Catch New Blood on Wednesday

By Jess Camp

Published Oct. 30, 2007

Halloween in Columbia is about to get a lot creepier with Jason Ricci & New Blood rocking out to a hopefully costume-clad audience at the Martini Bar this Wednesday. Although the band's name certainly sounds spooky, the members are actually different than what one might expect.

Jason Ricci, the singer and harmonica player, is world class. According to Blues Access magazine, he is the best harmonicist in the world, but Ricci is modest about this claim. New Blood also features guitarist/writer Shawn Starski, Todd Edmunds on bass (he once played with James Brown) and drummer Ron Sutton.

The music industry can be a hard one to break into, and Ricci's parents weren't thrilled by the idea of their son trying to become part of that world.

"She (my mom) eventually came around," Ricci said. "After I started winning contests, but it took a long time. When I stopped asking for money is when she really supported me. It's funny how that happens."

But his mother need not have worried. So far, Jason Ricci & New Blood has had many successes.

Perhaps his most fun and most well known success was his appearance on the Emeril Lagasse show.

A perk of performing on the show was the chance to sample Lagasse's food.

"It was undercooked, though, because he had to cook it in time for TV," Ricci said.

Food isn't the only thing that gets Ricci excited. He said also gets pumped every time he does a gig in Columbia.

"We'll be playing in the beautiful Martini Bar, which is an amazing secret of Columbia," Ricci said. "It has a gorgeous room, and they're open-minded about everyone who plays there and comes to listen. We're treated well by the club, the room sounds awesome and it's a stop along the way. You get to see them (bands) in a more intimate setting at places like the Martini Bar."

Ricci and his band have a pre-show ritual they do every time they play in Columbia.

"We shoot heroin, worship the devil and kill a couple of cats," Ricci said. But he was just joking. Actually, they like to just get to the venue with enough time to take a nap before hitting the stage.

Driving around in a van, performing 300 or more shows a year can take a toll on a person. Being schlepped around in a van can also be quite boring. So Ricci and his band have a game they like to play to keep themselves entertained.

"We like to put 'show your boobs' signs in the windows," Ricci said. Sometimes women actually acquiesce to their request. "But I'm gay, so that doesn't do anything for me."

Their joking manner comes across on the stage, too, which helps guarantee each show is a totally new experience for the viewer.

"We put on one of the coolest shows," Ricci said. "We roll around on the stage and do improv like no one else, except maybe Derek Trucks. We never do the same show twice. We always change set lists and tempos."

Ricci said he and his band are passionate about the music both on and off the stage.

"It's not a show, it's a retro-blues movement. No one's in costume, and we mean everything we talk about — drugs, God and the devil," he said.

Well, maybe they will be in costume for this show. It is, after all, Halloween.