JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD Source: Dayton Daily News Date: 07/2008 Writer: Don Thrasher

Jason Ricci brings his postmodern take on the blues to Gilly's

With his spiked, dyed hair and studded belt, few folks at first glance would peg Jason Ricci as a blues musician. However, one listen to this skateboard-riding, harmonica player's music, and you'll know he's the real deal with a fitting postmodern take on the blues.

"We didn't go in with any concept of what we can do to change things," Ricci, who is originally from Portland, Maine, and now based in Nashville, Tenn., said recently, speaking over his cell phone from a road date in Boulder, Colo. "There was no pretense like that; we just play what we think sounds cool. And we listen to a lot of things that sound cool that sometimes might not be blues, jazz, classical or rock — and that's what we did. It's cool that some people like it."

Ricci, who brings his band to Gilly's on Friday, July 11, has an obvious reverence for the music but he also has a rebellious streak that pushes him to bust out of the confines of the genre. His latest CD, "Rock Number 9," is definitely not your run-of-the-mill blues record, toeing the line between vintage rock 'n' roll, punk and gritty Chicago-style blues.

"The album has done everything we hoped it would do," Ricci said. "We didn't have real high expectations. We didn't think we were going to be super crossover rock stars because of the record or anything. Of course, that would've been great if that had happened, but we weren't expecting it to. It's selling well, and the blues community has responded better than I could've hoped to — so that's been uplifting. I didn't think they were going to dig it that much because we just go in and play music. If the blues community wants to call it a blues album, then that's fine. I'm not going to tell them it's not."

"Rock Number 9" was only released in October, but Ricci is already looking ahead to the next album.

"Absolutely and always," he said. "The day we stop writing is the day I don't want to even be out here anymore. It's great to have a project and it's great to push a record, and we play every song off the record almost every night. We push the record and stuff, but we're always thinking about what's next. We're always writing and performing the songs, getting them ready for the next record."

how to go:
WHO: Jason Ricci
WHERE: Gilly's, 132 S. Jefferson St., Dayton
WHEN: 9 p.m. July 12
COST: $10
MORE INFO: (937) 228-8414