Joe Bucher and the TopRaiders Blues Band

Joe Bucher & The TopRaiders to appear at the
S.E. Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Expo!

Date:	Saturday, March 8th, 2008
Time:	8:00 pm
Place:	Olympia Resort & Hotel in Oconomowoc, WI
Details:	The entire 8 piece band will be on stage at the Olympia Resort & Hotel in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on Saturday evening March 8th for a special live performance. See Joe Bucher as you've never seen him before. Playing the music you hear on his TV show each and every week --- live! Joe will also be conducting hunting and fishing seminars at the SEW show throughout that same day.
For More Information: http://www.sewifishandhunt.com or call 262.965.2088

Joe Bucher’s musical background, training and influences trace back to the late 1960's, when he first began his love of the electric guitar at the age of 13. Growing up during the most controversial, yet most influential time in rock/blues history provided Joe with an incredible library of artists and material to study. Imagine hearing the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Eric Clapton for the first time during your formative musical years. It’s not hard to understand how Joe was inspired to play guitar.

By the early 1970's, he began to hook up with various local rock/blues groups throughout south eastern Wisconsin playing gigs throughout the state. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these groups was a band called Raven Strait, a group Joe Bucher joined his freshman year in college at UWSP (University of Wisconsin Stevens Point). Raven Strait became one of the hottest and most sought after acts in Wisconsin during that early 1970's period, and Joe was known as one of the better lead guitar players on tour during that time. Eventually, this lead to an even greater opportunity – a tour with a national act.

A regional booking agency purchased the rights to various national brand name rocks groups around 1972, and one of those bands was Music Explosion. Like so many named groups in those days, the reality of such groups didn’t exist beyond that of a name, since the majority of them simply did recording sessions and made several attempts at producing a sellable record. If and when a “hit” occurred, an eventual live tour would follow. This, in turn, involved assembling a real band to actually play the hit live. This is where Joe came in to play with Music Explosion and their hit tune “Little Bit Of Soul”.

Ironically, the lyrics “when you’re feeling low and the fish don’t bite”, fit right into Bucher’s persona with his fishing background. Little did anyone know at the time he’d end up being in the fishing hall of fame many years later. The rest as they say is history.

Eventually, the grind of traveling and touring took its toll on Bucher’s interest in the music business and he got out of it entirely for a period of almost twenty years. During his hiatus from music, Bucher developed his lifestyle and business trade that he is so well known for today – the fisherman. He moved to northern Wisconsin and got in to the guide business full time. Throughout the bulk of the 1970's, all of the 1980's, and well into the mid 1990's Joe established himself as the premier fishing guide in Wisconsin, and arguably in all of North America. Many noted fishing/outdoor celebrities sought out Joe for newspaper stories, magazine articles, and TV show segments. Legendary bass angler Roland Martin made the statement “Joe Bucher is the best all around guide I’ve ever fished with”. Spence Petros, then editor of Fishing Facts Magazine, called Joe “one of the top 10 all species anglers in the U.S.”. Chicago Tribune Outdoor Editor John Husar called Joe Bucher “the guide of all guides”. Wow!

So, with all these accolades, how did he get back into music after such a successful career in the fishing business? It actually started on the water during a fishing outing with rock legend Frankie Sullivan of the well known group Survivor who coined such notable hits as “Eye Of The Tiger” featured on the Rocky III movie. Frankie began talking guitars with Joe as they chased after muskies, and was surprised to find out Joe once played himself. By the end of the day, they were jammin’ in Frankie’s basement. The entire incident was captured on TV for one of Joe’s original pilot episodes of Fishing With Joe Bucher. Frankie then encouraged Joe to get back into it. He even presented him with a gift Fender Stratocaster to further prod this rebirth.

Bucher took the bait and began revisiting his love for the guitar. But, instead of touring and doing live performances, he began producing instrumental sound tracks for his TV show. Experimenting with everything from rock to jazz fusion to blues, Bucher began laying out a new signature for his TV show – personalized music, unique to his show alone. While the bulk of outdoor hunting and fishing shows had a country music flare and more of a low-key approach, Bucher’s show featured a fast paced, action packed program with music videos choreographing fish jumps and thrashes combined with a highly informative format. The result was a big hit with viewers.

Quickly, Bucher’s TV show climbed in popularity from only a few local Wisconsin broadcast markets to its present day stature at 37 million households. And, Joe Bucher’s music sound tracks are now a well established and well known part of the outdoor TV experience. All of this has lead to a renewed interest in performing live for a few select venues. Thus, Joe Bucher formed a new band he has appropriately labeled “The TopRaiders” after one of his famous surface baits. His new band showcases Joe Bucher’s prowess on guitar as well as a chance for his many TV fans to see him perform live, but not with a fishing rod. With a guitar!

Discography:
Joe Bucher & The TopRaiders Live (2001)
East Wind Blues (2002)
Fishing With Joe Bucher Soundtracks (2003)

New Sound Track CD Available for Order

Do you find yourself humming the songs from Joe Bucher's TV show hours after you watch the show? If you can't get enough of the hot music you hear every week on Fishing and Hunting with Joe Bucher than you are in luck. Joe is offering a brand new cd for all you music lovers. The cd covers all of the music you hear on the show and even a few bonus tracks you haven't heard. Get yours today for $14.95 + sales tax for WI residents.

Order direct from.....

Joe Bucher TV Productions
P.O. Box 1105
Eagle River, WI 54521

Send personal check or money order. No COD's or credit card orders.

The response to Joe Bucher and the Topraiders' first CD release last year was outstanding. This year, Joe and the band have released their second CD, "East Wind Blues", which couples Joe's outstanding guitar licks with a fishing twist. These songs were a hit during the Topraiders' appearance at Milwaukee's SummerFest in July 2001.

The new CD is available for $14.95 plus tax (WI residents only) and is in stock and ready to ship for Christmas!!

Joe Bucher TV Productions
P.O. Box 1105
Eagle River, WI 54521

Send personal check or money order. No COD's or credit card orders.