Got The Blues? Head For Ritzville

Rod Piazza was just 11 when his older brother sneaked him backstage at a concert by blues great Jimmy Reed.

The young boy told Reed he’d been playing the guitar since he was 7, and the bluesman said Piazza should have a harmonica to play, too.

So Reed gave him one of his, and Piazza hasn’t stopped playing.

“It’s the hardest instrument to really master,” Piazza says. “I’m pushing it beyond its limits all the time. One of the biggest obstacles is trying to get the tone out of it. That’s no easy matter.”

On Saturday, Piazza will bring his band, The Mighty Flyers, to the Ritzville Blues Festival, one of several blues events in Eastern Washington this month.

Blues fans also can check out the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival next weekend, featuring such artists as The Staples Singers, Joe Louis Walker, C.J. Chenier, Long John Hunter, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Tab Benoit. And a handful of regional blues bands will appear at Jazz in the Valley 2000 in Ellensburg the weekend of July 28-30.

Piazza, who has been performing for 35 years, prefers festivals to club shows.

“It’s usually an early gig. That’s nice,” he said one recent morning, still groggy from a late night before. “You get to touch more people in that setting versus the clubs. A lot of people just go to a festival because it is a festival, not to hear anybody special … and then they get exposed to something they might not have.”

Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers have won the W.C. Handy Award for Blues Band of the Year — the blues equivalent of a Grammy — two years in a row. The band’s latest CD, 1999’s “Here and Now,” is a fine example of the West Coast swing style they’ve perfected over the years.

“The hard work of making a record is sitting down and trying to remember what you’ve already done and still trying to create something new,” Piazza says.

The band also includes Rick Holmstrom on guitar, Bill Stuve on acoustic bass, Steve Mugalian on drums, and Piazza’s wife, Honey, on piano.

Honey Piazza and her husband write most of the songs together. The two met in 1973 when she introduced herself to him at one of his shows. Piazza was looking for a piano player; she auditioned and got the job.

But it took 16 years before they finally got married.

“We’re best friends,” Rod Piazza says. “When we’re off, we’re doing stuff together all the time.”

This sidebar appeared with the story:

Summertime blues

The seventh annual Ritzville Blues Festival runs Saturday from noon to midnight. Tickets are $20 (kids under 16 get in free), available through G&B (325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT). Here’s the lineup: noon-1 p.m., The Etoufee Band; 1:30-2:30 p.m., Junkyard Jane; 3-4 p.m., DX Biscuit; 4:30-6 p.m., Carey Bell; 6:30-8 p.m., Tommy Castro; 9-10:30 p.m., Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers.

The 13th annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival runs July 14-16 at the “Blues Ranch,” one mile west of town on Highway 20. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the gate, good for all three days. Camping is $15 per night. Call (877) 996-9283 for reservations, or buy tickets online at www.nwblues.com/winthrop.

Jazz in the Valley 2000 hits downtown Ellensburg July 28-30. Festival passes are $25 and can be ordered by mail at Jazz in the Valley, P.O. Box 214, Ellensburg, WA 98926. Call the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce at (509) 925-2002 for more information.