Hold onto your hats – Popa Chubby is back and he means business!
On Saturday 28 January the native New Yorker brings his own style of hard swinging blues rock to The Atkinson.
He was born Ted Horowitz, but now he is firmly known as Popa Chubby and marking twenty five years of rocking the blues!
Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful.
An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson,” Popa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.
His first gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he reflects was a “crazy Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called Screaming Mad George who had a horror-movie inspired show.” Right from the start he was immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater, and learned from George and others playing CBGB’s at the time that included the Ramones, the Cramps, Richard Hell, whose band, the Voidoids he joined that rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous. He reflects, “Musicians like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols weren’t just bands. They were a threat to society.”
The Blues however was the foundation of his playing style. He recalls, “Since I’d grown up on Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin, when I started playing blues in New York clubs I understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. It wasn’t just from playing in punk bands. Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut or shoot you if they thought it was necessary, and Little Walter packed a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is a real part of the Blues and I keep it alive in my music.”
Popa Chubby is his own man for better or worse. He reflects, “I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the inspiration is drawn from within Universal Breakdown Blues. There are my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation. Everything is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need something
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Popa Chubby performs at The Atkinson on Saturday 28 January at 8pm. Tickets are £18*. To book or find out more information please visit theatkinson.co.uk or call our friendly Box Office team on 01704 533333.
-ENDS-
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LISTING INFORMATION
For interviews or press tickets/photos please contact Emma Lloyd Emma.lloyd@sefton.gov.uk / 0151 934 2129
Popa Chubby
Saturday 28 January
8pm
£18*
*Please be advised that there is a £1 per ticket booking fee for telephone and online sales and a 2% fee for credit cards at the Box Office.
-ENDS-
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About The Atkinson
The Atkinson is Southport’s beautiful new home for music, theatre, art, poetry, literature and history, right in the middle of Lord Street in Southport. Significant investment has been made in refurbishing the stunning 19th century buildings, to create a really welcoming multi art-form venue with a strong contemporary feel.
The Atkinson offers an exciting and varied destination for families, cultural tourists and arts enthusiasts alike, with a full day and night time offer. Wile the day away visiting the new shop, that sells gifts and contemporary crafts from regional makers and then relax in the Bakery, choosing from a selection of artisan bread sandwiches, cakes and sharing platters. You can even take little bit of The Atkinson home with you from the delicatessen. Wander through the major exhibitions and see performances from some of the UK’s foremost musicians, actors, performers and companies, films, family activities and much more.
The new Museum is now open. Sefton Between Land & Sea tells the story of Southport and Sefton as well as the area’s dramatic maritime history. While Discover Ancient Egypt – the new Egyptology Gallery is the home of the Goodison Egyptology Collection, a remarkable collection of archaeology that has not been seen for over 40 years.
Posted on 12 January 2017 under General news
