Anthony Gomes - Primary Colors (2008)

Canadian-born guitarist, singer, and songwriter Anthony Gomes is a critically acclaimed chart-topping artist who plays a style of modern electric blues that incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, and country. Born in 1975 in Toronto, Canada, to a Portuguese father and a Canadian mother, he began playing guitar in his early teens and moved to Chicago, IL, in the late '90s with hopes of establishing himself as a musician. After honing his craft on the Windy City club circuit, he moved to Nashville, TN, where he found a home for himself amid the city's renowned music scene.

Gomes made his recording debut in 1998 on the Urban Electric label with Blues in Technicolor, followed by Sweet Stringin' Soul in 2000. In 2002 he switched to 33rd Street Records for Unity and proceeded to win the 2003 BluesWax Artist of the Year award. This accolade elevated Gomes to the top of the blues field, and consequently he was able to draw increasingly larger crowds to his live performances, which increased in frequency and scope. Though he didn't release another album until 2006, Gomes' endless touring kept him atop the blues field, as he continued to be nominated for BluesWax Artist of the Year awards several years in a row.

Gomes' fourth album, Music Is the Medicine (2006), released on the Adrenaline Music label, was his first to chart, peaking at number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. During his supporting tour of the album, the February 27, 2007, show at the Triple Door in Seattle, WA, was recorded and subsequently released in 2008 as the album Live. It features his band, the New Soul Cowboys, comprised of David Karns (bass, vocals), Peter Lang (drums), and Dylan St. John (keyboards, vocals). The first of his albums to document his on-stage performance ability, Live was his greatest commercial success to date, reaching number one on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. by Jason Birchmeier

"Primary Colors" represents my first recordings prior to the release of "Blues In Technicolor". "Funky Bad Luck", "Misery For Company", and "Playing The Fool" were recorded, arranged and mixed in an afternoon on a hot summer day in Toronto. They were my first blues compositions. At the time, I was planning to move to Chicago and needed a demo to start getting gigs and making contacts, so I pressed 300 copies of the 3 songs and called it "Groove-a-licious Blues".


After moving to Chicago, I took a part time job at Guitar Center and someone passed my disc to songwriting/musician legend, Jim Peterik. Jim and I started writing together and haven't stopped since. The remaining songs on this CD were demos that we cut at Jim's studio. I haven't listened to these recordings in years, and as I do, I realize the debt of gratitude that I owe to Mr. Peterik.


I hope you all enjoy this trip down memory lane. (signed) Anthony Gomes (Liner notes)

1. Funky Bad Luck
2. Love's Got The Power
3. Somebody's Missing
4. Lonely At The Bottom
5. Working Blue
6. High Calorie Woman
7. Blueprint For The Blues
8. Misery For Company
9. Playing The Fool
10. Gonna Have A Party