Memo Gozalez
and
The Blues Casters

Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters present a rip-roaring mixture of blues, swing, and rock 'n' roll that they have branded their own. Their collaboration started in 1995 and resulted in numerous international appearances and three CDs. "Big Time In Big D", was recorded in Texas with guest appearances by Anson Funderburgh, Mike Morgan and Johnny Moeller.

Though Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters have great respect for the blues as an institution, as a group they're firmly rooted in the present. "We want to be a band that's happening right now."

Memo Gonzalez, who hails from Dallas, Texas, has played clubs such as "B.B. King's" in Memphis, Tennessee, and "Antone's" in Austin, Texas, but he also commands the stage in European with his fat harmonica ("the juicy tone") and his powerful voice. Memo's performance proves with every drop of sweat and every bounce of his slicked back hair that the blues is more than just pain, that it offers wisdom, wit, and a whole lotta fun. From Texan roadhouse blues that's heavy on the guitar to spicy Louisiana R&B, Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters set in motion an earthquake wherever their busy touring schedule (about 120 nights a year) takes them.

In the 1980s Memo Gonzalez co-founded a band that is destined to go down in Dallas blues history, The Weebads. That band lasted for years with dozens of the area's best players (e.g. Hash Brown, Paul Size and Johnny Moeller) rotating through. He also worked with Jim Suhler in one of his early bands, The Road Hogs. It was in the early 1990s when Memo started to tour in Europe. After thoroughly stealing the show on a Harmonica Rumble revue in Holland, he met the Bluescasters' bassist Erkan Özdemir.

The band's guitarist, Kai Strauss, can hold his own on any international stage. His breathtakingly intense playing mixes blues with everything that America has brought forth since the 1950s, though Kai prefers the down 'n dirty greats of the genre.

Bass player Erkan Özdemir is quite a sight, too, with a beat-up bass guitar that's slung so low, you'd think he's playing an upright. Erkan is one of the main reasons why the band swings like a suspension bridge in a hurricane. Drummer Klaus Schnirring propels the group through the set, expending about as much energy during a concert as a marathon runner.

What makes this band truly great is their style, the fun they have, and their take on the blues. When the band isn't off touring somewhere, they're busy working on a new CD, so there's more to look forward to.

To date Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters have released Let's All Get Drunk and Get Tattooed (Live, 1996), 10,000 Miles (1998) and Big Time In Big D (2003).