New Blues Revolution

New Blues Revolution (left to right, guitarist Chap Cooper; vocalist/keyboardist Bill Grisolia) performing at 2013 NAMM. Catch the band live on Sunday, February 24 at Don The Beachcomber in Huntington Beach. (Photo by Joanne Abu Qartoumy)

Recently called “Southern California’s Hardest-Working Blues Band by one writer, there are some weeks where New Blues Revolution (NBR for short) plays as many as five gigs in a week. Their hard work ethic is paying off: First, with a high-profile feature story in the January 2013 issue of the popular Southland Blues magazine; followed by an equally high-profile performance at the recent 2013 NAMM Convention.
Main NBR core members Bill Grisolia and Chap Cooper recently spoke with All Access Magazine Publisher Debra Stocker about their NAMM show, new album and more.

AAM: Let’s start by discussing New Blues Revolution’s recent show at the 2013 NAMM Convention. What audience were you hoping to reach there that you normally might not play in front of?

Chap: As you know – NAMM stands for the National Association of Musical Manufacturers. This show is always the “Place to Be” for everyone connected to this industry – Musicians, Music Stores, Manufacturers, Recording Studios, Pro AV, Celebrities, Industry Heavy Weights and more were all there. And we wanted to reach them all!

Bill: People from all parts of California, the U.S. and other countries came together to watch us perform! It was thrilling to have such a broad cross-section of the planet respond to what we were doing. A large part of the NAMM community came out to see Chap, who is a long-time fixture of the NAMM show and much beloved among musicians, manufacturers’ representatives and sound reinforcement professionals.

AAM: What kind of contacts and/or networking opportunities did you both take advantage of at NAMM?

Chap: Word of mouth gets around quick at NAMM. Our show was our calling card and created lots of opportunities – industry contacts, endorsements, gear, fans and a great time seeing other musicians play.

Bill: A phalanx of photographers and videographers lined the stage while we performed. The mass market and the online community are beginning to enjoy those images now. Other members of the music press interviewed us during the show – we are particularly excited about an interview we for Blues E-News at the Yamaha Pavilion. I am a long-time Yamaha endorsee and it was a thrill to record our interview there. We had a great turnout too among Yamaha’s professionals including Jeff Hawley, Director, Customer Experience Group, Yamaha, and Peter Giles, President of Giles Communications (Yamaha).

AAM: Going to a NAMM Convention, what “tools” do you come armed (prepared) with?
Chap: A special badge is actually needed to attend NAMM (which we were able to obtain). However, you did not need a badge to see our show at the Hilton. Other than the badge, lots of CD’s to hand out to our fans and new contacts.

Bill: This year we were fortunate to be profiled in a Southland Blues feature story magazine that came out before NAMM. Reprints of the article were passed out and we distributed links to the article. The timing was fantastic and the write-up was very favorable! We also have a compilation demo video of our live show which we were able to hand people on thumb drives with the video file ready to play as well as direct people to online! Of course, cards and stickers as well as all collateral materials feature our logo, the microphone clenched in the famous NBR “Power To the People” fist.

AAM: How has the NAMM Convention changed over the years?

Chap: It gets bigger and bigger. More of everything!

Bill: The Anaheim Center (where NAMM takes place) was recently remodeled. The Convention Center has continued to improve the physical space. This year they inaugurated a new outdoor stage and commons area which really helped build community, and I know will be an important fixture in years to come. Next year look for New Blues Revolution to play that stage too!

AAM: What does 2013 hold in store for New Blues Revolution?

Bill: We are releasing our CD “Revolution #9” and will have CD release parties in L.A., Orange and San Diego counties. We look forward to our continuing relationships with Blues societies and both House of Blues locations (West Hollywood and Anaheim). Last year we were offered out-of-state festivals in Denver and Phoenix and we look forward to more interstate festival work this year.

Chap: We are back in the studio and previewed a few of those new tunes at NAMM- so a new CD will be forthcoming later this year. NBR will be adding many more live dates to our schedule and looking for movie placement for some of our tunes. Fun and positive surprises are always welcome! - All Access Magazine

Friday night, you can catch a blues-rock band that’s receiving rave reviews from critics everywhere as New Blues Revolution makes a stand at Arcadia Blues Club.


The band set box office records performing at House of Blues in Hollywood and pulls big crowds at other top venues around the area. They’ve also proven to be a top draw at music festivals and concerts around the country and in Europe. NBR has opened for a diverse range of artists, including Macy Gray, Leon Russell, Dionne Warwick, Rick Derringer, Blood, Sweat and Tears and Three Dog Night. That sort of diversity speaks to the band’s appeal to a wide-ranging audience. They were nominated for “Best Americana, Blues or Roots Artist” by the LA Music Awards last year.


The modern, soulful and rocking blues sound is propelled by the playing and songwriting of vocalist/pianist Bill Grisolia and guitarist Chap Cooper. The group effort leads to an exciting live show that promises a rocking good time. Check them and their music out at newbluesrevolution.com. — John Sollenberger


Music starts at 8 p.m. Friday at Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E. Huntington Drive, Arcadia. Blues guitarist Solomon King opens, followed by New Blues Revolution. Tickets are $5, or $3 in advance. Call (626) 447-9349 or visit arcadiabluesclub.com. - Pasadena Weekly

We cruised the freeways and byways into
West Hollywood on April 28th for an evening of
southern styled food, booze and blues. If you’ve
never been to the House of Blues, it’s like walking
into a New Orleans juke joint with its rural art
and French faux designs carved into the dark
wooded interior walls. The evening started with
blackened salmon entree and healthy libations
served in a mason jar. This, by the way, was not
the usual Hollywood experience. Everyone was
nice, the service was beyond excellent.
But the good food and service wasn’t the
reason for the long ride into WEHO. We were
there to see The New Blues Revolution fronted
by singer, songwriter and pianist Bill Grisolia.
Guitarist Chap Cooper, drummer Brad Dawson
and bassist Hank Van Sickle (formerly of the
John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, filling in for
regular band member Barry Hayman) on this
night.
What we witnessed was a band working very
hard to play above a cacophonous din rising from
the main stage. The group soldiered on through
what sounded like Armageddon rumbling
through the floorboards. The Crossroads Stage
is on the second floor of the 3-story restaurant
and performance venue. Its stage is big enough
to hold a four piece band and a modest amount
of equipment. I hate to think what happens on
nights when metal is performed. Actually, a DJ
would fit perfectly on that stage.
Despite the noise from below, what
happened from 8 p.m. when the group hit the
boards to around 10 p.m. when they did their
last set was brilliant. The New Blues Revolution
took us into some interesting musical territory.
The three sets included eight originals and 10
covers. The music fell into four categories of
blues, rock, rhythm and blues, and fusion. Let’s
be clear, they are not a pure blues band. The
songs the group really connected with were their
originals. Those songs spoke to the listeners
with authenticity.
The song “Blue Café” paints a picture of the
happening hub that is the Long Beach Blues
scene. While the instrumental “Pink 7” comes
by way of the Jeff Beck or Joe Satriani school of
jazz, rock, blues fusion, the tune “Let Me Go”
is one of those kick ass tunes that rock and
bite you at every turn. The song harkens back
to the southern rock sound of Molly Hatchet.
“Big House” has more of a delta feel with Chap
Cooper showing off his slide licks. “Sway” is a
true tail dragging blues or rock vamp, very wet,
and wild, like some swamp beast coming out on
the bayou nightfall. The last three songs are on
the group’s CD Revolution # 9.
Bill Grisolia has the vocal chops that
resonate with his darker lyrics like their song
“Whiskey Town.” Even the cover of the Al Green
classic, “Take Me to the River;” this does not
demand the range that Al Green gives this song.
What seems to be the Achilles heel is the covers
they perform. Some songs like The Beatles,
“Come Together” are so iconic that anything
other than complete artistic ownership with a
song like that always comes off less than stellar.
This happened a few times throughout the set
when a cover was pulled out; the songs did not
ring as true as they could.
Beyond that Grisolia is great to watch. He
works the stage like a playful tiger. You never
know where he is going to take you. The show
was a bit loose and the points that really
connected did not happen as much as one
would want. That being said, overall the group
has the chops to get a crowd going and set the
tone at any venue. What we have is a band made
up of solid players. If they can build up enough
original material to fill the gap without having
to resort to working covers, they could be on to
be something new. They have the ability to go
well beyond the boundaries of the greater Los
Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Area.
Before leaving the West Hollywood nightspot,
the group was informed that they would be a
part of a cadre of artists who will represent
the House of Blues. - Random Lengths

“SoCal’s Hardest-Working Blues Band,” progressive blues purveyors the New Blues Revolution, will perform at the 2013 National Association of Music Merchandisers (NAMM), on the Anaheim Hilton Main Stage, 777 W. Convention Way, Saturday, January 26, at 11 a.m.
New Blues Revolution (or NBR for short) are on a righteous mission to bring their tasty high-energy musical hybrid of blues, rock, jazz and soul to Southern California's finer live music establishments as well as the rest of the United States and beyond. Recently nominated for “2012 Musical Group Of The Year” by the Los Angeles Music Awards, the New Blues Revolution continues a long winning streak into 2013. NBR leads the vanguard of the new Blues movement in the U.S. akin to the boom in the British Blues in the 1960’s; they work to broaden, deepen and contemporize the blues. The band once set a box office record performing at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip and continues to draw solid crowds at other top venues (including the House of Blues/Anaheim), concerts and festivals all over the United States and Europe. They have opened for a diverse range of music legends including Tab Benoit, Macy Gray, Leon Russell, Rick Derringer, Burt Bacharach, Blood Sweat & Tears, Three Dog Night, David Lindley, Michael Burks and singer-actress, Katey Sagal.



"What we witnessed was brilliant," wrote B. Noel Barr of Random Lengths Newspaper in a recent review of the band's House of Blues show. "The New Blues Revolution songs spoke to the listeners with authenticity...overall the group has the chops to get a crowd going and set the tone at any venue. They have the ability to go well beyond the boundaries of the greater Los Angeles area. (Front person Bill) Grisolia is great to watch. He works the stage like a playful tiger. You never know where he is going to take you.” RadChad Reynolds from All Access Magazine writes, “at the insistence of the band’s PR guy, I checked out New Blues Revolution at the House of Blues /Crossroads in Hollywood…I was impressed. Here was a band that played to the true meaning of the “House of Blues”! …. a high-energy blues sound that is modern but still deep and soulful!”
Forging a unique, distinctive style featuring Bill Grisolia's vocals and piano and Chap Cooper’s guitar, NBR brings exciting showmanship to a mix of high-energy New Blues numbers and ballads – deep, modern, rocky but soulful. New Blues Revolution has received great reviews from national trade magazines such as Cashbox and Music Connection, with critics recognizing NBR’s exciting talent and solid songwriting.
Front man Bill Grisolia (Singer-Songwriter-Pianist) is active in his community and always brings along the music. Bill was elected to two national nominating conventions, appointed twice as a Commissioner in Long Beach (where he became an advocate for the homeless) and has been a restaurateur, as the onetime owner of Sunfish Grill in Long Beach’s Shoreline Village. While Bill’s first memories of life are the Spanish coast of the Mediterranean, the bilingual singer grew up in the blues/rock/jazz stew of Kansas City. Grisolia’s international career began at age eighteen when he started playing top clubs Tres Triste Tigres and Pub Gent in the rough Barrio Del Carmen district of Valencia, Spain. Self-taught, Bill earned himself an endorsement contract with Yamaha acoustic pianos.
Before he was 12, NBR guitarist Chap Cooper played rhythm guitar with members of the Yardbirds and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band among others. By then it was actually old hat for Cooper, who scored his first paying gig at the age of eight. Growing up among Rock's most famous legends has resulted in Chap having worked with many top musicians and recording artists. Early on, Chap led the house band at top Sunset Strip locale, Gazzari’s.
- Southland Blues