About the Band
Christine Webb: Bass and Vocals Dan Crecco: Drums and percussion Jim "Doc" Seely: Guitars and vocals
FUNKILICIOUS BLUES!!
Winners of the of the 2024 and 2016 Mile High Blues Society International Blues Challenge
2019 Winner of Mile High Blues Society Best Self-Produced CD ("Don't Call Me Baby")
Finalist 2016 and 2019 Colorado Blues Society International Blues Challenge
Runner up 2023 Mile High Blues Society International Blues Challenge
During a recent radio interview, the interviewer asked, “Who is the band leader?” We looked at each other and shrugged...
50 SHADES OF BLUE is truly a collaborative, democratic band (except for the fact that Doc books nearly all the gigs, manages the live sound, does all the social media work and manages the website🙄). Like all democracies our creative process can be noisy and even contentious. But the end result is always better than any one of us had imagined in the first place!
You take some of Dan Crecco’s New Orleans tinged drums and percussion, add Christine Webb’s soulful vocals and solid bass lines, then throw in Doc Seely’s mastery of all things with six strings, and you have yourself a savory gumbo of funkilicious blues and R&B!!
So, come see us sometime! We’l have you coming back for seconds…and thirds!!
Our Latest Album
Review of “Don’t Call Me Baby” by Dan Willging
50 Shades of Blue was originally a duo consisting of bassist/vocalist Christine Webb and guitarist Jim Seely until late 2017 when it became a trio with the addition of drummer and former Papa Juke band mate Dan Crecco. Though Seely admits playing as a duo made them better musicians, especially when keeping time, the talented Crecco adds dimensions beyond belief with his unending funk-centric New Orleans, Washington DC gogo, Mozambique, swing, clave and rhumba beats, as evidenced by 50 Shades’ outstanding sophomore effort. As a result of Crecco’s groove-oriented presence, Seely has more flexibility to develop his extended string-scorching solos and Webb is able to do her best singing yet.
Unlike a lot of recordings where drums are an afterthought, here, on many tracks, they’re the foundation for the arrangements and lyrics to follow. Being a drummer himself, sound engineer Gary Flori knew how to mic Crecco’s multi-faceted drumming so he sounds as if he were playing in your very own living room.
Of these baker’s dozen tunes, nine are originals with seven written by Seely and two by Webb. Since Seely often writes from a female perspective, it’s easy for Webb to convey them as if they’re her own experiences. “Walk the Walk” is particularly funny. Webb vows to use a nail gun to nail her significant other’s feet down so he won’t wander off. Seely sings two of his originals, “Salty ‘N Sweet” and “If Your Love Was Money,” marking the first time he has ever sung on a commercial recording.
Of Webb’s two compositions, “My Mama Told Me” boasts airtight interaction between Seely’s dancing lead and her motoring bass lines.
While Crecco gives the proceedings a modern sensibility, in many ways, Seely pulls it back to a traditional bluesy baseline. His lyrics often follow the standard ABAB pattern while his resonator slide guitar playing has an unmistakable delta influence. The title track is a classic Chicago-style slow burner. A cool new hue by 50 Shades of Blue.