The Brothers Curtis

Curtis "Don't Hurt Us" Marlatt, has been blowin' the Blues now for well over forty years. Aside from a couple forays into Rock, R&B, or Jazz/Fusion, Marlatt has stayed pretty much true to his roots-the Blues. Marlatt has been fortunate to have rubbed elbows with and fronted such bands as the Doors, The Grateful Dead, Steppenwolf, Steve Miller Band, Janice Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, The Allman Brothers and Dr. John-just to name a few.
However, since rediscovering his roots (he played acoustic Delta Blues when starting off playing guitar in 1960) with his band, Curtis And The Kicks, 25 years ago, out of Louisville, Kentucky, Curtis has performed many concerts, Blues clubs, and Blues festivals with many names in the genre. Blues greats such as Albert King, Gatemouth Brown, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop, Savoy Brown, Junior Wells, Lucky Peterson, Joe Louis Walker, Anson Funderberg, Sam Meyer, Rod Piazza and Honey, John Mayall, Marsha Ball, Delbert McClinton, Koko Taylor, Carey Bell, The Paladins, Robin Trower, Mick Taylor, Tinsley Ellis and many more.
Marlatt earned a degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on the GI Bill after spending two years in Viet Nam (an experience which will be unfolded in his up-coming book Capn' Zig Zag's Blues Band). Marlatt also has been the "guitar slinger" for such Blues luminaries as Homesick James, Mitch Woods, Fenton Robinson, James Harmon, Candy Kane, Mojo Buford, and James “Thunderbird” Davis.
Curtis (or The Smokin' White Cat) now resides in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota where he moved from California nine years ago. He currently has six CDs released on the Blue Bayou Records label, including his latest releases, along with Curtis Blake, as The Brothers Curtis, called Its You Thats Got To Go and The Brothers Curtis: Delta Blues From The Mississippi Headwaters. Visit us at www.curtisbluz.com
Curtis Blake was born in Princeton, MN. He was the youngest of four children. He moved to Minneapolis at age 6 and was raised by his mother. His sister and brother would play recordings by B. B. King, The Rolling Stones and "a lot of the British Invasion groups of the 60's". “In Raleigh, NC I picked up a harmonica and was sitting on the front steps of my brother's house with a guitar my sister found. An old Blues musician walked by with a six-pack from the local package store. "He picked up the guitar, tuned it, and showed me a few guitar licks. He saw my harmonica and taught me a few harp licks as well. I wish I knew his name. That was the beginning of my career as a Blues musician."
When I was 20 I met Lazy Bill Lucas, aka "The Man With The News About The Blues." The local cats would hang out at Bill's place all day to play the Blues. That's where I met Mojo Buford, Jo Jo Williams, Odell and Sonny "Cat Daddy" Rodgers. "I've been influenced by Little Walter, Big Walter, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, Lee Oskar, Sugar Blue, Charlie Musselwhite, Sonny Terry and, especially, Paul Butterfield. Stylistically, I'm a blend of all these Blues greats."
He has also performed at the Chicago Blues Festival and Kingston Mines with Jimmy Johnson; and as featured artist with Charlie Love and The Reverand Raven.
As co-leader, Curtis is proud to 'show-off' his first two CDs with The Brothers Curtis. "They are (the CD’s) something that go from the old Delta styles of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee to the most recent 'uptown' Blues.