D.A. Foster is one of the unsung heroes of the music business. His experience in the entertainment industry runs the gamut from clubowner to talent buyer, production company to booking agent and finally but certainly not least, he performs as a bandleader with his group The Shaboo All-Stars.
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D.A. Foster has been singing professionally since he was 14 years old. Of all the genres of music he has covered, he loves singing the blues the most; the intricacy of the music and the connection to human feelings, touching people's souls is what gives him the mojo and drive to get out and perform. It's the foundation for all American popular music. D.A. likes to quote Muddy Waters – "the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll." It's honest music. D.A. feels most comfortable singing the blues and perhaps his voice and personal history naturally rooted him into that comfort zone. Starting at 19 and during his 20's, he cut his teeth on the blues being one of the owners of the legendary R&B and jazz nightclub, a 1000-capacity road house, the Shaboo Inn from 1971-1982 in northeastern Connecticut.
D.A. credits Dick Waterman, who in 1972 managed Bonnie Raitt, Roomful of Blues, and Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, for developing Shaboo's audience in the beginning. It was Waterman who provided the Shaboo access for key finds in the blues world. He opened the door for the respect the club received because of the blues artists that he booked. For its time and secondary market location in the northeast, The Shaboo was on the same level as the other famous clubs in major markets like The Bottom Line in NYC, Paul's Mall and the Jazz Workshop in Boston, The Main Point in Philadelphia, and the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C.
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DA Foster has been a fixture on the New England club circuit for decades now. His direct involvement with the music scene by way of the legendary Shaboo Inn has been an integral part of many of today's most widely known artists and musicians.
DA's newest album "The Real Thing" is certain to be a hallmark of great R&B and Blues tunes, and will be a must have item in any music aficionado's collection. For all the years that DA has shone his light upon the greats of our day, now he's gettin' a turn.
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By Marge Hoskin
Posted Jul. 6, 2010 @ 12:01 am
Friends describe the former Shaboo Inn nightclub in Willimantic (actually in Mansfield behind today’s Eastbrook Mall) as “crowded,” “noisy” and “THE place to be” to hear and dance to great music during the 1970s.
Foster was only 19 when he and his partners founded Shaboo Inn. An impressive list of performers appeared there from 1971-1982, including B.B. King, Aerosmith, the Count Basie Orchestra, Bonnie Raitt and the others listed at www.wili-am.com/shaboo.htm. Construction of the list was a collaborative effort by Foster and WILI staffers John Tuite and Wayne Norman.