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BRUISER AND THE VIRTUES
Contact all bands: brummenie@comcast.net
“Bruiser and The Virtues: The jazzier side of Bruce "Bruiser" Rummenie... wonderfully concocted songs in the way of classic dance band tunes; a hot saxophone, piano, upright bass, drums, and Bruiser on a big fat electric archtop guitar. This band is precious and awesome.”
- OpeningBands.com 2005
"This is probably the best local band for swing dancing, so get out there if you're in town!"
- Jim Phillips, University of Illinois Swing Society. 2003
“Jumping out of the gate with “I Don’t Like You,” Bruiser and the Virtues dare you to join their rhythm train before it pulls out of the station for the trip Uptown. The musicality of the band is unquestionable and impressive...Bruiser’s vocals pour over the tracks like smooth whisky over ice. Kudos to the rhythm section for bop extraordinaire, while the horns burn, keyboardist Neal Robinson comps, swings, and makes the ol’ 88’s beg for mercy. A gas.”
-Cody Sokolowski. The Octopus, 2001
“Bruiser and the Virtues’ debut CD admirably till the fertile soil of a genre steeped in American jazz, swing, and blues tradition and is a noteworthy addition to any record collection...”
-Don Gerard. News Gazette. 2001
“You’re a band after my own heart. Doing T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan stuff!
You guys were pretty much my favorite band at the International Blues Challenge...”
-Jimi Hocking. International Bues Challenge Individual Competition winner, 2005.
The Impalas featuring Dawna Nelson
"Imagine the best female vocalist you've ever heard.
Now imagine that girl in junior high that you knew
could beat up any guy in class and probably most of the teachers.
If your brain can make it compute,
add the two together. The sum is Dawna Nelson of the Impalas.
She's a badass, she's sassy and her voice will blow you away..."
-Mike Ingram The Buzz 2007
“The Impalas are based in Champaign, Ill, but this quartet’s sound would be right at home in Texas as well. The band performs music that’s directly in the Lone Star State tradition of basic blues-drenched rock & roll”
-RiverFront Times, St. Louis, 1995
“Dawna Nelson/ The Impalas: This is another band headed by "Bruiser" Rummenie. This is all blues featuring Dawna Nelson on lead vocals...I tend to refer to Dawna as "Susan-T the 2nd" as she readily handles most anything Susan Tedeschi can do. Power..the babe has some lungs! ..and she has some lungs too! “
-Buzz/WPGU music awards 2006
“Original blues-rock done with finesse and craft. The Impalas have been playing around Champaign for some while now, and their long hours spent in the trenches show....They mesh well together:crisp, lean and tightly integrated, there’s a sharp interplay between the band members that shines...If you haven’t heard or seen them, then you should definitely check them out...”
-The Octopus, 1997
“One of the best live bands in town. You are always guaranteed a great time when you sit back and enjoy their mix of rocking blues. A great band to dance to....if you can find room.”
-The Octopus, Jan 98
The Javelinas/The Freak Bothers
“Remember “Neon” Deion Sanders? A great athlete in many sports, he truly excelled in football. Urbana’s singer/songwriter/guitarist Bruce “Bruiser” Rummenie is similar. He is great in blues (The Impalas) and jump/swing (Bruiser and the Virtues) but he is truly exceptional performing acoustuic blues, folk and country in The Javelinas. Along with partner John “JT” Tubbs, Rummenie's original songs, accompanied by acoustic dobro guitar, mandolin, and flat top guitars, are, without a lick of hyperbole here, special at at top level of professionalism and not to be missed.”
-James Walker , Friends of the Blues 2005
Soooooo, I was on my way to work the other day...in my car, driving down an alley. It was early and I was draggin'. I caught a tune from the CD I left in the night before. It was telling me that I should carry on...that life's rough and that no one knows what I'm going through, that fears aren't anything new, and that I just have to be strong and find a way to carry on. So, I looked up, saw the sun shining and thought, "It's gonna be a great day!" The CD in my car was "Javelinas" by Bruce Rummenie and John Tubbs
-Lissette Wells, Aroma Cafe 2004
The CD “All I Know” is unpretentious and cohesive. I love the way it travels from the Mississippi Delta to the Appellachians, Chicago, Texas and the Southwest. Over all that musical geography, you still keep the feel in a laid back mellow groove. Nice work.
-George Faber, www.georgefaber.com 2005
If you think about it, Champaign-Urbana is the perfect place for a duo to produce music that falls into categories as diverse as country-blues, folk, gospel and bluegrass (to name a few). It's the place of cultures meeting; the middle of the country. And Bruce "Bruiser" Rummenie (guitar and dobro, of the Impalas and Virtues, recently, and numerous other projects past) and John "J.T." Tubbs (about as varied a bass player/producer as they come) are two local musicians who have made this concept a reality. The duo plays under the name Javelinas, though they play together in both the Virtues and the Impalas, as well. The record, All I Know... , out now and self-released, brings with it the feeling both of a modern folk record and of the vintage recordings of eras past.”
- Zack Adcock The Hub Weekly 2005
“Man, when I ran across your page & started pokin' tunes I had goose bumps where folks shouldn't get goose bumps. LOL
Your Dobro work had me doin' some serious guitar face.
Very nice stuff.”
-Cliff Houk: artistlaunch.com/cliffhouck 2007
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