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Flying Fortress Records The R&B Bombers' 1982 album has been reissued on CD with several bonus tracks.

Courtesy photo The R&B Bombers 2008 lineup features, from left, Dave Tolegian, Ken Stange, Joe Wilson, Craig Thomas, Steve Wachsman, Steve Nelson, Jim Christie, Craig Woods and Don Roberts.

With a flight plan just short of infinite, and still flying high more than 25 years later, the R&B Bombers band is not even close to crashing. This group is just taking off again.

The Bombers' second coming will commence Sunday afternoon at the band's favorite venue, the Bombay Bar and Grill in Ventura, with some new old music.

Featuring all the original guys except for the late guitar player Larry Nass, the band has compiled an easy-to-count discography, totaling just one album from way back in 1982.

That self-titled album is back, but newer, longer and smaller as a CD with a couple of extra tracks. The guys plan to make another record one of these days, sooner than 2033 to avoid a repeat of the former timetable.

It's a huge band — nine people — with a vast repertoire of blues songs, all clearly amenable to the dancing public who might remember the R&B Bombers playing at a lot of places that aren't around anymore.

Craig Woods, the traveling trombone player, discussed the latest during a recent phoner.

What's up with the Bombers?

Well, we're getting the thing going again and everyone's real excited about it. We've done a couple of gigs the last few months.

Why come back?

Every time the band plays, it sounds great. Everyone's been thinking about it individually, and we started talking about it. Ken Stange and Steve Nelson — piano and bass — had the original masters to our vinyl record, which we did in '82, and took them to a guy who was involved in the original project and now does restorations. He digitized the whole thing and we're putting it out on CD. It sounds better than ever, and there are three bonus tracks that weren't on the vinyl. We're using some of the same artwork that was on the original record, varied slightly.

Who's in the band?

Drums, Jim Christie; piano, Stange; bass, Nelson; guitar, Steve Wachsman; vocals, Joe Wilson; me, trombone; Don Roberts, baritone sax; Dave Tolegian, alto and tenor sax; and Craig Thomas, tenor sax and vocals.

What do the Bombers sound like?

Well, you know, rhythm and blues, and we do the up shuffles, the Louis Jordan stuff. We do some funky things. There's also a lot of Joe Wilson originals. Our plan is to go into the studio and make another record.

So the music hasn't changed — and that's a good thing?

That's what we're thinking.

But if Coldplay put out the same album twice, that probably would not work.

Yeah, maybe, but our music is kind of timeless. Craig sent a copy of the album to the guy who does the blues show on KLON (now KKJZ), so we're getting airplay on that station. And we're getting lots of plays from our MySpace page. As soon as we get the CD in our hands, we're going to do a massive mailing to all the blues stations, then shoot a video and see what we can do with it.

Janiva Magness got signed to Alligator Records — just another 20-year overnight sensation, so you never know.

Yeah, and the band sounds so good, there's no reason not to do it. I'm the only one who does much traveling anymore. Everyone does casuals, but when we get together, we all like each other and can still play, so it was like, "Man, let's do something with this."

Where are some of the places the Bombers played that aren't there anymore?

I think all those places used to be on the back of a T-shirt. Let's see, our very first place was the Head of the Wolf in Santa Barbara.

That one became Oscar's, right?

It's been a few things. We played Andy's Barbeque Heaven, of course. Bombay. Where else? The Pacific Coast Dance Company, and I'm sure there are others.

Is it just this gig at the Bombay for now?

Yes, but once we get the CD in our hands, we're going to figure out exactly what we want to do gig-wise, and who in the band might want to travel. There are hardly any venues left where a band our size can play. Also, I've been out of town for the last eight or 10 years, so I'm kind of out of touch with the local scene. I played with the Brian Setzer Band for eight years and I've been with Paul Anka since 2001, so all my gigs are out of town.

Who goes to your shows?

A lot of the original fans — a little balder, a little fatter, a little older, you know how it goes — but we see some new faces there, too.

— E-mail music writer Bill Locey at blocey@pacbell.net.