Early Times - rockin' blues August 15, 2009

His resume includes tours across the U.S. and Europe as a guitarist and singer. He has performed with musicians as diverse as "The Incredible" Jimmy Smith, Les Claypool, Wynton Marsallis, and members of Tesla and Cake.

Early Times was among a group of music industry veterans who founded Sirius Satellite Radio and was an on-air talent for the entire 7 year run of Sirius Blues. He was also heard on Buzzsaw (classic rock), and Bluegrass. He programmed and produced specialty shows for Sirius including the 50+ episodes of "On the Road". He was also the DJ/Narrator for Sirius at events around the country. He has worked at the New York, New England, Washington DC, and Chicago Auto Shows; Camp Jeep in VA, PA, WI, and CA; the ESPN Super Bowl Tailgate party in Jacksonville, FL; Nascar at Watkins Glen; a Navy Football game; and annual appearances in Las Vegas at the Bellagio, Wynn, and Ceasar's . Early was also the DJ for Mercedes-Benz for an 11 week tour around the U.S. in 2007 to introduce their new C-class. He also works for the Sirius Emergency News.

Prior to moving to Manhattan and working in radio, Early was one of the most respected musicians in his hometown of Sacramento. He received an unprecedented 9 different nominations in the Sacramento Area Music Awards, more than any other solo artist during his time there. His nominations included Best Rock band, Best Blues band, Best Jazz band, Best Singer/Songwriter, and Best Album-some nominations were for multiple years. He was given the Critics' Choice Award as Sacramento's Best Guitarist in 1997. He was also hired to play lead guitar on two releases by soul diva E.C. Scott for the Blind Pig label and toured the U.S. and Greece with her. The 4-star review of "Hard Act to Follow" in the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "Featured throughout the album is the scorching guitar work by a Sacramento musician named Early Times." The All Music Guide also gave it 4 stars and stated, "as a modern-day example of a soul-blues album, this one's about as good as the form gets." In it's 3-star review of Masterpiece it said Scott "is assisted by a fine cast of musicians'" and the album is "superior party music."

"Whatever the format, with Early Times the execution is always genuine, never showy. It is the mark of a master musician." Rachel Leibrock-Davis........ Sacramento News and Review

"Even in a music scene long on eccentrics, including Cake's John McCrae, Early Times stands out." David Barton Sacramento Bee

"Early Times is one of the great treasures of the Delta, continuously pushing the creative boundaries around here, asking his contemporaries to please follow. Content to forge his own path, Early is something of a nomad amidst a world of pack travelers" J. Cracken........ Magpie

"An almost Miles Davis-like passion for artistic flair and drama." U.C. Davis Aggie

Early has toured nationally and internationally and was given the Critics' Choice Award as Sacramento's Best Guitarist in 1997, deciding to leave his hometown within a year of the award and now lives in New York City.

Most recently, Early Times was asked to record a song for Main Man Records' tribute to hair metal cd. The version of Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive (complete with alternate lyrics) will close the compilation. He also recorded a lead guitar track for a Kevin Seconds 7" cover of T-Rex' "Rabbit Fighter".
http://www.myspace.com/earlytimesband
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