IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE: Janis Joplin's Original Band, Big Brother and The Holding Company in Fairfield, Iowa on Thursday the 15th of April at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center. On Thursday the 15th of April, Simple Man Enterprises Presents Janis Joplin's Original Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, with BMA nominee, Blusion artist, Eddie "Devilboy" Turner at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center in Fairfield, Iowa. Tickets are $22 in advanced, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the SME music scholarship fund for area high school students. Last years scholarship was given to Andrew Powers of Fort Madison, Ia. The doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. This is a one time show and tickets are limited. Big Brother and The Holding Company( www.bbhc.com/ )are primarily remembered as the group that gave Janis Joplin her start. But Big Brother also occupies a significant place in the history of San Francisco psychedelic rock, as one of the bands that best captured the era's loosest, reckless, and indulgent qualities in its high-energy mutations of blues and folk-rock.
Big Brother was formed in 1965 in the Haight-Ashbury; by the time Joplin joined in mid-1966, the lineup was and still is(with the exception of the late James Gurley, who just passed away in December), Sam Andrew and James Gurley on guitar, Peter Albin on bass, and David Getz on drums. BBHC currently tours with a new guitar player and talented female vocalist. Big Brother catapulted themselves into national attention with their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, particularly with Joplin's galvanizing interpretation of "Ball and Chain" (which was a highlight of the film of the event). High-powered management and record label bids rolled in immediately, but unfortunately the group had tied themselves up in a bad contract with the small Mainstream label, at a time where they were stranded on the road and needed cash. Their one Mainstream album (released in 1967), contains some of their stronger cuts, such as "Down on Me" and "Coo Coo." It didn't fully capture the band's strengths, and with the help of new high-powered manager Albert Grossman (also handler of Bob Dylan, The Band and Peter, Paul & Mary), they extricated themselves from the Mainstream deal and signed with Columbia. The Big Brother album for Columbia that featured Joplin, Cheap Thrills (1968), Celebrated its 40th Anniversary 2 years ago. It was assembled from both studio sessions and live material. Cheap Thrills went to number one when it was finally released, and though it too was an erratic affair, it contained some of the best moments of acid rock's glory days, including "Ball and Chain," "Summertime," "Combination of the Two," and "Piece of My Heart." Cheap Thrills made Big Brother superstars. By the end of 1968, Joplin had decided to go solo, a move from which neither she nor Big Brother ever fully recovered. Big Brother and the Holding Company still tour today on rare occasions and they bring with them an extremely talented female vocalist, who never lets you forget who Big Brother and the Holding Company are. Also filling the bill, is national Blusion recording artists(Northern Blues Records) and Blues Music Award nominee, Eddie "Devilboy" Turner( www.eddiedevilboy.com <http://www.eddiedevilboy.com/> ). "If you're seeking a guitar player that can channel the spirit of Jimi Hendrix then look no further than Eddie Turner." "If anybody ever went down to the Crossroads and let the Devil tune his guitar it was probably Eddie Turner. Man, you get chills every time the guy strikes a note! And the expressions he makes while he's talking out each lick leave one convinced he's channelling other-worldly ancestral demi-gods." “Otherworldly”, “scorching”, “polyrhythmic” and “chilling” have all been used to describe Eddie Turner’s guitar playing. His ethereal style is an amalgam of the Afro-Cuban rhythms of his heritage and the music that influenced him as a teenager: Chicago blues, jazz, r&b and psychedelic rock. The Cuban-born singer/guitarist cut his teeth in several rock bands contributing what Slate magazine describes as “spacey-yet-resounding solos.” He emerged for the first time as his own bandleader on Rise, which arrived at stores in February, 2005. Eddie “devilboy " Turner picked up his first guitar, a candy apple multi-pickup Japanese Tiesco, when he was twelve. Raised in Chicago, he moved to the Rockies in the early 70's to attend the University of Colorado; “a ruse,” he says, “to get my parents to keep sending checks.” More inspired by music than by academia, Turner immersed himself in the local scene, and stints with some notable acts ensued. He played in the region’s first punk/r&b band The Immortal Nightflames, then with Grammy nominees Tracy Nelson, Mother Earth, and the 4-nikators, a group which has become legendary for its unique mix of soul, Motown, and rock. Turner got the chance to grab at the brass ring when Colorado compadre Tommy Bolin left his band Zephyr to form The James Gang and Deep Purple. He eagerly joined the hard rock, psychedelic, blues band as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. But, tragedy struck with the sudden death of Zephyr lead singer Candy Givens. Deeply shaken, Eddie decided to “grow up” by taking a hiatus from performing music to become a realtor in Denver. Yet, some people just refuse to “grow up”. A decade later, when Eddie was invited to join the Ron Miles electric band led by one of the country’s premier trumpeteers, he jumped at the chance. Then, in 1995 he rounded out the Otis Taylor Band adding what Guitar Player magazine describes as “otherworldly atmospherics (which) lend a decidedly cosmic ambience to Taylor’s sound.” Enhancing the spice and flavor of the trio, Eddie recorded five groundbreaking CDs, and toured the U.S. and Europe extensively. Today, Turner, a Blues Music Award nominee(2006), evolves as an artist with his first solo effort, Rise and his second, The Turner Diaries. Produced by Kenny Passarelli, Rise showcased Eddie’s vocals and songwriting. Running the gamut from blistering guitar rock to the gospel-tinged, the 12-song disc dazzles with the chops and techniques. Turner has developed over the course of his unusual, genre-melding career. The music from Rise and The Turner Diaries is evolutionary music - and quite grown up, indeed. For information and tickets, contact the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center at 641-472-2787 or www.fairfieldacc.com <http://www.fairfieldacc.com/> . Any other question can be answered by Matt Eimer of Simple Man Enterprises at 319-470-2082 or www.simplemanenterprises.com <http://www.simplemanenterprises.com/> .
