Chubby Rae
& The Elevators
Marisa is well known for fronting Chubby Rae & The Elevators, a rollicking fun-time blues band that has performed at Australia's major blues and roots festivals including Port Fairy, Apollo Bay, Queenscliff, East Coast Blues (Byron Bay), Gympie Music Muster, Bridgetown Blues (WA), and many more. With this outfit, she has released two albums (one live and one studio), and won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2007 Australian Blues Music Awards.
Chubby Rae & the Elevators have been making converts to their vibed-up, good-time blues since their first gig in July 2000 and since then, Marisa Quigley, aka Chubby Rae, the 6’ redheaded soulful powerhouse, has been singin’ the blues like there’s no tomorrow. Fellow founding member and mainstay of the band, Jim Dyson, the “Boss of the Boogaloo”, delivers sweet, straight down the line blues licks and solid R’n’B rhythms on guitar and slide. He is renowned for his smooth Jimmy Vaughn- esque guitar style and his snappy dressing.
Chubby Rae & the Elevators were awarded 'Band of the Year' and 'Best Emerging Talent' at the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s 2003 Victorian Blues Music Awards for their debut release “Live at St. Andrews” and 'Album of the Year' at the 2007 Australian Blues Music Awards for their 2005 release “She Gets Unruly”.
“(Chubby Rae & the Elevators) compare very favorably to many US bands, and can certainly hold (their) own as both players and singers against some much better known musicians.”
— Bruce Iglauer, Head of Alligator Records
Although playing much less these days with Marisa in North East Victoria and Jim in Northern NSW, the band still do the occasional festival somewhere in the country. Wherever they go Chubby Rae & the Elevators put on a hell of a show and rock up a storm, so put on your dancin’ shoes and let your hair down baby, we’re gonna have a natch’l ball.
“Chubby Rae & the Elevators are one of the best traditional blues bands I have seen in years. They are the real deal! They are true blues entertainers. I love their work. ”
Awards
'BAND OF THE YEAR' and 'BEST EMERGING TALENT'
2007 Australian Blues Music Awards
'ALBUM OF THE YEAR' and 'FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR'
Reviews
Chubby Rae and the Elevators
Review by Alexander Sims
Way Out West Roots Music Club, Sun 26th Jan 2014
Having heard the name Chubby Rae and the Elevators for the last decade, one starts to conjure up an image of the likes of Odetta or Chubby Checker. It was a surprise to find a tall slender woman in a long black dress named Marisa Quigley fronting the band and well-known luthier Jim Dyson on guitar.
There were reverberations of 1940’s and 50’s Chicago throughout the band’s music and image. Dyson handcrafted the guitar he was using and it displayed a mixture of Fender and Tesico guitars. Quigley’s voice arouses the women and men of Chess Records and soul music. Quigley played a spontaneous cover of Eta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” that could rival the emotional content of the original.
Jim Dyson is one hell-of-a guitarist and handles his instrument with tenacity. Being the only solo instrument he wowed audience members with his ability to come up with a different solo every song. It was an interesting change in timbre to listen to a guitar play the opening riff to Louis Jordan’s “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie” being primarily played on saxophone, not many guitar orientated bands would tackle one of Jordan’s songs.
Chicago blues can easily encourage one into a world of dance. Bassist Sandy Clark is the probable reason with the Elevators. Most Chicago blues pieces have bass lines that repeat over set chord formulae, thus creating a trance atmosphere, in which the mind can respond and translate into dance. We all know that a solid rhythm section can and will produce on the dance floor. Drummer Karl Inderburg has timing that is as solid as a metronome, which adds a studio type quality to the songs.
If Chubby Rae and the Elevators travelled back to the 1950’s there is no doubt Leonard Chess would have signed them to Chess Records and Willie Dixon would have written for them.
Review by Lee Howard
Sunday Herald Sun, Feb 12 2006
Top live act does it in the studio.
Punters who have seen this crew will note the implicit threat in the title. Marisa Quigley, aka Chubby Rae, is 183cm tall of party-lovin' gal with red hair who loves to sing the blues. Put her out front of a band including Jim Dyson (guitar), Craig Chiller (bass), Karl Inderberg (drums) and "Captain" Lou Toth (saxophone, percussion) and you have all the necessary ingredients for a riotous time. After a live disc, the band has headed into the studio for this swag of 14 originals. Quigley is, without doubt, the star turn, but the support she gets from Dyson's guitar takes the Elevators to the next level. The father of ARIA blues winner Mia Dyson the guitar maker and player delivers some blistering licks. The material suffers from similarity of tempo, but the album will only enhance the band's standing with new fans.
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Review by Chris Bennett, Foggy Mountain Music TAS
Royal Oak Hotel, Sat 8th Nov 2003
Chubby Rae was backed by the tightest blues band imaginable - no wonder they were recently voted Victoria’s Blues Band of 2003 - the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s coveted trophy. In February 2004 they will be centre stage with other international and Australian legends such as Chris Wilson and Joe Camilleri at the Melbourne International Blues & Music Festival.
For their Tasmanian Tour they signed up Hobart harmonica ace Ian Beecroft (the man who played in Chicago on four different occasions in the 90’s) - he was the icing on the very rich cake. The multi-talented Croft also pulled out his fat honking saxophone on such songs as ‘Two Fisted Mamma’ and ‘Honey Hush’. Not content with that he also playedflute on tracks like Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Whose Been Talking’. Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson couldn’t have done it any better!
The Elevator’s four-piece band has remained rock solid for some time. Chubby Rae herself is closely flanked by Jim Dyson. Jim makes guitars during the day and plays them by night. He is a very hot player indeed. Jim employs a lot of light and shade in his playing. His stinging slide guitar was a treat on tracks like ‘Just A Little Bit’ and ‘You Can’t Stay Here’.
A top blues band naturally needs to have a top rhythm section and they had that in abundance. Carl Inderberg playing drums, could perform with distinction in any blues band anywhere in the world - he’s a beauty. Craig Chiller on bass is just as good! So hot was their playing at the Oak, it wouldn’t have mattered if they had been at B.B. King’s on Beale Street or Buddy Guy’s Bar in Chicago they would have bought the house down.
Chubby Rae and the Elevators studio album will be released soon containing all original material. Some of their top songs are ‘Reasons To Love’, ‘Call Me’ and ‘Wannabe’. They have written at least 50!!! Not only is their playing from the top shelf but also so is their songwriting. They will be back in Tasmania in February. Their live album ‘Live at St. Andrews’ rolls along the highway in overdrive. It is an excellent CD.
Footnote:
A touching testimony to the band’s magic occurred late into the night when Kevin “Smokey” Robertson (club secretary) was moved to dance, something no one has ever seen before. His wife Sue and his close friends were moved to tears so beautiful was the occasion!!!