David “Hurricane Dave” Biondo and his band, Hurricane Dave and the Storm Chasers, recently announced the release of their latest CD, “Blooze Blowdown”.
“Blooze Blowdown” is the culmination of a six-year project with Jason Hickman, engineer and producer at Prodigal Production Studios in Parker. The songs cover musical genres such as blues, jazz, rock, rockabilly, reggae and funk.
Biondo wrote many songs from his own experiences, dreams and thoughts. Some of the songs were co-written with Hickman. There are even two locally inspired songs: “Rat Mobile,” about the Rat Rods in Guffey; and “Down at the Thunderbird”, on Florissant’s famous bar-grill.
Biondo, a Florissant resident, plays a variety of instruments on the album, including acoustic guitar, diatonic and chromatic harmonicas, lap-steel guitar and melodica, and also provides vocals.
His musical career began with his move to Colorado in 1994, after spending 19 years in the closet playing diatonic harmonicas in New Jersey, Biondo said. Shortly after relocating to Colorado, he was brought up on stage performing for Tres Hombres at Woodland Park. Biondo said that after playing a few songs with the band Thunder Mountain, the lead singer came up to him and said, “I don’t know who you are, but you’re in this band.”
Biondo eventually learned 300 of the band’s songs, as Thunder Mountain was the house band for the Cowboys night club for five years at its previous location at Academy & LaSalle in Colorado Springs.
After that, Biondo became a hardcore rock/blues harmonica player for Chaz DePaolo, recording on Biondo’s label, Smoke Tone Records LLC, for 11 years. He was also a part-time member of the High Trail Riders group at Woodland Park.
“We’ve released quite a few acclaimed recordings, including winning a Global Music Award for ‘Resolution Blues’, engineered by Grammy Award winner Ben Elliott, and we’ve toured all over the United States, in the UK and Ireland,” Biondo said.
The Storm Chasers feature Wayne Hammerstadt on electric guitar; Dewey Steele on drums and percussion; Dwight Thompson on bass; and Bryant Jones on keyboards.
Hammerstadt is an artist in his own right, having just released his own Rock Fusion CD, “Patternicitin”.
He has a background in classical lute performance. Hammerstadt is known for playing unique classics for diners at the Cliff House in Manitou Springs. He was also a fixture in many classic rock bands in the Pikes Peak area and played with the Inman Brothers for many years.
Steele is sponsored by Yamaha Drums, London Drum Sticks and Soultone Cymbals, and has his own unique twist on drumming. He teaches drums in high schools and colleges in the region. Additionally, Steele has helped coach the drummers of the Woodland Park High School Marching Band in recent years.
Thompson, a Denver native, plays both double bass and electric bass. A former resident of the Caribbean island of Tobago, he knows the music of Tobago, a unique dialect of reggae music.
“It’s amazing – once you hear it, you just can’t sit still…but you can try,” Biondo said. “Actually, when Dewey (Steele) and Dwight (Thompson) first played together, it was like two thoroughbreds out the door. Bam! Booted up and running.”
Manitou Springs keyboardist Jones is known as “The Piano Man” and has played with many bands over the years. When Jones walked into the studio to record with the Storm Chasers, producer Hickman “almost gave a standing ovation in his chair,” Biondo said.
“Blooze Blowdown” was sent to 165 radio stations across the United States and Canada, Biondo said.
“A guy contacted me on the website saying he loves it, and he’s playing it on rotation in Sweden,” said “Hurricane Dave”.
The CD was played on Jazz 93.5 FM radio station in Colorado Springs during the noon “Blues Show”.
He can also be heard on KCOS Digital Media and KRCC 91.5 FM’s ‘Blue Plate Special’ show.
A video for the song “Claire Starbright” and 30-second song samples are available on the band’s website, hurricanedaveandthestormchasers.com. The CD and individual songs can be purchased from the website and are streamed on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Amazon Music and Deezer.
