Classic Chicago blues from the city's melting-pot Near West Side ... come back soon for more info
Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age seven. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, he formed Studebaker John & the Hawks and began in the performing in the 1970s. The band name referred to the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks. As a songwriter and musician, Studebaker John has emerged more than a revivalist—he's a major creative force in the world of the blues today. Studebaker John comes to The Ark with a new album, "Old School Rockin'," about which he says this: “On my last CD, 'Maxwell Street Kings,' I wanted to capture the raw, less-is-more sound that I first heard on Chicago’s Maxwell St. My new CD, 'Old School Rockin',' is rockin' blues that helps people to forget their troubles. I’ve tried to incorporate the raw blues sound into songs that strive to be more contemporary and without musical boundaries. It’s what that sound turned into in the late '60s and early '70s, when the raw blues heavily influenced many contemporary artists, and changed the course of popular music. Old School Rockin’ is for all the people, from the rocking blues crowd to the purists, and from the young folks just getting into it to those who’ve been listening all along.”
