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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The “New Rhythm and Blues Quartet”—unofficial house band of The Simpsons, and subject of a new documentary which premiered last month on the Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E), —will bring one of their legendary live shows to Arlington’s Regent Theatre on Saturday, March 8 at 8pm. Also appearing will be special guests, The Franc Graham Band. Adored by their loyal fans and revered by countless fellow musicians—Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, and Mike Buck of REM among them—NRBQ first recorded for Columbia Records in 1968, and over two dozen albums later, released the all-new studio album Atsa My Band in 2002 on their own Edi-Sun label. Despite their longevity, the ongoing acclaim of their peers, and tireless touring in the States, Europe, and Japan, NRBQ has often been regarded with something approaching total incomprehension by the mainstream of the music business. Perhaps this is because NRBQ’s sound is such a unique, freewheeling, genre-busting blend of musical flavors—rock, pop, jazz, blues, R&B, polka, rockabilly and much more—that it confounds the industry’s compulsion to fit everything into neatly formatted little pigeonholes. As Mike Scully, longtime Simpsons executive producer, and creator of the aforementioned documentary, NRBQ: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Best Kept Secret, says about his film: "Although NRBQ has never achieved the mainstream success they deserved, [it’s] not about this poor band who never got a break. It's about the poor audience who doesn't know this band… I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to actually do a project like this. Everyone in show business seems to have a cause, like the environment or land mines. Mine is NRBQ. Great music is always worth saving." The quartet plays with the kind of telepathic ease that can only come from working together for so long: co-founders Terry Adams and Joey Spampinato (keyboards and bass, respectively) have been on board from the very beginning; drummer Tom Ardolino is closing in on 30 years in the Q; and the relative newcomer, guitarist Johnny Spampinato is in his tenth year and sounds as though he’s been there all along (which, in a sense, he has: since big brother Joey started the band, Johnny has been hanging around the Q since he was a kid). NRBQ attained something approaching pop-culture immortality in 1999 when the band made its debut in animated form on TV’s longest running comedy series, The Simpsons, after having already appeared a record number of times on the show’s soundtrack. Later, the band’s music appeared in the feature films, Where The Heart Is and 28 Days—the latter of which included an on-screen appearance by the Q as a wedding band. (More of the band’s colorful history and activities will, no doubt, be discussed when an interview taped this month with Terry Adams will be aired on Joan Hathaway’s “Three Ring Circus” Friday, March 7, between 4 and 6 pm on 88.1 FM, WMBR, Cambridge.) Soon after the Regent Theatre performance next month, NRBQ will again be in America’s living rooms, performing the theme song for a new comedy series, The Pitts, debuting March 30 on the Fox network. This April will see the release of two new Q Collections: NRBQ Live At Mountain Stage (with performances taken from the popular NPR series), and Music's Been Good To You—18 previously unreleased studio and live recordings, 1975-2001. Also in the works is an all-star tribute album from Spirit House Records, with some of the top artists in various genres (including Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Steve Earle, Widespread Panic, and Barenaked Ladies) performing their favorite NRBQ songs. Special guests, The Franc Graham Band, have been described by Steve Morse of the Boston Globe as “entrancing” and “immensely underrated.” The quintet features some of Boston’s finest musicians, including Jerome Deupree (formerly of Morphine) on drums, producer Chris Rival on guitar, Pacey Foster (Pineapple Ranch Hands) on turntables and samples, and Scott Corneill on bass. Graham’s stand-out songwriting has turned the heads of music greats like Lucinda Williams, who called herself “a Franc Graham convert” before a packed audience at a performance together in 2001. The historic Regent Theatre, Arlington’s Show Place of Entertainment since 1916, is currently presenting its second full season of performances under new ownership. Located at 7 Medford St. (just off Mass. Ave.) in Arlington Center—a few short miles from Cambridge and Boston—the theatre is MBTA and wheelchair accessible with plenty of free parking across the street. NRBQ with special guests, The Franc Graham Band, will perform at the Regent Saturday, March 8 at 8pm. Reserved seats are $20 and $25. For further information call (781) 646-4TIX (4849) |