David Pinsky and Phil Newton, long a major part of the Oregon blues scene, have joined forces as an acoustic duo. Longtime friends, their genuine affection and love of the blues has a way of getting the audience laughing; their vocal and instrumental mastery and deep knowledge of blues and R&B will inform as well as entertain.
David’s propulsive guitar, welded with Phil’s harp chops, provide a steady groove and both men bring decades of vocal experience and songwriting skill. Their original music (from both past projects and their recent release, Over the Moon) receive steady airplay from Portland to Prague.
David and Phil tour and perform constantly in the southern Oregon base, with frequent visits to Portland and other Northwest blues havens. They have twice represented Northwest blues societies at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and, in other incarnations, have opened for the likes of BB King, Huey Lewis, Clifton Chenier, Roomful of Blues, Albert King, Mason Williams and many, many more.
Over the Moon: Eleven original songs covering the entire spectrum of broken hearts, bad habits, redemption, living, dying and, to quote Zorba the Greek, “The whole catastrophe.” Sorrow and joy are approached with a wink and a nod. Just David and Phil, a guitar, some harmonicas and the blues.
David and Phil are committed to blues education, teaching blues harp to local school kids
"With the many diverse subgenres of blues that are being recorded today, it is good to regularly touch home with where the blues came from so we do not lose track of where we came from. Oregonians David Pinsky and Phil Newton are creating just this kind of bare bones music and are doing a very good job of it."
-- Rex Bartholomew, Blues Blast Magazine
“These guys know the blues and know how to tell the story within a song. It’s feel good and down home music, carrying on the tradition in just the right way.”
– Cascade Blues Notes, Portland OR