Joe Bonamassa

Guitar mastermind Joe Bonamassa, a young player with the childhood dream of playing music similar to legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix, was 22 when he inked a deal with Epic. His drive to make music a career was an instant whirlwind. Hailing from Utica, NY, Bonamassa could play the blues before he could drive a car. He first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan at age four and was instantly taken by Vaughan's thirsty powered playing. By age eight, he opened for B.B. King, and at age 12, he was playing regularly around upstate New York. It was soon thereafter that Bonamassa hooked up with the band Bloodline, which featured other musicians' sons: Waylon Krieger (Robby Krieger's son), Erin Davis (Miles Davis' drummer kid), and Berry Oakley Jr. (the son of the Allman Brothers' bassist). Bloodline released a self-titled album, but Bonamassa wanted to move on. In summer 2000, he guested for Roger McGuinn on Jethro Tull's summer tour, later releasing his debut solo album A New Day Yesterday. Produced by longtime fan Tom Dowd, the album marked a move towards a more organic and rock-sounding direction. He put together a power trio with drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar and hit the road to support the album. Upon returning from the road, he hooked up with Dowd to record the muscular and sweeping studio disc So, It's Like That and released a document of the tour A New Day Yesterday Live. The following year Bonamassa put out Blues Deluxe, featuring nine cover versions of blues classics alongside three originals. The muscular You & Me appeared in 2006, followed by the more acoustic-tinged Sloe Gin in 2007. ~ MacKenzie Wilson & Al Campbell, All Music Guide