Rocky Milino Jr. is back singing the blues.
The Archbishop Carney regional secondary grad started out in the genre, mirroring the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Colin James.
But, over the next 20 years, he went back and forth in pop, rock and new school styles until he finally came full circle last summer.
Next month, he releases his eighth album — a project he wrote and recorded in a Port Moody basement suite in between working as a heavy-duty mechanic for BC Ferries on the Queen of Oak Bay and Queen of Capilano as well as doing some contract work for his dad.
The CD is titled Pleasantside Blues and stays true to Milino's roots. "I love all kinds of music," he said. "My playlist goes from Jay-Z to Hank Williams but when I pick up the guitar, I play the blues. For me, that's where my heart is. That's the thing that sounds the most natural to me."
The seven original tracks on his new album tell stories of love and heartbreak and are performed with his band, Cause4Drama. The tunes were mixed by Bill Buckingham at The Palace and mastered by Craig Waddell at Gotham City Studio.
Milino has picked a venue close to home to launch his music: Romer's restaurant in Suter Brook Village. And on Sept. 16, he and the band will combine its release with a fundraiser for the B.C. wildfire victims, with all CD sales from that night supporting the Red Cross relief fund.
The EP will also be available for download on iTunes that same day.
It's not their only show to push the album.
On Sept. 2, they'll perform at the Fairview Pub in Vancouver as part of a two-day festival called International Pop Overthrow. Milino said they've got a prime spot at 10:30 p.m.
Playing the blues live "you get to improvise much more than with pop or rock and the crowd gets it," the 35-year-old bachelor said. "They're dancing and watching and are more appreciative. It's not stale."
After the two September gigs, Milino said he'll be working on his fourth-class engineering certification through the BC Ferries apprenticeship program — with the aim to specialize in rebuilding massive diesel engines — at BCIT and perhaps even cut a CD with his brother, Pat, a former cruise ship singer.
"Everything's going right for me: I've got a great job. I'm healthy. I'm moving into a new place. I've got a bright future. I'd just like to find someone to share it with."
• Romer's (101 Morrissey Rd., Port Moody) is accepting reservations for the CD release party on Sept. 16. Call 604-917-0118.
