https://www.nickmossband.com/ [https://www.nickmossband.com/]
With Get Your Back Into It!, Chicago native, guitarist and vocalist
Nick Moss and New Jersey native, harmonica player and vocalist Dennis
Gruenling – together with Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, Taylor Streiff
on keyboards and Pierce Downer on drums – deliver a deeply rooted,
timeless blue collar blues album. According to Moss, “We are a rare
breed as far as how authentic we like to keep the music." That's not a
surprise to longtime fans, as Moss proudly represents the city of
Chicago as one of the few bluesmen working today to have learned his
craft firsthand directly from many of the genre’s original creators.
Get Your Back Into It! was produced by Moss and Mantovani and contains
fourteen original songs -- twelve by Moss and two by Gruenling. Guests
include saxophonist “Sax” Gordon Beadle and organist “Brother”
John Kattke. The album is inspired by the electrifying blues sounds of
the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and is performed with taste, restraint,
sly humor and pure joy. In addition to the expertly crafted lyrics,
the album features three wild instrumentals that simply dare you to
stay seated. “We're not reinventing the wheel," says Moss of the
songs and performances on the new album, "but we like to push
ourselves out of our comfort zone, and I feel like we accomplished
that.”
Moss first made a name for himself playing bass for bluesman Jimmy
“Fast Fingers” Dawkins. Dawkins encouraged Nick to unleash his
fire and passion. From there, Moss was chosen by Willie “Big Eyes”
Smith to join his Legendary Blues Band, but Smith insisted Moss switch
to guitar. Blues icon Jimmy Rogers (whose best known songs included
"Walking By Myself" and "Ludella") hired Moss as his touring
guitarist, mentoring him on the blues lifestyle along the way. Today,
Moss’ blistering fretwork, impassioned, soul-charged vocals and
memorable original songs place him in a league of his own.
Dennis Gruenling, Moss’ friend of over 20 years, is considered among
today’s most innovative and creative blues harmonica players. His
high-energy, full-throttle reed work has earned him comparisons to
many of the greats, including the late James Cotton. A self-taught
player and a natural entertainer with seven solo albums and numerous
guest appearances to his credit, Gruenling’s giant, fat-toned harp
work, raw-boned singing and untamed energy are a perfect foil for
Moss’ inspired guitar playing and straight-from-the-shoulder blues
vocals. Vintage Guitar says, “Gruenling’s harp, along with the
Midwestern intensity of Moss’ blues guitar, is pure ecstasy.”
The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling's first two Alligator
albums, 2018's The High Cost Of Low Living and 2019’s Lucky Guy!,
hit blues fans, press and radio by storm. Moss, Gruenling and the band
received a total of five Blues Music Awards, with wins in 2020 for
Band Of The Year, Song Of The Year (“Lucky ) and Traditional Blues
Album Of The Year (Lucky Guy!), and in 2019 for Traditional Blues Male
Artist (Moss) and Instrumentalist—Harmonica (Gruenling). Blues Music
Magazine says, “Nick Moss is a major force in contemporary blues.
Dennis Gruenling plays soaring harp...infectious and
finger-snappin’.”
Lucky Guy! finished in the Top 10 on the Living Blues Radio Chart’s
Top 50 Albums of 2019. Internationally, the album peaked on blues
charts at #1 in Australia, #3 in France and #7 in the UK. Songs from
Lucky Guy! were also prominently featured on BBC2 in Britain and CBC
in Canada. The title track became one of the most played songs on
SiriusXM’s Bluesville.
Now, with Get Your Back Into It! and upcoming North American and
European tours in the works, The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis
Gruenling will bring their brash, exciting blues to old fans and new.
Performing at clubs, concert halls and on festival stages across the
country and around the world, the band ignites an irresistible,
musical firestorm onstage. “When we get together, the music takes
over,” says Moss. “We can’t hold back, and the energy just comes
pouring out. We get carried away and the audience gets carried away
with us.”
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01/04/2025 Last update