Photo by Alexis Tarrazi Tony Rivera of Lodi

By Chris Neidenberg / Reporter

RUTHERFORD (Nov. 19, 2009) — To local flamenco blues guitarist Tony Rivera, good music is like fine wine.

And that perfectly sums up the Lodi resident’s two passions, which he combines in spreading joy to others through his craft. The entertainer’s love of wine is visible with every performance.

The leader of the Tony Rivera Band always plays his acoustic guitar using an empty wine glass as his slide, likely drawing double takes from audiences already exposed to performances offering a special blend of Spanish flamenco, disco, blues, Southern rock, Latin music and gospel.

Rivera discussed his passions in a recent interview, quite relaxed, while perched in a simple metal folding chair atop an ideal venue — the Lincoln Park Bandshell — on a bright autumn day.

He even performed an impromptu concert, drawing a small band of the curious, some mothers rolling infants in strollers and other young children.

“The wine glass is just a novelty,” explained Rivera, 42, who enjoys playing local venues, including churches, festivals and street fairs, and whose band once released a CD, “Gypsy,” showcasing this eclectic mix.

“I was playing with a standard slide one day,” he recalled. “As I was drinking a glass of wine, I simply decided to start using the glass when it became empty. It’s been with me ever since.”

While straight flamenco guitarists don’t use slides, blues players do. Rivera noted the tradition started with blues in the South, given the style of music often required rapid swings in pitch.

The glass or brass metal slide fits over a finger. It is placed gently against the strings as the playing hand strums.

“There’s just many more things you can do musically with a slide,” he said of his trusted crystal tool.

“It gives you many more options,” Rivera explained. “That’s exactly what the demands of playing blues guitar require.”

The guitarist estimates he averages about 20 live performances in the region a year. He enjoys entertaining all ages, from senior citizens to small children. In fact, his manager, Denise Monesteri, hails him as “a pied piper” who has special gifts in relating to, and attracting, young audiences.

Rivera’s diversity in music is not surprising. It is part of his makeup, with a Puerto Rican father and Italian mother.

It was his father who introduced him to flamenco. The distinctive guitar and dance genre’s origins can be traced back hundreds of years to the Andalusian region in southern Spain. It has since extended its influence.

Rivera’s hero is world-renowned player, Sabicas, who he fell in love with as a young boy and later met. He inspired Rivera to attend the Juan Orozco School of Flamenco Guitar in New York City, as well as the American Institute of Guitar.

“Actually, flamenco is confused with Mexican music,” observed Rivera, who has played with the likes of folk singer/guitarist Tom Chapin and Jimmy Hendrix’ drummer Buddy Miles.

“The fact is, flamenco existed 300 to 400 years before Mexico was founded,” he explained. “You can hear its influence in Mexican music, but the two styles are definitely not the same.”

Yet Rivera also has a great love for American blues, rock and jazz, which he has proudly mingled with the flamenco style.

He counts among his heroes guitarists Carl Perkins, Les Paul, Arthur Kudrup and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. In fact, his “Gypsy” CD contains a tribute section to Page’s legendary hard rock band.

On the side, Rivera has also played professionally in tribute bands showcasing Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead.

And Rivera stressed the flamenco tradition in no way discourages such diverse fusion.

“I’m a flamenco guitarist, but not a classical one who plays flamenco songs,” he said. “I use the experiences around me, growing up here in Bergen County, to play my best music as inspired by the flamenco tradition.

“I don’t live in the middle of Spain, so my experiences are going to be different,” Rivera added. “Flamenco encourages the freedom to just be one’s self, which is my basic philosophy.”

For more information, log onto www.tonyriveraband.com. For booking information, call 973-772-9407 or 201-218-4767.