The Robert Heft Blues Band

Robert Heft Blues Band
By Deirdre Loy

Bringing music back to the classic days of old, when rock, blues and country often brought multitudes of various people from all demographics together for a big shin-dig, Robert Heft is summoning the spirits of times past to channel what is left of the greatest musical legacy to ever come out of American soil. Like so many great artists of those legendary musical decades that brought these evolving styles together, Heft has shunned the unspoken rule that a band must conform to one style for mass marketing, and chooses to play what he loves. Stemming from the same roots, these styles compliment each other to the fullest capacity. Nowadays it is tough to create original work within genres that seem to have been so completely explored by the originals-genres that encompass a large percentage of the 'standards.' So, how, with all that has been accomplished in this field of dreams has a local 'white-boy' found soul and heart in the middle of this urban spread? Well, in the words of playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "You don't have to travel around the world to understand that the sky is blue everywhere."
Raised in Baltimore, Robert Heft's fascination with music began at a ripe young age of two when he would watch his brother practice at home: "I started playing guitar in April 1969…my parents were very supportive. They were terrific in supplying all of the tools necessary to play music; especially rock and roll. My mom was great at turning away the police [from] the door, as we were always rocking out at top volume in the house." Then, in 1979, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue music as much more than a fleeting hobby or mere pastime. Along with his own projects, he writes, plays, and produces music for local songwriters and bands at Songwriters' Studio Services in Northridge; the recording studio he founded for the creative collective rapidly amassing here in the valley music scene.
Heft's newest release, Keep on Movin', is comprised of completely original compositions that will absolutely lift your spirits. The tempo is fun and upbeat most of the time-setting aside the more depressing attributes related to blues and country music to make way for good time rocking-out. He has too much soul for a white guy is what some of his colleagues might say about his knack to get down and dirty with classic rhythm and blues. Reminiscent of Eric Clapton's style, Heft really has some great lead guitar licks and upbeat grooves and, by comparison, he is only lacking one thing that his idol had-professional female backup vocalists-which would really set his sound straight. The backing track lacks that feminine touch and soulful nuance that really gave many musical legends a well-rounded sound and style that helped pave their road to greatness. In the end, with all comparisons aside, this album has contributed a great deal of effort to continue the legacy of blues and rock, and to the continuing success of Heft's career as a die hard musician.
The band is Kurt Fries on keyboards and vocals, Bill Ruffino on bass, and Rob Man on drums. Heft met the band's drummer Rob Man when he auditioned for the Cross Country Band nineteen years ago, and says Man is "one of those players you can only hope will say yes when you ask him to join your band; an 'A-list' musician, simply the best," while he praises his other mates with spectacular reviews and shows an immense respect for their masterful musicianship, unbending reliability, and mutual passion for making great tunes. The newest album also contains collaborations with local artists Jeffrey Michaels and Los Caballeros; you can purchase it online through Angel Song Records on iTunes.
The Robert Heft Blues band plays every Wednesday night from 9- 10 PM at Club Sixty 25 in Tarzana, and afterward hosts a blues jam until 1 AM. Also, you can see Heft at the Rock Inn in Lake Hughes, McG's Irish Pub in Chatsworth, The VFW 6885 in Santa Clarita, and many other places around town. Check his website for current gigs and schedule at www.myspace.com/robertheft and www.robertheft.com, or join his mailing list by sending a request to bbenderrrr@aol.com.
When we asked Heft what his plan for the future was he replied, "Keep on keepin' on," made famous by the Alman Brothers, which according to the Urban Dictionary means: to "continue to do what you've always done." We are going to take that as a good sign and hope that means we will be seeing another album in the near future.

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