Bill Rhoades & the Party Kings

Bill Rhoades is no secret to the Northwest Blues scene. He's figuratively fathered some of the best Blues names in these perts, schooling them with an encyclopedic knowledge, hosting radio programs, sharing obscure cuts from his monstrous record collection, and by rocking juke joints up and down the Wiilamette Valley for 30 years.
This is Harmonica Blues at it's most raw, a seminal Blues sound distilled from early fiery electric Chicago and Memmphis mash. Rhoades is a gritty stylist who more than makes up for vocal range with his steely conviction. His Harp playing follows
suit. There are others who play faster, louder, and fancier, but for Rhoades it's about the urgency, the feeling.
The KBOO DJ surrounds himself with tough players. Mike Osborn, a Bay area transplant and former John Lee Hooker guitarist, is the newest King, a welcome addition.
He ignores pedals and muddling signalprocessing in favor of a hollow body Gibson mainlined into a Fender amp. Osborn provides Rhoades band with a straight shot of punch and fire. And bassist Tom Szell and drummer Johnny Moore thrust a rhythm section that only knows the Blues one way: straight ahead and steamroller solid.
The King's won this year's Cascade Blues Association Muddy award for
"Best Traditional Band" and are bound for the heartland soon as the winners of this region's "Journey To Memphis" battle of the Blues bands.
They will do the Northwest proud.
Don Campbell - The Oregonian

After years of collecting and digesting everything put out with Blues Harp on it, I had gone through a long stretch of "No new Harp player to groove on". I hadn't heard anything new and of interest in years. But my body went into cold chills, goose bumps, and heart palpitations the instant the legendary Bill Rhoades harp came roaring out on Roadhouse Blues. His harp sounded like it was on fire, an intense, deep soulful burn, completely unique in it's attack, with a huge shimmering tone. This is a man with a lifelong commitment to the Blues, whose Harp reflects that fact. There is no denying this guy was the real thing, a singularly soulful Blues Harpist who can get downright evil.
Bill comes up with beautifully hypnotic Harp hooks that are irresistible. I was in awe of the licks and inflections that were the Blues personified, but I'd never heard anywhere before. You know this is the Blues and "Nothing but the Blues".
George Samuel Rose - Mississippi Saxophone

Bill Rhoades is a man on a mission and that mission is to convey and communicate the Blues to anyone who is interested or to anyone that might become curious about this true "American Artform" we call "The Blues". Bill has been a fan of Blues music for well over 40 years now, but he is more than just an aficionado. He lives and breathes with his passion for the genre. Bill plays Harmonica and sings with his longtime band, Bill Rhoades and the Party Kings, he has his own Blues radio show on KBOO FM "Blue Monday", and produces both the Harmonica Summit (late Feb.) and the Harmonica Blow-Off (July - Waterfront Blues Fest.) He has been awarded 14 "Muddy" awards with 6 of those for "Best Blues Harmonica" from the Cascade Blues Association. Suffice to say that Bill Rhoades is a real Northwest Blues fan favorite and one of the most knowledgeable Blues resources anywhere.
Rick Hall - C.B.A. Bluesnotes

Bill Rhoades, the band's leader singer also plays an inventive, mocking Harmonica. His vocal qualities are closer to the Blues-shouting style of Big Joe Turner than the sweet falsetto voice soul singer B.B. king likes to use. But he can enunciate clearly understood, sardonic Blues messages. When Rhoades starts singing everything falls into place. The band suceeds in giving it's audience a good time.
David Steinman - Willamette Valley Observer

If there is any one band that can best describe the Blues scene of Oregon for the past 30-plus years, it just might be Bill Rhoades & the Party Kings. Many of the states best Blues artists have passed through this band at one time or another. This latest group just might be the strongest of them all, as all four musicians have long and storied pasts working with some of the biggest names in Blues. Bill Rhoades is the leader of this outfit with his extraordinary Harmonica work and vocals, and guitarist Michael Osborn, bassist Tom Szell and drummer Johnny Moore make this one of the most perfectly meshed ensembles to be found anywhere. For any fan who may be looking for straight forward Blues with no frills and played in the best traditional styles of Chicago, Texas or Mississippi
Greg Johnson - C.B.A. Bluesnotes