Stillwell performing at Tempe Town Lake opening for Flogging Molly. Photo courtesy of Z Hess.They’ve opened for Flogging Molly and are going to play with The Wailers. They’re on this month’s cover of West Valley Magazine. You may have heard their songs on KWSS 106.7 FM.
Meet Black Bottom Lighters (BBL), a Valley-based reggae-rock group influenced by Bob Marley, Sublime and Slightly Stoopid.
The band comprises of Ryan “Stilly” Stillwell on lead vocals, Taide “T” Pineda on vocals and guitar, Jose Aquino on bass, Ryan “McPhatty” McPhatter on drums, Kelyn Weaver on keyboards, Phil Keyser on lead guitar and Rushdi “Rush” Shakeel as the DJ.
BBL formed after Pineda responded to Stillwell’s Craigslist ad. McPhatter joined after hearing Pineda play at a pool party, then Aquino and Weaver joined later. Keyser replaced their old lead guitarist.
“There have been some changes in the band lineup, but at this point, all the members have a common goal and they formed a solid bond, so this looks like the final lineup,” manager Z. Hess says. “This band is made up of a diverse and great group of people. They like to party, have a great time and create music. When they perform, they bring energy to the crowd, and off the stage, they are very approachable and humble.”
BBL. Photo courtesy of Z. Hess.They have toured California and were supposed to do the same this year, but decided to recorded their first EP instead. It will be released in December on iTunes and will be available at their shows. They are also trying to distribute it to various local record stores. They will later tour to support the EP.
“So far, the band has been able to secure a solid fan base and it continues to grow at a very rapid pace,” Hess says. “They are [at] somewhere around 3100 Facebook fans, and we get a ton of unique visitors at the site daily.”
BBL will be performing at TAPS in Peoria on Nov. 10 and 23. The rest of its tour dates can be found here.
Do you know of any interesting art, entertainment or crafts you’d like me to cover? Tweet me at @DamianoAlec or email me at Alec.Damiano@asu.edu. To see some of my artwork, click here.
