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Popa Chubby + Mike Merritt and friends
October 25 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has been hard rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 30 years. Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson,” Popa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures. His career has always been about moving forward and carving a place for himself in the imposing terrain of the music business, overcoming odds to continue growing and maturing as a creative force. He has built a constantly increasing base of fans across the world, where in many territories he is a star. A native New Yorker, Horowitz’s first gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he reflects was a “crazy Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called Screaming Mad George who had a horror-movie inspired show.” Right from the start
He was immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater, and learned from George and others playing CBGB’s at the time that included the Ramones, the Cramps, Richard Hell, whose band, the Voidoids he joined that rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous. He reflects, “Musicians like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols weren’t just bands. They were a threat to society.” The Blues however was the foundation of his playing style. He recalls, “Since I’d grown up on Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin, when I started playing blues in New York clubs I understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. It wasn’t just from playing in punk bands. Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut or shoot you if they thought it was necessary, and Little Walter packed a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is a real part of the Blues and I keep it alive in my music.” Popa Chubby is his own man for better or worse. He reflects, “I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the inspiration is drawn from. There are my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation. Everything is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need something.”
ABOUT: Craig Dryer Tenor and baritone saxophones, Hammond B3 organ and keys, vocals, flute. A native New Yorker, Craig has played his first professional gig at the age of 14. He has performed/recorded with; James Hunter, Dispatch, Pete Francis, Leo Nocentelli, Keith Richards, (on The Grammy Award Winning Timeless album), Little Milton, Warren Haynes, Joan Osborne, Dana Fuchs, Clarence Spady, Ron Sunshine, Jono Manson, Popa Chubby, Jerry Dugger, Bill Sims Jr., Wycliffe Gordon and many others. Producer, Engineer. Owner/operator of Mighty Toad Recording Studio in Brooklyn NY, Craig has recorded/produced; Dispatch, Mike Clark, Brenda Kahn, Pete Francis, David “Fathead” Newman, Brian Charrette, Adam Scone, Tim Ouimette among others.
Mike Merritt’s career as a bassist includes 25 years playing in the house band on all of Conan O’ Brien’s TV talk shows, starting in New York with “ Late Night” then moving to Los Angeles for “The Tonight Show” and TBS’s “Conan”. This gave Mike opportunities to perform with many guest artists over the years, including Cheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, The Staple Singers, B.B. King, Slash, Tony Bennett, Steve Miller, Isaac Hayes, Chet Atkins, Pete Townshend, Robert Palmer, Bruce Springsteen and scores of others. Mike still performs on occasional live concert versions of Conan’s wildly popular podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend”.
Mike got his start on the road touring and recording with Grammy-winning bluesman Johnny Copeland, which led to more of the same with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Johnnie Johnson (of Chuck Berry fame) and was an original member of Grammy-winner Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band. Other artists Mike has either recorded, toured or performed with include Joe Bonamassa, Shemekia Copeland, Billy Gibbons, Larkin Poe, Hubert Sumlin, Son Seals, Jimmy Vivino, Al Kooper, Odetta, Catherine Russell, Beth Hart, Southside Johnny, Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Mike has been touring recently with The Popa Chubby Band.
Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Mike was influenced and guided by his father, legendary jazz bassist and composer Jymie Merritt (of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers).
Mike has recorded one album as a co-leader with vocalist sibling Mharlyn Merritt, Alone Together, and has collaborated on original recording projects including The Coalition with Scott Healy, Glenn Alexander and Shawn Pelton; Rock Candy Funk Party with Tal Bergman, Joe Bonamassa, Renato Neto and Ron DeJesus and The Love Trio with Paul Tillotson and James Wormworth. He’s also played at the Las Vegas Big Blues Bender as a member of the 2021 and 2022 Bender Brass Band, and has played with The Jimmy Carpenter Band, a staple of the Las Vegas blues scene.
Tom Papadatos started playing drums in his sophomore year at Pascack Valley High School in New Jersey. He continued his music studies at Berklee College of Music where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Performance. Tom has studied with Jazz greats Joe Morello, Sal Larocca, Tommy Igoe & Alan Dawson. Additionally he has studied with Matt Johnson (drummer for Jeff Buckley, John Mayer, and Josh Kelly), Freddy Gruber & Dom Famularo.
He has been performing as a free-lance musician in the New York area for the last 15 years and has also toured extensively throughout the United States, Asia and Europe with Popa Chubby, Hugh Pool,Gina Sicilia,Joanne Shaw Taylor,Dave Gross,Jason Green and Select Records recording artists ,Ediblered. In the past 5 years his musical travels have taken him to Singapore,Hong Kong,Indonesia,France,