Photos from the December 4th Blue Collar Blues Night at the Chubby Pickle, a J v Archer Entertainment joint, with The Incinerators and The 3rd Degree.
Live Blues at the Chubby Pickle
HOSTED BY: The Incinerators
FEATURING: The 3rd Degree
Blue Collar Blues Part Deux
On a cold and rainy first Friday in December, The Incinerators hosted the second edition of board member Joseph Vincent Riggio’s Blue Collar Blues event at The Chubby Pickle. Since the tent covering the patio was destroyed in a violent windstorm the previous Monday, a maximum crowd of only 25% capacity indoors was treated to a terrific evening of high intensity Blues.
The host band, The Incinerators, started the evening with the trio of John Fernandez on guitar, Steve Smith on bass, and Chris Martell on drums. With both John and Steve handling the vocals, they tore through Blues standards as if they didn’t know when their next gig would be (thanks to the Pandemic). John is a master of the ES355 and laid down many fiery solos, while the rhythm section of Steve’s melodic bass and Chris’s muscular drumming was more than up to the task. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, “Little Miss Kimmy,” aka Kimberly White, took the stage to deliver a rousing version of “Discarded”. Also joining the band during the set were Tad Schaefer and Rob Chiarappa on guitars to give the appreciative audience a taste of what was to come.
After a short break, Tad Schaefer & the 3rd Degree took the stage. Tad was a student of our late friend Jazz master guitarist, Jerry Topinka. He was joined by Rob Chirapppa on guitar, Larz Evans on bass and vocals and Frank Tambone on drums. While they are a Blues band, Tad’s playing is colored with Jazz phrasings in counterpoint to Rob’s more traditional sound that give the band a unique take on many of the songs they played. To my ears, it was refreshing to hear. Larz did an outstanding job on bass and vocals, with the highlight of the evening being the band’s version of the old Screamin’ Jay Hawkins chestnut “I Put A Spell On You”. Frank was rock solid behind the drum kit and the boys certainly deserved their showcase that night. John Fernandez joined them to close the night which delighted all in attendance.
Photos from the Blue Collar Blues Night event
LOCATION: The Chubby Pickle, 23 Bay Ave., Highlands, NJ
a J v Archer Entertainment joint
Credits:
I must also give a final shout-out to Joseph Vincent Riggio who worked hard all night as the emcee and provided excellent sound.
author: Charles Wuth