Courtesy of the Rusty Wright Band
About Rusty Wright and The Rusty Wright Band “Over the past decade, Michigan hasn’t produced a more compelling rock-infused blues outfit.” - John Sinkevics, LocalSpins.com For guitarist and singer Rusty Wright, it’s “all about the moment,” commanding the stage to deliver the musical heat, the infectious grooves and penetratingly sincere songs that have earned the Michigan musician a national audience and recognition as a Master Blues Artist in the International Blues Hall of Fame Those who’ve seen Wright and his top-drawer band perform live will attest to the outfit’s razor-tight, explosive delivery of inventive songs with tasty helpings of Southern rock and Detroit-bred grit. It’s that rare combination (along with Wright’s trademark, flowing white hair and eye-popping guitar leads) that commands immediate attention, fills dance floors and earns roars of approval. “Art gives life its real color and it’s that joy that makes it more than just a day-to-day drudge,” the guitarist says of creating music that audiences embrace. “You should never be afraid of writing a song that might make people think. Music is about making people engage. You might take some heat for it, but as long as you’re being honest, there will always be people who will get it.” It’s that fearless approach to music that’s cultivated growing legions of loyal fans and driven Wright since he first started exploring the wonder of music, from country to early rock ’n’ roll to “the long-hair” stuff of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He started playing guitar in his gospel-singing mother’s touring group starting at age 13, and was writing songs, assembling bands and playing the club circuit in Flint and the Detroit area not long after. “I loved the blues from my childhood because there was such emotion behind it,” he recalls. That same passion propels Wright’s own music and guitar-playing. “He’s a monster of a player. It’s fun to watch the reaction of the young bloods who don’t often get to see that kind of musicianship up close,” Laurie offers, noting Wright also “stands out in any crowd. He cuts an imposing figure, and when you add that mane of white hair hanging past his belt these days, he looks like a wizard wielding a guitar.” Since 2004, that wizard has spearheaded release of four widely praised studio albums and 2011’s “Live Fire.” The band’s 2015 album, “Wonder Man” reached #8 on the Billboard Blues chart, #3 on the Hit Tracks 100 chart (Europe) and was nominated for Album of the Year in Vintage Guitar Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards alongside Sonny Landreth, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, and Joe Bonamassa. The song “Gonna Come a Day” from that album was selected from approximately 19.000 entries as a top finalist in the 2015 International Songwriting Competition. Wright’s 2013 album “This, That & The Other Thing,” earned widespread radio airplay across North America and won Blues 411’s Jimi Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. But that’s only the beginning as Wright vows to continue casting an innovative, wide net musically to reflect his eclectic tastes. “I have so many influences, I don’t just fit in one little space,” he insists. “I’m trying to find a way to take the blues farther down the road that will appeal to a younger generation as well. I’m not afraid to bring in other styles of music. But I want it to have passion. You never want to lose the passion.” That’s obvious in the band’s live shows. “We have a good time on stage,” Laurie says. “There is no barrier between us and the audience. We are there for them and for the energy that is exchanged when that connection is made.” As Rusty puts it: “People are there to be entertained and playing well is only half of it. You have to entertain.” And as audiences across the globe are discovering, Wright and his band do that in fearless fashion.
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By Jeff Stolowitz
Photos By Jeff Stolowitz Daytona Beach This past month during Black Friday Main Street Station had a concert. Molly Hatchet and Big Engine landed on the grand stage and played to over a thousand attendees. A concert to benefit Waves to Recovery the not for profit organization that helps people recovering from PTSD. Their mission is healing from all types of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) for anyone who has suffered a traumatic event by means of boating, fishing, education, and medical therapy from a licensed medical professional. The driving Southern Rock Band from the late seventies and eighties along with Big Engine a local favorite had the crowd cheering and pumping fists all night. The echoes of "Flirting with Disaster”could be heard down Main-street Daytona Beach like ghosts of Southern Rocks past. Behind Daytona captured the moment in time and through the images, if just for one minute, those who attended that have been afflicted with this condition were uplifted and transported to a better place Waves to Recovery continues its mission to help those stricken with PTSD whether they be veterans, women suffering from domestic violence issues, or the many first res-ponders who suffer traumatic events. Check out the Photo Album if you were there, tag yourself and help spread the word that Waves to Recovery is there to help recover the greatness in people. CLICK HERE FOR FULL FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM https://www.facebook.com/pg/BehindDaytona/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1511664508888784 By Jeff Stolowitz & Karen Romano Adams Photography by Karen Romano Adams For the full Photo Albums visit. ROK BAR Daytona Beach is an incubator, the coven of the Volusia County Metal and Alternative scene. Booking nationally touring bands along with local groups of countless talents. Sometimes they outdo themselves and on this one night, the 'incubator' blew the f*%$*&n place up! Nothing compares to hard driving rock and the line-up at Rok Bar just kicked it Behind Daytona this past Friday. Owners Chris Voorhees and Michael Lucas know how to pick-em. Starting with Arakara, lighting up the stage right off the bat. A band who has been together for only a year, sounded like a seasoned, well oiled machine on stage. Next up was Anthony Sica, in his newest band, Metropolis Rising. He has been in the Central FL music scene for many years with a following of his own. Now, together with Jeff Rankin and Aaron Williams, they have a recently released CD, “Rise & Fall”. Be sure to check into getting a copy of that one for yourselves! The next band was a hard driving instrumental group, Chief Wiggum. Sounding like a group of friends who got together to jam they were freaky tight, playing awesome tunes. Sometimes descriptions are already written, No other way to describe them but to pull a quote from their page, “Chief Wiggum is an adventure for your mind, body, and soul. Hand crafted and brewed, gently, with the finest of musical ingredients”, and this sums them up perfectly. Headlining, was the perfect hard core, driving you to the floor, rock of Seven Kingdoms. This band was supposed to be a question mark, well, they answered with a storm of guitars. Tight smart and fun. Being a female fronted band, they are able to get that melodic, oh so perfectly haunting sound a crowd craves. With 5 albums and many national and world tours under their belts since the band's inception in 2007, Seven Kingdoms is a band who is chipping away at their own piece of history in the Power Metal scene, and being from our own Central Florida area of Deland, makes us all 'proud parents'. All bands came with merchandise to sell and greeted fans all over the bar. There were many old friends, I'm sure and, with more than a few new fans! Overall, a great night for the local metal scene Behind Daytona |
The Local Report
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