Popa Chubby w/ special guest Jimmy Vivino

Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has been hard rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 30 years. Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of 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 is 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, Horowitz’s 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.”

Popa Chubby is his own man for better or worse. He reflects, “I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the inspiration is drawn from. There are my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation. Everything is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need something.”

Although I am proud to say I’m currently a member of Blues Rock pioneers Canned Heat and co-produced our latest release Finyl Vinyl, there’s just too much to list as far as played with this one played with that one. But in the end I will list the people of importance pertaining to my growth as a musician.

Yes, I’ve worked in every form of media in the business from Movies to TV to Broadway to Radio to Records to Concerts all the way down to funky little clubs. After all I always say “I’m just a Bluesman with a job.”

One thing I did learn over 60 plus years as a musician was how to work. And I did and still am. Nothing beats playing in live music venues and meeting people.

I’m just gonna list my close friends (who are really family) and mentors who taught me the “ways”:

Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Al Kooper, John Sebastian, James Cotton, Joe Louis Walker, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnnie Johnson, Laura Nyro, Odetta, Lowell Fulson, Son Seals, Donald Fagen, Darlene Love, Felix Cavaliere, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites, Canned Heat with Fito de la Parra, Warren Haynes, and just about anyone else who passed through NYC and needed a band that could play the Blues, Soul, Real Rock’n’Roll, and R&B.

Being involved with the Conan show for 30 years has only deepened my experience snd contact with people who stepped out of my record collection and into my life and for that I am truly grateful

Jimmy is currently touring as a 3 piece band however he can be packaged as a solo, duo, 3 piece and up to a 7 piece band.

The Jimmy Vivino Band – (3 piece) Blues and Rock n’ Roll

2 Guitars and 200 Stories feat Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin (Duo) Blues and The History of Blues

The Black Italians – (5-7 pieces) Rock, Jazz Blues and Afro Cuban Music