On Stage:
Easy Bill & The Big Beat CD Release Party at the (New) Skylark Lounge,
December 6, 2003

My first opportunity to visit the new Skylark Lounge (located several blocks south of its former
location on S. Broadway in Denver) came on Dec. 6, 2003. The occasion was a CD release party
for Easy Bill & The Big Beat. Recorded at KUVO’s performance studio and produced by guitarist
Nick Moss, their debut release, titled "Midnight Creep," is an effort Bill and all the members of the band can be proud of. I suggest you give it a listen.

The band members are: "Easy" Bill Towber – guitar and vocals; RD Jones - bass; Mark Richardson – piano; Ken Plum – saxophone; Gerry Hundt – harmonica; and Kyle Roberts – drums. Each musician brings a wealth of musical experience to the band. While each has his own musical personality, what makes this band work - and what makes any blues band work - is that each musician expresses himself without interfering with the efforts of the other musicians. They play mostly stripped down, almost minimalist arrangements, giving each lead instrument ample room to shine during solos. This is a refreshing contrast to so many bands that have a busier, more cluttered sound. It may be much easier to play too many notes than to play the few that really matter.

The band showcased several selections from their new CD, including a handful of originals, and they reached back into the rich history of R & B and the Blues and pulled out some lesser known and thoroughly enjoyable gems from the likes of Rosco Gordon, Ivory Joe Hunter, Freddie King and Muddy Waters.

More than being merely competent with a vast range of styles, each member of the band displays a deep knowledge of and admiration for the many genres that make up the Blues – Chicago Blues, Texas Blues, West Coast Blues, rhythm and blues and even swing. The Blues is, at its heart, a traditional music. And while any living art form continues to evolve as it passes from generation to generation and is exposed to new influences, what’s so enjoyable about listening to Easy Bill & The Big Beat is their deep sense of history and sensitivity to tradition mixed with great ideas from the present. This is what keeps music alive and breathing.

Take my advice and check out Easy Bill & The Big Beat at one of their upcoming performances around Denver and the Front Range. For schedule details, go to www.BigBeatBlues.com. And check out their new CD, "Midnight Creep," available in all finer music stores throughout Denver and the Front Range.

Paul Ferris
The Colorado Blues Society
www.coblues.com

(Article originally appeared in the February/March 2004 Colorado Blues Society "Holler")