Gerry Casey Interviews Dean Zucchero

June 5, 2021

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Making A Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Dean Zucchero!

I’m a four-string, Fender tradition bassist from the East Village of New York City with influences steeped in the Rock / R&B and Blues sounds of the 60s with mentors such as (Motown’s) James Jamerson, (Zeppelin’s) John Paul Jones, (BB King’s) Jerry Jemmott, (Aretha Franklin’s) Chuck Rainey and (The Who’s) John Entwistle.

My experience stems from a mix of dive-bar gigging, studio recording and international touring. Back in the day, I cut my teeth in the local haunts of Greenwich Village. In places like the Dan Lynch Blues bars, The Bitter End, The 55 Bar and Arthur’s Tavern, I shed my Blues repertoire with the likes of Popa Chubby, Jimmy Vivino, Michael Powers, Sweet Georgia Brown, Frankie Paris and many more.

On the flip side, as part of the NY recording scene, I was able to collaborate with notable producers such as The Holland Bros (Motown), Godfrey Diamond (Aerosmith), Russ Kunkel (Carly Simon, Jimmy Buffet), and Tony Maserati (David Bowie).

As for live performance, I’ve had the good fortune of bringing my music to 42 U.S. states, 20 countries and six continents.

2005 – I began an eight-year European residency. The first stop was Zurich, Switzerland which was soon to serve as a base for 12 european tours (two Australian!) with bands like NYC’s The HEALERS!, feat: Thomas Buck-Nasty as well as female Blues divas Shanna Waterstown and Justina Lee Brown.

2008 – I took a short break from Europe and headed to Austin, TX where I participated in a three-month tour with Delta Groove recording artist Mike Zito for his debut record “Today.” The album reached #11 on the Billboard Blues Charts.

2009 – After hitching up in Zurich with Italy’s premier Swing band, Sugar Pie & The Candymen, I took off to Milan. There, with the band I engaged in numerous European concerts and played bass on / co-wrote six tracks of the band’s Irma Records release “Waiting for The One.”

2012 – I decided to head home to the U.S. by way of New Orleans. Since my arrival in this musical Mecca I’ve had the humbling opportunity to perform with legends such as Cyril Neville, Little Freddie King, Mason Ruffner, Ernie Vincent and dozens of other outstanding musicians.

I’m currently the touring bassist for Cyril Neville & Swamp Funk as well as Cyril’s Reggae and Worldbeat ensemble The Uptown Allstars. With this latter group I recently did a tour of South Africa and plan to return in December for a more extensive tour of the continent

At the same time, I’m the recording and touring bassist for the hard-hitting, harmonica-driven New Orleans Blues act Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys. The band’s recent release “Never Trust The Living” reached #1 (for four weeks) on Louisiana Roots Music Chart and hit #7 nationally in the Blues/Rock category. This June 2017, I will embark on my fourth European tour with the band with shows in countries like Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, and Czech Republic.

Early 2017, Mama’s Boys teamed up with Belgian rising star Ghalia Vauthier to complete an album for Ruf Records in Germany under the band name Ghalia & Mama’s Boys. Along with laying down the bass tracks, I co-produced the record with Miss Vauthier. First Europe tour in support of the record was October 2017. Next shall be March of 2018, then back again in June. Official US release date January 12, 2018. Looking forward to a busy year with this project.

2019 – Marks the second release by Ghalia on Ruf Records. This time she visited the hill country of North Mississippi to track at the legendary Zebra Ranch Studio with a cast of the State’s finest Bluesmen: Cedric Burnside, Cody Dickinson, Lightnin’ Malcolm and Watermelon Slim were all in top form interpreting the 11 songs put forth by Ghalia. Nine of the tracks were originals by Ghalia of which i shared co-writing credit on four (also playing bass on the 11 tracks). “Mississippi Blend” is the result and becomes the second co-production credit for me with Ghalia. The record flatteringly went to the top of the charts, debuting at #3 on the Billboard Blues Chart within a week of its release. MB also hit the top 3 again on two other occasions on Billboard several weeks later and enjoyed airplay success internationally: #1 in France, #12 in Australia, #25 in the UK.

In support of Mississippi Blend, I embarked on a five-week European tour with Ghalia in January/February of 2020. Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Poland and Luxembourg were all on the itinerary, with sold out shows at each venue.

In 2021, I provided bass tracks for Ghalia Volt’s new Ruf Records release ‘One Woman Band’, which I was featured on songs “Espiritu Papago” and “Just One More Time”. I also cowrote with Ghalia the album’s single “Last Minute Packer.”

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