Events in the Bay Area haven't been the same since The Blow Kings arrived! For more than eight years, these musicians have been entertaining crowds of all ages by twisting familiar songs in deviously funny ways and introducing fans to new and obscure music guaranteed to bring a chuckle. The Blow Kings can lay down the '70s funk of Tower of Power while making the audience dance the Hokey Pokey, then twist heavy Metallica songs into a polka a minute later. They wield bizarre props, dress in costume, replace original lyrics with parodies, become dancing fools, and generally abandon all sense of dignity in the pursuit of fun.
This is not a band with a horn section, it's a horn-powered band of amazing versatility. The woodwind section includes Kathy Switky on clarinet, Scott Heeschen on alto sax, Bob Kenyon on tenor sax, and Mike Bernstein on baritone sax. The brass, who all pull double duty on vocals, include Yuval Oren and Arjay Raffety on trumpet and Sara LaBatt and Dan Singletary on trombone. The sound is held together by the rhythm section of sousaphonist Mike Thomas and drummer Mark Hecomovich. While the band blows, singer Paul Zinn roams the stage--and often the crowd--donning several costumes and abducting audience members to join the show, occasionally detouring to play guitar, accordion, or trumpet.
The Blow Kings have performed on Bay Area radio and TV, at major-league sporting events, and some of the best festivals around Northern California. In 2005 they released their first album, Crown Jewels, featuring twelve perennial audience favorites and two funny new original songs. Fans are snapping up copies of the CD at the band's performances, and Crown Jewels has gotten airplay not just in the Bay Area, but from nationally syndicated comedy and novelty radio shows. Their Frank Zappa parody "Silicon Valley Girl" spent five months on the Top 20 list at DFSXRadio.com.
The Blow Kings are bringing their musical mayhem to festivals, conventions, private parties, and venues of just about any kind around Northern California. They'll make your event blow!