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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Illinois Blues Blast! Blues News!


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August 5, 2010 
© 2010 Blues Blast Magazine
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Hey Blues Fans,
We are very pleased to see that more than 2300 people have already voted in the 2010 Blues Blast Music Awards.  These awards are one of the only FREE awards where fans can vote for their favorite artists. There is nothing to buy or join to be eligible to vote. You don't even have to log in! It is quick and simple!
Nearly three quarters of those who have already voted are first time voters. That means that many of the current 17,000 Blues Blast readers HAVE NOT VOTED YET! So we have decided to sweeten the pot a bit.
We will start randomly drawing for prizes from those who vote starting this week and each week until voting ends on August 31st. Prizes include FREE CD's, posters and even a couple of FREE tickets to the Blues Blast Music Awards ceremonies. The Blues Blast Music Awards will be held on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, IL.  Tickets will go on sale in a couple weeks!
So be sure you get your vote in for a chance to win! For complete information on this years nominees, CLICK HERE.   To vote now CLICK HERE.

Blues Wanderings
We made it to the Prairie Dog Blues Fest last weekend to hear some great performances by several artists including sets by Eddie Turner, Big James & The Chicago Playboys and Blues Blast Music Award nominee Shaun Murphy. We will have complete coverage of all the performances from this great festival in an upcoming issue.
We also made it out to hear The Laurie Morvan Band this week. Laurie was a finalist at the International Blues Challenge a couple years ago and her current CD release Fire It Up, won the Best Self Produced CD award at this years Challenge.
This evening Laurie had Donto James, son of Etta James, with her on drums. They played several tunes from their last two CDs. GOOD STUFF!

In This Issue
Marilyn Stringer sends us two part of her review of the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival.
We have four new CD reviews this week! James "Skyy Dobro" Walker reviews a new CD by Forrest McDonald. Greg 'Bluesdog' Szalony reviews a new CD by Jimmy Warren Band. George "Blues Fin Tuna" Fish reviews a CD by Southside Denny Snyder and Mark Thompson reviews a new CD by Troy Turner.  All this and MORE! SCROLL DOWN!!!



 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival Part 2
Portland’s Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival – Part 2 – July 4th & 5th
Photos & Commentary by Marilyn Stringer
The second two days of the Portland Waterfront Blues Fest were packed with entertainment, including a fireworks display Sunday night and more river cruises. The Oregon Stage (OR) hosted the IBC contest on Sunday and a Swingin’ to the Blues Theme and dance contest on Monday. The weather improved slowly and by Monday the sun finally came out. Rain or shine, this festival is always well attended.
There were a lot of performances I was looking forward to on Sunday, including the Karen Lovely Band – 2009 IBC 2nd place winner (and #1 on Bluesville’s Pic this week). Karen’s band included Kevin Selfe on guitar and BobbyD on bass.
Another treat at the OR Stage was the Jim Mesi Band. Jim is “one of the pioneers and godfather of the NW blues scene” and Oregon Blues Hall of Famer. He can play anything and his guitars are a reflection of the self proclaimed only “Blues & Surf Band.”
I spent the bulk of the afternoon on the Delta Music Experience river cruise. It was a rare opportunity to hear the Janiva Magness Band and the Commander Cody Band up close and personal as they were on the main stage later.
Sunday’s lineup at the Credit Union (CU) stage included:
Billy D & The Hoodoos, fun blues to start the day; the Norton Buffalo Knockouts, a tribute to Norton Buffalo by previous band members; and the Twisters, Canada’s premier jump/blues/swing band.
The Miller Stage (MS) highlights were Janiva Magness Band with Zack Zunis (guitar), Gary Davenport (bass) and Matt Tecu (drums);
Commander Cody (aka George Frayne) band included Mark Emmerick (guitar), and Steve Barbuto (drums). Seeing Commander Cody on the cruise and then the big stage on the same day was just double fun – he is still master of the keyboard and his band has been with him a long time and is better than ever. We are looking forward to having him on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise again.
Ending the day was Portland’s own Curtis Salgado Big Band featuring Lloyd Jones on guitar. Lloyd and Curtis grew up together on the Portland blues scene and Curtis has been working on Lloyd to come play guitar with him for years. They are magic together, along with the Big Band, including score-master Dave Mills on trumpet, Timothy Bryson & Gary Harris on sax, Dave Fleschner – Keyboard, Tracy Arrington-bass, Marlon McClain-guitar, Russ Kleiner-drums, and the big band singers. They are the perfect pre-fireworks performance -Curtis always packs any Portland event he shows up for! Who really needs fireworks when you have Curtis, Lloyd, and the Big Band? It was like frosting on the cake for a perfect 4th of July.
Right after their set, Alonzo Chadwick sang the National Anthem, with the fireworks spectacular on the river right in front of the festival, set to music by the local radio station.
MONDAY - On the CU stage:
First up was the Gary Burford band. With their Tom Petty style of blues and antics, they were a lively opening act on the CU stage.
Baskery, three sisters from Sweden, playing together since they were 10, describe their music as “high voltage – killbilly, banjo punk, mud-country” and some blues. I call them fun, refreshing, and punky! The sisters are Stella (bass), Greta (banjo & percussion), and Sunniva (guitar).
Next up was Chris Thomas King. We hung with Chris the night before at the hotel, where Leon Blue was hosting a piano bar each night. Chris played a few songs with Leon, bringing tears to our eyes, and acknowledged that his piano repertoire was limited. The next morning Chris ended riding to the festival with Leon and invited him to play during his set. Chris plays and sings with such depth of character and musical skill and moves everyone to silence and rapture. And to see the two generations together, who admire each other equally, was very special.
Another Portland band, with a big following, is Kolvane, who is also the lead vocalist & searing guitar player. His band also includes Steve Kerin, keyboard wizard. The energy level on the CU stage peaked with this band with their original material and high octave performance. And Kolvane’s green alligator shoes seem to be just as famous as he is.
Reggie Houston’s Crescent City Connection was the last CU performance. Reggie brought together some of the finest musicians in Portland. He plays the sax and sings you to tears of joy or tears of laughter but always to the heart. And as an extra treat, Curtis Salgado showed up to play a few songs. Once again, the Portland music crowd has known each other for over 25 years - they are family.
The Miller Stage (MS):
Opening the MS was the Dani Paige Band. Dani (vocals) and Jesse DeCarlo (guitar), hailing from the Monterey Bay area, can pump out the blues and got the morning going at the festival.
Next up was Robbie Laws Bigger Blues band. Voted the best blues band for Washington, Robbie is one of the legends of the Pacific NW. Adding to his big band was the SFO Bay area soul and blues singer, Mz.Dee.
A new group for me was JJ Grey & Mofro. They range from funk, blues, soul, and rock to some front porch jive & sharp wit. And in the middle of his set, JJ tossed one of his harmonicas to a physically challenged girl in the audience, who was so thrilled for so long, that it just about brought JJ to tears (and me too). What a great new “discovery” for me – check out their tour dates.
Little Feat, in their timeless tradition, brought some fun blues to the stage. Bill Payne (keyboard), Sam Clayton (vocals and congas), and Kenny Gradney (bass), have all been in the band since the early 70’s, joined shortly after that by Fred Tackett and Paul Barrere singing vocals & playing guitar. Gabe Ford has been filling in on the drums. The band has the same funky eclectic beat that we have loved over the years.
Closing out the 2010 PWBF was New Orleans’s Galactic featuring Cyril Neville (vocals & percussion) and Corey Henry (trombone). Also in the band are Ben Ellman-sax, and Stanton Moore, drums. Blues, Funk, Jazz, World Music, HipHop, and electronic all are a part of their “get up and dance” show and closed the festival on a high!
Congratulations to the Oregon Food Bank for exceeding your goals and producing another fantastic blues festival. And always a big thank you to the sponsors, volunteers and staff that make it all happen!
Photo & commentary by Marilyn Stringer (go to MJStringerPhoto.com  for an eventual full set of photos)

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Band Leader Looking For A Label & Gigs
Koko Taylor's band leader Vino Louden is alive and well ...back from a terrible vehicle accident and near death experience playing and singing the blues. Looking for a label and gigs. Contact at 773-318-2492 www.myspace.com/vinolouden


 Featured Blues Review 1 of 4
Forrest McDonald - Certified Blue
World Talent Records
13 tracks; 53:16 minutes; Splendid
Style: Electric Blues variety
Why does a “Keeping the Blues Alive Award” even exist? Why did Forrest McDonald write the song (track one) “Keeping the Blues Alive” and why did Teeny Tucker title her latest album “Keep the Blues Alive”? Without delving deeply into each side’s arguments about the necessity or non-necessity of special efforts, it’s safe to conclude many feel the Blues need extra fostering and nurturing to survive.
“We have an art form lacking edge and lacking relevance.” I keep thinking about this answer Australian Bluesman Sugarcane Collins gave me in a recent interview when I asked him, “...what is going to keep the Blues Alive?” In part, he responded, “... go[ing] beyond the old time traditional Blues themes of love and money. ... how often do we need to hear about ‘I love my baby but my baby don’t love me?’ ... that line ... sums up the lyric content of most Blues records. ...in my opinion, we have an art form lacking edge and lacking relevance. Where are the songs that reflect other current concerns? Songs about our threatened environment and the social injustice that abounds, not just in this country, but all over the world?”
I congratulate Forrest McDonald for including such a relevant-topic-song, “Gas Pump Blues Revisited,” on his fourth CD as the Forrest McDonald Band. Check his lyrics, “Well there is only so much oil on this precious earth/Yea there's only so much oil on this precious earth/And It will soon be running out/And things are gonna get worse.”
I think a challenge should be issued: Recording artists one and all, try to include at least one relevant topic song (beyond “love and money”) on each new CD.
“Certified Blue” is a solid outing by a veteran of Blues scenes all around the United States and overseas who has been performing since 1964 and recording since 1972. Originally from Austin, Texas, and now based in Virginia, Forrest McDonald (guitar, organ, vocal on “Double Back”) with his wife and lead vocalist, Kaylon McDonald, have combined forces to record nine original songs and four covers in the studio with Chuck Williams - Sax, Bob Saydolwski and John McKnight- Drums, Lee Gammon – Bass, Barry Richman and Terry Garland – additional guitars, John Liebman – harp and vocals, Little Ronnie Owens – harp, and Roddy Barnes – piano on “Chicken Scratch Boogie.”
For some pure fun, try that upbeat, bouncy shuffle, “Chicken Scratch Boogie,” with lyrics like, “Well, I am no spring chick, but I can sure make a rooster crow!” Kaylon’s vocals are clear and enthusiastic and the entire band is really hopping with instruments “crowing.”
The set opener, “Keeping the Blues Alive,” is a party starter with McDonald impressively showing off his studied guitar licks. John Liebman’s harp kicks off the greasy Blues on “Rock & Roll Bye Bye Bye” followed by his gut bucket vocals heard again on a ripping version of “Piney Brown.”. Their take on Johnny Winter’s “You Keep Telling Me” is a nice slow Blues number almost a s good as the title track, sung by Kaylon.
“Yes, I'm in my car rolling down 95/I got to keep on moving I got to keep the blues alive.
...Yes the party starts when we get up on that stage/I'll be singing the blues until my dying day.” - From track one “Keeping the Blues Alive.” With attitudes like that and CDs like this one, Forrest McDonald and a pantheon of others will succeed!
Reviewer James "Skyy Dobro" Walker is a noted Blues writer, DJ, Master of Ceremonies, and longtime Blues Blast Magazine contributor. His weekly radio show "Friends of the Blues" can be heard Saturdays 8 pm - Midnight on WKCC 91.1 FM and at www.wkccradio.org in Kankakee, IL.
To See James “Skyy Dobro” Walker's CD rating system, CLICK HERE 
For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE.


 Featured Blues Review 2 of 4
Jimmy Warren Band - No More Promises
time-50:08
The star of Illinois native Jimmy Warren's first studio release is his guitar tone and what he does with it in his hands. Think Jimmy Thackery meets Roben Ford meets the Blusier side of Robin Trower. He gets that rich, thick soaring tone best showcased on the Trower-colored instrumental "Darker Shade Of Grey". His husky vocals lament his plight via his self-penned workingman's blues-rock.
Warren covers the standard fare of this genre-bad boss, evil woman, lost love.....you know the drill. The guitars up the ante and his servicable vocals grow on you somewhat. An ace backing band gives him the leeway to strut out his licks. Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin helps out on "It Ain't Fair" with some fuzzed slide work. He rips off shards of guitar on the Jimmy Thackery-ish "Standing In My Shoes"
"I'm Gonna Love You" and "No More Promises" harken back to the plaintive side of Eric Clapton, slow songs punctuated with piercing electric guitar bursts. What his voice lacks in expression and melody his more than made up for by his playing. He pours his soul out in every bent, twisted and strangled note he manages to coax out of his guitar best displayed on the closer "Sends Me On My Way" on which he becomes a one man band handling guitar, bass, drums and organ.
There is nothing here to satisfy a Blues purist, but Jimmy speaks to what he knows best and has apparently lived. This looks like an artist who will continue to grow and expand his craft. And while he's doing that, I'll leave you with the words of the gonzo-rocker Captain Beefheart: "Hit that long lunar note and let it float".
Reviewer Greg 'Bluesdog' Szalony is from the New Jersey Delta. He is the proprietor of Bluesdog's Doghouse at http://bluesdog61.multiply.com.
For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE.


 Blues Society News

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The Windy City Blues Society is proud to announce the 2010 Chicago Blues Challenge; a competition featuring some of the finest blues talent the Windy City has to offer. Winners of the Chicago Blues Challenge will represent the Windy City Blues Society and Chicago at the 2011 International Blues
Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee from February 1-5, 2011. Performers can compete in three categories: Solo/Duo, Band, and Youth. The Chicago Blues Challenge will have competitions in August and September, with finals in early November.
Chicagoland musicians can apply to compete in the Chicago Blues Challenge starting July 19. Deadline for the Solo/Duo and Youth category is August 15, and for the Band category is September 1. Applications can be obtained and returned at several area blues clubs. The application and more information on the Chicago Blues Challenge can also be found at www.windycityblues.org, and more information can also be found on our Facebook, MySpace and Twitter page
Alabama Blues Project - Northport, AL
On Thursday, September 16, 2010, Tuscaloosa will have a rare treat when internationally acclaimed, Grammy nominee (and Blues Blast Music Award Nominee) Ruthie Foster will perform at the Bama Theatre 600 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa, AL in a benefit concert for the Alabama Blues Project. For sponsorship and ticket inquiries please call (205) 752-6263 or email Cara Smith at cara@alabamablues.org.
MVBS presents Candye Kane and her band on Sunday August 29 at The Muddy Waters, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf. Show time is 7:00 p.m.; admission is $10, $8 for MVBS members. For more information visit www.mvbs.org
The Cincy Blues Society - Cincinnati, OH
The Cincy Blues Society presents the 2010 Cincy Blues Festival August 6th & 7th, 2010 at Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point Park in Cincinnati, Ohio - a beautiful downtown park located on the banks of the Ohio River. The festival features headliners Candye Kane, David Maxwell and Alexis P. Suter Band on Friday August 6th and Shane Dwight, The Insomniacs, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats and Joe Louis Walker on Saturday August 7th. In all the festival features more than 40 acts on four stages. For complete info visit http://cincyblues.org
The Golden Gate Blues Society - San Francisco Bay Area, CA
International Blues Challenge Competition - The Golden Gate Blues Society Blues Challenge announced. The winning Greater Bay Area band at each competition will go on to compete in the final where one band will be chosen to send to Memphis for The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. Everyone gets to vote for their favorite band! Free for members, $10.00 at the door for non-members - join TGGBS at the door and be admitted free. All showtimes will be from 2 – 6 pm.
August 1 - J.J.’s, San Jose, August 8 - Mojo Lounge, Fremont, August 22 – The Standby, South San Francisco. Finals - TBA. For more info visit www.tggbs.org or contact Dorothy L. Hill, President 415-824-3502 – jazzpix2000@yahoo.com or jazzpix@pacbell.net
The Washington Blues Society’s local competitions for the 2011 International Blues Challenge competition finals will be held on Sunday, August 22nd at the the Snohomish Taste Of Music Festival. For complete info see the website at: www.wablues.org or email president@wablues.org.
Crossroads Blues Society - Rockford, IL
Crossroads Blues Society is producing their very first Blue festival this year. The Byron Crossroads Blues Festival will run from noon to midnight on Saturday, August 28, 2010, in downtown Byron, Illinois.
The festival lineup includes The Resistors, noted artists Filisko and Noden, The Cashbox Kings, Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band and Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames. For more information visit the Crossroads website at: www.crossroadsbluessociety.com
2010 Friends of the Blues shows -  August 10, Sean Chambers, River Bend Bar & Grill, 6070 E. Route 17, Kankakee IL (815) 933-0610 Tuesday, August 10, Sean Chambers, 7 pm, River Bend Bar & Grill, 6070 E. Route 17, Kankakee IL (815) 933-0610, August 24, Chicago Kingsnakes, 7 pm , Bradley Bourbonnais Sportsmen’s Club, September 2, Ivas John Band, 7 pm , Moose Lodge, N State Rt 50 ( Kinzie Ave ), Bradley IL, September 21, Shawn Pittman, 7 pm , Kankakee Valley Boat Club, October 12, Too Slim & Taildraggers, 7 pm , Kankakee Valley Boat Club, October 26, Perry Weber & DeVilles, 7 pm , Bradley Bourbonnais Sportsmen’s Club. For more info see: http://www.wazfest.com/JW.html 
Illinois Central Blues Club - Springfield, IL
BLUE MONDAY SHOWS - Held at the Alamo 115 N 5th St, Springfield, IL (217) 523-1455 every Monday 8:30pm $3 cover. August 9 – Roger “Hurricane” Wilson, August 16 – The Sugar Prophets, August 23 – Bryan Lee “Blind Blues Daddy”, August 28 – ICBC Blues Challenge at the Old Capitol Blues & BBQ, August 30 – Kilborn Alley Blues Band
The River City Blues Society presents Blues shows during the summer season. The shows start at 7:00pm at Good Fellas Pizza and Pub, 1414 N 8TH St Pekin, IL. Admission for all shows is $4 or $3 for RCBS members. Wednesday August 18, 2010 - Dave Herrero.


 Featured Blues Review 3 of 4
Southside Denny Snyder - Full Circle
Self Release
13 tracks - Total time: 53:33
This CD recently won Ontario, Canada’s Lys Blues “Album of the Year 2010” award. A listen readily shows why.
Snyder originally lived in South Bend, Indiana, but a few years ago moved to Montreal, Canada, which he finds most congenial. His youth was thus spent living near Chicago, which he visited regularly to hear the blues greats—among them Muddy Waters and J.B. Hutto. They moved him to master slide guitar.
But Southside Denny didn’t rest content with just the regular and slide electric blues guitar; he moved to master the acoustic blues guitar and jazz guitar as well. That shows all over Full Circle, with its interposition of electric and acoustic numbers, and vocals intermixed with instrumentals.
Full Circle was recorded at Montreal’s Second Avenue Studio All songs are originals written by Southside Denny Snyder, with two numbers co-written by him. The sleeve notes are bi-lingual, English and French. The opening track, Delta-style instrumental “Lazy Busy Blues,” was written by Denny with Rick L. Blues, who also plays harp on this track and on track 10, “Perfectionist Blues,” as well as providing background vocals on track 6, “Pays Cool,” a French-language vocal by Denny that was written in collaboration with Josée Larose. Denny’s young daughter Lorrie Snyder adds her vocal talents to her father’s on track 5, “Delirious Frank,” and track 7, “Strongest Man in the World,” a paean to that daily strength shown by the dutiful husband and father who looks after his family. Lindsay Pugh plays bass on the electric tracks, and contrebasse (as given in the notes) on “Delirious Frank,” while Simon Meilleur and Cliff Alloy add drums to the electric and electric-acoustic tracks, with Alloy providing African djembe percussion to track 2, “Steppin’ Up.” Rounding out the roster of musicians is Ivanhoe Jolicoeur, who plays trumpet and flugelhorn on “Delirious Frank.”
The 13 tracks on Full Circle divide into six instrumentals and seven vocals. Of the instrumental tracks, the first two are Delta-style acoustic slide guitar blues, the above-mentioned “Lazy Busy Blues” and “Steppin’ Up,” respectively. Rick L. Blues adds versatility with his harp playing on “Lazy Busy Blues,” working around the changes while spicing them up with difference. The other six acoustic instrumentals, track 8, “City Slicker;” track 9, “Lac Echo;” track 12, “Nothin’ Doin’;” and track 13, “P’tit Gars,” are original music expansions of blues-inflected roots music, similar to those roots-expanding instrumentals recorded by Northern Blues. Southside Denny Snyder’s acoustic and electric guitar playing consistently displays virtuosity and elegance without flash. Denny also combines slide and regular playing on the same song.
Complementing his guitar are his vocals and original songwriting. He learned well from the blues masters he first encountered while visiting Chicago, and has expanded his repertoire of influences to encompass modern blues-adapting songwriters such as Robert Cray and Bob Dylan. The three Chicago-based electric blues numbers are Cray-like: track 3, “I Got to Go,” on becoming better for getting away from it all for awhile; track 4, “Change Is Good,” a social commentary about change and flux; and track 10, “Perfectionist Blues,” which looks at both his woman, who is a perfectionist, and at himself as also stricken with perfectionism. The contemporary electric jazz vocal, “Story,” is Dylanesque in its use of strikingly unorthodox juxtaposition of ordinary words to give the song its surrealistic cast.
Lyrical uniqueness in a blues-derived context also characterizes “Delirious Frank” and “Strongest Man in the World.” “Delirious Frank” is an acoustic tale of a nasty miser set to the tune of “Minnie the Moocher.” The above-described “Strongest Man in the World” is another acoustic storytelling song that will remind one of Mississippi John Hurt in both its traditional melody and its direct storytelling. Rounding out the playlist is the autobiographical “Pays Cool,” an acoustic-electric blues sung almost entirely in French, with only the words “Northwest Indiana toward Chicago” and “blues” rendered in English, the sole clues to its autobiographical nature for the non-French understanding. Denny’s singing in French flows effortlessly, a reflection of his present living in a Montreal suburb where no one speaks English. Ending “Pays Cool” is a long electric guitar solo which complements very well. .
Reviewer George "Blues Fin Tuna" Fish hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, home of blues legends Yank Rachell and Leroy Carr. He has written a regular music column for several years. He wrote the liner notes for Yank Rachell’s Delmark album, Chicago Style. He has been a blues and pop music contributor for the left-wing press as well, and has appeared in Against the Current and Socialism and Democracy.
For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE.


You can vote anytime until August 31st but why not do it NOW? To cast your vote now, CLICK HERE.
You can listen to music by each of the nominees at a website set up by our sponsor WGLT Blues Radio 24/7 in Bloomington, IL. Be an informed voter and check out the music of the nominees now! - CLICK HERE
(The Blues Blast Music Awards ceremonies will take place Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, IL)
Best Contemporary Blues CD
Best Traditional Blues CD
Joe Louis Walker - Between A Rock And the BluesDave Riley & Bob Corritore - Lucky To Be Living
Mike Zito - Pearl RiverDavid Maxwell & Louisiana Red - You Got To Move
Nick Moss - PrivilegedEddie C. Campbell - Tear This World Up
Sean Costello - Sean's BluesFiona Boyes - Blues Woman
The Holmes Brothers - Feed My SoulThe Kilborn Alley Blues Band - Better Off Now
Tommy Castro - Hard BelieverMississippi Heat - Let's Live It Up
  
Best Blues Song
Best New Artist Debut Release
Jackie Scott & The Housewreckers -
How Much Woman Can You Stand?
Alabama Mike - Day To Day
Joe Louis Walker - I'm TideJackie Scott & The Housewreckers -
How Much Woman Can You Stand?
Mike Zito & Cyril Neville - Pearl RiverMarquise Knox - Man Child
Pete Anderson - Still In LoveQuintus McCormick - Hey Jodie!
Quintus McCormick - Hey Jodie!Shaun Murphy - Livin' The Blues
The Kilborn Alley Blues Band- Better Off Now 
  
Best Female Blues Artist
Best Male Blues Artist
Candye KaneBobby Rush
Fiona BoyesJoe Bonamassa
Janiva MagnessJohn Németh
Ruthie FosterMagic Slim
Shemekia CopelandNick Moss
Zora YoungTommy Castro
  
Best Blues Band
Sean Costello Rising Star Award
Magic Slim & The TeardropsCash Box Kings
Nick Moss & The Flip TopsDamon Fowler
Rick Estrin & The Night CatsJackie Scott & The Housewreckers
The Holmes BrothersJoanne Shaw Taylor
The Mannish BoysMarquise Knox
Tommy Castro BandThe Insomniacs
  
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Ladies Sing The Blues Cruise
A 5 day Carnival Cruise on the Triumph
Ever wish you could afford to take a Blues cruise but know you are in the wrong tax bracket to afford one? Well there is an alternative at a lower cost.
Fan Cruises has announced a five day Carnival Cruise departing from New Orleans December 6, 2010 with Ports of Call in Progreso, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico.
This special package includes private concerts by three Blues Ladies and cruise prices start at just $155 each for double occupancy, (plus plus $259.67 each for fees, taxes and gratuities). This Caribbean cruise include three private Blues concerts, private cocktail party with open bar, autograph signings and meet & greet time with the performers.
You can get a cabin for two for $830 total! (You can add a 3rd or 4th person to your cabin for only $10 & the fees each.) Or for a great early Christmas present for you and your loved one get the BEST cabins on the boat  for a total cost of $1,290 for two people!  (Panorama Deck 10 - Forward and Lido Deck 9 - Midship)
The Blues Lady performers include Pat HunterTerri Lynn & Thunder Blues and Vivian Vance Kelly.  It is NOT all Blues all the time.  It is an affordable 5 day Caribbean cruise.  up close with these great musicians and includes two ports of call (including the island of Cozumel, with three Blues concerts and a Blues party! And you are For more information visit their website at http://fancruises.com

 Featured Blues Review 4 of 4
Troy Turner - Whole Lotta Blues
14 tracks/51:28
Starting out as a child prodigy in Baton Rouge, guitarist Troy Turner has traveled the world playing the blues while escaping the attention that is often lavished on less-talented musicians. His previous studio recordings were on the Kingsnake and Telarc labels, with the last release more than ten years old. Right from the start, Turner shows that he has retained his distinctive guitar style and an expressive singing voice that was nurtured at a young age in the church choir.
Turner gets plenty of help from his musical friends, with a rotating cast of guests to a band anchored by producer Jon Tiven on a variety of instruments and Tiven’s wife, Sally, on bass. Besides well-known artists like Howard Tate, Steve Cropper, Leslie West and Felix Cavaliere, there are eight different drummers and seven keyboard players plus Mason Casey on harp for four cuts. Tiven gets co-writer credit on every track except the Don Nix classic “Goin Down”. Turner helped write two songs while five others list Hubert Sumlin in the credits.
Tate and Turner share the vocal lead on “Never Too Big For the Blues”, which might contain the first mention of the drug Oxycontin in a blues song that also reminds listeners that no matter how far you go in life, the blues is always lurking close by. The catchy vocal refrain on “Foolin’ Yourself” plus the presence of Cropper and Cavaliere make that track another highlight. Turner employs an all-star band on “Goin Down” that includes Brian May (Queen) and Leslie West (Mountain) on guitar as well as Bonnie Bramlett on harmony vocal. There are plenty of guitar fireworks over some fine piano work from Max Middleton (Jeff Beck). “Out on the Street “ takes an unflinching look at the plight of the homeless with Turner preaching that it’s a life with no winners.
The tempo picks up on “Goin’ Fishin’’ with Turner applying the fishing metaphor to his search for a good woman to love. And when the pace dials down to a slow burn on “Don’t Push Your Luck”, Turner’s tortured vocal captures the pain in lines like “..You broke my heart so many times, I need by-pass surgery.” He warns the cheating woman not to push her luck, and then emphasizes the point with a stinging guitar solo. Most of the other tracks fall into medium-tempo range, with the funky groove of “Shortchanged” offering some variety. Turner takes a humorous look at loving an older woman on “Blue Hair Woman” as he envisions an easy lifestyle under her care.
Throughout the disc, Turner sings with conviction and impresses with his fluid fretwork, which he confines to brief, concise solos. It is a solid offering that is consistent from start to finish and should raise Turner’s profile in the blues community. It’s great to have him back!
Reviewer Mark Thompson is president of the Crossroads Blues Society in Rockford. IL.
For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE.

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