JUST MY LUCK Featuring Dave Myers of the Aces (Little Walter’s guitarist) and Sam Lay (drummer for Howlin’ Wolf, Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters). Nominated “Best Blues Album” – Chicago Music Awards “Rob Stone & the C-Notes succeed in capturing the flavor of that influential, urban Windy City blues sound --- while admirably advancing it as well with their stellar playing and Stone’s warm-toned, no-nonsense vocals and echo-heavy harp work…It doesn’t get much better than this.” -- Rhythm & Blues Magazine “In the hands of Stone…Chicago blues is alive and well!” --Blues Revue Magazine “This is a rare blues project in that it succeeds as both party music and for close listening.” --All Music Guide ROB STONE BIO Deeply rooted in traditional blues, yet delivering high-energy performances with a thoroughly contemporary impact, harp-playing vocalist Rob Stone is one of the busiest young bandleaders on the blues scene today. His skin-tight band is comprised of blues veterans of the highest caliber that seamlessly support Stone’s eloquent harmonica and cool, streetwise vocals. Rob Stone cut his musical teeth in the gritty clubs of Chicago’s north, south and west sides, learning from the masters. Since relocating to Los Angeles a few years ago, West Coast blues fans have eagerly embraced Rob Stone’s swinging and hard-driving, full-toned Chicago blues with the same fervor that he long inspired around the Windy City. Rob’s been a busy man in his new digs, collaborating regularly with iconic saxophone blaster Big Jay McNeely and piano legend Barry Goldberg and sharing bills with Charlie Musselwhite, Junior Watson, and James Harman. He’s toured Europe and Japan (the latter long one of his strongholds), landed an endorsement from Seydel harmonicas (he was previously endorsed by Hohner), has had original music placed in films and a television series (NCIS: New Orleans), and he is featured prominently in the new documentary Sam Lay in Bluesland. Gotta Keep Rollin’, Rob’s most recent CD release for Vizztone Records, racked up sterling reviews as it sailed high on the International Blues Radio Charts and Roots Music Report Radio Charts (peaking at #2), and he has another exciting album in the pipeline—this one recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis with blues luminaries Chris James and Patrick Rynn, and exemplifying ensemble playing at its finest. Stone got started on his harmonica-blowing odyssey at age 18. He slipped into a blues joint in his native Boston to check out harp legend Charlie Musselwhite and was instantly transfixed. Rob bought his first harp the next day and immediately began emulating classic recording –– later studying with ex-Muddy Waters harmonica man Jerry Portnoy and and playing regularly with Rockabilly legend Sleepy LaBeef. Relocating to Colorado for college in 1990, Stone honed his technique on bandstands around the Denver and Colorado Springs area, learning to tame riotous crowds in the Southwest biker bar circuit. Then in 1993, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Sam Lay––the mighty engine that powered the Paul Butterfield Blues Band during their mid-‘60s heyday––rolled into town with his own combo. After meeting at the KRCC radio station where Sam was being interviewed, the blues legend invited the young harpist to sit in and dug what he heard, hiring Rob the next year. Touring with Lay’s band introduced Stone to blues fans worldwide, and allowed him to refine his approach to the harmonica and music in general. Lay’s experience with Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and others instilled a strong emphasis on the tight Chicago ensemble sound –– stressing musical interplay, responsive improvisation, dynamics, intensity, and inventive arrangements. Lay has since said of Stone’s playing: “I have worked with many harmonica players, and he turned out to be the best. That cat is a monster harmonica player and musician!” In addition to continued work with Sam Lay, Stone became a “go to” player in the competitive Chicago blues scene –– performing and recording with many of the genre’s legendary acts. Learning to play Chicago blues directly from the masters who created it was a profound apprenticeship. “Every facet of my approach to music is to some extent influenced by playing alongside my heroes. These experiences were enormously important to my development,” says Stone. Soon, Rob stepped up to form his own band, the C-Notes, with veteran players Chris James, Patrick Rynn and Willie “The Touch” Hayes. Their self-produced debut CD, No Worries, earned considerable critical acclaim. In 2003, Rob and the C-Notes signed with Earwig Records to release Just My Luck (Nominated for a Chicago Music Award in the Best Album category). That same year, Rob appeared in the Martin Scorsese-produced “Godfathers and Sons” episode of The Blues series that aired nationwide on PBS Television. In 2010, Stone returned to the CD racks with Back Around Here, again for Earwig. The album remained on the Roots Music Radio charts for 54 weeks and was named in Living Blues’ Top 50 Albums of 2010. Then as now, Rob’s wide-bodied harmonica attack (his primary influences are Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, James Cotton, and the two Sonny Boys) and vibrant vocals display an unshakable foundation in Chicago blues tradition, and his penchant for high-energy houserocking tempos make his concerts an exhilarating experience. Along with Lay, Stone has performed and recorded with a plethora of Chicago blues greats: Eddie Shaw, Honeyboy Edwards, Philip Walker, David Myers, Henry Gray, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, David Maxwell, Willie Hayes, John Primer, Jody Williams and Aaron Moore, to name only a handful. He’s headlined his own international club tours, concerts and festivals and opened major shows for B.B. King, Robert Cray, Etta James, Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow and James Cotton. Since relocating to L.A., Rob’s blues-blasting harmonica artistry has gained him some new fans of a high-profile nature. But there’s no need for longtime fans to worry about Rob Stone going Hollywood on them. He remains committed to keeping the traditional Chicago blues flame burning brightly while bringing his own inventive twists to his blistering sound.