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Hey Blues Fans, Wow! Last month was a busy one for Blues Blast Magazine. We went to The King Biscuit Festival in Helena, Arkansas the first weekend and then worked hard to produce the Blues Blast Music awards in the last week of the month. And we still managed to publish four issues of Blues Blast Magazine last month too! We are finally getting caught up and this week we have finished the first days photos from the King Biscuit Festival. Below are shots of James Harman, Reba Russell, Paul Thorn and BB King. To see ALL the photos of the artists from the first day of this great festival on our website, CLICK HERE.     We will post the remaining photos of all the King Biscuit Blues fun by next weeks issue, so stay tuned! In This Issuee We have five Blues music reviews this week! John Mitchell reviews a CD and a new CD/DVD set by Boney Fields & The Bone Project. Ian McKenzie reviews a new CD by The Jimmy Bowskill Band. Gary "Wingman" Weeks reviews a new CD by The South Memphis String Band. Steve Jones reviews a new CD by Chris Cain. All this and MORE! SCROLL DOWN!!! |
 | I Got The Blues... All Because Of Youis an eclectic mix of female blues classics and of originals written by G'Jai. This CD will make you reminisce of a time when women reigned supreme in the Blues world. |
| I Got The Blues All Because Of You | |
| Available at www.GJAI-Blues.com http://www.cdbaby.com www.DigStation.com | |
| With some blues classics like "Chirping The Blues", and a link to the present with originals like "Little Lady From Detroit". "You can't look to the future without embracing your past!" |
Featured Blues Review 1 & 2 of 5
 Boney Fields And The Bone’s ProjectLive at Jazz A Vienne - 11 tracks, 74.08 minutes(CD); 74.08 minutes + 40 minutes bonus material (DVD). (2009) We Play The Blues – 13 tracks 68.03 minutes (CD) (2006) A bundle of music here! The most recent offering is a double live CD/DVD combo  recorded at Jazz à Vienne in 2008; the earlier CD dates from 2006. 4 tracks from the earlier studio CD are reprised on the live album.Boney Fields is a Chicago native who plays trumpet, sings and composes. He originally came to Europe as part of Luther Allison’s band and stayed on. His main interest now is the Bone’s Project, a seven piece band with a three piece horn section which Boney has led since 1998, mainly performing in Europe. The older studio album is an excellent introduction to Boney’s music. The band comes across as inspired by horn driven bands of the past such as James Brown’s. Boney wrote 8 of the songs here and covers classics by Deadric Malone, Jimmy McCracklin and Rev Gary Davis/Mississippi Fred McDowell (“You Gotta Move”). Guest Lucky Peterson contributes one song as well as guesting on two others while French harp ace Jean-Jacques Milteau and ex- James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley appear on two tracks each. Corey Harris and Martha High (another JB acolyte) also appear on one track. There are many highlights on the CD, most tunes affording plenty of space for the players to demonstrate their skills. I liked the title track and the lengthy ballad “Don’t Let It Get You Down”. “Don’t Call Me Local” is one of the tunes that appears on both albums and is an interesting song, expressing the pride Boney has in his origins, despite living far away from home. The live album has the same concert on both CD and DVD. The DVD has a 40 minute extra section with interviews with Boney himself and several of the guests on the older album, such as Lucky Peterson, Fred Wesley and Martha High, as well as Bernard Allison. The interviews are very supportive of Boney and his project, demonstrate the esteem in which he is held by his musician colleagues, but don’t provide a great deal of information on top of what we can see and hear on the discs. There are also two bonus tracks, “Your Good Thing’s About To Run Out” (the Lucky Peterson tune also on the studio album) and “Another Place In The Blues”. The former is an outtake from the Vienne concert, the latter was recorded at a festival in France in 2005. The older clip compares badly with the quality of the Vienne recording which, made with 7 cameras, is of the highest quality and captures all the players beautifully. The live concert is a slightly tougher version of the type of music on the studio album. Again, plenty of long tracks offer room for solos, although some are overlong, in my view. As ever with live albums (unless judiciously edited) we get a lot of “Are you ready?” and exhortations to put our hands together, as well as the obligatory band introductions. The band is a real mixture of nationalities, with players from France, Italy, Martinique, Mauritius, Senegal and the USA; the music has a lot of funk in it and JB and Sly and The Family Stone are clear influences, though in places the horn arrangements demonstrate a touch of Chicago (the band, not the city!). There are some outstanding solo moments; the sax solo on an excellent reggaefied version of “Funny How Time Slips Away”, the trombone on “Live In Peace” but this is mainly an ensemble effort. Worth investigating if you like horn driven music with shades of James Brown and Sly Stone. The CDs are not distributed in the USA but are available from I-Tunes and other digital platforms, as well as Amazon France. Boney’s website carries full details and is available in French and English versions.! Reviewer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE |
 Special pricing extended to November 20, 2010 Blues Blast Magazine is offering a Fall Ad special. This is our lowest pricing of the year and offers an affordable & effective way to get the Blues word out! This 6 week combo rate of only $180 allows you to affordably add significant impact to your Blues ad campaign. It is a great way to kick up the visibility of you new CD release or Blues event! It is also a good way to advertise for 2011 festival bookings. Blues Blast Magazine is a great way to promote the Blues. More than 17,000 Blues fans read our magazine each week. They are located in all 50 states and in more than 80 countries. We also get more than 1,000,000 (That's ONE MILLION) hits and more than 25,000 visitors a month on our website. Normal 2010 Advertising rates are $45 a week for Blues Blast magazine ads and website ads are $70 per month. BUT, for a limited time, you can advertise your Blues event or CD in six issues of Blues Blast Magazine and on our website for a month and a half for less that the cost of a small ad in your local newspaper. To get the special rate of $180 simply reserve your ad space by November 20th, 2010. Ads can be booked to run anytime between now and June 30, 2011. So for only $180 your ad can be viewed more than 135,000 times by Blues fans who want to know about Blues events and music! Reserve your space today! Space is limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis. Ads must be reserved and paid for before November 20th, 2010. To get more information emailinfo@thebluesblast.com or call 309 267-4425 today! |
Blues Society News
Send your Blues Society's BIG news or Press Release to:  You can submit a maximum of 175 words or less in a Text or MS Word document format. Houston Blues Society - Houston, TX At 10 a.m. on Saturday morning November 13, 2010 at the corner of Dowling and Francis in the historic Third Ward, there will be a cultural celebration for the city, the state and the world, for that matter. The Houston Blues Society, the House of Blues and Project Row Houses are proud to be a part of the unveiling of a State Historical Marker commemorating and celebrating the Houston music icon, Sam ''Lightnin'" Hopkins. The event will include speeches, musical performances, and an official proclamation marking Saturday, November 13th as Lightnin' Hopkins Day! It will culminate with musical celebrations from three living legends - Lightnin's cousin, Milton Hopkins, as well as Texas Johnny Brown and Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy! Great Andrew Dansby article:http://www.ultimateeastend.com/stories/220289-bluesman-lightnin-hopkins-to-b On Sunday, November 14, 2010celebrations continue! This time in the form of a benefit for the Houston Food Bank. At 1 p.m. the Shakespeare Pub will host the thirteen hour 20th Annual "Blues For Food" Music Extravaganza! This is the year's largest collection of Blues musicians in Houston turning the event into a real festival! Bring $10 worth of non-perishables to help fill the food bank truck, and you will receive a dinner plate of barbeque and admission to this fantastic community event! www.houstonbluessociety.org Mississippi Valley Blues Society - Davenport, IA The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents the duo of Hal Reed and Ellis Kell for its Blues in the Schools Artists in Residency Series for the week of November 15-19. Hal and Ellis will conduct their “Generations of Blues” workshops at 10 area schools and two open-to-the-public performances. The open-to-the-public performances by Hal and Ellis are Wednesday Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.—Mojo’s in the River Music Experience, 2nd and Main in Davenport and Thursday Nov. 18 at 6 p.m.—Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th Street The goal is that students today continue to appreciate, understand and carry their fathers’ and mothers’ music into the next generation. www.mvbs.org Crossroads Blues Society - Rockford, IL Westside Andy Linderman, (Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band) recently learned that his wife Donna has inoperable lung cancer. Donna's situation is very serious and has already required many tests, doctor visits, etc. She is not able to work and Andy has not been playing much with the band in order to take care of her. There will be a benefit for Donna & Andy featuring Tab Benoit, at 6:00pm on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at SCATZ Sports Bar & Night Club , located at 2248 Deming Way in Middleton Wisconsin $15 donation. 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. Nov 15 - Shawn Pittman, Nov 22 - Russell Miller and the Esquires of Hell Fire, Nov 29 - Scotty Daniels Blues Band, December 6 - The Mojocats, Studebaker John & the Hawks, Dec 20 - Brooke Thomas and The Blue Suns, Dec 27 - The Sally Weisenburg Blues Trio. The Friends Of The Blues - Watseka, IL 2010 Friends of the Blues shows - Tuesday, December 14, Shawn Pittman (Texas Blues trio), 7 p.m., Kankakee Valley Boat Club, 1600 Cobb Boulevard, Kankakee IL 60901. (815) 936-1699. |
 | 2007 Blewzzy Award Best CD Winner & Blues Blast Magazine Best Song Nominee Release Second CD |
| Steve Gerard & The National Debonaires Words Are Like Bullets | |
| Order atwww.blueedgerecords.com plus CD Baby and iTunes | |
| www.nationaldebonaires.com |
Featured Blues Review 3 of 5
 Jimmy Bowskill Band - LiveRuf Records Twelve tracks The Jimmy Bowskill Band from Canada, has been nominated for "Electric Act Of The Year" at the 2011 Maple Blues Awards to be held at Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Monday, January 17, 2011. This album, issued under the auspices of the German entrepreneur, Thomas Ruf, is part of a concerted attack aimed at making the Bowskill name known across Europe and the world. This CD is an excellent step in the right direction. Not yet 20 years old, Bowskill is a highly accomplished guitarist with touches of Hendrix, BB King and Paul Rogers in his work. Mentored for a long while by the late (also Canadian) Jeff Healey and all the while exercising audacious control over his music, Jimmy knows just how long to hold and bend notes and how to use dynamic flourishes to best effect. The influences mentioned above are reflected in the set list from this live gig: two Free songs, ‘Walk In My Shadows’ and ‘Ride A Pony’; a tribute to Hendrix with ‘Drifting Haze’; a cover of Peter Green’s ‘Rattlesnake Shake’ (don’t ask what it’s about Mom) and an exemplary version of B.B.King’s ‘Three O’Clock in the Morning’ are standouts. Bowskill is not afraid to go to the root too, producing a nice version of Blind Willy McTell’s ‘ Broke Down Engine’. There are also some ventures into Bowskill’s growing songbook and the whole thing is ably assisted by the other band members: Dan Neill on drums and Wayne Deadder on bass. Sometimes CD releases of live concerts are confounded because of intrusive audience noise and/or because producers deviate from the set list as played altering the ‘feel’ of the gig as though the artiste(s) don’t know how to sequence to best effect. None of that here. The whole thing runs very smoothly and even includes a drum solo on ‘Karadag’ which is something that often gets cast to the winds when editing takes place. Good thinking by the label!. Bowskill sings remarkably well and the changes in vocal phrasing and dynamic that will inevitably happen as he matures can only improve things. All in all, an excellent ‘live’ outing. This one is recommended for anyone with a penchant for well sung, fiery blues rock. EDITOR'S NOTE: This CD was reviewed as an indie CD before release by Ruf Records in our 12/24/09 issue. CLICK HERE to see that review. Reviewer Ian McKenzie lives in England. He is the editor of Blues In The South (www.bluesinthesouth.com) a monthly flier providing news, reviews, a gig guide and all kinds of other good stuff, for people living and going to gigs along the south coast of England. Ian is also a blues performer (seewww.myspace.com/ianmckenzieuk) and has a web cast regular blues radio show on www.phonic.FM in Exeter (Wednesdays: 1pm Eastern/ 12 noon Central). For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE |
Featured Review 4 of 5
 South Memphis String Band - Home Sweet HomeMemphis International Records In case you're suffering severe burn-out from the blues-rock you're accustomed to hearing, Home Sweet Home from the South Memphis String Band takes a listener back to the roots. North Mississippi All-Star/Black Crowes guitarist Luther Dickinson, Memphis homeboy Alvin Youngblood Hart and Mississippi young blood Jimbo Mathus make up this unit. These guys play a type of music not garnered for critical praise or mainstream radio airplay. It's the type of music that can warm up a crowd for Abraham Lincoln. Banjos, harmonica, guitars, kazoos and mandolins are the only tools used. It's an acoustic album. But it has a place in a rural setting, on a back-porch in the Appalachian hills with a jug of moonshine sitting at your feet. All players take a turn at singing the tracks. "Eighteen Hammers" evokes the feeling of chain gangs working in fields with its vocals as the only instrumentation. The harmonies are rugged but perfect. Slick production would only ruin the atmosphere of these songs. There's the essence of church revival distilled in "Let Your Light Shine On Me." Alvin Youngblood Harts' "Bloody Bill Anderson" based on a real murdering Southern rebel makes a direct beeline for the Civil War with Confederate banjo. Memphis old folk comes across in "Jesse James." This material taps into the time warp of Great Depression America. "Bootlegger Blues" runs its train through the years of Prohibition. And title track "Home Sweet Home" with its mournful mandolin wraps up the project. Although these gentlemen are rockers, you have to love them for unplugging their instruments and taking you on a musical back-roads which end at the Dixie highway. Reviewed by Gary "Wingman" Weeks. For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE |
Blues Want Ads
Blues Musicians Place Your Want Ad here for FREE "workin Blues performers" ONLY can place Want Ads here for FREE. NO Commercial Ads! Buy or sell equipment , musicians wanted, gigs wanted etc. Limit 100 words. Blues Music Writers wanted Blues Blast Magazine is looking for music writers to review new Blues CD's and interview Blues musicians. If you have a background and experience with Blues music and like to write we can provide new CD's for you to review. Must be willing to write a minimum of one review every other week. Reviewer keeps the CD's for writing the review. If interested please send a sample of your writing and a short bio of your Blues background to Please include phone number in your reply.All ads submitted will be used if space allows. If space is limited, ads will be randomly selected to appear in the Blues Blast. Ads may be edited. Send your ad submission to |
Featured Blues Review 5 of 5
 Chris Cain - So Many MilesBlue Rock’It Records 10 tracks Chris Cain is one helluva guitar player and singer. I remember the first time I met him: he was wearing overalls and looked like a tradesperson who showed up at the bar he was playing at for a beer after work instead of the talented musician he was and is. He was so personable and approachable and he had a great sense of humor. When he set foot on the stage the sound that emanated was amazing. He plays and sings in a style that reminds me a lot of BB King but with a heavy West Coast influence layered on top. I’ve loved his recordings over the years but found his live performances to be filled with a larger sense of presence and musicality for some reason. That was until this recording. Robben Ford wanted to play with Chris and suggested that he record with him backed up by Ford’s band. This is an exceptional cast of characters. The interplay of Cain on lead and Ford on rhythm guitar is beautiful. Cain’s vocals are soulful and exciting. The other backing musicians fill in oh-so-well. Gary Novak and Toss Panos split the work on drums, Trevis Carlson is on bass, Jeff Balbo and John R. Burr share the organ and keys, Carl Bowers is on trombone, David Schrader is on sax and Doug Morton is on trumpet. The fleshed out larger cast of characters gives the music a full and fresh sound. Larry Carlton and Russel Ferrante also appear respectively on guitar and keys on “East FoothHill Fingerprint”; the guitar work on this instrumental is spectacular. The sound has “L.A. blues” written all over it, with jazzy influences and rich filler between the guitars. The CD opens to the title track, the saga of Cain’s musical career and journey through life. “So Many Miles” displays his talents well; the listener who knows Cain will appreciate the fresh, clean sound and the newcomer to Cain’s music will immediately fall in love with it. Cains fingers flow over the frets in a seemingly effortless manner. “Good Time Barry” and “While the City Sleeps” are prime examples of the Chris Cain guitar sound and the flowing riffs and melodies that he gracefully pulls out of the strings. I have nothing but praise for this CD and each of its’ tracks. Cain and Ford have done a marvelous job putting this effort together and really deliver the goods. Most highly recommended! Reviewer Steve Jones is secretary of the Crossroads Blues Society in Rockford. IL For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE |
Live Blues Calendar
YOU can submit your Blues performances for FREE at: http://www.thebluesblast.com/submitnews.htm Performance dates were submitted by Musicians, Club Owners, Blues Societies and Blues festivals. TheBluesBlast.com is not responsible for errors or omissions.
or click a state to see Blues shows by State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Other Countries Performance dates submitted by Musicians, Clubs, Blues Societies and Blues festivals. TheBluesBlast.com is not responsible for errors or omissions. |
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Get the Blues word OUT! Festivals... Blues Blast Magazine & TheBluesBlast.com's website are great ways to promote ANY Blues event or product. In fact we believe we just might have THE best Blues advertising vehicle anywhere to promote YOUR Blues event! Blues CD's... For less than the cost of one small ad in a newspaper, you can advertise your shows, new CD or any Blues product. A great way to get the Blues word out! Blues fans WANT to know about your Blues event of product. Call Bob at (309) 267-4425 or send an email to for a confidential quote today!Blues Blast Magazine covers Blues all over! We also offer effective advertising for Festivals and Club Owners, Recording Companies and Performers. Put your Blues advertisement on our homepage at: http://www.TheBluesBlast.com either as a sponsored event or as a featured event, product, recording or merchandise. We get 25,000 visitors and 1,000,000 hits A MONTH on our website! More than 17,000 Blues Fans, Musicians, Recording Companies, Club Owners, Blues Societies and Festival Promoters in all 50 states and in 70 countries read the Blues Blast magazine each week. You can feature your event or product in the largest FREE internet Blues magazine delivered right to your inbox each week. Contact us Today at |
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