Cover photo by Bob Kieser © 2011 Blues Blast Magazine
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In This Issue
Terry Mullins has our feature interview with Eric "Guitar" Davis.
We have five CD reviews for you this week! Steve Jones reviews a new CD from
Memphis Gold. Rainey Wetnight reviews a new CD from Jim Allchin. John Mitchell reviews
a CD called 35 Years Of Stony Plain.
Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony reviews a new CD
from Bill Bourne & The Free Radio Band. Ian McKenzie reviews a new CD from
Ana Popovic. All this and MORE! SCROLL DOWN!!!
From The Editor's Desk
Hey Blues Fans,
Busy time here at Blues Blast! We are getting final details
completed for next Thursday. What is next Thursday you ask? It
is the culmination of nine months of work, the Blues Blast Music
Awards at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. (See our Ad below)
 We
begin the process in February as we select the 30 nominators. We
look for independent Blues music professionals with a wide
exposure to what is happening in today's Blues world. (Festival
Promoters, Music Journalists, Blues music venue owners, radio
DJs and others).
Then in March we open up the nomination process by announcing
the eligibility criteria and invite labels and independent
producers and artists to submit their recordings for
consideration. In April we send these submissions to the
nominators. These submissions, along with the nominators
background and exposure to current Blues music provide the basis
for their nominations at the end of May.
We tally the nominations and the result becomes part one of how
we try to recognize the best in today's Blues music. Their
nominations are in effect a "Critic's Choice Award". There are
only eight categories so if an artist makes it in as one of the
nominees (critic's choice) they are part of a small select
group. Many other awards have scores of nominees and categories,
but if an artists or recording is selected as a nominee in the
Blues Blast Music Awards, they are in that small group the
critic's thought were the "Best" in today's Blues. We announce
the nominee choices in early June.
Then part two of the Blues Blast Music Awards begins on July 1
when voting begins. The voting part serves as a "People's Choice
Award". Similar to the Living Blues Awards, anyone can vote! No
monetary involvement is required as it is FREE for everyone.
Voting continues until August 31st and then we tally the votes
and begin planning the Blues Blast Music Awards for the last
Thursday in October. More than 6,500 of you made your voices
heard by voting this year!
Why do we do it? We have heard that some think it is about money
but in reality it costs more to produce the awards show than the
revenue the show generates. (Hotel rooms for the artists alone
in downtown Chicago exceed the money generated by the show!)
So why do it? It is our mission to recognize Blues music and
Blues artists. It is what we do!
Please join us next Thursday, October 27th at Buddy Guy's
Legends for the 4th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards. At this
point there are still tickets available so check out our ad
below to get yours now.
And if you can't join us in Chicago, be sure to listen to the
live broadcast stream on
GLT Blues Radio 24/7 beginning at 6:00pm CST as we celebrate this
music called the Blues!
Good Blues To You!
Bob Kieser
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Thursday
October 27th, 2011 Buddy
Guy's Legends, Chicago, IL
Chris
O'Leary Band,
Vincent Hayes
Project, Tony Rogers &
Sharrie
Williams,
Rob Blaine's Big
Otis Blues
plus a few surprise guests!
Advance tickets are $30 plus $3 handling. To get YOUR
tickets now
CLICK HEREPLEASE NOTE: *Tickets are General Admission. Doors open at 5:00pm. Show starts at 6:00pm.
Seating is "first come first served". Show sold to SRO (Standing room Only) Get there EARLY for a seat! NO REFUNDS!
Want guaranteed seating right in front of the stage?
Buddy Guy's Legends has limited seating. With our
Mini Sponsorship packages you
can be sitting right in front of the stage to hear performances by
the 2011 Nominees!
Our Mini Sponsor packages begin as low as $250
for two people and include
guaranteed seating, Blues memorabilia "Goodie Bag", limited edition
event poster, limited edition Blues Blast Awards T-shirts and sponsor's name listed in
the souvenir awards program. Limited number of sponsorships available, first
come first served! For more information
CLICK HERE
Featured Blues Interview - Eric
"Guitar" Davis
 Though he’s probably never been referred to as the “E.F. Hutton of
the Blues,” when Buddy Guy talks, people certainly do listen.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a grizzled old veteran of the scene, or whether
you’re an impressionable 10-year-old kid, when the Legend from
Lettsworth offers advice, you’d better be all ears.
And long before “Guitar” was placed between Eric and Davis, listen is
just what he did.
A budding drummer at the time, the son of Bobby Davis had already backed
up the likes of B.B. King and Junior Wells, even though he was not yet a
teenager.
But one day after school, young Eric Davis spotted a bass player across
the floor at that venerable old hotspot on Chicago’s 43rd Street, the
Checkerboard Lounge, and mentioned that he’d like to take a few bass
lessons.
Overhearing the conversation, the man behind the well-weathered bar
pulled out a beaten-up Fender Strat and told young Davis, “In order to
get all the girls, you have to play this.”
That man was Buddy Guy and Eric Davis soaked up that advice like a
sponge soaks up water.
Guy later showed Davis his first chord on the instrument and from there
on out, it was full-speed ahead for Davis and the six-string.
“I started really watching people like Buddy and Lefty Dizz and Sammy
Lawhorn and all those guys play guitar and then my father bought me an
old guitar from a pawn shop,” Davis said. “And I used to set up and
listen to Albert Collins’ “Frosty” everyday. And somehow it all just
caught on with me and I’ve been playing ever since.”
For a peek into why Big James (Montgomery) dubbed him as “Guitar” (“I
never would have thought of that myself, but he started calling me
“Guitar” and it stuck,” said Davis.), simply pop in Trouble Makin’ Man
(Young Blues Records) – Davis’ latest CD -and the reasons are readily
apparent.
 There are plenty of thick, rich bluesy riffs that give the tunes a
muscular feel, but there are also heavy chunks of slippery, slidey funk
stuffed into the body of the songs, giving them a breezy,
lighter-than-air nature.
So, the “Guitar” tag is well warranted.
But there’s also more. Davis wrote nine of the 10 tracks on the album.
“I like to write my own material because everything’s really already
been covered,” he said. “And in these days and time, with all the
competition out there, you have to set yourself, your show, your CD,
apart from everyone else. They won’t hear me do “Everyday I Have the
Blues.” They won’t hear “Stormy Monday.” When you hear new people, you
want to hear new stuff. That’s part of my inspiration for writing my own
songs. I want to be known for my stuff first. If I’m known for my stuff
first, when I get to a certain level, I can go back and do other
people’s stuff If I want to and still be accepted for being me. You sure
don’t want people to think you’re a copycat, or are trying to be like
this person or that person.”
The exception to that rule on Trouble Makin’ Man is a take on Chicagoan
Jimmy Burns’ “No Consideration,” and it almost has a gospel-like charge
to it, complete with requisite background vocals, giving the disc some
choice variety and keeping it from being a straight-out shred fest.
“That’s by choice. That’s by choice to be different,” Davis said. “I
listen to a lot of rap and a lot of R&B and things like that. And I try
to mix the blues up to where you can get up and move. I try not to play
the same old I-IV-V blues. I want to make the blues interesting and not
the same old stuff that everybody’s heard over and over.”
 That refusal to fall back into the been-there, done-that also applies to
when Eric “Guitar” Davis and The Troublemakers hit the stage (video of
their performance at this year’s Chicago Blues Festival can be seen at
www.ericguitardavis.com).
“One thing I refuse to do at my shows – you may hear one or two
‘traditional blues songs’ – there again, the I-VI-V numbers – but I
rarely do the slow blues and the shuffles, all those kinds of things,”
he said. “I try to keep things fresh. We’re in 2011 and you have to go
in different ways to keep things fresh to bring in some of the
youngsters and middle-aged people that didn’t like the blues. But when
they hear it coming from me, they go - ‘you know, that ain’t bad. I like
that.’”
Trouble Makin’ Man also features guest stints from Ronnie Baker
Brooks (who co-produced some of the disc), along with Mike Wheeler and
Big James.
“I really put my all into this CD to see if it can help take me to that
next level,” Davis said.
And Davis knows that the rungs of the ladder that lead to that “next
level” are full of others who are clinging on with exactly the same
plans as his.
Because making a name for yourself as a guitarist is one thing.
But making a name for yourself as a guitarist in a city like Chicago, a
city that is stuffed to the gills with world-class players, is another
matter entirely.
 “It’s very hard (to separate from the pack). And the reason that I say
that is with the newer generation, you have to prove yourself even more,
because the blues has been watered down so much,” said Davis. “And when
you’re playing in the Chicago clubs, everything is magnified. Everything
you do is under the microscope, so you have to be serious about your
business. If you’re not serious or don’t have good music – new, fresh
music – along with consistency, it would be really hard.
While striving for consistency is certainly the goal of any musician,
achieving that consistency can be easier said than done.
“This (playing the blues for a living) is something that you have to
want to do. A lot of guys come out here and want to make a big name and
get to all the big places without putting in the work. Everyone thinks
they’re going to come out here and get rich,” Davis said. “But to
maintain a level of consistency, the first thing is, it has to be in
your heart. You’ve got to love and want to do this at all costs.”
A lot of times, those “costs” end up being little or no pay at the end
of a gig, even for some of the very best bands on the scene.
“Being a bandleader, you’ve got to have a good group of guys that want
to play with you,” he said. “Guys that are on the same page with you.
They have to understand that some gigs may be for $50 and some gigs may
be for $500. You have to have guys that believe in you and what you’re
doing and will stick behind you, through it all. You’ve got to play a
lot of those $50 gigs, too. Like I tell my band, if you’re playing with
me, don’t expect to get rich. If you’re trying to put your kids through
college playing with me, it’s not going to happen right now. But it’s
going to get better and eventually the money will be plentiful and
everybody will be happy. But you have to start at the bottom before you
get to the top.”
 Even though he’s hesitant to admit to as much, Davis has developed into
a fairly formidable singer, mixing up power and grit with plenty of
sweet soul.
Pretty impressive, considering that until he formed The Troublemakers,
singing was probably the last thing on his mind.
“I’ve never really thought that I could sing,” Davis said. “Still, to
this day, I never really thought I could sing. But as a bandleader, I
wasn’t afraid to step up to the mike and sing. I knew I had to. When I
would go out to jams and stuff, I would take the microphone and even
though I wasn’t a singer, I would sing. That was the only way I was ever
going to be able to learn to sing. And right now today, I’m very
comfortable about what I’ve been able to achieve vocal-wise. My top
favorite vocalist would have to be Jimmy Burns, though.”
Davis also cites Burns as one of his favorite guitarists, along with
Albert Collins, Lefty Dizz, Chico Banks and Ronnie Baker Brooks, to name
just a few.
However, it was a relative unknown that ended up having as much or more
influence than those cats on Davis when he was still learning the
nuances of the guitar.
 “There’s a guy named Lavertis Stewart – a guy that nobody’s ever heard
of – that was a big influence on me learning to play the guitar,” he
said. “I met him 20-something years ago in my neighborhood and he used
to sit up and play with me and go through things on the guitar with me.”
And even though he’s played the guitar in countless clubs in countless
cities over the course of the past three decades, Davis has not been
able to completely separate himself from the first instrument he was
taught at age 5 – the drums.
“I actually still play the drums every now and then, so I’m still a
drummer at heart,” he said. “And since I play the drums, I HAVE to have
a good drummer behind me when I’m playing guitar. That’s like one of the
main points of my band.”
Davis, who in addition to playing guitar, singing, writing songs and
leading a band, also serves as a one-man booking, promoting, advertising
and marketing department, understands that remaining visible and
accessible are necessary components needed to break through to the
masses.
“I stay in clubs at least eight nights a week, even if I’m not playing,”
he said. “I like to check out what other people are doing and hear the
music they’re playing, plus it lets people know that I’m out and about –
its keeps me in front of people.”
Like any other performer, in the world of the blues or otherwise, Davis
aspires to one day take to the world’s biggest stages and play to
adoring fans all across the globe.
And he would rather do that sooner than later.
“I can see myself playing big festivals and doing big things. I’m just
going to keep doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m not that old in the
blues business, but one thing I have a fear of – I don’t want to be an
old man that just now reaches the point that he wants to. And I think
with the direction I’m going in now, and by staying true to the music, I
can reach that point sooner than that.”
Interviewer Terry Mullins is a journalist and former record store
owner whose personal taste in music is the sonic equivalent of Attention
Deficit Disorder. Works by the Bee Gees, Captain Beefheart, Black
Sabbath, Earth, Wind & Fire and Willie Nelson share equal space with
Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers and R.L. Burnside in his compact disc
collection. He's also been known to spend time hanging out on the street
corners of Clarksdale, Mississippi, eating copious amounts of barbecued
delicacies while listening to the wonderful sounds of the blues.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
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Featured Blues Review 1 of
5
 Memphis
Gold - Pickin’ High Cotton
Stack House Records
11 tracks
This is a dark and deep in the blues album. Memphis Gold takes us track
by track through a life of picking cotton by hand in Mississippi,
homelessness, poverty, drunkenness, and other tragedies that have filled
his live and given him the blues just like the forefathers of the blues.
He expresses his feelings deeply and with a true sense of the blues.
This is a down home and dirty blues CD of all original tracks.
While the lyrics and beat sometimes seem to be overly simplistic and they deliver some riffs we’ve heard before, Memphis Gold is writing and playing in the style of years past. He is one of the last true links to Delta blues played by a man who lived in the style of the originally recorded bluesmen; he gives us a 21st-century take on the tradition.
Dark and dreary times get the treatment in tracks like “How You Gonna
Play The Blues?”, “Don’t Take My Blues Away”, ”Homeless Blues”, and
“Pickin’ High Cotton”. One can feel and understand the suffering men and
women went through in the Delta when listening to this man. He emotes
the blues in a straightforward and blunt manner- no questions asked.
There is some variety here, too. “Back Po’ch Tennessee” is a cool and
jumping instrumental song, while “Ice Cream Man” (not a cover) gives us
a different take on the blues where he and MMM want to be their baby’s
ice cream man. “John Brown” is some more deep blues, but it hearkens to
times a century and a half ago in a fresh manner. The closing track
“Standin’ By The Highway” gives us more of Gold’s blues, but the rhythm
and beat are funked up and grooving.
The CD insert materials is lacking some of the guitar credits on some
tracks, but the players here support Memphis Gold 1000% with their
efforts- they are tight and quite in synch. The packaging and insert
show the pride Gold has in his recognition and success. There are the
Living Blues and Blues & Rhythm magazine covers he was featured on,
sponsorships, and gratitude for a flag he received that was flown over
GITMO.
The CD is fun to listen to. It may seem at time to be stuff we’ve heard
before, but that is what the early blues were all about. Memphis Gold
takes us back and helps us recognize we are not far removed from the
days of the plantation and share cropping. All that has saved men and
women the labor of picking cotton are huge machines that have taken
their jobs away, menial as they were, but perhaps making for a new
future generation’s take on the blues where even King Cotton cannot
provide a meager sustenance for small farmers.
Reviewer
Steve
Jones is a Board Member of the
Crossroads Blues
Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy
commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In
addition to working in his civilian career, he writes for and publishes
the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival
and works with their Blues In The Schools program.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
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Featured Blues Review 2 of 5
 Jim
Allchin - Overclocked
Sandy Key Music
13 songs; 51 minutes
Styles: Blues Rock, Jazzy Blues, Pop Ballad
A smorgasbord is a popular destination of many hungry people who want “a
night out.” Its appeal is threefold: relatively low prices, the
temptation to devour “all you can eat,” and vast array of foods
available. Like a buffet, Jim Allchin's second album, “Overclocked,”
offers a little bit of everything: blistering yet melodious guitar, hot
horns, punctuating keyboards, beautiful ballads, and a pinch of pizzazz!
Allchin’s honeyed and warm tenor vocals are serviceable and sound
younger than his age (the opposite of the more common
young-guy-sounding-old). His thirteen original songs may skirt the edge
of pure blues; however, each one is unique and tasty, and all are worth
at least one listen. Let's savor three of this CD's most luscious main
dishes:
Track 1. "Overclocked"--Typically, this adjective refers to computer
processors when they've been set to run faster than normal. However, in
this case, Jim Allchin belts out a weary student's desire to do just
this: "No more school or teachers' looks. It's Friday night--got to come
unhooked! "Overclocked" is everything a lead-in number on an album
should be: explosive, vigorous, and a surefire earworm! His masterful
guitar work reminds of Jimi Hendrix’s creativity coupled with Robin
Trower’s harmonic melody.
Track 3. "Back in the Swamp"--Is this an ode to Florida, or perhaps the Louisiana bayou? Hardly! It's a confession from a philandering paramour: "I'm back in the swamp. Those gators gonna get me! I cheated on that girl--I'm up the creek." Allchin's metaphor is a fresh change from the usual "doghouse" imagery, and when he compares "lying through my teeth" to rising waters, the mental image is absolutely priceless!
Track 10. "Perfect Game"—This song's about the painful masquerading that
lovers often do once they lose one another. Jim Allchin and co-vocalist
Keely Whitney are magnificent here as the pair in question, with a
mutual lament: "Hide my heart, hide my eyes--the old familiar disguise.
It's the perfect game: I'm doing great, showing no pain. It's the
perfect game..." What makes this song perfect is its raw power, as
opposed to flawless blues technique.
According to his website, Jim Allchin hails from a one-room house on a
dirt farm in the Deep South. He rose to earn Masters/Doctorate degrees
from Stanford University and Georgia Institute of Technology. He went on
to become a world-recognized leader in Computer Science and software.
Today he codes for fun and plays guitar for love. “Money doesn't really
matter for happiness,” he states emphatically. What does matter is
providing blues listeners with variety and plenty of “food for thought”.
“Overclocked” definitely offers it, and much more!
Reviewer Rainey Wetnight is a 31-year-old female Blues fan. She
brings the perspective of a younger blues fan to reviews. A child of
1980s music, she was strongly influenced by her father’s blues music
collection.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
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Blues Blast Music
Awards - Listen Online Live
 Great News! Our friends at
GLT Blues Radio 24/7 are going to stream the audio from the
2011
Blues Blast Music Awards at Buddy
Guy's Legends LIVE on October 27th!
Tune in FREE to hear
Nick
Moss Band,
Reverend Raven
And The Chain Smokin' Altar Boys,
Karen
Lovely Band,
Eddie Turner,
Bob Corritore
w/Dave Riley,
Rich Del Grosso
& Jonn Richardson,
Peter Parcek, The
Sugar Prophets, Teeny Tucker Band ,
Reba Russell Band, Gina Sicilia
with Dave Gross, Matt Hill,
Chris
O'Leary Band,
Vincent Hayes
Project, Rob Blaine's Big
Otis Blues, Tony Rogers, and more as they perform LIVE from the greatest Blues club in the world, Chicago's own
Buddy Guy's Legends. The broadcast
will begin at 6:00pm CST sharp!
If
you have never listened to
GLT Blues Radio 24/7 be sure to check it out now by
CLICKING HERE. Then be
sure to bookmark their station and tune in.
We think they have THE best commercial free, all Blues, all the time
internet radio station on the planet! So check them out and see what we
mean.
Fans in the Bloomington/Normal and Central Illinois area will also be
able to hear the show live on their regular FM radio dial at 89.1 FM or
103.5 FM in the Central, IL area.
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Featured Blues Review 3 of 5
 Various
artists – 35 Years Of Stony Plain
Stony Plain Records
CD1 - 21 tracks; 75.05 minutes; CD2 20 tracks; 73.20 minutes; DVD 11
tracks; approx. 54 minutes.
What were you doing in 1976? Holger Petersen was setting up a small,
independent record company based in the most northern city in Canada,
Edmonton. 35 years on that small debut has led to more than 400 album
releases and the company is now established as a leading player in the
blues and roots market. Stony Plain does not limit itself to Canadian
artists and Americans such as Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Rory Block,
Steve Earle and Joe Louis Walker have found homes there, in some cases
producing arguably their best work for the label.
This is essentially a double CD with a bonus DVD. The first CD is
subtitled “Singers, songwriters and much, much more” and features an
eclectic mix of material. For example, opening track “The Diplomat”
finds Maria Muldaur in jug band mode, followed by the late Jeff Healey
playing 1920s jazz guitar alongside excellent violinist Drew Jurecka.
Harry Marx and Kevin Breit appear next on an attractive and quite bluesy
piece “Looking For A Brand New World”.
There are several excellent performances on Disc 1 that are more
folk/country or ‘Americana’, as such music is dubbed in the UK: Ian
Tyson (the doyen of Canadian folk music and author of the timeless “Four
Strong Winds” which is later reprised by Blue Rodeo on the compilation),
Steve Earle, Corb Lund, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris.
Two tracks on Disc 1 feature Duke Robillard (of whom we will hear more
on Disc 2). One of Duke’s recent discoveries has been Sunny Crownover
who was the featured vocalist on Duke’s 2009 CD “Stomp The Blues
Tonight”. Here Duke accompanies Sunny on acoustic guitar in an ensemble
called “Sunny And Her Joy Boys”. In collaboration with Jay Geils and
Gerry Beaudoin, Duke produced the 2007 CD “New Guitar Summit” from which
their interpretation of Charlie Christian and Lionel Hampton’s “Shivers”
is taken. Both these tracks are more jazz than blues but are superbly
executed.
Disc 2 is subtitled “Blues, R&B, Swing, Jazz and even more”, so that is
where we blues fans should find more to our taste and we certainly do.
Again, Duke Robillard features strongly; the first four tracks on the CD
are all his productions: his own “Stomp The Blues Tonight”, Joe Louis
Walker’s “Black Widow Spider” from “Between A Rock And The Blues”, the
late Jay McShann captured with Duke’s band in 1998 and the very recent
CD by Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne bringing us right up to date. Just to
demonstrate how prolific Duke is he also appears on further tracks by
Doug James and Sugar Ray Norcia, Roscoe Gordon and Billy Boy Arnold. As
ever with Duke’s recordings, all these are excellent tracks.
Jeff Healey appears again, this time in more familiar electric blues
mode in a track from his 2008 BMA award winning CD “Mess Of Blues”. On
Sonny Thompson’s “I’m Torn Down” Jeff reminds us of what an exciting
player he was and what a loss to the blues world his untimely death was.
In contrast Ronnie Earl’s approach to blues guitar is far more
restrained yet always seems to reach our emotions. The track chosen here
is “Miracles” from Ronnie’s 2010 release “Spread The Love”.
There are some previously unreleased tunes on these CDs that are worth
noting. CD 1 features three demos recorded in 1979 by Bob Carpenter; CD
2 has a 1988 cut by King Biscuit Boy and no fewer than four unreleased
1965 recordings by Robert Nighthawk. Recorded late at night after a gig
in Toronto, these are the last recordings he ever made and they are
great fun. Perhaps there was insufficient material to warrant an album
release at the time, but they are certainly a joy to hear, so thanks to
Stony Plain for these tracks ‘from the vault’.
The bonus DVD material is mainly promo videos, some of which show their
age. I liked the video for Jr Gone Wild in which they are playing live
to an audience of one, albeit clearly a major fan of the band. When he
decides to launch himself off the stage into the (now empty) audience,
you just have to laugh! The tribute to Jeff Healey (playing Neil Young’s
“Like A Hurricane”) is moving and the interview with Holger Petersen
interesting. Ronnie Earl appears to be really playing live whereas Duke
Robillard’s band is not, as Duke’s guitar changes from a Gibson to a
Fender half way through!
The purpose of label-specific compilations is to promote the label’s
roster. From a fan’s viewpoint the value is to discover new artists and
this compilation offers a very wide range of material for us to
consider. I have certainly one or two more albums to track down now!
Reviewer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK. He also
travels to the States most years to see live blues music and is
currently planning his trip to the Blues Blast Awards in October.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
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Blues Society News
|
Send your Blues Society's BIG news or Press Release
about your
not-for-profit event with
the subject line "Blues Society News" to:
Submissions must be a maximum of 175 words or less in a Text or MS Word document
format.
River City Blues Society
- Pekin, IL
River City Blues Society presents: Bringing The Blues To You with
the following shows - Eddie Turner - Wednesday October 26th, Big Dog
Mercer - Wednesday November 9th, Cash Box Kings - Thursday November
17th, Kilborn Alley Blues Band - Wednesday November 30th, Victor
Wainwright & The Wildroots - Saturday December 17th. Location
Goodfellas 1414 S. 8th St, Pekin, Illinois 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm $5.00
non-members $3.00 members. For more info visit:
www.rivercityblues.com
The Golden Gate Blues Society -
Redwood City, CA
On Sunday, November 13, The Golden Gate Blues Society of the San
Francisco Bay Area presents the International Blues Challenge Final
Round. Pinkie Rideau and Blind Resistance, The David Landon Band,
Paula Harris and Blu Gruv, and The Delta Wires hit the stage at San
Francisco’s award- winning home of the blues, Biscuits & Blues,
located at 401 Mason Street near Union Square, from 2 until 6 pm on
Sunday, November 13. Admission for members of The Golden Gate Blues
Society is $15, and for nonmembers $20. Membership is available at
the door.
Judges for the Finals include Sista Monica Parker, "the lioness of
the blues;" Lee Hildebrand, journalist for Living Blues; and Frank
DeRose, leader and bass player with 2011 TGGBS International Blues
Challenge winners Tip of the Top. For more info visit
www.tggbs.org
Blues Society of Western PA -
Pittsburgh, PA
On October 22 at the Clarion Hotel, 401 Holiday Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA The Blues Society of Western PA presents Blues Goes
Pink- Divas Return Show from 1 pm – 9 pm. $12 to public, $10 to all
blues members from any society. All proceeds to benefit Adagio
Health to provide breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings for
underinsured women in Western PA. For more information visit Blues
Society of Western PA at
www.bswpa.org or call 724-378-8926
The Windy City Blues Society
- Chicago, IL
The Windy City Blues Society is proud to announce the 2011 Chicago
Blues Challenge (CBC). The CBC is a series of musical competitions
that will determine which blues band will represent Chicago and The
Windy City Blues Society at the Blues Foundation’s 2012
International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Chicago Blues Challenge will be held on Sundays in October culminating in the Finals in November. Venues will be
announced shortly on the Windy
City Blues Society Website.
The Chicago Blues Challenge Finals will be held
Sunday, November 13.
For more information about the Windy City Blues Society and the
Chicago Blues Challenge please visit
www.windycityblues.org or visit
our Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter Sites.
The Prairie
Crossroads Blues Society - Champaign, IL
The Prairie Crossroads Blues Society will be holding its Blues Band
Challenge on Saturday, October 22, 2011. This event will take place
at Memphis on Main, 55 E. Main St., in downtown Champaign. Our
winner will be heading down to Memphis, Tennessee to compete in The
International Blues Challenge in January. For more
information about this exciting event, please visit our website at
www.prairiecrossroadsblues.org.
Colorado Blues Society -
Boulder, CO
The Colorado Blues Society we will hold our Youth Showcase
auditions at the Dickens Opera House in Longmont, CO on Oct 23 . Last year our
S/D winners, Big Jim Adam and John Stilwagen made the Finals in
Memphis while our Band entry, the Lionel Young Band, WON the Band
Finals in Memphis. The CBS' entry was the Solo Duo Memphis winner in
2008, and winning BSPCD in 2010, so you can be sure there will be
plenty of talent at all of these great events!
www.coblues.com
Illinois Central Blues Club -
Springfield, IL
The Illinois Central Blues Club presents "Blue Monday" every Monday
night for the last 25 years - BLUE MONDAY SHOWS - Held at the Alamo
115 N 5th St, Springfield, IL (217) 523-1455 every Monday 8:30pm $3
cover. Oct. 17 – Southside Jonny & Kicked to the Curb, Oct 24
– Bruce Katz, Oct. 31 – Studebaker John and the Hawks. icbluesclub.org
The Friends Of The Blues - Watseka, IL
2011 Friends of the Blues shows - Friday, October
28, The Reba Russell Band, 8 pm, Kankakee Valley Boat Club,November
10, Ivas John Band, 7 pm, Venue TBA, December 1, Dave Herrero, 7 pm,
Kankakee Valley Boat Club. For more info see:
http://www.wazfest.com/JW.html
West Virginia Blues Society
- Charleston, WV
The West Virginia Blues Society will be holding it's 5th. Annual
Appalachian Blues Competition Oct. 22, 2011. The Blues Society will
be sending two acts to Memphis, Tn. for the International Blues
Challenge, Band Div. and Solo/Duo Div. If, you think your Act is
ready to take the next step, then, this IS the competition to enter
! For Application and Rules contact Competition Director Jack Rice
at, bkravenhawk@hotmail.com
or 304-389-1439.
Competition will be held at: The Sound Factory 812 Kanawha Blvd E,
Charleston, WV 25301-2807 · 1 (304) 342-8001 Stay tuned for
more info at,
www.wvbluessociety.org
|
Featured Blues Review 4 of 5
 Bill
Bourne & The Free Radio Band - Bluesland
Self
Release
Time-35:29
On their
way to Bluesland, Bill and the boys obviously took a detour to
singer-songwriter-rock-country land. That is not to say that the band
doesn’t commit itself well, it’s just that blues is a seasoning rather
than the main course. For some unknown reason Canada is a fertile
breeding ground for imaginative music that crosses genre lines.
The CD
opens with what sounds like Mark Knopfler’s guitar leading into a John
Hiatt vocal. The resemblance of Bill’s voice to John’s is just uncanny.
“Deep Dark Woods” has lyrical content similar to Hiatt’s as well. Bill’s
son Pat provides electric lead guitar which at times has the fuzz-acid
tone of Henry Vestine of Canned Heat fame. Pa Joe is listed as playing
electric smooth jazz guitar, which is the Knopfler sound I hear. The
leader, besides his distinctive vocals, plays acoustic rhythm guitar as
well as harmonica ala Bob Dylan. The Canned Heat style guitar makes its
first appearance in “Forever Truly Bound”, which is taken at a brisk
pace. “Who’s Knockin’?” could take its rightful place on a John Hiatt
CD. It rolls merrily along smack dab into a nimble-fingered guitar dual.
Bill’s vocals spill out naturally over seamless lyrics. The traditional
country tale “Columbus Stockade Blues” benefits from fleet-fingered
country-meets-jazz guitar.
The
smoldering lament that is “Daily Bread” again recalls a John Hiatt
workout. This comparison isn’t pointing out a flaw or musical theft;
rather it’s a compliment as to how this influence is used to create
something wholly new. Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” is taken at a somewhat
brisker jaunt than the original, complete with cheesy harmonica. It’s a
cover that works on its’ own merits.
Although a
tad short for my liking this is a mostly likeable musical excursion.
It’s somehow unusual in that all the music is from the band without any
outside help, as well as being “recorded off the floor”. This is surely
a voice that could work itself into a household name. I’m sure he isn’t
consciously mimicking, although he has probably consciously used Hiatt
as a reference. “Deep Dark Woods” could take off if given the proper
exposure. Many musical forms are assimilated here to create a hearty
musical stew..
Reviewer Greg
“Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
 Hey Blues Fans,
For those of you who are planning to come to Chicago for the Blues Blast
Music Awards at Buddy Guy's Legends in October, our official hotel for the awards is the Essex Inn located just around
the corner from Legends.
It is a nice hotel within walking distance.
Get your
reservation before they are gone.
To book your rooms now
CLICK HERE or call 800 621-6909
and ask for the Blues Blast Magazine discount rate.
|
Featured Blues Review 5 of
5
 Ana
Popovic - Unconditional
12 Tracks 49:57
Ana Popovic is so close to making it really big. This CD, which is the
latest in a string of albums, is the one that might well break her in to
the big time arena occupied by the BIG names of contemporary blues
music. Although Ana and her band have made a string of close to a dozen
CDs and DVDs, and she and the band have received a slew of nominations,
until now she has (with one exception the 2004 win of the award Jazz à
Juan Revelation in Juan-les-Pins, France) had to settle for second
place; nominations but no wins. This one, I predict, is the one that
will see Ana and her colleagues achieve massive success.
The album is stunningly good, without a single poor track in it and with
Ana’s exemplary axe work well to the fore. Her singing voice, which
despite her Yugoslav (Serb) background, and with English as a foreign
language, is all but accent less, and her feel for the blues genre in
her delivery is flawless, reminding me of kind of amalgam of Janice
Joplin and Grace Slick (anyone remember her?).
If the CD has a flaw, which is a dubious hypothesis any way, it is that
Ana seems unable to leave the pedal board alone…on the other hand, she
uses effects with skull and panache and IMHO to the extent that they
adversely affect the music.
The music itself? Well it ranges from the opener Fearless a nice little
shuffle in the Texas tradition featuring a cleaver lyric and some
terrific support from the band. Count Me In is a fiery upbeat stomp with
some super axe work. The delicious Slide Show features Ana with slide
ace Sonny Landreth and Ana holds her own with her own slide work with a
bunch of scorching licks albeit without (I think) the behind the slide
fingering that is such an amazing feature of Landreth’s playing.
The weakest track is Summer Rain which is too ‘poppy’ for my taste, but
the outstanding track is Mercy Dee Walton’s (this is the only cover on
the CD) One Room Country Shack, which Ana does real justice to adding a
modern feel to a traditional piano based blues which will make many want
to hear the original. A very fitting tribute to Mr Walton.
I short this is a great CD that is strongly recommended to any and all.
Thank you Ana.
Reviewer
Ian McKenzie is a Brit Living in England. He is the editor of Blues In
The South a monthly publication giving info on news, gigs and reviews of
events and CDs for the south if England. Ian has two blues radio shows
one broadcast on Phonic FM in the UK (12 noon Central, 6pm UK) on
www.phonic.fm on Wednesdays and the
second airing on KCOR (Kansas City On Line Radio) on Fridays (12 noon
Central, 6pm UK)
www.kconlineradio.com.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
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