Hall of Fame

2013 Inductees

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Patrick started out with pots and pans but eventually got a snare drum and learned to read music from Mike Lawson. Pat’s father’s radio station job gave him access to the vinyl record vaults at KRAK and KCTC, so Pat began listening to every kind of music under the sun down at the radio stations and would take home recordings to learn on the drums. This allowed him to play with any style band due to his repertoire. In his teen years Pat wrote and played original music with The Azari Project (w/Leo Bootz), Blind Man’s Treat (w/Paul Relvas), Landfall and The Jinx.

Pat was in The Rhythm Method (w/Dave Garity) a 50’s and 60’s band in the late 1980’s, which took him to Sam’s Hof Brau that had blues seven nights a week. This is where Pat saw for the first time Johnny Heartsman, Arbess Williams, Johnny “Guitar” Knox, Gene Chambers, Lena Mosley, Big John Evans, Jimmy Smith, Mark Hummel, Rick Estrin and Omar (Sharriff) The Magnificent. Many of these musicians are in the SBS’ Hall of Fame.

In 1991 Arbess started her own band with Pat as her drummer. She loved his drumming but couldn’t remember his name, so someone said it’s Pat, like Ratatat, and that’s how he’s been known since. ‘Ratatat’ Pat began working with and recording albums with his mentors Arbess Williams, Johnny Heartsman, Omar Sharriff and Johnny “Guitar” Knox.

‘Ratatat’ is also well known in the Rock and Roll world; a life-long study of New Orleans roots music keeps this “Bluesman” playing Jazz, Cajon, Zydeco, Rock, Country and the Blues all around Northern California. Pat has played and recorded with a plethora of well-known blues musicians, always keeping the rhythm going. He can be seen in many blues bands in this area.

Born in Sacramento and raised in West Sacramento, Lew started playing professionally at an early age and by age 22 was on his own. In the mid-seventies, he did some stints in Los Angeles and then returned to Sacramento. Around 1989, Pat Balcom and Lew formed the Luminators and started playing at Sam’s Hof Brau and the Torch Club. Around the same time, they became Arbess Williams’ (HOF Inductee) back-up band and recorded her first CD. They also recorded with Omar Sharriff (HOF inductee) and contributed to the Sacramento Blues CDs.

Lew and Pat soon became one of the most popular bands in town and were able to record CDs of their own material. The Sacramento News and Review nominated the CD “Bright Idea” for Best CD of 1993. That same year, Lew was nominated for a Sammie for Best Blues Guitarist and The Luminators won for Best Blues Band. In 2009, he and his good friend Jimmy Pailer were selected to represent the Sacramento Blues Society in Memphis at the International Blues Competition. For the past several years, they both have been instructor/lecturer for the SBS’ Blues In The Schools program. Lew has played weekly at the Torch Club for 20 years and continues to entertain there.

California born and raised, James Monroe learned to play piano by listening to such stalwarts as Johnnie Johnson (Chuck Berry’s piano player), the great Otis Spann, Floyd Dixon, Professor Longhair and others who would influence his playing. Although Jim has taken some music lessons over the years, he is primarily self-taught.

The Nate Shiner Blues Band was one of the leading blues groups in town in the late 60’s, early 70’s and Jim would play with Nate’s band for many years. He also learned quite a bit about playing the blues from Steve Samuels (HOF Inductee), performing in Steve’s band during the late seventies. Jim was an original member of Little Charlie and the Night Cats in the mid-seventies; during the early eighties Jim started his own group, the Bluescasters.

Throughout Jim’s musical career he has backed some big name blues artists: Big Mama Thornton, Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, Lowell Fulson, Norton Buffalo and others at festivals and clubs. Jim also toured with the great blues pianist Floyd Dixon in the late seventies, as his bass player. Jim was also on tracks for the two blues CDs that recorded local performers in the Sacramento area. In 1991, he performed for a couple of years with Mark Hummel, then joined the Craig Horton band around 2003, playing in his band for years, followed by a tour with Joe Louis Walker in 2007.

Jim continues to play with Craig Horton at festivals as well as with local bands, such as Ray ‘Catfish’ Copeland (HOF inductee) and his band The Crawdaddies.

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Jimmy played the Reno circuit between St. Louis and Reno before coming to Sacramento in 1989. His musical style is deeply rooted from Delta Blues, International Blues, and Rock and Roll, but as most blues musicians feel, Jimmy says blues is always incorporated into all his music.

Jimmy has played in a variety of local groups such as Funkengruven, and with Lew Fratis, Bruce Spencer, Stacie Eakes, Mick Martin, Arbess Williams, and many others. He went on to form his own group known as Jimmy Pailer and The Bad Boys, later forming The Prophets. Jimmy has had the opportunity to work with many musical greats such as Walter Trout, Tommy Castro, Chuck Berry, Bobby Vega, Leon Russell, Rare Earth, and Richie Hayward.

In 2009, he and Lew Fratis were selected to represent the Sacramento Blues Society in Memphis at the International Blues Competition. Jimmy has dedicated his time and talent in working with the Sacramento Blues Society’s “Blues in the Schools Program” by volunteering at the inner city schools to perform, educate, and teach students about the Blues. Jimmy has also served as emcee for charity shows at the Torch Club. He continues to perform every Thursday night at the San Juan Club and can also be seen most Friday nights at the Torch Club, along with Lew Fratis.

Born in Shiner, Texas, his family moved when he was young from Texas to Sacramento and he began playing alto sax and singing pop tunes.

Nate formed his own band, first becoming Good Time Lovin’ and then Tombstone Pillbox, eventually evolving into the Nate Shiner Blues Band (NSBB). In 1968, the group was asked to open for a touring blues act. The act was the legendary Muddy Waters Blues Band. This event led Nate to a life-long love of the blues and the nickname “Snakeboy” after Muddy’s guitarist Luther “Georgia Boy” “Snake” Johnson.

In the late 1970’s, the NSBB became the Sunland Blues Band; many of these players became HOF inductees. For ten years, Nate worked for Phil Givant (HOF inductee) and the Sacramento Blues Festival performing with his own band or backing others. He also produced videos of the festival using the equipment of Sacramento Public Access television.

Nate and a partner also opened The Grinding Stone (now Luna’s) on 16th Street and featured Steve Samuels, Johnny Knox and Mike Andrews as some of the acts who played there. The Grinding Stone featured some of the best artists in Sacramento at its monthly art shows and musicians from the Fifth String came in for Thursday night jam sessions. Nate also found time to do a blues radio show for KYDS public radio, started by the founders of KVMR in Nevada City. Rick Estrin, among others, played live at the station.

In 1984, Nate joined forces with vocalist/guitarist G.G. Amos and for the next ten years they toured as a duo and sometimes with a full band. After ten years, the duo split and GG formed GG and the Magic Band, touring extensively in the U.S. Nate joined as vocalist and played harmonica, lap slide guitar and keyboards. Nate and GG also coproduced the CD “Gots Ta Go”. Nate has an impressive discography too numerous to mention here.

After five years, Nate returned to his blues roots with his group The Straight Ahead Blues Trio with drummer and long-time friend Tony Montanino and bassist Nick Doud, whose mother, Cathy “Detroit” Rae he soon fell in love with and married. Nate and Cathy currently reside in Texas and perform as the Snakeboy Shiners, with Cathy on drums and percussion.