On a beautiful June night, Joseph Vincent Riggio and his Jv Archer Entertainment Group in conjunction with the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation presented the bimonthly Blue Collar Blues show at The Chubby Pickle. A house full of blues lovers were treated to the sounds of the host band, The Incinerators, led by JSJBF board member John Fernandez. As part of our Musicians’ Exchange program, the audience was treated to a rare performance Paul Boddy & the Slidewinder Blues Band out of Doylestown, PA.
The Incinerators kicked off the evening with a rousing version of Bo Didley’s “I Can Tell”. The song was driven by the stellar rhythm section of Chris “Corvette” Martel on drums and Steve Smith on bass. John Fernandez’ clean and concise guitar on a beautiful white Stratocaster danced over the beat, and when Marcos Orozco joined in, the song went to a whole new level. The next two songs, featured female vocalist and paramour of John Fernandez, Kimberly White, AKA “Miss Kimmie”. I know they are in a wonderful relationship, but sparks really fly when they are on stage together. Her vocals drove the original tune, “Discarded,” to new heights. One of the highlights of the night for me was the band’s interpretation of the Gladys Night & the Pips song “My Imagination”. Covered a few years ago by the supergroup The Rides, their version was closer to the latter and marked by the superb fret work of John Fernandez. They dusted off the cobwebs on a song made famous by the early Who, “Shakin’ All Over”. If they ever record a ”Live at the Chubby Pickle” disc, this version belongs on it! As the set wound down, John invited Paul Boddy up to showcase some of his slide guitar mastery on “Teeny Weeny Bit” and “Black Cat Bone”. They brought their portion of the evening to a close with Jackie Wilson’s “Baby Work Out,” and a song most famously associated with Big Joe Turner, “Shake, Rattle & Roll. It was a fabulous opening set.
Next up was the featured act, Paul Boddy & the Slidewinder Blues Band. The band competed in the 2018 JSJBF IBC run by member Gene Iadanza, and since then released the EP, “Friends of Tuesday” and are currently working on a new batch of songs which they hope to release by the end of this year. Kicking off the set with the Elmore James classic “It Hurts Me Too,” you could tell the band has been wood shedding, as they impressed with how tight they were. Drummer Jim Bowman was in the pocket and bassist Chuck Hearne danced around the strings so well you thought he was playing lead rather than rhythm! Glen Hale’s keyboards drove the song and was a terrific counterpoint to the stinging guitar of Paul Boddy.
They proceeded to dive into two of the five original songs on the EP, “Pretty Kitty” and “Money on Love”. While some of the new material was featured, Paul told me that we would have to wait for the disc for the others as the band couldn’t do them justice without the backup singers. One of my favorites, “Blues is Company”, was a great rocking blues tune in which the band were a precision machine, pumping out some fresh blues/rock. Paul showed why he has few peers on the slide guitar with an incendiary version of “Dust My Broom”. It should also be noted that his vocals are a treat for the ears and really highlight the originality in their compositions. In closing, Paul returned the favor, bringing up John Fernandez on a fun version of the song. “Little Bit of Soul”, made famous by the English band the Music Explosion. It was a fine night for the blues!
