“#1 Blues Artist”
– Billboard Magazine

Anthony Gomes’ latest , “Up 2 Zero”, represents a full-circle
return to his love of high energy, guitar-driven blues rock. “This
album is the most honest representation of who I am. The title
represents getting back to the blues – back to ground zero,” says
Gomes. “Musically, most people try to look ahead for inspiration or
seek out what’s cutting edge. I seem to go in the other direction and
look backwards to be inspired. In a strange way, when I listen to
Muddy Waters or Robert Johnson I hear the future.”

Born in Toronto, Canada, to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian
mother, Gomes began playing guitar in his early teens and was drawn to
the blues sounds of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
While he honed his skills in the blues bars at night, Gomes earned a Master’s
Degree from the University of Toronto focusing on the ‘Racial
Evolution of Blues Music’. He relocated to Chicago in the late ’90s to learn
from the blues Masters. During his brief stint as a sideman for Magic Slim and the
Teardrops, Gomes put together his own group and won the first annual
Buddy Guy’s Legends “Best Unsigned Blues Band” competition in 1998.

Later that year Gomes released his debut CD, “Blues in
Technicolor“, which introduced him as a guitar-slinger loaded with
impressive firepower. Instead of following up with more of the same,
he boldly stepped back for an intimate acoustic offering in 2000 with
“Sweet Stringin’ Soul”. And on 2002’s “Unity” he accomplished the
album’s title with a heavy mix of styles that led Bandit Blues Radio
to name it one of the Top 30 Essential Blues CDs of all time.

A year later Gomes was named BluesWax Magazine’s “Artist Of The Year”,
which elevated him to the top of the blues field. “Music Is the
Medicine“, released in 2006, peaked at number four on the Billboard
Top Blues Albums chart. Gomes’ endless touring kept him atop the
blues field as he continued to be nominated for Blues Wax “Artist Of The
Year” awards for several years in a row. 2008’s “LIVE” is Gomes’
greatest commercial success to date, reaching number one on the
Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.

Up 2 Zero opens with the searing mission statement of “Back To The
Start”, a song co-written with Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan
Tedeschi, Johnny Winter). The album, mixed by five-time Grammy winner
Richard Dodd (The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty), includes the burning
slow blues of “One Last Time”, the radio ready “Love Sweet Love”, and
classic rock-blues groover “Fly Away”. On these songs Anthony
collaborated with longtime writing partner Jim Peterik (“Eye Of The
Tiger“, “Vehicle“, “Hold On Loosely“, “Blues In Technicolor“).

Gomes also penned several standout songs including the hypnotic
“Voodoo Moon”, the powerful tribute to all the blues artists who have
recently passed in “Last Bluesman Gone” and the high energy blues romp
of “Room 414″. “A lot of folks ask me what the significance is of that
room. They wonder what exactly happened behind those closed doors,”
Anthony laughs, “It is actually the room number at the Gunter Hotel in
San Antonio where Robert Johnson recorded all his material.” Of all
the songs on the CD, “Darkest Before The Dawn“/“N‘Abandonne Pas“ is
the most personal for Gomes. The track, an uplifting and inspiring
ballad, appears in both English and French on the album. “My mother is
from Quebec City and the French-Canadian culture is a big part of who
we are. I am so proud to be able to sing this song in French. For me,
it’s a highlight on this album,” stated Gomes.
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