NRBQ ~ Me And The Boys

Title:
NRBQ ~ Me And The Boys

Description:
NRBQ is an American rock band founded in 1967. They are known for their live performances, containing a high degree of spontaneity and levity, and blending rock, pop and jazz styles of the 1950s and '60s. Their best known line-up is the 1974 ~ 1994 quartet of pianist Terry Adams, bassist Joey Spampinato, guitarist Al Anderson, and drummer Tom Ardolino. The abbreviation "NRBQ" stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet (originally Quintet), although a 1982 article in Creem magazine suggested a different meaning: "Nothing Really Beats Quality". (The band's inability to achieve mainstream commercial success has led many fans to lament that "NRBQ" could also mean "No Records Bought in Quantity.") The band's music, a rollicking blend of everything from stomping rockabilly to Beatles-influenced pop to Thelonious Monk-inspired jazz, has attracted fans as diverse as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards and Penn and Teller. NRBQ songs have inspired cover versions by Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, and Dave Edmunds, among many others. In addition, they served as the unofficial "house band" for The Simpsons for the season 10-12 period in which NRBQ fan Mike Scully was head writer and executive producer, contributing several songs and even appearing in animated form as well as on camera during the end credits to perform the show's theme song during the Take My Wife, Sleaze episode. They have also appeared in feature films, including 28 Days and Day Of The Dead. NRBQ's devoted following has been stoked by years of legendary live shows. The band never works with a setlist, so fans never know what songs they may hear. In addition to their own compositions, the band has performed a broad range of cover material, and has even worked no-refusal audience requests into their act. However, all of this admiration from their peers and fans has never resulted in chart-topping success. The band has made only one appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its nearly forty-year recording career ("Get That Gasoline Blues" reached #70 in 1974.) During the 1970s and early 1980s, NRBQ recorded a number of albums, mostly on Rounder Records or the band's own label, Red Rooster Records. The band also garnered a reputation for unpredictable live shows, since it eschewed the use of setlists. A former staple of the group's gigs was "The Magic Box", a mysteriously-painted crate into which fans could drop slips of papers with requests on them. The band would play whatever songs they drew out of the box. Over the years, the results ranged from the Beach Boys' "Caroline No", to a discordant version of the Christmas standard "Jingle Bells". If the band had never heard of the song, they would simply create something on the spot -- usually a discordant musical hash that included the title somewhere. On April 30 and May 1 of 2004, the group celebrated its 35th anniversary with concerts at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Massachusetts. The shows featured every former and current member of the band, as Ferguson, Gadler, Staley, Sheehan and Anderson came back for a mammoth NRBQ reunion. On April 27 and 28th of 2007, the band gave a pair of "38th Anniversary" performances in Northampton, MA, the first public NRBQ shows since 2004. Both Al Anderson and Johnny Spampinato appeared in the lineup, along with the "Whole Wheat Horns": Donn Adams and Jim Bob Hoke, and unannounced guest appearances by John Sebastian, original NRBQ drummer Tom Staley, and longtime saxophone accompanist Klem Klimek. The management announced their intention to make the performances an annual event, at least for the next two years until the band's 40th anniversary in 2009, although in an August 11, 2007 interview on Michael Shelley's radio show on WFMU, Terry Adams claimed this statement was made without consulting the band. Around April of 2008, original guitarist Steve Ferguson developed small-cell lung cancer. In the spring of 2009 he was reported too weak to travel but on June 26, 2009 was reported to be in Northampton, MA for a three-night stand to 'play with many of his old mates one more time'. Other NRBQ alumni on the billing included Al Anderson, Joey Spampinato, Johnny Spampinato, and Frank Gadler. In a live radio interview, Terry Adams said he was aware of these shows but acknowledged that he was not invited. He went on to say that it was likely that there would be another NRBQ reunion.

Author:
IAMAUSARMYVETERAN

Tags:
nrbq, me, and, the, boys, rock, pop, jazz, 1950's, 1960's, new, rhythm, blues, quartet, rockabilly, music,