Patti Parks Band 
Each February, blues societies from around the nation and across oceans send a band from their scene to
Parks will headline, of course, propelled by her ace band - Glenn Stiver (guitar), Guy Nirelli (keys), Bob Serette (tenor sax), Paul Vanacore (baritone sax), Bob Ambrusko (bass) and Richard Rey (drums) - a tenured troupe of veterans able to whip up a wild workout at will. But while Parks may seem to be a new face on the scene, she revealed her success to be the result of a most rewarding rebirth.
When did you first start playing out?
I've only been back out in the world of music a year, but when I was 16, I was playing in circuits all over
What inspired you to get back in?
There's one band member that was in my first band when I was 16, Guy Nirelli, our keyboard player. I saw him downtown, and he asked if I was still singing, and I said, "No, I think it's gone, I don't do that anymore." He said: "It's never gone, try it again. You'll never want to stop." And he was right! It's like a light with a bushel over it - you can cover it up, but it never goes out, and once the bushel's off, the flame becomes more intense. I think I'm gonna write that in a lyric - you're never gonna put out this flame, baby!
What's the set-up for the competition in
You have a 30-minute set the first day, and the second round is 20 minutes. I don't think people realize that it's an international blues challenge, it's really remarkable. There are blues societies in
So what are you going to do to stick out?
We're gonna do what we do best: try to bring the audience to their knees with emotion and give them a great show. These guys are all from different bands - I'd say they have 200 years of playing between them. We have a big blues band sound with horns, it's huge.
Music makes you whole, and what makes us unique is that we're able to deliver that onstage - we're high-energy, we laugh at ourselves, and we empower people. That's the key.
- Seamus Gallivan, Special to The News
