'Let's go to the hop' at the Old Town Center Cottonwood on November 13, 2009

COTTONWOOD, AZ (November 5, 2009) - Get your socks knocked off with Eric Williams and the Cruisers, with some great 50’s music, sock hop style.  On Friday, November 13^th at 7:30 PM Eric Williams and the Cruisers will take the stage at the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood.  Joining the Cruisers will be local bluesman and bookstore entrepreneur Joe Neri. 

If you haven’t yet attended an event at Old Town Center for the Arts, this concert will make a great first impression.  The vintage decorations and hard wood floor will certainly take you time traveling to a different era.  If you’re in the mood, wear your poodle dress, bowling shirt, blue jeans or other 50’s duds.  We’ll have comfortable seating and also an area clear for dancing.  There will be prizes for the coolest outfits.

Eric Williams and the Cruisers band has been a local favorite for over eight years, playing an eclectic blend of jazz, standards, romantic ballads, raucous rhythm and blues, and high energy rock and roll.  Eric started in Pittsburgh area at the age of 17 with a five piece band playing a variety of styles.

Eric’s love of big band music, traditional jazz, Chicago blues, rockabilly, Motown, Rock and Roll, and even country music compelled him to learn how to play over a dozen instruments and sing with a variety of voices. His Masters Degree in Music Education helps him write, arrange and perform music in dozens of different genres. He shares his love, energy and wild enthusiasm for his music with his band mates and audiences at every opportunity

Eric’s vision was to entertain with a wide variety of extremely different styles of music. Over the past 20 years, Eric Williams has led his band  “The Cruisers” through various incarnations.  On any given night, crowds may be serenaded with mellow Nat “King” Cole style ballads as well as rocked by ZZ Top guitar driven rock selections, all from the same band.  This kind of diversity is rare.

When Eric is not on the stage, he teaches Music at Yavapai College in Sedona, as well as private music and voice lessons at his home studio.  Eric also has an extensive array of voice over abilities.

Joe Neri got his start at the age of 14 when he got his first guitar in Greenwich Village. Raised in New Jersey, he spent most of his adult life in California, where his group Blues Dawg originated.  Blues Dawg was founded by Neri in the mid-90’s in Los Angeles, playing all of the Southern California venues and recording two studio and three live albums.  After moving to Sedona in early 2005, he re-formed the band, keeping the same basic sound of covers and original blues. When Joe is not performing, he is the creative force behind Bob Dylan Birthday Parties, and the Well Red Coyote bookstore in Sedona.

Come and enjoy this special event at Old Town Center for the Arts, located at the Corner of 5^th and Main in Old Town Cottonwood. Tickets are $10 before the show and $12 at the door. Tickets for the event are available at Jerona Java Café, La Bella Café, and Desert Dancer in Cottonwood, and Golden Word and Crystal Magic in Sedona, or online at www.showtix4u.com To get the Walkin’ On Main weekend special – purchase your tickets at La Bella Café – and get two tickets for the price of one.

For further information call Elena at 928 634 0940 or log onto the web page www.oldtowncenter.org.