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Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland is a 6-piece Traditional Jazz Band "sure to make
you smile!" Rick Grafing operated his own club, Ragtime Rick's First Draught, for over 22
years in Toledo, Ohio. After the popular landmark closed in 2003, he resumed a career as
a ragtime performer, playing at concert halls, private parties, corporate events, gatherings for various organizations, and Senior Citizen Centers.
His son John Grafing, trumpet student at the University of Toledo, and Ben Herrick, a UT
Graduate and trombone player, suggested that they form a "hot jass band." An ample supply
of aprons and restaurant uniforms resulted in the Chefs of Dixieland. "Banjo Betsy " Grafing,
Rick's wife, was the obvious "pick" for banjo player. Other band members include Jan Mudica
on soprano sax (the Chefs refer to it as the "fish horn"), and Gene Giesige on string bass. Tad
Dickerson, drummer, joins the Chefs when the full 7-piece band performs.
Sodbusters Saloon in Sylvania, Ohio hired the Chefs to play on Thursday nights during the
month of September, 2005. On their first night, the band performed New Orleans Jazz while watching the TV screen in horror as the city itself was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina's flood waters.
Fortunately, the climate in Ohio was much more considerate. The Chefs continued playing
New Orleans Jazz at Sodbusters every Thursday Night until June of 2008, when new owners closed the club briefly for redecorating.
But the band didn't sit idle for long. Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland returned to Sylvania when the Sodbuster reopened as the Main Street Bar & Grill. The hours are the same (8 PM - Midnight), but the night has been moved to Wednesdays.
For more information about the Main Street Bar & Grill or any performance by Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland, see the information posted on the EVENTS page of this Website.
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| Press Release 08/16/08: |
RAGTIME RICK on the radio! Ragtime Rick can now be heard every week on AM 1230 WCWA as host of the Saturday Morning Radio Extravaganza.
The program, which runs from 9 AM to 12 Noon EST, features "music you won't hear anywhere else on the Toledo radio dial," according to former host, Toledo radio veteran Bob Martz.
"Rick was one of my sponsors when he had his own business, so he already understood the off-the-wall format of the show," he added.
Ragtime Rick accepted the role of co-host in January, 2008, when Bob Martz became ill. He agreed to continue the program after the popular host died on August 2. The radio show can also be heard over the internet, by clicking the "Listen Live" link on the station Website: www.WCWA.com. For more information about the Saturday Morning Extravaganza, go to: www.BobMartzRadio.com.
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