Piano-pounder Rob Rio will whip dancers into a frenzy tonight

Written on July 6, 2011 – 2:14 pm | by Cameron Hussey

Tonight the feet will be running the show, overruling the brain, the heart and other body parts for directorial honors. This is what happens when Rob Rio tickles the ivories and plays boogie-woogie music, which he’ll do at Yolie’s in Ventura. In one of the understatements of all time, the dictionary suggests that boogie-woogie “is conducive to dancing.”

All the boogie-woogie superstars are gone, including such greats as Albert Ammons, Amos Milburn and Meade Lux Lewis. The Andrews Sisters’ iconic biggie, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,” is 70 years old. But Rio is going strong. At Yolie’s tonight, he’ll be the guy in an electric suit that’s gaudy enough to make Liberace salivate.

No stranger to the 805, the Calabasas-based Rio has played up here regularly over the years and this gig will be a CD release for his latest, “Blues from the Vault.” If more blues were like boogie-woogie, blues would be as big as hip-hop. Rio discussed the latest during a last-minute phoner.

How’s the boogie-woogie biz? Doin’ OK?

Yeah, man, doin’ real good. Been busy this summer. Just got back from Norway. Last Sunday, I was in Vienna having strudel at a 300-year-old restaurant where Franz Josef used to get his.

Wow! Hell, yeah!

There was a good boogie-woogie show over there. They had four or five boogie players and a Blues Brothers cover band that knocked ‘em dead. I thought it was quite funny — a cover band of a cover band and the Austrians loved them.

I just talked to this old blues dude a week or so ago, Finis Tasby, who also was rockin’ out in Norway.

Yeah, I know Finis. I’ve played on his projects.

Why is boogie-woogie happening in Europe and not so much over here?

That’s a good question. But to the Germans, the French — especially to the Germans — boogie-woogie is so precise, so mechanical — kind of like a train. You know how the Germans are — so perfect. They just love the perfection of the rhythm.

If the cliché is true that Asians are good at math, shouldn’t they be boogie-woogie fans as well?

I do sell some CDs in Japan, but I’ve never been there. I’m sure if I was there, I’d be big there.

If everybody loves boogie-woogie, how come it’s not as big as hip-hop?

Yeah, right.

Once you hear it, everybody loves boogie-woogie. How could you not?

Americans are not too up on culture and history, know what I mean? Kids have never even heard of Muddy Waters.

How often do you play these days?

As little as possible, if you know what I mean. Everyday’s a gift and I don’t want to waste it working if I don’t have to.

You’ve had multiple adventures up here in the 805?

Over the years, regularly, you know. I’m playing at Yolie’s and then I’ll be back in early September for the Music Under the Stars series at the Olivas Adobe. They run it well — nice dance floor, good sound — but it usually ends up being a concert under the clouds.

Right. The Fiesta del Fog. Ventura is the fog capital of SoCal. The tourism shills leave that part out. So, it appears that you have found your own little musical niche.

Yeah, that’s true, but there’s not that many people that do it. There’s a couple of other boogie players, but maybe they don’t sing. You can play boogie-woogie all day and it gets boring, so if you sing it helps. I do that and I entertain a little bit and when you put them all together, it kind of helps.

The old boogie-woogie guys are mostly gone. After you, then what? The end of boogie-woogie?

No, man. There’s a lot of old guys still left. Pinetop (Perkins) died and he was the old stalwart, but Pinetop got bigger as he got older by virtue of his longevity. Same thing with John Lee Hooker. It’s not like they were big stars when they were playing, but just because they’d been around for so long. Pinetop was never a great boogie player but, you know, he had his years with Muddy Waters and he had a résumé to back up all his years, so that helped. I’d never put him in a class with Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson or anybody like that.

Have you ever sold “Fat Girl Boogie” to Weight Watchers or any of those weight-loss programs?

(Laughs.) No, I wish. Only one guy bought it from me, a guy from a shag swing dance club in South Carolina where the shag started. They used it there for their swing dances and boogie is what they want when they do the shag. It’s the same thing around here. The swing dancers want to hear boogie-woogie and the medium-tempo shuffles. That’s what they want to hear because that’s what they dance to. The swing dancers have been a good portion of my income for the past 20 years.

Do you still have the Revolvers?

I still do the Revolvers. It’s a revolving band. Whoever’s available for the gig. That’s why it’s called the Revolvers. Now it’s more like Rob Rio & the Recliners.

Dragging that 10-ton piano around? When did that end?

Oh, thank God for the Japanese. Yeah, I don’t have to do that anymore. That’s good. Now my piano weighs 33 pounds. That’s great.

Thirty-three pounds? Wow, soldiers carry more weight than that.

Yeah, exactly. I can fit it on my shoulder.

Tell me one more time: What’s the technical definition of what you’re doing?

Mostly, I’m laying down eight to the bar with the left hand and. you know, tickling a little with the right hand in a syncopated manner.

How many boogie-woogie songs do you know? Hundreds? You could probably play longer than the Grateful Dead.

I probably could. I did one show in Phoenix this year — a three-hour set followed by a two-hour set. Of course, I had the aid of artificial stimulants, so that helped.

No repeats?

No, I don’t think so. I know several hundred songs by now.

Who would you like to see, alive or dead?

I’d like to see Amy Winehouse whether she’s alive or dead. I did pay recently to go see The Beach Boys and they were great.

What was your strangest gig?

My strangest gig was for one gentleman who was having an affair and didn’t want to bring his girlfriend out in case he might be seen.

Understandable.

He called me up and asked if it would be all right if he brought her over to my house, which he did. I proceeded to perform a 45-minute set for them in my bathrobe. I never had to leave the house. It was great.

Did they dance?

They danced. They had a good time.

Wow, clearly one of the best gigs of all time.

Exactly.

What’s next?

I’m going to keep traveling and playing. I have a new CD that just came out. It’s called “Blues from the Vault” and it’s a series of unreleased songs that I recorded from 1986 to 1992.

Wow, so this could be a CD release party?

I guess we could do that, as a matter of a fact.

For CD reviews and more show previews, view Bill Locey’s “I Love Locey” videos in the Media Player section of The Star’s website, vcstar.com. Email Locey at .

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