BLOO
Quoted by Billboard magazine as "one of the most exciting bands playing in New York City" and "most ready to make the move to big time," BLOO has brought jaw-dropping performances to stages such as the Guinness Fleadh, Irving Plaza, Wetlands and dozens of colleges.
This eclectic quartet (consisting of Earl Maneein--electric violin, keyboards, bass, vocals; Brendan Lynch—acoustic guitar, vocals; Dave Ferrara—drums/percussion; Pat Hurly—bass, harmonicas, guitar, vocals, and Mike Saganic—guitar, bass, vocals) has a magical blend of folk, funk, jazz and blues rock.
In 1997 alone, BLOO won the $25,000 grand prize in the Mastercard Collegiate Talent Search held in Philadelphia and beat out over 80 New York City bands in the Guinness Fleadh Band Search for the chance to appear with Sinead O'Connor, Soul Asylum, and Van Morrison, among others, at the Fleadh Festival on Randalls Island.
The band clearly struck a chord with its Fleadh appearance: its album, "The Geology of Planet Weird" outsold all but two others, selling 225 copies.
BLOO also won the WBAB/Sam Ash Homegrown Contest on Long Island in which they received regular air play on the radio and had several television appearances.