the real deal

  The Real Deal originated in 2008 with best friends Carlos Saldana, Neil Delacruz, and Francsico Briseno. We all grew up musically in the Jam Pak Blues 'N' Grass Neighborhood Band founded by Anni and Vincent Beach in Chandler, Arizona. The "big three" had similar tastes in music and branched out from our bluegrass roots to an eclectic variety of music including R and B, blues, Mexican, country, old time, rock, rap, and just about anything to make people happy. Our young band experienced a big wake-up call when Neil moved back to The Philippines to pursue a nursing career. There was a strong sense of uncertainty as to the future. We were best friends and filling that void was difficult.  There are high expectations for The Real Deal both in the bluegrass world and other venues. Music is our passion and no matter what happens, the band/family will stay together and make musi     Growing up in traditional bluegrass which we'd never even heard of but grew to love, has given us the foundation of making good music. Although we love and can play several kinds of music, bluegrass remains our main focus. You may see our members changing instruments during a performance. We take pride in our abilities with several instruments. Francisco Briseno, Jon Young, and Joelle Tambe-Ebot all with Jam Pak roots past and present, are pleased to have two new members.  Chester Carmer, originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, started playing bluegrass music after inheriting his grandfather's banjo. Soon afterwards, he fell in love with the sound of the fiddle and taught himself how to play. "After playing with the rest of the guys in The Real Deal once or twice, I knew I'd found a great group of musicians to pick with and I didn't pass up the chance to join the band". Chester fits here and although currently studying engineering at ASU, he picks his mandolin any time he isn't in the library studying. Katie Buetow, a recent graduate of Notre Dame, brings the supreme sounds of her beautiful cello and sweet vocals to the exciting performances of The Real Deal. A first year high school teacher in Mesa, she already has made a place in her life for bluegrass music.

See us on facebook.com/realdealband  or www.jampak.com for the rest of the story.