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Drew Verbis
220 px X 330 px
Drew Verbis at the Rhythm Room 2019
Born
Andrew Anthony Verbis

December 4
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Other namesDJ Dirty Drew, BBQ Drew
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma (Ba), (MA)
Occupations
  • Radio personality
  • producer
  • musician
  • writer
  • photographer
Years active1995–present
Websiteverbis.org

Drew Verbis (born December 4) is an American public radio personality. He is best known as the host and producer of the weekly public radio series Blues America (BA).[1] BA broadcasts on numerous public radio and community stations in the United States and internationally and is also available as a downloadable weekly podcast.[2] [3] The series is distributed by Public Radio Exchange[4] and the Pacifica Radio Network.[5] Drew has been involved in a number of notable American music recordings in the last two decades, primarily as a producer or session photographer.[6][7] Drew's godfather is legendary Persuasions front-man, Jerry Lawson. Drew's mentor is producer, Bob Corritore.[8][9]

Early life and education[edit]

Drew was raised in a blended family in West Germany as a third culture kid. He was introduced to music by the Persuasions early in life, which would prove to have a lasting influence. As a child, Drew learned how to play piano and guitar.[10]

Drew graduated with the premiere class at Westview High School in Avondale, Arizona where he played varsity football and was the school’s first-elected Student Body President.[11]

At 17, Drew was eager to enter the 21-older music venues that featured touring acts such as the Counting Crows, Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Ben Harper. Determined, Drew bought a 32 mm Pentax camera at the local pawn, created a press badge at a printer’s shop and followed bands into the concert halls as they loaded gear; seemingly appearing to belong. During this period, Drew personally befriended blues legends such as Bo Diddley, Junior Wells, Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr., Chico Chism and Cedric Burnside. Eventually, he was caught by blues harmonica ace and producer, Bob Corritore which resulted in an enduring mentorship.[12]

Drew graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor in Business Administration. Later, he earned a Master of Arts in Communication and a Master of Arts in Museum Science.[13][14]

Career[edit]

In 2000, Drew briefly resided with Chico Chism before becoming the Entertainment Director at the Rhythm Room.[15][16] He worked with regular touring talent such as John Scofield, Leon Redbone, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, George Benson and R.L. Burnside.[17] During this period Drew produced studio records with R.L. Burnside, Louisiana Red, Mojo Buford and Robert Lockwood Jr. Drew has contributed to studio sessions with many of the greatest names of the blues genre, including: Pinetop Perkins, Little Milton Campbell, Bob Stroger, Bob Margolin, Henry Gray (musician), Eddie Shaw, Lazy Lester and dozens more.[18]

Drew Verbis and Jerry Lawson at KJZZ Radio

In 2003 Drew was the manager and touring agent for blues legend, Louisiana Red.[19]

"Drew Verbis dressed in black – black turtleneck, black pants, black leather jacket, with silver jewelry on his wrists and fingers – looks like he stepped from the pages of Esquire magazine. He sits behind a digital control board at KJZZ, the Valley’s long-running late-night jazz and blues radio station, and tinkers with the levels and computer-coded readouts. It’s not twiddling the knobs or playing the discs, although that is part of it, it’s the expert knowing, the loving of music that’s his job."

- Michael Clawson, Staff Writer, West Valley View, Music, Page B12, March 19, 2003[20]

Drew produced a radio series called Blues and Beyond for KJZZ. His first program featured Persuasions lead singer and co-founder, Jerry Lawson. At KJZZ, Drew’s most notable interviews included Ray Charles, B.B. King, Jimmy Smith, Ruth Brown, Etta James, Marian McPartland, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, the Barenaked Ladies and John Popper.[21][22][23]

Blues America[edit]

The first episode of Blues America (BA) was a two-hour format and aired on May 15, 2015 on KFNX 1100 (AM) in Phoenix, featuring a guest interview with Bob Corritore.[24] The second show featured a posthumous guest interview with B.B. King, which was one of the last interviews he gave before his passing.[25]

BA became a one-hour program and uniquely produced for public broadcasting consumption in 2016. It was created and produced by Drew Verbis. Since his late-teens, Drew had spent a considerable amount of time around legends such as R.L. Burnside, T-Model Ford, Junior Wells, Chico Chism, Louisiana Red, and Robert Lockwood Jr. [26][27] By 2015, these musicians died, and Drew realized that the blues was quickly losing part of its identity with the passing of its hallmark players. As part of the ‘keep the blues alive’ movement, Blues America was created to document the story of blues players and make blues musicians obtainable to the public.

In 2016, a studio was built inside of a record store to produce the Blues America series and named after one of Drew's friends and mentors, Arizona's blues figure, Chico Chism.[28][29][30]

In 2017, Blues America aired the first-post Grammy Award interview with Bobby Rush.[31] That same year, Drew spearheaded a relief fund to help Henry Gray recover from flooding [32] and accompanied him to Memphis, Tennessee where Gray, was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. These historic events where documented in an interview on Blues America episode 79.[33]

Other notable guest interviews have included B.B. King, Ben Harper, Jontavious Willis,[34] Shemekia Copeland,[35] Billy Boy Arnold[36] and Steve Cropper. BA conducted one of the last interviews with B.B. King,[37] and the last interviews with Eddy Clearwater[38] and Preston Shannon.[39]

Military Service[edit]

Drew is a 7th generation uniformed service member.[40] He served in the United States Navy and deployed with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 in Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.[41][42][43][44] In 2013, he was selected as junior sailor of the year for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133. In 2014, he was selected as junior sailor of the year for Naval Public Affairs Support Element West. In 2019, he worked as a media content producer in the public affairs office of Admiral James G. Foggo III, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet.[45]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Album title Record label Accreditation Credit Year of release
Champagne & Reefer Fedora Records Mojo Buford Photography 1999
All-Star Blues Sessions HighTone Records Bob Corritore Photography 2000
Rhythm Room Blues HighTone Records Various Photography 2001
Not the Same Old Blues Crap, Vol. 2 Fat Possum Records Various Associate Producer 2001
No Monkeys on This Train HighTone Records R.L. Burnside Associate Producer 2003
Legend Live MC Records Robert Lockwood Jr. Associate Producer 2004
Snakes Crawls at Night Random Chance Chief Schabutti Gilliame Cover Art 2004
No Turn on Red HMG Louisiana Red Cover art photo 2005
House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin' Blue Witch Records Various Photography 2006
Broadcasting the Blues SWMAF Records Bob Corritore Photography 2009
Alone Hobo Records Louisiana Red Producer 2010
Blues on my Radio SWMAF Records Bob Corritore Producer, Art Concept 2010
Harmonica Blues Delta Groove Productions Bob Corritore Photography 2010
Ain't Nothing You Can Do Delta Groove Productions John Primer and Bob Corritore Liner Notes 2018
92 Music Matters Henry Gray (musician) Photography 2018
Folk Tales SWMAF Records Various Producer, Piano 2019

[46]


References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Bergsman, Steve (2017). Friends of Billy Preston. CreateSpace. pp. back cover. ISBN 1544957297.
  2. ^ "iTunes". podcasts.apple.com. Apple. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Spotify. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Public Radio Exchange". prx.org. Public Radio Exchange. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Pacifica Radio Network". audioport.org. Pacifica Radio Network. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  6. ^ Leatherman, Benjamin (2016-09-28). "Rhythm Room: An Oral History of the First 25 Years of a Phoenix Blues Institution". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  7. ^ Clawson, Michael (2004-02-18). "All the Right Moves". West Valley View. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  8. ^ Clawson, Michael (2003-03-19). "Westview Grad Fuels Phoenix Blues Machine". West Valley View. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  9. ^ Sargeant, Teresa (2006-09-02). "Persuasion's lead singer releases solo album, films movie about Apopka roots". Apopka Chief Newspaper. Apopka, Florida. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  10. ^ Clawson, Michael (2003-03-19). "Westview Grad Fuels Phoenix Blues Machine". West Valley View. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  11. ^ "Westview Alumni". alumniclass.com. Alumni Class. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  12. ^ Clawson, Michael (2003-03-19). "Westview Grad Fuels Phoenix Blues Machine". West Valley View. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  13. ^ "Verbis Site". verbis.org. Drew Verbis. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "Insight Magazine". issuu.com. University of Oklahoma. 2015. p. 54. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  15. ^ Garcia, Gilbert (2002-05-02). "Chico,The Man". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  16. ^ O'Connor, Christopher (2003-12-25). "Ash Canned". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  17. ^ Garcia, Gilbert (2002-03-21). "Shattered". New Times Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  18. ^ "All Music Guide". allmusic.com. All Music. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Pete, Joseph (2018-08-16). "Lakeshore Public Radio adding more business and finance programming". NWI Times Newspaper. Chicago. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  20. ^ Clawson, Michael (2003-03-19). "Westview Grad Fuels Phoenix Blues Machine". West Valley View. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  21. ^ Waters, Jennifer (2003-03-15). "KJZZ Adds Blues and Beyond". Rio Salado Colleges Paper. Tempe. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  22. ^ "Best of Phoenix KJZZ 2005". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. 2005-05-11. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  23. ^ "Newtime Magazine Best of 2004". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  24. ^ "PRX". Prx.org. PRX. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  25. ^ "BB King Interview". Spreaker.com. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  26. ^ "Drew Verbis". Lakeshorepublicradio.org. Lakeshore media. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  27. ^ "All Music Guide". Allmusic.com. All Music. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  28. ^ "Chico Chism Memorial Studio". Bluesamerica.com. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  29. ^ D'Andrea, Niki (2002-05-02). "Chico,The Fan". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  30. ^ Garcia, Gilbert (2002-05-02). "Chico,The Man". Newtimes Magazine. Phoenix. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  31. ^ "Bobby Rush Interview". Spreaker.com. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  32. ^ "Henry Gray Relief". Brbluesfoundation.org. BR Foundation. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "Henry Gray Interview". Spreaker.com. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  34. ^ "Jontavious Willis". Jontaviouswillis.com. Jontavious Willis. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  35. ^ "Shemekia Copeland,". Shemekiacopeland.com. Alligator Records. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  36. ^ "Public Radio". Norcalpublicmedia.org. Nor Cal Radio. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  37. ^ "BB King Interview". Spreaker.com. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  38. ^ "Eddy Clearwater". Eddyclearwater.com. Eddy Clearwater. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  39. ^ "Preston Shannon Interview". PRX. Blues America. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  40. ^ Lewis, Peter (2011-05-11). "Seabee sets great example for all". Joint Region Edge Newspaper. Guam. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  41. ^ "Seabee Afghanistan". seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil. Seabee Magazine. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  42. ^ "Seabee Afghanistan". seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil. Seabee Magazine. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  43. ^ "Seabee Afghanistan". seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil. Seabee Magazine. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  44. ^ "Afghanistan". dvidshub.net. US Navy Public Affirs. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  45. ^ "U.S. 6th Fleet". navy.mil. US Navy Public Affirs. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  46. ^ Jenna Waters. "Album Credits- Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-04-18.


Category:American radio hosts Category:American radio producers Category:University of Oklahoma alumni Category:Blues America people Category:United States Seabee personnel Category:NPR personalities Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:People from Phoenix Category:People from Arizona Category:American military personnel

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