JOHNNY MASTRO & MAMA´S BOYS
En 1994 Johnny Mastro fundó la banda Mama´s Boys Las primeras sus primeras apariciones en público fueron en diferentes clubs de blues en Los Ángeles . Desde 1996 el grupo viene tocando en el local Babe's & Ricky's , uno de los clubes de blues más antiguos y famosos Los Ángeles. La dueña, "Mama" Laura Mae Gross, le dió a la banda el nombre de Mama's Boys .
Johnny Mastro y Mama's Boys tocan Chicago Blues auténtico . El sonido de esta banda es único, ninguna otra banda suena igual que Mamas Boys. Johnny dice de su música: "sledge hammer blues". a menudo se puede ver a Johnny Mastro de rodillas en el escenario, soplando todo el contenido de sus pulmones en la armónica. Smokehouse Brown saca las más extrañas notas de su guitarra . Jimmy y Mike proporcionan la base sólida necesaria con un ritmo estruendoso.
Entre 2001 y 2010, la banda lanzó un total de cinco álbumes y un EP . A partir de 2004 también realizaron giras por Europa, encontrándose Bélgica, Francia, Holanda, Gran Bretaña y Alemania fueron los paises visitados
En 2006 y 2007 tocaron en dos de los principales festivales europeos, 2006 en el Moulin Blues Festival en Ospel, Países Bajos, y en 2007 en el Peer Blues Festival en Bélgica. En mayo de 2009 siguió la primera gira por Alemania. En 2010, fueron nuevamente invitados al Moulin Blues Festival en Ospel, Países Bajos. Para el 25 aniversario de los organizadores los habían comprometido como uno de los aspectos más destacados. En 2011, Johnny Mastro interpreta la canción "JJ's Man" en homenaje al director de la carretera Jean-Jacques Dessenne, quien murió muy joven. La canción será lanzada en 2012 en el álbum "Luke's Dream", que fue lanzado en RipCat Records el 16 de junio. En agosto / septiembre de 2012, tuvo lugar el 7º Tour de Europa.
Johnny Mastro: Blues Dreamer
Johnny Mastro, originally from Upstate New York, has been playing harmonica since the age of 9. A huge fan of the 50’s and 60’s Chicago-style blues, he played in bar bands in the late eighties and then soon after his move to L.A. was a featured player at “Harp Attack #11” in Hollywood. Mama's Boys is Johnny Mastro's vision of how blues should be played. Honest, original, raw, get-down music void of today's common cliche's and posing. Johnny says "This is not the lazy respectful whitebread blues!". Think Hound Dog Taylor crossed with Butterfield Blues Band. Hard blues you can only get with keeping one foot firmly planted in the past while moving into the future. Coming out of Los Angeles oldest Blues Club Babe's & Ricky's Inn since 1993, the band tours internationally and signed to Nugene Records.
For several years he performed and recorded regularly with Max Bangwell, drummer for the legendary Robert Lockwood Jr, also performed with the band “13” at a tribute concert for their former leader, Lester Butler. By this time Johnny was a regular component of the Mama’s Boys, playing the “Battle of the Blues Harps” alongside such names as Billy Boy Arnold, James Harman and Rod Piazza. Over the years Johnny has recorded with Sonny Rhodes and played on stage with Keb Mo’, William Clarke, Smokey Wilson, Kenny Neal, Paul Oscher, Guitar Shorty, Lester Butler, and Joe Beard. Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys CD, Never Trust the Living, released in 2016. The genre bending album that starts with a laugh and ends with a spaceship landing. Fresh, gritty & bluesy music recorded completely live in the studio over 2 days in the New Orleans sweltering heat.
You can read exceptional Interview by Michael Limnios
In
Our Story - New & Old Collide
"This band made my New Years Eve!" - Quint Davis - Founder NO Jazz & Heritage Fest
Powerful, heavy & bluesy ! People say it's the toughest sounding band around. The band with the original, raw sound hails from New Orleans, LA. Johnny leads the ensemble and has racked up 11 records, countless festival appearances, over 30 European tours, a feature in a 2013 film as well as recording for the BBC in London, German National Radio in Bremen, and Belgian National Radio in Brussels.
"Almost sounding like no blues you've ever heard before !" - MidWestRecord Review
JMMBs music is a blend of new and old at the same time. Roots run deep as Johnny spent 16 years (and Smoke 6 years) at the blues' shrine "Babe's & Ricky's Inn" under the tutelage of Laura Mae "Mama" Gross. She taught them the only color that mattered was blue and encouraged them to develop their own sound. The "new" is living in the present and absorbing sounds coming from music they enjoy Today! The results are apparent at every show and every recording "Mama's Boys" make.
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