Whiskey Bottom Road - Music

Hitman Blues Band Is An American Blues Band From New York Led By Russell “Hitman” Alexander. As The Founder And Creator Of “The Hitman Blues Band” Alexander Became Russell “Hitman” Alexander Or More Simply Hitman. He Grew Up With In A Musical Thanks To His Father Ray Alexander. Ray Was A Jazz Musician Drummer And Vibist Who Performed Worldwide With Many Of The Jazz Greats That We Hold So Dear Today As Well As Having Three Recordings Out And Playing On Several Others. Ray Received A Lifetime Achievement Doctorate At Long Island’s Five Towns College A Music Oriented Accredited University. At The Age Of 13 Russell Began Working As A "band Boy" Setting Up The Equipment For Stuart White Of Steven Scott Music A Large Entertainment Provider With Several Dozen Bands. He Started His Professional Musicianship At 15 When He Began Doing Gigs With A Rock N’ Roll Cover Band And Started Writing Original Music. His First Major Original Group Childhood’s End Was An Original Progressive Rock Band That Played Events Such As Rock And Roll Conventions At The Hotel Diplomat In NYC CBGB’s Numerous Clubs And Festivals. The Next Band Candy Was A New Wave Group Which Enjoyed Local Popularity And Played Often At The Famous “My Father’s Place” In Roslyn NY For Owner Michael Epstein Opening Up For Famous National Acts. They Also Appeared At The Electric Circus CBGBs And Many Other Places In The New York And Long Island Area. From This Band The Song “Bop De Bop” Came Out As A Single And Was Played Locally On The Airwaves. While All This Was Going On He Also Began Doing "club Date Gigs" Weddings Bar Mitzvahs And Corporate Events At 16 And By 18 Was Playing "High Society" Dates Such As Cotillions Quadrilles Debutante Balls And High End Dinner Dances At Every Major Hotel In NY Private Estates And Other Places Around The Country That He Would Be Flown To. The Big Advantage Of This Was That Russell Was Able To Play With Top Notch Players Who Themselves Had Played With Luminaries Such As Louis Armstrong Count Basie Duke Ellington Mel Torme And Other Famous Jazz And Swing Bands. This Exposed Him To Music That As A Rocker He Would Not Have Had The Opportunity To Perform. He Got To Play With Large Orchestras And Small Combos Noting That It Was Sometimes The Same Material But Arranged Differently. As A Young Musician He Was Enjoying The Experience Of Playing With Many Different Seasoned Musicians And Absorbing Their Musical Styles Into His Own. Russell Took Lessons From Famed Guitarist Joe Monk At The Age Of 13 Who Was A Big Influence On Him. He Then Moved On To Progressive Guitarist Neil Vineberg And Later Studied With Producer/guitarist Johnny Gale. All Of This Enabled Him To Play Gigs Of Many Different Musical Genres Such As Jazz Rock Blues Funk Reggae Hassidic Greek Italian German Salsa Plus Some Light Classical Waltzes Etc And Of Course Pop. Proficient In Guitar And Bass Guitar And Noted For His Unique Vocal Ability He Composed Songs Of Many Different Genres And Released Them Under The Names Of The Hitman Blues Band The Yaz Brothers And The Songwriter As Well As Some Country Tunes Which Were Recorded And Are Still Being Performed By The Americana Band The Mary Lamont Band. Many Of His Songs Are On The Internet. He Has Written More Than 300 Originals. The Hitman Blues Band Recordings Can Be Found On The Internet On Literally Hundreds Of Sites Such As CD Baby Apple ITunes Rhapsody MusicMatch Napster MP3tunes And Other Retailers. He Also Receives Airplay On Various Internet And Radio Stations Such As Audiocandy Ipod Podcasts American Bluesclub Smokestack Lightning And Of Course Last.Fm. Friends And Fans Have Reported That They’ve Heard His Songs In Supermarkets And Other Retail Establishments. He’s Being Played Internationally On The Air And On The Internet On Streaming Stations. The Blues Is His Main Love. The Hitman Blues Band Was Formed In 1989 And He’s Recorded Three Original Studio CDs And One Live CD. The First CD Blooztown Was Recorded With Hitman Bobby Forrester Bernard Purdy Johnny Gale And Special Guest Ray Alexander On Two Cuts . “Angel In The Shadows” The Second CD Was Recorded With Hitman Johnny Gale Richard Crooks Seth Glassman Kevin Rymer Murray Weinstock Greg "Clutch" Reilly And Michael Snyder. The Live CD “Live At Stonybrook University” Is Comprised Of Songs From The First Two CDs Plus More Originals. The Band Comprised Of Hitman Kevin Rymer Mike Porter And Jay Sharkey Performed The Act Which Hitman Developed During His Three Hitman Blues Band Tours In The UK During 2004 2005 And 2006 As Well As His European Tour In 2008. "Live" Was In The Running For A Grammy Nomination In 2007. The Fourth CD "Pale Rider" Has Received Worldwide Airplay And Sold Out Its First Pressing. It Was In The Running For Four Grammy Nominations As Well As Being Nominated For The IBC "Best Self Produced CD" Competition. It Features Hitman Kevin Rymer Mike Porter Ed "The Hat" D'Alessio With Other Guest Artists Lending A Hand.
Over 4000 CDs Have Been Sold And Over 100 000 Digital Sales And Downloads Have Been Recorded From Various Internet Sites. Russell Has Been A Member Of The Musicians Union Local 802 Since 1974 And Joined ASCAP In 1982. In The UK Hitman Picked Up Exceptional Local Musicians From The North And The South Whom He Used As His British Band Mates Touring All Over England Wales And South Scotland. The Official Band Website Is Www.Hitmanbluesband.Com And Has 90 Second Samples Of The Music Lyrics Videos And Downloads Of The CD Covers. read less