The Dana Lupinacci Band hails from Seattle, yet they are playing their first ever gig in Tacoma March 15 at the Swiss to introduce the community to their powerful brand of blues.

The band has been playing together for only six months, but collectively the group has 100 years of experience, if not more. The group has also been nominated for the “Best New Blues Band” award by the Washington Blues Society for their 2010 Best of the Blues Awards.

Lupinacci is originally from Connecticut; bass player Charlene Grant, who was also nominated for “Best Blues Bass Player” for the Best of Blues Awards, is originally from Southern California; drummer Dave Petrie is also from Southern California; and Jeff Ziontz plays guitar and is from Seattle. Both Ziontz and Lupinacci have degrees from the prominent Seattle-based Cornish College of the Arts, (jazz and classical voice, respectively). Grant currently plays with the Robbie Laws Bigger Blues Band, spanning the Northwest and Ziontz and Lupinacci used to play together in the former Dana Lupinacci and the Jive Guys, spanning from 1997-2001.

The band seemed to be cemented together by fate, as their circles kept connecting and eventually opened up for each other. “I have been in the Northwest blues community for many years, so I have known Charlene for many years, and I met Jeff when he was playing with another blues band. Dave, our drummer, came about through a good friend of mine who introduced us, and it was just a really good fit. Once Dave and I met, that’s when I pulled in Charlene and Jeff,” Lupinacci stated.

The seasoned blues singer recalled how exciting it was to bring together seasoned vets who have played similar styles independently. “We’re all well-matched in terms of experience and level of proficiency-wise, which is why we’re taking off.”

The Dana Lupinacci Band’s music is a mix of New Orleans-style funky blues, swing, delta traditional blues, some jazz blues and a bit of original music thrown in as well.

“We’re in the process of bringing in original songs, and at this point we play about 60-70 percent covers, but the covers we do are not the covers that everybody knows,” Lupinacci affirmed. She notes that the band has been influenced by the old-school blues, early B.B. King, some soul music and they have been taking influence from Aretha Franklin right now, as well as T-Bone Walker and Freddy King.

For Lupinacci herself, her greatest female influence has been Janiva Magness. “I heard an album she did in 2001 and she and her band stylistically brought together all of the stylistic sounds that I was trying to bring together into one identifiable sound. And it was just that, that’s it! That’s me too! So she kind of was a template for what I also was trying to accomplish, and she is internationally-known.” Grant has brought some of her own originals to the group, but she and Lupinacci have one they have co-written and are in the process of co-writing more tracks together.

Lupinacci feels that hers is a band that delivers a high-energy show that is musically engaging and one that runs the gamut in terms of range of emotional expression.

“I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but in the band, we’re confident in what we do. It’s been a great ride.”

The Dana Lupinacci Band plays March 15 at 8 p.m. at the Swiss Pub, located at 1904 Jefferson Ave. For more information, visit the band’s Myspace page at www.myspace.com/thedanalupinacciband.