October 2018 Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters
celebrated 30 years as a band. Their first show was held
on October 31, 1988 at The Last Call in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Here are the current group of distinguished Broadcasters.
Dave Limina, Hammond B3 and piano
Dave Limina was named the new Chair of the Piano Department at Berklee College of Music in 2018, where he has taught for thirty years. He received the Most Valuable Contribution to the Performance Curriculum Award in 2001 for his work in creating and developing the Hammond organ program. As a keyboardist, composer, and arranger, Dave has performed with Gloria Estefan, Duke Robillard, Courage Brothers, Mark Murphy, Lori McKenna, Mighty Sam McClain, Kenny Neal, Catie Curtis, Freedy Johnston, Martha Reeves, Brooke Benton, Toy Caldwell, Felix Cavalieri, Steve Forbert, and The RB Funkestra with Fred Wesley and Eric Krasno. Also Grammy winning songwriters, Robert Lee Castleman, Gary Nicholson, Paula Cole, Mark Walker and Steve Leslie.
He has been the keyboardist/conductor for the first national touring company of the Broadway musical Rent. He received Boston Music Award nominations for his work with Courage Brothers, Ronnie Earl, and Mighty Sam McClain. He played keyboards on Michelle Willson's Wake Up Call, which was a Boston Music Awards winner in 2001 for "Best Blues Album". He is the author of "Hammond Organ Complete" (Hal Leonard), and the instructional video/DVD "Accelerate Your Keyboard Playing" (Rittor Music).
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Diane Blue, Vocals
Boston's Diane Blue is a soul-stirring vocalist, skillful harmonica player and a crowd-pleasing entertainer. Voted "Outstanding Female Singer" in The Blues Audience 2011 Readers' Poll, Ms. Blue is a soulful and sassy performer with a strong and energetic delivery, serving up her own spin on soul, blues and R&B. She won the 2010 Massachusetts Blues Challenge, earning the honor of competing at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. She was nominated "Best Blues/R&B Act" and "Best Female Vocalist" in 2007 by the Providence Phoenix and also nominated "Best Local Blues Act" by Motif Magazine in 2007.
Diane Blue is a blues vocalist and harmonica player who sat in with
Ronnie and the band over the years and became a full-time member of
the Broadcasters in 2015.
Diane became a full-time member of the Broadcasters in 2015 and has appeared on eight of the Broadcaster albums as well as continuing to front her own band and play gigs around New England.
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Forrest Padgett, Drums
Forrest Padgett joined the Broadcasters August 2016. Forrest is a highly regarded and respected drummer in the Boston area and we welcome him to the group! Forrest has played drums professionally for over forty years, performing with such artists as The Radio Kings, Brain Templeton, Paul Rishell, Duke Robillard, Little Charlie Baty, Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson, Lavern Baker, the Radio Kings, East of Eden, and more. He attended Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY, and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He graduated from Framingham State University with a B.A. in English.
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Paul Kochanski, Electric and Upright Bass
Paul Kochanski is a Grammy-nominated electric and upright bass player who brings his solid time and feel to the current Broadcasters lineup. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he began his performing career at age 14. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before becoming immersed in that city’s vibrant original music scene.
In 1990, he co-founded the Swinging Steaks – an Americana/alt.country group that landed a recording contract with legendary Capricorn Records, leading to national tours with Los Lobos, The Band and as headliners. Around that time, Paul became involved in the Boston blues scene, where he first had the good fortune to perform with Forrest Padgett, the Broadcaster’s current drummer. As the Steaks’ activity waned, Paul began working as a sideman for many New England-based singer-songwriters, and has recorded and/or performed with over 100 artists including Alastair Moock (with whom Paul shares his Grammy nomination), the legendary “Big Al” Anderson (formerly of NRBQ) and Lori McKenna (appearing with her on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert February 2017). Paul’s instinct to serve the song and remain in the moment makes him a natural fit with Ronnie and the Broadcasters. He had subbed a few shows with the group over the years and was proud to contribute to the band’s “Spread the Love” album, playing and co-writing “Blues for Dr. Donna.” Honored to be including in the elite club of musicians who have been named Broadcasters, Paul looks forward to writing the next chapter in the history of this illustrious band.
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Peter "Hi-Fi" Ward, Guitar and Vocals
Guitarist-singer-songwriter Peter Ward has been playing blues and swing guitar since the 1970s. Traditional yet unconventional, Peter toured for several years with the Legendary Blues Band — whose members such as Pinetop Perkins and Willie Big Eyes Smith had backed the iconic Muddy Waters. Peter worked with Luther Guitar Junior Johnson, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Joe Beard, Johnny Copeland, Lowell Fulson, Otis Rush and others.
Peter met Ronnie and became friends almost as soon as Ronnie arrived in Boston to launch his stellar blues career. He has appeared on several of Ronnie’s albums including “They Call Me Mr. Earl” (1984, Blacktop); “Rise Up” (2020, Stony Plain) for which Peter wrote the liner notes and created a video; and “Mercy Me” (2022, Stony Plain). After sitting in with Ronnie and the Broadcasters for numerous shows around New England and Florida he joined the band as a full time Broadcaster in July 2024.
He recorded two CDs “Blues on My Shoulders” and “Train to Key Biscayne” featuring original blues songs he wrote. The musicians included Ronnie, Sugar Ray Norcia, Luther Johnson, Johnny Nicholas, Monster Mike Welch and Anthony Geraci.
In 2010 he recorded and produced “Goodbye Liza Jane: Hello Western Swing,” a CD featuring steel player guitarist Herb Remington, an original member of Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys. Peter, from Lewiston, Maine, is the younger brother of award-winning blues bassist Michael Mudcat Ward. He was married to the late Mai Cramer, host of Blues After Hours, a popular radio program that aired each weekend on WGBH-FM from 1978 to 2002.
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Dave Clark, Road Manager
Dave is our Road Manager. He has prior experience working with a Rock Band in the 80's. Dave is also the owner of a European Car Sales and Service business in Concord, MA. Dave brings his management and technical skills to the band to ensure a smooth performance. Dave and his family also find time for Alpine skiing, offshore fishing, and Water sports. www.villageeuropean.com
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Debbie Blanchard, Manager
Debbie Blanchard is the manager for blues guitarist Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters and retired from her position as the Minister at the First Baptist Church of Littleton, MA, where she servied for fifteen years. She is the author of The Christmas Church, a book about the church, a place where Christmas is kept all year long. She is a Fellow of the College of Preachers at Washington’s National Cathedral, a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Center, MA, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA.
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Tom Hazeltine
Tom Hazeltine recently retired as the road manager for the band and will continue to work with the Broadcasters on special projects. He has been a fan since the early "Roomful of Blues" days. Ronnie jokes that he hired Tom as the Road Manager, because "we don't go out on the road." Tom felt that he had the better part of the deal, because when the band did travel, and they did, they asked him to come along! Tom kept an eagle eye on Ronnie and the band during the flow of a concert and both he and his wife, Suwanna, showed up early and stayed late doing whatever needs to be done. Tom's cousin James "Rocky" Meara also helped out at many of the shows. Tom also has a passion for photography and a great eye for a good picture, as he shot the cover of Ronnie Earl and Friends, released in 2001, as well as Spread the Love released in 2010.
See a slide show below about Tom that celebrated his work with Ronnie and the band as well as his creativity and passion for the blues.
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On January 14, 2017 following our show at The KATE in Old Saybrook, CT, our longtime bass player and dear friend, Jim Mouradian, passed away from a sudden heart attack. More on Jimmy Mouradian and the celebration of his life by his family and friends can be found here:
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