MEMO GONZALEZ & THE
BLUESCASTERS
Biography
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Memo Gonzalez
& The Bluescasters
Biography |
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"XXL BLUES"
Memo Gonzalez and the Bluescasters are swinging like a suspension
bridge in a hurricane, declares British music magazine Blueprint , while Texas
Blues Magazine is wondering: Who are these guys?
Without reservation one of the most exciting live blues bands
touring today, Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters, combine authentic Texas
roadhouse blues with swing and rock 'n' roll influences to deliver one hell
of a live performance. Their collaboration started in 1995 and resulted in more
than 1,000 shows in European clubs and on international festivals. Memo Gonzalez,
who hails from Dallas (Texas), and his continental colleagues have worked hard
for their inspiring sovereignty which has been stirringly captured on "Live
In The UK". The new album was recorded at various concerts during a tour
through England and confirms in evidence Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters
excellent reputation as a dynamic live band. "Music's always happening
today", Gonzalez declares. "We ain't no juke box. We want to leave
our own imprint on the music."
The band's history started at the end of the 1980s when Kai
Strauss formed the Bluescasters. Already in their early years, the band was
invited to perform at festivals, all over Europe. In 1995 the first CD was released,
"Drivin' With...".
6,000 kilometers away, Memo Gonzalez milled new facets into
Texas Blues, supported by Paul Size, Johnny Moeller, Jim Suhler and other guitar
greats. After an impressive 'Texas Harmonica Rumble' in Utrecht, The Netherlands,
The Bluescasters invited Memo Gonzalez to join them on their European tours.
The debut album "Let's All Get Drunk And Get Tattooed" was released
in 1996. Ten years later the XXL-Texan with the genuine rock'n'roll pompadour
easily controls every stage he's on and continues to defend his heavyweight
harmonica champion title with every performance.
Kai Strauss is simply a great guitarist whose solos are up
there with the likes of American contemporaries like Duke Robillard, Alex Schultz,
Rusty Zinn, Charlie Baty and Sean Costello Scott Duncan writes in Blues In Britain.
His full-bodied tone and breath-taking intensity has given him a steady position
in the hearts of the blues guitar community and made Kai Strauss one of the
most respected players on the European scene.
Germany's musician's journal Gitarre & Bass has devoted
two pages to the Troja-born bass player Erkan Özdemir in their April 2006
issue. Henk Punter from Amsterdam is the new man behind the drums.With this
addition, The Bluescasters are 100 per cent an international top band.
"Thirty two years ago in high school when I began taking
an interest in music, I fell in love with the rhythm and blues sounds of the
local radio stations," the charistmatic American remembers. During his
school days he was not yet known as Three Hundred Pounds of Texas Dynamite.
"Later this music did change my life and I've travelled half the world."
Yes, there's power in the Blues.
Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters |
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