Editing Rod Piazza

{{Short description|American blues musician}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Rod Piazza
|image = HoneyAndRodPiazzaOct152007.jpg
|caption = Rod Piazza with Honey at the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, 2007
|image_size = 
|birth_name = 
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|12|18}}
|birth_place =[[Riverside, California]], [[United States]]
|origin = 
|years_active = 1967–present
|instrument = [[Harmonica]], [[Human voice|vocals]]
|genre      = [[Blues]]
|label = [[Bluesway Records|ABC-Bluesway]], Murray Brothers, [[Black Top Records|Black Top]], Tone-Cool, [[Delta Groove Productions|Delta Groove]]
|website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20020725095543/http://www.themightyflyers.com/ The Mighty Flyers' website]
}}

'''Rod Piazza''' (born December 18, 1947,<ref name=official>{{cite web|url=http://www.themightyflyers.com/history.htm |title=Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers - official website |website=Themightyflyers.com |date=1947-12-18 |access-date=2015-10-06 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313115906/http://themightyflyers.com/index2.htm/ |archivedate= 13 March 2016}}</ref> [[Riverside, California|Riverside]], [[California]]) is an American [[blues]] [[harmonica]] player and [[singing|singer]].<ref name="LarkinBlues">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Blues]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-673-1|page=292}}</ref> He has been playing with his band '''The Mighty Flyers''', which he formed with his pianist wife [[Honey Piazza]], since 1980.<ref name=amg>{{cite web|author=Cub Koda|author-link=Cub Koda|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rod-piazza-mn0000293614/biography |title=Rod Piazza &#124; Biography & History |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=1947-12-18 |access-date=2015-10-06}}</ref> Their [[boogie]] sound combines the styles of [[jump blues]], [[West Coast blues]] and [[Chicago blues]].

[[Image:Rod-Piazza.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rod Piazza.]]

[[Image:Rod-Piazza_honey.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rod and Honey Piazza.]]

==Biography==
Piazza grew up in [[Southern California]], where he studied blues [[Gramophone record|records]] and perfected his harmonica work. He originally started on guitar, an instrument he began playing at the age of six or seven.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnblues.com/review/piazza-interview.html |title=Blues On Stage - Rod Piazza Interview |website=Mnblues.com |date= |access-date=2015-10-06}}</ref>

In the mid-1960s, Piazza formed his first band The House of DBS, which later changed its name to the Dirty Blues Band. The band signed with [[Bluesway Records|ABC-Bluesway]] and released two [[album]]s in 1967 and 1968.<ref name=official /> The band broke up in 1968, and Piazza formed Bacon Fat that year.<ref name=official/> Piazza's idol and mentor, [[George "Harmonica" Smith]] joined the band and they had a "dual harp" sound. Bacon Fat released two albums the following two years. Piazza left and worked in other bands before going solo in 1974.<ref name="LarkinBlues"/>

He formed the Chicago Flying Saucer Band the following year, which later evolved into the Mighty Flyers.<ref name="LarkinBlues"/> The band recorded their first album in 1980. Piazza started touring and recording as Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers Blues Quartet, after the departure of long-time bassist Bill Stuve in the early 2000s. Piazza has recorded twenty-four studio albums between 1967 and 2009, including the live concert DVD ''Big Blues Party'' in 2005 (recorded at the [[Sierra Nevada Brewing Company]] in [[Chico, California]]). In addition, he has appeared as a guest performer on over twenty-one releases since 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://themightyflyers.com/discography.htm |title=Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers - Discography |website=Themightyflyers.com |date= |access-date=2015-10-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060108/http://themightyflyers.com/discography.htm | archivedate=4 March 2016}}</ref> Between 1995 and 2001, [[Rick Holmstrom]] played in the Mighty Flyers.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Char Ham |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rick-holmstrom-mn0000360570/biography |title=Rick Holmstrom &#124; Biography & History |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=1965-05-30 |access-date=2015-10-06}}</ref>

Piazza has toured blues clubs, concert venues and [[music festival|festivals]] in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Spain, among other countries. He and his wife currently live in Riverside, California.

==Discography==
===Pre-Mighty Flyers Era===
* 1967 ''The Dirty Blues Band: The Dirty Blues Band'' (ABC-Bluesway)
* 1968 ''The Dirty Blues Band: Stone Dirt'' (ABC-Bluesway)
* 1969 ''Live At Small's Paradise'' (Blue Moon [UK], issued in 1986) - Bacon Fat with Rod Piazza, George "Harmonica" Smith, Pee Wee Crayton, J.D. Nicholson, Buddy Reed, Jerry Smith, Richard Innes
* 1970 ''Bacon Fat: Grease One For Me'' (Blue Horizon)
* 1971 ''Bacon Fat: Tough Dude'' (Blue Horizon)
* 1973 ''Rod Piazza: Blues Man'' (LMI)
* 1979 ''The Chicago Flying Saucer Band Featuring Rod Piazza'' (Gangster)

===With The Mighty Flyers===
* 1981 ''Radioactive Material'' (Right Hemisphere)
* 1984 ''File Under Rock'' (Takoma)
* 1985 ''From The Start To The Finnish'' (Red Lightnin'; US release in 1986 on Pausa)
* 1986 ''Harpburn'' (Murray Brothers; reissued in 1993 on Black Top; Rod Piazza solo album)
* 1988 ''So Glad To Have The Blues'' (Murray Brothers; Special Delivery; Rod Piazza solo album)
* 1988 ''Undercover'' (Special Delivery)
* 1991 ''Blues In The Dark'' (Black Top)
* 1992 ''Alphabet Blues'' (Black Top)
* 1994 ''Live At B.B. King's Blues Club'' (Big Mo)
* 1997 ''Tough And Tender'' (Tone-Cool)
* 1998 ''Vintage Live 1975'' (Tone-Cool) with [[Hollywood Fats]]
* 1999 ''Here And Now'' (Tone-Cool)
* 2001 ''Beyond The Source'' (Tone-Cool)
* 2004 ''Keepin' It Real'' (Blind Pig)
* 2005 ''Big Blues Party'' (Blind Pig) [DVD]
* 2005 ''For The Chosen Who'' (Delta Groove) [CD+DVD]
* 2007 ''Thrill Ville'' (Delta Groove)
* 2009 ''Soul Monster'' (Delta Groove)
* 2011 ''Almighty Dollar'' (Delta Groove)
* 2014 ''Emergency Situation'' (Blind Pig)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.livingblues.com/index.php/inside-living-blues/cd-reviews.html | title=Review of Emergency Situation Blind Pig - BPCD 5160 | publisher=Living Blues | date=December 2014 | access-date=22 December 2014 | author=Roger Gatchet | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216015055/http://www.livingblues.com/index.php/inside-living-blues/cd-reviews.html | archive-date=16 December 2014 }}</ref>
* 2017 ''Live At Fleetwood's'' (Big Mo) [2CD] - recorded 1993

===Selected collections===
* 1970 ''How Blue Can We Get?'' (Blue Horizon)
* 1991 ''Blues Cocktail Party!'' (Black Top)
* 1992 ''Blues Pajama Party'' (Black Top)
* 1992 ''The Essential Collection'' (Hightone) - compilation of ''Radioactive Material'', ''File Under Rock'', and ''From The Start To The Finnish''.
* 1992 ''Blues Harmonica Spotlight'' (Black Top)
* 1995 ''Blues, Mistletoe & Santa's Little Helper'' (Black Top)
* 1996 ''Instrumental Blues Dynamite!'' (Black Top)
* 1997 ''California Blues'' (Black Top) - compilation of ''Harpburn'', ''Blues In The Dark'' and ''Alphabet Blues''.
* 1997 ''Jump & Swing with Black Top'' (Black Top)
* 1997 ''Blues Harp Power'' (Easydisc/Rounder)
* 1997 ''Blues After Hours'' (Easydisc/Rounder) 
* 1998 ''Blues Joint'' (Easydisc/Rounder)
* 1998 ''Blues Harp Hotshots'' (Easydisc/Rounder) 
* 2003 ''The Story of Tone-Cool, vol. 1'' (Tone-Cool) [2CD]
* 2003 ''Live at the W.C. Handy Blues Awards, vol. 1'' (Tone-Cool) 
* 2003 ''Modern Master: The Best of Rod Piazza 1968-2003'' (Tone-Cool) [2CD]
* 2006 ''Blues Party'' (Tone-Cool)
* 2008 ''His Instrumentals'' (Piazza Publishing; reissued in 2018 on Rip Cat Records) [2CD]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{YouTube|GI2mkK0TXmc|Interview with Rod and Honey Piazza}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piazza, Rod}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American blues harmonica players]]
[[Category:Harmonica blues musicians]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American male singers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Riverside, California]]
[[Category:Black Top Records artists]]
[[Category:West Coast blues musicians]]
[[Category:Topic Records artists]]