Roots Rock and Soul Stew with a side order of Blues and Funk

The Buzztones Rhythm Revue concept was created by Jeff “the Buzzard” Rutledge and Jim “Too Badd” Atkinson who met while working together in Rosemary’s Baby Blues Band and rubbing elbows with the band’s rotating cast of players which included Lennie Peterson of Clutch Grabwell and Entrain, Travis Colby of the Travis Colby Band and Roomful of Blues, and the world-renowned Sax Gordon Beadle.  They developed a musical kinship in RBB over the span of a couple of years leading up to the Buzztones debut on New Years Eve 2013.  While the founding partners shared a fondness for blues, they wanted to be more than a blues band and focused on incorporating jump/swing, soul, and rock sounds rooted in the 50’s and 60’s as well as Chicago blues into the repertoire.  The focus was and remains on delivering a high energy, entertaining show every time that keeps the dance floor packed.  Charter member Steve “Low E” Leveille has been with the band from the start, anchoring the rhythm section with a powerhouse bass sound.  The cast of veteran pros has evolved over the years but the constants behind co-leaders Rutledge and Atkinson have included a rock solid rhythm section, a two horn sound featuring either two tenor saxes or tenor and trumpet that sounds like a bigger section, and strong vocals which oftentimes will incorporate three and four part harmonies.

The band members.

 

Jeff "The Buzzard" Rutledge

lead vocals and percussion 
Outside of “a few” decades of being up on the bandstand singing and hobnobbing on the dance floor with folks in a band setting, Jeff spent a number of years working in the New York City nightclub world rubbing elbows with some of the best in the music business.  Simultaneously, he honed his entertaining skills and talent for off-the-cuff comedy in the commercial radio realm, creating characters and doing voice overs in addition to live broadcasts on NYC radio station WPIX. Over the years, he's found himself onstage with a number of different Rock ‘n Roll bands in venues including,The Mudd Club, Max' s Kansas City, and CBGB’s.  More recently he has "howled and growled " with the aforementioned RBBB as well as Buzzard and the Honeysuckles.  Jeff also makes occasional appearances with South Shore cover band The Gratefuls and joins friend Jon Frattasio from time to time in more intimate club settings.  His soulful singing and quick wit onstage are central to the live show-focused personality of the Buzztones.

Jim “Too Badd” Atkinson

guitar, lead and backing vocals

A veteran of over 30 years in the music business, he founded the West End Blues Band in 1986 which he led for nearly 20 years, traveling throughout New England and sharing billings with many blues and rock greats in the club venues such as the former Nightstage and original House of Blues in Cambridge and at many festivals including the Boston Blues Festival in 2004. Jim later fronted blues-based trio and quintet groups in addition to playing as a hired gun with a number of Massachusetts-based acts.  He brings a rock edge with a blues sensibility to holding down the lead and rhythm guitar chores in the Buzztones.

Steve "Low E" Leveille 

bass

Steve has been playing bass for thirty years primarily in blues bands.  Only a select few know this but he is also an accomplished slide guitar player.  He started playing in the Worcester MA area with the MoJo Filter Band, later moving on to play with Little Ronnie and the Sloan Sharks a blues band which primarily worked the Massachusetts circuit Worcester and east.  Later he joined Erica Rodney and Pete Henderson in

Fatwall Jack and has played over the years with various other bands in the R&B, Rock and Blues genres throughout New England.  Steve has held down the bass chair from the inception of the Buzztones Rhythm Revue and is a vital part of the show that keeps folks on the dance floor.

Larry Takki

Drums

Bio coming soon! 

“Doctor” David Stringham 

tenor sax, backing vocals

The Captain of the Buzztones horn section, David has over 40 years and a diverse background in the music business.  He has composed scores for various dance companies and his music has been performed in a number of venues including The Merce Cunningham Studio in New York City, Boston City Hall Plaza, and sHerrogenbosch, the Netherlands. He has played in various rock, jazz, and blues settings including working with noted producer and former B.B. King keyboardist Ron Levy as well as Boston area groups the Bobby Watson Band, Fatwall Jack, Randy and the Rainbows, and The West End Blues Band. In his own words, he has probably played in “most bars in the Northeast”, but has also played in the subways of New York, The Nassau Coliseum, The Meadowlands, and Carnegie Hall. He also played briefly on network television.

 

Jeff "Doc" Chanonhouse 

trumpet, backing vocals, percussion

Doc has been bouncing around New England's music scene for decades, playing trumpet in many genres and in countless venues. He started playing in clubs with Johnny and the Blue Chips when he was sixteen and hasn't stopped since. He has played salsa in Formula Siete, jazz in his own trio and in big bands, reggae and soca in a band called Friends of Brown, classic rock in a band called Dirty Water, and funk, old-school R & B, and blues in the Bobby Watson Band where he replaced the aforementioned Doctor Stringham as the arranger for the horn section. He has led the Cadillac Horns since 1990 with blues great Ricky "King" Russell and is also currently the trumpet player and co-arranger for a powerhouse band out of Rhode Island called the Knickerbocker All Stars. He has played with such luminaries as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bo Diddley and Laverne Baker, SNL vocalist Christine Ohlman, blues stars James Montgomery and Otis Grand. He is excited to be playing with the Buzztones because "they play so many of [his] favorite songs and are such great musicians".

Mark "The Shark" Seibel 

tenor sax, backing vocals 

Mark “the Shark” Seibel has been a fixture on the Boston music scene since venturing from the wilds of Oklahoma to attend Berklee College of Music. He has performed in diverse settings with Second Generation, Safam, The Party Sharks, The Movers, Two Bones and a Pick, the Dan Smith Big Phat Orchestra, Rhumboogie, The Wildcats, fronted 5 Guys Named Mo and was an original member of Ricky King Russell’s Cadillac Horn Section.  He has performed with national artists such as Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker.  Known for his big tenor sound, down home vocals and sense of humor, The Shark currently resides in Haverhill Ma and can often be found on the golf course.

About The BUZZTONES Rhythm Revue