Her Own Tune

Sandy Ross, who’s having a CD release party at B.B. King’s on Sunday, is a folk singer-songwriter who’s been plying her craft for more than 30 years.

As a teen, she was moved by the music of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 1960s--artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary, and Judy Collins; writers such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil and Phil Ochs. Ross grew up in Phoenix but rambled out of that Wild West town in the early 1970s.

“I went to New York City with my songs when I was a kid,” Ross said. “I signed with Chappell Music and they sent me to L.A.”

In Los Angeles, Ross became a respected member of the local folk music scene. Over the years, she has worked with Chappell and almost a dozen other publishing firms. Among those who have recorded her songs are Anne Murray and Kim Carnes.

Her music has elements of folk, acoustic blues and jazz, but her songs do not fall automatically into one pop genre or another.

“I’ve managed to never be tempted to jump on any musical bandwagons,” Ross said. “I’ve always felt I needed to be doing what I’m doing.

“During the disco era, there was not a bone in my body that wanted to do that music.”

Over the years, she’s learned to trust her emotions while writing a song.

“I’ve learned if I’m touching my emotions, I’ll be touching someone else’s,” Ross said. “Also, catchiness is important. Is it fun to play it or does it bore the hell out of me?”

In addition to her music, Ross works as a computer software documentation writer. She lives in Van Nuys. Like many musicians these days, Ross produces her own CDs.

“For all intents and purposes, I’m a record label,” Ross said.

For most of the year, Ross confines her performances to Southern California from San Luis Obispo to Orange County. But in the spring, she tours around the country, traveling to gigs in her 1991 Dodge Ram 250 van.

“Her name is Cecil,” Ross said.

With camping gear, icebox and other amenities, “Cecil” is Ross’ home on the road, often parked in the driveway of a new friend.

“I’m totally self-contained except for a shower,” Ross said. “It’s neat because you get to stay with people and get to know them.”

* Sandy Ross hosts a release party for her new CD, “Coloring Outside the Lines,” Sunday, 4:30-7 p.m. at B. B. King’s Blues Club, Universal CityWalk, 1000 Universal Center Drive. No cover. (818) 622-5464.

Also at B.B.’s: Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers perform Saturday night.

Piazza and company have garnered many accolades and handfuls of awards from the blues community over the years. Known for their rousing live performances, they have ranked among the top four live performers in Living Blues magazine’s readers poll every year since 1993. Piazza won a W.C. Handy Award in Memphis in April for best blues harmonica player.

Piazza’s label, Rounder’s Tone Cool Records, is about to release a CD of music he recorded live in a Los Angeles area nightclub back in 1975. The CD is titled “Vintage Live 1975.”

After all these years, Piazza’s not quite sure which club it was, but one of the suspects was a joint called the Boiler Room that was located in those days somewhere between Los Angeles and his home base in Riverside.

Does Piazza notice any changes between the way he played then and now?

“What I found is back then is not quite as spot-on playing,” he said. “There was no lack of spontaneity, but with some of the things I wasn’t spot-on. And there’s also a maturity of my voice now. But overall, I’m pretty happy with those tapes.”

Piazza and the Flyers do six three-week mini-tours each year from March to October. That’s being on the road to the tune of about 150-175 gigs per year.

Piazza and his band are in the studio recording a new CD that will be released in February. And next week, the band is leaving town for another of its mini-tours that will take it to B.B. King’s in Memphis.

Unlike many front men who go through sidemen like they go through Kleenex, Piazza keeps the same guys around year in and year out. His keyboard player is also his wife, Honey Piazza; bassist is Bill Stuve; drummer, Steve Mugalian; and guitarist, Rick Holmstrom. What’s Piazza’s secret for keeping his sidemen happy?

“One of the things is being able to let guys express themselves on their instruments in the context of the band’s show,” Piazza said. “And trying to take care of a lot of the dirty work, not concerning them with it.

“If I give everyone a chance to do their thing, it makes us better,” Piazza said. “When you hear someone with a makeshift band, it seems lackluster.”

* Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers perform Saturday night at B. B. King’s Blues Club, Universal CityWalk, 1000 Universal Center Drive. $14. (818) 622-5464.