HOME    SCHEDULE   CDs   NEWS & REVIEWS    DOWNLOADS    PICTURES
 

 

 

DAILY KENT STATER                                      TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1994                               13

The Bluestones singin’ the blues

by Daniel Buemi

Special to the Stater

 

    There’s a taste of the windy city right here in Kent.  Boogie piano, walking bass, singing sax, swinging drums, percussive guitars and emotional vocals are the ingredients of the Chicago style, juke-joint blues of The Bluestones.

    The Bluestones play the Rathskeller the first Saturday of every month.  The sextet, whose members all reside in the Kent area have been playing at Kent State for about 1 ˝ years.  They also play from Cleveland to Akron – and at JB’s and the Eldorado Club in Kent.  But the Ratt is one of their favorite gigs.

 

    “It seems like Kent State University is making an effort to upgrade the quality of the music they bring in.  I’ve heard some excellent groups play here, and I know that we’re really excited to have the opportunity to play…at the Rathskeller,” rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jim Fox said.

    The other members of The Bluestones are: “Rockin’” Robin Montgomery (key-boards/vocals), Joe Culley (drums), Mike Stevens (saxophone), Jack DiAlesandro (bass/vocals), and Mike DiAlesandro (lead guitar).  Add to that the seventh man Ansel Weese, the band’s sound engineer, who also gets up on stage playing bass sometimes and

   

is considered a vital part of The Bluestones.

    “It’s a very emotional, spiritual sort of music.  I think a lot of music today lacks in emotion, and I think emotion is what life is all about,” Fox explained.

    The Bluestones play material from a variety of blues artists, among them Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters.  Much of the material was covered by popular artists such as Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers.  Fox is a teacher and assistant football coach at Massillon High School.

    Culley toured with Robert Jr. Lockwood, the stepson of blues legend Robert Johnson.  Culley is known for his versatility because he

is able to play may styles of music.

    Montgomery has been a part of the Kent music scene for more than 20 years.  He has also played in blues festivals across the country.  Aside from being a musician, he is a blues historian.

    Jack DiAlesandro moved to Kent in the early 1970s and became part of the music scene here.  He headlined at Kent Fest in 1993 and played at Woodstock 1994 at Yagars Farm.  Jack also plays guitar, drums and keyboard.  Additionally, he’s a part-time math instructor here at Kent State.

    Mike Stevens teaches at Woodsy’s music store in downtown Kent when he’s not wailing sax for The

Bluestones.

    Mike DiAlesandro has been playing guitar for 18 years.  He favors the style of ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor.  Many of his peers have also grouped Mike in the Stevie Ray Vaughn style.

    Weese is a graduate of Kent State.

    Fox summed up the band’s outlook on performing, saying:  “We enjoy the music, and if there’s no one here or 500 people here, we’re going to have a good time.  We are really into this type of music and we think that if people give it a chance, that they can get into this too because this is one of the few genuine items of American culture.”

 

 

 

 

 

HOME    SCHEDULE   CDs   NEWS & REVIEWS    DOWNLOADS    PICTURES