Bassist Bill Cummings and Harmonica player Jack Reardon met back in 2005 at a jam at the Lord Wakefield Hotel and they quickly became friends out of their mutual love for the blues. Bill met guitar player and singer Dave Fullerton in the fall of 2006 at yet another jam on Revere Beach at the Cove, and they too quickly became friends and started to jam at Bill's house in Malden on Tuesday nights. After a few weeks playing together Dave ask Bill if he would like to find some other musicians to jam with and maybe start their own band. Bill was delighted with the idea and started calling some friends he had played with a few years earlier.
They needed a drummer to jam with on Tuesday nights so Bill made a phone call to a friend and drummer he played with in the early 80'S, when Bill was 14 years old and just starting to play bass, he invited LeRoy Pina to jam at the house and see where it went from there. LeRoy who has been playing with the "12:01" Blues Band since 1997, was happy to jam with Bill again and rekindle their friendship and agreed to play on gigs anytime that 12:01 wasn't working. After a few more nights jamming they started looking for a fourth player and decided to book some gigs in clubs around the area.. After tossing around a few ideas for a name they settled on Bucket of Blues, the band was born, and the rest is history.
Their first gig was in Revere at the Cove in the summer of 2007, they invited Jack to sit in on the gig and were very surprised at the overwhelming positive response by the crowd and club owner, everyone loved the band and became instant fans. They started practicing with Jack every week as he was a good fit for the style of blues they wanted to play.
But,tragedy struck after playing only four gigs, when on Thursday October 9,2007 the band's founder Dave Fullerton passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack, leaving the band devastated. Dave had played earlier that night with Bill and Jack at the jam at the Lord Wakefield. It was a great loss for Bill and the band. Later Bill told LeRoy that Dave let it be known to him and Jack that he wasn't feeling very good that evening and if he couldn't make an upcoming gig at the Lord Wakefield that he didn't want the band to cancel the gig.
The next day Bill, Jack and LeRoy talked it over and decided they would start the task of finding someone who could fill the "big" hole in the Bucket and keep the band together as a living testimonial to Dave's legacy. So,shortly after Dave's passing and with heavy hearts the band asked long time friend Mike Doherty to help the band by playing the Bucket of Blues' next gig at the Lord Wakefield, as a tribute to honor Dave's request. It was an open jam where many local bands and musicians gathered to played a heart felt evening of great blues to celebrate the life of our fallen brother Dave Fullerton. They played to a full house!!!
As the weeks past by and the pain of losing Dave began to heal, the band started playing gigs enlisting the help of some friends and other local musicians in the area. They invited long time friend Carl Dixon to play on some gigs, Carl was playing with The Road Kings and a few other bands at the time and couldn't make all the Bucket gigs.In the meantime Mike Doherty filled in on a few gigs and contributed to the bands early successes. Mike was also instrumental in helping to set up the Bucket website and his help is truly appreciated. Mike still plays with band when he is free, we love his playing and he is always a crowd pleaser.
After auditioning a few other guitar players the band asked lead guitarist / singer Larry Power, founder of 12:01 Blues Band, if he would fill in when 12:01 wasn't playing. He was very glad to jump in while the band continued to look for a new guitarist and singer. Earlier Larry offered his services to Bucket the night of Dave's wake and it turned out that Larry was able to play most of the Bucket gigs. He suggested we ask 12:01'S sax player Danny Klane to sit in on the gigs. The band welcomed Danny and the band was in full swing again.
In February 2008 Larry needed to take some time off from the band to fulfill a previous project before returning to playing again. In the meantime Bill called on friend Jay Aptt to fill in while Larry was gone.. Jay graciously answered the call and played a few gigs when he wasn't working with his own band, Tonekat.
Bucket of Blues is very grateful to Mike Doherty, Carl Dixon, Jay Aptt and Larry Power for stepping up to the plate when the band needed help and support during a sad time in the band's early days.. We thank all of them from the bottom of our hearts.
Since spring of 2008 Larry and Danny have become full time members of Bucket of Blues as the band continues to build a bigger following of faithful fans while playing clubs and events through out the North Shore and Merrimack Valley areas.
Sadly, Bucket of Blues has lost their sax player Danny Klane as he is moving to the west coast in April 2013. He will be traveling to Santa Barbara,California to be with in daughter Jennifer. We will truly miss him and his amazing talent and crazy sense of humor. We all wish him the best life has to offer to our beloved brother and soulmate.
The band was very sad to learn that our brother Danny had passed away on May 18,2016. He had suffered a brain tumor that was inoperable. Our hearts were broken a second time. He and his wife Cindy were living in Florida at the time of his passing, he will always remain in our hearts and in our music. Rest in Peace Danny you will never be forgotten brother and you always be one of the "Bucket Boys".
Bucket of Blues will forever be grateful to all our families, friends and especially our fans for their love and support. So put on your dancing shoes and join us at a PARTY near you!!!!
