Big Frank & The Healers are a traditional electric blues band. Established in 1990, and originally known as Mohair Sam, they have been cited in publications as far afield as Austria's 'Blues Gazette'. Local favorites, they have played in scores of clubs and concerts, headlining at The Lake George Blues Festival (then returning by popular demand) and The Snug Harbor Arts Festival, appearing at the Blues 200-1 Catskills Festival, The Glens Falls Blues Festival
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Big Frank & The Healers are a traditional electric blues band. Established in 1990, and originally known as Mohair Sam, they have been cited in publications as far afield as Austria's 'Blues Gazette'. Local favorites, they have played in scores of clubs and concerts, headlining at The Lake George Blues Festival (then returning by popular demand) and The Snug Harbor Arts Festival, appearing at the Blues 200-1 Catskills Festival, The Glens Falls Blues Festival, and featured for many years in Staten Island's Beach and Park concert series, often as headliners.
They have opened for national acts Little Charlie & The Nightcats, and–recently–Black Joe Lewis. The band is led by guitarist/vocalist 'BIG FRANK' MIRRA, whose specialty is slide guitar. His playing has been featured on KFFA's renowned 'King Biscuit Flour Hour' show from Helena, Arkansas, where legendary disc jockey Sonny Payne referred to Frank's style as 'The closest thing I've heard to Hound Dog Taylor.' He has enjoyed associations with such legendary blues players as Louis Meyers, Hubert Sumlin, "Bullmoose" Walker, and Jr. Wells. Big Frank also volunteers at WFDUfm radio, where he is a rotating on-air DJ.
Big Frank & The Healers have released two recordings, the acclaimed "Vintage 1040" (2005), and in 1999 a 5-song EP, "Big Shot". You can buy our CDs at: www.cdbaby.com/bigfrankhealers2 and www.cdbaby.com/bigfrank healers
Here's What The Press Has to Say About Big Frank & The Healers!
"No-nonsense, straight-ahead Chicago blues. Mirra's guitar playing–especially his wicked slide work–propels all the tracks. "Vintage 1040" is a real find."–Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue
"Big Frank and the Healers have built quite a following since their formation in 1994. Mixing Chicago Blues with the sounds of the Delta, Big Frank Mirra plays some nasty slide guitar and contributes soulful vocals that fit both styles well. The band has previously recorded an EP, but are renowned for their live shows. The band plays with that chemistry and quality that demonstrates they had many live performances together. This is a fine addition to any blues fan's collection, especially if you like slide guitar and Chicago Blues."–Graham Clarke, BluesBytes
"By any standards, this is an excellent set. Big Frank is a fine vocalist and straight electric blues guitarist, but even better is his raw slide playing in the mould of Hound Dog Taylor, J. B. Hutto, and Elmore James.…Very, very impressive…"–Norman Darwen for "Blues Matters!"
"The music is wonderful! The sound is totally authentic–and that sound is what? Well, think Elmore James, the disgracefully under-rated Eddie Taylor, Lefty Dizz maybe, and most particularly JB Hutto. Big Frank's playing is immaculate, his vocals are as declamatory as this music demands, and the band are equally talented. In short, a real gem of a release here is an outfit totally committed to and passionate about the real blues. And come on, the credit on the final track is "Traditional, After Alabama Jr." If that doesn't means anything to you, listen and learn; if it does, you are probably already salivating at the prospect of the kind of tough, down-home blues you thought had gone for good."–Norman Darwen, for Blues Art Studio Journal
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…shrink me down again
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