Blues Buffet is a rocking, tasty, full-on, blues band from Wanganui. They often back Erna Ferry. Tonight they’ll be throwing the blues at you as fast as you can catch – and then they’ll reel them right back in. Great dance music! Fred Loverage– guiatr / vox; Murray Loverage– bass/ vox; Paul Wilson– keys/ vox; Nigel Bateman– drums
Manalishi the blues of Peter Green & Fleetwood Mac
Solid wall-to-wall Peter Green and early Fleetwood Mac blues, enjoy some of the very best of the British Blues Boom. Del Thomas – guitar/harp/vox; Phil McLaughlin – guitar; Sean Dolan – bass; James Shanks – drums
Shayn Wills – “a one man blues storm”- has a voice, a guitar style, and a harmonica soul to blow you away. Since 1992 Shayn has played support gigs for: Albert King, Junior Wells, Robert Cray, John Hammond Jnr., Canned Heat, and Duke Robillard!
Shayn’s band the Zephyr Hunters are: Shayn – vox, guitar, harmonica; Ian Parker – drums; Tim Jaray – bass
Playing a powerful brand of blues and soul, No Idea (the Fuimaono Family Band) has three vocalists, a rhythm section and two guitars. Band leader and bass player Elliotte Fuimaono (pictured above) is a legend at Roomfulla Blues.
Greer has worked alongside members of Fat Freddie’s Drop, Trinity Roots, Little Bushmen, and Supergroove. This is the debut gig of David’s new band featuring
Tim Hopkins (Sax/percussion- MIKE NOCK and Vince Jones, Australia); Darren Mathieson– drums Holly Smith Band); Ben Wilcox (keyboards Bella Kololo); Mostyn Cole- bass.
Real Time Liners, a favourite at the Hotel B
ristol are:
Neil Worboys- vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica; Maurice Priestley– guitars, banjo; Stephen Bennet– keyboards; Kieran Monaghan– drums; Steve Carlisle– bass
Capital Blues Inc. has a long history and it’s getting longer! Some of those people involved in shaping the club from behind the scenes have also kindly contributed their stories.
The year Pip Payne got the blues club off the ground in Wellington was quite a year for music all around. An ad in the Wellington Evening Post shows that the first ever Roomfulla Blues show was at The Venue, Thursday 6 June 1996!
In November 1997 the first BluzNuz newsletter for the Roomfulla Blues gig, sponsored by the Lion’s Club at Bill Direen’s, announced the following acts:
December 1997 :
Next followed a series of events; Zebos hosting Kokomo Blues, Summer City Jazz and Blues Series (Darren Watson & the Overnight Sensations, the Ronnie Taylor band, Roomfulla Blues house band Dougal Speir, Dave Murphy, Neil Billington and Marg Layton), Byron Bay Festival, Hamilton Blues Club, a Sunday 2-3 Radio Active Blues Show, and a Radio Access Blues Show.
Other gigs featured and advertised by the BluzNuz around the same time were:
As we said- it was a great time for music!!!!
The club’s weekly CD raffle was started and there was an NZBS contest for the best guitarist. The prize was a trip to Hamilton’s Bourbon St Blues Festival plus a Dobro guitar, 2nd prize was a Marshall amp!
The Queen’s Birthday Blues Bash featured Hammond Gamble and Kokomo Blues, and Midge Marsden and Bullfrog Rata were playing at Vincent’s, Newtown, with the Amazing Rhythm Aces, at James Cabaret.
To continue at the Roomfulla Blues were the bands
At other gigs in town at the time
From up Kapiti way comes HENPICKED. They’ve played at the Bristol before and now they return with quite a few more up tempo tunes. There is a kiwi flavour to Henpicked (one guy and three girls) with great vocal harmonies. Their music is gentle, humourous, and sophisticated. Multi-talented, they surprise and delight – they also ‘dress up’ the stage. Guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. You can hear songs from their Debut CD Astroturf at www.henpicked.org.
Here’s a review the new album got last week off ‘Stuff’.
Wayne Mason is one of New Zealand’s finest and most respected songwriters. “His songs explore the unloved, the unrequited romance, the tensions and the journey along the way….it’s not all about happy endings”, but you sure can dance to it! ”
Slashing through the undergrowth, laughing ourselves to sanity, diving head first into the future” are
For quite some time now, young Jake Stokes (17) has been coming to the Blues Club’s jam sessions and laying down some great guitar riffs. Now he’s got his 
own band and is playing a gig at the Bristol this month!
Jake and his blues-rock band play classics from Lightnin Hopkins to Gary Moore in a set scattered with edgy originals to get you up and out of your seat. Accompanied by some of the best musicians in the age group from all over Wellington.
Jake Stokes – lead guitar and vocals; Jack Mells– drums and vocals; Felix Bornholdt– keys; Max Apse– bass guitar and vocals
