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John 'blueshammer' Hammer
Blue Monday Monthly Magazine
www.bluemondaymonthly.com
Hammered By The Blues Weekly Radio
KOWZ 1170am/ 100.9fm
510 West McKinley
Owatonna, MN 55060
Search The Blues Historian Website With Google
Send Me Your Blues News
Sunday, April 1, 2012
John Hammer Blues News
John 'blueshammer' Hammer
Blue Monday Monthly Magazine
www.bluemondaymonthly.com
Hammered By The Blues Weekly Radio
KOWZ 1170am/ 100.9fm
510 West McKinley
Owatonna, MN 55060
Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update
I am VERY lucky to have had access to the audio and video talents of Phil Maass (Philm Sound) and Kelsey Hammer (Kelsey Hammer Productions) Phil outdid himself on the recording/mixing/editing/mastering/producing of the audio recordings from the Sexagenarian party and Kelsey's 3-camera shoot/editing/syncing with Phil's audio/ on the video DVD of that night is really stunning. And both of them work out of their homes, as independent producers, and live LESS THAN A MILE from my house! What are the odds of that?? And we never would have gotten to know of Kelsey and her video production company, had she not auditioned for the substitute drummer gig! (more Twilight Zone music here) I'm still not sure what we're going to do with this very cool record of Sexagenarianism, but the recordings sure did turn out great! Thanks Phil. Thanks Kelsey...
We have had some good luck in adding a few more dates to the appearance calendar (unfortunately, not much before Memorial Day) (Is it time for that Spring Has Sprung party on your deck at your cabin by the river on the outskirts of town?) Our next date is the April GEEEEZER Gig at The Hub in Cedar Falls on Friday the 13th (Twilight Zone music) So bring yer black cat bone and yer mojo too, (good luck charms) Please also note that the final GEEEEZER Gig of the season has been pushed back one week to May 18. I'm thrilled that, even before we're finished with this season, The Hub has already renewed for NEXT season, so plan on the second Friday of every month at The Hub, Oct. 2012-May 2013! It's the bad luck/good luck story with Memorial Day weekend. The North Liberty Blues and Bar-b-que festival moved their celebration to the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and we are part of a private party that day, so the bad luck is that we won't be able to continue our streak of 4 years in a row at that festival this year, but the good luck is that FB & Co in Waubeek has invited us to be part of their Sunday of Memorial Day weekend celebration! I think the Blue Band played FB & Co EVERY Memorial and Labor Day for over 20 years. We're gonna do it again this year! We are also lucky to continue our long running streak of appearances at The Downtown Davenport (Bix) Street Dance. The bad luck there is that there is a new Entertainment Director who has experienced a budget cut and we will need to take a pay cut and play earlier in the afternoon (3-5pm) (Real Geeezer Hours!) I love playing that event, just 10 blocks from my high school, with people and memories of 45 years floating around. We're lucky to be included in such a cool event!...
Saturday night's Backtracks radio show is the return of Long Songs Night. Fifteen songs cover the entire three hour show, many of them suggested by listeners (http://iowapublicradio.org/studio-one/backtracks/) and Sunday evening's Blue Avenue program is 100% LIVE performances (the way the blues was made to be played) and includes vintage performances by Luther Allison in Paris France 1993, Muddy Waters at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago 1971 and some of Mr. Maass' recordings for Iowa Public Radio at last summer's Bluesmore Celebration in Cedar Rapids of zydeco master Chubby Carrier. Find the frequency in your neighborhood or listen anywhere on the planet at www.iowapublicradio.org
There is less than 19 hours until I become a $370 millionaire. I've gotta go figure out what I'm gonna do with all that dough. I know, CAKE! (dough, get it?) We are gonna have a PAR TAY! See ya on the Blue Highway (we'll all be drivin' a new car to the gig) Rub yer washboard to the tune of I'm In The Money. Even if the odds are against us, remember it's always good to be odd and, lucky or not, always know that we love you, Bob Dorr & The Blue Band
Bob Corritore Blues News
March 29, 2012
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Mud Morganfield CD Release Party Saturday at Legends! On March 20 Severn Records released the first national release by Mud Morganfield, the eldest son of Muddy Waters. This release is called Son Of The Seventh Son and it has already received about 20 rave reviews which you can read by clicking here. A CD release party is planned for Saturday night, March 31st at Buddy Guy's Legends with an opening set by Eddie Taylor, Jr. before Mud and band take the stage! Mud Morganfield's band that night will consist of Rick Kreher, Barrelhouse Chuck, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, E.G. McDaniel, Harmonica Hinds and Bob Corritore plus guest appearances by Katherine Davis and Deitra plus a few surprises! Copies of Son Of The Seventh Son will be available that night. To see the flier for this event click here. Buddy Guy's Legends is located at 700 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60605. Also Mud and the band will make a live televised appearance Friday morning, March 30 on Chicago's WGN and this broadcast is available throughout the USA.
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Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore / Longtime Friends In The Blues makes a strong entry! Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore collaborated on the powerful album Longtime Friends In The Blues which was just released last week on the Delta Groove label. With promotion just started 2 weeks ago this CD has been met with an initial wave of positive reaction. To see the first 15 glowing reviews of this CD click here. To see the Roots Radio Report for this week which debuts this CD at #17 click here. The CD has been listed in the the "Top 50 Breakthrough Recordings" in the Antiquarian Librarian which lists all musical genres! To see this listing click here. Tail Dragger and Bob will headline the Stompin' At The Savoy festival in Helsinki, Finland on April 14th. To see the beautiful poster for the festival click here. There will be an official CD release party on Thursday, June 7 at B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted in Chicago which BTW is the day before the Chicago Blues Festival. Features on Tail Dragger will appear in upcoming issues of Living Blues and IL Blues Magazines. Bob just did an interview on Jim and Diane on WCTG in VA, and both Tail Dragger and Bob interviewed with Matt Kacar at Artist Connection Podcast, and Mark Wade at A1Blues.com. Thanks to all the writers, reviewers, radio show hosts, bloggers, and fans for their support!
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Louisiana Red remembered with new photo page! We remember and celebrate the life of the recently deceased Louisiana Red with a beautiful photo page. Red was a gloriously talented down-home blues artist and his musical contributions will live through eternity. Thanks to all the folks who sent in photos of Red upon the news of his passing. Some of those are included on this page, which you can see by clicking here.
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RIP Jerry McCain - June 18, 1930 to March 28, 2012 Harmonica master Jerry McCain passed away yesterday at age 81. He was born in Gadsden, Alabama which remained his home town throughout his life. He became a harmonica player at an early age and made his debut recordings for Trumpet in 1953. This would be followed by brilliant recordings for Excello, Rex, Okeh, Jewel, Romulus, GAS, Ichiban, Cedar, and Music Maker. McCain is worshiped by blues harmonica lovers for his great sense of phrasing, some wonderful trademark licks, and a beautiful full-bodied tone. He was also a great singer and a brilliant and often humourous songwriter, and on some of his classic recordings are considered the bedrock of early rock & roll. He will be best remembered for his now classic double single on Rex Records of "She's Tough" with it's catchy vocal break, and the flip of the evergreen harmonica instrumental "Steady." Both of these songs are often covered band-stand favorites. The Fabulous Thunderbirds re-popularized "She's Tough" with a version on their 1979 debut record which brought wider attention to McCain's original version. We thank Jerry McCain for his many great and timeless recordings and the profound infuence he had on the blues.
For Jerry McCain's bio by Larry Benicewicz click
here
To read about his passing in
the Gadsden Times click
here
To hear Jerry McCain's "Steady" click here
To hear "She's Tough" click here
To hear his version of "Red Top" on the Okeh label click here
To hear "My Next Door Neighbor" click here
To hear Jerry first record "Wine-O-Wine" on Trumpet, click here .
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Alan Lomax field recordings available online at no charge. Alan Lomax in his tireless work as a folklorist for the Library Of Congress, went around the USA with portable recording equipment to capture and historically archive American folk music, including many great recordings of the blues. His contributions to preserving and exposing musical traditions are nothing short of amazing. The Lomax recordings are becoming available online for free some 10 years after the folklorist's passing. Click here for the NPR story:
Illinois Blues Blast
Cover photo by Bob Kieser © 2012 Blues
Blast Magazine
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Past Issues
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In This Issue
We have the latest in Blues Society news from around the globe. Terry Mullins has our feature interview
with Otis Taylor. Marilyn Stringer has photos and a review the Phoenix Blues
Society's Blues Blast Festival.
We have six CD reviews for you! Rainey Wetnight reviews a new CD from Jay
Willie Blues Band. Gary Weeks reviews a new release from Contino. Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony reviews a new CD from
Brandon Isaak. John Mitchell reviews
a new
CD from Charles “CD” Davis. Ian McKenzie reviews a new CD from Debbie
Bond. Steve Jones reviews a new CD from The Flaming Mudcats. All this and MORE! SCROLL DOWN!!!
Blues
Wanderings
We made it
out to a great set by RJ Mischo and Jeremy Johnson, aka, The Super
Reverbs, at Illinois Central Blues Club's Blue Monday
show this week. The Super Reverbs, named for the fact they are using 3
Fender Super Reverb amplifiers definitely had a lot more going on then
the average musical duo.
 
With RJ handling lead vocals, harmonica and/or lead guitar and Jeremy
simultaneously playing guitar and drums, these guys made for a great
"band" worth seeing!
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Featured Blues Interview - Otis
Taylor
 By its
strictest definition, Otis Taylor is not a traditional bluesman.
And that’s
a good thing.
He doesn’t
hail from Mississippi or Chicago. Instead, he calls Colorado home.
His songs,
while they do deal with broken hearts and shattered dreams, are not your
run-of-the-mill ‘my wife up and left me’ kind of tunes. Instead, they
touch on topics that few artists have much desire to tackle these days.
Things like lynchings, homelessness and the dysfunctional government,
along with other socially-relevant themes.
And while
you’ll certainly hear plenty of guitar on Taylor’s albums, you’ll also
hear djembe, cornet, fiddle and banjo playing woven into the thick,
shag-like texture of his songs.
All that,
with an occasional gut-wrenching howl and shriek thrown in for good
measure.
Those are
the main ingredients Taylor uses to cook up his batch of Trance Blues.
In other
words, Otis Taylor marches to his own drum beat and is not afraid to
travel down paths normally marked as “Do Not Trespass” in the blues
world.
But ignore
the man at your own risk, because Otis Taylor is one heck of a tour
guide.
He
consistently has managed to create some of the most authentic, real-deal
blues going over the course of the past decade, blues that seem to blur
the line between the Delta, the Appalachians and the western African
savannahs.
Just a
couple of days after his newest album Otis Taylor’s Contraband (Telarc)
hit the streets, Blues Blast caught up with Taylor for a glimpse into
his creative process.
Blues
Blast: I know it’s only been on the street for a couple of days at this
point, but how has the initial reaction been to Otis Taylor’s
Contraband?
Otis
Taylor: The reviews have been good. I’m very lucky. We’ve gotten some
major reviews, like in The New Yorker. That’s pretty major. And it got
four stars in Mojo. My last album got five stars in Mojo, and it’s hard
to get into Mojo in the first place, so to have two albums in a row in
there, I was pretty excited about that. And it’s gotten attention on a
lot of blogs and things.
BB: One
of the songs that grabbed my attention was “Blind Piano Teacher” (off
Contraband). It’s what I would call a classic Otis Taylor kind of song.
 OT: That
seems to be (most people’s) favorite song on the album. I’m very sappy …
I’m 240 pounds, but I do have a sappy side. I like French love songs.
And I try and tell the story with just a few words. Then you can take it
where you want it. A reviewer said, ‘well, he didn’t say what
nationality the man was (in “Blind Piano Teacher”).’ Well, I didn’t have
to if she (the piano teacher) was black. He must be white, or why would
I say she was black with ebony skin and blonde, blonde hair?
BB: With
all the social and internet media these days, I bet it can be tough to
keep track of just who all is reacting to your work and what all they’re
saying about it.
OT: Well,
my thing on Facebook is, the only people that make money off it is
Facebook. But I do love YouTube. When I want to study up on something, I
hit it and you can find all kinds of videos on people. It’s like going
to a video library, which we didn’t used to have. I really enjoy that
and sometimes get lost on YouTube. I’ll start off with Muddy Waters and
end up watching the Beach Boys. Then I wonder, how did I get there? I’m
like a YouTube jumper. I can spend hours on it.
BB: Your
music is so eclectic and really without borders or boundaries. Do you
feel comfortable being labeled as a bluesman?
OT: I did
that. I did that because … I am a bluesman - a singer/songwriter
bluesman. See … it’s institutional racism. Like Robert Johnson is a
bluesman, right? Well, Robert Johnson was a singer/songwriter. See what
I’m saying? Bob Dylan was a singer/songwriter. Howlin’ Wolf was a
singer/songwriter. Willie Dixon is a total singer/songwriter. See what I
mean?
BB:
Digesting your music is a lot like peeling an onion. There’s so many
layers, to not only the music, but to the lyrics, as well. How do you go
about crafting a song?
OT:
(Laughing) You want me to give away all my producing secrets?
BB: I
guess a good starting point would be, what inspires you to write a song?
OT: Usually
a dream – just a thought. But talking about lyrics, it looks like I’m
going to be doing this Robert Johnson 100 Year Anniversary March 6 at
The Apollo, with a lot of people, and so I’ve been studying up on Robert
Johnson some more. One of my favorite songs (of Robert Johnson) is
“Hellhounds on my Trail.” And he has a line in it, ‘If today was
Christmas Eve, if today was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow was Christmas
Day.’ And I just love that line. And so I’ve been thinking that maybe
I’ve been influenced by Robert Johnson and didn’t even know it. You
know, word-wise. I mean that’s so simple, but so powerful. I just
thought about that line all day yesterday.
BB: Do
phrases like that, for example lead to you …
OT: No, no.
But I was just thinking about … I’m into simplicity when I write. A lot
of people think I get it from my parents, because they were bee-boppers,
or avant-garde. But a lot of Appalachian things are simple, too.
 BB: I
guess you could run into problems when you’re over-thinking things when
it comes to songwriting?
OT: Well,
my style is, I just try to paint a picture. Paint a picture of like,
say, a red car. OK, somebody sees that red car. Then they might say,
well, that red car has white seats because the guy was rich. Then they
think about what the rest of that car looks like. Did it have pinstripes
on it? I just introduce the car and then hope they take the car from
there. I have a line in a song (“Little Betty”) that goes, ‘it looks
like a Chevy, but runs like a Ford.’ What does that mean? You can keep
on thinking about something like that if you want to. Once you start
visualizing lines in your own mind, you kind of start writing the song,
too. At least that’s what I hope. I’m not trying to get too deep here,
but I never try to tell people what to think. I’m not a protest singer.
I try to tell real stories.
BB: I
get the idea of your songs telling stories. It seems like the folk scene
in the 60s was full of artists telling stories about what’s going on
around us.
OT: I
started off with folk music, see. I learned to play music at the Denver
Folklore Center.
BB: That
makes sense. So you were exposed to that kind of music at a formulative
time?
OT: I was
exposed to a lot of jazz at home and folk music outside of the house.
BB: Your
music is comprised of so many instruments that it’s hard to keep track
of all of them. One thing you sure don’t hear a whole lot of in the
blues though, is the banjo. Or cornet. How do you go about incorporating
instruments like that into your music?
OT: The
process is to find the right instrument on the right song that feels
natural. And that’s what I’m looking for. I did a film score once using
an oboe. That day, I just liked that sound. But the object is to make it
feel natural – almost like where people don’t realize they’re listening
to cornet or pedal steel or violins and cellos. The idea is for them to
hear it, but not to hear it. If you hear it, you hear it too much, you
know?
BB: Kind
of feel it, not hear it?
OT: I don’t
like to push things on people. I want it to be natural. That’s why I
like to keep things simple.
 BB: Does
that philosophy kind of sum up the trance blues?
OT: No,
trance music has nothing to do with the instruments; it has to do with
style - no cord changes. It’s like ‘row, row, row your boat,’ it just
goes in a circle, which makes it a trance tune. The first song on the
album (“The Devil’s Gonna Lie”) has no cord change, but there’s a lot of
stuff going on. And it helps to stay in the pocket. That’s how you get
the trance feel. Voodoo music is just drums, but that’s the heaviest
trance music there is. It’s religious for people.
BB: Does
that kind of songwriting style come natural to you, or do you have it
work at it?
OT: There
again, it comes naturally. I don’t read music, so I like to keep things
simple. If I could read music, I’d get all crazy.
BB:
You’re up for a Blues Music Award in the category of Instrumentalist –
Other, for your banjo playing. At this point in your career, do those
kinds of awards mean anything to you?
OT: It
means I get to go to the party! But you can’t lose total perspective,
because one day you might not get invited to the party and go, whoa!
What happened? I’ve been invited to that party for a lot years, so what
happens when I’m not invited? But my claim to fame is, I’ve been
nominated like 18 times and have only won twice. I remember when I won
the second time; it broke my 14-nomination losing streak. I was doing
good, going for the most-nominated, never-won thing and then that had to
get broken. But really, I’m happy to just be acknowledged for it. It’s
good advertising for the banjo.
BB:
Yeah, the banjo doesn’t get a whole lot of love in the blues, does it?
OT: It
doesn’t, but that’s where the blues came from.
BB:
Speaking of instruments, how cool is it to have a signature model guitar
(Santa Cruz acoustic)?
OT: Pretty
cool. I also have a banjo named after me, too. It’s an Ome banjo and
it’s called the Otis model. And then I have an electric banjo named
after me called the Otis Banjoblaster, by Blue Star guitars.
BB: How
did you come to have a banjo named after you?
 OT: Well,
the first Blue Star model I got several years ago. It’s an interesting
story. I was at a folk alliance in Toronto and had a booth there, trying
to get gigs and stuff. And Pete Seeger walked by and heard my CD and the
first song had a banjo on it. He said, ‘that’s really cool.’ So we
started talking and I ended up hanging out with him for eight hours.
Then while we’ll walking around the conference looking at instruments,
Elderly was there and he (Seeger) said, ‘Otis, you should look at this
electric banjo. You’ll like this.’ So I sat down and picked it up and
played for 15 seconds and said, ‘I’ll buy one.’ So after I had it
shipped, I wanted to know who made it. So I found out and talked to the
guy and then sent him a video of me playing it at a concert. And he
freaked out. He said he wanted to make me a signature model banjo. He
had no idea his instrument could sound like that. And with Ome, I’ve
known them and they’ve sponsored me for awhile and they finally made me
a signature model.
BB: And
the guitar?
OT: This
guy named Willie Carter that worked at Santa Cruz Guitars at the time
saw me at the NAMM show and wanted to get me involved. And when I
decided to, I called him and told him, ‘I know what I want, Willie. I
don’t want any frets past 14.’ He said, ‘Can you hold for a second?’
Five minutes later he comes back and says, ‘OK, we’re going to do it.’ I
think it caught them off guard. But really, I don’t play past the 14th
fret on an acoustic guitar, so why would I want any more frets than that
on my signature model? Because it looks pretty? It’s really just a waste
of metal. So you could say it’s a “green” guitar. That fits in well with
the scene in Boulder.
BB: Any
other Otis Taylor signature instruments in the works? Mandolin or
anything?
OT:
(laughing) No, no, I decided to stop there.
BB: How
is the blues scene around Colorado?
OT: Well,
after I got signed, I played with Eddie Turner and Kenny Passarelli, and
when that band broke up, Eddie got a record deal with my old record
company (NorthernBlues), which was good. And Dan Treanor got a deal with
my old record company, too. And then Lionel Young won the International
Blues Challenge for solo and for band, so we have a little bit of a
blues scene here. And I just played at (late Colorado bluesman)
John-Alex Mason’s memorial service in Colorado Springs a couple of weeks
ago. And there’s a big jamband scene here, with groups like String
Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon.
BB: Tell
me a little bit about your daughter Cassie. I know she’s been a part of
several of your albums and tours, but she’s got her own thing going on,
too.
 OT: It’s
cool, but I’m like a let’s-get-on-with-it kind of father. We had to cut
her loose, because she’s 25 now. It’s time for her to get it done. We’ll
see how badly she wants it. She’s so talented that she could just coast.
People have no idea how good a songwriter she is. She’s way better than
me. She’s more accessible than me - I’m too hardcore. But she’s young
and comes at it from a different vantage point. But she’s a really good
film editor, too. She’s talented in a lot of ways and she just has to
figure out what she wants to do. When you’re a little kid and your first
concert is with your father in front of a couple of thousand people,
that doesn’t give you much of a traveling all over the country, sleeping
in a van kind of vibe, you know? She’s not had that kind of experience
yet, but she’s getting ready to.
BB:
After releasing as many albums as you have, in what has really not been
a long period of time, are you still as inspired to create new works as
you where when you first started?
OT: Well,
yeah, but it gets harder. Creativity-wise, it gets harder. I want my
albums to be different, but I want to keep my style going. And that gets
hard. I’ve done 12 albums. And if your new album is like your last
album, people go, ‘Why bother?’ And if it’s too different from your last
one, people go, ‘What are you doing?’ So it gets harder to maintain that
balance the farther you go along. I never want people to say that I
never do anything different. If you’re a painter, you wouldn’t want to
hear people say that your new painting looks just like the last one you
did, you know? That’s the challenge. But I’m up for it. I mean, I have
to be a little crazy already to do the sort of non-commercial stuff that
I do anyway.
BB: So I
assume you don’t have any plans to climb to the top of the Billboard Hot
100 charts anytime soon?
OT: If I
could just even get on Billboard … I think I’ve only charted once and
that was when they printed every other week. And I made it the week they
didn’t print. I was going to frame it. But “Ten Million Slaves” (from
the Public Enemies soundtrack and first heard on Taylor’s Recapturing
the Banjo album) was at number one on iTunes three times. So I’m happy I
was song of the week on iTunes. I have that bookmarked, so maybe I can
frame that sometime.”
Photos by Bob Kieser © 2012
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 Staples 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, Miss., 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
|
Featured Blues Review 1 of 6
 Jay
Willie Blues Band - The Reel Deal
Blues
Boulevard Records, a division of Music Avenue (Europe)
8 songs;
26:09 minutes
Styles:
Electric Blues Rock
It’s
impossible to overstate guitar’s role in making modern Blues the genre
it is today. Especially since electrification, without guitar, whether a
Dobro, a Stratocaster, Les Paul, acoustic, or steel, a blues song is
almost missing its backbone. Connecticut-based Jay Willie and his band
embrace this truth in their third release, “The Reel Deal”! Out of eight
songs, half are originals, and the other four are catchy covers. Fans
might have a hard time deciding which type of Jay Willie’s great
selections they prefer--fresh or familiar? However, they’ll know the
band’s guitar work is top-notch with Jay Willie on lead, Robert Callahan
on rhythm (and vocals), and legendary Tommy Shannon adding bass. Here
are three tracks showcasing lightning licks by our lead guitarist and
schooled chops from his three band mates featuring Johnny Winter’s 1978
power trio drummer Bobby “T” Torello:
Track 01:
“Hey Hey Baby”--The opener on any blues album may not be the most
lyrically deep. On the other hand, it usually needs to abduct the most
attention, as this original song does. Its fast paced, rough-and-tumble
beat is the perfect backdrop for every instrument to roar full-blast,
especially Jay Willie’s Johnny Winter inspired slide guitar and
including Bobby “T” Torello’s cymbals. The band’s MySpace page states,
“Jay Willie is personally influenced by Johnny Winter and his [Winter’s]
influences such as Son House, Willie Brown, Muddy Waters, etc.” One can
definitely hear the echo of these masters’ styles in this number!
Track 04:
“Mary Lou”--Winning this reviewer’s award for best cover as well as
funniest song, Ronnie Hawkins’ “Mary Lou” is the tale of a thief who’s
more into snatching people’s possessions than their hearts. When she’s
done taking the narrator--in this case sung by Robert Callahan--for all
he’s worth, he sings, “She got back in town about a week ago; said she
was sorry she had hurt me so. I had a ‘65 Ford and a two-dollar bill.
The way she took it, man, gave me a thrill!” Perhaps anybody else in
Callahan’s position might have rhymed “bill” with “kill”! In spite of
that, “Mary Lou” with its catchy twin guitar harmony will steal
listeners’ ears!
Track 06:
“Liar”--Drummer Bobby “T” Torello penned and takes the lead on vocals in
this frenetic blues-rock punch to an untrue lover’s face. As he
gleefully rhymes an unprintable word with “you know you gotta quit” and
warns that the “Liar” in the song’s title will go “straight down to
[perdition],” blues fans will sit up and take heed. Even though this
isn’t a romantic rendition by any stretch of the imagination, this
up-tempo slide-fest tirade might lead (faithful) partners onto the dance
floor anyway!
This CD is
definitely enjoyable, but, in this reviewer’s opinion, has three minor
flaws: 1) it’s too short, clocking in at under 30 minutes; 2) the vocals
could have been more vibrant in the mix, and 3) while appreciating their
energy, I rarely had the sense that Willie and his band got completely
lost in the music they’re playing. Nevertheless, their guitar skills and
overall punch are “The Reel Deal!”
Reviewer Rainey Wetnight is a 32 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
|
 The 2012 Blues
Blast Music Award Nominations
We are accepting
submissions from labels and artists until April 15th, 2012. Artist do not
necessarily have to submit their releases to be considered but any
that do will have their recordings actually screened by the nominators.
(Our Nominators can't nominate something they haven't heard!)
We have 30 nominators so you need to send 30
individual copies to be considered before April 15th, 2012. Any
received after that date may not get sent to the nominators.
There is no charge for this. We will
cover the cost and effort to get your eligible CD or DVD release
into the hands of the nominators if you send them in.
We reserve the right to change this policy in
future years. CD's received after April 15th, 2012 may not reach the nominators so hurry
and get your submissions in today! For complete details,
CLICK HERE
Nominators begin submitting their nominations May
1st and final nominations will be announced after May 31st, 2012.
Voting Begins in July.
|
Featured Blues Review 2 of 6
 Contino
– Back Porch Dogma
Time:
55:08
While Blind
Pig Records has always been associated with having major blues players
on its roster, they have no qualms of branching out and including
musicians whose backgrounds are eclectic in the approach to the music.
This is where the CD Back Porch Dogma by Contino enters the
picture.
A band
coming from Las Vegas, Nevada, Contino can be enjoyed by fans of Little
Feat and The Radiators. Even Maria Muldaur drops in to add her vocals in
the mix. With a guest appearance of that high caliber, you know things
are pointing in the right direction.
Gutbucket
boogie prevails in opening track “Rotgut Run” with Al Ek’s harmonica
driving the tune into a delicious groove of shaking your moneymaker a
few times. Though “V-8 Ford” does show like a re-write of a Muddy
Water’s song doesn’t mean the band can’t have fun when playing the
blues. Keyboardist Billy Truitt plays with the determination of
recalling Pinetop Perkins in his younger days.
In covering
Tom Waits’ “Temptation,” Mexicali meets Zydeco and Contino’s accordion
playing is as sweet as the sugar cane in the New Orleans Bayou. When
speaking of Zydeco, it can’t get any more Americana than the track
“Zydeco Train” with the whole band pouring on the steam and vying for
solo spots to showcase some hot chops.
The music
is moderately paced so the track “Dog Days” is as good time as any to
slow things down a tad with Al Ek’s harmonica being down home. Whether
the band derives inspiration from Little Feat or not, the tune “One
Thing” smacks of the essence of Lowell George and the guys show an
appreciation for songwriters Leiber and Stoller in their take of “Three
Cool Cats” with Contino’s accordion playing and Truitts’ keyboards
weaving counterpoint to create jazzy lines thick as summer heat.
It seems
that the music of New Orleans casts its shadow and this seems to be an
environment the band works in best. Contino’s accordion playing is all
over the tracks which accounts for the sounds of music having its roots
in the Crescent City.
Overall the
blues doesn’t spray itself all over the songs. On a rare occasion it
rears its head like on the song “I Don’t Want To Know.” But because the
New Orleans party has been in full swing, a tune like this doesn’t
elevate the energy level so much but knock it down a peg or two. So it’s
up to the song strangely titled “Monkey” to attempt to jump-start the
proceedings. Pete Contino may be the centerpiece of the band with his
vocals and accordion playing. Certainly the whole band is worth
deserving of praise. But it is in multi-instrumentalist Al Ek that the
songs come to fruition. Being a jack of all trades with the ability to
play guitars, mandolin and harmonica only adds extra spice to a gumbo of
music that sounds like its being hatched in New Orleans and not Las
Vegas.
Titling
this CD Back Porch Dogma is a strange choice. Then again considering its
musical circumstances maybe it’s not. If anything the title sounds like
something overseeing something which sounds like American roots music.
For a group coming from Las Vegas, they certainly have their finger on
the pulse of sounds best found at Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras. This music
might not go down too well with fans who want things in a bluesy
direction. For those planning a trip to New Orleans and wanting to party
all night long, this music would be great in a road trip while
travelling by car. Consider it a soundtrack to a city which midnight
lasts forever and the party never ends.
Reviewer Gary Weeks is a contributing writer. He resides in
Marietta, GA.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
Featured Blues Review 3 of 6
 Brandon
Isaak - Bluesman’s Plea
Self Release
Time-42:20
Canada is fertile ground for this brand of salt-of-the-earth rootsy and
gritty musical journeyman. Another in the line of current one-man-bands
his main instrument is finger-picked acoustic guitar, as well as the
usual suspect, foot percussion. His music is blues and roots of the
Delta, Piedmont, gospel, swing, ragtime and goodtimey varieties and
combinations of all of the above. Brandon is a very adept guitar
stylist, whether it’s straight finger-picking or Delta slide, it keeps
his jaunty vibe strolling down the country road. His throaty voice and
vocal style conjure up a bluesy Lyle Lovett with a less produced sound.
The only extras are his brother-producer Chris on occasional drums and
backup vocals. Not that Chris Isaak. Brandon adds harmonica and bass
guitar when needed.
The title track evokes a walk through the Mississippi Delta with its
slinky slide playing. Before you know it he has you in church with the
religious toe-tapper, “You Gotta Pray”, as his sandpaper voice pleads
with God. “Take My Message” has that same religious fervor, replete with
a short minister’s sermon inserted in the middle. You can see his boots
kick up the dust as he saunters down the road in the slow-paced “Leavin’
This Town”. In “Forever Yours” the narrator professes his unbridled and
undying love to his sweetie. The vibe of the old chestnut “Just Because”
runs through the oldtimey and swinging “Ain’t No Pleasin’ You”. “Jump
Start Me” is a tongue-in-cheek plea to his girl to get him going.
Nurturing love like tending a garden is the theme of “Water Your
Garden”, where as elsewhere the Lyle Lovett comparison is evident with
that gospel tinge in his voice.
All original tunes that are rooted in days of old, but retain a modern
freshness, as represented here are another tale-tell sign that blues of
all sorts are thriving. You just have to know where to look. Sure there
are the occasional half-baked artists or rock bands posing as blues
bands that come along. As with anything else the cream has a way of
rising to the top. If one’s notion of acoustic blues is that of somebody
whining about his hard life, you need to look no further than here to
see that blues can be uplifting while making your feet jump to the beat.
Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
Live Blues Review - Phoenix
Blues Blast Festival
|
Photos & Commentary by Marilyn Stringer
After a quiet Arizona winter, the first blues festival of the New Year
is always a welcome diversion. It is guaranteed that the sun will be
shining and this year was no exception. The Phoenix Blues Society took a
leap of faith and changed their venue to Margaret T Hance Park –
“Bringing the Blues Back to the City”. It was a great choice - the
atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, and the blues society should
prosper at this location.
The festival always starts out the night before at the Rhythm Room.
Janiva Magness packed the house before the crowd even knew what was
about to happen. The band opened with their fantastic sounds, introduced
Janiva, she sauntered out, picked up a 2 string cigarbox (she “bought
from JP Soars and decided to learn how to play”) and started popping out
songs from her new CD Stronger For It , going head to head with Zach
Zunis on guitar. The songs are fresh, heartfelt, include harmonies from
all the band members, fantastic keyboard solos, percussion variety, and
great dancing music! It was a fantastic show and the album is one of the
best I have heard in a long time! The band includes: Zach Zunis
(guitar), Gary Davenport –(bass), Matt Tecu (drums), Jim Alfredson
(keyboards).
  
The one day festival opened with Common Ground Blues Band, Winner of the
2011 Arizona Blues Showdown and competitor at the IBC’s. Glen Russell
(vocalist) and Brian Eddie (guitar) founded the band in 1988. The band
includes Earl Abbott - keyboards, Tim Kinsey – bass, and Guy Mazzo –
drums. They are a fun lively blues band playing both original and
standard blues, and have become very popular in the Phoenix area.
 
The next band was George Bowman with Lucius Parr & Baddboyz Blues Band.
George Bowman, an AZ Blues Hall of Fame Inductee and longtime Phoenix
area bluesman. Lucius Parr, cousin of the late Albert Collins, was
joined by his brother Lamar on keyboards, his cousin Bam Bam on drums,
Dominic Therrien on bass, and Kenn Wood on percussion. The influences
from Albert Collins and BB King were apparent in their great set.
 
The Phoenix festival has always had great “tweeners” (act between sets)
and this year we had the best ones possible! Bob Corritore & Dave Riley
were our “Tweeners For A Day.” To quote Bob “Who could ask for a better
“tweener”?”
Big Daddy D & The Dynamites had the crowd up dancing from the minute
they started playing. High energy, full of fun, and rockin’ blues was
their style – a good times band with their current CD Down, Boy Down
heard on XM Radio and a“Pick to Click.” The band includes Darryl “Big
Daddy D” Porras & Drew Hall (guitars), Gary Regina (saxes), Steven Ayers
(bass), Carlos Jones (drums).
The headliner for the day was Sugar Ray & The Bluetones. The band is
currently nominated for five Blues Music awards: Album of The Year for
Evening, Band of The Year, Traditional Blues Album, Instrumentalists:
Sugar Ray Norcia – Harmonica - and Michael “Mudcat” Ward – Bass.
Needless to say the band was great! Good luck to them in May in Memphis!
The band also includes Monster Mike Welch on (Guitar), Neil Gouvin
(drums), and Anthony Geraci (keyboards).
 
And, finally, the very popular, Sugar Thieves took the stage.
Representing Arizona at the IBC’s in 2008 & 2009, they have become well
known across the country. Their show is a powerful blues roots sound
with a Delta influence but still unique with their original songs. I
heard many of the festival attendees declare they were there to see The
Sugar Thieves and weren’t leaving until they had finished playing. The
band includes Meredith Moore (vocals), Mikel Lander (guitar), Creamy
David Libman (drums) and Jeff Naylor (pedal steel).
It was a great day in Phoenix for the blues. Thanks to the Phoenix Blues
Festival for another fun day!!
Full set of photos eventually available at
MJStringerPhoto.com.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
Featured Blues Review 4 of 6
 Charles
“CD” Davis – 24 Hour Blues
11 tracks – 50.54 minutes
Charles “CD” Davis was the guitarist in the Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra
until Calvin’s death in 2008. This is his first solo release and it is a
definite keeper. The CD features four different vocalists (Charles
himself does not sing), all of whom are excellent, a horn section drawn
from members of the Calvin Owens Orchestra and Charles plays superb
guitar in a variety of styles throughout the album. Eight tracks are
originals, written by Charles and collaborators. The three covers come
from as diverse a selection as you can imagine - Gary Moore, Eddy Arnold
and Tampa Red!
Personally I am always attracted to albums that have variety and this
one hits the mark in that respect, with songs that cover soulful Rn’B,
fingerpicking backporch acoustic, late night jazzy blues and big band
styles. The ace up Charles’ sleeve is the quartet of vocalists who all
deliver superbly in different ways. Trudy Lynn has a deep voice which
adds great expression to the sad lyrics of “Still Got The Blues” and
although the tune and guitar stylings are so familiar it is Trudy’s
vocal that adds to the original. In contrast “It’s Tight Like That” is a
fun romp through the old Tampa Red/Georgia Tom classic with strong
guitar and keys. The horns are not present on these two tracks, apart
from a great sax solo on the Gary Moore tune.
The other female voice is Roberta Donnay who provides a sultry
jazz-tinged vocal on “A Minor Thing” which she co-wrote with Charles.
Gentle horns accompany the band, the trumpets provide a counterpoint to
the vocal and a beautifully played guitar solo all contribute to an
excellent track. Roberta’s jazzy vocals also appear on “That’s How I
Learned To Sing The Blues” which gives Charles the opportunity to play
some very jazzy chords alongside violin and muted trumpet, overall
giving something of a Stéphane Grappelli/Django Reinhardt feel to the
track. The song comes from the pen of Henry Hipkens, a Nashville
songwriter who also co-wrote “When Mama Leaves Town”, another standout
track. Vocalist here is Rue Davis who has a touch of Bobby Bland in his
voice, ideally suited to this sort of soulful blues. This is definitely
a big band number, tough guitar with great tone set against a full horn
section.
Rue is also the featured vocalist on Eddy Arnold’s 1955 “You Don’t Know
Me”, a slow blues with a touch of country and a vocal that is pure Ray
Charles – superb! Another big band number, the horns provide a gentle
cushion on which Rue’s vocals nestle warmly and a launch pad for
expressive solos from Charles and Horace Alexander Young on sax. Rue’s
third contribution is part of a double act vocal with the other male
voice on the album, Jabo – “The Texas Prince Of Zydeco” – though no sign
of zydeco hereabouts! The track is one of Charles’ originals, “Old
Fashioned Woman”, a classic shuffle, Rue giving us some more of his
Bobby Bland stylings and Jabo testifying in gruffer tones. Out of the
mix of voices Bruce Middleton’s sax emerges almost by surprise with a
strong solo.
Jabo leads on opening track “Help Me Baby”, a nice rolling blues in
which Jabo is in court and needs help to pay a fine or he may face a
substantial prison sentence! This is another of the big band
productions, the horns really swinging and short solos from organ and
guitar. In complete contrast Jabo is the vocalist on “Lonely Man Blues”
which is the most laidback track on the CD, just his vocal and Charles’
acoustic guitar, a classic blues, Jabo alone at the side of the road
unable to get a ride. Jabo’s final contribution is “Worried” described
as ‘downhome soul’ on the CD and it lives up to that description.
Starting low key, the song builds into what could easily have been a
lost BB King track from the 50’s. Another full big band production, this
one builds all the way along, courtesy of the horns, before Charles
solos in T-Bone style. That leaves just the closing track, instrumental
“Blues For My Father”. Charles starts this one at a relaxed pace before
a drum roll leads into some very strong and expressive playing.
Definitely a feature for Charles’ guitar, the horns are absent from this
one though keyboard player Jean Paul Paine also features strongly, his
organ soloing over the long fade.
The core band on this CD is either Tyson Sheth or Marvin Sparks on
drums, Anthony Sapp or Keith Vivens on bass, Jean Paul Paine or Duane
Massey on keys and Charles “CD” Davis on guitar. The horn players are
too numerous to mention but everyone on the CD does a tremendous job.
The CD was recorded in Houston and produced by Charles and is issued on
his own label. The sound quality and dynamics of the disc are excellent,
so kudos to all involved. I can recommend this one very highly indeed
and I think it will be on rotation on my system for a while!
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 a visit to the
Tampa Bay Blues Festival.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
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:
Maximum of 175 words in a Text or MS Word document
format.
Mississippi Valley Blues Society - Davenport, IA
The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents The Chris Duarte
Group, led by blues master and guitar virtuoso Chris Duarte, in
concert at Rascal’s, 1414 15th St., Moline, IL on Thursday, March 29
at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $12 to the general public, $10 for
blues society members.
The Mississippi Valley Blues Society is proud to sponsor the first
Quad-City appearance of Too Slim and The Taildraggers at The Muddy
Waters, 1708 State Street Bettendorf, Iowa for a show on Wednesday,
April 18th, beginning at 7:00 pm. Admission to the general public is
$10. For MVBS members the admission will be $8.
The 2012 Iowa Blues Challenge Semi-final Rounds will be held April
19, at Zimm's, Des Moines, IA, and April 22, at The Muddy Waters,
1708 State Street, Bettendorf, IA. Five bands will play
thirty-minute sets at The Muddy Waters starting at 5:00 p.m.
Admission is $7 for ANY blues society member or $10 for non-members.
Competitors are The Mississippi Misfits, Slack Man & the Smokin' Red
Hots, Judge #3, Serious Business, and Phineas J's. One of the bands
from the IBC semi-final round in Des Moines and two of the bands
competing in the semi-finals at The Muddy Waters will earn the right
to move into the 2012 Iowa Blues Challenge Final Round, to be held
in Des Moines on May 26, at the Downtown Marriott.
http://www.mvbs.org
Santa Barbara Blues Society -
Santa Barbara, CA
The SBBS, the oldest existing blues society in the U.S., celebrates
its gala 35th. birthday by presenting lauded bluesman James Harman
and his band on Friday, March 30, 2012 in Warren Hall at the Earl
Warren Show grounds. Originally from Alabama, Harman has been a star
exemplar of the West Coast blues sound for over 3 decades, and a
multiple nominee of Blues Music Awards from the Blues Foundation.
His appearances for the SBBS, including his most recent in 2006 with
stellar guitarist Jimmy Thackery, have been consistent sell-out
crowd-pleasers.
The show will feature a large dance floor, BBQ snacks, and birthday
cake! as well as great music. Doors open at 7 PM, with opening act
by S.B.’s own Stiff Pickle Orchestra. For information, log onto
www.SBBlues.org or call
(805) 722-8155.
The Great Northern Blues Society -
Wausau, WI
The Great Northern Blues Society is putting on our annual
Fundraising Show “Blues Café’ 2012” on 3/31/12 at the Rothschild
Pavilion near Wausau, WI. Chris Duarte’, Albert Castiglia, Howard &
the Whiteboys, Jumpship Blues Band, and Donnie Pick & the Road band
will be performing from 1:00PM – 11:00PM.
www.gnbs.org for further
information. $15 in advance - $20 at the door.
River City Blues Society
- Pekin, IL
River City Blues Society presents: Bringing The Blues To You with
the following shows - April
11th at 7PM • Sean Chambers. Location Goodfellas 1414 N. 8th St, Pekin, Illinois
$5.00 non-members $3.00 members. For more info visit:
www.rivercityblues.com
or call 309-648-8510
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 8:00pm $3
cover. Mar 26 – RJ Mischo, Apr 2 – Brad Vickers & His Vestopolatans, Apr 9 – JP Soars &
the Red Hots, Apr 16 – Too Slim & the Tail Draggers, Apr 23 – Andrew
Jr Boy Jones. icbluesclub.org
The Friends Of The Blues - Watseka, IL
Friends of the Blues present 2012 shows:
Thur, March 29, Albert Castiglia, 7 pm, Kankakee Valley Boat Club Tues, April 10, Sean Chambers, 7 pm, Bradley Bourbonnais Sportsmen’s Club Tues, April 17, Too Slim & Taildraggers, 7 pm, Kankakee Valley Boat Club Thur, April 26, Al Stone, 7 pm, Kankakee Valley Boat Club
West Virginia Blues Society
- Charleston, W.V.
The West Virginia Blues Society, Inc. and Thornhill Auto Groups
present the 5th Annual Charlie West Blues Fest May 18, 19 and 20,
2012 at Haddad Riverfront Park, Charleston, WV including headline
performances by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers
and Ruthie Foster. For more information visit
http://wvbluessociety.org/
Prairie Crossroads
Blues Society – Champaign-Urbana, IL
Prairie Crossroads Blues Society shows: Friday April 6, 1st Friday Blues, Johnny Rawls. For more
info:
www.prairiecrossroadsblues.org
Rosedale Crossroads Blues Society - Rosedale, MS
Rosedale Crossroads Blues Society presents The Crossroads Blues and
Heritage Festival, Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the River Resort at
Highway 1 South in historic Rosedale, MS featuring Bill Abel,
Cadillac John, Big Joe Shelton, DSU Ol’ Skool Revue and other area
artists.
Gates open at 12:00 noon, music starts at 1:00 Admission $5 –
adults, $1 – children under 12 Bring your own ice chest – $10 No
beer sold – No glass – No pets, please Parking $5
|
Featured Blues Review 5 of 6
 Debbie
Bond - Hearts Are Wild
Blues
Root Productions
Twelve
tracks - 51:03
Her last
album, What Goes Around Comes Around, was released in 1998.
Debbie has certainly paid her blues dues. Born in Los Angeles, she
eventually made her home in Alabama where she fell into the Alabama
blues scene at an early age. Over the years she has become an ambassador
for Alabama Blues, and in addition to working with the likes of Willie
King, Johnny Shines and Jerry McCain, has fronted the Alabama Blues
Project, pushing educational programs, concerts and CDs.
In this
album she has moved away from covering the work of others, to a
concentration on her own song writing and musicianship. She sees this as
a turning point as she expands her horizons and seeks to do her own
thing.
Debbie does
the honors here as both rhythm and lead guitarist and of course,
principal vocalist. She is joined here by her husband, Rik Asherson
(keyboards, harmonica, and background vocals), James - Mr. B - Brown
(bass, rhythm and lead guitars, back ground vocals) Dave Crenshaw (drums
and percussion), Brad Guin (sax) , and Chad Fisher (trombone) Rob Alley
(trumpet) and Brice Miller (trumpet).
It is
tempting to compare her to other artists but that is unfair to her and
to you. Debbie has a unique sound that carries this twelve song set in a
number of directions. She has a strong lyrical capacity and both the
lyrics and the sound can grab your ears and your mind with a vengeance.
"Nothing but the Blues," is a song despairing of modern living and
politics “You claim you’re killing for peace, to set people free, But
people are dying is all we can see…”. "I Like It Like That," is a
clever, double entendre song about the benefits of having a young lover
who can keep things cooking and the opener “Dead Zone Blues” is a
terrific horn driven piece allegedly about despair, but with
undercurrent of hope “Always in the right place at the wrong time,
Operator get me Jesus on the mainline”, a neat reference to a classic
gospel song.
The CD
comes with a booklet with all the lyrics in it and is strongly
recommended.
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 (see
www.myspace.com/ianmckenzieuk) and has two web-cast regular blues
radio shows. One on www.phonic.FM in
Exeter (Wednesdays: 1pm Eastern/ 12 noon Central), the second on
KCOR – Kansas City Online Radio
(on Fridays at 1pm Eastern/ 12 noon Central).
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
Featured Blues Review 6 of
6
 The
Flaming Mudcats - Gave You What You Wanted
Ode
Records
13
tracks
The mudcat
or flathead is a larger species of catfish, a staple of the brown waters
of the Mississippi and fresh waters in the Southlands. Not to be
confused, the Flaming Mudcat is a blues band member from New Zealand.
Did I say New Zealand? I said New Zealand!
This
quartet of musicians hail from Auckland and play a distinctly authentic
brand of straight up blues. The CD takes its’ name from an Ike Turner
song (which, incidentally, is not covered). The band is led by Craig
Braken, who sings and plays harp. Doug Bygrave is on guitar, Sean
McCarthy is on bass and drums are provided by Ian Thompson. These four
guys have played together since 2009, but they sound like a well
seasoned band with tons of experience.
These are
all new songs except one, and 9 were written by the band. The lone cover
is “Twenty Dollar Gig” by Mickey Bones. The songs are strong and good
top to bottom. Traditional yet fresh sounding stuff. From “Big City
Mama” at the start to the ending cover, this is one helluva tight and
exciting band.
The CD
starts out with Bygraves’ strident guitar and then Bracken blazing his
harp and singing in his powerful baritone, sort of like Junior Brown
rockabilly goes to Chicago. Powerful, clean, driving stuff. The lyrics
are catchy, too. “Champagne, Diamonds and a Fast Car”, just what
anybody’s baby needs, right? A great little shuffle. Their namesake
song, “Mudcat Boogie” is a cool little boogie with call and response and
a smooth guitar line. “Double D’s” is a great instrumental where we
first hear Murray Patton on the Hammond organ and more stinging guitar
work; “Cool It Down” is another nice, slow instrumental with the harp
singing a sad and lonely solo throughout. Simon Aanerud is on piano and
keys on seven tracks; his work adds a nice sound and backdrop and his
solos are crisp. “New Technology Blues” hearkens back to a Muddy
Waters-like Hootchie Kootchie Man beat where Craig bemoans how our
expectations are so big given our new technology. All the cuts here are
excellent, top to bottom.
The blues
are alive in the South Pacific thanks to bands like these. If they make
to our shores or if you make it out there, these guys are the real deal
and you should check them out. In the mean time, you’ll have to “suffer”
through listening to them on this outstanding inaugural CD! It’s blazing
hot stuff and well worth the listen!
Reviewer
Steve
Jones is secretary 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 work with their Blues In The Schools program.
For other reviews and interviews on our website
CLICK HERE
|
Live Blues Calendar
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