Ric Lee. T.Y. A’s own Natural Born Swinger
BF: You have a new CD PutARecordOn by Ric Lee’s Natural Born Swingers. Who’s in this band and how did it come about?
RL: That came about because I played with Bob Hall at a party for my wife’s birthday and Bob played piano. He’s an amazing boogie woogie pianist. When we finished I said “hey that was great Bob, I really liked that. I’d like to do some more” and he said “well lets put a band together”, so that was how that kicked off. He asked what do I want to do and I said I’d love to do some of the early TYA swing things because we’re not doing that anymore. That’s how I Want To Know, Don’t Want You Woman and Rock Your Mama came about. So the band is Bob Hall, who’s a super guy, and a very competent vocalist and more than competent keyboard player. He and I just hit it off. We live fairly close. He’s in Sheffield, which is forty minutes from me. We got lucky. Through an agent friend of mine, we came across Scott Whitley, he’s fabulous. A really nice guy and a super bass player. If you’ve heard the track, The Hills of Afghanistan (my first foray into lead vocals), Scott actually does the solo on that. Everyone thinks its guitar, but its actually piccolo bass. He does a fabulous job. Then we have Danny Handley on lead vocals and guitar. Danny is superb too. Danny actually works with the Animals as well. So I’m seeing Bob soon, and we’re going to sit down and plan for 2014 because we were unable to capitalize on the CD release this year, partly because Bob was away, and Danny was doing the Animals stuff. What we’ll probably do is re-release the album in Europe next year, and then tour it.
It’s being released in America to coincide with the Rock and Blues festival tour. We’re hoping to get a position on the blues chart with it. If we tour America, we may have to pick up some American musicians to make
up the band, purely because of initial cost. We’ll see how that goes.
How were the tracks chosen? There are two tracks written by Alvin Lee. Yes, “Don’t Want You Woman” and “Rock Your Mama”. The rest of the tracks are made up of different combinations of writers. Bob and I worked a lot together. Generally speaking Bob will give me a set of lyrics and play a set of chords and would say “How would you sing this, how would you interpret that?” Then I’ll sing it the way I think it should be, and then we’ll work on it and reconstruct it. “Hills of Afghanistan” for example, he brought me and asked what I thought. I said the lyrics are great, but you can’t have a song about Afghanistan in a major key, it’s got to be in a minor key in my opinion. So he went away, came back, and we adjusted a few of the chords. A couple of the songs we actually wrote there and then in the studio. Bob had a few lyrics knocking about, Danny came up with the riffs, I came up with the groove and arrangement, that’s how that worked. It’s a very varied album with lots of varied input, and it was great fun to do.
Would you say it continues in the tradition of Ten Years After?
I would like to think so, yes. Bob had a rule that no song can be more than four and a half minutes, which was a good rule! “Bad Feeling Blues” for instance, was created in the studio. Bob and I had a discussion about it. He was thinking one way, and I was thinking Ten Years After. At the end of the day, the way I played that track was more like I was doing a Ten Years After track rather than a Natural Born Swingers track in a sense. But that influence is always going to shine through you know, whatever I do.
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he was fantastic that day, so we just set off, swapped the breeze. He talked about how he was interested in what the young people were doing and the jazz fusion thing that was beginning to happen. He thought that some of the young bands were absolutely amazing. He was just an absolutely fantastic, regular guy that day. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
Then was Woodstock which of course has been well documented. Any long-standing memories from that event you’d like to mention?
We weren’t actually going to do it. You mentioned earlier about festivals, but the major thing for us was auditoria, you know, about 5000 seats. And quite a lot of times that was to support people like The Mothers of Invention, Blood Sweat & Tears, and those kinds of guys. So we hadn’t really established ourselves as a major name at that point. But the money they were offering for Woodstock was not what we were getting for the auditoria, so Chris Wright said “Forget it!” But our agent said “you’ve got to do this. They’re expecting 50,000 people!” Chris still said no. Then he’d ring up again and say “Jefferson Airplane is doing it. Janis is doing it. You really ought to reconsider.” And Chris would still say “no, no...” I think Chris was trying to up the money all the time, you know. Eventually he said “Well Hendrix is doing it. The Who are doing it. You’d be crazy not to do this!” So finally Chris said OK, we’ll do it.
So we went there. We flew in from St. Louis; we left there at six in the morning. Got to NY and had two limousines take us up to Bethel. We went to the Holiday Inn which was the base. We went there and couldn’t get rooms because they were sold out. They said the only thing you can get is a day room, and you’d have to share it with another band. So we got to this day room and I think it was Big Brother who were in there. We were hoping to get some sleep. But that was out of the question. Then as soon as we got settled, we got a message “quick, they want you at the site! They want you at the site now!” So we went up the hill to get the helicopter; that was the only way you could get in. Cars were
strewn everywhere; you’ve seen the movie. You couldn’t get within six miles of the place. So we flew over it and couldn’t believe the size of the thing. There was a medic with us and he said “whatever you do, don’t eat anything that is not cooked. Don’t drink anything unless it’s from a sealed can. We’ve got a hepatitis outbreak”.
Not long after we landed, the storm came up. It knocked out all the power. The stage was totally unequipped in terms of safety. You wouldn’t get away with it nowadays. So, nothing was cooked; I never found a sealed can anywhere. So basically we didn’t eat or drink really; there was some water but much later.
We were due to go on in the afternoon. I sat and watched Joe Cocker’s set, which was brilliant. We were up after that but then Country Joe had jumped on. He played with us at the Fillmore and said he would never follow us again because we drained the audience too much.
Then Johnny Winter went on. Long story short, at about 10:00 in the evening we went onstage. Also apparently what had been happening, the managers Chris Wright and Dee Anthony had been arguing for us to go on later; its was always considered a good slot when the stage lights would be coming on. So that’s what we went for. I think we did four songs; we did that in an hour. As you know all of our songs are not short! So we did that, it went down great, Alvin got that great big watermelon rolled on stage and we carried that off. Then we had trouble getting out of there because all the helicopters had stopped flying. As far as we knew, there was no way out by road. I then found a state trooper on his horse and I asked if he knew if there was any way out of here. He said “yes there is, but you’ll have to be careful. I’m happy to lead you if you’d like to follow me.” So we all jumped in the car, So we very carefully picked our way through the tents, and also, you had to be careful because there were people sleeping out at the side of the tents Eventually we got back to the base and found a diner open.
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It was about one o’clock in the morning and the waitress said “Hi, can I help you? What can I get you?” and we said “everything’’ Then we drove down to Baltimore for the next gig.
As thrilled as you were to have played at Woodstock, it wasn’t until 1970 when the album and the film came out and catapulted the band further into fame. That’s right. Many people forget, but it also did that for the Who. The Who were only playing to auditoriums at that point. So it was a godsend to both bands really.
I think the Who had one up on us really because they always worked on singles, you know, got singles on the chart, whereas we never did. Alvin was very adamant that we were an albums band, we never made singles.
So at the time the movie and the film came out, when “I’m Going Home” had all the airplay and everything else... were you aware at the success story building around you?
When we went to the premiere in a theatre on Wilshire Blvd., it was incredible… after our bit, everyone in the theatre gave us a standing ovation.
That was unbelievable, and a lot of the people didn’t know we were actually there. It was absolutely gob smacking, we then knew we were on our way, as it were.
You mentioned some a bit earlier, but who are the biggest influences on you as a drummer? Well first of all Gene Krupa. Then the next thing was Buddy Rich. I remember buying an album called Burning Beat,which was Krupa and Buddy Rich. Rich was by far the sharper. Krupa, he was the one who brought the drum kit from the back of the band to the front. He was the first real soloist Later, Billy Cobham came along and it was devastating how brilliant he was. One of my favourites was Tony Williams, who I never got to see live, sadly. One of the nicest compliments I had was somebody at the Fillmore who actually compared me to him, which was very flattering Of those guys, Art Blakey is another one More recently I think Steve Smith is an absolute all arounder, he’s got that musicality, that technicality. He’s got the sensitivity to play well with other people. The kid with Nickelback, Daniel Adair, he’s a brilliant drummer. I saw him play in England, a very good player.
We know the blues has clearly influenced the sound of Ten Years After, as well as your new band Ric Lee’s Natural Born Swingers. How has the blues been an influence on you personally? How did you first become aware of this genre of music? When I joined the Jaybirds really, because up
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to that point with the band I was in before that, the Mansfields, were doing cover... the Hollies, Everly Brothers, stuff that was in the charts. So when I joined the Jaybirds it was a complete eye opener. We were doing Ray Charles tunes. Alvin’s big solo at the time was Bo Diddley, we used to do a ten minute version of that. We did C Jam Blues, which is Ellington. Alvin was very into all those things. He was a big fan of Chet Atkins, he was a fan of Bill Broonzy, so it was those influences that he had that rubbed off onto me I guess.
Of course the world was shocked at the passing of Alvin Lee, as I’m sure it was a shock to you and the rest of the band. Would you give us your thoughts about Alvin?
He was quite enigmatic. Some days he would be a dream to work with. I felt he and I had a good mutual respect for each others musicianship. I always enjoyed the “swing” things that he used to do. The second album, which I think was “Woodchoppers Ball” that broke it in America; that was a favourite with everybody. I used to love all of that. So on the subject of Alvin, there always was one sort of “swing” tune, we loved doing that, and then he’d say I think you should have a drum break there, and then a keyboard break. That was great. But the down side was he could be very difficult at times too, you know. His ego would get in the way of him, and us. But in a sense I guess you need that. In a funny sort of way I guess what made the band work was I think the abrasion, particularly between him and Leo. And also, you had to push him; he was quite a lazy person. You know we had to group together and kick his ass sometimes. In spite of all that, I don’t have a bad vibe about him.
Was there much contact with him in the last 19 years? I saw him last in 2005 or 06 when he was touring with Edgar Winter.I went to see him when he did a show in Manchester. I went backstage after and he was very friendly. That was the last time I saw and spoke to him. I did send him an email and asked him to play on the Natural Born Swingers album (see sidebar). I asked him if he’d play guitar on Don’t Want You Woman, but he declined.
In 2003 you brought on Joe Gooch and have been active with him ever since. And now it has been ten years afterhe joined the band! What can you tell us about Joe?
I didn’t realize that! Joe is phenomenal. I mean he’s an absolutely stunning guitar player and we were very very lucky to find him.I went down and auditioned him, in Wales where he was living. He said to me “well then who’s gonna sing?” I said “you are”. “Oh no”, he said, “I just want to play guitar”. I said “well then that’s it, we’ll have to find somebody else, we haven’t got room for five people in the band”. He said OK then, and asked what I thought would happen next. I said “you probably won’t hear from me for a several weeks, we do have a couple other people we want to check out. What I would do if I were you, I would be ready. If you get the phone call, you’ll be needed in a matter of days. You’ll need to know this stuff, because we’re busy and we’ve got plenty of work in the book. But don’t panic if you don’t hear from me for awhile”. So it was about another month, then I phoned him and said “right, this is it, this is the phone call. Can you rehearse with us?” So we went into a rehearsal and he was absolutely note perfect on all the songs as far as the riffs went and knowing the words and everything. Leo already knew Joe, because he grew up with his son Tom; that’s how we knew about him. Chick said to me how he was a great guitarist and we should grab him. So we did. We had him back and rehearsed some more. Ten days later he did his first gig with us in Germany, and he did great. He said “so do you want me to copy Alvin?” and I said “god no. You got to know the riffs, because they’re the trademark of the songs. But solos and anything else has got to be yours; it has to be you. We don’t want a clone.” He’s developed his style and technique in all the time he’s been with us.
Future plans, other than the tour for Ten Years After at this point?
When we come back from that we kick straight into Europe. We purposely stayed out of Europe at the beginning of this year but we start again soon and run through just about the beginning of the US tour with festivals and stuff. We’ll be doing Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be interesting When we get back from the States, we start again and kick into Europe for festivals in September and October and finish before Christmas. Perhaps we’ll do some new live recordings for an album.
parT T wo of our exc L usive inTerview conTinues in issue 74, when we Ta L k To L egendarY bassisT and producer L eo LYons
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Verbals: Pete s ar G eant Visuals: n o B le P r
iT’s a sunnY TuesdaY M orning wesT of k nighTsbridge in London and i a M heading for a rendezvous wiTh one of The a L u M ni M aking up new aM erican b L ues group The rides, na M e LY sTephen sTi LL s, on a f L ee Ting visiT To The capiTa L
y all accounts, planned events on the Monday have proved somewhat shaky here and there despite the efforts of all, but today ‘The Man’ is sparing time to talk to writers from magazines, nationals and a major guitar publication. I want to concentrate on the new album and how it came about. It is certainly a thrill to talk to the Buffalo Springfield, Manassas and CSNY principal with the distinctive voice and far-ranging guitar style and forthright opinions. Not even running into the entire dark-blue clad England cricket team at the hotel before the meet spoils the morning – I ask who they are as I recognise no-one (of course) and they in turn make me identify the various musical and acting guests they have spotted in the lobby.
I consider calling security or MI5 when they mutter about destroying South Africa, but it transpires this is a sporting reference. No doubt about it, The Rides is a stellar aggregation of big names – fronted by Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and keys maestro Barry Goldberg. But Stephen will not have the band given the ‘S-word’ tag, he says its like-minded musicians creating and not some shot at fame / notoriety / whatever.
BM: Thanks for your time, may we talk about the material on the album, for starters?
Steven Stills: (Looks at the promo edition CD I have been listening to, to refresh his memory on the track order. The opening cut ‘Mississippi Road House’ is steady tempo, gritty chug, sounds like Stills lead vocal – PS) (Surveying ‘car’ artwork – PS) Y’know I like how this came out, it was my idea. That’s a 1953 Buick RoadMaster with that reflection in it, of us…it came out very good y’see, Kenny Wayne and I collaborated on all that and my daughter took the pictures.
Really? Wow, Andy Fraser’s daughter takes his images, now, is that your vocal on the first track? Yeah. I sound like I’m eighty.
‘Edge of mean’ is how I would describe it, you’re not shouting but you mean business.
Yeah well... (Laughs).‘Edge of Mean’. Like yesterday’s interview! I guess I have that voice in me, I don’t know, that’s kinda like the story of the band in ‘Animal House’ Now what would happen to them after they left the college campus and not be able to find your hotel for 500 miles?
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As an opener, it sounds as though the band is in no hurry, unpressured.
No! We actually only really took a week, the whole thing, Pete took a fortnight. We just decided to do it, and the funny story is that I’ve known this kid for long time. It was Jim’s friend Kenny, to me we had played together often at jams along with Mike Mills of REM, Kenny Aronov, he plays real hard and if Kenny was on the other side of him then I couldn’t always hear clearly what he did. This is all on the social side of the Indianapolis Colts sports events and we’d go to the ball games together and be in a box. When you’re football maniacs, you only want certain people to be around when you’re watching. So we’re part of Jim’s gang, then Elliott (Roberts, heavyweight music manager – PS) is explaining that we want to be making a blues album. We had a couple of people come on board and then fall off for various reasons. So then Elliott is on the phone to me and says we can get Kenny Wayne Shepherd and I went ‘Who?’
(Not linking the star name with football pal - PS)
He says he knows you? So I say I don’t know who in hell you’re talking about. See, I’m at this casino in a suite and there’s a big window facing the parking lot and there’s literally an eight-storey marquee with huge ads for shows by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, with pictures (Stills looks at me and shrugs, then laughs again – PS) so I put it all together then in my head, connecting... ’ Oh THAT Kenny!’ Hey got it, one of those ‘old man’ moments. He’s the nicest, most gracious, courteous and self-effacing and considerate people I have ever met. It’s just a joy working with this kid.
That’s what come through, in the cuts you’re not competing.
(Nods) Nah! I don’t have to be worried about someone getting all flash on me more, I’m like ‘Don’t hold back! Bring it!’ and he says ‘I want to be polite’ and I say ‘Don’t be polite!’
Because you must have known some players who can’t walk on a stage without needing to be Top Dog? King Pin.
I never minded that, you’re supposed to bring it. It’s not really to me competition, you’re just pushing each other. Eric Clapton gave me good lessons though in using your judgement on stage. The background was living here, living here was a great thing for me, best thing I ever did. I’ve done five of my best albums right here, recorded them just up the road, very, very good for me.
He’s given similar advice on stage presence to Robert Cray, I recall. Manners. Yep, same thing with me. There’s a manners thing to it all.
What I like about this album is the choice of the material. Well yeah – so do I. (Laughs) I had to play in F for Kenny’s voice, cause that’s where Stevie Ray Vaughn would do them.
Oh tuning down the half-step. Yeah, so F would be F sharp, for me, which is an easy key to play in, Jimi Hendrix taught me how to get the best out of that.
It’s a B harmonica. Exactly, now that I can give, but F proper...’ what are you doing to me?’ (Chuckles) I did tune my guitar down
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bARRY GOLDbERG
for one of them, didn’t feel right at all..but we never took more than three takes on any number..’Rockin’ In the Free World’ is the first take.
Is it? It’s like a blues RatPack.
Yes we are in a comfort zone of knowing how to work together, Pete – marvellously enthusiastic guys, that’s all I need, just a little encouragement.
Barry’s the nearest thing to Otis Spann to me...my pal Mick Martin plays with Barry, says the same thing.
Absolutely yes. I just have to remind him that he doesn’t have to play all the time…
‘Honey Bee’. How do you pick one Muddy Waters number to do?
Kenny picked it, and I didn’t get in the way. See, the first rule of the band is ‘Say Yes to everything’ cause we don’t have time to fuss with it. We don’t want to do things over and over.
That’s the dynamic, because you’re cooperating, relaxed the music sounds more exciting.
Let the word roll out from you and everyone –that when Stephen’s relaxed and you give his some support, encouragement he is fabulous! (Laughs) When he’s nervous and cranky –he’s nervous and cranky!
The voices are different and that’s a big feature. You’ve always had this blues voice in the armoury, it’s on Manassas.
(Thinks and sips his Coke) I use what fits, the main thing is at this stage and age is to take care of yourself, keep everything in good shape. Actually, I’ve got pretty much all my old range.as in my twenties
My favourite songs of yours are WoodenShips (Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane told me Stills wrote ‘the darker bits’, laughing as he said it – PS) and TreeTopFlier.
We’ve started doing that again, TreeTop
Wow – you did it at Shepherds Bush, we came to see you.
Now, I’ve got this new electric acoustic guitar by Fender, a prototype with a hollow neck they put together, rosewood and curly maple and the sound of it is great for playing not loud and so I play it on that. It’s real cool but
yeah we can do that song with The Rides. Then we’re gonna pick out some classics and make up a show to take out and play.
Will you be playing here?
Eventually... probably we need a little time for the record to percolate, then do some European shows, yeah. Given what the British musicians have done for blues music over the years, you can’t be a proper blues band without playing the UK.
I totally agree (I sense a gentle ribbing coming – PS) And I was always imitating the Surrey Boys anyway! Haha!
Can I ask you about Word Game the final song on the CD?
(Emphatically) It’s my best rant on the album. Written a long time ago but still unfortunately pertinent – particularly in the way that they have treated Obama over the last couple of years. We just said let’s do this one and we just ran it off y’know!
There’s a thread with the Stones StreetFighting Man street anger. A London tinge, maybe. Yes. Having long hair back in the early Sixties, you got a little taste of what it (prejudice) was like really, humanization treating people like that (shakes head) it’s infuriating. I think I wrote that song here having just come back from the South in the
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | PaGe 39 the rides Interview
KENNY WAYNE SHEpHERD
USA, my creativity exploded when was in this country. Oh and I’m furious I’m going to miss The Ashes!
This third cut Don’t Want Lies. It’s very reflective, moody.
We tried lowering the key cos it’s a bit high for me, but I gotta make it because it’s really important, here.
Who are the sweet girls singing here?
Ah! Now! – These young girls, well I happened to do a thing with Jackson Browne and he adopted this choir to participate from South East LA and I met them and now it’s a few years later and we needed a couple of backing singers so we got these two from that choir
They sound like a young version of the Fields Sisters, do you remember them?
Oh yeah! and these singers they’re very easy to work with, I’d teach them a phrasing and they’d do it straight away…the funniest moment of the recording session is, on ‘Rockin’ and I said I want you to come in early just here and I’ll direct you and I’ll raise my hand and then Jerry Harrison and then the engineer and all these different people all start directing and they were all wrong! It took half an hour to recover it then to the spot where I wanted them to come in ! (Laughs) But I only had to put my foot down a couple of times, on the whole thing. And never with Kenny Wayne I would add.
We love the Iggy Pop / Stooges song you do Search &Destroy (two days later and we’re watching Iggy and the Stooges do this very song, at The Royal Festival Hall – PS)
That particular area of music I loathed. So it took a bit of talking me into it to do that song, however my daughter had me in the studio taking pictures and she said it was one of her favourite songs and you gotta do it, so I did this Keef Richards flick and then all of a sudden it got very fun. So, and yes it was a perfect choice. There’s fresh faces in my life here and that kid, just a joy to work with.
Which guitar did you use for this?
A Strat and that prototype. The man at Fender has a racing car background and his designs, they have a flavour that’s different, and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve been using that a lot and I have my Gretsches. I had some old Fender amps, too. I have an old black Gibson, but it weighs 50 pounds. I can’t carry that any more my fingers go numb. I sold my best one in a fit of I don’t know what to Waddy Wachtel years ago. I must have been DAFT!! Never forgiven myself...if I run across a god Gold Top again, I might nick it.
I have seen you with a Firebird.
Yeah now those are great if you can get one that stays in tune!
That’s what Johnny Winter would say.
(At this point I gift Stills with a Limited Edition
Marshall Amps T shirt – PS)
Thanks! My hearing went to one of those. There’s nothing wrong with them but to get them to sound just right, they gotta go too loud!
The rides (aka sTephen sTiLLs, kennY waYne shepherd & barrY goLdberg) debuT aLbuM can’T geT enough is reLeased bY provogue records on augusT 26Th
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STEpHEN STILLS
P a G e 42 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com Interview johnny winter
onstantly shifting between simple Country Blues in the vein of Robert Johnson, to all-out electric slide guitar Blues-Rock, – Johnny has always been one of the most respected singers and guitar players in Rock and the clear link between British Blues-Rock and American Southern Rock (a la the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.) Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, Johnny Winter was the unofficial torch-bearer for the Blues, championing and aiding the careers of his idols like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
BM: You're in the UK touring the recent RootsCD, as the title suggests, are these songs that have been most influential to you and could you elaborate on the choices?
Johnny Winter: Yes, these songs have been influential to me, very much so. These were the songs that helped shape my career and my playing. It was easy to pick the songs, it took me about 15 minutes. I chose one song from each artist that influenced me growing up. It was a very fun process.
How long did it all take to get together, bearing in mind the amount of guest artists, you must notice a hell of a difference in modern-day recording technology from tour early days?
It took about three weeks to get the artists together. Paul Nelson, my producer, was in charge of securing the artists for the tracks I picked. No one said no. Paul did a great job producing the CD and did a great job of adding guitar.
You recruited three of today's greatest slide guitarists in Sonny Landreth, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, I'll bet they didn't take a lot of persuading?
No, not at all. No one said no. I had done shows with Warren and Derek many times and toured Japan with Sonny opening for me. I was excited to have them, they did a great job.
'Honky Tonk' features your brother on sax, do you get to perform or record together much these days?
We just played together at the Olympia in France and have been doing many such shows
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 43 johnny winter Interview Verbals:
Visuals:
JohnnY w inTer has been a guiTar hero wiThouT equaL. s igning To c o Lu M bia records in 1969 ( The LargesT so Lo arTisT deaL of iT’s Ti M e) JohnnY i MM ediaTe LY Laid ouT The b LueprinT for his fresh Take on c Lassic bLues a pri M e co M binaTion for The Legions of fans J usT discovering The b Lues, via The Likes of Ji MMY page and e ric cLapTon
c live r awlin G s
Ken a nsted
together recently. Edgar said playing on that track reminded him of when we used to play that track together in high school.
How's the public response been to the CD?
Couldn't be better, still going strong since its release well over a year ago. The response has been unbelievable. That's why we are putting out Roots 2 this year.
Are you planning a sequel? You can't leave us in suspense, we've gotta have more! Yes, Roots 2 will be out soon Guests will include Mark Knopfler, Leslie West, Ben Harper, Joe Perry, Brian Setzer, Dr. John and many more.
I'd like to go back in time briefly, if I may. Did you have any formal guitar tuition?
I took lessons from three different teachers when I was young. I even taught as well. But I learned a great deal from listening to the old blues and slide players of the past, like Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.
Any early influences on your guitar playing or singing? Singers who influenced me were Ray Charles and Bobby Blue Bland and guitar players that influenced me were Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.
Competition must have been a bit stiff in Texas in those days?
Absolutely there were as many as 50 guitar players just in my area but the cream rose to the top... ha ha ha.
Do you have any regrets over your long career? No, I wouldn't have done as many drugs as I'd done. Otherwise, no regrets, I'm very proud of my career.
Any amusing anecdotes from the road?
There was one time where my band and I did some acid and we got so high we couldn't find our way off a rotating stage...
Or some good friends you've said 'good-bye' to?
Muddy Waters, of course. Also, Jimi Hendrix, I
actually played his funeral. But I'm still around and I'll be a bluesman until I die.
Are you happy with the direction younger Blues/ Blues-Rockers are heading these days?
Not at all. I can't listen to new Blues music. I only listen to Blues and Rock from the 50s.
We have a great number of good upcoming artists beginning to take off over here at the moment... Have you had a chance to listen to them?
Like I said, I just listen to 50s Blues and Rock.
Following on from that, have you any advice you could give these youngsters?
Listen to and learn everything you can.
Yes, you're promoting the new CD on the tour, but can audiences expect any of the old 'standards' we're used to hearing?
Absolutely, my show is a mixture of Blues and Rock. I do Jumpin Jack Flash and Highway 61 and more.
Can you introduce the touring band? I understand your manager Paul Nelson plays 2nd guitar?
Yes, Paul Nelson, my manager, is my guitarist and is a great musician. Scott Spray is on bass, Tommy Curiale is on drums. I'm really proud of this band, they are really great.
What's playing on the tour bus?
Nothing but the Blues. I have over 15,000 songs on my iPod.
I'm sure you'll agree that if anyone wants to catch up on your career, they could do worse than read the recent 'Raisin' Cain' book, but presumably also on your website?
I was real excited to have that book come out and the website is the best way to keep up with me and my activities.
Final question and my signature question…what's your favourite biscuit?
I don't like cookies, but my favourite snack is chocolate covered apricots. Seriously. They're great.
f or The L aTesT news on J ohnnY winTer check ouT www.J ohnnY winTer.ne T
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 45 johnny winter Interview
P a G e 46 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com Interview russ tippins
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uss Tippins Electric Band have just released Combustion, the follow up album to the very successful debut Electrickery. I was pleased to be able to catch up with Russ between his heavy workload of playing and organizing the band.
BM: Hi Russ, thanks for making time to bring Blues Matters! readers up to date with your Electric Band project. I’ve been listening to the new album and it’s a real corker, you must be very pleased with it?
Russ Tippins: Thanks Steve, we all are. Especially Ian who’s absolutely ecstatic about the sound of his Liberty drum kit. We did things a little differently for this album and while it’s not my place to say if it’s a better record than Electrickery, we definitely had a lot more fun making it.
How did the recording and writing process differ this time from the Electrickery album?
For one thing, the material on Electrickery was nailed down well in advance of the recording. We all knew our parts and laid them down off-pat in three days without any changes. This time however, it was pretty much open-ended. I had riffs yes, and John
& Ian had some mighty grooves they’d developed in the live set. There were even some loose arrangement ideas, but where would it all lead us? That was the fun part, we’d have multiple takes of the same song but no two were alike. The song Misty Blue only came about because John & Ian started jamming this angular funk riff which just happened to fit something else I’d been messing with and was about to bin. In truth, a lot of stuff ended up in the bin - it had to because we’d recorded so damn much. It got to the point where tough decisions had to be made, and Dave (Curle) our engineer was invaluable in that respect. Y’know, at one time it was quite common practice for all those great classic bands to put stuff together on the spot, and I just wanted to try it that way. Of course it does use up a lot of studio time but hey, you either do it there, or in rehearsal rooms. I think I know which I prefer.
I really enjoyed the song writing on Combustion, you avoid the clichés that many blues rock bands seem
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 47 russ tippins Interview
Verbals: steve your G livch Visuals: starshots.co.u K
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P a G e 48 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
to fall into. Your songs all seem to be narrative and hold the attention, is this something you make a conscious effort about?
It certainly is, because I don’t have that natural gift for word combinations that sets great writers apart. I know I’m never going to be Stephen Sondheim so I work my arse off just to come up with something that at least isn’t going to make the listener cringe. Humour can be a good way to get around that, and as you say, having some kind of story in there. If people pick up on those threads then great, but I’m never happy. Throughout the sessions I was constantly re-writing lines and even at the mixing stage I’d suddenly say ’Dave, I want to record that vocal line again’. Not because of the performance, but because I had thought of a better line.
The track, TearDownTheSky featuring J. Edwards on vocals is a bit special. How did that collaboration come about and can you tell us a bit about who J. Edwards is?
When Electrickery came out, Gary Grainger started playing it on his blues show (Bishop FM), so I tuned in one week to hear what he was gonna play. One of the other artists featured was J Edwards and that was the first time I’d heard him sing. In this age of karaoke and talent shows we’ve become so inured to awful singing that when someone comes along who can hold a tune reasonably well – and I include myself in this group – they seem to be held up as icons of excellence. It’s only when you hear a truly great voice, the kind of voice that can stop you where you stand, that you realize it is a God-given thing. And all too rare. Jay is one of those. When his record came on, I think I forgot to breathe for the first two verses. I immediately bought his album and established an online friendship, which eventually led to the great honour of having him sing one of my songs. He’s from South Carolina and, like me, he plays the circuit to get by. It still astounds me that this man is not a star. Everyone I’ve played him to without exception, has reacted the same way I did.
Ian Halford and John Dawson are again providing drums and bass, you’ve been together as a band for a few years now, and how important are they to the overall package of the Russ Tippins Electric Band? I’m really glad you asked that because a lot of folks view bass & drums purely as accompanying instruments, valued only insofar as they can provide a solid platform for soloists ie; guitar & vocals. The vast majority of bands on the circuit seem happy to oblige in that regard, and that’s fine but it’s not what I want. These two can really mix it up and I demand my money’s worth from them. There is no good reason why bass & drums can’t have their own voice as lead instruments, apart from convention. Heaven knows, John on his own is more entertaining than most entire bands, and don’t you know, Ian is ’the fittest man on the tour!’ haha!
Seriously though I can’t stress enough how crucial they are, I mean even when it comes to laying down a simple groove, they do that better than anyone else too.
Last year and again this, you’ve been going down a storm at a lot of festivals with another appearance at Maryport looming up, how are the band enjoying those experiences in front of big audiences?
Yeah, Maryport again at the end of July, and getting excited about it already. But for a long time it was hugely frustrating trying to get onto just one of these festivals. Then last year we got three big ones in a row. Maybe all that stored up frustration came out in those performances. I suppose we did throw the kitchen sink at them. It was massively gratifying, plus we got to make friends with some rather talented and lovely people from other bands, like Jenna Hooson – talking about great singers – she’s another one. Just astounding.
I know you were a top professional musician in the 1980s, but you stopped playing for a while, what happened to re-ignite your passion and put together a recording band again? It was quite scary. At 25 I went from being
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 49 russ tippins Interview
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signed on a major label, to being signed on the dole! Went back to being a motor fitter and barely touched a guitar for years. Eventually though, having a real job wore me out. I’m just not cut out for it, hah! So I worked as a jobbing guitarist with a procession of club acts, then when I realized I could sing quite well I formed my own band which kind of mutated into a Zeppelin tribute. The thing that made me finally get serious again about writing & recording was while on holiday in America, I ended up sitting in with WT Feaster Band for a couple of sessions at The Slippery Noodle Blues Club, Indianapolis, which blew my mind. I just loved the freedom of it. For some reason, it started me thinking in a compositional way specifically for a powertrio format. I’d known John since 1981 but never played in a band with him. I decided it was time to remedy that.
Can you tell us a little about those early days and who were the performers that influenced you to take up the guitar?
One name. Jimmy Page. That might not endear me to Jack Bruce, but nevertheless, I’ve worshipped him for 35 years. Nobody can touch him. Page is God, and Bruce almighty can go forth and multiply. Thing is, I don’t play like him at all – as if I ever could. So why am I so obsessed? I suppose as a boy I was force-fed Zeppelin records by my two older brothers who I shared a room with.
They’d play all the other great 70s bands too, but it was Zep that caught my ear, and when they went to the pub, I’d rifle their LPs and get the Led out for myself haha. That’s more or less when music started to rule my life. I also hi-jacked my brother’s electric guitar and daydreamed about being Jimmy Page. It’s not just his virtuoso technique, or even the great songs, there’s something subliminal in his playing. A fragility that I find beautiful. As a listener I need that more than any display of perfection. Beauty is something beyond mere perfection.
You guys have a great reputation as a live band and
are very hard working, are we likely to see more of you touring across the UK and Europe in the near future?
Put it this way, onstage sometimes you almost feel guilty about how well it’s going down. We only need one chance, anywhere we play - they tend not to forget it in a hurry. As to the schedules, we start in earnest September through October.
Our territory is expanding all the time, but I will say this… it would be nice to do more in the South-east. On our autumn tour last year, we worked our way down the country as far as Cheltenham, then completely skipped over London and the Home Counties straight onto Holland and Belgium! It’s crazy really, to think we’ve managed to play in America and mainland Europe, but have missed this corner of our own country. And we know through the sales sheets & online feedback that there are people with our album down there wanting to see us live. Really must try harder to make this happen.
I know you are totally independent, releasing your own albums, dealing with bookings, promotional stuff, the whole deal. That must be incredible hard work. Do you think this is the way forward now for new bands to go?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Independent is a nice way to put it Steve, but it still amounts to the same thing - unsigned! There’s no way I can compete with professional labels and their PR companies.
But I have to try my damndest anyway, because if I don’t do it, nobody will, and nothing at all will happen. It really is a mountain of work, and even though we’ve had some surprising successes with the Electrickery CD and the USA trip, I would still rather be spending more time with a guitar in my hands, and less time on the phone, knee-deep in mail bags, licensing agreements, and bloody...!
Thanks Russ, I hope that gives people a better insight into your great new project.
f or The L aTesT news on russ Tippins check ouT www.russTippins.co M
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 51 russ tippins Interview
P a G e 52 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
At 14 he sat front of stage watching B.B. King when one of Lucille’s strings snapped, without missing a beat B.B. changed strings and passed the broken one to young Tinsley. He was a bluesman from that day on. He has produced a string of consistently top class albums, 14 in all, released on top labels Alligator, Telarc and Capricorn. His blues is soulful, powerful and exciting all at the same time and he has just released his new, all instrumental album, Get It! It’s his first new CD since 2009’s excellent Speak No Evil, so we wanted to catch up with Tinsley and talk about the Blues.
BM: Hi Tinsley, your new album Get It! is receiving some top notch reviews throughout the blues media which must be very pleasing. What made you decide this time to go all instrumental?
Tinsley Ellis: Fans have been requesting that I do an instrumental album for decades. About a year ago I finally sat down and went through all my demos and noticed that I had over twenty unrecorded instrumentals. I cut these down to the best ten and started making the album that became Get It. I almost named the album Tinstrumentals.
I’ve been really enjoying the album, it’s a very varied set of tunes. Some tracks seem to be nods to your influences, for instance opener Front Street Freeze is very Albert Collins in sound as well as title, and the ghost of Roy Buchanan seems to haunt Anthem For A Fallen Hero. Is this what you wanted to achieve on the album?
I can’t help but play like the guys who have influenced me for so many years. Albert and Roy are two of my favourites although I rarely play a Telecaster.
The guitarists you mention all play with great feeling and tone, are there any of the newer guys around that impress you with the same qualities?
Certainly Derek Trucks leads the way when it comes to groundbreaking new guitarists. We’ve known about him since he was eleven, and now the world knows. Other young guns I like are Anders Osborne, Joe Bonamassa and Gary Clark Jr.
There’s some Bo and Freddie in there too and perhaps Santana? You are such a versatile performer, were all of these players’ influences on you as a youngster or do you keep discovering new things the more you perform and develop as an artist?
Well it started with Chuck Berry for me back when I was a kid. Then came all the rest. The Santana influence can be heard on Catalunya which is a song I initially wrote as a tribute to Peter Green. Their playing styles are so similar at times.
Nice that you mention Peter Green. I believe you’ve said in the past that you loved the British Blues Invasion era bands. Who do you remember best from them?
The first time I heard any kind of blues guitar at all was when I heard Little Red
Verbals:
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www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 53 tinsLey eLLis Interview
steve your G livch Visuals: joanie hunt
Rooster by The Rolling Stones. Damn, that was a long time ago. Then there was The Animals, The Zombies and The Yardbirds followed a little later by Cream and Fleetwood Mac. All of these bands I still listen to today. They lead me to the BB, Muddy and Wolf concerts that I attended as a teenager. Recently we did a show with The Yardbirds and it took me back. Every song was a blast from the past and they were real friendly guys.
I guess for anyone who hasn’t heard the album yet there is some classic Tinsley Ellis high energy wah wah guitar like the track Fuzzbuster. That sounded like it was a lot of fun to record. It was. I almost used it as the opening track. Probably as a nod to the great Eric Clapton, I feel a need to throw a little power wah into every record I make. Nothing makes a guitar laugh and cry like a wah wah pedal.
We have to give the rest of the band a mention too. They bring a lot to the overall sound. I’ve heard instrumental albums before that seem to just showcase one performer but this sounds like a real band. Is this your touring band and have you been playing together long?
On organ and piano I had Kevin McKendree who has played on every studio album that I’ve done since Fire It Up, the album that Tom Dowd produced in 1997. He also mixed the album. He recommended Texas drummer Lynn Williams for the drum chair. They both have played and recorded for many years with Delbert McClinton. On bass I had Ted Pecchio from my band.
You have a reputation for being a powerful live performer, the Live-Highwayman album confirms that. Will you be touring the new album, and if so any European dates on the horizon?
We start our U.S. and Canadian Get It tour in April. It sure would be nice to come back to the UK. We haven’t played there since 1995! That’s a very long time.
I was a big fan of the last two albums SpeakNoEvil and MomentOfTruth, which were both released on Alligator Records. This time you’ve self-released, is that the way you’ve decided to go or will there be more major label stuff to come?
I have enjoyed a long profitable relationship
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 55 blues matters! | June-July tinsLey eLLis Interview
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P a G e 56 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
with Alligator Records and I had hoped that Get It would be released by them. Unfortunately, they thought an all instrumental album was a bad idea. Time will tell.
I’ve been looking back at some of your early career and in the early 80s you played with some interesting people like Preston Hubbard, Nappy Brown and the sadly recently departed Chicago Bob Nelson. Can you tell us bit about those times?
That was over 30 years ago and still I think about how much fun we all had. It was before the blues resurgence led by folks like Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. We played blues back then because we loved it and not because you could get famous or make money doing it. Times were tight during those early days and often we had as many as seven guys sleeping in one hotel room. Our shows were poorly attended and those who came yelled out requests like ‘Michael Jackson’ and hell, even ‘Loverboy’. Then the Vaughan brothers came along anf held the door open just wide enough for the rest of us to walk through.
sign of having gone full circle or is that reading too much into it?
Heartfixer Music was already the name of my publishing company, but yes, I have come full circle back to my blues and rock’n’roll roots on this record.
As I mentioned earlier Tinsley, you are a very versatile player, not restricted to one style or sound. For our guitar playing readers, do you prefer any one instrument or do you have a group of favourites?
I need both a Gibson guitar and a Fender guitar to play all the sounds that I hear in my head. Maybe one day someone will come up with one guitar that does it all, but they haven’t done yet!
“I need both a Gibson guitar and a Fender”
In the 90s you worked with Peter Buck, Derek Trucks, Duck Dunn and Chuck Leavell. Is it fair to say your music had more of a southern rock edge going on then?
Well, with me being from Atlanta Georgia
I can’t deny the influence of what went on down in Macon during the 1970s. Southern Rock is my birthright, and I still love the music that the Allman’s family of bands create. At one point I was on Capricorn Records, signed by Phil Walden himself. At the signing ceremony he demonstrated some of his favourite dance steps that the Midnighters did behind Hank Ballard and I knew I was ’in the right place’. Unfortunately, it was ’at the wrong time’ as Capricorn was soon sold to the manager of Metallica who promptly asked the question; ’What’s a Tinsley Ellis?’ Show biz is a funny animal indeed!
You’ve named your own label Heartfixer which was the name of your original recording band. Is that a
You have had a successful career with many highlights, what stands out for you looking back? The best tour I’ve ever done was one that I just finished. It was called Blues At The Crossroads 2 and it celebrated the music of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. We did nothing but Muddy and Wolf songs. Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds backed us all up. They were the perfect band for the tribute. Jody Williams and I focused on the Howlin’ Wolf songs and James Cotton and Bob Margolin focused on Muddy. There were so many magical moments on stage, and we played all over America in these beautiful theatres that held thousands of people. The shows were very well attended, and all the performers, of which I was the youngest, remarked that it was something special. I’m 10 times the blues musician that I was at the start of the tour. The legends, especially Bob Margolin, really schooled me!
Any words of advice to anyone just starting out?
I would advise writing all your own material and coming up with ’a sound’ that really stands out.
And finally, do you still have BB King’s broken guitar string?
But of course!
f or The L aTesT news on Tins L e Y e LL is check ouT www.Tins L e Ye LL is.co M
tinsLey eLLis Interview www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 57
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P a G e 58 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
CaroLyn wonderLand
Interview
Verbals: darrell sa G e
COLE EL-SALEH, CAROLYN WONDERLAND AND ROb HOOpER
luent in Texas drawl, guitar, mandolin, piano, trumpet, accordion, and lap steel, Carolyn also writes and sings the blues with a voice that will make you a believer. She even whistles on occasions with band members, Cole El- Saleh and Rob Cooper. Carolyn has five albums out with another in the works plus a couple hard to find ones from earlier years. Her latest release, Peace Meal on Bismeaux Records and is again produced by Texas legend and nine time Grammy winner Ray Benson. The album showcases five of her songs inspired by life it’s own sweet self of late sprinkled among oldies like, What Good Can Drinkin’ Do and Two Trains. So, after a typical two weeks that included four California shows, flying the red eye “nerd bird” home to Austin for two SXSW shows followed by a dark of the night drive home from a Houston gig at Dan Electro’s, I call her at three in the afternoon.
BM: You know, I’ve always wondered, how did you come by your extraordinary name?
Carolyn Wonderland: Well, my friend in high school, the one who dropped acid in my head and put headphones on me, introduced me to everything Hendrix ever recorded? He along with a head full of acid himself named me that. I had a band and a gig, didn’t know what to do and needed a band name. Wonderland stuck.
You don’t have a sister named Allison do you? Hah!, no. But my first duo of any success and report was with Allison Fisher, a beebop, Charlie Christian style, single note run guitar player. We used to play at Houston’s Last Concert Cafe all the time.
Did you call yourselves Allison Wonderland?
Funny, I don’t know that we were a named act. Surely, some folks referred to us as such.
Who were some of your early influences?
Mostly folks that played the Houston scene, Jerry Lightfoot, Lavelle White, Cindy Cashdollar, Eddie Shaver. Allison for sure, and my Mom. She sings and plays. She won’t claim it, but she does. She played in bands all over. When I was a kid I used to take money from their tip jar and go play video games.
You recently celebrated two years of marriage. Was it love at first laugh with husband Whitney? No, not really. When we met I knew we really
hit it off. But he lived in New York and I lived in Austin. So the next time we played there I spent three days crafting an email asking him out for coffee, and he said yes. I’m looking at him right now outside the window busting the limestone cap with a pick axe for the fifth bed of peppers. He grows the hottest peppers known to man. When he’s into something there’s no bullshit, he’s all the way in.
And Michael Nesmith officiated your wedding, when it was held a park. Seemed appropriate to say thank you there on Doug Sahm Hill. It was Doug who convinced me Austin was the promised land when I was looking to move from Houston many moons ago. I would never have met people like Whitney or Nesmith had I not moved to Austin. Really funny, Whitney just officiated our friend John’s wedding. You gotta fling those things forward into the universe, you know.
Yep. I’ve always loved Austin’s music universe flinging it at Austin politics. Totally bipolar. Texas has it’s own thing you know. Texas is the land of great music while the politics lately has been shaming, to say the least. You go back in our history to the good stuff from the LBJ’s the Ann Richard’s that drew the people here, and you know it can be again. And Barbara Jordan, I kiss the feet of her statue every time I’m in Austin. They were the pieces of coal that didn’t break, that withstood the pressure and became diamonds. So there’s hope. Where there’s hope there’s music.
Your AlcoholandSalvationalbum is in my regular play pile. Love the lyrics to I’mtheMan.What were you doing when the dude called and asked to speak to the man of the house?
It was one of those nights, like last night, where I’d been driving back from out of town, I was asleep, there’s the phone, roll over, ignore it the first time. Second time, I think gosh dammit. When you’re stuck in a pile of poop you have two options. Continue on or scrape it off. It doesn’t have to ruin or color your day. You can just laugh it off, so writing the song was my laughing it off.
After you finished your set during our Austin Music Foundation benefit a few years back, some friends
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 59 CaroLynwonderLand Interview
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British Blues The White Knuckle Blues Band, feat. Steve Roux Absolution
who hadn’t heard you before became big fans. They still mention their surprise not knowing that a good whistle was coming.
Aww thanks. My Paw Paw was a real good whistler. When I was a kid and the Andy Griffith Show would come on? That was our thing, three part harmonies with the whistles. Then when I was a teenager and on the occasions I couldn’t get a band to come play with me I’d just book the gig and find out who the band was gonna be later. It was like, you said yes and I’m gonna hold you to that shit. So, if I didn’t have anyone I’d just show up by myself and my guitar, maybe some kind of percussive contraption. But three or four songs into the set I realized I need to solo. What am I going to do, hum a rhythm? So I’d whistle. The last time we were in Europe we were walking around and this drunk guy comes rolling out of a restaurant whistling this amazing aria. His talent with his whistle was such that it drove some of his party crazy and some of it thought it was pretty funny. I think his girlfriend was on the, ’OK I’m really sick of this kind of thing’. This was just in the course of 30 seconds, but it just made everybody around smile. When you can make music happen it’s always something.
How many days a year are you on the road? Depends. Last year, our summer tour went from April to November! This year we’re more focused on working up songs and arrangements for the next CD. So, anywhere from 150 to 250 shows a year roughly. I can’t believe it sometimes. I’ve been so lucky. If there’s one thing I want to come out in this interview, more than anything, it’s that I love my band. Every night when I turn around, I look over and there’s Cole, there’s Rob and it’s home. We’re all together, playing, learning together. It’s been really a hoot having a trio and being on the road. You’ve got to love your band, because you’re all going to smell alike after the first week of touring. And you have to find a balance. All bands experience that at some point, a burn out where you’re looking down the barrel of the last five weeks of a nine month tour and you love everybody,
but you’re just so uggggh. So you have to find that balance to make it work. It’s often unattainable, but it’s what you go for and when those tours come off like that you come home feeling so good. And then it’s like, OK we were out for five weeks and home for... OK, let’s make it ten days instead of three. It gives you a chance to be grounded again. Gives you a chance to stay home and realize what home is. Stay home long enough to start missing the road again.
It’s hard to achieve a positive vibe eating road food. We started making our own. With getting sick on the road because driving or flying you’re going through all these fronts, flu season or exposure to whatever. It’s like, sorry about the apocalypse, but we have a gig to get to. We go from vegan to omnivores in the band so it’s a challenge. My advice to bands is get a good cooler and put a tube on it, so when you stop for gas you let your cooler pee too.
Which one of you is the vegan? On the road, we all are! Cole is full time. We started being real serious about it. Yeah, we’ll drink and have ourselves a good time. We won’t do it every night and we’re going to eat real food. That’s the main thing, I will not sustain myself on crap anymore. We take our vitamins every day religiously and we have one good meal with vegetables.
You do any vocal exercises before going on stage? I actually just started doing that the past couple years. I didn’t start off to be a singer. I was a guitar player. As a kid, everywhere I went I had my guitar with me. At our first gig our singer chickened out. Shit, we can’t not sing it, so instead I got to sing. It was pretty frightening. But, for the past 25 years I’ve walked up to the mike to do my thing. Then last year right before my 39th birthday, DAMN, lost my voice. Just went away. Not even rough. Just gone. What the hell? It was the scariest thing ever. I didn’t know what to do. I’d always been scared to take vocal
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 61 CaroLynwonderLand Interview
the follow-up to his successful “Slide r uler” release from 2011
“His smooth, slightly echoed vocals glide over the snarling and searing slide work”
Blues Matters
“Let It Slide” available from: CdBaby.com, iTunes, Amazon
PURVEYORS OF FINE MUSIC SINCE 2005
SEPTEMBER 2013
Friday 6th – Sunday 8th MONAGHAN (Ireland) Harvest Time Blues
Tuesday 10th MILNGAVIE (Glasgow) Milngavie Folk Club
Wednesday 11th LEICESTER The Musician
Thursday 12th DERBY The Flowerpot
Friday 13th NEWBURY (Berkshire) Arlington Arts Centre
Saturday 14th SELBY (North Yorkshire) Selby Town Hall
Sunday 15th HARPOLE (Northampton) Harpole Old School Hall
Monday 16th SHIPLEY (West Yorkshire) The Live Room @ Caroline Social Club
Tuesday 17th LONDON Pull Up The Roots @ Bush Hall
Wednesday 18th BRISTOL St George’s Bristol
Thursday 19th RYE (East Sussex) Rye Arts Festival @ Rye College
Friday 20th BARTON-on-HUMBER (North Lincolnshire) The Ropewalk
Saturday 21st SOUTHPORT The Southport Americana Festival @ The Atkinson
Sunday 22nd SALFORD The Lowry Studio
Wednesday 25th MENAI BRIDGE (Anglesey) The Victoria Hotel
Friday 27th HOVE The Palmeira
Saturday 28th BARRY (South Wales) The Masonic Hall
Sunday 29th BRIDPORT (Dorset) The Electric Palace
www.kellyjoephelps.net
•
www.bpa-live.com
the ruler of the slide
Sterling Koch
PaGe 62 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
RETURNS explosive new album “ let it Slide”
lessons. Am I going to come out the other end sounding like an opera singer? But I found an amazing coach in Austin. Mady Kaye, and she showed me how to take care of my voice. I don’t sound different, it’s just easier to sing now. I loved it so much that I bought lessons for Cole and Rob and now when we sing it’s much tighter.
My first look at those Peace Meal promo shots that Bismeaux emailed me I was thinking, ‘who the hell is that?’
Cole’s a chameleon. He has that classic handsome face. It’s so funny. It’s like all he has to do is change his hair. He’ll cut it a quarter inch all around, no facial hair, or a beard and/ or a mustache and his hair grows so fast. At the end of a tour it doesn’t match his passport at the start. It’s really kind of funny, there’s people we’ve played with twelve times and they’ll walk right past him and then hear him playing and it’s like, what? That was you? WHAT?
How long have you had your Texas tattoo?
I got that in Sturgis in my 20s. I put it on my birthmark which had always been a distraction. Really funny, I came home for that
Thanksgiving and mom’s trying to take it off with the magic mom spit. She says, you going to go full Johnny Winter on me?
What’s the story on your peace necklace? On occasion jewelry can be a talisman. I got that from my friend, Ginger Lee. She would host these things on the lawn and we would play music with a bunch of friends. Much to my surprise I got paid for filling in for somebody so I decided to support their store called ‘Love’ and bought my traveling talisman. That day was also the anniversary of a friend’s passing, so it’s always nice to look down and think of my friends and who I’ve played with. The chains wore out so I don’t wear it as much.
I’d always had an affinity for peace signs, but had never seen one so sparkly. Now I try to carry little bracelets to give to sweet little girls at festivals who want to play guitar. I can’t give them all guitars, so I give them sparkly bracelets. Kids are cute, plus they are honest. I love festivals for that. Bars are fun, don’t get me wrong, I love playing in bars, it awesome, it’s dirty, it’s where it’s at. But,
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 63 CaroLyn wonderLand Interview
P a G e 64 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
grownups have to drink or they don’t have a good excuse to dance or to have fun. But kids man, at a festival if they like you the butt is going up and down, stuff is happening. It’s an honest thing with kids and I like that. The only thing is, I gotta watch my sailor mouth.
Yep, they’ll be editing the shit out of this one. You were at Camp Casey with Cindy Sheehan after her son was killed in Iraq. It was one thing to go to camp Casey, to be in that with Cindy and the Reverends Johnson and Lowery. And I loved them and felt drawn, like I have to go. You know, Crawford’s only a few hours. Especially after that guy that drove with the anchor on the back of his truck and cut down the camp and all the crosses that she had up. Had she been in there Cindy would be dead you know? But she had to pee, so she lived. And that spawned the Crawford Peace House with all these folks. And the thing that struck me was that the conversations there were a whole lot more like the conversations when I would go to Sturgis. There, often times, I would do an afternoon show. I’d go to the VA (Veterans Affairs Hospital) and just play what they wanted to hear, suddenly I noticed, wow, I’m not playing old songs from the fifties anymore. These are kids who are requesting songs I’ve never heard of and that’s fucked up. And the conversation was groovy and way more peace-oriented than I thought because I went in thinking, I’m here to say thank you and I want to try and facilitate a good time for a half an hour or so. My first time I was so scared. I didn’t want to be offensive at all. So, I’m gonna play some gospel music because that’s something we can all get behind. And I started to realize, yeah which gospel songs do I gravitate toward? They’re all the ones about the peace. It was more honest conversation about war and peace than I’d ever had. My intention was to come and entertain instead, got an education.
You name your instruments, Lappy, Leslie Pauline. My mother named her cars. Must be a chick thing. Did you name your van and is it a red one?
Yes it is. Cliffy, after Clifford Antone.
I remember Antone’s when it was a sit down club. I’m too cranky to be standing up all night at the current Antones. You should know they always have chairs if you just ask!
But unless you’re in front you can’t see anything sitting down.
Did you know they are moving Antone’s again? To do the last night there was kinda one of those things. To walk upstairs, to go back stage, to kiss the picture of Clifford hanging on the wall one last time. I’m really hoping they address seating with the new venue. They came round and asked the musicians what they thought. I thought yay! Kind of anonymous feedback. I thought that was groovy. I’ve always loved Susan and Clifford so Jesus yes I’m excited! It’s moving, there’s more parking, it’s not closing, so Yay!
I was listening to Peace Meal last night and love it. Thanks. We got to do half of it with Ray again, which was awesome and then we had been going up to Woodstock to play Levon Helm’s, Rambles. He asked and I said yes. So we got to go there and record with Eric Amble and of course it’s always fun at Levon’s house.
I don’t have your Christmas album yet. Some unusual song titles there. Little Dealer Boy?
That’s a fun one. That’s the one that Willie sang on the Steven Colbert Christmas Special. Typically those things are symbolic and can be really touching or really bad. hilarious.
You have a Euro festival coming up. The 11th, Armistice Day, we play the peace concert at Flanders Field which we do every year. Artists come from all over. French, Belgians, Germans, Americans. It’s really cool to learn songs from World War One up through more recent times. Songs of peace.
Carolyn, you’re the man. Aww, thanks. Give a holler anytime.
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www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 65 CaroLynwonderLand Interview
Verbals: h u G h Fielder
Visuals: P attie B oyd
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stephen daLe petit Interview P a G e 66 | blues matters! | august-sep tember 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
While he freely admits to obsessing about that halcyon era his own blues has a post-punk bite that reflects his own generation. After all, he was born the year his close mate Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones. He didn’t release his first album until 2008. Guitarama was an something of an instrumental dry run but The Crave two years later set out his stall, brimming with his own energetic angst that spilled over on some abrasive covers of 60s sacred cows like Need Your Love So Bad and Crossroads as well as Tupac Shakur’s California. And finally the follow-up is here. Cracking The Code moves to the next level. If The Crave established Petit’s credentials as a blues musician, Cracking The Code starts by giving you an insight into Petit himself. He’s written (or co-written) all 11 tracks and his new-found focus on the lyrics means that you’re listening to what he sings as much as what he plays. Here he talks about the new album to BM!
BM:You recorded this album in Nashville Stephen Dale Petit: Yes, because I decided I wanted to work with Vance Powell who’s built his own studio in Nashville called Blackbird. Vance has done all Jack White’s stuff for the last six years, plus a couple of Buddy Guy albums and a Keb Mo album for which he won a Grammy. But it was the Jack White stuff that really interested me. Which is funny because up until I played on the same bill as The Dead Weather at Glastonbury I was thinking he was the emperor’s new clothes. And now I think he’s one of the most important music people on the planet.
After The Crave I’d got a good idea of what I wanted the next album to sound like – which was to have all the crackle of a live album in a studio setting with some boundary-pushing sonic experiences based around guitar driven, blues-based music. I didn’t want a set of well-recorded songs, I wanted something that had a noise of its own, some sort of character. And Vance was someone who was already doing some of
those things. He’s got what Eddie Kramer or Sam Phillips had back in the day. And he encourages you to try new sounds and ideas. So I took the band over and we tracked for five days. They flew back and I continued with more guitars. When I came back and listened to the tracks they exceeded my expectations. In fact it almost intimidated me. Some of the songs were finished, some of them had the hook without the verse, and some had no lyrics at all. I wanted to make sure that the lyrics matched the caliber of the music, and that the whole thing matched the standard I’d set.
It was a big ask, and for a while I got stuck. What unpicked it for me was watching one of those Classic Album documentaries on TV about Graceland with Paul Simon going through the same thing; coming back from South Africa with some tracks that were half completed and not many lyrics. He even contemplated putting out an instrumental album because he thought he might ruin it. And I thought ‘If he can go through that and come out the other side then I certainly can’. And that helped clear the mental blockage. And along the way it also made it possible to work with people like Hubert Sumlin.
Hubert shows up on a couple of tracks. How did you find him?
It was a straight ask – management to management. No favours were involved. And he said yes. So I flew over to New Jersey to find him. This was not too long before he died in December 2011. I knew the one song I wanted him on was Get You Off, and he overdubbed his part onto the track we’d done in Nashville Then I thought we’d try to create something together, just him and me. We worked on something that was loosely based on Little Brother Montgomery’s Vicksburg Blues while he was waiting for some food. Afterwards he felt tired so he left. I had the rest of the day booked so I put down my part and then some of the stuff that he’d been playing and there it
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 67 stephen daLe petit Interview
BLUESFEST 2013 LARRY MILLER H NICKY MOORE & DANNY KYLE H THE MENTULLS H THE DAVE JACKSON BAND H ANDY TWYMAN H ABSOLUTION H PLUS MORE NAMES TO BE ADDED WRC PROMOTIONS PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH & THE RED LION Gravesend, Kent DA11 9AA Saturday 24th August Noon f or 12.30pm Tickets £10 in advance (£12 Door) from: www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/68716 For more inf ormation call 01474 566127 or visit www.wrinklyrockersclub.co.uk/Bluesfest-2013.html P a G e 68 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
lay. Fast forward a year and this track has now become a tribute to Hubert with Chris Barber, Mick Taylor and Dr John on it and I’m thinking that it’s a shame that I’ve got all these people celebrating him and he’s not on the track. So I went back to the tape of him and I arranging the song and picked out the bits that might work. We played them back and there was this riff blaring out that I’d scarcely noticed. And that became the basis of Holla. That’s Hubert coming out of the right speaker and me on the left. With Mick Taylor slotting into the middle.
Listening to the start of Holla it’s hard to see where Mick can fit in, but he finds a place
That’s what Mick is so good at. He was staying with me at the time and he realized what could be done and we worked on it together. The reason there’s a version of Honky Tonk Woman is that after they’d done Country Honk, Mick said to the rest of the Stones, ‘Why don’t we do it this way?’
The rest of the album is just you and the band
Right. They’ve been with me for about two years. They’re really getting the feel of it now, and I wanted to incorporate that thing you can get with people who know each other just playing together in a room.
Wonder, the second track in, has a lot of pent-up emotion flying around before it explodes at the end Good of you to notice. It’s meant to be a musical expression of having sex. I wanted to sing about sex in something other than the David Coverdale/cock-rock way. I mean, normally its heavy metal or rap, there’s nothing in between. It’s about that feeling when you’re getting it together and she’s into it and you’re into it and you’re just looking at her hair and listening to her voice and there’s this sexual undercurrent rising to the surface.
Get You Off, the next track, has a different kind of sexual undercurrent
That’s about what women are able to get way with; what Beyonce expresses in her lyrics and what Britney Spears says and that Lady
Gaga video where they’re actually shooting arrows at some guy on a target. I mean, if I had done something like that involving a woman then I would have been a target, if you’ll pardon the pun. I’m frustrated by that because as an artist I don’t believe I should have no-go areas and I think the balance needs to be redressed.
There’s a different kind of frustration on Muzzle
It’s about the dynamic you can get in this business with managers; being told, ‘Just worry about the music. Don’t bother your little head about business and strategy and how you look’. You can get caught up in that mindset before you’re even aware of what it’s going to do to you. They make you a promise and they don’t deliver but you can’t escape. I’ve been there. When you’re 19 it’s all about ‘The Deal’ that will get you there. Before we began I said to Vance, ‘I want this song to sound like a monster’. And he just said, ‘OK’, He knew exactly what to do. Which was great. That’s why I love Vance.
The lyrics for Shotgun Venus were written by Pete Brown. How did that come about?
I’ve known Pete for a while. I’d also clocked that the riff for Cocaine was taken from Sunshine Of Your Love. I wanted to try and make the riff work a different way and I wanted Pete to write the lyrics. But I didn’t tell him any of this until I picked him up in the car for the session. On the way I explained it all to him and why I thought it would be cool for him to do the lyrics. As I’m talking I’m wondering if he might take offence and the whole thing would have to be scrapped. But he was really tickled by the idea. Plus we were just up the road from where he wrote the original lyrics for Sunshine on that fateful dawn.
What’s the plan after the record comes out? I need to get out there and sell it. I need to keep the band together. We need to be playing gigs. So that’s what I’ll be doing.
f or The L aTesT news on sTephen da L e pe TiT check ouT www.sTephenda L epe TiT.co M. The new a L bu Mcracking The code is avai L ab L e as a L i M iTed ediTion heav Y weighT vinYL pressing, wiTh handwriTTen LYric shee T. a L so avai L ab L e on cd
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 69 stephen daLe petit Interview
Interview Mike Zito
mmediately after the interview he and Cyril Neville won song of the year for Pearl River in that year’s Blues Music Awards, he then released the broader sounding Greyhound, his last for the Electro Groove label. Teaming up with Neville and Devon Allman he formed Royal Southern Brotherhood and the critically acclaimed response took the band around the world on tour.
He also found time to produce Samantha Fish’s debut album which won a BMA award for Best New Artist Debut Album. On the eve of the release of his new solo album Gone To Texas, which features guest appearances by Delbert McClinton and Sonny Landreth, Mike spoke to Blues Matters! about these experiences, the theme behind the new album and his continued recovery from his earlier drug addiction.
BM: When we last interviewed you, it was just before you won song of the year at the BMAs. In which ways did winning that award open doors for you?
Mike Zito: Well it certainly got my name out there more right away. I remember getting a lot of calls for bigger gigs and festivals. But it also opened me up as an artist as well. Sometimes a little justification that you're on the right path artistically can go a long way.
You were on tour in Europe when the award was announced. How did the European audiences first take to your music?
They really accepted me right away; they have been so good to me.
The album Pearl River had a real swampy blues sound, yet Greyhound widened the boundaries of your music and it addressed some personal and introspective lyrical themes. Had you set out to make a different sounding album?
Yes, absolutely. I brought in Anders for that reason.
Yes, Anders Osborne produced it. What did he bring to the album?
He helped me to dig deeper in my songwriter and get pretty raw all around; let it all out. Anders is a feel-emotional kinda guy, so am I, but I held back in the past. He really helped me to get past my limitations.
2012 saw the formation of Royal Southern Brotherhood which features you, Cyril Neville, Devon
Allman, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott. I believe that you and your manager had crucial roles in the development of this amazing band. Can you tell the readers how you all came together?
I've known Devon for 20 years. The success with Cyril was a big part as well. Rueben Williams is our manager, and we had a conversation and asked ‘How come the Nevilles and the Allmans never made any music together?’
We decided maybe we should do it! The rest is pretty much history – we set out to try and make some music and it worked. It’s all pretty amazing how easy it was to bring all the parts together. I am thankful to be a part of it all.
The album RoyalSouthernBrotherhood came out on Ruf Records last year to critical acclaim. How did the songwriting and recording come together for the new album?
We each brought in three to four songs on our own and we worked on some songs in the studio together – we just tried to put the egos aside and let the music flow.
How easy is it for five band leaders to work together on tour when you must all have your own touring rituals and ways of working on the road? It’s not easy, but it’s easy! We try and be open minded and give everyone a chance to speak their musical mind.
Since the album came out, you’ve toured much of the world together.
The UK was amazing - the people are so real and they are certainly not an easy pushover audience. They've seen the best and you've got to bring it! Australia was incredible as well - so beautiful and real and the band seems to really hit on a world level.
Clearly you all have your own careers in addition to future work with RSB. How do you plan to balance your solo career with that of the band?
With a lot of help from our manager! It's not easy, but it’s doable. RSB has been a priority because it has really taken off. So we are sticking to our guns with the band and we are all giving each other the opportunity to play some of our new solo music in the band since we won’t have much time for solo touring. That kinda works for now.
P a G e 70 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.bluesmatters.com
s ince bLues MaTTers! inTerviewed Mike z iTo back in issue 55, his inTernaTiona L repuTaTion as a superb singer, guiTarisT and songwriTer has conTinued To grow and grow
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 71 Mike Zito Interview
Verbals: d uncan Beattie
You’re now signed with Ruf as a solo artist. I was interested to read that you wanted to be a Ruf recording artist since 1998. How did you and Thomas Ruf first become aware of each other and how has your relationship developed over the years?
I bought my first Ruf CD in 1991 at Buddy Guy’s Legends from Joanna Connor – it was Ruf’s first CD ever. That turned me onto the German label – and onto Luther Allison and Walter Trout. I finally met Walter and began opening for him when he came to Saint Louis to play. We became friends and he kinda took me under his wing – he does that – he's a really good person.He played my first albums for Thomas Ruf back in the late 1990s trying to help me get a deal, but it never worked out back then – good thing too, I was pretty bad on drugs and would've ruined it anyway. So all these years later, here we are and the starts have aligned and Thomas Ruf and I are making records and it feels real good.
The title you chose for your Ruf debut Gone To Texas has a poignant meaning, could you explain this? As I stated, I was pretty bad on drugs for years - really going nowhere and eventually just running away from home and leaving my family behind – I wound up in the end in South East Texas. I met my wife and fell in love and she helped me to get clean and sober and get back on track. Through a life of recovery I have achieved all the dreams I was trying for all my life.
I have a beautiful family, an amazing musical career and I am happy to be alive. Sounds corny, but true. I did some Texas history reading and found this story was not uncommon – especially in the early 1800s. Guys were running away to Texas all the time and starting over – it was called ‘Gone to Texas’. That’s where the idea for the song and eventually a storyline for the album came from. My life has been changed in Texas, so I wrote songs about my personal experience here and celebrating the music here – the swinging rocking blues/country/rock that is wrapped up around here.
Your regular band, The Wheel, recorded the album with you: Jimmy Carpenter on sax, Rob Lee on drums, and Scot Sutherland on bass. Why are they your ‘dream band?’
We all hear the music very much the same. We are all trying to make the music ‘feel’ good. We are approaching with the less is
more idea. That’s a special group of guys right there.
Jimmy’s saxophone features prominently on the title track. How does the dynamic of the band change with a saxophone player?
I grew up listening to Big Band music with my dad; I always hear my lead guitar like a horn in my head. Jimmy has amazing tone and phrasing and it really lends my ear to playing guitar like we are in a horn section, not just lead guitar.
How does it compare to your previous albums?
I produced GTT – to me it is the combination of Greyhound and Pearl River, it's everything that I love; stories, melodies, some jamming, and some great grooves.
Please tell me how the special guests feature on the album: Delbert McClinton on vocals and harmonica, Sonny Landreth on guitar, Susan Cowsill on vocals and Lewis Stephens on keys?
Lewis Stephens is a member of The Wheel, he cannot always tour with us, but we’d all like him to! He brings the honky-tonk with the piano and the rock with the B3 – really rounds out my sound. Sonny and Delbert are heroes of mine; and I can say friends of mine today – amazing! Sonny and Delbert really epitomize the sound of this album. Sonny is pure Gulf Coast – swinging rocking blues and country with a lot of Cajun mixed in, Delbert is the Texas Music icon. He is Texas Blues/ Country and Funk Rock. These two combined are what I was going for with this album; to me they really accentuate the story of the album and sound KILLER in doing so! Susan sang with me on Pearl River. She is one of my favourite female singers ever. Her approach and emotional tone matches mine perfectly. This band was the sound I had in my head, and all of these talented, beautiful people made it happen for me.
The album closes with a recording of Blind Willie Johnson’s LetYourLoveShineonMe. How did you formulate your version of the song?
I have this obsession with Blind Willie Johnson. His voice and guitar playing are so raw, and sad and emotional – it scares the hell out of me! I have been so into his voice and music for years and we just recently
www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 73 Mike Zito Interview
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found out that he is buried a mile from where I live in Beaumont, Texas. They could not find his grave for 60 years and it was finally discovered in an old Negro cemetery in Beaumont.They had a beautiful monument put at the cemetery to commemorate this hero. I seem to visit it like every week. I knew I was singing that song on my album no matter what. I picked up the guitar and sang it and that’s my version. It doesn't come close to his, but it’s my respectful testament to a real musical hero.
You’ve moved into production, having produced Gone To Texas, you also produced label mate Samantha Fish’s award winning debut. Having worked with top producers like David Z, Jim Gaines,Tony Braunagel and Anders, how do you enjoy producing?
I love it! And I stole everything I know from the aforementioned. It's something I have always been doing since I was a kid making demos on four track recorders, so it all makes sense to me. I have a lot to learn but I really like the process of making an album- telling a story in its most complete form.
Samantha is one young artist that you highly rate, which others do you like?
I love Bart Walker - I think he is amazing. I also really dig Laurence Jones in the UK. We did some shows with him with RSB and he was really strong.
Could you tell me about your custom telecaster? It is a Delaney Guitar made by Mike Delaney in Atlanta, Georgia USA. It’s hand made from head to toe. Mike cuts all the wood by hand and you can feel the love. It is basically a swamp ash Telecaster style body with a HUGE neck – some wonderful Klein 58 style Les Paul pickups and very simple controls. It's my absolute best guitar ever.
You reached rock bottom before cleaning up to live the sober life you now lead. This is a very significant factor in your song writing, from songs such as Slow ItDownand ChangeMyWaysto the theme of the new album. You also refer in your blogs to the disease of addiction. Is song writing a healer for you?
Yes, absolutely, although I am heavily involved in the recovery process, these songs are the songs I sing night after night and they remind me of where I have been and where I am now. I meet a lot of people who relate to certain songs of mine on a deeper
level that they just like the guitar sound or drum beat - it's a connection I have made with people all over the world and it is amazing.
While you keep writing great songs, you’ve regularly gone back to record some of your songs from your earlier self-released albums, Big Mouth, Motel Blues and Ways About You, etc. Do you have any other old songs that you’d like to re-record? Possibly, I'd have to go and look them over again! I wrote and recorded 5 albums on my own and I realized later that they had some great tunes on them and they deserved to be brought back to life - when the song serves the bigger purpose of the album it all works and that’s really all that matters.
A fellow blues journalist suggested I ask you about the song 210… I hope to someday put 210 on an album. It was a song I wrote for this project but it just did not make the cut this time. I wrote about 30 songs for this album and we recorded 10 of those songs along with the few covers. 210 was the exact time my youngest daughter was born and the 210 bridge is the bridge my wife and I made a commitment on while driving over, to stay together forever.
Finally I see you’re due to return to Europe with Royal Southern Brotherhood later this year, where I look forward to seeing you. What are your other plans for the future?
Tour, tour, tour. Try and see my family every chance I get and work on a new RSB studio album for next year. And then tour, tour!
CatCh Mike on tour with the royaL southern Brotherhood at the foLLowing dates:
September
November
Mike Zito Interview www.bluesmatters.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | P a G e 75
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Southampton The Brook 25 London Under The Bridge 26 Wolverhampton Robin 2 27 Derby Flower Pot 28 Sutton Boom Boom Club 30 Milton Keynes The Stables
21 Newcastle The Cluny 22
The Caves
24
10 Carlisle Blues Rock Festival
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avid Migden was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and moved to the UK as a teenager. After playing and touring around London and Europe, initially in the Lee Sankey Group with Matt Schofield and Ian Siegal, he then teamed up with ‘The Dirty Words’ and released Second Hand Tattoo to a fantastic response from critics and fans alike. Gigs across London and the Southeast followed at venues such as The Jazz Cafe, Dean Street Pizza Express, Ronnie Scott’s, the Borderline, and the American Embassy. The band members have played with many other internationally renowned artists including Robert Plant, James Brown, Corinne Bailey Rae, Snowboy, Ian Shaw, Matt Berry, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Andy Newmark (Sly & the Family Stone, Roxy Music, John Lennon, Bowie), and have gained a reputation for putting on fantastic shows that focus on David’s incredible songs. David Migden & The Dirty Words have just released their second album Killing It to a great critical reception.
BM: What brought you over from Little Rock, Arkansas?
David Migden: In short: my parents brought me over. My mother is English and my Dad is American so we bounced countries a few times.
Was singing with Lee Sankey Group that included Ian Siegal and Matt Schofield your earliest project in the UK? It did take me a moment to realise that you were the voice on the critically acclaimed album MyDayIsJustBeginning?
That was a fantastic experience and I owe Lee a lot for that. He is an amazing musician and a driving force. That was my first tour and it opened my eyes up.
How big an impact has the Internet/Social Media had on promoting the band?
It is the only option besides word of mouth that any musician has unless they have a lot of money which is a bit like saying that a short person will need a ladder unless they are tall. Very few musicians have money.
What genres of music have influenced you to create the distinctive Migden sound?
Blues is at the base of what we do and then there is jazz, funk, country, New Orleans and all the other good stuff that is American Roots music. I like to think of myself as musical Boy Scout - I got my blues, jazz, country and funk badges. This helps me serve the community and help old ladies across the street.
How do you answer the critics who say you are not
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V E rb A ls: Liz Aiken
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david migden Interview
Featuring: Ian Seigal Cat sh Keith Half Deaf Clatch and much much more!
18-20th OCTOBER
beverleyblues.com
2013 Beverley Blues FESTIVAL 2013
really blues, as they are expecting to hear what they believe is the 'right style of blues' Who are these people?! But seriously, I do not write music to fit into a genre and I don't think most people do. When Alvin Young Bloodhart came onto the scene he was welcomed by the blues community. That album has ambient, Cajun and rocky elements all over it. Ry Cooder, Ben Harper, Cassandra Wilson all play a mix of American roots but always have the Blues at the heart.
Dave, how long have you and The Dirty Words been together playing as a band?
We have been a steady musical relationship for about ten years. Phil Scragg is the baby of the group, joining us about five years ago.
Dave Migden and The Dirty Words have caused a real buzz on the circuit this year – how has winning The Battle of The Bands helped in getting people to listen to the different and exciting sound you bring to the stage?
Well you know how you asked me about social media? That is a big way as everyone can see what we have done and it gives us something to shout about. It has made a real difference so far and we are incredibly grateful for the chance to play at The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in New Brunswick Frederichton, Canada.
What inspired you to use the megaphone, when you have such a distinctive and powerful voice?
I love singing but as a singer you have one sound and I just wanted to sound like an angry robot for a bit. Also it is a 'visual stimulant'. I don't use it that much these days
How do you all decide which instruments are going to be played and by whom, so that you achieve a cohesive sound?
We have a real multi-instrumentalist band with Graham Mann, so there is a choice. However, whoever plays the instrument best wins the chair. The band has an organic sound, so although I love electronic music, the heart of our sound is traditional instruments which include Trumpet and Trombone.
How do you approach song writing and creating the finished recording?
I daydream my way through the day and sometimes turn them into songs. To write a song you have to be ready to catch one as it appears. You have to have that switch in the 'on' position. After that I take it to the band and together we make it real and playable in a live context which can shape the structure of the piece.
When can we expect another album from you and the Dirty Words?
Already written it and we are just putting it together in the rehearsal room now. Will be available in February 2014 but people will be able to catch the material live.
What plans have you got following your trip to Canada?
We are going to record our album and continue to play in festivals such as the Carlisle Festival which has Ian Siegal and The Mississippi Mudbloods and The Royal Southern brotherhood with Cyril Neville.
If you or your band had the chance to play with any Blues Musician or Band who would it be?
It would probably be B.B.King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt or Tom Waits.
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PAGE 80 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.blu E sm Att E rs.com Interview eddie martin
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BM: Hi Eddie, thanks for giving us some time. It has been quite a while since we interviewed you, can you tell us what’s been happening in that time?
Eddie Martin: Well, as ever, I don’t sit on my hands for very long, and I think that I have released two albums since I was last interviewed by BM! The first one was Folk & Blues which was a solo acoustic album, that was out in 2010, it got good reviews and I toured it all over the place, and then last year, my first big band album since 97, that was called Looking forward, looking back. It was written and arranged as a tribute to the pioneer electric Blues guitarists and Big Band leaders, T Bone Walker, Elmore James and Johnny ’guitar’ Watson. That was out last year and we toured it, but it is difficult to get bookings with the economy being what it is. So I have been carrying on with the three things that I do, the one man shows, the Blues band and the Big band.
You run your own record label, how does that compare to being signed with one of the majors?
Well, I don’t think anybody is signed to any of the Majors anymore. Most of them have got rid of their A&R people. The good thing about it is that I stay in control of it all, I don’t have anyone telling me to try something different or do this or that, or try a Jo Bonamassa for instance. So I can just do what the hell I like, and of course, I have been doing it for a long time now, and I have 13 albums out, and still got International distribution, so even with the recession, I can still say that I am selling.
So which is your biggest market?
America these days. It used to be the UK, but America is picking up more and more. But quite apart from just the playing, it’s a whole world of expertise required in running your own label, for example releasing stuff to all of the radio stations has actually got easier with all of the modern technology. I can do a high quality MP3 release at the click of a button, but you need to know which societies to
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Congleton Jazz & Blues Festival 2013 Sat 24th & Sun 25th August www.congletonjazzandblues.co.uk FREE ADMISSION 2013 Over 40 Bands, 15 Venues, 2 Days
Lucy Zirins - Ron Sayer - Junk House Dog - Remi Harris - Jim Kirkpatrick & Heavy Weather Bexley Square Blues Band - Robin Pierce Band - Freddie Garner Quartet - VaVoom - Slippery Hill Boys
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Cry Baby & the Hoochie Coochie Boys - Salt City Jazzmen - Alex McKown - The White Knuckle Blues Band
join. I have just joined an organisation called Airplay Direct which I have only just found out about, and that means that I can release my stuff alongside all of the big American labels like Alligator, and Delta, so I am using the same means to get to the radio stations. It has really paid off as, at the end of the year, I was number four in the Top 50 World Blues releases. I was really, really pleased about that, and I got a lot of exposure and air plays.
So how many gigs are you doing now? Well, with my regular gig in Bristol that I do twice a week, I have got over a hundred just with that but I am doing 8 or 10 gigs a month.
So probably around 200 gigs a year, still a way to go to catch BB King then? Yeah, he is fantastic isn’t he.
But I understand that you have got some interesting transcontinental gigs coming up, Tell us about that. Yes, I love travelling, and it’s just as well actually as you’ve got to be prepared for the
hassles of some strange places, and I love it. So this year, India, France, Belgium Holland and Poland in September.
So how did you get the gig in India, what’s the story behind that?
The Bangalore Blues Festival, I had never heard of it before. There’s an Indian Blues band that are on Reverb Nation, have you heard of that? Well they sent me an email saying “Oh we really love your stuff, it would be great if you could come over” but that was a few years back, and I never heard anything more of it, and then this year a major PR company got in touch and asked if I would headline this year’s Bangalore Blues Festival.
Now we are talking at a Blues guitar retreat in Cornwall, how long have you been involved with this type of break?
I haven’t done many guitar ones actually, I have probably done more Harmonica ones, but I’m a lifelong student of the Blues, I have
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been since I was sixteen and the good thing about doing these weekend is that it gives me the spur to update all of my teaching material. Perhaps look again at some of the old classics to see if there is anything that I missed, and that is what is happening now. I reckon that I have got Son House down, and Robert Johnson I have got to in a way that I hadn’t before.
There are things that I have discovered recently, I have always wondered how he did that rasquero thing (a rapid fanning of the picking hand across the strings, more common in Spanish & Cuban music) that we covered earlier on and all of the tab on Robert Johnson just ignores it. The best tab for Robert Johnson is by Scott Aynsley, and he didn’t have that in Terraplane Blues, and I always thought that something was missing, and now that I have got it down, I am really pleased, it has solved a mystery. I love doing these weekends, passing on these little snippets to those that are interested.
So what turned you on to the Blues originally?
Well I first got interested in music at school and there were five or six guitarists and it was the time of all the pretentious prog rock stuff, and the first Blues that I heard was Shake your Booty baby where basically his girlfriend is stripping in the studio and he is playing all these pornographic guitar licks, well I was a 16 year old and not thinking too much about gentle giants and fairies, just the rather obvious and that struck a chord.
That was on the album Burglar so that was my introduction to the Blues. Quite soon after that I got into acoustic Blues, I had been writing songs from the beginning and listening to Bob Dylan and the British folk revival, so I was into Woody Guthrie and then Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. That was when I began to study the history of it all.
That’s funny, because my first American Blues interests were Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, I had a very strange record collection when I was 16, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy
Witherspoon and so on, all my mates thought that I was odd!
You have been referred to as Britains best Blues guitarist since Eric Clapton, how do you feel about that, bearing in mind your relevant position in the scheme of things?
Well, I wish I had his bank balance. No, people say very nice things and it is good to hear them, but you can’t take anything too seriously, but that isn’t to say that you don’t pass it on and take advantage.
But it is true to say that there aren’t many of today’s Blues musicians who are as interested in the history and background as me, and that is of course, equally true of Eric Clapton who is known for his lifelong interest in the Blues. So I am happy with that comparison.
Over the years, you must have been asked the same questions, is there a question that you wish someone would ask so that you can set the record straight? That’s a very nice question to be asked, I will say thank you very much and I wish I had an answer. I should give a big shout out to the guys in the band that I play with, John Paul Guard who is an absolutely amazing organ player and bassist combined.
He plays Bass pedals, I have always loved that sound, and the old Hammond guitar trios is a sound that I have always loved. As I have got a bit older and moved away from Blues rock, I am so lucky to play with that guy, he is a killer player, so big shout out to John Paul, and also for the horn section that I have been playing with for a few years now, since ’99, my first recording with the Little Big Horns. Since then I have played with Mick Jagger and all sorts of people.
They are great and they are still with me for nearly twenty years now so another big shout out to them for their brilliant work on the albums that they have recorded with me.
Well Eddie, it’s been a great weekend, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it. Thank you for your time.
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BM: Thanks for calling. Where are you now?
Joanne Shaw Taylor: No problem. I’m just now back in Detroit. It was so hectic and I was meant to get in yesterday and unfortunately I got a nine hour delay so... a bit of a nightmare journey to be honest, Pete.
Detroit, Michigan. I’ve got some connections with Detroit. Well, we were at the show for the DVD recording at the Borderline on Sunday. I was hanging out with your PR crew.
You were busy signing stuff, but I asked if we could do a piece soon with you about what you’re up to now. So we want to feature you in an edition a bit nearer your autumn UK tour dates. I wanted to ask you Jo, how did you feel about the show at the Borderline?
I think it went well. It’s a bit of a difficult one really, because the band and I are very conscious of it all being filmed of course for the live DVD. I was just trying to focus on doing a good gig really. It seemed to go well and it was a really good and responsive crowd. We all played the best we could have, on the night, that’s all we could do.
Have you seen the playback? No I haven’t. I haven’t even thought about it.
How did you choose the songs for Sunday? I decided to do songs from the last UK tour which was pretty much a strong mix of tracks from the last three albums. With the emphasis I suppose on the most recent album Almost, Always Never.
We were at the Leicester Square show you did, it was very punchy!
I just thought with it being a DVD for Ruf, we should sort of recap the last three albums then we’ll be moving to fresh material. We wanted to do good versions of ‘Soul Station’ and ‘Jealousy’ in particular and as we have been performing them.
The version of Hendrix’s ManicDepression. Why were you drawn to that particular song?
I think with that one, it’s always been one of my favourites from when I was a kid because initially when I was very young I knew it would be an all time favourite for me. Other
bands have done that song and have done really great versions, but the one that stood out for me is by King’s X.
King’s X! For me they are what Rush try to be. They’re so much funkier than Rush. Yeah and Doug Pinnick got to be hands down as good as Glenn Hughes.
I agree entirely and he’s a very nice guy. He actually doesn’t have the star vibe when you meet him. He just wants to be to be a regular guy. I’ve never met him but I’ve heard good things. My boyfriend was a guitar tech on a tour on which they were playing. He always says to me what nice guys King’s X are, how down to earth, what ace players.
Now your band, your bass player Billy White is amazing. He looks like a pirate but he plays very like a less busy Norman Watt Roy of The Blockheads. How did you find him because he’s a diamond element of your sound?
He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I met him because he’s kind of a local Detroit guy, a well known session musician.
A few years ago in Maryland, I needed a bass player and he flew in. He happened to be available. So I bore him in mind for the future, given his playing style and mine. The time came and he joined us.
He’s great and he stays down the neck. He doesn’t chase you up the frets
He’s got so much energy. And doesn’t just stand there. So he’s an important part of all the arrangements, the sound, everything.
Now look, the last time we spoke you said you were going to try keys on the tour, so you have Jools Grudgings aboard. How has that worked out?
I love it, Pete ! It’s opened up the songs for me. I write a lot of different stuff, beyond the blues rock stuff there’s my brand of ‘white soul’, I suppose. And it opens up that material for me quite a lot, and what I can do with it, where I can take the mood of the song, the type of solo I need to play, all that.
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S T E P H E N D A L E P E T I T C R A C K I N G T H E C O D E A V A I L A B L E N O W w w w. s t e p h e n d a l e p e t i t . c o m C L A S S I C R O C K “Killer album ” S U N D AY T I M E S C U LT U R E “Strutting, punchy and fresh” B B C 6 M U S I C “Incredible ”
Not enough piano for me but yes he does really contribute. Maybe a Fender Rhodes sometimes in the future?
Well, ‘Soul Station’ was a distorted Fender Rhodes with a wah-wah – in the studio. We do experiment with keyboard parts and there’ll be more of that the way things have gone with the band and the recent shows.
Your voice is very reminiscent at times… Well, we know you and I both love Nikka Costa. Maybe Ann Peebles filters in. Some of your soulier songs do have such a Memphis vibe about them.
Oh, thank you by the way! It wasn’t like an intentional thing heading down that route but yes I was always heavily influenced. My dad’s a rock blues guy but my mum was a professional dancer.
My mum was really into like Motown, Earth, Wind and Fire, Chic and all that stuff. So I’ve always had that influence around me as well. I would love to one day do a special album dedicated to all that style of music. Even a Detroit, Motown thing at some point, perhaps.
I was talking to Andy Fraser and he didn’t know that Jeff Beck made an entire album in Motown, but they never released it. It’s still in the Motown vault somewhere.
I’d love to hear that! But in time I would like to do other things as well, like include an acoustic set or some other interlude, just to ring the changes.
During the Borderline show, there were times when you go into this rush of notes that are quite hypnotic. Different notations and phrases of course but touching on what Frank Zappa would veer off into. Anyway, now you lead an international plane-hopping lifestyle.
Well, there’s always going to be the family home so whilst I do admittedly live out of a suitcase much of the time each year, when I come off tour, for example now I’m back here in Michigan I actually won’t go too far from my home base.
I will just settle in for a while, not rush about just catch up with my friends and their families and de-stress. It’s great to wear some different clothing and not just t-shirts! And
secondly, I think you just have to love what you do, you really do.
What I’m getting at is that unlike an actor where you might be appearing say, for two weeks in Guildford and then Tunbridge Wells, you will be in a different city each day.
Ok, well what helps me is that I am to a large extent a creature of habit, I set myself little routines over dressing and packing. But the lifestyle is what it is, you are on tour and if I want to live as a professional musician that’s all part of the picture.
Social media- I know you do Twitter and stuff but I get the impression that you don’t really need to tell the world what you had for breakfast etc? No, I avoid all that stuff to be honest. I do like interacting with my fans and supporters who appreciate my music. At the same time, there’s no reason that people I don’t know should know everything about me.
You know, for example if I’m emailing my brother over some stupid joke, whatever. I like to keep things relatively professional. And a bit private.
Can we talk for a moment about the other female electric roots musicians who are out there on the circuit? Do you socialise? To be honest, even if I am playing on a bill with say Danni or Erja we rarely get the time or the opportunity to socialise which can be a shame. If I find myself in their neck of the woods I will always try to give them a call and meet at a show if I can.
Female players seem to look up to Bonnie Raitt. Certainly, there’s not after all that many female artists performing blues music and also how many play guitar, and how many as well as she does? She’s a Grammy-Award winning artist and multi-million seller. She’s good at song-writing and looks fantastic. Obviously, a very bright woman, certainly a big role model for anyone like me.
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ave also has a number of critically acclaimed albums in his own right that are as varied as they are classy. If you have an interest in blues music that has a clear lineage from its 1950’s and 60’s roots you owe it to yourself to check Dave out.
Dave was born in 1951 in Newport, an only child. He remembers a childhood spent in a large Victorian house that his parents shared with a piano playing aunt and uncle who helped to bring him up. There was also lodger known to Dave as Auntie Flo, who played harmonium in her room - an early musical memory. After having dabbled with boxing and whisky, Dave took a more musical route after his uncle bought him a harmonica at age seven. Like many Welsh lads, Dave also sang in his local Baptist Chapel.
By the time he was twelve Dave had formed his first R&B band, a four piece outfit called Skid Row which, for the next couple of years, played around the region often supporting top local blues bands like The Cellar Set in the dance halls and working men’s clubs. This
would have been when Dave first met Gareth Johnson, the phenomenally talented guitar player with The Cellar Set, who was later to play an important part in Dave’s career.
The next important step for Dave was becoming the regular dep vocalist for Bristol based band The Deep. They were considered among the very best of the early British blues boom bands of the era. They appeared at the first festival at Shepton Mallet in 1968 which was in effect the forerunner of Glastonbury, organised by the same family. Dave’s talent as a vocalist was now drawing a lot of attention from the major London based record companies.
By the late 60’s many of the blues bands were turning to more progressive, psychedelic sounds. One of the best known of the era was Blonde On Blonde (the London-based reincarnation of The Cellar Set) who had released their critically acclaimed debut album Contrasts in 1968, and included the previously mentioned Gareth Johnson as guitarist. When
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lead singer Ralph Denyer left to form his new band Aquila in 1969 Blonde On Blonde turned to the eighteen year old Dave Thomas as a replacement. As lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave stayed in the band for the next three years, a hugely successful experimental period for them during which they recorded two of the seminal albums of the time, Rebirth and Reflections On A Life on Jeff Kruger’s Ember Records label. The band toured extensively, sharing stages with Deep Purple, Genesis, Atomic Rooster, Martha Hunt, Wishbone Ash, Barclay James Harvest, Steve Miller Band and many others. Blonde On Blonde had appeared at both of the Isle of Wight Festivals in 1968 and 1969 on the bill with Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix respectively and at one time they were once supported by Fleetwood Mac but, by 1972, due to the limited commercial success of the latter album at the time, it wasn’t long before the band decided to go their separate ways and Dave returned to his home in South Wales to consider his next move. He quickly decided he had to return to London, after a long summer working shifts in a steel mill!
PLaYing tHe BLUeS
That came in the shape of another London based outfit called Reign, a rock band put together by the gifted Robin LeMesurier, son of John LeMesurier and Hattie Jacques. Dave describes the music as being slick but a bit too glam rock for his liking and, after about eighteen months, he left - the final straw coming when, driven by commercial imperative, Reign were transformed into The Wombles. I guess being asked to become a Womble is enough to give anyone the blues and it certainly forced Dave to return to his true blue roots in double quick time!
So, for the sake of his own sanity, he put together a blues duo with a friend called Hugh Gregory who he had met working on a building site in glorious Hillingdon. They called themselves Short Stuff and they quickly achieved a level of recognition, gaining the much-prized residency at the famous Half Moon in Putney between 1974-75 (their successor was none other than D.P. Costello, aka Elvis). Dave recalls with a smile, ‘the first time we played the Half Moon I looked down and there sat at the front of the stage were Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Ralph McTell
watching my left-handed licks at zero paces. That felt a little daunting.’
Some touring and festival appearances such as the Cambridge Folk Festival and Knebworth Greenbelt Festival followed but by 1976 Dave decided it was time to take a little time out. He finally took his degree in English at Kingston, having turned down a place at university to join Blonde On Blonde. It was while a student at Kingston that he met and married his first wife. On graduating it was back to music: two short-lived bands – Loaded who were an east London-based rock band and Double Trouble who were based in west London. The strains between east and west and domestic life versus rock ‘n roll were beginning to tell!
So it wasn’t too long before Dave was back playing his blues. He travelled to the U.S. and played in blues bars across New York, Chicago and San Francisco. On his return to London Dave formed the renowned Chicago style blues band The Diplomatics. They included in their ranks Charlie McCracken, the bass player from Rory Gallagher’s Taste and harpist Laurie Garman who had recorded with Bob Marley and Freddie King. They were regular performers at the legendary Station Tavern, at that time Europe’s only seven days a week blues venue and an early proving ground for artists like Otis Grand and Paul Lamb. The band stayed together for seven years and released one excellent Shotgun Blues album in 1999, a hard driving urban blues set.
Partly inspired by this recording in 2000 Dave set to work on his solo album Coldharbour in which he brought together material he had worked on over the previous thirty years, some of it originally planned to be used on stage by Blonde On Blonde. The other event that inspired this release was being invited personally by Paul McCartney to play his unique acoustic version of Buddy Holly’s hit It Doesn’t Matter Anymore at the Texas Embassy at a celebratory memorial show for Buddy.
Coldharbour was finally released in 2004 in what Dave now describes as a big step for him personally. The Holly cover, (although written by Paul Anka) opens the album and is a must be heard track, while the whole album is a poignant collection of songs written and performed with real passion and feeling. The sleeve notes state, ‘you will discover a much
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more sophisticated synthesis of rock, jazz, blues and folk influences. The mix of acoustic and electric sounds is still there underpinning Dave’s distinctive voice’. It’s even better than that in my opinion.
Dave was now in demand and on a roll! 2005 saw two albums released, Blues For Otis (inspired by his favourite bluesman Otis Spann) and live band album Black Dog Boogie where some critics compared Dave’s guitar playing to B.B. King. Not bad for a left handed guitarist who plays the instrument upside down rather than re-string it!
After becoming involved with Gerard Homan’s Shakedown Blues events early in 2006 Dave found himself backing and putting together bands for more and more visiting bluesmen including Dave Dee Eckford (St Louis), Little Willie Littlefield (Texas), Vernon Harrington (Chicago) and many more. The versatility of Dave’s playing meant he could work within the many styles of the blues. There is a great live album originally recorded in 2009 with Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean. Terry is a Delta Hill Country player in the style of Junior Kimborough or R.L. Burnside, and he compared Dave’s playing to Bob Margolin (guitar player with Muddy Waters’ band).
called up on stage to perform with the Robert Jr. Lockwood Allstars at Fat Fish Blue, the Allstars’ regular weekly downtown gig in the heart of the city, singing Everyday I Have The Blues. The show had to go on! Praying for Robert, Dave and Wallace continued the recording sessions that were to become the world-wide critically acclaimed Repossession Blues album, a 22 track double disc mix of originals and covers. Six days later during these sessions Robert Lockwood died on November 21st 2006. On December 2nd Dave attended the memorial service alongside the likes of Honeyboy Edwards, Crazy Marvin, Travis Haddix, D.C. Carnes and Wallace Coleman and has since been embraced as a member of the Cleveland blues family as one of their own.
There has hardly been time to rest since then. Dave is still in demand to back visiting musicians. In 2012 Lazy Lester was a recent example in a long series at Shake Down Blues.
“Dave set to work on his solo album Coldharbour”
It was through the Shakedown Blues connection that Dave first met Wallace Coleman, long time harp player for the living legend Robert Lockwood Jnr., Robert Johnson’s ‘adopted son’, as well as leading his own band. Soon Dave found himself invited to travel to Cleveland to play with Wallace’s band, and was introduced to Robert Lockwood and witnessed him performing first hand. Having decided that he and Wallace should record together Dave began travelling back and forth to Cleveland and on one unforgettable occasion, when he stepped off the plane having arrived from the UK for the long-planned recording sessions he was greeted with the sad news that ninety one year old Lockwood had had a bad fall and was in hospital, where, the next morning, Dave was taken by Wallace to visit him. Robert Jr Lockwood was obviously very seriously ill. The very next night Dave was
In recent years he has worked with SharBaby, Katherine Davies, Kathleen Pearson-Thomas and Vernon Harrington at Shake Down promotions and at festivals.
There is, of course, also the crack Dave Thomas Blues Band to run and organise as well as supporting other artists on his own Blonde On Blonde record label. 2012 saw the release of the album Blue Eyed Blues and Blues In The House (a live concert originally recorded with Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean in 2009). 2013 has already seen the release of ‘Juke’, a collaboration with Hollywood award winner, Alabama-based Sharbaby who, in 2012, was fully inducted into the American Blues Hall of Fame.
Whenever you read reviews of Dave’s recordings or live performances you will notice the same observations crop up again and again. Class, quality, authenticity and passion. His blues are real and deeply felt, never cluttered with over elaborate notes or showmanship, just a genuine love for the music as it was meant to be heard and played. The real deal.
f or The laTesT ne W s on D ave Tho M as check ouT his W ebsiTe: WWW.The D ave Tho M asban D.co.uk
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PAGE 94 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.blu E sm Att E rs.com recognized The Legen DAry r O n LeV y – PArT T wO V E rb A ls: nO rm A n D A rwen
This conclu D es our inTervie W W iTh one of The True greaTs of The blues scene
BM: You have a nice way with a funky tune (English understatement) although you are often categorized as a blues player, does it bother you when you can do so much more?
Ron Levy: I'm pleased to be recognized by anyone except bill/tax collectors, lawyers or disgruntled exes. I recently put four separate anthologies together featuring all original compositions in various genres, namely; Blues, Jazz, Funky-Soul and Latin. I’m hoping the music itself, my PR agent and writing my book will dispel being pigeonholed into just any one category exclusively. Most of my musical heroes, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles (to name two) explored many styles of music. I see, hear and feel, all music as music and I love music.
When I write a tune, I don’t say to myself, ‘OK Lev, this is going to be a funky (or any specific genre) type composition,’ unless I’m writing on demand for someone else. Normally, I just play what I feel and it just comes out the way it came into me. Hopefully, people will just enjoy it for whatever it is, because it's damn good and not for what ‘brand’ it is. If folks want to analyze my harmonic structures or rhythm patterns and counterpoint, that’s fine. Mostly however, I just want for them to like it, whatever they want to call it. I basically play the same thing no matter what it is anyway. I just change the background to fit whatever mood I’m trying to convey. Blues is definitely the foundation for everything I play though. It's my roots.
To further confuse my fans, especially my older ones, after my next two Acid-Jazz albums (which have been completed) are released, I plan to record funky Boogaloo versions of Bob Dylan tunes and a series of recordings performing original material based on ancient Jewish and Chassidic melodies. I just do what comes naturally to me. I’m still not sure why, or if more is less or less is more. I love what I do, be it writing, my music, being a loving husband and father, good to my friends and family, as well as anyone I come in contact with. I just want share that love and pray people enjoy and can appreciate it for whatever it is. I get enough satisfaction from just living my life as I do.
And can you talk a little about Champion Jack Dupree?
Jack was a wonderful man who grew up in a time where he suffered many harsh and unjustifiable hardships. But guess what? You’d never know that dark history while being around him. He brought unbridled joy to every situation he was in. Jack was a caring yet a carefree person. He was truly a free man. I learned a lot from him in that regard from the first time I met him as a rookie 18-year-old touring with Albert, to producing his last three albums recorded in New Orleans during his ‘return’ just before his passing 25 years later. He receives a good deal of focus in my book. He was a true champion and a class act. (Attached a photo of Jack, me & my son AJ)
How do you feel about the Blues these days?
Fine and you? They say, “Everybody’s got the Blues!” That’s true enough, but it’s not the Blues of B.B., Albert King, Jack Dupree or their contemporaries. They grew up down south in “hard times Mississippi”, did back-breaking work in the fields or in factories (both the artists and their audiences). Their first exposure to music was the Gospel music they heard in little country churches or in larger ones in the ghettos of northern cities. They were on the cutting edge and real creators. They pioneered their own personal identifiable techniques, styles and sounds, as well as setting the standard for vintage vestments and musical equipment.
I don’t see or hear much innovation to that degree in today’s Blues scene. Most bands today sound very derivative to me. Much like their retro-outfits, ‘57 re-issue Stratocasters and bullet microphones etc. They are all very sincere, respectful of the music and put their deepest, honest feelings into it, but creatively speaking, most bands today sound like tribute bands to me. Many are, and they publicize that fact. I’m not out to hurt anyone’s feelings or in any way disparaging them. I sincerely hope I don't come off
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that way. Who the hell am I to judge? But, if they were all honest with themselves, they'd have to agree (many would do so whole-hardheartedly from Jump Street).
Robert Cray would be an exception to that observation, in my humble opinion. Still the biggest Blues star today, Stevie Ray Vaughan, was very derivative of Albert King and Hendrix musically, but made it his own and created a much beloved identity and visual image loved by millions, even by some who never saw him perform while he was alive! When I was coming up, Blues was not popular. It was relatively unknown and very eclectic. It had just begun to cross the racial barriers here in the States. The ‘real’ Blues and Soul/R&B artists were much more appreciated in England than here. Most middle aged adults back then, locally anyway, went to the clubs where they played Dixieland or New Orleans traditional Jazz. It was fun music, relatively easy to copy and perform, non-threatening to the audience and great to party to. One could just go with the flow. It was much easier ‘to follow’ than the modern Jazz sounds of John Coltrane or Miles Davis. It wasn't as ‘crazy’ as the new psychedelic acid-rock coming out of London, New York, L.A. and San Francisco, but still had its wild moments. It was also considered ‘cooler’ than the sappy, shlock Pop coming from their AM radios. It was safe, yet a little outside the mainstream box. I very often feel today’s Blues as being this generation’s Dixieland. That's not a knock, just an honest observation - “itsallgood”.
And how do you feel about the Blues business? I have mixed feelings. At times, I’m not sure if there is one outside of the numerous Blues Societies producing concerts locally. Many of the old clubs are gone, certainly the black ones. There are but a few record companies still standing today of any size or influence. Most are small ‘personal’ labels now, like mine (Levtron.com).
Downloading has pretty much replaced the big distributors and mega record stores. It’s much different today than it was even 5-10 years ago. Instead of a publicity department within the label, publicity is handled by free-lance sub-contractors, same with the former art departments. The smaller clubs that hire local talent pay the same today as their counterparts did thirty years ago,
sometimes less. There are way more Blues bands and players than ever however. But even the practice of being in a band and being a ‘loyal’ member has changed. Here in Boston anyway, there are many musicians and you can find them playing in different combinations with other musicians any given night of the week. When I played with B.B., Roomful or my own band, no one had time for any side projects because we were always working together. Today, the Roomful cats work full-time too, but only because they play with other bands on their off nights. My old pal and Wild Kingdomite ‘Sax’ Gordon, plays with five or six different bands every week, everywhere he goes, here and in Europe. That’s all he does. He freelances 100%.
There are many more Blues festivals and fabulous Blues cruises today. It almost boggles the mind, mine anyway. I remember Jazz Fest in New Orleans when it began. It was very much a local heritage fair featuring local food, music and arts & crafts. There would be only a handful of nationally known headliner type stars. Today, it’s a major tourist attraction and event, sponsored by international corporations featuring all of the biggest names in the entertainment
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with champion jack dupree
THURSDAY 1ST ✺ DAY ONE
CREGAN & CO
CLASSICS FROM THE ROD STEWART SONGBOOK
PURE FLOYD
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? ✺ A FOREIGNERS JOURNEY
CAMBRIDGESHIRE INTRODUCING STAGE: THE FIRST ✺ WE ARE FICTION
TU AMORE ✺ LADY GRAY ✺ PHOENIX CALLING
ACOUSTIC STAGE: FRED’S HOUSE ✺ FLAMING JUNE
RICH SOMERS ✺ THE LIGHTWORKER ✺ ROBERT BROWN
FRIDAY 2ND ✺ DAY TWO
QUIREBOYS ✺ BONAFIDE EDDIE & THE HOTRODS
THE CARNABYS ✺ SPLIT WHISKERS ✺ WALKWAY
LUNA KISS ✺ LOVELESS LUCK ✺ GET ME ON STAGE
CLASSIC ROCK SOCIETY STAGE: VOODOO VEGAS ✺ LANDMARQ ✺ LOREWEAVER
RED JASPER ✺ SAVAGE ✺ PRIMITIVE INSTINCT ✺ THE TREAT ✺ THE ROOM ✺ WITCHERS ✺ HABU
ACOUSTIC STAGE: RADAR ✺ KRISTY GALLACHER ✺ JAMIE WILLIAMS & THE ROOTS COLLECTIVE
TIA COLCOMB ✺ STEVE PABLO & FRIENDS ✺ ADRIAN NATION ✺ MORRISON & WALKER
MAZARINE BLUE ✺ ADAM DAWSON ✺ JOHN HERRING
SATURDAY 3RD ✺ DAY THREE
CARAVAN HAZEL O’CONNOR
DEBORAH BONHAM ✺ PAT MCMANUS
PEARL HANDLED REVOLVER ✺ THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT
CORNERSTONE ✺ AFTERLIFE
THE ROTARY ROCKS BLUES STAGE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH BLUES MATTERS:
BUSTER JAMES ✺ DEL BROMHAM BLUES DEVILS ✺ LAURENCE JONES ✺ BLACKTOP DELUXE
SONIC BLUE ✺ BARE BONES BOOGIE BAND ✺ UNDERTOW ✺ CHERRY LEE MEWIS
ACOUSTIC STAGE: STEVE RODGERS ✺ THY LAST DROP ✺ EMMA BLACK ✺ TOMMY JONES
MALCOLM BRUCE ✺ THE LIGHTS ✺ GALLOWS GHOST ✺ RICH YOUNG & MARK GORDON
T DOG TONY ✺ MARK SHEPHERD
SUNDAY 4TH ✺ DAY FOUR
MOSTLY AUTUMN ✺ PRAYING MANTIS ✺ PERSIAN RISK BEN POOLE BAND ✺ HEKZ ✺ ATTICA RAGE THE ROTARY ROCKS BLUES STAGE, WITH BLUES MATTERS: THE BIZZARROS
MAGNUM
THE ANIMALS ✺
✺ ROADHOUSE ✺ THE FAT PENGUINS THE MUSTANGS ✺ BLACKWEBB ✺ WELSH T BAND/DAN BURNETT ✺ ROB HOLMES BAND ACOUSTIC STAGE: DODOBONES ✺ MATT STEVENS ✺ TIN SOLDIERS AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ ✺ SOMEWHEN BAND ✺ CARLOS LINNETT & TOMMY JONES MOTOR TAPES ✺ GERONIMO ✺ STELLA HENSLEY & CHRIS NEWMAN SOULWEAVER DUO ✺ MUSIC & SPIES FOR 4 DAYS AROUND 100 BANDS! 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH AUGUST 2013 HAGGIS FARM POLO CLUB CAMBRIDGE RD, BARTON CAMBRIDGE, CB23 7PZ SIGNPOSTED AND JUST YARDS FROM M11, JUNCTION 12 ✺ CLASSIC ROCK SOCIETY STAGE ✺ OVER 80 REAL ALES AND CIDERS ✺ ROTARY ROCKS BLUES STAGE ✺ 3 INDOOR STAGE AREAS ✺ FRIENDLY CREW BOX OFFICE 01353 749 749 TICKETS FULL FESTIVAL: £89 IN EARLYBIRD, RISING TO £99 ON THE GATE. ONLY £25 FOR UNDER 16s,ONLY £1 FOR UNDER 10S DAY TICKETS THURSDAY 1ST: £20 FRIDAY 2ND: £25 FRIDAY EVE: FROM 5.30PM £20 SATURDAY 3RD: £35 SUNDAY 4TH: £35 CAMPING: £30 FOR ANY SIZED TENT, £60 CARAVAN OR MOTORHOME CHECK ONLINE FOR DETAILS: CAMBRIDGEROCKFESTIVAL.CO.UK CRF RADIO THE NEW ROCK & BLUES RADIO STATION IS HERE AND IT’S FREE! HTTP://RDO.TO/CRFRADIO.COM
DAVE EDWARDS 3 PIECE SUITE ✺ BLUES SHIFT
business, from across the globe. There are many more Blues radio shows across the country, but hardly any commercial ones. With the internet, there are 1,000s of Blues music websites and web-streaming radio postings. Much like the diminishing middle class generally, the ‘middle class’ venues and outlets are grossly outbalanced by either huge or very small ones. I’m happy to report, to my knowledge anyway, drug and alcohol abuse has curtailed quite a bit from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Many, if not most of the musicians I come into contact with today, have taken the pledge or are about to. Most of the hard core ‘users’ are long gone.
Do you prefer to play organ or piano . Why, or if you've no preference, why not?
Ha! That's a tough question. I also play a little guitar, vibes, electric piano, wahwah clavinet, bass, synthesizer and love programming drums and percussion. I started on clarinet when I was in third or fourth grade, then went to piano and soon after, organ in my early teens. I don’t care to be called a keyboard player. I am a happily married man who is 100% true to my dear loving wife. But, if I was looking at this like a king of old, my instruments would be comparable to my beautiful lady concubines in my harem, there solely to serve and satisfy me. And, I lust them all. Each one has their own unique beautiful charms and personalities. In the studio, I take full advantage of my promiscuity with all of them. Live in concert, I prefer the Hammond organ and also prefer playing my own bass accompaniment on her, Ooops! I mean, it. The Hammond organ provides me with a full palate of colors, sounds and dynamics I love to control and dominate, making it coo, whisper, sigh, growl and scream. I feel like I’m only limited by my imagination working that beautiful B-3 beast. I’m at one with it, it's a natural extension of me.
How do you think your style has evolved over the years?
Interestingly enough, while compiling the
music for my web-book, I found the very first solo record I ever made, a 45. I recorded it in a garage studio in Las Vegas while I was with BB in the 70s. We did two original tunes of mine. I produced and had various compadres from bothBB’s and Little Milton’s bands join me for that session. To my surprise, much of what I played then was basically the very same approach I still use today and have all along! After all my continuous, dedicated studying and learning since the early 70s, I am much more aware of how, what, when and where to employ my various ‘pet tricks’.
My harmony, rhythm and technique has deepened, but I’m just using more sophisticated and knowledgeable ways of doing the same thing I was trying to do back then; expressing my true self. I guess my songs are new, but my style is very much the same. I'm not sure of whether that’s good or bad. It’s just my signature sound. I went through many periods trying to copy and assimilate my different musical heroes’ styles. But, that was all in an effort to give me the tools to play like myself in the end, I suppose.
Last year, my guitarist from ten years ago happened to be walking down the street by a club while I was sitting in with another band. He later told me; while he was walking outside, he heard the organ and said to himself, “Damn, that sounds just like Levy!” He had to come in to see, and when he did, he starting laughing in anticipation of telling me this story. He also told me I never sounded better.
So I guess, I'm improving or getting closer to playing like myself? Nonetheless, I’ll be practicing and studying more tomorrow morning and as much as I can during the next days, weeks, months and years to come. I want to write some more too!
Thanks for that, Ron. Anything else you might want to add...
Buy my book and all my music! Please, have all your friends do so as well!
Thank you.
you can buy Tales froM a roaD Dog fro M WWW.lev Tron.co M
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hicago Slim performs around twice the caseload of the average orthopedic surgeon, and paid about half as much, as he performs many upon the non-insured. This passionate 7ft ex-basketball player, doctor, humanitarian and Bluesman has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC and WGN, add to that NASW named him “Citizen of The Year” for Chicago and Illinois and he was Chicago Magazine’s, ‘Chicagoan of The Year’. As if that wasn’t enough, in the 80’s Ivankovich was a radio announcer, recording engineer and producer. America was built out of the diversity of its hard working immigrants, and the enslaved peoples of Africa. While the fittest and well educated prosper within the capitalist system, minorities and the poor fall between the cracks and fall victim of the lesser-known ‘The American Nightmare’.
“America’s Health Care System is neither healthy, caring nor a system”– Walter Cronkite.
“One quarter of Medicare beneficiaries have five or more chronic conditions, sees an average of 13 physicians each year, and fills 50 prescriptions per year” Clayton M Christenson.
earLY Life
Well both my parents are physicians; my Father was captain of the Yugoslavian crew team that competed in Rome Olympics in 1960, so he had the opportunity to travel a lot. He and my Mom planned to defect when I was about three. We first lived in Germany a little while, my Mom and I joined him there, then we came to Chicago in about 1967. When we arrived, there was a very significant wave of immigrants from Yugoslavia, from the Eastern Block. They were populating the Rust Belt, working in the steel factories between Pittsburgh and Chicago. There were also around the 60’s many of the professionals came because there was a significant need for physicians, engineers and scientists.
BLUeS aWareneSS
I did not get involved with the Blues until I was a teenager and I got into the Blues very backwardly. The thing is for me I am seven feet tall, so I was an All-State and AllAmerican Basketball player. The tournaments
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and the places we practiced took us into a lot of the areas that were on the South and West Side of Chicago. Because of the areas I played, I would usually be the only white player on the teams. When I was a teenager the drinking age was 18 in Chicago, it later became 21. After practice I would go out with my teammates, I would hear some loud guitar that hinted early Led Zeppelin to me blaring out of these bars. They’d all say, “Hey let’s go inside, I’m saying, “We’re only 15/16”, they’d say, “Don’t worry about it”. Therefore, I could go in Blues clubs South & West Side when I was 16 Yrs old. We would go there, hang out, and watch music and they would serve us. It was like a totally different universe compared to where I was living and growing up. At that time, I didn’t know who these musicians were. We went into Theresa’s, we went into the Checkerboard Lounge, and I had no idea who many of these musicians were.
A lot of places on the South Side were on 63rd St. under the El tracks. These places had typical 70’s decoration with orange shag carpeting and glittery Mardi Gras decorations everywhere. It was a scene and soundtrack of a funky seedy underworld that ran in parallel and intertwined with the Chicago Blues Scene. I mean it was pimps; it was drug dealing… it was culture far different than any culture I knew. All I knew as a teenager was “Wow man this stuff sounds like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin”. What the hell did I know about the Blues when I was 15 Years old? Often times after practice, my buddies and I would walk two blocks over to this huge open-air market on Maxwell St. to buy gym shoes and athletic gear. Then I started to go back and buy 8-tracks, I mean could get a dozen releases by B. B. King, Elmore James and Muddy Waters for $10.
While I didn’t understand the historical significance of Maxwell Street until much later, this is where I started to understand what the Blues was about. At that point, I still hadn’t picked up guitar. I played piano & violin, but going to Maxwell St., I didn’t see a lot of opportunity for me on violin, keyboards, maybe but on Maxwell St. It was basic, stripped down to a three and four piece bands,
guitars, bass and drums, with occasional harp. On any weekend, there would be up to ten bands jamming for tips. I would go from band to band and then get up the nerve to ask, “Hey man can I jam with you guys?” I sucked on guitar, but nobody cared. Most people were hung over and they let me hang out and we got to make a bunch of noise. It was an amazing experience because the camaraderie was all about the music.
The scene in, The Blues Brothers where John Lee Hooker is playing down in the heart of Maxwell St., among the crowds of people, well that doesn’t even approximate the sea of people that was actually present at any given time. I had a stereo stolen from my van at practice one day, and this man said, “Hey man don’t worry about it, you’ll get it back”. I said, “What the fuck are you talking about, my stereo got stolen out of my van”. He said, “Hey dude, just go to Maxwell St. You’ll find it” and sure enough I bought it back for $25.
Apart from the Blues, gospel had its own name on Maxwell St. They didn’t play sacred steel it was a stripped down combo; they usually had a female playing bass. I was always amazed how prolific and proficient women were on bass and vocals, and as I got into a lot of churches, women were amazing talents. I mean I didn’t know about Sister Rosetta Tharpe until much later, but as I got into the churches and looked down Maxwell St. the women were not encouraged to play guitar, but the could kick the hell out of bass. They usually doubled up, so as not to require another player, they would sing also. The gospel trios were amazing, hearing these distorted gospel vocals blaring through a little P.A. that was going into cardiac arrest. It was pretty inspirational, and definitely something that I will never forget. The gospel made up about 20-30%, and the rest was Blues.
tHe HeaLer
Only recently, a very young Michael Burks was taken from us. A genius like Magic Sam, on the verge of international stardom, died of
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cardiac complications, more than likely from untreated high blood pressure. Same thing happened to Freddie King, he died at a young age. Like many musicians, they were not managed for their health concerns until after it became a disaster.
After I got injured and couldn’t play basketball anymore I had a really wonderful opportunity to be mentored by and played with Blues legends who were my idols – from Eddie Taylor and Homesick James, to Otis Rush and Magic Slim. Slim was really the first guy that let me get up on stage to play with him. Because of his physical presence, I felt as if we were more like kindred spirits. He wasn’t just tall, he was a huge personality. These men taught me about life. I am an orthopedic trauma surgeon and spine specialist. I trained here in the Chicago area at both Rush and Northwestern Universities. I worked within the Cook County hospital system for the first ten years of my career. During that time I witnessed healthcare disparity for black people and minorities in general.
The difficulty is that there are clearly two distinct universes in America. By virtue of having multiple clinics around the South and
West sides of Chicago, I have been doctor to most all of the musicians I know and have played with over the years. In each of these instances, what really blew me away was here were these internationally celebrated artists, it just didn’t get any bigger than this and yet, at the same time, none of these guys had health insurance and access to health care. It was hard to reconcile that Jimmy Reed had more hits on the R&B charts than any Blues guy ever would yet he died of epileptic seizures that were poorly controlled. His songwriting partner and guitarist, Eddie Taylor lived in abject poverty, he also had no insurance and he died from diabetic complications (on Christmas Day of all times). More recently, Otis Rush has had some pretty significant health complications that have rendered him unable to play music or sing. I was honoured to be involved in providing continuity of care for Magic Slim during the time before his death.
In the areas that are prime to the Blues, poverty is rampant and crime statistics show record numbers across the board. Unfortunately, those communities are where many of the Blues musicians have
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historically come from. Here in Chicago the Healthcare for the poor and uninsured rests on the Cook County Health System. For me as an Orthopedic surgeon the system is overwhelmed. If you have a patient that needs a hip replacement, the waiting list can be anywhere from four to seven years. In a system that has resorted to rationing as a result of being over run, I have witnessed cancer patients with life threatening complications have to wait weeks to get treatment. The systems are so busy reacting to the patients who are severely or terminally ill that little emphasis has been placed on preventative medicine.
Philosophically, I do believe that everyone should have access to healthcare, regardless of ability to pay. In America, there is private insurance, and we have Medicare, which is subsidized insurance for seniors. Then there is Medicaid that the state administers to the poor, that pays 17 cents on the dollar. As an Orthopedic Specialist, I am may be one of a handful of specialists in the state that actively accepts Medicaid. Unfortunately, Obamacare is basically Medicaid. It is Medicaid that has been created on a Federal level without too much consultation with physicians. Unfortunately, people will have coverage on paper, but just because they have it on paper does not mean that their doctor will accept it. What is going to happen like in the Cook County System, there is going to be people who are going to believe they have health insurance. They may find a doctor who will check their blood pressure or help them with their diabetes, but if they are going to require heart surgery, going to get a cataract removed or have a hip replacement, they’re going to be out of luck. Very few medical specialists will accept that insurance, and then those doctors like me that do will be overwhelmed.
gLOBaL HeaLtH initiative
In addition to my work as a surgeon, I co-founded a not-for-profit organization called OnePatient, Global Health Initiative. OnePatient is founded on the desire to provide resources for accessible healthcare
in underserved populations, without discrimination and regardless of ability to pay. Our organization is stationed in Chicago but does work with patients from all over the United States as well as in Haiti. In addition, we have been asked to expand and provide services in parts of Croatia, Middle East and in Lebanon. The real objective is to provide musculoskeletal healthcare and orthopedic services to those most in need, but doing so by also addressing the psychosocial needs of those we serve. It’s easy to assume that you can treat a patient’s physical needs but you have to take a look at how everything impacts them. Orthopedic impairments make up the #1 cause for disabling conditions in the US. There are many people with severe and multiple disabling conditions. These conditions can often give way to additional debilitations, both physical and psychological. Treating the physical aspect is only one part of what we do.
For those in poverty, healthcare is often a luxury. You know it starts at a very early age. I take care of a lot of young children, and many of these children have previously broken bones that didn’t get treated appropriately. This means the injury doesn’t heal right. This might not affect them now, but in 10-15 years they may develop significant arthritis or other related problems that can become disabling. It’s all about prevention. At this point, many people are coming to me that are our ageforty to fifty but are in wheelchairs. I have recently had a whole rash of young men who have had arthritis to the point that they are severely disabled, unable to walk or confined to nursing homes. We support collaborative care. We work to transform the lives of patients who wish to take back their lives. We want them to reach their potential, living normal lives and make them happy. This is something that happens over the lifetime of many people. It is a very difficult solution, and I am just one person but I am inspired daily. The inspiration for OnePatient - Global Health Initiative? Mother Theresa. The ability to change lives, even if its only one person at a time. Look, I know I cannot fix Chicago. I can’t fix Port Au Prince in Haiti, but I can
www.blu E sm Att E rs.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | PAGE 105
danieL ivanKOviCH Interview
HARRY NILSSON
The Great American pop architect who wowed The Beatles, shaped The Monkees and crashed and burned
GENE CLARK
Two Sides To Every Story – hippie canyon rock the year punk broke
MORGEN
The story behind 1969’s heavy psych motherlode
STACKRIDGE
The Beatles on cider or The Mothers Of Invention go prog?
THE STEPPES
Cult quartet who bucked the trend during the ’80s garage revival
PLUS: THEE MIGHTY CAESARS • CAPTAIN BEEFHEART SWAMP DOGG • THE COMBUSTIBLES • FIFTY FOOT HOSE • ELTON JOHN • DEAD MEADOW and much more
SHINDIG! No.34 • Published 1 August 2013 from www.shindig-magazine.com + newsagents, record stores, bookshops
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change one person and that person will then pay it forward to the next person. As we all move on with good deeds, the “OnePatient at a time” mentality is key. We can have influence and we can change lives…one patient at a time.
CHiCagO BLUeS aLL StarS
I am incredibly good friends with all the members of the band that I play with, in the Chicago Blues All-Stars. When I was playing with Otis Rush, 25 yrs ago, the members of my band were all highly visible on the scene. At the time, in Chicago, “Killer” Ray Allison was a legendary drummer because as was the drummer for Muddy Waters. When he and I connected he was already playing with James Cotton, and he had been playing with Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. After Cotton he played with Buddy Guy for years. With 120-hour working weeks, I kind of drifted away from the scene while in medical school and during my orthopedic training. Surgical residency and fellowship was a very rigorous time in my life. Regardless, I worked hard and still had a little side clinic that I would provide care to my musician friends. I was pretty much out of the scene and couldn’t play gigs. I got married, it got very time consuming. Fast forward all this time and the last six or seven years I still had many of my musician friends coming through the clinics. A couple had broken ankles; a couple came just for routine check ups and blood pressure. I hadn’t heard from Killer for a long time, so I asked everyone, “What is Killer doing”? When they told me that Killer quit drums, I said, “You’re kidding”, because he was like the greatest Blues drummer in history of Chicago Blues. He didn’t want to play drums anymore, and everyone was calling him, I mean like every major British rock/blues God was calling him to play drums and he wouldn’t do it. We re-connected for coffee, and I said, “What the hell are you doing”. He said, “I want to play guitar, and I just don’t want to be behind the drum kit. I can’t be any bigger or more successful than I was, it’s just time for me to start a band, but nobody wants to accept me as a guitarist”. I said, “Well let’s keep talking”, so we came up with the concept of launching an All-Star Chicago Blues show band that showcased multiple vocalists, a horn section and featured real disciples of the Blues genre
who were committed to keeping it vital and alive.
Blues has had a lot of problems with its image, and as much as the music is phenomenal, Blues has always been synonymous with alcohol, tobacco, drugs and bad relationships. Ray and I don’t do drugs or drink, I mean we’re clean; our intent was to promote Blues music in the most positive manner possible. Because we were very proud of Chicago’s rich musical history and the legends that we’ve followed as disciples, we really wanted to showcase and try to take the Blues to the next level. This project isn’t a hand to mouth thing; this is isn’t about how much money am I getting at the gig. The thing is to make an impact on people’s lives when you’re on the stage. The opportunity to impact is on our communities is also critical. You know “Killer” Ray does some phenomenal work bringing Blues into the schools.
A guy like Ray is a very charismatic, he gives back to these young black men who in many instances don’t have a positive role model at home. Ray is going into these schools with other members of our band C. C. Copeland and Johnny Cotton. They are exposing the kids to drums, to guitar and bass, and giving them an understanding that music can be your outlet. I find him to be a very inspirational and positive man. I am very proud to have him as my Brother. Looking at the two of us we couldn’t be more opposite, but spiritually, we are pretty much about the same thing. The Blues for us is everything, but we’re young enough that we are still trying to make the music relate to young people. We are fortunate we have a big band, with nine members, including a horn section.
When we play in Chicago, man the dance floor is packed, its wall-to-wall people. I mean these youngsters, just want to feel the Blues; it’s energy and excitement. For us the number one thing is to move people with the groove, and get them up off their seats. We don’t want people to sit in their chairs, and just clap, we want them to feel and experience the Blues. That is our mission; it’s a holistic one that promotes a healthy mind, body and spirit. Our mission focuses keeping the Blues alive through the health and wellness of its most vital resource, musicians.
for The laTesT ne Ws on Daniel i vankovich check ouT hTTp:// WWW. bluesallsTars.coM an D hTTp:// WWW.onepaTienT.org
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danieL ivanKOviCH Interview
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this issue’s selection
of the very best blues
VIRGIL AND THE ACCELERATORS
Live At mArsHALL 31/8/12
mystic
Not many artists have had such early and transforming endorsements, as Virgil has, with encouragement from Kim Wilson, tours with Johnny Winter, Michael Schenker, Wilko Johnson, Uriah Heep and, and an invitation by blues giant Otis Grand to share the stage. It is with these artists’ blessings that Virgil and The Accelerators emerged with their first album Radium (named after the beer hall in South Africa that Virgil’s father often performed in when he was a child). Now, Vata have released their second album which takes the form of a CD and DVD that record for posterity a concert which took place at the small sound stage at the studios of Marshall Amplification HQ. This unusual venue can accommodate an audience of up to 350 lucky people. The concert has a running time of just over 100 minutes; disappointingly, from a fans’ point of view the only special feature is a short ten minute pre- concert interview with the band, with; Virgil McMahon; guitar/vocals, brother Gabriel McMahon; drums and Jack Timmis; Bass.
As the cameras focus on the audience the eager anticipation is unmistakable; the urging whistles and joyful chants fill the air prior to the start. As the crashing sounds of Working Man bursts into the air, the energy released from the audience bursts causing the noise level to almost go off the Richter scale. As the band continue with Bad Girl and Backstabber; the undeniable influences of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and other guitar legends of the past have an intuitive amalgamating effect on Virgil’s guitar work, rather than him knowingly or unknowingly copying their styles. Virgil’s use of retro lyrics on these numbers certainly enhances mood and pace, coupled with the bands’ solid rhythmic blues and boogie.. Rock is most certainly catered for with the Hendrix influenced wah-wah on Racing With Life and Chameleon. The powerful drum work of Gabriel coupled with Jacks rock solid bass allows Virgil the freedom to let his fingers roam wherever they choose along his fret board. Virgil enthusiastically dives into a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Scuttlebuttin’ this foray into the world of Texas blues is extremely refreshing as he confidently and joyously settles into a very Lone Star relaxing mood; from this pace we are treated to heart felt moving and at times joyously wailing and ringing slowburning blues with What Am I To Do, 88, The Hoax’s Don’t Shake My Hand and Silver Giver .Whilst you are trying to get your breath back there is a grippingly resounding riff laden twenty minute encore consisting of The Storm, Bullet In The Head and Are You Experienced. When you consider that this is a live album the band chooses not to go overboard with theatrics and bombast, they simply show what they are capable of and that is a good, high quality performance.
Brian Harman
AYNSLEY LISTER
Home
straight talkin’ records
And so the long wait for Aynsley Lister’s new studio album is over. In the four years since Equilibrium, Lister has solidified his reputation as one of the UK’s best blues/rock acts, who has not only sustained but continued to develop a loyal following. However with the emergence of many young arrivals onto the scene, it’s perhaps prudent to consider how Aynsley shapes up. Thankfully Home has all the features and qualities you’d expect on an album by Lister and more besides. A rich bluesy guitar introduction heralds the introduction of the title track, a slow burning six and a half minute opener. Although no reminder should be required the song demonstrates Lister’s strong contemporary song writing on a blues foundation. These qualities are also very evident in Insatiable, which mixes tempo and mood before a super charged repeating guitar riff. The song is destined to be a live favourite as is Possession which is as near as you get to trademark Lister. Inside Out commences with some introspective lyrics before a very catchy chorus. Broadly the album balances high quality blues workouts such as Sugar with songs with greater commercial sensibilities such as Free. The lyrics of Hyde 2612 , with a bouncing bassline, refer to Sam Tyler from TV series Life On Mars, while the straight up blues of Straight Talking Woman probably relates to someone closer to… home. For the first time in more than a
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ARTHUR ‘BIG BOY’ CRUDUP
sunny roAd
Delmark records
From the first note to the last, this album delivers authentic blues with the voice taking centre stage and an air of melancholy is present throughout, this is in no part due to the fact that Crudup, had just lost his wife when this was recorded on a grey November day in 1969. Sunny Road is authentic blues, the song and voice takes the lead with guitar and other instruments filling in emotion and adding tempo and texture. This album is a gem that had been hidden away for far too long and once again Delmark records have delivered; bringing great lost music to our turntables and players. Crudup has a fine voice and it is no wonder that Elvis was an admirer who recorded three of Crudup’s songs. On this recording 64 year old Crudup was joined by Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins contributing lead guitar to three tracks, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith is the rock-solid drummer throughout. This nine track album also includes a snippet of studio banter regarding choice of song; so the last track reflects his mood of the moment All I Got Is Gone with Crudup on a emotional high sounding as if he is almost in tears. The other tracks that stand out above the others are Mistake I Made in L.A. with the subtle guitar playing of Jimmy Dawkins and She Gives Me a Thrill, as Arthur said that his words and music “came out of the sky”. These certainly were delivered with a moving voice and a sky full of anticipation and a glimmer of hope missing from much of the album. Definitely a blues album with tracks and licks that are familiar and comforting, yet despite languishing in the vaults since 1969 has a crisp production and a purity of sound that lets every track speak for itself. This is a fine combination of blues vocals and guitar on this which was a final chapter in this great bluesman’s life as he died in 1974; this is a true tribute to one of the greats.
Liz aiken
decade drummer (and co-producer) Wayne Proctor is alongside Lister, complemented by Lister’s regular bassist Steve Amadeo and keyboardist Andre Bassing. Each contributes strongly to the album, which has very much a band feel. A first self-release from Lister, Home reaffirms everything we knew about his talents already, yet the songs are richer and his singing has continued to develop. Not only stand up to repeated listens, but will demand them!
Duncan Beattie
ELIZABETH MACINNIS
one eye on tHe HigHwAy independent
Now a bright cover with a girl in an open top car with a guitar on the back seat in open country makes you breath a sigh,
hummingbirds on the back of the cover and floral tapestry inside change the aspect a bit but let’s put the disc on shall we! A lovely slide intro to the opening title song One Eye On The Road and a country tinged vocal intrigue immediately. Easy paced and with a strong chorus this hits the mark and makes you want more and to even join in! NICE start. Great car song. Elizabeth has a fine voice that moves between Country and Blues very well and has warmth and power as needed.
We move on to a little more country style that sure makes ya feet tap along very nicely indeed. Someone is features a plaintive violin and pleading vocals that are moving. For me the high spot is Love’s Got Rhythm & Blues as it strides in with a loping blues/country feel and a song that fits equally in both camps, great band work all round on this, loved it.
That’s What Momma Always Said is a retrospective lyric that is both positive and sad at the same time and many will be able to identify with (This song is repeated unplugged at track 11). Did I Touch You picks up the beat and the violin floats across a strong backing before Only Kidding steps back into Blues territory more strongly and Elizabeth’s vocal has a strangely calm but burning edge to it, spooky at times. With fine playing and vocals throughout make this a well put together album of mostly self-penned material I’m so glad I placed on my player I feel calmed and refreshed all at once. Give this a chance and you just might find the album irresistable Frank LeigH
RORY BLOCK
AvALon - A tribute to mississippi JoHn Hurt stony Plain
Rory Block is one of America’s greatest treasures, she has released countless albums during her lengthy recording career as a solo country blues artist and is now releasing what I consider to be pay back albums, this is the fourth album in a series where she is recognising the great Country Blues artists who influenced her during her formative years. This release is a loving tribute to the songs and music of John Hurt, the album kicks off with a Rory Block song Everybody Loves John, which tells the story of John Hurt behind some very catchy phrasing, this track is the only non-original but sits perfectly with the rest of the material that pre-dates it by almost eighty years. The other tracks covered by Rory include some of John Hurt’s iconic material, specifically Avalon which was the track that reignited interest in him when it was discovered in 1963 by Blues enthusiast Tom Hoskins. The singing and playing throughout the album feels spontaneous, with an authentic earthy sound reminiscent of the field recordings undertaken during the 1920’s when these songs were originally recorded, Rory has done an
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excellent job in recreating the original John Hurt style and this is a fitting tribute to the man, which will I am sure will re-kindle interest in his songs that have pertinent lyrics today.
aDrian BLackLee
GRACIE CURRAN & THE HIGH FALUTIN’ BAND
proof of Love
vizzable music
Taking a line sometime trod by Etta, Janis, and Shemekia, Gracie Curran has a powerhouse vocal that drives a high pulse and drains the emotional bucket dry. She and her band have only been together three years but it appears they causing quite a stir Stateside, notably in their base of Boston and on the East Coast.
Releasing this debut album while in Memphis though, was a blues-cultured wise move and it is being recognised as quite a debut! The high temperature mix of the electric guitar forward line, funky backdrop and ballsy vocal from the boss lady gives the whole package an innovative vibrancy; think Black Crowes meet Northsyde on a blues playing field. That means it is the clever and intuitive distance her singing stays away from all the instrumental action, yet remains immersed in the same story. Stand out versions of this can be seen in Jack & MaryJane and Rock & A Hard Place, but there really isn’t a deviant number here; even the obligatory six minute pained slow blues, here it is Weight Of Her World, has an intensity that justifies the triumphant reception.
garetH Hayes
GARY HALL winning wAys on Losing streAks northern sun recordings
All roots music contains shades of the blues, and this excellent new country blues album from Gary Hall is no exception. To me Gary is foremost a
poet, and his lyrics are what first attracted me to his work. In one of his earlier compositions he states that “some cry words, while others just talk tears”. On this his latest collection he demonstrates this gift of translating emotions into songs to perfection. The new CD has eleven songs. The one that instantly got to me is a hauntingly beautiful song of lost love entitled I Can’t Believe She’s Gone. There’s also a refreshingly simple video to go with this song on YouTube. I like all the songs on this album. The FeelgoodFactor Blues is the perfect wry opening track, to lead us into the rest of this varied album. A Country Mile from Shore is next, and deals with the storms which rage within and without us all. His cover of Wagon Wheel follows, which Gary obviously likes and plays with lots of energy. The Enemy Within is next and has a nice south of the border feel to it, which is shared with another of my favourites Red Dirt Roads, Stick Around Bojangles, A Small Price to Pay , Still My Reason
Why , One Step Ahead of The Blue and Long Mynd Mornings are also excellent songs, which deserve more words than I have space for here. Therefore I recommend you listen to them, and discover their merits for yourselves. All songs are written or co-written by Gary Hall, apart from ‘Wagon Wheel’ (Bob Dylan/Ketch Secor)!
BeryL Hankin
ALBERT COLLINS
ALive And CooL pLus angel air records
At 15 tracks, which include 6 bonus tracks, this live collection dating from 1969 is a curiosity, albeit a rather satisfying one. We lost Texan Albert Collins in 1993, aged 61. He learned his fretboard skills from a relative, none other than Lightnin’ Hopkins. He was admired by Jimi Hendrix - in fact, when Jimi left Little Richard’s band, it was Collins who stood in for him for a while. If this
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STERLING KOCH
Let it sLide full force music
Let It Slide is the follow up to the critically acclaimed Slide Ruler from 2011. That album was always going to be a hard act to beat but Sterling along with his regular live band of Gene Babula (bass) and John Goba (drums) might have just pulled it off. Sterling Koch is fast becoming recognised as one of the very top lap steel guitar players and his Chicago style slide on a heady mixture of originals and covers really hit the spot. The album opens with one of the covers, Doyle Bramhall’s Shape I’m In, starting with a nice sedate pace before bursting into full force fury of slide guitar. Wrong Side Of The Blues shows the tightness and musicianship of the band. This produces quality at every turn.
Even on the slower numbers like Elmore James, It Hurts Me
Too the slide work is totally absorbing, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sterling recently and he spoke about having worked hard on his vocals, on the evidence of this that work is paying off. I’m not normally a great fan of instrumentals but the five minute plus Lonely Avenue is an exception and is over far too soon. If well-paced guitar blues is your thing there is plenty to enjoy with tracks like Too Sorry and I Wanna Be Your Driver. Special mention too for the great vocals by Jennifer Dierwechter on album closer Working Mans Blues. I highly recommend any lover of Chicago blues to explore this album at CD Baby whether you’re an aficionado of eight-string lap steel or not, once you become a convert, go back and check out Slide Ruler too as the perfect accompaniment.
steve yourgLivicH
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album was by any lesser artist, you might call it a shambles, but when you realise what it is and how it was made, it becomes a bit of a gem. King of the Telecaster Collins, ‘The Ice Man’ came to prominence on this side of the pond because Canned Heat’s larger than life vocalist, Bob Hite, sang his praises to UK blues entrepreneur Peter Shertser, founder of Red Lightin’ Records.
Shertser duly arranged gigs for Collins in the UK, and his fame soon broadened back home. In 1969 at Fillmore West there was one hell of a show when Creedence Clearwater Revival and Fleetwood Mac took to the stage, and Albert Collins was on the same bill. This recording is down to Mac’s Jeremy Spencer, who recorded it through the deck at the gig. It has all the live hums and clicks you get at a gig, but the music and the band are rugged, uplifting. There’s a long introductory instrumental, a great version of Mustang Sally, Baby What You Want Me To Do, and among the bonus tracks are Collins favourites such as Freeze, Defrost and Albert’s Alley. Sadly, there’s no information about who’s playing the superb Jimmy Smith -style organ, or the punchy,
WALTER TROUT BAND
A tribute to LutHer ALLison
Provogue records
honking brass - that’s because, as Nick Dalton tells us in the liner notes “Nobody knows...” LSD has a lot to answer for. Still, if you want to hear a fine, skilled bluesman at his guitarpickin’ peak, this live set is all you could ask for.
roy Bainton
BRAD VICKERS & HIS VESTAPOLITANS
greAt dAy in tHe morning manhattone
There are several links back to the earliest days of recorded blues on this immensely entertaining album, the fourth from this New York based outfit. Singer/ fiddler/ bassist Margey Peters was once scheduled to record for Spivey Records, set up by Victoria Spivey who recorded way back, and whose vaudeville-blues and hokum recordings certainly left their mark both on Margey (try This MIght Not Be Your Day) and the band’s good-time approach – listen to the jump-blues sound of It’s A Good Life with its Jamaican influences, or to Brad’s beautiful slide guitar work.
“I’ve thought about doing this album for years. It was just time,” says Walter Trout, who has never made an album of covers before. In 1986, the magnificently- named man behind the Montreux Jazz, Svengali Claude Nobs, was serving his musical guests lunch in his Alpine chalet. “So we’re up at the top of the Alps,” Trout recalls, “in this big room with John Mayall, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Robert Cray, Otis Rush, and as we’re eating, Dr. John is serenading us on acoustic piano. I was sat there with Luther Allison...” Now that’s what you call a roomful of blues... When Luther died in 1997, Trout thought about this project and, thankfully, here it is at last. A tribute like this represents that true affection and camaraderie many musicians share, and Walter has done his hero proud. Allison was a dynamic, exciting bluesman and this recording captures his original power and energy on this great album with superb effect. 13 tracks nicely mixed by Eric Corne include the classics such as Cherry Red Wine, Pain in The Streets, Freedom and Luther Blues. The vocals are terrific, and everywhere Walter’s big, brash guitar doles out the thrills by the bucketful. If you’re fishing for a damn good blues album, then this is one Trout you can reel in with confidence.
roy Bainton
Victoria worked with Tampa Red, whose under-valued style can be heard here, especially on Red’s Anna Lou Blues. Then there is the bonus track, Dallas Blues, with this recording marking the centenary of its composition. Finally, the band’s style is simply infused with a real understanding – try Frisco Town, a subtly modern number that sounds as though it should be on a scratchy shellac disc. Elsewhere on this disc there is some jumping R and B, and Together For Good is gospelly, with guests Gina Sicilia and Christine Santelli; on all 15 tracks there are sounds that should appeal to all the real blues lovers. Recommended. victor ian LeyLanD
THE LAURA HOLLAND BAND smokeHouse sessions independent
This album is a real treat! A selection of tested songs (ok covers) that are not the usual ones given a brand new treatment and style by a band that know just what to do to them and a vocalist who doesn’t just go through the catalogue but breathes new life made this a damn fine treat to the ears and stands repeated playing. If you want to get oozed away rather than blown away this will certainly do it for you.
Ten songs with amongst them three from Willie Dixon being Spoonful which is eased down and featuring brass section, My Babe and Talk To Me Baby , Danny Overbea’s 40 Cups Of Coffee skips along at a neat rate yet still had a soothing quality to it, Leroy Kirklands’ Next Door To The Blues has the head bopping and is infectious, Hey Now from Ray Charles’ catalogue all given a mellow treatment that soothes whatever ails ya and leaves you feeling good. We wait with baited breath for their next release of original material that is in the creative stages and should see the light of day to caress our ears in 2014
Frank LeigH
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LIMPIN EXPRESS
first ACt
cD from limpinexpress.bandcamp.com
Ah, Greece; cradle of culture. Well, here’s the Socrates, Plato and Aristotle of the blues - a true power trio called Limpin Express from Athens. This is rock and blues energy which soars above any EEC austerity measures and reminds you that music will always a currency you don’t have to change at the airport. Formed in August 2011 by three young, albeit experienced and hardworking musicians, Andreas Kastanakis on vocals and guitar, Vaggelis Kotzampasis on drums and Konstantinos Papathimios on bass. This fine showcase of their skills was recorded in 2012 and it confirms just how effective the three-man bass. drums/guitar formation can be when it comes to playing raw, stripped-back blues. There are ten tracks here, and two things stand out; one is the vocals and guitar playing, the other is that these ten songs look like originals, they’re all in English, and as blues songs go, they’re damn fine. There’s some fine riffing on Midnight Shuffle, and great slide playing on Tricky Pony
The final track, Travellin’ Blues features Chicago’s Michael Dotson, who’s played with, among others, Billy Boy Arnold, Homesick James and Magic Slim. As Socrates said, 2,300 years ago; “Music directly imitates the passions or states of the soul...when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued with the same passion.” I reckon the old thinker would’ve loved Limkin Express.
roy Bainton
SLEEPY EYES NELSON
tHe unHeALtHy songbook
cheap Wine records
Sleepy divides his time between visits to West Virginia, Memphis and his adopted home of Glasgow; originally from Ayrshire in Scotland, he now has become a well-received regular fixture
LINDA VALORI dAys
Linda Valori is a young soul singer with considerable vocal power, and she applies this power to a number of covers on her newest release. From the soul reworking of Van Morrison’s title track, to the reggae reworking of The Pretender’s Don’t Get Me Wrong there is much to admire in this release. She has surrounded herself with a fine band, which includes a full brass section, and they all add to a musical vision, and all though there are solos, most notably from Mike Wheeler’s guitars on I Idolize You and I Smell Trouble and the saxophone solos on Days Like This and Pain they add unexpected twists and turns to the tune, which helps to add interest for the listener. The work of Ike Turner features throughout the album, with two of his songs I Idolize You with its wah wah guitar groove, and The Way You Love Me with its steady rolling groove are good choices, whilst the album closer If I Can’t Have You is a vocal duet for Linda Valori and guest vocalist Mike Avery. In all, this is a fine album, well recorded, performed and sung, and if you are looking for an album of different versions of familiar songs, this is a good place to start.
Ben macnair
on the local club circuit. He has developed an extremely attractive and enticing delta finger picking style, his warm, comforting tones would easily convince you that he was a Mississippi Delta native but, in fact he composes and records his music from his home in Glasgow. Known locally as the King of the Clyde Delta Blues; this is due mostly for his intricate and intimate style of play, which effectively includes bass, rhythm, lead and vocals all at the same time.
The twenty numbers found on this album are a combination of five live numbers recorded in Scotland and America and fifteen at his home; in fact, whether by design or accident this lo-fi method of approach to recording actually seems to increase the overall intimacy and natural rustic elements, leading to an atmosphere that is nearly as old and authentic as a Mississippi Delta native of the past. The subject matter ranges from the hot and very tasty food delights of Don’t Kill That Steak, Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken and Deep Fried Pizza Blues to tales of the perils of drink with Devil Drink Blues and Whisky In The Mornin’ two sad and mournful examples of how to drink your life and wife away both at the same time. There is also a timely warning of the
how easy it is to get into debt with The Bookies Won’t Leave Me Alone. Also, Sleepy treats us to a scathing rendition of the ineptitude and apparent indifference of rail journeys north of the border in Scotrail Blues, nobodies blushes are spared here. In all sleepy has featured in eight albums and he has collaborated with American artists such as; Slate Dump (Jason Mathew McQuillen) of West Virginia, C. J. Marie from Missouri and Pigeon Petal of Texas.
It was during one of these visits to America that Sleepy was originally signed to the record label Devil’s Ruin in two thousand and eight, subsequently he went on to sign for Cheap Wine records. The five live numbers range from two fine and very atmospheric numbers; Old House Covered In Blues and Power Cut Blues performed in the State Bar, Glasgow; to two wonderfully invigorating duets one with Carmen Lee on The Rats Are Comin’ In and Slate Dump on King Tuts’ Blues at Nitros’ in West Virginia. Finishing with Postman Blues and Blind Boy Fullers’ Step It Up And Go! At Murphy’s in Memphis, Tennessee. Even though these tales are told in a starkly thirties
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PAGE 114 | blues matters! | august-september 2013 www.blu E sm Att E rs.com 01 MISSISSIPPI FRED MCDOWELL AmAzing grACe/ my Home is in tHe deLtA (floating World 2cD) 02 HOWELL DEVINE Jumps, boogies & wobbLes (arhoolie cD) 03 JAMES COTTON Cotton moutH mAn (alligator cD) 04 JOHNNY COPELAND it’s me - CLAssiC texAs souL 1965-1972 (Kent 2cD) 05 SPIDER JOHN KOERNER wHAt’s Left of spider JoHn (hornbeam cD) 06 THE CHICAGO BLUES BOX tHe mCm reCords story (storyville 8cD) 07 CHARLIE PARR bArnswALLow (tin angel cD) 08 COUNTRY FIDDLE fine eArLy string bAnd musiC 1924-1937 (JsP 4cD) 09 DANNY BRYANT HurriCAne (Jazzhaus cD) 10 DOUBLE TROUBLE tHe CobrA reCords story 1956-59 (one Day 2cD) 11 JOHNNY SHINES witH big wALter Horton/stAnding At tHe CrossroAds (floating World 2cD) 12 GUY DAVIS JubA dAnCe (Dixiefrog cD) 13 JAMES HUNTER SIX minute by minute (Go cD) 14 WALTER TROUT LutHer’s bLues (Provogue cD) 15 BLIND WILLIE MCTELL uLtimAte bLues CoLLeCtion (not now 2cD) 16 BOZ SCAGGS mempHis (429 cD) 17 LARRY MILLER Live & outLAwed (big Guitar 2cD) 18 ANA POPOVIC CAn you stAnd tHe HeAt? (inakustik cD) 19 EUGENE ‘HIDEAWAY’ BRIDGES roots And vines (armadillo cD) 20 MUD MORGANFIELD tHe bLues is in my bLood (blues boulevard cD)
MICK ABRAHAMS
CAt squirreL bLues
Mick Abrahams’ musical journey might be regarded by some as a salutary lesson in missed opportunity. The early to mid-Sixties generation of Blues guitarists that flourished under the American inspired and Alexis Korner and John Mayall promoted London Blues scene was unique, and produced some stellar players plus a whole host of perhaps equally talented players, who lacked the star quality of a Brian Jones or Peter Green. Abrahams had his early, but quickly discarded, break with the first incarnation of Jethro Tull. He then achieved near cult status with the progressive Blues group Blodwyn Pig, before largely fading from large-scale public recognition. Subsequent releases under his own name have been sporadic, but are nonetheless valuable Blues releases, especially the highly recommended All Said And Done.
The latest, Cat Squirrel Blues is a double CD, culled from recent live dates in the UK and Europe. The first CD features acoustic performances, and the second comprises an electric set. Abrahams playing is superb throughout, and he is in fine voice, as he works his way through both traditional and original. His signature tune Cat Squirrel Blues is given an epic workout, and many of the covers such as the acoustic Black Night or electric How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live? Are excellent. Abraham’s stage manner is casual and does occasionally detract from the performances, which thankfully are offered with more conviction than the accompanying banter would sometimes suggest. noggin
style most of the messages are still firmly resonant today. Recommended!
Brian Harman
THE MUSTANGS
speed of Love trapeze music & entertainment
The Mustangs are a little unusual on the UK blues-rock scene in that, though they are veterans, they tend to rely far more on songs rather than on extended guitar work-outs. On some tracks they probably appeal as much to indie-rock fans as much as to blues lovers. They can successfully incorporate pop-flavoured elements into their repertoire – Cold Walk Home reminds me strongly of Maggie May era Rod Stewart, and Looking For A Reason brought to mind 60s American band The Byrds.
However, many of their riffs are blues-based, and the fine and varied harmonica playing of Derek Kingaby ensures that they keep a bluesy
flavour even when moving quite a way from a strict 12 bar format. They can tackle a soulful blues ballad with as much ease as they do a crowdpleasing When God Met The Devil. All songs are originals – despite my comments about influences, some very original indeed. Try the blues ballad Move On for an excellent example of their craft – slow, evocative and unlike anything else around at the moment.
norman Darwen
THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALS
tHe Long HAuL Wynntown recordings
The Marshals consist of four principal playersKeith Benzie, Iain Sloan, Murdoch MacLeod and Kenny McCabe but in making this album they had support from some deputies (that’s enough of the Wild West metaphors) having said that, there’s no
cowboys in this line up. Musically they create a vibrant album which has a form of Americana, with a not so subtle rockabilly influence. Amazingly this album is a sort of D.I.Y. project for the Edinburgh group as it was recorded upstairs from their rehearsal room in a pub on the Southside of the city. That fact alone adds kudos to the Marshals as it takes some doing to produce this quality of reproduction outside a mainstream studio. Vocally, The Long Haul is showcased really well on track two Canada and lyrically this is sensitively written by Keith Benzie. In fact the lyrics on all of the titles are well penned with meaning and purpose. Iain Sloan’s manual dexterity on a variety of stringed instruments, but specifically on Tide, is top drawer. Curtain Call has lyrics which defy description in terms of rock/pop/country music but are a revelation in terms of relating a story musically. This group remind me of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the genre of music they produce, now that is praise indeed. I loved their lyric story-telling allied to their all-round musical ability, and look forward to their next offering. tom waLker
RITA PAYNE
stories from A suitCAse independent
Suitably sparse and well-crafted, Rita Payne’s music is a cohesive jigsaw of folk, country and subtle blues that mirrors the origins of the band. Well, band may not be the right word as Rita Payne is neither a person nor a band, it’s a duo. That duo is an oblique anagram of former school pals, Rhiannon Scott and Pete Sowerby. Meeting with an interest in classic rock (The Who, Rolling Stones) may be what brought them together but the sound of Rita Payne is a little distant from the rock-blues attack of those icons. Rita Payne play gentle numbers of high harmonies and intricate detail; think Be Good Tanyas, Mumford &
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secret records
Sons. Amongst the folky vibe there is one gutsy blues turn and Jeremiah has that air of cowboy blues familiar with popular nourish US television series. Rhiannon Scott plays guitar and banjo on the album leaving piano and percussion to Pete Sowerby, as they alternate their harmony vocals. Going down a storm at the folk festivals, it’s unlikely though that they’ll be packing their bags for traditional blues gatherings.
garetH Hayes
WINGIN’ IT
for tHe mAny san remo
Adam Bulley and Chas McKenzie have produced a real gem in this album. The string work of both has given us an absolute cracking CD; and with the help of some other accomplished musicians they’ve created an extraordinary blend of Americana with a Celtic slant. There are also strains of jazz percolating through which only adds to the excellent playing and interpretation the guys have presented. The opening track State of Mind had a vaguely Pink Floyd feel to it, until the trumpet of Toby Shippey and violin of Carrie Thomas brought me back to reality. This is not in any way a criticism; rather it is high praise from me as I have the Floyd in the pantheon of musical Gods. Mariner 9 gives further emphasis on the Floyd theme, however, before we view these guys as a Pink Floyd tribute act, nothing could be further from the truth. These are instrumentalists who are dexterous in the extreme with their instruments, and who are completely in tune with each other and their music. Raising the Bar fairly skelps along at a fiery tempo with adept whistle playing from Fraser Fifield, in the sort of music you’d hope was going to be played on Hogmanay as opposed to the tartan and shortbread tripe produced on television. All in all, this entire musical nugget is worth its weight in silver, if not gold. tom waLker
LISA BIALES WITH RICKY NYE AND THE PARIS BLUES BAND
singing in my souL big song music
Lisa Biales (pronounced be-alice) hales from Ohio and has that type of old-time, ragtime, jazzy blues voice that conjures up an air of optimism that only the Americans seem able to do. There is nothing particularly original on her latest CD but it is her infectious buoyancy that makes this entry worthy. Indeed, nine of the tracks are covers and even though they come from a lineage that would have expected more misery, we have to think good time rather than old time. Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Strange Things Happening Every Day and Mississippi John Hurt’s Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me are given a carnival twist clearly influenced by produced and collaborator Ricky Nye, the boogie-woogie player and New Orleans protagonist. Biales own theatrical leanings are evident too, especially on the crooning Careless Love by W.C. Handy. There’s an iconic piano-led railroad tune in Waiting For The Train To Come In (Block/Skylar), and to continue the feeling of positivity it appears to be sung from a first class nourish lounge and not from the dusty veranda. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, it’s a very pleasant journey.
garetH Hayes
DERRIN NAUENDORF distAnt
empires independent
I know nothing about Derrin Nauendorf or his music save that he is a name that I have seen many times in various Blues publications. I therefore approached this album with a completely open mind and was totally impressed with the form of acoustic based music that came my way on first hearing. For some reason I was
expecting an album by a sole troubadour, armed with acoustic guitar and very little else and so it was a joy to experience the breadth of music that Nauendorf produces.
This is a ten song release and all songs are Nauendorf compositions, and the quality of songs throughout is very high. He is backed by Christian Bohm on drums and Rick Foot on bass and strings, and it is the addition of strings that brings an added depth and quality to the whole album, defining mood and attitude as in the opening track Distant Empires or on History Repeating. But Nauendorf himself is not averse to creating interesting sounds as this is not just an acoustic jaunt as he wields some impressive electric guitar wizardry himself. Witness, is a haunting ballad with a simple but daunting drum beat a la Mac’s ‘Albatross’. One Light On In Jerusalem is a hard driving rocker which along with Tell Jesus What You Have Done reminds me greatly of Michael Chapman.
The song My Best Was Not Good Enough is a classic outpouring of sadness and loss, with the feeling of inadequacy prevalent throughout. On The Rule Of Thieves, Nauendorf demonstrates some extremely deft finger work on his guitar neck in an unaccompanied tour de force about life as an underdog. This is a worthwhile addition to any CD collection as there is very little here to dislike, but plenty to absorb and enjoy. merv osBorne
JAMES COTTON
Cotton moutH mAn alligator records
James Cotton should require little introduction to those with a knowledge of Chicago Blues.
Mentored by Sonny Boy Williamson, he became Howlin’ Wolf’s harmonica player in the early 1950s, before joining Muddy Waters’ band two years later. It was not though until 1957 that he would record with Muddy as Chess preferred Little Walter to accompany Muddy in the studio. Later he worked with Otis
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Spann and Janis Joplin before teaming up with Muddy and Johnny Winter for the former’s comeback Hard Again.
Now aged 77, he could be seen as the living embodiment of Chicago Blues. Having battled an overcome throat cancer, Cotton is restricted in his singing, and many of the tracks feature Darrell Nulisch on vocals, while an array of renowned vocalists and musicians, including Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa, Keb Mo, Delbert McClinton , Chuck Leavell, Colin Linden and Ruthie Foster appear on one track or another. You know what though, you can almost forget that list as it is still Cotton who is the star here and his harmonica playing is still astounding.
From the opening blasts of the title track, Cotton’s playing is a joy to listen to, making Bonamassa’s supportive guitar accompaniment almost incidental. Likewise his traintime chugging on Midnight Train superbly fills in behind Allman’s vocals. The autobiographical Mississippi Mud features the hallmarks of Waters and Spann, with a great vocal by Mo. That’s the first three songs, and while the album is fully rooted in the blues styles of the windy city, each song has a distinctive identity. It is apt that Cotton makes a raspy vocal contribution on the closing Bonnie Blue, matching the personalisation of its lyrics. Praise for what is a faultless album must also go to producer Tom Hambridge, who cowrote many of the songs. Regardless of whether you own everything Cotton recorded or nothing at all, this album is one of his finest, and in my book, that makes it essential listening.
Duncan Beattie
JAMIE WILLIAMS AND THE ROOTS COLLECTIVE good
times aWr
Well Jamie, I have to put my hand up and admit you fooled me completely. After several listens I really felt that you and your band the Roots Collective
were a modern day equivalent of the Leon Russell Mad Dogs and Englishmen grouping or the Delaney & Bonnie set up where people came and went, with no real focus. Above all I thought you were a group of Americans producing your version of today’s Roots Americana. How wrong was I, Jamie was born in Romford, Essex and the band is British. With a voice that echoes early Dylan, and with backing vocals from Lizzie B throughout plus the addition of pedal steel guitar from Allan Kelly, I’m afraid I felt that too often the music was retro and evoked a sound that was too 70’s based. But then again perhaps that is the focus of the Roots Collective and I have missed the point completely. It’s not to say there was anything wrong with the album, just that I wanted something to grab my attention and hold me fully. Jamie has written 13 of the 14 tracks here, with Lizzie B offering the other, yet I find little variation in the overall track lay out with up tempo material tending to prevail. It is, however, the slow Don’t Cry which for me is the album saver. This is a beautiful ballad, with excellent melody and a great pedal steel solo, a song which outshines all of the other songs here.
merv osBorne
MARCUS BONFANTI
sHAke tHe wALLs
Jigsaw
Building on his two previous releases, Hard Times and What Good Am I To You, Marcus Bonfanti has produced a real quality follow on in Shake The Walls. Along with Scott Wiber on Bass, Alex Reeves on drums and with housemate and sometime band colleague Paddy Milner on Hammond, this is by far his best album. All tracks are either Bonfanti originals or co-written with others and I believe the quality of his writing has matured immensely, as has his vocal content and guitar playing. He ranges from the opening track, the hard hitting Alley Cat with its gutsy guitar work and lazy
harmonica to the down home acoustic Blues of the closing track The Bittersweet, with its great vocal harmonies and a Keb Mo feel about the whole. The second track Cheap Whisky is a nod to the Molly Hatchet / Lynyrd Skynyrd southern rock anthem as Bonfanti tells his story about the effect that cheap whisky has on him. We All Do Bad Sometime slows things down into a ballad that could have originated in the swamps of Louisiana. Stone Me Sober is an outright rocker with a staccato riff that could nail you to the wall in the live environment and track seven, My Baby Don’t Dance is a great dance piece that could well have been penned by the Glimmer Twins. Blind Alley gives a nod to country and western with its shuffle and lap steel sounding slide guitar, whilst Honey has the laid back New Orleans style shuffle throughout. There isn’t really a bad track here, and in my opinion, this is Bonfanti’s best album to date. merv osBorne
RONNIE EARL AND THE BROADCASTERS
Just for todAy stony Plain
Ronnie Earl has recorded what I consider to be an epic album, which besides playing for an excess of seventy minutes is crammed full of some of the best live blues you will hear for many a year. All the tracks are live recordings from three venues in his home state of Massachusetts, the audience reaction and behaviour is not what you would normally expect from a live recording, during the songs you could hear a pin drop so intent are the audience to listen to the fine Blues playing, it is only when the track ends that you are aware of the crowd with their spontaneous applause. The live recordings are all instrumentals, with the majority clocking in at well over six minutes in length, giving the band the
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opportunity to inject some jazz forays, led by Dave Limina on piano and Hammond B3 organ, the star though is Ronnie who delivers some breathless but soulful lead guitar, his reputation of being one of America’s best guitarists is well merited, he has also written the majority of the material on the album which includes a couple of ‘homage’ tracks; Rush Hour and Robert Nighthawk Stomp
The only vocal track is performed by guest Diane Blue on the classic I’d Rather Go Blind, which is a classy rendition although on reflection is probably out of sync with the rest of the material here.
aDrian BLackLee
HANS THEESSINK
wisHing weLL blue Groove
Hans Theessink is a veteran Dutch Blues and Roots guitarist and singer. He has something like a total of quarter century of album releases, as well as offering advice and expertise via workshops and an instructional video. He is internationally regarded as one of the finest acoustic players of his generation, and has shared the stage or collaborated with many of the greats. This latest (mainly) solo recording displays a master completely at home with song, instrument and his voice. Nothing is overdone, so although the guitar is beautifully played, slide or otherwise, it is never showy or overplayed. The singing is relaxed and conversational, almost soporific. The striking element, and which pervades the entire recording, is Theessink’s respect for the song. He has drawn from a vast repertoire of the well and less known, for example from the likes of his late friend Townes Van Zandt (Snowing On Raton), Brownie McGhee (Living With The Blues) and Bob Dylan (Ballad Of Hollis Brown). Alongside these are a smattering of originals, such as the outstanding gambling allegory Hellbound. He also offers his own cool interpretations and arrangements of standards like
THE RIDES
CAn’t get enougH Provogue
This stunning CD unites Stephen Stills with fellow guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and veteran Electric Flag keyboardist Barry Goldberg. This multi-generational blues/rock outfit’s debut was inspired by and in homage to the classic 1968 Super Session album which Stills put together with Mike Bloomfield and which also featured Goldberg.
Shepherd’s inclusion is a conscious effort on behalf of Stills and Goldberg to bring the band up to the 21st century. Four of the ten tracks here are Stills/Goldberg/Shepherd compositions, including the barnstorming album opener Mississippi Roadhouse, about the life of an itinerant bluesman, a CSN-esque Don’t Want Lies and the groove soaked, guitar heavy anthemic title Can’t Get Enough of Loving You, with typical soulful vocals from Stills. Other highlights
Wayfaring Stranger and Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Down Low . The CD also offers Theessink’s brief notes on each song.
noggin
CHASTITY BROWN
bACk-roAd HigHwAys creative and Dreams music network
The fourth Chastity Brown album, Back-Road Highways is the first to be released in the U.K. by this Tennessee-raised singer/songwriter. The album is typical of many singer/ songwriter albums released today that showcase the voice delivering a variety of styles in an understated way. There are tracks where Chastity does step up and leaves mediocrity behind and a glimpse of the sun
are the Crazy Horse-inspired version of 7 Rockin’ in the Free World which oozes electricity. Shepherd takes over on vocals for the other four covers, including Honey Bee and Talk To Me Baby by Muddy Waters and Elmore James respectively, along with Iggy Pop and The Stooges’ ‘Search and Destroy ’. The album closes with the raucous Word Game an acoustic song originally written by Stills in the 60’s era with buffalo Springfield, but never recorded. He certainly has fun adapting it to an electric band.
The off the cuff energy and the powerhouse guitar interplay between Stills and Shepherd, not forgetting stellar accompaniment from Goldberg are what makes this album so easy on the ear. It took about a week to record, produced by former Talking Head, Jerry Harrison and I must not forget to mention the sterling work done by veteran Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton and CSN/ Jackson Browne bassist Kevin McCormick. Watch out for a UK tour in November.
cLive rawLings
shines through including After You, with its strength and a blues mix of stomp box and banjo; thankfully putting back in the box the electronica spooky feeling of the previous track, Solely . The middle few tracks settle back into safe rather mundane X-factor squawking which is a change when she has a voice that can belt out a great tune including I Left Home. The album is a mix of genres and styles that just misses out from being a stand-out CD, having listened to the eleven tracks, there is no argument that this is a well-produced, crafted album that blends soul and blues – what is missing for me is passion and self-belief. What Chastity really does do well is the sultry Southern American style; more of that, and less of the insipid please.
Liz aiken
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ANDREW STRONG
tHe Commitments yeArs
And beyond
Dixiefrog
Ever since he first shot to fame as Decco Cuff in Alan Parker’s film adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s ‘The Commitments’ Andrew Strong has had a career as a soul singer of the highest calibre, ad this live album finds him in his natural habitat, on a live stage, in front of a first class band, and an adoring audience, playing and singing the songs that first made his name. So, we have all of the old favourites, delivered in Strong’s usual style. Hard To Handle, In the Midnight Hour , Mustang Sally and Take Me To The River are all present and correct, but so too are a few more unusual choices. Gimme Some Lovin’ is not a natural choice, but as the album opener, is gets things off to a good start, even though the signature organ part has been sacrificed in this arrangement. Born To Be Wild and Jimi Hendrix’s Fire which close the set may not be natural bedfellows either, but in this live format they work, but it is perhaps in the slower songs, that the band’s full strengths can be found. The Dark End Of The Street and Try A Little Tenderness’ show the full extent of Andrew Strong’s vocal talent, whilst faster songs Grit’s Ain’t Groceries and Show me show the band in full control of the audience. With a full eight piece backing band, and some very high quality live recording from St-Girons, Ariege in France this is a fine album of live soul, and is a great find for fans of The Commitments film, soul music in general, which sets the feet tapping.
Ben macnair
BOZ SCAGGS
mempHis
429 records
One day recently I was playing one of my all-time favourite tracks featuring Boz Scaggs (with Duane Allman’s
superb guitar and a fabulous horn section) from his first solo album. That track is the mighty Loan Me A Dime which features nearly 13 mins of superbly emotive blues. The following day this latest offering plopped through my letterbox and I eagerly looked forward to playing it. Since those early days he has developed his own brand of sleekly manicured soul and grooves whilst always revisiting his blues influences and Memphis continues that theme.
Track one ‘Gone Baby Gone’ is one of two self-penned originals on this album and Scaggs drops straight into that warm, seductive groove that is so pleasing and irresistible with it’s sweet vocals, tasteful guitar and mellow organ from Charles Hodges. Track Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl is a funky Mink De Ville cover and then we get a cover of Tony Joe White’s Rainy Night In Georgia which features smooth crooned vocals and tasteful strings.
The Moments 70’s soul classic ballad Love On A Two Way Street is a standout with a feel of Motown as Scaggs croons plaintively backed by softly cooing female voices. There is an elegant cover of a Steely Dan song Pearl Of The Quarter and a raucous cover of Moon Martin’s rocker Cadillac Walk.
There is a beautiful acoustic version of the folk/blues standard Corrina, Corrina and then Keb Mo lets rip with some scorching dobro and Charlie Musselwhite also adds harp to Dry Spell. Rick Vito adds sly guitar fills to Jimmy Reed’s You Got Me Cryin’ and the album closes with the second original song Sunny Gone a stunning melancholic ballad.
A smooth, sleek, soulful and altogether wonderful album.
Dave Drury
SONNY EMORY
roCk HArd CACHet moosicus records
Emory sat on the drum stool with Earth, Wind and Fire from 1987 to 1999, unfortunately his music style left with
him. Alledgedly featuring Bruce Hornsby on vocals on two tracks (including the instrumental Frankenstein) and Clapton on Truth’ll Set You Free, where you might detect a ten second solo, this is not good.
‘Frankenstein’ apart, the remaining eleven tracks are self-compositions, without wishing to be cruel, straight out of the EW&F songbook. As befitting his past, the horn section of Ryan Kilgore, Darian Emory, Chris Burns and Jerry Freeman, put in a good shift when called upon. Break Yo Neck and Sweet Sexxy Thang are standout up-tempo outings, but, all in all, a poor show.
cLive rawLings
PAUL BUTLER
dAys wiLL Come independent
Paul Butler first became involved in music in 1964 when he was part the band The Turnkeys but, it was not until 1967 that a career in music was entirely possible, for it was then that he and his fellow student friends Pete Wingfield, Chris Waters and John Best formed Jellybread, who in turn were noticed by the (now legendary) blues producer Mike Vernon; they went on to record three albums and six singles on Blue Horizon. (These recordings were re-released in 2008 as Jellybread The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions) sadly, the band broke up in 1973 but, during this time Paul appeared with B.B King on his 1971 album In London. Despite continually working with artists such as The Keef Hartley Band none of these recordings were ever released apart from a live album Roadies’ Concerto with Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack in 1981. A year later, Paul quietly retired. He did not play a single note again until he decided to practice with an acoustic guitar in 2009, during 2010 a local independent radio station picked up on a few home recordings of Pauls’ and after a
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number of plays, the listening public were intrigued as to whom this player was; the interest culminated in the release of an E.P. entitled 21C Blue Recording on DWC started in 2012 but, during the entire time of its production and for the two years prior to its beginnings, the atmosphere surrounding the album was deeply overshadowed by the diagnosis of terminal cancer on Paul’s youngest son Caspar-James, who tragically died aged 38, on the 23rd January 2012. Although, one might say that there is an air of loss and melancholy within the fifteen original numbers but, there is also a flourishing thread of optimism coupled with a celebration of life past, present and of life yet to come.
Two numbers that certainly let your backbone slip (in the nicest possible way) are Madly and Wrong Side Of Desire, the first is a love
VALERIE JUNE
pusHin’ AgAinst A stone sunday best
song wrapped up and delivered in a sloping, loping relaxed New Orleans style that is powered by the rolling piano of Pete Wingfield and Pauls’ seriously relaxed guitar work, added to this is the superbly soulful, ‘The Useful Horns Section’ who consist of; Tom First; trumpet, Jehan AbdelMalak; saxophones and Toby Riches; trombone. The second is a strident tango with stirring piano and forceful drum work from Stef Hambrook that urges the music on while a lazy harmonica lurks in the background.
I’ll Be There, is Pauls tender message to his son Caspar written in 2010; it is a warm and loving acoustic offer of unadulterated love and help, Pauls’ vocals are comforting, sustaining and reflective all at the same time. End Of The Day , is a fine acoustic autobiographical summary of Pauls life that features in the background a lonesome and
Debut album from Valerie June who hails from Tennessee and cites her music as an amalgamation of blues, folk, gospel, soul, bluegrass and Appalachian. This album was produced by Dan Auerbach (Black Keys) and Kevin Augunas and they also co-wrote some of the songs with June. Opener Workin’ Woman Blues has been released as a single and brought her much acclaim when she appeared on Jools Holland’s show. This standout track has a bluesy feel as it opens with gentle acoustic guitar before June’s distinctive Southern vocals are backed up by a funky Stax style horn section. Somebody To Love has an uplifting gospel feel with extra colour added by banjo and fiddle as June pleads emotively.
The Hour is a soulful ballad of heartache which has a flavour of Sixties girl-groups as June is backed up by sweet vocal harmonies laid over a staccato guitar riff. I Wanna Be On Your Mind is a funky and playful pop sing-along which is followed by Tennessee Time a country tribute which is inspired by June’s Southern roots. The centrepiece of this fine album is the stunning track Pushin’ Against A Stone a spellbindingly dark tale of life’s struggles which features stabbing organ, wailing guitar and glorious backing vocals as June recounts the drudgery she has had to overcome. Trials, Troubles, Tribulations is a gentle acoustic country gospel song with sweet harmony singing and then we get the stomping riff driven blues chant of You Can’t Be Told. The album closes with On My Way a lilting, uplifting and beautiful country number which was co-written with Booker T. Jones and features rolling piano and country fiddle. It makes the perfect finish to this hard to categorise but wonderful album. I think Valerie June will probably be a huge mainstream star. Catch her at some big UK festivals this summer.
Dave Drury
haunting distant trumpet. The slow burning blues of If I Were To Leave You, has Pauls tender but, somewhat melancholically comforting vocals firmly underpinned by a sombre, rolling and yet, scintillating piano and Hammond organ. The fateful and resigned country blues of Cowboy Dreams is emotively driven by the lyrically mournful steel guitar that is as hopeful as the story of a doomed life between a rodeo rider and the woman he wants love. Mumbo Gumbo is a very fine and kicking almost hoedown drum and slide instrumental that certainly gets the toes tapping. The title number was written when the darkest diagnosis was given, it is full of hope, loss and despair, as a sombre and melancholy cello interweaves with the vocal but, above all love shines through. Considering the sad, sad personal circumstances surrounding the making of this album and the sensitivity of the subject matter, I found the music to be sincere, loving and thoroughly uplifting.
Brian Harman
CRAIG JOHN DAVIDSON
tHe LAst LAugH fat hippy records
The Last Laugh, the forth acoustic album is definitely not blues but a pop sound with some good guitar playing and a voice that has a tendency to drone so despite the slightly psychedelic feel at times reminiscent of the sixties singer/songwriters such as Donovan this is not an album that lifts you up and sends you on a magic carpet ride. This is a CD that has been beautifully produced with a clarity of sound that gives the guitar work the focus with the vocals over the top that never really delivered in a dramatic way so that the songs tell a story and keep you enthralled.
This is music that has a tendency to float in the background and never stamping its sound so that you sit up and listen! On the plus side there is nothing to really dislike, in fact I believe it would be better if you did
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Albums reviews
– at least that is a reaction. There is no real stand out track, perhaps at a push the track Poisoned Prize which, despite its title, has a jollier tempo and lifts the overall wall of melancholy that is delivered here.
Liz aiken
FEDERAL CHARM federAL CHArm mystic records
From Manchester in the north of England comes this energy-filled quartet, intent on stamping their own mark on the rock blues scene. It almost goes without saying that this kind of music is best heard live, given that it is a mix of fuzzy power and (in the playing) a fair degree of sophistication. But Federal Charm have happily managed to bottle some of their electricity in the studio and the cuts on this set are delivered with a crisp confidence. Some compositions are better than others, but you can say that fairly about Astral Weeks or Sergeant Pepper
Nick Bowden’s voice seems ideally suited to these numbers. Gotta Give It Up has a keys intro, insistent guitar riff not a thousand miles from Dream Syndicate – Steve Wynn’s legendary quartet recently in London for a cathartic one-off show – and busy drumming. A good opener! I’m Not Gonna Beg has a monster guitar figure; whilst No Money Down is NOT the Chuck Berry car tale but a tricky-riff item with an ascending axe figure –maybe the best song here but only reverb and no delay on the vocal. On to Somebody Help Me and it’s NOT the Spencer Davis classic take on that song but an original, complete with Spanish guitar fills over an edgy beat; Reaction has a harsh attack and the chaps were unable to rebut my contention that this is really a Black Crowes nod! Slide guitar featured here but not on open tuning. The band’s Cooder moment comes on The Stray, with organ, bump bass, an eerie mood and a great vocal. The message of
There’s A Light evades me, but it’s frantic from the off, a fast riffer. Tell Your Friends has a great crunchy signature but that drum sound is too Zep for this listener could have been a quirk of the room? Overall, John Green helps capture the group’s sound very well.
Other highlights – the Chris Duarte-like nagging hook on Come On Down, the harmony guitar passages on Too Blind To See which must be stormer to play live, the pushy Any Other Day which would in my opinion makes a cool single. Paul Bowe has an occasional Mick Ronson touch on guitar and sounds different from Bowden which is a plus.
Danny Rigg’s drumming has an eagerness but he’s clearly a listener as the arrangements need him to be; L D Morawski’s bass is nimble and full-toned. I guess Federal Charm’s ‘competition’ would be Albany Down and The Answer but in their own way they are as distinctive as the former and overall more original than the latter. May they keep writing and taking the stage, if I were you I wouldn’t pass up the chance to see them play.
Pete sargeant
SMALL BLUES TRAP
tHe Longest roAd i know shelter home studio
I am struggling to find something kind to say about this album from this Greek band featuring Georgia Sylleou on vocals. Suffice to say the band was formed in 2004 and clearly have not yet found their niche although apparently they have a following. Without itemizing individual tracks, there are hints of some good blues riffs which are unfortunately ruined by the less than average vocals giving an overall feel of a sixties West Coast hippie psychedelic college band, trying in vain to emulate Jefferson Airplane but with totally incomprehensible lyrics. Alas Georgia is no Grace Slick. cLive rawLings
BETH HART AND JOE BONAMASSA seesAw Provogue records
Well, another covers album! Produced by Kevin Shirley who helped choose this mixed bag of music styles and new arrangements of well-known tunes.
With a ballsy and brash take on various tunes, such as Nut Bush City Limits Beth Hart puts her all into it, but songs such as this and the lilting Strange Fruit for me doesn’t hit the mark, stick to ‘original is best’with these (mind you, it takes real guts to tackle such a blues ‘sacred cow’ as ‘Fruit...’) Overall though, this release is a great showpiece for both players and the differing genres from say the swing type opener Them There Eyes is very intriguing and quirky adding to the overall relaxed and confident feel of the rest of the release.
A stand out track is the Al Kooper’s cover of I Love You More Than You’ll Ever
Know, Beth Hart pushing the boundaries with a vibrant yet soulful take making it her own and perfect backing guitar solo at the end by the prolific Joe Bonamassa, another brilliant collaboration, seems everyone wants to share his music projects.
This release just seems a natural progression from their acclaimed first release. Supported by a tight band including horn section with Lee Thornburg and Ron Dziubla as well as the strings by Jeff Bova which just takes everything to yet another level. The mood is definitely a see saw of emotions with the right balance of musical styles. Probably one of the best blues albums this year.
coLin camPBeLL
www.blu E sm Att E rs.com blues matters! | august-september 2013 | PAGE 121 reviews Albums
