Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland

"HOT JAZZ SURE TO MAKE YOU SMILE"

Call
RAGTIME RICK:

419 389-9070

Looking for some weeknight fun
in Toledo, Ohio?

Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland
now play from 8 - 10:30 PM
on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month at
TROTTER'S TAVERN, 5131 Heatherdowns Blvd.
(at Reynolds Rd.) in Toledo, Ohio.

   Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland is a 7-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 his career as
a ragtime performer, playing at concert halls, private parties, Jazz Festivals, Senior Citizen
Centers – and anywhere that folks gathered to be entertained and have fun.

   His son John Grafing, at the time a trumpet student at the University of Toledo, and Ben
Herrick, a UT Graduate and trombone player, suggested that they form a "hot jass band."
The restaurant attire and aprons from the First Draught were recycled as band uniforms,
and the Chefs of Dixieland were born. Rick's wife, "Banjo Betsy " Grafing, moved from
kitchen to the banjo chair and Wes Linenkugel, a crowd favorite on several instruments, began a new musical career as the band’s drummer.    Gene Giesige joined the rhythm section on the string bass, and Jan Mudica completed the front line on soprano sax (the
Chefs call it a "fish horn"). Kevin Shope later became an alternate with Ben on trombone.

   In September, 2005, the Chefs were hired to play at Sodbusters Saloon in Sylvania, Ohio.
On their very first night, the band performed New Orleans Jazz while the city of New Orleans
was devastated by Hurricane Katrina's flood waters.    Fortunately, the climate in Ohio was
much more considerate. The Chefs continued playing there every week for over five years,
until the club (then renamed the Main Street Bar & Grill) closed.

    But the band didn't sit idle. The Chefs of Dixieland returned to South Toledo, to Trotter's
Tavern, just around the corner from the former Ragtime Rick’s. They play twice a month on
Wednesday Nights from 8 to 10:30 PM.

    For more information about Trotter’s Tavern or any public performance by Ragtime Rick and the Chefs of Dixieland, see the information posted on the EVENTS page of this Website.

for booking or routing information, contact:

"Ragtime Rick" Grafing
P.O. Box 1071
Toledo, Ohio 43697

419 389-9070

ragtimerick@chefsofdixieland.com

RAGTIME RICK AND THE CHEFS OF DIXIELAND are great fans of the
DUKES OF DIXIELAND, but are not affiliated in any way.
Click here to check out their Website.

Press Release 08/16/08:
RAGTIME RICK is 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.