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The DELTA WIRES - A Living History of West Coast Blues! An Anthology December 2012 Inductee into the BLUES HALL OF FAME! In 1970, The DELTA WIRES band was created out of a love of the blues... from field hollers of the Mississippi Delta's cotton fields, through the regional migration to the Industrial North, this 7-piece 'harmonica and horns' blues band embodies the history of Blues from it's acoustic beginnings to it's modern 'wired' urban sounds. This Anthology contains live recordings of the DELTA WIRES not heard since their original broadcasts in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early '70s, as well as selected material from their previous 5 CDs. Packed with 78 minutes of great blues, it's a high-energy musical experience that can't disappoint! The DELTA WIRES, were Finalists out of over 100 band representatives from Blues Societies all over the world in the Blues Foundation's 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Adding to their list of recent accomplishments, they were also voted 'BEST LIVE BAND', Readers' Pick East Bay Express, and 'BEST BAND/MUSICAL ACT' in Oakland Magazine's annual readers' poll. The DELTA WIRES are a high-energy musical experience and long-time crowd-pleasers who are getting not only serious critical attention, but national exposure as well. Enjoy! What They're Saying... 'a tough, rocking, socking band, knocking out crowds...the WIRES are burning up!' -Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle 'Oh, boy, it doesn't get much better than this. Never heard of the Delta Wires? Well, they're one of America's finest Blues institutions, and they've worked out of Oakland for over 30 years. This is an industrial-strength, 7 piece blues band with a take-no-prisoners brass section and they play the blues in that special way a would-be musician could only dream of. ... The live excitement cuts in like a hot knife through butter. You want great, live, driving American music? This is it, no mistake!' -BLUES MATTERS Magazine, Bridgend, United Kingdom San Francisco Bay Area blues legends the Delta Wires take a victory lap after their induction into the Blues Hall of Fame with the release of their historical survey Anthology... The act grew out of a college undergraduate project where [band leader] Pinata was tasked to research and perform an anthology of the great blues music form, tracing it from it's Delta roots to it's Chicago wired form (thus, the name "Delta Wires"). ...This collection of live and studio tracks culled from six prior albums and obscure concert recordings, likewise traces the blues over the decades, as delivered by Pinata and his band. ...Like the Tower of Power, Delta Wires has had it's own horn section, made up of guys who played for another popular Frisco-based act, the boogie rock outfit Cold Blood, and it adds punch and a certain panache you can't get from small combos. But listening to some of these tracks, especially the earlier ones, there's enough dirt under the fingernails to make this group bona fide practitioners of the blues. Most of that grit comes courtesy of Pinata himself, whose rousing roots-minded blues harp is the constant in this varied set of recordings that features a changing but consistently good cast of backing personnel. Pinata's harmonica is smokin' on cuts such as "Take Off Your Pajamas," "Tippin' Into The Blues," "Don't Want No Woman" and "Take Your Hand Outta My Pocket," where he brings down he house. Pinata also handles lead singing for nearly all the vocal songs and while he puts a lot of heart into it, he...did I mention that Pinata is a fantastic harmonica player? ...this retrospective makes a strong case for why the Delta Wires earned a spot in the Blues Hall of Fame. -S. Victor Aaron - somethingelsereviews 'They blow hard from the get-go, a tight horn section blending comfortably with the spirited, intense harmonica from lead man Ernie Pinata...as fierce a Sonny Boy Williamson-influenced harp as you will find' -Bill Kisliuk, BLUES ACCESS Magaz
