The Downey Arts Coalitions hosted an intimate blues concert from the band The Healers at Epic Live!, a bar and restaurant located in Downtown Downey on Nov. 10 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The performance was opened by the Mike Malone and Friends Vibe Combo featuring Mike Malone on the vibraphone, Ed Mann on the congos, Dave Deforest on the upright bass and JR Lozano on drums.
The headliners of the show were The Healers.
The band is a collection of talented musicians including leader of the band, Chef Denis Depoitre on harmonica, bassist John Bazz, from The Blasters, JR Lozano from Los Lobos on the drums, Tommy Eliff from the Mighty Mojo Prophets providing vocals and Joe Conde from Abby Girl on electric guitar.
The Healers’ performance was dedicated to Henry Caravajal, their late guitarist who died two weeks prior.
Both bands were a collection of artists who took time away from their main groups to perform with each other.
The band was lead by harmonica player Chef Denis Depoitre, who fell in love with the blues in 1996 after hearing William Clarke play on KJazz radio.
He explained the importance of keeping blues music alive as it was a long lasting genre.
“It’s important, because when you listen, it’s very upbeat all the time, and everything is based on it anyway…I mean, anybody from age to one to 100 or whatever, is going to be moved by [it], and it’s gotta stay alive,” Depoitre said.
Depoitre said, “We started the band because we were jamming together, and we knew each other for quite a while, and we decided to create the band, The Healers.”
Eliff said, “I was never into any other kind of music. I grew up in Compton, Long Beach so I knew all the oldies. You know all the old cholos, they all know Jimmy Reed…when I got old enough to put something together, it was always blues, always blues.”
The band was met with a packed house of blues enjoyers who would rise from their seats throughout the show to leave a tip in the band’s jar or get up to dance with their partner.
Andrea Serna, an attendee of the event, said, “Well, you know, Mike Malone is just magnificent on the vibraphones. If you’ve never heard him, you’re in for a real treat tonight. And so these guys are just really professional musicians… it’s just nice to be with real music people.”
“I started when I was 13. I was a drummer for a long time and then I switched over to keyboards,” Malone who has been playing for 50 years, said. “That’s mostly what I do now is play keyboards and then during COVID, I got that set of vibes and just had a ton of fun playing them and put together a band. Normally, the band that I do the vibes with is called Alias Smith and Malone.”
The event was hosted by Alistair Hunter and Pat Gil from the Downey Arts Coalition.
Any profits made from the concert were donated to the DAC’s college scholarship program that provides scholarships for Downey, Warren and Colombus High School.
The Downey Arts Coalition is a non-profit organization that works to bring the arts to the community through art exhibits, music, theater, festivals, scholarships, and more.
Editor’s Note: The article has been edited and updated as it displayed an incorrect statement. The band’s harmonic player, Denis Depoitre, was inspired by William Clarke but the article previously stated he was inspired by William Black
