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Reviews

Monday, 06 February 2012
After an hectic couple of weeks, we start Feb with I AM HARLEQUIN's new single,plus releasesfrom St.
Spirit,Sound Of Guns, Hundreds, GCWCF,The Jude, Katzenjammers and Adam Cohen,Sharliza , AK,
Bird Dog Bobby Band,coming very soon Andy Gilmore, Sam Eden,
TIME TO LIVE IN - BIRD DOG BOBBY BAND - LAKEHOUSE RECORDS

The BDBB are veterans of the Florida Blues scene and this latest offering should do more than just
cement a growing reputation as a fantastic live band. Time To Live In features Bird Dog Bobby on
vocals and guitars, Reno Mussatto also singing and adding drums with Gary Whitehead on Bass. The
first thing of note on this album is that it consists of all original material, no Willie Dixon covers, which
however well they are performed, we have heard them all before. These tracks wear their influences on
their sleeves and have a tongues firmly planted in cheeks on some of the double and single entendre
lyrics.

Who Told This Joker He could Drive is a barbed attack on Mr Obama with some Hendrix style licks
kicking around for good measure. Getta Outta Town is a heads down boogie, like Quo in their raw
early days. Moesha.com takes a wry look at ‘specialist’ web sites and is a bundle of fun with a walking
Bassline with some fiery guitar. Headed to Memphis again is light hearted lyrically but with some
serious slide rippling through it.

Oh Baby and So Damn Hot are breezier, blusier tracks and River of Life touches on reggae. Time To
Live In gives us some great advice and winds up proceedings perfectly.

There you have it BDBB are not reinventing the wheel musically but what you get is good honest Blues
with some tongue in cheek risqué lyrics. A whole lot of fun from three grizzled blues hounds.

Chris Phillips
www.brfm.co.uk

The Beachside Resident - Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Bird Dog Bobby Band

The Bird Dog Bobby Band delivers upbeat creative originals with deeply-rooted versions of blues
classics, all of which reflect the members’ extensive range and depth of experience.

Their encyclopedic knowledge of the blues is evident in the tasteful composition and razor-sharp
execution of their original songs, marked by guitar wizardry and smooth, emotional vocals. All of these
factors make the whole of this band greater than the sum of its parts. Listen, and you’ll be rewarded
with one well-executed riff after another, each new, but inextricably linked to long traditions of other
blues masters.

Drummer Reno Mussatto’s powerful vocals and solid grooves always have just the right feel, and Gary
Whitehead bonds the rhythm section together with perfectly balanced bass lines. The band’s
namesake, Bob “Bird Dog” Rhoads (guitar and vocals) rounds out this trio comprised since 2008 of
former members of the Smoking Torpedoes and the Honey Hounds. Mussatto describes BDBB’s
founding thusly: “Gary Whitehead and I had been playing with the Smoking Torpedoes when the group
disbanded, leaving he and I without a frontman. I remembered hearing Bird Dog Bobby and how he
really rocked, but that his band, the Honey Hounds, weren’t interested in playing original music. So we
went to him and proposed we start a band to play original songs.”

The band has two CDs under their belt, the propulsive Live at the Plaza Theatre (recorded in late
2008), and Time to Live In, released in 2010. Made up of 13 original tunes, Time to Live In stems from
the members’ personal experiences and is truly a labor of love. Bouncing between accounts of life on
the road and clever subversions of classic blues tropes. Overall, the album showcases the silky
smoothness and steely precision of a band in command of both the stage and the recording studio.

Catch the Bird Dog Bobby Band July 29 at the Beach Shack (1 Minutemen Cswy., downtown Cocoa
Beach; 783-2250) from 8 p.m. to midnight. They’ll also be performing at Lou’s Blues in Indialantic July 2
and 31. To learn more about the band, visit www.birddogbobbyband.com, or search for them on www.
reverbnation.com. Check back with the Resident next month for a review of Time to Live In.

Bird Dog Bobby Band - "Time To Live In" - Lakehouse Records
By Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro © July 2011 Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro
Blues Editor @ www.Mary4Music.com
2011 Keeping The Blues Alive Award Recipient

A very good three piece blues band that plays original music. Now that's original! Especially for a local
Central Florida band. Oh I'm sure they get their share of requests for "Red House" and "Mustang Sally"
at their live shows, but there'll be none of that here. "Time To Live In" - created from equal parts of
talent and creativity -consists of thirteen topical, clever and very well performed band originals.

The Bird Dog Bobby Band are: Bob "Bird Dog Bobby" Rhoads on vocals and guitars; Reno Mussatto
on vocals and drums; and Gary Whitehead on bass. Additionally, it's Stacy Q, Sheri Gregoire and Jann
Childers helping out with the backup vocals.

The opening track is musically hard driven and lyrically hard hitting. It's sort of a protest song that,
unlike it's folk style predecessors of the sixties, is a rhythm fueled smoker. The protest centers around
the question "Who Told This Joker He Could Drive"? Not me Bird Dog, I was on the McCain train.

For a good time log onto "Moesha.com"......just don't let your wife, your kids and your boss all catch
you. Oddly enough, bizarre lyrics and all, the chorus on this one is a catchy sing along. With a power
trio like this, I'll be hard pressed not to sound repetitive but once again, another incredibly rhythm driven
track with great vocals from Reno and the gals, and guitar leads from the Bird Dog.

From the very first time I ever went, right up to the very last time I went, there's always a feeling of
excitement as I'm "Headed To Memphis".......sounds like the Bird Dog Bobby Band feels the same as
they embark on the trip. However, from the way it sounds, they may not make it, but it's going to be a
good time trying. As a matter of fact, they're having a rockin' time just singing about it.

"Oh Baby", this is one hell of a smooth shuffle. As a matter of fact, it could very well be the best of the
batch. Perfect groove, perfect rhythm, perfect vocals, perfect deliverance. I just wish it were eight
minutes long instead of three.....then it would have been perfect length, as well.

Living just about two hours south of the band, I can relate to their complaint about it being "So Damn
Hot". As a matter of fact, you can feel the toll the heat's taken on the band right here on this track. The
appropriately relaxed and lazy tempo, along with the way Bird Dog seems to be struggling just to get
the lyrics out created a perfect performance of the song.

"River Of Life" is a wonderfully performed, lyrically spiritual, Reggae style, song. The band musically
nailing the style, along with the perfect harmony between Reno, Sherri and Jann, make this one of the
disc's best.

Other tracks on "Time To Live In" include: "Get Outta Town", "You're Gonna Be Mine", "Breakfast
Time", "Dog Bite Blues", "Beggin' For A Broken Heart", "You're Either On Or You're Off" and "Time To
Live In".

Unfortunately, for the time being, the Bird Dog Bobby Band pretty much stays local to the central
Florida area, so that means you'll have to buy the disc 'cause you really gotta hear this band. You can
do that, plus tell him the Blewzzman sent ya, at www.birddogbobbyband.com .

Central Florida's Bird Dog Bobby Band releases new CD
May 24th, 2011 4:32 pm ET . - Dick Conklin - Daytona Beach Nightlife Examiner...

One of the most prolific bands in our area is the popular Bird Dog Bobby Band. We introduced them to you a
year ago, and they have been going gangbusters ever since. They just finished their fourth CD, songs from
which they are playing at the many venues they frequent. They write most of the music they play, and they
play an interesting variety of songs, including a throwback to the sixties -- an actual "protest" song!

Something for Everyone

Their variety of CD and song titles give you a preview of what to expect from the Bird Dog Bobby Band.
Lead singer and guitar man "Bird Dog Bobby" Rhoads' first album was "I Ain't No Pedigree" in 1996,
followed by "WOOF" in 2001. His band was formed next, recording "Live at the Plaza Theatre" in 2009. This
year's production is called "Time to Live In" and features 13 songs. All of them were written by the band
members and all of the songs tell stories.

According to drummer Reno Mussatto, "Often we would come to rehearsal, and somebody would make a
remark like, 'It's Too Damn Hot,' and the next thing we knew, we had another song for the CD."

Some songs were politically-inspired (such as "Who Told This Joker He Could Drive?," some are (of course)
about love and life in general, one song is about the Internet ("Moesha.com") and one is about the Florida
weather ("Too Damn Hot")!

We Need Professional Help!

While these guys can certainly play the popular cover songs requested by their audiences, they also write
and sing many good songs of their own, making them one of the most versatile groups around. Around the
end of last year they realized that they had written so many different styles of songs for their new CD that
they were going to need some help making them all fit together. So Bass man Gary Whitehead called a friend
who is a record producer and engineer in California. He agreed to help them out so they sent him the tracks
they had recorded and re-cut the vocals.

The results were worth it. This CD is a pleasure to listen to. Their live performances make for a fun evening,
especially if you feel like dancing -- and you will.

Other bands and musicians have also influenced their style of music, including many of the rhythm and
blues-based guitar bands of the 60s and 70s and top performers like Hendrix, Clapton, Zeppelin, Johnny
Winter, ZZ Top, BB King, Albert King, Albert Collins, T-Bone Walker, and many others. Reno adds, "and of
course the Beatles and the Stones."
Advertisement

Where They At

The Bird Dog Bobby Band is a busy one, playing all over Central and East Florida. In the past few years they
have traveled over 10,000 miles and played about 160 shows, including gigs with Mitch Ryder, Damon
Fowler, Mark Hummel, Sean Carney and others. Here's a recent version of their calendar, which is growing
as we speak. Check the band Web site for the latest "4-1-1."

Time To Live In - Bird Dog Bobby Band - Review by Daryll Davis

A lot of blues artists have recorded classic songs documenting their life on the road but I don’t think I’ve
ever heard a whole cd that so effortlessly captures the blues experience from a band’s perspective like Time
To Live In by the Bird Dog Bobby Band.

The band features Reno Mussatto on drums and vocals, Gary ‘Chief Whatchamacallit’ Whitehead on bass
and background vocals, and band namesake Robert ‘Bird Dog Bobby’ Rhoads on lead guitar and vocals.
These elder statesmen of the Central Florida blues scene hunkered down in a recording studio for a few
weeks and wrote about what they knew. The result is an homage to the blues life they live and obviously
love, with a touch of southern charm and rock and pop sensibilities coupled with some witty lyrics.

The cd was produced by Jon St. James and the band, and the overall sound is clean, if a little understated in
places. Reno and Gary do their best Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman impressions by keeping the backbeat
solid without stepping into the spotlight much. The Bird Dog is known for his tasteful fretwork and doesn’t
overpower any of the material here. With 13 tracks averaging just over three minutes apiece, they say what
they want to say, show a little flash and move on to the next track. While the principle lyricists were Bobby
and Reno, all three members contributed to each song and the whole band can celebrate with this testament
to the blues. This truly is their time.

The cd starts with Who Told This Joker He Could Drive, a wry political observation of our life and times from
Bird Dog. Followed by a rock and roll style number with Reno on the vox, Get Outta Town, Reno’s song
about fleeing from the proverbial spurned lover is the first appearance by back-up singers Jann Childers,
Sheri Gregoire and Stacy Q. These ladies lend some great touches to the too few times they get to
contribute throughout the cd.

Moesha.com, is one of the more unique numbers on the cd. Reno’s storytelling follows the exploits of some
poor internet denizen who falls for the wrong girl on-line all the while giving Bird Dog the chance to provide
another of his trademark smooth leads.

I’ve always liked Bird Dog Bobby’s approach to music with the guitar. It’s all about the instrument and the
cd was primarily cut using a Telecaster and Gibson with minimal effects, wah wah or slide. It’s all about the
tone man, straight out of Bird Dog’s Music House and Vintage Repair. A technician of the first order, Bobby
masterfully tools his guitars and amps so they have that sweet sound.

I was fortunate to see the band at The Alley recently and just before they kicked into this number, Reno
asked the crowed, “Everybody like Cream?” Hearing Breakfast Time live (an uptempo blues number)
brought to the fore the power trio effect the band had caught in the studio.

The rock and roll rhythm is still up front on Reno’s solid tale of the blues, Headed To Memphis. This strikes
me as the song bands across the country are going to cover after they hear this. What band hasn’t slept in
the van and survived on saltines and ketchup packets? There ain’t no money until after the gig, ya dig?! Ha!

Back to back on the cd, Beggin’ For A Broken Heart and Oh Baby, highlight the blues man’s two biggest
problems with love. Bobby’s plaintive tale of the everlasting search for love is followed by Reno
complaining over a catchy hook about how his love interest can’t recall his name. The range of emotion
here gives a listener an idea of the number of weathered club appearances these men have made and the
many ladies that have crossed their path.

But the Florida blues scene isn’t about just hangin’ in smoky clubs and being able to smell the St. John’s
River when you step outside, it’s also about this place being So Damn Hot. This tasty track is one of longest
on the cd and it’s worth waiting for Bird Dog’s laid back summer time tea sippin’ sunburnt lead. Who knew
cocoa butter could smell so good? I want to see the video of this song with some young lady lathering on
the lotion while Bobby’s lead lines meander all over the beach, that’s how much this song paints an image
for you.

The last track on the cd is the title track, Time To Live In. The hypnotic groove of this cool jazz coffeehouse
blues sounds like it was written while Bird Dog was sitting out on the veranda. It’s a mature observation of a
blues sage on the blues life and a rebuttal to those who may look down upon someone who’s ‘just a
musician.’ The very subdued nature of the song, rather than presenting this in a more upbeat form, attests
to the thoughtfulness and purpose it takes to devote your life to the blues. There is power in simple
eloquence and the whole of Time To Live In captures the essence of the blues life in Florida, something I’ve
grown to appreciate that much more because of this cd.

Jazz & Blues Florida Magazine
September 2010

"Bird Dog Bobby" Rhoads has had a long love affair with the gritty textures of amplified blues.
From his first gig in a Kansas high school gym to gigging through central Florida, the Bird Dog has
clearly picked up the finer points of his trade .. The Orlando area showman is so well-considered
that he's opened for six-string masters such as Gatemouth Brown, Albert Collins and Ronnie Earl.
Backed by bassist Gary Whitehead and drummer Reno Mussatto, Rhoads rips solos that conjure
the likes of Elmore James, Johnny "Guitar"Watson and T-Bone Walker, and sings in a smooth
yet emotional croon. The trio was captured live last yearon the CD Live at the Plaza Theatre,
playing blues, jump and funk originals, and reinter- preting classics by the likes of Howlin' Wolf
and Elmore James. Bird Dog knows his guitars and amps from the inside out; he repairs them at
his music store in Chuluota. BW

Daytona Beach Nightlife Examiner
May 12, 2010

"Bird Dog Bobby Band Electrifies the Daytona Blues Scene"- Dick Conklin

Whenever the Bird Dog Bobby Band plays at the weekly Daytona Blues Society Wednesday night
Blues Jam, their audience is really two groups of fans -- DBS regulars and followers of the band
itself. They all come to hear the upbeat blues sounds of this talented group of three bluesmen,
who have been on the road a lot lately, doing shows at the Taste of Oviedo, The Alley, Plaza
Theatre, Beach Shack, Tin House Ranch and The Ft. Meyers Beach Blues Festival.
Upcoming shows include the Beach Shack in Cocoa Beach on Friday May 14 and Harry's Cigar and
Brew in Oviedo the following evening. They'll be at the Orlando Brewery on Saturday the 22nd
and on Sunday afternoon the 30th they return to the Beach Shack. The 1st week of June brings
them back to Daytona at the Bank and Blues for the Wednesday night Jam and on the 2nd and
then they're off to The Alley in Sanford on the 4th and 5th.