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Anthony Gomes Dec 28 $15 8:30pm Two tickets

You tube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz1v2ppkOtM

“This above all, to thine own self be true”
– William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”

Singer-guitarist Anthony Gomes lives by that credo of truth as an artist, constantly challenging himself to expand his explorations of heart and sound. The release of his latest album “Up 2 Zero” represents a full-circle return to his love of high energy, guitar-driven blues rock. The new collection of songs combines straight ahead power blues compositions with tracks that incorporate soul-injected melodic moments.

“This album is the most honest representation of who I am,” Anthony says. “When I started playing, all I wanted to do was dig deep and play the blues. I wanted to capture that reckless blues power of my earlier catalogue on this recording. I also have a love of melody that you can hear in soul and gospel music, and this CD has those elements as well. Even on the songs that stray away from the traditional 12-bar blues format, you still can hear plenty of B.B. King or Buddy Guy in there.”

Born in Toronto, Canada, to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother, Gomes began playing guitar in his early teens and was drawn to the blues sounds of B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. While he honed his skills in the blues bars at night, Gomes earned a Master’s Degree in history from the University of Toronto focusing on the ‘Racial Evolution of Blues Music’.

He relocated to Chicago in the late ’90s to learn from the blues masters and to establish himself as a musician and artist. During his brief stint as a sideman for Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Gomes put together his own group and won the first annual Buddy Guy’s Legends “Best Unsigned Blues Band” competition in 1998. Three years later, he moved to Nashville to sharpen his skills as a songwriter.

Every one of Anthony’s albums have varied with a genuine personal vision of the blues and beyond. The 1998 debut, “Blues in Technicolor” introduced Gomes as a guitar-slinger loaded with impressive firepower. Instead of following up with more of the same, he boldly stepped back for an intimate acoustic offering in 2000 with “Sweet Stringin’ Soul”. On 2002′s “Unity” he accomplished the album’s title with a heavy mix of styles that led Bandit Blues Radio to name it one of the Top 30 Essential Blues CDs of all time.

A year later Gomes was named BluesWax Magazine’s “Artist Of The Year”, which elevated him to the top of the blues field. “Music Is the Medicine”, released in 2006, peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. Gomes’ endless touring kept him atop the blues field as he continued to be nominated for BluesWax Artist of the Year awards for several years in a row. 2008′s “LIVE” is Gomes’ greatest commercial success to date, reaching number one on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

“#1 Blues Artist”
- Billboard Magazine

“Blistering guitar licks and vocals that slice like a whiskey-soaked machete.”
- Toronto Star

“Anthony Gomes delivered plenty of fierce fingerpicking…his monster strums were loaded with attitude and authenticity.”
- Illinois Entertainer

“A Serious Mojo Mofo”
- Salt Lake City Weekly

“The place was packed, they came from all around, there was a buzz in the air, the lights went down. Gomes came out – and he was the sh*t. He could play guitar like there was no tomorrow. When he started to sing, I was floored…”
- Creem Magazine

“Gomes persues his passions with a musical intelligence that places him way ahead of the other hellions igniting the Fender Fretboard”
-Downbeat