Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
NewMusicforOldFolks says …
Little Charlie & The Nightcats were a mainstay on the Blues club scene, especially on the West Coast, for more than two decades. Fronted by singer/harmonica player Rick Estrin, the band was named after guitarist Little Charlie Baty because, presumably, that sounded better. But it was the dynamic Estrin, his clever lyrics and flashy stage persona that were the show. The group formed when Baty and Estrin met in 1976 and played clubs around the Bay Area. It wasn't until 1987 that they made their first album. Modest success followed, but the Nightcats never hit it big. Still, with songs like "My Next Ex-Wife," "New Old Lady" and "Dump That Chump" and a reputation as a dependable party band, Little Charlie & The Nightcats had a solid following. Then in 2005 Baty decided that he'd had enough of the road and The Nightcats had lost Little Charlie. Kid Andersen stepped in on the guitar, and they became Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, the name they probably should have had all along.
Artist's Info
Website: rickestrin.com
See them live: Tour dates
See also: Little Charlie & The Nightcats
Record company: Alligator Records
Genre: Blues
If you like this, look into: Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Delbert McClinton
Bio (From the artist's website)
Rick Estrin was born in San Francisco, California in 1949, and grew up fiercely independent. As a 10-year-old boy, he made his way to the tough Market Street area and befriended many of the neighborhood characters. When he was 12, his older sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings The Blues, and he became infatuated with the music. Albums from Jimmy Reed, Champion Jack Dupree, Mose Allison, Nina Simone and others soon followed. By the time he was a teenager, Estrin had immersed himself in the urban, African-American culture surrounding him. He got his first harmonica at age 15, and by age 18 was proficient enough to begin sitting in at black clubs around the city. (more)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
Most Recent
YOU ASKED FOR IT … LIVE! (2014): Every night that award-winning harmonica player, singer and songwriter Rick Estrin and his cohorts The Nightcats perform live wherever in the world that may be a crowd of dancing, shouting and cheering people will be enjoying some of the best live music they've ever heard. On one of these nights Oct. 5, 2013, at San Francisco's Biscuits And Blues the proceedings were captured live. The result is Rick Estrin & The Nightcats' irresistible new release, You Asked For It … Live! The band was, as they always are, on fire. The hometown, sell-out crowd was ready to explode, and the front man was celebrating his birthday. According to Estrin, ''Cutting loose and stretching out in an intimate, nightclub-type setting is the natural environment for the Nightcats to kick maximum ass. The fact that it was my birthday, in the town where I was born and raised, only added more fuel to the fire.''
Others
LITTLE CHARLIE & THE NIGHTCATS
All The Way Crazy (1987)
Disturbing The Peace (1988)
The Big Break (1989)
Captured Live (1991)
Night Vision (1993)
Straight Up (1995)
Deluxe Edition (1997)
Shadow of the Blues (1998)
That's Big (2002)
Nine Lives (2005)
RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS
Twisted (2009)
One Wrong Turn (2012)
