Blues Matters 78

Well, here we are again like the tide! Yep, we roll out and back in again between issues, never giving up. Just like having a paddle in the sea each time it is exciting, then cools off until the next time. So it goes, as the Blues rolls in and out over and over. Thank goodness for the Blues!

What a selection we have for you once again: cover artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd hits town and talks to BM!, Toronzo Cannon fires off, we catch up with Moreland & Arbuckle as well as the ever-busy Cyril Neville. South of the river rising stars The Peckham Cowboys stop by for a chat and there’s a report on a special night with Jo Harman. Blues Matters! has been honoured once again and is now a double USA award recipient. Our founder has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in New York. The same Hall of Fame into which Johnny Winter was recently inducted on his 70th birthday (see page 17 for the full JW induction story). BM founder Alan has his induction certificate and is still astounded at the honour. Unfortunately, the ongoing, internal problems from his cancer prevent him from travelling to NY for the formal presentation, but he has an open invitation to go when he is able. To be in the company of Johnny Winter, Joe Louis Walker, Kim Simmonds etc., is indeed a privilege. We will pin him down for a picture with his induction certificate when we can.

We are spartacus!

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cOntributing Writers: liz aiken, roy bainton, andrew baldwin, adam bates, Duncan beattie, adrian blacklee, bob bonsey, eddy bonte, Colin Campbell, bob Chaffey, martin Cook, Norman Darwen, Dave Drury, sybil Gage, Diane Gillard, stuart a. Hamilton, brian Harman, Natalie Harrap, Gareth Hayes, trevor Hodgett, billy Hutchinson, Peter Innes, Duncan Jameson, brian Kramer, Frank leigh, Geoff marston, Ian mcHugh, ben mcNair, michael messer, Christine moore, martin ‘Noggin’ Norris, merv Osborne, mike Owens, Frankie Pfeiffer, thomas rankin, Clive rawlings, Chris rowland, Darrell sage, Paromita saha, Pete sargeant, Dave ‘the bishop’ scott, Graeme scott, andy snipper, Dave stone, suzanne swanson, richard thomas, tom Walker, Dave Ward, Daryl Weale, Kevin Wharton, steve Yourglivch

cOntributing pHOtOgrapHers:

Christine moore, liz aiken, annie Goodman, sarah reeves, others credited on page

© 2014 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

VISUALS:

REGULARS

08

Happpenin’

Keeping you up to date with all the news and views from the Blues. Meet DJ Kevin Black, Part two of The Blues Archive, we visit The National Blues Museum, plus our very own Kitchat. Johnny Winter celebrates his 70th birthday with a new box set and an all-star gig.

27 blue blooD

New talent in the spotlight this issue includes Manny Fizzotti, LaVendore Rogue, Richard Townend’s Mighty Bosscats and the Mark Pontin Band.

90 reD lick Top 20

104

Our friends at Red Lick with their list of the best selling blues albums.

rMr blueS Top 50

The Roots Music Report independent airplay chart. The chart to be seen in.

INTERVIEWS

34

40

44

48

THe peckHaM cowboyS

South London sleaze punk bluesers tell it like it is from The Gin Palace.

JiM allcHin

Former Microsoft executive talks about giving it all up to play the blues.

cyril neville

From The Neville Brothers to Royal Southern Brotherhood and beyond.

MorelanD & arbuckle

In the UK once again, Aaron and Dustin on making music.

56

66

72

78

ToronZo cannon

The bus driving Chicago Bluesman ain’t stopping for no one!

papa Mali

The sound of swamp boogie and red hot voodoo. Now back in New Orleans.

MicHael kaTon

No punches pulled by the Detroit Boogie blues maestro in the second part of his interview.

DenniS walker

Second part of the in depth interview with The Great White Hope, producer and musician extraordinaire.

FEATURES

14

84

Jo HarMan

Jo records a private acoustic version of her hit debut album at Yellow Fish Studios. We were there.

THe blueS broTHerS

Part Four. Diving deeper into the history of the Blues Brothers.

REVIEWS

91

117

albuMS

The definitive review, with 24 pages of the best new releases and reissues. All the blues that’s fit to print!

SHowTiMe

Festival highlights from Scarborough, Doncaster and Terri ‘Thouars, plus the Edinburgh Blues Club launch and live shows from Otis Grand, Garland Jeffries, Sarah Gillespie, Blues Boy Dan, The Little Devils, Sean Taylor, Status Quo and many more.

nEw ALLMAn BROTHERs BOOK

Following the news earlier this year that Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks were both ending long associations with the band (23 years for Warren and 15 for Derek) a new definitive biography is due for release.

Titled One Way Out it is written by award winning author and journalist Alan Paul, best known for his work in Guitar World magazine. It’s described as the oral history of the band as the contents are all culled from literally hundreds of hours of interviews all personally conducted by Alan himself. Many are never before published and include, Gregg Allman, Dickie Betts, Jaimoe, Butch Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, the late Allen Woody, Jack Pearson, Jim Herring plus Eric Clapton, Tom Dowd, Phil Walden, Dick Wooley, Rick Hall, Billy Gibbons, Dr.John and Scott Boyer. The book is published by St. Martins Press.

walter trOUt “tOO sick tO hOld a gUitar”

Walter Trout continues to battle against ill health having been informed he is in urgent need of a liver transplant. The $175,000 needed for the procedure and aftercare was raised via fans and musicians pledges within two weeks of the appeal being made. A large number of benefit concerts continue to take place across the globe.

Fans can still donate to Walter’s appeal via www.youcaring.com

In a message on the site Walters wife Marie says, “Thank you for coming here and sending your love towards Walter. It means the world to him and to me to feel surrounded with your love and prayers at this difficult time. Walter has lost 100 pounds and most of his muscle tissue in the past year, and suffered much pain. It has been heart wrenching to watch him go through this. He has tried to put on a brave face for us all - he has kept playing, composing, singing, touring, and recording because music and communicating through music has always been his life line.. But he has reached the point,

where he is too sick to stand up or even hold a guitar. Thank you again on Walter’s behalf for your love and support.”

Good news is that Walter has been accepted by the University of Nebraska Medical Centre onto their transplant waiting list which is a shorter list than many others.

Meanwhile a new Walter Trout album Blues Came Callin’ is due for a June release via Provogue Records. This was recorded through 2013 whilst Walters health was deteriorating. A biography is also planned for this year.

WALTeR TRoUT IN 2014: “A DIffICULT TIMe”

pHoTo: Jeff KATz

ROBERT JOHnsOn pHOTOs REAp REwARD

In February the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that Claud Johnson, who is the Delta Blues legend Robert’s son and legally recognised heir, could keep the profits of the sale of the only two verified photos of his father.

The two images had previously been in the pocession of Roberts late half sister Carrie Harris Thompson. These iconic shots, one a studio portrait taken at the Hooks Brothers Studios in Memphis and the other taken by Johnson himself in a photo booth (an early selfie), will be familiar to blues fans the world over.

LIFETIME AcHIEVEMEnT AwARD FOR IGLAUER

Alligator Records President Bruce Iglauer is to be presented with the third annual Libera Lifetime Achievement Award. The announcement was made by The American Association of Independent Music and recognises the work Bruce has done both as a leader in the music industry and for humanitarian causes. The award ceremony takes place on June 19th at New Yorks Highline Ballroom.

cOntinues On page 11...

PrOUd OF the BlUes iN caMdeN

On Sunday 23rd March the first Jazz/Blues Roast took place in smart London venue Proud Camden. The first of these day and nights of Blues with good food and drink on tap, run in association with Blues Matters!, went well. Proud Camden, www.proudcamden.com, is a big and airy room with candlelit tables for diners and big leather furniture for sitting right under the well-lit stage for those who want to view their musicians close up.

The sound of live music didn’t take long to fill the room, with Andy Twyman starting proceedings with an acoustic set and giving way to Proud regular, The Laura Holland Band. Andy finished up with his one man

band set, playing songs from his new album, Blues You Haven’t Heard Before. Laura returned to the stage, also showing off her own original songs, such as the striking Dare I Believe. Kat & Co took over the stage for two bright, powerful sets of rumbustious Blues before The Dave Jackson Band wrapped things up with their trademark powerful sets of their own, hammering out some heavy originals and a good deal of Buddy Guy.

May 11th sees the second of these Sunday dates, with returns for Andy Twyman and Laura Holland and new appearances from The Little Devils and The Sharpees. A third date, the 29th of June, is being planned.

CAMDeN BLUeS: KAT & Co, pHoTo: JeNNIfeR NoBLe

Bruce launched Alligator Records in 1971 and the label has become one of the worlds foremost blues and roots rock labels in the world. It began as the dream of a 23 year old shipping clerk who wanted to record and release an album with his favourite band, Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers now has a catalogue of over 300 critically acclaimed titles. As well as jump starting the careers of many new artists Alligator has renewed the fortunes of many legends including Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks and Charlie Musselwhite

In addition to supporting artists musical ambitions, Bruce takes great pride in the deep relationships he has with his artists. Outside the label, he is the Founder and current Co-Director of the Blues Community Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting blues music education and assisting blues musicians and their families who are in need.

MAc TO TOUR wITH BOTH McVIE’s

The McVie’s are going back on the road with Fleetwood Mac. The band have announced a 33 city North American tour. It’s the first set of shows since they cancelled performances last year as bassist John McVie was being treated

for cancer. The tour also marks Christine McVie officially re-joining the band for the first time since 1998’s The Dance tour.

The On With The Show tour will kick off on September 30th in Minneapolis and finish in Tampa, Florida on December 20th. The band also includes Rumours-era stalwarts Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham.

DAVE InnEs R.I.p

Highly talented drummer David Gordon Innes died at Roxburghe House, Aberdeen, on Friday, April 11, 2014, after a brave fight aged 52. Dave Innes had an extensive and colourful music career before finding his musical home with Gerry Jablonski’s Electric Band. With the band Skin Games, he did a Romanian tour with Jesus Jones in February 1990, just weeks after the bloody overthrow of Nicolae Ceauescu. After a stint with indie band Lime, he was in a latter day incarnation of the Bay City Rollers, featuring Stuart Wood, Alan Longmuir and Eric Faulkner, between 1994 and 1997. In the late 1990s he worked with fellow Aberdonian Gerry Jablonski for the first time before moving to London where he joined the Electric Experience in summer 2002. The following year Dave toured with Midge Ure, with his first shows being a tour of Latvia.

He worked with Saiichi Sugiyama in 2004 before filling in for Fish his Misplaced Children tour in 2005-2006. Following this was a three year spell with the Robin Bibi Band, alongside bassist Mat Beable before Barry Peters. His phenomenal drumming is particularly evident on Bibi’s album Switch on the Live. Dave also recorded adverts for Nike and Snickers. Yet it was on his return to Aberdeen that he found his musical

cOntinues On page 13...

aBertillerY BlUes FestiVal caNcelled

Blaenau Gwent County Council were recently forced to take the difficult decision to cancel this years Abertillery Blues Festival. The council were facing trying to find savings of £20 million over the next three years.

However, in a statement the council have said that they hope future festivals will take place and that work is already taking place to secure funding for 2015 from outside sources.

They went on to say that ‘The Executive Committee recently approved a decision to transfer the running of Blaenau Gwents Leisure and Cultural services to a trust by June of this year.’ It is hoped the trust will be in a more favourable position to secure funding and sponsorship in the future.

VINCeNT fLATS AT ABeRTILLeRY 2013 pHoTo: LIz AIKeN

THe MAC’S BACK

match. Having formed a band with best friend Grigor Leslie and young Polish harmonica player Peter Narojczyk, they enticed Jablonski, who’d been working solo, to join them. Together they formed Gerry Jablonski’s Electric Band and early highlights included explosive appearances at Colne and Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festivals. Behind the dynamic paring of Gerry and Peter, Dave and Grigor formed the backbone to allow them to flourish, releasing three excellent albums. In subsequent years the band appeared at blues festivals in Carlisle, Maryport, Shetland and Hebden before making European inroads including Holland and Jablonski’s paternal homeland of Poland.

Experiencing discomfort on a continental trip in early 2013, Dave was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The band’s third album Twist Of Fate was recorded between

chemotherapy trips and by the album launch in September 2013 there was genuine optimism that the worst was over. Sadly, that was not the case and Innes’ last show with the band was in Aberdeen on 1 March 2014. I met Dave on numerous occasions, and he was a powerhouse drummer, in terms of technique, stamina and sound. With a dry sense of humour, he was someone you relished speaking with; humble both about his past exploits and contribution to the band, he largely kept his health issues private. He spent his last hours in the company of his mother Denyse Innes, while his three bandmates were holding Dave’s hands when he died. His cremation took place on Friday 18 April and was followed by his last wish for a celebration of his life in music and pictures at the Forum in Aberdeen that evening. Tributes have been made by

many he worked with, and more including Alan Gorrie of The Average White Band, Krissy Matthews and Cherry Lee Mewis. Grigor Leslie stated: “He was a monster of a musician. Dave was one of the best Aberdeen has ever produced”, with Robin Bibi also stating, Dave was “truly in touch with the spirit of rhythm.”

DUNCAN BeATTie

MUCH MISSeD: DAVe INNeS pHoTo: IAN pATeRSoN

JO HARMAn GOEs FIsHInG

YellOWFIsH stu DIOs Is set IN aN IDYllIC COu NtrYsIDe lOCatION IN Dee Pest sussex, aND altHOuGH Per HaPs NOt as Fam Ous as Fame at m usCle sHOals, Or tH e leG e NDarY su N Or CH ess stu DIOs, tH e PlaCe Has qu Ite a leGaCY

The Pretty Things and Arthur Brown recorded landmark albums there in the past and more recently it was the studio of choice for The Strypes debut album, and hosted Wilko Johnson’s collaboration with Roger Daltrey on the hugely successful Going Back Home release. It was here that the much in-demand singer Jo Harman had chosen to record a stripped back live recording of her successful Dirt On My Tongue debut album in front of a small invited audience for a possible future DVD release.

I was privileged to represent Blues Matters! as part of that audience and the whole experience of seeing and hearing Jo and her fellow musicians

not only performing but also witnessing the interaction with Ross McCracken and his highly professional team in an environment we are not normally given access to, can only be described as unforgettable. Visiting Yellowfish alone would have made the journey worthwhile. The first two things to greet you upon arrival are the iconic Airstream Silver Bullet mobile studio and the legendary Led Zep vintage gangster car as used in the film The Song Remains The Same. The studio is full of an impressive collection of vintage instruments and the walls display plenty of images of rock royalty. After a friendly welcome reception with a short history of the studio we were invited into the live room for the main event.

As I mentioned earlier the idea was to record a stripped down, live version of Jo’s debut. To this end Jo was joined tonight by only two other members of her Company backing band, Stevie Watts, and Mike Davies who had co-written much of the album with Jo. This was unlike a normal live show in

as much as we knew an audio and video recording was taking place, so we all sat in total silence through each song, no cameras and no applause until the very last vibration of a guitar string had vanished into the fabric of the room. If anything, this enriched the quality of the listening experience, and without any rhythm section playing it almost felt as if we were being invited back to share in the pure inception of each track. The tracks were played in the same order as they appear on the vinyl LP and there was a break between sides A and B, reminding us older music lovers of halcyon days discovering the albums that would shape our lives, but without any accompanying hiss or scratches.

Anyone who has seen Jo perform live will know what an emotive and powerful voice she possesses. Anyone who has the album will also know how personal and evocative many of the lyrics are. To witness that combination in this stripped-back fashion felt very special. Stevie Watts’ contributions on Hammond Organ combined with Mike Davies’ fluid and fluent

Verbals: steve YO urglivc H V isuals: H a Y dn H art

“IT’s a momenT In TIme ThIng. I’ll only ever do one debuT sTudIo album”

guitar runs produced a wonderfully subtle backdrop to proceedings. Mike is a very gifted musician and also moved to keys and piano at times. The versions of This Is My Amnesty and I Shall Not Be Moved were glorious. For me, though, the highlights were the songs Jo performed solo on the magnificent Steinway piano hired in especially for the night. As she said, that was how the songs were first written and they seemed to carry an extra resonance, especially Sweet Man Moses.

After the performance, it was back to the reception area and the chance to ask Jo about the motivation for doing a project like this. Jo explained: “!t’s a moment in time thing. I’ll only ever do one debut studio album and, fortunately, as it’s a record that has been generally well received, I wanted to capture us playing it ‘aux naturalle’ as it were, to really see how well the songs stand up in their barest form and to have it captured before we all got distracted by other projects and other priorities. I’m sure management and the record companies will want to put it out everywhere, but for me, it’s almost a vanity project, I did it for me.”

So will it ever see the light of day? ‘At some level certainly, if only because the friends and supporters who have been with me from the start are hungry for new recordings, even though in this case they are new takes on existing songs, whereas the wider world is only now starting to catch onto my debut album proper. There’s a kind of time lag disconnect in that respect, so don’t be surprised if you see it out as a fan’s only, limited edition release perhaps.’

The other news is of a forthcoming live album.

“We’re also committed to putting out Live At The Royal Albert Hall recorded by the BBC

this spring, so we may hold this recording back for a while, if only because of that. I’ve also started writing the second album, so, all in all, from a slow start we’ve got quite a few things on the boil right now.”

So plenty to look forward to. I think it says a lot about Jo’s musical commitment that she continues to push herself outside of an easy comfort zone by performing a show like this. She continues to perform live

at different types of venues and festivals with a variety of talented musicians, meaning every show is unique and never stale or over rehearsed. By soaking in these experiences Jo will only grow as an artist and one can’t help wondering if there is any limit on what she might achieve.

to keep updated with all things jo harMan CheCk out www.joharMan.CoM also yellowfish studios at www.yellowfishMusiCgroup.CoM

LIVING HISToRY” Jo HARMAN AT YeLLoWISH. INSeT: THe ALBeRT HALL LIVe CD

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wOnDERLAnD!

JOH nnY Winter Celebrate D HIs 70tH

b I rtHDaY aND tH e release OF HIs N eW sONY/ leGaCY bOx set, true tO tH e

b lues, WItH aN all-star GIG at bb KINGs IN NeW YOr K CItY

BB KINGS, New yorK

FebruarY 23rD 2014

True to the blues, Johnny covered the music of his heroes with a set list that included songs by Chuck Berry legendary masterpiece Johnny B. Goode, Sonny Boy Williamsons’ long running Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Muddy Waters classic Got My Mojo Working, Ray Charles (Black Jack), Howlin’ Wolf’s wonderful Killing Floor and Elmore James’ sparkling Dust My Broom. Johnny had some help from such friends as Popa Chubby, Debbie Davies, James Montgomery, Lance Lopez (who also opened the show),musician and producer Mike Zito, Joe Louis Walker, Jon Paris and Frank Latorre.

The icing on his very special 70th birthday cake was his induction into the New York Blues Hall Of Fame. Of course Johnny included some of his favourite classic rock covers from the Stones’ Jumpin’ Jack Flash, (I Used To Love Her) But It’s All Over Now and Dylan’s Highway 61.

On this special night of celebration Johnny and his band (Paul Nelson, guitar; Scott Spray, bass and Tommy Curiale, drums) were in fine form throughout the ninety minute show.

They left the sold-out crowd wanting more, and ‘true to the blues’, Johnny’s never-ending road show will bring it all back home soon enough again in 2014. Johnny B. Great!

PAUL AARONSON

winTer

Here we have a welldeserved careerspanning collection of high energy blues from one of the masters. The many live tracks catch this living legend making you feel like you were there. Well chosen material, mostly even better than some of his original studio versions, are amongst the 56 tracks over the four CDs and not a duff track. Add in the superb booklet, and the numerous quotes and you see we have a very special set.

My own favourite Winter albums are his 1968 recorded The Progressive Blues Experiment and his 1969 eponymous first album on Columbia. This set has given me much more to think about the legend. On disc two there are previously un-released live tracks from Atlanta Pop Festival (1970). The third disc runs through his 70’s albums including Still Alive And Well with some live takes with Muddy himself. There’s possibly not enough Pointblank material here but there is Dust My Broom, featuring Derek Trucks.! Too many really great tracks here to choose any few standouts. As a life summary this is one of the best. As a music source it is a great experience!

FRANK LeiGh

JoHnny winTer

BLUEs ARcHIVE

DeCIDeD tO Have a FOur HOur sOuND, CHeCK leavING us NO tIme tO INtervIeW altHOuGH We DID reCOrD a CONCert WItH

W“e started a CD label called Bluetrack Records in 1997 and over the next five years we recorded several US artists such as Texas bluesman TW Henderson, Harmonica Shah from Detroit, Lightnin’ Willie and The Poorboys, Adrian Byron Burns and Bill Thomas as well as British guitarist Sonny Black. This provided us with a great opportunity to video the studio recording sessions and in the case of Adrian Byron Burns, his appearance on the Paul Jones Show on Radio 2. Throughout most of the 1990s, we provided photographs for Blueprint magazine later Blues In Britain and wrote a regular feature article called Who’s Been Talkin’, using extracts from our interviews.

1998 saw the publication of around thirty of our photographs in a glossy coffee table top book called Blues-Keeping the Faith, by Keith Shadwick published by Quintet Books. Amanda and I travelled to Chicago in 1999 recording interviews with Buddy Guy, Willie Kent, Johnnie B. Moore, Shirley King and Bob Koester of Delmark Records as well as filming the Chicago Southside, the derelict home of Muddy Waters

SHeRMAN RoBeRTSoN

and visiting Chess Records. The highlight of the trip for me however was meeting and photographing my all time favourite, Otis Rush. Moving on to Detroit, we recorded an open air jam session just off Hastings Street with local musicians including Cash McCall and Harmonica Shah.

We were invited in 2000 by Duke University in Durham, North Carolina to give a presentation about Blues Archive where we showed specially prepared video clips and took the opportunity to record rare interviews and performances with 85 year old Piedmont guitarist, Etta Baker and blues guitarist/singer John D.Holeman. In 2000 the story of Blues Archive came full circle when we met and recorded a rare interview and performance with Jimmy Dawkins, the bluesman who had inspired us to start Blues Archive in the first place. We spent a complete day with him talking about the blues and it’s a time I will treasure because Jimmy sadly died in 2013.

We were able to share with him the inspiration of his letter in that edition of Living Blues and Jimmy being the modest man he was said he didn’t remember writing it.

In 2002 the hectic pace over the previous seven years and the cost of this self-financed project had taken its toll so we decided to call a halt to the video shooting and consolidate our holdings. The collection now needed organising so we concentrated on cataloguing, transcribing and digitising the many hours of footage and the thousands of photographs ready for future use.

A major development at the end of 2012 found us being contacted by John Stedman of JSP Records asking if we would be interested in producing DVDs of artists who had appeared on his label and been filmed by us in the past. John had been incredibly

helpful in helping us gain access to artists in previous years so it seemed a natural progression.

This first co-production U.P.Wilson – Live at The 100 Club, recorded in 1998 was released in July 2013. To our knowledge, this is the only professionally recorded concert of U.P and truly an archival gem as he died in 2004.

This new phase for Blues Archive finds us now working on our next release for JSP Records featuring Baton Rouge bluesman, Larry Garner, with other artists Lonnie Shields, Otis Grand, Phil Guy and Jimmy Dawkins in development. Blues Archive, 20 years on, is now a substantial collection of contemporary blues video and sound recordings totalling over 650 hours of footage together with around 35,000 photographic stills.

The majority of this material remains largely unpublished and represents a pictorial snap shot of Blues music in the 1990s.

Looking back we met so many nice people and made some really good friends within the Blues community and as the country seems to be going through a music nostalgia phase at the moment it seems right for us to be developing the material and producing programming that does justice to, and is a tribute to, all those talented blues artists many of whom are not with us anymore.

Who knows, we may eventually see the blues equivalent of The Old Grey Whistle Test on our screens yet.”

blues archIveIs noW a subsTanTIal collecTIon of conTemporary blues recordIngs

THE spIRIT OF sT. LOUIs

dave beardsleY Is tHe blues PublIsHer OF stlblues.Net, FestIval OrGaNIser, INvOlveD IN artIst maNaGemeNt aND a Past FIre FIGHter/ParameDIC. He Is alsO a CO-FOuNDer OF tHe NatIONal blues m useum IN st. lOuIs, mIssOurI, aND lIterallY FIzzes WItH blues eNtHusIasm

st. Louis? The city is usually associated with Scott Joplin the great Ragtime composer, and a hotbed for jazz. It is midway between Memphis and Chicago on the great migration route to “The Promised Land”, and at the crossroads of the Blues Highway and Route 66.

It gave us Morgan Street, Mammy Lou (one of the first to sing gospel and field songs to white men), Alice Moore, Jimmie Gordon and Chuck Berry.

There are far more famous blues musicians, it has to be said, that have lived and played In St. Louis than were born in Missouri such as, Lonnie Johnson, Henry Townsend, Peetie Wheatstraw, Big Joe Williams, Jabo Williams, Roosevelt Sykes, Victoria Spivey, Sylvester Weaver, Yank Rachell, Speckled Red, W. C. Handy, Clifford Gibson, Blind Teddy Darby, Doc Clayton, Hi Henry Brown, Leothus “Pork Chops” Green and Big George Brock. The Booker T. Washington Theatre featured the likes of Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters.

The National Blues Museum, how did it come about?

The National Blues Museum came about back in 2010, following a festival we produced here in St. Louis, called Blues Week. We produced it to celebrate our culture in St. Louis, and we didn’t know that the downtown development called the Mercantile Exchange (MX) District, were looking for a cultural anchor to tie to the downtown redevelopment project.

They saw what we were doing with the Blues Week Festival, and they came to us. They said they wanted to work with us, and that they loved the culture, with the century plus history we have here as a blues town.

For a few minutes it was going to be a blues bar (laughs), for another five minutes it was going to be a St. Louis Blues Museum, but then we realised if we were going to go to the effort of creating a museum; we wanted to attract tourism. We want to do a bigger project than just the St. Louis focus, so we looked around and, to our surprise, there wasn’t a National Blues Museum of America. So we

decided to do that, so here we are four years later.

What support financially and celebrity endorsee’s have you accrued?

Well, our big celebrity spokesperson on our website which you’ll see is John Goodman the actor. We also have musician celebrities on our website, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Shemekia Copeland, Denise LaSalle and Derek Trucks, just some really strong ambassadors behind this project. Financially, we have been in fundraising mode up until now, and we will probably always be in the fundraising mode. I don’t think that ever seems to go away. We have raised enough to where we are moving forward.

We are starting to build the museum, to actually create the interior and develop that. I should say we will be opening our doors in summer of 2015. Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. donated $6 million to kick start to The National Blues Museum. We couldn’t have done without them, plus historic tax credits, things of that nature , have pushed us to where we need

Verbals: billY H utc H ins O n V isuals: dave beardsle Y

to be to start construction. We are working with the Gallagher design team, out of California, that built the Grammy Museum, the B. B. King Museum, The Ray Charles Library I believe, a phenomenal team. It is very exciting, and for me the most exciting period has started now.

We are on a treasure hunt right now for the cool artifacts that we want to go in the museum to tie with our story of the blues. So, we are calling people like Chuck Berry, and Freddy King’s family, and we are tracking down W. C. Handy’s stuff: quite a list, because

we have to tell the story from 1900, or even prior, to today. So it is a big task. There are a lot of museums out there like the Delta Blues Museum, the B. B. King, and the Stax Museum which are kind of centric, wrapped around a person or a region, so we have to factor all that in. We have to take the Delta Museum and put it inside ours basically, and tell a great story about the Delta, but then we have to pull Chicago in, and tell the great Chicago story, and the Austin, Mississippi story, and you know how it goes, on and on.

Have you received any government grants yet?

We received an educational grant, but have not actively pulled in a grant writer as yet. A big part of our fundraising will be grants, especially educational in nature. We have done really well raising our funds just locally, really quietly in St. Louis, without knocking on many doors outside of town.

How much interaction or support have you obtained from the City of St. Louis and the state of Missouri?

Both of them are huge in terms of working with us to get the historic tax credits, and in working

“To our surprIse, There Wasn’T a naTIonal blues museum of amerIca”

THe NBM: fIzzING WITH THe BLUeS

alongside us with Pinnacle on their involvement. So they have been very supportive, and the City recognises its history and its culture, and the fact that there is now going to be a National Blues Museum in this town has everyone excited in town as you can imagine.

The Museum carried the established date as 2010, and yet the projected opening date until 2015. Can you tell us about that, and what you have put together since the establishment date?

The day that we were considered established was the day that we started the 501C3 paperwork, and started our very first group of people. This began with a handful of people here in St. Louis. I am a co-founder, and my good friend Michael Kociela is a co-founder. Then we began pulling in our initial board of directors. We kept quiet as we developed the infrastructure,

and raised the funds. That took four years, believe it or not. Now we are public, and we are waving our flag a little bit, and letting people know it’s 100% definitely coming to St. Louis, Missouri. General support, we want people to go to our Facebook presence and “like” us, and look us up on our website. We have this ‘Buck Up For the Blues’, there is a page on the website where you can but a hat or a T shirt. We are just trying to create some grassroots awareness, and let the public know we are really happening. We even have our own radio show; our Executive Producer Christian Cudnik is driving that.

Who are the main players you have central to the project and their expertise?

Oh, on a number of levels, we have fundraising experts, obviously; we have corporate leaders behind us here in St. Louis guiding us; we have the music community

both here in St. Louis and beyond supportive of it; then we also have hands-on people doing stuff almost every day. We have B. B. King and Tab Benoit coming into town that we will be featuring and interviewing. We are doing Blues in the Schools; we have already done a lot of community and educational stuff, so we are very much alive already even though our doors are not yet open.

What will the finished building hold, and the mission statement to be?

Our mission statement is pretty much what is up on the website, it is pretty short. We are going to explore the blues and celebrate the genre of blues as the foundation of all modern American music. The Museum is going to be very interactive, so as you go through the Museum you will see some very fun things, on the walls and in cases, but half of what you will see you will be able to interact with, pick it up and play with it. At the end of your experience, when you get done with your visit at the Museum, you’ll go in and actually mix a playlist that you picked up digitally as you travelled through the Museum. So you will be able to create music, play music, record music and listen to music. We are going to have an approximately a 150 seat concert venue inside the Museum, so we will have a lot of live shows, and we will be doing a lot of web-streaming of those shows. Hopefully PBS will come in and do a couple of things; we have big plans for our ongoing public programming.

Thank you Dave for your time, your enthusiasm, and for building The National Blues Museum in St. Louis.

Thank you Billy, I would definitely like a copy when it comes out, and do stay in touch. As we move forward we will have more news to share.

THe NBM HITS THe RoAD, RAISING AWAReNeSS

On the air : KEVIn BLAcK

The one hour podcast can be listened to via the website, on iPads and iPhones via the stitcher radio app or on three Internet radio stations. See www.blackonblues.com for further details of the show and how and when to listen.

Kevin is a Surrey-based journalist and former Melody Maker writer. The podcast is syndicated to three Internet radio stations, one in the US , one in Scotland, one in England. The playlist from Show 166 offers an idea of what listeners can expect:

Jim Byrnes – I Get Evil/Another Night To Cry

JP Blues Band – Another Time/ Trouble On Heels

Eddie Martin – Blues Took Me By The Hand/Flowers To The Desert Devenport – Find Me a Train/It’s Too Late

Geoff Everett – Forty Days On The Road

Harpdog Brown – Rockin Daddy/ Facebook Woman

JC Crossfire – Blues, Blues Blues/ When It Comes To The Blues

As you can see, the selection is often of contemporary Blues, and Kevin also has specials, featuring Blues women and more. ‘Music from all around the universe’, as Kevin puts it. Kevin’s brisk style offers an insight into the artists, and then it’s straight into the music.

There are a number of ways to listen to Kevin’s show.

1. Go to the show’s website and click on the show number and press the green play button.

2. Subscribe to the show in iTunes. Click on the ‘add to iTunes’ icon on the right of the screen. This feature is completely free and you will have the show automatically appear each week in iTunes. Remember you only have

to do this once. All future shows will then download automatically for you in iTunes.

3. BlackonBlues also syndicates to a number of international radio stations, including:

Radio Saltire: www. radiosaltire.org in Scotland, Thursdays 2100 GMT

Kansas City Online Radio: www.kconlineradio.com Thursdays 1500 central USA time, 2100 GMT

Smokestack Radio: www.smokestackradio.com in England, Sundays noon central USA time, 1800 GMT.

CheCk out the blaCk on blues podCast. website: www.blaCkonblues.CoM

Verbals: darYl Weale

Visuals:

kevin black

blackOnblues.cOM Is a WeeKlY blues musIC PODCast, HOsteD bY JOurNalIst KevIN blaCK aND OrIGINatING IN surreY, eNGlaND. KevIN PlaYs tHe musIC OF uNsIGNeD aND emerGING blues musICIaNs FrOm all Over tHe WOrlD

kevIn also has specIals, feaTurIng blues Women and more

oN THe AIR: VINTAGe HARpDoG BRoWN AND BAND

FEEL LIKE I’M

FIxIn’ TO pLAy #2

after an Easter weekend of heavy jamming in wonderful Pembrokeshire the subject is appropriate as I managed to lose a strap button on my favourite Telecaster, without disastrous results thank goodness, a bust strap button is enough without a busted toe to go with it!

A common occurrence as many of you will no doubt have experienced, but real easy to fix. Very often the screw holding the strap button wears and becomes too small for the hole and with a bit of luck a new screw with a one size larger shank will be enough to secure the sucker for good! But when this is not the case I find the following trick gives good results (for solid-bodied guitars only).

Take two or three wooden cocktail sticks and cut them in half. Cover them in some good wood adhesive (not Super Glue if you value your fingerprints), and use as many as needed to plug the hole fully. Press them well in and trim off square with the top

of the hole. Leave overnight to dry out and then replace the strap button remembering to put a little soap on the screw shank as you screw it down – job done! The same technique can be applied for dealing with loose screws on amps, cabinets, and guitar and flight cases etc.

A common problem I regularly come across with Strat players, and most other guitars boasting single coil pickups, is hum interference. If you have ever played on small hall or club stages which have fluorescent lighting then you almost certainly will have enjoyed a loud AC hum destroying your finest effort at Gilmour’s Brick in the Wall solo (I even recall having local taxi cab radios interfering with the signal and instead of peeling off a rasping solo on your favourite SRV tribute – A very Welsh ladies’ accent comes blasting through your 4 x 12 stack asking ‘Ozzy to pick up a fare at Tesco please sweetheart‘). Not the most professional performance you hoped to deliver

but it sure has happened to yours truly.

The remedy here is to shield the electrics as best you can to prevent the AC and Radio interference invading your favourite squeeze. The best way I find of doing this is to buy some copper foil sheets or copper sticky tape and apply to the appropriate parts of the guitar. These are the body cavity, the wiring routes and, importantly if it is not already there, the underside of the pick guard. You can also use conductive metallic paint, which usually contains nickel and is readily available but a bit more messy than using the sticky-backed foil option, which I certainly recommend. When sticking the copper foil to the various cavities and pick guard under-surface, it is essential to ensure that none of the copper shielding makes contact with any element of the circuits or wiring, as this can create a short circuit. I is also best to overlap each piece of foil as you stick it in place, and finally run a small wire connection from the copper shielding to an earth/ground point (underneath the bridge is usually a convenient option). Some guitar techs also go one further by actually soldering the overlap joints. The

a markeT has opened up for The ‘relIc’ sTyle of guITar, one ThaT has a ‘Well used’ appearance

difference this procedure makes is quite significant in ridding your performance of unwelcome humming and screechy-voiced radio cab controllers.

Whilst on the subject of the Strat, a nice little tip for those whose wang bar tends to wobble too much (old age doesn’t come alone friends), is to get hold of a small spring, like the ones you find in retractable cheap ballpoint pens, and push it in to the hole where the tremolo arm lives, when you insert the bar the spring will grip and your floppiness will be no more! Hoorah!

Now I know a lot of our guitarplaying readers like to own vintage or vintage-style instruments, and a market has opened up for the ‘Relic’style of guitar, one that has a ‘well used’ appearance, not totally knackered, but really visibly well worn. This look can be achieved with your own favourite squeeze but, HUGE ALERT, giving the relic look to instruments will not normally enhance their value in financial terms and is a very personal choice to make. Many fine custom shop guitars are available today which sport the well-used look, and will have a well-used effect on your wallet to boot.

DIsTREssED BODIEs

However should you feel so inclined, which I certainly did a while back, I have my own relic’d Strat, which has had the Rory/ Stevie treatment applied at home. A few of the features, apart from the distressed bodywork, are the Lone Star State badge which I picked up on a trip to Austin Texas and inlaid into the body and surrounded it with an outline map of that fine US State. The metalwork (apart from the bridge –more of that later) I aged by putting all the metal parts in a small bowl of water with some salt and trailed two wires from a nine volt battery, one into the water with the other

touching the metal part which causes electrolysis and gives the parts an aged look.

You will get through a few batteries to achieve a fully-aged look. The plastic knobs, switch tip etc. were subjected to a nice basting with gravy browning and a bit of mud, which after allowing to partially dry and wipe off looks pretty 50s to me! The reason for the new looking bridge is that the original one (which I had aged with the other metal parts) I have temporarily replaced with an acoustic pickup-based bridge made by LR Baggs, which, when connected up with a ‘Y’ stereo cable gives the ability to have an acoustic sound in addition to the normal Strat, good for stage use as it serves as two guitars in one, reducing the need to take decent acoustic guitars on the road so often. However, the downside is you ideally need to feed it through two amps, or one and the PA, to achieve a reasonable semblance of acoustic sound. The Strat started life as a Fender ‘Highway 1’ model which, whilst being a California-produced model, was an entry level American guitar. I would never dream of giving this treatment to a high end model as it would drastically devalue the instrument and be a bit pointless as you could get one of the professional custom shop jobs if you were in the high-end market and fancied the relic look.

Well folks, I hope you found some of the old Doc’s folksy remedies of some use and I look forward to catch y’all real soon!

la VeNdOre rOgUe

When La Vendore Rogue’s principal songwriters first met in 2003 it was on the day they both left home to start new lives in Britain’s oldest town, Colchester. On the day they both moved into a less than glamorous house share, it is unlikely that they would have expected, ten years on, to have both quit their music degrees to pursue a shared musical vision.

The decision to disband the widely popular Hokie Joint surprised many but Fisk and Burgess felt the band had reached as far as it could musically, both were ready to broaden their musical horizons, dropping amongst other things, the harmonica led approach to blues. Though blues, and rock, not least in their distinctly Stones and Black Crowes style of playing live, remains at the core of what they do, the influence of Americana and even shades of Country inform the broader musical palette, as witnessed on the new outfit’s aforementioned debut EP.

Six penniless months off the road were spent writing and rehearsing the new line up consisting of former Hokie drummer Stephen Cutmore, long time friend Warren Lynn on keys and Rob Barry on bass. The resulting EP was enough to attract the attentions of both BiGiAm management ( Jo Harman, Goldie Reed) and Movin’ Music live agency and the band have

a number of festival appearances booked for 2014 which will further establish their reputation and expand their fan base. This outfit threaten to become one of the best, most credible rock and roll outfits in the UK and beyond.

The Jekyll and Hyde-esque onstage personas of Burgess and Fisk might suggest the two are very different characters, but having already created a close brotherhood through a shared passion for Delta Blues and the British Blues Boom, and now both Country and Western music, they also share a scepticism toward life, as well as tastes in cheap rolling tobacco, red wine, whisky and anything else that comes their way. Having shared everything from hotel rooms to girlfriends, Burgess and Fisk’s love hate relationship continues, slightly older and slightly wiser, drawing inspiration from life and everything surrounding it. These two Rogues continue struggling on together, knowing the fate of friendship will drive them forever forward.

A.S.A.D. (a song about drugs) is the latest release from What’s The Meaning Of and the five piece are already planning a debut album, possibly even a live album, which will serve to put the La Vendore Rogue even more firmly on the map.

CheCk us out at: www.laVendorerogue.CoM

Verbals: steve YOurglivcH Visuals: dreW cullingtOn FOrmer FrONtmeN OF tHe muCH lauDeD HOKIe JOINt, JO JO burGess aND JOel FIsK INtrODuCe tHeIr NeW PersONa la veNDOre rOGue WItH tHeIr Debut eP WHat’s tHe meaNING OF

MalaYa BlUe

I“mainly did session vocals and I loved it but secretly wanted to be the ‘main event’. After releasing Lady Sings The Blues with Mockingbird Hill, the feedback was incredible, so good that I received the ultimate, an e.mail asking me if I could record a solo album. I won’t lie, it was harder than I thought. When I listen back to Bourbon Street I ‘um’d and ah’d about what I would do differently, I imagine I’m the same as every musician in that regard! But I love the album, can I say that about my own album?

I fell in love with Blues and Jazz in my 20’s, that and red wine! I was introduced to Mark Murphy, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James. Eva Cassidy and other amazing talents. I had never heard such raw emotions expressed through singing and I was utterly moved by it. I love the story telling aspect of the genre and I love the community and culture it represents. I always felt very privileged to be a working singer, but this feels different,

it’s like I am part of something and I definitely feel I have been embraced.

I have been fortunate enough to work with great musicians such as Giovanni Bruno, Mick Simpson, Dave Hunt, Dario Salvi and Carlton Van Selman. Andy produces me to just the right level, he always allows me to express myself, it’s a good mix and it looks like it works because it has led us to this point. It feels surreal but brilliant. I just want to do it all over again!

Che C k M e out at www.M adearsprodu Ctions.C o M /#/ M alaya-bluebourbon-street/4582495230

“I fell In love WITh blues and Jazz In my 20’s, ThaT and red WIne!”

the MightY BOsscats

The Bosscats centre around the songs of Richard Townend, a regular on the festival scene. It’s his songs that raise the band from the run-of-the-mill 12 bar structure. Subject matter like the Omagh bombing, the siege at Waco and the injustice of the treatment of code breaker Alan Turing, have received very positive feedback.

“I write about things that interest me” says Townend.

But it’s not just the dark side of human psychology that floats Townend’s musical boat. His dry Yorkshire humour comes through strongly when shrugging off the tough times of the recession:

“Life’s kinda funny, when you ain’t got no money, and Lady Luck’s turned her back on you. You can’t travel far, ‘cos you ain’t got no car, there’s only so much leather in your shoes” a couplet that raises a smile on ‘Boiling Pot’.

Stylistically, Townend’s slick finger picking, lead work and acoustic prowess are ably supported by Rhodes piano, soulful Hammond and melodic harmonica, delivered by fellow Bosscat Phil Pawsey.

It’s this blend of sounds, and interplay from the lead instruments that again, elevates the band over the pub blues bands.

“Don’t get me wrong, we love a bit of 12 bar and some overdriven harp,” says Pawsey, “But we’re trying to create a more sophisticated sound.”

It’s this mantra that means the songs often use the harmonica in the musical blend, not just as a solo instrument, and this adds to the interesting sound on the new album.

Comparison is inevitable, and it’s towards Mark Knopfler and Chris Rea that people often look when describing Townend’s vocals and guitar. But listen to the songs on Boiling Pot and you’ll realise you’re listening to some outstanding songs in their own right.

The band is completed by two of the finest players on the circuit: Glen Buck on drums and Phil Wilson on bass. The percussive hook to the songs makes them contemporary and ultimately radio-worthy.

Boiling Pot sets out the band’s eclectic stall, and is fast on the way to becoming one of the albums of the year.

C he C k us out at: www.ri C hardtownend.C o M

The band Is compleTed by TWo of The fInesT players on The cIrcuIT

V erbals: ale X austin Visual s: t H e F ans bOIlING POt Is tHe NeW album FrOm tHe mIGHtY bOssCats, a FIttING tItle FOr tHe COlleCtION as Well as FOr tHe baND aND It’s eCleCtrIC OFFerING

eMaNUele FiZZOtti

maNNY Was brOuGHt uP IN bIella, a small tOWN IN NOrtH West ItalY aND starteD PlaYING tHe GuItar WHeN He Was 15 Years OlD lIsteNING tO tHe beatles, tHe rOllING stONes, aND JIm I HeNDrIx. tHeN He DIsCOvereD tHe blues aND Fell IN lOve WItH It

manny likes to mix it up a bit with rock’n’roll, country or rock and if he plays covers he always tries to put something of his own in it.

He graduated at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, where he worked as a session guitarist at the Shanghai Recording Studios with Mike Carnevale (sound engineer with the likes of Eric Clapton, Greg Allman, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards).

Beside playing with the Italian harmonica virtuoso Fabio Treves and performing at many of the top stadia in Italy and on important TV shows with Cristiano De Andrè, he has played on jingles for national TV ads and on soundtracks for documentaries and short movies.

Manny has performed at major European festivals (including twice at the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival) and his lastest CD, Manny’s Blues, has been reviewed in Classic Rock, Blues Matters! and Blues in Britain magazines and broadcast by radio stations worldwide.

He also recorded a DVD called “Playing in the Style of Jimmy Page” and with his Jimi Hendrix tribute band has played in Italy, London and at the International Jimi Hendrix Festival in Budapest.

In April 2011 he moved to London, ‘’‘cause he felt it was the right city to live in to play the music he likes‘’.

Since then he has performed at well-known clubs such as The Bull’s Head, 12 Bar Club, Boom Boom Club, The Hideaway, The Eel Pie Club and had the pleasure to be invited to play with the John O’ Leary/ Alan Glen All Stars, the Dennis Greaves Band and Nine Below Zero.

From time to time he’s so lucky to have Brendan O’Neill (Rory Gallagher Band and Nine Below Zero) sit in on drums with his trio.

During his live performances he plays original compositions, blues classics and songs by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Rory Gallagher.

Sometimes he picks up the mandolin or the five string banjo adding a country/bluegrass vibe to a few old classics, on others the dobra with slide, taking the listener back to the smoky atmosphere of the Mississippi juke-joints.

Che C k out Manny’s website for M usi C and shows: www.e M anuelefizzotti.C o M

the BerMONdseY JOYriders

titled debut in a 10 hour studio sprint, the trio took a more considered approach to second album Noise & Revolution , and were rewarded for the time they invested. A concept piece narrated by counterculture icon John Sinclair, the album took shape on stage, where the band repeatedly aired it live and in full, with Sinclair delivering his fire and brimstone spoken word segments from behind a lectern. Upon release it was greeted by a chorus of critical praise and voted Vive le Rock magazine readers’ Album Of The Year, before swiftly selling out and going to a second pressing.

The Joyriders set themselves a hard act to follow with that mould-breaking crowd pleaser, but all the signs suggest they can do it again. They kicked off 2014 by paying tribute to two of their favourite late, great guitarist on the limited edition 7” double a-side Brian Jones (The Real True Leader of The Rolling Stones) / Johnny Thunders Was A Human Being. Equally indebted to the swaggering style of Jones and co’s 60s output, and the trashy punk power that Musto’s old bandmate Johnny Thunders made his name with as a New York Doll, the single offered both a heartfelt homage to a couple musical heroes, and an insight into the elements that make up this summer’s third Joyriders’ album, Flamboyant Thugs.

each a consummate player in their own right, frontman Gary Lammin (formerly of Joe Strummer protégés Little Roosters), bassist Martin Stacey (Chelsea), and drummer Chris Musto (Johnny Thunders’ Oddballs) can collectively lay claim to an extraordinary chemistry. Mixing ‘77 spirit, skilful slide playing, and razor-sharp social commentary, all served with a distinctly British wit, they boast a singular sound, which has brought them a faithful, fast-growing following.

Having dashed out 2009’s raw ’n’ riotous self-

Out on May 26th via the group’s own Fuel Injection imprint, Flamboyant Thugs is the most potent realization of their blues-punk brew yet. Along with the howling golden-era Stone hooks and urgent Dolls rhythms, there come hints of the Small Faces in Lammin’s lively Cockney wordplay, stomping flashes of glitter rock, crazed psych-blues moments, and a touch of testifying MC5-style garage rock, when Sinclair makes a slight return to contribute a spoken intro and outro to the title track.

The vinyl release additionally includes exclusive sleeve notes from veteran NME scribe and John Lee Hooker biographer Charles Shaar Murray.

Che C k us out at www.theber M ondseyjoyriders.C o.uk

What ’s happenin’next...

interviews: Coco Montoya, Marcus Malone, Katie Bradley, Nick Moss, Neal Black, Lil Jimmy Reed, Rusty Wright, Selwyn Birchwood and The Red Dirt Skinners. Features: Blues DJ’s, Blues Brothers (Part 4), Nordic Blues and more. Top Ten: By True Blood’s Jace Everett. red lick: Top 20 Chart. blue blood: The best new talent around. Blues News: The latest in the world of blues. plus: The magazine Regulars, the biggest CD Review around, Gig Reviews including Blues For Walter, Festival Reviews and much more!

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Mark PONtiN grOUP

We all Have lIFe DeFINING mOmeNts tHat sHaPe Future PatHs. ONe small DeCIsION aND YOur WHOle lIFe COulD alter, FOr GOOD Or baD. It’s tHese mOmeNts tHat sHaPe us all, aND tHree PIeCe blues rOCK baND, tHe marK PONtIN GrOuP exPlOre tHIs verY tHeme ON Debut release DaYs OF DestINY

I“t’s not a concept album’ says songwriter/ guitarist/ vocalist/ producer Mark Pontin, ‘I started to notice the deep subject matter in the songs represented significant days in my life. The decisions I made shaped the person and musician that I am today.”

The critically acclaimed album, led one notable reviewer, Pete Feenstra to comment, Days Of Destiny is an album full of mature songwriting, played by a road-tested band with the chops, integrity and imagination to circumvent all forms of cliches and bring a welcome breath of fresh air to the blues rock genre’.

‘It’s very important to me to try and write good songs’ says Mark, ‘In today’s blues rock world there are great players but not so many great songs. If you listen to Jimi Hendrix not only was he an amazing guitarist, but his lyrics and song craft were genius. A lot just try to emulate the guitar part, ignoring the song craft.’

Days Of Destiny has been well received by radio stations, and the band are building up a strong live following, with a quota of gigs that has seen them share stages with Walter Trout, who described them as a kickin’ band, Chantel McGregor, and this year they are appearing at notable festivals such as Hebden Bridge and Tenby Blues. Shows with Hamilton Loomis, Royal Southern Brotherhood and Ryan McGarvey are also lined up.

Mark, along with Christopher Baglole (drums/ backing vocals) and Alun Walters (bass/ backing vocals) describes the sound as kind of raw blues rock fusion with improv and jamming, the live set never being played the same way twice. At the very core is a strong traditional blues ethic. Mark lists his influences as all the great US blues acts, and top British and Irish artists such as Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher.

Most noted has been the nomination for a British

Blues Award in the Emerging Artist category, and Mark states that raising his profile is top of the agenda. “I am very pleased to have been nominated, as I was nominated by radio DJs who have listened and liked it enough to play it, no labels, managers or PR firms applying pressure. It’s an old fashioned way to do things, get DJs to play your music then hit the road and create your own hype.”

d ays o f d estiny out now C d at www.M arkpontingroup.C o M d ownload at itunes and aM azon.

South London S coundre LS the Peckham c owboyS S add L ed u P and took their dirty b L ue S rock S how on the road thi S S P ring, fo LL owing the re L ea S e of S econd a L bum

10 taLeS from the gin PaLace . bm! catche S u P with the band on their home turf

With a wealth of hard-won experience in their hardrockin’, hard-livin’ ranks, The Peckham Cowboys crafted their distinctive ‘deep sarf Lahndon blues’ sound from a heady blend of bloozy bar-room pianos, sleazy slide guitar, and even down‘n’dirty dub touches, painting a Hogarth-esque image of Dickensian rogues and Del Boy types ducking‘n’diving through London‘s gutters. Frontman Marc Eden answered a few questions.

BM: First off, please tell me what the Peckham Cowboys are? I hear echoes of the Quireboys and the Specials in your latest album but also a definite Stones and Faces groove – what are the Peckham Cowboys all about?

ME: It’s a South London R’n’R band, dipped in Grime from the estates, and steeped in the City Blues. We sing of the streets on Flog it! and now the new record, 10 Tales From The Gin Palace, is about the wheelin’n’dealin’ out there, the buzz of the city, and what we see as ‘The Clampdown’ by those in so-called power in these times of ‘austerity’. It’s an old and beautiful sound, which we hope to have breathed modern Cowboy life into.

How did the band get started? You have all been involved with other name bands before – what brought you together in this incarnation?

We got together by mistake. It was at a party at Guy Bailey’s house, where he corralled

me into singing what was to become South London Thing. At about 4am that morning after singing for ten minutes we had the idea, the whole start of it there and then. That lyric was an ad lib, trying to put what was out of the window that night, in Peckham, London, into some modern blues and rock and roll. The other players in the sordid act, we blackmailed into joining us with promises of booty beyond their wildest dreams. If they stuck around, it’s because they’re a Peckham Cowboy. They know what it means. It’s like a pirate’s curse.

There is a brilliantly sleazy, nasty sound to the band, and that seems to come through into the subject matter of your songs. What is amazing to me is that, unlike every other band I have heard that try to be ‘down and dirty’, it feels natural. What is there about the Cowboys that makes the music so natural? It feels so natural, because it is real. It’s our life, on those records, on those songs. That’s a real compliment to the band, you saying that.

We live like this, you know, at the shows and back home, wherever.

All the stuff like being broke, then the hustling, the drinking, the taking, tooting, touring, not eating, fighting, loving, laughing, broke again, writing, but always with the meaning. Nigel said that we were ‘The last Rock’N’Roll band ever!” ha ha! Well he lives on the fault line in Cali most of the time, so maybe he knows more than us, right?

The songs are true stories, and we all live like this, you know? On 10 Tales From the Gin Palace we have songs that look out at the so-called ‘austerity’ too. On songs like The Debt Collector and Don’t Damn the Hypnotist there’s a different groove going on, lyrically and musically.

I believe that Guy Bailey is no longer involved with the band. That leaves the core as Marc Eden and Dale Hodgkinson. Who did you bring in to make the album?

Well, Duncan Mackay is a core member; he plays horn and piano on 10 Tales... Timo plays real nice and nasty lead guitar on the record, Dale adds guitars and weird special

effect guitars, I sing, play a bit of piano and bass, and some bluesy guitars on it too. Ryan was great on this record. He plays drums on most of it, which is different from Flog it!, which was mainly programmed terror! Ha ha! Phil Frite played some live and lithe bass for 10 Tales and Nigel was on it too.

The core band is now Timo, Dale, Ryan, Nigel, Duncan and myself.

The difference in sound from the first album Flog

It is massive – FlogIt was a magnificent mess but a mess nonetheless. You sound as though you are really synched up on this one – is the difference about knowing each other better or is it that you are more serious this time around?

It was just about progression really? We still have that Flog It style fuzzed out noise terror stuff slithering about in the mix, but the new record was mainly done live. I think we have our own sound, so it was nice to be able to fuck with it on certain songs. It’s about knowing the Peckham Cowboys sound rather than each other. We know each other too, but that’s more along the lines of the ’who can I weasel a tenner out of’ type malarkey.

Did you have any problems getting the band off the ground?

Did the ‘business’ take you to their hearts? It feels as though you must have been a challenge for a few of the more ‘conventional’ labels.

No. No one has done anything for us. Ever. Cargo have been sweet, helped us get the records out. It’s not a case of us ever approaching any of those other labels though, I mean, what’s the fucking point? I guess if someone waved a load of wonga at us, we might have a look? As long as they knew we have to sound like we have to sound…

Yeah! That’s it! Like in the ‘70s! Flop out a load of sponds, then fuck off for 3 months and we’ll make you a record. Ha ha ha!

The sound is incredibly intense, really massive but distorted as hell. Your songs seem to lend themselves to a blast of power. Everything on …GinPalacecomes in at around three minutes with very little intro/outro stuff. Is that about lack of attention or about wanting to concentrate everything? The album rushes past

and you feel out of breath at the end, as though you’d run the hundred meters.

It’s the Cowboys sound. We had a rule that nothing should come in at over three minutes when we kicked off. That ain’t adhered to strictly anymore, but we like that punk ethos, nonetheless. We like to hit hard and fast. We’re like a three minute warning fire alarm in the burning remnants of the music industry!

Opening number Not Guilty is about Marc’s recent court case – can you expand on the case? What was the charge and the outcome?

No comment. Oh! Only to say that it was money related, and not money that was (allegedly) stolen from the people. Verdict: Not guilty.

The album goes from rock to reggae and dub in a few numbers -. I loved the sound on Don’t Damn The Hypnotist and Bromley Girls equally – but you describe yourself as a blues band. Do you ever set out to try and write in as many forms as possible or is it about doing what’s right at the time?

With the blues, it’s the truth. It’s not a traditional ‘sound’ I think. It’s an ancient howl of anguish and revolt. I don’t even think that’s over the top. It’s a feeling, empathy. That’s what it is to me anyway, and it’s always at my shoulder when I’m writing for The Peckham Cowboys. Dark and mysterious. It’s a vocal thing with me. Whatever we do, my voice has this limiter, you know? That’s the blues. On this record, 10 Tales from the Gin Palace, it was vital to try that with different styles of music, like the groove on Don’t Damn the Hypnotist.

You hail from South London, ever thought of playing North of the river? You’d be made welcome... Lovely ladies, North of the river... sometimes. You can’t knock that.

the S econd P eckham cowboyS a L bum 10 taLeS from the gin PaLace i S out now on c argo r ecord S a S a cd and down L oad: www.cargorecord S direct.co.uk/

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im became known as a gifted and prolific computer programmer and engineer, eventually being headhunted by Microsoft in 1990, reaching executive positions and was part of the Senior Leadership Team developing the core direction of the business along side Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Jim has written a number of books on advanced mathematics and computer systems and won numerous awards including the prestigious Technical Excellence Person of the Year in 2001. Following cancer diagnosis in 2002 a reassessment of his life meant Jim decided to move more towards his music but through loyalty and wanting to complete the ongoing projects he stayed at Microsoft until 2008. He recorded a largely experimental album Enigma in 2009 before launching his music career proper.

BM: Hi Jim, thanks for agreeing to talk to us. You have a very interesting life story, not only in the music industry but in the business community too. Perhaps we can touch on that later, but for now lets focus on the music. Q.E.D. is your most recent release and has received critical acclaim for the most part. To my ears it sounds like you have evolved your own style of writing and playing from the debut Overclocked. Do you sense that and is there more evolving to do?

JA: Hey, thanks for chatting with me! Well, through my life I usually end up never being quite satisfied with what I do. Perhaps that is a good thing since it pushes me to improve and demand more of myself. Without a doubt, Q.E.D. evolved since Overclocked. And I have evolved even more since Q.E.D. My skills have improved and my style is deepening. Where is it leading? I haven’t got a clue. Some people have told me that they would love for me to do a straight-ahead traditional blues album. Some people have told me that I should do a rock record. Ditto for smooth jazz. Ditto for instrumental. But, at this point in my life I just want to go where my soul leads me. I do ‘Jim Allchin’ albums. And these albums just represent points in time for me.

Overclockedfelt more of a blues rock record, although there was good use of a horn section. Q.E.D. is more diverse, feeling jazzy and soulful in places but still carrying the crunch of some real blues guitar work. I wondered if this reflects the music that inspires you and what influenced you musically?

I have so many influences. I’m sort of a mutt in

that regard. I played jazz stage band trumpet for years. So I love big band arrangements (or what someone like Albert Collins did with horns). I love Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Albert King, Joe Satriani, Elmore James, Etta James, B.B. King, Joe Pass, Sam Cooke, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton’s early work, and on and on.

So, I’m really all over the map. I have a problem (or an advantage depending on how you look at it) about being able to fit into these sounds. So I probably could do a record that follows any of these styles. But, what I am currently doing is just going with the flow I feel internally.

More than anything else I am trying to sing through my guitar and evoke passion. I feel each note, each bend, so deeply. I want others to feel that power, that passion, too.

It’s well documented that you had a hugely successful career with Microsoft, reaching the level of senior management and overseeing the design of Windows. I’m also aware that you were diagnosed with cancer in 2002, now thankfully behind you, which made you reassess your life. Was music always an important part of your life? Operating at such an executive level must have used up most of your time and creative thinking?

I have always had music to relax and help me drift away. I never stopped playing through my education or work life. I would sometimes come home completely depleted and lay on the floor just playing the guitar with it lying on top of me. My chops weren’t as good as they are now, but I always kept playing.

I’m an intensively focused person. If I’m writing code, then just get out of the way because I’m going to write till I fall over asleep on the keyboard. If I’m playing guitar, then I am the same way. I can miss meals and I completely lose track of time. I’m sort of all in on whatever it is I’m focused on. And now it’s guitar time!

You grew up in very humble surroundings, helping on your father’s farm before going to University. I believe you dropped out to follow a musical career at least once. Without wanting to sound clichéd it seems that particular crossroads has tempted you more than once. Do you ever regret not following the music dream from the beginning?

Yes, I loved music enough to try and make a living doing it. But, all kidding aside, it was

super hard. If I wanted to play the local southern circuit, I could make it. And I did that for a while. But, I wanted to write original material and play original material. That resulted in me going onto food stamps and each month the food just didn’t make it through the entire month. During that time I got to meet some incredible musicians and they were either just barely scraping by or not making it. That’s when I said “enough of this.” I had thought that if I got good enough on guitar that I would be able to turn it into a great living – doing my own material. I was naïve. And meeting these other incredible musicians made that perfectly clear to me. I had abilities in math and science that I was wasting. And that’s when I stopped coasting in school and got serious. It was sad to me at the time, but I knew I would always have music.

I am hugely impressed by your blues playing. Not only are you technically proficient to a very high level but you retain the feel and emotion necessary to make blues real and authentic. I find many guitarists who also sing never feel quite happy with their vocals. Is this something you have had to work harder at?

Ha! My guitar playing is a work in progress, but frankly it comes pretty easily. But, my singing is still at the kindergarten level. I am humbled every time I open my mouth. On the other hand I have only been singing a few years. I have been playing guitar... well... a long time!

My voice is never going to be gravelly. Sometimes people say I have a “sweet voice” and I want to throw up. I say “come on, .this is the blues. I need to sound ‘rough’. Well, that just ain’t going to happen for me. Instead, my voice teacher encourages me to go with what God gave me. And just maximize it.

I believe you are already hard at work preparing the follow up to QED. How is that taking shape and anything you can share with us yet?

I’m writing lots of new material. I can guarantee you there will be intense guitar!

My goal for each album is to step up from the last one. I might do some co-writing on this new album. And I am looking around for a producer now. Certainly I could use help in shaping my playing, song writing, and performance. I would also love to play with some other Blues artists.

jim with with buddy guy

You have some very talented musicians that have worked with you in the studio. Do you guys perform live as a working band and if so is that a very different experience?

We have not toured together, but they are chomping at the bit to do just that. They are beyond incredible and every time I play with them I am inspired.

Because of your technical background and knowledge you must have great insight into how technology has and will impact on musicians interacting with their fan base and earning from selling their work. How do you see this in the future, both short and longer term? Remember in A Tale of Two Cities? “It was the best of the times. It was the worse of times.” Well, that’s the situation today. The major labels have a strong hold on the market – still. This is true even in the blues space. So, musicians must look out for themselves and hope the fans support them.

Using technology for “direct to fan” is the only way to survive now unless you are signed to a label. Basically, I think there are too many distribution channels and too many “information sites.” I think there are too many web sites telling musicians they need sign up or fans won’t find them. I disagree with the “got to be everywhere” model because I for one sure don’t have the time to keep all those sites updated. So I decided to focus where I invest my energy.

I am spending time on my website, facebook, and youtube. And that’s about it for information sharing. And I make sure that all my song/ album metadata is appropriately stored so that my songs if they are heard can be found online. I also believe most of the distribution systems available are not worth much. If you get paid at all, then you get paid a fraction of a cent per play. So, I focus my energy on a few big places (both download [e.g., iTunes] and streaming [e.g., Spotify]). No one will pay you more than a direct purchase from a fan – either online at your web site or at a show. So that should be the focus.

Will things change in technology to make more things possible? Of course. I imagine being able to do online concerts, intimate VIP gatherings via video feeds, per session paid

live video into studio time, etc. All of these can be monetized. And of course technology will improve for creating music, but I caution everyone to not forget about making music human.

What advice would you offer to young musicians just starting out?

Get good on your instrument of choice. The amount of lesson material that exists online today is mind-blowing. You can improve so quickly using the material and through great teachers (if you can afford them – either online via skype or in person). For a fraction of what it cost years ago you can learn the best techniques very quickly. I do encourage students to not try to skip over the basics. Scales, exercises, and slow consistent practice.

Learn how to write/compose songs. Great courses are again online. Everything starts with the song. There are also great books on how to write lyrics, solid song structures, etc.

Get out and play (get over the embarrassment; this was hard for me) You only get good if you do it – over and over and over again. And if you listen to live music, then give your support to those musicians. We can all help each other.

Have a backup plan for your music career. Perhaps this isn’t what people want to hear, but I think the numbers are against musicians. It’s just a fact. Making a living playing music is tough – regardless of the genre. I know one young person who is in middle school today. He has performed in national piano competitions; he is truly gifted. I asked his parents about his future. They sort of just laughed. They said their goal for their son was a strong academic and solid career plan in science. His music is viewed as a “backup” plan that might work out – but they weren’t counting on it. This is harsh, but perhaps reality in today’s world. And while there are always the 1-offs that you hear about who rise to stardom overnight, that is, by far the exception. Dream about it. Work hard for it. Reach for it. But, have another plan – just in case.

for more information, check out: www.J ima LL chin.com

cyri L n evi LL e ha S been a ma J or inf L uence on the n ew o r L ean S mu S ic S cene; S inger and P ercu SS ioni St, fami L iar from band S S uch a S the m eter S and being the younge St of Loui S iana mu S ic roya Lty, the n evi LL e b rother S, he ha S more recentLy deve L o P ed new P roJ ectS S uch a S the recentLy acc L aimed S o L o re L ea S e magic honey and he LP ing form new outfit, r oya L Southern b rotherhood

n November 2013 I had the privilege of sitting in conversation with Cyril Neville after a blistering stage set, fronting his new band Royal Southern Brotherhood at the ever popular Carlisle Blues and Rock Festival.

Talking about the latter he proudly stated this group was set up after he and Mike Zito got together on Mike’s Pearl River release. They both shared the same manager in Thunderbird Recording’s Rueben Williams, who had been asked why The Neville Brothers and The Allman Brothers had never recorded anything together. Cyril stated quite categorically that ‘Rueben was the instigator

and first thing we did was send ideas to each other and step by step after rehearsing and some exchanges of views, Royal Southern Brotherhood was born’.

Exploring his musical development with a serious tone, he described his formative years and who his influences have been. Growing up in such a famous family he felt ‘blessed’ – a continuing feeling he still has now when talking about his passion for music.

His initial musical hero turned out to be his brother Art whom he listened to on the radio along with others such as Little

Interview CYRIL NEVILLE

Richard, Fats Domino and Aaron Williams who he said helped started the phenomenon of rock and roll. He cited a story about Little Richard coming to New Orleans to cut most of his hit records there proving Louisiana had a foothold in this phenomenon.

His brother formed a band that was successful in the 1950’s and 1960s called The Hawketts and he learned a lot from them. He was also exposed to such talents as Smokey Johnson (Fats Domino’s drummer) who encouraged him to start playing the drums.

The first band he played with was Art Neville and the Neville Sounds. His older brother nurtured him, showing him and touring him through the local circuits. Confidently, he also played solo piano gigs at this time. But he never just wanted to get on stage and sing, it was the complexities and opportunities he was interested in – notably how music helped in communities. ‘In New Orleans back then you could make a living going from one neighbourhood to another’. Nowadays though these ‘projects’ have all been shut down. Cyril looked dejected at this and went on to talk about the differences in the music culture and

general picture of New Orleans now, stating it is known to some as ‘New Orlando’, a shadow of the place he called home and a town where the authorities are only interested in the tourist industry, transforming it into some kind of Disney World or Las Vegas. The whole process was compounded by the response to Hurricane Katrina: the ‘soul of the city was lost’ and will never be the same again.

Currently, another project he is involved with is the ‘Voice of the Wetlands’ project, (http://www.voiceofthewetlands.org/) which links back to the connection with Rueben who also managed Tab Benoit, founder of this non-profit making organisation. ‘Voice of the Wetlands’ (VOW) seeks to promote awareness of the restoration of Wetlands from a local to a national level. There was going to be an album made to support VOW but after Hurricane Katrina there were ‘Thousands of Katrina records out, so it got lost in the shuffle’. However, there is a free weekend Festival every year supported by an eclectic group of musicians including Dr John and Irma Thomas. Again he is very passionate about the environment and what man has done to it,

a message which resonates through much of his song-writing.

Describing his own attitudes to music, Cyril doesn’t agree with labelling, as such, and is keen to avoid stereotypes. He goes with the ethos of Ray Charles, who despite being regarded as a pioneer of Soul was equally comfortable making Country and Western tracks. ‘Do what you feel, that’s what I do!’ says Cyril!!

Music ‘touches my soul and my heart’ was what he said after coming off stage that night in November with the Royal Southern Brotherhood. With the crowd wanting more, the passion he exudes was a passion that was shared. Even after so many years on stage, in the studio and with different bands he still wants to explore new avenues and opportunities and to share music, particularly the blues, but also an eclectic gumbo of styles!

A REAL CROWd PLEASER

When talking about future projects especially the Royal Southern Brotherhood he was very excited as on New Year’s Eve they plan to play an entire cover version of The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street. A particular crowd pleaser has been Gimme Shelter which according to Cyril gives the opportunity to delve into The Rolling Stones’ qualities and showing some respect and reverence to them just as The Rolling Stones gave respect to the blues scene themselves when starting out; Blues music like any other goes ‘full circle’. He went on to describe how the reinterpretation of songs and music is not an easy thing to do, even though he has been in the music industry most of his life. ‘Regardless of what label you put on it, the blues will always be here and is still the blues’. He highlighted, in particular, Little Red Rooster, a cover made famous by The Rolling Stones, giving particular praise to the way Mick Jagger interpreted the lyrics and nuances of the song. ‘Mick could have been a white skinned black guy from the Civil War’ singing this, the blues doesn’t prejudice.

No wonder it still gives him pleasure to sit down and dissect songs he hears, putting his interpretation on them, another part of life which Cyril regards as a blessing.

c heck out www.cyri L nevi LL e.com for the L ate St new S

n the process, Moreland & Arbuckle have forged a relentless and haunting sound that merges Delta blues, folk, rock, traditional country, soul and numerous other echoes and murmurs from an infinitely layered musical narrative that spans more than a century.

The Moreland & Arbuckle journey began when the two met at an open-mic jam at a club in Wichita, Kansas, in 2001. Moreland had just moved into town a few months earlier from Emporia – a city located some eighty-five miles to the northeast. A guitarist since age 15, his source material was admittedly diverse: Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Black Sabbath, Charley Patton, Motley Crue, etc., but he’d settled into traditional blues by the time he’d arrived in Wichita in his mid-20s.

Arbuckle, a native of Wichita, had been playing in a blues rock bar band at the time,

but his truest sensibilities ran a couple generations deeper, into the heart of the Mississippi Delta. He counts iconic figures like harpists Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson and guitarist Son House among his most profound influences.

“It was kind of perfect,” says Arbuckle of the chance encounter between the two musicians. “We had a shared vision, in a place where there really wasn’t much interest in, or support for, country blues.”

Moreland joined Arbuckle’s blues rock band for the last few months before the project dissolved, then the two started a quartet called the Kingsnakes, which Arbuckle describes as “electrified Mississippi blues mixed with a sludgy, jam-oriented rock thing.” The project incorporated a range of sounds: soul, country,

funk, jam rock, blues and whatever else worked. Horner joined in 2003, but left after just a few months. A few bass players came and went in the years that followed, until Moreland and Arbuckle discovered they could lay down a solid groove on their own.

Then again, Moreland does his share of work at the bottom end. In addition to the more typical Telecaster and Les Paul guitars, his arsenal also includes a handcrafted instrument consisting of four strings stretched across a cigar box. One string feeds into a bass amp, and the other three into a guitar amp. It’s a gritty, electrified descendent of the cigar box guitars played by countless Delta bluesmen of the early 1900s who, for all of their innate talents, were too impoverished to afford the real thing.

“There was no real adjustment for me,” Moreland says of his first encounter with the instrument, which was crafted by a friend in Memphis. “I just picked it up and played it. When I play a regular guitar, I hold down those bottom strings with my thumb and pluck those to get a kind of groove going. So when I first started playing the cigar box with

the bass string, it just worked perfect with my style of playing.”

Moreland & Arbuckle crafted three selfproduced album in rapid-fire succession –Caney Valley Blues in 2005, Floyd’s Market in 2006 and 1861 in 2008. “There have been times in the past when I’ve gone on a rant that we’re not writing enough,” says Moreland. “But then I look at our catalogue and say, ‘Well, that’s stupid. We’ve put out all this stuff in a short period of time.’ When I look at it that way, I’d say we’re fairly prolific.”

The band took that hefty catalogue to Iraq for nearly two weeks in the fall of 2008 to play for the American troops stationed there. “It was a crazy awesome experience,” says Moreland. “Super-gruelling. Twelve days of about four hours of sleep per day. From a physical standpoint, it was pretty tough. But to go into a tattered, war-torn area where tens of thousands of fellow Americans were putting their lives on the line every day, minute by minute, was a very rewarding experience. I’d never experienced anything like it before.”

the cafe rene rhythm & blues festival

Moreland & Arbuckle made their debut on Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group, with the February 2010 release . The critically-acclaimed album was a giant step in the group’s never-ending quest to unearth the rawest and most honest elements of the American music tradition –without getting caught up in definitions and categories that would only serve to limit the

After the release of Flood, Moreland & Arbuckle hit the road for tour dates with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Los Lonely Boys and other blues and rock veterans.

Moreland & Arbuckle built on that solid foundation with the August 2011 release of . Featuring a guest appearance by legendary soul guitarist Steve Cropper, the 12-song set is a showcase for Moreland’s dynamic and compelling guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally charged vocals and edgy

On July 30, 2013, Moreland & Arbuckle, along with new drummer Kendall Newby, are 7 Cities, their most ambitious work ever. Teamed for the first time with Seattle-based producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, the Sword) and recorded in Stone Gossard’s studio, the album tells the story of Spanish explorer Coronado and his fabled search for the seven cities of gold in the Kansas plains, not far from where the band lives. The sounds of 7 Cities include vintage rock (Kow Tow) and twang (The Devil and Me), along with a few barnburners (Tall Boogie, Road Blind) and a surprising version of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” all of it rooted in the spirit of the

“It’s hard to say exactly what we are and what we do,” says Arbuckle. “Blues is definitely at the core, but we’re huge fans of all sorts of American music, and all of that comes through as well. Obviously, there are elements of traditional country in what we do, elements of vintage rock and roll, soul and all that sort of stuff. We always try to stay grounded in that traditional blues centre, and at the same time branch out and do as many different things as

we can while still keeping it consistent with the sound we’ve developed.”

Dustin Arbuckle gave BM the time for this Q&A session for the band:

BM: Why the name Moreland and Arbuckle?

DA: When we used to perform a lot as an acoustic duo, we just used our surnames as the band name, as a lot of guitar/harmonica blues duos have. Back then our electric band, which was a quartet with bass and drums, was called The Kingsnakes. In late 2005, when we moved to the electric guitar/harp/drums trio lineup, we decided to change the name. Since we had already started to get some notoriety outside of our home area as an acoustic duo, we made the choice to use Moreland, Arbuckle, & Floyd (who was our drummer at the time) for the trio. After David Floyd left the band, we decided that Moreland & Arbuckle would be the permanent name, whether it was a duo or trio show.

When I first saw you last year in the UK who was the third member of the band and is he a permanent member of the band? That handsome devil back on the drums is Kendall Newby. He’s been playing with us since 2011, and we hope to have him around for a very long time.

How long have you been together and how did it all start?

Aaron and I first met and jammed at an open mic night in Wichita, KS in 2001. After that we didn’t run into each other for some time. In spring of 2002 Aaron was making a CD and wanted a harmonica player for a few tracks. Some friends of mine in our local blues society pointed him in my direction. After we made the recording, we started jamming and doing some shows together, playing acoustic, Mississippi style blues. We pretty quickly realized that we had very strong musical chemistry and we became fast friends. A dozen years later, here we are.

Who or what was your greatest influence to start playing music and making it your living?

For me it was getting into blues that made me want to play music. I first heard the music kind of by chance when I was about 15 years old, and once I started to dig into it a little bit, my life was changed. Old school blues moved me in a way that no other music ever had at that time. I’d been singing since I could talk, but that was the first time I really gave any thought to starting a band or anything of that nature. I started playing with a few guys I knew from school and it didn’t take me long to decide that music was the thing around which I wanted to centre my life.

How many instruments do you play?

Two. Harmonica and bass guitar. I count my voice as my first instrument, so I guess that really makes three.

Do you find writing new songs easy or do you have a routine you follow to get your creative juices flowing?

There’s no set routine, but most of the time Aaron comes up with a riff, which we’ll jam on for awhile and start to refine into the structure of the song, then I write the lyrics. There are exceptions, but it seems like that’s the most common process. I wouldn’t say it’s easy. Writing lyrics can be very difficult for me sometimes. Occasionally though, everything just comes together and a good song falls into place very quickly and easily. Those are always fun times.

Have you a favourite song from any of the albums, or one that the crowds love the most?

I’d have a hard time picking a favourite, but I can say that our version of John Henry always seems to get the crowd going. Definitely a fan favourite.

How many times have you been to the UK and what was your impression of the audiences here?

We’ve done one tour in the UK, last September. The audiences were great! Very enthusiastic.

Have you toured Europe and which was your favourite country?

We have toured in Europe several times now. It’s a tough choice, but I’d say Poland is probably my favourite.

You went on a 12 day tour of Iraq to play to American troops in 2008. Do you have any stories to tell of that tour?

One day we were touring the hospital of the base we were to play that night, talking to soldiers who had been wounded or injured. We came to the back of the room, to a guy who was looking very depressed. He’d been laid up with a bad infection in his leg for weeks and hadn’t been able to get around or see hardly any of his friends in that time. He was a blues fan, so he was especially bummed to be missing the show that night. I had a harmonica with me and asked if he’d like to hear a tune. He said yes, so I played and we all sang for him. It just lit him up, seemed like it turned his whole day around. A nurse from the ward came to the show that night and told us the soldier was smiling and talking the rest of the day. It was a really moving experience. I’ve always believed in the healing power of music, but I’ve hardly ever seen in work in practice as much as that day.

Is there anywhere you would love to play?

There are still A LOT of places we’ve yet to go that I would love to play.

Do you enjoy playing in large or small venues?

Each has its own advantages. I love the intimacy of small venues, but playing for a packed house in a big room is a pretty amazing feeling.

Is there any performance that has stood out from the rest?

It would be very difficult to name one gig over our entire career. I will say that probably the best show on our first UK tour was a place called Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead. That’s saying something, because almost all the shows on that tour went really well. It’s a small theatre and we had a really great crowd. The sound was excellent and the place was extremely well operated. We had a real blast!

How different are audiences in the UK and Europe to that of the USA?

Crowds in the UK and Europe are generally more attentive and enthusiastic.

The blues audiences in the UK are mainly older, what is the age demographic in the USA?

It’s pretty similar to the UK, but we usually see less young people at shows in the US.

for more information, check out: www.more L andarbuck L e.com

bL ue S i S written by the P eo PL e, for the P eo PL e, out of everyday circum Stance; thi S i S why it i S recogni S ed a S ‘f o L k mu S ic’. n ot a LL a frican a merican S embrace thi S Part of their heritage, whi L e aware that many of their achievementS are omitted from a merican hi Story book S

here is a well-known phrase, “Blues is truth”, and Toronzo Cannon embraces truth, observations and wishes to get his message out.

Since I last interviewed Toronzo for BM his career has been on an upward curve. He is championed by Bob Koester amongst Delmark’s push with a new crop of African American musicians. This is the generation that was influenced more by Jimi Hendrix than by Son House.

BM: In the modern world there seems less time and space for solitude, to allow an ambience for the creative process to evolve. When, where and how do your songs germinate?

TC: It works from driving a bus; I spend 10 hours on the bus every day, 12 hours at work. I get inspiration from just sitting, driving, and looking around. When I get a song line or idea I will write it down, and I will try to build on it when I get home maybe at later that night. In fact I did one this morning, I woke up I had rhythm and words in my head, so I just jumped up and grabbed my guitar and just kind of recorded it on my phone, so I can remember it for later. When you don’t get much time to do things I guess you find time. When you write so many songs you got to get it down as soon as you can. I decided to write my last CD all by

myself without a writing partner. I know I can write tunes, sometimes it might not sound as pretty, and it might be a straightforward type of style. Songs are a vehicle for messages, this way I can write 24hrs a day, I don’t have to wait for a writing session or to run something by another person. It seems to be working out, and I have been nominated for a B.M.A so it must be working out.

Guitars, what have you got, do you go in cycles and what’ seems to suit you most?

I love my Flying V’s, but recently I have been playing hollow bodies. I have a 335, a 390, which is a straight hollow body. I like its sound, where you can get a nice feedback on it, like on my CD John the Conquer Root. You can get a nice, weird beautiful sound with it. When I travel overseas I have to take a smaller guitar. I take my Les Paul with me because it is hard to carry a Flying V on a flight, I don’t want them to take it and put it in storage, then it might get broken.

Armenia does not come to mind as a Blues touring area. Tell us how that came about, and your impressions?

Oh wow, Armenia, it was beautiful. I have been treated professionally before, but this was by far the most professionally I have been treated on tour, but to be honest it was more a series of gigs. I did four or five gigs in the area, and I played the National Theatre which was like our Civic Opera House in Chicago; holds 900 seats.

They sold 60% of the theatre, which let the sponsors know, that there’s people that want Blues in Armenia. There is an Armenian Blues Association, Vahan Danielyan and MEZZO Productions brought me over. I mean I was handled as an artist, I had a translator, and personnel would take me to the television interviews. They would instruct me on talking points, keep it short and sweet. I had an itinerary that was just out of this world. It’s a big world out there, and I still can’t believe sometimes my guitar has taken me to these places I never thought I would visit; that wasn’t even on my mind when I first started playing. Mojo was the first Blues song I learned, and

now to be flown somewhere and be in front of people who are interested in what I have to say. This is cool, and it is still cool to be appreciated. I never thought I would be an “Artist”, but I am treated and recognised as so, but I am just a guy with a guitar and a song in my head that I want to tell them about it.

You are a bus driver by day in Chicago with the C.T.A. How flexible are they with your time out?

Do they make anything of the fact they have a talented employee who gets recognised far wider than his job?

Well the flexibility goes with my vacation times. I work four, ten hour days, and some of these gigs, like I when I worked Holland this year, I left Thursday and I came back Sunday. So I was back on the bus Monday, so all I had to do was to take one vacation day.

We have seven vacation days that we can take, and we have weeks, I have about four weeks I can take. As far as them knowing they have a guy who is known outside of driving the bus, all my co-workers they see my Facebook post and see where I have been, they are kinda happy for me. Because honestly when my time has come, and when I am gone I don’t want to be known as a bus driver on my tombstone. I don’t want it anywhere on my tombstone; they can put it in my obituary (laughs), but I want everyone to know I was a musician, I was a family man, a Father, took care of his responsibilities, and I did what I had to do, to do what I wanted to do, and I had to drive a bus to enable me to do my music, and take care of family also.

Has it crossed your mind to go pro?

When I see a review or hear my songs are doing well, I have dreams and visions of me doing it for a living. The reality of it is, I need to work for my family, do you know what I mean, for myself, (laughs) for my guitar habit (laughs) you know I like nice guitars. This is all in the back of my head, but the way America is at the moment as far as healthcare and the economy itself, it is hard to sustain a decent life in music, especially Blues.

If I was Justin Beiber or Lady Gaga or

something like that then yeah, but the Blues in America sometimes it is almost like a cult following. People know about it, a lot of people know about it, but it doesn’t get the airplay of popular music. You know the Blues is reality, and I would think that most Bluesmen and women are realists when it comes to their situation, because that is why they write songs about real life.

Delmark as we know is a great little label in the context of record companies, they also don’t seem to pick up on someone then immediately ditch them. What is it like being with Bob Koester’s label, and has that opened you up to a bigger audience and got you to meet other artists?

Definitely, I’d love to thank Delmark, I’d still be kicking around here in Chicago and doing my gigs, and once in a while gigs in the Mid-West, Indiana and Kentucky, but the very fact that I am on a label with Otis Rush, Big Joe Williams etc. is amazing. Around the world there are people looking at my name saying, “Like who is this guy on the Delmark 60th Anniversary album who is between Junior Wells and Magic Sam?” It keeps world interest, you know I just had an offer from Spain, some guy wants

me to come to Spain, and I am going back to France next year.

I don’t think I could have done that myself, despite being an independent artist this fast, perhaps I could have done it, but it would have taken a team. Delmark has historic stature, it’s on an upswing with a crop of new artists, reminding everyone globally that we are still Delmark, and that we still put out talented people from Chicago.

Eric ‘Guitar’ Davis was a friend of yours, who just died two days ago, how has that affected you?

To see a headline containing the name of one of your friends, that reads ‘Murdered’ is shocking. Like Wow! This is not the headline of somebody that you see in everyday headlines in Chicago, because there is a high rate of crime here, it does have an effect because it is in Chicago where we live, but when you

see your friend’s name and murdered in the same sentence it takes on towards disbelief, because the fact that you will never see this guy again, and because of his music. Last night I was supposed to be taking care of my own business, sending out emails, updating my website and things like that, but I found myself looking at Eric Davis videos, and pictures, reading accounts of what happened for almost like three hours. This is something you don’t want to see first-hand.

When he first came on the scene I only had my band about two or three years, and we kind of hung out and being a young guy on the scene also I showed him or told him what I knew as far as how to get gigs, who to talk to. I even did a couple of gigs with him for $20 (laughs) I mean his gigs, but the money wasn’t important, I wanted to help him, he needed somebody to help him, we all do. Then all of a sudden he was doing his thing with a bunch of gigs, getting notoriety and it just took off. We were just together I was telling him get to that Delmark man, and doing your thing.

He signed a contract with Delmark in the summertime, and I said, “Hey man when are

going in the studio, because I want to hear what you’re going to do.” He said he was just getting it together, getting all his eggs in the right order, and I’m doing this etc. So I told him, “Hey man, my CD is right out there from Chicago, come on with a follow-up, let’s do it, let’s show the world that there are some young cats out here that we’re doing it”. So the conversation went that like that, and two days ago, there you go, I mean that’s why there is an urgency of putting music out and just trying to get things out. I’m the type of guy, if someone gives me a contract and wants me to do something, let’s go ahead do it. I am not saying that’s going to happen to me, but with my personality is that I don’t like to wait around for things. I feel bad for his family, and I know his wife, I didn’t really know his kids because he never really brought them out because it was night time we’d hang out. It’s unfair to his family, his friends, his fans and the Blues. It’s tragic.

for the L ate St new S about toronzo cannon, c heck out: www.toronzocannon.com. toronzo’S L ate St a L bum John the conQuer root i S out now on on d e L mark record S

BM: Good Afternoon! Where are you today, mate?

KWS: Hey Pete, how you doin’? We’re in Louisiana today

OK. Last time, I was in Surrey, you were in Hawaii, on holiday with your kids and they’d got you up early. The purpose of this chat is to talk about your latest album, Goin’ Home. BM often ask artists to let us have their top ten blues. You’ve done exactly that with this album haven’t you?

Well yeah! Guess so, at least twelve on this.

I’ve got fifteen on this edition

Yeah that’s the full edition. I think there is going to be a regular edition with twelve and then a limited edition with the full fifteen.

Right. Well this one has Can You Hear Me? as a bonus track. I was kind of always hoping that you and Noah would do Hendix’ Gypsy Eyes

Well, we didn’t do any Hendrix stuff because

I’ve done some Hendrix songs in the past on other records. This one was specifically about traditional blues influences. Although, just for your info, we are on the Experience Hendrix tour in the States and we are doing a version of Gypsy Eyes.

When you put this album together, I’m thinking because we talked about Muddy last time we chatted. You could have done twelve tracks of Muddy’s couldn’t you?

Oh yeah, for sure! All of these guys, I could of done a whole record of each of their music. But obviously, I couldn’t do that with this particular album. I love these people’s music so much and they have so many great songs. But in the end, on this album, most of the time when people do an album of cover songs, they do one song by an artist. But on this record,

V E rb A ls: PETE SARGEANT V I su A ls: MAR k SELIGER

I chose songs by each one of my influences. Then at the end, I just made the decision based on the songs themselves. I listened to the songs objectively.

The thing is man, you’ve ended up with a couple of Albert King’s on here. There’s two Albert King’s, two Muddy Waters, two Freddie King’s, but there’s only one B.B. King.

That’s good. I was going to ask you about Warren Haynes because I’ve met him on Gov’t Mule tours and the guy is Mr Music isn’t he? He’s a fantastic character.

Yeah he is. He’s one of the hardest working guys in the music business. I’ve known Warren for a long time, he actually played guitar on a few tracks from my third album.

Yes, I have that one. He’s such a great guy. But we actually recorded that song ‘Breaking Up’ because of Warren. We did some shows with my band and Gov’t Mule. We jammed on that song and it sounded so great that I called him and asked if he ever recorded it and he said he never recorded a studio version before. I asked him if he was OK with us doing it. He said ‘Let’s do it’ the reason why we cut that song.’

That’s cool. Now Robert Randolph burst on to the scene a few years ago. I think I was the first English reporter to track him down and talk to him on his very first visit. Before he even walked onstage, I was talking to him at Dingwalls and this guy is quite unique because he had only just heard his first Dylan song back then.

Yeah. Robert is a talented guy and he has a unique sound. We have known each other a long time and have jammed together. Each one of the guest artists on this record brought something very unique.

When you put this record together, this is what we would call a ‘labour of love’. In other words, it’s work but it’s work in the sense that you are having as much fun as you can get aren’t you?

Absolutely, I really think that this is probably one of the most fun albums we’ve recorded.

Could quite possibly of been the most fun so far. It was interesting for me, because I was revisiting all of this music from my childhood and it’s like the soundtrack of my life you know? It brought me back to being a kid, learning how to play guitar and listening to all of these songs in my living room. It was like this retrospective experience for me and that’s why I felt it was important to record this in Louisiana. That’s the whole reason for the title ‘Goin’ Home’, as I’m going back to my musical roots, but I’m also going back to where I grew up.

But Kenny, it doesn’t sound dusty. It sounds like you’re living and breathing. Some kids will be hearing these tracks for the first time and you have to bear that in mind. I’ve been playing blues rock for so many years and eighteen year old kids come out of the audience and they go ‘What was the ‘Remington Ride’ number?’ I explain its Freddie King. They go out and buy the BestofFreddieKing.

Wonderful! And that’s the point. With the songs on this album, I tried to choose ones that weren’t such obvious choices and the most mainstream song we did was Born Under a Bad Sign, but everything else, I tried to dig deeper into these people’s catalogues. You check out these artists and listen to everything they offer because you never know what jewel you might find.

I think you’re right. What is it Kenny about that fourth Stevie Ray Vaughn album? It shows him absolutely playing out with that great keyboard player. I’m surprised that you didn’t do Change It. Well we did House and to vary it we linked in the guitar solo and we made it longer than the original. I start the solo playing tribute to the original solo and then I branch off and do my own thing before bringing it back and ending it the same way he ended his solo. But the song itself, is pretty much in my opinion, a lot of his music is as good as you can get. So there’s not a lot that can be done to improve it.

I saw his first ever visit to London and he fell out with David Bowie having played on Let’s Dance.

“...one of the most fun albums we’ve recorded”

Bowie said he could tour with him and then he didn’t let him. So he went sod it and he bought the trio with Chris to Victoria, London playing ‘Lennie’ solo at the end of the night. That was a memorable night. I guess you need things like that to happen in life to light that fire under you don’t you?

Yeah. I think so. Also, I think it’s exploring all these songs and not just creating another Kenny Wayne Shepherd album. There’s a lot of creativity as well; there’s the Rides, this album, producing other artists’ album I’ve got a lot of different things going on that allow me to be creative in many different ways.

To what extent, are you going to feature some of these album cuts in your touring set?

I haven’t put the set together yet but we are definitely going to be doing. The thing is when we come over there; we haven’t extensively toured over there until a few years ago. So a lot of fans in Europe are gonna wanna hear songs from previous albums. But we will feature a lot of this because we are there because we have a new record out. It’s gonna be a good balance so people can hear a bit of everything.

That’s good and it’s what Warren has to do and what Taj Mahal has to do. It’s the right way of approaching those shows. How’s Chris? Chris is great and he’s still every bit of an incredible drummer as he ever was. I love him like a brother man and I’ve known him for a long time.

I love that ‘Double Trouble’ album that they made where Susan does the Zeppelin track. Yeah and I played guitar on that one!

Now Tony Franklin is ex-Jimmy Page isn’t he? Yeah ex-Jimmy Page, The Firm and Paul Rodgers.

So he’s right in the transcendental base world of your music really?

Yeah but he does have as much of a blues rock background as I do or Chris Layton does. He has played with serious musicians that come from that area of traditional blues rock. He’s a great addition to this band.

Yeah I think so. He’s one of those players who knows what to leave out.

Yeah one of the cool things on this record, is that he usually plays electric bass but I

actually got him to play upright bass so that was cool.

Is that was gives it that Willie Dixon touch occasionally because I was wondering? Yeah I would say so.

Ok man that was puzzling me. Riley Osbourn, I have seen him play in Willie Nelson’s band. He’s played with loads of people in his career.

Is there any video to go with this as I’m wondering if you filmed any of these sessions?

Yeah we did. There’s like a three minute EPK video that they will be posting up soon. I don’t know if we will be releasing a DVD.

Yeah. I find this a lot, when you find yourself playing a song that you loved in your teens or twenties, you find when you play it time has taken your fingers into other directions and you just don’t find yourself duplicating that record. You do play your own thing. Yeah that’s the goal.

Your psyche won’t let you reproduce that original sound. Don’t you find this when you play live? I take the theme of a song like Miles did and then you are playing this and that, it’s your own.

I think that if you are a musician who likes the creative process, naturally if you play it long enough, you are going to be compelled to try and experiment and interject some individuality into it. That’s how we evolve as musicians and create an original sound.

That whole notion is Kenny Wayne Shepherd. That’s what’s giving you a career. The Rides think you are the greatest because you’re unselfish.

Stephen is like a big brother to me, Pete and he treats me very gently and with lots of love the same as Barry. The thing is, I really appreciated that these people wanted to be involved with me.

Thanks for the chat, I really appreciate it. It’s a lovely sounding record and it’s got a real buzz. Come to the London show. I’d like that.

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ome for Papa Mali being New Orleans where he spent steamy teen summers at his grandparents soaking up the city culture like french bread sops up the dregs of a plate of red beans and rice.

Born Malcolm Wellbourne and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, a storied city itself in the 1950’s, on a decade run with the Louisiana Hayride, broadcast worldwide on CBS Radio featuring early Elvis, BB King, Ledbelly and nearly everybody else you ever heard of rising up from that spicy gulf coast pot of ethnicity, religions and music. In Malcolm’s earlier reggae band days Burning Spear tagged him with ‘Papa Mali’ and it stuck.

So did the dreadlocks... ‘till not long ago.

Mali retired reggae and The Killer Bees, which later was enshrined in the Austin Music Hall of Fame and hit the road with a three piece band billed as Papa Mali touring like a man with his dreds on fire. In ‘89 and living in Austin he recorded his legendary solo album, Thunder Chicken on the Fog City label. Then Do Your Thing was released in ‘07, again on Fog City and solidified the essential Papa Mali

swamp boogie, voodoo edged slide guitar sound he’s recognized for today. Two of his songs have recently been featured in the FX television series, American Horror Story. Papa Mali’s studio and production work include Omar and the Howlers and Ms. Lavelle White on the Antone’s label.

BM: Introduce us to Papa Mali the family man. PM: Michelle and I have three kids together, two sons and a daughter and we also raised her son from a previous marriage. In addition, I have two daughters from a previous marriage who were raised mostly by their mom, though we are very close. I lived in Auckland New Zealand for the better part of a year in 1980 playing the pub circuit six days a week for the entire time I was there in every city and large village on the North and South islands, plus the Wairaki Festival. My daughter Megan was born there. Her mom and I split soon after we returned to the U.S.

What prompted you to relocate to New Orleans after

successfully calling the Austin scene home for over two decades?

Austin has a very healthy music scene. But to me, New Orleans still embraces the roots of American music and to me, as opposed to places where trends start, it’s the place of the original trend and never goes out of style. Both Michelle and I had wanted to return to New Orleans after the kids were out of the house. It took us a while but once our youngest son, Miles was on his own we were free to move. We try to visit Austin as often as possible to visit the kids.

What are some of your favorite clubs to play in New Orleans?

Tipitinas has always been one of my favorite places to play since 1982. There’s so much history on that stage, and I love my little weekly gig at Chickie Wa Wa. It’s a great listening room. People come in and sit and really listen. It’s quiet and I’m able to do more of my intimate singer song writer material with acoustic instrumentation at lower volume which is nice. I love playing at the Maple Leaf Bar. It’s more of a rowdy neighborhood bar that’s been there forever. I used to see James Booker play there in the late 70’s It’s more of a long shotgun room with a good sound system and about as good as it gets for that bar room vibe.

The first thing I thought when hearing your 7 Walkers album was wow, this sounds like I’m club hopping on Frenchman Street. Pure Mali, absolutely New Orleans, very telling. And I love Evangeline. Yes, one of my favorites too. I co-wrote and produced that one as well as the album.

How did you and the Dead’s drummer, Bill Kreutzman hook up and the band,7 Walkers come together. In ‘08 Bill and I became friends and started hanging out together which led to him asking if I wanted to write some songs with Robert Hunter, the Dead’s songwriter. That led to us collaborating on the batch of songs that became the 7 Walkers album. Next thing you know we were touring. I’m not sure Bill ever intended to jump right back into the touring band thing but the momentum of the record was such that

we got a manager and an agency and for the next almost three years we were on the road. At one point I was having some health issues and Bill was ready to get back to Hawaii. They have a beautiful place and are organic farmers. They have a little cottage industry there and dogs and kids and wanted to get back to the things that really matter. I’m very proud of 7 Walkers. We’re on hiatus and kind of unsure of what we’re gonna do now. But I’m so pleased with how things came together in kind of an organic fashion.

Your health issues, care to talk about them?

I’d rather not, but they were related to my weight and touring which caused me to neglect my health and led to my surgery, which then led to my brush with mortality and slow painful recovery. Not something I’d wish on my worst enemies. I’m just so incredibly lucky to have survived it. Now I ride a bike ten miles a day, watch what I eat and live a healthier life style.

Frankly, I was shocked at your physical change. If I booked you for a gig and a buff, dreadless dude sporting a linen fedora showed up, I’d be checking ID. How hard was it cutting the dreds?

By the time I finally did it wasn’t hard at all. I was ready for it. I think the only thing that made it seem difficult for a while was that people might not recognize me, and I was right. But that’s not a bad thing either. It allows me to move around with less visibility. I couldn’t go anywhere without people coming up to me and saying, oh, Papa Mali, I love your music, and that’s nice too, it makes me feel good, but it’s kinda nice being anonymous. But people are rapidly getting used to the new look. I still play enough high profile events, but I remember very well at the first show I had in NYC where I cut my hair I’ll never forget walking out on stage and seeing the reactions of the audience.

How does a culture infused with dreadlocks and voodoo influence the music and art of Louisiana, as well as your own.

Voodoo is very closely related to Catholicism which is very prevalent in Louisiana culture as

“I was very influenced by John Campbell”

well. It’s the worship of saints and the burning of candles and saying of prayers and also very closely related to African traditions and Native American traditions which include nature, animals and birds and also ties into my own outlook on spirituality, my love of outdoor and love of nature and my leanings towards music, that Pan African influence that takes place within the Mardi Gras Indian music and ceremonial music, tribal music, drumming.

My ancestors from Louisiana were raised Catholic and I think a lot of it ties in with my love of art. I’ve always seen New Orleans being tied to old world customs both Euro and African. It’s almost like the streets themselves are canvas that’s alive.

People love to costume, they love to parade and love music in the streets. The Mardi Gras Indians parade with their feathers. It’s a living, breathing canvas. It’s art in motion. The traditions involve West African religion in the form of voodoo and I think a lot of people here bend their strains of various religious doctrines like I do where it all comes together as one thing. It’s all one god and one love. I do have a shrine in my home and I burn candles

and say prayers. I say my prayers to a god that I may not fully understand but believe is the one truth of the universe. A non- specific and all inclusive spirituality that I adhere to. I don’t sacrifice animals or anything like that. Instead, I put them in a pot of gumbo.

Who were some of your musical influences?

I was very heavily influenced by John Campbell. He was my teacher and my mentor for a few years when I was a very young musician in my teens. That had a profound effect on me. In fact, I never realized how strongly influenced by John I was until people started coming up to me at my shows and saying, you know, you remind me of a guitar player named John Campbell. Have you ever heard of him and I’d say, well of course I’ve heard of him, he was my teacher.

It was even more obvious to others than it was to me for a while. In fact, one of John’s sound men came up to me completely unaware that I was from Shreveport or had any connection with John at all. This guy had

Photo: © Anthony D’Angio

worked with John for years and came up to me and said, man you know, you sound like you’ve listened to some John Campbell. When I realized he was John’s sound man I thought, you know, I should really start embracing that more, especially now that John’s gone. He had such a profound influence on me and I’m very proud of that.

Occasionally I run into Dr. John here, he was huge influence on me. You can hear him in my music too. After Do Your Thing came out I started getting to know him on a social level. He’s very knowledgeable, loves to tell stories of his years in the music business. A very nice man with a vocabulary all his own.

Tony Joe white was another great influence. I’ve only got to know him fairly recently but he had that swampy sound and made me realize that it was not about those boundaries that people try to put on music, whether it’s cultural or racial or whatever and that most of those people who try to do that are not musicians themselves. They don’t understand that music transcends if you’re sincere, if your heart is true.

People like that made me realize that I was not misguided in wanting to emulate African American blues artists and soul artists. Those guys embodied it and made me realize I could do that too. And I had the distinct advantage of growing up in Louisiana and hearing the Mardi Gras Indians and seeing the Meters live and James Booker live.

I noticed that you often play locally with George Porter, (founding bassist of The Meters) and he toured with 7 Walkers.

George was one of the first musicians to come back after the storm and make his presence known. There are lots of musicians like that who can’t imagine being anywhere else. And let me put it this way, now that I’m back they’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.

The Picayune hailed your latest band, The M&M’s as the latest super group with some very notable names, Rob Mercurio from Galactic on bass, John Medeski on keyboards and long time friend, Stanton Moore on drums. And I hear you’ve been in the studio.

Yes, our new album is finished, mixed and mastered. It’s being looked at by several indie labels and I hope to reach an agreement with one of them soon and have a spring release in time for Jazzfest. The title is Music is Love

and includes guest appearances by Johnny Vidacovich, Cass Faulkoner, Josh Paxton, Dave Easley, Mike Dillon and a trio of gospel-style street singers who perform as Ado and Hot Lyrics.

How much has New Orleans recovered since hurricane Katrina?

Well, you know, it’s still in recovery. Certain neighborhoods were so devastated that it’s gonna take a long time for the city to fully comeback. We lost about forty percent of our population you know. One thing I want to say, a lot of people ask me all the time, how’s New Orleans doing? Well, you could come down as a visitor and probably not even realize that anything catastrophic had happened. It’s more in infrastructure like school systems, and having lost a lot of key people that made the city work. But you can still come on down to New Orleans and have a good a time as ever. Eat great food and go to great music.

Don’t tempt me Malcolm! Please, let me tempt you.

for more information, check out: www Pa Pama L imu S ic.com

The language continues to be somewhat ‘industrial’ in places but we didn’t want to detract too much from the feel of the interview. So here we are, the real deal, part two of our interview with Mr Michael Katon:

BM: So what’s playing on the tour bus at the moment?

MK: Ooh man, we don’t have any CDs out. I was just listening man, on the way down here, we had about a three hour drive, I was listening to Waylon Jennings Greatest Hits and I was listening to Billy Joe Shaver Live, with his son Eddie on guitar, man what a great guitar player man, and a great sounding band, I was just telling the bass player man, I said man I just got my iPad like listening with ear buds and I told Todd the bass player, I said man that Shaver Live record man, bad ass, I said that’s the way a rock band ought to sound, he agreed man, I mean it’s kinda countryish and stuff, but man it’s like a rock band ought to sound, really high energy. It’s kind of too bad that, you know, these drugs f*** people up man. ‘Cos, you know that’s what he died from, Eddie, did you know, a heroin overdose man.

Royal Southern Brotherhood?

Oh yeah man, I sat in with Devon Allman, man, cause he was on Provogue Records and then I heard he was coming to Detroit and so I went down to the joint he was playing and I just walked up and said ‘hi’ and stuff and it kind of was funny, I just happened to have amp and shit in my van, you know just my gear, I just left it in my van all the time you know. It was just in there forever, you know my stuff just stays in my van if I’m off playing. So I walked into the club and stuff and he busted a string, he asks if anybody got a guitar string out there and he didn’t know I was in there yet. So, and the cat in the club man, he says you got any guitar strings and I said yeah, got all my shit out in my van man. So I went back in the dressing room, introduced myself and he said ‘oh yeah, man how you doing?’

I told him I got some strings and stuff, what happened, he had his guitar and Gibson was fixing it for him or refinishing it or something and he grabbed the wrong guitar case and didn’t have any of his backup stuff, he didn’t have anything. He didn’t have one spare guitar string. So I gave him a couple packets of strings and stuff. He said ‘have you got your

stuff with you man?’ I said yeah and he said well bring it on in here man and let’s jam, so I brought my amp and guitar in and he set me up and I played the encore with him and a couple tunes like I think we did One Way Out and an old Elmore James song anyway we did that and some other blues thing of his so that was quite cool.

I was on a tour a few years back and I had one day off and I was staying at the bass players house, an Australian buddy of mine Richard Davies, was playing bass on that tour but he lived just outside Aachen, Germany. There was a club we played there Devon was playing some and I went down and said hi to him, yeah he’s real cool man. The funny thing is I know he’s like Greg Allman’s son but he looks exactly like Duane Allman to me man. You know, but he sings like his dad man.

He played about a mile down the road with the Royal Southern Brotherhood and I interviewed him afterwards and man, what a lovely guy. (Michael agrees)

He’s a great singer, man, just like his Dad. I had the honour of doing a gig with his Dad one time and he was like really cool, this is probably like God, man, maybe 1978-79, whenever he had You Are No Angel out. He was just on his own, you know, Greg Allman Band. I think he had the Toller guys playing with him, you know Dan Toller, I think he was in the band, but anyway they set this big old dump man in Ypsilanti, Michigan, my home town and just a big shit hole man, beer joint you know, but a pretty big place and we got to gig opening up for them and as we were there we’d do our little sound check and stuff, but they had some trouble with the PA or something and the tour manager came up to me and said ‘you guys can’t play man cos it’s got too late and you can’t play’.

I said ‘oh man, I got like people here to see me man, like 25 of these people out here are here to see me, friends of mine’ and stuff, you know and he goes ‘well let me call Greg man’. So he gets on the phone, I’m standing next to him, he calls up Greg at the motel or wherever he was staying and he goes ‘Hey Greg man, the bands’ here like they got some people here to see them man, can they play?’

Greg told him, he says ‘Yeah man, let him play’. So you know I think he said I could play

Interview MICHAEL KATON

like eight tunes, play like a f****** hour man. So that was really cool and then after the gig I went back into his dressing room, a dressing room like this, it was a place like this but about twice the size maybe you know, and I walked back and he was just sitting there real humble man and I said ‘hey man thanks for letting us play man.’ ‘No problem man’, he says ‘I’ve been there man you know, no problem at all.’

Did you hear the Allman Brothers are packing up? Yeah, that’s right. That’s what I heard man, that’s too bad. Yeah, I had the pleasure, we opened up for the Allmans, we were kind of like on a different stage but at the same gig playing before them at Detroit like, years and years ago back in the 80’s, late 80’s. But there was BB King and the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker all on the same bill. It was beautiful man, like it was an outdoor, a place they call Pine Knob in Detroit man and we were playing like a separate stage kind of thing like a VIP f****** tent or something but we got to go to the show for free man, it was full moon night like in June or July and there was a grassy hill that you could sit on, so I’m sitting out there listening to Marshall Tucker

man they’re doing like ‘Can’t You See, Can’t You See’, you know they’re doing that and the full moon just still man and the mist coming down man it was great man. And you know Allman Brothers doing like ‘Dreams’ and shit man, then BB King, yeah that was great.

That was back I think Jack Pearson was with him and I think Allen Woody was playing bass. I’m not sure of my dates but whatever that band was that’s when it was and I did some other shows with them guys man like The Dixie Allstars I knew the cats from Blackfoot. Ricky Medlocke was with them, we had the same manager and he used to live in Michigan, had a farm actually in Ypsilanti, my home town, they had a farmhouse there.

I’d go out drinking with Ricky once in a while, we’re not like great buddy, buddy best friends with him or nothing but back then you know I’d run into him and we’d be drinking and stuff in the bars and I’d go to his farmhouse once in a while and borrow a Marshall Bottom off him and Ricky ‘s the coolest cat in the world man but I knew Jackson (Spires), you know the drummer from Blackfoot and one time Ricky let me do a jump up on stage, he invited me on stage in a place called Harpo’s in Detroit and

there was a guitar army thing going on and Ricky I got to get up on stage and play (plays guitar) he let me play slide on it. Tell you what, that was the original Blackfoot too I got to do that with, and that was so f****** powerful, the sound, on stage man, Stan Miller. Them guys were cooking it man, Jackson would, rest in peace Jackson, he was a bad mother on the drums. It was just so powerful, the tune, the sound and just to stand in the middle of it on stage man.

It was about the same time that they toured that you broke over here. Well they played at Hammersmith, man. That’s how I got to know Ricky, cause we had the same manager and stuff and, but anyway, Ricky’s a very cool cat man, but I used to go to his farmhouse man, sit around the kitchen table and ‘come on Katon let’s do some blues’ and he’d be doing some Jimmy Reed type blues and man what a great blues player he is. But you know, like with Blackfoot or Lynryd Skynyrd, he sticks to the song but if you’re just sitting round doing some gut bucket blues with him at the kitchen table he’s great.

Do you have any regrets?

Nah, man. I’m just glad I’m still alive and playing, like any gig I do, some guys come to a place man and maybe you’re carrying our own equipment, which gets a little degrading sometimes to someone you know like my drummer Johnny B, you know he shouldn’t have to be doing that shit, you know. I don’t mind cause it’s me, it’s my name on the band. When I’m on tour like this you know I like to go and talk to the people, they bought my CDs and stuff and I gotta sign them you know, and I love to do that, but then I see out of the corner of my eye my poor band packing up the stuff and you know and I see that and I go f*** I should be over there helping them man, you know, and I feel bad about that. We ain’t no prima donnas man, we’re blues men. I joke about that too ‘cos I really don’t consider myself a blues man ‘cos I met some of those guys.

But you’re the Boogie man. Guess so, been doing it a long f****** time and

we always admired the sound you know and just the blues sound.

Well you all look so happy when you’re on stage. We’re just glad to be playing man. I mean any gig you can walk away from is a good gig man, you know what I mean? I quit drinking and smoking, all that shit, just to stay alive long enough to keep doing it man you know. I mean it’s a lot of fun to be drinking you know it’s a lot of fun to be drinking and taking drugs and staying up all night and all that shit you know but I just try to stay alive long enough to keep playing man ‘cos that’s basically more fun than anything you know.

Your daughters are into music aren’t they? Oh my one daughter Gina, she’s my middle daughter, she lives in Hollywood and her boyfriend’s a record producer as a matter of fact he produced the Hard On album and he’s playing drums on two tracks, he’s playing drums on Gas Money and Whisky Hill and yeah he’s a record producer and he works with people like Slash out in Hollywood and Billy Duffy from The Cult. Matter of fact he did something like production work on their last record. My daughter’s friends were like Billy Duffy’s wife and they have a band called Gina & the Eastern Block, which is pretty interesting. It’s real powerful stuff and when you hear it live, some of their stuff, the last gigs they did in Hollywood they played like at the Viper Room in Hollywood and they were in The Roxy, Key Club and all those Hollywood joints. But she’s pretty cool, I’m kind of glad she followed in my footsteps and interestingly enough she looks more like me than my other two daughters and she kind of has the same personality a little bit.

My youngest daughter teaches business in a high school in Michigan and my oldest daughter works for Google Motorola in Chicago. She was working in the stock market and stuff but then she just switched jobs to Google Motorola, does some Human Resources Management and stuff for them.

“I’m just glad I’m still alive and playing”

My middle daughter Gina plays music in Hollywood. The funny thing is she plays at a place called the Key Club which you can almost see from her house, she can see Sunset Strip from her house and I won’t say where she lives but she lives next door to Billy Gibbons, man. Once in a while she’ll send me a photo on a text message, hey look who’s walking past my house and it’ll be Billy Gibbons out in the drive way talking to some girl or something you know. But she sends me pictures once in a while, you know, sitting on Billy Gibbons lap, or something and she was on a bowling team with him in Hollywood, you know like bowling stars for a charity kind of a thing or something.

She was also in a band called The Darling Stilletos which was you know the drummer Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver and Guns’n’Roses and all that? She also sang with, you ever heard of a Latin Pop Star called Louis Miguel? He’s sold like 65 million records man, he’s huge wordwide, nobody knows him in the States except the Latin community. She sang with him for about a year, she was also in the Pussycat Dolls at Caesar’s Palace, not the singing group but she does go around the world with one of the singers from the Pussycat Dolls singing group, Melanie I think. But she’s gone to Moscow and Indonesia and all over the place singing with her, but yeah man.

Well absolutely delighted, I mean I could talk to you all night.

Yeah man, f***, I’ll talk all night if you’ll let me! Good thing my wife’s not here, she’d be cutting me off ‘you talk too much mother*****!’ you know but I don’t have anybody to talk to at home man, my wife don’t talk to me man, so when I get out on the road I‘ll talk your ear off and if you happen to get on the road with me as my room-mate, once in a while we get to double up, everybody dreads that! ‘Cos I keep you awake man, I’m the last one standing brother.

I remember you did an interview where you were cooking in the kitchen?

Yeah, but really man my wife don’t bother to

look after me you know. She’s like too busy doing stuff, I don’t expect her to do anything for me, plus at my house when the smoke alarm goes off that’s when you know dinner’s ready, man. It’s a joke around our house, I swear to God. But she’s like a vegetarian and I’m a meat man. I just don’t expect her to take care of me, I take care of myself at home.

Do you have any mementoes from the guys you’ve met? Read somewhere about a champagne cork from Muddy Waters?

Man, I got Muddy Waters’ signature somewhere (You haven’t have you?) yeah I got it sitting in a back room like this sitting next to him after a show and I was sitting right on the couch next to him and he goes you want a drink, I go yeah, ‘go over yonder and fetch that bottle like a champagne bottle sitting in ice’ so I go and get it and pop the cork off poured it in some paper cups man. I go ‘hey Muddy, can I get your autograph now?’ and he goes ‘I don’t know why anybody wants my autograph, I can’t even write’ and I go ‘well I’d really like to have it in my scrap book man.’ So I give him a piece of paper and a pencil and he just like scratched out the shapes, maybe he didn’t know how to write, I don’t know. Some say he could, some say he couldn’t you know.

But he scratched it out for me and then he drank that bottle of champagne and I asked if I could have the cork and he said yeah so I took that and his autograph and this was years before I came over to the UK for the first time, probably 10 years before, and I kept it all that time. I was coming over and they told me I was going to be going on Bob Harris’ show, I didn’t know who Bob Harris was, but they said it’s really cool to be going on his show, he’s really like into this that and the other, so I brought that cork with me and I gave it to Bob Harris.

At this point, unfortunately, had to leave so the band could get ready to go on stage and finish their meals. Have to say a big ‘Thankyou’ to Michael, the band and tour manager Tanya, for giving me so much access to them all.

for more information on michaeL katon check out www.katon.com

n the last issue we talked to blues legend Dennis Walker about the early stages of his career, playing in the US army and his ‘fat years’ as a succesful musician. Now its time for Dennis to bring us to date on his amazing life.

BM: What was it like working with BB King on Blues Summit, back in ‘93?

DW: Well, I start the year up in Berkeley at Fantasy Studios doing I Was Warned, with Cray and a couple things with Boz Scaggs. It took nearly five months. I get home for a couple days and have to fly back to NY to do the second Campbell album. By then I’d been gone for about eight months and tired of hotel room coffee, hookers and bad food. Last day with John Campbell, finishing up and I get a call from my manager, Stu Yahm. ‘MCA wants you to fly on over to Washington D.C. and write a couple tunes with BB’. I remember being frazzled. I remember telling Stu, ‘I can’t do that, Mrs. Walker will kill me’. He said, ‘No she won’t, she might

leave you, but she won’t kill you’. So anyway, wow writing with BB King. WOW! I flew into D.C. The next morning I was very nervous and pacing around. I mean, after all he was BB. King. I waited until noon to make sure as to not disturb him then got the nerve to dial up his room. Ring, ring, ring. Man I’m about to swallow my tongue. ‘Hello’? Whoa, it was the voice. I didn’t stutter or anything, but you could have excused me if I had. Sure I was me at the time and had done some stuff including selling about six million Cray albums and winning a couple Grammys, but this was BB. King. I swallowed hard and said, ‘Mr. King this is Dennis Walker, and Denny Diante at MCA sent me out here so we could write a couple tunes for the new album’. Finally he said, ‘Son, I heard your name and it’s a pleasure to be talking, but I got no time for song writing.

I got an in-store this afternoon and a interview tonight before the show and I got

V E rb A ls: DarreL L Sage Visu A ls: Ju D y Wa L ker

Continuing the remarkable story of Dennis Walker, pro D u C er an D bass player extro D inaire. talking about W orking W ith bb k ing, l o W ell f ulson, l onesome s un D o W n, p hillip f rankhauser an D mu C h, mu C h more

to be somewhere tomorrow to sign some shirts. Son, I ain’t got no time’. I let out a deep breath and said, ‘Wow, Mr. King. I been out here almost nine months and I just wanted to get home’. BB chuckled just a little and said, ‘Yeah son, I been out here forty four years and I’d like to get home myself’. BB and I became really great friends over the next six months and by the time we got to cutting the record, I’d written the lead song, Playing With My Friends, and BB was calling me The Great White Hope.

You readily credit Lowell Fulson as being a major influence on your song writing. I learned a lot of what I know about writing blues songs from standing behind Lowell while he sang those classics night after night. Lowell was the one who taught me the importance of a copyright in particular and the importance of writing in general. I was out there with Lowell for twelve years playing around 180 a shows a year in Europe.

Where do your songs come from, what inspires, who inspires you? I have to have some sort of emotional involvement that created the song during the time I wrote it. Here’s how it works in songwriting; What happened, how do I feel about it and what am I gonna do about it? Songwriting is all about understanding and having an affinity for language. Words can resonate or quiver, groups of words can shake the page. I’ve written my entire life with two things in mind, how to bring words to bear on any given artist to make it sound like they wrote it themselves, and make it sound honest. Right Next Door was my first real influence in songwriting. With Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark.

I was trying to see if I could write a song with no perceptible five chord in it. I discovered the only way to do that was to write it in two different keys. And with Bouncing Back, I was trying to write a half way decent work that would fly high in the face of those great Motown tunes like Mailman. A simple six, two, five progression. I get inspiration everywhere. I was sitting one night watching

the night fucking news on CBS when this big tit babe came on and said in no uncertain terms, ‘The forecast calls for rain’. I was a little high, probably on weed and wine and thought to myself, cool, this fucking forecast calls for PAIN!

One day right after the Bad Influence album when Cray was just starting to take off, I was sitting at the piano early Saturday morning and Mrs. Walker stuck her head in the door and said, ‘Hey Shakespeare, I’m going shopping’. I told her in no uncertain terms, ‘We got no money, you spent all of it already’. She said, ‘That’s a false accusation, and you know it’. I wrote False Accusations while she was gone.

Are you working with anyone of late?

A most incredible performer that I’ve been producing is Phillip Fankhauser, on Try My Love. He heard a record I did back in 1974 with Lonesome Sundown. I played bass and produced it, but I also wrote a tune called If You Ain’t Been To Houston and Phil heard it when he was ten or twelve. Believe me if he likes Lonesome Sundown he was knowing some real blues. Twenty years later he calls me up and wants to do a record. A week later here he comes. I open the door and he’s thinking all this time I’m Phillip Walker’s brother because Phillip Walker is on the Lonesome record and all these other records and boy is he surprised when he sees my smiling face.

Lonesome Sundown?

Excello recorded Lonesome Sundown back in the 50s, but according to Lonesome whose real name was Cornelius Green, Exello had robbed him blind and after a very brief, semi-lustrous career, he quit and went back to operating a backhoe out in the wilds of Louisiana. Cornelius threw in the towel and nobody had heard of him, or about him and fewer cared for about 20 years. It was Bromberg who searched him out and talked him into coming to LA to cut another record.

I think from that moment on Lonesome

was a little suspicious, thinking, like, who the fuck would care about that about me? Whatever, we’re standing there at the carousel. Lonesome points to a small blue suit case and I pull it out. Then right toward the end here comes bumping over other bags and bouncing off the sides, this guitar. Turns out to be a 1956 Telecaster wrapped up in a couple dark brown gunny sacks, Winfrey Corn written in blue on one side. Both Bruce and I jump like a couple fox terriers trying to grab this instrument before it hits that last drop. As it turned out the way Lonesome played it didn’t much matter if it was out of whack or not. The first thing Bromberg did was buy the man a case. But still, Lonesome was extremely leery of record people, extremely uncomfortable in a big city and willing to tell you about it. First night we took him over to Phillip Walker’s house where he will stay with Phil and his wife Bea. Lonesome gets up the next morning and Bea says like, ‘Good morning and how did you sleep’? Lonesome flies into, ‘Well there was a cold draft and my pillow was too hard and your pot roast didn’t sit well’, and BOOM! Five

minutes later Lonesome’s bags are sitting on the front porch. So he ends up at Bromberg’s. Next morning he gets up and Bruce’s wife says, ‘Well, how are you today’? ‘Well, that bed was too soft and I never did like corned beef last night’. Suddenly his bags are on Bruce’s front porch. So Bromberg moved into a motel with Lonesome, but before we could get one days cutting done he pulled some sort of crazy shit and Bruce just packed things up and sent him home. He was supposed to go to Japan with us, so we substituted George ‘Harmonica’ Smith and it was fantastic!

Talk about him for a bit. George was not just a blues player. He could play jazz chords and major sevenths. First time I played with George I was working with Doug McCloud and Eddie Ahearn on drums. We were called the Gravy Brothers, I mean, how cool is that? Anyway we had blues guests a couple times a month at this club and one weekend McCloud gets George to come out and he takes the stage and I’m thinking

Dennis anD LoweLL FuLson

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man this is gonna be sweet. Now you’re gonna hear some blues and first number George says, ‘OK boys, Tiny Bubbles in G’. Huh? I wasn’t expecting Don Ho. We went on to play The Tennessee Waltz, By The Time I get To Phoenix and I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Fortunately, I knew the changes to San Francisco. I start playing and George turns around and says, ‘Nah man, just play a twelve bar blues’. It came out extremely funky as you can well imagine.

Anyone else you care to mention before we wrap this thing up?

I don’t know if you know much about Ted Hawkins, but he’s another blues legend of a whole different ilk. One day Bromberg is going over to Capitol records to see Pete Welding and outside this lunatic guy, Ted Hawkins is standing around playing these gut wrenching songs and singing them at the top of his lungs.

Bruce of course, signed the guy up. Took him over to his house, borrowed a tape recorder and cut a bunch of the most amazing tunes about drug addiction and perversions and some really, really graphic situations.

About that time I got involved and heard these tapes, so we decided it needed to get it out there some how. Turns out he’s such a real thing the record is considered a classic. We cut a couple more too, but his first batch of tunes were his best. Ted was incredibly ill-designed to deal with the real world because of his childhood and the two thirds of his life he’d already spent in jail.

He was a flasher for the most part and later on he’d written Bruce from yet another prison cell, calling him all sorts of antiSemitic names. Bruce had refused to deal with him anymore, but some guy saw Ted on Santa Monica beach and set up a tour to Europe. Ted became very famous over there until about two years into the gig, he pulls out his pecker down somewhere in the London Subway, gets himself arrested and thrown out of the country. Of the ten or so years I knew Ted he was in jail or a mental hospital for at least four of them.

Speaking of mental, when did you make the decision to retire?

I’d been thinking about doing this for about seven or eight years and it all happened within about SIX months a couple years ago. There was just too much going on and it was so important to have my Dawghouse Studio guys there to work with all the time. I was in LA from 1971 on and when you’re young there’s so much shit going on, it’s like, WOW this is fantastic! But when I got to be about 60 years old living among millions of people in one area that size you really gotta choose your times when you go somewhere.

Now I live on the Rogue where you can see the fish from our balconies. The difficult part is not hanging around the studio with the guys. That’s another thing that kept me there for a while. Like WHOA, what am I gonna do with all these friends? I thought this move might be cool, but it ain’t, not entirely. I love getting up at five a.m. and hearing the birds come alive, love my cat, Mr. C., coming on in and standing on my chest waking me up, but music is my thing. I have all this knowledge inside me that’s under utilized. I thought this retirement thing might be cool too, but it ain’t, not entirely, but I am working a bit here and there.

Dennis, thanks for the cool interview my friend. It was fun having you chat it up about the good old days and playing with these legends.

I’ll tell you a secret Darrell, musicians aren’t solely up there on stage playing for the audience or for a dollar. They’re up there playing for themselves and they will do whatever it takes to stay there. And if they got something to fall back on they damn sure will. I look back on all the wonderful times I had and all the music I made with these great artists, the songs written, the albums produced and I get to feel again exactly how I felt at that specific time and it was fantastic. Sometimes I like to remember up all this stuff. It still makes me smile.

m any thanks to Ju Dy Walker an D lyn Carter for photos an D suggestions. for more information on Dennis W alker, C he C k out: Dennis Walker; WWW.D ennis W alker.info

“You can see the fish from our balconies”

Remembering the blues brothers

had gone on to blow live audiences away from their first appearances in Los Angeles, when the full band was in place, drawing in first rate musicians including Steve Cropper, Matt Murphy, Paul Shaffer and a powerful horn section.

Where could the act go next? In fact, straight onto a high profile debut movie, simply titled ‘The Blues Brothers’. Once it was released, cinema audiences were light in numbers. Critics were abrasive. The big budget wasn’t recovered.

However, the expensive seeds of cult status were sown with that first movie. Immortal phrases were coined, like Ray Charles’s introduction to a piano he is selling; ‘2000 bucks and it’s yours. You can take it home with you. As a matter of fact, I’ll throw in the black keys for free’ and the brothers ‘We’re on a mission from God!’ The movie plot is simple enough. A Blues-loving orphan, Jake Blues, is released from a Chicago prison after doing time for his latest offence, and is picked up by his also Blues-loving brother, Elwood Blues, in an ex-police car (traded for a microphone). The two are tasked with raising money to save the orphanage they grew up in, but, under orders from ‘The Penguin’ aka Sister Stigmata, without resorting (overtly) to crime. They pick

up their old band, The Blues Brothers, and play a fundraising concert. Along the way they make enemies of Illinois Nazis, a Country and Western band called the Good Ole Boys, the owner of a venue, Bob’s Country Bunker, the state police, the National Guard, a SWAT team, and let us not forget Jake’s ex-fiancée, played by Carrie Fisher, who has been waiting for his release to kill him. After the concert, and as they are about to be hotly pursued to the office where the orphanage money must be paid, Elwood sums up the rest of the film. ‘It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.’

chicen wire gigs

Trombonist Tom Malone told us how John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd ensured the movie departed from Hollywood convention, to the benefit of the musicians who had been with the band until then. ‘Danny started writing a script for a movie and interviewed the band. I told him a story about gigs with chicken wire in front of the stage in Mississippi, and Steve (Cropper) said the same thing about his experiences in Arkansas. Danny took his script to Universal,

they bought it and the rest is history. Usually in films the musicians do the soundtrack and actors play the musicians in the movie, but Danny and John insisted the band were in the film and there we were.’

Even though the intention was to stick to the then line up of the Blues Brothers Band, changes were needed. Bassist Donald Dunn, guitarists Steve Cropper and Matt Murphy, trumpet player Alan Rubin, trombonist Tom Malone and saxophonist Lou Marini were available and were booked for the film.

Drummer Willie Hall remembers the reshuffle. Willie was a Stax label musician, with The Bar-Kays and Isaac Hayes band, The Movement. Willie said, ‘They called me while the Blues Brother movie was waiting for a budget. Paul Shaffer (keyboards), Tom Scott (trumpet) and Steve Jordan (drums) were off Broadway with (comedienne) Gilda Ratner for one year. They couldn’t break their contracts, so when the green light came, who would replace them? Duck and Steve were in producer (Robert. K) Weiss’s office. The name to come to mind was Willie Hall. It was hard to call me at the time, but they kept trying, and called me through a friend from Weiss’s office with Steve and Duck there. They said, ‘Do

you want to be in the film? Sure, man’. They mailed a contract and I flew to Chicago and we got around a table. I have Steve and Duck to thank for that. That’s how that happened, thank God.’

a host oF guest stars

Paul Shaffer was replaced by actor Murphy Dunne. Dunne had already appeared in a movie directed by John Landis, who was to direct the Blues Brothers film. Murphy was also a friend of John Belushi and of musician Willie Dixon, having helped Willie to put on a Blues festival in Chicago. Murphy said, ‘I had booked Booker T and the MG’s and met him and Al Jackson and Cropper and Dunne. These guys were my heroes! Later on, when Paul Shaffer couldn’t appear in the Blues Brothers, John called me, and when we met. They remembered and said, ‘Oh my God, that’s who you were!’ Happenstance worked out very luckily for me.’

Then there were the guest stars. Matt Murphy remembers one very well, ‘I was one picked, with Aretha Franklin. She sang her butt off.’ Other guests to sing their butts off

Remembering the blues brothers

included Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, and James Brown.

Prior to the film being shot, it was thought important to give the band Blues names. Elwood Blues was, typically tersely, Elwood J Blues. Jake Blues became ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues.

As to the band? Tom Malone reflects on his own nickname, ‘My nickname Bones’? At high school I was six feet two and a half inches tall and thin – one hundred and forty five pounds –so my High School friends gave me the name. Later, with the band with Duck Dunn and Guitar Murphy it was decided we all needed a middle name, I came up with Bones and they loved it. John came up with ‘Mr Fabulous’ for Alan Rubin, he had an elitist attitude and humour and it fitted. John came up with ‘The Colonel’ for Steve Cropper. It fitted because Steve always wanted to be in charge – after a couple of drinks. ‘Blue’ Lou – Lou chose his own name. John chose ‘Triple Scales’ for Tom Scott.’ Though Tom, of course, did not appear in the movie.

Matt Murphy already had his nickname in place, ‘My nickname ‘Guitar’, Memphis Slim hooked me with that name. He said, ‘The guitar was like an extension of my body.’’ Willie ‘Too Big’ Hall was more discrete when asked about his nickname, saying, ‘It’s going in my book I’m writing!’

There was also a mechanical character in the movie – the ex-police Dodge car that the Blues Brothers ran around in. From the first, Jake understandably disliked the car he was collected from prison in, throwing away the cigarette lighter before the vehicle powers over an opening mechanized bridge, leading to this dialogue:

Elwood: ‘It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant. It’s got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters, so it’ll run good on regular gas. What do you say? Is it the new Bluesmobile or what?’ Jake: ‘Fix the cigarette lighter.’

How did this character come into being? Judith Belushi explains, ‘My biggest contribution early on was sitting in our living room just putting away artwork from Animal House and a picture of the deathcar from the movie. Dan and John had ordered a Dodge ’63, I told them, ‘I’m going to go and pick up the

Bluesmobile.’ Both of them looked at me, and Danny went ‘yes’. That was the first mention of the name Bluesmobile.’

The Blues Brothers movie was full of iconic scenes. Here, the band remembers some of their favourite moments. It took Jake and Elwood very little time to get into trouble, jumping a red light at a junction and accelerating away as the police realise Elwood’s license is under suspension. Tom Malone recalls the scene where, as a result, the Bluesmobile enters, and wrecks, a shopping mall, The Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. ‘It had been empty for seven to eight years. The movie company rented it, put in new glass and merchandise, and signed up car dealerships to fill the car park with new cars. They and the mall were wrecked in one shot that took a number of minutes. There were lots of car chases. The movie company made a deal for two hundred Illinois police cars, but only wrecked one hundred. A body shop was open all night so cars could be fixed up and go out the next day to be wrecked again.’

When the band was being assembled from their various occupations, in one scene Blue Lou and Matt Murphy leave their jobs in The Soul Food Café and Matt’s wife, played by Aretha Franklin, after she sings ‘Think’. Blue Lou, who has been washing up, plays sax on the café counter. At a recent Original Blues Band gig, it was apt to hear Lou being introduced as ‘The Dancing Dishwasher’.

Murphy ‘Murph’ Dunne, Tom Malone, Steve Cropper, and Willie Hall ply their trade as Murph And the Magic Tones in their ‘candy ass monkey suits’ until the Blues Brothers call for them. Judith Belushi recalls, ‘I had a speaking role in the first film that was never shot, but I was a waitress at the Holiday Inn where Murph and the Magic Tones were playing and more in Animal House. I rode in the back of one of the cars in a car chase and I was in a crowd when the Blues Brothers were advertising their show using a microphone and loudspeaker.’

Tom Malone introduces the approach that was taken to filming and to recording the music, ‘All the music was pre-recorded for the first film except John Lee Hooker on Maxwell Street. We did pre-recordings in July 1979 at Universal Studios. I remember it had a big room, but it’s

gone now. James Brown recorded It’s a man’s world there. We did lip-synching and shot the movie in Hollywood. All the movie was shot in LA. Bob’s Country Bunker was in Universal Studio’s back lot. The interior was in a sound stage in LA. We had case after case of sugar glass bottles to smash on the wire. We were in there for several days. Also in Universal Studios was the restaurant scene where we picked up Mr Fabulous. The concert in the Palace Hotel Ballroom was in the Hollywood Palladium. Six hundred of the audience were paid extras from the Actors Union, the rest were from the unemployment line and were paid a few dollars and given lunch.’

bobs countrY bunker

The newly assembled band need equipment and head to Ray’s Music Exchange, where Ray shoots close to a would-be guitar thief to put him off, and sings ‘Shake A Tail Feather’. Tom Malone remembers, ‘That was pretty traumatic, the way they did it, even using blanks in the gun. They did it over and over; it allowed a lot of editing options. That was on set in Hollywood.’

Tom recalls more about the Bob’s Country Bunker scene, where the band take the place of the delayed Good Ole Boys to perform their first gig, behind that infamous chicken wire and a hail of bottles until they played some more-or-less Country music. ‘The set up was that John had lied his way into the place where they played just Country Music – ‘we play both kinds, Country and Western’. So when the band sees the set list, it doesn’t look right. When John used the whip in Bob’s Country bunker, that was a little scary. He was liable to do anything, he was full of energy. The scene wasn’t in the original movie. The original movie was a hundred and seven minutes and the Anniversary Edition a hundred and thirty four minutes. There was a lot more in it. The first version was short so more shows could be played in cinemas in a day to make more money. They left out one scene costing fifty thousand dollars where they go to the gas station and when John leaves he throws down his match onto a petrol spill and it blows up a gas tank and a telephone kiosk.’

Getting the big concert venue required to raise money for the orphanage meant blackmailing promoter Maury Sline in a steam bath. Some of the dialogue goes:

Maury Sline: ‘Hold it, hold it. Tomorrow night? What are you talking about? A gig like that, you gotta prepare the proper exploitation.’ Elwood: ‘I know all about that stuff. I have been exploited all my life.’

Dan Aykroyd confirmed, ‘The line about exploitation, that came out of me and Landis and one of the band members, Blue Lou Marini contributed.’

Looking back, the musicians that Aykroyd and Belushi insisted appear in the movie did themselves and the Blues great credit. Willie Hall remembers what it meant to him, ‘The acting, I never did that before, saying lines and hitting spots, but I enjoyed it. Landis said, ‘You delivered your stuff really well.’’

The film has an enduring quality, even though its own producers didn’t always quite ‘get’ what they were portraying. Judith Belushi sums up, alluding to the scene in which Jake Belushi comes face to face with his homicidal ex-fiancée, who finds herself unable to kill him once she sees his baby blue eyes revealed behind the Ray-Ban sunglasses he has on all movie. ‘John and Dan made up characters, not just alter egos, great characters. Landis changed the script to add car chase scenes. The biggest battle was over the sunglasses, the film producers couldn’t understand characters that would not stop wearing their sunglasses, but it paid off in the tunnel scene.’

next issue: the blues brothers go on their roaD to ruin tour before their seConD movie is born

24 Pages – the WOrlD’s m Ost COm Prehe NsiVe blues gui De

AlVIn lee

tHelaSt

rainman

SHoW

Alvin’s last show, the Ribs and Blues Festival in Holland on 28th May 2012, turned out to be a breathtaking display of pure genius by a musician at the peak of his career. Arguably, it was probably Alvin’s best ever live performance. The set lasts nearly 80 minutes and represents Alvin’s entire musical journey from Elvis and rockabilly to Ten Years After and beyond, but rooted firmly in the blues. Alvin never got the recognition he deserved as a bluesman but his self-penned Slow Blues In C and Al Kooper’s I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes confirm that he was an exceptional exponent of that genre. Highlights include the guitar pyrotechnics on Love Like A Man, the masterpiece, I Woke Up This Morning, the irony of I Don’t Give A Damn and the national anthem, Going Home. However, every song is a highlight because Alvin is in scintillating form, technically brilliant, innovative and in perfect synergy with superb bassist Pete Pritchard and Richard Newman on drums, the ultimate power trio. The swagger and confidence of a maestro at the top of his game infuse the whole performance. Pete Pritchard sums it up succinctly: “Not for Alvin to gradually diminish and fade like a dying ember. He finished still playing brilliantly, still shooting from the hip, still the classic guitar slinger”. Playing this CD will carry the listener in time to the front of the stage watching Alvin and rejoicing in the music he devoted his life to as it unfolded during that memorable evening. On the first anniversary of his death. Alvin RIP.

WAlTeR TROUT

tHe BlueScamecallin’ Provogue

For any Martians amongst you, Walter has been seriously ill for a while now awaiting a liver transplant. As I write this he has re-located from California to Nebraska, where he has been accepted for the operation. 2014 marks an almost 50 year commitment to playing and singing the blues. The songs on this album reflect Walter’s take on mortality and his new appreciation of being alive.

You will hear in opener Wastin’ Away that even though his body is doing just that, he will not leave this mortal coil without stern resistance. The World’s Going Crazy (And So Am I) is a blues-rocker that basically does what it says on the tin. Take A Little Time has a Chuck Berry-esque feel to it, suggesting that maybe to be happy in love, get out of the rat race, take care of your heart. JB Lenoir’s The Whale is included as a tribute to both the writer and John Mayall. Willie is a song dedicated to all the ‘suits’ out there in the music business, willing to take the artist for a ride, having put their trust in them. Mayall’s Piano

Boogie as the title suggests, features the man himself playing some old style boogie woogie, the rest of the band jammed along, a decent instrumental interlude. Born In The City relates to Walter’s upbringing in Philadelphia, how he prefers city life to country life. Another instrumental in Freddie King style Tight Shoes, has nothing to do with footwear, more about Walter’s father who took the family out for dinner in a quiet, posh Atlantic City restaurant. As he got up to leave, he let off a great fart, when other customers gave him a look, he said ‘Tight shoes’. The title track again features Mayall, this time on Hammond B3 organ. It’s a typical blues format, telling the story of a man lying in his bed who is suddenly gripped by the blues. It’s not unusual for Walter to write a song for his beloved wife, Marie and this poignant album is no exception, closing as it does with Nobody Moves Me Like You Do. In my opinion, Walter nails it on this latest masterpiece, so much better than the previous tribute album. CLIVE RAWLINGS

BAnd OF FRIendS

toomucHiSnotenougH band Of Friends Cd/Dvd set

When it comes to power trios, they don’t come more powerful than this. Here’s a celebration of the work of the much-missed blues wizard, Rory Gallagher, and as a monument to the great man, Band of Friends are a veritable Mount Rushmore. Just listen to the opening riff on Body and Soul and you’ll hear why. The decision to

THE BISHOP

The peckhAm cOWBOyS 10taleSfromtHeginpalace

CargO

As we all know, some bands have to be loose to play well – Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, Faces – and the Peckham Cowboys definitely fall into that camp: so loose they are falling over but magnificent, dirty, louche and rotten to the core. Think of this as the best album the Stones never made and suffice to say I loved every track! Roughly Blues based with subjects ranging from court appearances to avoiding the debt collector to political chicanery they also cover ska and street-ska sounds and manage to set themselves as ruffians with credibility and a tight handle on the important things happening here and now – this is street with a capital Peckham. Co-Founder Marc Eden (DNA Doll, Ariel Bender Band) describes their sound as “Steptoe & Son on Crack” and together with his mates Dale Hodgkinson (Dogkennel Hill) and an old drum machine they formed their signature sound after a long and boozy birthday party for Guy Bailey (Quireboys), the music sounds exactly like that suggests. This time around thay have brought in Timo Kaltio (Hanoi Rocks, Izzy Stradlin), Nigel Mogg from the Quireboys, Primal Scream’s Duncan McKay and Ryan McCormick (Steven Adler Band) and laid down 10 new tracks that tell all the stories your nanny hid from you as a kid. There are so many standouts here: the opener Not Guilty yelling the tale of Marc’s brush with the law in 2011, Bromley Girls – all Faces meets New York Dolls, The Debt Collector bringing some ska into a depressing tale of modern street-level finances or Knocked Senseless howling guitars and the aftermath of another boozy party. This ain’t music for Folk or R’n’B lovers: it’s raw and sloppy, angry and harsh and above all fun! ANDY SNIPPER

release this as a CD and DVD set doubles the attraction. In guitarist/ vocalist Marcel Scherpenzeel, who grew up with Rory’s music, it’s very true what Gallagher’s original bassist Gerry McAvoy promises, “This is the closest guitarist to Rory you will ever hear”. Gerry McAvoy played, recorded and toured with Rory for 20 years, and played on every album Rory ever made. You want blues credentials? He’s also played with Champion Jack Dupree and Nine Below Zero. Fine, solid drummer Ted McKenna (ex-Gary Moore, Ian Gillan) worked with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and played with Gallagher for over three years. These guys are blues rock’s vintage wine, seasoned, confident, totally at home with the music they love.

Drumming legend Ted McKenna played with Rory Gallagher from 1978-81. There are seven tracks on the CD, and a generous eleven songs on the superbly filmed DVD.

The production on the studio CD is excellent, but it’s the DVD which truly brings this fine outfit alive. Scherpenzeel’s mastery of his battered Stratocaster, whilst delivering all the vocals, is breathtaking. When he moves onto bottleneck, Rory Gallagher is back in the room, and Gerry McAvoy’s boundless enjoyment inspires the German audience to the level of enthusiasm this outfit truly deserves. Absolutely brilliant.

ROY BAINTON

cOlIn cOOpeR pROJecT

fromtHe VaultS repertoire

Anyone who is into the Climax Blues band or Climax Chicago Blues Band will be familiar with Colin Cooper. Now sadly deceased he was the

founder of the band back in the days of the Climax Jazz Band and he was a true aficionado of the Blues legacy that his bands happily fed on. This is a collection of private recordings Cooper made from 1995 to his death in 2008 and have never been released before in any form.

The amazing thing about what is essentially a vanity project is just how good the music is. He pitches in rare and recognizable tracks in pure Blues, country and even Jazz styles and from the opening notes of Henry Clair Fredericks’ wonderful Cakewalk Into Town you are listening with a smile and a sense of wonder at the simplicity and the quality of his playing and the enjoyment in his voice. Robert Johnson is represented here with Ramblin’ On My Mind and Walking Blues – he treats the songs as the star and doesn’t show off his own playing.

The little inter-track asides are a great insight into the songs and his playing and add to the ‘personal’ element to the recordings. Songs by Tony Joe White, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee or Big Bill Broonzy feature all through as well as John Lee Hooker and Mose Allison and are equally treated with respect by a man playing for his own satisfaction. Personal favourites here are Tony Joe White’s Sidewalk Hobo which, shorn of the swamp Blues, comes over as a fine walking Blues with real depth and a lovely version of Making Whoopee which is just sweet and surprisingly sour in turn. The recordings are simple, close miked and show his voice and guitar playing in a fine light and you realise just how much was lost when he succumbed to cancer.

ANDY SNIPPER

deBBIe BOnd & The TRU dATS

tHattHingcalledloVe blues roots

Alabama-based blueser Debbie Bond’s latest offering is a balanced, mostly self-written effort

featuring her partner, Rick Asherson, on keyboards and harp. Bond has been around a while now. Formerly running the Alabama Blues Project, she also played with the late great Johnnie Shines for many years until his death, before joining another goner, Willie King, as one of his backing band, The Liberators. Here she came to prominence and toured extensively in both the USA and Europe, playing Cognac Blues Passions a couple of times and gradually building a following for her fine, oft-understated guitar work and vocals. This album, produced by Bond and Asherson and recorded in Nashville, is a triumph and well worth a careful earful.

It’s definitely a slow-burner and a few spins will bring out the beauty of the material and the production. Kicking off with You’re The Kind Of Trouble, a particularly notable version of this Adam Wright classic, it roars through Steady Rolling Man, Feed My Soul and an old Willie King favourite, I Like It Like That. All played with soulful feeling and verve. Two versions of Tarragona Blues (one an extended mix) highlight her love of the Catalonian Tarragona Bluesfest.

For some years, Bond seems to have slipped below the blues radar. Yet, as one of those all-too-rare female blues players, she clearly deserves greater recognition by blues lovers everywhere. This CD showcases her talent admirably and should propel her career nicely, allowing her to step out of the shadows of those great musicians, now passed, she played with for most of her career.

IAIN PATIENCE

JAck BRUce

SilVerrailS

esoteric/antenna records

Think the cover of this release shows it all really, it being an eclectic mix of shapes and colours in the style of a 1950’s Columbia Records jazz album drawn by Sacha Jafri. This seems to reflect indeed a mix match

of differing genres of music and playing style by one of the best bassists some would argue of his time on this epic release. Just to beef it up a bit if that be needed he has brought a few of his old pals to help him out, including Robin Trower, Bernie Marsden and Phil Manzanera, but it is Jack Bruce who steals the show . This has been a long wait for his diehard fans it has taken ten years in the making but seems to span a lot further back than that but considering this is his fourteenth solo album he has an amazing back catalogue. Recorded at Abbey Studios produced by Rob Cass, this is a truly well produced and crafted release. There is a reflective feel to songs about love Candlelight, of addiction Reach For The Night and mortality, Fields of Forever and songs showing compassion for victims of corporate political greed such as Rusty Lady, the most bluesy song and in Industrial Child proves Jack’s vocal range and tone are unaffected by passing years, this is top quality what more is left to say.

COLIN CAMPBELL

mATT AndeRSen

WeigHtleSS

true North records

Only a musician within the blues-hued genre would title his album this way, and give his website the name ‘stubbyfingers’, with self-depreciating reference no doubt to his large scale physique and personality. That big natured soul comes across in his music too. Whilst closely related to folkAmericana in the singer-songwriter bracket, Andersen’s has a blues background (he’s won blues awards but accepts his more generic label) and there are many flavours on offer in his latest release.

Usually performing solo when he gigs, the album takes the opportunity to extend the sound with broader brush strokes enabled by keyboards, brass and backing vocals. His last album, Coal Mining

Blues, was produced by Colin Linden and the side steps to another respected name with Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos) for this twelve track set. It’s the title track that utilises the horns and it is has a vibe and rhythm that bounces along like a Robert Cray track, with the exception of any extrovert guitar.

The pace continues for Alberta Gold which has a Walking On Sunshine catchiness about it, before his lullaby delivery of Let’s Go To Bed. He craftily manages to hold an air of originality in each song while giving snippets of familiarity for the listener to chew on; The Fight puts acoustic Southern Rock in the ring. And then there is blatant country, Between The Lines, and that nourish alternative Americana (think Jace Everett) across What Will You Leave. A big sound on a small scale from a big man.

GARETH HAYES

dOO WOp ReVIVAl

tHer&B Vocalgroup Sound compilation

Fantastic Voyage

This triple CD package covers the Doo Wop music period between 1961-1962, when the genre was getting a revival and probably at its peak, the ninety tracks have been compiled by Marv Goldberg who is recognised as the worlds leading authority on R’n’B vocal groups.

While I am not a particular expert on this type of music I can recognise several artists who progressed and developed following this early foray into Doo Wop, namely the Drifters, Coasters, Gladys Night, Hank Ballard and James Brown, who fronted a vocal group called ‘The Famous Flames’, in fact their track ‘I Don’t Mind’ has a good band backing with some tasty guitar although still a sound a million miles away from his Godfather of Soul music of later life. A triple CD can be hard going but this package includes such a

BeTh hART And JOe BOnAmASSA liVe inamSterdam

Provogue

This is a two DVD disc set, the first disc contains the full two hour concert in its entirety which was recorded at the renowned Carre Theatre in Amsterdam in the summer of two thousand and thirteen; the second disc contains two highly informative documentaries concerning firstly, the actual making and filming of the concert in Amsterdam and then a complete overview of the whole tour. The sound and visuals of the entire performance are superb, crisp fluid filming is combined with easy on the eye, subtle lighting and smooth camera angles, complete with defining close-ups. All the numbers are taken from two previous vinyl collaborations..

It has to said that Joe and Beth are without any doubt a perfect pairing, for we have Beth commanding the whole of the stage, she is up front and personal with the eager, anticipating and attentive audience; Beth has a swaggering, prowling, strutting Mick Jagger stage presence, her equally confident and strident sultry, sensuously raw edged vocals are echoes of Janis Joplin and Maggie Bell, which for most of the performance are at full throttle, while Joe seems to happy enough to almost merge into the shadows with the band as he focuses on his guitar, his is a curious mixture of seamless guitar wizardry and virtuosity in the Eric Clapton mould inhabiting the body of an anonymous bespectacled bank manager, going about his daily business. The band who supply the backing are; Anton Fig (drums, percussion), Blondie Chaplin (guitar), and Carmine Rojas (bass), and Arlan Schierbaum (keyboards), while the horn section is Lee Thornburg, Ron Dziubla and Carlos Perez Alfonso. Together the ensemble creates exhilarating renditions of classic blues and soul which fills every nook and cranny to the rapturous applause of the audience. Two of the high points of this performance are when Joe takes centre stage for Someday After a While (You’ll Be Sorry), his enmeshing of the low swinging horns together with his fluidly searing guitar work ensures that this slow burner is etched into the mind as will Beth’s volcanic rendition of Nutbush City Limits.

diverse group of artists there is plenty of interest throughout, the title is slightly misleading as there are strong elements of both Rock’n’Roll and Soul music here, these songs were all chart hits in the U.S. and there are many familiar songs included here that were re-recorded by UK artists and became hits here, a good example being the Drifters ‘Sweets for my Sweets’, a later number one for the Searchers. This package provides a great opportunity to hear original recordings from the early sixties highlighting the importance of Doo Wop in the subsequent development of Soul and R’n’B music.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

SOFIe Reed SimplicitycHaSed trouBleaWay autoprod

This is Sofie Reed’s second album, featuring her fine Harp playing alongside some fine Steel slide work. Perhaps the most surprising element of this Swedish artist’s music is that she also plays Dulcimer with an unexpectedly strong and successful blues groove. Certainly a first for me: I’ve never heard blues dulcimer before. And, refreshingly different, it works well. The twelve tracks that make up this album are mostly

self-penned. The album romps along at a fair lick with some really interesting changes of tempo from the excellent and upbeat opening track, Glitter Girl through the near-Afro-vibe of Human Every Day to the soulful vocals and pounding underlying guitar and Harp evident on Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen. Reed’s previous release, Baby Boo Got Gone was equally strong on song-writing and instrumental skill and style. She sure has a great sound, varied by virtue of the at times unusual instruments she prefers, and the southern influences under-pinning the material. So, while the instruments may at times be eclectic, the writing and playing are solid throughout this fine album. Sweden has a strong blues-fan base, with many good musicians plying their trade in bars and clubs throughout the country. Reed clearly fits that Nordic mould while incorporating crossover influences from US traditional music and Americana. Now US based, she certainly is one to watch, and hear, of course.

IAIN PATIENCE

TReVOR SeWell BAnd independence

W.a r. Productions

Recently inducted into the American Heritage Blues Hall of Fame , lauded and gifted frontman Trevor brings out his second album, eleven tracks on this one all written by himself, a legend from the North East England Tyne delta on lead vocals, guitars, mandolin and keyboards, Brian Emerson on bass, Steve Vine on drums with guests Georgina Biddle on electric violin and Lorraine Crosby on vocals, this makes for a very interesting laid back down and dirty treat in store indeed and complements his first release Calling Your Name, which reached the top of the American Blues Scene chart for seven weeks. Steam train whistle announces the arrival of the foot stomping opener Train with good harmonica licks and slide guitar, very satisfying. His vocals

BRIAN HARMAN

on such songs as Fade To Grey epitomise his virtuosity and outstanding musical prowess a great entertainer. DNA keeps the overall tempo going No Future features the electric violin adding depth to acoustic sound. The tempo changes again with the piano and lone guitar playing on Take These Chains exemplifying the tightness of the overall band and sound. All rounded off with the mixture of another tune that will make you dance is One Wish. If you enjoy blues that are slow laid back but at the same time growlingly good then this is the one to get no disappointments just sheer and utterly heartfelt.

COLIN CAMPBELL

owes much to the current crop of younger blues acts influenced by the Mississippi hill country style, or the minimalist China Gate, a real contrast to the very bluesy Paradise and Drowning which follow. Oh, and for those who still worry about these things, I totally forgot that I was not listening to a native English speaker. This set is well worth checking out, and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to see Mr. Risager back in the UK!

NORMAN DARWEN

cORky lAIng & The memORy ThIeVeS

iridiumliVe

Floating World records

going to grow up?” You know the answer; it’s to do with sex and travel. Play loud and enjoy.

ROY BAINTON

AdRIAnnA mARIe And heR gROOVecUTTeRS douBlecroSSing BlueS independent

They are only vague hints and associations but Backseat Driver made me think of Deep Purple, Through The Tears of The Temptations, and High Rolling of The Rolling Stones – which reveals a few things about this Danish singer, guitarist and bandleader. First off, he is not going for the easy option of offering a bunch of straight-forward, unimaginative re-treads of blues standards, secondly he is not going to limit himself to 12 bars, and thirdly, he has the chops to pull this off. He leads his nine-piece band through a very varied programme ranging across hard blues-rock to strong southern soul, from the raw, Canned Heat and classic soul tinged If You Want To Leave (with its excellent short sax break) to the jazzy, boogying New Orleans flavoured Rich Man. It is worth noting too that despite my mention of those older names, there is a definite contemporary feel to Thorbjørn’s music – often it can be heard in the rhythm section, the drum sound or just a subtlety in the arrangement. Take a listen to the title track, which is a blues number, but

Oh, blimey Missus! Cover the budgie –here’s a really scary looking act led by… a drummer! And they’ve got tattoos – even the two women members! Well, how Corky Laing and the Memory Thieves look is how they sound, wild, out there and unrestrained. You’ll need a stiff three fingers of Jack Daniels with this CD. Memory Thieves? What’s that about, then? It comes from a line attributed to Laing’s good friend Levon Helm “Music doesn’t have a memory. You can do anything to it.” Aged 66, Canada’s Corky, famed as one of the all-time powerhouse rock acts Mountain, has the drive and energy of a lad half his age. He’s worked with the best, including John Lennon and Bo Diddley. Now, with The Memory Thieves, here are live renderings of classic and topical songs, including Eve of Destruction, Sinner Man and Mountain and West, Bruce & Laing favourites Nantucket Sleighride, (in homage to the late Felix Pappalardi), Mississippi Queen, and The Doctor, as well as a number of originals. A highpoint is Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, beginning almost like a hymn but bursting into a ferocious slab of electric punk. It’s good to see how fiery Rock’n’Roll can help to sustain us all in our senior years. This therefore is an album which answers that question “When the hell are you

As a youngster, Adrianna Marie was brought up in an extremely musical family. Her parents were part of the sixties folk group, the Carolee Singers. Through this she was exposed to many differing styles of music, all of which has influenced her own musical style today. All tracks here are covers, because Double Crossing Blues is a retro collection of songs, taking the listener back to the fat and full sounds of the jazz and swing era of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s in clubs and supper rooms associated with US cities like Chicago and New York. On guitar is La Jones, a guitarist who has played with the likes of Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Pinetop Perkins and Luther Johnson amongst others. He is more than able to recreate the fat guitar sounds of the era, whether in the jump Blues of He May Be Your Man or the soulful Blues ballad of Sad Night Owl, an instrumental which is possibly the best track on the album. Larry ‘Big House’ David Cohen plays great piano throughout, with none more so than on the aforementioned track. Adrianna’s voice is a beautiful instrument in itself, without being remarkable. This is amply demonstrated on the opening track, I Want A Tall Skinny Papa where she sets out her 40’s jazz style admirably. Yet it doesn’t always work, her version of Louis Jordan’s Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby lacks the spark and fire that the song requires. Instead, the song sounds rather safe in front of a big band backing, a poor pastiche of the original. There’s no doubt that the musicians involved sound as though they are having a good time

Albums reviews

throughout, it’s invigorating stuff. Not sure whether it’s for me though.

MERV OSBORNE

dAmOn FOWleR

SoundSof BlueS

blind Pig

After spending much of the past year touring with supergroup Southern Hospitality, Gulf Coast lap steel maestro Fowler is back with his sixth album which is a mix of bayou blues, rock, sacred steel and hints of country, gospel and rockabilly. The material is mostly original and it was a smart move to record the album in Louisiana with Tab Benoit producing and also adding guitar and backing vocals. Thought I Had It All is an atmospheric slice of introspective swampy Southern rock featuring superb slide guitar and a confessional style vocal. The soulful blues rocker Sounds Of Home features Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles Indian tribe on shared vocals. The world weary

country inspired ballad Old Fools, Bar Stools And Me is a classic tale of drinking away heartache which features distorted, shimmering guitar effects. The catchy, melodic finger-picked country shuffle of Where I Belong perfectly sums up Fowler’s Southern roots. An unexpected cover here is a country soul makeover of our own Declan Patrick MacManus’ (Elvis Costello) lovely ballad Allison which works really well. Johnny Winter’s TV Mama features excellent work from the rhythm section of Chuck Riley on bass and James McKnight on drums with Fowler providing slithering slide guitar licks and a forceful vocal. A highlight of the album is Do It For The Love a heartfelt ballad which features good interplay between Fowler’s guitar and Tab Benoit’s weeping pedal steel. A jaunty finger-picked version of the traditional gospel song I Shall Not Be Moved features harmony vocals from Benoit and closes this varied and excellent album. If you love greasy, swampy, Southern fried rock you’ll love this. I certainly did.

DAVE DRURY

mATyAS pRIBOJSZkI BAnd treat independent

The East European Blues scene has seen a revival in past years and going by this gem of a release the future remains bright. This Hungarian band led by the brilliant and well lauded virtuoso harmonica player and lead singer with a strong lead vocal Matyas Pribojszki has it all with this their third release. Very impressive and tight band comprising of Erik Kovács on keyboards, Ferenc Szász guitar, Ervin Eckert bass and Daniel Molnár drums a very competent rythmn section indeed. Their mixed up take on the blues genre in general is very eclectic showing great talent. Swing blues is the order of the day on opener, Zydecola Boogie setting the mood and tone for the rest of this great release. Real Good Man held together well with jazzy piano and cool harmonica licks with snarling guitar work. But one of the highlights has to be Love Is Fake with a distinctive jazzy two tone-ish mix of melodies proving this band can improvise and explore different music types. This may have gone too far alas on covering the Bee Gees number Three Kisses Of Love though still stretching the boundaries. Title track Treat has a cheery downtown New Orleans twang Goobie Boogie has an earthy piano style that’s a real toe tapper. Finishing with She Put A Spell On Me does serve up a release that is a big consummate treat! Very good.

COLIN CAMPBELL

cheeTAh chROme Solo

Ployboy records

There is a good chance that only a limited readership will have heard of Cheetah Chrome (born Eugene O’Connor) and in a blues magazine may be put off by his previous notoriety for his turns in punk band The Dead Boys and proto-punks Rocket From The Tombs. Take comfort that even punks mature, mellow and look at the world through older eyes. Actually the punk credentials are a headline branding and Chrome’s interest and contribution to the relationship between punk and blues deserves further attention. His involvement in a film about the New York venue CBGB, famously originating as a country, bluegrass and blues (CBGB!) venue before evolving into a home for underground punk, highlights his cross genre credibility. The album is released to coincide with the launch of the Rupert Grint starrer about the venue. This seven track album is suitably big and brash; whilst entitled Solo there are many contributors. Chrome’s gruff vocals and Stonesy howls fit with the off-kilter rock across the guitar mania of Rollin’ Voodoo, the Blondie-esque Stare Into The Night and of course, the New York Dolls-y sound on the other tracks. Recorded over two sessions, from 1996 and 2010, it’s both a celebration of the much loved genre and a conduit to discover more.

GARETH HAYES

BIlly BRAnch And The SOnS OF BlUeS BlueSSHock

blind Pig

Branch and the SOB’s have been around since the late 70’s and despite numerous personnel changes have never wavered in their dedication to pure, unadulterated

Chicago blues. This album arrives after a gap of almost fifteen years but there are certainly no signs of rustiness here as they hit the spot straight away with opener Sons Of Blues. The band are tight, the harmonica is as muscular and fat-toned as ever, the vocals gravelly and the Chicago Horns add sharp, funky grooves. Wow! Willie Dixon’s Crazy Mixed Up World swings like hell and title track Blues Shock features superb slide guitar from Dan Carelli, backing singers, stabbing horn lines and a corruscating harp solo. Ronnie Baker Brooks shares guitar and vocals on the hilarious Dog House, a lament.

The centrepiece of the album is the ballad Going To See Miss Gerri One More Time which is an absolutely stunning tribute to 93 year old Miss Gerri Oliver who ran Chicago’s Palm Tavern for over 50 years. Shorty Long’s Function At The Junction is a short blast of funky vintage soul which should get everyone’s toes tapping. There is a thunderous workout of John Lee Hooker’s familiar Boom Boom with Branch showing his harp virtuosity. Back Alley Cat is a jazzy instrumental which features interplay between Branch’s harp and the rolling piano of Sumito ‘Ariyo’ Ariyoshi. Drummer Moses Rutues Jr. takes lead vocals on the comical Sloe Moe. Baby Let Me Butter Your Corn is a fast and furious dance number. This wonderful album closes with the superbly melodic instrumental tribute Song For My Mother. This album is an ensemble effort with each member of the band given the chance to shine and is a must for all lovers of Chicago harmonica blues.

DAVE DRURY

hIdeAWAy TRIO

HideaWaytrio independent

Hideaway Trio are a power trio who blend Blues, Rock and Soul/funk into a sound of their own, working out of Haverfordwest in South West Wales. The band are favourites on the Welsh

blues scene having chalked up five consecutive annual appearances at The Tenby Blues Festival which underlines their local popularity. I talked to Gareth Price founder member and, frontman guitarist vocalist at the Tenby gig about their newly recorded self-issued CD which contains three original blues tunes – Sad Days, Moving and Boot Valley penned by Gareth together with a good mix of electric blues / roots covers by luminaries such as BB King Sonny Boy Williamson, Ray Charles together with a smooth instrumental version of the Jimi Hendrix classic Little wing. Gareth’s influences lie strongly in the playing styles of (amongst others) Clapton, SRV, Hendrix which together with gospel, soul and funk genres drive the band’s primary sounds and feel.

Providing the foundation of the rhythm section are Tom Vine on drums and Simon Rees on bass pulling together the band’s driving power trio flavour which comes through very strongly on the album. As a first CD this gives a good representation of the band’s flavour, a fully commercially produced recording would help bolster the mix and beef up the vocals a bit. The boys should focus on continuing to write more of the original material which will place them ahead of the game against the usual cover style blues bands. For more info and live performance video’s go to www.hideawaytrio.co.uk

DAVE WARD

lOWell FUlSOn liVe 1983

Floating World records

I first heard Oklahoma’s Lowell Fulson playing his classic Reconsider Baby on the old Pye label back in the mid-60s. So whenever I see his name today, it sits alongside the word ‘quality’ with ease. Back then he had an uncompromising, raw style; a kind of less-sophisticated touch of T-Bone Walker, with well-delivered, belligerent vocals. Judging by this lively slab of

memory from the later years of his life, he’d lost none of that quality. He’d been around on the scene since the 1940s, and you can feel all the accrued showmanship on this live recording. Here he’s backed by Billy Vera and The Beaters, and it’s Billy who has written the liner notes to this CD. So here’s 18 slices of a quality blues cake, including Reconsider Baby, Guitar Shuffle, You Talk Too Much and Tramp. According to Billy Vera, the venue where this performance took place, Santa Monica’s At My Place, wasn’t known as a blues club, but you can tell from the electric atmosphere here that Mr. Fulson soon turned it into one. He didn’t leave us until 1999, but he’s left us a fine legacy. Also included here is the excellent Fulson song Sinner’s Prayer which appeared both on Eric Clapton’s From the Cradle (1994) and on Ray Charles’ first album Ray Charles (1957). Quality goes to quality. Listen to this and you’ll realise why.

ROY BAINTON

mIke gReene & yOUSSeF RemAdnA takeiton independent release

The first thing to say about this 13-track album is that it’s good. A great blend of traditional and modern blues, it has the feel and sound of the best of 1960s R’n’B at its heart. The two musicians here are likely to slip below the wire because they’re based in the South of France and are therefore largely unknown outside the country. Kicking off with the old Willy Dixon standard I’m Ready, the duo include fresh takes on Come Back Baby, JB Lenior’s Mojo Boogie and Blind Willie Johnson’s great Nobody’s Fault But Mine. There’s even a lesser-known Dylan song, From A Buick 6 included in the stew. Greene is a US-born bluesman who moved to France many years ago. His guitar work is deft, soulful and deceptively simple

Albums reviews

and understated. At all times, it’s bang on the money, though. The guys share vocals, while Remadna’s guitar playing is eclipsed by his cracking Harp work.

Take It On, is well worth taking on. If you like your blues raw but refined, with more than a hint of class, this CD should fit the bill. At times, it reminded me of early UK R’n’B: The Stones and Keef; Alexis Korner; Cyril Davies; The Animals. There are shades of all of these in this package.

IAIN PATIENCE

Red pIne TImBeR cOmpAny

differentloneSome independent

First collaborating as a musical collective at Perth’s Southern Fried Music Festival way back in 2009, under the stewardship of exSouthpaw frontman Gavin JD Munro, Red Pine Timber Company have seasoned their sound and have now cut their debut album. It’s a bright and airy show of rootsy Amerciana that makes best use of the tight band of nine core musicians and more.

The title track sums up the vibrant pain and anguish that seem to fall from Munro’s heartfelt lyrics right across the album. Supporting by Katie Burgoyne’s subtle backing vocals, Munro makes his harmonica work the song as the rest of the musical tribe dip in and out with highspirited instrumentation.

There is no denying the Celtic influence and the rhythms exude a sway and a swagger than will uplift the most morose. Saxophone alternates with trippy guitar on Sweet Seville, glockenspiel sprinkles Dark Clouds with optimism, and banjo stretches the emotion tension further with loving trumpet in Oh Sinnerman. The whole album is an intuitive delight, and reminiscent of the special Scottish brand of country noir (think Southern Tenant Folk Union, The Lost Soul Band).

GARETH HAYES

BOBBy meSSAnO WITh deAnnA BOgART

Welcome todeltaVille

Floating World

Deltaville Virginia, apparently the ‘Boating Capital of the Chesapeake’ and also home to Bobby Messano. An ex-member of the metal band Starz he has also been either writing producing or recording music since the sixties, he even produced the first singles by The Shadows Of Knight (as featured on Nuggets), and has been nominated for more Grammys than you can count on hands and feet and in fact this album is up in nine different categories this year. It is a damn fine listen although tying it down to one form or another is not so easy.

The title track is a lovely meandering gospel Blues with a Layla-esque slide meandering around in the background but the album opens with a pretty straight version of Otis Rush’s All Your Love which has some lovely slide and a Claptonlike groove to it along with some fine sax from Deanna Bogart. They have channelled the spirit of John Mayall with the ‘Beano’ style sleeve and opening with All Your Love, but the album is a lot more than just a Bluesbreakers cover. While most of the tracks are written by Messano or in collaboration there are also a few covers, including an unexpected Low Spark Of The High Heeled Boys, Deanna Bogart’s sax is positively sleazy and the piano set against Messano’s guitar sets the song up perfectly.

In between you have a codreggae That’s The Way Of The World with some fine B-3 from Ivan Neville and the Bo Diddley styled I Ain’t Got Diddly. The playing is excellent and the song choice is pretty good but there is a sense that I have heard it all before. Well worth a listen and if you have a choice between this and the latest from a 17 year old ‘prodigy’ Messano’s experience and grizzled performance wins out for me.

ANDY SNIPPER

clImAX BlUeS BAnd tHeofficial Bootleg independent

With a discography that began in 1969 it’s hard to imagine newcomers trying out the Climax Blues Band for the first time, and if they were, would anyone ever recommend a live recording when the band is heading down, er, a less athletic route?

Maybe not usually, but in actual fact this is a lively, bright showcase of the talents within and across the Climax Blues Band DNA. Originally led by Colin Cooper, who sadly passed away in 2009, and now without Pete Haycock who we lost last year, this line up is fairly close to the most consistent make-up of the band. New(ish) members Graham Dee on vocals, and Chris Aldridge on sax serve to make any transition seamless.

The set was recorded at the Leek Blues Festival in May 2013 and then tidied up for CD by Roy Wood, and what a great job he has done. Spoonful boogies like you want it to, Last Chance Saloon laments the true nature of the blues, Wang Dang Doodle marches in at an epic seven minutes, and Couldn’t Get It Right serves us to remind us of their influence, longevity and stature in the field.

GARETH HAYES

deBORAh BOnhAm Spirit

spectra records

American label, Spectra, have undertaken the release of this new album, recorded in both Nashville and Chichester. Deborah co-produced with Glenn Skinner, who also helped out on the previous Duchess CD.

Band of Joy drummer Marco Giovino joins the rest of the band, Peter Bullick on guitar, keyboardist Gerard Louis and bassist Ian Rowley. There is a definite rootsy/Americana feel to the album, no bad thing I hasten to

add. Opener Fly, co-written by John Hogg and Simon Sessler, comes complete with cello and dobro, the late Mark Linkous’s Painbirds has Deborah and band firmly stamping their mark on it.

The first single Take Me Down has a definite Eagles feel to it, while the Cajun stomp of What It Feels builds on Giovini’s percussion, giving way to a far too short harmonica solo from Robert Plant, reminiscent perhaps of Custard Pie? There’s a Byrds-esque I Won’t Let You Down’a steamy atmosphere on Good Times, before the beautiful closer Lay Me Down. Special mention must go to BJ Cole for his impeccable pedal steel on the autobiographical Spirit In Me. All in all, a good album, catch Deborah and band live if you can.

CLIVE RAWLINGS

BOOk BIndeR

nIne BelOW ZeRO don’tpointyourfinger / tHirddegree

universal

It’s over 40 years since I bought a Nine Below Zero record. Three Times Enough it was, on seven inch yellow vinyl. They must have played Edinburgh around about then, probably Preservation Hall, and must have been good enough to warrant a 79p investment in Ezy Ryder. Of course, they split up not long after, but I like to think it wasn’t my fault. They got back together again a few years later and have toured and recorded steadily ever since, without coming close to their early success, but after last years re-release of their

Roy Book Binder has been around a long time, almost half a century. In that time he’s picked guitar with most of the greats on the US acoustic blues scene, opened and toured with Bonnie Raitt, JJ Cale, Hot Tuna, Dave Van Ronk, Robert Lockwood, Pink Anderson and his old guitar teacher, Rev Gary Davis, and recorded dozens of albums of traditional, deep-well, blues music.

Almost constantly on the road in the USA, and occasionally Europe, he is a popular performer at festivals throughout the US and carries the torch for ragtime-blues by passing on the legacy in guitar workshops and master-classes at countless gigs every year. The man is rooted in the blues tradition and almost single-handedly was responsible for the re-emergence and discovery of many old bluesmen including Pink Anderson, Honeyboy Edwards and Robert Lockwood Junior.

The Good Book is an album that reflects this background and skill. Sure, his voice is a bit more gravelly these days, the guy is now in his seventies, but the guitar work is as strong and powerful as ever, with a strong, thumping right hand bass line amply indicating the debt he owes to Rev Gary Davis and the time spent with him on the road and at his Harlem home in New York. For this, his first studio album in a quite a few years, Book Binder has put together a fine set of support musicians with Damon Fowler on lap-steel, T-Bone Hamilton on Bass and Glenn Evans on drums. Included here are a few of his signature pieces: Full Go Round, a superb piece of writing in the thirties style, and the instrumental, Hacksaw, based on the playing of one of the Delta’s finest pickers, the largely and tragically unknown Hacksaw Harney, whom Roy met when he visited New York back in the late 1960s.

Another eight tracks make up the album, all with Book Binder’s unique stamp and instantly recognisable style running through them.

IAIN PATIENCE

debut Live At The Marquee, here are their two original eighties studio albums, each with a separate disc of bonus material. Don’t Point Your Finger was the one for me, a sweaty mix of covers and originals, as they gave the blues a good stomping on the likes of Treat Her Right and Sugar Mama, with originals such as One Way Street and Three Times Enough showing that they could come with the goods, all on their own. Dennis Greaves never sang better and Mark Feltham never honked is horn better. The bonus CD is a live performance.

Third Degree never really worked for me, despite it being a more commercially successful release. You can tell by the cover that they’re aiming for the mainstream. The good news is that this reissue includes Glyn Johns’ original recording, which the record company rejected, and it’s so much better than the original version. Eleven Plus Eleven and Mama Talk To Your Daughter take on a new lease of life, and I can almost forgive their diversions away from R’n’B. Almost. They’ve got a 35th anniversary tour lined up, as well as dates with The Stranglers, so get yourself sorted now.

STUART A HAMILTON

ROB BeRRy cuttin’ Stone independent

If anybody wanted an example of my kind of Blues, then this is it! Ten tracks of laid back, easy Blues, played with emotion and feeling. Eight of the tracks are self-penned and indeed most of the work appears to have been done by Rob as he is credited not only with the song writing, but producing the record and playing almost all of the instruments too! The two songs that are not originals are very brave choices as they are both iconic songs, the first one being Bonnie Raitt’s I Can’t Make You Love Me, which is treated differently

Albums reviews

but with no less emotion and overall, it works well. The second choice was Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues and Rob does a very credable version, not only by having the guitar part off pat, but by having a great attempt at nailing the vocals too. Of the other tracks, I really liked the title track Cuttin’ Stone. On the track Willy’s Revenge, Rob sounds a bit like Ian Siegal and the whole CD is very much my kind of music.

DAVE STONE

BIg JOe TURneR ReVIeW

liVeattHemuSicmacHine 1983

Big Joeturner

Floating World records

Big Joe Turner was a highly talented and respected blues shouter that most definitely became a legendary figure, for from the highs of performing with that great pianist Pete Johnson at the Spirituals to Swing concert at the Carnegie Hall

in December, nineteen thirty-eight to recording Shake, Rattle and Roll which, in fact was one of the earliest Rock’n’Roll recordings made, for he recorded this number in the February of nineteen fifty-four well before Elvis or Bill Haley. Although his momentum slowed during the late sixties and seventies he nonetheless continued to be a firm favourite and much in demand on the live circuit during this time.

Sadly, during his later years Big Joe suffered from Diabetes and this caused him to sit for parts if not all of his performances but, this did not detract from his wonderfully vibrant and enthusing larger than life sound. Nobody was to know but, this performance at The Music Machine on the 27th October 1983 in Santa Monica was to be his last. For, in November of 1985 Big Joe aged seventy four, passed away. The lucky people in the audience that night had witnessed a truly great Performer in action, and he was supported by a group of musicians that were of the same high calibre, for they were Lee

Unless you have a conscious uncertainty towards Joe Louis Walker’s distinct singing style (he sings as if his life depends on it) there is absolutely no reason not to add this to your CD collection of vibrant on-fire blues. It is hot from the off, with the title track, and heads off in all kinds of mazy directions while retaining the soul of JLW. Since his first album in 1986, Walker has enjoyed sprinkling his albums with the fragrances of jazz and gospel. He does the same here but to a lesser degree, as it is blues down the line. Exhausted by the end of track two, All I Wanted To Do, he steadies to a pace akin to that of the slow blues of, say, The Gift (1988) but this time he adds twitches, reverb, and a degree of sweat and toil usually reserved for live shows. Recorded in Nashville with his percussionist Tom Hambridge at the production desk and aided, as tight as you can take it, with Reese Wynans on keys, Tommy MacDonald on drums and Rob McNelley on additional guitars, there is even room for the Muscle Shoals Horn Section on that exhausting second track. Of course, Walker is probably best known for his unparalleled assertive slide playing and Ramblin’ Soul takes us on the most extraordinary journey in that particular playground. Ending the album with the graceful Keep The Faith may be a nod to his spiritual background, but it also gives us the opportunity for our own reverential recovery.

Allen; band leader and saxophone, Steve Berlin; baritone saxophone, Johnny Taylor; guitar, Dennis Riggs; drums and Gene Taylor; piano, together they blasted and shook the joint with eight numbers and four for the encore. The sound quality is what you would expect for its time but, the vim, vigour and verve of the music is simply astounding, from the opener Hide & Seek Big Joe sweetly blasts along with the swinging and honking saxes, underpinned by an insistent urging piano and so it deliciously and breathlessly continues with Corrina, Corrina, Honey Hush, Shake, Rattle and Roll, Roll Em’ Pete. For the encore Joe is joined by the equally legendary Eddie “Cleanhead” Vincent. Essential!

BRIAN HARMAN

peTe mORTOn

tHefrappin’ andramBlin’ Fellside recordings

English folk bard, Pete Morton combines traditional music with his own 21st Century rap style (talking blues if you prefer) on this, his twelfth album since 1987. The album opens with Farmer’s Boy Frap – ’frap’ being ‘folk -rap’ – the subject being mainly milk and the exploitation of farmers by supermarkets and big businesses. A tumble of contemporary words linked to a traditional, or semi-traditional, theme. Possibly a better example is The Manchester Rambler Frap.

This is very much a political album. Pete sets out his stall on the biographical Journeyman, beginning with the re-nationalisation of the railways, whilst he champions the underdog in Rambling Through Old England, name checking Wat Tyler, George Fox and Titus Salt.

To illustrate Morton has a romantric streak and for some light relief, we have The Love Of You and Bedside Song, on which he shares vocal harmonies with Maggie Boyle. Other players on the cd include John Brindley (fiddle/guitar), Linda Adams (harmony vocals), James Budden (bass/backing vocals) and Morton

JOe lOUIS WAlkeR Hornet’SneSt alligator

GARETH HAYES

himself on guitar and harmonica. If folk is your cup of tea, then this is thoroughly recommended. CLIVE RAWLINGS

mITch lAddIe BAnd liVeinconcert mystic records

Perhaps it speaks volumes for the austere times we are passing through that the stripped-back, basic power trio is such a perennial force to be reckoned with. Well, here’s another example, all the way from Tyneside. When your ability is lauded by such a name as Blues behemoth Walter Trout, you’re off to a good start, so guitar virtuoso Mitch Laddie, who signed his first record deal at the tender age of 17, has been playing the blues with elevating skill since then on some pretty big stages. For example, the band’s Burning Bridges CD was voted ‘Best Blues Album of 2012’ by Blues & Soul Magazine.

The trio is completed by drummer Matt Connor and bassist Rhian Wilkinson, and they provide solid underpinning for Mitch’s fine vocals and inspired guitar paying. 12 live tracks, all recorded at the Cluny, in their home town of Newcastle. You can feel Mitch’s many inspirations on tracks such as So Excited, Inner City Blues and the truly uplifting, soaring Mr. Johnson Revisited.

The latter has some really fine moments,I even heard a bit of Jeff Beck in there, and it remains the stand-out on the album; a piece of peaceful, calm virtuosity. So we can thanks the likes of Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince and The Police for providing the beacons which lead to the formation of an act like the Mitch Laddie Band and their unique and modern take on soulful, guitar driven music.

It all sounds like one of those gigs you would have loved to be at, so let’s be thankful for this fine recording.

ROY BAINTON

eddIe cOTTOn Hereicome DeChamp

Album number three from Mississippi bluesman, Eddie Cotton Jr., and it’s an absolute firecracker. If you’re looking for an easy comparison, and who isn’t, it’s as if BB King had been rejuvenated in voice and style for the 21st century. The whole album is full of sprightly vim and vigour, with the vocals and guitars of Mr Cotton ably assisted by Myron Bennett on bass and Samuel Scott, Jr. on drums, who show us just what a rhythm section is supposed to sound like. If it’s his guitar work that grabs you first, the arrival of a slow blues in the shape of A Woman’s Love gives full rein to his expressive voice as he goes all Hi soul on you. Elsewhere, it’s the jumping Pay To Play and the closing out and out Chicago blues of Berry So Black that grab you by the horns. But the top honour has to go to the big ballad Friend to the End, which not only features his best vocal, but comes replete with some sweet added Hammond organ. He can turn his hand to blues, soul, gospel and funk with equal aplomb, so you’d be doing yourself a mighty favour by checking this one out.

STUART A HAMILTON

ROBIn TROWeR

compendium 1987-2013 repertoire

Robin Trower doesn’t make bad albums, so even those of you who haven’t leant an ear since his remarkable James Dewar enhanced seventies output will find that not an awful lot has changed in his world in the intervening decades. This double CD set is made up of 35 tracks taken from 11 albums on assorted labels, going right back to his first post Chrysalis Records release, 1987’s Passion, and comes right up to date with a couple of numbers from last years’ excellent Roots And Branches. The

good news is that means there’s room for a few Davey Pattinson sung tunes, which is always welcome round my way. The bad side? Well there isn’t one really. It’s two CDs for about a tenner of excellent blues into rock. I’m pleased there’s room for a selection of numbers from his Pattinson reunion album, The Playful Heart, which was rather overlooked when it come out at the start of the decade, and even if there are a couple of nineties tunes which were lacking in inspiration, his instrumental prowess always makes up for it. If you’ve not kept up to date with his work over the last couple of decades, then this is an excellent place to start.

STUART A HAMILTON

JJ ThAmeS

tellyou WHatiknoW DeChamp records

Pour yourself your favorite drink, sit back, turn off the lights, relax and be swept away by this tremendous CD. JJ Thames has a voice that can move mountains and then some. Ranging from the almost Gospel joy of the opening track, Souled Out, an original song where she is backed by an almost heavenly choir and no instrumentation, to the funk and strut of another original song, the Koko Taylor sounding Hey You. Or the smoldering innuendo of I Got What You Need to the soulful pleading voice in the ballad, My Kinda Man, this lady has it all. The voice evokes it all; the sexy, strutting powerful woman that holds men in their thrall, and the Diva that preens and swoons then discards them just as easily, JJ is that kind of girl. On first listening I was blown away, both with her voice and the quality of songwriting and performance. There are few covers here, although Ray Charles’ I Believe is performed to perfection, with some sweet ivory tinkling behind the vocal. The majority of songs are either originals or she has had an involvement with writing them. With a

AlBeRT cASTIglIA

Perhaps better known for his work backing Junior Wells, this is the Cuban/Italian /New York born’s first cd on a major label. What a cracker it is too! Opener Triflin’ is pure Texas style blues, clever drums from Bob Amsel, behind Castiglia’s forceful voice. The mood switches to Rock’n’Roll for Keep You Around Too Long, complete with rolling guitar breaks and special mention to Dave Gross on double bass. Searching The Desert For The Blues is pure New York funk, once again topped off by a superb guitar solo. Continuing the tradition of blues legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Put Some Stank On I t is kick-ass reeling and rocking, guest Debbie Davies on guitar and vocals. Love One Another recalls Curtis Mayfield with its subtle funk and conciliatory theme. Hard Time is country blues complete with resonator and again with Gross’s double bass. It had to happen, I suppose, Castiglia calls on his Latin lineage for the instrumental Little Havana Blues (Arroz Con Mango), displaying, yet again, the versatility and dexterity that abounds through the whole album. Closer Just Like Jesus consists of just acoustic guitar and voice, a resignation to bad luck. With the majority of the album being self-compositions, two notable covers being the Jagger/Richard’s Sway and the standard Going Down Slow, this is a good effort well worth investigating.

CLIVE RAWLINGS

strong solid band behind her, notably Sam Brady on keyboards (he is also the producer) and Celeb Armstrong on guitar, her music punches where necessary, but also shows its beauty and gracefulness when required.

Grady Champion guests on harmonica and is also the Executive Producer and the owner of this new record label, Dechamp Records, which is dedicated to bringing Mississippi artists to the public’s attention. It would be very difficult here to pick any favorite song, such is the overall quality of her songs and performance. Suffice to say this has to be one of the finest albums from a female artist I’ve heard in a long while.

MERV OSBORNE

VARIOUS ARTISTS

cHicago Hitfactory, tHe Vee-Jay Story

Charly

This amazing and heavy box set of ten, yes ten CDs!, covers a huge 269 tracks, including 112 hits, with over

120 different artists, a 72-page, memorabilia-laden, perfect bound booklet with a detailed history of the Vee-Jay family of labels and their artists, together with loads of photos. It celebrates sixty years since the launch of one of the most successful independent record labels in US Popular music. Vee-Jay was running with Blues, R’n’B, Doo Wop and Gospel hit records before there was a Motown label and so was really the first black and family-owned record label and was based in Chicago (as the title tells us) and they made a huge impact on the music scene. VeeJay opened their doors in 1953 and ran almost un-challenged to 1966 when they failed spectacularly under debts. They had swept all before them and laid the rails for many to come. Included in this ten CD set tracing their history from the very first hit, Baby It’s You by The Spaniels, through to Jerry Butler’s For Your Precious Love, their very last chart record in early 1966. It is not possible to include every chart record that Vee-Jay had in their ranks, nor (apparently) for contractual reasons

was it possible for them to include more than a couple of tracks from The Four Seasons, The Beatles, and any other licensed-in UK hits which they had famously to their name. Regardless, these ten discs present an enjoyable audio history of the Vee-Jay family. As well as the ‘parent’ label tracks there were also the Falcon, Abner, Tollie and Interphon subsidiary labels which included a plethora of fascinating releases that didn’t quite make it. You’ll need a l-o-n-g holiday to take these ten discs on board but well worth it.

FRANK LEIGH

eRJA lyyTInen

tHeSkyiScrying tuohi records

Tributes to American blues legends are risky especially when attempts are made to stick to the original versions of songs. Omar Dykes succeeded vocally with his heartfelt Howlin’ Wolf tribute, and Rory Block’s homage to Mississippi John Hurt was brilliant because she is an established authority on country blues worldwide and has a deep empathy with this genre. Erja is another worthy entry into this category as she gets as close as anyone could do to the funky, fiery and textured sound epitomised by Elmore James and his trademark crying slide guitar. The opening track, Person To Person sets the scene by conveying the Mississippi bluesman’s essential message about the centrality of human communication. Erja’s Contribution To Jazz is a superb instrumental which does exactly what the title says whilst Got To Move with its evocative arrangement, haunting solos and melodic, fluid vocals is a performance of pure genius. The eponymous track will have fans of James, and indeed all blues lovers, in tears such is the raw emotion and drama conveyed by Lyytinen as she reaches an anguished crescendo both vocally and on guitar. But above all, this is a joyous album, typified by the upbeat celebration of The King Of

The Slide Guitar. The studio recording is excellent with every note of each instrument crystal clear, the impressive brass section particularly prominent. The live version of Dust My Broom is a tour de force which showcases Lyytinen’s considerable vocal range, beautiful toning and versatile guitar skills. With The Sky Is Crying, Erja has seemingly achieved the impossible by both sounding like Elmore as he played in the 1950s whilst adding her unique flair and 21st century vista. THE

SplIT WhISkeRS moneyain’teVerytHing

magic records

Usually the brunt of cruel jokes on The Simpsons, Canada, far from being ‘America’s apprentice’ can face up to Uncle Sam any day when it comes to music. There’s been some great blues acts north of the St. Lawrence. Back in the 80s we had Powder Blues, more recently the fiery drive of the Paul Reddick Review, and here’s another example, the Smoke Wagon Blues Band. They’re a skilled 6-piece benefitting from the strong combination of Godron Aechele and Corey Lueck’s saxes and Nick Succi’s fine organ and piano. Of equal musical stature, completing the line-up are Mike Stubbs on guitar, Tibor Lukacs on drums and bassman Jason Colavecchia. This 14 track live set, recorded at Stonewall’s Music Hall, Hamilton, provides amble evidence of a damn good night out. Kicking off with a moody rendition of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone, we get our rocks off in some really fine blues such as the smouldering Josephine, Fine Furred Mama, the exhilarating Barton Street Boogie and all topped off with Muddy’s classic Blow Wind Blow. So, Homer, Bart and Mr. Burns, no more jokes about Canada, or we’ll send the Smoke Wagon round to put you straight.

ROY BAINTON

I had heard a previous album, Breakfast in Denmark, a very good live recording and predominantly Chicago blues style, featuring all covers. This new studio album moves away from that, with five of 12 tracks penned by frontman Gilby ‘Fat Slim’ Fletcher. Sometimes steering towards Little Charlie & the Nightcats, then getting a bit of barrelhouse piano, a bit of funk, swamp and even Albert and BB King. But it all hangs together very nicely, leaving you with a relaxed, foot tapping, head nodding experience. Kicking off with Little Did She Know, nice harp led intro to the album featuring snappy vocals. She Loves My Automobile, (originally ZZ Top), nicely underscored by Matt Wilshaw’s Hammond throughout. Another original, Bee Sting, (personal fave!) featuring some great Delta style resonator licks by Johnny ‘Magic Boy’ Wright and lovely piano work while Matt Gilby’s very fine vocals offer heartfelt punctuation throughout. Claudia McKenzie takes centre stage with vocals and bass on the Stones classic Spider & The Fly.

Taking a very laid back approach to the number, mainly piano and vocals throughout but with breaks for harp, piano and thoughtful electric guitar solo. Money Ain’t Everything, showcases the true talent of the band, featuring some cracking solos – harp and vocals from Gilby, and great barrelhouse piano from Matt mixed with Johnny’s superb guitar make for a great original. I’ll Play The Blues For You is a fantastic presentation of the Albert King classic. Two more great originals by Gilby, Never Made The Call and Big Brother. These refer respectively to procrastination and the Panopticon society in which we live (his words not mine)!

The lyrics throughout the album are often thought provoking and

well written. Guest Sue Marchant joins for the Lavern Baker classic, Soul On Fire. Another pleasant change in style, with solid backing by Tony Hill on drums and Matt on Hammond. The penultimate track, covering BB King’s Waiting On You features blistering slide guitar from guest Pete Towers, leading to the finale, a smouldering version of the all time great Catfish by Robert Petway, guitar and harp playing off each other leading into a Hammond solo. All in all a really great listen with plenty in there to appeal to all tastes. Available from www.magicrecords. bigcartel.com Recommended.

STEVE SWALES

lAURence JOneS

Laurence Jones is a young man on the way up. Last seen touring with Walter Trout, Thomas Ruf whisked him away to Dockside Studio in Lafayette, Louisiana and under the production eyes of Mike Zito, this is the result. It gets better, as three of Royal Southern Brotherhood, drummer Yonrico Scott, bassist Charlie Wooton and Zito himself on acoustic guitar/ piano all appear as the studio band. The aforementioned Walter Trout appears on the title track and fellow Brit Aynsley Lister, pops up Wind Me Up. None of which detracts from the undoubted talent Jones possesses. The power trio, love it or hate it, is the modern way of doing things. The energy of Taste at their best comes across on opener Fooling Me, whereas the thundering Tomorrow Is Another Day and My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble could have been Cream out-takes. Credit goes to Johnny Sansone for harp on the former. The slow blues of Bad, Bad Dream with its agile bass fills and Fall From The Sky, will have old blues heads nodding in appreciation, another good example of a three piece performance. There’s a tasteful

Blues Top 50 april 2014

acoustic interlude, as Jones displays how his blues voice is developing into a good instrument over the bottleneck of Whisper In The Wind and the brooding shuffle of Southern Breeze. This cd reminds me very much of a certain New York/Italian when he started out, sounds excellent from the first listen.

CLIVE RAWLINGS

VARIOUS ARTISTS

cHicago Bound-cHeSSBlueS, r&B androck’n’roll

Fantastic Voyage

The evocative vocals of Howlin Wolf Moanin’ At Midnight begins a musical journey through the precious legacy of the legendary Chess label, encompassing all the musical styles; Blues, R’n’B and Rock’n’Roll, including numbers from associated labels; Aristocrat, Argo and Checker.

The noted musical connoisseur Lois Wilson has selected no less than eighty-six numbers covering the labels fourteen year life from nineteen forty-eight to nineteen sixtytwo, which gives you just under four hours of unadulterated hip-swinging, carpet sliding, toe-tapping joy on three discs. The sound is warm, wonderfully clear, crisp and enticing, welcoming you in, from wherever you start from.

Apart from the more well-known artists we can also hear from lesser played artists who nonetheless are musical wonders in their own right such as; Willie Mabon, whose swinging horns and piano casually saunter forth on the shoulder shuffling The Seventh Son, whereas Betty James pleasingly strong, confident vocals explains over an enticing down home guitar and clacking drum work that I’m A Little Mixed Up. The jaunty piano and harmonica rolling Biscuit Baking Momma, from Dr. Ross is as fresh and new sounding as it was back then. The strains of Bobby Saxton’s vocals on Trying to Make A Living, mix splendidly with a striking guitar

The FlUFFy JAckeTS

Take various assorted English musicians, a Spanish born former Scotland based guitarist now resident in Texas, an Edinburgh born bassist, an American drummer, a Swedish singer and front the lot with a Norwegian singer/guitarist and you end up with this rather tasty outfit. The band has been put together by Helge Rognstad pulling in some of his favourite players to help out on some tracks. The results are at the very least interesting and in some cases very successful indeed. Recording was split between London, Fort Worth and Sun Studios in Memphis with those cuts from the latter faring, for me, rather better. Helge’s vocals at times are heavily accented for sure but they are engaging and when he rocks out he rocks.

Six Strings And A Hope sets the album in motion semi acoustically before moving on to the solid rock of Why Don’t You Smile. With Robert Hall from Jerry Lee Lewis’s band on drums, Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Elevator, Black Sabbath etc) on bass and Manny Charlton (Nazareth) on guitar this has a wonderful heavy dark Bluesy feel to it. MC shows that he has lost none of his deft fret board skills turning in a terrific solo that you never want to end.

Skipping forward first to the cover of Mean Ol’ Frisco with it’s raw overall sound coupled with excellent harp from West Weston we arrive at Travelling Shoes and Your Way both vocalised by Emil Gammeltoft. He growls his way through them driven along by the power trio of Hall, Murray & Charlton. Mr Guthrie’s Vigilante Man and a new song Can’t Stop The Rain draw things to a close in true Blues fashion. With excellent production values this is a very fine effort from all involved.

GRAEME SCOTT

accompaniment and stridently rolling piano. The memorable vocal shouter that is Arbee Stidam, almost talks his way through Mr Commissioner, which is a highly enjoyable Jazz tinged guitar and honking saxophone led rocking swinger.

Blue Smitty provides a wonderfully low key, bass driven shuffler in Date Bait, splendid. Legendary and famous artists such as; Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Little Walter, Jimmy Rodgers, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, John Lee Hooker, Etta James and Sugar Pie Desanto, all make frequent appearances. If, you manage to pace yourself and listen to all of the session in one go, you will be more than pleased to sit down and appreciate the last number, Willie Dixon’s appropriately titled Walking The Blues. Simply Essential!

BRIAN HARMAN

SUgAR BOy And The SInneRS

allyoucaneat!

sinners records

There has always been a strong blues scene in Holland with their best known bands being veterans Cuby & The Blizzards, Livin’ Blues and John The Revelator. Here we have one of the younger bands who were winners of the 2012 Dutch Blues Challenge with their excellent debut album of modern blues/rock. Opener Third Round Of Gin is an energetic blues/rocker featuring a lively guitar solo from Ronnie Guerin and fierce distorted harmonica and sneering vocals from frontman Boy Vielvoye. Yes I Know intro’s with a funky drum beat from Frankie

Albums reviews

Duindam and loping double bass from Vinnie Guerin before Vielvoye’s rough edged vocals tell a tale of infidelity and treachery. It Won’t Be Long is an out and out rocker which sounds like the Fabulous Thunderbirds in full flight. The material is all original but in truth there is nothing here that is new or ground-breaking but the youthful energy and raw enthusiasm of these guys makes it sound fresh and invigorating. The album was recorded ‘live in the studio’ in two days with minimum overdubs and that contributes to the authentic feel of the music. Bad Habits is a funky blues/ rocker and Stop The Fussin’ swings mightily with Vielvoye playing with a lighter touch on harmonica. The slow blues She Tricked Me features nice chiming guitar work from Ronnie Guerin and Split Second is a fast and furious jump blues. The perennial theme of money troubles is explored with the steady walking beat of If I Had Money which is followed by Till We Drop an up-tempo Slim Harpo style workout based on the oft covered Hip Shake with Boy Vielvoye showing off his harmonica chops. The album closes with the slinky, familiar sounding Jimmy Reed rip Who’s Hurtin’. I hope Sugar Boy and The Sinners make it to the UK because I enjoyed this one and would love to see them live.

DAVE DRURY

The FABUlOUS ThUndeRBIRdS girlSgo Wild repertoire

Today’s blues starts here! Well, that may be an exaggeration, but not too much of one. Jimmy Vaughan, Kim Wilson, Mike Buck and Keith Ferguson had been playing together for around four years as house-band at Antone’s now legendary club in Austin, Texas, when they released this, their debut album. At that time disco and punk-rock ruled the roost, and the blues was regarded as terminally unhip – music for aging

rockers and a vehicle for lengthy and ultimately boring solos. The T-Birds changed that – they were young, they were self-assured, and as the notes state they changed “the way musicians played, dressed, stood, combed their hair”.

This album, originally released by Takoma Records is now an acknowledged classic. Recorded in Dallas in May 1979, it sounds very different from the standard Chicago based fare most revival bands were purveying at the time. The songs are short and punchy (many clocking in at under three minutes), the playing fresh and full of energy but undoubtedly accomplished, and the borrowings coming from Slim Harpo, Lil’ Millet, Little Frankie Lee, Mercy Baby and Jerry McCain – who were, with the exception of Harpo, pretty obscure names at the time. ‘No frills party music’, as Michael Heatley’s notes call it, was very much the order of the day; the band’s cover of McCain’s She’s Tuff was even released as a single here in the UK in January 1980. The original playing time is fleshed out for this reissue with previously issued live tracks from the late 70s and three from the band’s first UK tour, plus a Washington DC recording of Wait On Time that has not previously appeared in Europe releases. Pretty much essential if you want to understand how today’s blues came about, or just want some wonderful music!

NORMAN DARWEN

The FABUlOUS ThUndeRBIRdS

tHe Badand BeStof… repertoire

Michael Heatley makes the point in his notes that although The Fabulous Thunderbirds are still worth seeing these days (despite numerous personnel changes), it is the band’s first five albums that really established them as a major force and those are still the ones to listen to. Now, rather coincidentally, this 27

track compilation draws on those same five albums – from Girls Go Wild to the aptly named Powerful Stuff – for its source material, but Michael is indeed right. Covering the key songs from the decade from 1979 onwards, this set shows just why the T-Birds were, and still are, so good. This is indeed a pretty powerful set, even the few slow tempo numbers have a lilt, or kick, to them, but most tracks are mid or up tempo and rocking, catchy, energetic, memorable and to the point.

The music of Texas and Louisiana is a prime influence – there is an attractive zydeco feel occasionally, as exemplified best by the cover of Rockin’ Sidney’s You Ain’t Nothin But Fine. Cookie & The Cupcakes are the source for the wonderful swamp-pop of Mathilda, and producer Jay Miller’s swamp blues sound supplies Lazy Lester’s Sugar-Coated Love. Tracks like My Babe (not the Little Walter/ Willie Dixon track) and Magic Sam’s Look Whatcha Done prove this band is one of the originators of the current modern Texas blues approach, and there are just a couple of numbers that lean more towards the soul side of the music – try their version of Bobby Patterson’s How Do You Spell Love and Wrap It Up. Whatever style of blues they turn their talents to though, The Fabulous Thunderbirds are always worth a listen, and this set makes for a fine introduction. Only problem is, buy this, listen to it and you’ll probably want the original five albums...

NORMAN DARWEN

WHat’StHe

A triple delight of albums for all fans of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, these re-released albums span 1980-1982 and they all have bonus tracks that were recorded in 1996. his is feel good blues, with a real rock and roll

Here’s a record that you won’t want to stop playing, and is it ever value for money? There are 14 tracks and it runs out at over 70 minutes of top class Blues, played and performed superbly The first seven tracks are standard Blues Rock fare with a nice selection of guitar styles and anyone of them would be a good track to listen to in order to get the feel of the band, and then just as you think that you have got their measure, you are hit with track eight entitled You Gotta Change I nearly fell off of my chair when this one started, as I could have easily have believed that this was an unreleased Gary Moore record, the guitar, the licks, the voice, the feel, everything about it screamed Gary. I listened to the next tracks, picking out the Gary influences and then on track 12 Travellin’ Man it was like going back to the early twenties Blues recordings with a resonator guitar and vocals coming through a megaphone, different but good. Then to cap the whole thing off, it finishes with a nine minute opus Drowning In My Tears which is the closest that you will get to a reincarnation of Gary Moore, everything was just so right, the voice, the licks the feel. It might sound stupid, but I was almost in tears at the end of it, it was really that powerful, Rock on Mick!

DAVE STONE

dancing feel, that makes you want to either drive around in a open-top enjoying the vibe and rhythm or get on the dance floor and dance the night away with Jimmy Vaughan (guitar), Kim Wilson (Vocals and Harmonica), Keith Ferguson(Bass) and Fran Christina (drums/backing vocals). The band is a tight unit that delivers track after track of musical delight, for me bringing back so many memories of great tracks including Give Me All Your Lovin (Butt Rockin’ ); Fantastic version Runnin’ Shoes (What’s The Word ) and Poor Boy (T-Bird Rhythm).

The covers are original looking almost as good on the CD’s as they did on the original vinyl, my favourite has to be T-Bird Rhythm, the car just epitomises the sound, feel and atmosphere of The Fabulous Thunderbirds. The sound they create is a combination of talent that is woven so that the weft and the warp produces a strong sound that is instantly recognisably as shown on Gotta Have Some/Just Got Some; Kim’s vocals are mellow full of moody emotion of expectations enhanced by his harmonica then combined with

that special guitar talent that is Jimmy Vaughan and underneath this top lines of delight is the driving rhythm section of Keith and Fran. The bonus tracks continue the Thunderbird sound with a slightly more rocky, heavier approach reflecting the change in musicians but Kim’s voice is still the dominant force that creates that instantly recognisably sound. All three albums are superb buy all of them if you have to pick toss a coin but for me if push came to shove it would be T-Bird Rhythm why it is the T-bird on the cover so evocative of the time this music expresses in every beat through great musicianship.

LIZ AIKEN

The FABUlOUS ThUndeRBIRdS

tuffenuff, HotnumBer& rolloftHedice

Floating World records

This 2013 release comprising two CD’s covering three separate albums, couples Tuff Enuff from 1986 with Hot Number from 1987

on one CD, and Roll Of The Dice from 1995 on the second. The band had toured in the early 80’s as support to the Dave Edmunds/Nick Lowe band called Rockpile and it was through this avenue that they conspired to have Edmunds as producer of the first two of the three albums presented here. Originally a rough sounding, hard working band, Edmunds gave their sound a polish that was completely different from anything they had done before, but which did not compromise the core values of their hard hitting sound. The result was a success and sold over a million copies in the US. Opening with the title track, Tuff Enuff is a hard hitting Kim Wilson song drenched with echo over vocals and guitar.

Tell Me is an old Cajun song complete with a punchy bass and Vaughan’s staccato style rhythm. Edmunds also dipped into the Southern Soul sound with an Isaac Hayes/David Porter song, Wrap It Up. Formerly a Sam & Dave B side, it encapsulates the strength of the Thunderbirds, a good song, great vocals and superb musicianship throughout. In contrast, Hot Number, again with Edmunds in the production chair, starts well with the Kim Wilson written Stand Back. This is unadulterated soul complete with the Memphis Horns and Love In Common is pure Texan swing. However from there things go downhill and the album disintegrates into a Soul groove with little to recommend it.

On the other hand, Roll Of The Dice, with Jimmie Vaughan replaced by Duke Robillard and Kid Bangham and with Kim Wilson firmly in the leaders chair, the band is back on track. The production is much harder and focused giving the band it’s harder rocking edge again. The title track highlights Wilson’s voice and harmonica, two essential ingredients to their sound. Too Many Irons In The Fire is a great southern rocking song that further displays what a great band this is. Finally their soulful

lISA lIm BAnd

This 2013 release by the girl noted as a cross between Sheryl Crow and Joe Bonamassa is indeed a notable disc of twelve entertaining and varied tracks that showcase her writing and playing skills. If you enjoy those previously mentioned you will enjoy Lisa, she vies between strong rocking blues sounds to great ballads of emotion (Our River, dedicated to the memory of her paternal grandparents and her parents). Enter track one, ooh, ooooh and striding chords of Superstitious Mind with funk and harmony, at 3.26 a great opener. Broken Promise Blues thumps along in a deep groove and is well filled out by the Hammond of Thomas Johansen. You can just feel the crowd in co-ordinated rocking moshing mode to Perfect Fit before catching breath with Denial that ‘smoothes’ along. I loved Please, Please Don’t Go easy going, neat Hammond and a pleading lyric that all fits so well. I Got You is lighter and has a warm and happy feel that makes me smile, lovely stuff Lisa. The tracks run well and we have Letter, a song about letting go and soul shedding then we approach the end with Let Go that winds up some before the final Manic Energy with fuzzed wah guitar intro to some chunky riffing with the bass and drums of Andreas Holmstrom and Scott Rabino bouncing along so well with Hammond and Lisa talking through the bridge and a satisfying way to end this very well worked CD.

version of the Them classic, Here Comes The Night is a joy to listen to.

MERV OSBORNE

TOmmy cASTRO And The pAIn kIlleRS

tHedeVilyouknoW

alligator

Approaching sixty years old, Tommy Castro continues his American blues guitar slinging that he has honed over the last two decades under the influence of his peers and heroes Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Elmore James. Whilst the Pain Killers (Randy McDonald, Byron Cage, James Pace) form the crux of the sound with Castro at the helm, this album is marked up the league table because of the guest stars signed up to do a turn. Marcia Ball tickles the boogie ivories on Mojo Hannah and adds combative vocals too, while Tab Benoit delivers signature guitar licks on When I Cross The Mississippi. All very good so far we

expect nothing more from such institutional alumni. Castro plays a trump card by inviting new-bloods to play too. Joe Bonamassa is ferocious on the guitar rapture track on Chris Youlden’s I’m Tired; we’re hooked. Curiously only contributing vocals, and not guitar, Samantha Fish hollers vocals for Medicine Woman and The Holmes Brothers sing in support of railroad blues iconography on the rock and rough Two Steps Forward. Another nine guests give cameos and it is fun picking them out without cheating by reading the sleeve notes. This is a real treat.

GARETH HAYES

cAlIFORnIA BReed

california Breed

Frontier records

This is a fantastic album by a fantastic band. For the uninitiated, this is the new project of Glenn Hughes and Jason Bonham. Forget anything that has gone before, this contains

some of their best work yet and they have found a new kid on the block in guitarist Andrew Watt. The 23 year old New Yorker, plucked from obscurity, sounds like he was raised on Page, Ronson or Bolan. He is no shredder, more of a riff man than a soloist, but the solos he does burn for that reason. There is nothing here to connect with the deceased Black Country Communion, this is a fresh, new beast. Dave Cobb (Rival Sons) produces and a fine job he’s done. Opener The Way is rock the way it should be, crashing drums, heavy bass groove and guitars that bite hard and don’t stop.

A big beat and swaggering guitar announces the arrival of Sweet Tea where Hughes breaks out a little funk before a melodic prechorus dives in before some cool, effective guitar kicks in, Watt does his first solo, showing why he’s an integral part of this project. Chemical Rain has both a Zeppelin-esque quality and groove. Hughes excels vocally and if you’re hungry for a bit of Hard Rock this is it. Midnight Oil is the first single and a great example of the modern feel of the band. A first for me was girl singers backing Hughes, but it works well. Watt chips in with some elastic fret work, including two amazing solos. Bonham shows he’s no slouch, either. All Falls Down brings things down a notch or two. Hughes takes it from a whisper to a bellowing chorus, a little reminiscent of early Journey.

As the album progresses, it gets more experimental, so much so that it makes you wonder how far this band can go. ‘Strong’ starts with a strummed acoustic, creating an atmosphere that allows the band to explore and shine. On the other hand ‘Invisible’ is a beast of a song, complete with mystic vibe and incredible sound, including earthy guitar and immense drums. Scars is a foot stomper, born of the blues, with a hair-raising raw vocal and, again, great guitar work. More acoustic accompanies Hughes on the intro to closer Breathe, a fitting way to close proceedings, building,

FRANK LEIGH

as it does, to a crescendo, before the acoustic outro. California Breed is going to be difficult to beat when the 2014 ‘top tens’ come round, rock is back, long live Rock ‘n’ Roll.

CLIVE RAWLINGS

ROck cAndy FUnk pARTy TAkeS neW yORk

liVe at tHeiridium Provogue

Not only does Joe Bonamassa play the blues but, he also likes to immerse himself in the world of Jazz Funk, some time ago he, together with Tal Bergman; drums, created The Rock Candy Funk Party who now include; Ron DeJesus: guitar, Renato Neto: keyboards, Mike Merritt: bass and Daniel Sadovnick on percussion.

They previously released an album entitled We Want Groove and most of the material found on that album is featured on this live double CD and DVD set. The cream of their performances, given over three nights in June two thousand and thirteen at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York make up the bulk of the set, which encompasses ten numbers lasting over a hundred minutes or so. Also, there is a documentary feature that contains interviews with each of the band and a brief explanation by Tal Bergman regarding the genesis of R.C.F.P. which lasts for twenty five minutes.

The darkly lit and welcomingly intimate surroundings of the Iridium club make for a relaxed attitude and possibly an equally casual approach by the band to the proceedings but, this belies their actual fervour and intensity towards their musical performances. The ego-free interaction and weaving between the musicians determines that whoever takes a lead or solo is by mutual consent, as the set is lovingly nurtured along. New York Song, emits a wonderful wafting, bubbling mellow feeling that leaves the senses so laidback as to be almost

horizontal. Whereas, the dynamic Spaztastic, releases a surging, pulsing ever intense combination of keyboards and guitars that segues into a ferocious metronomic drum and percussion assault that ensures a volcanic end to the number. The very apt title The Best Ten Minutes of your Life, dreamily wafts along like sea fog skimming leisurely over a becalmed, still and lifeless ocean. If, you have a taste for live Jazz, Funk and Fusion or, if you are simply curious, then this is the album for you.

BRIAN HARMAN

TAmIkReST

This is the third album from the Tuareg trance merchants and probably their best yet. The band are developing and growing in stature and confidence and all they have learned is here in glorious widescreen sound. They have a sense of purpose and a wonderful freedom of spirit that comes through in their music but this release seems to have everything turned up a notch and the result is almost like a brighter light on their music exposing details that make the whole image more vivid and dynamic.

All of the Tamikrest trademarks are here: the vocal rills and the heavy and purposeful beats but the band have the addition of Tinariwen’s Wonou Walet Sidati singing alongside Ousmane Ag Moussa and she adds a level of stridency and sharpness that works brilliantly. Elsewhere the brooding, almost whispered, vocals that characterized Adagh and Toumastin are clearly in evidence and the lead guitar work from Ousmane has touches of Roy Buchanan’s clarity and echoing loneliness.

The title of the album means ‘Sisters’ and the band have dedicated the album to the strength and courage of the Tuareg women through the recent trouble on Mali and throughout the bands trek

away from the refugee camps of Libya and there is a sinuous and almost feminine element to the rhythms and beats while the chants that have always been part of the Tamikrest sound stand prouder and more confident than ever. As an unabashed fan of the band I came to this album expecting the music somehow to have been diluted by their experiences and the collaborations with the likes of Dirtmusic but they have moved the music on in a way that real defines them as a band in their own right. Hypnotic, stirring and a joy to listen to, the band can do no wrong.

ANDY SNIPPER

Rg BAnd

rigHtnoW rg band

It is always amazing how far the spirit of blues reaches around the globe. We already know how much it’s played in Germany and Eastern Europe, and here’s a fine Italian quartet with impeccable credentials. They are led by vocalist and superb harp player Riccardo Grosso, a friend to his mentor Charlie Musselwhite. Grosso is no stranger to New Orleans, and moved to California, where he’s enjoyed much respect in blues circles.

The RG Band also includes a very Stax-sounding guitarist, Stefano Pagotto, solid bassman Massimo Fantinelli and drummer Marco Manassero, whose influences, from Jazz, fink to Delta Blues are plain to hear. Massimo Fantinelli has rubbed musical shoulders with the likes of Robben Ford, Joe Cocker and toured with Paul Jones, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Alexis Korner as well as being an opening act for John Mayall several times. There’s a heady mix of musical styles here. Tracks such as The Tiki Bar is Open, with its Neapolitan-edged vocal styling gives you a flavour of what a good live act they’ll be. There’s ten tracks here,

Albums reviews

originals, and throughout Ricardo’s fine harmonica grabs you, especially on High Water. As he sings, ‘people are coming together, playing the blues’. Well, this is one aspect of the EEC I’m well behind. Bellisimo, gentlemen. (Apologies for my poor Italian, congratulations on your fine English!)

ROY BAINTON

TAngled eye

dream Wall black and tan records

Well what a combination, this is a three piece band comprising of one great lead American female singer Dede Priest who is best known for being a solo singer in her own right, she has hooked up with another two talented Dutch musicians on this very eclectic mix of musical genres bringing in rootsy bluesy Americana influences making this a quite splendid debut. Assisted by bass player and drummer, Jasper Mortier who has played session musician for the likes of Eddie Clearwater and January Mittendorp on guitars, this is a very talented trio with a great sound who are gaining notoriety on the European blues festival circuit.

From the starting number Nilas with the band harmonising instruments with underlying haunting violin playing in the background by Ms Priest who also adds to the ethereal mix with her rasping voice this makes for interesting listening, a definite grower of a release with twists and turns of music styles. In between there is a bit heavier emphasis to the overall vibe. Some songs like Come On Down with its’ catchy riff clash with the tone of gutsy vocals. The funky beat to I Been Thinking and jazzy vocals of Ghetto Pocket are very listenable and will certainly appeal to anyone who appreciates great music. With their unique blend and subtle tones, this is certainly a release of the finest calibre sit back and enjoy.

COLIN CAMPBELL

TOBy WAlkeR

WHatyou SeeiSWHatyouget

What You See Is What You Get is the

latest album from US East Coast bluesman, Toby Walker. Sixteen tracks, recorded without overdubs or second-takes, it is little short of a tour de force of solo blues picking and skillful, sweet guitar work. Featuring only Walker on a range of different guitars, the material ranges from old blues standards like Baby, Please Don’t Go, Statesboro Blues and Good Morning Little Schoolgirl to new, self-penned pieces, including the jaw-dropping virtuoso brilliance of Swing Bean and a great Blind Blake inspired instrumental, Putting On The Blakes Walker seldom disappoints and in recent years his output has only got better and better. His gutsy vocals hold-up well on this CD, which also includes a slick version of the old Mississippi John Hurt standard, Got The Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied. His playing encompasses a wide variety of styles from blues, ragtime, country and rock to jazz and even bluegrass. His versatility is widely admired internationally with Hot Tuna frontman and former Jefferson Airplane guitarist, Jorma Kaukonen, a noted fan. I’ve been listening to Walker now for about ten years or so and WYSIWYG is easily his best offering to date. It’s accomplished, well produced and engineered and the material is top quality.

IAN PATIENCE

The JIgAnTIcS daiSyrootS rawtone

The Jigantics are the combination of Marion Fleetwood and Martin Fitzgibbon from Colvin Quarmby and Rick Edwards, Mark Cole and Lynton Webb from the Sons of The Delta; together they create a warm and very inviting atmosphere, blending the natural elements of

Blues, Folk, Roots and Hill Country music. Between them they produce stunningly evocative and emotive music that melds with rapturously captivating and stirring harmonies from a plethora of instruments such as; slide, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin mandola, banjo, harmonica, violin, viola, fiddle, cello, drums and percussion. The eleven numbers found here on this debut album are a mixture of covers and originals, starting with the sweetly stirring Cajun influenced Loudon Wainwright III’s Swimming, a gentle accordion swings in a duet with violins and banjo underneath joyous urging vocals.

The stark, bare and almost plaintive soaring cello and acoustic guitar backed vocals of Marion on Jane Siberry’s The Valley, is eloquently arresting, emotionally gripping and most definitely captivating. Tom Waits blue collar coffee shop working mans’ love story Hold On, is wonderfully bleak but yet, inspiring; the sorrowful slide and sensitively compelling percussion underpins an ever hopeful vocal that pleads for a love to be saved. Buddy Miller’s Hole In My Head, lightens the mood with a splendid swinging violin that leads rocking guitar and pounding drums interspersed with a toe-tappin’ harmonica break. The album finishes with Caroline Herring’s Black Mountain Lullaby, a sombre and haunting tale relating to a mother and child tragedy that took place outside Appalachia, Virginia; Marion’s vocals richly emote the inner sadness, melancholy and despair of such a loss; the sensitive and fragile phrasing is met with equal tenderness form the acoustic guitar and deeply moving violin and cello. This is a very, very fine debut. Highly recommended!

BRIAN HARMAN

mARk T SmAll

Smokin’ BlueS lead Foot music

Mark T. Small has been performing music for over forty years, starting out with folk, ragtime and then on into

“newgrass”. Since then he’s delved into the blues and spent a decade or so leading a Chicago-style blues band before heading out as a solo artist. And all of that background shows through on this, his fourth album. His guitar playing is a treat from start to finish, as he covers blues, folk and all points in-between, with trips into songs from the likes of Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, John Lee Hooker, the Reverend Gary Davis, and Charlie Patton. And that’s without mentioning his rather splendid America Medley.

He’s not the best singer you’ll ever hear, but his passion for the music always shines through. It’s almost a pure solo album but he finds space for a couple of guests in the shape of the octogenarian (and still touring) Shor’ty Billups and some sweet harmonica from Walter Woods. Apart from that, it’s just Mr Small, guitar, voice and stomping. He’s not reinventing the wheel, but the songs and style are fast vanishing, so when he fires through tunes like Blind Boy Fuller’s boogiefied Step It Up And Go, Rev. Gary Davis’ Buck Rag and Howlin’ Wolf’s Moanin’ At Midnight, you can’t help but enjoy it. Best of all are Elmore James’ Early In The Mornin’ and the ‘America Medley’, which sees him resurrecting ragtime on America The Beautiful, Take Me Out To The Ballgame and Yankee Doodle Dandy. A great ending to a great record.

STUART A HAMILTON

clARe FRee

ButterflieS

www.clarefree.co.uk

Butterflies shows a different musical tone and texture from Clare Free’s last album Blood and Bones. This is a stripped back intimate singing of songs that mean a lot to Clare with nine self-penned numbers. Many of the titles relate to emotions, people that are important and emotionally attached to Clare, what she has achieved is an album you can

mAlAyA BlUe

BourBon Street

mad ears

Well this is rather nice, if late night jazz tinged blues is your thing. And why shouldn’t it be. After all, only a select few can rock and roll all night and party every day. Seems that Malaya Blue (probably not her real name) started out a child singing gospel music in the church choir. As a grown up, she’s been working as a session vocalist, primarily it seems in the dance field, although she did put in an appearance on blues-rock guitarist Mick Simpson’s album, Cruel World’. However, it seems that this solo album with it’s mellow vibe of blues, jazz, and retro is where she wants to be. It’s an all original set with her very listenable voice skipping effortlessly through some classy songs such as the title track, Bitter Moon, Forgiveness and Cold Light Of Day. Best of all is the revisit to Lady Sings the Blues, a song that in another guise got to number one in the ‘pop jazz radio charts’ (nope, me neither), back in 2013. The accompaniment is never less than top drawer with some excellent guitar from the afore mentioned Mick Simpson making Bourbon Street a very good one indeed.

empathise and relate to this is not a self-indulgent trip around Clare’s issues. The title track is a gentle melody with a twang of country and sends us back to a simpler time of those special personal memories that a song on the radio or CD often brings back to their full technicolour glory there is that mix of happiness tinted with sadness and regret that moments flit by in a moment as beautiful and precious as a butterfly but impossible to hold still in the place. The recording of the CD at home by Clare means that there is a warmth of tone, a relaxed approach to the perfectly timed guitar playing and clear vocals and Clare had control which she admits had been lacking in her life.

The album will bring new audiences and venues for Clare as this is an album of that mix of serenity and the flitting of butterflies across the garden on a sunny day. The strength of the album is its simplicity singer/songwriter and a guitar to express the music in her soul and it works, this is a truly pleasurable album. The raw energy and intensity may be missing but Clare’s commitment to her work shines through and this is no saccharine sweet album, the melodies may be

easy on the ear but the words are steeped in emotion and meaning of situations many of us have found ourselves in with life’s complexities. This is an album where Clare has been set free of doubts and shows herself as an accomplished songwriter and fuses in with the talent of the guitar we already knew, if you already have seen or heard Clare then before putting the album on the deck free your mind of preconceptions this is a new Clare that will cleanse your emotional confusions. Butterflies like the flying beauties is a well-crafted album full of colour and hidden delights.

LIZ AIKEN

dR.

FeelgOOd

liVeatrockpalaSt repertoire

The live German television show Rockpalast is one of rock’s most enduring institutions, a still active show that started in 1974. This appearance by ‘pub rock band, as the by-line has it, Dr. Feelgood was recorded in Berlin on Halloween

STUART A HAMILTON

Albums reviews

1980, and Lee Brilleaux’s wild eyed and aggressive performance on Down To The Doctors does suggest a castle, thunder, lightning, angry villagers and some rather drastic reconstructive surgery might be the order of the day; when he sings “I was doing time for armed robbery” in Riot In Cell Block No.9’ it’s easy to believe him.

The line-up behind Lee at this time, and for the three and a half years prior to this gig, was Gypie Mayo on guitar, working out his notice though the audience was unaware of that, ‘Sparko’ Sparkes on bass and The Big Figure on drums, and with the Nick Lowe produced A Case Of The Shakes the band’s current album, seven of the 18 tracks here are drawn from that album. The band’s trademark gritty rocking, loud but to-the-point blues is strongly in evidence, though Shotgun Blues is an excellent slow number. The band takes a little while to settle. Is it because the audience seems a little unsure initially, only beginning to loosen up with Stupidity, track six. The performance gets better as the set progresses. The classics – Milk And Alcohol, the punky She’s A Wind-Up and Roxette come towards the end of the hour long show that proves just how good the Feelgoods were. For when you feel the need to really blast this stuff out, this release contains a CD of the set in addition to the DVD. Recommended, of course.

NORMAN DARWEN

peTeR mUlVey

SilVerladder

signature sounds

American Peter Mulvey has a very relaxed style and performs in the vein of a folksy acoustic singer/songwriter but there are some subtle rock and blues undertones here, while Peter has been fairly prolific during his career releasing in excess of sixteen albums this is his first release for five years. There is no rustiness though as the twelve tracks on this album

are sublime and just ooze quality, gratitude in part for this is due to producer Chuck Prophet, who has allowed Peter plenty of freedom and brings his husky vocal and guitar playing to the fore. The songs on the album are all short and sharp no better illustrated than the catchy opening track Lies you Forgot you Told, which only plays for just over two minutes but packs plenty of substance and lyrical content, while the supporting musicians stay in the back ground there are some quality musicians here that add to the overall ‘quality’ of this release, on the track Where Did You Go Sara Watkins provides a perfectly balanced duet that provides a spark that livens up the latter half of the album.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

ROn

cARTel

don’tmaketHemonkey drunk blues boulevard

Born and raised in that musical melting pot Harlem, New York city Cartel is steeped in blues, jazz, gospel, soul and R’n’B although he is now based in the much more genteel surroundings of Switzerland and he tours extensively in Europe. Opener House Of Mojo is a dense swampy mix of Dr John style Nawlins voodoo and fonk which wouldn’t have seemed out of place on the Dr’s seminal Gris Gris album in 1968. Bones and shakers rattle, slide guitars weep and slither and horns add their stabbing lines in this heady and tasty gumbo. I’m liking this one already. Last Two Dollars is a tale of hard times featuring funky horns and a gospel style chorus of female backing singers. The jazzy late night feeling of Bluesville features distorted slide guitar from Patrick Geeser and impassioned, soulful vocals from Cartel. The most traditional blues track here is Blind Willie Johnson’s God Moves On The Water an epic and moving tale of the sinking of the Titanic. There is

certainly a variety of styles here and all of them delivered with style, intensity, passion and soul. I Hurt Everybody is a confessional, late night, jazzy tale of hurt and pain caused to himself and those around him. Sing & Shout is an exclamation of joy from Cartel, featuring thunderous piano from Hendrix Ackle. Title track Don’t Make The Monkey Drunk is a humorous tale featuring funky bongos, rolling piano and National steel guitar. All My Angels is a contemplative ballad featuring soulful vocals and a shimmering guitar solo. There are a couple of bonus tracks recorded live in a New York club with Cartel giving the audience a run through of Rufus Thomas’ Walking The Dog and Muddy’s She’s Nineteen Years Old which close this fine album. Cartel is a new name to me but this well presented, classy album will ensure I look out for future releases.

DAVE DRURY

The gRey gOOSe BlUeS BAnd

Hunted independent

This Blues band are based in the Midlands and have been together for several years, while plying a blues/rock style they do not throttle the amps and play a more laid back funky style of blues, perfectly demonstrated by the title track The Hunter, which has a Booker T intro. The five piece band benefit by having both keyboards and saxophone band members who create a funky edge to their blues, not dissimilar to the Climax Blues Band, the tracks are all self written by the band and include some quality songs, besides the title track other standouts are; Who’s that Man I Saw and Be My Friend, both have a strong jazz feel to them. The band are led by Kevin ‘Frankie’ Williams who has an excellent ‘easy’ vocal that blends in nicely with the instrumentation, the additional plus is his guitar playing, which does on

occasions highlight the style of his idol Wes Montgomery. A very promising release by a hard working band who have developed their own unique brand of blues which they deliver with enthusiasm and style, currently an un-signed band but this release should have the record companies checking them out sooner than later.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

The JAke leg JUg BAnd

next Stop

lake records

This is the second album from TJLJB who, specialise in mostly American music of the twenties and thirties and in an attempt to create a similar atmosphere to that which was found on the original recordings, the use of a single ribbon microphone and a valve pre-amp were used to great effect, each number was performed ‘live’ and without the later use of overdubs thus, ensuring that the warmth of feeling found in the numbers is palpable.

The band presents the fifteen numbers in a combination of enticing and highly footapping styles, which include country/blues, blues, vaudeville, ragtime, gospel and jug music Since their first album there have been a couple of personnel changes so the latest line-up is now; Duncan Wilcox; vocals and double bass, Neil Hulse; guitar and mandolin, Purcy Harmonica; vocals, harmonica, saw and percussion Andy Anderson; vocals and banjo, Esther Brennan; vocals, washboard and ukulele.

The saucy, goodtime swing of The Hokum Boys Caught Us Doing It, is hugely enjoyable, mostly due to Duncan’s light and friendly approach combined with Purcy’s fruity harmonica and Andy’s jolly banjo, Esther’s relaxed but, stirring washboard keeps the band as tight as a nut. While Papa Charlie McCoy’s Too Long, exudes a comforting, homely lowdown feel,

featuring very fine mandolin and acoustic accompaniment. Bessie Smith’s melancholy Sugar In My Bowl, allows Esther’s voice to explore the desperate rawness of need and desolation found in those times. Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, is a subtle and gentle banjo interpretation, the mellow depth and texture comes from Andy’s highly understated playing. He’s In The Jailhouse Now, follows the Memphis Sheiks / Memphis Jug Bands version, I have always wondered how such a deathly and dreadful subject as this could be as jolly as this evidently is. The sombre but, compelling Blind Willie Johnson Jesus Is A Dying Bed Maker, resonates with Purcy’s spine shivering and haunting use of the saw. These, are but a few of the enthralling and hugely enjoyable collection on offer! Recommended!

BRIAN HARMAN

VARIOUS ARTISTSShOWcASIng The BlUeS VOlUme 4

Harp BloWin’ BlueSfrom SoutHflorida mosher st records

This double CD set continues, unsurprisingly, from three earlier volumes extolling the specific virtues of the South Florida blues heritage. Compilations are often a great way in to a specialist arena deserving further investigation. The first two volumes of this series focused on the region’s bands, while volume three trailed guitarists in particular. This time it is the turn of the harp players and it is a fantastic collection.

With the support of the South Florida Blues Society, the team of blues lovers behind the Bonita Blues Festival, we soon realise that the area is a true hot bed of blues. Around thirty artists are featured, some well-known (Nico Wayne Toussaint), some less so (Willy Lojo and Lowdown), and this serves the stew well. The talent is as bright as the production (very high) and the

music serves to both entertain and educate. Impossible to highlight star tracks, intelligently segued across the CDs, but special mention must go to Cold So Cold by Hurricane Hawk & The Invaders, Allergic To Work by Ernie Southern & Pompano Pete, and How Blue Can You Get by RJ Harman & Company for telling it like it is. The album set also serves as a homage to the recently passed musicians Sean Gerovitz, Michael Beeson, Rob Abernathy, Pat Ramsey and Jimmy Pagano.

GARETH HAYES

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Voodoo Voodoo,feiSty fiftieSfemaleS

Fantastic Voyage FVtD195

Once again, the good people at Fantastic Voyage have intriguingly delved into the past, in this case it’s into the rollicking rumbustious brass blasting, saxophone honking Fifties world of R’n’B, Jazz-tinged big band, swing and the musical infant that became Rock’n’Roll. This collection focuses on the wonderfully rich and full bodied, voices that were possessed by all of those captivating leading ladies that not only fronted the big bands of the time but also, those who chose to bravely step into the sometimes less than friendly limelight and become solo artists. Although, some may think this is simply just more of the same old re-hashing of many a pensioners fading nostalgia, it is indeed the case that you could not be further from the truth for, the ninety numbers on this three CD collection, has been compiled by the incomparable Dave Penny, a good deal of numbers are by artists that may have in the past been neglected. Indeed quite a few of the sixty five stunningly evocative voiced ladies that are featured, were completely unknown to me until, I had the good fortune to hear these CDs. Dave, has for our benefit and delectation, arranged the nearly four

Albums reviews

hours of music into three distinctive feelgood areas that are, disc one; I’ve Got A Feeling, featuring the dulcet tones of; Sadie Madison on Let-Down Blues, Etta James, Rumbas us along on Market Place. While Ruth Brown, breezes through with Sweet Baby Of Mine. Disc two; Get Your Enjoys, unleashes Jaye P. Morgan with Baby, Don’t Do It, also Vicky Lee, compellingly rocks her way through Goin’ Back Home To Mama, while Zilla Mays, implores that You Take Your Time and disc three; Shake Till I’m Shook, has Big Maybelle, inviting us all to Rock This House, and Linda Hopkins, is passionate about Rock and Roll Blues, Dolly Coopers’ Big Rock Inn, features some fine twangin’ guitar. These, are but a few of the many treasures found on this collection. Essential!

BRIAN HARMAN

SpellkASTeRS

kaStintHe Spell independent

An offering from Sweden, three piece Blues Rock with 11 tracks and two live bonus tracks. (I have never understood why these tracks are called Bonus tracks? Are they not good enough to be put on as standard fare?) Anyway, this is a competent Blues rock record, and that says it all really, there are no tracks that stood out, nothing that is going to trouble the charts, but again, nothing shabby either it’s the sort of album that you will buy at a gig, listen to it in the car for a couple of trips and then possibly never play again.

DAVE STONE

STeVe dAWSOn

rattleSnakecage

black hen music

Dawson, his fingers, his slides and his guitars. This is acoustic heaven, using every old school method as possible, Dawson takes the listener on a journey. Dawson titles his tracks in a manner that could veer toward carnival but actually accentuates the troubadour aspect; witness Flophouse Oratory, The Flagpole Skater Laughs From Above, J.R. Lockley’s Dilemma and Butterfly Stunt. Now based in Nashville, Dawson strives, and succeeds, to achieve what he calls the American Primitive aesthetic, and it is of no surprise to discover that, as artists and producer, he is the recipient of seven Juno awards. Recorded with a single vintage tube microphone, recently rediscovered after a lifetime lost in a Detroit theatre is a great advert for the purist, audiophile, obsessive and those generally inquisitive.

GARETH HAYES

VARIOUS

getontHerigHttrack modr&B, Jazz & Ska Fantastic Voyage

Any release that has its first two tracks by John Lee Hooker and Little Walter cannot be bad and this three CD release certainly covers a lot of ground, replicating the sounds that would have been heard in the UK mid 60’s Club Scene, compiled by Lois Wilson selecting tracks by original artists.

included, this disc will definitely be the one that will wear out first. Disc two moves into the R’n’B scene with artists like Ray Charles (get on the right track), Bobby Bland (I Pity the fool) but there are plenty of lesser known artists here, including Dr Horse and Barbara Lynn, the final disc captures the sounds of the period and supposedly what is playing in the clubs today, some tracks have only recently been discovered and were unreleased in the UK at the time of their original recording.

I found this collection fascinating and very worthwhile, the recording quality throughout is excellent and while there were no inserts with the discs, I understand that when the set goes on general release it will be in a box set format.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

ROBIn TROWeR

liVingoutoftime repertoire records

With no overdubs or effects this is as simple, straight and honest as they come. Canadian guitar picker Steve

While I was not out of short trousers during this period some of these tracks bring back fond memories of the era, at the time it was probably my first exposure to the Blues, there are ninety tracks included over the three discs and there has been some method in how the tracks have been configured, disc one is predominately Blues, with all the influential American Black blues artists appearing although there are a couple of notable exceptions with Jamaican Reggae artists like The Folkes Brothers and Derrick & Patsy

We like the resurgent Robin Trower at Blues Matters so it’s a mighty relief that we like Living Out Of Time. It is to his great credit that this healthily retains the brand of power blues that is synonymous with Trower’s legendary lit-fuel status. Honed from the blues rock of the sixties and seventies, inspired perhaps by Cream and Hendrix, there is no ambiguity here. Loud and passionate, the whole album is immersive and immense, from the opening What’s Your Name (if you like The Hoax you’ll like this one) to the monster ten minute finale of I Want To Take You With Me. Trower is, of course, the guitar hero on the album and yet the sound still depends on the very solid backbone of rhythm section Dave Bronze and Pete Thompson, and the exceptional singing of Davey Pattison.

Fans will know that the album is already more than ten years old and was recorded towards the end of 2002 and into 2003 being released at the time in American, UK and

even fan-club versions. Broadcaster Danny Baker says if you look out of your window today then the streets look the same as they did ten of fifteen years ago. It is refreshing to revisit Robin Trower circa 2003 and enjoy it with a similar state of timelessness.

GARETH HAYES

ROckpIle

liVe atrockpalaSt repertoire CD/DVD set

Oh, joy. Whenever Germany’s WDR/ Rockpalast release a box set, you’re in for a real treat, and this is no exception. A 17 track CD, and an epic 17-song DVD. It may be 34 years old, this gig, but it’s as refreshing as a box of lemon face wipes after a long shift in a chip shop. They’re all here; the superlative Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, and of course the celebrated, towering talent of Nick Lowe. From the very first opening seconds of both the CD and DVD , with Sweet Little Liza, you’re taken on a roller coaster ride of rock’n’roll energy, despite the guttural yelled vocal interruptions of one male German fan in the audience with too many Bitburger Pils in his bladder.

You get So It Goes, I Knew The Bride, Girls Talk, Promised Land, Crawling From The Wreckage, and plenty more, all delivered with stunning verve and maximum speed. Little wonder they became so popular, and just think how damn lucky we are today that the Rockpalast boys decided to film these performances for posterity.

This is the mighty Rockpile in their youth, laying down the foundations for their future rock legends status. Of all the albums and DVDs I’ve reviewed so far this year, this one remains at the top of the rock pile. (See what I did there? Eat your heart out, Michael MacIntyre) Don’t expect High Definition or arty camera work, just bask in the driving pleasure of good, skilfully delivered rock music. Great release. Buy it!!

ROY BAINTON

kenny WAyne ShepheRd BAnd goin’ Home Provogue / mascot

About to tour Europe, young veteran Kenny is not resting on his Rides laurels and brings out this collection – mine has twelve cuts and three bonus tracks celebrating exactly which artists and particular numbers turned him on to the blues. I have talked to Shepherd about the project but suffice to say here he is deeply influenced by the greats AND has some fine guests aboard to supplement his own band which it is probably fair to say are at their peak at the moment. His long-time singer Noah Hunt is a terrific foil and to have Double Trouble skinsman Chris Layton aboard brings SRV / Storyville class to everything attempted. Don’t expect a respectful or timid tread through the past, Kenny was fired up by hearing blues and fired up is what he is now, pounding his Strat through the changes and spitting out bent-note riffs with piratical abandon, right from stealthy opener Palace of the King with its chunky horn arrangement and crisp snare-work, via Albert King’s Breaking Up Somebody’s Home’ with Warren Haynes in the ensemble for this Noo Orleans-flavoured take and yes that must be Kim Wilson harpin’ on I Live The Life I Love as it chugs along. Bo’s Can’t Judge A Book is taken at a crackin’ pace.

Maybe best of the choices is a rockin’ Looking Back, well known to us Mayall and Dr Feelgood fans, rolling piano and all with fluid KWS guitar runs and bass from ex-Firm cat Tony Franklin who is on top form throughout the record, it should be noted. The acoustic slouch of Cut You Loose runs it close, with wah-wah solo burning. For my tastes the Born Under A Bad Sign, whilst listenable of course is too close to the original but Shepherd loves the song, so fair do’s. Robert Randolph on steel rakes Muddy’s Still A Fool like a gangster on this classic deeper number and therein lies the heart of the exercise as he trades with Kenny over a grit-laden groove.

PETE SARGEANT

As a stalwart of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings you would expect a classy album from guitarist Taylor. This isn’t dark and gritty Blues, rather you get a light touch R&B that has plenty of soul and a lot of good playing, all in a pleasantly understated manner. There are a couple of self-written tunes but he also has a number of covers, some of which were quite unexpected: Norman Whitfield’s Just My Imagination for instance has a beautiful soulful feel even though Mr Taylor doesn’t have the vocal strength of David Ruffin *who does?) but the song works in this setting as well.

The title track choogles along nicely and with some fine harp from Nick Page as well as Bill Wyman’s bass but it needs to be played quite loud as at lower volume levels the instruments seem to run into one another, Taylor’s guitar solo is a minor delight though.

Muddy Water’s I Can’t Be

Satisfied shows off his guitar again but the best song on the album is definitely Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love: just simple guitar, lovely harmony from Beverley Skeete and reminds you just how good a songsmith Dylan is/was. Closer, Randy Newman’s Rollin’ is a simple little beauty and probably the best vocal here. It is a really good album, but the one negative is Taylor’s voice: it’s just not strong enough.

ANDY SNIPPER

TeRRy TAylOR taylormade repertoire

DONCASTER BLUES FESTIVAL

THE DOME, DONCASTER

marCH 2ND 2014

This was the third Doncaster Blues Festival and it’s growing in stature in the blues festival calendar. This show had a great line up and very appreciative audience numbering more than 400, a testament to good advertising and great acts and overall brilliant organisation. There was a balanced set list of bands encompassing facets associated with the Blues and beyond.

The emphasis initially was on a relaxing easygoing start to the concert, encapsulating melodic and easy listening for a Sunday afternoon. Clare Free started proceedings with a mainly acoustic set, showcasing her undoubted talent with her finger picking style of play on such songs as the starter Dust And Bones with its powerful message of people’s relationships, and deep feelings on the song about miscarriage, Small Miracles, so not your usual blues song subject. She really cranked up the human emotions on Scars showcasing numbers from her new release, Butterflies , in April. She has a very unique and powerful voice yet very melodic in tone at the same time, much appreciated by the audience.

A slick change of sets, a key part to the stage production, saw local duo Rita Payne enter. Two very talented singers with sweet harmonies, again another acoustic

set, guitar playing by Rhiannon Scott and singer Pete Sowerby whose amusing anecdotes introduced such songs as Jeramiah a eulogy to a brand of alcohol. Not a particularly bluesy set, but a good crowd pleaser was Family Ramble with a country twist. They also covered Billy Jean a very slowed down version exhibiting another facet to their well-polished set showing variety of interpretations, definitely a duo who deserve more plaudits.

Now came the antithesis of

of live blues

contrast to the first two groups, enter young classic rock blues outfit Albany Down, who cranked the volume, up taking quite a few crowd members who have not seen this accomplished band by storm and really satisfying those in the audience who wanted something different. My, they got it.

From start to finish the gutsy lead vocals of Paul Muir and the driving virtuoso playing of lead guitarist Paul Turley ensured a

wilko johnson photo: colin campbell

Connie lush put her tag on the nina simone song new Day

very lively performance, a tight band, a formidable force who were obviously enjoying themselves. Songs like It’s Not Over Yet, the drumming particularly good on She’s The Light, with a possible reference to the drummer Donna Peters. Another particular pleaser was My Lucky Streak. They finished off with a more melodic choice South Of The City executed in such a way that was moving as well as powerful. A competent band with a great future if you like your blues loud and in your face!

Most people in tune with British blues acts should be aware of the dynamic and acclaimed duo The Nimmo Brothers, well Stevie has branched out on his own with a powerhouse trio together with Mat Beable on bass and Craig Bacon on drums making up The Stevie Nimmo Trio. This was a blistering set with Stevie’s soft lilting vocals on songs like Make It Up To You, and virtuoso fret playing on Gambler’s Row and Going Down much appreciated by an intrigued audience. He also paid homage on a cover song of fellow Glaswegian Big George Watt’s (who died recently) The Storm and put his own mark on it. A real highlight of the festival.

Another stalwart of the British blues scene with her posse of fans, arrived on stage with a swagger and presence, only Connie Lush could dare to get away with this sometimes sassy, sometimes moving set. For the first time a lot of the audience actually stood up and came to the front of stage, dancing and enjoying such songs as Give Me The Cash sung with a snarl at

times. She has it all, gospel take on Jesus On The Mainline making this Sunday afternoon session and the venue into her own church. Ably backed by The Blues Shouters with a particularly slick guitar solo by Steve Wright on Blues Is My Business. Finally Connie put her tag on the Nina Simone song New Day a very moving and ethereal feel to this, compounding her status as one of the best female blues singers in the country, a real gem and a fun-loving woman, her range and tone of vocals is first class and continues to improve every year. Well here comes the main act that probably all or most of the crowd came to see, the phenomenal rhythm and blues man that is Wilko Johnson of Solid Senders, Dr Feelgood and Blockheads fame. This was a very memorable set, with a differing age group of appreciative fans, he did not let anyone down with a back catalogue of songs by way of a set list including, Back In The Night, Don’t Let Your Daddy Know, Sneaking Suspicion and a plethora of twelve bar blues. Dressed in black and with facial expressions almost cartoon like, and moving around the stage, that belied a man of his age and failing physical health, he played his trademark Telecaster strutting his stuff to perfection, the crowd lapping up every facet of his playing and stage presence, including his machine gun technique adding humour to the overall performance. Ably assisted on bass by the inimitable Norman Watt-Roy, a pleasure to behold keeping things together. A consummate and cranked up version of his now signature Johnny B Good ended a very satisfying and energetic set by a true legend.

Overall a great eclectic mix of bands and genre types, good venue well organised, and hopefully will be on the festival scene for a long time to come.

Verbals and Visuals: Colin Campbell

TERRI’ THOUARS BLUES FESTIVAL

THOUARS, FRANCE

april 2ND-6tH 2014

2014 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Terri’ Thouars Blues Festival in France. Centred in the pleasant market town of Thouars, in the Poitou Charente region, a few kilometres South of Saumur on the Loire, it is both accessible and rewarding, in many ways, for Channel-hoppers in the UK.

Each year, the festival grows in size and ambition: organised by a small French blues association, Blues & Co, blues players are shipped in from the USA annually to add a little bit of spice to the French stew.

This early Spring event is held in a variety of locations, ending with a laid-back session in a charming, creek side bar/restaurant a few kilometres out of town. All of the gigs are held in good, intimate venues, including the town’s principal central showcase, La Theatre de Thouars itself. Artists from the US included acoustic blues virtuoso, Toby Walker, from New Jersey and young Texan acoustic picker, Aaron Burton. Both produced great sets, making many friends and adding new fans to their lists.

Toby Walker, with a raft of previous albums to his name, did a set loosely based around his current CD release, What You See Is What You Get. His adventurous forays into the local language ( written in ink-marker on his inner arm as an aid-memoire)endeared him to the crowd, earning a standing ovation and repeated encores.

Aaron Burton is a name probably unknown to most UK blues fans. The two-metre tall Texan has a relaxed, easy style, playing mostly material that is selfwritten but clearly draws on the

deep South US acoustic tradition of Sam Lightenin’ Hopkins, another Texan, and Piedmont, Delta and Americana. He was joined on stage by a superb Harp player from Spain, Victor Puertas. Puertas, is a man to watch, for sure. A great player with a sense of fun and a wealth of blues knowledge and skill, he was invited on stage to join most of the festival performers, including Toby Walker and the French Blues Explosion, who are currently touring with Chicago blueswoman, Grana Louise

Louise gave a spirited performance, all the more remarkable given she had discharged herself from hospital only hours before her appearance, and was clearly suffering from breathing and pulmonary difficulties. With the crowd on her side, she was more than ably backed by The French Blues Explosion, a young band dressed up for the night in the colours of the national flag, le tricolour: drummer in blue, bassist, red, and

SCARBOROUGH ‘TOP SECRET’ BLUES FESTIVAL

SCARBOROUGH BLUES CLUB

april 2ND-6tH 2014

Wednesday

The 4th Top Secret festival opened with the exuberant Revolutionaires, fronted by the charismatic Eddie ‘Boy’ Stephenson singing, dancing, and playing guitar, keys and harp brilliantly. He was well supported by brother Rick on double bass, Gary on saxes and Mark on drums. The Revs show is pure dynamite from start to finish.

guitarist, Sam Mr.Chang, in white. This is a seriously good band, with loads of sound, oomph and style; they single-handedly restored my faith in music in France, which still has a tendency to be overrun by big over-blown balladeers.

From Atlanta, Georgia, old blues-hand Delta Moon, produced a tingling set that had la Theatre on its feet as they delivered a fabulous electric slide-driven set with no less than three standing ovations; cheering encores. A band at the top of its game, they clearly enjoyed themselves and went down a bundle with the rapturous French audience.

A great time was had by all, myself included, and perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this friendly, intimate gathering is the fact that it is precisely that –intimate and friendly, with easy, open access to all of the musicians, the organisers and everyone in between. Add good food and plentiful wines to the melange and you have a positive winner.

Verbals and Visuals: iain patienCe

100mph rock ‘n’ roll/swing music with songs like Hound Dog, Keep A Knockin’, Tequilla, Whole Lotta Shakin’ and Hucklebuck. Nobody stays in their seat for long as the infectious beat drags everyone into the aisles and on top of the tables, swaying and bopping to the beat. As the band encored with Jump For Joy, an ecstatic crowd collapsed to the floor, dripping in the sweat-laden atmosphere!

Thursday

Tonight Blue Swamp regaled us with their own unique brand of boogie-woogie blues and tonguein-cheek humour from brilliant front man Mike Bowden – North Scotland’s answer to Les Dawson! With exquisite riffs from Johnny ‘Guitar’ Williamson, we heard tales of kidnapping by female pirates, neighbours from hell living at No. 667 and getting up at the crack of noon in AM/PM Blues. Along with the superb pirate, Big Vern on drums and the excellent Jim Moseley on bass, Blue Swamp had this highly enthusiastic audience howling like wolves for more!

toby walker at terri’ thouars

festivaLs

wit

Friday

The mighty Jon Amor opened tonight’s show doing an impressive solo acoustic set, playing many songs from his extensive back catalogue. He also played a nice variation of the Hoax’s Feeding Time and then gave us a World premiere exclusive of a ditty he had just written the previous night, called Drunk On Your

Love. Towards the end of the set Jon was joined by Ian Siegal to play a couple of songs. (Both players were guesting for the entire weekend.) Acoustics were swapped for electric guitars and we were treated to an excellent Catfish Blues, with Ian playing slide. Jon finished his set Cutting Through The Graveyard to his Tainted Love!

After a quick break TC. & The Moneymakers delivered their own special version of early 50’s/60’s Chicago blues. Tom Cocks’ exceptional and sultry harmonica playing was equally matched by Karl Moon’s delicious guitar licks on songs like Nervous Fella, Blue Minor and Robert Nighthawk’s Annie Lee. Once again Ian Siegal was asked to join the band for a jam on Are You

Ready and their closing number, the TC.Boogie. Finishing off the evening was another great harp player, Giles Robson, backed by the Moneymakers rhythm section of Giles Checketts on bass and Mark Tyne on drums, with Karl on guitar. He was flabbergasted at the time it had taken him to drive up from Devon! Songs like Chicago Shuffle 55, One Day Maybe and Sonny Boy Williamson’s 9 Below Zero were belted out, along with a good locomotive impression! For the Grand Finale, Giles and the Moneymakers were joined by Tom Cocks, Ian Siegal and Jon Amor to finish off the evening with a rousing version of Help Me.

saTurday

The afternoon session commenced with Chris James and Martin

connie lush and ian siegal at scarborough

photo: christine moore

jam session at scarborough

photo: christine moore

the stumble at scarborough

photo: christine moore

Connie was as bright anD bubbly as ever, with her sauCy liverpool

Fletcher playing well known classics and having a good banter with the audience. There were good variations of So Many Roads, Trouble In Mind and Statesboro Blues, with bright vocals from Chris and expert harp from Martin. Local singer/songwriters Rich Adams and Dave Greaves were on next, with Tom Townsend on drums and Nick Boyes on bass. They played a lot of melodic, thought provoking tunes such as Ghosts In Our Suitcases and Everything’s Broken.

Ian Siegal joined them to play King Bee before the final set of the afternoon from Tim Aves & The Wolfpack. Accompanied by Joel Fisk’s stupendous guitar riffs and Tank’s mighty bass, Tim performed ‘in your face’ blues rock at its best. Delta Angel, Down In The Bottom and Wageslave

were all well received and once again Ian Siegal guested with a stimulating ‘Smokestack Lightning, before the band closed the set with Wang Dang Doodle. The evening session kicked off with Ian Siegal at last able to play his own songs in a solo acoustic set. A packed and delighted audience savoured Mortal Coil Shuffle, Pony Blues, I Am The Train and the Tom Russell favourite, Gallo Del Cielo, among others. At the end, Jon Amor joined Ian to play a tongue-in-cheek Dr. Hook song, Can’t Get No Pussy’, which brought a smile to most peoples’ faces as they joined in with the chorus! The finale was from Connie Lush & Blues Shouter. Connie was as bright and bubbly as ever, with her sharp, saucy Liverpool wit, despite suffering with a bad cold. She belted out all the Blues Shouter favourites including Lonely Avenue, Send Me No Flowers, 24 Hour Blues and Falling Down. Then, just as Ian thought he’d got away with it, Connie dragged him back on stage to play Rollin’ And Tumblin’ and bring Saturday’s shows to a rip-roaring end!

sunday

Sunday afternoon is reserved exclusively for the Top Secret Blues Festival’s Legendary Jam Session, where anybody and everybody can get up to play. It was hosted (as ever), by the club’s residential Tom Townsend Blues Band, with Mark Gordon on keys, Paul Tilley on drums, Nick Boyes on bass and special guests, Dave Kemp on tenor sax and Rob Mackay on flute.

All of the weekend’s guests contributed at some stage in the proceedings playing all the classics, after Tom and the band had opened with their own Don’t You See. One amusing incident occurred when Jon Amor left the stage and Ian Siegal joined, minus a guitar. Jon told Ian to

use his Epiphone 335, but when Ian put it on the long strap left the guitar dangling around his knees. “There’s no need to be so unnecessarily tall,” quipped Ian! After an excellent Sunday dinner upstairs, the evening session resumed with The Stumble playing as incredibly well as ever. It was a real pleasure to see the return of original guitarist Johnny Spencer, who had been forced to stop playing owing to increased work commitments and family health problems. Paul Melville’s vocals were as bright and breezy as always, with Simon Anthony’s superb sax playing and Boyd Tonner’s drumming creating the perfect sound. All the faves came tumbling out. The World Is Tough, Flesh And Bone, Lie To Me, Bus Stop and The Houngan, with the band playing a pulsating Gimme Back My Wig to close.

The Festival’s final act was The Treatment, featuring Tom Attah & Franny Eubank performing lightning riffs on his Goldtop. The audience were in real party mood, as the chairs were pushed aside for a frenzied dancing session to songs like Kansas City, Killing Floor, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, and Further On Up The Road. The night culminated with Mojo Working and I Believe My Time Ain’t Long encores. Once again, many many thanks should go to Mark Horsley for all the time and effort involved in putting on this show, and to all of the incredible sponsors, without whom none of this would have been possible.

A very special mention for all our dedicated staff too! Liv, Gill, Tariq, Chris, Bob for the sound and Rich for being a highly competent compere!

Watch out for a bigger festival venue next year!

damien

mason

concerts

GarLand JeFFreys ST.PANCREAS OLD CHURCH, LONDON

februarY 28tH 2014

Garland Jeffreys is a performer whose career spans the decades since the late 1960s, and who has collaborated with some of the greatest musical talents, yet remains an almost underground figure. The reasons for this status may lie in the lengthy hiatuses between albums and the rarity of tours, but that said, Garland has emerged from the shadows for a four date UK tour coinciding with the release of a new album, Truth Serum

The opening show of the tour was in the chiaroscuro of a candlelit St.Pancras Old Church, as intimate a venue as could be imagined and ideal backdrop for the emotional

honesty and spiritual intensity that hallmark Garland’s work.

Garland’s musical roots are in the East Village scene in New York City, and like long time friend and collaborator, NYC legend Lou Reed, the city is the subject of a good proportion of his songs, such as Coney Island Winter, a reflection on the aging of the once lively park and his own advancing years. Other songs tapped into more positive, life-affirming sentiments, like I’m Alive, but all in all the keynote was the sheer transparency and clarity of the feelings being shared. Quite apart from the passionate lyrical content, the performance itself was energising and engaging – it was hard to believe that Garland is in his seventies.

Set up as an acoustic trio, backed on guitar by the opening

performer James Maddock, the band filled the little space by the altar, but Garland would often come down the aisle, leaving the mic behind, projecting a wistful voice deep into the heart of the crowd. As the set progressed, he rang the changes in musical styles, from reggae: No Woman No Cry, to rock and roll: 96 Tears. By the end of the set, we felt like we had made a friend, and everyone came to their feet for a number of encores, closing up with one of his betterrecognised songs, Wild In The Streets, which has been covered by the likes of The Circle Jerks and Chris Spedding. With a venue this unusual and an artist that is difficult to pigeonhole neatly, this evening was a unique, energising experience.

Glenn noble

garland jeffreys

photo: jennifer noble

OTis Grand and his BiG BLues Band CRANLEIGH ARTS CENTRE februarY 22ND 2014

Cool, old-school, big band blues came to town in the shape of a rare appearance by the guitar maestro Otis Grand, although Cranleigh did see Otis play here some years ago. Maybe it’s the influence of nearby resident Paul Jones that brings out the blues talent to the small but perfectly formed Arts Centre in this West Sussex village.

With the band hot footing in from Italy, the scene was set by vocalist and guitarist Anders Westhagen, who led off the show with a slow bluesy intro before announcing the main attraction. Otis strolled on looking very relaxed and immediately upped the tempo

with a pacey take on Walking Dr.Bill, a tune that dates back to Otis’s collaboration with Anson Funderburgh.

Relaxing into the groove with BB King’s Sweet Little Angel, we heard the horn section of Mike Peake (trumpet) and Baz Martin (tenor sax) fatten out the sound. Mingled along with the classics, Otis featured a few tracks from his current album Blues 65 and the spirit of the era that the album harks back to was very clearly articulated on numbers like Pretend, made famous by Nat King Cole, the very danceable Rumba Conga Twist, and the biographical, I Washed My Hands (In Muddy Water). After a short break, the second set continued with more and more of the Cranleigh crowd getting up and shaking it to another round of classic blues tunes, played the way they ought to be, including bass player Dan’s acrobatics with a very cool looking leopard print covered instrument.

Otis was unapologetic in standing up for his back-to-basics sound, he was proud to announce he was using no effects pedals during the show. All of which goes to show that you don’t need a load of technology to produce fantastic dance music. And, infrequent as Otis’ appearances may have been recently, he will be out in support of his blues buddy Walter Trout at the benefit show in London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on May 4th.

Glenn noble

sarah GiLLesPie –

LiFe OF Bessie sMiTh PIZZA EXPRESS, SOHO, LONDON marCH 10tH 2014

Sarah Gillespie has never been afraid of playing brave and upfront but her performance at London’s Soho Pizza Express was bold and brave, it is one of those venues where every mistake can be magnified by the closeness of the audience and that brings a history with it you just can’t avoid. She took the stage with her quartet featuring the wonderful Gilad Atzmon on sax and accordion and gave a packed venue nearly two hours of brilliant jazz and Blues based on the songs and character of Bessie Smith ‘The mother of the Blues’.

One of her greatest moves was to eschew the narrative of Smith’s life and instead to channel the spirit of Bessie Smith into the performance and to give the crowd a taste of just how great she was. Opening from the bar and getting the audience spinning around to catch where she was, Gillespie made her way to the stage and explained how, as a young girl, she had been to a show at that very venue with her father and how they returned home with her dad drunk as a lord and the two of them singing Bessie Smith songs at the top of their voices. Alongside some sublimely non-PC lines from Atzmon that banter set the tone for the show and she delighted us with a raucous version of Kitchen Man and Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own before a brilliant St. James’ Infirmary which really brought home the social and historical nature of the song – not the depressing number normally portrayed. Atzmon was wailing on clarinet on a fine version of Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out and the first set finished on Moan You Moaners with the crowd right in tune with her.

otis grand photo: jennifer noble

otis was unapologetiC in stanDing up for his baCk-tobasiCs sounD

sean TayLOr WiTh hana Piranha THE GREEN NOTE, CAMDEN marCH 9tH 2014

The intimacy of the venue and the presence of the Taylor clan, including Sean’s mum and dad, guaranteed a very special evening for family, friends and fans alike who packed the place to the rafters.

The set started with London, Sean’s beautiful, intricate guitar playing and passionate vocals evoking the sights and sounds of the capital. Texas Boogie was the first of many blues numbers, this one dedicated to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Copeland. Skip James’ Hard Time Killing Floor Blues and many others were to follow.

The aggression and anger in Stand Up were reflected in the words, ‘Wipe away the poverty, wipe away the greed, I’d rather die on my feet than live here on my knees’, and a reminder that Taylor is at heart a political activist, although he says that he is only invited to rallies when Billy Bragg is not available! By contrast, the spoken word piece, River was pure poetry, ‘The Thames twists around London, And I curl around your beauty, As the dawn becomes tangled with darkness, Jagged as a new day.’

Blistering applause greeted and followed Chase The Night and the continuation of the theme about the singer’s special relationship with the metropolis.

The introduction of New Zealander Hana Piranha’s electric violin brought another dimension to the music as the two instrumentalists played with a synergy which belied their relatively recent coming together as an occasional

duo. The lyrics of So Fine are reminiscent of Paul Simon at the peak of his creativity and is one of Taylor’s best compositions to date.

With Hana adding to the mood and weaving her magic alongside Sean’s sensational guitar, they took the song to a new height, creating layers and patterns of sound to reach a crescendo. To misquote Dylan, these are two artists who don’t look back. The melodic, flowing violin was also perfect for the romantic songs, of which there were several.

The second half was vintage Sean as he covered favourites such as Sixteen Tons and Kilburn. Just when you thought it couldn’t get much better, You’ll Never Walk Alone brought a stunned silence to the hitherto boisterous crowd; how could anyone have improved a national anthem? Sean has a mellifluous voice, at times almost a whisper, with an incredible range when required such as the anguish and heartache expressed during Richie Haven’s Freedom.

After two hours on stage an exhausted Sean Taylor climaxed with Tom Waits, Earth Died Screaming, the audience still wanting more. As I walked along Parkway to my destination I suddenly knew what Sean meant by ‘As night buses begin to weave their way through the street a thousand melodies begin and end with every breath.’

With a major European tour with Eric Bibb lined up for the summer, together with other major festivals, Sean Taylor’s time has come as he gets closer to the edge of the international stardom he deserves. the bishop

The second set caught the inherent raunchiness of Bessie Smith with a grand I Need Sweetness In My Soul (I Need Sausage In My Roll before a self penned Oh Mary. Gillespie showed her political side with an anti-Afghan war number The Soldier Song which featured Atzmon on a brilliant soprano sax solo and closed with her own Malicious Simone. An evening titled The Life Of Bessie Smith could well have been a pastiche, but in Gillespie’s hands it turned into a celebration without losing Sarah Gillespie’s undoubted quality. For this audience a triumph. andy snipper

sTaTus QuO/ WiLKO

JOhnsOn Band

HAMMERSMITH APOLLO

marCH 31st 2014

If any proof were needed that THIS was the place to see London’s best blues-rock of the night, running into ace Middlesex blues rockers The Flying Squad also en route to the venue set the seal on an evening of punchy no-frills guitar rock... and some great singing. He may be living on borrowed time but Wilko has the attack and drive of a twenty-year old. No, more energy than the average twentyyear-old. He strides on to the stage with Norm Wattt-Roy on bass and Dylan Howe on drums, clutching his red and black Telecaster and strafes the audience with dry comments, bursts of guitar, fastchugging chords and gruff vocals. The crowd love it and he hammers out Back In The Night, Goin’ Back Home and a stream of rock gems that warm everyone up as only Wilko can. His characteristic weave of chords and barbed single-note interjections creates a unique dynamic. Sadly he doesn’t include his ghostly mantra version of Out

On The Western Plain tonight, but he does do my other favourite, the rock-reggae mystery that is Doctor Dupree. A stuttering, jaunty

masterpiece of a song. There can be few trios with such precise power and we are privileged to see this show.

Whatever you think of Quo these days, they show with these current dates how they have the ability to revisit their ‘Phase 2’ as a terrific and inventive rock-blues group. I once saw then in the back room of The Castle pub in Tooting for half a pound in the currency then, the opening act being Mott The Hoople (now whatever happened to them?) and I had forgotten how fine a singer bassist Alan Lancaster was back then.

Rick Parfitt sings his heart out on the excellent song Rain and Francis is the pro he always is, singing well but playing demonic guitar and proving that he was as good as anyone on the sixstring back then and when he wants to be now as well... the crowd know the older songs and lap up the lurching chug of In My Chair and spiky opener Steamhammer’s cyclic rocket of a song Junior’s Wailing, apart from originals the Quo remind us of their pumping take on the Doors’ Roadhouse Blues, dear Bob Young supplying the harp runs. Sargeant Jnr leans over, “NOW I see why you rate this band.” April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays has stood the test of time, a song with great mood and dynamics, Little Lady works fine too.

Nostalgia maybe, but a vibrant rootsy show of guitar power, muscular rhythm work and forceful vocals, glad we were there to enjoy it.

pete sarGeant

Gerry JaBLOnsKi & The eLeCTriC Band THE VOODOO ROOMS, EDINBURGH

marCH 15tH 2014

The Electric Band comprises Grigor Leslie on bass, harpist Peter Narojczyk and drummer Dave Innes who are fronted by guitar genius and vocalist Gerry Jablonski. Sadly, Dave was too ill to perform as he continued to fight his battle against cancer, a battle which he sadly lost a few weeks later. On the night, 21-year-old Aberdonian Lewis Fraser proved a more than able deputy despite only one rehearsal, as his sense of timing is impeccable and his feeling for the blues comes naturally.Dave would have been immensely proud of him.

The charismatic Jablonski wandered casually onto the stage with his trusty Gibson Les Paul, playing the instrumental introduction to Sherry Dee, followed by Fraser – who sang the first verse, before taking his seat behind the drums in what was a stunning and memorable start to the show. By the second song, Hard To Make A Living, the blues blast was well

under way despite the sober theme of working so hard for little reward because the optimism is also there in ‘whatever life throws at you, the blues will always have a voice.’ This packed venue became a theatre of dreams for the enthusiastic audience who at times stood watching in awe and on other occasions sang and danced along to the mesmeric riffs, not least on The Dance and Higher They Climb. Those songs and Two Time Lover and Black Rain showcased the brilliance of Peter’s harmonica playing which is powerful and dynamic but always precise and tasteful.

The synergy with Jablonski’s guitar solos is such that the two front men sound like a single unit, with remarkable call and response interaction between the two instruments. These two guys are blood brothers as much as blues brothers. The gig is a roller coaster ride of emotions with Skinny Blue Eyed Boy, the heartbreaking story of parental separation, from Life At Captain Tom’s CD and the poignant

gerry jablonski

photo: nick mcculloch

wilko has the attaCk anD Drive of a twentyyear olD

Twist Of Fate from the eponymous new album. The latter highlights the anguish felt deeply by Gerry about a close friend as he reflects that... ‘success always comes too late, call that a twist of fate.’ The depression never lasts for too long before the mood changes again with the high octane Slave To The Rhythm and the climactic Led Zeppelin classic, Communication Breakdown.

The showmanship of the band is a key feature as it engages the audience and promotes unity and empathy, Gerry and Peter jumping and playing on the tables, wandering through the mass of fans and leading them personally on a wondrous musical journey. For some performers this can be a gimmick and a distraction, but for Gerry and The Electric Band it enhances the

overall experience and makes the gig memorable for a long time to come.

The late, great Dave Innes has made an immense contribution by taking the band to the brink of international recognition and he will be sorely missed, RIP. the bishop

BLues CaraVan TOur BEAVERWOOD CLUB, CHISLEHURST marCH 18tH 2014

The regular Blues Caravan tours, showcasing Ruf Records artists, are always something worth looking out for.

2014’s Caravan included Laurence Jones (UK), Christine Skjolberg (Norway) and Albert Castiglia (US), all three of whom

are promoting new albums. The three put on a very polished show, and it was good to see Roger Innes, the British bass wizard, appearing alongside them.

A joint all-Caravan song kicked the night off. Deep, fast, funky and fun, it set a positive tone. Christina Skjolberg had the first set and started with her song, Come And Get It. Some of the crowd certainly did get it, enjoying the song and the appearance of Laurence Jones on organ, and her short set closed with a cover of Voodoo Chile. Laurence Jones took up guitar and played his own BluesRock. His voice, Laurence being just into his twenties, is developing well, becoming more mature and grainy. Fall From The Sky stood out, something of a hybrid of Hendrix and Southern Rock. It featured a bit of innovation, as Laurence took time out to play guitar unamplified. Albert Castiglia came on after the break. Albert is an experienced showman, which came across strongly.

His song Bad Avenue was a fine Blues, with great writing, and lines like ‘Take me down yonder on Bad Avenue/Where the men all tote shotguns/And the women carry pistols too’. His strong guitar playing and strong voice made him the pick of the night. His excursion while playing into the Beaverwood Club toilets, car park, and adjoining field was also rather special. Put Some Skank On It, from his new Solid Ground album, was another strong tune, a lovely Rockin’ Blues. Though perhaps we should have expected such quality from a man who has played with harmonica legend Junior Wells. The night closed with a very tight, splendid jam and double encore.

Look out for a behind the scenes audio interview with the three acts on the Blues Matters! website soon, in the new Podcast section.

darren Weale

blues caravan star albert castiglia with promoter pete feenstra

photo: darren weale

LiTTLe deViLs SALTBURN BLUES CLUB

November 23rD 2013

‘The Blues is my business’, they sang, and then went on to prove it... beyond any doubt! The Little Devils band headlined at Saltburn Blues Club on Saturday night and put on a performance that showed just why they are currently riding so high. This is a band with real presence. Lead singer/ Saxophonist/Flautist, Yoka, held the audience rapt. Her evocative vocals can lead you down any emotional path she chooses. The dark harmonies at work in Black Diamond did what the Blues does best, draw you in and under. Melancholy saxophone, insistent drumbeat, riveting lead guitar, deep, underlining bass guitar and passionate vocals combined to deliver a powerful comment on a tragic event from our Northern past. Co-written by songwriter and bass guitarist, Graeme Wheatley, this was one of a number of standout tracks, and all the more poignant when you heard that it was directly linked to his own family history. There were no glasses clinking or background murmurings during this number, just a room mesmerised by talented musicians and the story they were telling.

Little Devils want to draw attention to the challenges of 21st Century living but they want to have fun too. They would play a thoughtprovoking track such as Orphans of The Storm, but then, in the next breath, become a total party animal, making the place rock to the fabulous Head in the Clouds, Good Times, and Rock and Roll Shoes, to name just three.

The contrasts continued with soulful renditions of the classic, Your Heart is as Black as Night and their own truly sublime Deep Inside. Yoka’s vocal range is magnificent. It’s little wonder that brand new

BLues BOy dan OWen THE BICYCLE SHOP, NORWICH marCH 26tH 2014

Dave Thomas entertained the enthusiastic audience with a rare solo acoustic set to open the evening’s proceedings. His version of Buddy Holly’s It Just Don’t Matter Anymore is always a showstopper and Dylan’s Corina, Corina is warmly received too. Dave has been performing professionally since 1963 and is always a relaxed confident performer whether solo, or in duo or band mode.

In contrast headliner Blues Boy Dan at age 21 is only at the beginning of his blues journey, but on tonight’s evidence he is going to go far. Like many of the blues legends he admires Dan travelled by train armed with one guitar, a harp and a stomp box to pay his dues. It’s remarkable when you first hear Dan sing, this soft spoken young man suddenly sounds like an authentic grizzled Delta bluesman, but not in the least in a false or affected manner.

At times vocally he reminded me of Ben Ottewell who was of similar age when Gomez first burst onto the scene. Dan

throws himself into every song and when he goes for it on his stomp box the raw energy is palpable, his leg recoiling so far back you fear he might over balance but he never misses a beat even when blowing harp at the same time.

Two of the covers tonight deserve special mention, Willie Nelson’s Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die is simply sublime, and Little Red Rooster is honestly among the best versions I’ve ever heard. He can write good tunes too, my favourites were Hammer and Ships. His mesmerising set seemed to fly by and far too soon he was performing his encore, a barnstorming Ballad Of Hollis Brown before racing off to catch the last train home, a five to six hour trip ahead of him.

Dan was voted joint young artist of 2013 in the British Blues Awards and has already played at Glastonbury. He must be making an impression because I noticed a good number of young music lovers had come along tonight, paid their admission price and had a thoroughly good time.

steVe yourGliVCh

photo: christine moore

label, Kross Border Rekords, has chosen Deep Inside as the very first track on their first CD, The Best of British Blues Kompilation Vol 1 .

Little Devils were brimming with talent, energy and sheer performance knowhow.

The blurb on the back cover of their Diamonds and Poison CD says it all: 21st Century Blues. New shoots from old roots. Fantastic! liz ayres

edinBurGh BLues

CLuB LaunCh

THE VOODOO ROOMS, EDINBURGH

marCH 7tH 2014

Well, what an idea, hot on the back of three lauded releases called Jock’s Juke Joint , encompassing the cream of Scottish blues bands

it may have seemed there was a niche in the live blues scene needing tapping into by getting people from Edinburgh and beyond to get such a venture started and support these acts.

Over two hundred people came, a sell out, with the greater part being a younger blues generation dancing, singing and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Anyway, on to the music played.

First on was a duo called Houndog Fraser on acoustic guitar and Rock Hunter on harmonica. With their laid back approach these two much accomplished artists played such songs as the catchy Crazy Bout My Baby and the melancholic, I Cried Through The Night, with style and great finger picking and intriguing

harmonica playing, a real treat for the appreciative audience. After a slick stage change it was time for a different sound and take on a more rootsy set. Enter the world of The Black Diamond Express, who have been around the Scottish music scene for some time in different guises, tonight they comprised a quartet, initially sitting down and playing some gospel blues and others with an ethereal take like Trouble Soon Be Over, before ending with an acapella version of Rosie. A great crowd pleaser getting rapturous applause.

After a very varied set the band looked relaxed and pleased that they did a good job. Glasgow band Fraser John Lindsay’s Blues Incentive, fronted by the effervescent Charlotte Marshall were next on the eclectic music bill, the lead singer’s sultry voice and sassy expressions making way for a very tight band performance, great saxophone playing by Gordon Dickson with Fraser on lead guitar giving some big licks on first number The Stumble. A varied set of cover songs such as The Thrill Has Gone and Hoochie Coochie Man were particular favourites.

The headliners were the wonderfully melodic trio Jed Potts And The Hillman Hunters, another Edinburgh band who finished off the night with their own unique interpretations of such classics as The Hucklebuck and Mean Old World, with guitar playing so effortlessly from Jed, also cranking up the volume on others like Don’t Tell Me, leaving people wanting more, but unfortunately the venue has a curfew time.

Edinburgh, another place keeping the blues alive, this club and organisers deserve great recognition for their efforts and I’m sure this will be a continued success. A launch party indeed, fantastic!

Colin Campbell

hound dog fraser and rocky hunter

black diamond express

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