Meet The Blue Ribbon Boys
Eddie Clendening
“Eddie Clendening brings with him over two decades of experience
on the stage. Having appeared with early ROCK & ROLL greats like Scotty
Moore, James Burton, Pat Cupp, Hayden Thompson, Billy Lee Riley, Earl
Palmer, Dale Hawkins, Gene Summers, Jimmy Lee Fautheree, Jerry Lee
Lewis, Little Richard and scores of others. Contemporary musicians are
also taking notice of this explosive and handsome young front man for not
only his vocals, but also
his work on the electric guitar.
Eddie has toured extensively and successfully with his own backing
group “The Blue Ribbon Boys” in not only the U.S. but Europe, Asia,
Australia, and elsewhere. He has also worked with other well known groups
such as Deke Dickerson’s Ecco-Fonics, Big Sandy, The Hi-Qs, Lloyd
Tripp... the list goes on and on. He has been invited to perform at dozens of
international music festivals, The Rockabilly Rave, Viva Las Vegas,
Hemsby, Le Blues Autour du Zinc Rockabilly and so on… not only with his
own combo but also as the vocalist for the reunion of “Go Cat Go”, one the
largest selling roots ROCK & ROLL groups of the 90’s who tragically lost
their singer in 1993.
He has appeared on several ad campaigns for fashion brands like
W.H. Ranch Dungarees, J.S. Sloan, and Ralph Lauren. Coast to coast,
prime time, and regional television programs such as, The Late Show with
David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The View, Today Show
and more. He has also been a regular voice on various
satellite/AM/FM/internet radio programs.
Eddie originated the role of, and was featured as Elvis Presley in the
hit Broadway musical “The Million Dollar Quartet”, where he performed 8
shows a week to packed houses racking up over 2200 performances! He
also helped create and starred in the show “Heartbreak Hotel” that is
currently the only Elvis Presley stage bio endorsed by the Elvis Presley
estate, SONY Music and RCA and has had successful record breaking runs in Los Angeles, Ogunquit, Chicago, and Las Vegas. He’s continued to be seen on stage in plays
and tribute shows to many of the other greats as well, Buddy Holly, Johnny
Cash, and Carl Perkins to name a few. And he continues to be in demand
wherever fans of ROCK & ROLL gather.
It seems Eddie is also beginning to get some much deserved
acclaim, thanks to the release of his four studio albums to date;
“Sometimes It Rains”, "Eddie Clendening Is... Walkin' And Cryin’”, “Eddie Clendening Is... Knockin’ At Your Heart”, and “Eddie Clendening Is… The
Rage Of The Teen-Age!”, as well as several singles and compilation
inclusions.
He, along with The Blue Ribbon Boys continue to work hard
spreading the gospel of genuine American ROCK & ROLL far and wide to
anybody willing to listen.”
Matt Codina - Guitar
Matt Codina is a Northern California native and now Las Vegas based finger-style guitar player. Shortly after picking up guitar he discovered the main influences that would become the basis of the style he sought to base his playing on, Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. After primarily playing as a solo guitarist and with various bands in Utah he moved to Orange County and shortly after started playing with Eddie Clendening and working on the show Heartbreak Hotel. Together they would travel with the show across the US for 6 years eventually ending their time with it in Las Vegas in 2020 all while continually touring as Eddie Clendening and the Blue Ribbon Boys when not running Heartbreak Hotel. An expert in finger style guitar Matt is also well versed in many styles such as Country, Rockabilly, Rock and Roll, Jazz, Bluegrass and Gypsy Jazz.
Jonny Bowler - Upright Bass
Jonny Bowler has been playing upright bass since the early 80’s. Influenced by the rhythmic bass heard on the early Sun recordings of Elvis Presley, and bands like the Johnny Burnette Trio, Bill Haley and his Comets, etc... The resurgence of Rockabilly music in the UK lead to many opportunities to play and travel all over Europe. Early success with his group “Get Smart” led to an album deal with Nervous Records. In 1988 he joined Guana Batz, initially as the drummer but switched to upright bass after a few years. He played and recorded with The Caravans and The Frantic Flintstones before a move to the US in ‘96 where he continued to record and play with numerous top acts. Wanda Jackson, Guana Batz, Levi Dexter, The Polecat’s, Slim Jim Phantom, Lemmy, and Rosie Flores to name but a few. The last few years he’s been the regular bass player for Eddie Clendening and the Blue Ribbon Boys and spent a few months as the bass player for the Las Vegas show Elvis Presley’s Heart Break Hotel in concert. Most recently he has become the regular bas player for Cash’d Out.
He continues to be a sought after musician for both live performances and recording projects. His energy on stage and effortless playing style has become influential for a generation of double bass players that have grown up in his footsteps