2005 Capital Area Blues Society
"Blues Brawl" Winners!-
Now Taking Bookings.
Call (517)645-9773 or email us.

Stan Budzynski & 3rd Degree in Memphis

It's "Lucky 7" For
Local Blues Band.

3RD DEGREE TAKES HOME
THE TOP
PRIZE IN AREA BLUES COMPETITION!

Winner of this year's Capitol Area Blues Competition to represent Lansing in the finals of the W. C. Handy International Blues Competition in Memphis, 3rd Degree has been rocking clubs in downtown Lansing for seven years, drawing crowds of students, sports fans, down-home partiers, and hard-core blues fanatics with their trademark take-no-prisoners groove and smoking solos. But national exposure has been elusive ...until now.

"This is Lucky Seven for us," stated bandleader and guitar whiz Stan Budzynski firmly, when contacted by phone at his country home and studio. "We're honored to win the 2005 CABS event because the competition in Mid-Michigan is so stiff, but this is our year. There's a saying that you have to pay your dues to play the blues, and I think we've done that, so this year we chose an all-original set to show the crowd who we really are. It's exciting that tunes we created together were recognized tonight. Ironically, one of the is called "Seven-Year Itch!"

"The core of 3rd Degree is guys who have been playing blues-based rock since we were kids," comments bassist and attorney Ron Bretz. His wide ranging musical taste has edged the band's repertoire to include everything from covers of the Neville Brothers to Johnny Cash, with some soul, heavy-metal, and garage music thrown in to pay homage to his Detroit roots. Drummer Dan Mead, who also sits in with Squids, brings a cutting-edge new rock sensibility to the mix, which is melodically rounded out by Steve "Doc" Yankee's finesse on keyboards. A classically trained pianist, Doc's path led him into New Orleans style boogie, a wow with every audience.

"We can -and we have-- done anything to survive in this business," says Budzynski, "but now we're ready to shift into top gear and cruise with our own identity a little more. Our sound is like our Michigan roots - ready for anything, steady, but it doesn't scream out for attention, so it's hard to get noticed sometimes. But once people hear us, they feel the strength of our groove that goes back to the blues roots. We're like all regular, hardworking Americans who do a hell of a job and don't get the payoff often enough, so when we let it roll, people are carried along and the crowd becomes part of the fun. Because of that natural intensity, we don't have to take a backseat to anybody who plays blues on the national scene."

The story of Stan's bottleneck slide incident illustrates the band's hardworking ethic. While hurrying to play a benefit for a local charity before the CABS competition, his professional guitar slide was forgotten. Because slide guitar is a highlight of the band's show, it was an emergency to find a slide as they mounted the stage to compete. With down-to-earth aplomb, Stan took a Corona beer bottle and proceeded to tear the place up. It's all in a day's work for 3rd Degree, agrees blues headliner and legend in the making, Larry McCray, a longtime buddy, says "I'm happy to see 'Zynsk' get this chance. I've always enjoyed inviting him onstage to jam."

For information and bookings, contact Stan Budzynski at (517) 645-9773 or email.

3rd Degree invites everyone to hear us every other Wednesday night (9:30 pm - 1:30 am) at The Green Door in Lansing. If you'd like to be on our mailing list for band news and show dates, email us.