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CHECK OUT THE 2008 TOUR SHIRT DESIGNS!   BOOKING CONTACT:
Ross White 810-496-3051
ross@sadsonmusic.com
Sadson Music G4225 Miller Rd. Ste. 353 Flint, MI 48507
BAND VIDEO AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE!
http://youtube.com/profile?user=RustyWrightBlues READ OUR BLOG ON MLIVE.COM!
http://blog.mlive.com/wrightstuff
BIO
The RWB sound is guitar-based and contemporary, with a soaring B3 adding tasty layers of texture. Add dual lead vocalists, a pinch of Motor City attitude, a drop or two of humor and top it all off with a splash of southern rock and you’ve got a musical Molotov cocktail called the Rusty Wright Band. Wright is an incendiary guitarist and from his first note the stage practically sizzles with high octane energy as he throws down a six-string gauntlet and challenges his band to ever greater heights as tasty guitar, Hammond B3 and vocal riffs volley back and forth across the stage. BluesBunny.com, a Scottish blues webzine describes the RWB sound as “Kind of like Poppa Chubby without the urban aggression.” Fronting the band with Wright is his wife, rhythm guitarist & vocalist Laurie LaCross-Wright, a compelling singer with a vivid and expressive vocal style that stretches with ease from a breathy, crooned endearment into a two-octave slide that becomes a throaty affirmation of her ability to wail. The chemistry between Wright and his wife is both obvious and refreshing as they exchange playful banter onstage and share anecdotes about the songs and their lives with the audience. Musically, they soar. Their passion for music and performing is evident as they take turns playing off each other. Laurie laughs with delight when Rusty plays a particularly inventive riff. His guitar work echoes the dynamics and emotion of her voice as she sings. He closes his eyes and loses himself in the music as he plays. She, in turn, looks directly out at the audience, smiling widely from the stage, as if to say You'd better believe this is every bit as fun as it looks!
PERFORMANCE COMMENTS/REVIEWS
"An energized blues storm." ~Doug Pullen, Flint Journal Music Columnist
THE WHITING [with Etta James]
April 2008
Between acts I overheard an audience member say “I had no idea that this group [Rusty Wright Blues] was opening for Etta and I have never heard them before but that performance alone was worth the price of admission.” And tickets for that show were not cheap. Rusty Wright Blues knocked the socks off our audience who now see in a new light the many talented artists we have right here in Flint. ~ Christina Bellows, Director, The Whiting www.thewhiting.com
PIX THEATRE
January 2008
"Some the best blues I've ever heard." ~ Pix Theatre director Craig Martin, director, Pix Theatre
MARQUETTE BLUES FESTIVAL
September 2007
"There are many who may not have heard of this band before their performance, but I doubt any will forget them afterwards. They were the darlings of the festival on Sunday. If you get a chance to get out and see them, go! go! go!" ~ Cheryl Olson, music reviewer, WOAS FM radio personality, Porcupine Music Festival Talent Coordinator "Wright tore through a set of original material including I Ain't From Mississippi, The Fool Will Do, Feel Good Blues and Ain't No Good Life, with the crowd falling in love with Wright's vivid guitar technique. ~ Steve Seymour, ROCK N ROLL GRAFFITI
I CHEWS THE BLUES FESTIVAL
August 2006
(RWB returned as the festival headliner in August 2007)
"Not many bands can make me want to dance on tabletops one minute and make me cry the next!! Thank you for being a big part of our festival." ~ Marguerite King-Goodall, Festival Chair
KALAMAZOO BLUES FESTIVAL
July 2007
"When we book a band for a festival we want a full sound, great vocals, and somebody that can work the crowd. We got all of that and more with the Rusty Wright Band. That's why we keep bringing them back!" ~ Dennis Massingill, Kalamazoo Blues Festival
OWOSSO AMPHITHEATER SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
July 2007
"I've been on the board for seven years and I think this was my favorite concert here at the Amphitheater - ever!" ~ Roger Squires, board member, Owosso Area Amphitheater Association
LOWELL SIZZLIN' SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
July 2007
"I don't recall an act ever getting a standing ovation before at one of our concerts." ~ Gordon Gould
23rd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE Memphis TN
February, 2007
"They may not have won the contest, but they did win critical acclaim from the likes of Bill Wax from XM Radio, Legendary Blues Manager and photographer Dick Waterman, and Alligator Records Czar, Bruce Iglaur. Rumor has it that Rusty and the gang will be on the festival circuit next year and that a trip to the Virgin Islands' St. Johns Blues Festival is in the offing." ~ Steve Allen, Detroit Blues Society President RUSTY WRIGHT BAND WINS 2006 DETROIT MOTOR CITY BREAKDOWN - TOUTED AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND TOUGHEST IBC PRELIMINARY COMPETITION!
November, 2006
"Ain't No Good Life was released before the band's contest-winning performance at Memphis Smoke in late October and it may prove to be a collectible if this band goes as far as expected. …Judging by the reaction of the crowd at Memphis Smoke, as well as by the impressive material collected on this auspicious debut, Rusty Wright Blues is a band waiting to explode." ~ Mark E. Gallo, music columnist, critic
LESLIE WEST REVIVES ROCK'S HEYDAY WITH MOUNTAIN
By Sue White, Saginaw News Staff Writer
Sunday, April 23, 2007
"It wasn't long before the air guitars came out Friday night at Sullivans Black Forest Brewery.
And why not? With Leslie West and Mountain turning Frankenmuth into a Fillmore Midwest and many in the audience looking as if they grew up on West's signature guitar licks, it was a night that delivered much more than "Mississippi Queen."
Kick-start it with the Rusty Wright Blues band, and it was a guitarist's dream. Believe me, not all the chills were coming from the flu bug that hit this reviewer halfway through the show. Need further proof? A quick scan of the crowd found many familiar faces, musicians themselves on the Saginaw scene, on hand to rock at the feet of a master.
Wright came out blazing, with his wife, Laurie LaCross-Wright, keeping pace nearby and a pair of saxophones adding some brotherly one-upmanship. From their own "Do It Again" to a sizzling cover of the Gershwin brothers' "Summertime" and a medley of blues standards and some Stevie Ray Vaughan, they lived up to the promise of making the blues move you."
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
By Doug Pullen, Flint Journal Columnist
Friday, January 19, 2007
"If you weren't there last Friday night, you missed one of the most spontaneous local musical events of the season. What began as a fundraiser expected to attract a few hundred fans turned into a jam-packed, sold-out blues explosion… The location was the Davison Country Club, which was so packed by the time the band went on stage that the local fire marshal ordered them to stop taking admissions. The parking lot was filled to overflowing. Paying customers stretched to the stage area on one end of the long ballroom to the very back…"
KALAMAZOO BLUES FESTIVAL
July 2005
"I saw you play today. Your time is about to start." ~ WC Clark, "Godfather" of Austin Blues
LYNYRD SKYNYRD CONCERT
June 2004
"Dude, where the hell did you come from? That was great." ~ Rickey Medlocke, Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Great guitar playing. You guys sound great."
~ Johnny Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd
PORCUPINE MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL
August 2006
"After playing their CD so heavily prior to their visit, I was really excited to hear them perform together, and they were great. They both proved to be professionals and kept their cool when two of Laurie's guitar strings decided to break. Hilarious stage banter and great chemistry these two have, and they were well received by the early day crowd." ~ Cheryl Olson, WOAS FM radio personality
OXFORD HOT BLUES & BBQ FESTIVAL
June 2006
"Guitar wizard Rusty led the band through a series of songs and just to show the kids before them that they had chops too, finished with a red hot version of the Allman Brothers Whipping Post, which brought the entire crowd to it's feet for a standing ovation." ~ Tim Richards, Blues writer, photographer
THE LIVE SHOW
The RWB live show focuses on material from their critically acclaimed first CD Ain't No Good Life. The band's second CD is slated for release in summer 2008 and will include previously unreleased tunes penned by Warren Haynes of Govt. Mule.
RWB has dynamic 45, 60 and 90-minute concert sets that are ideal for keeping a diverse, multi-generational audience entertained. The crowd response says it all - more often than not Rusty and the band receive standing ovations during their performances, and they leave audiences on their feet clamoring for more.
Rusty Wright Blues also has a feel-good, energetic nightclub show that expands on the band's concert sets. In addition to their own brand of sizzling hybrid-blues and engaging onstage husband/wife banter, the band pulls out the big box of crayons to color their blues as they pay tribute to a wide spectrum of artists whose music has inspired them. RADIO & CD REVIEWS
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL BLUES RADIO
TOP 10 SONGS OF THE YEAR 2007
(as rated by Live365.com listeners) 1. Somebody Play The Blues For Me (by Blue Plate Special).
2. It Takes A War (by Wanted By The FBI).
3. Spellbound (by Dave Munkhoff).
4. Ride Zee Low (by Al Bell).
5. Long Time Comin' (by Rusty Wright Blues).
6. Red House (by Bluebone).
7. Reachin' (by Blue Plate Special).
8. Stand Up (by Danny Brooks).
9. Without Love (by Henry Correy & The Correydors).
10. Into The Rain / Stevie (by Martian Acres)
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL BLUES RADIO
TOP 10 ARTISTS OF THE YEAR 2006:
1. Blue Plate Special
2. Brother 2 Brother
3. Rusty Wright Blues
4. Smiling Jack Smith
5. Pat McLaughlin
6. Philippe Ménard
7. Tony O'Malley
8. Eugenio Finardi
9. Candye Kane
10. Pugsley Buzzard
www.ms-blues.com
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