The Gary Mendoza Band hails from sunny Central California, a hard-working outfit of local boys who know how to play them blues. This, their debut album, is an excellent live recording from a summer concert series on the steps of an old Spanish mission. The band features veteran performers Bruce Krupnik playing some beautiful and reserved blues guitar, as well as Kevin McCracken blowing some mean harmonica. Gary Mendoza, a Fresno native, was introduced to the blues while growing up in the crime and drug-riddled low income housing projects on Fresno’s west side. He’s channeled his inner demons into his music, and you can hear it on these eight original compositions. One of my favorites is the thirteen-minute monster “Bluesy Love” (5). Check out the guitar solo on that slow groove. Krupnik’s slide work on the opener “Boy From California” is on par with Elmore James, and Jeff Levine’s keyboard sounds like something out of 1950s Chicago. Fans of blues harp will enjoy McCracken’s extended solo on “Good Time” (4), where he shows his ability on both acoustic and amplified harmonica.
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We've all heard bands that left us slack-jawwed and wonderin- WHY aint these boys on a big national label and part of the stellar line-up in Claptons annual Blues Fest in Texas each year?! The Gary Mendoza Band are the real deal and worthy of every ear that bends in search of a contemporary blues band that is rich with true American blues tradition! These cats dont slouch. If its powerhouse boogie blues you love- in the shot-gun juke styles of Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters or Elmore James... then its the Gary Mendoza Band you want!
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