Gigs
Dr. Mambos Combo (every Monday)
http://www.myspace.com/drmamboscombo
Bunkers is best known for weekly performances by the Dr. Mambo's Combo, which attracts a who's who of national and international stars to the stage.
Photo by: http://www.monteswann.com
Prince Family reunion article at: Minneapolis World Beat
The Combo (formerly Dr. Mambo's Combo) was formed in the Spring of 1987. Pumping out classics from 20th & 21st century R&B, Soul and Funk, The Combo has been performing every Monday since and will continue to do so "until Hell freezes over" as quoted by drummer Michael Bland. All of The Combo's members have been major players in mainstream and independent music.
Every once and awhile you can catch Prince and his posse of eclectics chillin' at Bunker's checking out The Combo and sometimes, if you're lucky, he'll get up on stage and jam with them. Other notable guest appearances include: "Jelly Bean" Johnson, Johnny Lang, J.B. of J.B. & The Routine, Charles Hayes, etc...
There is no better deal in the Twin Cities than paying $6 to see some of the most professional and talented musicians in the business today throw out some studio quality classics on a Monday night. Plus the fact that Bunker's has the best sound in the city and kick ass cheeseburgers. So just take one night out of your week to check em' out. I promise you won't regret getting less sleep that night.
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Comments:
I saw you last August at Bunker's bar with Mambo's Combo, and damn, you blew me away. Nice B3 chops, and I liked the guitar sounds you were getting out of the motif.
Thanks,
Kevin
Jonny Lang
Bill on tour with Jonny Lang in Anaheim and San Diego
On the "Big Screen"
B3 Organ Night at the "Artist's Quarter" (every Tuesday)
Downtown Bill Brown
http://myspace.com/billbrownmpls
Tuesday Night Band featuring Bill Brown (B-3 Organ) plays at the Hot Summer Jazz Festival!
The mighty Tuesday Night Band has been holding court on, you guessed it, Tuesday nights at the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul for more than a decade. B-3 organ lovers have made this soulful dose of funky jazz a weekly habit, and guests like Steve Miller and Joey DeFrancesco have been known to stop by and add an extra punch to the already groovin' happening. The Tuesday Night Band is working a little overtime for this rare Friday night gig. Featuring 'Downtown' Bill Brown (Hammond B-3 organ), Billy Franze (guitar) and Kenny Horst (drums).
Peavey Plaza in Downtown Minneapolis
"The Tuesday Night Band"
NWA World Traveler Magazine
Avenues St Paul's News and Arts Magazine
For more than a decade, B-3 organ lovers have been flocking to the AQ on Tuesday nights for a soulful slab of funky jazz. The Tuesday Night Band is working a little overtime for these rare weekend gigs. The occasion? It's time to celebrate the new cats - "Downtown" Bill Brown on the B-3 and Billy Franze on guitar. For the past month or so, Brown and Franze have been burning up the Tuesday night shift along with Gary Berg on sax and Kenny Horst on drums. The new lineup gelled faster than a James Dean hairdo, and it's every bit as cool and dangerous. Brown knows the Hammond inside and out (he's a famous B-3 repair wiz) and he conjures all the subtlety and power that gives it the groove. Franze is an excitable/ exciting firebrand on guitar - a veteran of Dr. Mambo's Combo who has worked with folks like Ben Sidran, Mavis Staples and Prince. Our good friend Billy Holloman has moved out, but the legend of Tuesday night continues with a brand new bag.
Comments:
Hi. This is a message for Bill Brown.
My name is Heidi. I live in Moscow, ID, but was recently visiting my brother in the Twin Cities and heard you play at the Artist's Quarter on Tuesday night. I'm a Hammond organ fan (I play a L100), and I was really impressed with your mastery of the instrument. Unfortunately, there's nothing like that going on around here in the middle of the wheat fields--I don't even know where the nearest B-3 would be. So here's my question: have you guys ever thought of broadcasting your shows as a podcast? Rest assured you'd have one dedicated listener.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Heidi
Corey Carlson and the Big City Band
Lumberjack Days 2008
Corey Carlson is an exceptional musician who electrifies audiences around the Midwest. It’s sweet justice that he grew up here on the Ski Hill property, likely influenced by hundreds of past BTC performers. A very prolific songwriter who is backed by some of the Twin Cities’ finest studio talent, Corey has produced two albums: Seeds and Jukebox Prophecies. His charismatic stage presence, tremendously versatile voice and rock solid instrumentation invariably elicit a common audience response: Wow!
Gear list:
Hammond B3 with Hampton solid - state relay
Motif-6
Comments:
Saw you last night with Corey and Company. you guys are awesome. Love the show and will go every year!!!
Peter
Friend of the newly married Corey
8/13/2008 Bayfield WI
Pretty Boy
Curt Bearden, Bill Brown, Dennis Lind, Tim Compton, John Brown
PRETTY BOY 'The Metro Sessions' - For the first time ever on CD, here is another fantastic slice of 80s AOR / Melodic Hard Rock / Hair Metal from Retrospect Records. If you are familiar with the three highly-touted releases by the band MARIAH then you'll know that Pretty Boy was the moniker they used back in the late 80s before changing their name to Mariah. Here we have the unmistakable vocal pipes of Dennis Lind, the tasty guitar work of Tim Compton (ex-Lynn Allen), and drummer Curt Bearden who are joined on this release by brothers John and Bill Brown on bass and keys respectively. These recordings are the songs that prompted JON BON JOVI himself to start working with the band... and it's not hard to see why. These sessions sound like they could have come directly off of Slippery When Wet or 7800 Fahrenheit. Hit after hit, huge production and vocal harmonies galore. Some may say these recordings were actually better than the Mariah material! Easily one of the best 80s melodic albums you've never heard, and now you have the opportunity. Truly amazing stuff!
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Gear list:
Hammond B3, Casio CZ-1, Sequential Circuits 2002 Sampler, Memory Moog, Mini Moog, Roland D-550, and Piano
Pamela McNeill
* Hammond B3 with Hamptone EQ and reverb, stock 147 Leslie with Hamptone solid state relay, Ensoniq TS-10, and a Waldorf Micro-Wave EXT.
Living Word Christian Center
http://www.lwcc.org/MEDIA/winnersWay.cfm
* Hammond B3, 122 Leslie with 100 watt Ferro-fluid driver, and 3 speed Hamptone solid-state relay.
Bill's Rig Early 1990's with the "Fanatics"
The Fanatics "Acting Up" 1997
This is a rig I used to haul around when I played in the "Hair" bands years ago. Pictured is a portable Hammond B3 with four 147 Leslie Speakers, big MIDI rig and a 2-way JBL/Yamaha monitor in back and two Cerwin Vega 2-12" x 1 horn boxes (not pictured) up front. I also used a custom portable MIDI keyboard I slung around my neck and a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 on top of the Hammond. The Leslie rig was almost 8 feet tall!
