The Bluesploitation…

…is a Blues band from Cologne, Germany:

• Andi Reisner – Guitar,
• Elmore Why – Vocals & Open-D-Slide/Bass-Guitar.
• Gero Sprafke – Drums

Shows

• Dienstag, 6. Oktober 2026, Köln | Tuesday’s just as bad. Live Music & Blues Dancing & Session | 20:00 Uhr, Theatercafe in der Filmdose, Zülpicher Str. 39, 50674 Köln.
• Freitag, 4. September 2026, Köln | 19:00 Theatercafe in der Filmdose, Zülpicher Str. 39, 50674 Köln.

The Bluesploitation play Delta, Country & Rhythm Blues

Rough live recordings

Stormy Monday St. James Infirmary Blues Summertime

Videos & Shorts on youtube

   

★ ★ ★

Make blues cool again

Bluesploitation performs original compositions in German written by Elmore Why, as well as royalty-free blues songs in English. The Bluesploitation digs up royalty-free pieces that are in the public domain because their authors passed away over 70 years ago: Bessie Smith, Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Lil Green, Porter Grainger, George Gershwin, Rosetta Howard, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rogers, Blind Lemon Jefferson… The Bluesploitation is the house band for the monthly Cologne blues session at the Theater in der Filmdose: Tuesday’s just as bad | Blues Music & Dancing. (Every first Tuesday of the month from 7 p.m., Filmdose, Zülpicher Str. 39, 50674 Cologne.) People dance there. The Bluesploitation plays danceable music. Sometimes slow, sometimes rough, sometimes funky. Swinging and shuffling… Delta, Chicago, jazz, a little country… It ties in with the 1940s and 50s. The core formation of Bluesploitation is a trio in which Elmore simulates a bass with his lowered acoustic guitar – an amazingly rocking Gretsch Jim Dandy. The formation is occasionally expanded to include guest musicians – bass, blues harp, and others.

Who are they?

• Elmore Why comes from punk, hobo hillbilly, Sacred Harp singing, and back to the blues, which he already loved as a teenager. He names his namesake Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, and GA-20 as his role models. Elmore played bass in a lutheranian gospel choir band, Hardcore-Punk in squatted houses, Indie-Pop, turkish-alevite World Music and Hobo Hillbilly & Rebel Workers’ Music with The Overall Brigade. 
• Andi Reisner is a classical avant-garde guitarist who plays almost everything except Irish folk music. He is a sound junkie and also works as a sound engineer, studio and film musician, and operator of the Pulsar studio in Brühl. His role models include Marc Bolan, Jimi Hendrix, and Terje Rypdal. His ongoing journey has led him further and deeper into the simplicity and intensity of the blues. Andi played with Pleasure Principle, Bohren und der Club of Gore, Ugly Culture, and raan, among others.
• Gero Sprafke began playing percussion instruments in the 1970s. Influenced by Stefan Krachten, drummer of the Unknown Cases, he quickly added his first drum beats. After taking lessons from various teachers, he studied at the Drummers Institute in Düsseldorf. This was followed by performances, tours, and recordings with numerous bands and musicians, as well as a long-standing collaboration with Jaki Liebezeit, drummer for CAN, and the group Drums Off Chaos.

★ ★ ★