Bob Dellaposta Live at Taffy’s
by Chris A.
I first saw Bob Dellaposta playing at Canal Street Tavern when he opened up for the great guitarist Johnny A. Dellaposta’s a blues cat with a laid back style and an aura of authenticity that’s refreshing. Seems everyone wants to be a blues player but Dellaposta has the soul and groove that screams reality. With a great selection of original numbers coupled with great covers, Bob covers all the bases. From an entertainment standpoint he’s great. With lively banter, humorous story’s and a penchant for roaming the venue while jamming, Bob Dellaposta was a perfect fit for Taffy’s the most famous coffee shop on the planet. You can learn more about Bob Dellaposta by visiting his website at: http://www.bobdellaposta.com
Used by Permission from Chris A
Baby I’m a Rich Man
By: Vicki Wilson
The title of Bob Dellaposta’s first CD, Baby I’m a Rich Man, could also describe how he views his musical career. Known to area club goers as Bobby D, Dellaposta has a wealth of memories that go back to his first paying gig at 15. “My cousins, friends and I put together a band call WISH (because we wished we were good performers) and played at the Bellevue Canteen in Bellevue, Kentucky. We got paid $7.00 each and about half of our income was spent at Pasquale’s Pizza.”
At 19, Dellaposta and a friend formed the Doug and Tom Band, quit their jobs and college and headed to New York City to make their mark on the music industry. Their dreams of hitting the big time quickly faded and they came away from the Big Apple with lots of bittersweet memories. “Musicians, really good ones, are a dime a dozen in New York,” says Dellaposta. “We did land a job, though, at Kenny’s Castaways on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village, but most of our money came from being street performers. One day, somebody tossed a subway token into my guitar case and I’ve kept it all these years. You’ll see a picture of that New York subway token inside the case of my new CD.”
Dellaposta has come a long way since his days of playing the Bellevue Canteen and the streets of New York. For many years, he has been a familiar entertainer in local clubs and Nashville nightspots singing what he calls blues based music with some rock-n-roll influenced by his favorite artists, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Grand Funk Railroad and Deep Purple.
Dellaposta describes his stage presence as “like the armpit of a runner just crossing the finish line…hairy, sweaty and does not go unnoticed.” Audiences who come to see him perform would agree. This cigar-puffing man with shaggy eyebrows, a full beard and a bowler hat is hard to miss and impossible to ignore. He can be seen at the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Grand Exchange in Middletown, Branzenhead Irish Pub in Mason, Dark Horse Tavern in Centerville, Trolley Stop and Nite Owl in the Oregon District and Walnut Hills in Dayton. For a complete schedule of his appearances, visit his website at www.bobdellaposta.com. “We do a lot of performances at the Canal Street Tavern,” says Dellaposta. “I’ve been working for its owner, Mick Montgomery, since the early days of the Doug and Tom Band.” Each performance is filled with the acoustic blues and classic rock he loves most because, he says, “It’s alive with the same spirit and energy as rock-n-roll. Ain’t nothin’ but a good man feelin’ bad.”
Since 2005, Dellaposta has hosted the Acoustic Blues Showcase in March. He has also performed at the annual Hootenanny several times since 1983, entertained at outdoor shows on Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton and at the City Centre Plaza in downtown Middletown. In the 1980s, Dellaposta, then with the Doug and Tom Band, was featured on a Sunday evening show sponsored by WYSO Radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio. “It was live music crawling out of your radio,” he says, “and a great experience.” He also made some music videos with Shupe Jar Productions/ARTV that were aired on public access television stations.
Today, Dellaposta is taking his music as far as possible and doing everything he can to make sure that everyone who comes to hear him enjoys the experience. “I love what I do,” he says, “but I don’t look at it as any big deal. To me, it’s just my art; something inside of me that has to come out.”
You’ll know what he means when you listen to Dellaposta’s new CD, Baby I’m a Rich Man that was released on August 18th. You’ll find it at all of his shows, Roadhouse Karaoke and DJ at 3810 Dayton-Xenia Road in Beavercreek and through the singer’s website, www.bobdellaposta.com. “It’s a truly professional product, not a basement CD” says Dellaposta, “and it’s filled with many of the old songs I love most as well as some original ones. About half the tracks were recorded with a band. There are also a couple of duos and a couple of solo tracks.” His son, plays guitar on the CD and did all of the artwork for it.
With his rich musical history, you would think Dellaposta’s hero would be an industry icon but the person he most admires is a lot closer to home. “My paternal grandfather, Joseph, is my hero,” says Dellaposta. “He went through so much during his life. The deaths of his brother, sister, mother and son; survived the 1929 stock market crash and served in World War II. With all the tragedies that touched his life, you would think he would become an embittered old man, but it was just the opposite. I remember my grandfather as one of the happiest and most generous people I’ve ever known.”
Used by Permission from Tunes & Trends