LAST BAND SIGNED FOR THE BASH 2010

Somebody always has to be last, and the band that was picked last for the BASH 2010 will make the Sunday noon to 4 pm spot honorable as they close the show. They call themselves "Red, White & Blues" and they will be coming to us after an impressive list of engagements earlier this summer. May 22 & 23 they will be playing in Green Bay Wisconsin at the Packer's Lambeau field in an event for veterans called "LZ Lambeau."

June 5th they take the stage at the Hitch N Post in Aurora, Wisconsin, then follow that up with the Blaney Park Rendezvous in the U.P. of Michigan on June 18th, before rushing back to Crivitz,Wisconsin to play at the Caldron Fall Bar & Grill. Florence, Wisconsin has them for the Longrider's Motor Cycle Club "Spring Fling" before heading over to Rhinelander on July 3rd at Rocky's Roadhouse. July 17th they come to Kingsford, Michigan again for the UP Hog Wild BBQ and Music Jam and that night they race back to Crivitz, Wisconsin to the Caldron Falls Bar & Grill. August 11, they do the "Bands at Badger" in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.

So they should be pretty well warmed up when they get to our BASH 2010 "Saluting Our Military" event the last weekend in August. Here is what we know about the band members:

Russ "Fingers" Fennick has played bass in several hard rock & metal bands. Russ has traded the black leather and spandex for buckskin and camo, but still won't cut his hair. Now he's back to the roots of all rock and roll holding the bottom end down playing the blues.

Jay “Ernie” Olivares has kept his kids awake while practicing the drums for their whole lives. Now that they’ve grown up and moved out, he keeps us in time by pounding them skins. Really though, Jay has been playing drums since his high school days in Los Angeles in 1964 and played in bands in the Los Angeles music scene, as well as scoring a hit single with The Prophets of Doom out of Escanaba in the late sixties.

Rick "Sugar White" Bailey arrived in the U.P. by driving all the way up from Mississippi on a John Deere tractor and one tank of gas! Rick lives the blues. Rick is an accomplished harp player and singer. Rick draws from life’s experiences and really expresses it in his voice. Rick is a member of the Memphis Blues Foundation and was a judge at the IBC Blues challenge.

Jay "JJ Blues" Davis started the local blues rock band Lone Wolf with his brother Harley in 1997. Since then Jay has played in several local bands, namely SPLIT ROCK with Russ Fennick. Jay plays Fender Stratocasters and is really devoted to the tone and style they present. Inspired by the likes of Hendrix, Trower, Clapton, John Mayer, and other "electric blues" sounds. Jay really hits his groove with the darker side of the music, the drive up and the volume on "11". Jay has a "green book" full of tunes, and enjoys writing and playing blues rock tunes. The original songs performed by the band have been written by Jay.

"Piano Man" Dan Germic started playing guitar as child, 8 or 9 years old. He took lessons for only a few months, then heard the Booker T. classic Green Onions. As the powerful Hammond B3 sound echoed through his tiny transistor radio, he knew then he had to play the organ. Dan talked his parents into trading in his guitar and buy an organ. In his teenage years he listened to the likes of Jon Lord (Deep Purple) and Ray Manzarek (Doors). Growing up in the U.P. he didn't get a chance to hear much classic blues on the radio. It wasn't until his teenage years that he realized that all the bands he really liked, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Foghat, and Eric Clapton, were really just reworking old blues tunes. Then he was was hooked on the real blues. Dan has played with rock/country bands in the Iron River area for several years.