Album Notes

The blues has had many homes over the years: Memphis... Chicago... Austin... Denver?!? Ok, while not traditionally known as a blues mecca, the Mile High City is home to a vibrant roots music scene, and one band working to keep the blues flame burning bright well into the 21st century is Easy Bill & The Big Beat. Host of the top rated weekly radio show the "R&B Jukebox," Easy Bill is following in the footsteps of such giants as BB King, Rufus Thomas, Sonny Boy Williamson, and the many other names that started their musical career as the voice inside your radio. And when he's not spinning records for the listening audience across the Front Range, he's out around town with his band, Easy Bill & The Big Beat, to show them just how much fun this music can be when performed live. And, no, he doesn't sing the Pepticon jingle. Called "a wonderfully fun band" by the Colorado Swing Dance Network, Denver's Easy Bill & The Big Beat have released their debut CD, "Midnight Creep," on the independent Rhythm & Roll record label. The CD was recorded in the in-house performance studio at jazz89 KUVO (where Bill hosts the "R&B Jukebox" every Saturday night) in Denver, Colorado. It was produced by Nick Moss, Blue Bella recording artist and W.C. Handy Award nominee from Chicago, and engineered by KBCO Studio C's Justin Peacock. "Midnight Creep" was released Tuesday, December 9, 2003. Easy Bill & The Big Beat have been a fixture on the Colorado blues scene for almost two years, playing at such events as the 2002 Denver Blues and Bones Festival, the 2002 Mile High Blues Harmonica Blowdown, as well as many of the area's top clubs. Along the way they have developed a loyal following of swing dancers, roots rockers, and blues lovers. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Easy Bill Towber, bassist RD Jones, pianist Mark Richardson, drummer Kyle Roberts, and Ken Plum on saxophone, with an appearance on the CD from Gerry Hundt on harmonica. Playing a mixture of jump blues and early R&B, as well as post-war Chicago, Texas, and West Coast blues, the band's sound is faithful to the classic tradition, yet contains enough contemporary qualities to keep things fresh and appealing for a modern audience.