VOTED BEST LIVE BAND READERS’
PICK – EAST BAY EXPRESS
"a
tough, rocking, socking band, knocking out crowds...the WIRES are burning
up! "
Joel Selvin, San
Francisco Chronicle
"A 10-degree drop in the temperature...and a light rain...didn’t stop DELTA WIRES from playing like men possessed. The band features [part of] the original horn section from Cold Blood, augmented by the SUPERNATURAL harp playing of Ernie Pinata! I’d heard of the DELTA WIRES but had not investigated how good they are! They played Chicago Blues! They played New Orleans Blues! They definitely played the Oakland Funk which they claim as their turf."
"CyberSoulMan" Tee Watts -Lake County News & KPFX 88/1 fm- 33rd annual Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival (2009)
"DELTA WIRES rocked the stageat the 36th Annual (2008) San Francisco Blues Festival, proving whatgreat talents these stalwarts of Bay Area blues truly are. They got the crowd shaking and moving and set the pace for a simmering day of blues." Tom Mazzolini,
Producer,San Francisco Blues Festival
"breath-taking solos withguts and heat...incredible intensity! ...excellent musicians...a magnificent delivery!" -Philippe Le Guennec, Blues & Co. Magazine, France
"Oh, boy, it doesn’t get much better than this. Never heard of the Delta Wires? Well, they’re one of America’s finest Blues institutions, and they’ve worked out of Oakland for over 30 years. This is an industrial-strength, 7 piece blues band with a take-no-prisoners brass section and they play the blues in that special way a would-be musician could only dream of. This is a bunch of big, grown up lads, fronted by the powerful vocals and agile harp playing of Fine Arts graduate Ernie Pinata. Richard Healy’s guitar playing will set your speakers on fire … the live excitement cuts in like a hot knife through butter. You want great, live, driving American music? This is it, no mistake!"
-BLUES MATTERS Magazine, Bridgend, United Kingdom
"You guys are incredible! What a tight band! What energy! I want to know what brand of vitamins you take. Thanks so much for a wonderful day, the joy of your company, and the outstanding music. And thanks so much for helping the kids, the next generation, at Berkeley High.
You were absolutely smokin'!" -Kathleen
Lawton,Crazy
'Bout the Blues, KCSM 91.1 FM, San Mateo CA, MC for Jazz on 4th Street Festival, Berkeley CA (May 2011)
"The DELTA WIRES were off the hook! I've seen almost every blues show at Crossroads and ... these guys blew me away... Tight, Hot, Dynamic, Emotional, Soulful, Rippin' through song after song. They had the audience in the palm of their hands right up to the LAST song of the night. Everyone left with a huge smile on their face... delivered with the spirit I love most about the blues...the nicest group of individuals you would ever want to meet".
Don Heflin, President - Central Valley Blues Society
"From jump rhythms to nasty, lowdown Windy City laments, DELTA WIRES
electrifies the audience... This tight Bay Area troop, fronted by vocalist/harmonica genius/composer
Ernie Pinata, melds Mississippi Delta tunes and Chicago-style arrangements
with rock, soul, and swing sensitivity... It's terrific!This rockin' blues band is spectacular
-- tight, topical, and torrid.
Lee Cooper, Ph.D. - Rock & Blues News (link
to entire review)
"Bloody hell mate, I think I've died and gone to heaven. I've been doing Radio for 17 years,
and I ain't heard of you guys, but I have now... Ernie, you are a top tin sandwich blower, and a great set of vocal pipes, the Band from
end to end is shit HOT (and ya' can't get better than that)! -Terry Iredale, HOTFM 106.7FM in "OZ" (that's Australia!)
"This is a band whose Curriculum Vitae should read: just trim, taut and terrific. No missteps on this killer set from "Delta Wires". With a front man of the calibre of Ernie Pinata plus some platinum sidemen I guess you'd have to expect nothing but the best. And they produce it on track after track. "Them That's Got" has ended up on high rotation on my "Briefcase Full Of Blues" show. - Robin Elks, "Robin On The Radio" 2TENFM 89.7 & 98.7 Tenterfield New South Wales and Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia
""Hard-driving,
intense, with a band that's tight and fierce, this new CD ("Tears
Like Rain") from the Delta Wires will leave you breathless!" -Kathleen
Lawton, KCSM-FM, Crazy
'Bout the Blues
"Great recording and killer arrangements make DELTA WIRES' Take Off Your Pajamas: Live in San Franciscosoar! Everything cooks, from the rhythm section through
the piano, guitar and horns, to Ernie Pinata's harp sizzling on
top."
Tom Hyslop, BLUES
REVUE Magazine
"They blow hard
from the get-go, a tight horn section blending comfortably with the spirited,
intense harmonica from lead man Ernie Pinata…as fierce a Sonny
Boy Williamson-influenced harp as you will find"
Bill Kisluik, BLUES ACCESS Magazine
"This Bay Area seven-piece infuses traditional Delta Blues with rock guitar energy and a swinging brass section. At a blues festival, this is the band that blows away the headliner with their charm and energy"Europe Edition UK RealMusic
"A Powerful, HOT blues band with a rolling sense of rhythm & tons of swing. The DELTA WIRES are seven bright, good musicians, who tastefully and cleverly combine jump, swing, rhythm & blues, rock and soul, with an elegant artistic sensibility which makes an impressive, rockin’ high quality blues band!
DELTA WIRES have really got a bright punching sound. Singer, harmonica player and song writer Ernie Pinata leads the band with an audacious, terrific performance. This cd (them that's got) will sound GREAT in your record player again and again. I give you my word. GREAT!" Vicente Zumel, Radio PICA / La Hora del Blues, Spain
"Last and certainly not least was the closing act, The Delta Wires. This band has got to be one of the best polished groups I have seen in a long time. The three-piece horn section is certainly a nice touch but there wasn't anyone that could stand up to the vocals and harp playing of Ernie Pinata. It takes a lot for me to get impressed like this, but these guys really did it. If you ever get a chance to see the Delta Wires, I highly recommend that you check them out. You wont be sorry." - Dennis Sies, Sacramento Blues Society Newsletter, on Biloxi Blues Festival II (Aug 11, 2007)
The Delta Wires is one of those solid, hardworking bands that labor, if not in obscurity, then in a less-brilliant spotlight than they might deserve. Founded in 1970 by Bay Area art school student Ernie Pinata, the seven-member blues band rocks long and hard.(link
to entire article)
"Serving up a meaty
mix of blues and soul inspired by Bobby Bland's orchestra, as well as
by horn-fueled Bay Area outfits like Tower of Power and Cold Blood... With Pinata's searing harp and Bobby Delgado's rock-singed guitar creating
climax after climax over the rhythm and horn sections' expertly controlled
dynamics, the DELTA WIRES brought fresh excitement to time-honored tunes
that would have sounded stale in less inspired hands."
Lee Hildebrand, East Bay Express(link
to entire review of 9/18/98 Mr. E's performance)
"Really hot blues bar bands are a rarity. I
think its the grind that kills 'em. There are a few who survive in that
environment, and the Delta Wires are one band that not only survives but
actually thrives.... This CD, recorded live at The Saloon in San Francisco,
is a great introduction to a mighty fine aggregation of pros... This is
"get out and sweat" music, played before an appreciative crowd.
Now, ain't that where is't at.
Lee
Cotten - Rock
& Blues News (link
to entire review)
This San Francisco Bay Area band's live CD, "Take
Off Your Pajamas" is sizzlin' from beginning to end!...The
horn section of Mike Quinlan, Scott Johnston, and Larry Jonutz is tight,
yet explosive, shining throughout the CD. Johnston's superlative sax playing
is enhanced by his sweet, sultry tone. The instrumental solos by all the
musicians are sizzling! Bobby Delgado's strong guitar playing leads the
band into the title track, "Take Off Your Pajamas." The lyrics
mirror the fun, steamy sound with, "Take off your pajamas, baby...Girl
I wanna see what this fuss is all about...". The guys here know how
to share the spotlight and play off of each other in order to create a
fantastic sound that really gels! -Lisa
Gault, BLUES
ON STAGE
"These musicians turn on the power and deliver a shock of blues and R&B...Yes, these DELTA WIRES show they are a polished group. A band that is ready for the big time. The WIRES are pros and it's
a shame they aren't on a major label. Check this 14 track CD ("Live
in S.F."). A must for blues lovers!"
Armando Canales, The
Critical Review
"POWERHOUSE performancemarked by riveting horn riffs... solidly
locking bass and drum grooves..." Lee
Hildebrand, East Bay Express
"The most PROFESSIONAL band I have ever worked with!"
Laura Guthrie, Oakland
Football Marketing Association
for the ,
Oakland Coliseum
"CD was undoubtedly one of the best submissions that we have ever
received…Great instrumentation...brings to mind Blood Sweat and Tears,
and old Chicago."
Dave Johnson, Producer "Blues Deluxe"
"Ernie Pinata has a muscular voice that sails above even the hardest,
tightest arrangements....His slicing harp solos mesh easily with the high
and mighty horn section. DELTA WIRES is wired!" Jeff
Tamarkin, Goldmine Magazine
"...the festival played to sellout crowds and record attendance...your
talent and energy were key reasons the Monterey Bay Blues Festival was
successful !"
Mary Ellen Harris, Monterey
Bay Blues Festival
"As Always, DELTA WIRES was superb...and certainly a favorite
with the crowd!"
Dorothy Scribner, Hayward
Blues and Brew Festival
"An enthusiastic THANK YOU to the DELTA WIRES! The band was excellent
and everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously!"
Kathy Green, Saint
Mary’s College BeerFest
"I’m impressed...The DELTA WIRES were great! The music was perfect...there’s
a lot of talent...a pleasure!"
Deborah Martin, San
Luis Obispo Mozart Festival (pre-festival "day on the green")
Read More... 
-Lisa
Gault, BLUES
ON STAGE
Lee
Hildebrand, East Bay Express
,
Oakland Coliseum
Jeff
Tamarkin, Goldmine Magazine