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February 1999

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Buy Rod Piazza's CD today



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Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers
Here And Now
Tone-Cool

Rod Piazza and the Mighty FlyersHere and Now is Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers' second Tone-Cool release, and is a big step forward. The Mighty Flyers are still Honey Piazza on piano, Bill Stuve on bass, and Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holmstrom on guitar. For my money there is no better band around, and you won’t regret spending one cent of the $11 to $15 you are going to lay down to buy this CD.

Ten of the 11 songs were written by Rod or Honey Piazza, or both, and Rick Holmstrom. "Brought Together By The Blues," I’m guessing, is the true story of Rod and Miss Honey meeting and falling in love. The highlight of this song is L.A. Holmes’ solo. "First Love" starts with a boogie woogie piano intro, and is soon joined by the band. Hot, hot, hot piano solo, too. "Somebody’s Fool" and "Love Doctor" are good cuts, leading to the highlight of the disk, "Goodbye My Lover."

"Goodbye My Lover" is a pretty ballad, with a great 1950s sound. It features some of Rod’s finest singing and a wonderful, tasteful harp solo.

"Spit Shine" is L.A. Holmes turn to stretch out, and he reaffirms that he is one of the best guitarists performing. Actually, his guitar work throughout the disk is enjoyable. His solos are imaginative and take songs over the top. But listening to his playing when he is accompanying Piazza’s vocals or harp or Honey’s piano is always a lot of fun.

"Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep" is a nice mid-tempo swing number. "Strat-O-Spheric" has a cool 60’s jazz sound, and it allows an opportunity for Bill Stuve and Steve Mugalian to contribute solos.

"Don’t Make Your Daddy Dizzy" is a highly danceable tune, and it keeps the party going. "I Do Believe" is a slow chugging Chicago blues, featuring a soaring harp solo. The instrumental "Greasy Foot" closes out the CD, featuring another great band performance. This is a great album!

Rod Piazza was recently featured in Billboard magazine. It is terrific to see The Mighty Flyers get some ink. With a CD that could make you burn holes in your soles, maybe, maybe, someone other than the usual suspects, and a very deserving group, will get some well deserved, however belated, respect from outside of the blues community.

--- Tony Nowicki

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