Get in Shape with Mike and Erik...Po'Training!

Erik is losing the flabbity flizzab for the CD Release, and he's taking Mike down with him! Come along and see how the PBBB gets in Funky Fighting Shape....

Fill out our Po'Survey and be the first to hear our new album!

We need your help, and have something very special to give you in return- a sneak peak at our new album!

All you have to do is follow the link below and fill out a quick survey for us. The survey is confidential and will only be used for our self-improvement. In return we're giving you a link to download a pre-mixed copy of Burnout, a new track off our upcoming album. This is a rare chance to hear a behind-the-scenes track and get a little insight into the recording process...not to mention the song is awesome!

Click here to take survey

Thank you so much! Oh, and let us know what you think of the new track!

Ithaca Brass Band gets their time in the Spotlight

I remember what it felt like the first time I met one of my musical heroes. It happened for me when the PBBB opened for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Party in the Park in 2008. I grew up listening to BBVD. I remember how cool it was to see them on the silver screen in Swingers with their zoot suits swinging it out. I never would've thought I would have the opportunity to not only meet them, but share the same stage with them. It's a gig I'll never forget. And their support and friendship ever since has been a guiding light for the PBBB and our career as a band.

Turns out there's a band in Ithaca that's fixing to do the same thing this Saturday. They're young, hungry, and out there hustling. And this Saturday they're opening for a band that they look up to and admire. They're about to meet some of their heroes.

Willie Nelson? Bob Dylan? Nope.

Their name is the Fall Creek Brass Band, and they're playing with the Po'Boys Brass Band.

Wow...you can imagine what it felt like to check these guys out and read their biography on their website and find out that they consider us one of their main influences. Here I am doing the same thing they're doing...young, hustling, and anyone who knows me knows I'm always hungry.

When did the Po'Boys Brass Band go from weekend novelty act to 'major influence'?? I can't tell you how honored it makes us to know that people out there are actually touched by what we do. I guess at the end of the day that's the best thing you could ever ask for.

So thank you, Fall Creek Brass Band. Now let's rock it out on Saturday.
-ej

Photo Journal from the 2010 XRIJF

On June 18th, 2010 the PBBB took center stage at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival...and rocked the house. This was our 2nd appearance at the XRIJF, and just like the first one, it blew our expectations out of the water. It's hard to explain to anybody who's not in music what it feels like to have the opportunity to take the stage at an international music festival, in the heart of your own town. You loved us Rochester! And we can't thank you enough!
In order to show our appreciation for you making this gig so special, we decided to ask our good friend and photographer, Gary Ventura, to come out and document the experience through our eyes. After sifting through over 300 photos, we put together a photo journal of sorts to share with you!

Gary has shot the Gym Class Heroes, and is a regular road-warrior, touring with famous bands and snapping amazing live photos. We hope you enjoy his work with us. Let us know what you think!

Exclusive Fan Download Live from the 2010 XRIJF!

Hey Po'Fans. Our good friend Craig from Audio Renaissance was out for our first set at the 2010 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest. Because we love you SO MUCH, we wanna give you a FREE download of Evan's new tune, 'Get Duppy'.

All you have to do to get it is go to this link. If you're already signed up for our email list, simply download the tune! If you're not on our mailing list yet, join today!



For a chance to win a download of our ENTIRE SET (10 songs), be sure to join the Street Team and join our newest Mission! Winner gets the entire concert on download!

-PBBB

Delaware and Gulf Coast Aid

We have a busy 4th of July weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow we head out to Delaware where we'll be making our 'First State' debut on beautiful Rehoboth Beach. The Rehoboth Beach Bandstand has an ongoing free outdoor concert series and we're excited to be a part of it. The show kicks off at 8pm on Friday, July 2nd and goes till 9:15. Get there early and get ready to dance!

There's another reason why we're so excited to travel to Delaware. We've been given the great opportunity to help raise funds for the Delaware Coast Gulf Aid benefit. There will be a donation bucket that will be passed around the audience during our show. So hit up the ATM and unload those Benjamins to help out those in need!

Anyone who knows this band knows the close ties we have with the great city of New Orleans. It pains us to see that this region of the U.S. is once-again threatened by devastation. It's important that we all do everything in our power to keep the Crescent City and all her neighbors and inhabitants healthy and vibrant. We're happy to do this little thing and hope you'll come out and support the effort.

We'll be staying in Rehoboth Beach overnight and hitting up the beach and local brewery: Dogfish Head! Of course, if you have a 4th of July party and are looking for a little NOLA brass funk rock to get things rollin', we'll be around!

While we'll be working hard to create awareness and raise some bucks, this weekend is all about PARTYING!! HAPPY 4TH, YAY AMERICA!!

-ej

2010 XRIJF Recap

The XRIJF is over, and like the rest of Rochester, the PBBB is still trying to catch our breath (and nurse our hangover). The 2010 edition of one of the greatest music festivals in the country ended with a bang...the last night bringing in well over 160,000 people (over 30,000 more than last year). And the PBBB was once again in the middle of the thick of it, playing two blistering sets on the Jazz Street Stage on the last Friday night of the festival.

The Jazz Fest is a busy time for the guys in the band. In addition to all the work we do in preparation for our performance, the guys were all involved with several other projects that played at the festival: Dave Rivello Ensemble and Rick Holland Evan Dobbins Little Big Band to just name a few. And when there was a spare minute to breathe, just like the rest of the city, you found us out listening to Herbie Hancock, Gladys Knight, Trombone Shorty and the rest of them, jumping and screaming and hootin' and hollerin' like the rest of em'!

This was our second Jazz Fest in a row, and without a doubt I can say that the XRIJF crowd is hands-down the greatest crowd we play in front of all year. I don't know exactly what it is...hometown crowd? well-informed jazz-lovers? music appreciators of all kind? Whatever it is, from the first to the last note Rochester gives you an unbelievable amount of love and we hope we gave you a fraction of that love back on Friday night!

There were some personal highlights on stage. For me, the band really hit its stride in the 2nd set. From the very top, RAF Riff was on fire. Probably my favorite moment came out of Jimi's Bones. That song more than any other seemed to just have everything lock in place...Nick's FX really started working right, the sound and mix was great, and the band was feeling it...and boy YOU were feeling it too. We're going to look into releasing a few songs from our live recording of the show for you, our fans, for FREE. We'll keep you posted. I'm thinking Jimi's Bones might make the cut...

We had a great photographer come out, Gary Ventura. His work is what you see in this blog. There will be a full photo journal of our two sets available in the near-future for your viewing pleasure.

Without trying to get sappy, I just have to tell you how great it feels to get so much love from a home crowd. In the short 2 1/2 years we've been together, Rochester has really opened up its arms and claimed us as one of their own. I can't tell you how many people came up to me on the street just to thank me and tell me how much they loved the band. First, I was in shock that people recognized me (although as officially the biggest dude in the band, I guess I shouldn't be that shocked), then alone to know our band and music. THANK YOU ROCK-CHESTER!

I'll leave you with this thought that Rachel Barnhart from 13 Wham Tweeted: "Jazz Fest is the best thing to happen to Rochester in years."

I couldn't agree more. I hope we do it again. And again. And again...

Doctor Tuba...

Tuba T. J. stays busy these days. As the only guy in Rochester who plays -among other things- orchestral tuba, funk sousaphone, upright and electric bass and contrabass trombone (yes that's right), Tuba T. J. is but a blur on the stage as he runs from one gig to the next. If his onstage antics aren't impressive-enough, T. J. recently graduated from the Eastman School of Music with his DOCTORATE in tuba performance! T. J. is the first guy to to attain the title 'Doctor Tuba' from the highly selective school in over a decade, and he has the funny Galileo-like hat to prove it. In addition to the title El Doctor, T. J. has a group of his own. Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the late Johnny Cash, T. J.'s band, CASH Back, is not your regular cover band. They breathe new life into these tunes and a new generation is falling in love with Cash's music all over again. CASH Back's debut album is now available for purchase. To purchase the album, contact T. J. Click here now.

T. J. is also engaged and soon to be married to our own Po'Girl, Sarah! You can see Sarah at many a Po'Boys show as well as T. J.'s other gigs. Sarah, a musician and Eastman grad herself, is also highly active in the music world around Rochester. Congrats to Sarah and Tuba T. J., our very first Po'Mance!!

We recently shot a YouTube Video about Tuba T. J. Check it out!

For more info about Tuba T. J. and how/where to buy CASH Back's CD, visit his website at TJRicer.com

PBBB Launches Education Outreach Program

Hi Friends,

After a year spent in development, we're happy to announce the official launch of the Po'Boys Brass Band Education Outreach Program! It's something we've been thinking about for a long time. Wherever we've gone, we've always been asked if we do education performances. It made sense to really sit back and think about what we wanted to accomplish with our time spent with students, and exactly what we wanted our message to be. After a long time thinking about it, we've come up with this: Education Outreach Outline.

So...if you're a student reading this who loves the Po'Boys, and want to have us come to your school, send your teachers the link above! If you're a person who feels the PBBB could make an impact in your community and schools, please take the time to read about our mission and start making some noise!

I'm happy to say that we have multiple education tours across the country in the works for the coming Fall 2010/Spring 2011. Of course, if you have suggestions on where to go next, we're all ears!

Hope to see you soon!

-ej

Baby it's COLD Outside!

Hi there Po'Fans!

Erik here. It's been a while since I sat down to give you all an update. I'm so sorry! The band's taking a much-needed and deserved vacation. It was only supposed to be through the holidays, but then work started piling up with other projects and, well...you know.

TJ is getting ready for his comps. He's working toward finishing his Doctorate at Eastman and has literally been in the books for quite some time now. Nick is getting ready for the big move to NYC. That's right! Nick is heading out to the city this summer to take a shot at the Big Apple. CT is busy working for the rights of freelance musicians in Rochester, creating awareness and a sense of community through the Rochester Freelance Musician's Forum on Facebook. Mike, CVH and Evan continue to work their butts off with their various jobs, projects, etc.

As for me, I'm in the middle of my third year of study at Eastman and am enjoying work with other things. I wrapped up a tour with the Eastman Wind Ensemble this past December where we played at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago in front of over 4,000 music educators, performers and students. It was a wild experience! Totally different vibe from a PBBB show, but still just as electrifying. I played bass trombone for that tour...something I'm still working on and enjoying. Who knows, there might be a PBBB tune in the future with me on the big horn....

So with all this change and work, what's happening with the band? Well, taking time off is a very healthy thing for a band. It gives you time to reflect on the positives, and the things that need room for improvement. Once you have the time to clear your head and think about it all, it helps clear your head and see the way forward a little more clearly.

The first and most important thing is we've realized how much we love playing together. And for that matter, we absolutely love our fans. You guys make what we do so enjoyable! We have had a bunch of really excellent shows lately and we want to keep that going. We're changing up some things on the business end that will make what we do a little easier and fun.

So when's the next PBBB gig? We're not looking to book anything this winter. We're going to start things back up here with a series of rehearsals aimed at one thing: new music. We'll continue to meet and build up new material throughout the winter and come out this summer swinging hard. We're happy to announce that we'll be going back to the Rochester International Jazz Festival this year. We will also be returning to the Geneseo Summer Concert Series in July.

A lot more than that is in the works, but too early to announce anything just yet.

Whew! Okay, glad I finally sat down and did this. We can't thank you all enough for sticking with us and showing so much love! We're constantly humbled with the support we receive from you. We like hearing from you! Please don't hesitate to let us know what you think! Drop us a line sometime!

Best,

ej