JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD Source: The Record Date: 08/2008 Writer: ED CONDRAN

Don’t judge a CD by its cover, or for that matter a recording artist by his look. Jason Ricci could easily be mistaken for an emo rocker. His pink hair and angst-ridden glare scream punk, and when he isn’t onstage, he’s navigating his skateboard along a half pipe.

“I was emo before there was emo,” Ricci said while calling from his Nashville home. “I’m not about that now, but I wish I could play on the Warped tour since I could skate all those ramps.”

Ricci, 34, has been a harmonica whiz since he was in his midteens. Courtesy of his harp and his gritty tunes, he has been filed under blues, which doesn’t particularly set well with Ricci.

“I’m in the blues idiom,” Ricci said. “I’ll play the blues but that’s not all there is to me.”

Indeed. Ricci’s latest album, “Rocket Number 9,” which was recorded with his band New Blood and released 10 months ago, is full of blues, rock, jazz, funk and Middle Eastern sounds.
“It’s a total mixed bag,” Ricci said. “I love all kinds of music.”

After chatting with Ricci for a few minutes, it’s not surprising that his musical tastes are disparate. In a span of 120 seconds, the openly gay Ricci talks about cheeseburgers, skateboarding, his boyfriend and admiration for ’80s rock heroes.

“I like to veer from one thing to the next,” Ricci said. “The thing that bothers me about modern music is that you can’t be musically diverse. There’s also a lack of stars. How cool was it when Eddie Van Halen, Ronnie James Dio and David Lee Roth were at their peak? Those guys could entertain.”

So can Ricci, who has a vocal style reminiscent of Mick Jagger. “This band is all about playing live,” Ricci said. “I may be home now but we’re always on the road. We rock hard as we can out there. I’m just glad I’m doing this for a living. It all worked out. Way back when, I wasn’t sure that was going to be the case.”

When Ricci started out playing in punk bands 20 years ago, he wasn’t the most proficient musician. “I was so bad that I wasn’t even a good singer by punk standards, which is pretty bad.”

Ricci will share the microphone with guest vocalist Gina Fox for five shows dubbed “The Fox Force Five,” which is a nod to the group of assassins from “Pulp Fiction.” Mexicali Live will host one of the concerts tonight.

“I’ve been there so many times,” Ricci said. “It’s a great room and the people from Jersey are always so enthusiastic. I’m always up for going back there and putting on the best show possible. This show will be fun since it’ll be different, since we’ll be out with Gina. We’ll have some new wrinkles, but we’ll still be the same hardworking band.”