Chicago has produced or helped produce the greatest blues music
the world has known. One of the area’s most talked about but seldom
seen blues interpreters are the Northwest suburban-based R&B’s.
On their 2007 release A Hardcore Addiction, recorded by
producer/DJ/remix artist Knobs Gonzalez in his Chicago-area
Audio Lab, bandleader/vocalist J.L. Jenssen leads the group through
a rousing set of chain-link, blast furnace blues infused with a rock
and roll vibe that puts the music over the top. The CD is The R&B’s
third release in the past three decades and finally delivers the sound
the band has been after all along. The R&B’s have shadowed the
Chicago blues scene for years, popping up when least expected
while spending most of their time plying their trade in suburban
sports bars, warehouse raves, and house parties. The band behind
Jenssen (guitarist Danny “Turbo” Baron, bassist Scooter Ruby,
drummer Tom “Ludwig” Jenssen) is arguably the strongest in the
band’s history and is helping Jenssen spread his garage-punk
blues-based gospel to all corners of the globe.
Jenssen originally discovered the blues at many legendary
Chicago haunts like B.L.U.E.S ETC., Harry Hope’s, B’Ginnings, and
the Aragon Ballroom, listening to Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, The
Ramones, Son Seals, and Lonnie Brooks blast their music through
the walls and has been on a non-stop quest ever since to get to the
music’s source and make it his own. Savvy blues fans have caught his
act at the original Maxwell Street Market from time to time, as well as
at various South Side bars, strip clubs, and soul food establishments.
Though the R&B’s play smaller garage and basement gigs in the Chicago
suburbs, Jenssen enjoys the intimate surrounds more than most because
it helps him to keep things at street level. “I like to look them in the
eye,” he says, “and then about midnight, I whip it on ‘em.” Fans who
have witnessed this say it is unlike any blues show they have ever seen.
The power of the band to transform the blues into something new and
original can’t be denied and, somewhat in reverse, the world-at-large is
about to find out what the Chicago suburbs have known for years: The R&B’s
are the ultimate in full-volume blues and are ready to take the 21st century by
storm. A Hardcore Addiction is just the start of the band’s new decade and their
conquest of the American rock scene.
For bookings, fan club, and all other inquiries, call Big Chicago Jones
of F. U. Productions at 847-208-3347 and visit the band online at www.myspace.com/randbs.
Visit The R & B WebPage For Additional Audio!
 Click Banner To Purchase "R&B's-A Hardcore Addiction"
YOUTUBE VIDEOS:
R
& Bs - LeAnn
R
& Bs - Big Fuckin' Rut
R
& Bs - Mama Marijuana
R
& Bs @ The Taste Of Roselle 1985
 LIVE@PAPA'S "R&B's-A Hardcore Addiction"
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