Dave Howard and The Highrollers Sure Bet. UPDATE- Please visit our new website for information and gigs, www.thehighrollers.net The new CD by one of the hardest working bands in the Northeast, 10 tunes 8 original its not the same old da dun ta dunta blues record. Honed from the very competitive New England blues scene that has spawned the likes of Roomful of Blues, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, and Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Howard and his rollers have established themselves as one of the premiere units in the region.This new CD gives us a glimpse at clever songwritting and a new twist on what the band likes to call "American Roots Music"If you love bands like The Blasters,The Fabulous Thunderbirds or the Paladins then your sure to love this Rhode Island may be the domain of Duke Robillard and his extended Roomful of Blues Family, but the de facto ruler of the little blue(s) state is Howard and company, whose outbreaks Of joyous abandon and organized intensity define top- grade blues/r&b/rockabilly barroom entertainment. Howard with his nasal, lived-in singing and rousing harmonica goes beyond the tried and true by opening his heart to perform two Texas-directed Roots songs he wrote himself, "Cold Switch" and "The Other side of this." Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely would approve. Frank-John-Hadley Downbeat Magazine October 2005 "Dave has an attractive, gritty voice. Good piano and lots of energy. Nicely done with a lot of verve. I enjoyed this album quite a lot ('Sure Bet'). Please send my compliments on the quality of the album." - Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records "I was impressed by Tom Ferraro's guitar style - I'd say 'reserved virtuosity.' Les Paul would stay open-mouthed having heard the solo in 'Old But I Ain't Dead.' " - Paul Bondarovski, Midnight Special Blues Radio Best Blues Albums of 2004 'Sure Bet' - Dave Howard and The High Rollers "This self-produced album from Rhode Island veterans is the most infectious bunch of blues, blues-rock, and honky tonk of the past several years. Howard's got a burnished baritone voice, plays killer harmonica, and fronts a lethal quartet. And witty songwriting makes it all the more irresistible: 'Cold Switch (The Ice Princess)' would be a huge hit if these guys had a major label deal." Jay Miller Patriot Ledger Boston Massachusetts Howards soulful vocals set him in a class by himself, Ferraro should be spoken of in the same breath as other great New England Guitarist- Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, and Kid Bangham- he has the chops and feel to deserve such praise. Chet Williamson Worcester Magazine From the heart: Dave Howard's Sure Bet By Bob Gulla, The Providence Phoenix For the first time in who knows how long, local R&B icon Dave Howard is not succumbing to the pressure of being a blues rocker. On his new CD, aptly titled 'Sure Bet,' the songwriter and lead singer of the High Rollers has loosened up on the idiom he's been a slave to for as long as he can remember. "I'm following my heart," says Howard. "We redid some old songs, the way they should have been done in the first place, and we really tried to do the things I really wanted to do." For Howard, that means a little southern-style hard rock, a ballad, and some rockabilly, all of which sounds perfectly natural when sung by the gruff frontman known for his belting. Of course, there's plenty of what you'd expect from the band on the disc, which also stars Bob Christina on drums, Tom Ferraro on guitar, and John Packer on bass. "There are some general barroom covers," says Howard, "like what you'd hear from us any night, but it's not as typical as it used to be." Howard's influences have always been wide-ranging. It's just that he's never really allowed them to surface quite the way he's done here. "I've always had to compete with rock bands for as long as I've been around," he says, "so I've tried to hammer everyone over the head with my stuff. But I've always been a folk freak too, and I love all those Texas songwriters - Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock." Howard has a soft spot for those Texans not only because they write great stuff, but because they respect the art of songwriting, often teaming up to feed off and inspire each other. That's a concept you just don't come by around here. There aren't enough songwriters in the area eager to partner up. "I had one guy who I could do that with," says Howard, "but he's no longer with us. That was DJ Stone, and he started finding some success down in Nashville." (The Rhode Island songwriter, aka Dan Selwyn, died a few months back.) "He and I really understood what the other was doing. When he told me he liked a song of mine, I believed him." Howard liked Stone's stuff too, enough to cover his tune 'Yolanda' on 'Sure Bet,' which features some killer riffing from Ferraro. The disc, produced at Danger by Joe Moody and Ferraro, also includes guest appearances by Gordon Beadle, Mark Taber, Becky Chace, Lisa Annunziata, and Thom Enright. Howard will be working this record hard, doing a few mini-tours when he can get them booked. This Friday will be the record release party for 'Sure Bet.' "It'll be a big night," adds Howard. "My mother's even gonna come. That's how big this is!"