Me Rocking
Behind the Eight Ball
"Hey, Sailor!"
Superhero Swinger Undercover
You Call This Swing?
Calling All Ickeroos!
The Romper Room
CD Compilations
New Millennium Swing (DM Records) (w/Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue & others)
House of Blues Swings (Platinum Records) (w/Lavay Smith, Indigo Swing & others)
Hipsters of Swing (DM Records)
Let’s Swing- Rare Trax (Rolling Stone, German Edition)
Combinado Swing (Argentina)
VIDEOS
Swingin' School
Tell Mama/Set You Free
Something Old, Something New, Something Rhythm, Something Blues
Beat Me Rocking
Behind the Eight Ball
Hey, Sailor
Drawing its musical influences from American roots music - swing, boogie woogie, and jump blues , Eight to the Bar is known for its outstanding instrumentalists and sophisticated musical and vocal arrangements, highlighted by female vocals.
With the support of independently produced albums and videos, Eight to the Bar has cultivated a large, enthusiastic following that has put them in clubs from Maine to Miami as well as Europe and the Caribbean. Their rigorous performing schedule (approximately 200 dates per year) has included opening spots for Manhattan Transfer, Robert Cray, Neil Young, the late Roy Orbison, and a recent European tour.
The Romper Room was released in August 2010. The band’s long-awaited 11th CD is a mix of original swing, jazz, and jump blues tunes.
EIGHT TO THE BAR is:
Collin Tilton - Tenor and alto saxophones. Best known for his sax and flute playing on Van Morrison's million selling Moondance album, Collin also played with Etta James on the Rolling Stones' 1978 U.S. Tour. Most recently, he served as horn arranger with Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers, and has worked with a number of regional bands, notably the Shaboo All Stars.
Cynthia Lyon - Keyboards, vocals. The band's founder and leader, Cynthia is ETTB's primary songwriter and arranger. She has also played with Amyl and the Icons and the Dirty Blondes of New York City.
Shawn Meehan- Drums, percussion. A graduate of Berklee School of Music, Shawn currently resides and teaches drums in Boston. Besides leading his own bands, he has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe and has played with a number of swing and classic r&b bands, notably Toni Lynn Washington, Eddie Kirkland and Johnnie Marshall.
Michael Corsini - Bass guitar, vocals. A veteran bass player and teacher, Mike is best known for his dazzling work with the Magill-LaPine jazz quartet and a voice that can range from do-wop bass to swing soprano in the vocal trio.
Tommy Whalen - Guitar, vocals. Tommy's exciting guitar playing and powerful singing is well known to New England audiences through his work with several New England bands, notably Cyclone Scotty. Tom also leads his own blues rock band, Tommy Whalen & the Ragged Edge.
Brinna Jones – Vocals, percussion. The newest member of ETTB, Brinna started singing professionally in 2002, working with a Boston-based show band followed by backing vocal gigs with many different tribute artists, from Rod Stewart to Shania Twain. In 2005, her love for singing Big Band and Jazz became a dream realized when she opened for Bob Newhart, backed by a 10-piece orchestra. In 2006, Brinna joined the Northeast-renowned group Souled Out, singing background vocals, and opening for The Drifters, The Pointer Sisters and The Temptations.
Read more...