The Insomniacs

The Insomniacs seemed to literally explode onto the scene out of nowhere in 2007 as a fully-formed and functional unit delighting audiences with their joyous and highly contagious musical sound and irresistible sense of swing. Their self-produced debut release "Left Coast Blues", recorded in the living room of bassist Dean Mueller, was quickly snatched up and issued on Delta Groove Music, hitting a peak position of No. 5 on the national Living Blues radio charts. Critical praise and industry recognition from the blues community soon followed, garnering the band a 2008 Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist Debut, as well as a 2007 Muddy Award presented by the Cascade Blues Association for Best Contemporary Blues Act. They play vintage instruments and channel a blues style from the 1950's, but there is a distinct new cyberspace bent to The Insomniacs. These musicians, who have quickly jumped into the top tier of clubs, tour endless highways in a beat-up van, babying a gutstring upright, a 1951 Fender "Nocaster" guitar, a 1964 Framus Star Bass, and their Magnatone and Ampeg tube amps. They fill long drives between gigs by surfing the web on wireless laptops, looking at MySpace and Facebook friends of the clubs down the road, and emailing blues fans inviting them to listen to the band and come to a show. The result is hundreds of plays per day on MySpace, a site usually focused on alternative, pop and hip-hop music. They've engaged a whole new generation of first-time young blues fans, as well as older ones who recognize the roots of their music.

To read Ron's review of The Insomniacs' latest release click here.

You can find out more about The Insomniacs on their MySpace page.