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Also, as you'll notice below in 'thebizmo' you can download tracks from the CD, Blues On Tap by Stan Ruffo & The Instigators. Just select the track you want, click buy, and check out securely by clicking on pay with PayPal!

More about Steamin' Stan...
From Steamin' Stan's days in the school orchestra, playing clarinet and then saxophone in marching band, Stan has always been passionate about music! Although Stan spent many years as a long haul trucker, he knew it was inevitable that he would play music throughout most of his life.

Along the way, Stan has shared concert billing with B.B. King, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, and Eddie Money, as well as performed at pre-concert parties for Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Stan has also been blessed with the profound opportunity to perform and record on countless occasions, with legendary British guitarist, Martin Pugh, (of Steamhammer). Stan’s other studio and stage encounters include Delaney Bramlett, John Ussery, Bob Newham, Hank Van Sickle, Jr. Watson, Rick Holmstrom, Henry Carvijal, San Pedro Slim, Kid Andersen, Vance Ehlers, many other dedicated, and gracious musicians.

Stan has also spent considerable time behind a microphone ‘on air’, having produced and hosted his own radio programs, Bastille Blues Party (’91-’93), and Blues On Tap, (’95-’98), both on KIOO 99.7 FM in Visalia, and also on the Internet at Broadcast.com.

Unforgettable performance experiences: Stan’s most bitter-sweet gig was when he went to see William Clarke at Club Fred in Fresno. A message eventually came in that Clarke had become ill. Clarke’s band mates, bassist, Rick Reed, and guitarist, Henry Carvijal, (unaware of the severity of Clarke’s illness), approached Stan, and asked him to fill in for Clarke. The next morning Stan got the news that William Clarke had passed away. Stan could barely get those word’s out of his mouth when, later that evening, he had to tell ‘Blues On Tap’ listener’s of Clarke’s passing.

Stan produced a number of ‘special’ episodes of Blues On Tap, which featured interviews with great blues artists, like Johnny ‘Clyde’ Copeland, Fred Kaplan, and Barry Levenson. One show featured a live, in studio, interview with Mississippi bluesman, Robert ‘Bilbo’ Walker. As a result of that show, ‘Bilbo’ insisted that Stan accompany him as his harmonica player on a tour of the southeast. The highlights of which included Stan performing with ‘Bilbo’ at the Sunflower Blues And Gospel Festival, and at the Crossroads in Clarkesdale, with Ike Turner, Frank Frost, and Sam Carr, in the audience paying close attention to the performance.

In many of Stan’s current performances, he sings and plays a broad variety of tunes from the world of blues, jazz, soul, and rock’n roll. However, Stan is most at home playing blues. While he still plays sax, he is best known for his incendiary harmonica playing! Stan has written more than two dozen songs, and has three CDs to his credit, including Live At The Bastille, Blues On Tap, and No Pork Tonight, which are all blues. Stan can also be heard playing harmonica on CDs by Delaney Bramlett, John Ussery, and Bob “Pacemaker” Newham.

Stan’s extensive performance experience, his unique ability to lead a band, and his demanding performance schedule, keep him well tuned and poised to present a truly exciting, and entertaining performance any time you want the best!