Popa Chubby and the Beast Band: Live at G. Bluey's Juke Joint NYC Double CD

Double Live CD
Release Date: September 8, 2023

Gulf Coast Records announces a September 8 release date for Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC, the label debut live double-CD set from New York City-based blues guitar slinger Popa Chubby’s (aka “The Beast from the East”).

The new album was recorded at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint in Long Island City, New York, on October 24 and 25, 2022, and features Popa Chubby (guitar and vocals), backed by his all-star “Beast Band,” which consists of Mike Merritt - bass (Conan O’Brien, Billy Gibbons); Mike Dimeo - keyboards (Johnny Winter, Tommy James); and Stefano Giudici - drums.

“This record is a reunion in a lot of ways,” stated Popa Chubby. “Rejoining with my long-time ally and bassist extraordinaire Mike Merritt and recording in my old Manny’s Car Wash engineer Glen Forrest’s studio. The icing on the cake was Mike Dimeo on keys. Add the Centurion Stefano Giudici on drums and you’ve got some heavy blues rock! It’s a live best of for the ages!”

“In the early ‘90s, Popa Chubby was the house band at New York City’s Manny’s Car Wash,” says the man, himself. “I hosted the jam every Sunday that saw everyone from the Allman Brothers, Stephen Stills, Joe Sample, Odetta and many more pass through. The apprentice Soundman was Glen Forrest. I had a small recording studio in the West Village and I hired Glen to work for me. He proved himself beyond my expectations and with great vision and perseverance set out to create the ultimate recording environment. He landed in Long Island City, New York, where he holds court over three floors of a building which house the studio, lounges, art galleries and warehouse. We recorded the record there because it gave us a great vibe, sound and an intimate live in the studio setting.”

Born Ted Horowitz, Popa Chubby is a long-time, New York City veteran blues rocker, who also produced and mixed his upcoming new album. He’s been hard-rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 35 years. Over the course of his career, he has been a force to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson,” Popa Chubby is an endearing character who has become one of the genre’s most popular figures.

His career has always been about moving forward and carving a place for himself in the imposing terrain of the music business, overcoming odds to continue growing and maturing as a creative force. He has built a constantly increasing base of fans across the world, where in many territories he is a star. A native New Yorker, his first gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he reflects was a "crazy Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called ‘Screaming Mad George,’ who had a horror-movie inspired show.” Right from the start, he was immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater, and learned from George and others playing CBGB’s at the time that included the Ramones, the Cramps, Richard Hell, whose band -the Voidoids - he joined, that rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous. He reflects, "Musicians like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols weren’t just bands. They were a threat to society."

The blues, however, was the foundation of his playing style. He recalls, "Since I’d grown up on Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin, when I started playing blues in New York clubs I understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. It wasn’t just from playing in punk bands. Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut or shoot you if they thought it was necessary, and Little Walter packed a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is a real part of the blues and I keep it alive in my music.”

CD1
1. MOTORCYCLE MAMA - 6:51- Neil Young
2. ANOTHER TEN YEARS GONE - 6:56 - T.Horowitz
3. HEY JOE - 9:14 - Billy Roberts
4. DIRTY LIE - 8:02 - T. Horowitz
5. 69 DOLLARS - 7:16 - T. Horowitz
6. GODFATHER THEME (Speak Softly Love) - 2:50- Nino Rota
7. DIRTY DIESEL - 3:50 T. Horowitz
8. GROWN MAN CRYING BLUES - 13:58 - T. Horowitz
9. OVER THE RAINBOW- 8:48 - Harold Arlen

CD2
1. IT’S A MIGHTY HARD ROAD - 5:10- T. Horowitz
2. I DON’T WANT NOBODY - 7:04- T. Horowitz
3. I CAN’T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY- 7:56- T. Horowitz
4. EMBEE’S SONG - 5:50- T. Horowitz
5. STEEL HORSE SERENADE - 6:57- T. Horowitz
6. HALLELUJAH - 10:39- Leonard Cohen
7. HEART ATTACK AND VINE - 4:05- Tom Waits
8. SWEAT - 4:19- T. Horowitz
9. NOBODY WANTS YOU WHEN YOU’RE DOWN AND OUT -5:35- Jimmy Cox
10. SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL/CHUBBY’S STORY - 10:25 Jagger/ Richards / T. Horowitz