Nick
Moss and the Fliptops Shake It Up At BB's
By
Shannon
Nick
Moss and the Fliptops from Chicago played BB's
Jazz, Blues & Soups on Sunday, January 11.
There was a sparse crowd of around 30 people
when I arrived around 9:30 pm. The fans that
were there however seemed to really enjoy the
deep Chicago blues beats. The band was right
on queue and played as if there were a packed
house from their fast shuffles to the deep,
soulful Chicago sounds. Nick Moss (the guitarist)
started playing (originally as a bassist) at
the age of 18 with Buddy Scott and the Rib Tips.
Shortly after that at the age of 20, Moss was
playing with guitarist Jimmy Dawkins. By his
mid-twenties, he was playing with the late Jimmy
Rogers. Nick mentioned that he has also performed
with such legends as Willie "Big Eyes"
Smith and Pinetop Perkins. He also stated that
one of his most memorable blues experiences
was performing live at the W.C. Handy Awards.
Some of his musical influences include Freddie
King, Jimmy Rogers, and James Cotton.
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The band on this particular evening was comprised
of an ex Anson Funderberg and the Rockets bass
player, the drummer, which Nick has been with
for over five years, and a phenomenal piano player.
Kate Moss, who is Nick's wife, usually has the
duties of playing bass, but she is on leave right
now due to pregnancy. Joe Moss, who is Nick's
brother, also has a Chicago blues following and
tours regularly around the Chicago blues circuit.
When asked about the most important part of the
band, Moss stated that playing what you feel and
not playing for yourself or "overplaying"
is the key ingredient to a successful band.
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The band must be doing something right since their
second release "Got a New Plan" was
nominated for a 2003 W.C. Handy Blues Award. The
band has two other releases, "First Offense"
and their newest, "Count Your Blessings".
They tour around 200 dates per year and have an
extensive following in and around the Chicago
area. From St. Louis, the band is headed back
home to do some gigs around town. Nick said he
enjoyed playing BB's due to the great acoustics
of the building and that we seem to have some
very loyal blues fans. Local artists John Wolf
(trombone) and Sharon Foehner (bass) sat in with
the band during the second and third sets of the
evening. All in all, it sounded excellent! My
only regret of the evening was that I didn't pick
up another one of the bands CDs! You can learn
more about Nick Moss and the Fliptops by visiting
www.nickmoss.com.
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