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Working Hard –Working Well
Over the last several years, the Blue Moon Blues Band has had the pleasure of opening for and sharing the stage with well-known national acts, including Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson, The Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings, Sapphire, Bernard Allison, Tommy Castro, Larry McRae and Son Seals. The band's second CD, released in April, 2004, was recorded live at the State Theater in Kalamazoo.
Personnel
The Blue Moon Blues Band is composed of five West Michigan veteran musicians of varied musical backgrounds who have found common ground in the Blues. All have a particular fondness for swing style Blues as it is more commonly found on the West Coast.
Charlu Wanzer – Lead Singer, Keyboards
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Bill LaValley – Bass, Lyricist
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Dan Diaz – Drums
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Dale Hein – Harp, Vocals
Dale was a founding member of Kalamazoo's original Blues band, the Buffalo Heart Blues Band, whose members went on to perform in such groups as Black Cat Bone and Seventh Son. Dale also played in McDuff, a local Folk/Blues band. |
Dave Carambula – Guitars, Vocals
These artists led him to Freddy Albert, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Clarence Brown and others. In Duluth, Minnesota, he played in the Ivory Coast Blues band and Crazy Blame for many years. For almost 20 years, he hung up his guitars until the late 90's when he discovered Wonderful's, the heart of the Kalamazoo Blues scene, and became a born again Blues guy. After sitting in with many of the area Blues bands for two years, he met Dale Hein. The Blue Moon Blues Band, was founded soon thereafter. According to Dave, "today's guitarist has such a rich diversity of styles to choose and learn from – it's like being a kid in a candy store … and I've got a large taste for the Blues … in all its forms." |
Eric Richter – Keyboards and vocals
Eric finally arrived at the cradle country, doing his Blues apprenticeship with a little help from his friends in Black Cat Bone, who introduced him to the styles of Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins. A stint with eclectic Blues-Rock foursome Red Rooster strengthened his vocal and finger chops. Eric remembers “When I was in Red Rooster, we did a Blues competition and I heard this other band and thought, ‘uh-oh, they’re roots, they’re fresh, they’re gonna be hard to beat.’” Who was that formidable band? It was Blue Moon. So when Blue Moon forayed into the region of keyboard-tinted Blues, Eric was happy to hitch a ride. |
Charlu
joined Blue Moon in 2004, replacing
singer Patsy
Burnett. Charlu brings a long list of experiences to the group.
She has worked with local soul/Blues icon Lou Wilson for many years.
Charlu has been with Junior Walker’s revue, and toured with
Anita Baker, and Melissa Manchester. In addition she was a member
of an all female
R&B group working out of Atlanta, Georgia. Charlu’s
musical roots are steeped in gospel and r/b but she is comfortable
performing
most styles
of contemporary music. She has brought a new dimension to the Blue
Moon sound.
Bill’s
musical career started in his youth in Minnesota as a jazz and
Big Band trumpet player. Since moving to Kalamazoo in 1980, he
has been
a Blues bass player for ten years, playing first with Blues Inc.,
then Big Daddy Green and the King Sized Blues Band and now
Blue Moon. Bill says that playing with Blue Moon is like playing
with family: his brothers. Bill is a hard core Chicago Blues Fan
and
holds the late, great Luther Allison and Albert King as his favorites
as well as the
living legend,
Carl Weathersby. As a Social Worker,
many of
his lyrical themes are inspired by real people with real issues. 
Dan is a veteran of the Kalamazoo Music scene. Most recently he has played with Los Bandits and with the progressive rock band Pound and Beers.
As
a former disc jockey and record store owner, Dale developed a love
for the Blues and Blues
harpists, such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Paul Butterfield
and others. He taught himself to bend the reeds and developed a
virtually encyclopedic knowledge of Blues material and history. 
When he immigrated to the US
as a teen, he fell in love with the folk scene and taught himself
the guitar. Dave played and toured in folk and rock groups through
the 60's until being introduced to Blues by emerging British interpreters,
such as John Mayall, Ten Years After, Savoy Brown, and many others.
Eric began his keyboard travels at age 5, studying classical piano with a Latvian composer who occasionally whacked his knuckles with a ruler. But his knuckles found freedom in middle school, discovering the ecstasies of Bach harmonies and the irresistible grooves of Marvin Gaye. College and later rock bands took him further back up the road, with maps provided by the likes of Zepplin, Stevie Winwood, and Warren Zevon.< Back to Top >