Rod Piazza
Encyclopedia
Rod Piazza is an American
blues
harmonica
player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers since 1980 which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza
. Their boogie
sound combines the styles of jump blues
, West Coast blues
and Chicago blues
.
, where he studied blues records
and perfected his harmonica work. He originally started on guitar, an instrument he began playing at the age of six or seven.
In the mid 1960s, Piazza formed his first band The House of DBS, which later changed its name to the Dirty Blues Band. The band signed with ABC-Bluesway
and released two album
s in 1967 and 1968. The band broke up in 1968, and Piazza formed Bacon Fat that year. Piazza's idol and mentor, George "Harmonica" Smith joined the band and they had a "dual harp" sound. Bacon Fat released two albums the following two years. Piazza left and worked in other bands before going solo in 1974.
He formed the Chicago Flying Saucer Band the following year, which later evolved into the Mighty Flyers. The band recorded their first album in 1980. Piazza started touring and recording as Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers Blues Quartet, after the departure of long-time bassist Bill Stuve in the early 2000s. Piazza has recorded twenty-four studio albums between 1967 and 2009, including the live concert DVD Big Blues Party in 2005 (recorded at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
in Chico, California
). In addition, he has appeared as a guest performer on over twenty-one releases since 1968. Between 1995 and 2001, Rick Holmstrom
played in the Mighty Flyers.
Piazza has toured blues clubs, concert venues and festivals
in the US
, Canada
, United Kingdom
, Germany
, Japan
and Spain
, among other countries. He and his wife currently live in Riverside, California.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers since 1980 which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza
Honey Piazza
Debra "Honey" Piazza is an American piano player. She is a founding member of the band Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers.-Background:Honey was born in Fairfield, California on April 24, 1951. Her father was in the Air Force and her family moved to England for three years, when she was a child...
. Their boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
sound combines the styles of jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
, West Coast blues
West Coast blues
The West Coast blues is a type of blues music characterized by jazz and jump blues influences, strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players relocated to California in the 1940s...
and Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
.
Biography
Piazza grew up in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, where he studied blues records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and perfected his harmonica work. He originally started on guitar, an instrument he began playing at the age of six or seven.
In the mid 1960s, Piazza formed his first band The House of DBS, which later changed its name to the Dirty Blues Band. The band signed with ABC-Bluesway
Bluesway Records
Bluesway Records was a subsidiary label of ABC-Paramount Records, begun by Bob Thiele in 1966. Artists such as John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rushing, Otis Spann, and T-Bone Walker were among those who signed for the label. Bluesway released B. B. King's 1969 Live and Well and Completely Well...
and released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s in 1967 and 1968. The band broke up in 1968, and Piazza formed Bacon Fat that year. Piazza's idol and mentor, George "Harmonica" Smith joined the band and they had a "dual harp" sound. Bacon Fat released two albums the following two years. Piazza left and worked in other bands before going solo in 1974.
He formed the Chicago Flying Saucer Band the following year, which later evolved into the Mighty Flyers. The band recorded their first album in 1980. Piazza started touring and recording as Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers Blues Quartet, after the departure of long-time bassist Bill Stuve in the early 2000s. Piazza has recorded twenty-four studio albums between 1967 and 2009, including the live concert DVD Big Blues Party in 2005 (recorded at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company was established in 1980 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi.Located in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada Brewing is one of the top craft breweries currently operating in the United States. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best-selling craft beer in the...
in Chico, California
Chico, California
Chico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
). In addition, he has appeared as a guest performer on over twenty-one releases since 1968. Between 1995 and 2001, Rick Holmstrom
Rick Holmstrom
Rick Holmstrom is an American electric blues and rhythm and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Holmstrom has released five albums since 1996, and previously worked with William Clarke and Rod Piazza. In addition, Holmstrom has played and recorded with Jimmy Rogers, Billy Boy Arnold, Jody...
played in the Mighty Flyers.
Piazza has toured blues clubs, concert venues and festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, among other countries. He and his wife currently live in Riverside, California.
Pre-Mighty Flyers Era
- 1967 Dirty Blues Band / Dirty Blues Band (ABC-Bluesway)
- 1969 Dirty Blues Band / Stone Dirt (ABC-Bluesway)
- 1970 Bacon Fat / Grease One for Me (Blue Horizon)
- 1971 Bacon Fat / Tough Dude (Blue Horizon)
- 1973 Rod Piazza / Blues Man (LMI)
- 1979 Chicago Flying Saucer Band / Flying Saucer Band (Gangster)
The Mighty Flyers
- 1980 Radioactive Material (Right Hemisphere)
- 1981 The Mighty Flyers (Right Hemisphere)
- 1982 Robot Woman II (Shanghai)
- 1984 From the Start to the Finnish (Right Hemisphere)
- 1985 File Under Rock (Takoma)
- 1985 Harp Burn (Murray Brothers; Rod Piazza solo)
- 1988 So Glad to Have the Blues (Murray Brothers; Rod Piazza solo)
- 1991 Blues in the Dark (Black Top)
- 1992 Alphabet Blues (Black Top)
- 1994 Live at B.B. King's Club (Big Mo)
- 1997 Tough and Tender (Tone-Cool)
- 1999 Here and Now (Tone-Cool)
- 2001 Beyond The Source (Tone-Cool)
- 2004 Keepin' It Real (Blind Pig)
- 2005 For The Chosen Who (Delta Groove)
- 2007 Thrillville (Delta Groove)
- 2009 Soul Monster (Delta Groove)
- 2011 Almighty Dollar (Delta Groove)