| Links to the Blues Collaborative |
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| Upcoming Gigs |
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10/26/2007 Union Street Blues
CD Release Party - Open to the Public
The Arts Scene
West Chester, PA
(6:30pm to 10pm)
10/26/2007 Bluesman Tom Malafarina
Lazy Dog Cafe/Coffee House
18 E. Sunbury St.
Minersville, PA
570-544-4800
(7pm to 10pm)
10/27/2007 Blues City Blues Band
Hamburg Hard Bean Cafe
KING FROST PARADE
317 State Street
Hamburg, PA
610-562-2140
(4:30pm to 6:30pm)
10/28/2007 Voodoo DeVille
Mental Health Association in Delaware
Dravo Plaza at Riverfront Wilmington
Wilmington, DE
(8am to 11am)
11/2/2007 Voodoo DeVille
Annual Veterans Week Parade
Coatesville VA Medical Center
Coatesville, PA
(9am to 11am)
11/3/2007 Blues City Blues Band
Cemetary Inn
700 Upland Road
Milmont, PA
610-777-8967
(10pm to 1am)
11/5/2007 Voodoo DeVille
Annual Veterans Week Concert
The Great Hall
Coatesville VA Medical Center
Coatesville, PA
(2pm to 3pm) |
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Musician Spotlight
Tom Malafarina |
 Singer/songwriter Bluesman Tom Malafarina was born in the town of Ashland, Pennsylvania in the heart of the "Hard Coal Region". In 1967 at the age of twelve Tom was given his older sister's S&H Greenstamp acoustic guitar and began his life-long love of music. Tom spent countless hours practicing his guitar until it became like an extension of himself. He never sought to be a "lead guitarist" or "guitar soloist" but concentrated on rhythm and bass guitar. He enjoyed strumming and picking and combining notes to form chords and riffs that allowed him to express his emotions through his songs. During the 1970's Tom play in a variety of local Schuylkill County Pennsylvania bands of all types. From "Wedding bands" to, "Rock Bands" to "Blues Bands" to "Progressive Rock Bands". It was at this time that he first became familiar with the blues through some of the well know British Blues Artist of the time like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Then, at the age of 22, Tom decided to take a break from performing for a short while. Little did he know that this pause would last for about TWENTY THREE YEARS!
During the time when he was "retired", Tom continued to play at home and jam with other musicians whenever he could. During this time his love for the blues grew, as did his desire to compose and perform blues songs exclusively. It was during this time that he discovered World War II era blues as well as the Delta and Piedmont acoustic blues styles and began studying them.
At the turn of the 21st century, with the onset of the new millennium, Tom came out of retirement with a mission to focus all of his musical talents as a singer/songwriter in one direction, the BLUES. He's performed with the Jigsaw Puzzle Blues and Dave Mell Blues Bands. Today, he performs regularly with the Blues City Blues Band, a band which he founded in 2006. His reason for founding Blues City was to play yet another form of blues with the guitar, bass and drums power trio format, and to play 100% blues - ALL BLUES - ALL THE TIME. Tom also plays bass guitar and handles vocals for the Smokehouse Ramblers acoustic blues trio and performs occasionally as a solo act. |
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| Hello Blues Fans!
Here's the latest information from the Blues Collaborative member bands with details of a few of the shows coming up in the next two weeks. If you'd like more information on the member bands, click on the Bands link in the left hand column.
If you know someone who'd like to be kept up to date with what's happening with the Blues Collaborative member bands, please use the link at the bottom of the page to forward this message and encourage them to sign up for our newsletter.
Keep the Blues Alive!!
Buddy |
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Union Street Blues CD Release Party!!! |
This Friday, October 26, the Union Street Blues will be hosting the release party for their debut CD, By Any Means Necessary. The party is open to the public and is being held at the Arts Scene in West Chester, PA. The doors open at 6:30pm, so there's plenty of time to wander through the art on display or grab a bite to eat the the Cafe Menta at the Arts Scene. The Cafe Menta is BYOB, but the band will be providing complementary beer and wine for those so inclined. At 8:00pm, the Union Street Blues will be peforming live until 10:00pm, playing songs for the CD as well as many of their other favorite songs. As a special treat, the Union Street Horns, led by Dave Renz, will be performing with the band. There is a modest $5 per person cover charge, all of which goes toward supporting the operations of the Arts Scene. Here are the details:
530 East Union Street
West Chester, PA
610-644-6555
Friday, October 26
Doors open at 6:30pm
Live Music 8:00pm to 10:00pm
The Arts Scene is a very cool place and this is sure to be a fun event with lots good art and good music!
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Bluesman Tom Malafarina returns to
Laxy Dog Coffee House |
Bluesman Tom Malafarina returns to the Lazy Dog Coffee House in Minersville, PA this Friday evening at 7pm. Here's the details:
18 E. Sunbury Street
Minersville, PA
570-544-4800
Friday, October 26
7:00pm |
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Blues City Blues at the Hard Bean Cafe
King Frost Parade |
| The Blues City Blues Band will be back at the Hard Bean Cafe in Hamburg, PA this Saturday night, October 28. This time in conjunction with Hamburg's annual King Frost Parade. The Hamburg Jaycees King Frost Parade is billed as the largest Fall Extravaganza Parade in the East. The King Frost Carnival (as it was called in the early days) has been held in this North Berks Community since 1910 to celebrate the Fall Season and to welcome the coming of Winter. The band will be playing outside of the Hard Bean, just before the start of the parade. Here are the details:
Saturday, October 27
4:30pm to 6:30pm |
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Voodoo DeVille performs at E-Racing the Blues
Fundraising Event |
This coming Sunday, October 28, Voodoo DeVille will be providing the entertainment for the 5th annual 5k Run/Walk sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Delaware. Registration begins at 8am and the race starts at 9:15am. The race begins and ends at Dravo Plaza at Riverfront Wilmington in Wilmington, DE. Voodoo DeVille's very own bassist, Ray "T-Bone" Bentley, will be running in the race. He actually won the race last year and was the oldest winner ever! Here's the details:
5th Annual Run/Walk
Dravo Plaza, Riverfront Wilmington
Wilmington, DE
Sunday, October 28
800-287-6423
8am may be kind of early to be playing the blues, but Voodoo DeVille will be there bright and early, keeping it uptempo and fun! |
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Calling all bands : Looking for PR?
Anyone managing a band knows there's no such thing as too much publicity. How many times has a CD release or important performance sent you scrambling to get the word out via your (never large enough) e-mail list? Or have you tried an online service that blasts a message to some list they purchased and most of the messages bounce or end up caught in spam filters? We're all looking for something at a reasonable cost that hits the target audience and gets read. Thats's where someone like Dave King of the Cross Harp Chronicles and Just Root PR comes in. Dave can help send out press releases that target the right people, in the right region who focus on the blues genre. He recently helped out Union Street Blues with the announcement of their upcoming CD release party. He did a great job and the release got picked up by quite a few outlets in the Philadelphia region.
You can contact Dave at:
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