Friday, May 16, 2008
April Showers Bring International Acclaim and Chart Success in May and June: Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars make the Roots Music Report Top-50
It has been an exciting year for contemporary Blues and roots-rockers Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars. The release of their debut CD, “Blues Power,” on Blue Buffalo Records, has been well-received by radio programmers, the music press, and listeners worldwide, and they knew they were on to something when the album was named one of the Top-10 independent releases in the world for 2007-2008 by the IBC committee for the Blues Foundation, in Memphis, Tennesee, and coincidentally made Real Blues Magazine’s list of Top-100 new CDs. But the band was not necessarily prepared for what came next. Bandleader Gregg Juke explains-- “We found out that we were getting played on about 15-20 stations with Blues programming around the country, and around the world. Things started to snowball, and suddenly we were getting airplay in Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alaska, Minnesota, California, Florida, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Scotland. We have also been reviewed and/or played on several international Blues websites, and reviews are coming out next month in two French magazines that cover Blues and roots music—‘Blues,’ and ‘Le Cri du Coyot’ (‘The Cry of the Coyote’).. We have been overwhelmed by the reception the CD has gotten, but we were floored when we found out that we made the Top-50 Blues Chart (#36) on the Roots Music Report (www.rootsmusicreport.com), and that we’re being picked-up by ‘Blues Deluxe,’ a syndicated show with 106 stations and over 2 million listeners! We can’t thank the fans, Blues DJ’s, and the music press enough for their support!”
All this, after an exciting year that included band-members signing endorsement deals
with several major and specialty instrument manufacturers (Barker Basses, First Act Guitars, Vic Firth International, and JC’s Drums), international recognition and airplay,
distribution worldwide through Super D One-Stop, and digital distribution on the World Wide Web through online retailers including CDBaby.com, CD-Now, iTunes, Rhapsody, PayPlay, Napster, BuyMusic, CD-Connection, Emusic, MusicMatch, MusicNet, Amazon.com, and iTunes/Yahoo Japan (the CD is still available, of course, on the band’s home website at www.MightyNoStars.com). The band has also appeared on three volumes of Buffalo, NY radio station WBFO FM’s “WBFO Gives Me The Blues” compilation CD’s, has been tapped as “band spokes-models” for a video production for the Comic Book Café, and continues to play a slew of concerts and performances, with an eye to expand their touring circuit to meet demand for the band that is being created by all of the airplay and press coverage. As a part-time music journalist himself, Gregg Juke had the opportunity to interview one of his influences and inspirations, the great Chicago bluesmen, Charlie Musselwhite.
It has been a great year indeed, but this is only the beginning for Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars, who have been compared to Los Lobos, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robert Cray, and Los Lonely Boys. They certainly bring a knowledge of world music and a rock & roll flair to their jazz-inspired take on the Blues, but the debut album (“Blues Power”) from the emerging, soulful powerhouse creates a unique sound that references the legends of the music, while showcasing an eclectic mix of songs that are at once dramatic, heartfelt, and fun.
Sixteen tracks (13 originals and 3 covers) cross the full spectrum of the Blues, and while most of the material springs from the fertile imagination of Gregg Juke, chestnuts from Peter Green, Brook Benton, and ZZ Top get the Mighty No-Stars treatment.
Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars continue to live up to their watchwords of “Bringing the Blues to a whole new level” and performing and recording “Maximum Blues, Soul, and Roots-Rockin’ R&B.” The “No-Stars” moniker is an in-joke-- everyone in the band has established themselves as a solid musical commodity through years of performing and recording with other groups and artists. The band strives to present not only the best in live music, but also in live entertainment; but as Gregg says: “There were already so many ‘Joe Schmoe and The All-Stars’ bands out there, we decided to be ‘No-Stars’ instead.” Concert-goers are treated to a high-energy, high-caliber musical event. The band has a unique sound that captures the essence of the Blues in all of its stylistic varieties, but adds touches of Latin, Rock, Reggae, and Worldbeat to the mix.
Gregg Juke is available for radio or print interviews, and promo copies of the CD are available for review. For more information, visit www.MightyNoStars.com,
SonicBids.com/GreggJukeMightyNoStars, or
MySpace.com/GreggJukeandtheMightyNoStars.
All this, after an exciting year that included band-members signing endorsement deals
with several major and specialty instrument manufacturers (Barker Basses, First Act Guitars, Vic Firth International, and JC’s Drums), international recognition and airplay,
distribution worldwide through Super D One-Stop, and digital distribution on the World Wide Web through online retailers including CDBaby.com, CD-Now, iTunes, Rhapsody, PayPlay, Napster, BuyMusic, CD-Connection, Emusic, MusicMatch, MusicNet, Amazon.com, and iTunes/Yahoo Japan (the CD is still available, of course, on the band’s home website at www.MightyNoStars.com). The band has also appeared on three volumes of Buffalo, NY radio station WBFO FM’s “WBFO Gives Me The Blues” compilation CD’s, has been tapped as “band spokes-models” for a video production for the Comic Book Café, and continues to play a slew of concerts and performances, with an eye to expand their touring circuit to meet demand for the band that is being created by all of the airplay and press coverage. As a part-time music journalist himself, Gregg Juke had the opportunity to interview one of his influences and inspirations, the great Chicago bluesmen, Charlie Musselwhite.
It has been a great year indeed, but this is only the beginning for Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars, who have been compared to Los Lobos, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robert Cray, and Los Lonely Boys. They certainly bring a knowledge of world music and a rock & roll flair to their jazz-inspired take on the Blues, but the debut album (“Blues Power”) from the emerging, soulful powerhouse creates a unique sound that references the legends of the music, while showcasing an eclectic mix of songs that are at once dramatic, heartfelt, and fun.
Sixteen tracks (13 originals and 3 covers) cross the full spectrum of the Blues, and while most of the material springs from the fertile imagination of Gregg Juke, chestnuts from Peter Green, Brook Benton, and ZZ Top get the Mighty No-Stars treatment.
Gregg Juke & The Mighty No-Stars continue to live up to their watchwords of “Bringing the Blues to a whole new level” and performing and recording “Maximum Blues, Soul, and Roots-Rockin’ R&B.” The “No-Stars” moniker is an in-joke-- everyone in the band has established themselves as a solid musical commodity through years of performing and recording with other groups and artists. The band strives to present not only the best in live music, but also in live entertainment; but as Gregg says: “There were already so many ‘Joe Schmoe and The All-Stars’ bands out there, we decided to be ‘No-Stars’ instead.” Concert-goers are treated to a high-energy, high-caliber musical event. The band has a unique sound that captures the essence of the Blues in all of its stylistic varieties, but adds touches of Latin, Rock, Reggae, and Worldbeat to the mix.
Gregg Juke is available for radio or print interviews, and promo copies of the CD are available for review. For more information, visit www.MightyNoStars.com,
SonicBids.com/GreggJukeMightyNoStars, or
MySpace.com/GreggJukeandtheMightyNoStars.
