Music
All the music featured on each and every episode of Fishing With Joe Bucher was written and performed by Joe Bucher and his band "The TopRaiders". This unique blend of blues, jazz and rock fusion is a sampling from Joe's popular CD Soundtrack "Fishing With Joe Bucher TV Soundtracks".
FWJB features it's very own music!
For nearly ten years Joe Bucher's popular fishing tv show, Fishing With Joe Bucher, opened with its own signature tune "Fishing With Joe" written and produced by Frankie Sullivan of the famous rock group, Survivor. Although this catchy blues tune was a favorite of many, Joe decided it was time for a change.
"I've had this kick-ass rock tune sitting in the archives now for a few years that I personally wrote and played with my friends from the TopRaiders. We debuted it on our fall hunting series this past autumn and it went over big. Reluctantly, we decided to retire the old favorite 'Fishing With Joe' in favor of this new tune. Once my fans hear this new one, I think they'll know why I wanted the change".
One of the other big reasons Joe wanted to change the open tune is so that all of the music inside his shows was totally 100% his own. "While I can't thank Frankie enough for writing and providing me with this tune to use for all those years, I really wanted to create my entire show around my own music. Now, all of the music our fans hear inside each and every episode of FWJB is mine. It's all written, produced and played by myself and my buddies".
His buddies being The TopRaiders. A top-notch group of blues/jazz/rock fusion musicians that Joe has played with for years. While the TopRaiders becomes a much larger group for live performances with a complete brass section, the core of the TopRaiders consists of only four musicians --- Bill Truebenbach on drums, Wayne Hicks on bass, and Joe Fittante on keys; and of course, Joe Bucher playing all the guitars. When they play live gigs, Joe adds a 4 piece brass section including Gerry Plank on bari-sax, T-Bone Bruce Reines on trombone, Pat Phalen on trumpet, and John Greiner on tenor sax.
It's important to note that ALL of the music you hear inside each and every episode of Fishing With Joe Bucher is in fact --- Joe Bucher --- playing the guitars. "We went into the studio this fall and kicked out 13 brand new tunes for the 2006 show. Some of them are quite different than what we've featured in the past. In fact, we've kicked up the tempo quite a bit and have also returned to a harder edge with some rock pieces. The new open which is called 'Kickin' Bass' is one such tune. There's no blues to this tune at all. It is a hard edged rock piece."
Bucher still features some great bluesy cuts on his show including an instrumental version of BB King's "Payin' The Cost" to end the show every week. "Most of the blues tunes we do are totally ad-lib stuff that occurs when we just take off in one direction. I think you'll like them". For more information on Joe's music visit the Music section of this website.
JOE BUCHER (MUSIC BIO)
Joe Bucher’s musical background, training and influences trace back to the late 1960's, when he first began his love of the electric guitar at the age of 13. Growing up during the most controversial, yet most influential time in rock/blues history provided Joe with an incredible library of artists and material to study. Imagine hearing the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Eric Clapton for the first time during your formative musical years. It’s not hard to understand how Joe was inspired to play guitar.
By the early 1970's, he began to hook up with various local rock/blues groups throughout south eastern Wisconsin playing gigs throughout the state. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these groups was a band called Raven Strait, a group Joe Bucher joined his freshman year in college at UWSP (University of Wisconsin Stevens Point). Raven Strait became one of the hottest and most sought after acts in Wisconsin during that early 1970's period, and Joe was known as one of the better lead guitar players on tour during that time. Eventually, this lead to an even greater opportunity – a tour with a national act.
A regional booking agency purchased the rights to various national brand name rocks groups around 1972, and one of those bands was Music Explosion. Like so many named groups in those days, the reality of such groups didn’t exist beyond that of a name, since the majority of them simply did recording sessions and made several attempts at producing a sellable record. If and when a “hit” occurred, an eventual live tour would follow. This, in turn, involved assembling a real band to actually play the hit live. This is where Joe came in to play with Music Explosion and their hit tune “Little Bit Of Soul”.
Ironically, the lyrics “when you’re feeling low and the fish don’t bite”, fit right into Bucher’s persona with his fishing background. Little did anyone know at the time he’d end up being in the National Freshwater Fishing Hall Of Fame many years later. The rest as they say is history.
Eventually the grind of traveling and touring took its toll on Bucher’s interest in the music business and he got out of it entirely for a period of almost twenty years. During his hiatus from music, Bucher developed his lifestyle and business trade that he is so well known for today – the fisherman. He moved to northern Wisconsin and got in to the guide business full time. Throughout the bulk of the 1970's, all of the 1980's, and well into the mid 1990's Joe established himself as one of the premier fishing guides in Wisconsin, and arguably in all of North America. Many noted fishing/outdoor celebrities sought out Joe for newspaper stories, magazine articles, and TV show segments. Legendary bass angler Roland Martin once made the statement “Joe Bucher is the best all around guide I’ve ever fished with”. Spence Petros, then editor of Fishing Facts Magazine, called Joe “one of the top 10 all species anglers in the U.S.”. The late Chicago Tribune Outdoor Editor John Husar called Joe Bucher “the guide of all guides”. Wow!
So, with all these accolades, how did he get back into music after such a successful career in the fishing business? It actually started on the water during a fishing outing with rock legend Frankie Sullivan of the well known group Survivor who coined such notable hits as “Eye Of The Tiger” featured on the Rocky III movie. Frankie began talking guitars with Joe as they chased after muskies, and was surprised to find out Joe once played himself. By the end of the day, they were jammin’ in Frankie’s basement. The entire incident was captured on TV for one of Joe’s original pilot episodes of Fishing With Joe Bucher. Frankie then encouraged Joe to get back into it. He even presented him with a gift Fender Stratocaster to further prod this rebirth.
Bucher took the bait and began revisiting his love for the guitar. But, instead of touring and doing live performances, he began producing instrumental sound tracks for his TV show. Experimenting with everything from rock to jazz fusion to blues, Bucher began laying out a new signature for his TV show – personalized music, unique to his show alone. While the bulk of outdoor hunting and fishing shows had a country music flare and more of a low-key approach, Bucher’s show featured a fast paced, action packed program with music videos choreographing fish jumps and thrashes combined with a highly informative format. The result was a big hit with viewers.
Quickly, Bucher’s TV show climbed in popularity from only a few local Wisconsin broadcast markets to its present day stature at 37 million households. And, Joe Bucher’s music sound tracks are now a well established and well known part of the outdoor TV experience. All of this has lead to a renewed interest in performing live for a few select venues. Thus, Joe Bucher formed a new band he has appropriately labeled “The TopRaiders” after his famous surface baits. His new band showcases Joe Bucher’s prowess on guitar as well as a chance for his many TV fans to see him perform live, but not with a fishing rod. With a guitar!
Discography:
Joe Bucher & The TopRaiders Live (2001)
East Wind Blues (2002)
Fishing With Joe Bucher Soundtracks (2003)NEW! Blues Ballads Collection 2009 (see below)
Special Offer On Original Sound Track CD!
Do you find yourself humming the songs from Joe Bucher's TV show hours after you watch the show? If you can't get enough of the hot music you hear every week on Fishing and Hunting with Joe Bucher than you are in luck.
Joe is offering a brand new cd for all you music lovers. The cd covers all of the music you hear on the show and even a few bonus tracks you haven't heard. Get yours today for $6.95 + .038 sales tax for WI residents.
New! BLUES BALLADS COLLECTION CD
New for 2009! A collection of all their best blues ballads from their very best live performances! Few can capture the raw emotion of the blues ballad quite like Joe Bucher & The TopRaiders. Includes such tunes as: The Thrill Is Gone, Still Got The Blues, Sky Is Cryin', Tell Me Why, I'll Play The Blues For You, Life Is Hard, East Wind Blues, Stormy Monday and more. This CD is the best representation of Joe Bucher & The TopRaiders live! Get yours today for $10.00 which includes shipping charges. WI residents add .038 ($10.38 total) for sales tax.
Order direct from.....
Joe Bucher TV Productions
P.O. Box 1105
Eagle River, WI 54521
Send personal check or money order. No COD's or credit card orders.
BLUES FEST 2010 Date Anounced!
Date: July 31st (2010) saturday
Time: 3 pm to 11 pm
Location: St. Germain Pavilion
Bands: tba
Food: Featured Memphis style ribs & pork butts prepared by an authentic Memphis smoker team!
Goal: Main fund raiser for Northland Pines Youth Football & Cheerleading Organization
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