Blues Matters 103

LIVE JAK’S

FROM THE STAGE AT

JAMIE THYER & THE WORRIED MEN

GERRY JABLONSKI & THE ELECTRIC BAND

TEED UP (STEVE ROUX)

THE MILK MEN (ADAM NORSWORTHY)

ZOE SCHWARZ & BLUE COMMOTION

ANDY GUNN

ROADHOUSE DANI WILDE

LUCY ZIRINS

DANA GILLESPIE

ROB KORAL & ZOE SCHWARZ

GEORGE SHOVLIN & GEORGE LAMB

Our Blues MC for the weekend : M.D.Spenser

…And there’s more! (said comedian Jimmy Cricket, sure he’s still out there causing joviality)…there sure is folks and here we are with another set of pages bursting with energy (I need some of that!) and enthusiasm for the Blues, so settle back if you can, in all the excitement, and see what we have in store for you here. Who would have believed that a legendary musician having made his way with his style would decide to revert to his initial thing that got him started? Yet here we have a chat with none other than Mr. Carlos Santana on his new blues album and why he’s done it (ok, so he isn’t the fi rst we know but hey!). Maybe one day Robert Plant will go direct to Blues and not pass GO, heck Tom Jones has done it.

Legendary Bobby Rush has a serious flowing, and touching chat with Tim Arnold and wow what a read! Of course, we also look to the newcomers in blues, and we bring you the emerging Ally Venable (USA), the dedicated and enduring Michelle Malone (Canada), and we have a re-visit with Dana Fuchs. From Italy, we have the Cinelli Brothers crafting their blues out of solid Blues Boom trees. Then from New Zealand we have Kara Grainger as she makes a name with her blues talent. And, the ever blowing Charlie Musslewhite makes his fi rst appearance with us. We’ve got coverage of the Blues Foundation Awards in Memphis as well as the fi rst FORM UKBlues Awards night from Worthing. Dani Wilde has another wonderful piece on Phenomenal Blues Women and YES, there is blues in Nashville, read it here with our Crystal Shawanda interview. We also have a more in-depth look at Nashville blues coming up in future editions. Cover all that in our new design looks, styles and colours and we have some of the very best Blues ice-cream on the market for your pleasure, so let’s get on and not wait any longer, turn the pages and don’t miss a thing…

Keep an eye on the emerging new look inside and let us know what you think.

ENJOY and spread the word because ‘our name says it all’.

Alan Pearce Founder, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Fan

BLUES MATTERS!

PO Box 18, Bridgend, CF33 6YW, UK

Tel: 00-44-(0)1656-745628

Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 11am–4pm.

FOUNDER/PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alan Pearce: alan@bluesmatters.com

EDITOR: INTERVIEWS/FEATURES/CD/DVD/ BOOKS/GIGS/FESTIVALS/BLUE BLOOD

Iain Patience: editor@bluesmatters.com

DESIGN

Chris Pettican: design@bluesmatters.com

ADVERTISING

Alan: ads@bluesmatters.com

PROOF READERS

Benjamin McNair, Steve Banks, Jack Goodall

WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA/PR/MARKETING

Mairi Maclennan: marketing-PR@bluesmatters.com

WEBSITE DESIGN

Ian Potter: webmanager@bluesmatters.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Warner Subscription Management: subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: (00-44-0)1778 392082

ORDERS (OTHER) orders@bluesmatters.com

Website – www.bluesmatters.com

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bluesmattersmagazine/ Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/bluesmattersmagazine/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/BluesMattersMag

Printed by Warner Print Group

Distributed by Warner Distribution Group

COVER PHOTOS:

Bobby Rush and Buddy Guy by Arnie Goodman. Ally Venable by Nathan Gardner. Carlos Santana by Maryanne Bilham.

Contributing Writers:

Liz Aiken, Tim Arnold (USA), Roy Bainton, Eric Baker (USA), Steve Banks, Adrian Blacklee, Eddy Bonte (Bel), Colin Campbell, Iain Cameron, Norman Darwen, Dave Drury, Carl Dziunka (Aus), Ben Elliott (USA), Barry Fisch (USA), Sybil Gage (USA), Jack Goodall, Mickey Griffiths, Stuart A. Hamilton, Trevor Hodgett, Billy Hutchinson, Rowland Jones, Brian Kramer (Sw), Frank Leigh, John Lindley, Boris Litvintsev (RU), Gian Luca (USA), Mairi Maclennan, Ben McNair, Mercedes Mill (USA), John Mitchell, Toby Ornott, Merv Osborne, David Osler, Iain Patience (Fr), Alan Pearce, Dom Pipkin, Thomas Rankin, Simon Ridley, Darrell Sage (USA), Paromita Saha (USA), Pete Sargeant, Graeme Scott, Andy Snipper, M.D. Spenser, Dave Stone, Suzanne Swanson (Can), Tom Walker, Don Wilcock (USA), Dani Wilde, Steve Yourglivch, Mike Zito (USA).

Contributing Photographers:

Annie Goodman (USA), others credited on page

© 2018 Blues Matters!

Original material in this magazine is © the authors. Reproduction may only be made with prior Editor consent and provided that acknowledgement is given of source and copy sent to the editorial address. Care is taken to ensure contents of this magazine are accurate but the publishers do not accept any responsibility for errors that may occur or views expressed editorially. All rights reserved. No parts of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise without prior permission of the editor. Submissions: Readers are invited to submit articles, letters and photographs for publication. The publishers reserve the right to amend any submissions and cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage. Please note: Once submitted material becomes the intellectual property of Blues Matters and can only later be withdrawn from publication at the expediency of Blues Matters. Advertisements: Whilst responsible care is taken in accepting advertisements if in doubt readers should make their own enquiries. The publisher cannot accept any responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions, nor shall they be liable for any loss or damage to any person acting on information contained in this publication. We will however investigate complaints.

The King of the Chitlin Circuit proves it’s never too late to get a Grammy when he won Acoustic Blues Album of the Year with Porcupine Meat in 2017, at 83 years of age. Carlos Santana (MEX) ................................. 68

With a promise to return to his blues roots and a new band behind him, including wife Cindy on drums, Santana is set to embark on a European tour, he describes the band as being the best he’s ever had and says they’re all fired up and ready to go.

82. Charlie Musslewhite

56. Dana Fuchs

Crystal Shawanda (CA) ...............................

‘The Whole World Has Got The Blues’, even one of Nashville’s most successful country music stars. Shawanda talks about her return to the blues with her latest album Voodoo Woman , a tribute to all the great and powerful blues ladies of the past.

Charlie Musslewhite (USA)

Harmonica genius Charlie describes his early days in the Chicago blues clubs and his first performance with Muddy Waters.

The Cinelli Brothers (IT)

Born out of a passion for the electric Chicago and Texas blues from the 1960s & 70s comes the killer blues outfi t of UK based Italian brothers, Marco and Alessandro with their fresh and exciting take on the blues, think Chess, Stax and Motown.

dana fuchs (USA) ........................................

From triumphs to personal tragedies, Dana declares that ‘Love Lives On’ as she talks motherhood, touring, bereavements, record producing and musical influences.

kara Grainger (AU) ......................................

98

Zoot Money (Uk) Pt. 3 .................................

90

Concluding the conversation with keyboard ace, Zoot, in downtown Hammersmith – his own account.

REVIEWS

Albums

82

Find new music here with our comprehensive list of reviews.

festivals .....................................................

103

62

121

The 5th Lincoln Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival, The 19th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Aliceville’s First Back Home Blues Festival, Greeley Blues Jam.

Gigs ............................................................

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys, The Tom

56

72

Australian soul slinger Kara talks to us about ‘Living With Your Ghost’, and that sometimes you have to look back at your past in order to move forward.

Maggie Bell (Uk) ..........................................

Stone The Crows, it’s part 2 of Pete’s chat with Glasgow vocalist Maggie.

Michelle Malone (USA) ................................

This Georgian singer-songwriter has been on the scene for 30 years and talks about her roots, her career and new release Slings and Arrows

The Zombies (Uk) Pt. 2 ................................

The final fi ve selections of blues choices this time from Rod Argent.

78

86

94

128

86. Michelle Malone

The Blues Foundation

The 39th Annual Blues Music Awards

Imagine the climax of an American 4 July fi reworks display going on for seven hours. That’s the intensity of the Blues Foundation’s 39th Annual Blues Music Awards ceremony which was held in Memphis on 10 May 2018. Of the many BMA ceremonies, I’ve attended over the last 25 years, this was far and away the best. The variety of styles put to rest once and for all the idea that we need to even think about the old saw of “keeping the blues alive.” This show announced to the world that blues is the foundation of popular music around the world. From Harrison Kennedy’s raw and fundamental acoustic mastery to Walter Trout’s brash rocking jam with Mike Zito, Little Stevie Van Zandt, and Jimmy Carpenter, the event showed the pervasive influence blues continues to have in its variety.

There were more women performers, winners, and presenters than ever before. Performances by women illustrate the influence women have had on the genre from Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey to Samantha Fish and Ruthie Foster.

The average age of the participants skewed younger. The music played was more eclectic and there was virtually no dead air between performances. The presentation of the awards was clustered into fewer diversions from the performances making for a more exciting show.

The TV cameras were unobtrusive, and the large videos assured that everyone in the huge convention hall could see as well as they could hear the acts.

So many of the artists have back stories that make their original material that much more powerful, honest and heart wrenching.

Verbals: Don Wilcock Visuals: Arnie Goodman

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

The show

Some wore their back stories on their sleeves, some in their hearts and a few in their bone marrow, but there wasn’t a musician on that stage that could be considered less than world class. Blues Foundation CEO Barbara Newman welcomed us as “one giant blues family” and noted that half of the artists were under the age of 40, many around 30 and some in their 20s, offering confidence in the future of the genre.

Tattooed, bluesy and overwhelmingly forceful, Karen Lovely grabbed the entire convention hall by the throat with an intensity that said, “I waited until I was 48 to go pro and I’m making up for it right here, right now.” Larkin Poe, a four-piece electric band with two young sisters, Rebecca and Megan Lovell in lead singing and guitar roles, came out of nowhere to instantly become blues’ answer to Heart. The women are descendants of Edgar Allen Poe and have been called the little sisters of The Allman Brothers, starting their recording career working with legendary producer T Bone Burnett.

Harrison Kennedy’s a cappella moan of ‘Chain Gang Blues’ completely mesmerized the audience that often gets busy buzzing during a cappella performances. His right arm rotated to his guttural grunts. “Last night I had a dream, deep, dark and engrossing,” he

moaned between verbal cues that took you into Parchman Farm on a 90-degree day under the whip of The Man. “I’m gonna lose these chain gang blues.” He went on to sing about “a ghost train rider who lets you ride all night.”

Wee Willie Walker was the fi fth act to perform with The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra that back him on his After A While CD. Walker is old school soul, and the orchestra was exquisite in the way they showcased his fabulous vocals, all sinewy in their backing on the title cut from the new album, and on ‘Romance In The Dark’, “In the dark, just you and I.” “In the dark we’re gonna fi nd the best of what the rest left behind.”

Selwyn Birchwood performed ‘Guilty Pleasures’ from his Alligator debut album, Pick Your Poison . “I’m trying to fi nd a sound that’s our own and this is the closest I’ve come” he explained. He is a prime example of the kind of young original artists Alligator is signing that make the label more than an archival rear-view mirror.

Other standout performances included forceful soul/blues artist Sugaray Rayford, the slow burning soul of Vaneese Thomas, sax-sational Vanessa Collier with Laura Chavez on National Steel guitar, and The North Mississippi Allstars ‘Prayer for Peace’

Sugaray Rayford

Solomon Hicks

2018 Blues Music Award Winners

Acoustic Album – Break The Chain , Doug MacLeod

Acoustic Artist – Taj Mahal

Album of the Year – TajMo , Taj Mahal & Keb Mo

Band – Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

B. B. King Entertainer – Taj Mahal

Best Emerging Artist Album – Southern Avenue , Southern Avenue

Blues Rock Album – We’re All In This Together, Walter Trout

Blues Rock Artist – Mike Zito

Contemporary Blues Album – TajMo , Taj Mahal & Keb Mo

Contemporary Blues Female Artist – Samantha Fish

Contemporary Blues Male Artist – Keb Mo

Historical Album – A Legend Never Dies , Luther Allison, Ruf Records

Instrumentalist Bass – Michael “Madcat” Ward

Instrumentalist Drums – Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist Guitar – Ronnie Earl

Instrumentalist Harmonica – Jason Ricci

Instrumentalist Horn – Trombone Shorty

Instrumentalist Vocals – Beth Hart

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player – Victor Wainwright

Song – ‘The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere’ written by Rick Estrin

Soul Blues Album – Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm , Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm

Soul Blues Female Artist – Mavis Staples

Soul Blues Male Artist – Curtis Selgado

Traditional Blues Album – Right Place, Right Time , Monster Mike Welch & Mike Ledbetter

Traditional Blues Female Artist – Ruthie Foster

Traditional Blues Male Artist – Rick Estrin

crossover wonders nominated for Song of the Year.

The climax was a kick-outthe-jams guitar extravaganza featuring Mike Zito, Walter Trout, Gary Hoey, and producer Tom Hambridge on drums with Little Steven and Corey Denniston. By that time, the “true blues” mirror watchers were snug in their beds, and adrenalin lovers kicked it into overdrive. The end of a great night.

Paraphrased acceptances

The uncommon glitz and sparkle of this largest of all blues celebrations could not hide the fundamental heart wrenching appreciation the winning artists have for the significance of earning these awards for their strenuous efforts that otherwise often go with little recognition beyond their fans and peers. Below are paraphrases from some of the winners.

Rick Estrin took away three awards. His comments fi rst on winning Traditional Blues Male Artist: “I just got out of the shower. I am shocked. I’ve got the best band in the world. I’ve got one more thing to say: black lives matter.” On taking Best Song for ‘The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere,’ “If it weren’t for Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records, I can envision myself sleeping on a cot in my sisters’ basement.” And fi nally winning Band of the Year for his group The Nightcats, “I want to get my numbers up so Bruce will let us cut another album.”

Curtis Salgado, Soul Blues Male Artist: “I stole

Mike Welch & Mike Leadbetter

everything I know from Wee Willie Walker. I didn’t copy him. I stole from him. This doesn’t seem right, but I’ll take it.”

Rock Blues Artist Mike Zito: “I try to steal and learn and be authentic.”

Walter Trout who took Rock Blues Album with We’re All in This Together thanked his wife for decades as his manager and care giver through a life challenging medical crisis and was nearly overwhelmed on stage by his love for her.

Ruthie Foster said, “What am I doing here” on winning Traditional Blues Female. She thanked Koko Taylor and fellow nominees. “I love you.”

Israeli Ori Naftali thanked Americans for accepting ‘a foreigner’ on winning Best Emerging Artists Album with Southern Avenue’s eponymous release.

“This is the pinnacle of my life,” blurted Keb Mo, Contemporary Blues Male Artist.

Trombone Shorty who won best horn and Mike Welch who shared the award

for Best Traditional Blues Album Right Place, Right Time with Mike Ledbetter, thanked their parents. “The most important thing in life is family,” said Shorty. “My mom and dad are here. Beyond that, we have our blues family.”

Michael “Mudcat” Ward who won for bass said simply, “This is a very confusing world. I’d like to thank everybody.”

Laura Chevez

Anthony Paule

Tom Hambridge

Wee Willie Walker

The foRM UkBlues Awards 2018

Verbals:

Liz Aiken Visuals: Liz Aiken

Blues fans, musicians, PR and media were all on the May blues migration to Worthing Pier’s Southern Pavilion where the 2018 Blues Awards were to be presented, with live music from Catfi sh and the opportunity to meet up with friends. The FORM UKBlues Awards started with a panel who were asked to nominate the acts they felt deserved recognition, across seventeen categories. With fi ve nominees selected the next stage was a public vote, voting for the acts that they feel have delivered the blues for them.

The weather couldn’t have been better with blue seas and skies bright and sunny, as the anticipatory tension built up as the chatter rose with the venue fi lling rapidly. With Sarah Reeve and her team with yellow tee-shirts as bright as the sun with welcoming smiles ensured goodie bags were given and tables found. Now was the moment for the doors to open fi ngers crossed that technology would not let us down. Now time for the Awards to be announced. The movers, shakers and opinion shapers across the UK Blues scene took their seats at their tables and waited for the formal part of the night to begin.

With Dave Raven & Ashwyn

Smyth of the UKBlues Federation getting the proceedings underway, the opening slot was a short and amusing video from Federation patron Mike Vernon, who sadly could not be in Worthing in person. He certainly set the tone for an awards evening that kept on being fun, with Ian Siegal stepping up to be the MC for the night. With a glint in his eye he started with the opening of the fi rst Gold Envelope. His wit and ready smile made sure the audience laugh and feel part of the proceedings as the trophies were handed out. You were never quite sure when his razor-sharp tongue and eagle-eyed observations would spill out, but he resisted whoever was being announced as the winner. The cheers for the winners were always warm, with fi nalists applauded as well as those who won. That is the conundrum of awards – the joy of being a winner and the disappointment of being a fi nalist. In reality everyone and every organisation nominated were winners. The fans who go out to live music are never to be forgotten, without them musicians would be playing to empty clubs and venues. It is the

people that keep the scene alive, they give support to bands as they tour around the land, make festivals a success and drive the genre forwards. With the fi rst batch of awards announced the tone was set for the night. A short break, no one wasted a minute as they caught up with people from across the land and then the fi rst opportunity to hear Catfi sh tonight. Having just received Blues Act of the Year, England, they all had a spring in their musical step. Live music is the heart and soul of the blues scene, this is the energy that courses through our veins. The set was fantastic. As ever, Catfi sh delivered their sound, and interpretation of blues today with a variety of tones and textures which really got the venue warmed-up. It was fun.

Ian once again took to the stage with a clutch of Gold envelopes and announced the remaining winners and fi nalists, his commentary ensuring the proceedings never got boring and that the atmosphere remained buoyant and uplifting as we celebrated the music we love.

With the awards over, the second set from Catfi sh was relaxed as they invited the young players on stage. First up, Toby Lee, Winner of Young Blues Artist of The Year. His guitar

playing stung as he, with youthful energy, lit the blue touch paper. The torch was then picked up by the fi nalist Marcus PraestgaardStevens. Blues is certainly being noticed by some young people. It is our duty make sure that every generation fi nds the blues. These two young ambassadors certainly will help spread the word as they shared the stage alongside other fi nalists, Benjamin Bassford, Matt Long and Tom C. Walker. Also joining Matt on stage was Luke Doherty, regional winner for Wales. These are part of the future, spreading the music, ensuring that Blues is seen as exciting to play and to listen to. What a wonderful way to close the 2018 FORM UKBlues Awards. Let’s see what 2019 brings as we celebrate the music being played this year. Tonight was a great beginning and the destination is as yet to be discovered as the event grows and develops. As ever, awards will always spark off debates. These can be healthy discussions raising the profi le of the blues across the UK. Britain will forever be associated with the British Blues Explosion of the 1960s. When artists that continue to influence popular music far beyond Britain, changed the face of music forever. The electric guitar and vocalist ruled, with The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, The Animals and Led Zeppelin. Guitarists that continue to be mentioned as an influence from Eric Clapton to Peter Green from Beck to Page.

At the centre of this new wave of blues with a British twist was Chris Barber, Alexis Korner and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. The rash spread with Duster Bennett, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, John Dummer Blues Band, Groundhogs, Fleetwood Mac and more, many of whom backed touring American Bluesmen. Without Mr. Barber to kick it off though there may not have been this connection between Britain and the blues? A distinctively Black American musical culture out of the Deep South and into the industrial towns of the North with Chicago Blues becoming a distinct sound. We took those ‘coals to Newcastle’ and re-light their fi re as B.B. King was keen to acknowledge. Let’s also not forget the vital role played then by what was the College network of gigs and Blues Clubs most of which we sorely miss and need.

Yes, let the debate begin, let the voice of British Blues be heard loud and proud again. The FORM UK Awards are a fantastic means of getting noticed. Tonight was the beginning and as the Awards grow and become a recognised music occasion, and blues once again is celebrated across the U.K. Yes, in 2018 and beyond, the sound will continue to develop. From the beginning of the genre, the music has grown, changed and adapted to cultural and musical influence. The Blues are

alive and full of delicious diversity and will remain a constant influence to many, even if they do not realise it when they shape their music. This is the beginning of the journey not the end. Lessons will have been learned; the Federation will gain from this experience. Next year the Awards will be bigger and the sapphire glitz will shine brightly but most importantly the fun and joy of meeting friends will be the blues glue that joins us all together – even if we think someone else should have been nominated or won, there is always 2019!

As this overview draws to a close, a big thank you to everyone involved to make the evening such a success, the magnificent team in yellow, Steve Potter from FORM UK for having faith and sponsoring the event and Phil Duckett, for the wonderful historic and unique venue, Worthing Pier’s Southern Pavilion to hold the event. A massive thank you to Ian Siegal for being an amazing MC at the awards and lastly, and most importantly everyone who bought a ticket, cheered the winners and fi nalists and made the evening the success it was.

So it is time to join in the loud congratulations to the winners and fi nalists of the inaugural FORM UK Blues Awards.

The list of winners can be found at: https://mailchi.mp/132d54158a0e/ ukbluesawards-results-20may2018-1612457

Fabulous stuff. Perfect. Loving it

Marc Tyley - Manx Radio

Every right to be regarded as one of the best R&B albums of the year.

Pete Feenstra - Get Ready To Rock

Individually superb, collectively brilliant….natural flair and ferocious talent

Ian D. Hall - Blues In The South

AVAILABLE AT ITUNES, SPOTIFY, AMAZON AND ALL GOOD RECORD SHOPS! TOUR DATES AVAILABLE AT: WWW.SHARPEEZ.WEBS.COM

The End of An Era

The Closing of B.B. King Blues Club and Grill NYC

Eighteen years ago, the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square, which is at the crossroads of the world, opened with its namesake, B.B. King. The whole music community was out to check out B.B. Kings, the club and the artist. Over the eighteen years, B.B. Kings has had all of the greats performing on its stage. James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Bobby Blue Bland, John Mayall, Etta James, Savoy Brown, Robert Cray, Robin Tower, Billy Gibbons, Ten Years After, Walter Trout and Peter Green, are just a few who have graced the stage. They also had a small room they called Lucille’s where Jon Paris hosted a blues jam throughout the entire eighteen years. Jon would bring up some of the top blues players to jam with him. Sugar Blue, Leo Lyons, Dave Maxwell, Michael Packer, Solomon Hicks and Steve Holly were a few of those jammers. On 29 May 2018, B.B. Kings came up with a legendary closing night – with Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush and guest Tom Hambridge performing. Blues fans from all over the world came out to pay homage to B.B. Kings. Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush did not disappoint! They are two of the most iconic Bluesmen on the planet today and they both gave the audience their read on the Blues. The night ended in Lucille’s with Jon Paris and Hook Herrera jamming till four in the morning. Long live the memory of B.B. Kings!

Verbals: Arnie Goodman

Buddy Guy by Arnie Goodman

Image credit: Chris Capaci

Marty Sammon by Arnie Goodman

Tom Hambridge by Arnie Goodman

Bobby Rush by Arnie Goodman

Slim chicks in high heel boots with really great eye makeup fur coats, hats and stoles rippling in the wind that blows hard from the east frozen streets and rattling trams delivering endless streams of bundled workers Hard Slavic infantrymen round shouldered and fi xed of frame Stride through glimmering byzantine tunnels littered with the relics of the hard line age surviving as reminders of the dangers unheeded in these hyper capitali st times Cathedrals scattered like pumpk in seeds towers and turrets like a bonfi re rising to the sky

The peckers of wood, twi n headed adopted as the symbol for a new republic and an old insult, a curse for s tupidity hinting at deep and slumbering sense of humour

Cold and empty stares on street corners contrast starkly with the warmth of those found indoors beautiful and expressive use of language like a living breathing Chek hov play comparisons to Dostoevsky in visage and p ompadour.

Mike Ross

Blues in Russia Part V

Whatever happens – like the recent sad and dangerous incident in Salisbury and all the political consequences/issues due to massive propaganda on TV and press in Russia, it looked like anything from Britain became ‘toxic’ to most of Russians – but no matter that, against all odds the British Blues Invasion to Russia still keeps rolling.

Verbals: Boris Litvintsev Visuals: Supplied by author

In the beginning of February Mike Ross opened the new season of the British Blues Invasion. Mike enjoyed the “routine tourist package” sightseeing tour to the Kremlin and Red Square and played four shows. Mostly original material from his last two albums plus an additive of a few evergreen classics with his very own twist. Audiences accepted him with much warmth and enthusiasm. Very impressive set of merch – LPs, three CDs, t-shirts and assorted badges, stickers, postcards and guitar picks – was in high demand and by the end of the tour we happened to sell all of the stuff. The last existing LP on the last sold-out show I put on the auction and the fi nal winning bid exceeded our expectations. It’s always great fun to sell some rare and ‘unique’ stuff like used strings or a used guitar pick on the auction. From Moscow, Mike took a freshly made new ink from one of the most established tattoo studios – it’s a roaring Russian bear in spruce woods under the moon. Well done Mike!

Mike Ross: Well, what a couple of weeks it’s been … beginning with my fi rst ever Russian tour dates and they were an unqualified success, great venues, wonderful crowds, amazing city, fl attering reviews, the lot! In the words of one reviewer: “… a stunningly diverse show, an assortment of cool Americana with a healthy dose of Psychedelia well-seasoned with Southern Rock.” Thanks to all of my new Russian fans for making me feel so welcome,

and to all musicians I’ve had a pleasure to play with – Roman, Dennis, Alexei, Denis, and Daniil, for doing such an amazing job of learning my songs and playing them so well as my backing band. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring a bit of Moscow and I even got a new tattoo for a souvenir. I’m already in talks with my Russian promoter and friend the wonderful Boris ‘The Blade’ Litvinstev about a return visit next spring so watch this space.

Mike was so inspired with his Russian experiences that he happened to write a poem which might be a song one day.

Guitar prodigy Ben Poole who has been nominated by Total Guitar/MusicRadar as the best blues guitarist of 2017 was the second one. He came a few days before the actual tour started just to enjoy the beautiful winter time in Moscow and celebrate his birthday! We went to the Kremlin, streamed a couple of live videos, enjoyed a dinner in a posh Japanese restaurant around the corner from the Red Square and hung out in a night club. His shows were great as always, with a couple of sold-outs – his third visit to Russia proved he’s got a strong fan base, with an unusually high percentage of beautiful young ladies for a blues-based music genre. Ben also played three live radio shows on three major Russian radio stations to tens if not hundreds of thousands listeners.

Ben Poole: I’ve been extremely blessed to be able to travel across the world many

times over the past few years playing the guitar, and I have to say that Moscow and St Petersburg are two of the coolest cities I have had the pleasure of visiting. It was my third time being in Moscow in February earlier this year, and was the most fun (if also the most cold!) due to having now built up a bit of a following and fan base there, as well as a good friendship group. Through my friend and promoter Boris’ continued hard work, along with my eagerness to continue to come back and play for the people of Russia (whom I have personally found to be some of the most kind, hospitable and welcoming people around), I am looking forward to seeing what the future brings for my career in this incredible and interesting territory.

Then there was the incredible Bex Marshall who’s first time to Russia was exactly four years before. She took part in The Beatles Festival and played a few Fab Four songs plus a couple of her own. Four more shows plus a special guest appearance at the reception party dedicated to my friend’s Erkin

Tuzmukhamedov «Бухло » (Booze) book release. Raw power and enormous passion, Bex delivered in every show they were second to none and her shows were all successes.

Bex Marshall: Going to Russia to play your Blues with Boris?! … it’s a pilgrimage! Boris is the man who enables not only the people of

Moscow and surrounding areas of Russia to enjoy the gregarious array of Blues talent from the UK, but also enables us “artists” to adventure around a mind bogglingly historic and dramatically unusual and fascinating place that really is “invite only” … and then we get to PLAY … Divas don’t get it! Sling your hook darling! These tours are personal and rewarding in many ways … If you want five star hotels and black limos – forget it! Boris strategically organising the time into culinary delights from his delightful wife, enough time to sleep (which is always nice) and some stunning venues and buildings which ooze character and reflect the Russian vibe. The players I was assigned to were a pleasure to play with. Like musical chess grandmasters … scarily talented and we nailed several shows almost effortlessly! Highlights for me included playing at the head of a table of KGB officers over the weekend of the poison conspiracy, being a part of an incredible Beatles Festival tributing the late great George Harrison and playing a “BOOZE” book launch in a brilliant quirky venue which served 110 percent proof moonshine vodka … oh and possibly experiencing the coldest gust of wind in my life.

Richard Townend

Rosco Levee

Next was UK Awards 2018 multi-nominee musician/songwriter, the one and only Richard Townend, himself in person. He’s been very busy with playing shows, sightseeing, browsing the impressive underground system, busking on the street corner for strangers and playing a live radio show.

Richard Townend: I was privileged to be asked to pack my little old songs in my kit back and travel to Moscow via a Facebook message from Boris ‘TheBlade’, a wonderful Russian promoter. My mission was to entertain Russian music fans at several different venues in the city over a five-day period in April. As the date approached I felt excitement, anticipation and a little trepidation, but I have returned a better person for the experience. The musicians who greeted me had, with extreme diligence, learnt all the songs so well and I was delighted it went so smoothly, they were excellent musicians. I had a wonderful host, Boris and his wife, Marina, who were hoteliers, promoters and tour guides all in one package. I busked on the streets of Moscow for a video that got over 3.5k views in two months, I did a live session on national Radio and played several excellent places. The venues

were of varying sizes but the audiences were consistently complementary and their enthusiasm was infectious. Language barriers melted as friends were made and alliances were created. Life is for living and live we certainly did, that’s the beauty of music, a universal language and friendship maker. I will be back … I hope.

In fact, the above mentioned sad and dangerous incident seriously affected us – due to ‘diplomats/spies’ expel our governments exchanged the consulate in London dramatically increased the visa issuing times that makes it almost impossible to get visas for extensively touring musicians, especially residing outside London. So, we needed to cancel/postpone Lorna & Jules

Fothergill, Krissy Matthews and Zoe Schwarz & Rob Koral tours … Will Johns, our longterm friend, gave me a helping hand and came for his next tour. Let him speak.

Will Johns: I returned recently from another (fifth or sixth?) wonderful adventure with Boris ‘TheBlade’ and Hot Draft Productions in Moscow. Despite the very changeable weather, Boris managed to take me sightseeing and Fishing and we even managed to trek out into the woods and enjoy a lovely BBQ! Dennis Nazarov, Alexey Sechkin and Denis Hagba are great musicians, who’s skill and positive attitude made for some great performances at the Central House of Artists, Kontora Club, Rhythm & Blues Cafe and the Jam Club. I absolutely loved seeing popfolk band “OYME” and we performed ‘On My Back’ together at CHA. By invitation of my buddy Adam Muskin actor, musician and radio host, I played a live acoustic session on national Radio in prime time. It was fun to play with Dennis and Mikhail Danilov.

Boris and Hot Draft Productions are defenders of great British Blues, and, I’m sure, deserve Medals and Awards for services to British Blues musicians. Thank you Boris and your good lady Marina for making me feel so welcome and always going beyond the call of duty.

We were trying to organize a Tony Remy tour since mid-2014, and it became possible only in Spring 2018. Incredible jazz/ fusion/rock/blues guitarist who toured and recorded with Herbie Hancock, Annie

Lennox, Pee Wee Ellis, Craig David, Incognito, M-People just to name a few, Tony Remy is a great musician in his own right. He recorded seven albums (the fi rst one Boof! I’ve got on vinyl for many years!) and toured extensively around the globe with different projects. And fi nally he came to Russia!

Tony Remy: Fortunately some friends of mine introduced me to Boris ‘TheBlade’ Litvintsev a few years ago. It took a while since then to get to Russia fi nally. Jetting in from Sardinia via Rome to Moscow to play a few shows I was inspired and full of expectations. On arrival I discovered that my main Axe had been lost by Alitalia somewhere. I spent two hours to leave the claim. Then Boris picked me up and we took public transport to avoid the terrible Moscow traffic. The fi rst thing to amaze me was the depth and beauty of the subway stations, then to my amazement Boris asked the busker playing some lovely classical guitar music if I could play a couple of tunes and this turned out to be a hit for my fans back home in London. Boris shot a lovely video of me playing and it got two thousand views in a couple of days on Facebook. Next day early in the morning we flew to the Northern City of Arkhangelsk where my fi rst show was a part of a local Blues Fest. After returning back to Moscow there were a further four shows: two were full band shows, one was a power trio gig and it was great to play with a monster bass player, Roman Grinyov. Another show was acoustic and I enjoyed playing with marvelous guitarist Dennis Nazarov. All in all I had such a wonderful time in Russia, where I was able to play with some superb musicians and meet some lovely people. My time been augmented with some wonderful barbecues in the forest and the trip to Red Square and the Kremlin. I couldn’t ask for any more professionalism and hospitality. Really looking forward to coming back very soon.

The closing act of Spring 2018 season was no other than Rosco Levee, who’d been to Moscow for the fi rst time in October 2017. A bright charismatic frontman, songwriter and virtuoso guitar player, he grabs the audience’s attention from the very fi rst note and keeps the tight grip till the very end of every show.

Rosco Levee: Well, Rosco in Moscow, again! I loved every minute of it. The band was fantastic. Three Russian guys – Anton Ilyin on keys, Vasiliy Rogozhin on bass and Egor Gorkin on the drums – who learnt the material and were eager to Jam the set, weaving and all taking solos where we felt it. Each of which was a professional in their chosen instrument and extremely talented.

The audiences were great, listening and getting involved with each song and the atmosphere at each show was electric. Vinyl sales were great as well as CD and T-shirt sales.

Boris as always makes the best coffee in the world and is the perfect promoter and host.

Moscow is a beautiful city, my favourite by night. The whole city comes alive with lights. The people are very generous and hospitable. I can’t wait to get back over here again when I have the new record ready.

We’re looking forward to new British Blues Invasion to Russia season and hope it’ll be even more successful with top acts –our own longtime friends Marcus Bonfanti, Julian Burdock and Danny Giles, veteraninvader Jimmy C who played in Russia for the fi rst time over 10 years ago, and newcomers Matthew Long of Catfi sh, Matt Pearce, Troy Redfern and Ash Wilson, and good old mate Jack J. Hutchinson to fi nish the season.

Let there be blues! ‘coz it really matters!

Will Johns

No Kidding:

Star DJ on a Mission

Radio and TV legend David “Kid” Jensen tells journalist Simon Redley about his life-long love of the blues, and mission to give UK blues artists a global platform.

Verbals: Simon Redley

The blues has had a raw deal from national radio when you think about it. One hour a week on BBC Radio 2 – a programme shoved away early on a weekday evening.

For mainstream shows, you can forget it. No blues ever playlisted. Even Joe Bonamassa – who’s everywhere when

plugging a new album or tour – can’t get arrested on national BBC radio outside of the one-hour specialist programme.

Long gone are the days of John Peel, Andy Kershaw, Bob Harris and Annie Nightingale spinning blues tracks when they felt like it

Paul Jones has hosted the Radio 2 blues show for 32 years, but he has

given up his seat to former Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews, who hosts a general music show on BBC 6 Music.

But there is new hope for blues exposure on national radio, well, to be accurate; global radio.

The digital station United DJs was launched back in April by Tony Prince; which sees Mike Read, Dave Lee Travis and a bunch of other former Radio 1, Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg “jocks” hosting shows – including respected broadcaster David “Kid” Jensen.

He hosts ‘Jensen’s Dimensions’ every Monday night from 10 p.m. to midnight. A much-needed champion of the blues genre.

Between David and the show’s producer Golly Gallagher, the blues is in safe hands. Golly is immersed in the blues in his day job, as a music publicist promoting new albums, EPs and tours to the media via his company GFI Promotions. He’s also former manager to young blues artists such as Ollie Brown and Laurence Jones.

David and Golly first met around 1972, in the Blow Up club in Luxembourg, where Golly was the resident DJ, having moved from his DJ job in Denmark.

The Radio Luxembourg star DJs frequented the place most nights and when the pair met, they became fast friends over their mutual love of music, including the blues.

Golly eventually shared a flat with Kid, who was best man at Golly’s wedding some years later. The pair have been close friends now for 46 years.

A broadcasting legend. A man who many still call “Kid” Jensen – a nickname he was given by DJ Paul Burnett back in 1968, when David joined Radio Luxembourg at the age of 18-years-old, where he stayed for six years.

He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1976 until 1984, and became a TV star too, hosting BBC TV’s Top of the Pops and his own music shows.

David Jensen has always been a champion of new artists and new music, with a knack of spotting future stars. Among the many acts who got their big break on national radio or television via Kid Jensen are Gary Numan, The Police, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Thin Lizzy and The Smiths.

David Bowie was a regular interviewee. In 1972, David travelled with the Rolling Stones on shows across the USA when they were promoting Exile on Main St

He introduced Led Zeppelin before their famed final show at Earls Court in London, where he was presented with an engraved silver goblet from the band. Among David’s favourite interviews over the years, is his chat with Carlos Santana on Brazil’s Copacabana beach in 1980.

Hall Of Fame

David is married to Iceland-born Guðrún and has three children and seven grandchildren. He’s Chairman of Crystal Palace F.C. Vice-President’s Club, he became a Freeman of the City of London in 2010, and he is an inductee of the UK Radio Hall of Fame.

The blues has always been part of the 67-yearold’s life. As a teenager in Canada, while his mates were arguing about whether they were fans of The Beatles or the Rolling Stones, David was listening to John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers

“That was my introduction to blues and I just loved everything he did. I spread the word among my friends, and they started listening too. We investigated the Beano album and the Hard Road album with Peter Green.

“The Crusade album with Mick Taylor in 1967 was an important album for me, in terms of music and opening my mind to what was going on in Britain at the time, which was the blues revival. The British blues boom of the late 60s was an exciting time, especially for live music”.

David Jensen began his broadcasting career at 16 in Canada, playing jazz and classical music. But he slipped in some blues at the next station he worked at.

“I played Son House and a lot of the Chicago blues scene. North America’s answer to John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers was The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and I really liked what they did too”.

Mondays was always blues night when David was at Radio Luxembourg. He played all of the Mike Vernon-produced Blue Horizon output, particularly Duster Bennett, Champion Jack Dupree and Freddie King, and is a big admirer of Vernon’s work.

David has had access to many huge stars over the years for interviews, including a good selection of blues legends. B.B. King, Ray Charles, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Eric Clapton, Duster Bennett, Champion Jack Dupree, Christine Perfect (who became McVie), Stan Webb and Maggie Bell of Stone the Crows, among them.

So, Ray Charles. 1969 in his hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Luxembourg. “He was an amazing guy. Just us in his hotel room, and he had as much time as I wanted which was fantastic. You don’t often get that from artists as legendary as him”.

B.B. King for Radio 1. “He was such a gentleman, such a lovely guy and a great interviewee, I must say.”

Beloved Lucille

“He had his guitar case, and inside was his beloved Lucille. I got a chance to see it and touch that magnificent instrument.

“My over abiding memories are of a guy who was a gentleman, had a lot of dignity, spoke pleasantly and it was a dream interview for me.

“I was very nervous about meeting a legend,

who turned out to be a great guy. But people say you should never meet your heroes”. David’s favourite B.B. King track: ‘You Upset Me’.

He got to interview Eric Clapton, a star who David has introduced on stage many times and invited aa a guest to many of his shows, never missing his regular stints at the Royal Albert Hall.

Eric granted David the only radio interview, after losing his four-and-a-halfyear-old son Conor from a horrific fall from the 53rd floor of a sky scraper in New York in March 1991. A very emotional moment for David and the production staff in the studio at the time.

“It was quite a lengthy interview in the aftermath of his son sadly passing away. It was a very sombre interview. He was very kind and very nice. Everybody was very sad at the time”.

David was a big fan of Rory Gallagher and interviewed him many times. He also got to see him live lots of times. He recalls nights in the famed Marquee club in London’s Wardour Street, where Rory was delivering incendiary performances.

Sir Van Morrison is probably his favourite artist of any genre, and David was thrilled to be the MC at the star-studded Lead Belly Fest at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2015, when Sir Van was topping the bill.

David’s favourite blues artists are John Mayall and Robert Johnson, all-time favourite blues album is Mayall’s Crusade and his favourite blues track, is ‘The Death of JB Lenoir’ on that Crusade record.

As a youngster, David played trumpet in a Symphony Orchestra near Vancouver, and he says he has had a tenor sax’ under his bed for a good while, and he intends to start playing it.

So, what does he make of Paul Jones being replaced by Cerys Matthews taking over the BBC Radio 2 blues show?

Tragic

“Paul Jones was excellent, and I tuned in a lot. Cerys Matthews replacing Paul Jones; I think that’s tragic really.

“Paul Jones deserves a Knighthood for what he has been doing; working away in the blues genre for such a long time, largely unnoticed by the media. I don’t know why people don’t regard him for what he is; he’s a great talent.

“I feel blues is still very special and people should learn a lot about it, via publications like Blues Matters!

“I think the life and soul of the genre is live work and that’s where so many bands shine”.

David’s personal message to bands and artists trying hard to keep the blues alive, often against the odds. “Perseverance will eventually pay. If you fight the good fight and you’ve got something original, you stand a good chance.

“Somebody like Walter Trout. He’s as valid a blues artist today as he ever was. A fantastic artist. He’s not a pin up, but he’s got a brilliant talent and he’s a lovely guy too.

“The way we can incorporate blues into Jensen’s Dimensions on a Monday evening on United DJs should actually help a lot.

“With the idea of spreading and mixing the music, you can get away from the idea of having a late-night ghetto for specialist music”. David is preparing to invite the first guests in to the studio for interviews and live sessions.

He makes a point of mixing vintage blues from the black American originators, with the blues rock of the likes of Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa. While giving airtime to 2018’s brand new blues artists, such as London-based The Cinelli Brothers.

He really digs their debut album Babe Please Set Your Alarm , which went into the IBBA chart at number 6 – chosen as a record of the month for June by the DJ members.

“The Cinelli Brothers. I really love them, and I really want to see them live. There’s

something about their attitude which I think is really good. I think they’ve got some real potential. It is a really cool album. Their laidback approach reminds me a bit of ZZ Top on some of the stuff.”

David was recently a guest at the FORM UKBlues Awards in Worthing. “As a dedicated band of followers of the genre, I thought they might see me as a bit of an interloper, but they were very welcoming, very friendly, very nice.

“I have been to jazz equivalent events and they are not as open as the blues guys. They like to protect their music, where the blues people are just happy to get plays on the radio wherever they can.

“They (the blues fans) get on very well together, and it is almost like being at a convention, at one of these things”. David presented the award for Regional Blues Act of the Year: England, to rising stars Catfish.

“I was impressed with how many people remembered me from Radio Luxembourg, because they would have been as young as me when I was on there. I have a lot of affectionate memories of working on that station”.

Secret battle

‘But he is loving his time on United DJs. “I was listening to the station in South Korea recently, while visiting my son who is a journalist there, and it was coming in loud and clear. It made me appreciate just how powerful online radio can be”.

In his personal life, David recently announced that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease five years ago. His strict medication regime helps keep his symptoms in check.

But despite his challenging health issues, aside from the new show, David keeps busy presenting general shows on various BBC and commercial radio stations.

“Paul Jones deserves a Knighthood for what he has been doing; working away in the blues genre for such a long time”

Geeshie Wiley Phenomenal Blues Women

The chilling mystery of Geeshie Wiley’s ‘Last Kind Words’

Verbals: Dani Wilde Visuals: Public Domain

Geeshie Wiley was an African-American country blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, who recorded six songs for Paramount Records between 1930 and 1931. Shortly after recording her haunting song ‘Last Kind Words,’ accompanied by her female musician and friend Elvie Thomas, Geeshie disappeared. The mystery surrounding Geeshie Wiley is as compelling as any ghost story. There are no known photos of her, however her songs reveal some compelling clues to her story.

Geeshie wasn’t Wiley’s real name; rather it was a nickname given to her by her recording partner Elvie Thomas, which hinted at her heritage. The Geechee people are an AfricanAmerican community based in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The term Geechee is likely derived from the Georgia’s ‘Ogeechee’ River. The Geechee people are descendants of slavery from the West Coast of Africa and they speak with a Creole dialect of English known as Gullah. They use the terms Geechee and Gullah to formally refer

to their language and ethnic identity.

Born in the South, like many AfricanAmericans, Geeshie Wiley travelled North in the Great Migration. Gifted female guitarists were a rarity at the time, and so she caught the attention of a scout from Paramount Records. In 1930, Paramount invited Geeshie to their studio in Wisconsin where she recorded six songs, of which ‘Last Kind Words’ really stood out.

For starters, the song is in a minor key, which is very unusual for a country blues song of the era. Have a listen and you will instantly know what I mean; the sound is very unique. The unexpected minor tonality perfectly underpins the raw sadness of Geeshie Wiley’s lyric. She sings:

‘the last kind words I heard my daddy say If I die, if I die in the German war I want you to send my body, send it to my mother, lord’

The German War that Geeshie refers to is World War I. America was a segregated country where black people were treated as secondclass citizens. Despite this, during WWI, many African-Americans wanted to join the military, seeing it as an opportunity to win the respect of their white neighbours in the hope of bringing equal rights to America.

Although many black people were enlisted into the military, only two African-American combat divisions – 92d and 93d – were sent oversees to help the French Army battle against the Germans. Geeshie Wiley sang of the fear her lover faced at war; the fear of dying. Her voice is pierced with a deep sting of

emotion – perhaps her own fear of losing him.

In 1918, the 369th Infantry was the first regiment of the 93d African-American Division to reach France. Now proudly nicknamed the ‘Harlem Hellfighters,’ they proved their bravery, fighting on the front-line for 191 days, helping the French to force the Germans from their trenches. France awarded the entire unit the Croix de Guerre and presented 171 individual awards for ‘exceptional gallantry in action’. When the war ended, both white and African-American troops rejoiced in victory. Yet, it was not without horrific loss; 800 black soldiers were killed in battle and 5,000 injured. Perhaps Geeshie Wiley’s lover was one of those brave young men.

‘If I get killed, if I get killed, please don’t bury my soul … just leave me out, let the buzzards eat me whole’

To make matters worse, rather than returning home as heroes, black soldiers were met with horrendous racial prejudice. Many white-American’s feared that the returning African-American troops would demand equality and might try to attain it by enforcing their military training. As the troops returned home, anti-black race riots broke out in twenty-six cities. Lynching across America increased and many of the victims were black war veterans, some of whom were lynched while in uniform. If Geeshie’s lover survived the war, he may not have survived his return to America’s Southern States. The imagery Geeshie Wiley conjures of the buzzards eating her lover’s dead body draws a chilling parallel to Billie Holliday’s 1939 song about the horror of Lynching in the South, ‘Strange Fruit’ – ‘ fruit for the crows to pluck .’

Geeshie’s song didn’t just echo her own tragic story, but that of her culture. Geeshie’s raw and emotive vocal delivery very much captures the hardship of the African-American struggle and her personal connection to it.

In the next verse, the sadness continues as Geeshie sings about her mother:

‘My mama told me, just before she died Lord, precious daughter, don’t you be so wild’

Is it any wonder then that Geeshie Wiley was a little wild? If her words are her honest story,

Recommended Listening

Geeshie Wiley, ‘Last Kind Words Blues’ / ‘Skinny Leg Blues’, Paramount Records (March 1930)

Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley, ‘Motherless Child Blues’ / ‘Over to My House’, Paramount Records (March 1930)

Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas, ‘Pick Poor Robin Clean’ / ‘Eagles on a Half’, Paramount Records (March 1931)

she had lost the people she loved most, and was left all alone. For fifty years, blues fans were left puzzled about Geeshie’s whereabouts. Who was this fantastic blues songstress with the hauntingly beautiful voice? Where is she now?

Well, in 2014, Blues Historian John Jeremiah Sullivan had his article ‘The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie’ published in the New York Times and it shocked the blues community. Sullivan had managed to track down Geeshie Wiley’s musical partner Elvie Thomas in Houston, Texas. Elvie told him that she first met Geeshie in the 1920s when Geeshie went by her birth name, Lillie May Scott. Sullivan was then able to dig a little deeper. He discovered that Geeshie was born ‘Lillie’ in Louisiana, 1908, and she had married Thornton Wiley. Upon ascertaining Thornton Wiley’s death certificate, Sullivan discovered a bone-chilling secret! Thornton Wiley was murdered in 1931. His death certificate described how he had been stabbed in the throat – a ‘knife wound inflicted by Lillie May Scott.’

And so, at long last we know the reason for Geeshie’s abrupt disappearance. She was on the run from the law, and, as if that wasn’t shocking enough, suddenly we realise the clues had been there all along; for the B-side to Geeshie’s 1930 recording ‘Last Kind Words’ is a lesser-known song entitled ‘Skinny Leg Blues’. It tells the tale of a strong and independent woman who doesn’t need to rely on any man – and with such spite and conviction, Geeshie howls the words: ‘I’m gonna cut your throat baby, gonna look down in your face … I’m gonna let some lonesome graveyard be your restin’ place .’

Black Cat Bone

From open mic jam sessions at a local pub to a 2018 UK Blues Award nomination for best Scottish blues act, Black Cat Bone have progressed in more ways than one over the five years of their existence. Once upon a time a stripped back outfit with a rhythm section built on cajón and slide guitar rather than drums and bass, they’re now a four-piece purveying raw, lead-heavy ‘alt.blues rock’n’roll’.

In archetypal rock’n’roll fashion the band originated in singer and harp player Ross Craig stumbling over guitarist Luis Del Castillo, who had moved to Edinburgh to improve his English, busking in the street. Having stuck together through numerous line-up changes, the pair now combine their screaming harp and distorted guitar with booming drums from Kai Wallace and fuzz bass from Ewan McKenna. The result is a distinctive collision between grungy hard rock and old-fashioned R’n’B with the rhythm section laying down a big, greasy, dirty groove. The overall vibe recalls the dark and heavy side of The Doors, with Craig’s lead vocal

evoking Jim Morrison’s most ominous growl.

Although their material generally originates from a guitar riff conjured up by Del Castillo, to which Craig then adds ideas for the melody, words and harmonica parts, the songs are then developed through jamming, with all concerned pitching in their ideas in pursuit of the best result. The blues remains at the core however. As Ross Craig puts it, “The songs now have a more rocky edge to them, but with every song we write I always push it to sound more blues than rock as it’s important to stay true to the roots of what made us.”

The band first committed material to record with their 2015 album Growl , and have celebrated their UK Blues Award nomination with the release this March of their five-track Get Your Kicks Sessions EP, which includes their signature version of the old Slim Harpo classic ‘Hip Shake’. Along the way they’ve had support slots with Son Of Dave and Marcus Bonfanti among others, and have played at Scotland’s Eden Festival and Edinburgh Blues’n’Rock Festival.

With momentum building, including some interest from abroad, the band are currently focused on writing material for their second album, along with playing more shows and festivals to promote the EP and bring the trademark Black Cat Bone sound to more people around the country.

Verbals: Iain Cameron Visuals: Sean Francis Photography

Vicious Steel

Verbals:

Iain Patience Visuals: Cyril Maguy

Vicious Steel is a young band from deepest France, an area hardly known for its blues or love of rocking-blues music in general. But, bucking the trend, this duo featuring guitarist and singer, Cyril Maguy, and drummer, Antoine Delavaud, has steadily built up their profile playing the French blues festival circuit while always

looking out for other opportunities to move on with their powerful, driving range of blues-based takes that switch from Chicago, electric influences through R&B to traditional, rootsy, country blues with an acoustic delivery and purpose. At times, they move across genres, taking in modern blues music’s country cousin, bluegrass-cum-Americana.

The band won the 2016 French Blues Challenge award and represented the country at the Memphis IBC in 2017. They also opened for Ten Years After early in 2018, when the veteran rockers were on the road in France. Speaking to them, the guys are clearly pleased with progress and remain hungry for further success: “We love that older blues style, really. It’s music that we both love and really enjoy playing. French audiences are often unaware, they don’t always know the songs or the music, but when they hear it, they do enjoy it a lot,” says Cyril Maguy.

With a couple of albums now behind them, Vicious Steel is busy, working throughout France, often covering huge distances between gigs – France is a huge country – while promoting their current release, When the Sky is Falling Down , an album that holds echoes of old country-blues pickers together with interesting slide-guitar and forceful licks and riffs that carry the whole project along with flair and passion.

Despite only being together a matter of around four or five years, Vicious Steel has a tight, cohesive feel and vibe. They have an evident love of the music and a desire to explore the boundaries, pushing at the seams while always remaining grounded in the southern roots tradition that gave birth to the music. Looking ahead, Maguy is confident that they can reach an ever-greater audience with their music and reckons they have a lot still to learn but with a hunger to do the music justice, they are sure they can and will achieve greater things in coming years.

Verbals: Supplied by band

Visuals: Colin Campbell

Since forming in 2008 Edinburgh-based blues, R’n’B and rock’n’roll trio Jed Potts & the Hillman

Hunters have cultivated a live show which is spontaneous and exciting and has lead to performances at festivals and venues all around the UK. The band consists of Jed Potts on guitar and vocals, Charlie Wild on bass and Jonny Christie on drums. Jed Potts is 33 years old and has been playing blues since he was 9. Although not musicians his parents listened to music around the house constantly and were keen to take Jed to see live music as soon as he was old enough. Jed played his fi rst gig when he was 16 and has played as often as possible ever since, even performing as many as six gigs in one day with The Blueswater at the Fringe a couple of years ago. Jed says, “Blues is my musical ‘fi rstlanguage’ and it infuses everything I play. Even when I’m playing with The Katet or Thunkfi sh (other local bands he plays with), the blues is always there. I don’t think I could hide it even if I wanted

Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters

to.” In 2015 Jed was part of an Expo funded project for the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival which saw he and Blues ’n’ Trouble guitarist Sandy Tweeddale being sent to the U.S. to scout for blues musicians to bring back to Edinburgh. They decided on Mr. Sipp, Ben Rice and Brandon Santini with whom Jed formed a strong connection. Jed and Brandon continue to perform together whenever they get the opportunity. Jed has also performed as part of an ‘expanded’ line-up of Blues ’n’ Trouble when the band were called upon to back Maggie Bell. The band have just recorded their fi rst release having previously brought out two EPs this is a much awaited one and is full of signature guitar licks on thirteen tracks, mostly covers. The album was recorded by Graeme Young at Chamber Studio in Granton, Edinburgh over just three days. Jed again states, “Occasionally when we’re working on new material we make little reference recordings on a phone or something and I realised that so much of the spirit of the band was present on those little rehearsal recordings. When it came to documenting the band on a record I knew that I wanted to retain that spirit and that meant keeping it as live as possible. This is spoken of by many bands but I think when it comes down to it, very few people actually follow through. This album was recorded with the three of us in the same room, with no isolation and 100% bleed between the instruments. There are no fi xes on this record because we recorded it so that wouldn’t be possible. Musically, the takes are ‘complete’ (i.e. no songs have been constructed from multiple takes) and the solos are what happened in the take at the time. The only thing that is overdubbed is the vocals but maybe on the next album I’ll be able to record those live too. For more info go to www.facebook.com/jedpottshillmanhunters. The album is released independently and available on CD and digital download via the band’s bandcamp page jedpottshillmanhunters.bandcamp.com

Nicol & the Dimes

Verbals: Simon Bowley Visuals: Artist Supplied

Nicol & the Dimes is the outstanding new project lead by drummer Steve Nicol.

Steve made his name in Eddie and the Hotrods, as the original drummer he played on all the bands successful singles and albums, he toured the world and rubbed shoulders with the biggest stars from the late 1970s. He also played drums on Johnny Thunder’s So Alone album. Throughout the late 1970s Steve was regarded as one of the top drummers in the business.

Alongside Steve are another two top musicians who have both enjoyed success on a world-wide scale. On bass guitar is Russ Strothard who played with ex-Dr Feelgood guitar hero Wilko Johnson’s Solid Senders for many years. Russ also toured in the band Love Aff air. On guitar and vocals is Ian Nix, who spent many years playing guitar with Desmond Dekker. His wide vocal range cross the boundaries of blues, rock and soul.

Nicol & the Dimes are original, exciting and up there with the best blues-rock bands around. Not only can they record quality original material but they deliver live too. Their 4-track EP Blacker Shade of Blues is now released through RodHot Records and available to download on all the usual outlets with two tracks, ‘You Tell Me Too Much’ and ‘These Wings Can’t Fly’ having both had considerable airplay on blues radio stations world-wide. A new full album will follow soon.

Nicol & the Dimes bring quality, no-nonsense blues-rock, delivered by three of the most experienced players around. Facebook/Nicol&thedimes

Bad Pennies

Bad Pennies are a tight, no-nonsense blues-rock band – inspired by the finest blues-rockers of the 70s and 80s – think Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray, Dr Feelgood …

Originally from London and now living in the Medway Towns, Gary Seager put the band together with a bunch of local musicians who met at the Three Mariners jam night.

Over the years various personnel have come and gone, with Gary remaining as the only original member.

He first picked up a guitar at the age of nine and studied classical guitar at high school but was soon distracted by Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and perhaps his alltime favourite, Irish genius, Rory Gallagher. Rory opened the door to a great blues legacy and remains a major influence.

A professional drummer since 19, Dave Two-Jackets, has played all over the UK and Europe and joined in 2008. Gavin Matthews arrived in 2015 and is a talented and vastly experienced bassist having previously played in several NWBHM bands. Adam Stocker – a buddy of Gavin’s who has played with some of the country’s leading blues artists, took over lead vocals

in late 2015 making this undoubtedly the band’s best ever line-up in terms of both live performances and recorded work.

They’ve played hundreds of gigs over the years and have always been a favourite on the Kent music scene thanks to Gary’s outstanding guitar work, and Dave and Gavin’s lockeddown rhythm section with Adam’s swaggering vocals. The current band has developed its own style of raw, unadulterated blues-rock.

They began writing their own material in 2016, and their first EP, ‘Turned Up Again’, reached a respectable placing in the IBBA UK Blues Chart. They returned to writing again later in 2017. Then at the Broadstairs Blues Bash in February 2018 released their brilliantly conceived debut album, Songs from the Medway Delta

The album contains 14 original songs and is a real band effort. It was superbly engineered by Jim Riley at Ranscombe Studios, Rochester, who recorded and mixed the album in just three days and really captured the live essence of the band.

The diversity across the album is wonderful with acoustic tracks expertly mixed with more powerful blues-rockers. Songs from the Medway Delta is an absolute triumph from start to finish and is the culmination of many years of dedicated hard work by the whole band. Countless premier bands would struggle to produce an album as good.

First and foremost, though, Bad Pennies is a live band and when it comes to performing on stage they can absolutely deliver. Check out a live show soon – you won’t be disappointed.

Verbals: Neil Tegg Visuals: Neil Thorne

Rough Max

Verbals: Norman Darwen Visuals: Rough Max

Max Peiri, aka Rough Max is an Italian bass player with an individual approach to the blues.

The day I bought my fi rst records, I came home with John Lee Hooker’s Greatest Hits , Evil by Howlin’ Wolf, and Animalization by The Animals. Quite a thrill! I thought for a while that blues was the only possible music. Then I became an omnivorous consumer of any genre, from classic rock to funk, reggae to jazz, punk to folk. I have always kept open a channel of interaction between all musical branches and the blues, which is still my main source of inspiration.

Dating back almost ten years, I worked on tour with Los Angeles harmonica player, Gary Allegretto. With him I had one of the most impressive experiences of my life, human as well musical. Allegretto is the founder and director of Harmonikids, a non-profit organization offering music therapy through harmonica lessons for children with special needs. I had the opportunity to play with him during a lesson at a hospital in Naples. I’ll always remember those smiling kids.

Allegretto.

The Italian blues scene? Quite contradictory. An ever-increasing number of talented musicians are engaging with the genre, while the number of places and opportunities to play the blues decrease. At the same time, only a few bands produce records with original music. When they do it, they often remain prisoners of their too self-referential orthodoxy. I have always tried to be the author of the music I play, getting away from the rigidity of certain patterns. Loving blues means taking

and young I

live wherever possible. in

risks with it, taking it out of the borders of that Indian reservation in which it risks dying, forgotten and alcoholic. As blues performers, guitar, harmonica or piano players are more recognisable and influential, but this has never prevented me from fi nding autonomous spaces. Through all of my musical experiences I have fi rmly kept in mind the lessons of masters like Willie Dixon, Jack Bruce and – why not – Paul McCartney and Mark Sandman, all bassists, singers and above all brilliant authors. This record is quite abrasive and angry, with complicated stories of falls and rocky paths, ascents and redemptions. The lyrics are meant to represent a transitional period and changes are never simple. The musical style is the result of my last six or seven years of work, when my attention focused on the music of New Orleans, the least American of American cities. An enchanted place where the link with old Europe and young Africa remains alive. So, I hope my music will be around for a long time, I will be playing it live wherever possible. Maybe up there in England?

Blues rock’s new shining star Ally

Venable

Eighteen-year-old Ally Venable is one of the new wave of young and highly talented guitar slinger/singers bringing blues rock to the attention of a younger generation of listeners with her album release, Puppet Show. Lyrically smart songs and blazing guitar licks, all well beyond her years give us insight into what is yet to come in her musical career. I caught up with Ally resting between gigs at home in Texas.

Hello Ally, I appreciate you giving this journalist a little slack for changing our interview time to this afternoon.

Oh no, that’s fi ne. I was able to take my Aunt to the airport this morning in Dallas, so it actually worked out great.

How did you become involved in music, particularly the blues? Is this rooted in a family talent?

No, no-one else in my family plays an instrument or anything. When I fi rst started playing guitar I gravitated towards players that could sing and play guitar. Most of them were blues players and the main one for me was Stevie Ray Vaughn, and I started looking into his influences. What stood out for me and what’s cool about Stevie was that he introduced a lot of people to blues that really didn’t know about it. That’s kind of a goal for my music and I hope to do that for people as well.

You began singing at an early age in church. How old were you when you started playing the guitar?

Yes, when I was little I sang in the church choir when I was, like, four. But even before that I sang in the children’s choir.

I’ve been able to sing my whole life and picked up the guitar when I was twelve.

What musicians and music did you listen to when growing up?

Texas has a lot of great blues people. Stevie of course, Johnny Winter, T Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins. Those guys affected my style and performances. There are many great guitar-slingers and singers around my area, like Lance Lopez. He’s my mentor and teacher right now and is helping with my technique. All those people are a big influence on my playing right now, though I do have my own sound and individuality.

I see you are in the 903 areacode. Where do you live?

I live in an East Texas in a town called Kilgore.

There are a more than a handful of historical East Texas blues musicians like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Mance Lipscomb. It is said that the West starts in Dallas and the South starts in East Texas. The south being the birthplace of the Blues. It’s right in the middle between Shreveport, Louisiana and Dallas, Houston and

Verbals: Darrell Sage Visuals: Nathan Gardner

Austin, Texas. All just a quick hop away from Kilgore. A good place to be.

You are a protégé of Lance Lopez, also from East Texas, and was interviewed in a recent issue of Blues Matters. Have you read it? Yes, I’ve downloaded their App. It’s great, I loved it! He plays on ‘Bridges to Burn’ on Puppet Show.

You have an awesome blues rock trio and it’s a bit unusual for a performer of your age to be playing that genre of music when most of your generation gravitates toward more current styles like hip hop and ska. Thank you. I’ve just always loved blues and think I connect with it so well, and with people through my music, my album and live performances.

Your guitar playing is that of a more seasoned performer with a very relaxed and in control style, particularly during guitar solos where you are often playing with your eyes closed. Seems a very in-the-moment thing with your audience, simply letting it flow naturally. Yes, the guitar is just another part of me. I love playing live performances. It’s one of my favorite things to do, connecting with the audience by telling my story. I try to do that when I write my songs, like on Puppet Show, with the message of really taking control of your life and surpassing the struggles that you’ve faced. It’s about not letting anyone, or anything keep you from setting yourself up for success in whatever you do. When I write songs, I try to write about what goes on in my life and how it relates to others. I want people to know that it’s OK to feel a certain way and that we’re only human. I hope this album can really connect to individuals and help them see that we all go through the same things and that we can always conquer what is put out in front of us.”

How many hours a day do you practice? It comes and goes. I really learn a lot

when I play live. When I’m on stage with my band and touring I feel that’s when I learn the most. Learning from other musicians, as well, when listening to different songs. I have a turntable at my house and listen to old records. That’s when I learn the most by absorbing other people, their styles and even from songs I don’t like.

Who do those old vinyls belong to, your dad?

No, I collect them. Usually people like to give them to me because they know that I collect them. Actually, for my birthday, one of my fans gave me his blues album collection he had when he was younger. Albums like Tampa Red, Lightning Malcolm, B.B. King and all. Right now, my super albums are Keb Mo’s Americana and Gary Clark Jr’s Sunny Boy Slim album. I love every single song on those albums, but I listen to everything.

I have a friend whose mother is his manager who he calls his momager. I see that you have a dadager. My dadager, hah hah! Yes, I’m very grateful for both of my parents. They support me in my music and in whatever I do. I have a wonderful support system behind me.

The band is really tight during live performances. Want to give your bandmates a shout out?

Oh yes! Elijah (Owings) and Bob (Wallace) are amazing. Both are dedicated souls and I love them so much. I don’t really see them as bandmates, but more as family, as my brothers, and we are very close and connected. There is nothing else I could ask for in a band. I met Elijah when we went to school together. He was a senior when I was a freshman and we both played in the orchestra. He played the standup bass then, but

“I was gigging while making the album, so I had that live vibe in me while I was in the studio.”

he plays drums for me. Bobby lives in East Texas and plays bass. I actually met him on Craig’s List. For this set up, we have been together for about two and a half years. It’s been really great. We are progressing as a band and trying to find our own sound in blues rock and I feel we have all different influences within ourselves so when we put it all together it’s really special.

From where does the title of your album originate?

The story behind Puppet Show is a message of taking control of your life and surpassing all the struggles you may come across as well as all the stuff that comes to you, that you don’t expect, and overcoming those obstacles. That’s what it means to me and I hope it resonates with other people as well.

The album cover photo reminds me a lot of a legendary album cover, Janis Joplin’s Pearl. Really? I hadn’t noticed. It’s funny, a lot of people say that I sound a lot like her and I know I don’t sound like Janis, but I think what they mean is that because her voice is so unique, and my voice is so unique, they are trying to find a category that is unique in blues. I don’t have the deep raspy voice, but I think that’s what people like about me, because it is so different.

How is your voice holding up?

You’ve been gigging a lot. It’s great. We’ve been playing a lot of cool places, Las Vegas, Louisiana, Florida, Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas of course. We’re playing The Cutting Room in New York on Friday 17 August. I’m so excited about that.

What do you do for fun when not gigging?

Well, I have these small pets called Sugar

Discography

Puppet Show – 2018

No Glass Shoes – 2016

Gliders*. They are small flying marsupials that are native to Australia. I have three of them. They are really small and jump around and really fun. Have you heard of them?

*The sugar glider is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass.

Ah, no. I can’t say I have. Speaking of hearing, do you wear ear protection when playing?

Yes, I’m endorsed by Galaxy Audio and use Inyas, their EB-6 earbuds. I’m also endorsed by Fishman which I use in my American Strat Deluxe. They are active, so you charge them for about two hours for two hours of playing time. They are not copper wound but have a copper chip in the back of them with a 15-decibel boost.

You open Puppet Show with some killer slide chops and the album just gets better from there.

I love playing slide. The album opens with ‘Devils Son’ which Gary Hoey plays on and then I play slide on ‘Wasted On You’ as well in standard. I’ve been getting into slide a lot. It’s a really different approach to playing.

You cover a Taj Mahal song on the album. Where do your musical inspirations come from?

I think I get some of my inspirations from cover songs like ‘He Caught The Katy’ and kind of build off those classic blues tunes and incorporate that type of song writing into my own songs. I really love Bessie Smith and new, old blues classics, if that makes sense. It’s really cool, to discover old songs like that.

You recorded Puppet Show at Red Shack Studio in Houston and it has a bit of an off-the-floor sound. Yes, we recorded with Rock Romano and it always has a great vibe there. He really listened to what I wanted on the album and I listened to him. We bounced off of each other with ideas and it was a really good experience. We recorded the majority of the tracks there. When we added guest

Ally Venable Band Puppet Show

Independent

“What did you just say? She’s only nineteen? But she sounds beyond that for sure hell her voice is all grown up, she seems to know when to play and when not and that takes maturity. She does not sound like so many of these ‘young guns’ out there who want to play too many notes so often”. Well that was part of a conversation I had with a colleague recently who heard me playing this one. So, what we know is Ally is from Houston, Texas and that this is her second album. I confess immediately I had not heard of her prior to receiving this disc so, yes I have looked her up online and am impressed. Ally presents a gutsy, rockin’ blues sound that really belies her age. She had two terrific guys supporting her; Elijah Owings on drums and Bobby Wallace on bass and they sure do give her a solid backdrop. This album includes appearances by Lance Lopez, Gary Hoey, Eric Steckel, Steve Kraus who also produced the album with Rock Romano. The album is a good fresh blast and the songs are quality as is the playing. Watching her live on YouTube you can see that she can go way beyond when on stage and this is a three-piece act that will surely become a festival favourite when she gets the chance to tour UK and

parts I went to Foxtrot Studios in Shreveport for Lance to record his rhythm and harmony parts. Then to Wazoo Studios in Pelham, New Hampshire, for Gary’s parts and my friend Eric Steckel, on keys, was added in Bullard, Texas, at Bushman’s Studio. Basically, those locations because that was where everybody was living. I was gigging while making the album, so I had that live vibe in me while I was in the studio.

What are some of your favorite area venues to play as well as memorable festivals nationally?

OK, great. Some area venues that I’ve loved playing are Antones in Austin, the Gas Monkey in Dallas, and the International Guitar Festival in Dallas. Also, the Sin Chew Blues, Bikes & BBQ Festival in Las Vegas, and Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco.

Europe (and beyond). I witnessed a bold and impressive interpretation of the classic ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and she sure can let those fingers work the fret board! Back to the album now and you can easily imagine the set being performed live and being released into the wild and taken in by enthusiastic crowds. The album opens with terrific slide and strides along but is not allowed to get carried away. ‘Cast Their Stones’ has a catchy hook and tone while ‘Backwater Blues’ intros with harmonica and twangy picking then explodes just as think it is winding down. Title track ‘Puppet Show’ is solid, worthy and imposing and tells you she ain’t goin’ to have her strings pulled no way! ‘Comfort In My Sorrows’ is something you would not really expect a nineteen year old to sound like but is a classy, emotional song. What better to follow that than a song titled ‘Survive’! Lift off! ‘Waste It On You’ has one of those hooks that worms into you and won’t let go. The album closes with ‘Sleeping Through The Storm’ and that is something you will not want to do with this album. Play it at home, easy on the volume or not as the mood takes you but beware if you play in the car as you may get carried away. Go get it!

Toby Ornott

Is there anything you would like to add to our discussion concerning your chosen career?

I think my favorite thing as an artist and a musician is being able to write songs for people, to write a song for someone that they can connect with and feel something that I felt. When I hit the stage and feel the love from my fans it makes all the hard work worth it and what the whole album is about. Oh! Another exciting thing happened today. Puppet Show hit number seven on the Billboard Blues Charts.

Congratulations, Ally, well deserved. Thank you for your time, and all at Blues Matters! wish you continued success. Thank you. I’m really excited about seeing the interview.

Long time comin’

At fi rst it was all he could say.

For a moment, Bobby Rush just stared out at the crowd trying to absorb the reality of having just won the 2017 Grammy for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year, beating out such heavyweights as Joe Bonamassa, Luther Dickinson, Lurrie Bell and Vasti Jackson.

“After I pinched myself for about 40 seconds, I found out what it means being on stage receiving a Grammy. I couldn’t believe it for a moment,” he says today. “I

was numb, but I was just so thankful and so blessed to be standing there. Even if I didn’t win, I was a winner ’cause, I mean, but it’s always good to bring it home.”

After he’d collected himself at the Grammy Awards ceremony, he stared out into an audience of world renowned music heavyweights. He collected himself, clenched the statue in his fi st and spoke. The words poured out of him as if he’d been practicing that speech for most of his life.

“Thank God, fi rst of all, for letting me be here long enough to get one of these; for Rounder Records; my producer Scott Billington; his lovely wife; my manager, Jeff Delia; Mizz Lowe whose been with me for 100 years. I say this because this is my

Verbals: Don Wilcock Visuals: Arnie Goodman

“ WOW!”

374th record (steady applause) … and fi nally (applause) … and fi nally (more applause) after recording since 1951 I’m so thankful because I’m 83 years old. Thank you to all the staff with the record company that was so nice to me doing this. Thank you for voting for me. Thank the Academy for thinking enough of me to put me in the line because if I didn’t win, I’m still a winner ‘cause I’m in the line and all the guys that I beat out, this is for you.”

Perhaps most amazing about this tableau is that none of what ‘The King of the Chitlin Circuit’ said was hyperbole except his comment about being with Mizz Lowe for 100 years.

Something about Porcupine Meat (collect facts about the CD including the fact that it includes both Joe Bonamassa and Vasti Jackson who happen to have been up for the same Grammy).

For nearly seven decades, this son of a Delta preacher had straddled the great divide of American racial tensions to create music that would eventually do more than crossover to a white blues audience but rather ‘crisscrossed’ between black chitlin-circuit fans and white festival crowds from King Biscuit Blues Festival in Arkansas to the Wall of China masses a world away. Porcupine Meat crystalized a sound that didn’t leave anyone out. Bobby credits Rounder Records’ veteran producer Scott Billington with capturing the magic of his all-inclusive sound.

“Scott gave me that crossover. Being a white guy, he knows what white people listen to. I, being a black guy know what black people listen to, and I’m one of the few guys left who knows both sides of the audience, the black and the white audience. I’m one of the few guys left to do that.”

Bobby Rush was born half-way between Homer (population 3,237) and Haynesville (population 2,327) in Louisiana on November 10, 1933. “My people were Spiveys and

Johnsons from Mississippi. I was told that my great, great, great grandmother was a slave for a man named Van Spivey. He had fi ve children by her and six kids by his wife, all living in the same house. I was told that on his dying bed he wanted to divide land with all the black sisters and brothers. (His heirs) took them to Eudora, Arkansas (population 2,269 in 2010, 89.3% black) and dropped ’em in a barn. They raised themselves. They were about ten to four or fi ve years old.

“My daddy was 90-something years old when he passed. My mother was 84. My granddaddy was 108, and there was 32 children, but I didn’t know but 21. I think there was something like 600 great grandchildren.”

Bobby’s dad was “a darkcomplexioned man built like Mohammed Ali.” He was a preacher with no formal education, “but he was a very well-read man. He read a little all the time. The Bible was pretty much what he read. He could remember it well and knew it backwards. My name professionally is Bobby Rush, but Emmett Ellis, Jr. is my real name from birth. I changed my name for one reason and one reason only because the respect I had for my father being a preacher and a pastor of a church.

“My fi rst cousin gave me a guitar when I was about eight years old. My daddy told me to hand him the guitar. I was afraid because I didn’t know he knew I had a guitar, and he tuned it up. He said, ‘Boy, come here.’ I set in front of him. He said, ‘Let me tell ya a song. He had his hat on. He just came out of the field, overalls, no shirt, grabbed the guitar and started tuning it up. Wow! ‘Let me sing a song I used to sing for a little girl a little older than you.’ Now, I know he gonna sing about my mama.”

The song his dad sang was suggestive, about a girl who fell down “and I saw something.” Bobby’s mother overheard them, and said, ‘Don’t sing that kind of song to that boy.’ His father sang it again as his mother started

After I pinched myself for about 40 seconds, I found out what it means being on stage receiving a Grammy. I couldn’t believe it …

coming at them. So, his dad changed the lyric to “She fell down and I kept running.”

“I don’t know what he saw. When my mama walked away. Mama turned her back. I said, ‘How big was she?’ ‘Oh, 300 or something.’ I said, ‘What she have on?’ He said, ‘Nothing but a dress, boy.’ Well, in my little mind, a big fat lady falling down with nothing but a dress, that’s a lot to see.”

One of Bobby’s fi rst jobs was working for a man he met through his dad who promised him a ‘payday’ if he’d work a week for him. It was getting close to the end of the week. Bobby asked the man, “You like what I’ve done? I’m about done.” “Hell, yeah. You gotta get your money. This is your payday.”

Bobby went inside to fi nd the man and his wife laughing. “I thought they were laughing at me ’cause I didn’t know what I was talking about, uneducated and unaware of what they

were talking about. They gave me a bar of candy, a payday for all my week’s work. And they laughed at me. That’s all they paid me. One bar of candy for fi ve days of work.”

Dad asked Bobby to work for Mr. Burges who owned a cotton gin. The pay was only $3 a week, but that was less important than the information he would glean from the men sitting around discussing the going price for cotton and produce being grown by Dad’s church members. “I didn’t know what my daddy was talking about when he fi rst said it. He said, ‘I think you can help me, son.’ He wanted me to bring the news to him.

“So, I would go in the gin every day, and every afternoon the white guys would sit around the gin. They’d talk about what the price was gonna be. They’d say beans are such and such a pound or bushel. The potatoes are 10 cents a bushel, whatever they

was, a bushel, and I could tell the ups and downs. When I got home in the afternoon, my daddy says, ‘Junior, watcha hear today?’ ‘Well, you shouldn’t sell peanuts, but you can sell popcorn.’ My daddy would go to church on Sunday morning, and he would tell the people what to sell, and what not to sell, by my information I got from the gin.”

By the time he was 14 years old, Bobby Rush found himself auditioning with his cousin, slide-guitar master Elmore James for the Rabbit Foot Minstrel Shows. Already wise beyond his years from what his dad had taught him, he observed that everyone trying out for the job was a guitarist. He decided to play a different card.

“Every time the guy would come out from the back during the audition, the two white guys would say, ‘You did a great job,’ and as soon as they got away, they would tell each other, ‘That wasn’t nothin, man.’ He fi nally came to me and said, ‘What do you do?’ I was afraid to tell him I play guitar. I said, ‘I do a lot of things.’ And I got up and started on hambone, and he said, ‘You’re hired.’

(Note: Hambone involves slapping your hands against your body to create a percussive sound).

“They hired me as a hambone, and I made 50 cents or a dollar a day. After a while I could sneak my guitar playing in. I could play guitar and do hambone. They really hired me for the hambone, not the guitar. I was playing as much guitar as I did the hambone.”

By the way, Elmore James who auditioned just on guitar did not get a gig. Bobby Rush had learned a lesson about being different and appealing to a wider demographic than other black artists. Moving to Chicago

fi rst in 1951 at 18, Bobby began a career of recording for a wide variety of labels.

His most successful recording was “Chicken Heads” for Vee Jay in 1971. “Louis Jordan sang on a record about how a monkey and a buzzard were good friends. He talkin’ about the monkey was a friend of this buzzard, but the buzzard probably wasn’t as friendly to the monkey as this monkey was to him. So, he took the monkey for a ride, and he tried to dust the monkey off for one reason or another. And the monkey wrapped a tail

around his neck and yanked it back and said, ‘Hey, buzzard, you choking me. Straighten up and fly right.’ So, I came up with “Chicken Heads.” If Louis Jordan could talk about the buzzards, I can talk about the chickens.”

When Bobby went to record “Chicken Heads,” the producer asked him about the lyrics. “Daddy told on his dying day, give us your heart but don’t lose your head. You came along, girl. What did I do? Lost my heart and my head went, too. It had nothing to do with a chicken (laugh.) So, I got me some guys don’t know what I’m talking about. It went over their head. So, ok, well, we need a B side. I got a B side. What’s the name of it? ‘Mary Jane.’

“I had a girl do me wrong, Mary Jane.” We weren’t talking about a girl at all. Talkin’ about some reefer. I got two guys (at the record label) didn’t know what I was singing about. The black audience was way ahead of the white audience because when the rappers came in, myself and James Brown and people like that, we’d been rapping 40 years before that.”

In academic terms, it’s called singing in code, where “code” words mean something different to black people than they do whites. “Back in slavery, black people were singing to each other because there was a code that they sung, what they were gonna do and what they weren’t gonna do for their songs. Even down to Martin Luther King. Lotta people thought Martin Luther King marched for the good of the folks. They marched to see what they were doing so they could get the news back to fi nd out what they were gonna do, what their next move was gonna be.”

By the time Bobby Rush entered the studio to record Porcupine Meat , he had recorded hundreds of records for scores of labels including his own. But Rounder had always been on the horizon.

“Rounder asked me 40 years ago for this deal. I turned it down. They wanted to record me. (Marion Layton) wanted me and Solomon Burke. She was always crazy about me, and it never went away and to this day I appreciate her. She was a fan and for all the years I went here, there, and all around”.

“My thought was if I went with Rounder Records, they wanted to produce me, and I wouldn’t have the (control of the) production

of what I think, and I don’t think. So, that’s kinda what I did and went around to Kenny Huff and Leon Gamble (at Philadelphia International in the 1970s), Chess, and all those guys, and I was able to walk away with a lot of my fans, I think because I’m a business man because they didn’t think I was serious about it. They thought I was some fly by night. I was gonna be here today and gone tomorrow.”

Bobby was frankly amazed that producer Scott Billington at Rounder wanted him to be himself. “Scott was into me for me. I had about a hundred songs that I wanted to give Scott, and I’m saying in my mind, ‘What does Scott want from me?’ And I’m wondering, ‘Scott, can I come up to what you expect out of me in my mind?’”

“So, fi nally he told me, ‘Bobby Rush, I like what you done. I like what you doing. Just do you.’

I said, ‘You want me to do just what I know how to do?’ He said, ‘Yes, just do you.’ I reached back in my closet, got things I been working on for 20–25 years like Porcupine Meat . Stuff like that, incomplete, and that’s what we created from what was already there. This has been in my head all the time. I thought he wanted me to come with something compatible with what young people done, Stevie Wonder, Prince or whatever had done. He wanted Bobby Rush. I said, ‘You want Bobby Rush.’

Porcupine Meat is pretty much the same as Chicken Heads . (still singing in code) I talk about a man can give it, sure can’t talk about it. I talk about “One monkey don’t stop no show,” those cliché kind of things. Now, I’m talking about the new record. I’m trying to tell you I’m in love with a woman and I know she don’t mean me no good. I would love her if I could. That means I want it and don’t want it. Damned if I do and damned if I don’t. That’s porcupine meat, too fat to eat and too lean to throw away. I’m afraid if I throw it away, you’ll get it, but if I keep it, it’s gonna give me some things I want to do. I can’t take her home. If I take her home because I don’t know where she’s gonna sleep’ cause the other woman got that bed. “Scott gave me that crossover. We’re like a bow-legged woman and a knock-kneed man.

We’re going hand in hand.” Scott also understands Bobby’s back story. “He brought a song to me called ‘Snake in the Grass.’ This relates to me because this big world as a blues singer, especially as a black blues singer, there’s snakes in the world. Be careful where you walk. You walk in the woods, be careful. If you’re looking up, be careful where you put your foot

because there’s snakes in the grass. Watch myself and not trust people that I don’t know.”

At the time of this writing it’s up in the air as to whether Bobby’s next album will be released on Rounder. Even if it isn’t, there’s a good chance Scott Billington will produce it.

“He put a lot of time and effort into me. I want to give him the same opportunity that he gave me. I don’t want to do another record without letting him have some kind of say or hand in it because I don’t want to just walk away from it, unless he don’t want to do it.”

“Most of the things that have changed remain the same. Just one way or the other have changed.”

When Bobby Rush was growing up, his daddy built a three-hole outhouse. Now he lives in a home with nine bathrooms. Today, he may have more bathrooms and they may smell better, but their function remains the same.

“How you get there is different. There’s places I can go and stay that I couldn’t stay then, but there are places I desire to go, things I desire to do and places I want to go now, I can go there, but I’m still not welcome. See, the laws have been changed, but the main heart hasn’t changed. I don’t drink because I don’t desire to drink. The speed symbols they put on the highway are for people who want to speed or do speed. They still speed, but when you don’t have a desire to speed, the signs don’t mean nothing to me because I’m not gonna speed even if the sign isn’t there.”

A Grammy at 83. It’s been a long hard climb.

Bobby remembers a conversation he had with John Lee Hooker late in his life. “I said, ‘John Lee, I’m so proud of you, man. I’m so happy for you.’ He didn’t say anything. I looked up at him. He was quiet. I said, ‘John Lee, you all right?’ ‘Yeah, man.’ He hugged me. ‘Yeah. I’m making the money now but what the hell can I do with it now?’

Even at 83, Bobby doesn’t feel his new-found success has come too late. “I’m just so thankful to be where I am. Someone asked me the other day, and it reminded me of my Biblical study and reading with my father: ‘Bobby Rush, who do you think you are?’ I looked at him and said, ‘I am who I am. I’m happy to be alive. I’m happy to be in my right mind.’ There

Discography

Bobby Rush has been a successful recording artist since the 1960s and has produced many 45s, LPs & CDs. We have listed his most recent recordings here.

Porcupine Meat – 2016

Decisions – 2014

Down in Louisiana – 2013

Show You a Good Time – 2011

Blind Snake – 2009

Look at What You Gettin’ – 2008

Raw – 2007

Essential Recordings, Volume 2 – 2006

Essential Recordings, Volume 1 – 2006

Night Fishin – 2005

Folkfunk – 2004

Live at Ground Zero DVD + CD – 2003

Undercover Lover – 2003

Hoochie Man – 2000

are some things I could say that hurt someone. I dare not hurt anyone in this lane that I’m traveling, and the truth always sets you free.”

The Grammy win proved to Bobby that his appealing to both black and white audiences was the way to go. “I don’t want to tell ya that because I’m a black man I’m the only one who can play the blues or the only one who has the blues, but somewhere down the line, we should get a credit where credit is due. White guys are playing the blues, and God knows I appreciate them playing the blues because if it wasn’t for some of these guys playing the blues, I wouldn’t be where I am because of it, wouldn’t be for Elvis Presley I couldn’t shake on the stage like I do. Honestly, Tom Jones makes it possible for me to do what I do on stage. Of course, the older I get, they accept me for doing it because, “Oh baby, Bobby Rush, he’s 84 years old. He can’t do any harm.”

Stick with what moves you!

Dana Fuchs

With her fourth release called Love Lives On, Dana Fuchs – now living in Harlem – raises the bar again with a natural evolution to her musical style. She has had many triumphs and recent personal tragedies, but her independent full on approach to her life and work keeps her always one step ahead of the rest. Here she talks about her new release and other topics like being a new mother, touring, record producing and musical influences amongst other subjects.

Hi Dana thanks for taking time out to speak to Blues Matters! where are you just now?

At my home in Harlem, where are you?

In Scotland looking forward to seeing you play here in September at the Rock and Blues Festival in Edinburgh. Really looking forward to playing in Scotland and staying over to explore for a few days. I’m very excited!

Do you prefer playing small venues or do you prefer large audiences?

Both, for different reasons, it’s such a tough one. Big crowds are great if you’re feeling raw and you need a pick me up but so are the small clubs. I can communicate better with a small audience. With the bigger

crowds it’s all high energy. I love both they are so different! I never make a set list. I open the show with the same number but then I start calling them. It makes the show more connected for me. If I’m just doing the same set-list it becomes a formula and that’s not fair to an audience. I like to keep in the moment with the audience, it feels more authentic.

Do you get nervous before coming on stage? Tell us a bit about the Janis Joplin musical you performed. Not so much, it’s just a feeling of wanting to lift the audience. Everyone needs some respite from their lives. I take on the pressure; I want my shows to be a release for them. I stopped getting nervous when it became about the audience. When it was all about me and what

Verbals: Colin Campbell Visuals: Merry Cyr

I want people to say of me, she’s a sincere, authentic performer. I want them to think my songs have something to say

I’m going to perform, I was more nervous; but I thought, wait, it’s a sharing experience and that took the pressure off. We were playing in Holland with 10,000 people at this festival; no one knew who I was. It was last minute. I did a song about the suicide of my sister. Everyone cheered the song, we were going onto the next one, and the crowd started singing the chorus of that last song. I was in tears, this blew me away. After that, I kept that spirit alive, I thought we’re gonna celebrate the shit out of life and this changed everything for me about performing. Playing as Janis every night made me lose my inhibitions. I was already what people called a ballsy performer. Doing Janis made me realise there was nowhere on stage to play cool because then you’re not cool! I’m not a ‘hip’ person I guess.

Is your image important to you?

I want people to say of me, she’s a sincere, authentic performer. I want them to think my songs have something to say. I want them to feel the show gives them something. That’s the image that is important to me.

Could you talk about your childhood, being brought up in Florida, how did you get into music as such?

I was two years old when we moved there. My parents were from New York and New Jersey, so, we were this big Irish-Catholic family that didn’t quite fit in to this small southern town right! It was small, predominantly black, which was the saving grace for me and my siblings. We didn’t relate to the white southern baptists so much. I hung out with the black kids. That’s where I found out about music. There was a lot of discrimination but music was my respite. My whole family was musical, and the front room was made into a music room. We were sort of poor. It was my dad who gave us the gift of music. When my brother and sister played in these legitimate night clubs that’s where it started for me. First time I sung at about nine years old I knew I was done!

Your family means a lot to you, there have been many bereavements, how have you dealt with these, mentally and

musically? Has your religion helped you? The first loss was my sister and that’s been a long time ago. It was when I was taking my dark path into drugs and that scene. After her death, it was a wake-up call; we shared this dream of sharing music together. Her death was a turning point in my life, it felt like she sacrificed herself for me to keep going. My first album was all about her influence, and my oldest brother never recovered from her death. It was healing to write about it and sing on stage about it. Over the past five or six years it was one member of the family dying after the next. Each loss I thought I’m never gonna find joy again. You find that after six months a song has to come out about them. I had to take a break, but the music is a healing process, a cathartic experience for my type of audience who have also experienced losses. I call it a rock and roll church that celebrates life. My dad decided after I had done my holy communion, he announced to the family ‘religion is a bunch of bullshit.’ He was disgusted because we lived in a town that was racist. We stopped going to church. I was soul searching and went to church with schoolkids. I walked into this black Baptist Church and was blown away. It was so different from a Catholic mass! They were stomping and singing and celebrating life, that’s where I got it from. I dabbled with different religions; Buddhism makes the most sense to me now. I sing Randy Newman’s song, ‘God Song,’ where man comes along and screws everything up.

Let’s go on to talk about the new album Love Lives On, was this easy to make, why did you record it in Memphis?

Do you have any favourite tracks?

It was the easiest I’ve made yet! It was the first time I got out of New York City. I immersed myself in the Memphis scene. I entrusted everything to my producer Kevin Houston. He brought in the organist, the Reverend Charles Hodges, who played with Al Green. He got the veteran drummer, Steve Potts, who is just a machine. He brought in the horns. I only brought my song writing partner Jon Diamond, and Glen Patscha my organ player, also the wonderful Jack Daley on bass guitar.

I chose Memphis, I already wanted to record Otis Redding’s ‘Nobody’s Fault but Mine’ and Johnny Cash’s stripped down version of ‘Ring of Fire.’ From these roots of Memphis, I wanted to explore what inspired me, and record there. Song wise it’s between ‘Fight My Way’ and ‘Sittin’ On.’ It always changes. ‘Love Lives On’ is the most personal as it is about sitting with my mom during her fi nal days, and knowing I was going to have a child that she would never meet, and I hadn’t asked her enough questions about being a mother. The circle of life! It felt the worst time to have a child but turned out to be the best timing!

‘Callin’ Angels’ started out as a ballad. It is sad because there is a verse for each lost family member but it’s hopeful, they are my guardian angels. My past albums have been darker. This is a more redemptive message on my new one.

‘Battle Lines’ was inspired by a Dutch girl who had a similar life as mine. Life for everyone is a battle, we just fight through. I’m in more of a hopeful place with this one. Having the horns lifts the music. Every musician was

as great a player as a human being on this one. That’s what adds to the magic I think.

What’s it like to be a mother with a touring band, surely that’s taking multi-tasking to new limits? Do people treat you differently from before? It is intense! He wants to see everything, there’s not been a minute of down time for me. It’s been wonderful taking him to some of my favourite parks in Europe on tour. Exhausting but wonderful. I had post-natal bliss. When I got pregnant I wasn’t exactly thrilled, I was in no rush to have Aidan. I was terrified, but when they put him in my arms it felt like the biggest gift in my life, no exaggeration! People take mothers differently on some levels. I’m not sure what my long term fans feel like. I remember a manager saying to me years ago, ‘If you ever have a kid don’t talk about it on stage, it’s not rock and roll.’ My feeling is, fuck that, he’s such a part of my life, it means so much to me. Being a mother has its perks. When you’re travelling

Dana Fuchs Love Lives On Get Along Records

Dana Fuchs’ latest release just has it all. It is a thirteen track masterpiece blending so much emotion and vitality; it certainly raises the bar and sees a natural evolution to her musical spirit. Here she co-produces with her long-term chum, guitarist and fellow songwriter Jon Diamond. The clever thing is, they brought in Kevin Houston to mix and engineer, and this all adds to a great sound. Recorded in Memphis, this is a very organic release and there is even a horn section which gives the band more rhythm. This is an uplifting and heartfelt release dealing with loss and redemption but there is also that feeling of hope and positivity. The reinterpretation of Otis Redding’s ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ being a case in point. Also, the strippeddown version of ‘Ring Of Fire’, emphasises the love song, a particular favourite of her father. The title

track ‘Love Lives On’, has a spiritual message again written for her mother, it just resonates with pain with every passionate vocal, a stand out track destined to be a classic. ‘Callin’ Angels’ is also full of emotion, being dedicated to the losses of her family. ‘Ready To Rise’ builds up to a frenzy, Dana’s vocals sultry and defiant. ‘Fight My Way’ has a touch of slow Americana, Eric Lewis adding mandolin marries well with strong vocals, again a reflective tune. ‘Battle Lines’ reflects on life’s voyage with a southern twang, and Reverend Charles Hodges organ playing is sublime. Another upbeat favourite is ‘Same Sunlight’, sure to be a crowd pleaser, full of horns and wicked guitar licks and a catchy chorus. This has blues at its core infused with soul, Americana and roots. Refreshingly honest, full of empathy, a wonderful collaboration.

Colin Campbell

you get fi rst in line on planes! I feel there is a new side to me, part of being a mom! It keeps me healthy when touring. I’m in bed earlier and with less wine, I live a healthier life.

Your vocal range is phenomenal, have you had voice coaching? Would you consider doing more stage and screen work in the future?

When I fi rst tried to sing in New York, I would lose my voice because I wanted to belt them out like these old blues people were doing. I didn’t know how to use my instrument (vocals). I found a voice coach called James Carson; he lives ten blocks from me now! He was an opera teacher. It was all about stamina, using the instrument properly, and increasing range. It was quite a work out, I’ve never lost my voice since, knockon-wood. When I did the fi lm, Across the Universe , other singers were losing their voices and it was Jim Carson who I think saved the movie. Doing the fi lm was one of the highlights of my career. I would love to do another fi lm but don’t consider myself a good actor.

Tell us something about your song writing process? Who are your vocal influences?

A lot of times I’ll write words and bring them to Jon Diamond and he’ll either play some musical ideas, melodies, and such like or I’ll go to him and discuss ideas. On the tune ‘Love Lives On,’ he was playing the riff ; I sat and typed the lyrics right there as he was playing. No real formula, you just have to turn up and commit yourself. Otis Redding is an influence, his vocals are so raw, and dirty feeling, I love that! Also, Etta James and a whole back catalogue mostly introduced to me by Jon Diamond.

What’s the best advice you have received during your musical career?

Stick with the music you love, because the business you won’t love. Stay true to yourself. You got to write your own songs. I was advised to pick up a Bob Dylan lyric book and read it every night and I did! That’s when I started being a songwriter.

Discography

Love Lives On – 2018

Broken down Acoustic Sessions – 2015

Songs From The Road – 2014

Bliss Avenue – 2013

Love To Beg – 2011

Across The Universe Soundtrack – 2007

Live In NYC – 2007

Sherrybaby Soundtrack – 2006

Lonely For A Lifetime – 2003

You’ve started your own record label now. How does it feel to be an independent business woman?

Yes, I’m a bit of a control freak, if you want something done you got to do it yourself. After having the baby and my contract ended with Ruf Records, I took some time off . Then Jon suggested doing this crowdfunding campaign. We made the album and other labels loved it which was a fi rst for me but all the off ers were the same. I reached out to a friend and fan that put me through the paces and came up with a business plan. It has taken ages and a ton of work, I would rather work hard and see the results work. It’s empowering, I’ve always felt confi dent presenting myself on a business level. This and motherhood feels like two dreams come true. I would like to produce with Jon, younger bands in the future, if we can fi nd the talent. My advice to younger musicians would include don’t chase trends, stick with what moves you! You better love being on stage as well!

Thanks for that, look forward to meeting you again in September. Look forward to that, thanks!

For further information see website: www.danafuchs.com

Blues brothers set their alarm

The Cinelli Brothers

The Cinelli Brothers are a UK-based killer blues outfit with more chemistry than Porton Down! Italian siblings who blasted onto the scene with their debut album.

Verbals & Visuals: Simon Redley

An exciting new UK-based blues band born out of a passion for the electric Chicago and Texas blues from the 1960s and ‘70s.

Italian-born brothers Alessandro (28) and 32-year-old Marco Cinelli are drummer and lead vocal/lead guitarist respectively, of this much talked about fresh new outfit.

The talents of harmonica maestro Rollo Markee, the icing on the cake. Bass guitar from Enzo Strano, piano, organ and Wurlitzer supplied by Alberto Manuzzi.

Their recently self-released debut album, Babe Please Set Your Alarm has taken many by surprise, receiving rave reviews and stacks of radio spins.

A dozen tracks – nine tasty originals and three fi nely crafted covers. ‘Backdoor Man’ by Willie Dixon, ‘Chain of Fools’ by Don Covay (an Aretha hit) and ‘Kiss’ from Prince.

This whole album, produced by Marco, was recorded on to tape from scratch in just three days, ‘as live’ in a London analogue studio, using vintage equipment.

Authentic, in-your-face, take-noprisoners blues. They stay loyal and respectful to the originators of the genre, but with modern-day relevance.

Proof of that is in evidence from note one of opening cut ‘Your Lies,’ to the fi nal seconds of the closer, ‘Kiss,’ a left field shuffle treatment to the Prince classic.

Legendary radio and broadcaster David ‘Kid’ Jensen has played a diff erent track from their debut album on six consecutive weeks of his United DJs radio show. Naming them as his favourite blues outfit, and his favourite blues album for many years.

“I love this band and this very cool album. They have such an attitude and an authentic sound, but very modern too. I cannot wait to see them live. I’d urge record labels to sign these guys up fast. Great stuff ”, says Jensen.

The album went into the IBBA chart at number six and was chosen by the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association DJ members as a record of the month for June. Getting a lot of on-air love across the UK and Europe.

As kids back in Italy, from a town 50 km from Rome, they’d dance in the warm Mediterranean sunshine to the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughan, from their dad’s huge record collection. The fuse was now lit inside them for the blues.

Marco’s aunt bought him a guitar as a gift to mark his fi rst catholic communion, with the promise that he took lessons, which he did from the age of 11.

His brother started lessons on drums a couple of years after Marco began on guitar.

Soon the pair jammed together at home, starting off with Cream and Hendrix covers.

Marco’s first gig was in school at 12-yearsold in a punk and rock band, in their home town. He was very nervous before that first gig, but he wanted more of that buzz and feeling ‘almighty’ on stage.

Marco secured a place at a music college where he studied until he was 23. He quit a year before gaining his degree, impatient to taste the real world on stage and in the recording studio.

A two-week student exchange with a music college in The Netherlands was the catalyst for Marco to move from Italy. He formed a rock-punk-funk power trio, ‘Growling Love and Pain,’ (yes, really!) in Holland and played many festivals.

Marco became an in-demand session player. He invited his younger brother to visit him in The Netherlands and play drums at a gig. The first time they played together in public. A seed was sown.

Alessandro adored James Brown’s music and his drummer Clyde Stubblefield. He took private lessons with a gifted jazz drummer in Rome for a couple of years. Alessandro soon became the number one call for sessions in the Rome area. He has played with Matt Schofield among other top artists.

A bass player on the same recording session as Alessandro in Italy, had moved to London and invited Alessandro to take a room in his flat. He landed his first paid gig in London two weeks after moving here, and the word soon got out. His first public performance was in High School, part of a trio, in a pub in Italy. Both 23-years-old when they individually left Italy. Marco first, to Holland for four years, France for five years and here to the UK two years ago. Alessandro straight to London five years ago.

They met bass player Enzo Strano in London, a Sicilian settled in the UK since he was a teenager. The trio now the core of their band.

They kicked off their activity as a unit, at the famed ‘Ain’t Nothing But The Blues’ bar in the Capital city.

When the three-piece added a particular Muddy Waters track to their set, they needed a blues ‘harp’ player. Rollo Markee was drafted in for the next show, and stayed. Then in came fellow Italian countryman Alberto Manuzzi on keyboards.

They affectionately dedicate their selfreleased debut record to their blues hero Little Walter, and to their parents.

The comparison of the UK blues scene to Italy’s. “In Italy it is thriving, but the audience are not respectful. There are some great musicians there, but less so with singers.”

“The audience is much better here than Italy. A better atmosphere. Music is why they go, and what they focus on here; but in Italy they are more focused on the food, the drinking and the talking. Here you watch, and you get into it more, which makes it special for us on stage.”

“With the British blues scene, I like the way people interpret the blues. The guitar playing is for the sake of the whole song and the vibe. The singers are pretty high quality here too. Go to any jam session in the UK and you will usually come away very impressed”, Marco explains.

Their success has not been confined to these shores. Favourite moment so far in the band’s two-year history: ‘Knocking them dead’ at a sold-out festival in Portugal in November last year (2017).

In just two years they have played across London, Oxford, Madrid, Catalonia, Barcelona and the Costa Brava, France, Italy, Holland and Portugal, including major festivals.

Marco is the main songwriter and says it took about a week to write the originals, from existing ideas and notes, and some tweaking of the lyrics by Paris-based, Memphis singer and guitarist Mike McDorman.

When they booked the studio to cut the album, they didn’t actually have any songs ready and got the nine originals in shape in a week.

But Marco has a ‘freaky’ backstory to the songs he wrote. “You wanna know the truth? All the lyrics; I invented them. Never

happened to my life. But since then, every song content has come true. It has all happened to me. Like, I have always talked about women cheating on me, in songs I have written. But that had never happened in my life. Now it did happen to me. The song ‘Your Lies’ was pure invention, but it turned out to be true; every f*cking word. Just like Karma.”

The guys had one name in their heads as a reference point and benchmark for this album, and for the authentic feel they wanted. Aiming to emulate the old blues records they heard as youngsters in their dad’s collection.

Their blues hero, Little Walter. Aside from the real blues vibe, there’s a deep soul marinade soaked into this album.

But it is not just about the music that they pay attention to detail on. “We care about the look of the band. We look rock and roll, but we wear a little bit classical sometimes. We are young fellas, playing roots music. This band look stylish, slick and cool, but modern. Back in the days of the blues legends, electric blues players dressed as hip as possible according to their time. We do the same, but stylish according to the now. The look is

pretty modern and elegant, but the sound is pretty traditional. But we got (sic) a new way of interpreting the old sound of the blues.”

Let’s find out how important the gear and the T-word is; ‘tone,’ for Marco as a guitarist. “Very good question. We want to look

With the British blues scene, I like the way people interpret the blues. The guitar playing is for the sake of the whole song and the vibe. The singers are pretty high quality here too. Go to any jam session in the UK and you will usually come away very impressed

like we don’t care about the gear we use, but in fact a lot of thought has gone into it. It is very simple, because we know exactly the sound we are going for. Much of the sound of the Cinelli Brothers is made by the guitar. I play an orange Eastwood Airline Tuxedo guitar I bought second-hand in Milwaukee three years ago. I use thick strings and play it in drop-D, so every note is down one tone. I never play with a ‘pick’, only my fingers.

“Straight into the amp, and my amp is an endorsement from France. A Vanflet amp. No pedal, no reverb. My brother plays Gretsch drums. The bass is Fender and Ampeg. It is all very raw. Tone? It is paramount. Blues is about tone and not about chops. Tone comes from the gear, the fingers and the brain”.

While he is the front man of the band, Marco doesn’t hog the spotlight. “A great band doing great blues doesn’t need a guitar hero at all. The Cinelli Brothers are just one whole groove machine that will make a great show. We are not about one person, it is a sound and a unit. Totally about chemistry. With my brother in this band, we are one whole thing”.

The brothers make regular trips to America, to Texas; to soak up the blues and sit in with various celebrated players. Two years ago, they made their first trip to Chicago and last year to New York.

Neither Cinelli has ever had a day jobmusic has always been their main source of income and focus; studio sessions and stage work. But they feel this band can go far.

“This band is something unexpected, like a magic card that we have. Something people don’t expect to hear. They say, man; this is crazy good. We didn’t set out to be a philosophical blues band. We just want to please the audience and ourselves, by what we do”.

They flew back to Italy just to make sure they could personally present their parents with a copy of their first album.

“My mother framed the vinyl copy and it hangs on the wall in their house. My dad was grinning all over the place when he heard it and is very proud. The critics’ reviews are amazing. We thought, woah; maybe it is time to step back and take this very

The Cinelli Brothers

Babe Please Set Your Alarm

Independent

Italian brothers Marco (guitar/vocals) and Alessandro (drums) recorded this album in London with Enzo Strano on bass, Alberto Manuzzi on keys and Rollo Markee (a regular on the London blues circuit) on harmonica. The result is an album that sounds like a lost Chess era recording of Little Walter or Muddy Waters, despite the fact that most of the material was written by the band. The covers included are all familiar tunes but given a twist: Prince’s ‘Kiss’ is converted into a rousing shuffle, Aretha’s ‘Chain Of Fools’ is given a Chicago blues treatment and ‘Back Door Man’ is played at a faster pace than Howlin’ Wolf’s original with great slide and harp. The originals all sound authentic, mainly in classic Chicago style: title track is a slow blues with Rollo’s outstanding harp work set over warm organ;

‘Don’t Hold Back And Love Me’ has a choppy rumba rhythm as Marco sings the inviting lyrics with enthusiasm; ‘Your Lies’ has that Chicago bounce familiar from tunes like ‘My Babe’, just enough reverb on Marco’s guitar to give that vintage feel. The album is divided by an excellent instrumental entitled Rocco, Marco’s rhythm work pushing Rollo’s harp along before he takes a fine solo himself, all supported by Alberto’s organ fills. ‘One More Minute Over Me’ shows that the band can handle a slow blues and two of the strongest cuts on the album are classic Chi-Town shuffles: ‘Cry And Shout’ features Rollo’s subtle harp work and ‘She Done Gone Away’ sets a frantic pace, Rollo showing his skills in a faster style – both excellent tracks. Throughout the album Marco sings convincingly and the vintage sound achieved does credit to whoever produced.

John Mitchell

seriously now. We know we have magic…”.

In terms of a 2018 UK blues album release; Babe Please Set Your Alarm , really is going to take some beating. “Non può essere battuto”. Look out: The Cinelli Brothers have grabbed themselves a big pizza the action!

"The music is simply sensational Free and tight at the same time, filled with enthusiasm and exemplary musicianship just stunningly good" Blues in The South

"A very assured, swinging sound and a very good blues album" Blues Magazine (Netherlands)

"Excellent vocals and musicianship throughout...impressive." Blues News (Norway)

As hugely experienced & energised musicians UK band The Achievers inject a fresh sense of excitement and creativity into trusted Blues traditions They can inspire even the most casual of dancers and have gained universal acclaim from the blues press and roots music taste-makers for their dynamic songwriting and musicianship Layered with four-part harmonies, joyful melodies and infectious, danceable rhythms they leave festival and blues club audiences elated Their unique approach and willingness to move away from familiar guitar-solo orientated styles prove that groove, soul and song-craft still matter in the blues. There has never been a better time to see and hear The Achievers.

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is without doubt one of the finest guitarists modern music has to offer. From his explosive appearance on the Woodstock stage fifty years ago, in 1969, through his work with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and the legendary blues duo of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, Santana has remained a unique, instantly recognisable figure in both the blues and world music camps.

Now, with a new band behind him and an ambition and optimism that he believes is leading him back to his ‘blues roots,’ he is about to hit the road with a promise of Santana at his very best, a bluesman with a purpose and a genuine desire to take the music world by the scruff of its neck and deliver a promise that he believes will push him straight back into the spotlight where many would agree he clearly belongs.

It’s hard, if not impossible, to forget his truly seminal release, Abraxis , in 1970, with his astonishing take on Peter Greene’s wonderful, ‘Black Magic Woman,’ an album and track that sure-footedly assured his place on the global blues stage. This was an album and track that remains one of the fi nest blues cuts ever recorded. Santana has, and had, a totally new, refreshing, zinging sound that we’d never heard before. A guy always prepared to experiment and move the music on, he switched guitar brands, from Gibson to PRS, to achieve an even cleaner sound, a feeling and vibe that still has a haunting, ethereal feel coupled to a remarkable clarity that has stood the test of time and remains a trademark, making him instantly recognisable from the off.

All too often we speak of ‘unique’ players and musicians although in truth these guys are few and far between: with Carlos Santana, the title is more than merited.

Speaking with the man himself back home on the US West Coast, Senor Santana is engaging, entertaining and excited by the prospect of his forthcoming European tour, his fi rst trip across the Pond in many years. I begin by asking if he’s bringing his own, current band over or plans a pick-up support outfit. He immediately confi rms that it’s too important to leave the tour to chance of any kind: “Hey, I’m coming with the band. We’re all fi red up, looking forward to it now. We’re a real hi-energy crew, with my wife Cindy Blackman Santana on drums, as usual. This is the best band I’ve worked with. We all know what we want, how to get there and how to keep it all really moving,” He says with a smile. We chat generally about the music, his love for it all and how he got started on the road to fame and fortune. Santana is forthright and disarming, responding with a humility and self-deprecatory quip: “Well, I can’t rightly say why or how I sort of made it. I picked up some guitar stuff way, way back as a kid. And I just kept at it, plugging away. I found I enjoyed playing, performance for friends and the like. I guess it started that way. It sortof grew out of that. I

Verbals: Iain Patience Visuals: Maryanne Bilham

started out using Gibson guitars, great guitars and I loved them. Then I met and became friends with Peter Reid Smith of PRS guitars. I just love that sound. There’s no unnecessary complications with them, just a pure sound and great, clean tone. I’ve stayed loyal to them, and they’ve been loyal to me with Peter being a real good friend.”

Looking back over his remarkable career and his at times surprising musical influences, Santana singles out many of the leading jazz guys for mention: “I played with Miles Davis, a wonderful time, truly inspiring; and of course Wayne Shorter,” he adds, before turning towards his own rock and blues contemporaries to recall the music of another few favourites: “Then there was Jimi Hendrix, of course, always sensational, original; and Stevie Ray Vaughn, another oneof-a-kind guy, and Bob Marley was always there too. And there’s those African rhythms …”

Santana is, pretty much as might be expected, one of those extraordinarily talented musicians who is never short of opinions, never ducking or diving from controversy when needed. He is widely known for his social and civil concerns in the USA where he has repeatedly stepped in to contribute to just causes or taken a more personal approach by putting himself forward to help others in need. A few years ago, he helped out an old band-member who was down on his luck in California, living pretty rough and recalling his previous, past times. In characteristic style, Santana sort of came to the rescue on hearing of this and turned up to collect the guy and take him back to his own place for some much-needed friendship and cossetting.

In addition, he and his family created the Milagro Foundation, a charity aimed at helping and protecting children worldwide by providing support funding and opportunities for underprivileged kids in education, health and, tellingly, the arts. With recent US border issues and children’s

detention issues at the fore, it would be interesting to know his thoughts, as a Mexican himself. Sadly, however, the issue only came to prominence after our meeting.

Ranked among the best guitarists in the world, Rolling Stone Magazine puts him at number fifteen of its 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time, Santana is happy to chat about his unique, crystalline sound and how it’s achieved:

“I don’t like too much complicated stuff. There’s way too much of that around, always has been but especially nowadays. There’s pedals for pedals almost, sounds are being created that, in my opinion, seldom or ever add anything new. They become like distractions, getting between the player and the music, at times. I use my PRS Santana signature guitar. It has a sound I love, feels great with a fretboard that’s perfect for my style of playing. For output I again prefer simplicity, in truth: I‘ve used a Boogie Mk 1 since around 1973 when I first discovered them now coupled with Dumbles. I run the Mk 1 Boogie through a Boogie 12, Mesa Boogie, and Dumbles through Slant Cabinets. I have a 150 Watt, Dumble Steel String Singer, Dumble Overdrive and a Dumble Overdrive Reverb. The Overdrive was made specially. For me, the combination works pretty well,” he explains. “I try to avoid effects loops where I can.”

And it’s clearly an approach that has paid dividends for the guy, with countless national and international awards flowing in; indeed, in 2014, with the release of Corazon , he surpassed the Stones as one of the few musicians to have managed a top-ten album release in each of the consecutive six decades since he took to the stage back in the 1960s, playing the famed Fillmore and most venues around the San Francisco Bay area, then a positively explosive musical melting-pot.

But, speaking with the man, it’s evident he himself puts much of his success down to the seminal, world-famous

I’m going back to my blues roots with this one. It’s really where I started out, the music that first fired me up, caught my imagination.

Woodstock Festival, held on a farm in Upstate New York back in 1969: “Woodstock was amazing, awesome stuff. The whole atmosphere was awesome, the people, the other guys, the music, the whole vibe. Jimi was there, Jefferson Airplane; everybody had a great time, an absolute blast. And next year’s the fi ftieth anniversary. Hard to believe, looking back now. You really must try to get out for it. There’s gonna be a 50th anniversary festival. It’ll be great, maybe better than before. We’re already booked for it, so you must come along, come up onstage too, grab some maracas or a tambourine. Come and join in the fun.” Now there’s an offer that’s hard to resist!

However, he again repeats it with even greater insistence when I ask about his forthcoming European tour, a visit he’s hugely looking forward to making and where he hopes to meet some old friends while also making many new ones along the way. Looking ahead, he again explains that his current band set-up is the ‘best’ he’s worked with yet: “This is the best band I’ve had. We all work together, the sound’s right, the mix is right, the whole thing is right. We’re really looking forward to hitting Europe, I don’t get over too much, and it’s always great to meet different people and visit other countries with the music. I’m going back to my blues roots with this one. It’s really where I started out, the music that fi rst fi red me up, caught my imagination.”

When I return to my personal love of his early-1970s release, Abraxis , and single out the wonderful track, ‘Black Magic Woman,’ he again laughs with some pleasure and I reckon to have hit a spot with one of his own favourite past offerings. I query just how he got that sound, that inspiration, what took him there back then and now: “It’s like putting your heart in a blender,” he quips with more than a hint of gravity and serious belief in the music. “You just go for it, you know when you have it somehow. It’s a feeling. There’s nothing like it … you’ve gotta love the music, I guess.”

Talking about the UK and Europe, I express surprise he’s not working an album release, instead he’s just hitting the road on tour. Not many bands work like that these days;

promoting a new album’s often the name of the game. Santana laughs and confi rms he’s been in the studio working on another release: “We’re completing an album right now. We cut 49 tracks in ten days. It should drop either later this Fall or early next Spring,” he expects. I press him about his own personal, favourite musicians, asking what guitarists he most admires, who he himself listens to and turns to for simple pleasure and sometimes inspiration. To my personal surprise – though in retrospect, I can’t say why – Santana chuckles as he ponders the question and the thought. Just when I expect him to line up Stevie Ray, Jimi, Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton perhaps, he instead turns to another revered UK-US import, one of those remarkable pickers we often overlook because he has moved so far off into an almost whirlwind world of his own musical making. However, when pushed, he admits that he considers the now legendary jazz-blues-rockfusion master John McLaughlin to be his personal favourite musician: “John can do it all, he’s unique. There’s nobody can touch him, in my opinion. John’s the greatest guitar player ever.”

Discography

Carlos Santana has been a prolifi c recording artist since the 1970s and here is a selection of his more recent recordings.

Santana IV: Live At The

House of Blues – 2016

Santana IV – 2016

Corazón – 2014

Shape Shifter – 2012

Guitar Heaven – 2010

Supernatural: Legacy Edition – 2010

Multi Dimensional Warrior – 2008

Ultimate Santana – 2007

All That I Am – 2005

Ready to move on Kara Grainger

Australian soul slinger Kara Grainger is known for her groove-driven sound and dirty mean slide-guitar. Her sultry vocals can break hearts and souls. Her latest and fourth release is Living with Your Ghost co- produced by New Orleansbased Anders Osborne. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas. Combining her tasteful blues and slide guitar, soulful vocals and a heartfelt approach to song writing, Kara’s unique sound combines with an all-star band including such great musicians as Ivan Neville on keyboards, J.J. Johnson on drums, and Dave Monsey on bass. She has a powerful rhythm section with an incredible groove. The new release was just one of the subjects covered when Blues Matters! caught up with her.

Hi Kara, thanks for taking time out from your busy schedule to talk to Blues Matters! How are things going for you and where are you at the moment? At Dallas, Texas, just fi nished playing at The Dallas International Guitar Festival. It’s great, very busy with the new album and doing a gig tonight – it’s nuts just now.

How did a girl from the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, end up leaving and settling in Los Angeles?

Well, I was with an Australian record label, who wanted to take me and a couple of other artists across to America to be introduced to a bigger market. There was a producer in L.A., Dave Kallish? So, my fi rst album was done there. I only thought I’d be staying a couple of months, I didn’t think it would be ten years! Crazy, eh? Based there but done a lot of travelling – a good base to hop around the world. Weather’s pretty nice in California – lots of artistic people. It’s a big community and people give a lot of encouragement

in relation to song writing. I’m an artist at heart. There’s a lot of artists here in L.A.

Do you miss Australia at all, do you still call it home or is it L.A.?

I still call Australia home. I have some family. I miss the beaches and laid-back lifestyle. Sometimes being with people from your own country after you’ve been travelling the world is comforting, there are so many colloquialisms and ways and rhythm to the speech that you don’t have to try. I love travelling the world and experiencing new cultures but it’s nice to have the comfort of home as well.

Tell us about your childhood. When did you fi rst want to become a musician?

My father used to sing and play guitar. Think I started singing with him at eight years old. After a few years of that my parents asked me if I wanted to get guitar lessons which I did. Couple of years after, my older brother, Mitch, started playing electric guitar. I was about thirteen and heard Mitch playing a Stratocaster in his room and it sounded

Verbals: Colin Campbel Visuals: Tony Byrd and Adriana Malinowska

awesome, so I went to the same teacher he went to. Then I got into discovering blues and roots and rock and roll and learning how to improvise. Several years later we formed a band called Papa Lips. We toured the west coast of Australia. It was our rendition of soul, funk and roots music. The band had a good knowledge of Stax and Muscle Shoals. This to the point they could go – oh, that’s an Alan Jackson groove. They knew what they were doing.

What’s the best advice you have had in your musical career?

I would say one of my memories is my singing teacher who taught me a bit of technique and how-to sing. What she instilled was, when you are performing live, to really concentrate on the meaning of the words when singing them. There are so many things you have to think about when your singing, what chord is next, am I going to sing in key, what’s happening in two bars time, did I leave the kettle on when I left home this morning! Giving a truthful rendition that shows your connecting with the audience that’s probably it.

Talk about your early influences and motivators. The guitar teacher my brother and I went to, Mark Williams was his name. He still teaches every day in Sydney. He got me soloing in the fi rst lesson! He said here’s a road map, go for it. I was going, ‘what you want me to solo now?’ But he made teaching a lot of fun, which doesn’t happen much in a guitar lesson.

What keeps you motivated now? How do you manage to keep your music unique and keep your passion for it?

I still love being in a studio and playing live, so that keeps me motivated to make the music. I love producing and doing a bit of engineering too. Song-writing, too, I come up with melodies, chords and riffs quite easily. The lyrics are a bit harder for me.

Regarding song writing what comes first the song or the music?

The music, I’ll get a groove going and record melodies or random words to my phone. Often, I’ll play it back and decipher from that what the hell I’m talking about!

General themes crop up. This album I have released is very reflective of love lost or people who have gone in your life. But there is acceptance, you know. It’s not about loves lost. It’s about looking back and reflecting, being thankful for the past.

I like ‘Nowhere to be Found.’ We captured the right feeling for that song. ‘Nobody but You’ is more a singer-song-writer style Americana song. Yep, really happy with all the songs. Anders and I are endorsed by Category 5 amplifier group. I mentioned to them I was doing an album and they suggested contacting him. He loved it and was excited to do the project. We recorded in Austin, Texas. Stewart Sullivan has the studio at Wire recording and he was incredible. He got so much quality and texture to the sounds. It was recorded live. J.J. Johnson was on drums – probably in my top three drummers. Ivan Neville is also a long-term friend of Anders, he was a joy to work with. There was a lot of positive energy in that room. Basically, some songs came together in the studio, ‘Groove Train’ was one. My roots were in funk and we just played for about twenty minutes and jammed.

Guitar wise what do you prefer playing acoustic or electric and have you any favourite guitarists?

Talking about your new release Living with Your Ghost sounds like a natural evolution in your style of music. Want to talk more about that?

Every time I think I record, I turn up for work for six months recording these songs. Some have been around for a while. I revisit them. One I recorded eight years ago but didn’t finish. That made me put it on this album called ‘Nowhere to Be Found.’ There were just a couple of lines to finish and then I thought It’s cooked, it’s done. ‘Freedom Song’ was couple of years old; the rest were pretty new. I try to get a bit more emotion each time I go to the recording studio. Looking back at the past in order to look forward would be the album theme. Being comfortable with the past and ready to move on as well is important.

You got a favourite track on the new album? Anders Osborne was involved in the production how did that come about?

Lately more electric. But I like both. I don’t have a favourite. Used to be a Stratocaster person but now anything and everything goes. I like Gary Clark Junior, Mark Knofler, Eric Clapton and Ry Cooder. Growing up, I listened to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King and B.B. King. Also listening to Luther Dickinson with North Mississippi Allstars at the guitar festival – they were HOT! He could be one of my new best guitar players I guess.

What got you into the blues as a genre?

That’s where I started. Basically, there are a lot of venues around Sydney to play. If you played live it was blues, you played. After discovering more about guitar playing, I fell in love with it. I researched where it all came from. It had a deeper feeling than the rest of the music I listened to. Blues is a small part of what I do now, but I really love it.

Do you prefer large festivals or small venues, any favourite memorable concerts?

I haven’t played Wembley yet, so don’t know what that’s like! The largest festival was

Going to play some of my new songs and drink Tequila. That’s how they do it down here.

The Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, a few thousand there. A lot of fun. Festivals are great. It’s when you get into arenas you’re less connected with the audience. Festivals are my favourites. The audiences are ready to have fun and relax. Playing in Indonesia with the Jakarta Women’s Blues band was fun. Lucerne Blues Festival was a great show. In L.A, the Troubadour is a good venue. The Baked Potato Club is small but fun. There are places in Burbank I play. I am touring a lot these days, going to Canada and Australia and, hopefully, UK soon.

What would be your best advice for young aspiring musicians starting out today?

I would say concentrate on your song writing. Listen to the greats, jam along with the greats, see how they do it then make it your own. If you’re a singer, to be genuine focus on the message in the song, the lyrics. Teach yourself to put things into rhythm and rhyme. Put the right words to match the emotion when song-writing.

What other songwriters do you admire?

Lately I’ve been listening to Americana style/Country writers. I like Ryan Adams, Jason Isabell and Alan Toussaint. But this will change, if you ask me next week!

When you get a chance to relax from touring and recording, what do you like doing?

I like hiking and spending time in open spaces, I’m a nature person. Not really any time in the last year. If I did I would get the motorbike out, go swimming, and do yoga. I like hanging out with people and having a good time. I also like Scotch Whisky, because many years ago I must have been Scottish as a Grainger!

The rocky track ‘Favourite Sin’ is fun, do you have any?

Too sinful to mention. It would get me into trouble!

Where are you playing tonight?

Actually, I’m very excited about tonight. There’s a guy called Jerry Don Branch, who plays with the Stratoblasters. He has a long grey beard and wears a cowboy hat; he looks like a quintessential Southern guy. He is an incredible singer and guitarist, he’s asked me to sit in with his regular Dallas gig. He has a voice like Gregg Allman and plays guitar like Chet Atkins with a bluesy sound. I’m going to play some of my new songs and drink Tequila. That’s how they do it down here.

Well thanks for chatting, hope to catch you soon. Alright. Thanks for that.

For further information see website: www.karagrainger.com

Soul survivor Maggie Bell

Maggie and Pete continue their conversation in a Fulham eaterie about her life and times … at this point they are looking at some Stone The Crows releases…

Verbals: Pete Sargeant Visuals: Laurence Harvey

Could I ask you about the song ‘Friends’? I love it. Well that was written by Ronnie Leahy. His wife came down from Scotland with us, she went and married Richard Branson, she’s now Lady Branson.

Lovely Hammond on this and a kind of West Coast vibe about the song. You sing that as though you are conversing with us. Thank you. I take that as a compliment!

It is – you’re not shouting at us. I like that style. ‘Mad Dog’ is good, the attack in it.

(Sighs) Delaney And Bonnie … it was very much that sort of approach, to put the song over with that edge, I suppose.

‘Things Are Getting Better’ – It’s like that’s from a musical.

(Sings the melody) Yeah but I had been doing things like Vikki Carr’s ‘Where Are You Now My Love’, Nancy Wilson, Martha & The Vandellas, The Shirelles! Sarah Vaughan, I’ve done it all. All that trains you to take on a song in the style you might be after. You’re prepared. You collect all that stuff, you keep all that stuff. Then you can just bring it in to different songs.

The second release for STC I have here the broadcast tracks, it’s a

somewhat heavier sound. It’s maybe closer to Quicksilver or Jefferson Airplane in its impact. You’re singing up a storm and there’s a version of ‘Going Down’ on here as well. A fabulous song, especially to perform live. I do another song made famous by Freddie King with the Hamburg Blues Band. (Ponders) ‘Living In The Palace Of The King’. Because so many bands now do ‘Going Down’ and it’s nice to step sideways.

I always liked ‘Woman Across The River.’ Really? That’s a good song …

‘Air Wizard’ is great, it has this very deliberate tempo like ‘Free’. ‘Good Time Girl’ has fi ne pub piano. Yes! That got into the charts. We did Top Of The Pops with that.

Where did you hear ‘Penicillin Blues’? Alex Harvey. He did that on a Polydor record fi fty years ago.

The radio sessions, they’ve stood up well, I think. We liked John Peel a lot, we looked up to him as someone who knew quality and was open-minded. He was like a god, not just one of those trendy pop chart guys, y’know? And I think we really wanted to do well and sound our best for him. We didn’t want to let him down at all. He had

us on his radio show quite a lot of times. And he was a good guy, giving a lot bands chances that others would not.

He introduced me to The Misunderstood which led on to the UK-based Juicy Lucy, with Ray Owen singing and then Paul Williams Och great singer – Pete, who was the guy singing with Spooky Tooth?

Mike Harrison. Yes, I met him. Awesome vocalist!! So, so sad we’ve lost him recently.

He came out of the audience once to say hello when I had been playing harp, was I honoured?! What were the most memorable STC shows, for you? Now people do talk to me about this quite a lot, but I haven’t spoken about it to a music journal. We opened up for Led Zeppelin and we did very, very well. Folk remind me we got an encore, (Laughs) opening up for Zeppelin! In America we were on with Joe Cocker and Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

Glenn Ross Campbell, Chris Stainton … Oh yes – great guys and players.

Did you meet Nicky Hopkins? I loved him with Jeff Beck and onwards. Oh I did! In that time, Peter Grant took me away from Glasgow and he opened my eyes musically. I was like a kid in a sweetie shop, when I came down here. The Marquee and all the acts, later on we toured with Taste. That’s what Peter Grant did for me, gave me a chance. And of course the producer was Mark London. He was a comedian in The Catskills back in the day. He was the funniest man I ever met and he made Stone The Crows. Peter was executive producer but the music was down to Mark. As you know, everybody helped each other in those days, in and around Denmark Street.

I knew at the time, this is a fantastic era to be in, it was so exciting. Is this Percy Mayfield’s ‘Danger Zone’ on here?

Yep. Still do it, in shows. The lyrics in that song – well, it’s happening all around us today!

I had a chance to thank Steve Stills in person for writing ‘For What It’s Worth’ … when Les passed, that must have knocked the stuffi ng out of everybody? It did. He was telling the audience there was something wrong with the stage equipment and to just bear with us. He put his hand on the microphone and on the guitar and that was it. Peter Green was going to join the band, he rehearsed with us. The night before we were due to play a festival he called up and said he couldn’t do it. Steve Howe stayed up all night learning the songs and did the gig for us. Which was the spirit of the time. Exactly! as I was saying just now.

No o Ne shOuld face c A ncer aloNe

No mums. No dads. No brothers or sisters. Not your next-door neighbour or the lady from the corner shop. No grandmas. No grandpas. Not the chap from the chip shop or the noisy lads at the back of the bus. Not your best mate. Not a single stranger. No one whatsoever. No one should face cancer alone.

Text TOGETHER to 70550 and donate £5 so we can be there for everyone who needs us.

MAC14175

Texts cost £5 plus your network charge. We receive 94p of every £1 donated in this way. Obtain bill payer’s permission first.

Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).

Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite is a living link with the history of blues music. He has played with many of the legends of the form, and in doing so, has forged his own personal legend along the way. As part of the strong and abiding tradition of including the very best blues music, the Montreal Jazz Festival has Charlie playing a show, and BM’s Andy Hughes joined the harmonica genius for a late café snack and coffee, and a conversation that began with Charlie growing up in Memphis

Jimmy Griffin lived next door, had several bands, he was in Bread with David Gates. Johnny and Dorsey Burnette lived across the road, I went to school with Eddie Cash, Johnny’s brother, so used to see him a lot. These were guys that just lived in my neighbourhood. They were older than me, they played music, and they had bloodshot eyes, and I had never seen it before. My mom said they must have done a little drinking, which is probably right, they were playing honky tonks and I was too young to get in.”

What got you started playing the harmonica?

Everyone seemed to have one, I used to go in to the woods and play mine and learn things. I was around thirteen then, I was already interested in blues, I used to go around the used furniture stores because they sold old seventy-eights, and I would look for anything that had the word ‘blues’ on it. They were a nickel or a dime, you could get Sonny Boy Williamson sides, Memphis Jug Band records, I didn’t know that anyone else was collecting blues records except me. I loved the way the harmonica sounded, especially on the first Sonny Boy Williamson album. My dad gave me his guitar when I was thirteen, so I was teaching myself harmonica and guitar,

and got pretty good, and got to know a lot of the old timers around Memphis. I didn’t think I was preparing myself for a career, I was just enjoying myself with music. If I had known that we were going to be sitting here now in a café in Montreal talking with you about it I’d have paid a lot more attention! So there were a lot of guitar players in the city, but not many harmonica players, so people started offering me gigs playing harmonica.

What age were you when you realised that you were good enough to make a career out of music, that you were good at this?

I guess this morning, I felt that a little! (laughs). I just keep showing up, that’s what I’ve always done. When I was in Chicago, all the blues clubs were small places, and unless you were Muddy or Wolf, someone putting out regular forty-fives, you couldn’t really make a living out of playing music. Almost everyone had a day job, usually working in a factory because it was real easy to get a job in a factory in those days. So most people have a day job, and they’d work at the same club, if you got a gig there, it became your club, and you’d work there four or five nights a week, from nine at night until four in the morning, you’d play nine sets a night, forty-five minutes on, fifteen

Verbals: Andy Hughes Visuals: Supplied by author

minutes off. Saturday night you played until five in the morning, and you did an extra set that night. If there was a shooting at the club, and it got closed down, you’d just head to any factory, and they’d say, grab that broom, we’ll find you something to do in a while, and you’d find another club gig and move on to that. The recording artists would go out on the road and tour, Muddy would go on tour, and then come back to Chicago and play at Pepper Sam’s, that was his home club, and Wolf would tour and come back to Silvio’s, that was his home club, and the rest of us would play any bars and clubs we could get a gig. I was young and had no responsibilities, I just wanted to have a good time, and I had a good time.

the first job I got was driving a truck for an exterminator company, so I got to drive all over the city and I got to know the city real well very quickly, and I saw signs and posters everywhere, saying things like ‘Elmore James – Tuesday Night’, and ‘Pepper’s Lounge – Muddy Waters’ and I thought this was great! I started hanging out in these clubs. I was from Memphis so I already knew how to drink! I just started spending time in these clubs, but these places were all for adults, and the people there were all black, I was eighteen and white, so they probably thought I was just a mad fan because I would request tunes, I never told anyone I could play. It was great just to have a beer and listen to Muddy Waters until five in the morning.

How did you start playing in Chicago?

When you got to Chicago, and found the blues scene there, did you feel like you had arrived, that this was where you were meant to be?

I didn’t know anything about the music in Chicago. I was always told than anyone who was in entertainment lived in New York City, or in Hollywood, so I thought people like Muddy Waters lived in New York. I came to Chicago to find work because the word was that there were plenty of jobs there, the work paid well, there were benefits, so I did what thousands of other people did and headed to Chicago to get a job. It was nothing to do with music. People from the south headed north to get work.

So how did you find out about the music scene in Chicago?

Well, when I was in Memphis, I knew a lot of the blues players there, but I had no notion about making a career out of music, I just enjoyed playing. So when I got to Chicago,

A waitress that I knew in the club where Muddy played told him that I played, and he should hear me, so he called me up to sit in. Those were long nights, a lot of playing time, so Muddy was always inviting people up to sit in, and lots of musicians would hang out so there were always these jam sessions, and I just joined in with one of those. So I got heard, and offered a paying gig, and that was it, I was a gigging musician, I played around the streets for tips in the day, and in the clubs at night. What made a difference was, I was from Memphis, I was from ‘down home’, I wasn’t a Yankee, so I was accepted by everyone, and got introduced all round to loads of players. They always said “This is Charlie, he’s from down home …” that was important. I found out there was a North Side and a South Side, and the North Side was white and the South Side was black, and I moved on down to the South Side because they understood me when I talked, and I was from ‘down home’, so I fitted right in!

You had a long close friendship with John Lee Hooker, how did that begin?

I was a fan of John’s he lived in Detroit and he came to Chicago to play, and the first night I could get to see him when I had a night off, I went along and we met up and we just hit it off, we laughed and talked, and

You don’t have to play every note you know every chance you get, think of the melody and play for the music.

we were just friends right off, and kept in close touch. I told him he should come out to California because there was so much more work there, and I told him that, and told him the women were just fi ne!

Do you still like being on the road? Well, it’s not as much fun as it was when I was young and single. I may still have the desire, but I don’t have the energy now! It’s great to see smiling faces, and seeing women dancing, if I can make women move, I feel I have achieved something, and it really inspires me.

People who call you to play on their album want your sound, the unique style you have, do you ever think about what the sound is, what they want and how you produce it?

I have no idea at all. Really, I never listen to my records once I fi nish them because I know I will want to change things and do things differently. I know there are players who memorise their licks and solos, and so on, but I have never done that. To me, the thought I had when I very fi rst started playing music is the one that has carried me through, and that is to play what I want to play, how I want to play it. You don’t have to play every note you know every chance you get, think of the melody and play for the music.

Do you think the harmonica has the respect it deserves as an instrument? It is getting more now than it used to have. I have a little instruction note to give to the sound guy at each gig where I say I want the harmonica to be the same volume as the vocal, because a lot of people think it’s like a toy, and they mix it too far down the sound. I want the sound up there, and the rhythm underneath that.

Out of all the musicians you have worked with, the places you have played, is there any experience that stands out as really memorable?

I think everything I did with Tom Waits was memorable, he doesn’t work like anyone else I have ever worked with in the studio. I

remember one time, I was trying to stop my amp from feeding back, making this noise, and Tom says (perfectly imitates Waits’ gruff growl) What ya doin’ man? So I told him my amp was feeding back, and he said, Nah, just leave it, let it do its thing. No-one else has ever left an amp feeding back in the studio and just carried on. Another time, I was overdubbing on a song he had recorded, and I was playing a chromatic, and I had to draw the breath on the chromatic, and then snort the breath out through my nose. Tom had this microphone on the chromatic, and another mic by my nose, and he recorded me going draw-snort, draw-snort, and he used the breath out as the rhythm track for the song, it was really cool. I worked on his Mule Variations album, and he had a microphone outside the studio, which was on a ranch. They had loads of animals out there, dogs barking, chickens and so on, and when Tom was mixing the album, he’d bring out the outside sounds and mix them onto the album, so if you hear a dog bark in a song, it was barking outside at the time we were recording in the studio.

Do you think about retiring?

I always say that if I won the lottery, I wouldn’t be going anywhere except where I want to go, and when I wanted to go there, I wouldn’t be backing out my driveway until I was ready!

Discography

Charlie’s been around a long time and has a lot of terrifi c albums, too many to list here.

No Mercy In This Land (with Ben Harper) – 2018

I Ain’t Lyin’... [live] – 2015

Get Up! (with Ben Harper) – 2013

Juke Joint Chapel [live] – 2012

The Well – 2010

Rough Dried: Live At The Triple Door – 2008

Black Snake Moan (Music From The Motion Picture) – 2007

Georgia always on her mind

Michelle Malone

Michelle Malone is a singer and songwriter who has been on the music scene for thirty years. She has had much success and critical acclaim. Her style is not pigeon-holed but influenced by blues, rock and roll, Americana and pure Georgian Soul. I managed to get a chance to talk with Michelle before she went to meet her mum for a meal. The conversation mixed topics such as her Georgian roots, her career to date, and her new release Slings and Arrows, which packs a punch, is full of energy and raw emotion, mixing self-awareness and empathy with optimism for the human psyche.

Verbals: Colin Campbell Visuals: Clay Miller

Hi, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to Blues Matters! How are things with you?

Everything’s great, weather good, had a good gig last night. One day I would like to come over and play in the UK!

It’s hard to think you’ve been thirty years in the music business and you’ve just fi nished your sixteenth album. They say it is. I don’t even know. All I know is I continue to create music and raise the bar as I go along with every record. I have to stay interested myself and I seem to be accomplishing this myself.

What keeps you motivated and focussed musically?

I think it’s the desire to grow and explore the minutiae of the surroundings I work in if that makes sense! I love all types of music. I grew up in a family full of musicians. We listened to everything from opera to Led Zeppelin, so I have a great appreciation for almost all music. Bits and pieces of it have ended up in my records. That’s why I

have not been pigeon-holed into any particular genre. It’s all Michelle Malone music; Southern music and especially Georgian music. It’s me. My job as a performer and recording artist is to be the most authentic I can be. I can’t worry about who approves or not. Being authentic is a journey in itself. I change, my vision changes and so too my music! It’s fascinating how it comes out so differently each time. That’s what’s exciting to me.

Going back to your childhood. Your mother and grandmother were musicians. Did this inspire you to be a musician?

My grandma used to sing in theatres and churches. She got paid for singing in church, which I thought was very interesting. My stepfather is a drummer. It was a family business. It’s the language I’m most versed in.

What was your fi rst instrument?

When I was a little kid my mother took me to a jazz show. There was this exuberantly dressed saxophone player and he wore a fl ash suit, the coolest thing I had seen when I was an eight or nine-year-old. So, this inspired me to play the saxophone in my school band, and

I play a lot of live gigs, so I learn by playing in front of an audience

later I always had a secret admiration for Lisa in The Simpsons playing saxophone! I loved jazz as a kid. Miles Davis was one of my grandpa’s favourites. He turned me on to that music. Then when I heard rock and roll, I just wanted to play guitar. My brother had a guitar in his closet and he instructed me not to play it. So, I’d get it out and he’d beat me up! It was awesome. I started playing his guitar at age eleven. There was a cool Minister at the church that I went to who played guitar and he taught me to play. I then got into Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. That was the type of popular music my mother played, it made me want to learn guitar. Then I heard Neil Young and wondered what is that? My mother had a songbook and I just played along.

Guitar wise, were you self-taught or did you get lessons. What started you playing specifically slide-guitar? My father also played guitar. He showed me

some chords. There was also a lot of music going on in the house. He showed me how to play drums. That’s a hobby of mine! I remember the day exactly! I was in the studio recording a record called Stomping Ground , 2003, I believe. There’s a song called ‘Lafayette’. It has a vibe between Little Feat and Led Zeppelin. The producer wanted slide on this, I was the only person there. That’s where it started, and I had to play the song every night. I recorded the part before playing it on stage. I’ve never been disciplined about practicing; I play a lot of live gigs, so I learn by playing in front of an audience.

What kind of audiences do you have and like? What do you like about being a musician?

Enthusiastic audiences! I like audiences that love music, are open minded and communicate with me. I feed off an audience. It’s a give and take of energy; we all get what we give. I guess that’s a basic rule in life. I don’t care how big or small an audience, music, for me, transcends politics and religion. That’s my favourite thing about being a musician these days, being able to spread joy just by singing and playing music. It’s a conscious thing now. When I started out it was all about me and my ego. Then you get older and realise it’s about the audience. Lately I see it as a way of healing the great divide we have, not just in my country but around the world. I’d like to help folk see our similarities not our differences and I think we can do that through music. It’s about creating awareness. I don’t get preachy or on my soapbox. It’s more about bringing people together through music and loving yourself, so you can spread that message around.

Let’s talk about your new album Slings and Arrows. Do you have a favourite track? One highlight is your cover of a particular Otis Redding number. I consciously wrote the album wanting to be

able to play all of the tracks live. A lot of time, I write songs as I record them, and they don’t always translate when playing live. I love all the songs on this record. ‘Love Yourself’ has a good rhythm. It’s a bit Little Feat, Irma Thomas inspiration, it feels good and that today is my favourite. ‘Sugar on My Tongue’, I like the Motown effect on that. The video for my cover of Otis Redding’s, ‘I’ve Been Loving You So Long’ is out, I’ve been singing that a lot. That is a surprisingly difficult song to capture, so easy to do in the studio but not so much live. It was so great in the studio. I sang it with Gregg Allman in 2014, I think, at Atlanta Symphony Hall. Chuck Leavell, pianist for Allman Brothers and Rolling Stones is Georgian and was putting on a show to celebrate Georgian music. I sung the song with Gregg Allman, I also did ‘Respect’. It reminds me of my roots and how much I like to sing. That planted the seed to do this record. Sadly, Gregg passed, but I got Shawn Mullins to sing with me and, wow, he’s got deep soulful tones.

How did you get into singing were you self-taught? You have a very distinctive vocal style and range. Singing was my fi rst instrument, if you could call it that. It’s what we all did. I was in a church choir from age four onwards. It brought joy. I consider myself a singer before anything else. I’ve been doing it longer. It’s taken most my life to become the artist I want to be. I’m a late bloomer I guess.

The whole new album seems very organic and certainly made in Georgia stamped on it, care to talk about that?

Georgia has a rich musical history. Not just Otis Redding but James Brown, Little Richard, Gladys Knight, and Ray Charles. Everyone here, when they know you’re a musician asks when you’re moving to Nashville! I want people to understand this is a different music mecca, a more natural take. This is my home. My family have been in Georgia since 1700s. I am connected to it. It’s part of me. I wanted to showcase Georgian talent. I didn’t plan it but if I don’t toot that horn no one will. Writing is like therapy for me.

Regarding song writing in general, what is your process? What would you interpret your style as being?

Guitar in one hand, pen in the other. The most primal thing is the rhythm. That attracts me most in music. I build the lyrics to go with the melody and it all has to match up. I didn’t want a lot of overdubs. Nowadays there is no one style of music. We don’t have many people just playing blues, everything is derivative. The only style I think I fit into is Southern music. If it wasn’t for Little Richard, we wouldn’t have The Rolling Stones. I love acoustic blues, Son House. It’s about making you feel something. Blues seems to cut through the bullshit. But I can’t close my mind off to other types of music.

For further information see website: www.michellemalone.com

Discography

Slings And Arrows – 2018

Stronger Than You Think – 2015

Acoustic Winter – 2014

Day2– 2012

Moanin’ In The Attic Live – 2010

Debris – 2009

Sugarfoot – 2006

Stompin’ Ground – 2003

Hello Out There – 2001

Home Grown – 1999

Lucky To Be Live – 1998

Beneath The Devil Moon – 1997

Bird On Fire – 1996 with Band De Soleil

Redemption Dream – 1994 with Band De Soleil

A Swingin’ Christmas In The attic – 1993

For You Not Them – 1992

Relentless – 1990 with Drag the River

New Experience – 1988

His own account – Part III

Zoot Money

Concluding Pete’s conversation with veteran keyboard ace Zoot Money in downtown Hammersmith, the pair move on to Eric, Jimi and Graham …

Verbals: Pete Sargeant Visuals: per Indiscreet PR

Many singles from that psychedelic-rock-blues era do transport you to that exciting place, ‘I love The Yardbirds’ ‘Happenings

Ten Years Time Ago’...it’s that sound of London at night, with Beck and Page, Jim McCarty’s drumming plus of course ‘Summer In The City’… (Sighs) You could feel the heat in the words! Perfect song-writing, capturing the atmosphere. but how clever to paint that picture, in a song. And they did it with a couple of lines! Well thought-out lines. Pretty intelligent people in that group. College kids not long before. Coming up with this stuff!

Well the ex-college kid I talked to about Jimi Hendrix was someone whose group was in the same tour package – Peter Tork of The Monkees. He said Hendrix was just the nicest guy he’d ever met, great listener and story-teller…

Giggler! Terrible giggler! I’ve got a guitar still in auction that is actually the first guitar he ever played in this country.

When Chas brought him over?

Yeah! Chas Chandler came round to my place on the way through, with Jimi. From the airport, this is documented in several books. Not far from where I live now, West London. He wanted a guitar, asked me if I knew any left-handed players they could talk to. I could have gone downstairs to where Andy and

Colin Allen were living. But he’d have killed me if I gave anyone his guitar! Whilst all this is going on, Jimi started fiddling around on the guitar that I had bought. I had bought it quite cheaply as I wanted to do a few Chuck Berry songs. And Andy had said “You’re not getting near any of MY guitars!” He thought I’d do The Duckwalk and fall over! Cos at that time he only had the one guitar around. But unbeknown to me, it’s an Italian fetish guitar called a Van Dray. I didn’t find out til recently that they are highly sought after.

And the fact that it’s the first one Jimi actually played here, even though not on a gig.

I said he could use it if he liked, re-string it if he wanted. He said not to worry, he’d find something but thanks anyway. Chas is using my phone to call and ask around, no such thing as cellphones back in those days. And he found someone who could loan them a lefthanded guitar. So off they went after a cuppa.

You could feel the heat in the words! Perfect song-writing, capturing the atmosphere. but how clever to paint that picture, in a song. And they did it with a couple of lines!

So apart from Chas I was the first person to meet Jimi in this country, Pete. So I’ve written a provenance now and it’s gone for sale.

My friend Arthur Louis let me play a guitar Jimi gave him. A white Strat, you could see on the horn where the strap button had been moved across while Jimi had it. When my band played the 100 Club for the Scorcese videos launch I got Arthur to guest with us, could you tell me about Eric Burdon & The Animals and the ‘Coloured Rain’ version? Ah! with me producing and playing … well that was the first chance we got to have Andy Summers stretching out on that legato guitar for the solo and the horn arrangement you hear on there, yes. “How long shall we do this?” I was in the control room, counting the bars as it all went along. I said it’s not going on to long, every lick Andy was inventing something else – which is what he was able to do and better than most! We transferred what we had been doing with Dantalian’s Chariot into this song, this setting.

It just rides over the staccato rhythm, beautiful! How was Eric Burdon? Always got on well with Eric. No problems. I still email him from time to time, via his partner. I called that The New New Animals, that era. I took over from Vic. Vic Briggs. Eric wanted us to infuse all that stuff with his music, as we had been part of that Flower Power scene I suppose. To mix it in with his natural blues and soul style. He needed a new MD as Vic was getting keener on doing film music and all that.

He got back into arranging on people’s albums, which did even on mine. When I did Welcome To My Head , the strings and session players.

Did you do live shows with The New Animals?

Oh yeah! We went to Japan. But all our equipment was kept by The Yakuza! Believe me, that’s a book in itself. The bloke that booked us had arranged for us to do about

thirty-five gigs in about two weeks! Which is all well and good, including afternoon TV shows and more. Turns out he had promised his business partners or whoever forty-five shows. So the manager at the time said to wait a minute, that wasn’t the deal. So he was being beaten up by them every night cos he couldn’t promise that number of gigs! Eventually we said to go **** yourselves and we arranged to get on a plane early next morning. People with baseball bats trying to stop us getting to the airport. While we were there it was great, we were being treated like gods. By the fans. I lost a piano, two 4x12s … two Ampeg 100 watts, which I needed to combat the guitar and the bass!

A band that was quite loud then was The Graham Bond Organisation… Graham from Pinner! We were on the same bill at Middle Earth. And he was chanting. In the dressing room, in a yoga position. In communion with his deities. We were doing our soundcheck. Dantalian’s Chariot. And we were doing this thing using just vowels; A E I O U … over and over, putting certain chords to it. When we went back to the dressing room, he was properly freaked-out! “Sorry, Graham!”

I do remember when I saw him, he was as good on the sax as the organ. Oh yes, a great player. I was down in Bournemouth, a young spotty lad and I went to see him at the old Concorde Club when it was on top of a pub. The crowd suggested I play the organ, so he agreed and I did play the organ, minus about three keys. A C was missing, an F, he didn’t have a cover for it. As a tender youth there I was facing Jack Bruce and Ginger, Bond was loving it as he wanted to play out on the saxophone! All power to him, letting me sit in. He had no fear. Even this young upstart, as it were.

What has changed in the music business in the last twenty years?

In most cases, the attitude that most fellow musicians have. In the old days, healthy competition even in banter … in interviews you

would say “they’re alright but I prefer … whoever.” And ‘rival’ bands would do the same to you. But all acceptable as it was done with some sort of healthy respect. To be honest with you, I’ve never really run down anyone. I wouldn’t say anything bad, in the press. But I would make comments about people I thought were good. If they were doing something different. Comes down to maintaining respect for a fellow professional. That has gone. It’s still with older members of the business, but not the newer generation. They are immediately antagonistic.

Do you think this is because of things like the Simon Cowell shows where it’s all more of a gladiatorial scene? Oh definitely, yeah! It’s just that. You’re not really giving new people with talent a chance, not really. You’re putting them on an international stage …

Someone like Tom Waits or Van would last ten seconds on those TV shows. Of course – it’s exposing acts far too early, before attaining any stage-craft … kids it’s too much, too much pressure. To a degree, Amy Winehouse. Just too early to be held up as an exceptionally talented artist. Someone like Victoria Price is doing it the better way, experimenting with new tunes, putting the work in.

What for you makes a memorable live performance?

A modicum of accident can be good, depends just how one handles it. I was asked about playing with Kevin Ayers, who yes could be a bit airy-fairy at times. We had Ollie Halsall, Tony Newman.

Jeff Beck’s drummer?

Yes – now lives in Nashville and we’re in touch. Rick Wills who went on to do Foreigner. And me. And they said well with all that talent and with Kevin a little bit loose, and I said out of ten gigs, maybe three were good and maybe one was magic. Through not being so organised that have to hit it on the same number of bars exactly every time, all of those people were capable of free-forming.

Ollie had soaked up Coltrane, surely?

Yes! phenomenal player! One time he was a bit blitzed, broke a string but just carried on playing as if nothing was wrong! The Ayers band went over to Italy, to Spain, wonderful times! And the music was truly memorable, alive and it’s the crowd that will come up to you afterwards and tell you, when those special nights happen.

Pete met up with keyboard ace and composer Rod Argent for a general chat and the latter’s five Blues Choices to make up the group’s ten. Over tea and cakes, Rod’s love of music is ever more evident …

It’s always easy to fi nd The Zombies records in the racks, right before ZZ Top. (Laughs) Ha! Well we learned something last year that we didn’t know before, that when we originally broke up and then had a posthumous number one in America, worldwide actually, apart from the dear old UK with ‘Time Of The Season’ … there were then a number of fake Zombies bands going around claiming they were the original group

when they weren’t. One of these bands, it transpires, later became ZZ Top! Which I think is hilarious … clearly, they only want to be in bands with the letter Z!

Of course, there was also at one point a fake Fleetwood Mac doing the rounds. The last record that you put out, the most recent album, I think it plays as a set of songs better than any other album you’ve had out, you’ve seen my review. I became

Verbals: Pete Sargeant Visuals: Andrew Eccles & Maggie Clarke

absolutely enamoured with the New York track, is it a love song to the city?

It’s more than that, really, it’s a love song to the fi rst experience we had of that city. When Colin and I stepped off the plane, we had huge trepidation. This is 1964, we were very young. We were top of the Charts in America and we did the Murray The K show.

‘She’s Not There’?

Yes, our number one hit. Our very fi rst show started at eight in the morning on Christmas Day. Six shows a day in Brooklyn, we only had to play two or three songs each show, like all the other acts on the package. BUT we were playing with people like Ben E King, The Drifters, The Shirelles, Patti Labelle … who became a big friend while we were there, Dionne Warwick, Chuck Jackson

a huge regional star then. We were pretty scared because there we were, callow white kids doing our version of rhythm and blues! Playing in front of some of our heroes. The greatest black soul stars and we were thinking they’re going to hate us. But they didn’t at all, they really took us to their hearts. It was a lovely experience. So, the song is about that whole happening, how Patti Labelle used to have long conversations with us, telling us about a new kid on the block that we ought to see. Turned out to be Aretha Franklin, at that time still doing her cabaret period. So, we got to check out Aretha, and Nina Simone was another one. We bought all the records we could. So, the fact that they did that it’s in the second verse, really.

Chris Barber told me a very similar story about arriving in Chicago, to play at Muddy’s. Deep respect, nothing got stolen, the cops spoke to him as fans! Exactly! That is totally how we found ourselves being treated in New York, Pete. The thing is, they had very open musical minds. They weren’t musically narrow or snobbish at all. There was a difference in the black-white split – now this was before Martin Luther King was killed. But we always used to play to quite a large contingent of black kids as well as the white fans. On the Christmas Day shows it was almost totally a black audience for some reason. They used to sing the choruses and we loved it, those voices out there. Patti and Chuck would sing bv’s off stage!

You can’t buy that, can you?

Eighteen, nineteen years old and this is happening. But it was what we all really wanted to do, to create in that field.

Let’s talk about Al Kooper. He loved the O & O album. We run across Al these days, still. He will always come by and see us, but his health is not as good as it was. He was the hottest A&R man around back then and got signed by Clive Davis then at CBS. Al was sent over to England to check out the scene and the groups. He wrote on the US release notes that out of

two hundred albums, our one just stood out for him. He reported to Clive Davis, saying that CBS had to buy the rights for America. Clive said he had passed on it, so Al said he’d need to un-pass! They then put out ‘Bushes Tale’ – a great Chris White song but never a single – as a single. So that died. As a last gasp they put out ‘Time Of The Season’, by this time eighteen months later. And one DJ in Idaho started to play it on the radio. And as could happen back then, it was like a stone thrown in water making ripples and other stations started to play the song. It took six months for it to reach the upper part of the Charts. Then it went up to number one.

Every band, when I was in my late teens wanted to be different; Savoy Brown, Steamhammer, East Of Eden, Jethro Tull … you probably weren’t aware that your music had that great jazzy slant. On Indication with its modal coda … but in amongst Dave Clark and The Pacemakers it sounded like a trip elsewhere. I only know one way to write a song. That is to take a musical idea and follow it through and not be limited by traditional notions of song form, forty seconds of this, key change there, we never did all that as it just wasn’t our style. I remember thinking about starting ‘She’s Not There’, going through ideas and I put on a John Lee Hooker album and the opening track was ‘No-one Told Me’. I liked the way that phrase tripped off the tongue. I thought I’ll construct a full story around that. The actual melody of that is based around a blues scale.

Slow dominoes …

Absolutely that, yes! We owe Al big-time… but you know the story of him and Dylan.

Playing the organ even though he was a guitarist …

When the producer wasn’t looking he wandered over to The Hammond …ended up on ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. Bob said turn the organ up!

That wouldn’t happen now. I’ll tell you what I miss about modern music, though I’m not an expert and don’t get to hear everything that comes along, you probably do! – what I just loved about all the sixties acts was that nearly all of them were rooted in say rhythm & blues, or had a working knowledge of the blues and it had excited them, discovering all that. AND might be listening to a lot of jazz even if there was no jazz in their playing.

I remember John Steele in The Animals saying that when he was doing ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ he was imagining he was playing ‘Walk On The Wild Side’. The Jimmy Smith tune. That connection seems to have moved into the background these days, from what I can hear.

I often quote it when soloing in minor keys! If you slip in ‘Moves Like Jagger’ the younger heads in the audience start bobbing. Ha-ha! exactly what Dizzy and Charlie Parker liked to do! But an audience will savour that. They will sense that there is life in the music. In the States we play to really large audiences, because we have built everything up to sound as we do, the whole band wants it to sound good and connect. What knocks me out is that we have many older fans who have been with us for years, however, nowadays there is a large younger contingent out there, eager to hear us. An eighteen-year old girl came up after a show in America and she was there with her mother and her grandmother who had seen us originally. She said she came along under duress, but ‘A Song For Emily’ had brought her to tears and she wanted to say thanks. So, if we can still do that

But you and I could walk around the Hayward looking at Renoirs, say and afterwards we might have different favourites but we’d both feel connected to the spirit of what was created, Songs can do that.

It took six months for it to reach the upper part of the Charts. Then it went up to number one.

Absolutely! transcending time and having an effect … and keeping that happening, everyone in our band is listening to the others, responding to where the sound is going.

I had a Hohner Pianet for a while, because of you, did you record with them?

Oh, all the time, yes. I loved my original Pianet. The Mk One had a sticky pad that hit the note and if the sticking failed it went dooiiyang! The newer modified ones have the lower end, but I just can’t get that brighter upper end, somehow.

I used to put mine through a tremelo pedal … probably due to Donny Hathaway Live. (Enthused) Oh yes! When they do ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, always reminded me of the Brooklyn Fox shows we spoke about, the whole audience starts singing, softly.

The only other live album getting close wasn’t released here, The Isleys Live. We toured with the Isleys in 1965. Great people. My favourite song of yours is ‘Indication’. Steve Van Zandt likes that one. He often plays it on his New York radio show. (Rod signs the album that has this track, for me, and another for an American pal.) On my favourites; one night I was listening to Ray Charles, as I often did and I thought I would try writing a song with the same sort of structure. That’s where ‘Edge Of The Rainbow’ comes from. I guess it’s gospel filtered through us but chordally it has an early Ray Charles vibe about it. So, I am choosing as a favourite, ‘Hard Times’ by Ray Charles. It knocked me out when he came along actually, and so many songs of his I just loved. Drown In My Own Tears , the live album. Recorded with one mike,

over the band – and what a great sound! Then I’ll choose one by Bessie Smith, I think, going way back. The version of ‘St Louis Blues’ that wasn’t released as a record BUT it was in the film and at the beginning she sings ‘My man’s got a heart, like rock …’ they used that and us in the film Kill Bill and I was in heaven! Next something by Robert Johnson, maybe ‘Come On In My Kitchen’. Which I think is fabulous. Then something by Cream, ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World’.

Chester Burnett, I used to talk about him with Jack Bruce. Him and Thelonius Monk!

I loved Cream doing that, on ‘Wheels Of Fire’. I didn’t know that song before they did it.

No Dr John?

Oh, I like him, that New Orleans style. In fact, one of my colleagues Peter Van Hook who I did a lot of production work with in the 1990s did produce an album by him. So, I have one more choice, for this segment; ‘Wee Wee Baby’, Muddy Waters. I’ll tell you who was a fabulous blues organist – Stevie Winwood, wow! Can I add B.B. King’s ‘Three O’clock Blues’? I’d never heard him sing better than on that recording.

Job done, Sir!

This has been fun, thanks a lot.

Thinking of Nashville you think of … The blues? Crystal Shawanda

Canada’s singer/songwriter and family woman, Crystal Shawanda, is Ojibwa who grew up on her Aboriginal reserve on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron listening to country music and her oldest brother’s blues records. A voice honed by the spirits of country and blues greats gave her a career as one of Nashville’s most successful country music stars. It also presented her the opportunity to become a well-recognized producer, create her own record label and return to her love of the blues with two albums, The Whole World Has Got the Blues and Voodoo Woman.

Good afternoon Crystal. How are you today?

I stay in a world of confusion. I’m trying to balance work, writing music and a new baby. Somedays I don’t even know what day it is.

I chatted a bit with Dewayne Strobel yesterday to set our interview time and from our conversation assumed that he is your husband. Yes, he’s my husband, guitar player and business partner.

How long have you been married?

We’ve been married for 14 years and together for 15. It’s been a good run. We met here in Nashville at a blues club called Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. I was the early band, he was the late band and it was love at fi rst sight.

Aww, that’s sweet. You two have had a very demanding schedule. It’s been an exciting year. We’ve always been road warriors, constantly playing shows, so we’re learning how to do that with a little baby. But it’s fun. We’re loving it and it makes life more interesting.

What’s your baby’s name?

Her name is Zhaawande but we call her Zhaa Zhaa. Her name means fi rst light of the new day. It’s actually the original spelling and pronunciation of my last name and just bringing things full circle. A long time ago they changed the way my last name is spelled to make it easier for everybody to pronounce. Now we’re living in a world where we can go back to the old ways.

You have had an incredibly successful career in country music. I watched a six-part CMT documentary about you several years ago. Yes, they came into my everyday life shortly after I signed my record deal and got to watch the whole process of picking out songs, working with a producer and managers and what goes on behind the scene along with the little dramas. It was very strange having a camera right up in our faces all the time. It’s amazing what you get used to. There were all these different guys in the crew, so they’d be putting a microphone on me. At that time in my life some total stranger could have come in off the street and started adjusting my shirt and I would have just stood there with my arms up and been like, OK, go ahead.

Verbals: Darrell Sage Visuals: Linda Roy Ireva Photography and Randon Bopp

You were with RCA Records then?

Yes, Doc McGee was my manager at the time and my producer was Scott Hendricks who is now the head of Warner Brothers here in Nashville. I had an amazing team, teachers and mentors. I Paid attention and did everything they said. I think because of that I was able to continue my career after parting with RCA. I’ve been one of the lucky ones by continuously touring and successfully releasing music and I’m very thankful for that.

Do you still play Tootsie’s?

The last few years while I was on the road I didn’t have as much time to play at Tootsie’s. But the last couple years while I was doing my homework in the blues, I started playing at a club here in Nashville called Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar. I felt like I needed to reconnect with where I started and the vibes at Bourbon Street really took me back to the time when I was standing on the stage and trying to make everybody like me and hoping they stay and the bar owners like you and the bar tenders like you. You have to work really hard to make everybody like you or they won’t book you again. I wanted to get that survivor mentality, that hunger back again. I think I got too comfortable, you know? So, playing back in the bar scene here really gave that back to me, reignited all the sparks inside of me and I’m back to feeling like that kid I was when I got here.

You performed at the Native Nations Inaugural Ball for President Obama in 2013. That must have been quite an honor. Did you get to meet the President?

I didn’t, no. It’s very tight security around the President, but just to be there for that moment in history was pretty incredible, especially for me growing up on a tiny little Indian reservation up in Canada.

That alone was the kind of thing I didn’t even begin to dream about. It was bigger than my dreams. My dreams were quite modest. I just wanted to sing and play music for a living.

Did you go with blues or country that night?

I did both. It’s actually funny because when I got signed to my record deal, when Joe Galante found me, I was singing in the back room of

Tootsie’s because I was the misfit of Tootsie’s. I played Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and a lot of Janis Joplin, B.B. King, and stuff like Muddy Waters and Etta James. Even after I had my hit song, ‘You Can Let Go Now Daddy’ I would go off to these country music festivals and play ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Wang Dang Doodle’ or ‘Chain of Fools’ by Aretha Franklin and all these country music stations were like, whoa, whoa, whoa! Who’s this? This is not what we’re playing on the radio. I was already educating my country music fans about the blues a long time before I came to the blues scene.

On The Whole World Has Got The Blues I was dumb-founded by ‘Pray Sister Pray’ with a very heavy message. And the Youtube video is visually unnerving. Yes, absolutely! It is inspired by the missing and murdered Aboriginal women of Canada and America as well. The rates are way higher than any other race and some people say that these women are living higher risk lifestyles. But that’s not always the case and there’s not as much attention brought to the problem. In some areas, especially in British Columbia, there is almost this feeling that our women are being hunted. For me it’s something I see every day on social media. There’s always these younger girls missing. So, I started following this one story in particular and after several months her body was found. Then one day I got in this native woman’s car who was giving me a ride to the airport and her little girl was in the car. She said, I hope it’s OK about my daughter and all of a sudden I had this sudden fear for this little girl. What was her future going to be like, and then thinking about my nieces at home. I’ve always encouraged the kids on my reserve to go out in the world, there’s a big world out there, chase your dreams and for the first time I was like, don’t leave, stay there and be safe in that little bubble you know. And that’s a horrible way to think and so I wrote the song with Dewayne. It is just a song of reminding women of our place in society. We are strong, we are resilient and we have

to remember our faith. We can’t let life get us down, to keep pushing forward and speak up for others who have lost their voice now. Some people have asked, why is that on the blues album? Well, that is our version of the blues.

that and reflected all the other women whose songs I’m covering on the album. It’s about paying tribute to these mothers of invention who led me to the blues. The common theme throughout the album was the resilience of women, survivors of love, life and of the music industry. It was their stories that inspired me as a woman growing up around addiction, abusive relationships or alcoholism. It was their stories that let me know I wasn’t alone, that you can shake it off, sing about it and dance about it and know you’ll be okay tomorrow.

During multiple listening’s of your Voodoo Woman album I was, like, good lord, what a powerful voice! Did you take vocal lessons earlier in life? I dropped out of high school to move to Nashville the first time, and then when I moved back to Canada I was like, OK, I need to be an adult and concentrate on getting a real job so I went to college for a minute. I didn’t even finish the first year, but my major was classical voice. They told me that if I wanted to be an opera singer I had to quit singing every style of music there is. That’s when I decided to drop out and move back to Nashville. I learned a lot in those five months there. I learned how to take care of my voice and how to properly warm up. My voice is my instrument and I warm up every single time. I’ve been very blessed. When I was with RCA they sent me to the Vanderbilt voice clinic here in Nashville. The first two years when I had my record deal I continued to play at Tootsie’s. I would play a morning shift with a girl from 10 to 1, then another split shift from 2 to 6 with a guy and then from 6 to 10 I played by myself, then another split shift from 10 to 2. I did that five days a week.

Voodoo Woman seems to be a tribute to those great blues ladies of the past, but finishes with two revisited original tracks, ‘I’ll Always Love You’ and the raucous ‘Smokestack Lightning’ which is my favorite cut from both albums. Yeah, absolutely. I felt like in both songs it’s really obvious how those influences have rubbed off on me. Both songs embodied

Why did you pick ‘Hound Dog’ with the original lyrics as one of the cuts? Because when I was growing up my parents listened to mostly country music and they loved Elvis. When I was a kid I would always look at the album credits and who wrote the songs. One day I was looking at the songbook and it gave the song credits and led me to Big Mamma. So that was another one of those bread crumbs that led me to the blues.

Dewayne said the songs on Voodoo

Woman were recorded live off the floor with your daughter in arms, surely a first in the recording industry. Yes, during all of the covers she was in my arms. It was one of those things where I know a lot of colorful people in Nashville, but not that I would trust to babysit my child. She was such a good girl that I didn’t have to edit anything. You can actually hear her in a little bit right at the top of ‘Hound Dog’ and on ‘Wang Dang Doodle.’ Our engineer was, like, you want me to edit those out, right? I was, like, don’t you dare!

I want to thank you very much for this fun and revealing interview. I know you are going to be just as successful singing the blues as you have been with country music. Well, I appreciate that so much. You know, I’m learning as I go and thankful to everybody who has accepted me and been welcoming. We’ll see where this takes me because if we already know who we are then what else is there to do in this world?

If we already know who we are then what else is there to do in this world?

Red Lick Records, PO Box 55, Cardiff CF11 1JT sales@redlick.com www.redlick.com

15 DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS VOCALISTS

MILESTONES OF JAZZ LEGENDS Documents 10CD

16 DAVE ALVIN & JIMMIE DALE GILMORE DOWNEY TO LUBBOCK Yep Roc CD

17 PETER ROWAN CARTER STANLEY’S EYES Rebel CD

18 CLASSIC DELTA AND DEEP SOUTH BLUES Smithsonian Folkways CD

12 PEPPERMINT HARRIS I GOT LOADED 1948–1959 Jasmine 2CD

13 HARD CORE HARP 20 YEARS OF BLUES HARMONICA MASTERS ON ELECTRO-FI Electro-Fi CD

19 LITTLE WILLIE LITTLEFIELD BEST OF THE REST – SELECTED RECORDINGS 1948–1958 Jasmine CD

20 SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS

14

JEFF BECK STILL ON THE RUN Eagle Rock DVD

SOUL OF A WOMAN Daptone CD

Albums, DVDs & Books

The big blues reviews guide — accept no substitute!

Paul Rodgers

Free Live, Free Spirit

Quarto Valley Records / Proper

So here is the original Free vocalist leading a band celebrating the music created by Free. Whilst the band are not Free, Rodgers leads them through these much-loved selections with…well, spirit is the word I guess. This live performance was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In a few instances the songs were never performed live by the original group eg Love You So and Catch A Train. Greeting the audience, A Little Bit Of Love finds Paul in strong voice, from the off. Ride On A Pony hits a solid groove, Rodgers wringing most out of the words. The guitar tone is edge-of-snarly, now the default sound for most rock-blues axework. Right for this material. Woman is slow and steady, reeking with intent. Be My Friend always was a charming, winsome tune and here it is truly soulful. My Brother Jake and its purposeful pace always was a change of approach, Mr Lewis on keys stepping up with a tease intro. On To Love You So is taken tenderly, with ringing guitar whilst Travellin’ In Style has neat acoustic guitar and a chugging tempo with clean leads sprinkled in. Next up is Magic Ship and a moody job it is, too. The next few tunes being Mr Big,

The Stealer, Fire & Water and The Hunter do miss the trouncing bouncing bass lines of the late Andy Fraser, a man whose company I still miss. Of course All Right Now is now included. Rock’s greatest radio staple, it’s always playing someone in the world. Wishing Well is a good followon and is the best cut here imho. We then get Walk In My Shadow and some puffing harp at the start and over the intro. The band gels pretty well. Finally. Catch A Train which sparks pretty well with some lively drumming. It’s not Free but sounds as though the audience enjoyed the set.

Pete Sargeant

Crystal Shawanda Voodoo Woman

New Sun Records

Crystal Shawanda is Ojibwe from Manitoulin Island and a Country music expat. Shawanda translates to Dawn of a New Day and the tracks on her latest release, Voodoo Woman are brilliant acknowledgments to those who came before her with their blues and roots of rock. The album opens with a stunning version of Wang Dag Doodle penned by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Howlin’ Wolf in 1960 and again by Koko Taylor 5 years later. Crystal’s voice stretches the very limits of her vocal chords. It’s a

6 minute 14 second, wang dang of a take. That tremor beneath your feet is Willie, Wolf and Cora Ann dancing in their graves. Big Mama Thornton’s, Ball & Chain begins with a lonesome sax blowing crystal clear. Shawanda’s vocals are very reminiscent of Janis’, not imitating, but honoring with a new version that’s every bit as good as the one on Pearl and that old 45 of Big Mama’s. The title track, Voodoo Woman rocks funky and clean as Koko Taylor wrote it with one minor lyric change, If that don’t do it baby, you’d better leave that shit alone. Hound Dog ain’t your Elvis version baby! It’s the original lyric twelve bar blues rocker penned by Lieber and Stoller. Willie Mae Thornton recorded it in 1953 on Peacock Records and was Big Mama’s only hit, but one of the songs that shaped rock and roll. I’d Rather Go Blind was the framework of a song that Etta James heard when visiting her friend Fugi Jordan in prison. She and Jordan finished writing the music and lyrics but the credits went to Billy Foster of The Medallions for tax purposes. Crystal sings this classic with the elegance and passion it historically deserves. Misty Blue, a lovely slow dance ballad written by Bob Montgomery for Brenda Lee who didn’t care for it. Wilma Burgess recorded it in 1966 and it became her signature song. Recorded by many

Mike Zito

First Class Life

Ruf

Mike’s 2016 album Make Blues

Not War was a rocky affair but here he returns to a blues-based album of nine originals and two covers. From the opening bars of ‘Mississippi Nights’ it is clear that slide is the album’s key element as drummer Matthew Johnson and bassist Terry Dry set the pace, Lewis Stephens pounding the piano and Mike conjuring up familiar images of the Delta where “the Devil’s at the crossroads, you can sell your soul for the blues”. The title track is classic Zito, a catchy tune with Mike’s sinuous slide and very personal lyrics celebrating how he pulled back from addiction and excess to appreciate a second chance with his family.

Bobby Bland’s ‘I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog’ has been covered many times but rarely better than in this version with Mike’s subtle guitar and Lewis’ warm keyboard work the perfect foil for Mike’s excellent vocals. ‘The World We Live In’ is a slow blues and ‘Mama Don’t Like No Wah Wah’ amusingly recounts guest Bernard Allison’s experience of playing with Koko Taylor who

definitely did not want her guitarist to use any effects! Mike double tracks moody guitar and slide on ‘Old Black Graveyard’ which graphically describes one of those broken-down old cemeteries you find in the Delta (often while searching for the graves of old bluesmen!) and a swinging shuffle pays tribute to Mike’s wife who “will be mine until my Dying Day”. ‘Back Problems’ references Albert Collins’s funky blues as Mike sings tongue-in-cheek of how much he has bearing down on him but ‘Time For A Change’ is a more serious song with lyrics that bemoan how we have lost our way, set over another very attractive tune. ‘Damn Shame’ provides a second slow blues along the classic theme of ‘my woman done left me’ before Mike reprises an obscure Earl Hooker song, ‘Trying To Make A Living’, a fast-paced rocker to close a fine album. Do not miss this terrifi c album which comes highly recommended!

John Mitchell

Petri Matero Group Dead Weight Independent

including Eddie Arnold and Billie Jo Spears, but it was blues/gospel singer Dorothy Moore who brought it into the R&B world in 1976. A sweet sax and keys accompany Crystal’s unforgettable vocals. Cry Out For More is a blues rocker ballad and one of three originals here where she sings like she means it. I’ll Always Love You, another selfpenned R&B ballad taken from The Whole World’s Got The Blues release.

Bluetrain-Smokestack LightningRevisited, wow, just WOW! An original tribute from the previously mentioned release defines this often rowdy, from the heart album with slide guitar, harp and a rolling drum beat over a steam engine chant that slowly moves her passengers down the line, Bluetrain a ridin’, bluetrain a ridin’. All aboard for Crystal Shawanda and Voodoo Woman.

Darrell Sage

You can often tell how serious a band is by their influences, and the range of their sound. The Petri Matero group have clearly listened to a lot of rock, country, blues and Americana. A three piece, led by the guitarist and vocalist Petri Matero, bassist Johan Jarf, and drummer Sabit Nasretdin, they also have a number of guest appearances from the keyboard player Harri Taittonen, backing vocalist Lena Lindross, lead singer Agneta Falck, and pedal steel guitarist King Artur on the title track. The ten originals on this release range from the opening rock of Lose The Day, with a stylistic nod to both Queen and Wings, whilst To The Graves is a rock ballad with a shifting dynamic, and Faster Horse is a Wah-wah drenched rock funk workout, with plenty of shifts in tone and time signature. Good Time lives up to its name, with a swirling Hammond Organ and relaxed blues guitar, whilst Best Version of Me sounds like a lost Stevie Wonder and Pink Floyd jam, whilst the lightly funky Better Man and Hold My Breath have that summery groove that means that they are well suited to radio play. However, the strongest track is the title track, Dead Weight, with its duelling guitar and lap steel guitar parts, and its certain debt to Prince’s Purple Rain, particularly during the opening. There is a lot to commend this album, from the universally high standard of playing, writing and production, to the number of moods that the album tackles.

John Fogerty Blue Moon Swamp

BMG

Matero

Ben Macnair

This is an album I bought eagerly at the time of its original release – is that

twenty years ago? Wow, and this new version adds two cuts. What doesn’t Fogerty know about rocking out, running the voodoo down, encapsulating fresh-air country, digging deep into the Blues? Not a lot. Plus that voice and its authority. Kicking off with Southern Streamline, John breezes into the firm tempo with a tale of trains and clear twanging guitar and rich harmony backing vocals. It’s a real jukebox number but the production just jumps out of the speakers, slivers of pedal steel emphasising that 50s vibe. Hot Rod Heart is a fastheartbeat country rocker about driving free on the highway. Blueboy recalls Dale Hawkins and vintage CCR, that declamatory voice daring you not to join in on the chorus. That tremelo’d amp guitar weaves in and out.

A Hundred And Ten In The Shade is a more sinister bluesy groove with a Marty Stuart style vocal to suit. You can feel a heat-haze rising from the road. On to the snappy Rattlesnake Highway which always reminded me of Steppenwolf with its eerie electric guitar smears. Bring It Down To Jelly Roll is crisply chorded country rock with pumping bass, irresistible. Walking In A Hurricane is a real stomper, such a gritty ominous sound captured. Always one of my favourites on this album, the singing is up there with Fogerty’s finest. Swamp River Days is surefooted CCR style boogie with spiky axe motifs, plus a Doug Sahm backbeat. Next up, Rambunctious Boy brings the harmony vocals to the front, adding electric sitar and mandolin and of course John knows just how to sing it. Joy Of My Life is rickety slide acoustic territory and you’re on the porch with him. Blue Moon Nights goes acoustic rockabilly and would have suited Johnny Cash, maybe it’s a tribute ? Bad Bad Boy is terrific, riding on mean fuzz guitar chords with wailing voodoo leads.

At which point…we get to hear the bonus tracks Just Pickin’ which is very SRV-Buddy Guy and Endless Sleep which is centred on a Duane Eddystyled riff and an Everly Bros style mid-tempo song. Nothing on here you couldn’t have heard in the 60s, but delivered by a master of these genres.

Pete Sargeant

Ghost Town Blues Band Backstage Pass

GTBB

In common with a lot of folks I didn’t know this outfit before the album arrived. First thing I want to say is what a great name for a band. This live album recorded summer 2017 in Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis opens with a cover of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin’s. Before listening to be honest I figured hell this could be a train wreck. How wrong could I be? Massively as it happens. If you intend to cover a song you have to bring something fresh to the table and these guys most certainly do that. Come Together they take at a fast pace to start with strident wailing guitars, soulful sax with elements of hill top country before morphing into a slowed section on Norwegian Wood then duelling Allman Brothers Jessica licks on Whole Lotta Love. With vocals sounding a bit like David Clayton Thomas at times the whole gumbo just works brilliantly. Phew! The pace is taken down to a smoky jazz club vibe grind against your partner on Tip Of My Hat. Again there’s plenty of trombone/sax action to enjoy and a honky tonk piano tinkling away throughout. Shine takes us back to the glorious days of Stax and Motown whilst Big Shirley just brings a huge grin to your face especially when you get a bit of Rock And Roll mixed in. The centre piece of the album is the sixteen minute version of Gregg Allman’s

Whipping Post. This take has much of the excitement of the extended live cuts done by the originators as it builds and builds to a climax. Excellent stuff indeed as is the whole album. Sometimes live albums can leave you feeling left out but not this one. Enjoy.

Graeme Scott

Jim McCarty Walking In The Wild Land

Angel Air

Jim McCarty may be best known as the drummer with the Yardbirds, but this latest solo project is in a similar folky prog rock vein to Renaissance, of which he was also a founding member back in 1969. It’s a wistful, pastoral sounding affair that lives up to its title and cover art, with McCarty majoring on vocals and acoustic guitar rather than drums and laying out reflective lyrics over gentle arrangements largely featuring a core group of Tom Reynolds on piano, producer George Koller on bass, and Ben Riley on decidedly low key drums. Fans of Rush will also be intrigued to find Alex Lifeson featuring on one track, plus mixing by Terry Brown, and some musical contributions from Hugh Syme. The sound is as accomplished as you’d expect from someone with McCarty’s pedigree, and works well on the opening title track, with Reynolds’ piano and Koller’s supple bass to the fore, and restrained washes of violin from Drew Jurecka adding some colour. They repeat the trick on the following Changing Times, with lilting vocals and an ascending melody over spare piano notes and more resonant violin, while Mountain Song achieves a dreamy quality with stretched out vocals echoed by ripples of piano to which Reynolds adds some discordant twists, and Dancing Leaves has an elegiac air, drawing effectively on autumnal metaphors. But

the style risks becoming bland and samey, and as if recognising as much they inject some lead guitar into a few songs to add variety. Lifeson’s solo enlivens Soft In A Hard Place with some changes of pace and hints of tension. Ray Montford similarly gives a lift to Stop Living In The Past, with some clear-toned guitar that plays around tastefully with the melody. Connected, meanwhile, is distinctly more rhythmic in a subdued Kinks fashion, with McCarty himself on drums and Mark Newman adding some bite on guitar. But all told it’s not enough to rescue the remaining songs from feeling dispensable. Long time fans of McCarty’s folky ruminations may well enjoy this, but to these ears a little goes a long way.

IAIN CAMERON

Stephen Casper & Cowboy Angst

Sometimes Jesse James

Silent City Records

This is an interesting and, at times, arresting six-track EP from a US five-piece outfit that clearly come from the country-cum-Americana end and edges of the business. That said, there’s a lovely rocking edge to the work that drives the entire thing along with some excellently delivered melodic rhythm and power. Harmonies flourish comfortably while there is some damned good clanging guitar and a backbeat that pushes the package along with real purpose, add some fine keys in support and sterling drum performances and you have an offering that delivers more than might have initially been expected. Indeed, if anything, it’s difficult to understand why this band stopped at only six tracks, they certainly have the drive and quality to keep the interest for a more, fully-rounded longer release. There are lap-steel, slidework,

acoustic and electric guitars, pianos, Hammond B3, bass and drums all rattling along and played with genuine talent. The songs themselves come from frontman Casper and leave a lasting impression of being strongly influenced by the likes of Nashville’s excellent Rodney Crowell and/or Jack Tempchin, with a South Californian sound at times and a strength that holds hints of early Eagles and Desert Rose Band in the melodic mix. A mighty fine offering from a band worth checking out and keeping an eye out for in future.

Iain Patience

Dan Burnett Small World EP Independent

It’s quite unusual to hear a piece of work that has only one person involved all the way through, but on this five track EP that’s exactly what you get. Dan Burnett wrote the lyrics, played every instrument produced and arranged. Keyboard and piano feature heavily throughout but Dan is no slouch on guitar and harmonica. The opening track is the title track, A funky upbeat song that showcases Dan’s talents as a singer/songwriter and musician. The harmonica fits very well alongside the keys and piano. A good clear voice and cool lyrics. Battle Scars is a much more mellow deep offering. Highlighting the problems people never see Dan delivers very profound lyrics that keep you enthralled by a great performance. The guitar solo at the end of the song is a perfect ending to a gem. Last First Kiss is a more sentimental type of love song. It’s hard to believe that this is the work of just one musician. Obviously writing lyrics and singing come easily to Dan Burnett. But please don’t forget the playing, keys and guitar in perfect harmony on this

track. Time Has Come for me is the standout track on this EP it is the longest track and Stevie Wonderesque in it’s approach and structure. Here is a man pouring out his feelings and delivers with a great vocal performance. having mentioned Stevie Wonder at the beginning that is a great compliment too any artist.10/10 for this song. Reason for Living is the final track. Once again keyboards are very prominent here. At first, I wasn’t too sure about it but on the second hearing it really resonated just how good this song is. At the end background clapping is added and this gives another dimension as too where this could go. I personally think it could evolve into a gospel type song with a band and backing singers performing it live. All in all a really great EP. I shall be looking out for Dan Burnett in the future.

Stephen Harrison

Bees Deluxe Voice Of Dog Slapping Cat

British born guitarist and vocalist Conrad Warre is the driving force of Boston USA based Bees Deluxe. I believe this is the bands fourth album and here he is joined by Carol Band (keys & vocals), Allyn Dorr (bass) and Patrick Sanders (drums). The sound is a new wave mix of Blues, Americana and Rock with five of the eleven tracks being instrumentals. To be honest a couple of those seem to outstay their natural lifespan despite the undoubted quality of all the musicians on board. I found the tracks where Conrad provided the vocals the most engaging. Song No.9 is the opening track and a good choice for that role with the sharp cutting guitar brilliantly counter balancing the rhythm and slightly haunty vocals. Second track Beer is a bit more traditional blues, the smart lyrics augmented by harmonica

provided by guest Richard Rosenblatt. Then we hit the first instrumental, All Miles that gives the spotlight over to the keys to good effect. Sadly, by the time Industrial (Espionage) the momentum of the strong opening feels a little lost. Flat Earth Conspiracy picks it back up a bit with vocals on this by Carol Band. Fake Instrumental is in fact an instrumental with a big bass sound going on. Strange Matter kicks off with an interesting somewhat eerie percussion opening that kind of draws you in. One of the best tracks on the album I think is You Say Red and is another featuring Conrad’s vocals. The closing track is another rather long at ten minutes instrumental called Imaginary Conversations Between Bjork and Buddy Guy. In the better moments Bees Deluxe reminded me a lot of Thin White Rope which is no bad thing. If that band and others like Green On Red appeal then this is worth checking out and I have the feeling repeated listens will bring some strong rewards, but it is possibly a Marmite type album.

Steve Yourglivch

Bridget Kelly Band Bone Rattler

Alpha Sun Records

Hailing from Gainesville, North Florida, the band brings their high resolution approach to electric and classic blues numbers on this new release. Here they have a double CD collection. First side showcasing Bridget Kelly’s astounding rocky vocals and the other mostly featuring her partner’s Tim Fix’s vocals not as strong but he really gives a virtuoso performance throughout on his amazing lead guitar. Mark Armbrecht applies a steady bass guitar and on backing drums is Alex Klausner. R.B. Stone joins in on harmonica on Mr Gaines and Boom Boom, two excellent tracks.

Deb Ryder Enjoy the Ride

Vizztone

Is this really only the fourth studio album from Deb? I would swear I’ve been listening to her for much longer. You play Deb and you play quality. With this thirteen track album you have a bright cover image showing Deb in the car, with guitar and is bright, see it and play it, the cover demands it of you. Deb just seems to grow with each album and the voice gains more depth. There are some guest players here including Debbie Davies, Mike Finnigan, Coco Montoya and Chris Cain and the party started with ‘There’s A Storm Coming’ which is fair warning of what to expect so strap yourself in. Chunky chords stride along with tasty guitar prodding away as Deb draws breath. Great start and you just know already that this is going to be a damn fine album. ‘Temporary Insanity’ follows and I know we all get that from time to time, the track bops along and you lose control of the tapping foot. The rousing ‘Bring The Walls Down’ has gospelish interludes and a piece

A lot of energy on this release, from the opener Ain’t Missin’ You through to the twenty second track, Your Limozeen. What You Need is a slow number incorporating some fine fretwork interlaced with bold brassy vocals with lovingly sneering lyrics. Levee And The Bridge is a fast and furious dedication to the New Orleans fl ooding. More intrinsic guitar work, on I Ride Against The Wind. Going To Chi-Town has that Chicago blues feel, some great slide guitar work. Leavin’

of poetry woven in. On occasion Deb’s vocal seems to carry the weight of the world in it’s tones and depth sounding full of experiences. Loving the Hammond and keys contributed by Mike Finnigan throughout and Johnny Lee Schell inserts very tasty guitar shots to the cocktail that these songs bring and show what a good writer Deb is. There is nothing ‘flashy’ here just high quality musicianship that backs the writer / singer with affection and understanding. ‘Life Fast Forward’ tries to keep us in step with ourselves and it feels good. ‘Sweet, Sweet Love’ boogies along and Tony Braunagel keeps everyone on beat on drums. The wonderfully gentle and sensitive ‘Forever Young’ is the penultimate track to this fine album and leaves you feeling aaaah. The final ‘Red Line’ wakes us up and funks up and leaves you roused up ready to play again. I enjoyed the ride and so will you.

Toby Ornott

On A Sunday mixes wah-wah style with bold vocals a resounding tune. Outbound Mississippi is the longest track at over eight minutes but is full of style and pulsating rhythms. This leads to Ghost Train which is slow and sublime. The Dark Night on second CD has a slow blues tone and includes the releases title in it. I’m So Tired is a stumbling shuffl e. Cell Phone Blues is a tune about people being on their phones more than they are talking to each other. Cat’s Out Of the Bag

BLUES Top 50

changes mood and tone to a jazzy feel. Bluesy rock at its frenetic best.

Colin Campbell

The Chris Bevington Organisation Cut And Run

Independent

‘Easy listening’ would be a derogatory term to a lot of serious music fans. But take it as a compliment in relation to Cut And Run. To say that I’ve given this album repeated plays since it came my way is a gross understatement. Packed with great original tunes from Scott Ralph and Jim Kirkpatrick, aided and abetted by top notch playing all round, this really is music for pleasure. It’s My Life kicks off proceedings, featuring a rattling rhythm and harmonised guitar riffing, and sets the tone by recalling one of my favourite Clapton recordings, Motherless Children. It’s a vibrant start to an ensemble affair that serves up soulful blues rock with horns and offers several more tracks to make you shake yer booty. Adrian Gibson’s trumpet and Mike Yorke’s sax take flight on Got To Know, while Rollin’ features a grabbing, spiky riff and a knuckle-dusting guitar solo. Best of all in the party mode though, is Coming Down With The Blues, a rollicking effort with a squawking solo from Gibson, injections of sax, and sassy backing vocals from Sarah Miller and Kate Robertson. The Chris Bevington Organisation have more strings to their bow though, evidenced by the ballad Won’t Daydream No More, with its exquisite melody initially underpinned by sensitive backing vocals and Dave Edwards’ organ. And there’s more variety in the likes of Sing Myself To Sleep, which swings as woozily as the title suggests, and Cut And Run itself, which opens somewhere down the Mississippi with a

megaphone-style vocal before rousing itself with some nifty slide playing from Kirkpatrick. Meanwhile the engine room of Bevington on bass and Neil McCallum are especially to the fore with the lurching, offbeat rhythm of Had Enough, and the tub-thumping Ain’t Got Nobody To Love with its urgent, stabbing horns. If you liked the two preceding albums under the Chris Bevington & Friends monicker you should love this. Is it ground-breaking? No, it is not. Will it challenge your boundaries? Doubt it. Will it loosen your limbs after a crap day at the coalface? You bet your sweet ass.

Iain Cameron

Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps Here In Babylon

Jesi-Lu Records

Recorded live in Mystic Mountain studios California, this is the tenth release from Teresa James and her band located now in Los Angeles. Teresa is a much renowned singer songwriter and piano player. This release is all about the rhythm and she is backed by Jay Bellerose on guitar, Billy Watts on B5 organ and Terry Wilson on bass guitar. They are joined by an impressive horn section arranged by Darrell Leonard on trumpet. Twelve tracks mixing a gumbo of genres of roots, blues and soul. It is Teresa’s vocals that are the outstanding instrument though with good tone and intonation on this altogether feel good and vibrant release. Opening with, I Know I Ain’t Been So Perfect with Teresa on Wurlitzer accompanying B3 organ, it all fits in well. Here In Babylon is a highlight, mixing heavy drums, slide guitar a good funky feel. Give Me A Holler has a New Orleans swing take and sassy lyrics. Horn section rings out again on Head Up, Heart Open a deep groove

to this. I Keep Drifting Away showcases Teresa’s vocal style on a slow strong number. A nod to Robert Johnson’s meeting with the Devil on Ground Zero has a punchy narrative. Hold On is a catchy love song that moves onto the band rocking on You Had To Bring That Up which has smokey vocals mixing with superb rhythm, the mark of a listening band. A tribute to Greg Allman on The Day The Blues Came To Town, drips with emotion. Back to Texas honky tonk with I Gotta Roll. Gospel abounds on 21st Century Man, a plea for peace. Find Me A Bar finishes up things with a Bo Diddley style celebrating a good time. A release full of upbeat tunes, a tight band gripping vocals, what’s not to like, a real grower full of emotion.

Colin Campbell

Dany Franchi Problem Child

Station House Records

Italian guitarist and singer Dany Franchi travelled to Austin, Texas to record his third album with a fine array of musicians, including Anson Funderburgh (producer), Jim Pugh (keys), Wes Starr (drums) and The Texas Horns. Dany wrote most of the material with three well-chosen covers to complete a baker’s dozen of songs. Throughout the album Dany shows he can operate effectively in a number of styles and his songs often evoke masters of the past whilst remaining individual and contemporary. Naturally there are plenty of Texas influences with opener Back To The River a great example with a roadhouse feel accentuated by the horns. Run Around also has a Texan feel while Give Me A Sign rocks out with Jim Pugh’s piano superb. Anson worked for years with the late Sam Myers and you could imagine Sam barrelling through Don’t Steal My Time, Dany’s solo very

The Achievers Live at the SVA

Independent

The Achievers’ Steve Ferbrache began his musical journey busking around New York, Boston and Philadelphia and then spent time immersed in the London Blues & Roots scene (where he opened for James Hunter, Seasick Steve and others). In 2013, chance meetings at various gigs with drummer Aron Attwood and Harmonica player Rufus Fry led to the formation of the band. Now based in Gloucestershire, they were quoted as saying that “having discovered the magic that can be created ‘in the moment’ we will only ever play together live”. That is now slightly redundant as, happily, they have just released their debut album: Live at the SVA . This is a somewhat misleading title as it actually refers to a live in the studio recording, rather than in concert. Recorded in a day, and with minimal overdubs the music really does fl ow with an energy that comes from playing in the moment. This is music that will get feet tapping from the first track, by the third you are up dancing around the kitchen – this is infectious Rhythm & Blues. Their music has a vintage feel as they borrow the sounds of 50s and 60s America. Into their boogie-woogie, hip swaying, up-tempo and smile inducing sound they inject a generous helping of soul. Live at The SVA will take you back to the early

much in Anson’s economical style and Kaz Kazanoff’s barnstorming tenor solo terrifi c. Dany shows that he

60s when dance halls across the UK reverberated to real Rhythm and Blues like this, and should you be of a vintage to remember these days, then you will revel in the way The Achievers bring that sound to life. If not, then be prepared to appreciate and understand why this style of music was and is so popular. Steve Ferbrache’s vocals are full of warmth, shaping the tones around the deep rhythms and melodic beats, it is a winner. The Achievers will make you smile and this is a reflection of the warmth of the music. The album is evocative of music of an era, with The Achievers’ originals and a selection of considered covers. The highlight of the album takes you further back as they rearrange artfully for the modern age a song with its roots in the 16th century. English folk song, ‘The Cuckoo’ has travelled the world appearing in many forms. This version with stinging blues harp and up tempo, driving melody certainly gives the track tonal depth and warmth. The Achievers’ own ‘Como Blues’ is a blues that shimmers and sparkles with interplay between Robert Holmes’ lead guitar and Fry’s harmonica. Long live music like this; music with energy that makes you want to smile and dance.

Liz Aiken

can handle a soul blues ballad with Real Love and You Don’t Want Me hits the blues/country borders once

explored by Ray Charles. Freddie King’s Sen-Sa-Shun is well done and Dany follows that up with his original My Only One which channels Freddie’s approach to a slow blues. A fine version of Eddie Taylor’s Big Town Playboy takes us to Chicago and Willie Dixon’s Everything Gonna Be Alright and Dany’s own Wanna Know both evoke Magic Sam’s West Side style. Elsewhere we get slow blues (My Only One), moody swamp blues (title track Problem Child) and a touch of New Orleans in You Don’t Want Me. Overall a most impressive album that bodes well for this guy’s future in the blues – an album well worth seeking out!

John Mitchell

Little Chevy Lucky Girl

Independent

Little Chevy are a Swiss band based in Basle, led by vocalist Evelyne Pequignot who also goes by the name of Little Chevy which is a bit confusing, notwithstanding this their music is a more straightforward being a mixture of soft Blues with some Jazz and soulful elements. All fourteen tracks have been written by Evelyne together with her partner, drummer Andy Lang. An essential element of the band’s sound is the use of Piano and Hammond organ, on the album these duties are shared by three musicians with Christopher Schwaninger and Daniel Wach performing on the majority of tracks, all the vocals are handled by Evelyne who has a natural husky tone which is perfect for this smooth easy going style of music, she commands each song with ease and is a real talent, the band support her well with no need for extended searing soloing just playing good old fashioned rhythm. There are some really catchy songs on the album with the majority covering affairs of the heart

particularly impressive are Bye Bye Baby and Three Times, which benefit from some classy lead guitar playing by Markus Werner, on the final stripped back track called Lullaby, he highlights his dexterity by playing what sounds like an acoustic 12 string. This is the bands second album release following on from their 2014 debut Sweet Home, overall it is a very slick competent album that while having a fairly light Blues feel to it does benefit from superior musicianship and song writing, which takes it to another level, definitely worth a listen.

Adrian Blacklee

Booga Red (Steve English & Claire Hamlin) Stompymania Booga Red

In this reviewing game you just never know what is going to turn up. I think that is good as it stops you being just a little bit complacent. I think, and this is said with all respect for the artists, that this is an album which could only have been made in Britain. I say that as this has a quintessentially British quirkiness to it in the same way that we are the only folk who could generate diverse acts such as The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band or Stackridge. Ok so there are very strong elements of Chicago Juke joints but I’d doubt this would be made in the good old USA nowadays. Unique is certainly one word to use and I suspect that by now you’ll be thinking that I’m going to slag Stompymania off but that is not the case at all. Styling ranges from a little Skiffle, Ragtime, Honky Tonk, Folk and hell there’s even one cut that could have come straight out of Randy Newman Toy Story era. Yes there is fine diversity to be had here set against rollicking barrelhouse piano, acoustic guitar, stompbox, kazoo and simple vocals.

Man it is just a very short hop step and a jump from what became Rock ‘n’ Roll. Each track is full ahead fun with a mix of nine originals and eight unusual covers from Tampa Red, Billy Hill, Booga Red aka Steve English (go figure?), Roosevelt Sykes, Little Brother Montgomery & Lee Green. Take the trouble to listen to what’s on offer here and if you do then you will find yourself sporting a pleasured smile at the end of the CD. All music has a place and this is no exception

Graeme Scott

Samba Toure Wande Glitterbeat

This is Samba Toure’s third album for Glitterbeat and while it is very different from his previous releases it is no less absorbing and fascinating. The thing that sets it aside from Albala and Gandiko is a remarkable sense of peace and confidence. The album was recorded in only two weeks with only first takes being used for Toure’s vocals and guitar and the result is music that is incredibly natural and without the overprocessing that ruins many excellent albums. There is a strong groove running through the album, stunning rhythms that seem to emanate from the tama (talking drum). Toure says of it “We’ve always loved tama for it’s sounds, it’s the only drum that can play eight notes”. I loved his earlier material for the intense jams between his guitar and ngoni but those aren’t part of this music – instead he focusses on short repetitive solos and allows the jam to happen around his central playing. The rhythms and mood change from track to track but never really lose touch with the freshness and vitality that pervades the whole album and on tracks such as Yerfara – We Are Tired – he hits the go button to

create a song that could almost be a field work song, albeit at a rhythm that would burn out field workers in minutes. The title track (aka The Beloved) is a song to his wife, heartfelt and with a slow and steady rhythm – a heartbeat pace - sparks of fiddle and the best guitar work on the album. It seems to speak simply of love and adoration. Couple that with his Tribute to Toumana Tereta – a memorial to Tereta who often collaborated with Toure on Souko – and whose work is encapsulated into a sample of his playing that repeats through the track and you have, probably the two best songs Toure has written. The whole album speaks of a man who has found his path and whose life continues to develop but who is still exploring and thinking. A masterpiece and the best thing I’ve heard coming out of Mali this year.

Andy Snipper

Reverend Beat-Man And The New Wave Blues Trash

Voodoo Rhythm Records

Beat Zeller from Bern, Switzerland has been in the music industry since the early 90’s, it was the millennium change when he became the preacher Reverend Beat-man, normally a oneman band, beat-man collaborates with friends, Nicole Izobel Garcia Vocals, Percussion, Synthesizer, Organ. Mario Batkovic accordion, Banjo. Julian Sartorius Drums, Percussion. And Resli Burri Piano, Harmonium, Guitar and Bass. A quick show of the songs on his acoustic guitar and the album is recorded in one take with no rehearsal. Released on his own record label and ten years in the making, the reverend preaches twelve sermons of Blues Trash with the balls of Rock ‘n’ Roll and New Wave Garage. The opening song I Have Enough is a

solo number with pounding drums dirty fuzzy guitar and guttural vocals, Nicole joins him with synthesizer on I’m Not Gonna Tell You is more of the same, a change of tempo on my favourite Today Is A Beautiful Day (173) the Drums, Harmonium and Bulbul Banjo combine to create a sound track to any spaghetti western. A bit of Gypsy folk on I’ll Do It For You has beat-man croons his devotion “ i’ll cut my throat just to give you my blood”, some great scratchy saxophone gives atmosphere on The White Wolf Is Back In Town, But I Love You is a stripped down mournful duet of a one sided romance sung by Nicole in Spanish. Heavy Harmonium, accordion and drums create a sombre mood for the funeral March that is Then We All Gonna Die “when I see fanatics chopping heads and smile, when I see hell satan creeping up my spine”, Love Is A Dream a anti love song with a grungy gothic feel, takes us to Looking Right Through a song about depression, closing with his own inimitable take of Lass Uns Liebe Machen by Unheillig. Lyrically a dark album, but with different music genres keeping it fresh, an intriguing album that I am listening to a lot, if you like something off kilter this may be for you.

Muddy What? Gone From Misissippi

Howlin’ Who Records

If a category existed for the worst CD of the year in the plethora of annual blues awards this one would win by a mile. Indeed, to call it a blues album is disrespectful to the genre because it sounds like a karaoke machine from start to finish. Classics like Mannish Boy, Robert Johnson’s Love In Vain and the two Hendrix tracks, Fire and If 6 Was 9, are devoid of any emotion and creativity. The main problem is

the lead singer, Fabian Spang who sounds like a 1950s crooner, his soft, sentimental tones hardly suited to the nature of the material. Six of the tracks are self-penned but highly unoriginal, their lyrics an insult to the listener. Gone From Mississippi comprises four verses as follows: ‘I’ve been gone (repeated four times in the verse) for way too long, Gone from Mississippi. Who will wait on my return (x4) While I’m gone. Every night I kneel down to pray (x2), Lord please let me see my girl before Judgement Day. Lord have mercy on my soul (x3) While I’m gone.’ This sentimental trash continues on Your Life Is Broken, with its immortal line, ‘you’d better send someone out to get you a new one.’ Many of the slower numbers such as Sad Smile are monotonous and quickly degenerate into dirges. Whilst most of the backing instruments sound as if they are computer generated, there is a glimmer of hope in Hubert Hofherr’s more innovative harp playing. Otherwise, this album is a complete waste of studio time and a far cry from the publicity blurb claiming the music to be ‘multi-faceted and full of intensity’.

The Bishop

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar Run To Me Gypsy Soul

I ended my previous review by saying ‘Yes nice stuff coming outta Canada’ and here we are again with another fine CD this time veering towards the Gospel and Soul areas of the great big world of music. So a little perversely I’m going to begin at the end. All Night Long I understand is being released as a taster single for this funky album and it should hook in plenty of new listeners. It tells the age old story of a wondering partner/

husband being met on the doorstep when he comes home with lying eyes and threadbare excuses. When Samantha demands to know where he has been you just have no sympathy for him and know damn straight that he has been caught bang to rights. You go girl as he ain’t worth it! Oh how different it was at the start of the CD and indeed the affair with You’re The Love or Wanna Be Your Lover. With the solid support from her band of musicians augmented by a fine brass section this lassie is fully in control of the direction of travel. Of course the songs tell the tales of love, desire and disappointment which is the staple of human nature. We see somebody we want to love but Will We Ever Learn that sex isn’t everything? Maybe it will turn out right in the end. Oh hell who am I trying to kid? Somebody always gets hurt along the way. Samantha sings these stories with heartfelt passion and you feel every emotion she imparts because at some point in all our lives we have been there either being dumped or doing the dumping so can feel what she feels Chasing Dreams.

Graeme Scott

Dave Hole Goin’ Back Down Independent

For those of you that don’t already know, Dave Hole is one of Australia’s top Bluesmen and quite possibly one of the best slide players anywhere! Fans have had to wait three years for this album, but as Dave pointed out, he did write all but two of the eleven tracks and played all of the instruments on eight of the tracks, what more can you ask for? There are superlatives everywhere, the whole album is one that you want to put on repeat and just relax into the superb music. Unusually the title track is

actually the last track on the CD, for no apparent reason, that amused me, but here I go again on my fayourite moan. Track nine is billed on the sleeve notes as a Bonus track? Why? What have we done to deserve a Bonus? and why is it track nine and not the last track. But all of that aside, this is Dave’s tenth album and the guy is just getting better, look out for any UK tour dates and do yourselves a favour and go see this man!

Dave Stone

David Vest

David Vest

Cordova Bay Records

Alabama-born David Vest has been playing blues and boogie-woogie piano since 1957 and this latest self-titled release was recorded on Vancouver Island. He’s a resident of Canada and his songs represent the best of old and new-fashioned ways. In his self-penned Crocodile he sings ‘My baby don’t dig those redneck bands, she says love is hard enough without having to listen to the Ku Klux Klan’. Throughout the album he reveals progressive attitudes that, along with his strong, lithe voice suggest someone younger than his 74 years though there’s also a worldliness in the advise and criticisms in his lyrics. What’s The Matter Now is both funny and engaging particularly when he imagines his partner having affairs with his RnB contemporaries Elvin Bishop, Coco Montoya and James Harman: ‘Don’t go sending The Blind Boys your naked pictures, that’s the last thing they need’ he advises. The political advisory song Decolonize Yourself comes over as a Bob Dylanlike swinging playful rant yet he’s capable of speaking through his piano and is consistently expressive, at times playful, others sombre. Unlike most players of boogie-woogie he

The Lucky Losers Blind Spot

Dirty Cat Records

The Lucky Losers with Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz guarantees a feast of vocals and sharp witted rhythms. This their third album Blind Spot has a retro feel that has a feel of modernity so that the album will fi t in anyone’s record collection. Eleven tracks that take you on a journey that sweeps up blues, vintage R&B and Americana it is the vocals that keep the sound in tune with the here and now. Blind Spot is a road warrior’s tale and, fi ttingly, the second track in is ‘Take The Long Road’. The combo of stinging guitar, Cathy’s warm emotive vocals and the howling yearning wail of Phil’s harmonica will forever be a winning combo making any road trip speed by with pleasure. The lyrics across the album are about life viewed through the rear mirror as we peer into the good, the bad and the ugly of contemporary America. Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz, who wrote (with Danny Caron) all the songs, with Cathy and Phil swapping vocal duties giving the album interest as the vocals textures and tones change. ‘Alligator Baptism’ the tempo changes as Phil picks up vocal duties on a number that looks at human dignity, as the horn section picks up the melody adding soul to the sound. This is foottapping joy with the instruments building the sound around lyrics lamenting the loss of dignity. This harmonious mix of blues and soul sounds shape the album giving the journey energy and interest. We are not travelling through the

flat lands of one twelve bar tune after another. Lemons & Berkowitz know how to make the sound a fascinating listen. ‘The River’, Cathy’s vocals are strong, as the tempo slows down and we are fl owing with the lyrical river being delivered by Cathy and the band. The opening of ‘Make A Right Turn’ reflects that we are on a journey and experiencing so much information as the vocals spit out the words. We are overloaded with visuals delivered by our phone and travels. The violin from Annie Staninec adds that urgency as we are overloaded with facts and horrors in this information age, country colliding with blues adding a continuous fl ow of a musical energy. We may be connected but can we change anything? With many guests popping up through the tracks we have a burst of saxophone from Nancy Wright and the phenomenal female guitarist Laura Chavez gives he album deep grooves and tonal textures reflecting a journey that is shaping our lives. If you were expecting a slow ballad slightly downbeat and in a minor chord then ‘Love is Blind’. You are mistaken this is a dance song that would fi t perfectly into a playlist of a disco DJ. Closing the album that captures the vitality of blues, soul and country Cathy sings ‘You Left it Behind’ as Phil joins in this tongue in cheeky fun loving duet. This is a playful finish to an album that will add soul to any collection.

Liz Aiken

IBBA Top 50

is much more focused on the songs than just on jamming or demonstrating his skills. Songs such as Party In The Room Next Door put him in a similar frame as Jerry Lee Lewis whereas closer Lomax is harder to place with its more modern minimal balladry. The album improves with every listen as it makes you dance and think.

Jack Goodall

Ten Million Aliens Road Trip

Mollusc Records

We get to listen to a lot of records at Blues Matters, and some of them aren’t exactly blues, but blues often underpins the overall product. Here’s an amazing dozen tracks by a band based in Hull which provide a perfect example of that balance. Once upon a time a band called The Red Guitars were one of John Peel’s favourites. Remnants of that band make up Ten Million Aliens. Road Trip, subtitled The Fall of the Rebel Angels, is a searing, funk-fuelled audio journey through Trump’s America. Brilliantly mixed tracks like A Confederacy of Fools, A Long Time Coming and Mr. Tangerine Man come complete with historical soundbites from Presidents, politicians, and some of the dumbest-sounding rednecks who ever wore a baseball cap. The musicians, John Rowley, Richard Banks, Paul Owen and John Senior are in masterful charge of this angry melange. Think Devo, think The Residents, Think Screaming Jay Hawkins and a bit of Tom Waits and you’ll get the idea. The CD’s packaging is a beautiful blend of abandoned Buicks and Fords alongside Hieronymus Bosch. Maybe they’ll never hear this in The White House, but if you like your music hot, heavy and politically motivated, this is a band to look out for.

Roy Bainton

Breezy Rodio Sometimes The Blues Got Me Delmark Records

This fine album of electric blues should lay to rest any thought that the blues are dated. The Italian-born Breezy Rodio – something tells me that’s not his real name – is an excellent singer whose soulful vocals infuse this outing with authenticity. His guitar work, too, leans more toward the soulful than the pyrotechnic, and it works to a T. His influences are not hard to discern. Of the 17 tracks here, six are covers – four of which were previously recorded by B.B. King. Covering B.B. takes cojones, but Rodio pulls it off. One of this album’s strengths is that, while it is stylistically of a piece, the sound varies from track to track. Don’t Look Now, But I’ve Got The Blues is a slowish guitar-based blues. Change Your Ways is a rolling harmonica- and piano-led blues. I Love You So is a ballad. Not Going To Worry features acoustic guitar and is almost a folk song, albeit a jaunty one accented by drums and electric organ. I Walked Away is a bouncy guitar-led swing number, augmented by horns and a tasty sax solo. If there’s one minor complaint, it’s that Rodio seems self-conscious about being a blues singer. In the original number Let Me Tell You What’s Up – a bouncy, swing tune with a super horn arrangement – he sings, “I love to play guitar/from town to town/from bar to bar.” Well, ho-hum. In fact, the narrator in no fewer than three of the songs is – what do you know? – a bluesman singing about himself. Nearly a third of the songs have the word “blues” (or “blue”) in the title. (A check of B.B. King’s double CD “His Greatest Hits” shows that 85 percent of the songs do not have that word in the title. You can sing the blues without announcing it.) But that’s a small matter; one hopes Rodio will branch out and write songs

about workingmen, jilted lovers and others who don’t carry guitars. The main point is that the music is excellent. This is traditional Chicago blues with a contemporary feel. Good stuff!

M.D. Spenser

Willie Jackson Blues Independent

People talk sometimes about how all the regional blues styles of last century have now more or less disappeared but what is undeniable is that there are in the USA many local musicians still keeping the blues going for their home-town audiences. Singer Willie Jackson is one of these, but he certainly deserves to be far better-known than he is. He is from Savannah, Georgia and is now based on nearby Tybee Island; he began of course in church and frequently played drums or provided whatever was necessary. An accident in 2009 prevented him from continuing with his job, so nowadays he works as a very strong, big-voiced singer, writing clever, original blues numbers that he performs with his Tybee Blues Band on this six track CD EP, with a running time of 27 minutes. The musicians include the excellent guitarist Dillon Young, playing lead on all tracks, Jon Willis on bass, Paxton Eugene drums and harmonica player Ace Anderson, and the sound they make is very strongly traditional, as befits Willie’s approach, with his singing reminiscent of Muddy Waters in many places (and that is certainly a recommendation in my book!), though he does make contemporary references in his lyrics, and the not so subtle double entendre Diggin’ My Shovel has street references that maybe his local audience would recognise. This release is well worth the effort to track it down and hopefully Willie won’t make us wait too

long for a full-length album – please!

Norman Darwen

Sterling Koch Guitar & B Full Force Music

A red Telecaster adorns the cover of this new album, recorded in Friedensberg, PA. Sterling Koch plays guitars and bass, working with executive producer Ivor Lewis. Koch is a guitar instructor and stylist and features in guitar magazines. He plays solo shows and works with his band Freeway Jam. On this record, he is solo and instrumental and it’s quite fun spotting the probable influences..I say probable because I steal from everyone to attain my own touch and most of us would admit to this ! Easy Road makes for a gentle fusionish start before a Tom Scott funk groove settles in, the theme delivered with some taste and deliberation, muted picking mixed with clearly picked runs. It’s a pleasant lesson, followed by Holiday which has tremelo’d electric piano and a pressing beat, lots of air per soft flanging with an Eric Gale (not Gales) theme emerging. On to Unconditional which has a late-night clap-beat vibe that reminds me of Grant Green, the melody emphasised and occasionally double tracked with harmonic counterpoints. Another Day takes string synth passages as its start and you would swear Luther Vandross was about to sing (I depped). Trapped in A Minor is solemn in feel with a heavy theme underscored with percussion, sounding in search of a private eye film to complement and maybe the strongest inclusion here. Enough has stabbing acoustic chording on a Latin bedding and wah’d guitar. Koch sounds his most comfortable and natural on this cut, I would say. Summervibe is the right title for this

dreamy interlude, though the guitar theme is solid really does need a vocal OR the late Grover Washington on sax. The whole collection reeks of CTI and Kudu as any jazz buff will quickly realise. Next up is Rebel, moody Blue Note piano intro and easy funk tread to the fore. How To Love intrigues with its acoustic setting and Earl Klugh ambience, beautifully handled. Then we get Stories Of Yesterday with a glorious electric piano tone and rolling tempo, the guitar floating along like a lily on a calm pond. The album concludes with Guitar & B Itself, delicate picked out with a sinewy undercurrent. Masterful playing which never puts dexterity ahead of melody or mood

Pete Sargeant

Steve Dawson Lucky Hand Black Hen Music

As a relative newcomer to the CD reviewing business, I have already come to realise that it’s not always a pleasure to have to review CDs and that it’s possibly not the dream job I’d always thought it to be and that sometimes there can be downsides, so it’s always best to have an open mind towards what you’re about to hear. On a journey across the M62 I chose to put on Lucky Hand by Steve Dawson, an artist whose work I hadn’t previously heard, and was I glad that I did! The first track, imaginatively entitled, The Circuit Rider Of Pigeon Forge starts off in a style reminiscent of Leo Kottke, so I braced myself for the impending forced gruff vocals and obscure lyrics about Endless Sleep or some such impenetrable issue. I was wrong; what followed was just a sheer joy. Beautiful guitar playing, obviously very intricate, but played with such style it sounded simple. The track also had the slight quirky feeling, which

is so often found on the albums by Penguin Café Orchestra, which was no doubt induced by the excellent playing from the string quartet, horn and woodwinds, so delicately arranged by Jesse Zubot. The track as a whole still maintained a bluesy feel, but was so unique in its beauty it was very hard to pigeon hole. (Ouch! Sorry for the pun!) The second track, Bentonia Blues heads down a much more dusty country bluesy road, with some beautiful slide guitar superbly accompanied by some really melodic harmonica from the very talented Charlie McCoy. To my ear it would have made the perfect soundtrack to an episode from Alias Smith And Jones, (apologies if it was before your time, but do check them out!). The next track, Bone Cave, again featured some extremely nimble guitar picking and slide accompanied by the string quartet. The whole album was a pure joy and restored my faith in the job of CD reviewing. I shall certainly be checking out more material by the very talented Steve Dawson.

Steve Banks

Bad Day Blues Band

The Abbey Road Sessions

Authentic Soul Records

Forget is the opening track on this five song EP. It hits you like a thunderbolt right from the first beat of the drums. As well as superb work from the engine room of bass guitar and drums there is such a fine performance from the harmonica and stunning guitar twelve bar blues at its finest. It leaves you in no doubt that these guys are here to stay. Second song Jump continues the theme. Once again sublime harmonica playing and wonderful driving rhythms. What more do you need from a blues song? This four-piece London based band really have the blues in their soul. Late night Sister

has a bit of a looser feel that makes it more of a rock/blues song. Great lyrics once again from a band that have been kicking up quite a storm on their live dates. Two Hours TwentyFive immediately made me think of a certain John Bonham as soon as I heard the powerful drum beats, alongside superb bass playing the constant heavy drumming throughout gives this a new kind of direction. Of course, no hard blues song would be complete without blistering guitar and wonderful harmonica. The fi nal track of the CD has a gentler introduction. But don’t be fooled because it quickly builds up a head of steam. For me this is my favourite track. But that takes nothing away from the rest of this fi ne CD. If I had one slight complaint it’s that I wish it was a full album. But I’m sure it won’t be too long before that happens. In the meantime, I’ll console myself with this awesome CD. And I can’t wait to see these guys perform live.

Stephen Harrison

Tas Cru Memphis Song Subcat

This CD is a nicely muscular set from upstate New York based singer, songwriter and guitarist Tas Cru and his nifty and totally empathetic bunch of accompanists. He opens with the hot-rocking blues-gospel mash-up of Heal My Soul, turns in a fi ne 60s styled boogaloo blues with Albert King licks on That Look, throws in a swinging sing-along shuffl e with Have A Drink and closes out with a jam styled mid- to up tempo Can’t Get Over Blues. Tas has a warm voice – listen to One Eyed Jack for a good example, with Dick Earl Ericksen supplying some wailing blues harmonica over the funk fl avoured backing and the (trademark) harmony

The Sharpeez Wild One

3Ms Music

I really enjoyed Mississippi Thrills by The Sharpeez, their 2014 release and so it was with quite a degree of anticipation I looked forward to listening to their latest album, Wild One . Taking its’ title from the Marlon Brando movie of the same name, this, their fi fth album is slightly more dangerous than the movie could ever be. Right from the outset, this foursome come out of the block on fire, living up to their sobriquet of a Maximum Rhythm & Blues Band. Think of early Feelgoods with a menacing, prowling Lee Brilleaux strutting the stage and the staccato “never say die” of the band behind him, no quarter given and that sums up the feel of this band. Fronted by Bill Mead on guitar and vocals, he released his first single with the band Rebel in the 70s. Loz Netto on slide guitar is an internationally respected musician. A founder member of Sniff ‘N’ the Tears he toured the world in the late 70s and has had songs covered by artists as diverse as Chaka Khan, Joe Walsh and Rick James amongst others. Completing

the band are Baz Payne on bass and Brendan O’Neill on drums and together they play as if there will be no tomorrow. Influences such as The Stones, The Who, Free, Dr Feelgood all come cascading through but at no time can it be said that any song is a direct steal, all songs being penned by Bill Mead. I found it interesting that on the second play, I seemed to be familiar with the songs and could sing along and strut as I wanted. In truth, there isn’t a weak song here at all, but three songs stand out. The opener ‘Automatic Mode’ is an out and out solid rocker that plants the R’n’B flag out front. ‘Dr. Feelgood’ is another rocker, but this re-recorded song benefi ts from some great slide work from Loz, and the third stand out is the title track, ‘Wild One’. Played at a slightly less hurried tempo, this track oozes quality with a busy but powerful backing behind a good vocal. This is an excellent album that reasserts the fact that British R’n’B is alive and well.

Merv Osborne

vocals. Oddly perhaps, Fool For The Blues reminds me a lot of vintage Dire Straits in the vocal and the arrangement (maybe it’s just the beat and Guy Nirelli’s organ playing), whilst Give A Little Up is a duet with Mary Ann Casale with a nicely minimalist funk backing that is certainly effective, and Queen Of Hearts is a lovely slow blues with excellent guitar work and moody, ballad overtones.

Don’t Lie To That Woman has something of a narrative feel in Mr Cru’s vocal, making a serious point with a humorous delivery, and at times on this track, there’s just the slightest hint of Bob Dylan. Long-time friend pianist Victor Wainwright and his slide guitarist Pat Harrington make signifi cant and appropriate contributions to the title track, and overall this release is something of

Trevor ‘Babajack’ Steger

Sawdust Man

Independent

Trevor ‘Babajack’ Steger was one half of Babajack where he teamed up with writing partner Becky Tate but this album sees him striding out as a solo musician. He has a voice that has all the smoothness of a rusty buzzsaw but he has no problem making himself clear and the songs on this album are darkly and deeply steeped in Blues. He plays a mean acoustic guitar but his main strength is his harmonica playing and with his Danneker harps he certainly makes a more musical noise than most of the supposed players out there. The sound takes me back to hearing some of the Blues greats back in the day – guys such as Sonny Terry or Big Walter Horton, even James Cotton – that haunting voice coming at you right out of the middle of the soundstage, interspersed with howling harp and almost using the guitar for rhythm rather than as a lead instrument.

a rarity these days, a strongly individual and traditionally slanted blues album that is totally effective, totally listenable and totally enjoyable. Highly recommended of course.

Norman Darwen

The Voodoo Sheiks Unstoppable Independent

Unstoppable is an album with twelve original songs written by all the members of the band. This, their third album showcases yet another British band that proves that R’n’B

When he uses the guitar alone, as he does on ‘River Song’, he demonstrates real ability to carry a melody and set up a beautiful backdrop to his vocals. When he is singing you cannot do anything else but listen to him – he has an immediacy and charisma that draws you close to the music and I cannot think of any other solo artist that I’ve heard in the last couple of years who demands your attention in the same way. I would have to say that he makes music that I want to listen to, music than on the face of it is simple and stark but that has complexities in the sound and in his playing that make it really satisfying to delve into time and again. Standout tracks are probably the title number and ‘Stranger in the Hall’ but there really isn’t any weakness in either his playing or his vision.

Andy Snipper

of their references are strictly 21st century, nowhere else have I heard anyone singing about an age of CGI. The Sheiks are Adrian Thomas on guitar, Slowblow Dave on vocals and harp, Andy Pullin on bass and Spencer Blackledge, drums. The album cover features the head of a lion in relief and this image somewhat captures the power of their music. Songs such as Black Hearted Orange Man, Resonator and Off The Rails are forceful, up tempo songs that point to a band that must be great in the live environment. Summertime is a rolling rocker all about the British summertime and its favourite past time, barbecuing. A song about mayo, salad cream, bangers etc seems unreal and yet works well here, and is described as the “...monsoon barbecue Blues”. Very little here in terms of feeling the Blues when writing about such modern subjects, but it’s just good fun time music.

Merv Osborne

Marcia Ball Shine Bright Alligator Records

is alive and well. What is interesting here however is the importance of their lyrics. They write from experiences that have affected them all. For example, the track Save deals with something that affects all of us today, whether it be saving the whale or saving the planet, “...The weatherman says hard rain is coming, seems to me we are all saving something”. Likewise on opener Hard Again, the band mix a hard rock tempo with accepted Blues chops, referencing Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Waters tapping into the electricity grid and setting the music free. In fact, some

This is a rollicking good album and the mark of intent is thrown down as soon as the fi rst bars of the title track opens the proceedings. It’s a brilliant high tempo, energetic tune with a positive message from the off. It’s hard to realise that Marcia has been performing as an artiste for 50 years and this is her 15th album. She leaves younger pretenders trailing in her wake. Marcia’s fab piano playing continues into I Got To Find Somebody, the fi rst of three covers, this one by Ernie K-Doe. A solid slab of New Orleans with exceptional horns carrying it home. They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That is up next, more swinging, more jazzy but none the worse for that. Life Of The

Party, a more fun blues, leads us into the Ray Charles penned What Would I Do Without You. It’s wonderfully delivered in a gospel torch song style, one of the highlights of a great album despite it’s relatively short length. Then it’s into part mode with When The Mardi Gras Is Over with lovely boogie piano to enjoy. Pots And Pans is great blues number full of fun but defiance too. Another highlight for me was World Full Of Love. Marcia gives this a big gospel ballad treatment and it works so well, displaying what an excellent vocalist she is as well as a great instrumentalist. Penultimate tracks I’m Glad I Did What I Did and Too Much For Me are top class in a NOLA style and lead us nicely into the closing track and third cover, Jesse Winchester’s Take A Little Louisiana, delivered with aplomb. All in all this is a super little album and well worthy of investigation if you have a liking for some piano led boogie and soulful singing.

Steve Yourglivch

BOOK

Jorma Kaukonen Been So Long

Saint Martin’s Press

Jorma Kaukonen is little short of legendary these days. From his kick-off in the Bay area of the 1960s through his work with Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and as a soloist, Kaukonen has always been a musical explorer, ever restless, chasing the next musical adventure down a hard-worn road. As a bluesman, he worked with everyone from Janis Joplin to Roy Book Binder and Rory Block, picking

up national awards, Rock Hall of Fame inclusions and a Grammy. This is his searingly honest story, a tale of extraordinary success, excess and addictions. For anyone with even a passing interest in the man and his music this is a must-have read. Kaukonen pulls no punches here, freely admitting to an at times near-selfish, self-interest and naivety that borders on the self-destructive. And yet, despite the clearly disturbing aspects and darkness of many episodes, Kaukonen somehow or other rises above the mess to find shelter, love and redemption that reflects his own valiant struggles to deal with both drug and booze addictions while always remaining anchored by and to his love of the music and his guitar. Due for release in mid-August, Been So Long, is a revealing glimpse behind the scenes, a back-stage memoir of a musical life of one of the USA’s finest blues and roots guitarists. Having had the good-fortune to meet with the guy more than a few times, and to interview him in the recent past, I found the book totally absorbing and genuinely surprising on many levels. Easily a book to pre-order and savour at leisure.

Iain Patience

DVD

The

Guitar Workshops

Workshop. This one is presented by Tom Feldmann who has a fine track record of previous tuition sessions both on DVD and in print. Tom takes six of Muddy’s well-known tracks and strips them down to a note by note tutorial, and he plays them in short sessions that give you a chance to catch up with what he is doing. Each part is repeated fast and then slow and played as a full piece and each one is of course faithfully notated on the accompanying PDF booklet, (If you are going to print this off, be prepared to have plenty of ink in your printer as he covers all six songs in full) He also plays two numbers in Open G, Open D and in standard tuning which I found particularly useful as it gives you some licks or phrases that you might not have found for yourself. I know I have said it before, but this is yet another fine product from the Workshop.

Dave Stone

Tom Feldmann

Slide Guitar Of Muddy Waters

Yes folks, another offering from that prodigious outfit known in full as Stefan Grossmans Guitar

Big blues festival —

Fri 12 — Sat 13

october ‘18

Dr Feelgood

Ian Siegal

Sam Kelly’s Station House

Xander and the Peace Pirates

Rebecca Downes

Tom C Walker

Little Blues

Acoustic Stage

Early bird £40

Festival ticket £48 (from 1 Aug)

Saturday ticket £35

To Book

Online:

theatkinson.co.uk

Box Office: 01704 533333

In association with

To subscribe visit bluesmatters.com

The 5th Lincoln Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival

Lincoln, UK

12 May 2018

Solid Entertainment’s blues, rhythm and rock festival is back at the drill hall, Lincoln. The drill hall is located in the town centre and a good allround venue, Steve runs the event with great efficiency, coupled with good amenities and friendly staff it’s a great one day festival. Getting this year’s festival off to a fi ne start is Deep Blue Sea, a four piece international born band, featuring from Los Angeles on vocals Dregas, with guitarist Lago hailing from Santiago, from Stockholm on drums Amanda and from exotic Hartlepool on bass Graeme, the band play a style of music

they describe as 21st Century blues, with influences from all the members of the band, a mixture of blues, rock, funk, punk, gypsy jazz and much more. ‘Rock Star Status’ a fun track starts the set well, with ‘Hole In Your Soul’ having a touch of Pat Benatar vocals to me, my favourite number from the set was ‘Soho By Night’ with Graeme’s guttural vocals suiting this dirty little ditty. ‘The Thrill of It All’ was a heavier track where Amanda and Lago had a manic duel that certainly woke up the audience going down very well. Closing with antilove song ‘Then U Smile’, the

band looked to be having a good time playing a mixture of blues genres warming the crowd up, a very good start to the day. Second on today’s bill is the Connor Selby band, A young man from Billericay in Essex, Connor is backed by Joe Anderton on rhythm guitar, Fergie Fulton on bass and Rob Shearer on the drums, playing a set of mostly originals which I suspect will be on the soon to be released debut album. With ‘Made Up My Mind’ starting proceedings before treating the crowd to the bass driven funky blues of ‘This Old World’, ‘I Got News For You’ was a blues shuffle that had some good fret work from Connor, ‘Tired Of Wasting My Time’ a slower blues had a touch of

Ray Charles vocals about it, a cover of Bill Withers ‘For My Friend’ got a good reception, while my favourite was the final number ‘Sure Is A Sunrise’ a really well played slow blues with mellow guitar and a hint of Hendrix in

the vocals, Fergie was enjoying himself and the band played well together giving a balanced set that I enjoyed Gwent’s Luke Doherty is up next, to entertain the audience with some southern blues/rock with more than a

hint of Stevie Ray Vaughan added to the mix, backed by Paul Morgan on vocals and harmonica, and the rhythm section of Mal Preest on the bass and Simon Parratt on drums. Starting the set with ‘Square Peg Round Hole’ from the newly released album Night and Day, next the very topical song ‘Plastic Sea’, a slower track suiting the whiskey drenched vocals of Paul and went down well with the crowd, I liked the drum driven shuffle with a bit of harmonica, ‘Caught In The Lights’, a cover of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ had Mal bouncing around the stage, this was definitely a crowd favourite. The band were having fun and tried to get the crowd up and dancing but alas a bit early maybe! With ‘Not Enough Hours’ getting some call and response from the crowd before finishing with ‘Solar Flares On The Sun’ with some good drumming from Simon, another good set well appreciated. Taking to the stage next is Simon McBride back on the road with his blues/rock power trio, with fellow Irishmen Dave Marks on bass and Marty McClosky on the drums, starting with the hard driving ‘Heart-breaker’, ‘Stealer’ a rockier blues with some energetic fret work pleased the crowd. ‘Down To The Wire’ was a slower track that reminded me of Gary Moore at times, getting a few up and dancing was the bluesy ‘You Got A Problem’ with some fast finger playing and good vocals going down well, ‘So

Aynsley Lister by Andy Lindley

Connor Selby by Andy Lindley

Much Love To Give’ started with some soft cymbals with overlaying guitar with a heavy bass beat joining the fun, a varied tempo track that saw all three musicians playing off each other with the crowd liking this a lot. ‘Don’t Be A Fool’ followed a similar line with some exquisite call and response between guitar and bass then Simon and the crowd, with 99% standing and singing it was impressive to see, excellent playing from a superb band. The penultimate act of the day is guitarist Aynsley Lister, bringing his own blend of blues rock to a audience that’s now up for a good time, kicking off the set with the bluesy shuffle ‘All Of Your Love’ with some good call and response between guitar and keys, followed by ‘Inside Out’ which highlighted what solid sidemen Aynsley has gathered together in keys man Andrew Price, Steve Amadeo on bass and Boneto Dryden on drums. My personal favourite was the cinematic ‘Il Grande Mafioso’, a tale of a dodgy back street card game with a flamenco feel, this had a few up and dancing, Hyde 2612 with some excellent slide and fast fingered soloing was a crowd pleaser, has was the delta feel of Sugar with some good piano call and response with Aynsley, with a fine cover of ‘Champagne and Reefer’ going down well, this was the best I have seen Aynsley, who was relaxed and in top form with superb guitar work and vocals throughout the set especially with a show stopping

slow bluesy cover of ‘Purple Rain’ which had the crowd up and singing great finish, leaving headline act The Pretty Things with their years of experience to the stage, with original members Phil May vocals and Dick Taylor guitar joined by Jack Greenwood on drums, George Woosey on bass/vocals and last minute stand-in Sam Brothers on guitar/harmonica, starting with some R’n’B in ‘Turn My Head’, followed by the top 20 hit ‘Honey I Need’. ‘Keep Your Big Mouth Shut’ was well received, as was ‘Big Boss Man’ which had a few dancing, with ‘Same Sun’ and a cover of ‘Alexander’ by Electric Banana adding some psychedelia, three songs from the rock opera followed S.F. ‘Sorrow Is Born’, ‘She Says Good morning’ and ‘I See You’ with the crowd lapping these numbers up. The highlight for me was some stripped down blues of Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf. We were treated to some excellent slide guitar from Dick and harmonica from Phil getting a great response, finishing the set with big hits ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, ‘Mona’, ‘Midnight To Six’ and ‘L.S.D’ bringing the house down.

Coming back to do an encore of ‘Rosalyn’ and ‘Road Runner’, a very happy crowd showed their appreciation for a great finale to another fantastic day of blues, rock and rhythm. All the artists were supported by the others who stayed around all day watching and enjoying the

day with the rest of us, a compliment to the way everything is run and organised in a relaxed atmosphere by steve from solid entertainment, I will be back next year. SHIRL

The 19th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Belfast

3–13 May 2018

“We’re going to blow this joint up,” declaimed Barrence Whitfield enthusiastically, somewhat disconcerting those in the audience old enough to recall Belfast’s infamously troubled past. “Bop till you drop, brothers and sisters,” was a less tactless Whitfield exhortation and one which many in the audience exuberantly followed. Whitfield, who has been compared to Howlin’ Wolf, Wilson Pickett and Solomon Burke, and his band the Savages are hard to label. Their music certainly contains elements of R&B, Rock ’n’ Roll, garage and punk and on tracks like the rocking ‘Just Moved In’, ‘Bip Bop Bip’ and ‘Georgia Slop.’ They played with manic intensity, at times, frankly sounding absolutely demented. But the sledgehammer volume and the relentless heaviness increasingly felt oppressive and given Whitfield’s talents it was a shame that virtually none of his lyrics could be deciphered. Still, the version of 60s punk pioneers the MC5’s ‘Ramblin’ Rose’, a suitably berserk-sounding tribute, was pretty irresistible.

Like the Savages, the Blasters music includes elements of R&B, rock and punk. But the sound was so atrocious, identifying what songs being played was pretty much guesswork, even for the many diehard Blasters fans present. For what it’s worth, I think I spotted Rudy Toombs’ ‘I’m Shakin’’, a hit for Little Willie John in 1960, Otis Blackwell’s ‘Daddy Rollin’

Stone’, a song perhaps best known to UK audiences through the Who’s 1965 version, ‘No Other Girl’ and ‘American Music’, the latter two written by Dave Alvin who left the band in 1986. Sound aside, the punky vigour of singer-guitarist Phil Alvin and his cohorts clearly appealed to the audience.

Occasional Van Morrison collaborator, trumpeter Linley Hamilton, accompanied by the Camden Studio Orchestra, played lyrically on standards including James Taylor’s ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight’.

Van Morrison backing vocalist Dana Masters guested, singing soulfully and stylishly on her own ‘Because Of You’ and on an impassioned version of

Franne Golde’s ‘Louisiana Sunday Afternoon’.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, accompanied by an

tional band comprising Bob Fridzema (keyboards), Luigi Casanova (bass) and Oliver Perry (drums), performed wellwritten original songs, many of which concerned broken relationships. ‘Tried, Tested And True’, a bitter song about an unfaithful lover, featured a lovely, lyrical guitar solo, while on ‘Nothing To Lose’ Taylor defi antly asserted her ability to survive after separating from a lover. Also, included were the hard-rocking likes of ‘Jump That Train’, and so blown away were most in the audience that not only was there a standing ovation at the end of the set but several times during the set, individual songs were awarded standing ovations.

her ability to survive after separating from a lover. Also, away were most in the audiwas vidual songs were awarded player shades, and his band played

Local harmonica player Lee Hedley, resplendent in leopard skin-print jacket and shades, and his band played tough, tight versions of the likes of Free’s ‘Wishing Well’,

Joanne Shaw Taylor by Trish Keogh-Hodgett

Phil Alvin of Blasters by Trish Keogh-Hodgett

Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Don’t Start Me Talkin’, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s ‘Pride And Joy’. The band’s prowess and Hedley’s skills as an entertainer and communicator delighted the audience.

Saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis is a legend for his work as musical director for James Brown in the sixties and Van Morrison in the eighties and nineties. Now seventy-seven, Ellis performed seated but his playing, which was informed by funk, soul and jazz traditions, was full of vigour. Accompanied by the Funk Assembly, a superb quintet, Ellis included in his set ‘In the Middle’, which he wrote for James Brown in 1966 and the uplifting ‘My Neighbourhood’ with something of a Caribbean feel. On the latter, Ellis charmed the audience into enthusiastically la-la-laing the infectious melody.

Michael Chapman was part of that extraordinary generation of acoustic guitarists who emerged in Britain in the sixties and he remains a potent performer. His conversational, grainy singing was very effective, and his fingerpicking was scintillating on songs like ‘Just Another Story’, a perceptive character sketch of a truck stop waitress, and the weary-sounding ‘Shuffleboat River Farewell’, a poignant song essentially about the passing of time.

Chapman’s between songs patter was amusing, contrasting with his often sombre, thoughtful songs. One song from early in his career, for example, was described as

having been written in the era when records were made of wood. And another song, inspired by the steam trains of his youth, was introduced with a reminiscence of jazz saxophone legend Johnny Griffin who once, apparently, advised Chapman: “When you f*ck up, do train noises!”

Most of the songs Georgie Fame played have been in his repertoire for decades but somehow his music still sounded fresh and utterly irresistible and his conscientiousness in explaining the origins of the songs was admirable. His version of Willie Nelson’s ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’, for example, was, he explained, originally inspired by Little Joe Hinton’s Chicago soul version of the song while his version of Goffin-King’s ‘Point of No Return’ was based, he informed us, on Louis Jordan’s interpretation.

To unanimous delight, of course, Fame, who was very competently accompanied by his sons Tristan Powell (guitar) and James Powell (drums), played his biggest hits, the irrepressible ‘Yeh, Yeh’, the insouciant ‘Get Away’ and ‘The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde’, unashamedly a cash-in song but a well-written one.

Other highlights included ‘Was’, Mose

Allison’s poignant song about encroaching death, and Bob Dylan’s topically resonant ‘Everything Is Broken’.

Trevor Hodgett

Aliceville’s First BackHome Blues Festival Aliceville, Alabama

2 June 2018

Aliceville is truly a one-horse sort-of-town a sleepy Deep South place with a history of local blues and a population that simply loves the music. For many years until he passed in 2009, the area was home to bluesman Willie King and his annual Freedom Creek Blues Festival. When King passed, the festival continued under the banner of his name, as a memorial event largely arranged and promoted by

Debbie Bond by Jan Venning

his former band-members with the Liberators, Debbie Bond and Radiator Rick Asherson (who are both currently touring UK).

This year, the mantle shifted to a local Aliceville dignitary, Cooke-Man, who renamed the event but ensured its future with a string of southern blues musicians playing hard under a fiery, furnace of sun and heat to an appreciative crowd of old Alabama and Mississippi Juke Joint regulars and Willie King fans. As a personal fan of the late King, I’d always hoped to catch him back home but sadly it never happened. So, it was a genuine pleasure to finally get to the site of his previous stomping-ground, where both Debbie Bond and Radiator Rick again appeared in a variety of guises with the Debbie Bond Band, featuring a cool, young drummer, Markus Lee; as support for the wonderful, rich southern, gospel voice of Caroline Shines (daughter of the legendary Johnny Shines, Robert Johnson’s old road buddy); and with a batch of promising young kids from Bond’s admired Alabama Blues Project, a state heritage and educational operation, promoting local blues music and its legacy.

The event kicked-off with some traditional gospel before moving on to a band, Tekknology, with a soul sound but a somewhat esoteric and, at times, unfocussed feel. This despite no shortage of clear talent in the mix. Mississippi was then ably represented

by Geno and the Mississippi Blues Boys, an outfit with a deep, southern soulful sound and an excellent front-lady who could sure sing some. The Debbie Bond Band then took over, followed by Caroline Shines, accompanied by her gospel-singer husband, Fayette. Here is a lady who can sure sing the blues, showing herself completely at ease onstage with humour and a presence that simply demands attention. In many ways, her set with Bond’s backing and harmonies, was the set of the show.

As night fell, the crowd roared its approval when yet another of Willie King’s old bandmates, Willie Lee Halbert, took to the stage with his current band the Fingerprint Band. Willie Lee often sang the response part to King’s own vocal delivery and has a pretty unique voice, one that is hard to describe but always a genuine delight. Halbert rolled on into the night and, again, Bond and Radiator Rick joined them on-stage, resulting in pretty much the spirit of Willie King remaining at the event with half of his old band, the Liberators, working together once again.

This is an event that must surely be destined to become an annual festival and with the truly remarkable range of blues talent in the immediate and surrounding areas, must also be a guaranteed success. We can only wish it well and thank everyone concerned for an excellent day of Alabama blues music. As a closing aside, there was

some talk of the possibility of the Debbie Bond Band hitting UK and Europe in future years accompanied by Caroline Shines: if this suggestion ever comes to fruition, get out and catch them, satisfaction guaranteed, I’d say.

Iain Patience

Greeley Blues Jam Greeley, Colorado

10 June 2018

Greeley is one of those rambling, rural back-woods American towns with a focus on agriculture and rodeo seemingly at its heart. However, each year in June, it hides the broncos, the spurs and the riders, to present a blues festival of some note. Colorado’s Greeley Blues Jam is now in about its fifteenth year, an annual event that pulls in fans and music lovers from all around the state, the States and beyond.

This year, with temperatures easily topping 30°C, it played host to some simply superb music featuring performances from some of the USA’s greatest blues men and women. Otis Taylor turned in a spirited set backed by banjo, guitar, fiddle and even cello, based largely around his recently released Fantasizing About Being Black album, a set that looked back at the relatively recent past history of slavery and civil unrest in the USA. He was followed by an absolutely amazing set from Memphis-based keyboard giant, Victor Wainwright and the Train, a band that truly

ripped it up in every way under a broiling sun. This was, for me, the set of the festival, a veritable riot of a set full of good-humour, startling keyboard chops that held echoes of swampy Louisiana mixed with downright boogiewoogie and everything in between. Add Wainwright’s explosive character and vocal delivery and you had the near-perfect blues festival set, based loosely around his current eponymous album release but including surprising ripples such as Jungle Book’s ‘I Wanna Be Like You.’ American’s are often apt to say things are ‘awesome,’ maybe just too readily. With Wainwright, the expression was absolutely spot-on.

As evening fell, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters took to the stage, with yet another

wonderful blues set based around his current release, The Luckiest Man . Earl’s fretwork was immediately sensitive, soulful and innovative, full of twists and turns and slices of note-bending brilliance. With blues lady, Diane Blue, providing perfect vocals, this was another set of note. By the time darkness had fallen and the lighting was fl ashing colourfully around the arena, Devon Allman and his band turned up to deliver the closing set to a huge, appreciative crowd. Allman has his strengths. The son of the late Greg Allman, following his spell with Royal Southern Brotherhood, he has managed to almost distance himself from the familial dangers to carve out a career on his own terms. His band was tight, focussed, loud and

welcome, proving itself to be one of the highlights of the festival with complete ease.

Greeley Blues Jam is a festival that could all too easily be overlooked by many and that would be a mistake. This is an annual event worthy of support and one, I personally, hope to revisit again at the earliest opportunity.

Iain Patience

Ronnie Earl Greeley by Jan Venning

Victor Wainwright by Jan Venning

Arts Concert

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys Lichfield

After more than thirty years at the fore-front of the live jump jive jazz scene, it is no wonder that the musical institution of King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys know how to put on a show and draw a large crowd when they closed Lichfield Arts Blues and Jazz Festival on Sunday 3rd June.

With a crowd-pleasing set list and retro onstage clothing and musical instruments, the band really know how to put on a thrilling show and they also know how to really play! The group led by King Pleasure himself, on vocals and saxophone, also included keyboard player Matt Foundling, double bassist Shark Vab Schtoop,

drummer Gary Barber, and guitarist Bullmoose Shirley.

Their set list relied on old swing favourites, such as ‘Roll With My Baby’ and ‘Bring It On Home Baby’, before a slow blues which acted as a showcase for the talents of guest saxophone player Paul Murray.

Fats Domino’s ‘I’m Walkin’ was delivered at a fast pace, while ‘Everyday I Have The Blues’ and ‘Well Alright’ showed the blues prowess that the band possesses.

Founding keyboard player Danny McCormack joined the ensemble for a frenetic reading of ‘House on the Hill’, whilst other crowd pleasers such as ‘Tequilla’, ‘Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens’, and ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ were popular singalong songs, and were a great

way of closing a festival that had presented excellent entertainment for its many audience members.

Ben Macnair

The Tom Morgan Trio Lichfield Arts Concert

The talented local guitarist Tom Morgan and his trio of John Evans on Hammond Organ and Bradleigh White on drums treated Sunday morning jazz fans to a showcase of tasteful jazz and blues when they appeared as part of Lichfield Arts Blues and Jazz Weekend.

With a set list that weaved between genres, from traditional tunes, to the music of Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, and Santana there was something for

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys

everyone. They started with a spirited instrumental called ‘Sunny’, before moving onto ‘Stomping at the Savoy’, made famous, originally by the Benny Goodman orchestra, whilst two Duke Ellington pieces, ‘Things I Ought To Be’, and ‘Satin Doll’ showed of the trio’s chordal knowledge to fine effect.

A touching, stripped down, solo guitar version of the traditional hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ led into a swinging version of ‘I Wish That I Knew How It Felt To Be Free’ taking more inspiration from The Billy Taylor Trio’s version than Nina Simone’s original, whilst Lately by Stevie Wonder served as a gentle ballad, as did the closing reading of Santana’s ‘Europa’.

Ben Macnair

Katy Bradley & Dave Ferra The Lime Bar, Folkestone

It was just like a Friday night fish fry in downtown Tennessee except that it was a Thursday, there was no fish on the menu and it was in darkest Kent! Instead we had local Blues musicians in the form of Dave Ferra on guitar, harp and vocals, who was ably supported by our very own Katy Bradley, who I am no longer able to call “Local girl”, so it was our local Queen of the Blues on vocals and a very able harp. It’s suffice to say that I didn’t take down a list of everything that they played, except to say that it was all good. Katy showed that she can turn her hand to some tasty jazz and her version of Etta James ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ brought the place to a respectful silence

(although it didn’t last long).

During the number Katy invited local soul singer Ben Malcolm Milberry to join in and the two soaring voices made the hair on my neck stand to attention. I asked Dave if they had any plans to do a record and he just said that it all depended upon Katy being available. Judging by the response from the small crowd, it would certainly be a popular move. Dave Ferra will be back with his full band in April playing at this very popular gig venue, run by music fans Andy and Kath, who are passionate about keeping music live. Keep on promoting gigs of this quality and we’ll have no problem.

Dave Stone

The Tom Morgan Trio

Our name says it all!!

One Year

From £23.49

iPhone

SUBSCRIBE TO BLUES MATTERS

Your bi-monthly companion bursting with 132 pages of Blues including interviews with the ho est artists, festival and gig guides, and the greatest collection of CD reviews out there. Don’t miss out on the next issue by subscribing today and saving on the normal cover price of £4.99.

PRINT

One year subscription for six issues: £27.50 (UK) / £45.00 (Europe) / £65.00 (Worldwide)

Online: https://subscribeme.to/bluesmatters/

Phone: 01778 392082

Email: subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk

Post: Blues Matters Subscriptions, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincs, PE10 9PH, UK

DIGITAL

One year subscription for six issues: £23.49

Online: https://www.exacteditions.com/read/blues-matters

Compatible with iOS, Android and desktop.

www.bluesmatters.com/subscriptions