November 28, 2012

Hello from Huntsville, Alabama where we’ll play BANDITO SOUTHSIDE this Fri. Nov. 30!   We arrived here last Friday night & were thrilled to finally meet our new twin grandbabies Jackson Andrew & Julie Nikole, born Oct. 21.    They are real dolls & even cuter in person than the photos we’d seen!   Congrats to Drew & Kristen!!

We sure did enjoy the rest of our August tour & the Parkersburg & Marietta shows were a fine nostalgic treat seeing all our home folks, including family + several that I went to school with but hadn’t seen in many years!  Longtime fan Dave Garrett from Cambridge/Athens came for his birthday, then sadly passed away in October.  We also lost another longtime fan, Joe Davis from Belpre this year, & our Aunt Doris Seibert from Cleveland in Sept.   She was the sweetest person & always supported our music, as did Joe & Dave.  We’ll miss them all, especially when we play Ohio.

Doc had cataract surgery Sept. 25 & is seeing much better.  Took some time off, then played a nice new venue in St. Pete Beach, BOULEVARD GRILLE for 4 Fridays.   More upcoming gigs there & more places…hope you’ll join us!   We also shared a concert at the SIDE DOOR in St. Pete called BICOASTAL BOOGIE WOOGIE GALS with San Francisco’s CAROLINE DAHL on Nov. 15, & a Swingtime dance at the GULFPORT CASINO with the ST. PETE BLUES ALLSTARS on Nov. 21, then left for Huntsville the next day (Thanksgiving)- whew!

We’re excited to play PARIS, FRANCE Jan. 18 & 19 at LE COLOMBIER- FESTIVAL BLUES ET BOOGIE- please tell your European friends!  And our next BOOGIE WOOGIE/BLUES PIANO STOMP will be Feb. 23 at the PALLADIUM THEATRE in St. Pete- save the date!

It’s hard to believe that the Holidays are here again!  If you’re looking for unique gifts, please visit our STORE page.   The Tshirts are sold out, & we have only 7 Tank Tops left, so hurry if you’d like one.   Our new piano/guitar lapel pins with my art design are now available at shows, & from the website soon.   Diamond Teeth Mary CD’s are for sale at the Red Caboose in Huntington, WV, and our CD’s are now for sale at a cool St. Pete shop:  Main House Antique Center.

It sure has been a busy, good year & we thank each of you for your love & support!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & New Year!       Liz & Doc

August 6, 2012

Just a quick note from the road in Ohio…what a whirlwind the first 2 weeks have been!  Thanks to all who came to our St. Pete Blues Allstars sold-out show at the Palladium Side Door July 13- what a night!   And our last St. Pete gig at Beak’s Old Florida on July 21 was really special too.

We hit the road July 24 & played our first 2 tour gigs in Indianapolis at Tastings & Slippery Noodle Inn.  Indy is such a cool city, & it was great to see our fans & friends there.   Stayed a few days with the Grusecks in KY, then shared 2 gigs this past week with Cincinnati’s own piano star Ricky Nye- proving once again that “Piano is Fun!”   Also heard Ricky at Lebanon Blues Fest Saturday.

Spent Sunday visiting with all 3 of my sisters here in Lebanon, OH.   This week we’ll be resting & getting ready for this weekend’s Cincy Blues Festival & related events.

Look forward to seeing you all there & at the rest of our tour shows this month.   Please be sure to say hello & tell your friends.   Thanks for listening & all your support, Liz

April 26, 2012

2012 has been a good and hectic year so far, with new steady gigs including 8th AVENUE PUB in Safety Harbor, ON THE ROCKS in Indian Rocks Beach, and the first club in years with a grand piano- SEMERARO’S ITALIAN CAFE & PIANO BAR in St. Pete.

In addition to many shows in March & April, we were busy working behind the scenes on this new website.  We’re thrilled to have MIKE CONATY of Brunswick Media Services in New Jersey as our new webmaster.  Mike is a longtime fan, friend, radio DJ & drummer who contributed handclaps on our BLUE ILLUSION album, and also gave me the stage name of “DR. BLUES” way back in the 1980’s.  Mike has worked tirelessly and patiently with us in redesigning these pages.   Many thanks to our original webmaster, PETER FLEMING, and also BILL BOIS, for their expertise over the years.

After returning from our Summer Tour, we played the BOOGIE WOOGIE PIANO FESTIVAL at Satchmo in Ft. Lauderdale September 11th, hosted by PIANO BOB.  What fun to share the bill with the likes of DAVID MAXWELL, VICTOR WAINWRIGHT, BARRY CUDA and SHRIMP CITY SLIM.  On September 25th, we performed at SKIPPER’S in Tampa with ST. PETE BLUES ALLSTARS and others for a tribute to our friend & harmonica great ROCK BOTTOM, marking the 10th anniversary of his passing.

We appeared live on WMNF 88.5FM radio in Tampa  September 23rd on Bill Dudley’s “Live Music Showcase” with Rock’s colleagues KIM HARPO, TOMMY BELL, and TBONE HAMILTON.  We returned to WMNF on January 23rd, 2012 to chat with LARRY LISK on his “Mo Blues Monday” show about our upcoming boogie woogie concert.

Our 3rd annual BOOGIE WOOGIE/BLUES PIANO STOMP at the PALLADIUM THEATRE in St. Pete on January 28th was another huge success & magical evening!  Liz & I started out the show, followed by Detroit’s boogie woogie master BOB SEELEY, Indiana’s piano favorite CRAIG BRENNER, and Canada’s 35-year-old sensation MICHAEL KAESHAMMER.  Each set included a duet with another pianist, and the night finished with an incendiary finale by all the players together on the 2 grand pianos.

Liz’s song “The Same For You” from our SIX FINGERS BOOGIE CD was #11 song of 2011 on MUSICTAMPABAY internet radio.  Her piano playing was featured on RANDY HOCK’S #1 song of 2011, “OK Just Ain’t Good Enough.”  Thanks to everyone who voted for these songs!

Congrats and thanks to all our Frequent Fan winners of 2011:  #1 Judy R. (40+ gigs attended!);  #2 Dan H.;  followed by Terry G., Judi L., Barry S., Linda M., Wayne K., Priscilla H., Diann F., Art O., Hildegarde & Ralph N., Barry H., Jim I., Marlie & Rick, Lisa B., Teresa W., and Marlyn.  Please join these music lovers at a gig soon!

Check our SHOWS page for Summer Tour dates booked so far.  If you’d like us to play your town, let us know of any good gigs or festivals nearby, and refer the venue to this website.  We also do house concerts and private parties- please email us for info.

Thanks for listening & we’ll be looking for you in the crowd soon,

Dr. Blues

June 09, 2011

Hello, Readers! This is our first news report of 2011- time does fly.

Congrats to the FREQUENT FAN winners of 2010. The #1 winner is Judy Rada with over 40 gigs attended, followed by Terry, Judi & Barry, Priscilla, Dan, Mary, Jim, Art, Harriet, Wayne, Linda, Marlyn, Ralph & Hildegard, & Genevieve. We truly appreciate your ongoing support at our shows.

The 2ND ANNUAL BOOGIE WOOGIE BLUES PIANO STOMP at the Palladium Theatre on January 29th was a huge success with over 700 in attendance. Thanks to Bob Seeley, Rob Rio, and Joe Krown for lending their immense talents to the show. We were also delighted that our Belgian friends Andre & Lil Hobus were there! The concert garnered rave reviews from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette & France’s Soul Bag magazine, & the one-hour video of this event is posted on YouTube (just enter “Liz Pennock” on YouTube & the video will come up). The next Boogie Woogie Piano Stomp is scheduled at The Palladium for January 28th, 2012.

Our three biggest gigs of this year so far all occurred within one week! We followed the Boogie Woogie Stomp by returning to the Palladium the following week for our show with the ST. PETE BLUES ALLSTARS on Feb. 5th. Unfortunately, Doc pulled several ligaments in his foot during this week, resulting in his wearing a special boot for the next two months. The day before the Allstars show, we were scheduled to open for PINETOP PERKINS with WILLIE “BIG EYES” SMITH & his band at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa. However, Pinetop was snowed in at the Austin airport & had to cancel, so we did the show with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith for a 600+ audience. Seeing, hearing & hanging out backstage with these true Chicago blues veterans, along with MADISON SLIM on harp, brought back wonderful memories of when we first heard them in the 1980’s with the Legendary Blues Band.

Shortly after that show, Pinetop & Willie won a Grammy for their new album “Joined at the Hip.” Then, sadly, Pinetop Perkins passed away on March 21st at age 97. Pinetop’s blues/piano legacy will live on, and we feel privileged to have known him.

This has been a very good year for us on MUSICTAMPABAY.COM Internet Radio. Liz played piano on Steve Arvey’s recording “Living The Life Of The Blues” (with Randy Hock & Pug Baker), which was the #1 SONG for 2010 on MusicTampa Bay. Also, Liz’s song “The Same For You” was on the station’s TOP TEN List this spring for 8 weeks, & it was the #! SONG for two weeks in a row. Special thanks to all of you who voted for these songs. Listen to MusicTampaBay internet radio by clicking on their link on our “LINKS” page.

Look forward to seeing you in the crowd soon, & please remember our CD’s, DVD’s & shirts for every gift-giving occasion….thanks for listening!