Fast Freddy & The Blue Lava Blues Band Bring Blues Music to Maui!
Band Member Biographies
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Fast Freddy Sims
Drums and Vocals
Fast Freddy was born in San Francisco in 1951. He grew up in a community surrounded by musicians and musical groups. Many of them well-known nationally.
He became interested in the drums at the age of 16, and started jamming with friends and some members of established bands. It was at this time that he started taking a strong interest in blues music, and blues drumming especially.
At around 17-18 he lived near Filmore West and began to meet a number of well known blues greats like Albert King, Luther Tucker and Willie Dixon.
Willie Dixon was the most successful blues songwriter in the history of blues and he inspired Fast Freddy to pursue his dream of becoming a blues songwriter.
In 2018 Fast Freddy moved permanently to Maui and married his beautiful wife, Elizabeth Gibbons, on June 24, 2019.
As an artist and musician, Fast Freddy is very active in the Maui arts community. His band, Blue Lava Blues Band, plays frequent show dates on the island of Maui.
Bruce Boege
Sax and Vocals
Bruce Boege, Grammy nominated sound engineer, has been a professional musician for over 50 years, and owner of Limin Audio & Music Studio for over 35 years.
He grew up in Ridgefield, CT back in the 1950s. He is a natural musician who learned guitar at age 15 and was signed to RCA Records with a group called The Ravens in the mid sixties.
Bruce is an accomplished vocalist and songwriter and plays guitar, ukulele, keyboards and sax.
He serves as the chief sound engineer for Maui's ProArts Playhouse.
He has or is now performing with these local Maui groups and combos: Fast Freddy and the Blue Lava Blues Band, Soul Kitchen Maui, Makai Jazz Group, Jimmy C Jazz and more.
Bruce and his wife, Jill, have lived in Kihei, Maui since 2013. They love the beautiful island of Maui and the wonderfully diverse artists' community.
Dave Fraser
Keyboard and Vocals
Dave Fraser was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1946, but moved to Sacramento when he was three months old. He began his love of the piano at age 12.
He is an accomplished vocalist, plays keys, harmonica and accordion -- all
self-taught. He sings and performs with unrestrained passion.
Dave's love of the blues led him to meet other blues loving musicians in Sacramento where they eventually co-formed the Sunland Blues Band in 1971.
It was in Sacramento where he met and learned a great deal from an incredible blues guitarist named Steve Samuels. Steve was born with a left arm that extended just past his elbow. But that didn't stop him from becoming an inspiration to blues guitarists around the country and the world.
In 1980, Dave moved to Los Angeles. He’s performed at a variety of blues festivals over the years, and on many albums including his own, "Rhythm and Rhyme," containing his original songs.
Dave moved to Maui, Hawaii in May of 2017.
He loves it so much he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. He’s now helping to keep the blues alive and well in Maui by performing regularly with Fast Freddy and the Blue Lava Blues Band.
Other bands Dave plays with on Maui are...
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Ono Grimes Band
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Kaina Kountry
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Duo with Dorothy Betz
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and many solo performances
Dave has been married to Rita Fraser for 53 years, with two sons. He loves all kinds of music and supports the arts on Maui and everywhere musicians gather to share their talents and their love of music.
Matt Hefner
Bass and Vocals
Matt was born in 1961 and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. He started playing music at age 7.
Originally a guitar player, he switched to bass because there were no bass players around. He fell in love with the bass immediately. Matt also plays guitar and ukulele.
At age 15, he started playing primarily in rock and roll club bands.
Matt is an accomplished vocalist and has fronted every type of band from Heavy/Prog Metal to Big Band Swing to Country Western.
He became interested in blues when in 2010 he was recruited by the great blues man, Allen Frank, to play in his Doghouse Blues Band. He played with them until 2016. Matt said, "He taught me about proper Blues."
In 2016, Matt moved to Kihei, Maui with his now wife, Nancy. They enjoy riding their scooters and snorkeling the beautiful reefs of Maui on the weekends.
Josh Hearl
Guitar and Vocals
Josh was born in New Haven, Connecticut , in 1993.
His family moved to Kula, on the beautiful island of Maui in 1999 when he was just 5 years old.
He started playing guitar when he was 12 yrs old. He also plays bass and a little piano. He became interested in blues and jazz because of his parents musical interests, but mostly from his guitar and music teachers.
He learned guitar from some of Maui’s premier musicians. Josh's touch, feel and understanding of music make him one of the most talented guitarists in Hawaii.
He and his lovely wife, keep busy on their family farm. They both enjoy living on Maui and love being a part of the thriving artistic community.
In addition to playing lead guitar in Fast Freddy and The Blue Lava Blues Band, Josh also keeps busy musically with John Cruz, Shea Derrick and Full Flavor, Natalie Robles, Nara Boone, The J Krew, Chop Suey Jazz Orchestra.
Check out Blue Lava Blues Band's upcoming shows on their Show Dates Page. And then come to one of their shows and enjoy a night of the blues. Say "Hello" to Josh and the band while you are there.
How the Band Got Its "Blue Lava" Name
Freddy: I was watching a documentary that talked about Blue Lava, with an erie, neon-blue color that can only be seen at night. I thought, "That's the name for our band! The Blue Lava Blues Band!" And it worked.
Here is what Wikipedia says about Blue Lava:
"Blue lava" is an electric-blue fire that burns when sulfur combusts, producing a neon-blue flame.
Sulfur burns when it comes into contact with hot air at temperatures above 680 °F, which produces the energetic flames.
Actual lava is red-orange in color, given its temperature. Truly-blue lava would require temperatures of at least 10,830 °F, which is much higher than any lava can naturally achieve on the surface of the Earth.
That's hot!! Just like The Blue Lava Blues Band!