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The HEALERS! Story
On a Monday afternoon in 1999, Kevin Chisholm got a very unexpected phone call, one that was to mark the beginning of a dramatic change in his musical career. The singer of his new blues band, The HEALERS!, had just quit, less than 24 hours before the band's first demo recording session. All plans were made. A series of gigs had been scheduled.
One hour later, out of desperation, Kevin inserted a quarter in a nearby payphone and called NYC's culture and arts newspaper The Village Voice...
"Classifieds department, please..." The following day this advert appeared: "Wanted: Male Blues singer for New York City Blues Act." Two days later, Kevin's voice mail: "HEY, this is Thomas Buck-Nasty…just got into town...gimme a call...I'm your MAN!"
2000+ shows and three continents later, Thomas Buck-Nasty was right.
In the formative days, The HEALERS! performed at various clubs throughout the NY Metropolitan area. But, it was mainly their residencies at NYC's musical landmarks The Bitter End and 55-Bar where singer Thomas Buck-Nasty, guitarist Kevin Chisholm, and bassist Dean Zucchero built their loyal following and earned their reputation as the City's "hardest hitting blues band." From these countless gigs The HEALERS! perfected their show.
The HEALERS! explosive sound manifests what Thomas, Kevin and Dean have lived all their lives. All three are indeed disciples of American Blues music...but, there's a twist. Thomas delivers the gospel and soul heritages of his childhood, while Kevin and Dean infuse the music with their rock ancestries. This trinity melds a sound that audiences have come to describe as a "Comprehensive Healin' Session."
Singer:
Thomas Buck-Nasty delivering his first vocal performance to the local church congregation at age six. He was quickly adopted by the choir. Here, his love for Gospel evolved, particularly through the music of luminaries Rev. James Cleveland and Edwin and Walter Hawkins. With the art of Gospel soon in hand, Thomas began to hand-pick the virtues of other modern icons. From James Brown and Wilson Pickett, he harnessed Soul and R&B, and from John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy, he acquired the Blues.
By the 70s, Thomas took to the road where his excellence quickly forged him opening slots for prominent artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and Donny Hathaway. RCA Records caught wind of this new talent and promptly offered him a recording contract. Thomas' debut album, entitled Blast-O-Funk, was written and produced by the singer himself. He later went on to collaborate on productions of albums for pop artists like Evelyn "Champagne" King, and others.
Anyone who's experienced Thomas live will attest that he has a spectacular stage presence. His in-your-face style enables him to tear down the house on a nightly basis. Literally. "He won't let you not like him," one New Yorker aptly put it. Thomas remains one of the few existing True American Blues singer/performers.
Guitarist:
Founding member Kevin Chisholm is not your run-of-the-mill blues/rock guitarist, or should we say he hasn't the conventional preoccupations of his kin. It's not uncommon for an audience member to approach Kevin and say: "I saw you guys play just last night and...didn't you have a completely different neck on your guitar??" Kevin will usually shrug and offer something like: "yeah, I was bored this morning."
Having grown up on a healthy diet of 70s' Guitar Heroes, Kevin of course approaches the Blues with a brave recipe. And then after a heartfelt boil and simmering, he fortifies it with a generous addition of pepper sauce. From The Caribbean Islands to communist China, Kevin has spent the last 20 years traveling with his guitar on his back…accompanied by an extra neck or two.
Bassist:
Dean Zucchero is the foundation of The HEALERS! rhythm section. Also a native New Yorker, his experience stems from the half-light of pervasive dive bar gigging and extensive international touring. He's a veteran of the 60's school of bass playing, inspired largely by the works of James Jamerson, John Paul Jones and Paul McCartney. Dean's trusty '69 Fender Jazz Bass renders his tone unmistakable. And his FOUR-string convictions make him the embodiment of a Classic American Bassist. His sound couldn't be more palatable, his groove more relentless, the qualities of which every great power trio demands in its bassist.
In January of 2006, The HEALERS! were invited to perform at Europe's oldest jazz club, The Casa Bar in Zurich, Switzerland. During their one-month residency the band revisited the "Old School" approach to Blues performance: 5 sets a night, 7 nights a week, smoke-drenched room.
No problem.
By the second weekend, The HEALERS!' concert warrior mentality had provoked locals into filing-in as early as 8:30 PM in order to secure a seat for the night. And by 10:00 PM, the club's occupancy was maxed-out with all latecomers now having to satisfy their cravings through hallway door and street window peeks.
Word soon got across the northwest boarder of Switzerland and The HEALERS! received invite to France's premier Blues' club in Paris, Quai du Blues. The band set up shop for eight days and the shows seemed to go over well. As, toward the end of the first concert, during the band's rave-up groove, the French club owner (a reserved, I've-seen-it-all-kind-of-guy) was spotted manically doing an 80's style, punk rock (sort of pogo-stick?) dance across the back of the room. After the show, the band was informed by club staff members that this indulgence was indeed a first for the Boss. The HEALERS! were asked to be Quai du Blues' season-opening act for the upcoming September.
Thereon, there was no formal unpacking for the band, as Germany, Austria and The Netherlands had also taken interest. The band was surmounting an eight-month stretch with an odometer reading of 20,000+ miles. It had become clear that northern Europe was also finding spiritual remedy with The HEALERS!' elixir of Blues, Rock and Soul.
What began to become the "We Don't Wanna Go Home Tour" of 2006/07 was augmented by an invitation for a three-week tour of Australia. The band arrived in Melbourne on February 24th and immediately delivered several barnstorming performances in the Victorian town. Shoes adust, they loaded up their wagon and began heading north up the eastern coastline. Town-by-town, the NY Bluesmen found repeated inspiration from packed rooms, awestruck audiences and ice cold Australian beer.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not), during this stretch, the band gained the reinforcement of emergent groupies back from the Melbourne heist who were admittedly in need of another Healin' Session. Most flattering.
In Sydney, the band performed at various strategic points throughout and finished up enjoying a few stunning shows at Bondi Beach (yes, formal music was played there as well). It was evident that The HEALERS! were amassing recognition from all dimensions of
the Australian Body.
They packed up once more and headed south, but this time a bit inland and off the beaten path. Remote concerts proved even more eventful and complimentary to the band, as one back-slapping fan demonstrated to Dean after a rowdy night in Warrnambool: "how the FACK did THIS BAND ever end up here?? We've nawt seen anything like it, mate, CHEERS!" The uncommonly large man then proceeded to bear hug the bassist off the floor and punctuate his enthusiasm with a frothy kiss.
Ultimately, the band ended up back in Melbourne where the tour concluded on a special note with a privileged double-billing:
The HEALERS! and Australian Rock Legend Lobby Loyde.
In September of 2007, the band recorded a new album in Brooklyn, NY. Self-titled, The HEALERS! featuring: Thomas Buck-Nasty, the record is comprised of nine original compositions and one Blues' standard. The record captures the essence of NY life, both musically and lyrically (grit, grime, lust, hope, redemption, mortality, it’s all there). It also logs the unique musical lineages of Tommy, Kevin and Dean. The record was released in Australia in February 2008 on Townsend Recordings AU and was followed by the band's (now five-week) return to Australia this past March/April. The third tour is planned for the winter of 2009.
Following the Aussie tour of '08, The HEALERS! were invited to Spain for their very first run with the country. The band plowed through eight shows in nine nights at various arenas in the north, from Madrid, to the northern coastal city of Gijon, to Zaragoza, in-between, and back. The shows were exceptional. Each was jammed with handsome dark-haired natives all cheering romantic superlatives in concert fashion. Nobody in the band knew what the hell they were saying but it all sounded and looked good. So we graciously accepted it.
Autographs and CDs were in such high demand that intermission cocktail consumption hit an all-time low for the Manhattan Matadors. In classic Spanish style, however, this refreshment deficit was surplused five-times over before the band's bedtime hour of 9:00 AM. In sum, the band sold and signed a lot of product, drank too much, slept not enough.
On the note of "Ultimate Hospitality," one Madrid club in particular--Sala Fender--opted to open its doors on Sunday just to fit The HEALERS! in for a night. It was Sala's first concert ever on the Holy Day and apparently the transgression was worth the risk. The HEALERS!, in fact, did their Healin', as evidenced by the club owner's cash blessings having reached heavenly proportions by the first stroke of Monday. "R&R shalt rest no day."
The HEALERS! just completed their fourth winter tour, which began at the world renown Pink Bar in Zermatt, Switzerland. The band engaged in seven straight nights of elevated madness, entertaining all walks of life, from groups of shot frenzy Swedes to packs of analytic Russians. The nights were so stellar, the days saw no light. Hence, no HEALER was scene on the slopes that week in the Shangri-La of skiing, which is fine, because no HEALER knows how to ski anyway.
On the early morning of the eight day the guys flew to Spain to begin a 10 concert stint in the North. They started in the nocturnal city of Madrid where they played until 5 AM to a most persistent crowd. Hours later, they began their ascent to the snow-capped mountains of eastern Asturius for several more shows. Here, the band performed for herds of mucho gracious locals who fortified the minstrel's hectic 72-hour stay with a diet of fresh lamb pie, green olives and Brandy. "Dieta del campeón," they called it (or something like that). In any event, the latin meal plan seemed to work, as the NYers were swinging hard deep into the final day. The HEALERS! finished up their Spanish tour back in Madrid with several more shows.
From this exposure, the band was invited to be the featured act for the Getafe Blues Festival in Madrid this coming June.
Following Spain, The HEALERS! made their debut at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club, Paris’ internationally acclaimed jazz venue. Here, the guys performed five nights straight to a proper French audience that seemed most accustomed to refined Jazz (and 26 € cokes). Following the second night, however, several members of the exquisitely trained bar staff offered a confession to the band: “Magnifique…pour être meilleur serait impossible.” The band took this statement to be positive and proceeded to finalize the week with several more bombardments of non-jazz. From these Parisian shows The HEALERS! were invited to partake in two nights of the first Casablanca Blues Festival this coming June.
The band closed out their winter tour with two more shows in Ensisheim, France, as well as eight more concerts in throughout Switzerland.
The HEALERS! will begin their summer European tour this coming June in Spain, immediately followed by their first tour of Italy.
You can find out more about The HEALERS!, as well as get the details of their upcoming tours via:
http://www.thehealersnyc.com
http://www.myspace.com/thehealersnyc.com
See you in Spain.
The HEALERS!
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