SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES LEADS BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINATION FIELD WITH SEVEN

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones – the storied blues ensemble celebrating its 35^th anniversary this year with the deeply felt new album ‘Living Tear To Tear’ (Severn Records) – led the Blues Music Award nominations today with seven:

+ Band of the Year – Sugar Ray & The Bluetones

+ Album of the Year – ‘Living Tear To Tear’

+ Traditional Album of the Year – ‘Living Tear To Tear’

+ Harmonica - Sugar Ray Norcia

+ Bass - Michael "Mudcat" Ward

+ Traditional Male Artist - Sugar Ray Norcia

+ Song for "Things Could Be Worse”

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones "Things Could Be Worse" embeddable track

From 'Living Tear To Tear' (Severn Records)

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones bio

    Sugar Ray and the Bluetones begin their 35th year of bringing you the best in Blues Music with their release Living Tear To Tear (Severn Records) which debuted at #1 on the Living Blues Album Chart. 
    Singer and harmonica player Sugar Ray Norcia has been fronted this exciting band since its inception-but also spent seven years in Roomful Of Blues, and was also in the original line-up of Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters.  You can hear him on recordings with these two great Artists as well as recordings with Michelle Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, “Big” Walter Horton, and over fifty other Artists.  Sugar Ray also earned a Grammy Nomination (2014) for his work on Remembering Little Walter (Blind Pig Records) and won two Blues Music Awards (Memphis, TN) for that recording.
    “Monster” Mike Welch-aptly named by Dan Aykroyd at the Original House of Blues (Cambridge, MA) at the ripe old age of 13, and has been wowing audiences the world over to this day.  He has been the guitarist with the Bluetones for over thirteen years and continues to do solo projects on his own and with with other artists.  You can hear Mike on recent releases by the Mannish Boys, Duke Robillard, Sugaray Rayford, and has also been featured on a recording with the late great Johnny Winter.
    If  you were to think of any modern Blues Legend chances are that Anthony Geraci has backed them up-B.B. King, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thorton, Chuck Berry, Big Walter Horton and countless others have had Anthony’s fiery piano accompanying them. Anthony was  nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for his work on Super Harps I (Telarc Records) that also features James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, and Sugar Ray Norcia. You can also hear Anthony on Ronnie Earl’s first two releases on the Black Top record label; They Call Me Mr. Earl, and Smokin’.
    Bassist Michael “Mudcat” Ward has been featured on more recordings then we can count! Among them are recordings with Jimmy Rodgers, “Big” Walter Horton, Hubert Sumlin (that also includes Eric Clapton and Keith Richards), Otis Grand, Sleepy LaBeef, J. Geils and many more.
    Drummer Neil Gouvin has been with Sugar Ray since they were both in high school together.  Neil has been on every Bluetone recording and has also been featured on the John Hammond Jr. Grammy nominated Found True Love. Neil has also been featured on recordings by Otis Grand, Ike Turner and others.

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES NOMINATED FOR 2014 BOSTON MUSIC AWARD

Sugar Ray And The Bluetones were nominated for a 2014 Boston Music Award in the category of Blues Artist of the Year, alongside Gracie Curran And The High Falutin’ Band, Peter Parcek, Quinn Sullivan, and Roomful Of Blues. The group’s new album ‘Living Tear To Tear’ is out now on Severn Records. Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have several New England dates coming up:

Friday, October 10 - Chans, Woonsocket, RI
Friday, October 24 - Johnny D's Uptown, Somerville, MA
Saturday, November 1 - The Flying Monkey Performance Center, Plymouth,NH (with Tommy Castro)
Thursday, December 4 - Sculler's Jazz Club, Boston, MA

This year marks the band's 35th anniversary.

“LEGENDARY” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES) SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES’ NAIL IT ON ‘LIVING TEAR TO TEAR’

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones – the blues ensemble celebrating its 35th anniversary and featuring the three-time GRAMMY-nominated frontman Sugar Ray Norcia – is earning raves for its new album ‘Living Tear To Tear’ (Severn Records). “Our Story” premiered at Huffington Post.

Here’s what we are reading:

“The hard-swinging band fully absorbed the lessons learned from Chicago blues masters.” - Damian Fanelli, Guitar World, July 29, 2014

“Legendary blues ensemble.” –Chicago Sun-Times, July 17, 2014

“The Bluetones are easily one of the tightest blues ensembles working today, and Welch’s guitar world is as tasteful as anything he’s recorded to date… Firing on all cylinders… It seems a foregone conclusion that ‘Living Tear To Tear’ will find itself on several award lists next year.”
-Roger Gatchet, Living Blues, October issue

"If authenticity is your bag, these are the guys to check out."
- Ed Friedland, Bass Player, November, 2014

"[Sugar Ray Norcia's] voice is soulfully engaging, in sync with Welch's guitar and his own masterful harmonica playing." –Samantha M. Lopez, Elmore Magazine, August 7, 2014

“A gem… The album is a pleasure to hear.” – Bill Wilcox, Twangville, August 29, 2014

“Remarkable… If Muddy Waters was still out there in 2014, he and his band would sound a lot like this--and that's a good thing.” –Jay Miller, Patriot-Ledger (MA), August 2, 2014

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones Tour Dates

Friday, October 10 - Chans, Woonsocket, RI
Friday, October 24 - Johnny D's Uptown, Somerville, MA
Saturday, November 1 - The Flying Monkey Performance Center, Plymouth,NH (with Tommy Castro)
Thursday, December 4 - Sculler's Jazz Club, Boston, MA

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES #1 AT RADIO AS HUFFINGTON POST PREMIERES NEW SONG

NEW ENGLAND CONCERT DATES ADDED

Sugar Ray & the Bluetones' ‘Living Tear to Tear’ (Severn Records) debuted at #1 on Living Blues Magazine's radio chart this month. The band is celebrating its 35th anniversary since its first recording, a vinyl-only EP in 1979. Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have backed Otis Rush (who turned 80 this year), Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Big Walter Horton, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Mama Thornton, and Memphis Slim. Sugar Ray & The Bluetones are Sugar Ray Norcia (vocals, harmonica), Monster Mike Welch (guitar), Mudcat Ward (bass), Anthony Geraci (piano), and Neil Gouvin (drums).

Check out the Huffington Post premiere of the Louisiana swamp pop song “Our Story."

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones Tour Dates:

Saturday, Sept 20 - South Shore Conservatory - Hingham, MA
Saturday, Sept 27 - The Knickerbocker Café - Westerly, RI
Sunday, September 28 - The Narragansett Café - Jamestown, RI
Friday, October 24 - Johnny D’s - Somerville, MA
Saturday, November 1 - The Flying Monkey Performance Center - Plymouth, NH (with Tommy Castro)
Thursday, December 4 - Scullers Jazz Club - Boston, MA

LESSONS FROM EARLY MENTORS LIKE BIG WALTER HORTON, OTIS RUSH, ROOSEVELT SYKES, ETC. TO PLAY WITH DEEP FEELING STICK WITH SUGAR RAY AND THE BLUETONES

“THAT’S THE WAY HARMONICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED”
-MUDDY WATERS

"SUGAR RAY HAS GREAT TONE AND GREAT PHRASING, SINGING AND PLAYING THE HARP. ONE OF MY FAVORITES!"
-CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES’ NEW ALBUM ‘LIVING TEAR TO TEAR’ OUT NOW ON SEVERN RECORDS TO RAVES FROM GUITAR WORLD, ELMORE

Three-time GRAMMY nominee Sugar Ray Norcia still draws on lessons he learned from playing with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush (who turned 80 this year), Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Big Walter Horton, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Mama Thornton and others in the 1970s and ‘80s, most of all to play with deep feeling. The leader of Sugar Ray & The Bluetones says, “We were in awe of them! Sometimes there’s a myth about old blues guys that they’re gun toting and gruff. But they were open with their ideas and had no prejudices. They could hear our love of the music immediately and feel our soul. They accepted us.”

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have played shows with B.B. King. “He treats everyone with dignity. That’s always rubbed off on me,” says Norcia. “I sat in with Muddy Waters one time and he told me, ‘Son, now that’s the way the harpmonica is supposed to be played.’” (Ray confirms that he used the word “harpmonica.”)

Backing Roosevelt Sykes led directly to the band having the assurance to go into the studio for the first time in 1979 after the gigs led to Baron Records signing the band, making 2014 the 35th anniversary since that vinyl EP. “We backed Roosevelt Sykes at the Speakeasy [in Cambridge] before we ever made a recording. He said, ‘You fellows sound so good. You ought to capture that great sound in a recording studio.’”

The band toured extensively with harmonica great Big Walter Horton and Norcia remembers him fondly, “I learned so much from him, the way he handled himself on stage as well as the tonal qualities of the harp. Walter just stood up there and addressed the audience directly. It doesn’t take theatrics all the time; it takes deep inner feeling. Walter carried his harmonicas in a drawstring sack. He’d coil the cord after every show and carefully put it in his sack with his harps. We’d go to Ronnie Earl’s apartment and Walter would sleep on the floor, just unfurl the old mattress.”

Far less unassuming was slide master J.B. Hutto, who played in a flashy suit and used a 100 foot guitar cord to wander into the audience while the Bluetones backed him.

Bassist Mudcat Ward says he learned early from the masters “how to play with a drummer, how to make a pocket, make a groove,” continuing, “It was exciting to us.” He recalls the early Bluetones – the same lineup as now with one exception: Monster Mike Welch plays guitar in a spot once held by Ronnie Earl – as a band that took learning the craft seriously, saying, “The blues is serious as a heart attack. We always gravitated to the deep stuff, the lowdown stuff. If someone put on a tape or record of Robert Johnson, say, at an after-gig get-together or in the van, we'd shut up, just stop talking and things would get quiet. Why? Because we'd be listening. This was serious stuff to us."

Pianist Anthony Geraci says, “One time when we were backing the great Memphis Slim, we played a few numbers and then we called him up to do his show. He placed his arm on my shoulder and said ‘you play, I’ll sing.’ That was a thrill.”

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones’ new album ‘Living Tear To Tear’ (Severn Records) came out last month. Damian Fanelli writes, “The hard-swinging band fully absorbed the lessons learned from Chicago blues masters.” Elmore Magazine said, "(Sugar Ray Norcia's) voice is soulfully engaging, in sync with Welch's guitar and his own masterful harmonica playing." Twangville called it “a gem,” saying, “The album is a pleasure to hear.”

Norcia strives to return the favor to his early mentors. When Big Walter Horton’s family didn’t have the money for a tombstone for the master musician, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones played several benefit concerts to raise the money. “I have his amplifier and his microphone. That’s pretty special.”

He encourages young blues musicians to explore its roots and give the music space to breathe, saying, “Slow down, take a minute, think about it, play it with more feeling.”

MONSTER MIKE WELCH’S GUITAR SPICES UP SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES’ NEW ALBUM ‘LIVING TEAR TO TEAR’ (AUGUST 19)

GUITAR WORLD PREVIEWS NEW TRACK “HUNGRY BUT HAPPY”

ROLLING STONE: “[WELCH] CAN RIP THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD AND CRAM YOUR BRAINS INTO YOUR NECK WITH HIS BLUES GUITAR WORK.”

With Sugar Ray & The Bluetones celebrating their 35th anniversary with the new album ‘Living Tear To Tear’ (August 19 / Severn Records), its junior member Monster Mike Welch’s guitar interplay with the band is one of its strength. He has played with various members of Sugar Ray & The Bluetones his entire career but since joining the ensemble in 2001, his guitar work recalls Muhammad Ali’s famous quote “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He also wrote “Here We Go,” a poignant, weary blues about an on-again, off-again relationship, for the new album ‘Living Tear To Tear.’

Guitar World premiered “Hungry But Happy,” a Norcia original featuring Welch’s scorching guitar. Damian Fanelli writes, “The hard-swinging band fully absorbed the lessons learned from Chicago blues masters."

By his teenage years, Welch had already played onstage with Ronnie Earl, Luther “Guitar Jr” Johnson, Matt Murphy, Johnny Copeland, Joe Walsh, Dan Ackroyd, James Cotton, Junior Wells and was spotlighted by USA Today, People, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and NPR. Over the years, he has grown his Chicago-via-Texas-inspired single string attack, boosting the tension and emotionality to a fever pitch. Downbeat Magazine said, “Welch takes the music somewhere special when he plays.” Most recently, he has perfected a “slide sound without the slide” technique, as featured on the title track of the new album. Welch played a Gretsch G5420T on this track and most of ‘Living Tear To Tear.’ For more on his rig, please go to Welch's gear page.

He has six albums to his credit as frontman and his guitar and songwriting were both featured on last year’s Duke Robillard album ‘Independently Blue.’ Robillard said, “He’s a phenomenal blues player.” Most recently, he played on eight songs on the Mannish Boys’ ‘Wrapped Up And Ready’ album, contributing two original songs. He also participated in a Blues Guitar Styles Showcase on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise alongside John Hammond and others.

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES MARK 35TH ANNIVERSARY WITH STELLAR NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘LIVING TEAR TO TEAR’ (AUGUST 19 / SEVERN RECORDS)

LP FOLLOWS 2014 GRAMMY NOMINATION, TWO 2014 BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINS FOR FRONTMAN SUGAR RAY NORCIA

SUGAR RAY & THE BLUETONES MIDWEST TOUR KICKS OFF JULY 15

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones – the storied blues ensemble which has backed Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Joe Turner, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Walter Horton, Big Mama Thornton, and JB Hutto – marks its 35th anniversary and sixth album for Severn Records with the August 19 release ‘Living Tear To Tear.’ The hard-swinging band fully absorbed the lessons learned from those Chicago blues masters, making it one of New England’s most beloved blues institutions. The Boston Phoenix said of its frontman, "A fixture on the national blues scene[, Sugar Ray] Norcia's elegant, emotive voice is his calling card [alongside his] rich, melodic harmonica blowing."

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones have an incredible history, from early tours with Big Walter Horton; collaborations with Ronnie Earl; backing legendary artists in Cambridge and on tour; being invited for a residency at Chicago’s legendary south side juke joint Theresa’s, musical home of Junior Wells (though they had to decline due to other commitments); and earning five Blues Music Awards nominations for their last album ‘Evening’ including Band of the Year and Album of the Year.

‘Living Tear To Tear’ promises to be even bigger, coming on the heels of an eventful year that saw the blues world take notice of Sugar Ray & The Bluetones. Norcia was nominated for a GRAMMY and won two Blues Music Awards for his singing and harmonica on the album ‘Remembering Little Walter,’ his third nomination.

Tightly-knit after decades of performances together, Sugar Ray & The Bluetones feature four strong songwriters who penned ten of the album’s twelve tracks: Norcia, guitarist Monster Mike Welch, bassist Mudcat Ward, and pianist Anthony Geraci. ‘Living Tear To Tear’ delivers a breath-of-fresh-air set including the hard-driving roadhouse music of “Rat Trap,” the gritty, South Side-style “Things Could Be Worse,” the taste of Memphis on “Short Ribs,” the stinging slow blues of “Misery,” Louisiana swamp pop on “Our Story,” the expertly done Sonny Boy Williamson II cover “99,” and the tongue-in-cheek, jazzy “Hungry But Happy.”

Kim Wilson said, “Sugar Ray is the real deal.” Norcia fronted Roomful of Blues for the better part of the ’90s. Along with Ward and Geraci, he earned a GRAMMY nomination for ‘Superharps,’ which put his musicianship alongside that of Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, and James Cotton. ‘Living Tear To Tear’ marks his 17th album as a leader. All Music Guide raved, “Aside from his stellar harp work, Norcia is an excellent singer, and at his best, brings a touch of country and jazz to the blues.” For The Boston Globe, Steve Morse wrote, “Sugar Ray’s voice combines the roadhouse grit of Muddy Waters with a lonesome desperation all his own. Sugar Ray gets so down and out that he makes your skin crawl. He has an ability to convey pain as few bluesmen of his generation can.”

Mudcat Ward has been heard on over fifty albums, including Hubert Sumlin’s  GRAMMY-nominated ‘About Them Shoes,’ which also featured Keith Richards and Levon Helm. He's contributed both acoustic and Fender bass in live performance with Jr. Wells, Buddy Guy, Memphis Slim, James Cotton, Lowell Fulson, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton, and many more.

The band’s junior member, Monster Mike Welch began his recording career as a blues guitarist at thirteen years of age and has seen the depth of feeling in his playing grow exponentially over the ensuing two decades as he’s played with individual members of the Bluetones. He has joined the likes of Junior Wells, Johnny Copeland, Joe Walsh, Susan Tedeschi, James Cotton, and Johnny Winter on stage and is featured prominently on last year’s ‘Independently Blue’ with Duke Robillard.

Anthony Geraci is one of the finest blues pianists working today, having graced performances with B.B. King, Otis Rush, and Chuck Berry, and played at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Drummer Neil Gouvin’s many credits include albums by Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, John Hammond, Jr., and Luther Allison.

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones Summer Tour Dates:

July 12 – Ottawa, Canada – Ottawa Blues Festival
July 13 – Toronto, Canada – Waterfront Festival
July 15 - St Louis, MO - BB's Jazz Blues & Soups
July 16 - Okoboji, Iowa - Pearson Lakes Art Center
July 17 - Decatur, IL - Summer Blues in Central Park
July 18 - Chicago, IL - Buddy Guy’s Legends
July 19 – Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Cafe
July 26 - Boston, MA - Save The Harbor Boston Boat Cruise
July 30 - Westerly, RI - Blues On The Beach
August 9 – Gloucester, MA - Gloucester Blues Festival, Fort Stage Park
August 24 – Marshfield, MA – Marshfield Fair

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones artwork

Credit: Michael Sparks Keegan

Credit: Michael Sparks Keegan