Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts

Ryan Hartt - Vocals and harmonica Eric Ducoff - Guitar and vocals Jeff ?JB? Berg - Bass and vocals Nick Toscano - Drums Dubbed "Young East Coast masters of the jumpin' West Coast sound" by Blues Revue magazine, Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts have been at the forefront of the New England blues scene for the last five years. Formed in 2000 by lifelong friends Ryan Hartt (vocals/harmonica) and Eric Ducoff (guitar), the band has consistently strived to keep the classic sounds of 40s, 50s and early 60s blues stylings alive and well.

Eric Ducoff - Guitar and vocals
Jeff ?JB? Berg - Bass and vocals
Nick Toscano - Drums

Dubbed "Young East Coast masters of the jumpin' West Coast sound" by Blues Revue magazine, Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts have been at the forefront of the New England blues scene for the last five years. Formed in 2000 by lifelong friends Ryan Hartt (vocals/harmonica) and Eric Ducoff (guitar), the band has consistently strived to keep the classic sounds of 40s, 50s and early 60s blues stylings alive and well.

Playing the same mixture of Chicago,Texas and Jump blues that filled post-war California, singer/harmonica player Ryan Hartt, guitarist Eric Ducoff, upright bassist Jeff Berg and drummer Nick Toscano have performed at some of the best clubs and festivals in the Northeast.

In 2004, the Blue Hearts qualified as semi-finalists in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. Their debut CD, "Empty Wallet", produced by Rick Holmstrom, has won praise from fans, critics, DJs and musicians throughout the world.

In their 12 years together, Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts have, indeed, lived it. They've logged countless gigs and countless miles in a Honda minivan, playing clubs and festivals throughout the Northeast and beyond. Being in a blues band in today's music market is never easy. Nonetheless, the band keeps moving forward, outlasting musical trends and clubs that have come and gone.

Though the band will always be rooted in the Chicago and West Coast blues they have built their reputation on, ?Call My Name? expands their sound with soul, proto-rock & roll and even ska. Their songwriting has matured equally.

Certainly the common blues themes of love lost and found are here, but the songs on ?Call My Name? also reflect the changes and growth of the band members over the last seven years with topics ranging from depression to choosing music over a relationship to the grind of a gigging blues band. Yet no matter what, as the last line of the of the last song says, Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts ?will be back next Friday night?.

Ryan Hartt and the Blue Hearts were voted "Best Blues Band of 2005" by the readers of the Hartford Advocate's Grand Band Slam poll.

Influences:
Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Rod Piazza, William Clarke, Hollywood Fats Band, Lynwood Slim, Tiny Grimes, T-Bone Walker, Robert Nighthawk, Fabulous Thunderbirds.