Blues Matters 76

FROM THE USA! BLUES BROTHERS CURTIS SALGADO FROM THE UK! GOLDIE REED DANNY KYLE FROM AUSTRALIA! ANNI PIPER FROM IRELAND! KAZ HAWKINS FROM CANADA! DOWNCHILD NO SINNER

TONY JOE WHITE

Well we trust you had a good break and enjoyed Christmas and New Year celebrations. Here we go with BM76. Not long now until our 100th issue!

Another heady issue of diverse content. Britain’s own Savoy Brown Kim Simmonds looks on with the band’s new CD Goin’ To The Delta (Check out song samples at www.savoybrown.com).

BM! Writers’ Poll International winner Curtis Salgado features in this issue, as does ‘swamp man’

Tony Joe White, Canadian legends Downchild Blues Band, the rising No Sinner and Samantha Fish, plus Goldie Reed, Kaz Hawkins and Danny Kyle.

As always, so much to take in from such diverse content and that’s not even mentioning the review sections of CDs, gigs and festivals.

Spread the word readers! More folks need to know about Blues Matters! Here’s just one of the many comments we receive: “A dedicated blues magazine full of interesting articles on the Blues and no crap! I gotta have this!” – Douglas, Scotland. Cheers Douglas, and welcome aboard.

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COntributing Writers: liz aiken, roy bainton, adam bates, adrian blacklee, bob bonsey, eddy bonte, Dave butler, Colin Campbell, bob Chaffey, martin Cook, Norman Darwen, lauren Dove, Dave Drury, Hugh Fielder, barry Fisch, linda Fisher, sybil Gage, Diane Gillard, stuart a. Hamilton, brian Harman, Natalie Harrap, Gareth Hayes, trevor Hodgett, billy Hutchinson, Peter Innes, brian Kramer, Frank leigh, mike lightfoot, Geoff marston, Ian mcHugh, Christine moore, Jennifer Noble, martin ‘Noggin’ Norris, merv Osborne, mike Owens, Iain Patience, Frankie Pfeiffer, Clive rawlings, sarah reeve, Darrell sage, Paromita saha, Pete sargeant, Dave ‘the bishop’ scott, Graeme scott, Peter simmons, andy snipper, ashwyn smyth, Dave stone, suzanne swanson, richard thomas, Kevin legs’ Walker, tom Walker, Dave Ward, Daryl Weale, Kevin Wharton, Iain Young, steve Yourglovich.

COntributing pHOtOgrapHers:

Christine moore, liz aiken, annie Goodman, Jennifer Noble others credited on page

© 2013 blues Matters! Original material in this magazine is © the authors. Reproduction may only be made with prior consent of the Editor and provided that acknowledgement is given of the source and copy is sent to the editorial address. Care is taken to

“The more you see you’re enTerTaining people, The more you do iT”

wilko

johnSon

photo: david coombes

regulars

08 happenin’

Keeping you up to date with all the news from the Blues. We take the road to Siberia and meet DJ Cleve Baker,whilst Kitchat dives into the world of the Weissenborn Guitar.

20 blueS Top 10

Dave Berry digs deep into the archives for his favorite blues songs.

25 blue blooD

New talent. Featuring The Planetary Blues Band, Makuini, The Cajun Specials, Steve Rogers, The Fran McGillivray Band and Florence Joelle.

98 reD lick Top 20 Red Lick Records presents their best selling blues albums.

108 rMr blueS Top 50 The Roots Music Report independent airplay chart.

inTerVieWs

32

curTiS SalgaDo

A Blues Brother original, still making dreams come true.

36 wilko johnSon

50

54

Part One of an in depth look at his music, life and legacy.

golDie reeD

Cooking up a tasty organic West Country stew. One of our tips for 2014.

Danny kyle

Talks about his journey so far and his aspirations for what happens next.

58 DownchilD blueS banD

Canadian Donnie Walsh is Mr. Downchild. Can you hear the music?

62 kaZ hawkinS

66

70

Belfast Blues battler has paid her dues and is finally on the threshold.

Tony joe whiTe

The original Swamp Fox is on a creative roll and looks back at working with Elvis, Tina and Cocker.

SaManTha FiSh

Kansas City blues player is back with a new album. Bigger, badder, ballsier!

74 no Sinner

Young Vancouver band fuse rock, blues and soul to devastating effect.

FeaTures

80 The blueS broTherS

Part 1: The Fruits and the Roots of the Blues Brothers and their musical mission.

86 blueS unDer The raDar

All the way from Woollangong, the one and only Anni Piper.

reVieWs

93 albuMS

Including Ben Sures, Abi Moore, Curtis Salgado, Savoy Brown, Sean Chambers, Jeff Healey and more.

114

ShowTiMe

Bluesfest 2013 from The Royal Albert Hall, Tenby, Carlisle and Notodden, plus regular gig reviews across the Blues spectrum.

inTerVieW Savoy brown

Here and now with the Blues legend Kim Simmonds.

photo:

BLUESMAN MURDERED

Young energetic blues guitarist Eric ’Guitar’ Davis was found shot dead in his car in Chicago on 19th December. He was on his way home from The Kingston Mines Blues Club. Early reports are a little patchy at the moment.

Eric was 41 years old and considered one of the brightest stars of his generation on the Chicago scene, signed to Delmark Records, and admired for his fiery guitar playing and high energy stage show. He was a precocious talent, appearing live at venues such as Buddy Guys Legends and Checkerboard Lounge from the age of 10 with all of Chicago’s top bluesmen.

Bma NomiNEEs aNNouNCED

The Blues Foundation is pleased to announce the nominations for the annual Blues Music Awards, which will be presented at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, May 8th, 2014. The Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest accolade afforded musicians and songwriters in Blues music. The annual Blues Music Awards ceremony is the premier

event for Blues professionals, musicians, and fans from all over the world. The focus of this celebration is to recognize superior achievements in Blues performance, songwriting, and

rick estrin

recording while honouring a rich cultural tradition.

Leading the list of nominees for the 35th Blues Music Awards with five nominations are Lurrie Bell, James Cotton and Charlie Musselwhite. Buddy Guy received four. Rick Estrin, Doug MacLeod and Bobby Rush each garnered three nominations. Both of Charlie Musselwhite’s releases Get Up! With Ben Harper and Remembering Little Walter with a quintet of harpists were nominated (as they were for the Grammys®). It was a good year for members of the Blues Hall of Fame as Cotton, Guy, Musselwhite, Rush and Billy Boy Arnold are all enshrined, but still artistically relevant.

www.blues.org

MARK T. sMALL MAKEs sOME sMOKIn’ bLuEs

Guitarist Mark T. Small announces a January 28, 2014 release date for his fourth CD, Smokin’ Blues,

on the Lead Foot Music label imprint. The even-dozen tracks on Smokin’ Blues solidify the Massachusettsbased Small’s place as an emerging master of the guitar, ranging from Delta blues and Chicago styles, to the intricate flatpicking schooled from his early days in Newgrass bands. The 12 songs on the new CD reflect music originally performed by such early blues legends as Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, Charley Patton and Reverend Gary Davis to post-war icons John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James and even a Stax/Memphis soul vibe with the inclusion

of a Rufus Thomas tune.

“On Smokin’ Blues I have also tried to match the intensity of playing in a club setting,” Mark states. “In these settings I take the tunes that I love, interpret them and do everything possible to make that connection with the audience.”

www.marktsmall.com

juDITh OwEn gOEs wITh ThE fLOw

That Judith Owen’s new album Ebb and Flow evokes the spirit of the halcyon days of the great 1970s troubadours is not accidental. In a set of potent songs about love and loss, pain and joy, dreams and despair, the Welsh singersongwriter fearlessly explores the duality of the human conditionand to do justice to the songs, she turned to the legendary musicians who created the seventies’ troubadour sound.

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JUdith owen

lUrrie bell

Between them, her core band of drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Lee Sklar and guitarist Waddy Wachtel played on many of the landmark albums from the era by the likes of Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. “The kind of music I write is so influenced by that sound and period that I wanted to go direct to the source,” Owen explains. “When I write songs, I’m hearing a sound in my head, and they knew the sound because they invented it.”

The songs on Ebb and Flow touch on the deepest emotions of Owen’s own storied life with an unswerving honesty. But although her songs are highly personal, the emotions are universal. “Singing

about the human condition, living under the shadow of loss and frustration and sadness and loneliness and not being gratuitously sentimental about it, instead making something beautiful out of it, that’s the songwriter’s job,” Owen says. www.judithowen.net

MAgAZInE cLOsEs DOwn

After nearly 40 years the pioneering Netherlands based blues magazine Block is ceasing to exist. Run by husband and wife Rien and Marion Wisse as a labour of love, recent health issues have brought the long run to a close. In 2010 they were recognised

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thrEE morE BluEsmEN saY GooDBYE

aaroN moorE

1918 – 27th November 2013

Renowned Chicago blues pianist Aaron Moore passed away following ongoing health problems in November. Over the last 40 years he played with most of the Chicago greats including Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and BB King. Like many blues masters he was born in Greenwood, Mississippi and learned piano from his mother, a music teacher. Later teaming up with Roosevelt Sykes. He appeared on Brewer Phillips, ‘Home Brew’ CD and recorded two albums on Delmark showing what a great singer as well as pianist he was.

ChiCk Willis

1932 – 8th

December 2013

Atlanta based guitarist/ vocalist Chick Willis is probably best remembered for his rather naughty track Stoop Down Baby from 1972. A very energetic and crowd pleasing performer, he released a number of albums on the Ichiban label and was cousin of the more famous Chuck Willis.

JoE Bihari

1925 – 28th

November 2013

Joe was the last surviving member of the Bihari brothers who formed Modern Records in 1945. Modern went on to become one of the most important blues and R’n’B labels

of the last century. Based in Los Angeles the label was founded by Joe along with Jules and Saul after they became frustrated trying to find records for their fledgling juke box business. The catalogue included pivotal releases by John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Lightnin’ Hopkins. Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, Lowell Fulson, BB King, Etta James, Ike Turner and too many more to mention. In 2006 Joe accepted an induction into Blues Foundation Hall of Fame on behalf of the label.

photo: Jame fraher

photo: Joseph a rosen

On the air :

Blues Matters! asked Cleve about his show, starting with the name, Confessing the Blues. ‘It just goes back to my childhood and Saturday nights behind my grandfather’s store. Farm hands would come to play and they’d say they’d quit if they weren’t given something to drink. So I’d sneak into the store for a bottle of wine or get the quart of moonshine hidden behind the seat in my dad’s truck seat. Sleepy Williams would take a drink and say, “We going to be confessin’ the Blues tonight” He was a great man, a kind individual, quite the Blues player. It was amazing how fast and clean his playing was.’

What Cleve’s show is about is celebrating the Blues. ‘It is great music, great real musicians playing real instruments, we don’t want to lose that in the United States. It’s really important to us and to music as a whole. I’ve had some highlights on my show. My first

interview was with Clifford Curry, a man with the song You shot a hole in my soul, from Nashville.

He is a very gracious man. Miss Barbara Carr, she is as enthusiastic and humble a person as I’ve spoken to. Big Pete from The Netherlands, he’s a great artist on harmonica. Joanne Shaw Taylor, she gave me an interesting insight into the European Blues scene and what’s going on. Mike Zito who’s in the Royal Southern Brotherhood and Devon Allman, those guys were really fun to talk to.’

Cleve’s show has been running for three and a half years, and his career has taken him through a Nascar race team, work as a

shift supervisor in a power plant, owning his own restaurant and a liquor store, and has rewarded a yearning to get back to radio that he was involved in as a 15 year old at high school. When his father passed away in Kentucky, Cleve joined his mother in North Carolina and he was given the opportunity to join the radio operation, and not just his Blues show. Cleve reflected, ‘To help and appreciate artists, that’s what I’m here for, like Jack Mack and the Heart Attack Horns I interviewed, and Delbert McClinton. He is a music genre by himself.’

to tune in to confessin’ the blues, go to: www.confessingtheblues.info

What Cleve’s shoW is aBout is CeleBrating the Blues

Verbals: daryl W eale

Cleve baKer Is tHe PreseNter OF CONFessING tHe blues raDIO, a reGular tHree HOur blues sHOW FeaturING NeW aND OlDer musIC aND INtervIeWs. tHe HOme OF tHe sHOW Is IN NOrtH CarOlINa IN tHe uNIteD states

antones

by The Blues Foundation. Good luck to Rien and Marion for future projects.

AnTOnE’s nIghTcLub cLEbRATEs A nEw ERA

Antone’s of Austin is perhaps one of the most famous Blues venues in the USA and often used by bands to make live recordings. It

has just been purchased by group of music loving investors who plan to re-locate within Austin and re-invest to keep the venue’s great blues legacy alive. It was opened in 1974 by the late Clifford Antone who was among the first to invite the great Chicago bluesmen to come and play in one of the great music cities of America.

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NEW ClaptoN BaND aND tour

Eric Clapton’s February / March 2014 Tour kicks off 18 February at Tokyo’s most famous venue, the Nippon Budokan. For the tour, which will visit cities in the Far and Mid East, Eric has put together an exciting new band featuring familiar faces from recent tours and some old friends. Joining Eric on stage for these dates will be Nathan East (bass), Steve Gadd (drums), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Paul Carrack (keyboards), Sharon White and Michelle John (backing vocals).

jsp REcORDs RELEAsE nEw bATch Of bLuEs

Latest releases from the JSP label includes a U.P. Wilson live DVD, showing the power driving Texas Bluesman at his peak. The famous four CD box sets continue with Doctor Ross 1953-56, Masters of Memphis Blues, Juke Joints Volume 4, and Skiffle, from Britain to Broadway. Plenty there to keep blues fans happy for awhile.

bIg MAMA ThORnTOn bIOgRAphy pubLIshED

At long last an in-depth biography of Big Mama Thornton is being published. Written by Dr. Michael Sporke, Big Mama Thornton, The Life And Music is out on April 15th 2014 published by McFarland & Co. It’s also available in digital form. Running at 277 pages and including 50 photos it promises to be a comprehensive insight into the life of this often overlooked

blues icon. Dr. Sporke has previously released a critically acclaimed biography of Janis Joplin who was herself a big fan of Big Mama Thornton.

ThE wILKO jOhnsOn TELEcAsTER

Telecaster have recently issued a Telecaster edition named after the Canvey Island guitarist. Features include black finish with red pick guard (‘So the men don’t see the blood’, according to Wilko), maple neck and dual vintage style single coil pickups.

The rosewood fingerboard has three way pickup switching, vintage style string through body bridge and vintage style tuners. Special in case extras include two Wilko Johnson photos and facsimiles of the notebook pages on which the Dr. Feelgood hits, She Does It Right, Back in the Night and Roxanne were penned.

This Issue’s Guest Artist: wILL IRELAnD

Our No Sinner interview is beautifully accompanied by the work of Will Ireland. Will is a freelance portrait photographer and has photographed some pretty interesting musicians over the years, including established Blues acts such as Joe Bonamassa and Wilko Johnson, as well as up and coming artists like the Strypes. Check out www.willirelandphotography.co.uk for more amazing examples from his extensive portfolio.

photo: photofest

in print: biG mama thornton

NEW matthEW CurrY rElEasE

Exciting young blues singer/ guitarist Matthew Curry (featured in BM! 70), is building on his growing reputation with extensive tour plans for 2014 and a new CD. Debut album If I Don’t Get You turned lots of heads and the recent follow up, Electric Religion looks set to build on that success. Electric... is available from amazon and cd baby

ThE EuROpEAn bLuEs chALLEngE 2014

Sadly, there are probably not too many reading this who are aware that the 4th European Blues Challenge, organised by the European Blues Union, takes place in Latvia on the 11th and 12th of April 2014.

This year, some 18 countries have chosen acts to represent them in a two day competition in Riga and anybody attending this year’s Challenge will be in for a real treat with a wonderful variety of styles in store.

Representing the UK are the winners of the BM! Writers’ Poll Newcomers category and band leader David Migden told BM: “We are very excited and flattered to be nominated to represent the UK in

the European Blues Challenge.

2013 has been a very successful year for us and after winning the New Brunswick Battle Of The Blues, being nominated as best British Male Vocalist and being voted as best band and best newcomer by the wonderful Blues Matters! writers, we did not expect or hope that our luck would continue in this way.

This is fantastic timing for us as we are just about to reveal our new band name and release our new album which is eponymously titled: David Migden & The Twisted Roots

We are incredibly proud of this new album and this is a great opportunity to launch ourselves into Europe.”

As ever, Scandinavia is well represented. For Norway, the psychedelic blues rockers Pristine from the far north of country feature a charismatic lady singer and play ‘blues with traces of southern rock, soul and funk’, a delicious combination judging by what I have heard.

From Denmark come Big Creek Slim & the Cockroaches Sweden is to be represented by the very danceable Hightones

Representing Finland is the

enigmatic Ina Forsman & Helge Tallqvist Band, featuring an outstanding young vocalist allied with a band full of blues experience.

The host country is represented by the three piece Lavrix Band which was founded in 2012 by Vladimirs Lavrinovičs who is best known as the guitarist of the legendary Latvian band Eolika. The band recently released the debut, all instrumentals CD.

Founded nearly twenty years ago in Vienna, The Edi Fenzl Band, representing Austria, are a three piece who have achieved cult status back home and promise ‘Real-deal Low-down badass hippiewestern power Blues rock jam’.

This year the Marco Pandolfi Trio are Italy’s reps featuring singer, harmonica player and guitarist Marco, a 20 year veteran on the scene and well known outside his native Italy.

From the Netherlands comes the Award Winning John F Klaver Band. France’s representatives are Shake Your Hips, a well established five-piece from the Paris region who play a very

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representinG the Uk: david miGden & the twisted roots

infectious and swinging style of Chicago Blues to great effect. Definitely one that will have the crowd dancing!

44 Blues, the Croatian representatives, play heavy blues rock and are no strangers to competition having been participants in the 2012 IBC in Memphis. The four band members are all blues veterans and devotees.

Also in the blues rock camp are the recently reformed Fred and the Healers from Belgium whose new CD is due for release shortly before the EBC. Winners of the Belgian Blues Challenge, the band play original material, described as ‘a dangerous mix of refreshing blues and laid back rock.

Germany’s Mike Seeber Trio are another power trio who won the German Blues Challenge at Eutin last September to become the German representatives both at the EBC and at the IBC in Memphis.

From Budapest comes the six piece Hungarian band, T Rogers, well known from many festival appearances across Europe and their most rec guest appearance by Keb’ Mo’ and is receiving great plaudits.

Romania’s representatives for this year’s Challenge are a four piece called The Blues Nation playing a mix of blues and blues rock shaped from the band members’ influences. From viewing YouTube videos they sound as if they will be very different from last year’s very much acoustic trio.

Spain are represented this year by Barcelona’s A Contra Blues, a long established five piece that, from listening to their two most recent CDs, has a very fresh take on the blues which will be exciting to hear live.

Russia are making their first appearance at the EBC and representing them are Bomb Lane Land, an exciting and varied eight

ColNE WiNs BEst BluEs fEst

Colne’s annual music event has been named the Best Blues Festival in the European Blues Awards 2013.

The awards were linked up with the Twitter-based weekly Blues Hour open forum and, according to organisers, the response was nothing short of phenomenal!

There were nine categories, including Best Band, Best Guitarist, Best Radio Show, Best Musician, Best Vocalist and a Lifetime Contribution to European Blues was awarded to Wilko Johnson.

The Blues Hour Twitter chat was held every Monday night and was regularly frequented by blues legends and new talent, as well as the odd Festival or two, including The Great British R’n’B Festival.

This year, Colne’s musical extravaganza was declared the best yet by the people that attended it, with the likes of Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings, Ginger Baker, Joe Louis Walker, Chris Farlowe, Nine Below Zero and Paul Lamb and The King Snakes on the bill. Festival organiser, Alison Goode, said: “We are absolutely delighted and extremely honoured to have won this award which officially recognises the Festival as the best in Europe!”

piece outfit from Moscow founded by two architects in 2009 who won the Hard Rock Rising Award in 2011.

Finally, Switzerland’s representatives are The Bacon Fats, an award winning four piece who, as winners of the 2013 Swiss Blues Challenge, also played the IBC in Memphis in January.

Find out more about the EBU and the Challenge at www.europeanbluesunion.com

A fOnD fAREwELL TO A gREAT wRITER

This issue’s Savoy Brown feature is dedicated to Noggin and his excellent contributions to Blues Matters! over many years. The staff of BM! would like to thank Noggin for his hard work and wish him the best of luck for the future. You will be very much missed.

the colne team celebrate

whAcK-DOnALDs!

ApRIL 6Th

We all get hung up on the ‘top layer’ of publicized blues artists like the B.B’s, the Buddy’s and so on, but that does not make any of the other fantastic artists any less intense or valid.

SOBO Blues Band is an impressive trio where the lead singer; Daniel Kirman uses an electric wood-body resonator as his main instrument. They got a great groove goin’ and really heated

things up. Alvon Johnson, backed by the Blues Doctors was over-thetop awesome! This guy has chops that will send most blues players half his age packing.

Bert and I did a charged set and then invited our guests; Vladimir & Robert Lighthouse up to do a number.

It was an amazing night of blues to a packed room of very enthusiastic Russian blues fans. I was very impressed with this level of talent and appreciation.

We had one more obligation that night and that was to play a set at a local jazz bar in town.

Shortly after we finished our set at the main site, we were whisked off to this other cosy venue.

As we were setting up the equipment, in a blind moment of stressing to get it all up and running, I had put my precious hand crafted acoustic guitar on top of my guitar case, resting on a chair and as I turned for a split second, BAM! It had somehow fallen to the

the Golden arses. fast food, novokUznetsk stYle

floor and there was now a huge crack on the surface. Fortunately it was not in a place that affected the playability and was able to do an enthusiastic set in spite of this obstacle.

After that set, it was definitely time for a drink... or three...

(Note to self; never again attempt to fix and super glue a crack in an acoustic guitar at three in the morning, when toasted on tequila.)

ApRIL 7Th AnD 8Th

Everybody’s heard of the infamous Trans-Siberian Railway. Twenty two hours penetrating the Russian North, plummeted us into Siberia. Now we were getting deep into it.

Eugene and I shopped and stocked up on some mostly disgusting, sausage and powderlike soup essentials for the long trip and he was ready to party, but Bert and I were more in the mode to try and pass the time jamming and sleeping through a chunk of it.

To break up the monotony of our tiny four bunk sleep cabin, we went to the dining car. The menu looked weak and overpriced, but we needed to eat so I ordered some kind of chicken-like thing. Bert ordered some kind of fish like thing and Eugene ordered what he simply translated as a “vodka salad”.

We were both intrigued by this interesting dish and when the waitress arrived with our food, she laid out my chicken-like thing, Bert’s fish like thing, and placed a small bowl of wilted, brownish lettuce with a sprinkle of canned veggies and a decanter of vodka in front of Eugene.

Eugene then waves his hand accordingly and says as-a-matterof-factly; “Vodka... Salad...”

He then proceeds to drink up the vodka and not touch one wilted leaf of the salad.

By the time Bert and I were ready to call it a night, Eugene was

the FrenCh Fry Containers and the Burger Wrappers and the soda Cups all had this ‘W’ insignia

just getting started.

He seemed bewildered and a little put-off, gesturing with an inebriated stagger, surprised that we were not going to heed his need to liquor up any more as we were already tucked in.

He clumsily climbed into his bunk and fell out with a blur and a thud a couple of times before submitting to the reality that we were done for the night. This was a turning point.

ApRIL 9Th

Siberia! We have arrived. Our first gig here is in a club called TASS in Barnaul.

It’s a great little venue with a Southern vibe but decorated with old Russian radios and radio parts and appliances from the 30’s. The crowd is great and we are welcomed warmly. Warmly is also the biggest contradiction of what we were to expect in this environment, climate-wise.

Just about everybody insured us that we should prepare ourselves for 10 below, 20 below, 30... Half of my bag was packed with sweaters and long underwear, extra gloves. Well, wouldn’t you know it that this would turn out to be the warmest it’s been here in 60 years! I felt cheated out of the frostbitten experience we were bracing ourselves for. It was 21 degrees + pretty much every day

ApRIL 10Th-13Th

The next two gigs were great, but pretty brutal with the driving. Five hours to Tomsk, a club called Underground and then five hours back to Novokuznetsk where we

would play MezAmi the next day.

As we drove into town, middle of the night and bleary eyed, my attention was immediately drawn to what I consider the holiest of holy monuments I have never seen. I had to rub my eyes in disbelief that it actually really existed. Yet there it was, a small red rectangular shack with the very familiar trademark ‘golden arches’ gracing the top prominently. Except the arches were reversed. Upside down forming a huge golden ‘W’ above the shack! The French fry containers and the burger wrappers and the soda cups all had this ‘W’ insignia.

I couldn’t believe that I’d stumbled upon and discovered the world’s only; ‘Whack-Donalds’!

No, we did not sample the food. It would have spoiled the wonder of the moment. We did some local radio and even a very weird local television spot we appeared on in between keeping us going non-stop.

On the drive to Novokuznetsk after our gig, Bert quickly fell asleep and Eugene was soon to follow.

Our driver was now going on a full day of driving and navigating and we had five hours through the night. It was around 11:00 and we wouldn’t arrive till maybe 4:00am. As I looked around in the night, I soon realized that Siberia’s infrastructure was not equipped with lights of any kind or reflectors on the highways. This made me quite alert and in need of trying to make sure the driver was focused irrespective of the fact that he could not understand a single word of English.

the Road to s ibe R ia continues in the next issue issue, so pack you R bag and be R eady...

DAVE bERRy

Dave berrY, sHeFFIelD-bOrN ICON OF 1960’s PrIme uK rHYtHm ’N’ blues, WItH a Number OF tOP FIve CHart HIts, IsN’t sOmeONe WHO sIm PlY revels IN HIs Past aCCOm PlIsHmeNts. IN FaCt, Dave’s abOut tO set Out ON aNOtHer NatIONal tOur, bm! GOt tHe CHaNCe tO asK HIm abOut tHe blues musIC tHat HelPeD sHaPe HIs Career sinGinG the blUes: the one and onlY

dave’s first hit, The Crying Game, came out in 1963 and he toured with The Rolling Stones the following year. Other contemporaries to have shared a stage include the Small Faces, Animals and Troggs. Session musicians on his early hits include Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Big Jim Sullivan so he is the perfect person to present his Blues Top Ten.

Dave takes up the story: “Its been great for me over the years to be able to include many great R’n’B tracks on stage, even during my 1960’s ‘retro’ tours. Because of my roots in blues my audience gets more than my 60’s hits. In fact, I have always included R’n’B tracks in my set and have just been added as special guest to the upcoming Ultimate Rhythm & Blues 50th Anniversary Tour.

In the late 50’s it was impossible to hear any R’n’B or Blues on British radio. Before I went to work at six a.m. I would tune in to the American Forces network out of Frankfurt, Germany. They ran an early morning blues show and that is where I first heard the music of Smiley Lewis and T. Bone Walker etc. I also listened to my Dad’s collection of Jazz and Blues. My choice of music reflects the era I grew up in. On tour with The Rolling Stones we would be playing this stuff on our portable record player.”

bERRy AnD ThE bLu Es

Many of the readers of Blues Matters! will be aware of the Dave Berry back catalogue, including the album Memphis... In the Meantime (Released on the Blues Matters! label). Dave’s first album, Dave Berry, included harmonica and lead guitar from the one and only Jimmy Page. The album had Blues galore, from St. James Infirmary, Ella Speed (A Leadbelly number), to Go On Home and You’d Better Move On (by Arthur Alexandra).

During the last ten years Dave has been the special guest of many great musicians, from Van Morrison to the Manfreds, Maggie Bell, Roger Taylor (of Queen fame) and Chris Farlowe (to name but a few). He’s also shared the stage with Tony Iommi, Bev Bevan, Roger Taylor, Tony Hadley, Chris Thompson (from Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) and the great Roni Spector.

Dave is currently in working collaboration with guitar legend Frank White, of the Frank White Combo (a twin neck guitar pioneer, and the man who turned down the Stones!). They are recording a new album together and are planning a release soon.

01

jiMMy reeD

BaBy What you Want Me to Do

Jimmy was a little overlooked. Nice to see Ronnie Wood’s tribute at the Royal Albert Hall.

02 howlin’ wolF

SMokeStack Lightning

What can I say – One of the great Riffs in R’n’B.

03

Sonny Terry anD

brownie Mcghee

autoMechanicS BLueS

Saw them with Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker and T.Bone Walker at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester in ‘64.

04

earl boSTic

FLaMingo

Still one of my favourites in my record collection.

05

roScoe gorDon

JuSt a LittLe Bit

Still in my set today. Performed it at Buxton Opera House at the Alexis Korner memorial concert.

06

MuDDy waTerS

i can’t Be SatiSFieD

Guitar part in this still a classic today.

07

john lee hooker

tupeLo MiSSiSSippi BLueS

Spent a couple of days with John staying in the same hotel in London. For me he’s one of the best.

08

joe cocker

unchain My heart

The only ‘White’ Blues singer I’ve included. I was there at the beginning of Joe’s career. One of my favourites.

09

arThur ‘big boy’ cruDup

My BaBy LeFt Me

First heard this by Elvis, but then went back to the original version.

10 ray charleS

What i Say

Many of the bands in the 60’s did this live. I performed this with Joe Cocker at the Esquire Club, Sheffield.

f o R the latest news on dave be RRy, visit: www.c Ryinggame.co.uk

“it’s Been great For me over the years to Be aBle to inClude many great r’n’B traCks on stage”

wOnDERfuL wEIssEnbORn

this beast has a similar historic profile to the Dobro as we discussed at length in issue 75 last time. However the Weissenborn and other maker variants were particularly aimed at the Hawaiian lap steel market which was gaining great popularity in the late 1920s. The first obvious difference was that the Weissenborn is a wooden instrument, the second maybe not so immediately obvious is the fact that the whole of the guitar is hollow, including the neck.

It is interesting that, as with the Dobro, he Weissenborn came about as a result of a European immigrant, Hermann Weissenborn, emigrating from Germany to New York in 1902, and settling in California as a violin and piano maker in 1910.

Not wanting to get too ‘dusty’ regarding history again in this issue, the new design instruments gained a high level of popularity, but Weissenborn manufacture ceased upon Herman’s death in 1926. A number of other makers also produced similar guitars, most noticeably Chris J Knutsen, a Norwegian-born luthier who,

arguably, was the first to actually produce a hollow necked instrument. The truth is somewhere within the annals of history no doubt; but it is with Weissenborn that the generic name for this style of instrument resides (as of course we discovered last time out with the Dobro name). Lots more history is available from the website links I append below.

Moving rapidly forward, my own Weissenborn education was by way of seeing present day players such as David Lindley, John Fahey, Jerry Douglas, Cindy Cashdollar and Ben Harper wielding the beasts in both the blues and country genres. Many more guitar luminaries can be found with either original or modern day versions of the Weissenborn, and include Ry Cooder, Bob Brozman and, interestingly, one Thomas Oliver, a New Zealander playing the

theme tune to the film Jurassic Park on Weissenborn (written by John Williams no less). I was particularly stimulated into getting hold of one of these beasties after listening to Ed Gerhard a well-known Canadian folk musician playing the old Rowland Sally tune Killing the Blues on YouTube. I highly recommend a viewing/listening to gain an appreciation of the huge sound these hollow necked instruments produce. Having done a bit of research, I got in touch with Anderwood Guitars based in deepest Dorset, whose website provides a wealth of information, and demonstrations of the various models of Weissenborn styled instruments they produce right here in good old Blighty. Being interested in purchasing one of their guitars myself, Anderwood’s owner/proprietor Edward Greenfield obligingly sent me a demonstration model for the purpose of our review and for my

Verbals: d av e W ard V isuals: W ikipedia COMMO ns / p i C kle. MO nger

own hands on experience. I have to say I was almost as excited as that day in 1959 when my first electric guitar (a handsome Dallas Tuxedo in white costing all of eighty quid) arrived in the post. Unlike the Tuxedo’s brown paper and ribbed cardboard ‘secure packaging’ the Anderwood arrived packed like Tutenkhamen’s Sarcophagus on its National History museum tour. Many layers of bubble wrap later I came to the quality hardcase and, eagerly opening the numerous securing latches, there it was. Even more bubble wrap. Well done Ed there was no way this baby was getting dented.

The picture left gives a view of the LT series ‘Big Island’ model with built in pickup and preamp controls, and reflect the Hawaiian traditional rope style binding of early Weissenborn instruments.

First impressions are of how lightweight the instrument feels, obviously due to the full length one piece hollow neck and body. The LT series represents the entry level range of Anderwood models, being of laminated wood manufacture. There are many other variants available both in laminate and solid wood construction with appropriate levels of pricing reflecting the level and quality of materials employed. Probably the most significant difference between modern day Weissenborn style and the original (other than cost) is the back of the guitar; the originals having a curved (bowl style ) back, with the modern versions generally having a flat back (much easier for lap style playing too).

Now, having little practical experience of hollow-bodied lap style playing, although I do possess a seriously old and battered Guyatone solid electric lap steel, I needed to be sure of which tunings would be appropriate to the more delicate nature of the instrument’s

COntinues On page 24...

mason rack, plaYinG slide on a weissenborn

construction, and the string gauge that matched the tunings used. The guitar came strung of course, and so the gauge was decided (I think it was 14s), and having done a bit of research, it appears that the most common tuning used ( in blues anyway) is open D (DADF#AD), which was handy as I could probably pick my way through a few licks courtesy of Mr. Cooder and others in that particular key. Another popular tuning appears to be C6, which I guess is more relevant to the Hawaiian and country styles of playing. The solid electric is good for open E stuff but the stress factor for this tuning would undoubtedly be outside the scope of a hollow neck.

Once having tuned up Big Island I was more than pleased (and relieved) to find that massive

sound was all there, the bottom end really booming through, although also with that really delicate sweetness that holds the fascination for this type of instrument. She who must be obeyed appeared just a little stressed after take 15 of Danny Boy and Killing the Blues, and I reluctantly heeded the call to garden duty.

Back again on Big Island and this time amped up, I was really pleasantly surprised at how little feedback there was present in respect of Anderwood’s standard electrics setup of under bridge transducer/piezo pickup and onboard preamp controls. The resultant tone through my acoustic 60 watt Roland AC and 10” extension rig was truly massive and I think the temptation to go big

on that bottom end might need to be reined in for live performance, particularly if the gig’s acoustic isn’t up to much.

Another pleasing aspect of the Weissenborn type of instrument is cost. Prices for an original Weissenborn or Knutsen, bearing in mind they stopped being made in the 1920s, would be astronomic even if you could find one, and many top professional players seek these for their collections. Being originally built using Hawaiian Koa wood also makes it no easier as this is now a protected species.

There are a number of other manufacturers here in the UK as well as many in the Southern hemisphere who make fine copies of the originals as well as their own takes on the instruments. I believe there is a luthier in Bristol (Bristolianguitars) that makes a shorter scale model to order and there are some mass production type models available from China and Germany.

A real plethora of finishes, specs and types are available within the relatively specialised supply chain, from wide/deep bodied models to multi pickup solid electric versions, quite a few available at less than £200 as well. Other available brand names here at home include Ashbury and Clearwater. Gold Tone is a popular brand in the USA.

I most heartily recommend getting your hands on one of these instruments as I think there is likely to be quite a boom in popularity, given the very reasonable pricing points and wonderful quality of sound that can be produced with a little time and effort. (Yes Dear I know tea is ready, just one more Danny Boy and I’ll be down)

want to know mo R e? check out:

www.hollowbody.com, www.weissenbo R n.es, www.ande R woodguitaR s.com, www.b R istolianguitaR s.com and on youtube (vaR ious entR ies unde R w eissenbo R n)

david lindleY plaYinG the weissenborn

my oWn WeissenBorn eduCation Was By Way oF seeing present day players suCh as david lindley

stEVE roDGErs

steve is a gifted writer and observer of life, an excellent singer and a performer with real craft and presence. He has been busier than ever this year and with a full debut album due out soon 2014 could easily be his breakthrough year. It speaks volumes about how humble Steve is that despite that he refuses to trade on the family name. Yes, Steve is the son of Paul, but he wants to make it on his own terms.

He did begin writing songs from age 14 and does admit to being surrounded by great music from an early age, favourites being The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. A first band, Lost Sons Of Davros morphed into Boa with the addition of sister Jasmine, and they recorded two albums, including a single Duvet, that was used as the title track of an award winning Japanese animation series. After enjoying life on the road in USA and UK, Steve decided to follow a different path, writing observational and real life songs.

He has toured in support of Bad Company in UK and Japan, special guested for Bad Company at Wembley and supported Joe Perry and The Robert Randolph Band. In 2013 he was part of the Deborah Bonham and Midge Ure tours. All of these experiences are helping prepare Steve for his future career and we wait with anticipation to hear the new album due out in 2014. With fans like Jimmy Page and Roger Taylor recently coming out and praising Steves song writing and singing the future does look bright.

c heck out: www.steve R odge R smusic.com

yes, steve is the son oF paul, But he Wants to make it on his oWn terms

makuiNi

the eldest of 14 from Jerusalem rural New Zealand was somewhere I dreamed of escaping from. Life was tough and the only way out was pure dedication and grit. For men, manual jobs were at freezing works, forestry, railways or the ultimate, an All Back. Women fleece picking, shearing gangs or baby making. One early memory was having my hair shaved and wearing shorts looking like a boy. Dad had to wait for the 5th child to get one.

Life in the 50s for the New Zealand Maori was not as harsh as the Afro American, but still a struggle. Church, music and sport were the main social outlets. The Maori language was not out front as it is today and job seekers moving to the cities were to break up communal Maori life style.

For me music was my form of freedom, something that came naturally. Growing up with my grandmother,

a variety artiste and dare devil bike rider, was the key to where I am today. Travelling the world, singing from LA to the West End’s London Palladium for Royalty, was a personal achievement.

Sister Heeni, musician/songwriter, reflected with me our childhood dreams, and out of this came I am the River. With the Maori language now at the forefront of New Zealand in Television and Radio, we recorded the Maori version Ko Au Te Awa. The Corporate Man; seeing historic buildings knocked down for progress stirred me to write this. Down on Their Luck; life is a roll of the dice, and Move Over; I’m always someone’s adopted momma to lend an ear.

So no matter how far I travel, my blues roots and Maori traditions have remained my foundation.

I Am The River and The River Is Me.

fo R the latest news on makuini, check out: www.makuini.co.uk

It

florENCE JoEllE

seem lIKe tHat lONG

the very next day, I bought one in the key of C, along with a ‘how to play blues harp’ book. For two weeks, my cats ran away everytime I picked it up, and when they stayed, I knew I was doing something right. Later, I learned the guitar, and joined bands as a harp player and singer, but this, many moons back, was a special moment.

A Parisian by birth, I started my life-long love affair with blues and jazz at a very early age. By the time I was 13, I had joined the rockabilly movement of the time, and was trawling the local flea markets for records by the likes of Ray Charles and Slim Harpo, my hair in a high pony tail, wearing pedal pushers and ballet pumps.

Many years later in London, when writing my own songs, I realised how much Paris had influenced my music. As well as the blues and jazz I was consciously channelling, my subconscious was conjuring up sounds from where I grew up: the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, chanson like Edith Piaf’s, the beguine of the

French West Indies and the rai of North Africa heard on the Paris streets.

I had played with many outfits as a harp player and singer, but it wasn’t until 2009 that the first incarnation of the Florence Joelle band was assembled. I felt it was time for me to start my own band and get to grips with the songs I was writing. Percussionist and drummer Arthur Lager (Gallon Drunk / The Scientists) was recruited, followed by bassist Chris Campion (also a talented singer, songwriter and guitarist). Florence Joelle’s Kiss Of Fire (like the Louis Armstrong song) were soon busy playing London venues, as well as abroad, with the Micca Club in Rome one of the highlights. In 2010 my debut EP (a vinyl 7”) came out on Butterfly Records, followed by my first album Kiss Of Fire in 2011, on Zoltan Records, my own label named after a one-eyed tom cat I once had.

While my music echoes early blues and jazz, my lyrics are often socially conscious. 29 Bus Blues tells of an assault on a London night bus, while The God Of Things, written during the riots of August 2011, warns of the materialistic world. How Many Chickens Are You Missing Today?, a protest song composed on behalf of the thousands of Roma brutally expelled from France in 2010, was recently included on an compilation by Amnesty International. Others are more tongue-incheek, like Devil’s Overdraft (an ode to hangovers), and Stealing Flowers. I also like to pay homage to the musicians I admire, and my latest album features some of their songs: Louis Jordan’s Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby, Duke Ellington’s Caravan and Django Reinhardt’s Coucou (a tribute to my home town).

Joined by guitarist Paul Seacroft, in the spring of 2012, and Matt Jackson on snare drum and percussion, I felt ready to record again, and in late September, sessions began at Cable Street Records, an analogue studio in East London. In four days, we nailed down twelve songs, live and straight to lovely two-inch tape, using vintage microphones and valve amps. I have always loved the warmth of the recordings of the pre-digital era, and followed the analogue theme with the album cover, taken on a Hasselblad camera by photographic artist Jayne Taylor.

stealing f lowe R s is out now. www.flo R encejoelle.com

V erbals: F l O ren C e JO elle Visual s: Jayne t ayl O r

DOesN’t

aGO I trIeD a HarmONICa at a FrIeND’s HOuse, aND lIKeD It sO muCH I DIDN’t WaNt tO GIve It baCK! WHere Have YOu beeN all mY lIFe, I tHOuGHt…

thE plaNEtarY BluEs BaND

the band is completed by long time friend Nick Evans on drums. Although growing up in a family with great musical appreciation they didn’t hear much blues or jazz until Martin was exposed to it in seventh grade music class by an enthusiastic teacher. In eighth grade at the same time was Buddy Guy’s son who became friends and encouraged a love of the blues.

A first CD was recorded in 2002 containing mostly covers with three originals. The biggest influences were the British blues rock bands of the 60’s and Chicago bluesmen like Luther Allison, Jimmy Dawkins and of course Buddy. After a few years of gigging Martin’s writing and Michael’s guitar playing had evolved to a high level and the band started to focus on its own broader sound embracing the entire spectrum of blues.

Buddy has been a great friend and supporter

along the way and the band often play at Buddy’s famous Legends.

The bands goal is to write and interpret blues in a way that connects people to it in a meaningful way rather than thinking of it as a collection of clichés, to recognise blues as the heart and soul of most American music. The recent album Once Upon A Time In The South Loop is the first step in formulating that ethos.

As Martin told me, ‘ Much of what is considered blues is primarily concerned with the licks being played, while we do embrace and flaunt our love for the great guitarists blues is much more than a style of playing. Going forward, we are happy ‘connecting the dots’ so to speak, helping people who might not be aware of it, realise that they do in fact ‘have the blues.

f ind out mo R e at: www.planeta Ryblues.com

erbals: steve y O urgliv CH V isuals: J a C k H enley

e baND FOrme D Dur ING tH e summer OF 2001 bY brOtH ers martIN, bObbY aND mICHael sCHae Fer-m urraY

fraN mcGilliVraY

Verbals: Fran

mike and I have been playing mostly as a duo in recent times, enjoying the intimacy of this style and producing two CDs Restless and The Road that you Believe In, which have been very well received and were great fun to record.

Last year, we toured the UK as members of the Spikedrivers Blues Roots Revue and had such a ball that we decided to expand our sound a little. We’ve got together with Roger Nunn, the drummer

from our urban blues outfit ‘So Long Angel’ to form the Fran McGillivray Band. We’re loving playing as a trio, with Roger switching between full kit and djembe. We think we produce a highly distinctive sound, with lots of scope for dynamics, interplay and rhythmic improvisation. In addition to original songs, our live set features our take on songs by Little Walter, Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon, as well as numbers by some of the great women of the blues –Bessie Smith, Big Momma Thornton, Etta James and Memphis Minnie.

We’re really pleased with the new Fran McGillivray Band CD Some Luck, released in June 2013, which is made up mainly of original songs written by Mike and me, some featuring special guest Alan Glen blowing some great harmonica. The songs have a broad range of tones, textures and themes, but they’re all rooted in the music we love – the Blues.

fo R the latest news on fRan, check out: www.makuini.co.uk

We produCe a highly distinCtive sound, With lots oF sCope For dynamiCs

Gt’s Boos BaND

Gt’s bOOs baND Is a NO-HOlDs barre D eleCtr IC blues rOCK baND FrOm Ce Ntral sCOtlaND, le D

hooking up after a jam in late 2010 the duo embarked upon building the GT’s Boos Band electric blues project, whilst also performing an acoustic show. Experienced bassist David Atkinson and drummer Stephen Coetzee complete the line-up and provide the driving groove behind the Boos Band electric sound.

Early 2013 saw the band’s creative juices come to the fore and, drawing heavily on the somewhat colourful experiences of the youthful GT, they wrote their debut album Steak House. Their song, ‘What I’m Wishing’, appears on volume III of the critically acclaimed series of Scottish blues compilation albums, “Jocks Juke Joint”. ‘When we were asked to appear we were delighted and tried to be a little different, offering a ballad, not strictly blues until Johnno’s solo just kill’s it!’ Extensive airplay followed, in UK, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Denmark to name a few, including an appearance on Paul Jones’ show on BBC Radio 2. Steak House was nominated by readers of WasserPrawda magazine in Germany as ‘début release of the year’ for 2013. Netherlands blues DJ John van Lent has commented, ‘it’s a privilege to be able to broadcast such songs for you.’

In 2013 the band sold out Stirling’s Tolbooth Theatre twice, first with their Steak House album launch and then supporting blues legends Blues

‘N’ Trouble. Other notable performances include appearances at the Thornhill Music Festival, the Edinburgh Guitar & Music Festival and the Dundee Blues Bonanza. The band have exploded onto the scene in Scotland, working with established blues artists such as Gerry Jablonski, Paul Garner Band and Aynsley Lister. They continues to push ahead with the Steak House shows. Plans are already in place for a three day tour to the Netherlands on April 4th-7th and mini European tour for around October 2014 is in the pipeline too. The band also hopes to make inroads into the UK blues festivals, throughout the UK.

So, what’s Steak House really all about? According to GT, ‘It’s a bad-ass rocking blues account of my early 20’s! The ups and downs of a guy who’s having a hard time but finds the strength to sort it out and turn it round, albeit with some mad mishaps along the way! Ultimately, he finds solace in the blues.’ John Boos feels the very fact that GT has drawn from his own experiences has given the songs an even greater edge, ‘GT just sings it from the heart, every time!’ The title track is their tribute to legendary performer Howlin Wolf. This giant personality was one of the greatest performers.

f ind out mo R e about gt’s b oos b and news/gigs/ R eleases at www.gtsboosband.co.uk

V erbals: dun C an beattie V isuals: aM anda M O rgan

bY FrONtmaN Gre IG taYlOr aND leaD G u Itar Ist JOHN bOOs

thE CaJuN spECials

Dave eatOCK, aCCOrDIONIst, sINGer aND leaDer OF tHe CaJuN sPeCIals, reCalls, ‘arOuND 1990, a FrIeND Gave me a taPe OF aN album CalleD alY baIN meets tHe CaJuNs aND I Was HOOKeD!’

Cajun music was on the rise in the UK at the time and Manchester-based band “The Ragin’ Cajuns” were a source of inspiration and encouragement. I got together a few friends and armed with albums by Eddie LeJeune and Marc Savoy, and the tape, the band soon had enough material to start gigging.

In brief, there are two distinctive musical styles which derive from the French speaking communities of Louisiana. “Cajun” usually refers to the music of Frenchspeaking white people who trace their heritage back to Acadia and France, and “Zydeco” which has evolved from the increasing influence of blues and jazz into the music of the Creole French-speaking black people of Southwest Louisiana. One of the finest exponents of Zydeco music was Clifton Chenier, the “King of Zydeco” and a great blues player. His music has helped me to develop a sound for the Cajun Specials which combines my passion for Cajun and Blues. Having Martha John-Rose playing “frottoir” (rub board) really helps to drive the beat. Steve Landin (fiddle), Pete Attfield (guitar) and Tim Kerr (bass) complete our current line-up.

Together with members of another local band “The Eunice Bobcats” we have been running a Cajun jam session in Manchester on the last Tuesday evening

of each month for more years than I can remember. This serves as a means of promoting Cajun music, encouraging new people to come and play and introducing new tunes into a live rehearsal setting. Our gigs are generally local festival events, folk trains, parties and celebrations.’

Dave explains the appeal of Cajun music: ‘It’s impossible to listen to Cajun music without wanting to dance! The music was created for dancing. Cajun music has its own partner dance styles in the two step, waltz and jitterbug but you can do your own thing.’

The band has actually been seen by a huge national audience. ‘In November 2012 I got a call from the Shameless production team who needed a Cajun band to back a character who was to play the part of Lillian’s new boyfriend and was a squeezebox player with a Cajun band. I went to the studio to meet them and before I knew what was happening I was drafted in to play the part of the character. No need for make up or costume, I fitted the bill perfectly! It all seemed quite surreal. Anyway, apart from being a lot of fun it gave us the title for the CD, Shameless Cajuns.’

‘Like all bands, we’re on the lookout for more gigs. ‘Laissez les bon temps rouler!’

c heck us out at www.cajunspecials.co.uk o R find us on facebook

V E rb A ls: Darryl Weale

Americ A n singer, musici A n A nd origin A l Blues Brother, c urtis sA lg A do, h A d A

stell A r ye A r in 2013 with the reception for his l Atest A l B um s oul s hot.

w hen we spoke with c urtis he w A s working on his next A l B um

merican singer, musician and original Blues Brother, Curtis Salgado, had a stellar year in 2013 with the reception for his latest album Soul Shot. When we spoke with Curtis he was working on his next studio album.

We took advantage of a break and Curtis revealed good news so hot off the press it was still smoking. CS: We have finished one (new) song. My next album will have lots of original tracks. I’m with Dave Duncan, holed up in a hotel room for privacy. We’ve just finished a tune. I owe Alligator another record, it was due in on the 1st of July, but it will come out in 2015, once we’ve done a bang up job of promoting it. At my level you can’t put out a record, unless you’re Springsteen, at Christmas time. You just get killed, there’s lots of issues, like shelf space gets bought by the big labels. It’s a heavy game throwing out a record, and you want to create a buzz and create an audience.

Curtis is a real privilege to interview. As a young man, he educated John Belushi on the Blues. As a more mature man, a veteran of times with Robert Cray, Roomful Of Blues, and Santana, and a survivor of cancer, Curtis is even more than ever a musicologist, a deep, deep, mine of musical history and opinion. Let’s start with SoulShot.

Soul Shot has gone down well, with three Blues Music Awards. That’s five in my career. I like it, I know it’s good, it makes me happy. I know it’s good or the other guys in the band wouldn’t play on it. I recorded Clean Getaway with the same group, The Phantom Blues Band who play with Taj Mahal. That album was funky and Souly and Bluesy. It was a very positive experience. If we weren’t recording, we were laughing. It is just the best time I’ve ever had making a recording. Michael Finnegan on Hammond B3 is with Bonnie Raitt, has been with Crosby Stills Nash and Young, with Jimi Hendrix. Jimmy Pugh on piano has played with Robert Cray for twentyfive years, and with Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan. I say to them, I want to record an album, they go, “Hey, we’d love to, man.”

I’m totally happy, that’s what is important to me. It don’t sell unless I play it live. Thirty, forty copies at a show. What would help me more is to go on tour with somebody huge. Then I’d move some records. Records are calling cards these days.

Let’s look at Getting To Know You on SoulShot. That was a Parliament tune on their album The Clones of Dr Funkenstein. It has a disco feel. I heard it as more rocking it a little bit, wanted to soul it up with a Memphis backbeat groove. I took out half of the horns, to frame the vocals more. I play harmonica on it. We kept the piano idea pretty much the same, with the original Latin feel.

An interesting snippet of news for lovers of great vocals is that, like Johnny Rawls who venerated the late singer O.V. Wright with a whole album in RememberingO.V, Curtis has paid his respects on SoulShot.

Johnny Rawls? We’re hoping to do something together in a festival in Switzerland in 2015. We’re friends, I spoke with him last month. Remembering, that’s a rare O.V song.

What have Curtis’s own accumulating life experiences taught him? Those included some deeply challenging times, including life-threatening bouts of liver and lung cancer, at one point being told he had six months to live. Curtis received help from friends and people in music helped raise money for treatment. One might reflect a bit now, but I don’t want to moan about life. I wanted to fill up a coliseum and Rock it. I wanted to be huge. Surviving cancer, well, all of that, it just doesn’t seem important anymore. I am a high risk cancer guy. There are two things, negative and positive, and I try to be positive. It’s tough. We didn’t ask to be here and we’re here. It’s a tough place to be, let’s make it easier for each other. It just seems that a lot of stuff in life is petty and a waste of time. And as generic and saccharine as it sounds, it truly is all about love.

One thing Curtis tries to make easy, or at least very effective, is the production of his music. He coproduced Soul Shot. Curtis reflected, It’s thought out. I had it all planned. Picture me in a room daydreaming, its what I do. I get in a studio a year later, I know exactly what to do and let magic happen.

The producer’s job is to turn off the lights, to book the studio, set it up, book the right engineer, ensure people are paid. I’m involved in producing because once it goes out to the universe you can’t pull it back. I have to look out for myself. I need to be able to say; “It

stinks, it’s wrong, let’s do it again.” That’s what my job is as co-producer, it’s basically the music. There are a couple of songs from albums I wish I could do again.

In the studio, everyone’s producing, as here with Soul Shot, with four of my own songs on it. The thing is, everyone’s producing in a way, it’s a team effort. The one album I’ve produced is Nick David, his Oh Wow record, old New Orleans songs by Roy Milton, guitar player. I got the best out of him, he’s a good singer and songwriter. I know how to throw a band together... you there, you over there, working with people who really know how to play.

While this interview had been set up, Curtis had listened to some music from an emerging British singer, Laura Holland, in a recent Blue Blood section in BluesMatters!Curtis said of Laura: She’s got a great voice. I’d like to produce her. I love that she’s into the music, and the interview I heard with DJ Alan Hare. Here we’re real fucking serious about it.” We can vouch for that. During the interview, Curtis referred to some other musicians who are catching headlines as embarrassing and mediocre.

Curtis’ views on guitar playing are similarly interesting.

I don’t like the “my guitar wants to kill your family” kind of thing. There’s so much else

you can do. Lonnie Johnson, there’s a fucking guitar player. Not guitar where it seems every note has to be played. I like structured and crafted music. I have a funk guitar player, the man who produced all my records and is my mentor. He is a pioneer funk guitar player, who had a band called Pleasure. His name is Marlon McClain. He taught me solos don’t really sell hit records. Most people aren’t rushing out and buying records because of a solo, no matter what the instrument is. A good example is Steve Cropper. He is a really great rhythm guitar player. I think it’s just as important as a lead guitar player. Rhythm guitar’s the s**t. I think there’s nothing like a rhythm guitar.

However, what Curtis does do, and love, is the Blues, even if some of his career has found him more of a Soul man.

“I’ve only ever made one completely Blues album. It is whatever comes from the soul, I find the Blues in Beethoven, the Blues is a feeling, I like it all, especially low down Blues. The completely Blues album was Hit It ‘n Quit It. With a great guitar player, Terry Robb in Portland. He plays mostly acoustic AND knows all the Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf. Charlie Patton, etc. We made a record of all Blues songs, stuff people usually don’t do.”

What, then, is the advice of Curtis, musicologist and award-winner, to other Blues acts?

I would tell the other Blues acts, if are you going to play this music, to listen to all the Blues Masters, of the instrument you play. Really dig in and get the nuances. If you are a guitar player, listen to contemporary guitar players like Junior Watson, Nick Moss, Rusty Zinn, Kurt Fletcher and Kid Ramos. Of course, the great Duke Robillard. And if you are a singer, take singing lessons, learn to sing in pitch, and how the vocal chords work. Listen to the Masters like Nat King Cole, 0.V. Wright, Jimmy Rushing, James Carr, Wilson Pickett, Al Green, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder. If you’re female singer, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Big Mabel, Dorothy Love Coates, Shirley Caesar, Lavern Baker, Etta James, Betty Carter, Irma Thomas, Dakota Staton. For the harmonica, I listen to all the Blues Masters. You know the usual suspects, John Lee Williams, Rice Miller, Big Walter, Little Walter, George Harmonica Smith, James Cotton. Contemporary guys that I really like such as Paul Delay, Rick Estrin, Kim Wilson, Howard Levy, Jason Ricci, Carlos Del Junco, and Buddy Green. And the great Joe Filisko. I don’t play a lot of harmonica on my recordings. I don’t necessarily like to play it on every song. I think it takes away the power of the instrument. I think of it as a special seasoning to add a little more flavour to the show. Now I can play the shit out of a Harmonica, but not on everything. I think the listener gets tired of it. I know I do! Unless it’s in the capable hands of the people I mentioned. The harmonica can be a very annoying instrument. I’ve been blessed to stand next to the very best who play that instrument and I’ve learned a lot from every single one of them.

Who should BluesMatters!pay attention to?

Lloyd Jones, an immensely good songwriter. He is the Godfather of the Portland, Oregon Blues scene. Portland, Oregon has always been big on the Blues and has the secondlargest blues Festival in the US, right here in our fair city. Lloyd has been an essential part of that since the late 1960s. Delbert

McClinton loves him to death. Has him on the Legendary Blues Cruises. Delbert spotted him, he is a funky guitar player and songwriter. He has done stuff covered by Clarence Gatemouth Brown and I’ve covered a couple of his songs too. He goes unnoticed because there’s so much competition. I’ve been watching him since he was a teenager, he’s a friend, funky like a New Orleans player, a good drummer, a killer guitar player.’

But what of Curtis and his band?

Well, I have a five piece band. All the members sing and play their instruments well. We are able to cover all genres of music. That’s under the umbrella of Rhythm and Blues. So, the Blues, Soul, Funk, Rock ‘n’ Roll - you name it, we can do it. My plan is to take them into the studio. Along with the Phantom Blues band. I’ve been writing original material. We should have our next CD out by 2015. My band is Tracy Arrington from Seattle, Washington on bass; Vyasa Dodson on guitar; Brian Harris on keyboard; Brian Foxworth on percussion. Since most of our gigs are during the festival season, things get pretty weak after the month of October with not a lot of gigs. So we are rehearsing and working up songs and playing an occasional engagement. We will be playing the Legendary Blues Cruise in January, and also playing as a special guest on the Cruise.

Finally, Curtis likes the UK, A lot...

I’m one of the legions of musicians that love the UK. It’s just so hip there. Always cuttingedge and they’re always throwing our own music back at us that a lot of Americans have forgotten, in some form or another and doing it with a different twist. I’m only been there a couple of times and I dream of going back. I once heard a CD with this killer harmonica player/singer named Little George Sheriff. He played with a guitar player named Big Joe Louis. They were deadly. The real deal.’

Praise indeed, from one real deal to another.

f or the l Atest news on c urtis, go to www.curtiss A lg A do.com

M! has have secured a one-to-one meet with Wilko to talk over his music and his views on life, as usual, and as much as ever, he has me laughing out loud a good share of the time, such is his forthright stance on just about everything. Anyone who saw an early Dr Feelgood show or any under his own name will know that Wilko Johnson doesn’t do things by halves, when he hits the stage it’s Adrenalin Central, machine-gun guitar, swivelling head, possessed eyes et al.

The Whammy takes over Heading into Essex off the M25 Orbital Motorway, as ever it’s the fast-chugging Canvey Island R’n’B music that comes into my head; whilst it was prompted by Link Wray, the Pirates, the MC5, Chuck Berry, Larry Williams et al, it had its own drive and energy, some of the group’s singers were really good and just had that punchy authority that left the listener in no doubt that The Band Meant Business. And the electric guitar sparked everything into life, using spluttering, staccato clipped chords interspersed with twisted chords, clusters and fast-bent blue notes as the rhythm section thundered each number along and the vocalist hollered into the mike.

My route takes me past a hairdressers called ‘Blood Sweat & Shears’ and a tattoo parlour named ‘House of Pain’... class! In the relatively quiet part of town where Wilko resides I park and ring the doorbell. Mr Johnson has only just woken, once we each have a splendid mug of English Breakfast tea we start to talk many things Wilko. There have been a number of WJ interviews published over the past few days but they seemed to me to be mostly about anything but music. Time to put that right, if our man is amenable.

BM: The elephant in the room is clearly your current health problems. How are you coping with each day at the moment?

WJ: (Brightly) Well you know, Pete, I don’t have any health problems. I feel fit as a fiddle, this thing inside me is gonna, according to them, hit me in about four to five months. They say I’ve got less

than a year to live. And if they give me chemotherapy (laughs) it will stretch it out to a year. I didn’t really want that. What I did want to know was how long would I remain feeling fit? I’ve got no physical problems at all. I don’t feel ill.

I don’t feel weak or any of those things you get. When I first got the diagnosis just before Christmas I thought the first thing I wanna do is go to Japan cause I really like it there and I’ve been there a lot. And it was great. I got the opportunity to do two gigs out there, Kyoto and Tokyo. And we raised over twelve thousand pounds for the Earthquake Relief. So that was quite nice to do.

Was that with Norm and Dylan?

No it was with local musicians. People I knew. I was talking to Sonny Landreth recently and he was heading to Japan to do some gigs with Johnny Winter, so there is a great following for ‘our’ music. Well, I’ve always found it very successful there. Must have toured there about twenty five times now, since the mid eighties. We always go down well and it was, because of all the special interest, particularly well-attended.

There’s a poignancy to this, obviously because of your situation. But there is more to Japan than music, artistically and culturally it’s a fascinating place. I just really like it. I love the place and if you want a bit of tranquility, that’s your place. I really like the Japanese, they get the joke. Which I like. Quite often, many nations don’t.

There are parts of Europe, where I don’t think they get the Anglo thing at all. The Japanese love it. They embrace it. Now, I wanted to talk about the shows you intend to do soon in the UK. What’s in your head as you shape those up?

Well, I am taking things step by step. The doctors told me that although I’ve got nine or ten months to live, I’ve only got four or five being healthy like this. As soon as the sickness hits me I’m not gonna play and get up on stage. I would really rather people didn’t see me like that. And I don’t think I would be able to give a good show. So the first thing we did was to go to Japan and

that was a very good move, then when I get back from Japan we do a week of interviews, photographs and things. And we just started doing an album so I’m just hoping that I stay on my feet for these things. Early this month we are going to France for five gigs. These were already put in before the cancer business and first of all we thought do we keep them in, but I am feeling fit at the moment so we’ll do what we can. Having got that done, I just hope that I’m fit for the farewell gigs in England. Then I’ll be happy.

Well, that’s the peaceful resolution that you’re after on that front. You’re still saying you want to do a good show and that’s quite demanding, we know you never want to give an under par performance, indeed that’s a characteristic of yours. Why is it do you think that right from Feelgood days, the French have been so keen to follow what you’re up to?

I really can’t answer for them. I think people everywhere like rock’n’roll, if it’s well done. The French have some difficulty playing it but they do love listening to it.

That’s exactly right. There are some French outfits that I really rate highly. I think they’re better at

songwriting than performing edgy music. My relationship with you and your music goes back to when I was very young, I had some older friends who were rock’n’roll experts and took me to see Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and the one group of that era they liked that was new was Dr Feelgood. Were you aware of that at the time, that you had this appeal to the older demographic and your contemporaries?

Well, I think that one, we were young, plus I suppose I was, not entirely dominant, but I had a lot of sway in the musical direction of it. And what I had learnt to love was the rock’n’roll that you’re talking about. And the band too, so that’s what we wanted to do. It wasn’t very fashionable at the time. But we just loved it. So we just wanted to play it. We were like a local group for two years or something, just cause we wanted to play that.

We first saw you about May 75’ish at a pub called The Kensington and you used to play there at weekends, we would come up from Surrey and it was great because you had this attack. And you would maybe take a request or two in the break, I would ask for

Photo: © CMA

maybe a Coasters song or whatever, Larry Williams, and generally speaking you guys would put that into the next set. Which I thought was fabulous. No fancy sets or badgers heads or whatever was in at the time. You actually were quite stark against all the airy fairy stuff of the time.

Well that was part of it, the way we looked was at peace with the way we performed and the way we played, you know you could have dressed up in crushed velvet flares but it wouldn’t quite have worked. During this two years of playing locally, all that made us all the more defiant. We cut our hair short and started wearing suits and things and actually looking at the audience cause we wanted to. Also, we found that we got a reaction. We were playing good, but we were putting so much more into it so that it was more entertaining and people liked it.

The more you see you’re entertaining people, the more you do it. It just built up like that. Anybody who gets up on a stage wants people to react to them. With a rock band a positive way is like people dancing, and people laughing. I had this thing, when we started playing outside of London in the provinces, in front of a new audience the whole thing was kind of together then what we did. When we started playing, firstly people’s jaws would drop. They were thinking ‘what’s this?’ They were just a little bit shocked and then after a couple of numbers, you would see someone laugh; they got it.

Yes. It was almost cartoonish, is that what you mean? Absolutely! It’s amusing. People know that’s a guitar, its not a machine gun but they love when you ‘shoot’ them with it. It’s exactly the same feeling it’s like when you’re playing cops and robbers with your kids, ‘bang bang your dead!’ People love the game.

The intentional drama in the performance, two things here, when I first heard about you, but not seen you play, I bought a couple of singles of yours and I’d heard from other people in music you have to see these guys live. Make sure you do. So I did. And the first thing that struck me was this is akin to The Pirates and my favourite picture of you is this one here where you’re on stage with Mick Green. You’re yourself but you’re in the company of people who have obviously fired you up. How did you get on with Mick Green? Well, he was my hero all throughout my teens and then later on I got to meet him and of course then we were mates.

His sons now carry on the tradition. Playing the music that he wrote. Strangely, there’s a wonderful Pirates LiveinJapanalbum where they get a similar reaction. We worked in Japan with The Pirates a couple of times it was really good.

Would you say no Pirates, no Dr Feelgood?

In some ways, it would certainly have meant a different sound. If it hadn’t have been for Mick Green’s guitar playing, I don’t think I would have taken guitar playing so seriously. I really don’t.

i n pA rt t wo, w ilko tA lks AB out the mc5, the c o A sters, iA n d ury A nd pl Aying the guitA r. for more AB out the gre At wilko johnson c heck out: www. w ilko j ohnson.org

w ith group le A der k im s immonds AB out to tA ke sA voy Brown out on the ro A d once more in the us A nd e urope, plus A new live A l B um out, wh At B etter time for B m! to hook up with k im for A convers Ation AB out music A nd how he m A kes it

Kim and I had batted a few ideas about how we should approach this; would it be fun to have a question about each album released, or talk about favourite cuts and performances? But Kim isn’t one to rake over the past too much, and I’m always interested in what’s coming next, so what follows is two blokes talking about music with an odd dip into history. Had we spoken a day earlier or later, it might have been entirely different, but we both think fans may enjoy the exchange, and there’ll be more about this remarkable band later this year in Blues Matters!

BM!: Thanks for taking time out to talk to me again, I appreciate it. Now, I know you’re preparing for

some European dates, but what is happening to Mr. Simmonds over Christmas?

KS: Well we’ve got a couple of dates this month, and we actually have some prerelease copies of the new studio album, so we’ll be doing some shows this month and that’s kind of exciting because people will be able to buy pre-release albums, which is a nice thing for the fans, And, of course, exciting for us to have a new record out, so that’s THIS month. But, of course, Christmas looms, and everything kind of shuts down until next year when the new album gets its release and we go out on dates to promote it and do what we do on a steady run of gigs throughout the year. It’s always a bit more

V E rb A ls: Pete Sargeant Visu A ls: Jim Summaria

exciting when you have a new collection of tracks out, because it’s so fresh to perform them, you know?

I understand entirely because if an author is creating a series of books it’s always great to add say number seven to one to six and extend your output. And albums are chapters in your life. Yeah it could be. I’ve never thought of it in that way. I know that my Facebook guy is prodding me for some memories re. the past albums, and it did occur to me that this may be a good kind of ‘skeleton’ to write a book; people always say ‘You should write a book’ and I haven’t really been inclined to want to do that. I’ve had various ideas on how to approach it if I DID do it. I was kind of waiting till was older, but (laughs) I’m 66 now, how much older am I going to get? Anyway, that’s one approach to it, to take it album-by-album. ‘Cos you’re right, it signifies the chapters in my life.

I know your school of thought is you’re aware of the past, but you don’t want to live in the past, is that fair?

I think so, I just read a Rolling Stone article with Paul McCartney, and interestingly to me, no he doesn’t want to live in the past. At the same time he was saying he still wants to be aware of what he’s done, who he is, because otherwise, well how and when are you going to enjoy that moment? To me, that was a very interesting comment. I have not been interested in the past because it can drag you down in a hurry and there’s nothing more boring than someone taking about their past all the time, it just doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t want to be one of those people.

There’s a tendency to really stop you from moving forward, but McCartney had a good point there, you do have to enjoy your history and I think I do. I’m happy to include some older songs in shows and I enjoy the time periods; there’s a lot of skeletons in the closet, here and there. In everybody’s past, and I think that if you view it like that then the regular person might just understand how difficult it is at times to re-visit the past. If I wrote a book, you see, and I was really truthful, there’s events in my life that are

Garnet Grimm

kind of entirely private, and I haven’t let them out, this against the thought that if you write a book perhaps you should let those out, but again that’s really what’s stopped me from writing a book, part of me doesn’t want to.

Dylan says that about his main downer period, which produced Blood On The Tracks. Bob says why do people seem to love that awkward era of mine so damn much? But you listen to Tangled Up In Blue the mood of it rather than the lyric maybe and you can’t get a more affecting piece of music, summarising his state of mind then. I had this kind of conversation with Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds and he doesn’t like the group to be regarded as an oldies act. If you know Jim, he writes all the time. We settled on the notion that the Yardbirds should be a contemporary performing act with a history. Right! Well, what you’ve got to do is, we can talk about it as artists as much as we want, I agree with both of you, I’m a big Yardbirds fan and I always will be. Yes that’s true and then you’ve got to ‘prove’ you have it to make the records, play your music and show people that you ARE contemporary. There’s no doubt that when I die, they’ll say ‘Kim Simmonds, 1960s Blues Guitarist’ simple as that, I may have done a zillion things since then, but that’s what it’s gonna be!. You are what you are, right out of the box. And if you come out and make your mark, that’s great. That’s what you’ll be remembered for and for those of us that did get established, whatever, let’s be grateful.

I saw the Magic Band playing Beefheart music on Sunday night and the room was full of all ages, both sexes, international, the group was elated because there it was; living, breathing, dynamic electric music. It’s no good Kim Simmonds being good LAST night, for THIS night’s audience, you have that pressure, don’t you? (WetalkabouttheSongs From The Road set.It’sfulloforiginalmaterial,plussome versions,andit’ssurelythisthatgivesSavoyBrown itsowncharacterandidentity).

I think it is indeed important for the band throughout the years that I have had a strong input, the times that I haven’t are,

I think, the times when it hasn’t been very good, so I have to uphold my end of the bargain. But there have been many times that I have brought people in who were writers, because I like the songs and I have always been interested in songs. If I couldn’t write the songs, I brought somebody in who could write the songs. It’s all about that. See, for the Voodoo album and the live one, I was quite happy for Joe Whiting to write some of the material with me. It’s about making it as good as possible and have everyone providing input. It’s always good throughout the years, if I do push myself and I do write all that is used. I can’t be a bystander in my own band, then it doesn’t work.

It seems to me that you’ve had some rather good writers alongside you in Savoy Brown; Andy Sylvester and you wrote some cracking numbers didn’t you? Well Andy was fantastic, a really good arranger actually. He would work hard with Dave Bidwell and they would come up with these cool parts. I’d come along with my songs and Andy was able to arrange a lot of the material which was very good. You need people in the group who are going to contribute. Andy was important in that era.

You had a really nice vibe going with Nathaniel (bassist and singer.)

Nathaniel was wonderful, we had great fun together in the 90’s, I think we only made one album, a shame, I think we couldn’t quite settle a drummer for so long, we were such a tight duo that it proved difficult to find, it was only when Tom came in that it clicked. Now he’s one of the best drummers I have ever worked with, and so at that point it was: “Oh wow, now we have it all connected. And we went in to do that album, a lot of fun, couldn’t have made it without Tom, I don’t think. It’s incredible when you come up with a song and you take it along and you say ‘this is how it goes.” Then straight away the drummer has it PERFECT ! you know what I mean? Had I recorded that album in my

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studio though, it would have been better. The demo from my studio was more relaxed.

Where you score as a live performer is that you can do the ‘light and shade’ thing very well, a Savoy Brown show never was all blasting, and not all gentle; it’s a journey between the two. That’s very interesting. I have always thought blues should be an orchestral music in presentation. and if you listen on Getting To The Point the song Mr Downchild, if you are familiar with that one?

Of course I am! I was down the front watching you and Youlden work the magic! It builds and builds up. It’s a crescendo, just like a piece of classical music.

Like Ravel’s Bolero! Exactly! So I had picked up on that when I heard the blues, the orchestral element; those kind of dynamics, I have two people inside of me... The guy who wants to be poetic and all that, and the guy who wants to rock out and make the sparks fly, the guy who wants to rock out and show you his emotions. I’m not

too keen on him cos obviously I’m opening myself up. But most people seem to like that side of me better perhaps? I don’t know.

If I can interject, I like Solitaire a lot. Oh do you? Ah well there you go, I have those two things, they fight within me, the problem being I can’t get too refined as then I lose all attack. I forget completely to attack the guitar. In the old days, some folk would GOAD me, in the studio, so that I would play with fire, or I would get too laid back. And even today I am inclined that way, I have to push myself to get that edge, that fire going. I think it’s probably that battle going on within me that likely everybody has at times. But to take your point it may be that that will make a live performance interesting. I am constantly thinking as I am playing, critiquing myself; ‘Why did I do that ? What the hell am I doing? The crowd have no idea, of course, what’s going on in my head.

But isn’t that happening sometimes with other

players in your league? Harvey Mandel, who like you has great range, his solo records have lyrical moments galore, yet he can go out there and rock it up with Canned Heat. The attack isn’t freaky. No, I don’t doubt that for one minute. You’re absolutely correct, you don’t have to be a guitar player to experience the extremes thing, everybody has that in their personalities, I’m certainly not alone here, no. I’m letting you know what I know.

On Harvey Mandel yes, knowing his styles, yes I’m sure he has that slight conflicting thing as well. I think it’s something that we all experience and with me, I have the platform to be an exhibitionist to the extent that I want to be.

In Part Two, in a future issue, with the conversation still rolling along nicely, we discuss what Savoy Brown means to many of us players and listeners, other band members, and a slide player who has influenced Kim; and maybe not one that you might readily guess.

songs from the roAd is out now on ruf records And feAtures A live cd And live dvd

SAvOy bROWN ON TOUR IN 2014

JANUARY 2014

17 Auburn, CA, USA Auburn Event Center

18 Santa Cruz, CA, USA Moe’s Alley

20 San Fran., CA, USA House of Blues Radio Hour

21 Oakland, CA, USA Yoshi’s

23 Las Vegas, NV, USA Boulder Station

24 San Juan, CA, USA Coach House

25 San Diego, CA, USA Ramona Mainstage

FEBRUARY 2014

15 Orlando, FL, USA Shows Alive at Holy Smoke

16 Clearwater, FL, USA Sea-Blues Festival

18 Indiatlantic, FL, USA Lou’s Blues

19 Lake Worth, FL, USA Bamboo Room

MARCH 2014

08 Annapolis, MD, USA Ramshead

14 Pawling, NY, USA Towne Crier

15 Jim Thorpe, PA, USA Mauch Chunk

Opera House

28 Pittsburgh, PA, USA Moondogs

02 Erie, PA, USA Perry Highway Hose

APRIL 2014

12 Syracuse, NY, USA Palace Theatre

25 Berlin, Germany Frannz Club

26 Weinheim, Germany Central 27 Bonn, Germany Harmonie

29 Verviers, Belgium Spirit of 66 30 Zug, Switzerland Zug

MAY 2014

JUNE

FEBRUARY 2015

19-23 Ft.Lauderdale-Bahamas Rock Legends Cruise

Pat Desalvo

Goldie’s eponymous debut album was released in 2012 and hinted at the quality that was starting to develop, but she’s come a long way since then and when I spoke to her, she was working hard on a new EP of songs intended to be a precursor to a new album in 2014. We think she’s one to watch this year.

BM: Hi Goldie, it’s lovely to get to speak to you. Shall we start by talking about the EP you’re currently working on? How’s that all going?

GR: Yes, its going well thanks. I’ve been recording with Paul Rippengal on guitar and Peter Bennie on bass at Paul’s place. Originally we were going to record a full album but it was suggested that we do an EP to show where we’re at and see how that’s received. It’s just about ready but there’s one track on it called I Will Build You A House, that we just want try to add something a little different to and try out some new ideas, so it shouldn’t be too long now.

When do you think it will be available?

We really hope mid to late January. One of the things we want to try is adding a string

quartet to one of the songs so it’s about getting that organised and seeing if it works and whether it needs changing again, but I’m sure no later than that.

Is the new material going to be similar to the debut album?

On that album there was quite a mix of styles going on, I think the new material we’re doing now is more cohesive. There’s a couple of chilled numbers, a couple of higher tempo and a real riff-based blues number. It’s very bluesy with an Americana vibe going through it I would say. Its got a more cohesive feel to it all, I personally feel I’m finding myself a lot more now.

Do you feel more confident now about the whole process?

I feel much more confident now about my ability as a songwriter. On the debut mostly Paul would play a guitar part and I would come up with something to work around it. Now I’m coming up with ideas of my own. I’m primarily a vocalist so I didn’t think I’d

rb A ls: Steve y ourglivch

Visu A ls: Dale Week S

g oldie r eed is pA rt of A n exciting new B reed of young A rtists performing within the B lues circuit, encompA ssing A ll kinds of roots music into her B lues to cre Ate A tA sty A m A lg A m of sounds

reach the stage of being able to write like that. The new stuff feels very organic to me and I’m very confident about it and very proud of it. Like I said before, this time we’re recording it ourselves whereas before we were in a very nice studio but I was new to recording and felt self-conscious but that’s gone this time.

I’m looking forward to hearing it. I enjoyed the first album, there were a couple of tracks Fall From Grace and Pay Per View, that were a bit more up tempo that I loved.

Yes, there’s some really delicate songs on that and it’s nice to add some light and shade. On the EP, I Will Build You A House is really delicate but there are others that balance it. When we play live people come up after and say ‘we really loved the mellow numbers’ but others say ‘we loved the up tempo stuff.’

I think they just dove-tail together so well, its brings balance. That’s it, I think the combination on the EP work really well together. The songs are different but there’s a thread running through it. We’ve got other things written that we’re saving. I’m very interested to hear what people think when it comes out.

Your appearance at Blues On The Farm this year really seems to have given your profile a huge lift. I heard several rave reviews. Yeah that was amazing. One of people who has given us huge support is David Migden, he has helped introduce us to lots of people. I’d seen Jo Harman at Blues On The Farm previously and she just blew me away, when I mentioned that to David he started the process that led to us getting to play there. It was a huge step for me, we were very nervous but we all got a good response. Everybody was so supportive, obviously it’s a blues festival and we’re not just strictly blues so I wasn’t sure how we’d be received but it was great. The reviews have been brilliant, I couldn’t have asked for more. I think its great how the blues people all support each other, it’s a real community feel, so much more than anywhere else. I was made to feel so welcome.

So, second album, do you think that will happen later in the year?

Yes, there will certainly be a second album. I’m writing all the time, Paul bought me an acoustic guitar for Christmas so now it feels very natural to pick that up and create ideas on it.

The writing’s really picked up now. I’ve got some ideas floating around that I can’t wait to see how they develop once the band start working with them. There’s one that I think could have a real Led Zeppelin type rock sound. I’m a big fan of T.Bone Burnett and his recording style, he gets a real atmospheric texture going on and I want to try and achieve that.

I don’t know how well known T.Bone Burnett is in the UK but he has a massive reputation in the US as a producer.

Yeah, I absolutely love his work on the Raising Sand album with Robert Plant. He’s done some work with Civil Wars too, he has a way of putting his stamp on something in a very discreet way. He would be my dream producer.

You mentioned Americana earlier, and it does seem like there are more bands now starting to put together an almost British version of Americana. A kind of movement, do you sense that?

Yeah, its funny, we recently did a session with Dave Raven and he mentioned that as well. I can now see that but hadn’t thought of it before. Dave Midgen has been a big influence on me as an artist. Something interesting and exciting does seem to be happening.

I hope that does continue. I just write whatever comes out, its really organic, I never sit down and think I want to sound like any particular person.

It’s very easy for artists to get pigeonholed these days, but you take elements of lots of different styles of music and blend them together. I think that’s a nice way to do it. When we play live people say you sound like this artist or that one. Alison Krauss is a common one, or Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell and John Martyn too.

Well, they are all legends, not bad people to be compared to.

It’s wonderful but at the same time a bit daunting. When I was growing up I absolutely loved Eva Cassidy, she really makes songs her own.

I think when people make those comparisons it’s as much about the emotional content as the voice. I’ve always tried to write songs that are about subjects that have happened to me or I’ve seen happen. Recently I’ve been taking myself out of those situations and writing as if I’m someone else looking in. I’ve found it really therapeutic. The song I Will Build Your House is really emotional to me. Its very personal and inspired by someone I lost last year, I hope that comes across in the song.

Do you write all of the lyrics?

Yes, I write all of the lyrics and the melodies. On the EP all of the chord structures are mine. I take them to the boys and we play around with it from there.

I know you’ve been with Paul a long time now and you mentioned Peter, is that a full time band now? Paul is always part of the band and Pete when we can, he’s in great demand and always busy. We have a guy called Jim on drums and sometimes Billy Jupp plays guitar. He’s worked with us in another band called Silver Laces and is a really good friend.

Are Silver Laces still something that’s happening?

I’d like to do more with it, it’s so much fun and nice to have another vocalist to harmonise with. We wrote something like eight songs in ten days and started to record but it’s got put on hold while I’m doing the solo stuff.

Any plans yet for next year regarding touring or festivals?

I’d love to do more touring and festivals. We’ll put the EP out first and then hopefully more will come from that. Festivals are a great way of discovering nice new music for people. Uckfield festival is one that seems likely for us. To be honest we’ve been overwhelmed by the support out there.

the ep i will Build your house is due out on f e B ru A ry 3rd. c heck out more At www.goldiereed.com

et Danny Kyle has been quietly gaining credentials and followers for his solo acoustic Blues guitar work. The high point of Danny’s progress was announced in the last issue of BluesMatters! where he was named second equal (with Stan Webb) and behind no less than Eric Clapton in the Guitarist section of the BluesMatters! Writer’s poll 2013. Danny was also marked as ‘In with a shout’ for Solo Artist of the Year.

So, now would be a good time to speak to the man of the moment.

What are your thoughts on achieving a second place to a legend and a near miss in another category of our Writer’s Poll?

Well, it took an awful lot of rummaging under the fridge before I finally located both poppedout eyeballs! It was a bit of a shocker, as I imagine it is for many of your readers. I guess the two albums I recorded last year coupled with a bit of honest-to-God networking has won me some very useful friends who are now helping to further my cause. Now the news has finally sunk in, I’m over the moon! Which is no mood to play the blues in at all.

What is life like for a solo artist, by definition having yourself to rely on?

Oh, a nightmare! If you had to rely on me, you’d understand my predicament. Seriously, it’s hard going most of the time. I’m rubbish at all that extra stuff musicians are expected to do these days, self-promotion, website building, constant Facebook and Twitter updates. Even just the simple act of phoning

around for gigs can bring me out in a rash. Couple this with my obsessive compulsion to constantly play guitar and there are months sometimes when nothing gets done at all. I’m exaggerating of course, but you get the idea.

Financially, apart from a lucky few, it’s very difficult for musicians to get by these days, but I teach guitar for three days a week, which gives me a more regular wage. Although I’m still always kicking myself to the mantra ‘must find more work, must find more work’.

Musically, playing as a solo artist is wonderfully liberating in the sense that I can mess things up a bit without worrying about the drummer or bass player. Of course I don’t mean making mistakes; rather messing with phrasing, timing, meter, dynamics; the sort of stuff you would otherwise have to rehearse. I guess I’m just trying to play in a similar vein to the artists that really do it for me - Patton, McTell, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James, Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside. A good song, a tapping foot, an acoustic guitar and I’m in heaven.

How do you find the confidence to believe in yourself?

I don’t know. It comes and goes for me. I’m not naturally confident and I doubt myself a lot of the time. If you are asking where the confidence comes from to keep persevering, then I guess I’d have to tell you I have no choice, I love acoustic blues and I’m an avid guitar player. W.T.F. else am I gonna do? If you refer more to performing or playing confidence then I guess I just have what I have. I’ve breezed through some soldout gigs where you can hear a pin drop and been locked-up in boozers with two blokes and a dog! There is no rhyme or reason for this, as far as I can tell. I just try to be myself. The more relaxed I am, the better the gig.

Provide an introduction to each of your albums to date. How have you progressed each time?

Blimey, Okay. I recorded Easy Street in 2001, almost just for fun. It’s more a showcase

than an album but it did start to get me out there and also hooked me up with the Blues Corporation. Basically, I went to see Nicky Moore for some vocal advice and we ended up as great mates with me playing acoustic guitar in his band. Playing the clubs and festivals with Nicky was a great introduction to the dark art of gigging! The band recorded Hog On A Log in 2004 and spent a good bit of time taking that on the road. This marked the beginning of mine and Nicky’s writing partnership.

In 2011, after some teething problems, I managed to sputter out my next solo effort; Wood’n’Strings. I recorded this album at Mike Thorne’s Rimshot Studio (before the face-lift) and I adore the sound quality. However, it was a little tainted for me; there were issues and problems I won’t bore you with here. Having said that, I learned some hard lessons (usually the best ones) and am just pleased to have actually finished it at all.

And this year I released two more offerings; The Whale & The Wa’ah which is a duo album with Nicky Moore, hopefully seeing our writing partnership flourish and Rag’n’Bone Blues, my latest solo CD. It’s early days with these, but things are looking good. Myself and Nicky are working as leisurely as his general health will allow and I’m doing much more to try to promote myself, which would appear to be finally paying off (he says, crossing fingers!). My songwriting and general musicianship continue to improve and there is much more character to these latest albums. Don’t be misled by the title; there’s still quite a variety of styles on offer; as much early folk, jazz and modern tracks as out-and-out blues. Apart form a couple of covers on The Whale & The Wa’ah and Easy Street, it’s all original material.

Nicky and I go way back, we’ve been good mates for over a decade now. It takes a brave and slightly daft man to enter into a collaboration with him! And that slightly daft man is me. For various reasons Nicky’s band, The Blues Corporation, began to run out of

steam. Nicky’s health wasn’t the greatest and being on the road was far from ideal. However, we had some songs there that we didn’t want to lose and the decision was made to record them as an acoustic duo; his guitar and my voice. No, wait that would be terrible - I mean his voice and my guitar! Most things with Nicky are a good chuckle and we had fun recording the album with his old mate Bernie Torme at Barnroom Studios. The resulting album is certainly an interesting listen and I would suggest the title track is the worlds first Prog-Folk-Blues-shanty!

I already have most of the tracks for the next album and this one really will be out-and-out blues. I just need a Sugar Mama to step in with some financial support! Preferably a five foot six brunette...

Who have you most enjoyed being on a bill with and why?

Oh man, er, there’s loads. Watermelon Slim was great fun; he’s nuts, in a brilliant way. I supported Ben Andrews when he was still with us (it was actually my first and most terrifying blues club gig). Now there was a player who could really breathe life into that old Delta vibe. I’ve recently opened for Ian Siegal, Steve James; just awesome, awesome players!

Have you met any of the people who mean most to you in music?

I only wish I could. They are all actually quite dead. I sometimes imagine what it would be like to gather a handful of legends; Charlie Patton, RJ, Leadbelly, not forgetting the women, maybe Geeshie Wiley and Bessie Smith, for some kind of Last Blues Supper. Of course, it’s not long before my imagination turns it into some Monty Python-esque chaos! “He’s not a bluesman, he’s a very naughty boy!”

Joking aside, I have spent time with Mike Dowling in Wyoming studying American Roots guitar. It’s an honour to call him a friend. Mike plays with a charm, style and class that can’t be beat. A true musicians’ musician. He’s been a huge influence on me and I can always find room for one or two of his masterpieces in my set; his brilliant Bottleneck March is often a show-stopper!

you c A n discover more AB out dA nny kyle’s: www.d A nnykyle.com. for kyle & m oore inform Ation: www.kyle A ndmoore.com

V E rb A ls: Darryl Weale

there is more to Blues in n orth Americ A th A n the us A. step forw A rd, d ownchild. d onnie wA lsh is “m r d ownchild”, the founde r’n’Be Ating he A rt of d ownchild, A cA n A di A n group th At stA rted pl Aying in 1969 A s the d ownchild Blues B A nd

amed after a Sonny Boy Williamson song, Downchild have produced many knock-out, upbeat Blues albums. Their latest release, Can You Hear The Music, is another triumph. The word upbeat definitely matches Downchild’s music. They are a good-time band, a reminder that Blues performers can create the euphoria required to banish the Blues.

Donnie loves taking a stand for Blues party music and the tradition it stems from. “I’m not from Mississippi and I’m not from Chicago. I still have a strong audience, but not Muddy Waters fans! My music is jumpy and up-tempo and has dance in it. When people first started playing the Blues, the professionals played house parties, so they knew how to play upbeat music. You can’t play slow at a party. Shake your Money Maker, Got My Mojo Working, that’s what music is about, everybody cutting loose. Saturday night music. What people want is music to dance to, and with lyrics and musicians to listen to if they’re not dancing.”

Appropriately for this issue of Blues

Matters!, Donnie and the Downchild have their own place in the history of the Blues Brothers. Notably, among the guests on Downchild’s last but one album I Need A Hat, is Dan ‘Elwood Blues’ Aykroyd. So, it was a real pleasure to talk to Mr Downchild. We started at the beginning, by asking Donnie about his Blues roots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a party was involved.

fINDING THe bLUeS

“I got into the Blues at a girlfriend’s birthday party when I was sixteen and she was turning fourteen, Ellen Davidson. I’d thought she was turning fifteen. I went to her house. There was one of those Blaupunkt record player cabinets there that would take two guys to lift it. This was three weeks after Beatlemania came to Canada, girls just wanted to play the Beatles She Loves You all the time, but these three big guys stood around the record player all night and played the double album Jimmy Reed Live at Carnegie Hall. It wasn’t live and

it wasn’t at Carnegie Hall. They’d recorded it, but apparently screwed up the live recording. So they took a bunch of his 45’s and just made a double album. This was when an album would be ten songs – one disc of five 45’s. There was no Beatlemania in that house, that night. Jimmy Reed’s music just killed me. I was learning to play guitar and after that night took up harmonica also.’

“I started out playing at a little club, Grossmans, on the west side of Toronto, on a main street, Yonge Street. At the Colonial Tavern, Blues and Jazz artists came in all the time, big acts. It was a six nights a week club. There was a matinee Saturdays, everybody played there. It was packed out, jammed. People played like Jimmy Smith, Earl ‘Father’ Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, with George Benson on guitar before he was George Benson. Muddy Waters played there twice a year for several years, showed how hard it must have been for him at home. Also Howlin’ Wolf, James

Cotton, Willie Dixon and others you wouldn’t expect. John Littlejohn, he had an album back in those days that was roughshod but great. Otis Rush, he came out into the middle of the dance floor, played If I Had A Hammer for half an hour. Unbelievable, everybody went nuts! He was something else. It was there that I met James Cotton. I played Grossmans eight pm to eleven pm. When that shut down, I zipped downtown for the last show at the Colonial Tavern.

Donnie recalls, “Our first record on radio was Flip, Flop and Fly. When we were on tour across Canada going to places we’d never been before, one was Calgary, Alberta. We played one of the upper scale clubs and it packed every night for six nights a week! We saw people we’d never seen before. The crowd weren’t there because we were cute, it was because we had a hit song on the radio.”

A bLUeS bROTHeR

Downchild were active when Dan Aykroyd was in Toronto, with the Second City Comedy Troupe. Donnie recalls, “I played a lot of clubs. Gilda Radner of the Second City Comedy Troupe was a ticket taker at the front door of one then, even before she was on stage. Dan used to come down and see my band. He got off eleven, eleven-thirty, we played till two a.m., so he came over to see the band. He hooked up with Belushi later.”

“The place, El Mocambo, was an upscale theatre and later Rock and music venue and more. The place became famous, The Rolling Stones played there. Dan and I became friends. He sat in with Downchild, on occasion. I’ve played with him and James Belushi, who are now the Blues Brothers, a couple of times since.”

“Dan ran a booze can, which was an illegal after hours drinking club at 505 Queen Street East. At one time, liquor laws meant Ontario bars closed at one a.m. When that moved to two a.m later on, that mostly put the kaibosh on speakeasy’s that allowed drinking later than one a.m. When I went to the Club 505, we would sit around drinking until five or six a.m. We were friends, buddies and we’d shoot the shit at the booze can and hang around listening to the Blues.”

“I put him onto our music. He already knew about the Blues. Dan picked up some stuff from me in his playing like I picked up

Donnie walsh anD ChuCk JaCkson

from James Cotton, like how to lead and front a band from watching him at the Colonial Tavern. Dan was excited by my whole band. I had some great players around that time. Jane Vasey for instance, beautiful and talented, a great boogie woogie pianist. We were on the Peter Appleyard show, he played with Benny Goodman. Look it up on You Tube. Then we had my brother Hock, a fabulous Blues singer. His nickname came from when we climbed on a house roof for a band photo. Hock was pretty heavy and couldn’t come back down and he had his nickname from then. I wonder if seeing my brother and I play when I was thin and Hock was a lot bigger, it put in Dan Aykroyd’s mind the thought of a comedy duo like that fronting a Blues band.”

SHOTGUN bLUeS

“The song Shotgun Blues from the Blues Brothers, my brother Hock wrote the words, I wrote the music. I can tell you how he wrote it. We were in the recording studio working on our second album. The first one we were in a basement storage room under a high rise building, but for the second one, this was a pro studio, we had Flip, Flop and Fly on the album, which was a big hit. Shotgun Blues, we’d been playing the song a long time, Hock making up the words every night! Outside the studio in a waiting room there was a ping pong table. Hock went to the ping pong table, stood there, wrote the words, and sang it in about ten minutes. The lyrics had been different every night until then. Just like Sonny Boy Williamson and others would sing a song and on a recording of the same song in 1953 and 1958 there might be an extra or different verse in the latter version. Maybe he hadn’t played the song in a long time and had forgot some of it, I know I’ve done that.”

“I heard the Blues Brothers for the first time on Saturday Night Live. My publisher told me there would be two of my songs on their first album. That’s always a really nice compliment. I thought it would be big, but not as huge as it became. I saw the Blues Brothers in concert some place they didn’t know I was in the audience. When Dan does “Almost”

he talks about me and my band. I thought, “Holy shit, how neat is that?” That’s Aykroyd, that’s him, always helping out. In the films all the Blues guys they had play as guests were incredible.”

“I met Matt Murphy in a music conference in Cannes, France. It was pretty funny, I took my bicycle on the airplane. Landed on a beautiful day in Nice and rode about thirteen miles to Cannes. I got there, rode into the town square. As I rode in there was a TV lady from a TV station in Toronto. She was on the air, broadcasting. I rode up beside her while she was talking. She wasn’t expecting me there, even more so on a bicycle. I met Booker T and the MG’s there. I knew Matt Murphy from before, in the James Cotton band. He is an unbelievable guitar player.”

“At Niagara Falls – on the US side – we played a festival that a buddy of mine runs. Four years ago I played with Matt Murphy, Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins and Willie Big Eyes Smith. Next year I played again, Pinetop was gone, Hubert was gone, Big Eyes was gone. Matt Murphy had suffered a stroke.”

DOWNCHILD CONTINUeS

These days, Donnie carries on, playing guitar and harmonica, while with brother Hock sadly passed away, Chuck Jackson takes vocal duties.

How does Donnie keep going, playing on after nearly 8000 gigs and 44 years?

“That’s how I make my money! Audiences get better and better and show more appreciation. We play a lot of concert halls and people stand, scream and clap and yell, like it’s the Beatles, but for adults. At show autograph sessions we talk a bit and see old fans from years gone by. It’s better now than when it was good! We’re always recording, and we sound like a band. A friend once said to me when he’d heard a song new to him on the radio, ‘That’s Downchild’, which is great – Downchild sounds like Downchild.”

Our suggestion? Get some Downchild and hear for yourself. Then party!

turn to pA ge 80 for even more B lues B rothers. you c A n discover more AB out downchild At www.downchild.com

t’s also a story that has a long way to go still before Kaz reaches her full potential and achieves her dreams. I have every confidence she will, but first lets start with the here and now.

Kaz has just released her solo EP, Better Days, four emotion filled tracks that simply have to be heard. Full of controlled power, range of feeling and incisive lyrics that connect with the listener and hold you spellbound. As well as the title track, I Saw A Man, Because You Love Me and Sleep In Peace have been hand picked to showcase the transition from Kaz’s previous persona as front woman of the highly successful Mama Kaz Band to quality recording artist rooted in gospel and jazz tinged blues.

I’ve been speaking to Kaz over the last few months since she made the tough decision to leave Mama Kaz and change direction, and I caught up with her again via phone from her Belfast base, following the EP release to find out how things are going.

“Things are going well. The EP is getting really good feedback. We still plan to release a full album not too far into the new year. We’re trying really hard to put a tour together, here in Northern Ireland, Dublin and on the mainland. I feel the EP succeeds in cementing the new direction I want to go in.”

When we’d spoken previously the plan had been to record an album using Belfast’s top session players but this proved costly and unwieldy so Kaz is in the process of surrounding herself with a bright young band.

“I’m really lucky to have Robb Montomery on board, a really talented young keyboard player, Nick McConkey on guitar just gets better and better. Paul Consiglia is our drummer and I’m in the process of finding the right bass player who wants to commit to this project long term. We’ve been playing a residency at The Europa Hotel which as well as introducing us to a different audience has been embedding the band together. The songs have been developing organically.”

And what songs they are, Sleep In Peace is a showstopper, it just has such authority. I admit to Kaz that I Saw A Man is my personal favourite at the moment.

“Well, I guess that song is my first story song, and it is based on fact. It’s about a man I met in London when I was pretty down myself. He had been a millionaire working in the Stock Market and he just reached a point where he left his wife, told his kids to make their own way and gave it all away to charity.

V E rb A ls: Steve y ourglivch Visu A ls: t ri S h Sem P le

He was content just him with his dog. He taught me never to take anything for granted.”

Don’t get the idea though that the new Kaz material is only ballads or melancholy. When the album comes out there will be a mixture of styles.

“It will be an exploration of my new song writing but lots of gospel based blues, I want to bring back the kind of blues that make people just stand up and dance like it used to be. I’ve got a track called Get Ready that will do that and some other real deep blues stuff. Real Koko Taylor type things.”

Lets go back a bit and learn some of the history. Kaz had fronted The Mama Kaz Band for ten years mostly performing around Belfast and they became a big attraction and popular act. Kaz admits it was crazy at times, all action racing about on stage, high energy rock and blues numbers with several covers mixed in. Variously described as ‘A Vocal Force’ and ‘Blues Powerhouse’ gives you the picture.

“It reached a point where I thought where can I go now? Don’t get me wrong I loved doing it, I’m not ashamed of my history and Mama Kaz was very good to me, but I wanted to progress as a songwriter, to express my own personal blues.”

Moving away from Mama Kaz was a massive decision to take, but I always felt like

I was a performer, now I feel like I’m an artist in the true sense. I love blues but let’s face it you’re unlikely to make a fortune singing it but for me it’s about the music and gaining recognition for my work. The challenge for 2014 is to get mainland recognition. It can feel like you’re an outcast being in Belfast, a bit cut off.”

Ten years of performing flat out took its toll on Kaz physically too.

“I suffered a torn larynx, I was swallowing blood, it was quite scary. I’d never been taught how to sing properly or take care of my voice.”

“I used to just belt it out, I thought that was what was expected. Twenty years of wear and tear, stretching my vocal cords took their toll. I had to have vocal coaching and learn things like not to drink coffee pre-show, and eating at the right times. Now I have richer tones and a better range.”

I said at the beginning that a big part of the Kaz Hawkins story was one of survival. Kaz has spoken about her background before with great honesty. To understand where her blues and determination come from its important to at least be aware of the basic facts without going into detail.

Between the ages of four and 12 she had been abused by a family member, and not surprisingly become a pretty rebellious teenager getting into heavy drinking and moving swiftly between relationships.

She had three children, the first at 17, by various fathers, and an ongoing cycle of domestic violence. Then came the descent into heavy cocaine addiction. Realising that she was slowly killing herself at one point Kaz ran away to Spain and gave her children up to foster care. The turning point came when an ex-boyfriend attacked her and left her for dead with her throat cut. Kaz has told me that lying there semi-conscious she felt her Mum’s presence telling her, come on Kaz, one more fight, one more fight. And fight Kaz did, she became the first woman ever in Northern Ireland to get three children back from foster care. They remain an important part of her support team. Throughout all of these dark

times the music was there.

“The only thing that kept me going was the music, Aretha and Etta James. Etta James is my absolute hero, I’m having a tattoo of her on my arm. That’s my history and it’s why I sing the blues the way I do.”

The music had always been around Kaz. Her father had roadied for many local bands and she appeared on Opportunity Knocks as a child performing Secret Love by Doris Day. As a young teen she was performing in cabaret shows.

“An early memory is that Dad used to sit me up on the bar in local pubs and I would sing and dance for £1 notes. He used to give me one and keep the rest. Good training for the music business”

Did the fact that she had performed since childhood mean Kaz was immune from nerves when going in front of an audience?

“Lord no, I suffer terribly with nerves. It’s not fear it’s just nerves. In fact I love that feeling, I thrive on it, I think if I ever lost that I’d give up. When I’m nervous I know I’m going to perform well. I throw up sometimes but once the first song is done I’m fine. Don’t forget after the drug addiction and stuff I was a wreck, I needed therapy and had to start over again learning everything.”

Kaz has always been very proud of her Belfast roots and the connection she has with her fans. For a time she organised The Blues Café for local bands to perform at. She was very touched by the response she received from a previous single Lipstick and Cocaine from fans and released a track supporting Cancer Focus NI called Run For Yer Man. The time has come where Kaz needs to put her own career first, she just might emerge as the most important artist to come from Northern Ireland in a long time.

you cAn discover more ABout kAz At www.kAzhAwkins.com

the term sw A mp B lues w A s coined for tony j oe w hite in the 60s, A nd At 70 ye A rs old he is sounding A nd writing A s well A s ever

You’re probably familiar with Tony Joe’s songs even if you don’t realise he’s the writer, he has counted Elvis, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Waylon Jennings, Lightnin’ Hopkins and The Muscle Shoals Band among his friends and collaborators. I managed to speak to him via phone from Antwerp half way through his European tour.

BM: Hi Tony, thanks for fitting us into your schedule, I know you’re touring Europe at the moment promoting the new album. I really love it, it feels like a return to roots, a real Louisiana album.

TJW: Well I have a studio in my old house. It was built in the 1800s with high ceilings and wooden floors back in the Civil War years, so it has real good acoustics. We have a 16 track desk so I always just went in when I felt something. We always tried to have some songs spontaneous but this time I wanted the whole album like that. A lot of times these are first takes and they are hard to beat.

It has that raw feel about it. It’s spontaneous. It amazes me what can come out of two people who have never heard the

song before. I know I’ve heard it, I’ve had it in my head, in my voice, but the others just go with it. Jody, my son is sitting in producing and I just say, here we go again, record.

You seem to be on a roll, I think that’s two or three albums released quite quickly now? Well like I say, when you have your own place it’s like that. I just go in anytime, day or night. We have our own label, release everything ourselves. Boom, its ready. I love living there, its been 17/18 years.

The other musicians on the album, are they your regular band?

Yeah, regulars. The drummer (Bryan Owings) has travelled with me for years. I call him ‘Fleetwood Cadillac’ ‘cos he’s so smooth. Bass is The Troll (Steve Forrest), I’ve used him lots of times before. Both knew where I was at.

This album feels very autobiographical, fair to say? I always had autobiographical tracks, this time more so. On 9 Foot Sack... that’s a cotton sack that reaches way back to my childhood. Until I was 16 I lived and worked on the family farm.

V E rb A ls: Steve y ourglivch Visu A ls: anne goetze

Interview TONy JOe WHITe

I read somewhere that it was your older brother who turned you onto music?

Yeah, there were seven kids, he was the eldest, I was the youngest with five girls between us. Mum and Dad and all of us, everyone was musical, singing every day.

But it wasn’t until I was 15 he brought home a Lightnin’ Hopkins record, I thought wow, this is it! I started sneaking my Dad’s guitar into my bedroom at night, learning blues licks. Lightnin’ Hopkins turned me on to the blues, but all the kids my age were listening to him and Muddy and John Lee Hooker. Then Elvis came along and hit us hard too.

You mention Elvis, everyone knows he recorded Polk Salad Annie. What was that like?

It was weird because in the early days I was doing covers of Elvis songs, I even looked a bit like him on stage. He was a hero of mine. All of a sudden they called me up to say Elvis is getting ready to record Polk Salad Annie in Las Vegas and they wanted to fly me up there to meet him. I spent a week watching him perform and hanging in the dressing room after swapping blues licks. It was surreal,

great meeting someone you look up to. I also got to play in the studio with Lightnin’ Hopkins. That was a big deal. As was meeting Tina Turner and Joe Cocker, not only did they record my songs they wanted me to play on them too.

And you played at the Isle Of Wight festival too? Only once, the one with Hendrix and Janis Joplin. It was amazing looking out and seeing 600,000 people there. I was down to play solo but just before I went on this guy backstage said do you want a drummer on with you, turned out it was Cozy Powell, so I said sure. He came on and played with me, he was great too, talk about spontaneous.

You are respected as a writer, how do you go about it? I believe the songs come from above, it’s God given. I go sit by the river near the house, set up a camp fire, have a few beers and wait. I’m an innocent bystander, the songs come along and choose me. If I sat down and tried to write a song I’d be in trouble, you can’t force it. I also write some songs with my wife Leann, there’s three or four on the album, including Holed Up, which is one of my favourites.

You mentioned Tina Turner and Joe Cocker recording your songs.

With Tina, her manager Roger Davies heard a track I’d written, Undercover Agent For The Blues, on a demo tape he’d been given. So again I got a call to go to LA. and meet Tina. So suddenly I’m in the studio with Tina and we’re recording the track.

I had this 4-track demo tape with me which I gave her to listen to. Then Roger phoned me at the hotel to say Tina had heard another song she wanted to record, that was Steamy Windows. Then the same thing with Foreign Affairs, but she wanted to record it in Paris. So we all went to London and Paris recording, man it was like floating in a dream.

And France had been a good place for you before? Yeah that’s right. I had my first hit single there. It was called Soul Francisco off Black and White, my debut album. I got a call to say it had got to number two in the French pop charts so I went over there and did interviews and played, just me with my guitar, harmonica and a coca cola box. They loved it, it was there that the phrase Swamp Blues first got used.

By the time I got back to America, Polk Salad Annie was a hit which was followed by Rainy Night In Georgia, so it all started happening.

You’ve appeared in a film too, Catch My Soul?

Jack Good and Patrick McGoohan were making this film that was a rock hippy version of Othello. They asked me to come down to New Mexico to cut some music for the soundtrack. The night before I was due to leave Patrick, Jack and me were in a bar shooting pool and drinking beer when Patrick asked me to act in the film. They said just play yourself, turned out I was cast as the wino Cassio. It was fun to do.

The new album is out on Yep Roc label, how did that come about?

My son Jody sorts all of that kinda stuff out. He suggested them. They’re a small label but they are big in other ways. Real cool and they do a real good job. I couldn’t be more pleased with them. They only put out music they love themselves.

f or the l Atest news on tony joe white, check out: www.tonyjoewhite.com

V E rb A ls: n orman Dar W in Visu A ls: gerry moran it’s not gender, it’s tA lent A nd h A rd work! B m! gets the lowdown on kA ns A s c ity, the new A l B um, girls with guitA rs, A nd g irls w ith g uitA rs

ansas City singer and guitarist

Samantha Fish is whipping up a storm with her new album Black Wind Howlin’ for Ruf Records. BM! gets the lowdown on her music.

BM: I believe you started a drummer. Why did you switch to guitar and who were your early influences and inspirations?

SF: I started playing drums when I was 13 years old. I did that for a couple years and loved it (still do actually). My dad would play guitar with his friends at our house, and for me it was a way to be a part of this social thing by singing songs and telling stories. I started playing and singing at around 15 years old, that’s when I fell in love with it.

How did you discover the blues?

Kansas City has a rich musical heritage of jazz and blues music. There are some killer jam sessions in the jazz district and all over the greater Kansas City area. I got involved through that community. I also went down to the King Biscuit Blues Festival and heard Mississippi Foothill music and Delta blues for the first time. That’s where I connected.

Can you talk about your early days as a musician in Kansas City. These days we don’t hear too much about the Kansas City Blues scene.

Kansas City has a great music scene. It’s more well known for jazz music, but it still has a great blues scene. Lots of bands have come out of here over the years. As far as blues goes, contemporary bands

like ‘Trampled Under Foot’ are touring Scandinavia quite frequently, as well as Canada and the US. They won the International Blues Challenge in 2008 and are quite successful. Any night of the week, you can find something going on in the Kansas City area.

You mention on your website that there was ‘scepticism about your age, hair tone and gender.’ Has that gone away? There has been some criticism by blues purists of the ‘young girls with guitars movement’ (their words, not mine!), saying they are only trading on their gender. What would be your reply to them?

How many girls are out there playing into their gender? I know there are some, but how many actually have good, solid careers from that? There is no longevity in trading in anything but musical ability. Your career would not last long. People listen to blues because they want to feel something, it’s not about gender. There has to be talent and hard work.

Any good memories of the ‘Girls With Guitars’ tourand how was it working with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde?

That was an awesome experience. We got to tour the States, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand. Playing with Cassie and Dani was great for me. It opened me up to a whole new perspective on playing guitar, because up until that point, I really only played in

my trio. I had to learn how to play behind someone else and be the support in a song.

How did your first solo album Runaway happen?

When I signed up to do the ‘Girls with Guitars’ project, I was offered the solo record deal as part of the package. We went to Berlin to record the Girls With Guitars record in November of 2010, and we had great chemistry. We tried to recreate that in January 2011 with all the same players, studio, producer, engineers, etc. It was a weight off my mind knowing that everyone got along so well in studio; the magic was already there.

How do you think you have developed since your first album?

I definitely have more of a clear direction. My playing, singing, and song writing is catching up to what I hear in my head. I hope with every record, I get a little closer to that vision. My new record Black Wind Howlin’ is ballsier. We took more risks, we rocked harder, and I think it’s more powerful in general.

People talk about your ferocious guitar style, but there is more to you than that. Have you ever felt limited to, or pushed towards, a ‘blues-rock’ bag? No, not really. I hate to say it, but I’m a selfish musician! I play what I want to play. The songs I write are from a place that is all me. It can be categorized however people see fit. I do write songs outside of that blues-rock box, but I feel at the end of the day, my fans will connect with it because it is genuinely heartfelt.

You recently worked with Devon Allman. How did that come about, and how is he to work with?

We covered the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks song, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, for his record, Turquoise. That happened at Ardent Studios in Memphis last August. Devon is great to work with. He was very encouraging and excited about what I brought to the table. Working with Jim Gaines was very cool too. He has an incredible ear for what he wants, and he knows how to get that out of

the musicians he works with. Then we made a music video in New Orleans, and that was a lot of fun too. I’d done one with ‘Girls and Guitars’ several years ago, but I really had to act in this. The whole collaboration was a great learning experience for me.

People talk about the ‘difficult second album.’ Was it like that for you?

Between Runaway and Black Wind Howlin’, I had spent so much time on the road with my band and Girls With Guitars. I wrote as much as I could, and I learned a lot. I feel like I got better in that year and a half. Mike and I had a lot of time to discuss where the next one should go, and we never really had to stop and say; ‘We gotta make sure this is better’. The ideas were more mature and I had more songs. We recorded at the legendary Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana. The atmosphere there really lends itself to being creative. There are absolutely no distractions, you are 100% focused on the task in front of you. I felt like we definitely tapped into that on Black Wind Howlin’.

How did you hook up with Mike Zito, how is he to work with and what did he bring to the albums?

I met Mike when I was 18 or 19 years old in Kansas City. He used to let me jam with his band at a club called ‘Knuckleheads’ when they would come through town. He’s been a huge part of my career. He introduced me to everyone that I am working with now. He’s a phenomenal producer and a great friend. He knows how to get incredible guitar tones and he is great at putting songs together. Some of my songs weren’t totally there, and he could make them into well rounded songs.

And of course you work with other members of the Royal Southern Brotherhood?

Yes! Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton were the band on my record. These guys are so incredibly talented. They just knew how to take my acoustic demos and turn them into songs. Creatively I couldn’t ask for a better team. They are heavy hitters who fit together perfectly.

How do you go about writing your songs, where does the inspiration come from?

Inspiration comes from everywhere. It’s hard to pinpoint any one thing in particular. Personal experiences, experiences of others, stories, movies, art, other musicians, my imagination. You gotta get it where you can!

Why did you decide to do the Howlin’ Wolf track

Who’s Been Talkin’?’ for the new album?

Zito actually picked that one, and I loved the idea. That was the exact song that the record needed. Howlin’ Wolf has been a huge influence on me, so I was really excited to take on one of his tunes.

You also have Paul Thorn on the album. Can you tell me about him and how it was to work with him?

I became a Paul Thorn fan a couple years ago. I wanted to work with him because he has such a unique thing. He plays at blues festivals, but he also works in different genres and circles. He’s a great Americana songwriter, and he has such a funny personality. I thought it was a great collaboration and was honoured that he’d take it on.

And Johnny Sansone also guests too?

Mike has known Johnny for a couple years through the Louisiana/Rueben Williams camp. Johnny is a master of the harmonica. He played on two songs, Sucker Born and Who’s Been Talkin’?, and took both of them to a whole new level.

And you close out the album with a rather different Last September. What was the thinking behind that one?

It was a breath of fresh air to the record. A lot of the songs really rock and have heavier meanings. Last September is hopeful and light hearted. I thought it was a great way to end a record like that.

Finally, what can we expect from you in the future?

I have big plans for the future. Without giving too much away, we’ll be touring quite extensively over the next year, and I’m already thinking about album number three. My goal has and always will be to make everything bigger, badder, and better than before.

c heck out www.s A m A nth A fish.com for more inform Ation

They’re from Vancou V er, ye T sound like They’re from m emphis. They fuse blues, rock and soul for a guiTar-sToked edgy sound ThaT gi V es blazing chanTeuse c olleen r ennison a springboard To leap inTo your soul, which she does

The day after their incendiary UK debut show in Camden, Blues Matters! catches up with two of the touring band at their hotel, Colleen Rennison and Parker Bossley.

BM: So we’re talking about last night’s show, firstly was it your debut appearance in London?

CR: Yeah! We enjoyed it.

Before we talk more about that, I want one of you guys to admit that you’re really from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and not Vancouver.

CR: (laughs) Maybe, in a past life!

I suspect so because I hear no trace of Joni Mitchell or Amanda Marshall, almost nothing of Neil Young and a lot of Ann Peebles, that sort of area. I’m wondering have your psyches been taken over by Southern Soul?

CR: That’s a really good question. It’s always been something I’ve been drawn to. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with blues, Motown and soul music. That was the only thing I

listened to for a really long time. It wasn’t until my early twenties that I even started listening to rock’n’roll. I always listened to the music that rock’n’roll people never probably listened to.

I was the first here to interview Robert Randolph, the black slide-steel guitar player and he hadn’t heard a Bob Dylan record till he was twenty one. He grew up in a church playing electric steel.

CR: I’m always a little bit wary to hop on board of anything. I felt like I had to do my homework before I started listening to anything from the last thirty years.

OK. Let’s have your impressions please on your show last night. This was at the Black Heart in Camden, which is a favourite part of London for musicians and writers. How did you feel about the show?

CR: I don’t know if you could ask for a better welcome. It was great. People stayed right to

V E rb A ls: Pete Sargeant VI su A ls : Will i reland

Interview no sinnner

the end, it was packed, and it was really fun. There were a lot of ‘industry’ there but I think everybody was a music fan first. That was who we were playing to.

PB: I felt a really good connection with the audience, like they were actually listening and enjoying it with us. As opposed, to judging?

As many of us play ourselves, we don’t have that judgmental attitude, we just want to soak it up and convey what happened. I won’t do ‘star ratings’.

CR: Well that’s good, yeah.

I won’t do it because I don’t think I’m qualified to give you or anybody stars. I think what you’ve tapped into musically here. I don’t think you realise it, is a bit of a crusade.

PB: (laughs) Oh yeah?

Anti-Simon Cowell – pro people who work their way up, which I know is corny, but I’d rather see an act which plays a few bars and talks to the audience than someone who jumps onto a TV screen and is famous in a week.

CR: It’s awesome! We were having this discussion earlier with somebody. It’s a real shame that some people think that to be a musician you have to stand in line for two hours and just sing on national television!

Hey, I grew up sneaking into bars and singing wrong words to Beatles songs on open mic nights in Vancouver for a long time. It was hard but I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world. You need to know what it’s like. We’ve been paying our dues since day one. Parker started playing in a professional touring band when he was fourteen.

PB: Pretty young, yeah.

What style of music, Parker?

PB: We started out doing Prog. I was playing with this guitar virtuoso and I had to ‘unlearn’ a lot of stuff.

I’m thinking (obscure Canadian rock band) Prism?

PB: Prism... perhaps. It was more of a Satriani thing. It wasn’t as cool.

With Satriani, I swear if he was playing Silent Night he’d dive-bomb! Obviously, you’ve got this honed dynamic between you and none of you play over the singing. You all frame the vocal, which is noticeable to a player. None of you are trying to compete with her. PB: No. We want Colleen to be happy and she is for the most part. She has beautiful taste and we all trust each other. That’s the thing –we all trust and love each other. I think that’s extremely important as players. We care about the songs and we want the songs to sound good. It’s not about the profits. CR: It’s not about who, what, or what it looks like. We don’t compete and I think that really shows a lot of confidence in the band. It took me a long time to find a band because I think a lot of people were or are threatened by a strong vocal. Especially a strong female vocal.

If you’ve got a good looking charismatic lady singer, no one is looking at you and you can do what you like.

CR: I think we’re all something to look at and I like that about our band. If you do stop looking at me and look at someone else, everyone has their own thing going on. They are such handsome lads!

Your guitar player, what is his name?

CR: Eric Campbell.

He sounds uncannily like a Southern guitarist called Eddie Hinton.

CR: It’s funny, some people have brought up this Southern thing but Eric doesn’t listen to Southern.

PB: But he reads a lot of American Gothic Southern novels and stuff.

It all seems to come from somewhere. I interview a lot of people, Joe Bonamassa says the same thing. You’re not even aware of it. People think you’re original if you steal from a lot of different sources. When I was starting to play, I thought ‘People are going to realise that I’m trying to blend Roger McGuinn with Harvey Mandel.’ Nobody did.

CR: If you steal something from somebody, that’s what rock and roll is! I mean Elvis. You are never the first one. If you are copying

“I think we’re all something to look at”

something, bet that person was copying too.

What was your first encore? I thought that was fantastic.

CR: If Anything.

PB: That’s the first song Colleen and I wrote.

Yeah?

CR: The day after we met, we wrote that song. It has a Curtis Mayfield feel to it, the song Chicago.

CR: Yeah it’s definitely a soul song for sure. All those lyrics just fell out of my mouth. I came with the idea of If Anything and said this is how I want it to go. He just started playing and all those lyrics that you heard were the first ones that came out of my mouth.

Having broken the ice last night, I could see you being able to get a good following in London if you are that way inclined.

CR: Oh sure!

I’ve written so many things about Provogue artists, no surprise you’re with them.

PB: There is a great thing going on over here.

We are maybe more attuned to roots music as are the European labels at present, and the plus for you is that in Holland, Germany, France and UK, the crowds are very loyal. If they like you they will come to your next tour.

PB: They keep coming back? That’s cool.

I was wondering last night listening to you as an ensemble, if the Black Crowes were an influence on you guys?

PB: No! But I’ve gotten that before. I actually sang a song that Chris Robinson wrote, with a band called 5440, it’s a Canadian band. Like I was saying, I think a lot of their influences are the same as ours.

Colleen, there is a song I’d love to hear you sing by Ann Peebles, called I Didn’t Take Your Man, You Gave Him to Me.

CR: (writing a note) Oh cool! I’m logging this.

Playing live is obviously a strong suit for No Sinner and at some point, probably two or three albums in, you’ll probably get asked to make a live album.

I just want to inform you about our company BLUE NOTE TOURS, LLC

We offer 20 trips,starting in 2014 from April 4th, through to October 21st. An Escorted Luxury Bus Tour from Chicago to, St Louis, to Memphis, to the Crossroads of the Mississippi Delta, and on to Vicksburg, Mississippito New Orleans.

This is a trip like no other for Blues Fans. From the clubs and juke joints, to the cotton fields of the Delta, to the Electric Blues of Chicago.

All hotels, breakfast, museums, attractions and a host of other surprises are included.

The Blues has had a distinct influence on so many musical styles – Jazz, Country, Motown and is directly responsible for Rock & Roll. We encourage Musicians to take the ride, we will be stopping at a lot of clubs and doing a lot of Open Mic Nights.

It doesn’t matter if your a Blues musician or a Blues fan, the trip is designed to have FUN while listening to some great Blues, with old and new friends. Our goal is to inform, entertain and some times testify to our love for the Blues.

CR: I’d love to do at!

PB: Me too!

What would your thoughts be on that?

PB: It needs to be the right venue.

CR: Yep, it needs to be the right venue. I mean, that’s how we usually record. I like to record live off the floor and I like to do three takes. Then call it, basically.

What you need is two nights in the same set of clothes and then pick the best of each night and you get a DVD out of it. What’s your opinion on mixing and overdubs?

CR: Absolutely no way will I ever do that.

Listen to Thin Lizzy Live&Dangerous, two thirds of that is overdubbed

PB: Oh that’s awful. Yeah it’s also depressing when they f*** up the sound and they just have to overdub it.

There’s a live Queen record that they basically redid in the studio.

CR: That’s a shame.

The best live album without a doubt is Donny HathawayLive.

CR: Oh wow. Donny Hathaway!

The guy gets depressed and throws himself out of an apartment block, at thirty-something.

CR: His version of Jealous Guy is so amazing. It’s so unreal

It is as good as you could ever get doing someone else’s song.

CR: Oh for sure.

When you record, do you record live? Do you get everything down with the vocal at the same time?

CR: I like to be in the room with the guys. I can’t record without being able to see them.

So you don’t put the vocal on afterwards?

CR: It depends. A lot of Work Song we did in the room with the guys. There was drum bleed and I tried to re-record the vocal and we ended up going with the live one. Whenever we can we always do it and we always will.

How do you know WorkSong?

CR: I’m just a huge Nina Simone fan. That’s my favourite song to play live. I love that song.

I know it from Paul Butterfield’s early albums

CR: Really?

One of the first things I played on harmonica when I was learning was Work Song, Eryka Badu will often open with Miles Davis’ So What from Kind of Blue. She has a live album where she opens with it.

CR: I love Eryka Badu too. Must check out.

Most of the artists I speak to, say their aim is to make a record that you can play in five or ten years’ time and it’s not gonna sound gimmicky. How do you feel?

CR: I think we’re certainly not out to make music that’s hip or cool. We like classic music and that’s the kind of music we wanna make. We hope that our songs will stand the test of time and not feel dated when you listen to them. In a song like Work Song we hardly changed that. We changed it from the swing Nina Simone version to something a little more straightforward, but you should be able to play every song you write on acoustic. I think that that’s important.

You can bet Bill Withers thinks that way. I’d rather hear three minutes of Bill Withers than four hours of Yes. You’re aiming quite high, because with the time thing. That’s what distinguishes people like Keith Jarret, Tom Waits, and Captain Beefheart.

PB: I’ve been listening to a lot of Captain Beefheart lately.

The Magic Band are playing here, next month.

PB: When did he pass away?

Four or five years ago, but they’re playing in London on December 8th. We saw them and they sound brilliant. Are you writing material for a next album?

PB: Yeah we’re skating on quite a bit of material. We have two songs pretty much finished. We just need the time to finish other songs, we have lots of things going on.

The album I have, Boo Hoo Hoo, that’s the one Provogue’s putting out for you?

PB: Yes. We released an EP, most of what was on that EP is on this new album releasing in Europe

Thank you very much for the chat, good luck in Holland and Germany. PB: You’re welcome, thank you.

n o s inner’s debuT mini album boo hoo hoo is released by p ro V ogue

Remembering the blues brothers

n the decades since they first donned their black hats and dark glasses, the Blues Brothers have not been fully acknowledged for their music or their impact on Blues music and musicians. Why is this? A best guess is that Dan ‘Elwood’ Aykroyd and John ‘Jake’ Belushi were comedians who introduced the Blues Brothers on US TV show, Saturday Night Live. Why take two funny men, being funny, seriously? Why think they were more than two guys who had an idea for a comedy performance that happened to catch enormous popularity? The Blues Brothers have been derided by some as Blues imposters who made a mockery of the music and its history. The two movies have been much criticised by many, yet the Blues Brothers remain world famous to this day. This series of articles will tell the story of the Blues Brothers, with a briefcase full of original quotes from the stars of the story and the people around it. Their story is wide-ranging and involves numerous people. It is too big a topic to fully honour even in this series of articles, but we will try. It is time to pay some respect and to show that the Blues Brothers deserve their own very special chapter in the history of the Blues.

We will come on to the story of the Blues

Brothers, what they were and are, and how they started, but let us begin with that respect for what they have achieved.

birth of the brothers

From the beginning, the comic actors Dan ‘Elwood’ Aykroyd and John ‘Jake’ Belushi respected the musicians that inspired them, name-checking songwriters in shows and exhorting people to buy as many Blues albums as they can.

An early test of their integrity came when they were invited to produce their first album, Briefcase Full Of Blues. Dan Aykroyd recalls, ‘When we went to make Briefcase Full of Blues, the record company suggested we contact the writers of songs by people like Floyd Dixon and Donnie Walsh from The Downchild Blues Band and Isaac Hayes and Steve Cropper cutting in fifty per cent on the publishing royalties. John and I refused, which was pretty unusual at the time. We’ve had no share in any of the songwriting royalties on the eight records. We have a little for the mechanical royalties, the voice work, but that’s a pittance since Steve Jobs and Apple ratcheted down the value of music and it’s all digital. All the publishing royalties

The blues broThers, JolieT Jake and elwood blues, are ficTional characTers, buT ficTional characTers ThaT progressed Through TeleVision appearances, Two moVies and liVe shows To become real To counTless people worldwide

Remembering the blues brothers

went to the original artists. We could have owned a part, but we did not grab a share of it. That’s not right.

What did this novel approach mean for the musicians? American singer and musician Curtis Salgado has been described as ‘the original Blues Brother’ and looms large in the early days of the Blues Brothers. So much so, that Cab Calloway’s character in the first movie was named after him. Curtis told us a story about Floyd Dixon, who wrote the second song on the Briefcase Full of Blues album, Hey Bartender. ‘The Blues Brothers album that sold two million copies was dedicated to me, a thing that really moves me. In the nineties, Floyd Dixon comes up to me, thanks me for “the biggest royalty cheque in my career. It meant so much to me.” I got choked up. I go “It’s none of my business, but how much did you get?” Floyd says, “Seventy eight thousand dollars, the most I ever got.” I think “Enough to buy a house!” I asked, “What did you do with it?” He looks into the sky. This was on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Festival. He says, “I put it all on the horses. I had a wonderful

time, man.” That’s a Blues Brother right there. That’s the real shit.’

We told Dan Aykroyd the story. He said, I didn’t know that, did he get his royalties? I’m so pleased.’

Delbert McClinton, whose song B Movie Box Car Blues was also covered on Briefcase Full of Blues, provides further evidence of what this approach meant for musicians.

‘I had been talking with John Belushi, I went by his apartment at the Plaza Hotel, he knew I was coming to town and called me that he wanted to hear all the songs I’d recorded, and I gathered up all the records I had and took them to him. Shortly afterward he notified me that B Movie would be in the set. It being in the set and album didn’t make much difference to me, I was doing pretty good anyway. I got royalties, I was paid for it. They made sure everybody involved musically made some money and it was unheard of for record companies to do that, they would still gouge it out of you. It’s a mean old world. The music business then, the artists weren’t people who would read and study a contract, they’d be given a “standard contract” and sign it. I signed away a whole bunch of publishing in my twenties.’

More proof of the personal impact on the careers of musicians comes from the Blues Brothers’ sax man, ‘Blue’ Lou Marini. He said, ‘The first movie was soundly panned by the critics, the movie wasn’t a success for money or critically, and got criticism for

ripping off the Blues. I was practising alto and went into the trailer next to mine and saw John Lee Hooker, who said he wished he could play like me. I met him years later. He said, “I can’t tell you how much the movie has done for my business and bookings.”’

The Blues Brothers had a similar beneficial boost for the careers of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and many others. Another man who contributed music that

Remembering the blues brothers

the Blues Brothers covered in Briefcase

Full of Blues is Donnie Walsh, of Canadian band Downchild, whose sets included Big Joe Turner’s Flip, Flop, and Fly and their own Shot Gun Blues and (I Got Everything I Need) Almost. What is Donnie’s take on the Blues Brothers? ‘Aykroyd especially, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield brought Blues to a white audience, it was a big thing, but the Blues Brothers were over the top! They brought the Blues to everybody, everywhere – they were the biggest thing to happen to the Blues ever! The Blues Brothers raised everyone up from where they were in the Blues.’

Yet, while we are paying our respects to the impact of the Blues Brothers, it is fitting that the Blues Brothers be assessed for their music and performances as well. Curtis Salgado, at the time playing with Robert Cray, was joined by John Belushi at a gig for a song. He was shocked by Belushi performing in the manner of Joe Cocker, who Belushi was known for impersonating on Saturday Night Live. Curtis punched Belushi in the chest and told the young comedian to be himself when it came to singing with a Blues band. Curtis, himself in 2013 a triple winner of Blues Music Awards, is, then, unusually well placed to consider the results of his advice and to offer a view on the Blues Brothers and the stellar band that backed them. Curtis summed up his feelings, ‘The Blues Brothers were the original Blues Brothers. They killed on stage. They were great frontmen. Their show was devastating. These were pros’ pros, a badass band, no doubt about it. They put it across, I’m proud to be part of it.’

So, how did these great frontmen get into the Blues? Read on.

roots of the brothers

The Blues has had great days and periods from its rapid growth in the cotton plantations and levees in the Mississippi and its spread into Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans and beyond. By the 1970s, however, these great days and the resurgence of

interest in the music in the 1960s following the British Blues Explosion had passed into memory. Glam Rock, Disco and other forms of music ruled. Blues icons like Muddy Waters had taken to experimenting with other forms of music in an attempt to get noticed again and to spark their flagging careers.

As the idea of the Blues Brothers started with just the two Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood, it is the development of their creators Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi that we must focus on. History tells that these two men pursued careers in comedy in Canada (Aykroyd) and the US (Belushi).

Dan Aykroyd had the Blues from an early age. In Ottawa, he regularly attended a club called Le Hibou and was exposed to performers like James Cotton, Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, and Muddy Waters. As a result, Dan had and has a particular view of Blues music, and why people should listen to it.

‘First of all, because there is a lot of humour in the music. The Blues is often depicted as a lament, a moan at life’s challenges of love, employment and how elusive love can be. But songs by musicians like Wynonnie Harris’s Good Morning Judge and All She Wants To Do Is Rock are humorous and have so much innuendo in them. Also Willie Dixon’s Dead Presidents and Junior Wells Messin’ With The Kid. They’re funny, uplifting, about good times. Second, the Blues is at the root of everything in music today. Third, musicianship. The Blues involves everything, from the Hammond Organ B3 to the mandolin. Take Gatemouth Brown. He used to say he wasn’t a Bluesman, he was a musician.

The Blues is full of humour and rhythm and musicianship, there is so much enjoyment to seeing a live show. It’s the way the Blues treats the social mores and culture, and is a reflection of our existence and life. It’s at the roots of all music. There is great young talent. There is the precision diamond cutting guitar of Freddie King, Albert King, Lil’ Jimmy King, BB King – all the Kingsand from the new artists Joanne Shaw Taylor and Ana Popovic. Some of these ladies are spectacular. Quinn Sullivan, Buddy Guy’s

protégé, and he’s only fourteen years old, and Monster Mike Welsh.’

By contrast, the Blues were coming slower to Chicago’s John Belushi. We asked Judith Belushi, widow of the iconic frontman, for her thoughts. ‘In regard to the “birth” of the Blues Brothers, I’d say it developed in stages.

The very first night John and Dan met, in Toronto after a Second City show, Dan and John discovered they both loved music –among other things – and they forged a fast friendship. Apparently they even suggested they should put a band together. Dan however was more Blues oriented, whereas John did not know much about Blues, but was very Rock ‘n’ Roll oriented. What neither of them seem to have noticed at that time was that John’s Rock ‘n’ Roll idols were heavily influenced by the Blues: Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Cream, The Animals, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, John Lennon.’

‘Flash forward to Eugene, Oregon, and the filming of Animal House [which made John Belushi a top box office star worldwide]. After seeing a local Blues band perform at the Eugene Hotel, which included the guitar player from the movie’s band ‘Otis Day and the Knights’, Robert Cray. John becomes friends with lead singer Curtis Salgado. Curtis takes to coming by our house after filming with wonderful old Blues records and he and John delve deeply into the history and musicology of the Blues genre. By film’s end, John has a huge vocabulary in and passion for the Blues.’

More on this and the Roots of the Blues Brothers will follow in the second instalment of this series, Building The Blues Brothers, which will also address the early days of the act and move towards the first appearances on television and on stage of the Blues Brothers.

parT T wo of This feaTure conTinues in issue 77

s ome greaT blues musicians who ha V e emerged from a usTralia may ha V e crep T under your radar. o ne such diamond is a nni p iper, a sulTry V ocalisT and much admired bass player

itting here in the cold of a British mid-Winter trying to put together the lyrics of Home Energy Supplier Blues, for some reason my thoughts turned to Australia. I wonder if they get the blues too and they sure do.

Of course over the years some great blues musicians have emerged from Australia but there are some superb artists that might have crept under your radar that are worth finding. One such diamond is Anni Piper, not only a sultry vocalist but top draw and much admired bass player.

Anni is signed in the U.S. to the Blues Leaf record label and in the middle of 2013 they released Split Second, a delightful album that paired up Anni with Florida based label mate Nicole Hart, a soulful

award winning vocalist who has recorded with Albert Castiglia among others. Whilst Anni admits this is a step away from her more regular raunchier blues she enjoyed the challenge and it has introduced her to a wider audience:

“Split Second was the brainchild of Joe Morabia, president of Blues Leaf. We’re the only female artists on the label and Joe wanted to make an album with his Blues Leaf bombshells. I think it was an inspired decision, one of the things that makes this record great is the strong contrast between our voices. Nicole is a soprano and more of a soul singer whereas my voice is deeper and smokier.”

It is a great album with lots of variation. There are some surprising covers too, like Dream Baby and Walk Right Back, songs made famous by Roy Orbison and The Everly Brothers respectively. Blues Leaf put together a really tight band on this with special mention to the contributions of John Ginty, (If you don’t recognise the name, I highgly recommend his album Bad News Travels).

I asked Anni about the choice of material and how it felt playing in a band that was different to her normal three piece line up.

“To be honest this is the first time in my career that I haven’t had a say in selecting the material. I had to step outside my comfort zone, particularly on the songs you mention but I suppose that’s the only way to grow as an artist. The band on the album were just superb and a joy to work with. I can’t say making music with them felt like a change of direction. It was more of a homecoming.”

Anni spent her childhood growing up in Sydney, Australia’s largest city. Her mother was a doctor and father a university professor, neither with an interest or ability in music.

“Needless to say my career choice didn’t sit particularly well with them,” says Anni now.

An early impact was hearing the Paul Butterfield Band playing Born In Chicago?

“Sure, hearing Born In Chicago was probably the first time I was exposed to the blues and it made a big impact. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a huge influence when I was younger, as for many musicians around the world. With the rise of iTunes it was easier to get my hands on music from some of the earlier pioneers like Freddie King, who is one of my favourites. He just makes me melt!”

Anni started playing electric guitar at 12 years old but switched to bass at 14, and is now recognised as a very accomplished player. Singing and playing bass can be a difficult combination and I wondered if it was a major influence of her song writing.

“Playing and singing at the same time does require a certain amount of skill, particularly bass when you can be playing something highly syncopated against a vocal line. But I put it down to practise, practise, practise. The only instrument I play is bass so I think that influences the way I write songs. There’s always a focus on the groove. The singing comes naturally. It’s the time I spent learning bass guitar that required discipline.”

As soon as Anni finished high school she left home to study contemporary music at university five hundred miles away, in a little town near the famous surfing beaches at Byron Bay. After completing university she became a high school music teacher but continued playing in bands at weekends.

Anni takes up the story, “Then my son came along, I was performing until I was eight months pregnant and my belly was so big it was difficult to play bass anymore! After taking some time off I found it was very difficult to get back into the music scene. I decided I needed to record a good quality demo so I could book some gigs again. The result was the Jailbait CD. Many of the songs had never been performed to

“I’m spending six months of the year touring”

a live audience, we were strictly a garage band at the time. To my great surprise it was picked up by Black Market Music, a respected Australian blues label and went on to win several major awards.”

Those awards included the Australian Award for Best New Talent and Anni was nominated for Best Female Vocalist. Not bad for what started as a demo.

From there she has never looked back, the raunchy Texas blues style Texas Hold ‘Em was released in 2007 which lead to the signing to Blue Leaf in 2008. They released a compilation of the earlier discs, Two’s Company, that went to number one in the Australian Roots music chart and number 21 in Living Blues chart.

In 2010 Anni released Chasin’ Tail, a tough blues/rock album showcasing the classic three piece line up. It has received rave reviews across the world. She is a talented songwriter with charismatic stage presence and has been compared to Susan Tedeschi among others. I wondered, following the success of Split Second with Nicole, what might be next for Anni.

“The musicians on Chasin’ Tail were

my regular gigging band at the time in Australia. We have parted ways since then and I’m currently working with the guitarist who played on Texas Hold ‘Em. I love blues/ rock and it’s where many of my musical roots lie, but I think Texas blues is more the sound you’ll hear in my live shows and some of my more recent as yet unrecorded compositions. We’ll see what the future holds for my next album.”

Home is now Wollongong, an idyllic beachside place, but the fact is that in Australia the market for blues music isn’t huge. Economics are tough everywhere and as Anni says, “Australia has the added problem of the tyranny of distance. You might have to drive five hours to the next gig. I’m currently spending six months of the year touring the United States and Canada.”

The good news is that Europe is very much on Anni’s hit list and she fully intends getting to play here in 2014. Look out for that and don’t miss the opportunity to see this multi talented performer.

f or The laTesT news on anni piper check ouT www.annipiper.com

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tHIs Issue’s selectIon of tH e very best blues releases

ABI MOORE

AmoebA & Stone

Honest

Having made her recording debut in 2006, this is the third album from this Lincolnshireborn singer/ songwriter, and it is a rich amalgam of folk, Americana and hints of country. She is quite simply a beautiful singer, well-suited to the

BROTHERS GROOVE

coffee bar circuit that she seems to have tapped into. This isn’t a blues set by any stretch of the imagination, though there are elements of blues, soul, and jazz (nice Billie Holiday reference in Return To Oz) in the music from time to time, and there is a strong sense of honesty throughout. Backing is courtesy of Abi herself on (mainly) guitars and piano, with long-time musical buddies David Booth and Andy Trill on guitars and bass, plus occasional

Straight off we’re into the funky groove of the title track Play The Game, Shaun Hill’s lovely understated vocal delivery perfectly fitting the material. Its been said before but this is the most aptly named band out there. There is a cohesive vibe that runs through the whole album, as well as vocals Shaun shares guitar duties with Nige Mellor and with Deano on bass and Wayne Proctor on the drum stool as well as producers chair, the components all come to together to form an album of classy blues. Its easy sometimes to be blown away by young exciting lead guitarists ripping out hot riffs but the lesson here is about how powerful top quality rhythm and groove and tone can be.

This album has shuffles, ballads and straight ahead blues, tracks like My Guitar, Duty Calls and What’s The Deal? are well written observational songs executed brilliantly.

The Hammond and Rhodes provided throughout by guest musicians Bob Fridzema and Bennett Holland gives everything a wonderfully classic Stax feel. Treat ‘Em Mean is a bit of a tougher blues and Never Gonna Happen slightly more upbeat, but for me the showstopper is Another Girl. Paced to perfection it eats into your soul and even at over eight minutes it always seems to end too soon. Will I See You There? is the perfect closer for the album and always sends a shiver down the spine. If the Muscle Shoals Band were from Birmingham this is how they might sound. The production is uncluttered giving space for every instrument to breathe and be enjoyed. Like all the best albums this grows with every listen, slowly taking you prisoner in its sculptured tones.

STeVe YoUrGLIVCH

input such as Tristan Seume adding some fine fuzz guitar to the tough funk of The Hardest Part, Nick Zala supplying pedal steel guitar and Tony Turrell on organ, all highly respected musicians. The results are immaculate, and those readers with a taste for the country flavoured side of Americana may care to check this out.

NormaN DarweN

BEN SURES

Son of trouble

Independent

An interesting one from Canadian Ben Sures. He’s been plying his trade for two decades now over in the colonies, with an emphasis on world, roots, African and Latin material, but this one sees him bringing those influences to bear on the blues. Live, he tends to work solo, although he has played with plenty of well-known musicians and is also a member of an “acoustic power trio”! He’s also known for his sense of humour, something that is instantly apparent from listening to his lyrics on tracks like Love Will Kick Your Ass. Elsewhere, you might choke on your cornflakes when he pulls out a couplet like “I can toss a salad, my credentials are valid”, so make sure you’re sitting down for your first listen. He’s pulled in a li st of well known (over there) faces to help him out on the album with Paul Reddick on harp and harmony vocals, Don Kerr on drums and Ken Whiteley on piano, and the whole shebang has been ably produced by the

Albums reviews

aforementioned Don Kerr, who has worked with Ron Sexsmith, amongst others. The songs are quirky, the performances are sparkling, and if you’re willing to take a chance on something just a wee bit different, then this is one to have a think about.

STUarT a HamILToN

URSULA RICKS

my Street

severn records

Little is known on this side of the Atlantic about Baltimore-based Ursula Ricks as she releases her debut CD. Writing her first song at the age of sixteen, forming an all-female band (the Ursula Ricks Project) and touring the East Coast between New York and Florida for some twenty years, we have to be surprised that it has taken so long for us to hear her fresh and funky blues tunes. With special guests (the ubiquitous) Kim Wilson on harmonica, and Monster Mike Welch (from Sugar Ray and the

Bluetones) on guitar, it is easy to guess the fervour of the album and there is no let down to the vibe. That said, it is a strangely gentle album, exemplified by the soulful Sweet Tenderness and the cinematic drama of ‘Due’. Mind, it is far from saccharin and there is an urban wisdom hailing from Ricks’ understated vocal. With Welch’s guitar and Kevin Anker’s keys providing suitable sparring partners on the Robert Cray-esque ‘Right Now’, and the soul-funk retro of Just A Little Bit Of Love it is easy to wallow in the music but the heart of the album comes in Ricks’ lyrical messages too; street cred indeed.

GareTH HaYeS

VARIOUS

Vol.3 blueS, blueS ChriStmAS

Document 2 cD

Yuletide will have come and gone by the time you read this, but rest assured it’ll come around again soon enough. When it does, here’s 40

KIM SIMMONDS & SAVOY BROWN

If any proof were needed that Kim Simmonds can still rock the blues fifty years after the first incarnation of Savoy Brown, then this is it. In the sleeve notes Simmonds praises his cohorts; this time bassist Pat DeSalvo and drum demon Garnet Grimm, whilst stressing that his blues roots are the main flavour of the dish. Ever the Lord of Light and Shade, Kim’s new set of compositions embrace. Chugging opener Laura Lee with its fluid guitar and vocal phrasing so reminiscent of the late Lonesome Dave Peverett. Simmonds’ vocal work is here is high standard and he sounds comfortable. With this band how could he perform any other way?

The number Sad News trills away with echoes of Delta legend Frank Frost. When You’ve Got A Good Thing is a total groove with a neat message of contentment. Boogie mode for the song Cobra... of course Kim always did this stuff with elan and intensity. Backstreet has a funky lope with the band treading a grimy path, very now in flavour.

My choice? The laidback slide-fuelled I Miss Your Love, is a liquid lament to lean back and savour. I so like Savoy Brown’s forays into unusual rock and blues composing over the years. Overall this set is a touch traditional for my tastes, but Kim has sure achieved what he set out to do. This release celebrate shuffle blues and boogie with intense playing and a real sense of joy.

festive blues goodies featuring some pretty impressive names. The set kicks off in style with a rousing Christmas is Coming by Leadbelly. There’s a very cheeky I Ain’t Gonna Let You See my Santa Claus by Victoria Spivey, the invigorating Freddy King’s Christmas Tears, and no less than two tracks by Duke Ellington, one with his Hot Five and the other with his orchestra. Whilst in that top drawer bracket Ella Fitzgerald even makes a couple of appearances with The Secret of Christmas and a terrific duet with Louis Jordan, Baby It’s Cold Outside. John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Lightnin’ Hopkins all add to the festive cheer, but the icing on this mince pie of a collection comes via the many lesser-known names. The vocal groups, such as The Ravens, The Larks and The Five Keys all rub tinselled shoulders with Jimmy McCracklin, the wonderfully named Oscar McLolli and his Honey Jumpers and many more. So, the next time Santa comes around, and you feel like a Blues Christmas, hang these baubles on your tree. It certainly jingled my bells.

roY BaINToN

ANDERS OSBORNE

Billed as a showman and a shaman there is no doubt that Anders Osborne rides a high line of emotional intensity in both his singing style and grafting guitar play. Although he has been releasing records since 1989, it is the last three years with Alligator that has seen his stock rise; notably the recent turns of Black Eyed Galaxy from 2012 and the EP Three Free Amigos from late 2013. This latest addition continues the growth, a crafty mix of reflection against expected intensity. The opening, and title, track is the biggest and grandest offering that may well as served as a finale too. It’s a soaring rock anthem that offers options for

PeTe SarGeaNT

complexity as well as a linear approach. The direction of curious deviation is explored further in Brush Up Against Me; an experimental exercise in sonic variation. The next track, Sentimental Times, settles the nerves with a slow almost-Americana turn, and the rock-friendly vibe continues with I’m Ready before the restrained My Son closes the show. Fans of the late Chris Whitley might find much to investigate and appreciate here, and there is plenty of musical talent to enjoy, although the blues gene may not be immediately transparent.

GareTH HaYeS

BILLY THOMPSON

frienD soul stew records

With only a handful of recordings to his name, it’s a surprise to discover that North Carolina’s Billy Thompson is actually a sixty-two year old veteran of the blues scene having made his first recording twenty years ago and having enjoyed a shared stage with the likes of Little Milton, Albert King and Art Neville. It is the generations of influences that shine through the album with the sounds of New Orleans, Texas, Chicago and others all being evident, and appreciated. Kicking off with the funky Soldier Of Misfortunate and the urgent Garden, Thompson lays down his terms of up tempo blues with his accelerated slide guitar and close mic vocal. The intense slow ballad ‘Interlude’ keeps the edge going even though it is a slow number, and the pace goes back up for the swinging Farmer Kenny.

The album continues in that vogue in a fashion of a live show and its sweaty energy is evident by the bucket-load. Keys and saxophone add flavour and width to the Louisiana/New Orleans numbers. The heavy percussion throughout means there is barely time to rest in any one of the thirteen tracks and why would we want to?

GareTH HaYeS

CURTIS SALGADO Soul Shot

alligator records

Exuberant and thrilling from the opener, What You Gonna Do? Curtis Salgado’s Soul Shot takes the listener back to the halcyon days of the great Soul and Blues singers when those two genres were at the throne of music. An album of seven covers and four originals, one of those originals stands out. Love Comfort Zone describes a man with a love that is “something else”. Beautifully paced and with organ and horn flourishes that complement Salgado’s gold-standard vocals, this is one of the songs of the year, on one of the albums of the year. It is easy to imagine a man playing this to his woman to find favour with her and get a bit of his own Love Comfort Zone going. Getting’ To Know You is pacier and here Curtis unleashes that harmonica, in another contender for one of the songs of the year, and Love Man is about as exciting as music gets. The album closes with A Woman Or The Blues, as Blues (and Gospel) as this gets. James Brown would have loved it. This is one shot that has found its mark.

DarYL weaLe

BRYAN LEE

PlAy

one for me

severn records

The Braille Blues Daddy, the 2010 Grammy Nominee, the 2011 BMA Recipient, Mr Bryan Lee has been playing the blues since the sixties. He fine-tuned his chops playing five nights a week for fourteen years on Bourbon Street in New Orleans with his Jump Street Five. So you know you’re not going to get any rubbish on one of his records. And so it proves, with this set, split equally between covers and originals. The good thing is that the covers aren’t the obvious ones. So when he kicks things off with an early seventies tune from George Jackson, Aretha ( Sing One For Me), then it sounds fresh and new. The same applies to the Little Sonny number, When Love Begins (Friendship Ends), which I do remember, but hearing it anew is a real treat. It’s on the edge of blues and soul, but he can turn his attention to a straight blues tune, as he does on Poison, which sees Fabulous Thunderbird man Kim Wilson turning up to blow some harp.Of the originals, it’s the delightfully named ‘You Was My Baby (But You Ain’t My

Baby No More) which comes up trumps. His guitar work is exemplary all the way through, and it’s a really enjoyable CD. If you don’t believe me, then just ask Eric Clapton who called him one of the best bluesmen he’d ever heard.

STUarT a HamILToN

DAVE RILEY AND BOB CORRITORE

huSh your fuSS!

vizztone

Imagine, if you can, sitting on the porch on a lazy sunny afternoon, cold beer flowing, being entertained by two of the best instrumentalists/ storytellers around today. Despite it being late November, that’s the feeling I got listening to this, the third collaboration from singer/guitarist Dave Riley and award winning harpman Bob Corritore. The twelve originals on here are predominantly acoustic, proof, if needed, that down home Delta Blues is alive and well. The pair are joined by Dave Riley Jr. on bass, Brian Fahey on drums and Gloria Bailey on organ (track five ‘Mississippi Po Boy). Opening and

ERIC CLAPTON

What can a reviewer say about Eric Clapton that’s not been said already? Ever since those distant days, half a century ago, with John Mayall and the Yardbirds, he’s notched up award after award, accolade after accolade. As a non-American interpreter of the blues, he leaves the competition standing. With a catalogue as great as Clapton’s, then as with Elvis, when it comes to fandom there’ll be different disciples for different periods. Therefore I am going to commit the cardinal Clapton fan transgression here. Among these superb, atmospheric live acoustic recordings there’s a rendering of Layla and as I can’t stand the damned song, which has its roots in old Slowhand’s more addled period, jumbled in with all that histrionic Delaney and Bonnie guff, then I’ll pass it by. But there’s some fine acoustic blues here, proving that whatever electrified skills Eric possesses on the old Stratocaster, they are easily matched by his studious control of the acoustic guitar. And, of course, there’s that voice. He delivers a song with assured, rugged authenticity, never straining, always maintaining the correct emotional level.

Here you’ll find the lovely old Alberta, Walkin’ Blues, San Francisco Bay Blues, and a spirited version of Rollin’ & Tumblin’. For fans of ‘the other’ Clapton, he gives us a moving delivery of his poignant Tears in Heaven. My own favourite has to be that great old standard, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, (although I doubt Eric’s been down or out in any respect in recent years).The second disk includes out-takes and alternatives, all of which are previously unreleased. Here’s a man who has soaked up the whole blues tradition to become a truly faithful devotee, needing no roadmap to guide him through the territory. Layla aside, if you want to enjoy the results of a man’s lifetime immersion in his art, then sit back and enjoy this. Better still, get your guitar out and try to strum along; it’ll make you realise just how far behind Eric the rest of us are.

roY BaINToN

title track Hush My Fuss set the Delta tone off straight away. Baby Please Come Home has a strong Chicago feel with a more electric and drum sound. No Cussin contains some nice harp work in support of Riley’s great vocals.

The slow pace of Snuff Dippin’ Woman gives Corritore licence to dig deep on a gripping harp solo, with Riley complimentary guitar riffs. Perhaps the best vocals on the disc are saved for the radio-friendly aforementioned Mississippi Po’ Boy. Home In Chicago is pure unadulterated 12 bar Blues at its best, kept simple with sharp riffs from Corritore, whilst Riley shows he knows his way around the fretboard. Hard Headed Woman

has the traditional ‘train’ rhythm lead by Fahey on drums, well complimented by Corritore. Happy As A Man Can Be is pure boogie with bopping rhythm guitar and solid harping behind the vocal. Go Ahead And Blame Me oozes the smell of alcohol and smoke from the old clubs. My Baby’s Gone finds Riley accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, with soloing by Corritore. One of my favourites on the album is the penultimate track Oil Spill Blues, with strong building blocks on rhythm guitar and the correct balance of vocal and harp. Closer Laughing Blues has a somewhat subdued melody and primitive vocals, the ideal ‘cool down’ track for a cool release.

CLIVe rawLINGS

THE JAR FAMILY JArmAlADe

andy&Jar records

A very promising album here by this unique British Band who are impossible to pigeonhole as their music covers all genres of music, the opening track Machine is a real pile driver, with its infectious lead guitar intro, while Sadie would not be out of place on a Bob Dylan album, in-between both Folk and Blues influences are prevalent. The six piece band hail from Hartlepool in the North East of England, a gritty little town that I am sure has been an inspiration for some of their songs, they are a band with no apparent ‘leader’, they share vocal and song writing duties, which may be where the idea for the ‘Family’ band name came from. All the material is original and there are some influences with the Australian Indie band the ‘Mabuses’ in the way, on a couple of tracks, they fill the space between tracks with undecipherable sounds, there are some memorable songs on the album; Is God My Witness being the stand out track. Not a heavily blues influenced band but one that is overflowing with talent, definitely worth a listen.

aDrIaN BLaCkLee

DELBERT MCCLINTON

unDer SuSPiCion –the AbC SeSSionS Raven

McClinton is a product of the Texas and Louisiana roadhouses and will forever be remembered for his famous harp licks on Bruce Channel’s 1962 hit Hey! Baby and meeting John Lennon when touring in UK and giving him tips on harmonica playing.

This two CD set contains McClinton’s first three albums and he had already packed in 15 years experience which showed when he penned all 11

varied tracks for his 1975 debut album Victim Of Life’s Circumstances. This was mainly country rock laced with R&B, funk, soul and honky-tonk and title track Victim is a classic with steel guitars, honky-tonk piano and fiddle rocking along furiously and all topped off with McClinton’s bluesy vocals. Other highlights from this album are the huge hit Two More Bottles Of Wine featuring superb interplay between electric and steel guitars and then the Stax style funk of Lesson In The Pain Of Love with stabbing horns and funky clavinet.

The follow up was 1976’s Genuine Cowhide which featured some rock ‘n’ roll covers with Fats Domino’s Blue Monday, Jesse Stone’s Lipstick, Powder And Paint and a pair of Leiber/Stoller songs plus Bo Diddley’s BeforeYou Accuse Me. Only two originals here but the horn driven I’m Dyin’, Fast As I Can and the soulful Special Love Song are both crackers. 1977’s Love Rustler adds a more contemporary sheen with hard funk numbers like the title track and Under Suspicion plus Jimmie Rogers’ In The Jailhouse Now and a superb rollicking version of Turn On Your Lovelight. The audio quality is superb and McClinton is a wonderful singer making this collection of his early material a must have for me.

DaVe DrUrY

EARL

PeAnutS & monkeyS

acoustic records

I must be getting softer in my old age as there is an attraction in this album I found difficult to ignore. There is no ear splitting guitar solos, heavy rocking numbers or out and out Blues songs. Instead there is quality throughout, from the songwriting to the playing, this connected with me in a way that a lot of music doesn’t. Earl is in fact a group of musicians brought together by Michael Messer when he approached Stuart Earl and asked if he could make an album with Earl. He brought his “friends” and so

there are a range of instruments here not normally seen. Guitarists include Messer and Earl along with BJ Cole and Lyndon Webb who play slide, lap steel, pedal steel, banjo and ukulele between them. Richard Causon is on keys, Simon Price on drums and Andy Crowdy on bass. Recorded live in a small studio, (not enough time was booked to complete in the normal way) the result is a sheer delight to my ears.

All songs are Earl originals and the album opens with Asleep At The Wheel, about as up tempo as it gets. Original written as a Blues, Messer suggested playing it with a light Reggae feel and underlining with lap steel guitar. Great song! That’s What Tomorrow Is For is a beautiful but sorrowful country song which has BJ Cole playing some delightful pedal steel. In contrast is the sunny Lucky In Love, a warm positive groove that conjures up a lazy time with the one you love, and Messer adds that special ingredient on lap steel.

On Mind The Gap Earl sings “make the days count, don’t count the days”, something we should all remember, and his other statement “less is more, more or less” completely describes this album. Faded Glory is about as far out as the band gets, it’s a stripped back song that was originally quite heavy but with BJ playing his pedal steel through a ‘Moogerfooger’ pedal. Have no idea what it is but it produces some weird sounds. There is nothing on this album that disappoints, it’s 100% quality.

merV oSBorNe

THE HOLMES BROTHERS brotherhooD

alligator

MR. BLACK & BLUES lonG roAD home breakneck

It appears that Mr. Black & Blues, aka Michael Pollitt, has created Australian history by becoming the first artist in the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay Chart to have two albums in the top 25 at the same time. This release veers to the acoustic end of the spectrum, albeit with an electric element present. It showcases many numbers featuring Pollitt on resonator guitars and harmonica/vocals.

Tony Forbes, another everpresent, plays banjo on most tracks, whilst violin and viola appear on Dance In The Rain. Five of the ten tracks are Pollitt originals, with the remainder being songs inspired by others. Smokestacked was inspired by the Wolf’s ‘Smokestack Lightnin’ and Killing Floor by Skip James’ Hard Time Killing Floor Blues, although to the less discerning ear, there isn’t a great deal of difference to the original. Opening with Long Road Home, one is immediately thrust into a resonator driven rhythm with banjo overlays.

The Holmes Brothers, Sherman and Wendell, and “brother-in-spirit”

Popsy Dixon, have been around as a trio since 1979, so any addition to their lengthy catalogue is welcomed

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The song is very up tempo and an instant toe tapper. Dreamcatcher is a much pared back song, with guitar, drums and double bass, and a song that relies a lot on Pollitt’s vocals for impact with a Gretsch electric guitar filling the back void. Fever, a version of the classic, swaggers in its own class, and this is followed by the highlight of the album, Broken Heart Blues, a slow Blues Ballad with Ben Franz playing a tremendous hook on Double Bass. Overall, this is an easy listening album that is a delight to the ears.

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with the warmth of a returning friend. It is the nature of that warmth, and the unique spirit of their unique fellowship, that shines through in this latest release, their first for three years. It kicks off with Stayed At The Party. A vibrant and buoyant gospel boogie that sets the tone for celebration and a release of joy and emotion.

The pace softens, ever so slightly, through the soulful You’ve Got To Lose and Lickety Split as the profound lyrical journey of each number marries perfectly with the joyful energy.

The singing harmonies of the Holmes’ trio excel throughout and the album moves comfortably between both sentiment and jive; it certainly provides a dance of mutual triggers. Singing duties on the majestic lament Loving You From Afar come from Felicia Holmes, and she leaves no dry eye in the house. And then there is the ultimate anthem to close the album, Amazing Grace, a tremendous rendition that dutifully lives up to the over-used phrase, on its own a reason to buy the album.

GareTH HaYeS

STEFAN GROSSMAN

the enGliSh yeArS in ConCert

sGGW cD

STEFAN GROSSMAN

blueS for the mAnn A ColleCtion of Country blueS

sGGW cD

There are few people in the colourful world of Country Blues guitar who have spent so much of their life in absolute dedication to the subject. Ian Anderson, editor of Folk Roots magazine, wrote of Stefan Grossman’s arrival in the UK in the 1960s: “Trumpeting his arrival here with a Melody Maker interview which, basically, said that whilst these British guitar chappies of the Jansch/Renbourn ilk were jolly

talented, they couldn’t play ‘real’ blues. Thus he had come here to show us a trick or two.” After spending 20 years in Europe before going home, he showed a lot of tricks to a lot of players. Judging by these two collections, Grossman knows not one or two, but a whole bag of tricks. He’s even credited with showing Clapton a couple of moves, and when you realise that Grossman’s own teacher was the Rev. Gary Davis, and he hung out with Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Bukka White and Skip James (among others), then you’d expect a feel for the frets like no other musician, and you’ll therefore not be disappointed.

The English Years concert CD covers 1977-78, and is terrific for many reasons, especially as he is not only joined on stage by Duck Baker and Sam Mitchell, but on six of these 13 tracks the vocals are taken by arguably the greatest female blues vocalist Britain ever produced - the late Jo Ann Kelly. Stand out tracks are I’m So Glad, Mississippi Swamp March, Special Rider and Pallet on Your Floor.

The second CD, Blues for The Mann gives us the current, up-todate Grossman, with 19 superb tracks where his amazing technique shines in every groove. He’s joined by Danny Kalb and Duck Baker on Buddy Bolden Blues and Richland Women Blues to great effect, and enjoys the company of young Japanese blues player Takio Uchida on Betty and Dupree, Hesitation Blues and Struttin’ Rag.

What Grossman has always done, and continues to do, is inspire, inform and instruct. You can go to his website www.guitarvideos.com and find tablature and everything else you need to know as a wouldbe blues player. These enjoyable, uplifting recordings ought to be essential for anyone with a genuine desire to indulge in the playing of this terrific music. Keep on going, Stefan!

roY BaINToN

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SEAN CHAMBERS the roCk houSe SeSSionS blue Heart records

This is Sean’s first cd without the ‘Band’ after his name, is produced by long-time SRV keyboard player Reese Wynans and he uses exclusively studio musicians, primarily Tommy McDonald on bass and Tom Hambridge on drums. All that apart, we find Chambers at his fret firing best. The CD kicks off with a Rick Vito cover, World On Fire, very apt for these troubled times, the trademark guitar licks and TJ Klay’s wailing harp setting the tone perfectly.

The Chambers/Wynans ballad Meant To Be is very reminiscent of a 70’s Bob Seger ballad, speaking of whom, Chambers and vocalist Etta Britt pull out all the stops on his Come To Poppa.

Gary Moore’s Holding On gets the full brass treatment courtesy of Steve Herman (trumpet) and Jim Hoke (sax), one of the three tracks on which they feature. Tom Hambridge’s Money In A Minute is a real fret burner, a far too frequent tale of taking money over love.

Closer is Ten Years After’s Choo Choo Mama as a dedicaction to the departed Alvin Lee. I’ve left perhaps my two favourites to last, TJ’s harp and Chamber’s guitar on the Chicago blues of Just For The Thrill and the vintage Faces or Stones feel of Healing Ground. Sean Chambers seems to get better with each new release, both vocally and musically, and on here he has surrounded himself with inspirational musicians. Highly recommended for all blues fans.

CLIVe rawLINGS

JACK BLACKMAN

JACk blACkmAn leeds college of music

Having known nothing of Jack Blackman, other than he’d played with Dave Kelly – who called him ‘the best’ and that aged 14! He’d written to Paul Jones who invited him to play on stage with The Blues Band, I wasn’t sure what to expect when playing this CD. Nine acoustic tracks, all penned by Blackman, still a teenager, have resulted in my realisation that what’s been said about this young man is an understatement.

I hear that he’s pretty nifty on the electric front with a Telecaster, but here he’s displaying a high degree of artistic finesse as a lyricist on very mature material like This Old Life Will Be the Death of Me and a beautiful song entitled Honeyboy Edwards, plus the haunting Buddy Holly’s Ghost. In the garish, dumbed-down 21st century showbiz environment of Britain’s Got Talent, replete with its deluded, unoriginal young wannabes butchering classic songs written before they were born, to come across an artist like Jack Blackman, whose superb guitar playing alone sets him above anything, then an old crust like this reviewer can rest assured in his dotage that the blues is in good, strong youthful hands. Watch out for this lad, he’s much more than a musical hope, he’s an inspiration, and that’s something he emanates every time he plays.

roY BaINToN

FRANK BEY & ANTHONY PAULE BAND Soul for your blueS

blue Dot records

If ever an album had an appropriate title, this is it. Opener I Don’t Know Why is a smoking soul track featuring great, heartfelt vocals from Bey along with classy horn backing from Mike Rinta (trombone and tuba), Nancy Wright (sax) and Steffen Kuehn on trumpet. I’m Leavin’ You maintains the solid feel, but crosses over to the blues with a solid bottom by bassist Paul Olguin and drummer Paul Revelli. Anthony Paule lays down some great guitar riffs on this track, again backed up again by the horn section. I Just Can’t Go On, Christine Vitale composition, has a real solid soul feel about it, and conjures up most images of Bey’s earlier employer, Otis Redding. Paule steps up again with a quality solo, not overpowering, but spot on.

Rick Estrin adds a cool harp to the R&B style on one of the album’s better tracks Don’t Mess With The Monkey. Bey’s vocal on the old club style blues of Buzzard Luck also features a different side of Paule’s guitar playing. The warmth of the horns on You’re Somebody Else’s Baby Too, accentuates Bey’s belting lead vocal , along with some melodic guitar from Paule.

Instrumental Smokehouse, takes the listener to where it says on the tin, a New Orleans style jam. Rinta plays the lead tuba intro to Percy Mayfield’s Nothing Stays The Same Forever something this reviewer has not heard before, but it works to be fair. With its funky feel, this is a strong track containing, as it does, little ‘dabs’ from each band member. Rick Estrin guests again on the bluesy Bed For My Soul.

Closer is a swing instrumental version of the standard I Left My Heart In San Francisco, on which Paule pulls out all the stops with a clean lead, supplemented by the horns and Revelli’s drums, making the track rock. All in all, not a bad

album, parts of it will certainly bring back memories of Mr Redding.

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GARLAND JEFFREYS truth Serum

luna

Park

Garland Jeffreys is a name I have vaguely known for many years without any further knowledge of his style or material. This fine CD is the follow up to 2011’s successful album The King Of In Between and will certainly remedy that state of affairs with it’s trade mark mix of rock, blues, reggae and soul. Opener and title track Truth Serum is a Chicago style blues featuring great slide guitar from Duke Levine and wailing harp from Brian Mitchell alongside Jeffreys’ declamatory vocals telling of his angst, self-delusion and problems with alcohol.

The songs are very personal, raw, fresh and invigorating. The catchy mid-tempo rocker Any Rain has already been successfully released as a single and It’s What I Am is a vibrant ballad in which Jeffreys admits to insecurities and weaknesses with passionate vocals and backing from a cracking band of NYC veterans. The theme is continued in the convincing Marley style groove of the loping reggae Dragons To Slay. Is This The Real World is an acoustic based folkrocker which tells of the endless search for a better life. The gentle Ship Of Fools is a ballad featuring melodic accordion from Brian Mitchell. Family tensions feature in the coruscating edgy rocker Collide The Generations with heavy guitars, drums and bass etc all crashing against each other and Jeffreys shouting the vocals. Phew! The style is reminiscent of those other edgy NYC vets Velvet Underground. This is followed by the slinky, sliding Colorblind Love and then Revolution Of The Mind closes this fine album of incisive, thoughtful and down to earth songs. Brilliant.

DaVe DrUrY

Watch out for this lad, he’s an inspiration...

ROBIN ROBERTSON BLUES BAND

rrbb Independent

The Robin Robertson Blues Band is another new name to me, but upon checking their web site the pedigree of the band members is extremely high. Annette Chapman, vocals, is a classically trained singer and Fellow of the London College of Music. Robin himself is a trained jazz guitarist and renowned guitar teacher. Dot Allen on keyboards was for 15 years a London session musician before relocating to Edinburgh. The drummer, Ruairidh Saunders, whilst younger than the others, is currently studying for an honours degree in music and was chosen for his exceptional skill and intuitive playing. Opening with Sippie Wallace’s Women Be Wise, Chapman lays bare her vocal ability, wringing tension and emotion from each word in an extremely emotive rendition. Jimmy Reed’s Bright Lights Big City ups the tempo with a rocky version of a great standard.

This is followed by Dust In The Wind, a beautiful original ballad featuring Dot Allan’s empathetic keyboards. This is the first of five Chapman originals, the best of which is New Orleans, a good foot tapper and featuring Robertson on slide. The classic The Thrill Is Gone is given a RRBB makeover, with Chapman’s voice oozing sadness and some delightful keyboard work in the background. The distorted guitar solo adds a further dimension from the usual.

The same treatment is given to Sam Price and Wilbur Harrison’s CC Rider which closes the album but with less success. The album, with ten tracks on offer is very easy listening, ably played and the production means the end product is very crisp and clear, an album I enjoyed throughout. I’m not usually a fan of vocals, much preferring the instrumentation, but Annette Chapman’s voice is a sheer delight,

MANFRED MANN eP ColleCtion

7 cD brolly box set

It says something for quality, blues-based pop music that 50 years after it was made, and the current 30-somethings of our rapacious advertising industry still find it an irresistible product to utilise in their often pretentious campaigns. Manfred Mann’s catalogue is a case in point. The track which kicks this vibrant collection off, 1964’s 5-4-3-2-1 more or less sums up the popular fringe of the 60s British blues boom. It still crops up everywhere. With Paul Jones’s rip-roaring harmonica and well-projected vocals, the Manfreds lit up that valley between the Beatles and the Stones whilst hanging on to their jazzy, bluesy roots. Buying these seven EPs when they came out in the 60s was always a thrill, because the band had sophisticated taste and you never knew what jazzy gems they’d pick for our delectation. Another firm favourite among these is the atmospheric Groovin EP, which includes another permanent jukebox/ radio evergreen, Do Wah Diddy Diddy. Go to any wedding reception and the minute that first line roars out ‘There she was just a walkin’ down the street’ and even the nippers born in the last two decades will be singing along. It’s nice that each CD in the set has a sleeve reproducing the original EP cover, and out of these 28 tracks you can find some genuine gold nuggets; Bob Dylan’s With God on Our Side, a bit of Ray Charles with Let’s Go Get Stoned, Screaming Jay Hawkins’ I Put A Spell on You, and throughout the set there’s fascinating notes by Tom McGuinness and John Burgess. I remember Paul Jones telling me that when he joined the Manfreds the phrase “We’re going to be bigger than The Shadows” came up. Well, maybe not ‘bigger’, but certainly equal toand these seasoned and entertaining pros are still doing it in The Blues Band, on PJ’s Radio 2 show, and via the eternally touring Manfreds. A superb little box of happy memories of fine British pop, and highly recommended.

roY BaINToN

reminding me at times of Maggie Bell, but best highlighted on Billie Holliday’s God Bless The Child. I’m just surprised we’ve never heard of her before.

merV oSBorNe

REV FERRIDAY & THE LONGDOGS

nine beAtS Independent

Check out the good Reverend on the internet and you’ll see this outfit described as “somewhere between Johnny Cash and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds” with “similar artists” given as Seasick Steve and Eddie Martin – to which I

might add, on the evidence of this lowdown and dirty blues CD, The Rolling Stones (60s version) and maybe vintage Canned Heat. Reverend plays guitar and drums, and he is aided and abetted by Owen Bray on guitar and blues harp, with Neil Sadler also providing bass and drum support. Ferriday started out playing indie-rock in the 80s and was working in National Debt with Michael Messer (and Bray) around the start of the millennium. This is his second album under his own name and the leader’s vocals are thick and mean, the songs direct and energetic, the sound gritty, raw, and real, with elements of the harddriving North Mississippi hill country

12 Blues Music Awards Nominations - BMA Soul Album of the Year 2010 - Nominated for 2013 Soul Album of the Year and Male Soul Artist of the Year. Winner of Living Blues Southern Soul Album of the Year 3 times.

Donate to BLUES Hall of Fame www.blues.org

Bookings: 406- 461- 8016

approach in places, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and more than a tinge of alt-blues. A thoroughly modern blues album in other words, whilst drawing from the deep well of blues tradition, check it out.

NormaN DarweN

HOLLAND K. SMITH

CobAlt

ellersoul

NUNO MINDELIS

AnGelS & ClownS

shining stone music

Texan blues and roots-rocker

Smith’s new album is produced by Anson

Funderburgh so you can be assured that musicianship and sound are top notch throughout. Opener Love Liquidation swings along with BB King style guitar licks and funky horns. You Get What You Want has a jazzier swinging feel featuring Funderburgh on guitar and smooth vocals from Smith. Just One Heartache is a rocking Texas blues featuring distorted vocals which make Smith sound like a young Dr. John.

The Itch is a bit of a retro rocker featuring pounding piano and Chuck Berry guitar riffing. Smith croons on the pop ballad Magic Wand and then adds jazzy guitar licks to the Jimmy Smith styled instrumental Cobalt which features Gentleman John Street on organ and Ron Jones on sax.

There is a touch of gospel/ soul to Lefty Williams Little Bit Of Faith with Smith’s heartfelt vocals set against female backing singers. Don’t Buy That is a pop blues with a Latin tempo and Never Got The Blues is a classic slow blues with cool horns and a tasty guitar solo and smooth vocals. The album closes with the instrumental Olhos Verde (Green Eyes) which opens with Latin style acoustic guitar which then suddenly acquires a shimmering Duane Eddy twang before reverting back to smooth acoustic for the close. An interesting mix of old and new styles which will surely increase Smith’s following.

DaVe DrUrY

Born in Angola but brought up in Brazil Nuno Mindelis is often referred to in his homeland as ‘The Beast from Brazil’, I can assure you this has nothing to do with his demeanour or stature it is purely that he is a superb blues musician whose tone on the guitar is a joy to hear, on this album he is joined by Duke Robillard and some of his band, who provide some subtle but solid backing, leaving Nuno to lead from the front. The song writing and musicianship on the album are sublime and I was completely blown way by the quality of the Blues being played here, while I cannot incorporate details of all the tracks, I have highlighted a couple that deserve special praise, namely; 27th Day, which includes a mesmerising soulful vocal and a stunning guitar solo by Nuno and Blues in My Cabin, which is as close as you will get to authentic Chicago Blues. The album was recorded in the USA under the production control of Duke Robillard, who used analogue tape and vintage mics to create the clean sound that makes this album so fresh and contemporary.

aDrIaN BLaCkLee

JOHNNY

RAWLS

rememberinG o.V. catfood records

Johnny Rawls, one time music director and guitarist in the 70’s for O.V.Wright, one of soul music’s great singers, played a major role in keeping O.V’s band going into the 90’s after Wright died in 1980. He himself acknowledges the inspiration that his mentor gave him and still drives him in his musical route to this day. When approached by Bill Wax, a radio station director to record an album of

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LITTLE JOHN GUELFI & THE BLUES TRAIN

JAmmin’ with little John riserva sonora

Little John hails from Italy a land where music is more often associated with opera than the blues of the Mississippi delta. This 2CD set contains one CD of self-penned songs sung in Italian and one disc of cover versions in English. As my knowledge of the Italian language is nonexistent, I’ll keep my comments brief on this first disc. Autostrada is a driving song featuring good guitar work from Paolo Bonfanti. Pizza Salamino is a rocking blues extolling the delights of Italy’s popular dish and features Paul Rubin on harmonica. There are also a couple of rather good instrumentals here but I shall move on to more familiar territory with CD2. This opens with a cover of Moby’s dance song Bodyrock and is followed by Lieber/ Stoller’s loping Kansas City featuring rolling piano from Alex Armuschio and good guitar from Little John. The Pink Panther and Peter Gunn themes are covered and we then jump to Elmore James’ The Sky Is Crying. I’m afraid I struggle with the vocals on most of this as they are so strained in trying to sound at all bluesy. The most convincing vocals are from guest Vivian B on I Don’t Need No Doctor. A great rocking version of Green Onions is followed by Deep Purple’s rocker Highway Star. Springsteen’s thumping Pink Cadillac is followed by a crushing Johnny B. Goode with dear old Chuck no doubt looking for his royalties. Nice to hear blues is alive and kicking in Italy.

DaVe DrUrY

Wright’s songs. Rawls jumped at the chance and sings on all tracks, with guest vocalist Otis Clay on three of them. Having a successful career himself and becoming a recognized southern soul/Blues man in his own right, the backing musicians here are of the highest order, particularly the brass section, which throughout adds a dimension that elevates the songs. The blend of songs swing between ballad and up tempo numbers, but as would be expected with the style of music, the vocalist is always the controlling factor in the music, never cutting loose, but paying homage to the integrity of the music, beat and lyrics. To this end Rawls is the perfect foil and as he sings in Blaze Of Glory, written by both himself and bassist Bob Trenchard as a tribute to Wright, he’s going to “...keep the fire going”.

This track shows the contrast between Rawls and Clay’s vocals, both offering a poignant variation in interpretation. The soul classic Blind Crippled And Crazy is the hardest hitting track here, with real menace in the vocals. Best cut on the album is Don’t Let My Baby Ride with its chunky Hammond organ fills, brass backing and a wonderful guitar solo that shines because of its simplicity and understatement. As tribute albums go I don’t usually like them, but this packs a punch and reignites the name of a great, is played by excellent musicians and is no doubt a quality release.

merV oSBorNe

MILLER ANDERSON from lizArD roCk

mIG records

This is a German double CD release covering live performances in Germany during 2008 and is very much a career perspective, the recording quality is excellent and for anyone who can remember the late 60’s and early 70’s, there are some familiar tracks here that were previously released by the Keef Hartley Band and Savoy Brown, two

bands that Miller Anderson performed with during this period. The stand out track on CD 1 is Just to Cry, originally recorded on the Halfbreed album, Miller’s vocals drain every emotion out of the song and this is a far better version than the original, which is really appreciated here by a very attentive audience.

While mainly playing electric guitar Miller does switch into an acoustic mode for a couple of tracks, the pick of these is Ry Cooder’s Country influenced Borderline, beautifully played and sung. Miller Anderson is a true 60’s Blues survivor and has written, and continues to write, some terrific songs, the Keef Hartley Band even performed at the Woodstock festival early in their career which Miller recounts in an amusing tale called Memories of Woodstock. This double CD highlights what a great artist and servant to British Music Miller Anderson is, very underrated in the UK but clearly he has a strong following in Germany, thanks to them we can all enjoy and savoir some fine music.

aDrIaN BLaCkLee

RANDY SCOTT

out of the blue favored nations

This CD has something for everyone. Opener Ramblin’ Man Blues, with its jazz/ rock/blues/country fusion should get a lot of airplay. Whiskey From The Bottle has a more contemporary 12 bar blues rhythm, with a nod to Robben Ford. Scott has a decent voice and knows his way around a fretboard. Special mention here to keyboard player Jeff Babko. Nothing But A Thang gives bassist Travis Carlton free rein to set the pace, whilst drummer Gary Novak plays tight breaks behind Scott’s innovative guitar riffs, a really good track. Can’t Quit On You is a direct blues track, giving Scott’s

THE JEFF HEALEY BAND

liVe from nyC – reCorDeD

DeCember 13, 1988

eagle

This set is from early in Jeff’s successful career, with See the Light his then current album and the track itself an opportunity to showboat, nothing wrong with that! Jeff also refers to working on the Road House movie before laying down a blistering version of Cream’s White Room.

Further On Up The Road is a little too fast, allowing plenty of space for guitar but with the vocals rather immaterial. I didn’t recognise it on first hearing, without the CD case in front of me, and indeed, on many of the numbers, Jeff goes flat-out, with little room for subtlety – though the closing Good Morning Blues is a fine slow(er) performance. Sound quality is OK, certainly for a gig that took place a quarter century ago, though Joe Rockman’s bass and Tom Stephen’s drums do suffer..

The NYC show was recorded at the prestigious club The Bottom Line, but with Jeff’s comments to a radio audience suggesting that the source of this recording was a broadcast for Radio WNEW. This CD will certainly appeal to Jeff’s many fans but in truth, if what you are looking for is an introduction to the man and his music, try one of the studio albums instead – then you’ll probably want to work your way round to this.

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voice a chance to compliment his playing. Again Carlton and Novak step up to create a hot bed of rhythm, on Never Enough, a truly funky blues track. Guest Albert Lee appears on the first of two tracks, the light and jazzy Mean Hearted Woman, the trade-offs back and forth really brighten things up. Don’t Call It Love is another contender for airplay, Kisses Like Cherries enters ballad territory, whilst the instrumental Talkin’ My Baby Down, though short and sweet, is up-tempo boogie a la Funderburgh. The title track, another instrumental, is a hard driver, perhaps in jam band style, each band member expressing himself and with Scott exhibiting modern guitar techniques.

Hell To Pay reverts to country/ blues, again with Albert Lee, and is a fast paced track, would like to see this live.Instrumental Tommy’s Tune is an acoustic boogie, with fancy finger pickin’, an ideal way to finish off. Detroit born Scott took a nine year break from music, and was spotted playing in a guitar store, this CD is the result of that. A fine effort it is, too.

CLIVe rawLINGS

GT’S BOOS BAND

SteAk houSe

birnham cD

Well known on the Scottish blues circuit, this Stirling-based blues outfit have released a stunning debut album. A ten song collection of mostly self-penned numbers, with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure, one being the Son House’s mournful classic, Death Letter.

This release has it all from start to finish. Pile driver guitar blends with gritty and soulful vocals by Greig Taylor – such as on the title track, which tips the cap to other influences, such as Muddy Waters, but with their own take.

Letham City Blues comes over as being a melodic laid back number but has dark undertones, being a song about doing time in a Scottish jail. Letham... seems to touch on a feeling of overall redemption, maybe

HANK MOWERY ACCount to me

old Pal records

Whilst this cd contains five of the late Gary Primich’s compositions, plus two discovered by his father after his death, vocalist/harpist Mowery is at lengths to point out this is not a ‘tribute’ album, more of a collaboration with the Primich family. Primich’s former bass player Patrick Recob features, along with Troy Amaro on guitar, Chris Corey (keys), John Large (drums) ,Jimmie Stagger and Junior Valentine guest on guitar on a couple of tracks.

A Mowery original, Spend A Little Time, a rocking bar room blueser, gets things off to a flyer. Newly found Primich track Account To Me showcases Amaro’s classic blues tremelo riffs. Put The Hammer Down has a distinct Primich feel with a hint of rockabilly, Amaro laying down some clear guitar riffs, Mowery backing him up with great harp riffs. The classic Chicago style delivery of If I Knew What I Know besides containing some of the best vocals on the album, has some of the best instrumentation. Banana Oil has more of a Latin beat featuring Corey on B3, with Mowery’s harp showing a different side to the blues. Another Primich track Tricky Game has a New Orleans twist, accentuated by Large’s crisp percussion and Corey’s piano. Along with Mowert’s smooth harp and vocals, justice is done to the track.

My Home gives Amaro a chance to play some really tasty riffs, complimenting Mowery on vocals. There is smooth harp work here too and the whole Texas feel to this track makes for good soloing. Pray for A Cloudy Day, another Primich original, is a laid back blues track, a collaboration with the family. The driving boogie of Recob’s Target is an all-out jam.

The album finishes with the finger style blues of Rev Robert Wilkins That’s No Way To Get Along, featuring Jimmie Stagger on vocal and National and of course the Mowery harp. A decent way to finish. Special mention has to be made of the concise liner notes put together by Tad Robinson and the design put together by Kate Moss and her husband Nick, often to be found playing with Gary.

CLIVe rawLINGS

autobiographical, but something most people can identify with.

On Lonely Roads this exhibits the exquisite guitar playing of John Boos with deep and passionate grooves. A stand out track indeed, exemplifying how tight a band this is. The full band sound is more prominent on another cover, Motorhead’s Whorehouse Blues, with guitar and harmonica blending well. Another acclaimed and adulated song is What I’m Wishing. The GT’s Boos Band certainly have got to be one of the best Scottish Blues outfits around.

Electric, in every true sense of the word.

CoLIN CamPBeLL

LIGHTNIN’ GUY

inhAle my worlD

Dixie frog

Lightnin’ Guy comes from Belgium and tours regularly throughout Europe with his band The Mighty Gators and also as a one man band. This album contains twelve original songs and opener Maxwell Street is a paean to his mentor and legendary Belgian slide guitar player Marino Noppe and features some lyrical slide guitar from Guy and good work from a small horn section. Guy is not

Blues Top 50 november 2013

so much a blues artist per se as a blues lover who blends his influences with more contemporary styles and new musical directions. Title track Inhale My World is a melodic and gently atmospheric pop/rock song with lovely guitar work although the lyrics seem to hint at something much darker. Guy’s predilection for slide guitar is a huge feature of this album with it’s very personal songs which feature key people and events in his life which have shaped him. There is a funky guitar intro to the Stevie Ray Vaughan inspired song Powered By The Blues and then the ragged sounds of a brass band intro to the plaintive ballad Here I Am Baby. Guy switches to a resonator guitar for the more stripped down style of Four Hands.A Weissenborn guitar is played on the tale of a troubled relationship Silent Violence and also on Breakin’ Out which tells of moving into a brighter period. The album closes with a pretty instrumental piece St. Raphael Blues played solo by Guy on slide resonator guitar. An interesting and varied album with the promise of more to come.

DaVe DrUrY

MICK ABRAHAMS

hooChie CooChie mAn secret records

BARE BONES BOOGIE BAND

tAttereD & torn bare bones boogie band I first heard The Bare Bones Boogie Band when Fallin’ For Foolin appeared on Volume 1 of Jock’s Juke Joint, It was a good tune, albeit one lacking in boogie. So I didn’t bother with either of the albums –Red and Blue. But here they are with their third album and it’s time to find out what the fuss is about. Of course, they’re not really a Scotch blues band, what with their English rhythm section, but as we’re not independent yet I’ll let that slide. The band formed in London back in 2008 when ex pats Helen Turner (vocals) and Iain Black (guitar) got together with Trev Turley (bass) and Andy Jones (drums) with the aim of playing “stripped-down, no nonsense, heavy, soulful blues.” So, not boogie. Sigh. In fact, there isn’t much in the way of blues here at all. The band themselves say that Tattered & Torn sees them “developing the rock and soul

This is another release highlighting British Blues from the guys at Secret Records, if you can get past the garish cover art there is a real treasure trove here, the tracks were apparently recorded over a decade ago but have remained in the vaults undisturbed until now, there are no band details available but this is a band recording albeit that Mick Abrahams is a long way out-front.

Mick is a survivor from the mid 1960’s British Blues Boom period where he performed both as a solo artist and performed in band formats with both Blodwyn Pig and Jethro Tull, on this fifteen track album there are a mixture of covers and original material, while the majority follow the electric guitar led blues rock style there are a couple of exceptions, Terry/McGee’s Cornbread & Peas highlights some nimble acoustic guitar picking and harmonica playing, while on Roadroller we are treated to some National Steel playing. Mick is a complete musician, his guitar playing is up there with the British Blues greats and his vocals are strong, he deserves all the recognition he gets and Secret Records are certainly supporting him well, as this is their fourth release that features Mick Abrahams.

aDrIaN BLaCkLee

elements”. So what you end up with is a lot of fairly middle of the road, seventies styled soft rock with some funky guitar licks. Apart from on their cover of Black Coffee, which sees Helen Turner hitting notes you wish she’d aimed for on every song, and the band getting a wee bit grubby around the edges. It’s a cracking version. The other cover is a Bob Dylan song, so we won’t talk about that. Of their own material it’s the slow blues of Passion And Pain that really grabs you. They rarely get out of second gear, so the closing Seven Miles To The Station is a rare, up tempo treat.

STUarT a HamILToN

HUGH LAURIE

liVe on the Queen mAry eagle vision (DvD)

Hugh Laurie has taken a bit of flak for recording the blues, but other actors, from Guy Davis to Steven Seagal have also recorded blues with varying degrees of success. Hugh follows in Professor Longhair’s footsteps by recording on the Queen Mary – which is quite apt as Hugh’s music draws greatly on the sounds of the Crescent City, and on Fess himself and his associates, plus Hugh himself fits right into the setting – his Bertie Wooster character would probably feel right at home.

Hugh’s eight piece Copper Bottom Band is faultless (Vincent Henry on various horns and harmonica is outstanding) and the 82 minutes long show is just that... a show, with elements of a visual performance supporting the excellent music; vocalists Jean McClain and Gaby Moreno are a lot more than ‘mere backing singers,’ as a listen to their treatment of Rosetta Tharpe’s Didn’t It Rain will demonstrate. Hugh’s blues are entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable, and may well bring new listeners to the music. The

DVD also contains a documentary introducing the band, examining the influence of Professor Longhair on Laurie, (revealing that the gig was conceived as a homage to Fess), meeting Jon Cleary and Mud Morganfield, visiting Ray Charles’ studio, and smelling a ukulele, and there is a 20 minutes long face to face interview to round things off. Beautifully filmed, produced and edited, it certainly made me think more highly of Hugh Laurie the blues performer.

NormaN DarweN

RUFF KUTT BLUES BAND

thAt’S when the blueS beGinS vizztone

Don’t be put off by the peculiar name. This is an all-star gathering out for a repeat show after the success of their 2011 album Mill Block Blues. The success of that album meant that the band were able to donate a huge sum to the Blues Foundation’s HART Fund for blues musicians in hardship.

This current album comes with a scenario of trauma too, as vocalist Finis Tasby had a debilitating stroke shortly after cutting the album. Consequently, a proportion of the takings from this album will be heading to the Finis Tasby Medical Fund. And that album is quite a treat. With better know names Zac Harmon and Anson Funderburgh trailing their guitars across the album for idolater numbers such as That’s When The Blues Begins, Down So Low and Bare Foot Blues, then blues satisfaction is mighty close. There is a classy mix of the up tempo, Blues In My Blood, and the slow too with Blues Ain’t A Color, providing a fine balance, all knowingly produced by Funderburgh. With the songs written by bassist James Goode and the vocal incision of Tasby taking an extra poignancy, there is a much to be appreciated from this genuinely authoritative blues assembly.

GareTH HaYeS

BRIAN KRAMER out of the blueS (book) full CirCle (CD)

bullet Point Publishing & bKb cD

If you’ve enjoyed following Stockholm-based Brooklyn-born bluesman Brian Kramer’s recent Road to Siberia feature here in recent issues, you might well be interested in reading a fair bit more and also hearing the guy in action. In an almost unprecedented move, Kramer has boldly gone where few have tried before with the simultaneous release of his first novel, Out Of The Blues and a new CD, Full Circle. Launched at his literal stamping ground in the Swedish capital, Stampen, a blues/jazz venue where the man himself is often found leading jams and otherwise kicking up a fine old blues-inspired shindig, the novel is published by Bullet Point Publishing under his full name of Brian D Kramer. And in a region now leading the world in crime fiction, Out Of The Blues fits nicely into the genre with the added twist of blues music and dodgy dealing at its heart and an author who certainly knows the business back to front and inside out. But to say it’s a crime novel, does Brian a disservice: instead it’s an intriguing insiders view of the world of the pro musician and the daily trials and troubles that can all too easily beset the unwary player.

Full Circle, the accompanying CD release, is an excellent little album. Themed around Kramer’s quarter century as a pro player and his US Big Apple roots, It sure resonates with me with its laid-back rhythm and material that ranges from Ragtime-Blues influences to Brian’s beloved and sensitively picked Steel Guitar work. His electric playing is also showcased with a fine bunch of backing musicians including Chuck Anthony on guitar, Mats Quarfordt on Harp, Bert Deivert, Steel Mandolin, and some very soulful backing vocals from Maria Blom, Isabella Lundgren and Fanny Holm. At times the groove here is reminiscent of the late JJ Cale, with its deceptively laid-back melodies and clever lyricism.

You might be excused for thinking that Kramer, who for many years provided back-up guitar to Eric Bibb, both on the road and in the studio, would be struggling with writer’s block having laboured to fruition and produced a novel. Well you’d be wrong: he also wrote all of the material that features on this cracking CD. Kramer is simply one of those rare, multi-talented guys, it seems.

IaIN PaTIeNCe

TOMMY z

SometimeS

south blossom records

Well, if you’ve been sitting around thinking “I really need some instrumental guitar widdling and I need it now”, then the opening track on this CD will make you very happy indeed as Roger That chucks in every widdle under the sun. And a bass solo! Deep joy. So no one was more surprised than me when the next track saw some honking horns and a

cover version of the Willie Dixon chestnut 200lbs Of Joy. But seems like the widdle was just a ruse as Tommy Z is an acclaimed blues singer and guitarist who obviously likes to shred now and then. He has worked with the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Blues Traveler, and Robert Randolph among many others, even popping up on the Gillan’s Inn album by Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. Which is where I know the name from! When A Blind Man Cries with Jeff Healey. It all

makes sense now. Mr Z whaps out three covers in a row with Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s Gangster Of Love a real treat before the Eric Clapton number Old Love. Then it’s off into another half dozen originals which veer between fusion like instrumentals, ZZ Top influenced shuffles like Livin’ In A Blue State and slow blues such as So Tired Of Being Lonely. Things end up with a proper boogie in the shape of Tommy’s Boogie and all is well with the world. As an album it’s all over the place, albeit a cracker from top to bottom. So, if you’re a wee bit schizophrenic, and looking for some variety in your life, then this is the place to be.

STUarT a HamILToN

CLIMAX BLUES BAND

liVe At roCkPAlASt 1976 repertoire cD/DvD

THE BLUES BAND

liVe At roCkPAlASt 1979 repertoire cD/DvD

is only exceeded by ‘Let’s see you clap your hands’. But I’m being unfair. Musically, they had a range which covered a pre-Average White Band funkiness all the way through to excellent renditions of numbers such as Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen and Willie Dixon’s Seventh Son. Haycock’s guitar work is exemplary, especially on Country Hot, whilst Cooper’s sax and harmonica give their blues some real bottle. If you like good musicianship and well-played blues with good vocals, this is just the job. Fast forward three years to 1979, and Punk had finally been and gone, but you can see its effect on The Blues Band. Paul Jones, Dave Kelly, Tom McGuinness, bassist Gary Fletcher and the BB’s original drummer, ex-John Mayall Hughie Flint, all appear much less hairier than Climax, less sartorially Californian, with no flares in sight and no stack heels. This is a bunch of seasoned, first generation British bluesers energetically riding on Punk’s coattails, within a few months of forming ‘just for beer money’.

CHICAGO BLUES ALL-STARS

reD hot & blueS azure music

Yes, this is mostly covers including a couple of the usual suspects but when performed by people whose C.V’s include Otis Rush, Buddy, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins and James Cotton with the instruction to just play it how it feels right, not much can go wrong.

Two bargains for nostalgia fans here, reviewed together simply to contrast how the stagecraft in delivering the blues changed in less than four years. Most fans of a certain age will simply remember The Climax Blues Band from their massive 1977 hit, Couldn’t Get It Right. This TV gig filmed in Germany in 1976 features the original line-up with ace axeman Pete Haycock and on sax/vocals, Colin Cooper.

The Germans had a regular live rock showcase on TV, Rockpalast, and they were wise enough to preserve some stunning performances in their archives. Great musicians Climax were, but this warts’n’all concert has some dull, between-songs sequences whilst roadies adjust mikes and band members struggle to connect with a keen audience of young, hairy Germans with that basic roadie banter, ‘One-two, one-two’ which

Blues Band member Paul Jones, and Tom McGuinness, had vast experience as showmen, having learned their craft in the ranks of Manfred Mann, whilst Jones was already gathering a reputation as an actor. The required hard-core blues under-pinning was the ever solid and reliable Dave Kelly, a supreme slide player and genuinely authentic blues vocalist, sideman to Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. They roll along like a juggernaut on the DVD with 15 amazing slabs of R‘n’B, from Elmore James to Chuck Berry, and even Bob Dylan’s Maggie’s Farm. Whereas the Climax Blues Band’s performance is musically impressive, yet flat in communication, band’s seamlessly entertaining thrust grabs the studio audience from the first notes and never let’s go. There’s a bonus backstage interview on the DVD. These CD/DVD sets are nicely packaged with informative booklets by Michael Heatley, and reveal what an admirable archive Germany has given us with Rockpalast.

roY BaINToN

Lead vocals and guitar are mostly shared between 6’11’’ Dan Ivankovich and Killer Ray Allison to great effect. Harp player Scott Dirks takes vocal duties on the two Junior covers, Snatch It Back And Hold It and Hoodoo Man, with superb results. Additional vocals are added by vibrant young singer Anji Brooks. Most tracks are extra embellished by trombone, trumpet and sax, adding to that Chicago vibe, but don’t get the idea this is any kind of tribute act, the arrangements are new and fresh. Even the more familiar tracks like Wang Dang Doodle and Walking The Dog sound fresh and exciting, Anji’s vocals especially adding to the former, and to B.B’s Rock Me Baby making it sound funky and joyous.

Well known keyboard ace Roosevelt Purifoy plays throughout and takes the vocal duties on album closer, his own classic, Mad Hatter Blues. Drummer Jerry Porter(Buddy Guy among others) and bassist Johnny B. Gayden (stalwart of the Albert Collins Band) are rock solid throughout.

If you are a fan of Chicago blues and bands like Phantom Blues Band or Ruff Cutt Blues this is highly recommended.

STeVe YoUrGLIVCH

the

The 7Th Carlisle Blues roCk FesTival

Hilltop Hotel, carlisle

November 8–10th 2013

Seen as the U.K.’s premier autumn music event, Carlisle again delivered an impressive weekend of Rock and Blues. The Hilltop provided a relaxed venue, while the team of techs and helpers had

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! rou N d–up of live blues

everything running smoothly. Not only was there the usual breadth of styles and quality of artists, but in hosting the European Blues Union Awards the industry recognised Carlisle’s status.

State-side headliners included some musical younger sons. Devon Allman, son of Gregg, and Cyril, youngest Neville Brother forming part of blues rock ‘super group’ Royal Southern Brotherhood. Dickey Betts’ son Duane, and Cody Dickinson, son of producer

Jim, made up three-fifths of The Mississippi Mudbloods. Friday night, meanwhile saw Bernard Allison, son of legendary Luther top the bill. The cream of current UK contemporary blues artists completed this eclectic mix.

Friday

Friday night saw a brave set of re-arranged material from Jon Amor after gremlins attacked his loop effect. The Stevie Nimmo power trio made their mission

Bernard allison at Carlisle Blues roCk

photo: paul WeBster

royal southern Brotherhood's devon allman at Carlisle

photo: paul WeBster

statement early with a savage take on Rattlesnake Shake, continuing with a heavy helping of blues-rock. A direction change came with The Stumble, coasting the margins of Southside Johnny through BB King. Slow burning All Over Again featured the sweet guitar of Colin Black and mellow sax of Simon Anthony. Vocalist Paul Melville gave an emotive This Is My Life and a grinding take on Meet Me In The Bottom. Bernard Allison started with a driving instrumental and proceeded to wring a multitude of sounds from his guitar. Backtrack, a strong riffing number, Let’s Try Again tumbled with notes while Freddy King’s Down Down included an epic drum and bass solo courtesy of George Moye and Erick Ballard. Encore Slight Return included a pic ‘n’ mix of riffs, and the applause continued until they

returned for When I Hold You In My Arms.

The Mustangs played competent covers and originals in the after-hours Fairfield Lounge, including energetic takes on harpdriven guitar thrash When God Met the Devil and a double helping of their own Nothing Stays The Same to close.

saturday

Mid-day Saturday and Blue Swamp took the audience through some acoustic blues with surreal between numbers banter. Bowden & Williamson, with Big Vern on percussion, moved from the smoky jazz of Jump The Line to a deeptoned blues ramble on Through The Grapevine. Slack Alice proved a crowd pleaser checking through the bride’s quartet of old, new, borrowed and blue, all firmly wed

The STevie Nimmo power Trio made Their miSSioN STaTemeNT early

to Seventies rock.The seven-piece Brass Knuckles Band with Steve Roux took a different road. Albert King’s Your Gonna Need Me had brass augmented by keyboard and competent guitar from Roux. Original It Just Might Be Too Late saw brass fills in unison, breaking off to allow Roux his solo. Following the first tranche of E.B.U. awards Ian Parker gave a well-received

ian siegal and the mississippi mudBloods at Carlisle

photo: Christine moore

dave migden & the dirty Words at Carlisle

photo: paul WeBster

mississippi mudBloods duane Betts at Carlisle photo: paul WeBster

performance. Man’s World with its measured vocal styling, and gentle sub text of keyboard took flight when Parker picked up his second solo. Here it became a piece of porcelain soul, the top strings ringing as the artist became lost in the soaring sounds. They returned to great applause and closed to a standing ovation from a packed house with I Shall be Released.

Jon Amor, back with a repaired loop on Saturday evening, built layers of rich acoustic rhythm guitar and deep percussive beats on which to work his magic, wah-wah infused Feeding Time being a stand-out number. Jon selflessly gave over part of his set to Sean Webster and bassist Arco Bommer for a version of Rather Go Blind which stilled the room. Jo Harman & Company performed some nice songs, but ultimately received only polite applause from the crowd, which couldn’t be said for Ryan McGarvey, He took us down rabbit holes from back arching solos through Commander Cody boogie and slide-driven delta thrash before epic closer Mystic Dreams.

Arab flourishes followed. Celtic figures before Navajo drums took the song into sonic freefall. McGarvey de-tuned his instrument sending the music into a vortex of effects before breaking out into calm open water.

Ian Siegal picked up the E.B.U. best vocalist award before bringing out a revised line-up of Mississippi Mudbloods. Cody Dickinson, a constant on drums, augmented by Lightnin’ Malcolm; bass and Duane Betts; guitar. Siegal led them through Kingfish and I Am The Train with Betts straying into Allman space during his solos. Picnic Jam proved just that, a loose baggy jacket of funky blues boogie. Malcolm took vocals on his own Takes A Little Blue Sky, Siegal deputising on two finger bass pluck. Betts produced delicate solos during One Fine Day, and Siegal took to the catwalk for She Got The Devil In Her. A gentle ‘Dylanesque’ Rodeo followed, with the band executing a tight romp through Moonshine Minnie to close.

Tom Townsend led his band through a set which became a revolving-door jam into the small hours. At various times this saw Jon Amor on guitar, Roz Sluman blowing tender sax, Mike Bowden take vocals, Siegal up for Long Distance Call, and joined by Webster for I Shall Be Released. By 2:45 the room had thinned when Ian played Catfish, with Tom

Cox following on harp and the Townsend Band still looking fresh.

sunday

The Deluxe began Sunday afternoon with some well-known covers. Early Mac and Albert King with a brace each, Long Grey Mare and As The Years Go By being standouts. David Migden and The Dirty Words brought a change of tempo and style, with quirky story songs. Second Hand Tattoo, introduced as a ‘horror blues’ held a powerful beat, piano inserts, walking bass, rim shots and guitar boogie. Spanish Moss hung from the lighting rig as a dirty trombone and vamped trumpet added atmosphere to Alligator King. Betty Jean proved a more rocky final number while they encored with title track of current release Killing It. The Mississippi Mudbloods ‘unplugged’ and unrehearsed set had the ‘no safety-net’ risks Siegal loves. Gallo del Ciello, an audience favourite, led to unfamiliar hill-country blues. Done Got Old featured Malcolm on vocals, Dickinson on rattlesnake washboard and tom-tom, electric fills from Betts, and all three guitars playing off each another. Betts acoustic Taking Your Time Getting Lost saw him shout chord changes to the others on a song highlighting his soft soulful voice. A stripped down version of Hard Pressed and a Dickinson run through Casey Jones followed. An ensemble performance had both band and audience wanting more. Royal Southern Brotherhood closed a great weekend with a stunning set. Moonlight over Mississippi with Cyril Neville on hand mike leaving his percussion set and dancing across the stage, Devon Allman taking over on Left My Heart in Memphis. Between band numbers were title tracks from Mike Zito’s Pearl River and Neville’s Magic Honey. Duane Betts came up for some three way Southern choogin’. Keep It Real saw Charlie Wooton take a jazz

mississippi mudBlood's ian seigal at Carlisle photo: paul WeBster

royal SouTherN BroTherhood cloSed a greaT weekeNd wiTh a STuNNiNg SeT

strum and thumb before slinging his bass around his back leaving the stage to a powerful drum solo from Yonrico Scott. When the band returned the guitars took over with the interplay feeding on itself. They closed with a gentle Zito guitar building to the distinctive Gimme Shelter riff. Zito and Allman played 'good cop-bad cop’ with alternate hard edged and liquid breaks and Allman and Neville duetted on the catwalk while Zito squeezed electricity from his string.

As the cheers died away thoughts turn to next year, and what next for this constantly improving festival.

Mel Wallace

BluesFesT 2013

roYal alBert Hall, loNDoN oCtober 29th–30th 2013

tuEsday

Love, the time is now. Indeed it was when legendary Bobby Womack entertained the crowds who stayed up for the first late show of Blues Fest 2013, proving that night time is the right time for serious soul and blues fans. The band was impressively tight and rigorously funky, including the gentleman dressed in a dinner suit on stage to encourage finger-clicking and seated dancing.

Wearing his signature black leather trousers, Bobby owned the stage, opening with a mighty, hornfilled 110th Street. I was pleasantly surprised at the strength and range of Bobby’s vocals. Despite his frail

frame Bobby Womack was chatty, humorous and had plenty of growl. This man has written and played for greats such as Sam Cooke and the Rolling Stones, fought pneumonia, heart failure and colon cancer, yet the energy and commitment given during his performance only seemed to prove his worth.

Highlights were Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out and of course Harry Hippie a song written for Bobby’s brother and bassist. During The Valentinos, Harry was tragically killed by his girlfriend. Forty years on and Bobby still honours his brother by performing the song. Harry Hippie had the crowd waving their arms and singing Sha-na-nas, but the real treat came from backing vocalist Alltrina Grayson who belted the roof right off with gospel-operatic passion, that woman could sing! Later in the set I was glad Bobby gave opportunity for the horn section to shine. From his successful album of 2012, The Bravest Man in The Universe really got those horn players grooving over a juicy bass line. I know his album received critical acclaim, but

I much preferred hearing the full band playing it compared to the more contemporary production. Also, the Royal Albert Hall really does lend its acoustics to the tones of a soloing saxophone as played by Jim Thompson followed by trumpet and yodeling solo (no, really).

At the end of the four-day Blues Fest Bobby Womack was presented with a lifetime achievement award for services to Soul by Ronnie Wood. Who would have thought that Brit-pop singer Damon Alburn would be the one to grab Bobby Womack out of obscurity? We are so thankful that he did, and although the contemporary production of his award winning album may well have attracted newer audiences to listen to the singer, the concert held at the Albert Hall really was proof that you can’t beat a live 12 piece band and a soul singing master.

lauren Dove

When I first heard about Bluesfest 2013, one aspect which surprised

roBert plant at Bluesfest

photo: pete sargeant

festivaLs

me was the late night shows starting at ten pm and ending around midnight. From just a logistical point that would be a challenge, never mind everything else. But I was curious to see the late shows in action so I went to see Gregory Porter & his Band make their Royal Albert Hall debut. I first became aware of Gregory Porter through the British Jazz artist Jamie Cullum and his BBC Radio 2 programme, but I had never seen him live. His debut album Water, released in 2010, received a nomination for Best Jazz Vocal album at the 53rd Grammy Awards which set the ball rolling for his music career. By 2012 he was a force to be reckoned with, having gained another Grammy nomination, this time in the Best Traditional R'n'B Performance category for his second album Be Good , not to mention the album’s European success, which saw him obtain The Edison Award (The Dutch Equivalent of a Grammy).

At exactly ten thirty, a five-piece band walked onto the stage to the sound of a roaring, sold out Royal Albert Hall. The drummer and double bass player created a beat that was similar to an oncoming train as Porter appeared in a pristine white suit and his trademark black hat, to an electric atmosphere.

‘Thank you so much!’ He bellowed to rapturous applause. The pianist tickled the ivories for No Love Dying from his newly released third album Liquid Spirit as the audience immediately engaged with him as they sang ‘no love dying here’ back to him during some audience participation. The drummer’s subtle brushes and the well-received saxophone solo transported me to a smoky New York jazz club as Gregory’s silky tones filled the Hall.

As the band went straight into the title track of the third album, the historic music venue had become a Gospel church, Gregory scatting

with such elegance. As he was raised by his church minister mother, it was no surprise his music had features of lively church music. However, he didn’t preach to the audience, he just crooned.

Hey Laura, Workin’ and Real Good Hands (which he dedicated to a couple in the audience), were not songs but rather human stories set to music.

1960 What? 1960 Who? told the story of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and the racial persecution that many black Americans had suffered up to that time. Referencing the burning of buildings and the assassination of Martin Luther King, the drummer created the sound of gunfire on his snare drum.

Once they had finished their set, the entire band received a standing ovation. It was a brief but extremely satisfying show.

Glenn SarGeant

If I hadn’t already been sitting in the highest heavens of the Albert Hall auditorium I may have felt I’d been put there, such was the powerful gospel punch of Mavis Staples, who literally kicked off the headline acts for Bluesfest 2013. Despite recent knee replacement surgery, ‘that devil been chewing on my knee!’ proclaimed Mavis, who at 74 showed no signs of slowing down.

From the opening bars of For What It’s Worth (a Buffalo Springfield cover) the crowd were blessed and blessed again with plenty of preaching, banter, charisma and light from that distinguished lady of soul and notorious low graveling voice showing the UK Blues audience just how to end a song. ‘Power!’

Later in the set she was joined by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi for Will The Circle Be Unbroken? Uplifting harmonies and a tight set from the Mavis Staples

CONTINUES OVER...

NoToDDeN Blues FesTival

NotoDDeN, NorWaY

august 1st–4th 2013

Notodden founder Kjell Sani, invited me to come and play in Norway for the first time, and I found myself at the famous festival. It now attracts more than 20,000 people having grown from the seeds planted in 1987. I arrived with a van full of ancient amps, guitars and drum kit and (more ancient still) blues loving musicians, having driven from Yorkshire via the Smola blues festival.

On meeting with Kjell I was presented with a press pass which gave me access to all areas for all concerts and allowed me backstage. The press pass had ‘Jed Thomas journalist, Blues Matters’, which was a very pleasant surprise! So, in between playing our own gigs I was rushing around the festival to catch as much music as I could.

thursday

The opening festival had short sets by Charlie Musslewhite and Dana Fuchs, amongst others. Charlie Musslewhite is one of my favourite harmonica players and he certainly did not disappoint. Dana did a nice turn but nothing compared to the show she put on later with her band.

Friday

We caught part of Van Morrison’s set, playing outdoor to some 8,000 people. Now, about his reputation of being moody, well I have to tell you, he was smiling, facing the audience and even cracked a joke! I didn’t realise

the extent of his talents, putting impressive turns on the sax, gob iron (harmonica) and piano and a crowd pleasing set including great renditions of Baby Please Don’t Go, Rock Island Line and Gloria.

After my band played our own gig, we ran to catch Beth Hart’s set. Wow, the lady can rock. But she can also go slow and gentle, turning in some piano and just vocals, before ripping into a full band assault.

Hart played in the venue called The Hangar, a huge tented area holding 3,000 plus and it was packed when Beth played. She had the audience in her hand and gave a great performance; I just love her fiery vocals and hell-raising stage presence.

Up next the Royal Southern Brotherhood, featuring Devon Allman, Cyril Neville and Mike Zito. I can’t recommend this band as a live experience enough. With three singers all contributing different styles, Cyril Neville also played percussion. What a great singer Cyril is, really soulful at times and his percussion playing gave a great Latin feel and an early Santana feel, to some of the songs.

Mike Zito did some great songs as well and he is a fabulous guitar player to boot. Well, Devon Allman certainly lived up to the family name, great voice and stage presence.

His guitar playing swung between Duane Allman-flavoured slide or straight lead guitar and was delicious on the ear. As a collective they are a formidable force so go and see. Even the drum solo and bass guitar solo were jaw-dropping entertaining, although not my bag usually. They concluded with an awesome version of the Rolling

Stone’s amazingly complex classic Gimme Shelter.

saturday

Today started with afternoon open-air concerts, Eric Burdon up first. I was completely blown away by his singing, never having really paid much attention to him. Despite his age, his performance was a great crowd pleaser. Well, it was another Allman I was here for really, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. What a pairing! Two great blues guitarists/singers in the same band and married. Derek Trucks, like Devon Allman has that magic touch. I am sure the spirit of Duane Allman would have been smiling down. More goosepimples. Augmented by a brass section, there was some really soulful stuff and lovely singing from Susan. Midnight in Harlem was a great crowd pleaser. The set encompassed swampy blues through to Americana and country, with the big band giving a huge sound, eleven people in the line-up this myopic guitar player counted.

Although our own tour gigs were getting in the way of watching all the sets, I managed to catch Mud Morganfield. I went cold, you know, the goose pimples/hair on the back of your neck stuff. It was as though I was watching his father in body and voice. I was lucky to see Eric Clapton get blown offstage by Muddy Waters (sorry Eric) in the 70s.

Mud Morganfield and his band did the Chicago style blues. Thinking about it, the only 100% blues outfit (as in traditional genre) that I saw the whole festival. His band was superb. I think they might be from Blighty? They played in a 50/60’s style, double bass, guitar, harmonica and the sound was so authentic,

quite emotional for this ole’ rocker. Great versions of Mannish Boy and Mojo. If you are a Muddy fan, go and see Mud Morganfield. One word – superb.

Well, more gigs to play. Then I managed to catch part of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers; the man that has spawned so many great guitar players. Tonight’s player Rocky Athas did a great job playing some blues on a Les Paul. John Mayall (soon to be 80) did a good job playing and singing like a man younger than his years.This must have been a pleaser for the blues purists. He played for well over an hour and I missed the start of his show.

Next up Dana Fuchs. What a voice and great charisma, she and the band rocked it up. Dana sings with that grit I love, no Lady Ga-Ga here! The show was very energetic, Dana moving around the stage like a panther and maybe singing like one too.

Both Dana and Beth Hart are regulars at this festival and it was easy to see why. Another lady blues belter well worth seeing.

Notodden Blues Festival hopefully will get to return in 2014. So many high points, the Allmans, Devon, Derek Trucks and his wife Susan, Beth Hart and Dana Fuchs, but for me personally it was seeing Mud Morganfield and his superb band.

I can’t recommend this festival enough, great atmosphere and music on the periphery, as with festivals such as the Colne bluesfest, so plenty to see. The country is amazing; I know because we drove our van through hundreds of miles of stunning landscape. Get yourselves out there and you never know you just might catch a Yorkshire man playing the blues in Norway and Notodden.

JeD thoMaS

festivaLs

Band invited a standing ovation following, I’ll Take You There which led the way for The Tedeschi Trucks Band.

An illuminous buffalo meeting a steam train as their backdrop indicated the force of this mighty husband and wife lead band. Letting no energy drop, the band charged into Made Up Mind, the title track from their current album. Fans of Derek Trucks were not disappointed especially from a wonderful raga style introduction as Derek plays best for the opening of Midnight in Harlem and Susan’s voice was on top form with compelling gospel vocals in Bound for Glory and Do I Look Worried?

Proving that they could vary the mood with covers such as Angel from Montgomery that stilled the auditorium, both Derek and Susan later played storming solos during Sky is Crying.

My only quibble was the clarity of sound. Issues were obviously felt by the band, particularly the bass player who was lost for half of the time. The band gave it their all professionally, but the sound was disappointingly muddied on several numbers. Having only afforded the cheaper seats at the top, the swirling acrobatics of two drummers were sometimes all you could hear by the time the music hit our ears, and on heavier numbers like The Storm it was a shame to lose the quality especially as the band paid tribute for those lost during that weekend’s weather in the south of the UK.

I joined the crowd on leaving the concert suitably inspired, standing for the second ovation of the evening only wishing that the band could have come back on for more.

lauren Dove

This year, the Royal Albert Hall was hosting all of the events for Bluesfest 2013 and I was the lucky lad who got to go along to the early evening concert with Chris

Rea. I had hoped to get there early enough to catch some of the other bands appearing that day, Ian Siegal, Ben Poole, Royal Sothern Brotherhood and others, not to mention a display of art by Ronnie Wood and Chris Rea, but due to a mix up with train times, I didn’t get the chance to catch any of them! Because of my haste, I also forgot to check the batteries in my camera, so one shot and the screen went black, so no pictures either.

The show opened with a long deep note on the organ, culminating in a crash on the drums and the band were straight into Last Open Road. Before the audience had time to draw breath, it was straight into Where The Blues Comes From, with Chris making his guitar sound like a violin. If there was an award for the UK’s best slide guitarist, it must without doubt belong to Chris Rea as he showed his total mastery of the instrument, playing notes that I would have sworn aren’t anywhere to be found on my guitars! Chris doesn’t say a lot, preferring to let the music speak for him, and it was straight into Josephine, with Chris exhorting the audience to clap, and dancing around the stage like I have never seen before, perhaps the presence of two female backing singers was an added spur, but he was on fire!

There followed a superb instrumental with some fabulous bass work, and then it was guitar swapping again as they swung into My Love & Me, then Julia, then Dancing Down The Stony Road, So Far To Go, Waiting For A Sign, and then an astounding version of Road to Hell, before the band left the stage for a well deserved break, brought back on for an encore of Lets Dance, and the lines ‘never too old to dance’ bringing a great roar from the almost capacity crowd. Alas this was the final number, and despite foot stomping and shouts of more, there was no more to be had, as the stage had to be made

ready for the late performance of Robert Plant. I have to say that I don’t envy him having to follow Chris Rea, as this was without doubt, the most animated that I have ever seen him, and his playing was at a new superlative-laden level.

Dave Stone

thursday

The Royal Albert Hall has been bursting at the seams with blues talent this week, with performances in all the spaces, foyers, hallways and cafes the venerable venue can provide, and an equally packed schedule running from lunchtimes through late-night shows. The afterhours atmosphere was enhanced by a liberal distribution of joss sticks at stage front, and a huge backdrop bearing the name The Sensational Space Shifters and a giant rendering of Robert Plant’s magnificently hirsute visage in full psychedelic colour.

Plant in person, booted and dressed in black, looked and sounded in fine fettle, joking that he had now qualified for his bus pass. The Sensational Space Shifters themselves are a Bristol-biased unit, but the special sauce is the addition of Gambian riti player, Juldeh Camara. The inclusion of this traditional West African one-string fiddle called out to the roots of blues while the techno influences from John Baggott’s keys added a heady, heavy groove to a set that drew deeply on the Led Zeppelin catalogue.

However, it was far from being a tribute show as Plant and the band re-shaped and renewed the innards of the material, particularly Juldeh’s soloing on Black Dog. The Howlin’ Wolf standard Spoonful was barely recognisable, given a booming, industrial backing by John Baggott. Ending the set on an extended jam over Whole Lotta Love - neatly segueing in and out of Who Do You Love - the

energy and innovation on show brought even the staidest members of the audience to their feet. A swaggering encore of Rock’n’Roll kept the crowd up right to the end, and sent them off to race for the last Tube home on a high. Clearly there is planty of mileage in the old ‘black dog’ yet!

Pete SarGeant

TeNBY Blues FesTival

pemBrokesHire, Wales

November 8–10th 2013

The Valero stage at Tenby’s De Valance ballroom is the principal venue and, truth be told, the old palais de dance ain’t changed all that much since the sixties.

Opening Tenby 2013 were Blues Train, repeat performers from previous year’s upgraded to the principal stage. High energy was the theme from the off and this five piece of vocalist, harp, bass, guitar and drums hit the sawdust running. Fest faves in the shape of Rufus Thomas’ Walkin the Dog amongst many others were aired and the crowd locked into the energy vibe. The band’s rubber-legged boogying harp player helped stir the brew along.

Then came the first lady performers of the weekend, Big Mama’s Door. Fronted by Fiona McDonald and supported by Sophie Smiles and Ana Bonbon, an international cross section of Irish and transatlantic talent, they kicked off with an early Presley

You looking for Trouble? The women demonstrated considerable instrumental prowess on keyboards – piano and piano accordion –backed up very ably by guitar bass and drums. This was a return visit by the Mamas who had previously graced the 2008 festival.

Then it was the FBM stage at the Rugby club where Gordon Smith and Alan Glen were

feeding the packed house with large helpings of Deep Delta Delight. Gordon and Alan delivered roots-inspired country blues through the combined mastery of guitar and Gob Iron appreciated by an obviously knowledgeable crowd. They had followed Tenby Blues Festival President Pat Grover’s Hawks, who had opened the show at the Rugby Club for Tenby 2013. Back up to the De Valance in time to catch Friday’s headline act. Detroit Michigan’s own Marcus Malone was visiting Tenby with a first class touring backing band. Guitar bass and drums added to Marcus’ own guitar and very impressive vocal work created a really tight, driving unit. Having worked consistently with such luminaries as BB King, Walter Trout and many others, Marcus is a hugely experienced pro on the world blues circuit and the crowd hit the floor in numbers to boogie down to the closing act of Tenby day one. Innes Sibun Band was simultaneously closing the show at the Rugby club stage and, as previously mentioned, we were unable to cover all the acts, but friends and fans confirmed that a rousing set by the massively talented and experienced axeman went down a storm, so a good night was had by all.

saturday

The Blues Trail this year consisted of 18 different acts spread across 15 different pub and cafe venues within the confines of the walled town. Additional to this are six main acts between the two main venues plus open mike and late night jams in two more venues. Decisions needed to be made, should we adopt the Usain Bolt or the Mo Farrow method of approach. After several nano seconds of brainstorming we agreed, Mo it was.

Davy Jones and Dai Wynne were pleasing the early morning crowd in Blueberries cafe. Davy

and Dai are well known local guitar players who delivered a good selection of Americana accompanied by some nice greasy slide work and great grizzly vocals. This is a new venue for The Blues Trail and has a nice atmosphere.

Next up was The Lamb pub where Mark Pontin and his band were making a welcome return to Tenby – their popularity underlined by the impossibly packed in crowd having to watch through mirrors or any other optical devices which could see around corners and through doorways. The trio are a high powered outfit with a big following; a bit of thought required as to who plays where might be advisable.

A packed house at The Bar 10 wine bar next, where Ella Guru, Pembrokeshire’s answer to The White Stripes, were giving it some. Some great standards from Fleetwood Mac et al refreshed the audience as well as the wine.

Then The Fourcroft Hotel where The Chris James Band were renewing their acquaintance. Chris invited a young guitarist from the audience up to play a few numbers with the band which – by the look on his face – put the youngster in a higher place. Chris, as always, belted it out in fine funky style to great enthusiasm and appreciation by the crowd. It was therefore pleasing to see a new introduction by Tenby Blues this year in the form of some open mike/jam sessions where audience participation is encouraged.

Then it was the De Valence for the headline acts for this year. First up were Tenby’s favourite sons The Hideaway Trio. Led by guitarist Gareth Price, backed by Simon Rees on bass and Tom Vines on drums. These local boys have been a regular fixture on the Tenby calendar for four or five festivals now. Debuting their eponymous

new CD they are now including some own composition material, in addition to their offerings of powerbased, blues-driven covers of SRV, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix etc. There is a strong local following at the Valero stage and Hideaway rise to the occasion once again with a taste of BB King. The live sound is powerful and good with Gareth handling the vocals and it is pleasing to see how the band have grown over recent years.

The next act was a new one to me, Zoe Schwarz’s Blue Commotion, and it was good to see another female-fronted band in evidence. They are a contemporary six piece blues band drawing on the melting pot of popular music past and present and inhabiting the jazzier end of the blues spectrum.

The band consists of guitar, bass, drums, keys and harmonica (the latter a really lively young player who made a big contribution), plus Zoe on vocals. There was a nice moment in the set when Zoe got down from the stage mid number to dance with an older chap who looked a bit lonely boogying out on his ownsome.

The set was pretty wideranging in content and whilst not really hard core blues, showed some excellent musicianship again, especially the harp man.

We had to miss out the Saturday evening session at the rugby club, who were featuring Isabella Collins Bluebells an acoustic blues based trio. Bella as frontswoman is apparently an excellent vocalist with a jazzy and soulful voice. Michael Parker soulful singer songwriter with an impressive blues-based background and Miraculous Mule a gospel/hillbilly jittery stomp band according to the programme.

And so to the weekend headline act featured on the Valero stage – none other than the great Bernard Allison. Hailing from Chicago, Bernard’s blues pedigree

is simply peerless – he is the son of the legendary Luther Allison, sideman and sidekick to some of the monumental blues heroes of yore, Howling Wolf and Freddie King just two examples.

Bernard’s presence did not diminish his pedigree from his fine tooled leather boots to the gleaming sunburst Stratocasters resting in their stands awaiting the master’s call. This man knows his way around a Strat, a great sound, cool vocals and stonking backing from the best bass and drums rhythm section you will see anwhere on the blues circuit.

He was not done yet though as he managed to get down to the Fourcroft Hotel who were hosting the late night jam, to mingle, chat with people and give a stand-up brief history of the blues. All despite having only flown in from Chicago that morning and only doing one more gig here before flying out the next night.

sunday

Sunday, and first call is to Top Joe’s cafe where an unapologetic Guy Maile is regaling us with stories of the road and his nights out with his mate Geno Washington of Ram Jam fame. Guy always makes us smile as many of his stories have a slight lingering taste of Cote De Rhone or Rioja about them. As always his tales are interspersed with some good self accompanied tunes covering soulful to sad.

And so on to Cafe Vista where we see and hear a quite remarkable talent in the shape of Blues Boy Dan. BBD is remarkable due to the fact that he is a twenty something white youth who sounds surrealy like Howling Wolf and Son House and Muddy Waters and any other black blues legend from the past whose songs he may be performing at any one time. Truly extraordinary; he is also accomplished in harmonica and finger style guitar, employing the technique of singing through

the reeds of the harp to occasionally reinforce this vocal effect. A very highly recommended act and definitely one to check out for the future.

The last events of the weekend take place on the FBM stage at the rugby club with the opening performance from Kris Dollimore, a Cornishman (and once a member of the legendary Godfathers) a very skilled slide and finger style blues acoustic guitarist. Kris was involved earlier in the festival, hosting an open mike session, so we had already sampled a brief preview of his talents. I really liked his material choices and his touch on the strings is extremely good. We were treated to some Blind Boy Fuller and Robert Johnson classics together with some lesser known but equally tasteful offerings. Kris reminded me to some degree of Catfish Keith in his vocal projection and song handling.

Next came Tom Attah and Kate Bradley, both solo performers in their own right, this time Tom providing acoustic backing to Kate’s vocal and smooth harmonica playing. Tom, in true Robert Johnson bluesman style attire, and a well known act across some big festivals, warmed us up with some really fine hyper acoustic guitar blues, switching between the resonator and standard guitar numerous times. Katie, an accomplished singer songwriter, came on and dealt us some slow blues of the Etta James variety.

Wrapping up Tenby 2013 came Tres Hombres, who, despite their name, are a five piece band hailing from the Pontypool area. Good ole boys Blues rock in the styles of ZZ Top, Cream, Frankie Miller was the order of the night. Another Festival behind us, we turned out into the ever present downpour undeterred and with the words of the Tenby Blues Committee ringing in our ears to make sure that We Shall Return.

Dave WarD

WiLLE and thE Bandits

tHe BicYcle sHop, NorWicH

November 20th 2013

Wille and his Bandits, Matt Brooks (bass) and Andrew Neumann (drums), have been touring hard together for a few years, regularly playing around 250 gigs per year. They are as tight as that suggests, which, considering the tiny stage they have tonight, is a bonus. The Bicycle Shop is an intimate, atmospheric venue and has been sold out for tonights show for weeks.

Onstage, the band are visually captivating. Wille, a tall man looks even taller in stove pipe hat with the top cut away allowing his long dreadlocks to protrude upwards. Matt switches bass duties from impressive looking electric upright double to six string electric and is jaw-droppingly virtuoso on both. Andrew provides a solid base and adds jews harp, glockenspiel and backing vocals. They opened the first of two long sets with Keep Your Head Up and Absence, Wille saying that they would be a bit less raucous tonight in the small surroundings. Keep Moving On from the new album received a

buzz of recognition and things really picked up with Peter Green’s Black Magic Woman. Ending the set with Galloping Horses and Crossroads left the audience wanting more.

The second set consisted almost entirely of tracks from the new Grow album. Kicking off with Got To Do Better, Why D’you Do It and Forgiveness it’s clear these are talented musicians who are never going to restrict themselves to any tired old blues retreads or clichés. They are fresh, and mix folk, country, rock and at times reggae influences.

By the time we reach Still Go Marching In, Under The Grove and the single, Gypsy Woman the room is rocking floor to ceiling. Closing with anthemia Angel leave the crowd demanding more. And more they got with an unexpected rocking version of Dire Straits’ Money, which was utterly superb. It’s no surprise to me that these guys have been going down a storm on the festival circuit and prestigious support slots with Joe Bonamassa and Deep Purple among others. Do yourself a favour and see them if you can, and get hold of the impressive Grow album.

Steve YourGlivch

KinG KinG

tHe WaterfroNt stuDio

November 17th 2013

Multi-award winning blues rockers

King King drew a large crowd to their show despite the miserable weather and the attraction of Turin Brakes in the main auditorium downstairs, and they didn’t disappoint. Glaswegian vocalist/ guitarist Alan Nimmo launching straight into More Than I Can Take and Wait On Time with controlled power and panache.

The crowd had been expertly warmed up by support act Devlin Blue and were ready, willing and able to embrace everything King King delivered. Kilt wearing Alan is a front man with great presence and an outstanding guitarist brilliantly backed by virtuoso musicians Lindsay Coulson and Wayne Proctor on bass and drums. Everything is given an extra sprinkle of magic by the outstanding keyboards of Bob Fridzeman. Highlights for me included the cover of Frankie Millers Jealousy, Alan paying tribute to one of his heroes and proving he’s an excellent vocalist in his own right, and a simply stunning Old Love.

In a spine tingling solo on the latter the volume gets lower and lower until the amplification is switched off and you could have heard a pin drop. Without losing a drop of energy or verve normal volume is returned to loud cheers and smiles of appreciation all around.

A round of solo’s gave each band member the chance to shine before they encored with a frenetic Good Time Charlie. Its easy to see why this band is making waves across Europe and continue to win awards collectively and as individuals. Hope they return to Norfolk sooner rather than later.

Steve YourGlivch

peddlin’ the Blues: Wille and the Bandits play norWiCh photo: graham munn

The brand new album from Wooden Horse ‘This Kind of Trouble.’

A wonderful blend of slide guitar, boogie piano and country blues.

“This Kind Of Trouble. It’s a wonderful album in every way!” Hans Theessink

“With their blend of blues, bluegrass and Americana – Wooden Horse go down a storm ” Joan Armatrading BBC Radio 2

woodenhorse roots

JiMMy hEndriX triButE niGht Hove, BrigHtoN

November 27th 2013

This would have been the 71st birthday of Jimi Hendrix. At The Brunswick, one of Hove’s top music venues, an evening of Jimi’s music was performed to a sell-out crowd by the Brighton-based international singer, songwriter and producer Zee Gachette in the incarnation of Zee And The Third Stone Collective.

The evening was organised by Zee, [dubbed ‘The love child of Hendrix and Nina Simone’] and her record company, Muthastar, and was a tribute to Hendrix via her love of his music. After a brief introduction by John Altman a long term friend of Hendrix, the first half got under way with a 45 minute set which included the legendary tracks Purple Haze, All Along The Watchtower and The Wind Cries Mary, performed entirely by Zee and the band, After the break the band’s line up changed constantly as Zee invited an array of special guests including Jo Harman, Artur King, Omar, Dan Smith, Alison David, Paul Richards and John Altman up on to the stage to join her in playing tracks including Hey Joe, Little Wing and Red House.

Judging by the reaction of the capacity crowd, the evening was a resounding success and one that will surely be repeated in other venues before too long.

Sarah reeve

BiG BOy BLOatEr

NorWicH arts ceNtre

deCember 4th 2013

This was part of Big Boy Bloater’s first ever tour as a one man show, most people being more familiar seeing him tearing up stages with his band The Limits. To help him feel comfortable Bloat brought along his own bar complete with lamp and an array of birthday cards, it seemed the birthday celebrations were going to take at least a week.

As a grinning Bloat sat centre stage surrounded by an array of guitars it was obvious we were in for some fun. It was a lovely relaxed pace, kicking off with Shake That Thing, followed by Leonard Cohen, an original from the last album.

As with most of the original numbers played tonight, Bloat took the opportunity to explain how or why the songs were written, often with lashings of good humour, and sometimes a bit too much detail for the

squeamish. About four songs in we got our first taste of cigar box guitar with You’ve Got To Lose,with the warning that, ‘it exploded last time I played it.’ Tonight it was just explosive.

The old Screaming Jay Hawkins classic Alligator Wine got the Bloat treatment next and kicked off a little run of drinking songs, a subject we were told is close to his heart. Other highlights in the set for me were Pall Bearers Song, Bear Cat, Double Whammy and a great version of Muddy’s Diamonds At Your Feet. Throughout the set Bloat moved between Stratocaster, Dano, Tanglewood Acoustic and Cigar Box guitars making clever use of loops to fill out the sound.

To encore though, Bloat produced a ukelele and played a lovely arrangement of My Prayer before bringing the roof down with a stirring Got My Mojo Working. A perfect end to a friendly fun-filled night.

Steve YourGlivch

the hendrix triBute in Brighton

photo: sarah reeve

Big Boy Bloater at the naC

photo: roB Barker

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