Shrimp City Slim
SHRIMP CITY SLIM (aka Gary Erwin, b. 1953 Chicago) is a keyboard player/singer/songwriter based in Charleston, SC.
He performs solo and also has a great band (Silent Eddie Phillips, guitar; LaMont Garner, drums; Jerome Griffin or LaVonta Green, bass; Juke Joint Johnny, harmonica; Mike "Mr. Big" Kincaid, sax).
File under "Lowcountry blues and original songs".
Shrimp City Slim has released 7 CDs to date and plays throughout the Southeast and overseas.
He also works with various real-deal downhome blues artists and has released albums by some of them on his label, Erwin Music (see "Recordings" for complete list of Erwin Music releases).
As bandleader/tour manager, he has travelled extensively (USA/Europe) with Walter "Lightnin' Bug" Rhodes, Big Boy Henry, Chicago Bob Nelson, Drink Small, Beverly Guitar Watkins, Neal "Big Daddy" Pattman, John Lee Ziegler, and others. He also annually tours Europe solo working with local bands.
Having promoted blues in coastal SC since 1986, his other ongoing projects include organizing annual blues festivals (Southern Comfort Lowcountry Blues Bash in Charleston - 19th annual coming up in February, 2009 - and others), playing blues on the radio (21 years, including 17 years on public radio), and most recently TV.
His ongoing collaboration with the superb singer Wanda Johnson (www.wandaj.com) is also taking his music to new audiences. Together, their recent appearances outside the Southeast include Pocono Blues Festival (2006), Chicago Blues Festival (2007), numerous European trips, and upcoming (2008): France, Macau (China), Poland, Czech Republic, and elsewhere.
If you love blues and blues-based original songs brimming with vitality, real commitment, and a sense of humor, welcome to the world of SHRIMP CITY SLIM.
Please click on 'NEWS' for updates on this artist.
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NB: The name "Shrimp City Slim" is trademarked / marca registrada (1992).