Blues Society of WNY and the Todd Eberwine Band

Keeping the blues alive.  That's the objective of the Western New York Blues Society, 887 members strong since 1992, and growing.  In addition to promoting the blues genre and blues bands in and around Buffalo, the society holds an annual competition and sends the winner to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, coming up this February.

The Todd Eberwine Band won this year's "Memphis Bound" competition, held at the Lafayette Tap Room this past September.  A young, dynamic band, Eberwine and crew were up against some stiff competition for the win, but they excited the crowd and the judges with their blues with a twist.   Out of nearly 20 regional bands The Todd Eberwine Band emerged victorious, and people who were there know why. 

This is the first competition the band has ever entered, and Eberwine suggests that even though he has every faith in the band's abilities, he was pleasantly surprised by the win. 

"Oh we're the blues--but more like the blues on a lot of drugs," Eberwine joked.  We're talking steroids and muscle here.  "We're very high energy--bordering on rock--and because of that, the win was a huge surprise.  Generally, in a blues competition, they're very strict about guidelines for the genre."

Even though he received varied opinions on the band's fit into a typical style of blues, Eberwine says he has no intention of altering what his band does best--not for Buffalo, and not for Memphis.  "There were mixed reviews; some people said the blues are starving for something different, while purists said, 'They're going to eat you alive.'  We'll just see what happens.  We're an original band, and we do what we do."

Eberwine says the competition calls for at least 2 original tunes and 2 cover tunes, but he's planning on going further. "We're going to play all original songs to show versatility.  It may be brave, but our focus in Memphis is more on being spotted rather than winning.  We want to get in front of the right people, and showcase our original songs." 

Not just original, but gutsy.  "The way it works down there, before your first song they read the band's bio, and then introduce you.  We wrote a song just for that--went for the loudest, biggest, in-your-face, 10 seconds to captivate them." 

Starting in 2000, Eberwine spent time in Texas, playing in a band that he toured with out of Houston, but he moved back to Buffalo to be near family.  The Todd Eberwine Band has been together for just 2 years, and Eberwine says it took a while to get the right mix of people together.  With him are Dave Herr, bass; Shannon Street, drums; Tom Scime, keyboards; and Quinn Murphy, lead vocalist. 

Dave Walker, president of the Blues Society of WNY is pinning high hopes on the band.  "They're going to be going up against bands from all over world--16 countries!" Walker says.  "The competition takes place in 12 to 15 venues all up and down Beale Street.  Each band competes for two nights, and the judges rotate in and out.  It's one big party!"

Walker explained that the winners from each Friday venue will meet for the finals the next day at a theater very much like our Shea's.  "They get a 20-minute set, and at the end of the competition, the band that is chosen gets to cut a CD in a national recording studio.  We definitely have a shot at getting into the finals with Todd.  This is a guitar-driven competition, and Todd is great, and he has the good sense to have a fantastic singer."

Though Walker says his main task is keeping the blues alive, he also recognizes that music evolves. "And it should," he asserts.  "The BPO might play a classical piece with a slight twist, and it's the same with blues--there's a constant evolution.  It's the younger musicians that will put their own little nuance on it.  We want people to remember that blues came from plantations, went to Chicago and lived through hard times, while traditional blues continued on and had an offspring in rock.  We want to appreciate and respect changes, while keeping tradition alive." 

In an effort to raise young musicians up on the blues, the society is helping another area band, The Infinity Blues Project, get to the IBC as part of the youth showcase division.  Placers in the September contest, the band comes from the Infinity Performing Arts Program in Jamestown, New York, and members range in age from 14 to 19--but they pack a grown-up blues sound and style. 

They'll be holding a benefit to raise funds for the trip on January 25th, 2PM at the Tralf, with the Patti Parks Band.  Infinity Mentor Ron Graham says, "We're just so proud of these kids. The opportunity to go to Memphis is priceless, and they're going to come away with so much."

And Walker has a cadre of blues fans behind him, hoping to see great things happen in Memphis. "As poor as this area may be--with our problems and our taxes--the WNY Blues Society has more members who return their $20 check every year than any other blues society in the country.  We'll be around forever," Walker promises.

The Todd Eberwine Band will hold a fundraiser for the trip on January 17th, 6PM, at the Lafayette Tap Room.  The $15 ticket (sold at the Taproom or on Eberwine's website below) will include an entry into a door prize drawing, entertainment and food. "The best part is the three other bands that are donating their time to play with us that day; The Blues Hounds, Mark Winsick and Beautiful Bones," Eberwine says. "We're all friends but never get a chance to see each other play, so this is going to be fun."

And what about prize money for the Todd Eberwine band?  "They get a thousand dollars when they get back from Memphis," Walker said.  He quickly added, "We learned our lesson."

Todd Eberwine: teband.com

WNY Blues Society: wnyblues.org

Infinity: infinityperformingarts.org