SANTA CRUZ — “The Hits Keep Coming” is an appropriate title for Rick Estrin & The Nightcats’ newest album, as the blues quartet have put out another record demonstrating their prowess in both reinterpreting older songs and putting out fun, funky originals.
The album was made available for streaming Friday, but one other way to experience these songs is to see them performed live, and the Nightcats will be doing just that at Moe’s Alley May 19.
Now in their 16th year, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats is the latest project by Estrin, an award-winning blues guitarist and singer who has been active for decades. Born in San Francisco, Estrin was first drawn to music when he was 6 as his 12-year-old sister became a fan of early rock ‘n’ roll stars such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. One memory that stands out is watching from the stairs as his sister hosted a party and danced with her friends to rock records.
“I thought, man, I want to make people feel like that some time,” he said.
Estrin’s in music, particularly blues music, deepened further when his sister gave him a copy of Ray Charles’ “The Genius Sings the Blues.” He took up harmonica as a teenager and was mentored by guitarist Fillmore Slim. He performed with the likes of Lowell Fulson and Z.Z. Hill before moving to the vibrant blues scene of Chicago where he performed with legends like Johnny Young, Eddie Taylor, Sam Lay, John Littlejohn and even Muddy Waters.
In addition to the showmanship of blues, Estrin also likes the feelings the genre evokes.
“When I hear songs, I’m primarily a fan, so I listen to songs, I listen to lyrics and I listen to the music and the feelings that it evokes in me, and I want to do that to people,” he said.
Returning to the Bay Area in the ’70s, Estrin met guitarist Charlie Baty, and they formed the Sacramento blues band Little Charlie & The Nightcats. The group was signed to Alligator Records — a Chicago-based blues label whose roster at one time or another has included Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Hound Dog Taylor, Lonnie Mack, Koko Taylor, Lee Rocker and Charlie Musselwhite — and released their debut album “All the Way Crazy” in 1987. The band was a fixture of blues festivals throughout the world, received four Blues Music Awards nominations for Band of the Year and won Song of the Year for their 1993 track “My Next Ex-Wife.”
However, Baty’s retirement from touring in 2008 spelled the end of the band. Nonetheless, Estrin and some of his former bandmates picked up the Nightcats moniker and resumed playing, this time with Estrin getting top billing. Rick Estrin & the Nightcats released their first album, “Twisted,” in 2009, and the current lineup includes Estrin on vocals and harmonica, Chris “Kid” Anderson on guitar, Lorenzo Farrell on bass and organ and Derrick “D’Mar” Martin on drums.
Estrin said the band is a true collaborative effort.
“I wrote most of the songs (for the latest album)…and I come in with a skeletal arrangement, and everybody contributes to the way the thing comes out,” he said. “It’s a group effort. It’s not just one guy and a backing band.”
“The Hits Keep Coming” is The Nightcats’ first album since 2019’s “Contemporary,” and Estrin said it came about from a desire to keep recording music, especially following the COVID-19 shutdowns.
“I had ideas for songs, and I wrote some stuff,” he said. “Some of it, I started during the lockdown. Some of it happened after that, but you get ideas for things, and you write what you feel.”
On the 12 songs, the band expresses optimism on “I Ain’t Worried About Nothin’,” get soulful on “Time for Me to Go” and pay tribute to former Little Charlie & The Nightcats drummer on “Whatever Happened to Dobie Strange?”
Estrin is proud of the album, as it has a more personalized sound and fine-tuned approach than previous records.
“There’s a variety of stuff on the record, but there’s a thread that runs through it that is inarguably us,” he said.
The album also contains two covers. One is Muddy Waters’ “Diamonds at Your Feet,” which Estrin said the band performed at a Waters tribute in Switzerland.
“We had a good time instrumentally playing on it,” he said. “The chord changes are a little different than regular blues.”
The other cover is Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” from his 1988 album “I’m Your Man.” The brooding, synth-driven song made seem an odd choice for a blues number, but Estrin was drawn to it after hearing it for the first time on Tom Petty’s SiriusXM show “Buried Treasure.”
“I was like, wow man, that is a great lyric,” he said. “It was one of those ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ moments.”
Estrin brought up the song to Anderson during a recording session, and Anderson suggested they record it, which they did in a jazz blues style.
“I think it sounds cool,” he said. “It was amazing how Kid Anderson could just envision that so quickly.”
Estrin said showmanship is a big part of The Nightcats, and people can expect that at the Moe’s Alley show.
“We’re a great live act,” he said. “I feel sorry for anyone who ever has to follow us at a festival or anything like that. I don’t feel like I’m bragging because I’m not bragging on myself. I’ll brag on the band all day long. It’s a great band and a great show.”
The concert is 3 p.m. May 19 at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. Doors open at 2. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show. This is a 21-and-older concert. For information, go to MoesAlley.com.
