The Groove Nov-Dec 2018

THE

THE BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF CROSSROADS BLUES SOCIETY

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 EDITION

Editorial

Steve Jones, Editor and CBS President

Another issue and now it’s almost time to go into the holidays take us out of 2018.

Where does time go?

September and October were more great times for the blues in our area. We kicked off our BITS programs for the year, had some killer shows at Hope and Anchor and the Lyran Society, hosted Ghost Town Blues Band at Owly Oop, sponsored the Blues Blast Music Awards at the Tebala Events Center, hosted a show with Chris O’Leary at Mary’s Place and held our blues challenge for the 2019 IBC. I’d say that was a busy two months!

We began with the last two months at Hope and Anchor bringing Howard and the White Boys back to Rockford for the first time in literally decades. The show was amazing and we had a super crowd enjoying the event. Next we had Breezy Rodio at Hope and Anchor for return visit and everyone had a blast listening to this Chicago blues man from Italy. The next week brought Ghost Town Blues Band back to town for a great show at Owly Oop Sports Pub at UW Sports Center. It was a hot night and high energy show. The next day was the Blues Blast Music Awards at the Tebala Events Center. A full review of that night begins on page 9. Bob Keiser hosted a great awards program and Crossroads helped sponsor it, bringing 15 great acts to our area along with a superb event. September was a huge month for live music.

October began with Chris O’Leary at Mary’s Place. A big crowd of over 75 people came out on Thursday, October 4th to hear the former front man to The Band’s Levon Helm. The show was outstanding and reprised and even surpassed what they did back in July at the Burpee Museum show. Studebaker John was at Lyran the next day on the 5th. His duo performance was gritty and sublimely fantastic stuff. He was well received and gave us a night to remember. Back to back the next week was Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers on Saturday at Hope and Anchor and then our Blues Challenge n Sunday at Lyran. Ray and his band put on an amazing performance and made their first show ever in the Rockford area. The next day we had Sistah Beth Blues, Madtown Mannish Boys and The Ivy FIrd Band compete for the rights to represent us at the IBC. Ivy and her band return to Memphis in January but each of the bands who competed would be able to represent us– they were all so very good! See page 4 for that story and photos. The Blues Disciples closed the month for us with another inspiring show at the Lyran Society where they gave us a great inaugural performance in January.

All in all we had 8 events in two months– not too shabby!

October also saw the start of our BITS programs for the year.

Hamilton Loomis was her for three programs and then Wheatbread Johnson did five more for us. You can read about them on page 7. We are now at 346 programs for almpost 71,000 attendees– amazing!

The future holds more great music that will close out the year for us. Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames, Billy Flynn, Trinadora Rocks and Madtown Mannish Boys will be at the Lyran Society in November and December and Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials and Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking altar Boys featuring Westside Andy Linderman will be at Hope and Anchor. Our annual CBS Christmas Party and gag record exchange will be at that show with Rev and Andy. We will also be doing a Thanksgiving Weekend Fundraiser for Ivy Ford, and our Ice Hogs Pregame Music events also ready to begin. We try to bring as much music as possible to our area!

One things I’ve been a little concerned with is attendance at shows, especially in October. It seems that October is always the slowest month of the year for us. We spend a lot of time scheduling live music and events and there is not a lot else going on in Rockford when it comes to the blues, so if you want these shows to continue please come out and support live music. ‘Nuf said.

I’d like to also welcome our new writer, Lynn Hetzler, who has three reviews in this issue. Her bio states, “Lynn Hetzler has created word magic for exceptional companies like yours for more than 15 years. She's penned tens of thousands of articles, biographies, blogs, white papers, and more in those years. As one of the nation's leading medical writers, Hetzler has written for Relias Learning, MultiBriefs, Jason Hope, Aubrey de Grey, Jillian Michaels and thousands more. She has also written website content for anger management therapists, authors, inspirational speakers, chiropractors, veterinarians and more. Ms. Hetzler also writes biographies for professionals of all types, from physicians to musicians.” She did a great job for us and we look forward to her reviews in the future.

We are working on a fund raising event to help Ivy Ford and her band raise money to go to Memphis! See inside for more information.

We’ve got a lot going on and we try to make both paydays for musicians and shows for you to enjoy to keep live music and the blues alive here. Come out, say hello and enjoy.

Very blues-ily yours,

Contents Editorial………………………………………..……………….…..2 Contents, Board, Local Radio & Application……………………………………….………...….3

2018 Crossroads Blues Challenge……..………….…....4 2018/2019 BITS Kicks Off.………………………………….7 Blues Blast Music Awards..………………………….…...10 Music Reviews……………………………………...…….....12 September and October Crossroads Photos….…..33 Upcoming Shows……………………………………………..35 Member Update…………………………………..….….....39 Hope and Anchor, Lyran and Ice Hogs Shows…..39 25th Anniversary Plans……………………..….….…....39 Blues News and Upcoming Events……………...…..40 Cover photo by Lee Anne Flynn

The Groove is a bi-monthly publication of the Crossroads Blues Society. The PDF version (typically 32 to 40 pages) is emailed to members of Crossroads. Hard copies (12 pages) are sent out to members without email ($5 membership surcharge).

Editor in Chief: Steve Jones Music Reviewers: Rick Davis, John Mitchell, Marty Gunther, Bill Graw, Lynn Hetzler, Mark Nelson, Steve Jones and Mark Thompson.

All un-credited content by Steve Jones

Blues on Local Radio WNIJ - 89.5 FM •

Friday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with Harold Brown

•

Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 PM with David Rosik

•

Saturday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with David James

•

Rich Gordon fills in regularly

Crossroads Blues Society Officers and Board Members Contact Info President: Steve Jones

sub_insignia@yahoo.com

Vice-President: Bill Graw

williamjgraw@gmail.com

Secretary: Bonnie Fox

bonitafx@gmail.com

Treasurer: Terry Keller

terry@markpack.com

Board of Directors: Denny Barker Rick Davis Bob Haendler Ken Pearson

harkthebark@mchsi.com rick_davis_937@comcast.net rhaendler@comcast.net cntrylivng@aol.com

Rick Hein

mrrickhein@sbcglobal.net

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Ivy Ford Band Wins Blues Challenge

Ivy Ford and her band won our blues challenge for the second year in a row, this time under steep competition with Sistah Beth Blues and her band from Geneva, IL, and Madtown Mannish Boys from Madison, WI. There was no split decision, but the competition was tough and all three bands received high scores for their outstanding sets!

The event went in reverse alphabetical order and the bands were informed at the start of the event that would be the order. Opening the day was Sistah Beth Blues Band.

Led by the powerful vocalist Beth Wray, the band gave the crowd a great 25 minute of music. Featuring three original cuts, the band did an outstanding job and are shown below.

Second to compete was the Madtown Mannish Boys.

They filled the Lyran Club venue with eight pieces including vocals, harp, guitar, keys, bass, drums, tenor sax and trombone. They mixed in a couple of nice covers with several originals and gave their all for the 25 minute set.

They blended all the pieces together professionally and everyone in attendance loved their set. Afterwards, the judges commented how close this day was with these bands and it was obvious to all that these were all very talented bands. They are shown on top of the next page.

Last up was last year’s winner, The Ivy Ford Band.

Nothing is guaranteed and it took a great performance by Ivy and her band to nose out the competition and take the highest score. All three judges had her at the top of the leader board but all three bands scored well and made the competition quite tough. Ivy and the band are above.

Ivy played four originals including a beautiful new slow blues modelled after a Robert Johnson song. She then did a medley of several covers to finish her set.

The judges conferred and tallied the scores after the bands finished. After all was entered into the final score sheet it showed that Ivy Ford was returning to Memphis in January with her band. She and the boys came back on stage for a couple of numbers and then the horn section from Mannish Boys came up as did Beth. Then pretty much everyone who competed returned for a time on stage and the three bands jammed for over two hours.

Moving from one blues classic to another, emotions were high as they fed on each other’s energy and gave delightful performances. The crowd reacted positively to each one and the bar even offered the assemblage of bands and music fans a free round for all if the jam would go on.

Needless to say, it did.

There were so many permutations and combinations of band members that is almost required a scorecard to keep track of them all. Suffice it to say that emotions were

positively sky high and the bands fed off each other ’s energy. Annette Jones provided some great food for the bands and attendees, too, and everyone there went home with their hearts and bellies both full. Congratulations to all involved– Crossroads would be proud to send any of

three competing acts to Memphis. The IBC is January 22nd to 26th. Best of luck to Ivy Ford and her band– we raised $250 on Sunday to start finding their trip and will be working to help them get to and stay in Memphis for the competition. Thanks to all who supported this event and thanks to Link Leary and Len Lindeman for the loan of the backline stuff for the event!

Blues in the Schools Kicks Off

The 2018/2019 Crossroads Blues Society school year began with three fantastic sessions held by Hamilton Loomis in Rockford schools. The morning of Tuesday, October 16th was spent in the auditorium of East HS with two sessions held in Second and Third Hour. Originally planned for some chorus, orchestra and guitar students in the classroom, other teachers wanted in on the event and we moved to the auditorium. Each of the two sessions had at least 150 students at each program. Hamilton described improvisation, the 12 bar format, modifying the Pentatonic scale and other techniques to make the blues and performances special. The students reacted positively to his tutelage and thoroughly enjoyed his sessions based on their enthusiasm and response to his instruction and music. The second session was signed for the hearing impaired students in attendance and they got to enjoy the fun with Hamilton!

That afternoon we visited Carlson Elementary School for an assembly with all 375 students in attendance. Principal Dave Nold and Hamilton performed together as the students arrived and to open the program. Hamilton had the kids singing and clapping and responding to his call with huge amounts of enthusiasm.

They loved his teaching and performing and you could tell both audience and performer fed off of each other.

Day one of our year was a great success with three programs and 675 students getting to learn about and hear the blue. We began the year with 338 programs completed for over 68,000 students since May 2002 and we added more to our totals keeping the blues alive. Teacher feedback for all three sessions was fantastically positive and noted how it fit into their curriculum.

On Monday, October 29th we went to Thurgood Marshall Elementary School for 4 programs in the morning, one with each grade level from 1st through 4th. Wheatbread Johnson was our artist for those programs and they went over quite well. Each program was adapted to the grade level and the students participated in call and response, playing along with the beat and making animal sounds. It was a very fun morning for all involved.

We had about 100 students per class in those sessions.

In the afternoon we went across the parking lot to Thurgood Marshall Middle School for a longer program in their theater in the round. We love having programs there and it is always a delightful time with the students there; this time was no exception. Wheatbread did another outstanding job for us there, too.

He did a few songs, showing how the blues can show emotions via words and tempo, showed how oral tradition can change songs over time and then taught the 400 students to sing a song using call and response.

Next month we are working on more programming. Currently, two programs are set in stone for November and they are with Billy Flynn on Friday the 16th at Froberg and Conklin Elemen-

tary Schools. Dave Weld do some work for us on 11/2 at East HS. More programs are in the works, so standby and we will announce the programs as planned! These programs through October total 346 programs done for nearly 70,000 students since we began in May 2002!

Blues Blast Music Awards at Tebala All Photos by Lee Ann Flynn mer. Ilya played some The 11th Annual Blues Blast inspired harp and made Music Awards were held at the some new fans. After Tebala Events Center on Satursome awards, Patrick day, September 29, 2018. It was Recob gave his all in his a grand evening of blues and an outstanding night recognizing the nominees and winners of each award. It sounds clichĂŠ to say that there are no losers at an event like this but that really is true.

Opening the night was acoustic artist Sonny Lowdown.

In his signature shades and cowboy hat, he made for a nice opening to the event. Daniel Erickson from Norway was next with his acoustic set, and a fine one it was! Ben Leven was the final

nice set as his family from France cheered him on. Later, Orphan John and Heather Newman performed from that category.

Heather took top honors here and in the Sean Costello Rising Start

acoustic nominee to perform and this young man from Cincinnati was amazing on piano and vocals. Winner of this category was Sonny Landreth.

Award. Also performing for that Rising Star Award were Joyann Parker and Ivy Ford along with Ben Levin who had

Next up was the New Artist Debut Recording category and Casey Hensley and Ilya Portnov first performed from that category. Casey hails from San Diego and is a young woman with a powerful voice.

Schooled in the Candye Cain model of performing, she enthralled the crowd with her voice and performance.

Young guitar player Anthony Cullins was also amazing and Candye’s son Evan Caleb Yearsley was her drum-

previously performed.

Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Sugar Pie Desanto, who addressed the crowd by telephone, and Jimmy Johnson who did a lot more talking with his guitar than with a speech. Amazing performers both who were well deserving of this accolade! To note, Jimmy seemed to be the crowd favorite of the night!

Markey Blues and the Rick Latina Project played next. This was their first time in Rockford and many new fans are onboard their train.

Ivy Ford and her band were next and Ivy worked the crowd and then played some drums in a highly entertaining performance that grabbed everyone’s attention. Benny Turner and Bob Corritore were up next, and what a set of tunes they did. Half brother to Freddie King, Benny sang and played lead bass while Bob did an amazing job on harp.

Orphan John and Heather Newman were on next and then the Shaun Murphy Band took over.

She and her fantastic band took the stage by storm and did a fantastic job!

Shaun still sings with Bob Seeger and fronted Little Feat before her solo career.

Last up were Karen Lovely with Ben Rice on guitar and then closing the day

was Ghost Town Blues Band. Karen was also nominated for a BMA and hails from Oregon.

She has a great voice.

Ben Rice was the year before last year’s IBC Gibson Guitar winner and showed us why he won– what a great guitar player!

Ghost Town from Memphis finished up.

Bob Keiser let them do an extended set and the crowd was delighted with their version of “Whipping Post” to close the night out. Suavo Jones on Trombone always puts on a show and guitar players Taylor Orr and Matt Isbell (below) always delight the crowd.

The Tebala Event Center was an extraordinary venue for this show. The song was fantastic and Don O’Dell taped the event, which all look forward to seeing.

The complete list of winners:

More Photos

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Contemporary Blues Album Danielle Nicole – Cry No More

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Traditional Blues Album Kim Wilson – Blues And Boogie Vol 1

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Soul Blues Album Bettye LaVette – Things Have Changed

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

• • • • • • • •

Acoustic Blues Album Sonny Landreth – Recorded Live In Lafayette Live Blues Recording Muddy Waters – Live At Rockpalast

Joyann Parker, Karen Lovely, Casey Hensley, Heather Newman and Shawn Murphy

Historical Or Vintage Recording Muddy Waters – Live At Rockpalast New Artist Debut Album Heather Newman – Burn Me Alive Blues Band Rick Estrin & The Nightcats Male Blues Artist Walter Trout Female Blues Artist Beth Hart Sean Costello Rising Star Award Heather Newman

Bob Kieser produced one hell of an awards show. The venue was super, the sound was outstanding, the crew working the stage was amazing and the bands and artists were exemplary. Over 6 hours of music in a great environment with nice food and drink– what is not to like? Kudos to Bob, his son Nate and all who helped make this such a wonderful event!

Bob Kieser, Nate Kieser and Casey Hensley

Bob Kieser and Orphan John

Lifetime Achievement Award – Sugar Pie DeSanto

Willie Rauch, Ivy Ford and Dave Axen Mark Thompson and Steve Jones

Lifetime Achievement Award – Jimmy Johnson

Dave Katzman sat in with Jimmie Johnson and Managed the Stage for the Event

Music Reviews Kirk Fletcher – Hold On www.kirkfletcherband.com Self-Release 8 tracks/48 minutes

listening. With at least three outstanding cuts, this one is well worth investigating.

Kirk Fletcher is a guitarists’ guitarist.

Picked at a young age to record with the elite of the West Coast scene, he went on to serve three years with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and was a featured player on several Mannish Boys CDs. More recently he has played on two of Joe Bonamassa’s live albums (Red Rocks/Greek Theatre) and continues to tour widely, both in the USA and in Europe. For this album Kirk recorded in Bristol in the UK with keyboard man Jonny Henderson (Matt Schofield) and drummer Matt Brown in a sort of organ trio with Jonny covering the bass requirements on his keyboard. All the material is original with Kirk collaborating with co-writers on two tracks.

Sandy Carroll – Blues & Angels Catfood Records www.sandycarroll.com 11 tracks/48 minutes

Opening track “Two Steps Forward” has Mahalia Barnes on vocals and develops from an intense organ/guitar intro into a wah-wah feast in the main solo, as well as quoting from several classic rock tunes (including Clapton’s “Layla”) on the outro. Kirk’s vocals have developed and although he is not the strongest singer he does fine here, especially on the quieter songs like “You Need Me” which finds him duetting with himself as his funky rhythm work underpins some gentle wah stylings in the solo. “Sad Sad Day” finds Jonny on piano on a rousing shuffle that really pounds along with an impressively fast-fingered solo from Kirk.

Solid as the first three tracks are the album really takes off on track 4 “The Answer”. Co-written by fellow guitarist Josh Smith. Kirk’s world-weary vocals at the start express the raw emotion of feeling lost in life, Jonny’s warm organ the perfect backing. Over its eight minutes the slow tune builds in intensity and Kirk’s superb solo that occupies the second half of the tune is by itself worth the price of the CD. After that tour de force “Time’s Ticking” opens with a rocking riff and heavy drums, a track that seems to show the influence of Kirk’s friend JoBo as Kirk plays a torrid solo to close the track. “Dupree” is a delight, a playful instrumental that really lives up to the ‘organ trio’ tag; Steely Dan comes to mind in some of the phrasing here and perhaps the title therefore references the Dan’s “Cousin Dupree”?

“Gotta Right” is another lengthy track that takes us back to the blues with a Chicago style shuffle. Kirk plays beautifully in the intro before he sings of having “the right to sing the blues, well Lord have mercy on my soul, seems like I was born to lose” - it does not get more ‘true blues’ than that! More great playing follows as Kirk gets a thick tone that recalls the late Michael Burks in another fine extended solo. The album closes with the delicate “Hold On” making a heartfelt plea for love in difficult times with Jade McCrea on harmony vocals.

Overall an impressive album that just gets better with repeated

Reviewed by John Mitchell

This is Sandy Carroll’s fourth release on Catfood, but whereas the previous three focused on Americana and Country, Blues & Angels has a higher blues content. Recorded mainly at husband Jim Gaines’ studio in Tennessee (with additional recording in Memphis and Muscle Shoals), the disc has a host of great players including main guitarist Will MacFarlane and guests Rocky Athas and Bernard Allison and backing vocalists Reba Russell, Barbara Blue and Daunielle Hill, plus Johnny Rawls who duets with Sandy on a song they co-wrote; the core rhythm section is David Smith (bass) and Steve Potts (drums) and Rick Steff shares keyboard duties with Sandy. Sandy wrote all the material, in collaboration with Mark Narmore, William Lee Ellis, Johnny Rawls and several others.

Sandy sings in a controlled, slightly husky voice which works pretty well throughout, but nowhere better than the final track “Mississippi Me”, a beautiful love song to her husband with just Mark Narmore’s piano behind her: “bend me like a guitar string, kiss me like the Delta rain, soothe me with your sugar cane, melt me in your love”. We get gospel in “Soak Me In The Spirit” with excellent B/Vs from Reba and Daunielle and two songs dedicated to departed friends: “Wrapped In An Angel” has delicate guitar from Will backed by keys and choral vocals as Sandy sings of her faith that she will meet a departed loved one again; “Headin’ Home” has a similar theme with a funkier beat and Bernard Allison’s wahwah.

There are several outstanding songs here, including the joyous “Somebody Gotta Dance” which has an infectious tune and chorus and “Love Is A Wonderful Thing” which is in more of a soul-blues style and features Johnny Rawls on vocals. “Blues All For Myself” was a stand-out for this reviewer, a ballad with moody guitar from Will and a finely judged solo by Rocky Athas as Sandy delivers a breathless, almost spoken vocal, a style she employs on several songs here. “Road Angels” has a similar vocal from Sandy and a pulsing beat with some nice slide work by Will and “Movin’ On” has a country feel. “Slings And Arrows” has four named co-writers in addition to Sandy but is not the strongest track on the album despite some good guitar from Rocky. No fewer than five backing vocalists are credited on the swinging shuffle “Mama Don’t Like It” which is a fun track that supports the ‘me, too’ movement.

Overall this is a good listen with several strong songs. Not all blues, but enough blues content to be worth considering.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

Whitney Shay – A Woman Rules The World Little Village Foundation – 2018 www.whitneyshay.com 10 tracks/37 minutes San Diego’s Whitney Shay was a new name to this reviewer but I will certainly keep an eye open for her future work after hearing this impressive CD. Whitney handles the vocals with the sass and confidence you might expect from the front cover picture and the production by Kid Andersen at his Greaseland studio is excellent. Kid plays guitar, sitar and wurlitzer, Jim Pugh is on keys, Lisa Leuschner Andersen on backing vocals, Kedar Roy on bass and Alex Pettersen on drums.

‘Sax’ Gordon Beadle appears on most of the album with John Halblieb’s trumpet alongside him and guests Aki Kumar (harp), Igor Prado (guitar/vocal) and Derrick ‘D’Mar’ Martin (percussion) appear on one track each. Whitney and writing partner Adam J Eros contribute four originals which combine with six well-chosen covers.

The horns give the opener “Ain’t No Weak Woman” a real impetus as Whitney tells us that one mistake does not indicate general weakness. Lincoln Chase’s “Blues Down Home” was a success for Dinah Washington and Whitney sings it really well, with a hint of grit in her vocals and the horns again to the fore, Aki Kumar adding some harp and Sax Gordon playing a great solo. Two originals follow, each showing a different side to Whitney’s talent: “Don’t You Fool Me No More” is a shuffle with a powerful sax solo set against rolling piano as Whitney again shows the power of her vocals without resorting to screaming, as some female singers do. “Love’s Creeping Up On You” is a soul tune with Whitney duetting with Brazilian guitarist and singer Igor Prado and is definitely a standout track. Denise LaSalle’s song gives the CD its title, a slow-burning blues with a message. Whitney’s vocal work is excellent and the backing vocals add depth as Kid plays some subtle guitar. One wonders if the song may have been intended as a response to James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s World” as it has some similarities to that well-known tune.

Whitney comes in with a bang on “Freedom Blues”, credited to Esquerita and to Little Richard. The flamboyant Esquerita was certainly an influence on the young Mr. Penniman and this dramatic cover finds Whitney whooping and hollering over some deep baritone sax and sitar. Rather different to the female empowerment message of several of these songs (covers and originals) “Get It When I Want It” is raunchy and suggestive. Written

by George Jackson and Raymond Moore for Candi Staton it is another great track although the sensitive may blush at some of the lyrics! Bubbling baritone sax and tinkling piano underpin a genuinely sexy vocal.

“Check Me Out” is a Jimmy McCracklin song once recorded by Little Denise, a fast-paced tune with rocking sax. The last original “Empty Hand” sounds like a lost soul classic with the whole band on great form, Kid’s guitar coming from one side of the

mix, Jim’s piano from the other before the horns come in behind another outstanding Whitney vocal, Sax Gordon taking the main solo honours. To close the album Whitney returns to Little Richard for an exhilarating take on his 1967 obscurity “Get Down With It”, best known in the UK as a Northern Soul favourite and the source for Slade’s first big hit. It is hard to believe that you can generate this level of frenetic excitement in a studio but it’s a fantastic four minutes as the band and Whitney give absolutely everything. As a footnote Slade had to reissue their single when the original writer, Bobby Marchan, threatened to sue, as he had recorded it first and Little Richard then covered it but claimed it as his song, so Whitney and LVF might need to watch their backs! Whatever the writing credits it is a superb finale to an excellent album and is, one suspects, a set closer when Whitney plays live.

Strong vocals, great band, good originals and well-chosen covers make for a solid album which you will return to often. Recommended!

Reviewed by John Mitchell Travis Bowlin—Secundus TBowlin Music https://travisbowlin.com/ 12 Tracks Travis Bowlin comes to us from Southern Indiana, right near Cincinnati OH. At 30 years of age, this guitar player, songwriter and vocalist created a bit of a buzz. Several singles were released over the past few years. They have garnered airplay, TV appearances and print write-ups. This is his second full release. These are all his original or co-written songs. He has toured through much of the United States, Australia. He is joined on this CD that was recorded in Nashville by D. Mooney (bass), D. Johnson (bass), H. Aaron (harmonica), K. Gupta (keys/organ) and C .Holder & R. Randell (background vocals). Bowlin also makes appearances playing his cigar box guitar.

Opening up the CD is “Strange Vibes”. This is a funky blues rock tune. It is a nice tune. Up next is “In The Worst Way”. It has a 70’s blues rock tune feel to it. “Dancin’ With The Devil” is a harder rock tune, done maybe too fast. I like “All Over Again”.

It is a guitar inspired blues rock tune, with tasteful guitar work (think Robin Trower or Gary Moore).

“Don’t Lead Me On” is another heavier 70’s blues rock tune. The backup singers were on this cut. I like the slower intro with the harmonica on “Vicksburg Blues”. It gets heavier about half way through the track. It is a keeper and a relationship song. “Go To Girl” is a less complicated tune with a sweet harmonica on the intro. On “You Know You Are” we get a bit jazzy, a bit popish tune. This one is okay.

The jazzy stays with the music on “Casuarina Sand”. I like the drumming on this tune. The vocals are fairly soulful. Things slow down and go acoustic on “I Can Let Go”. It is a bit country, and a bit bluesy. The tune is a nice change of pace. On “Record Shop” we are reminded of the days gone by where it was the coolest place in your neighborhood to hear all kinds of music. It is a rocker and sounds pretty good. The final cut is “Slow Cooker Man.” This is a grind it out blues tune. Some might call it good and greasy. It is the best blues on the release, and full of great lyrics!

This guy has listened to the music that started the blues and blues rock traditions. He is trying to put his own stamp on it.

We will see how his growth propels him ahead over the next few years. I’ll bet we hear good things as he develops. Keep an eye and ear out for this guy. I wish best of luck to the future to him.

Listeners, if you like electric blues and blues rock, this will be for you.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Crystal Shawanda – VooDoo Woman New Sun Records FNCD5979 10 songs – 42 minutes www.crystalshawanda.co Once in a while a new voice hits you and you instantaneously realize it’s something special. That’s what you’ll discover the second you spin this disc from Crystal Shawanda, a young Canadian blues belter who’s capable of rattling windows far south of the border.

A full-blooded member of the Ojibwe nation based on the Wikwemikong reserve located on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron several miles from the mainland, she grew up in a home where her mother and truck driver father loved country music and encouraged her to sing and play guitar as soon as she was able.

Meanwhile, her elder brother, indoctrinated her in the blues by blasting B.B. King, Etta James and Muddy Waters on the stereo in their basement.

Influenced by both country and blues, Shawanda started songwriting very early and started gigging at age 11. A year later, she began accompanying her dad on his trips to Nashville. At 13 she cut her first album and moved away to attend music school. She dropped out at 16 and eventually made her way to Music City, where she eventually got hired to perform three sets a night six days a week at the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

It was at Tootsie’s that she caught the attention of industry veteran Scott Hendricks, who inked her to a production deal, and Joe Galante, who signed her to RCA Records. That deal resulted in 2008’s Dawn Of A New Day, the best selling CD by a Native American ever on the label’s Sony/BDS imprint. It climbed to the Top 20 on Billboard’s country charts.

She quickly realized that blues was her true calling. Still based in Nashville, where she resides today, she formed her own label, New Sun, and produced two pure blues CDs before this one. But Voodoo Woman is her first to be distributed outside of her native Canada. Most of the material here – there are seven covers and three originals – are instantaneously familiar, but Shawanda’s rich, powerful, smoky alto pipes push everything to the limit as she makes them her own.

She’s backed by Dewayne Strobel on guitars, Dave Roe and Michael Dearing on bass, Louis Winfield and Darren James on percussion, Stephen Hanner on harmonica, Dana Robbins on sax and Peter Keys on Hammond B3 organ. Tommy Stillwell makes a guest appearance on guitar for one cut and Vickie Hampton, Quisha Wint and Shawanda deliver vocal harmonies.

The set opens with a medley of Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning,” which pull out of the station slowly and quickly pick up speed driven by the bottom. Although she’s a legitimate alto, Crystal displays excellent control and range despite her vocal power, and, although she’s aurally different, will have some listeners thinking she’s a balls-to-the-wall reincarnation of Janis Joplin.

Robbins’ sax opens a cover of Big Mama Thornton’s “Ball And Chain” with a modern feel as Shawanda takes the slow blues to a level never approached by Big Mama or Joplin, who also recorded it. Koko Taylor’s “VooDoo Woman” serves as the title tune before Crystal tries her hand at a rapid-fire take on Big Mama’s “Hound Dog” and traditional version of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

The Shawanda original “Trouble,” an uptempo modern blues that describes a man who’s too much to handle, precedes the Dorothy Moore classic “Misty Blue” and “Cry Out For More,” a medium-slow original that deals with the desire to leave a longtime love while simultaneously being unable to resist his advances. “I’ll Always Love You,” penned by Stillwell and Larry Grisham, follows before the disc concludes with a medley of Crystal’s “Bluetrain” and a “Smokestack Lightning” reprise.

Available from Amazon, iTunes and other major retailers, Voodoo Woman is strongly recommended. Although not mentioned above, the musicianship is excellent throughout and provides a perfect complement.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther

Crossroads was the 2014 Recipient of the KBA for Blues Foundation Affiliates

The Proven Ones –Wild Again Roseleaf Records www.theprovenones.com/ 10 Tracks Once in a blue moon a blues supergroup surfaces and takes the blues world by storm. Calling The Proven Ones an all-star group is certainly an understatement. Let me break this group down for you just to see the experience they hold collectively.

The rhythm section begins with Jimi Bott on drums, a standout with Mark Hummel and The Blues Survivors, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and finally The Mannish Boys. He was nominated nineteen times as Best Instrumentalist (drums) at The Blues Music Awards, winning in 2015. His long time friend and fellow musician Willie J. Campbell joins the rhythm section on bass with three BMA nominations for Best Instrumentalist (bass). Together Bott and Campbell teamed up as the rhythm section for The Fabulous Thunderbirds and later for the Mannish Boys appearing on their last three albums. On lead guitar is the West Coast guitar extraordinaire Kid Ramos, also a member of that exceptional lineup for the Fabulous Thunderbirds and later as a guest guitarist for Manish Boys. Among his accolades, Ramos holds thirteen BMA nominations for Best Instrumentalist (Guitar).

Rounding out the instrumentalists on piano and Hammond is Anthony Geraci, a longtime member of Sugar Ray and The Bluetones, with six BMA nominations including one for each of the last three years as Best Instrumentalist (piano) a.k.a. the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of The Year Award. The final selection for their front man is the legendary, dynamic vocalist Brian Templeton, the leader of the world renowned Boston group The Radio Kings from 1995 to 2009, recording on all four of their albums. His most recent project was vocalist with The Knickerbocker All-Stars in 2015. The Proven Ones are supported by Portland's The Indigo Horns with Joe McCarthy on trumpet and horn arrangements, Renato Coranto on tenor sax, Robert Crowell on baritone sax, and Chris Mercer on tenor sax.

With a group of this magnitude, let me introduce you to their debut album, Wild Again and their ten selections for the first recording.

The band rolls in like a storm with the Jimi Bott tune "Cheap Thrills," delivering this thunderous, high energy, roadhouse rocker.

With Templeton's vocals echoing across the studio and the West Coast guitar sound of Kid Ramos, this opener sets the pace for this supergroup. They accelerate into some jump blues for an up-tempo version of "City Dump," the soul searching tune from Arlester Christian of Dyke & The Blazers, with the horn section at full throttle on this tune. Templeton's vocals resonate with his deep, soulful sound on the 1953 Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino tune "Don’t Leave Me This Way," first recorded by Domino in 1953.

Geraci opens the Peter Green classic "If You Be My Baby" on the piano, complimenting Ramos who pays quite a tribute on guitar to the legendary Peter Green. Templeton's powerful vocals ring out loud and clear on Anthony Geraci's "Why Baby Why" with full horn section and superb guitar riffs on this track, one of the most gripping selections on the debut album. They turn to the catalog of

Clarence Carter and his powerful 1959 R&B tune "Road Of Love" for their next track. With the rhythm section as the driving force, the slide guitar of Ramos, the full horn section, the keys of Geraci, and the gospel intensity of Brian Templeton's vocals, this tune will convince you that the "The Proven Ones" fits as the name of this supergroup. "Right Track Now," an original that is the collaboration of Kim Wilson, Bott, and Ramos, is a perfect selection for Templeton, the steady rhythm guitar of Ramos, and the horn section, featuring the sax of Chris Mercer. The final collaboration of Bott, Campbell, Ramos, and Dan Berkery of the Rose City Kings, brings to the album all the fire of Freddy King's "Going' Down" with their original "Wild Again." This brings us to the "super soul selection of the year," and Anthony Geraci kicking things off with the sound of his B3, worthy of a performance in the Abundant Life Baptist Church. With Templeton's passionate vocals and the electrifying guitar solos of Kid Ramos, the band will take your soul to depths unknown with their rendition of "Loan Me A Dime," the classic blues tune written by Fenton Robinson in 1967. This all leads up to the final selection on this debut album from The Proven Ones. They will really throw you a curve on the final number with a medley of The Beatles and their own composition of "Don’t Let Me Down/ Proven Fugue in E Major."

With over 100 years of combined experience and musical prowess, this group of Jimi Bott, Willie J. Campbell, Kid Ramos, Anthony Geraci, and Brian Templeton, along with Portland's Indigo Horns are worthy of their title on this their debut album Wild Again. After listening to this album I think the one word "superb" (marked to the highest degree by grandeur, excellence, brilliance, or competence) is very descriptive of their new studio album.

Reviewed by Rick Davis Amanda Fish – Free VizzTone Label Group VT-FF02 12 songs – 57 minutes www.amandafishband.com Kansas City-based songbird Amanda Fish has taken a little longer than her little sister Samantha, but this CD should go a long way in convincing listeners that the Sean Costello Rising Star trophy she picked up at the 2016 Blues Blast Music Awards was no fluke.

Growing up in a home where they were inundated by the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones and more, both girls locked themselves in their room to practice their chops, Sam as a guitarist and Amanda as a singer.

The reigning Blues Music Association contemporary female artist of the year, Samantha broke through first in 2012. A fiery bluesrocker, she’s spread her wings in different areas in the years that have following, including recent releases that have delved into both the throwback sound of an old-school vocalist and, most recently, into folk- and country-flavored blues rock.

Amanda, meanwhile, has taken a different approach entirely. Her first performances as a music professional came as a solo singersongwriter, and started about the same time Sam was in the studio

recording her first CD. A lady with a powerful set of pipes that are both stronger and deeper than her sis, she formed her first band in 2014, singing from the gut as she delivered her own version of roots rock with heavy soul overtones.

Her first album, Down In The Dirt, was released on VizzTone Label Group in 2015 and led to the Blues Blast award. She followed that up with an appearance at the 2017 International Blues Challenge, where she and her bandmates made it to the semi-finals.

All 12 songs on this album, the second in her catalog, are originals penned by Amanda, one with an assist from David Stice-Stephenson and another from Sean McDonnell and Adam Watson. While primarily blues-rock based, they also include wide-ranging outside influences, including the music of hill country legend R.L. Burnside and grunge rockers Nirvana. Most of the songs deal with achieving victory in situations that are beyond the singer’s control.

Three of Fish’s VizzTone label mates, guitarists Bob Margolin and Tyler Morris and harmonica ace Richard Rosenblatt and West Coast string-bender Alastair Greene all make guest appearances. The revolving cast of sidemen includes guitarists Dave Hays, Lois Nadal, Coyote Bill, Carl Butler and Ken Valdez and keyboard player Chris Hazelton with Glen James on percussion throughout. Amanda contributes guitar, bass, mandolin and piano on multiple cuts, and Sara Morgan provides additional vocals.

However, despite the all-star lineup, the star here is definitely Amanda. Like the match she holds in the cover photo, she lights the fuse vocally and confidently explodes out of the box with “2020.” A seering blues-rocker, it apparently offers up hope for the disenchanted masses for the next Presidential election, although there’s no political mention in the lyrics other the statement that “you’re not the one we wanted/You’re not the one we need. Be careful what you wish for/Because there ain’t nothing in this world for free.”

“Not Again” is a hard-driving, uptempo Hill Country-flavored pleaser that features Rosenblatt in his sole appearance before the pace slows for the ballad, “Anymore,” which announces a permanent separation from a former lover. “The Ballad Of Lonesome Cowboy Bill” pairs New England-based youngblood Morris and former Muddy Waters bandmate Margolin in a roots-rocker that features Morgan on vocals and Fish on acoustic guitar, mandolin and piano.

The slow-paced “Blessed” features Valdez on guitar as Amanda reflects about the path she’s chosen as she studies the footprints she’s left in the sand, while Greene powers the rocker “Going Down” with Fish powerfully pleading vocally for relief. It comes in the form of the ballad “You Could Be,” which follows and builds intensity as it progresses.

“Bullet,” another blues-rocker, precedes the steady-driving relationship tune, “Here We Are,” before the tempo slows for “Don’t Mean A Thing” and “The Bored And Lonely,” which carry the theme forward. The bittersweet title cut, “Free,” which starts as a ballad, erupts into a gospel-tinged rocker and brings the disc to a close.

A rock-solid sophomore effort from a lady with a bright future. Pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther

Blues Cargo—On Time Melon Music https://bluescargo.gr/ 12 Tracks I was not familiar with the band, so had to look them up on Discogs. No liner notes came with the CD, so this is a true read from what my ears heard. Blues Cargo is from Greece, and they have performed solid Chicago blues for nearly 30 years. This is their 3rd full length release. There are eight originals on the CD. The players are Dimitris Ioannou (bass, vocals), Tolis Goulas (drums), Stelios Zafeiriou (guitar), Iakovos Krookus & Nikos Skiadopoulos (harp), Babbis Tsilivigos (sax) and George Lagogiannis (keyboards). On to the music.

The opening cut is the classic Freddie King tune “Hideaway”.

The band does the song very well. “The Wheel” has some good guitar work on a fast paced blues tune. The song is about hard work and making it into the world. Things really take off on the hard charging “Time”. They sing about not having enough time in the day. The guitar/harp intro to “Cloud No. 11” is really cool.

This is a solid blues tune.

The tunes get political on the hard charging “Stop Messin' Around (With My Bread)”. The song is a plea to politicians to quit messing with the pay of the people. This is truly a universal piece of blues emotion. “Corruption” has some fine sax work supporting a good blues tune, and adding a long solo. I like the piano solo leading into “Broke 'n' Hungry”. This one has a more modern blues sound, with a bit of a frantic pace to it. This one was written by Blind Lemon Jefferson. For “Don't Knock On My Door” we get some soulful blues with a solid guitar performance

by Zafeiriou.

You got to have some love song on a blues record. “True Lady” fits the bill, with a bit jazzier feel than the previous tunes on the CD. The guitar work is very good. After the love song, a good blues record will also need a cheating song. “The Cheatin' Song” is a slower, but still hot, blues tune. The final 2 cuts are covers.

First is “Love Somebody” by Jimmy Dawkins. This is a good Chicago blues track with the sax adding a fine touch. The closing cut is a more modern tune called “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee”. It was written by west coast bluesman Chris Cain. The tune has a more west coast feel, with a fast pace to it.

This is a pretty good blues CD. The guys from Greece show up well. I like that they wrote a good many of the tunes. Instrumentally they are good. Vocals may drag a bit, but nothing too off base. Most all electric blues fans should enjoy this one. The songs are varied, and well done. Their web site did not show any new gigs, so not sure we will get them over here in the states, so grab the CD and enjoy it. This is solid blues.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Barbara Blue—Fish in Dirty H2O KL Productions www.barbarablue.com 13 Tracks Fish in Dirty H2O is one of the most interesting albums you’ll listen to this year. This newest effort

by Barbara Blue features original material and special arrangements of some classic songs.

A native of Pittsburg, PA, Barbara Blue cannot remember life without music. She released spent her early childhood singing in the choir at church and school, playing flute in the school band, taking piano lessons and showing off her talents in school plays.

Her family always had music playing, with radios littered around the house. She even taught herself how to play guitar and would perform concerts in her back yard.

Blue’s professional career began in Phoenix, AZ, in 1977. She lent her musical talents to the “City Limits Blues Band” in Detroit, MI, for a few years before returning back to Pittsburg to put her own band together. She her debut CD Out of the Blue in 1994; this effort opened a number of doors for Blue. She took a trip to Memphis in 1997 and snagged a gig at Silky O’Sullivan’s at 183 Beale Street where she has been performing five or more nights a week for the past 21+ years. Today, she proudly wears the “Reigning Queen of Beale Street” crown. In the years since her first release, Blue has performed with James Cotton, Bobby Rush, Ronnie Baker and more.

Now based in Tennessee, Ms. Blue mixes gritty urban blues with saucy Memphis soul to create a bold, brassy sound. This is Blue’s eleventh self-produced recording, and she used this wealth of experience to come up with something unique and solid with Fish in Dirty H2O. Will McFarlane plays guitar on the record and is joined by Dave Smith on bass, and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie on drums. Lester Snell, Rick Steff and Mark Narmore play keyboard throughout the record. A horn section and several guest musicians, including Al Kapone and background singers Maureen Smith, Candace Mache, Lynette “Sue” McCracklin, Lorinna McMinn and Celia Purdie, bring life to various tracks.

Barbara Blue teamed up with Narmore and Sandy Carroll to create “My Heart Belongs To The Blues,” a gritty, honest groove that features beautiful guitar work from McFarlane. The trio also wrote “Wild Women” and “That’s Working For Me.” Blue’s re-imagined and adapted a new song by Sharrad, “Johnny Lee (Angeline),” to fit her larger-than-life voice and style for the record. “Meet Me in Memphis” from The Eric Hughes Blues Band is another adaptation by Blue, which features Rick Steff working his magic on the Hammond B-3.

Borrowed from the Koko Taylor catalogue, the title track features Blue’s powerful voice punctuated by Al Kapone’s crisp rap. Michael Tols’ guitar sounds almost contemplative as it supports the vocal-centric track. Blue lets her gospel side shine in “Dr. Jesus” and then pops it back in line “Meet Me In Memphis.” Blue wrote both “Dr. Jesus” and “Slow Burn” with Spooner Oldham and Carl Holder. Blue partnered with Narmore to write “Walk Away,” a quietly strong and inspirational song about the end of a relationship.

“BBQ Man” gives us a taste of what Blue’s sweet BBQ man is puttin’ on. Another Blue original, “Accidental Theft,” screams and cries with Sharrard on slide. “Wild Women” starts out fun and gets better from there. Keys and horns pave the way for Blue’s joyful argument that wild women, like the rest of us, do indeed get the blues.

“Gravy Train” offers advice on fighting the blues with lyrics like, “Take on life one day at a time/There’s no guarantee you’ll be here for the next sunrise/So enjoy today, please be kind” and “Live every moment like it’s your last day.”

“That’s Working For Me” has an appealing, consistent beat that you could listen to all night long. Fish in Dirty H2O closes with Blue’s capable adaptation of Robert Johnson classic, “Come On In My Kitchen.” Produced, engineered and mixed by Jim Gaines, Fish in Dirty H2O is a very easy listen.

Reviewed by Lynn Hetzler

Keith Stone with Red Gravy— Blues with a Taste of New Orleans Self-release www.keithstonemusic.com 10 tracks From the first bite to the last lick, Keith Stone with Red Gravy: Blues with a Taste of New Orleans is a delicious treat. In his second highly anticipated second release, Keith Stone teamed up with the legendary New Orleans band Red Gravy to create a fun listen with a lot of personality.

Reminiscent of Guitar Slim, Professor Longhair, Dr. John and Earl King, this newest effort features great guitar work by Stone along with exceptional rhythms by drummer, Eddie Christmas and bass player, Kennan Shaw.

The name, Red Gravy was inspired by the way Stone’s Sicilian mama simmered up her special recipe of the local tomato-based sauce. In this newest CD, Stone stirs in local spirits and spices to flavor the music with the essence of New Orleans. Each song delivers a slightly different flavor and style, but like the ingredients of any good meal, each works to compliment the others.

“Ain’t That The Blues” pulls you right in with Stone’s lively guitar riffs. The band lets their funky side shine through in “Love Done Put Me Down.” Stone and saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter bring it back a notch with “You Ain’t Got Nothing,” an unhurried groove with a cool feel.

Stone serves up a spicy little dish with a distinctly NOLA flavor in the title track. He follows with “Crazy in Love with You,” which starts with a sweet guitar over a tender piano before giving way to Stone’s passionate treatment of the lyrics. The sax solo

by Jimmy Carpenter makes for a moving interlude.

“Don’t Count Me Out” and “Blue Eyed Angel” pop it back to a traditional blues shuffle with tireless beats. “Time to Move On” keeps the momentum moving. “Hard to Have the Blues” is sweet and soulful, featuring impressive keys by Tom Worrell and an understated guitar solo by Stone. Worrell and Stone keep it going in the last track of the album “Something in the Water,” which is as gratifying as taking that last bite of delicious red gravy.

Reviewed by Lynn Hetzler

Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers—Wiggle Room Blueskitty Records www.micheledamourandthelovedealers.com 10 tracks In her inaugural debut on this record label, Seattle-based singer-songwriter and bandleader Michele D’Amour and her band dive deep into jazzy blues and come up with a soul burner in Wiggle Room. The 2018 record features ten new original tunes. Wiggle Room debuted at #6 on Roots Music Report's Jazzy Blues chart and then held the top spot for three weeks. The record also debuted on the Washington blues chart at the #9 spot before snagging the #1 position and holding it there for three weeks. Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers was also a Washington Blues Society's 2018 International Blues Challenge finalist.

It’s no wonder this record is making a strong showing – Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers burst past the confines of their blues, funk and rockin’ soul foundation to explore new styles and sounds. Michele D’Amour (pronounced De-MOORE and rhymes with “the floor”) wrote her first song at the tender age of six. While the incident that inspired the song is long forgotten, it’s title was “My Mom is So Mean.” Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers formed in 2011 and the band released its first EP, Sin Comin’ Out, in 2014. The band produced two other records in 2015 and 2016. One track from last year’s effort, “Lost Nights at the Leopard Lounge”, earned a Grand Prize in the 2017 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.

Michele and her team added four new band members to give the new effort a deep, rich feel. They added fulltime keyboardist Brian Oledorf and Noel Barnes on sax, for example, to help create soul and depth on various tracks. The band also welcomed Jeff Cornell with his electric guitar and acoustic resonator guitar, and drummer Dave Delzotto.

D’Amour teamed with Washington Blues Society Hall of Fame member and renowned guitarist Mark Riley to produce the record. Rhythm tracks were recorded with Steve Feasely, a Grammy-winning engineer, at Strange Earth Studios.

D’Amour continues to emerge as a versatile and gifted singer/ songwriter, with her powerhouse vocals sliding easily from one style to the next. She penned most of the songs on the record, but paired up with Cornell to write “Been So Long” and “He Can’t Be Wrong.”

This newest effort adds jazz, swing, boogie and Latin with just a breath of country and gospel to their previous catalog of blues, funk and rockin’ soul. The first track, “Falling Down”, lays down some solid hot funk with just a whiff of Albert Collins. Seattle blues diva Nora Michaels helps D’Amour in her search for a “Sweet Lovin’ Man” in the record’s second track. Chet Baker’s soul flows through trumpeter Greg Lyons on the sultry title track. “Honey on the Side” is a fun and funky cautionary tale about having a side piece.

Bass man Patrick McDanel takes the listener on a smooth journey to the dark side in “Nothing to No One,” as D’Amour’s vocals paint a vivid picture of the homeless person in all of us. “Let it Slide” grooves with another important message about tolerance and self-preservation.

“Been So Long” swings the record back into boogie mode, as D’Amour sings about a woman scorned. The torch song “Worthy” takes the mood back into retrospective mode, with a haunting guitar riff by Cornell underscoring D’Amour’s exploration of self-esteem.

“He Can’t be Wrong” is just a downright jaunty song about giving a common bully his comeuppance. Oldendorf’s fingers skitter across the keyboard during “He Can’t be Wrong,” and then melt out into a gorgeous classical intro to the album’s final song, “Hard Times.”

Wiggle Room is equal parts timeless and timely. Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers go about their mission, which is printed on the liner notes: “To make music that reflects the moments of joy amid times of struggle,” is what D’Amour and company work at, “because we feel most deeply that when art is clear and focused, and the message is on point.”

Reviewed by Lynn Hetzler

Jim Allchin - Prime Blues Sandy Key Music jimallchin.com 14 cuts Last year we saw the release of Jim Allchin's Decisions album which garnered good critical review for it's great songs and musicianship. Allchin returned to the studio this past Spring to once again collaborate with Tom Hambridge and his team. Hambridge has produced Grammy winners before and to make things even sweeter he and Allchin invited Mike Zito, Bobby Rush and The Memphis Horns to join them on this production. The output of all that is 14 new songs, 3 penned by Allchin alone and the other 11 were collaborations between Allchin, Hambridge and a couple of other folks here and there. In addition to Allchin on vocals and guitar are Bob Britt, Kenny Greenberg and Rob McNelley on rhythm guitar, Hambridge on drums, Kevin McKendree on keys, Glenn Worf on bass, Mycle Wastman on backing vocals and the aforementioned guest musicians.

The album blasts off with "Give It up," a strident blues rocker where Allchin urges us to discover our inner truth. Allchin's guitar is big on lead and solos here, as it is throughout. The Memphis Horns make their presence felt early on this first cut.

Kevin McKendree on keys answers Jim's calls aptly and with great style on "The Devil Don't Sleep," a sweet and cool blues offering. Allchin's vocals move to the grittier side as he testifies that the devil remains ready to get us any time. "Voodoo Doll" is next, showing some Cajun influences on the blues where a bayou beauty draws attention and becomes Allchin's "Voodoo Doll," a nice play of words. Another big solo on the axe showcases Allchin's prowess. The next offering, "Snuggle Up," is pretty much a straight up guitar anthem sort of rocker, but the band spins a little blues into the sound as Allchin wails. A nice instrumental follows entitled "Jimmy's Boogie." It's a swinging and hair raising cut with stratospheric guitar riffs and a driving beat. Things then slow down for the softer and more sultry "Summer Sunrise." The Horns are back in force and bring their style and coolness to the mix. It's a pretty love song and Allchin and Company deliver a great performance. We get to the half way point with "Enough is Enough" with Mike Zito bringing his fantastic sound to the mix. A gritty guitar intro and Zito on vocals get things going. The piano then fills in and the groove continues at high speed as Zito sings and Allchin makes guitar sing. Solidly cool stuff!

"Found The Blues" gets us a little guitar and organ groove going as Allchin testifies to us about his finding the blues and setting him on his path to play them. Guitar and organ solos are well done on this well done traditional blues cut. Grease abounds on the guitar intro to "Two Bad Dreams" as the organ and Horns return the guitar calls to start this one off. And to make matters even better we get the ever sweet tones of Bobby Rush on vocals as the intro concludes. He breaks out his harp to back Jim's gui-

tar solo and adds a bit more to our enjoyment- a very cool cut! Allchin goes acoustic on "Pawn Shop Man" and gives us some cleaned up and dressed up Delta blues delivered in his Northwest style. The acoustic guitar work is well done and McKendree's piano also makes for a great song. "Lost My Mind" is a well done shuffle in the Chicago style and McKendree again plays some nice piano in support of Allchin's vocals and guitar.

Next we have "Up To Destiny," a soulful piece where Allchin gives his love life efforts up to destiny. There is some pretty organ work and backing vocals here, too. A thoughtful and different kind of cut and Allchin pulls it off well. "Tech Blues" features some fancy double shuffling by Hambridge, some harp by Bobby Rush, and a little piano by McKendree as Jim and his acoustic guitar bemoan his smart phone trying to be smarter than him. It's meant to be a commentary on our phone obsession and gives us a bit of humor mixed with social commentary. The CD concludes with "Logoff," a cut that both logs us off the CD as Allchin tells his woman he's logging off from his relationship with her. He takes the blame for the relationship's faults and brings things to a thoughtful and poignant close.

There is nothing to complain about here. Allchin delivers some great new songs and he and his band and guests are up to the task of making them all sound fresh, new and varied. He plays with an assortment of styles and is able to make each new cut sound as vibrant as the prior one. He's a helluva guitar player, a very good singer and he really has another winner here. The exMicrosoft engineer once again excels and delivers a super CD for us with Prime Blues. I think this one is even better than last year's effort, so if you liked that one then don't wait to run out and buy this one- you won't regret it!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Artur Menezes—Keep Pushing Self Released https://www.arturmenezes.com 10 Tracks Artur Menezes is originally from Brazil, and is based in California these days. His band won 3rd place in the 2018 BMA’s Band Category and Artur was the winner of the Albert King award for best guitarist. This is a great resume line. Menezes has 4 overall releases. All of the 10 tunes were written by Menezes. Besides playing guitar, he sings also. His group includes Daniel Aged (bass), Gary Novak (drums), Carey Frank (harmonica/keyboards), Jamelle Adisa (trumpet/flugelhorn), Dan Boisey (tenor/baritone sax) and Josh Smith (guitar on a few tracks). Certainly there is some Latin feel to some of his music, but it is very bluesy.

The opening track is “Now's The Time”. This slower soulful track has the brass and stinging guitar work that might have jumped from Memphis decades ago. I like the feel of “Keep

Pushing”, the title track. It is a song about life and keeping after the things you need to do. This is a strong blues track. Heavy blues rock is heard on “Come With Me”. There is influence by that big guitar player from Seattle on the guitar work on this track. I hear some Texas blues in “Any Day, Anytime”. It is a slower track with some fine fret work by Menezes. His singing is not half bad either.

I like the stinging guitar work on “Should Have Never Left”.

Albert King would be proud. The horns do well on this funky tune. The music style changes up to a jump blues feel on “Love 'n' Roll”. The band really cooks on this upbeat jump blues tune.

Menezes handles the style change well on his guitar. The blues rock on “Pull It Through” is quite good. The band is tight, and the singing is pretty good.

I like the shuffle on “Give My Money Back”. It is a quality blues tune. Things slow down and get sultry on “Can't Get You Out Of My Mind”. This one is very much on the jazz side of things. I like the change of pace. On the final cut “'Til The Day I Die”, the music starts out in a modern blues rock feel and about half way through gets crazy in a Trower/Satriani heavy rock feel. The extended solo is quite aggressive.

I like this one. This guy can play guitar and write some fine tunes. Blues rock fans will rejoice. Keep Pushing is a diverse album that should please most blues fans. Don’t go here for any acoustic or country blues. You will get modern blues rock, funky blues and some heavy blues rock. This one will get a party rolling. He is a younger artist who will keep pushing the blues for decades to come.

ber of The Chesterfields who were signed to Atlantic Records and mentored by Ahmet Ertegun himself.

Sharrard went solo after the band released three albums, worked occasionally with Levon Helm and joined Allman fulltime in 2008. As a leader himself, Scott has always shared Gregg’s vision of fusing blues, soul, jazz and folk into his own sound. And that comes through clearly in the grooves of this one.

About half the cuts here feature the Hi Rhythm Section, Howard Grimes (percussion), Reverend Charles Hodges (keyboards) and Leroy Hodges (bass), who’ve been producing hit records since being the house band behind Al Green and Ann Peebles in the ‘70s. The other cuts feature David Hood (bass), Spooner Oldham (keys) and Chad Gamble (drums), prime movers in the Muscle Shoals sound. Also making guest appearances are Taj Mahal and legendary percussionist Bernard Perdie.

Rounding out the sound are Eric Finland and Pete Levin (keyboards), Marc Franklin (trumpet), Art Edmaiston and Kirk Smothers (sax), Moses Patrou and Steve Potts (percussion), Brett Bass (bass), Jesse Munson, Yennifer Correia and Wen Yih Yu (violin), Jennifer Puckett (viola), Jonathan Kirkscey (cello) and Susan Marshall and Daunielle “Pie” Hill (backing vocals).

It’s full-force Memphis soul-blues for the opener, “High Cost Of Loving You,” which features Sharrard’s warm, powerful voice and rock-solid, stinging guitar work as it details the problems in a relationship. Scott turns to acoustic slide for the slow blues, “Faith To Arise,” penned by British rocker Terry Reid. It’s an ode to home delivered from the point of view of a musician on the road.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Scott Sharrard – Saving Grace We Save Music WSM-001 11 songs – 51 minutes www.scottsharrard.com The lead guitarist/musical director for the Gregg Allman in the final decade of his career, Scott Sharrard picks up where the founder of Southern rock left off as he delivers an outstanding collection of soulful blues- and roots-driven music here.

That should come as no surprise for anyone familiar with Sharrard, who received two Grammy nominations for tunes he cowrote with Allman for Southern Blood, Gregg’s last studio album. This one was recorded in Memphis, New York and at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. It features a lineup of several of the biggest names in the music world, and never disappoints as it flows as it delivers nine originals and two covers.

This is the fifth solo release for Sharrard, a Michigan native who was born on Dec. 28, 1976, the same day that his all-time favorite musician, Freddie King, died. Raised in Milwaukee, WI, he cut his teeth on Luther Allison, Hubert Sumlin and others locally before relocating to New York as an adult, where he was a mem-

The title tune, “Saving Grace” gives Sharrard plenty of space to show off his voice. It’s a ballad that sings praise of a woman who always saves the singer from himself. A cover of Allman’s “Everything A Good Man Needs” – a tune Gregg planned for an ill-fated future release -- follows before the Memphis flavor returns with the love song, “Angeline.” A medium-paced, stoptime shuffle, it’s a new tune with a true old-school feel. It flows smoothly into “Words Can’t Say,” a beautiful love ballad with full orchestration, before “She Can’t Wait,” a bittersweet send-up that revisits the cheating theme as it deals with paying the price for a part-time love affair.

“Sweet Compromise” comes across with a gospel feel before the orchestra returns for the sweet “Keep Me In Your Heart.” The disc concludes with “Sentimental Fool.” A new tune, not the Roxy Music classic, it brings you home with another big dose of old-school R&B feel.

Somewhere on the other side, Gregg Allman’s beaming as he listens to this one. This one's been at the top of the charts since its recent release. Available through Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and other outlets, it’s a delight.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther

Blue & Lonesome Duo – Pacing The Floor EllerSoul Records ELL 1804 14 songs – 48 minutes www.ellersoulrecords.com Old-school harp player Ronnie Keith Owens and guitarist Gordon Harrower take a break from their duties in their powerful Virginia-based band to deliver this bare-bones CD. The album pays tribute to blues duos of the past as it mixes new tunes with well-crafted covers.

As L’il Ronnie & The Grand Dukes and based in Richmond, they’ve been entertaining audiences for three decades with 11 albums to their credit, delivering a mix of classic Chicago, swamp blues, R&B, rockabilly and more. This release delivers plenty of that, but also dips more into low-country blues as it revives the memory of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins and others.

Formerly a drummer, Owens started playing professionally at age 13 and traded in sticks for a harmonica after listening to Muddy Waters and falling under the spell of Little Walter. Harrower, meanwhile, keeps up a busy schedule on his own, fronting the blues-rock ensemble Rattlesnake Shake when not at Owens’ side.

Mixing acoustic and electric, Pacing The Floor touches base with the entire blues spectrum. Both Ronnie and Gordon share vocals with Owens contributing kick drum and hi-hat for rhythm.

An unhurried version of David “Honeyboy” Edwards’ “Drop Down Mama” pulls out of the station slowly and picks up pace to open the action with Ronnie’s skillful harp lines driving the action forward atop Harrower’s vocals and steady rhythm. The pace quickens for the original, “Wine Headed Woman,” with Gordon powering the beat on the bottom and Owens handling lyrics and instrumental lead.

A trio of solid, albeit familiar covers -- a slow-and-steady version of Waters’ “Mean Red Spider,” a swinging take on Jimmy Rogers’ “Act Like You Love Me” and a traditional styling of “Careless Love,” a tune that traces back to first-generation jazzman Buddy Bolden in New Orleans – follow before the original, “Too Fast For Conditions,” which follows seamlessly with a wry description of a lady who’s making her loving move too soon.

The pair breathe new life into Lightnin’ Hopkins’ gospel-flavored “Needed Time” with Gordon at the mike before Ronnie takes over for “Pacing The Floor,” a swinging pleaser that describes waiting at home for a woman to return from a night out dancing.

An interesting cover of James Brown’s “Try Me” follows, a totally different arrangement of the one delivered by the Godfather Of Soul. It’s a sweet, tender, unhurried blues with Ronnie on baritone harp and Harrower on vocals that works well despite any perceived incongruity.

Eddie Taylor’s “Country Boy” comes across with an acoustic, but urban feel thanks to Gordon’s bass-heavy bottom before an electrified take on Rogers’ “Out On The Road” and “Can’t Buy My

Love,” an original with a timeless feel. Slim Harpo’s familiar “Raining In My Heart” follows before another new tune, the loping “More Than Eye Candy,” closes the set.

Available through most major retailers, Blue & Lonesome Duo’s Pacing The Floor is a delight for anyone with old-school sensibilities. It’s perfect if you want to kick back and relax.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther Billy Hector—Some Day Baby Ghetto Surf Music https://www.billyhector.com/ 13 Tracks Billy Hector is a veteran blues/rock/soul guitarist from New Jersey. He toured in the bands of Joe Louis Walker and Hubert Sumlin in the past. Overall he has released 14 records. He got a start in the late 70’s in Asbury Park playing in The Shots and Hot Romance. In the 80’s he formed The Fairlaines. Later he reformed as a power trio The Billy Hector Group. On this release he used five drummers and bass players, so this album was done in different settings and time. Eleven of the tunes are originals, with two more interpreting traditional tunes.

This music will rock your socks off with guitar and brass, yet retains the touch, feel and emotion of the songs.

The opening cut is “Wizard of Babylon”. It is funky, upbeat and has some fine brass in it. The music continues in the same vein on “Someday Baby”. Hector’s guitar is on fire. The music gets on the tune “Butt Naked and Funk” has some New Orleans funk feel to it.

The brass carries it with some guitar riffs in support. The soulful slower tune “Hit the Road” really shows off Hector’s vocals. The music is powerful, but not overwhelming to the vocals. “Busy Man” is a rocking soulful track. The jam in the middle of the song is first rate.

“Moonlight in Her Eyes” is a blues rock tune (George Thorogoodish). I like variety, but I’m not sure this one fits in well. The 7th tune is an instrumental called “Bareback”. David Nunez on the organ really sets things up for Hector’s guitar to glide along this blues track. “Jolene” is a blues track with the horns adding punch. Overall it is okay, but not special. Dennis Gruenling adds his harmonica to traditional tune “Alabama Bound”. This classic old blues tune gets a fresh facelift here with wicked slide guitar.

“On Your Bond” is another traditional blues tune. It has some more slide guitar and sounds real good. “Whiskey” is a long song with a slow haunting intro. Guitar, organ and drums dominate this tune.

John Ginty takes over the B3 on the tune “Creeper”. It is a blues tune with the horns joining in. Closing out the CD is the Memphis soul tune “Road To Happiness”. Susan Lastovica shares the vocals on this one. I like the duet here.

Billy Hector is a strong name in the New Jersey scene. This release may gain him more exposure. I think he is happy playing his music as he has done over all these years. Blues, soul, rock or funk all enter the mix to hector’s music. This is good for our ears. This one should be good for all blues listeners. Enjoy it!

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Gina Sicilia—Heard The Lie Blue Élan Records https://www.ginasicilia.com/ 11 Tracks

Dave Keller – Every Soul’s A Star Catfood Records www.davekeller.com 11 tracks/43 minutes

Originally from the Philadelphia area, vocalist Gina Sicilia now makes Nashville home. The influences from her new habitat show up in her work.

She has always recorded works that span a spectrum of music.

This is her 8th overall release over the last 11 years. She had a hand in writing 8 of the 11 tracks. A session group from Los Angeles supports her on this release. They include Herman Matthew (drums), Davey Faragher (bass) and Josh Smith (lead guitar).

Vermont’s Dave Keller is a genuine triple threat with fine vocals, solid guitar work and writing ability. Dave came to international attention when Ronnie Earl chose him as featured vocalist on his Living In The Light album and he then won the IBC award for the best produced album for 2011’s Where I’m Coming From. 2014’s Soul Changes and 2016’s Right Back Atcha further consolidated his reputation with nominations as BMA Soul-Blues album of the year and his latest follows in that soul-infused style. Dave has worked a lot with soul-blues great Johnny Rawls who suggested Dave record in Texas with the Catfood house band, The Rays, who have worked extensively with Johnny. Jim Gaines produced the disc and the result is a very clear, smart listen as Jim’s studio expertise places every instrument perfectly in the mix. Dave wrote all the songs bar one and plays guitar alongside The Rays’ Johnny McGhee who has a wealth of experience in the soul field.

The rest of The Rays are Bob Trenchard on bass, Dan Ferguson on keys, Richy Puga on drums, Mike Middleton on trumpet and Nick Flood on saxes; Janelle Thompson and Shakara Weston add B/V’s.

The first cut is the title track “Heard The Lie”. This is a quality country/pop tune that could be very radio friendly. You might hear some Linda Ronstadt in this tune. Dave Darling, the producer, wrote “How Many Times”. It is a soul ballad with Arian Oscar adding some keyboard work. I liked Bad Company’s “Ready For Love”. This is a lighter version of the original Mick Ralph’s tune, less bluesy than the original. Her vocals are good, though. “Brighter Day” contains a treat with Janiva Magness joining in on vocals. It is a slower tune, in the country/soul vein.

“Angels Watching” is a slower blue rock tune. It is tasteful, and showcases Sicilia’s vocals. I like the blues shuffling “Man In The Sky”. Josh Smith handles the 6 string very well here. Things get a bit twangy on the slower tune “Sugar”. It is a love song with some Nashville influence on this one. “Darling” is a country pop tune. I like the hand clapping to help carry the tune.

“Light Me Up” is a slower burning blues rock tune, though there is a bit of Latin in the beat. It keeps your toe tapping. “I Do Bad Things” is made for modern country radio. It has the topic, the guitar work and feel of a modern country hit. Things close down with the slow haunting tune called ” Growing Dim”. Gina’s vocals are strong on this slow, but strong, bluesy tune.

Sicilia’s vocals and writing stay strong on this release. There is an appeal to the modern country side of music, with still some blues pieces being retained. This one may be a crossover to the country and Americana veins of audience. I hope she gets heard by a bigger audience. Sicilia was nominated for Best New Artist at the BMA’s before. Her fans will enjoy this one. It is more of the Americana and country vein than a big blues release. If you like those tastes in listening than this one is for you. If you are a big blues lover, this may not be for you. I do like her voice through all of it. I hope she does well ahead.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

The opening two songs set the album off on a really positive tone. “Don’t Let Them Take Your Joy” has a funky rhythm as Dave warns us that “they may try to fool you, fill your head with lies, they may make you do the things that you despise, but don’t let them take your joy,” Dave adding a great solo that fits the positive theme of the song. The title track is a joyous song that celebrates the human spirit’s determination to reach out for what you want to achieve, regardless of circumstances. With a superb horn arrangement, beautiful backing vocals on the chorus and restrained guitar licks from both Dave and Johnny this is soul music of the highest calibre. The only cover is “Baby I Love You”, a 1967 tune sung by Aretha Franklin, with Johnny playing a great solo on the outro.

Dave steps away from the positivity for “Old Tricks”, a wonderful, catchy song with clever lyrics. In essence a cheating song, Dave twists a common phrase to deliver the cutting remark that all that he is doing is what she did to him: “Looks like I’m up to your old tricks again.” Dave’s plaintive vocal style gives the lyrics an aching quality and the backing fits that perfectly as Dan plays a lyrical organ solo. “You Bring The Sunshine” returns to the positive outlook, another attractive love song with a lilting horn arrangement, a song that you rapidly start singing along to!

Dave gets serious on “Freedom Is Ours” in which he discusses the refugee crisis; after all, aren’t these refugees just seeking a better lot for their families, as the Founding Fathers once did? If ‘freedom is ours’ why should it not be available to everyone who seeks it? Dave’s ringing solo seems to call for everyone to claim those freedoms.

On “This Is Gonna Hurt” Dave’s guitar solo seems to echo the sad lyrics but “It’s All In Your Eyes” returns to a happier theme, with suitably upbeat music. “Kiss Me Like You Miss Me” is another soul tune with a classic horn arrangement and lush keyboard work. Listen to this one on headphones to really appreciate the interplay between the two guitarists before Johnny takes the solo. A heartbreak ballad follows in “When Are You Gonna Cry?”, brooding horns and delicate guitar interplay, the soloist this time being Dave while “Ain’t Givin’ In” returns to the core message - “I believe in love and I ain’t givin’ in” - an upbeat message wrapped in a fine musical envelope to close the album.

Fans of soul-blues will probably already be familiar with Dave Keller and this fine album will please them. Those unfamiliar with Dave’s music are heartily encouraged to give this outstanding album a listen – it is sure to be on 2018 ‘Best Albums’ lists in a few months’ time.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Hadden Sayers—Dopamine Machine & Acoustic Dopamine Self Released https://haddensayers.com/ 11 Tracks & 11 Tracks Hadden Sayers is a blues rocker from the great state of Texas. He handles his electric and acoustic guitars equally well. His gravelly voice can fill a big stage or a small living room.

These two releases are the 9th of his career. One is electric versions of the songs, and the other he recorded acoustically after the electric disc was completed. The music was recorded in Nashville, and Sayers wrote all of it. Sayers plays with his electric band, does acoustic home shows, and in his free time sits in with Ruthie Foster and her band. Joining Sayers on this recording is Greg Morrow (drums/percussion), Rusty McFarland (bass & acoustic guitar on “Gravity” and Johnny Neel (organ). Ruthie Foster joins in on “Waiting Wanting”.

The opening cut sizzles the hair on your arms. “Unsatisfied” roars out of your speakers. It is a rocker, with some blues leanings. “I Feel Love” is another blue rock hard driving song. I like the cowbell!! The 3rd cut is “Hit The Road”. I reminds me a bit of John Hiatt with Sonny Landreth. It rocks well. Things slow a bit on “Blood Red Coup Deville”. This is a slower pretty country type of song about driving.

Ruthie Foster joins in on “Waiting Wanting”. This one is a tender tune with Ruthie’s background voice adding to the feel.

“Good Good Girl” is a rockin’ tune with a modern feel. Sayers turns his voice up with a higher falsetto vocal. “Learning To

Disappear” has a bit of a choppy feel to it. It is a rocking tune that might miss the mark against the other tunes on the CD. “Peppermint Patty” gets a bit too hard rocking for blues rock. It might catch on with what still exists for rock radio. “Dopamine Machine” the title cut, has a bit of a raw edge to it. It certainly is another rock track. I like the soothing feel of “Gravity,” it’s a fine acoustic rock ballad and a pretty song. “Backbreaker” starts out hard and the pace keeps up during the tune. The band rocks out again on this one.

This is a rock album for sure. The CD is much more rock than blues. Purists will keep clear. Blue Rock folks might like it more than anyone else. It is well done, and I like that it is all Sayers music.

For the Acoustic Dopamine CD, Sayers remakes all of the tunes in an acoustic Americana/blues manner. Ruthie Foster reappears on her track, and Jim Ed Cobb adds hand claps, foot stomps and other percussion items. The track list has all the same songs, though in a different running order. These are really different interpretations of the tunes.

“Dopamine Machine” starts out the CD and is just Sayers and his guitar. This version is more to my liking. On “Learning To Disappear” the choppiness of the electric side is gone. Sayers provides some fine finger picking on this one. I like the change on “Unsatisfied”. It was hard rocking Texas blues rock on the other CD, now we have a slower intimate acoustic version that sounds good. “Peppermint Patty” sounds much better in this mode.

Sayers has a nice John Hiatt sound here.

Although acoustic, “I Feel Love” rocks out a bit. It is a nice stripped down version of the tune. Ruthie Foster is back on the acoustic version of “Waiting Wanting;” this is a very nice and pretty tune. “Good Good Girl” sounds good hear like an acoustic Rockpile tune. It has energy and some good hand clapping on it. “Blood Red Coupe Deville” turns into a country ballad on this version.

I like the acoustic “Hit The Road”. It sounds more like a blues tune here. “Backbreaker” really rocked on the electric side. It is powerful, but more blues in this presentation. Closing things out is “Gravity”. This is a fine country blues tune and I could see James Taylor covering this one.

So I like the acoustic CD better, not that the electric CD is bad; I just like the more stripped down, bare songs. The music on it feels more heartfelt. The Americana & blues feel really shines through. Your choice remains to fit for your listening pleasure.

No harm in picking up both of these. Congrats to Hadden Sayers for an overall job well done.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Mark Hummel – Harpbreaker Electro-Fi www.markhummel.com 13 tracks/61 minutes Harmonica player Mark Hummel is probably best known for his longrunning series of ‘Harmonica Blowout’ tours which over the years have featured virtually every living harp player of note – James Cotton, William Clarke, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson, James Harman, Rod Piazza – the list goes on and on! This all -instrumental album brings together cuts from Mark’s early releases, previously unreleased tracks and some new material. Mark’s harp is clearly up front and centre but there is also a great list of guitarists to appreciate: Charles Wheal, Anson Funderburgh, Little Charlie Baty, Billy Flynn, Rusty Zinn and Kid Andersen; among the other players here are drummers Marty Dodson, Wes Starr and June Core, bassists RW Grigsby and Steve Wolf and keyboard players Bob Welsh, Chris Burns and Sid Morris.

The material covers a lot of ground with plenty of swinging arrangements, none better than the cover of Buddy Rich’s ensemble piece “Rotten Kid”, a live track which gives solo space to everybody – the oldest recording here, from 2004’s Blowin’ My Horn. Mark’s live tour de force “Harpoventilatin’” zips along at breakneck pace with Bob Welsh’s piano providing an excellent foil to Mark’s harp work and “The Creeper Returns”, a tune by Little Sonny whose earlier “The Creeper” was successfully covered by James Cotton, is a strong cut from 2006 release Ain’t Easy No More.

Three previously unreleased tracks from 2009 sessions for RetroActive feature Rusty Zinn on guitar and Chris Burns on keys, the first of which is a fine take on Horace Silver’s “Señor Blues” which adds trumpet and sax to Mark’s harp, RW’s bass playing a real feature of the track. “Ready, Steady, Stroll!” appeared on the album but this is presumably an alternative version which certainly does what the title suggests, impossible to keep still to this one! “Glide On” is a jazzy piece with Mark and Rusty playing well in unison and RW’s pulsing double bass coming through well as drummer Willie Panker uses brushes. From a 2010 trio session (Mark, Rusty, RW) come “Evans Shuffle”, attributed to Muddy Waters but in fact a Little Walter tune from his period in Muddy’s band, and Mark’s laid back adaptation of “See See Rider”.

From 2014’s Hustle Is Really On we get the frenetic “Crazy Legs” and a previously unreleased take on Duke Pearson’s “Cristo Redentor” which is dedicated both to Charlie Musselwhite who made the tune his own and to Mark’s late mother whose favourite tune it was.

This is a fine version with Kid Andersen’s guitar, Sid Morris’ stately piano and the understated rhythm section of RW and June Core superb throughout. Why it did not make the album is anyone’s guess!

The Golden State Lone Star Blues Revue brought together Mark and RW with Little Charlie Baty, Anson Funderburgh and Wes Starr and the all-star outfit made an outstanding CD in 2016 from which “Walkin’ With Mr Lee” appears here, another swinger.

Bringing things up to date there are two recordings from an unreleased session in 2018 with Mark on harp and shakers, Billy Flynn on guitar, Aaron Hammerman on piano and Dave Eagle on washboard

and percussion – no drums or bass on these two! “Billy’s Boogaloo” is a Hummel original with Dave’s percussion work driving the rhythm along and Billy playing a very ‘cool’ solo; “Chuckaluck” is a Robert Henry ‘Baby Boy’ Warren tune which was originally recorded in 1954 with Sonny Boy Williamson II on harp and Mark really wails on this one over the downhome rhythmic support.

With just five of the thirteen tracks previously released there is plenty of new material to attract Mark Hummel fans but, to be frank, this CD should be a must for all harp fans.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

Sugar Brown—It’s A Blues World (Calling All Blues) Self Released www.sugarbrownmusic.com 13 tracks Sugar Brown was a finalist in the 2017 International Blues Challenge and offers up a variety of tasty cuts in this, his third CD. Showing us the spectrum of sound from the blues world, the album moves from out in the country and into the big city while traversing decades of blues styles.

Born Ken Kawahima to Japanese and Korean parents, Brown emigrated to the US in the 1960’s. Living in Ohio and then studying in Chicago, Brown grew to appreciate the blues culture and became part of Rockin” Johnny’s and then Taildragger’s bands as well as playing with a host of Chicago greats. Burgin joins him on the CD for lead guitar. Brown does all the vocals and harp and some guitar.

Julian Farth is on keys, Michelle Josef is on drums, Russ Boswell tends to the basses, Minnie Heart blows the sax and adds fiddle, guitar, and bass , and Nicole Robertson plays guitar and banjo.

Chuck Bucket is on drums for three tracks and Bill Howars is on tambourine and bass drum. All songs are originals and are penned

by Brown.

Things open with the jumping and jiving 1950’s sound in “Hummingbird.” The drums count off the beat and things begin to roll with a nice swing tune. The baritone sax and piano blend with the lead guitar and Brown belts out the lyrics with authority. It’s swinging and bopping all over the place– you can imagine folks dancing to this with shirts flying as the dancers move back and forth across the dance floor to this cut in a tumultuous frenzy. “Love Me Twice” has a groove that reminds me of “As The Years Go Passing By.” Brown growls as Burgin beats out the guitar lead in a driving manner. There is a simple and primal intensity here than hearken to the late 50’s and early 60’s. Brown gives credit to Dylan’s “It’s Not Too Late” for inspiration. “Lousy Dime” is next and Brown says Tom Waits inspired this song. The banjo and fiddle are quite rootsy and Brown’s vocals are in a Waits style, a cool country blues as everyone scrambles for the same, lousy dime. “Sure As The Stars” has Brown moaning and shouting in another high speed, swinging tune where he tells his woman, “Life is too short to worry about your love.” The title track is next and pays homage to Little Mack Simmons and is influenced by what he calls the degeneration of our society in the

Trump era. Thoughtful piano, gutsy vocals and harp and Burgin’s ever special guitar work help sell this one. The following cut “Hard To Love” is inspired by Floyd Council and Kansas Joe McCarthy and gives us a nice, stripped down acoustic finger picking cut as contrast to the rest of this. Well done! Things change quickly as the big guitar sound of “Out Of The Frying Pan” begins. He get a little electric hill country thing going with the smashing, rhythmic drum and deep guitar tones.

“Those Things You Said” moves us back into the ‘50’s with this blues rocker. The vocals are all Brown and not so traditional as he growls out the lead. Burgin’s guitar stings here. “What I Know” opens with the baritone sax and harp to the beat of the drums and with some haunting guitar. The vocals are distorted and are equally haunting, an interesting ride for sure. “Tide Blues” has acoustic guitar and piano and gives a nod to Lonnie Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy. Simple, austere but lots of fun. The boogie of “Looking For Two O’Clock” and jump blues of “Dew On The Grass” are both a lot of fun and let Brown showcase some more styles for us. He concludes with the country blues of “Brothers.” The song speaks to tolerance and brotherhood.

Brown’s vocals are different but grow on you. He is gritty and growling and shows us some emotion in his vocals. After a few listens they became familiar and I really enjoyed them. Rockin’ Johnny’s presence is felt in each song and the band is tight and does a spectacular job. This is a fine album by this transplant to Canada; if you want something just a little off the beaten path that is well done, jump on board this one!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Joanne Shaw Taylor – Wild Silvertone/Sony Music www.joanneshawtaylor.com 11 songs/50 minutes Blues-rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor has proven herself as one of the best artists in the field since being discovered at age 16

by The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. She charts new territory with this album, the first release under her three-record deal with Sony’s recently revived Silvertone imprint. Taylor has compiled an impressive collection of honors for four previous albums on Ruf Records and her own Axehouse label since emerging at age 23 out of England’s Black Country (located in the West Midlands between Birmingham and the Irish Sea) with White Sugar in 2009.

In addition to garnering multiple best female vocalist prizes in the British Blues Awards, she’s also been recognized as its songwriter of the year, and her albums consistently place in the Billboard Top Ten charts in the U.S. Her fanbase includes several superstars, including John Mayall, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Wilko Johnson and others.

Influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Albert Collins, she’s equally gifted as a guitarist and vocalist, possessing a warm,

rich alto that’s just as powerful as the talent she displays on the sixstring. She delivers her lyrics virtually free of the accent of her homeland that she’d displayed previously.

This disc was recorded in Nashville’s Grand Victor Sound Studios under the supervision of Kevin Shirley, who’s produced a diverse group of artists, including Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Journey and Joe Bonamassa. Joanne penned nine of the 11 tracks here, either on her own or in collaboration with a who’s who of songsmiths, including Leon Russell, Gary Nicholson and James House, among others.

She’s backed by guitarist Rob McNelly and keyboard player Steve Nathan with a rhythm section of Greg Morrow on drums and Michael Rhodes on bass. Paulie Cerra (sax) and Lee Thornburg (trumpet) provide horns with backing vocals delivered by Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Jade MacRae. Rapid triplets on the drums drive the opener, “Dyin’ To Know,” with Hill Country feel before it explodes into a searing blues rocker. It describes someone alternately lost in the haze or in a maze as he tries to find his way home. Shaw Taylor’s mid-tune solo shines. A sevennote guitar hook propels the stop-time pleaser “Ready To Roll,” which instructs a lover to “take me where you want to/Give me what I need/Say what I want to hear/If you really want to get to me” – an irresistible offer coming from the blonde beauty whose images dominate most of the eight-page booklet that accompanies the disc.

“Get You Back” delivers a promise of upcoming revenge for a guilty man atop a steady four-four beat, while the funky “No Reason To Stay” seamlessly continues the theme. “Wild Is The Wind,” penned

by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington -- a hit first for Johnny Mathis in 1957, then Nina Simone and David Bowie – becomes a tender, pensive, seven-minute ballad under Joanne’s touch as it describes the new life the singer gains after a simple kiss. But the action heats up dramatically for the full-bore rocker, “Wanna Be My Lover,” which follows.

The opening guitar chords to “I’m In Chains” shift from right to left speaker before Shaw Taylor sings about the desire to be bound for life by a man who’s stolen her heart. Love’s apparently fleeting, however, because “I Wish I Could Wish You Back,” the ballad that follows, finds Joanne penning a letter, urging the guy to return.

“My Heart’s Got A Mind Of Its Own,” which follows, is acoustically different as it swings with full horn arrangements and an old-school soul-blues feel as it describes how the juxtaposition affects judgment in romance, while the multi-layered rocker “Nothin’ To Lose” clearly states the singer’s moving on. The album concludes with an interesting cover of George Gershwin’s familiar standard, “Summertime,” which is delivered as an unhurried ballad with Spanish guitar overtones.

Shaw Taylor’s Wild will provide eargasms for anyone with a love for blues rock. The blues here comes through loud and clear, and the instrumentation rocks. Strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther

Lady A—Doin’ Fine Dexter Allen Productions www.ladyababyblues.com/ 10 Tracks

Blind Lemon Pledge - Evangeline OFEH Records www.blindlemon-pledge.com/ 10 Tracks

Lady A is a former basketball player from Mississippi and a radio and musical personality from Jackson MS for over 35 years. On air she is referred to as The Tall Lady Of Soul. She has spent time in Seattle from what I can attest. This is her 4th release. The music is blues, soul, with a taste of funk and gospel blues. Most of the lyrics are by Lady A with help from John Oliver III. Most of the music is arranged by Dexter Allen who plays bass and guitar throughout.

Drums are by Christopher ‘Rattlesnake’ Minter or Joey Robinson who also contributes on piano.

This is the 6th release by Blind Lemon Pledge (James Byfield). He is from the San Francisco bay area and he plays acoustic music, mostly in the blues vein. A graphic designer and producer by trade, BLP returned to the acoustic blues music in 2009. Before that, he played jazz, studied Chinese classical music and made electronic music.

This is a rerelease of the CD from the original 2014 CD. BLP arranged and performed all of the music here. It is a bit of a gumbo of American music.

The title track “Doin' Fine” opens up the CD. This is a positive tune about feelin’ good and being in a great place in life. “The Ride” gets a funky opening with powerful work on the drums by Joey Robinson. I like the lyric ‘Life Is Like A Ride’. Up next is a bluesy tune titled ”Next Time You See Me”. It’s a tune about how the relationship is changing. I like the funky tune “Tryin' To Get Over”. It has a fine funky guitar. On “Change The World” there is a strong guitar intro to a gospel styled tune. It remarks how wants were simple in your younger life, but more complicated in you later life.

“That Man” has a bit of an Albert King blues feel to it. It is an R&B blues slower tune. I hear some Staples Singers in “Catch Me On The Low”. It is a bouncy soul tune. The intro to “Throw Down” has a bit of Temptations in it. It then rolls into a funky tune. I like the funky gospel styled tune “Roof Ova My Head”.

It certainly is a modern tune, based on things in the lyrics. Overall it is a song of thanks for all things we have in life. The closing cut is “Glad To Know You” loses me a bit. The styling has a jazzy piano, but other parts of the instruments seem to not follow the same pace.

Lady A has a powerful voice and some good messages in the tunes. The tunes vary some, and I like that. I am just not sure where her strengths of genre reside. I like the more soul tunes, and that might be a good target for her rather than the funky stuff. I like her upbeat spirit, and wish her the best on this release. Soul/funk fans, give it a listen. Traditional blues and country blues fans might look for a different disc.

The opening cut is “Buley's Farm”. This is a field holler tune, with a mostly singing intro (with sound effects) followed by acoustic guitar. It is a nice piece of acoustic blues. “Jennie Bell” is a folk acoustic tune about leaving his love for a chance to make money in New Orleans. It is a pretty tune. The back street feel of “Brimstone Joe” has an ‘after’ hours club sound. The singing and piano are good. Things rock out on “Midnight Assignation”. It is okay, but I did not like it as well as the first couple of tunes. I like the old time feel of “Go Jump The Willie”. It has an old time jazz feel to it, very danceable.

The dancing continues with the Latin inspired “Language Of Love”. It adds to the eclectic feel of the release. The tune “Ham And Eggs” is a fun one with nice jazzy harmonies. Things get jazzy with the slow tune “How Can I Still Love You”. The drums and percussion carry the tune. I like the late 60’s folk rock feel of “You Had Me At Goodbye”. It is a slower ballad of love lost.

Closing out the set is the bluesy “Evangeline”. This is a slow ballad with fine slide blues guitar. The whole mix of the song is very good.

This is an eclectic acoustic release, with blues jazz, work songs and some danceable tunes. BLP is a quite a musician, I love that he played all these instruments. I thought it would be mostly blues, but I liked the variety presented. Acoustic blues and country blues fans will enjoy this, so give it a listen. I’ll have to go check on his other releases for more. All of you in the Bay area seek out a performance. Maybe he will venture our way one day.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Blues in the Schools with Wheatbread Johnson at Thurgood Marshall Gifted Elementary and Middle Schools

Anthony Geraci—Why Did You Have To Go Blue Duchess Records www.anthonygeraciblue.com/home 13 Tracks Starting in the 1970s Boston Blues scene, Anthony Geraci has surrounded himself with shining stars in the blues world for years. Learning his craft from blues legends like David Maxwell, Ron Levy, and Al Copley who captured the hearts of New England blues fans, he has become one of the elite keyboard musicians today. His dedication allowed him to become the first to play keys with Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters and Sugar Ray Norcia’s Bluetones. 2018 has been a busy year for this keyboard player extraordinaire. In addition to joining the WelchLedbetter Connection on their debut album Right Place, Right Time, Anthony was with the all-star cast The Proven Ones and their debut album Wild Again. That brings us to his third spectacular project, his own new album entitled Why Did You Have To Go. Always surrounding himself with some of the finest blues artists in the business, Why Did You Have To Go is no exception. The new album follows that same format with East Coast stars meeting West Coast stars. The album features past members of the Mannish Boys, Kid Ramos on guitar, Willie J. Campbell on bass, Jimi Bott on drums, and Sugaray Rayford on vocals featured on five tracks, while the Bluetones, Monster Mike Welch on guitar, Troy Gonyea on guitar, Sugar Ray Norcia on vocals, Michael Mudcat Ward on bass, and Neil Gouvin on drums, merge with New Englanders Ronnie Earl on guitar, Michelle “Evil Gal” Willson, Brian Templeton, and Dennis Brennen on vocals, Marty Richards on drums, Sax Gordon on sax, and Doug Wolverton on trumpet are featured on six tunes. Including Geraci, this lineup has amassed numerous award nominations over the years.

Geraci sparks each track by shuffling players from coast to coast on all 13 original tunes.

her sultry, smoky vocals on the slow, tantalizing blues tune "Two Steps Away From The Blues." That East Coast blues flavor returns on "Time's Running Out," with the vocals and harmonica of Sugar Ray Norcia and the guitar expertise of fellow musician Ronnie Earl, both former members of Roomful Of Blues. Geraci invites back to center stage South Texas guitar slinger, song writer, and singer Willie J. Laws to tell of the Delta folklore coming out of the Mississippi churches and juke joints along the Yazoo River, with the intimate duet "Baptized In The River Yazoo." The band returns with another guest vocalist Dennis Brennan, joining Anthony on keys for the New Orleans ballad "Too Many Bad Decisions." Michelle "Evil Gal" Wilson and Brian Templeton team up on vocals for the slow blues tune "What About Me," reminiscing about what could have been in their relationship, with Mike Welch setting the mood with his haunting slide guitar solos.

With Dennis Brennan on vocals and Anthony Geraci delivering those Pinetop Perkins, New Orleans boogie piano riffs on "Hand You Those Walking Shoes," with that same lively jump, swing vibe created by Ray Charles on "Mess Around" and even earlier

by Charles Davenport and his "Cow Cow Blues," it will have you dancing to this one. Gereci completes the album with an EastWest punch featuring Sugar Ray Norcia and Ronnie Earl first, with the slow melancholy blues tune " My Last Good-Bye," featuring Sugar Ray on harp and vocals and Ronnie with his famous signature guitar style. The West Coast blues group is given the opportunity to explore outside the blues boundaries, into the world of jazz for a lively instrumental "A Minor, Affair" as they fade into the final note. The driving force behind all 13 tunes is the all-star rhythm section alternated throughout the album.

When East Coast blues meets West Coast blues, the result is a superb collection of music produced, arranged, and written by Anthony Geraci that I could only describe as a masterpiece. The thirteen originals on "Why Did You Have to Go" cover Geraci's many influences over the years, stretching from coast to coast as his tribute to blues, R&B, and jazz that are near and dear to this living legend.

Reviewed by Rick Davis

Geraci wrote and arranged each tune, carefully choosing just the right combination of musicians to achieve that perfect fit for each track. They open the collection with those familiar soulful vocals of Sugar Ray Norcia and the stinging guitar solos of Monster Mike Welch on the title track "Why Did You Have To Go." Bringing in the West Coast blues guitar of Kid Ramos is a great selection for Sugaray Rayford and his gripping vocals on the uptempo tune "Don't The Grass Look Greener." Geraci calls on yet another guest singer Willie J. Laws and his brand of soulful South Texas blues vocals and rhythm guitar to compliment the fiery guitar leads of Kid Ramos and boogie-woogie keyboard solos of Anthony. Geraci brings back Sugaray Rayford for some emotional, soulful vocals on "Angelina, Angelina," spotlighting the guitar solos of Mike Welch, and the keyboard performance of Anthony. Rayford stays on vocals along with the powerful horn section, featured on the New Orleans style R&B "Long Way Home." Michelle "Evil Gal" Wilson will capture your soul with

Guitar Jack Wargo—Keepin’ It Real Self Released www.guitarjackwargo.com/ 12 Tracks Guitar Jack Wargo is a veteran of the music world. He toured with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Billy Preston, and Solomon Burke. He recorded with Ray Charles and the Jacksons. This is his 6th release with his own band. He and his band served as the house band for B.B. King’s Blues Club in Los Angeles. Guitar Jack plays guitar and sings. AD Beal (vocals), Matt Bragg (bass), Edoardo Tancredi (drums) & Oscar Sheirbaum (organ. Piano) fill out the band. The music is a blend if funk, soul and blues. All tunes are written, co-written by Wargo except one.

“You Don’t Feel The Same” is a fine soulful blues tune. The pace is easy on this love/relationship tune. Wargo is fine on the guitar and Sheirbaum on organ is quite good. For “Power Of Love” the band gets into a slow dark blues groove. AD Beal shares the vocals on this tight tune. An upbeat funky groove is the path of “Keep On Keepin’ On”. The lyrics implore us ‘find a new direction’. I like the funky pop feel of “Inventory Blues”. The tune tells us to take a count of what we have, and appreciate what is on that list. This is a pretty good message.

On “Shipwrecked” I hear some Steve Wonder in the tune, especially the keyboards. The band is pretty tight on this one. Jimmy Powers adds his harmonica to “Nobody But You”. It is a relationship tune about being on the road and all of its temptations.

The tune “No Stranger” has a blues feel, much like a Keb Mo’ tune. Wargo’s guitar is pretty good on this one. I like the soft easy intro to the ballad “Only-Est One”. This tune is a soulful ballad with some strings added to it.

The 9th tune is “Blues Holiday”. This is another soulful slower tune. The relationship theme of the lyrics continues is a tasty way. Willie Chambers (The Chambers Brothers) adds vocals on this fine track. For “She’s Got Soul” the music takes a light funky soulful feel. The pace really takes off on “Goin Down The Road Feeling Bad”. This is a remake of the Woody Guthrie tune.

“Sending Out A Message” is a rock/pop mid tempo tune. I like the supporting vocals on the tune.

This CD is full of solid tunes with plenty of messages for the listeners to consider. IT does this without any overt political demands. The band is tight and the soulful funkiness with some blues thrown in to make this a great listening experience. Blues rock and country blues fans might not enjoy this one as much, but soul & funky blues fans will enjoy it.

The opening cut is the Andre Williams classic hit “Bacon Fat”. It gets a bit of David Bromberg blues styling. I like the original and enjoy the remake here. Up next is “When I Was A Cowboy (Out On The Western Plains)”. This one goes way back to Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly). It has a slower country feel, and fits into the Texas music feel. We stay in the way back machine on the 3rd tune from Memphis Minnie. Katy Hobgood Ray handles the vocals on this one. It has a bit more bounce than the original, and sound good. The music switches to New York, the Brill Building and Gene Pitney. “It Hurts To Be In Love” has been a hit for many decades. Howell’s vocals are softer than Pitney and the tune a bit slower.

We go back to blues pianist Walter Davis and his 1940 tune “Come Back Baby”. This oft covered tune carries on without a piano. Howell’s version has an darker feel to it. I like it! “Blues In The Bottle” from 1928 and Prince Albert Hunt is up next.

Hunt was a country blues fiddle player who help originate western swing music. The band plays this one real slow and gentle, and without a fiddle. Up next is another Leadbelly tune “Easy Rider”. Ray is back on the vocals, with a soft country version of this legendary tune. The music continues on the softer side with the Walker Brothers tune” The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)”. This was a big hit in the UK in 1966.

“Bad Luck Blues” is a country blues tune from fellow Texan Blind Lemon Jefferson. It was first recorded in 1926. It is another slower tune. Clarence Harmon wrote “Lining Track”. This song is based on an old call and response railroad tune from the early days. It is all vocals, with Howell singing the bossand the rest of the band supporting in chorus. This presentation is very interesting. Closing out the CD is “You're Gonna Quit Me Baby”. The song was written by “Blind” Blake. The song has a pleasant feel to it, with the instruments giving the vocals something to dance on.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Steve Howell and The Mighty Men—Good As I Been To You Out Of The Past Music http://www.stevehowell.ws/ 11 Tracks The great state of Texas is home to Steve Howell And The Mighty Men. This is his 6th release over the last 12 years. He is known as a good singer and a talented blues finger style guitarist. The music supports the past tunes that have jazz and acoustic blues from the southern part of America. The Mighty Men include Chris Michaels (guitar), Dave Hoffpauir (bass), Jason Weinheimer (bass) and Katy Hobgood Ray & Dave Ray adding vocals. The current release is mellow music, without blazing guitars and certainly no pyrotechnics. This is listening blues.

This is a pleasant CD, with a nod to the past of southern music and acoustic music. Howell and his band mates handle the material with grace and dignity. It can be a bit of a history lesson, and a fine laid back listening experience. Howell handles his guitar very well with his finger picking style. So as winter approaches, grab this release so you can get in front of the fireplace and enjoy a sweet experience.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Mama SpanX—State Of Groove Ideal Scene Music https://mamaspanx.com/ 9 Tracks Nikki Armstrong leads the rock, soul, funk groove of Mama SpanX. She is a member of the New York Blues Hall Of Fame. Currently the band is operating out of Los Angeles. Armstrong co-wrote all but one of the tunes on this release. The band, called the Spankers, consists of Steve Johnson (guitar), Harlon Spector (B3, Piano, Moog), Julie Sax (sax, flute, backing vocals), Steve Sad (sax), David Abercrombie (bass) and Ben Buckley (drums and piano). This is a high energy band with lots of funk and soul grooves. Nikki Armstrong has a couple of solo releases and worked with guitarist Melvin Sparks in the past. The band name was coined by Sparks.

“Rocket” after a needle drop intro opens up with a high energy song. Vocals are quite good, and the twin sax adds the fuel to the tune and the beat. Thank James Brown for this one. On “Wild Emotion”, the music jumps back to a 60’s soul groove.

There is a nice feel from all the brass on this one. I like the B3 on “Crawl”. It is a bit of a slower song, but still full of funk.

The 4th track is “Being Beautiful”. Armstrong’s voice shines on this one. The band is tight on this upbeat soulful track. I adore the lyric ‘I Got Too Many Men On My Menu’. Things get slow and powerful on the ballad “Wrong Side Of The Garden”. This power ballad shows off Armstrong’s vocal power. I’d bet this is a live show highlight. I really groove to the cover of Lou Donaldson’s “Alligator Boogaloo”. The music here is danceable and full of spunky spirit. Great sax work too.

On “Thinkin'”, the groove reaches again back to the funky side of James Brown music. There is another ballad called “Anywhere You Are”. Obviously it is a love song. This one is more on the pop side, utilizing only Harlon Spector’s piano and Armstrong’s vocals. It clocks in at almost 4 ½ minutes. Closing out the CD is the title track “State Of Groove”. The band is powerful here with the funky groove they lay down for Armstong’s vocals to glide over. The sound ends as it began with a needle pick up.

This copy is a 9 song release. I understand there is a 12 song version, so if interested, seek that out. I’m gonna try to track down the other 3 tracks! This is tight funk and soul by a solid band and a better than average singer in Armstrong. Mama SpanX certainly gets an extra base hit on this release. This is not a blues disc, but I like it. If you like these danceable grooves this one is for you. Blues rockers and country blues fans may not find it their cup of tea. Put this on for some dancing and romancing.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Victoria Ginty—Unfinished Business Blue Door Records http:// victoriagintyandladyhawke.com/ 11 Tracks

Tampa, FL, is home base for Victoria Ginty and her band Ladyhawke. The band has developed a good following in that part of Florida. This is their sophomore release following a live release a few years ago. Ginty co-wrote the 8 originals on this release with Mike Alan Ward. Joining Ginty for the release is J. Livingston (bass), G. Lougen (guitar) B. Decker (Hammond organ), R. English (piano), J. English (drums), G. Castillo (percussion) and J. Diggs (backing vocals). The brass is handled

by E. Wozniak (tenor sax), C. Weirich (trumpet) and J. Cheslak (trombone). They recorded this up in Buffalo NY. The tunes make a gumbo of R&B, soul, blues and Americana.

The CD opens with the title track. It is an up tempo full energy tune about a woman and a man she has her eyes on. I imagine this is a crowd favorite. I like the sax solo by Wozniak. The pace really slows down on a gospel inspired tune called “Take Me Down”, before rolling into a swinging R&B finish. Ginty’s voice really shines here. The 3rd cut is a slower country infused tune called “Hard To Move On”. It is an OK ballad that picks up some pace later in the tune.

“You Don't Love Me No More” is a rollicking funky tune. It is another song about love and breakup. “Every Night, Every Day” is slower blues tune written by Jimmy McCracklin. The band is in good form for this slower burning tune. I like the funky R&B inspired tune “Give It Up”. Love is again in the air on this tune.

The ballad “Water”. I hear some Linda Ronstadt in this tune. It is a fine original, with some lonesome solos in it buy band members. It’s not blues but it is pretty.

A cover of the old Terrence Trent D’Arby tune “Sign Your Name” has a slower Latin beat. The song was OK, though not sure it fits with the flow of the CD. “Lying (In Each Other's Arms)” was written by Earl Bud Lee. This one crosses some country styling with some fine soulful organ. Ginty shows off her pipes on this one too. The intro to “Do Me Right” really rocks out. This original hits the spot, and remains in the relationship category. I like the slower blues tune called “The Blues Found Me”. The band puts it together on this one.

Victoria Ginty has a fine voice. These are not all musicians she plays with are in Florida, so one would have to see how all this translates to her live shows. My guess is the material will go over in the live context. There is soul and R&B here for the fans of those types of blues tunes. It will be interesting to see how her career progresses. This is a good effort, though not a great deal of straight up blues.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

The Record Company— All Of This Life Concord Records http://therecordcompany.net/ 10 tracks Building on the success of their first album, The Record Company show even more ambition and chops in this great second release. Three hit songs from the first album and a Grammy Nomination make the first album hard to beat, but this sophomore release is even better! The Record Company is Chris Vos on vocals and guitar, Alex Stiff on bass, and Marc Cazorla on drums. This powerful trio is making waves in the blues world!

The album opens to the driving beat of “Life To Fix,” a tune that espouses taking one step at a time and moving forward against life’s adversities. The driving beat and beautiful supplementing backing vocals support Vos beautifully. It’s a great hook to grab you and make you pay attention. The distorted guitar solo adds to the joyful frenzy and tumult. “I’m Getting Better (And I’m Felling It Right Now) features some pretty harp work and is built on Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited era of his work. It’s blues meets country meets punk rock jumbled together and it works well, maintaining the hellish, driving tempo from the first cut.

Next is “Goodbye To The Hard Life” which takes the beat down many notches. Vos sings a little falsetto in this ballad, perhaps mimicking the style of Led Zeppelin. The song builds and adds depth and emotion as it goes on to conclusion. The slide is broken out for “Make It Happen,” which continues the theme of going after what you want to achieve. A throbbing beat and strident vocal and backing vocals make this a big cut that grabs you. It’s hill country blues done with a little R&B and modern sound and I loved it. The slide stays out for the country blues rock ballad “You And Me Now.” It reminds me a little of Hootie and the Blowfish, Eric Lindell and JJ Grey blended together with some pretty acoustic guitar. Good stuff.

“Coming Home” starts the second half of the CD. The beat picks up again, your foots starts tapping and it makes you want to get up and groove to the beat. These guys know how to craft music that grabs you and makes you want to become part of it. The mid to high tempo throbbing is exhilarating. Simple, repetitive lyrics and a little piano mixed in for fun and a dirty lead vocal and guitar just make this all the better. Up next is “The Movie Song,” another cut in the mode of “You And Me Now” but more up tempo in approach. A story in a song, so to speak, with acoustic slide and backing pedal/lap steel and the clear and effective vocals sell this one. “Night Games” follows, has a cool vocal mix, some call and response with falsetto backing vocals that just sound so sweet. The beat and guitars move the song along and the vocals layered on the beat is very cool. “Roll Bones” begins with a bass and drumstick intro that switches to some nasty harp that once again makes the listener take notice. Hot blues, a scorching beat and it’s another winner. The album concludes with “I’m Changing,” a country or southern blues with sparse acoustic guitar and vocals and lyrics that are a little dark. The

two-paged One Sheet hearkens the song to Johnny Cash; I agree with that song-wise but the vocal style of Vos is his and his alone. He sings about changing his love The harp solo about 2/3 way through the song is a nice addition as Vos’ emotions build throughout the song. A simple yet effective close to a very fine album.

There are ten wonderful new songs here and these guys are the real deal. This is an album that shows how the blues can remain young and fresh. Wandering through the sounds of the country, the hills and other places, the music takes on it’s own form and makes the listener personally feel what this trio puts into their songs an music. This is a fantastic album, plain and simple. I urge you to listen to it ASAP!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Doug Deming &The Jewel Tones— Complicated Mess Eller Soul Records http://dougdeming.com 13 tracks Doug Deming, the consummate musician and gentleman, has released his new CD Complicated Mess and what a great CD it is! Featuring mostly original tunes and a few select and juicy covers, Doug continues to show us he is the master of swinging jump blues. In addition to showcasing his talents vocally and on guitar, his ever effervescent and equally swinging bass man keeps things tight for him as does drummer Marty Dodson. Sax Gordon is a guest on tenor sax and Tino Barker visits with his baritone sax. Bob Welsh is on piano and Chris Codish is on the organ. Several other guest appear on a track or two and are noted below. This lineup that Doug has assembled is stellar and they make great music together.

The title track opens the set for us and it’s a beaut. Doug’s pacing on the vocals is precise and his delivery is oh-so clean. The guitar is slick and never overdone and the solo is more than excellent. What a great way to get things started! On the next cut we have Kim Wilson, whom Doug backed and toured with many a day. His dirty harp is beautiful as Doug sings about the “Sweet Poison” that over took him. A slow and deliberate pacing makes this quite interesting and Doug adds his guitar as a poignant piece to this wonderful little puzzle. Kim blows his magical harp which grabs you and fills you with a feeling of calm, and then Doug seals the deal with his vocals and guitar punctuation. The first cover is next, a Sam Theard song from 1929. Covered by the likes of , Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Clarence Willams, Jimmie Noone, Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, and even John Fogerty, Doug give this his own spin and makes it as fresh as when it was written nearly 90 years ago. Little Charlie Baty appears here on guitar along with Doug and makes a nice impression with his six string. What we wind up with is a simple

yet sublime cover of this classic tune. The drums and bass set the pace and drive the song along while Doug’s spot on vocals make things cool. Next is “Hold On,” with some nice organ up front in the mix. Doug wails out the vocal lead with the organ and guitar in support. Madison Slim appears on the next cut, a straight up and traditional blues entitled “Need My Baby “with Slim squeaking out some pretty harp licks. Sam Farmer plays the drums here, his lone appearance, and it’s well done. Doug maintains the level of his pristine vocal work and it’s another winner. Slim and Doug teamed up for years in the Bradenton and Sarasota area for many years and their synergy is quite evident. “Blues Stop Knocking At My Door” is a tune Lazy Lester made a lot of fans with; Doug was his protégé and does the same with it. Kim Wilson returns for some special harp work while Doug delivers exceptional vocals in this rockabilly blues tune. The piano tinkles in support throughout and Doug offers up a late solo on guitar that is one of the best on the CD. “Deep Blue Sea” is a jazzy slow blues tune with some thoughtful guitar and piano that one could imagine coming from an old time, smoke filled lounge in the 1930’s. Piano and guitar solo with appropriate restraint and once again Doug’s vocals are beyond reproach.

“Someday Pretty Baby” is a slick jump blues that just rolls out and delights the listener. Sax Gordon offers up a delightful and dirty solo and later Deming does the same on his guitar. Up next is “Captain’s Quarters” where Little Charlie returns for some more cool guitar. Another minimal approach with the guitars, bass and drums makes for anther special treat. “Just A Moment Of Your Time” hearkens back to the early blues rock songs of the 1950s.

Bresak out your letter sweaters and bobby sox and get ready to slow dance to this one– the saxophones grind out something special and Doug gives his all vocally. Then we get the stinging guitar solo to solidify this before Doug takes us home. Things switch up with Fat’s Domino’s “I’m Walking,” but rather than a Cajun and New Orleans seasoned version we get Doug doing it very jump blues style. The saxophone blazes and the guitar jumps and jives to make another great tune come alive. Doug often plays the Cortez Kitchen on the Gulf of Mexico in Cortez, Florida and the next song is homage to this club he often calls home. “Cookin’ At The Kitchen” gives us a run down of the staff and their work and the patrons who frequent the club as Doug sings and Madison Slim punctuates his vocals with his harp. The harp solo is dirty and nice, the piano props things up and Doug testifies about his favorite establishment. The album closes with another jumping tune, this one is an instrumental entitled “Rat Killin’” and it makes for a slick finale to this CD. Sax, guitar, bass and drums all take their turn out front and making one last appearance as this fine CD finally concludes. It certainly leaves one wanting for more!

Doug Deming is one of my favorite musicians out there. I first heard him backing Kim Wilson when he still lived in Detroit and I was hugely impressed. His work has always been great, yet every new offering shows that he continues to learn and make even better music; that is hard to do because it’s been stellar stuff he has offered up from the start. If you haven’t yet decided to buy this CD based on the above, let me just say that you and everyone out there needs to have this CD in their collection! ‘Nuf said!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

Bruce Katz Band—Get Your Groove!

American Showplace Music americanshowplacemusic.com 11 tracks Bruce Katz delivers a new CD for us to savor entitled Get Your Groove!, taking Katz’ blues and “soul-jazz” influences and adding Allman Brothers/ Greg Allman/Butch Trucks/Jaimoe jam band influences. The band is Chris Vitarello on guitar, Ray Hangen doing most of the drum work with Jaimoe on tracks 2, 4 and 7, Matt Raymond on acoustic and electric bass along with Katz doing some bass on the B3 and Katz on Hammond B3 and acoustic piano. Vitarello also does the vocal work on top of his fantastic guitar playing.

The album starts with “Hesitation Blues,” a traditional blues that Katz and Vitarello make sound new in a jazzy sort of way. Katz organ is spectacular as is Vitarello’s strident guitar. “Freight Train” is a ten-minute jam band instrumental that Katz wrote for Butch Trucks Freight Train Band and features Jaimoe on the drums. The organ work has throwbacks to the great Allman jams that Katz spices up and delivers in his own way. The guitar work is also Allman-esque with the jazz influences riffs that build and build layers of sound. Katz moves over to the piano on “Beef Jerky,” another original cut. The cut interplays jazz and blues elements and the guitar and piano intertwine for some interesting stuff. Another superb instrumental! “Shine Together (Tribe Of Lights) was written by Katz, other band members and a few others and it’s a cool little jazzy cut with guitar, organ and Jaimoe solos to drink up.

“River Blues” is up next. Katz wrote this one and it’s a pretty, slow and jazzy blues instrumental. He mixes his piano and organ for us and Vitarello’s guitar also weaves in seamlessly with the acoustic bass adding support. Well done! Katz and Vitarello penned “Make Things Right” and share the spotlight on vocals, guitar and B3. It’s thoughtful and pensive, commenting on the state of things today and asking everyone to come together and do what the title says. The title track is next; a boogie woogie honky tonk piano starts things off and the guitar plays into the mix along with the backline. Katz wrote this sweet instrumental and he and the band deliver the good performing it and Jaimoe appears for the third and final time for us to enjoy. Next is “Zone 3,” another Katz tune that is a slow and sultry instrumental with guitar and organ trading off the lead nicely.

“Rush Hour” follows, another Katz instrumental with a little more pep and a little more jazzy and funky set of overtones. Modernistic and cool, we get a lot of organ and then the guitar comes in big halfway through for an intense solo. Another jam band sort of thing to savor with some cool drum work up front, too. Vitarello and Katz wrote “Wasn’t My Time,” a deep and intense slow blues.

Vitarello sings of a drive by shooting missing him and letting him live on, it just wasn't his time. Katz gets it going and Vitarello sings and then gives us another nice solo, this one quite long and

very cool. Katz comes in with more B3 and we get about 8 minutes total of jam band goodness built on this slow and sweet blues. The finale to the set is Vitarello’s “The Run.” His guitar gets us going, then Katz solos on the B3 and Vitarello returns for another solo on this slick mid tempo instrumental.

The CD blends Katz’ Orleans roots with his jam band touring and jazzy blues work of Chris Vitarello. Vitarello is a regular with Bruce and also tours with Chris O’Leary and other bands and his work here is spectacular. Katz on B3 has few, if any, equals. This is a great CD that showcases the organ, guitar and just the craftsmanship of a great group of musicians. I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by Steve Jones The Blues Disciples—Gravy Train Self Released http://bluesdisciples.com/ 13 tracks Milwaukee’s own Blues Disciples band is an outstanding group of local musicians who are a hit wherever they go. With long-time band leaders Barefoot Jimmy Schwarz on harp and vocals and Paul Stilin on guitar, these guys have now put together a fantastic large ensemble band and also have brought in some amazing guests to help with this new CD. Erica Johnson shares in the vocals, Dave Cornette drums on half the tracks, Karl Dvornik is on bass for a trio of cuts and Chris Lehnert is on Hammond organ for a dozen of the songs. Tod Sobel (saxes) and Jack Naus make up the horn section and Sobel did the arrangements. Schwarz penned all the tune except for the two written by Johnson.

Billy Flynn joins the band for the opener “Ten More Days,” a cut that celebrates a woman finally moving out in ten more days.

Schwarz’ vocals are powerful, the horns are big and jazzy and the guitar work is exceptional. Next is “Hey Baby” with Bobby Sellers on drums and Mark Anderson on bass. The horns get things started and are a big part of this. Jimmy with Erica in support do a bang up job on vocals and Paulie’s guitar work is super as always. “That Feeling” is one of Erica’s cuts and she fronts the band with soul and feeling. Flynn returns and Mark and Matt Wilson are on drums and bass respectively as they were on the opening track. Jimmy lays out some wicked harp here and the guitar is sublime; all in all very cool. Up next is “Left For Dead” where Perry Weber opens and he and the horns lay out some good stuff. Schwarz’ vocals are gritty; Sellers and Anderson are on this one, too.

Weber returns for “Gaslightin’ Woman” and Rick Holmes appears on bass. Weber lays out some very nice licks and Jimmy adds some harp for good effect. “Twenty Two Children” is about Milwaukee Slim’s progeny whom he doesn't remember all their names and it has Rob Waters on organ and the Wilson’s return.

Jimmy and Erica share the vocals and Stilin lays down some smooth licks. Organ and harp solos also make this one even better. “Tryin’ To Stay In Love” is Erica’s other tune. Flynn and the Wilson’s return for this one, another soulful and funky cut.

Johnson is a great vocalist and shows it here. Flynn’s guitar work is ever eminent and the horns add so much to the mix.

“Ain’t Done Lovin’ You” features more savory harp and greasy vocals from Schwarz. The guitar and organ work are also well done here.

Jimmy Voegeli appears on piano on the next two tracks, “Right Woman At The Wrong Time” and “Sad Old Kind of Blues.” The former features Rick Holmes again on bass and Jason Klagstad on slide and guitar, the latter has Tracy Hanneman on vocals, Kurt Koenig on bass and Matt Liban on drums. Voegeli does a great job on both, bringing his piano skills to the cuts. Jason’s guitar stings and slides prettily.Hanneman’s vocals with Barefoot Jimmy are really nice, too; the call and response and their interplay is cool. Stillin’s guitar on the latter also makes for some beautiful slow blues. Koenig and Liban are also on the next track, “Everybody is a Cadillac.” Horns and harp are big players in this light hearted tune about the band whose members monikers all are Cadillac whomever. Schwarz and Stillin both offer great solos. Perry Weber returns for “It’s True,” where he and Barefoot Jimmy both solo with great tone. It’s a fast little number that will have folks dancing. They do a nice little harp/guitar duet to boot– well done! The album ends with “Gravy Train” which features the core group doing what they do best. Forthright guitar licks, excellent horn work, gutsy vocals, and greasy harp. The title tack is quintessential Blues Disciples, the sound that has made them favorites wherever they go!

This is a marvelous album that showcases the talents of band and some of their close friends whom they work with all the time.

For those not from this corner of the Midwest, this album would be a superb introduction to this swinging blues band. It’s really good.

Also to note, they are representing the Paramount Music Association in the 2019 International Blues Challenge and they will certainly turn some heads in Memphis. Crossroads is also hiring them to open our 2019 Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park.

This is a great album from a great band. These guys have been around the block as few times and know how to make good music. There are a Baker’s Dozen super new tracks to enjoy here– I recommend you go out and grab this CD– you won’t be disappointed!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

Johnny & The Headhunters—That’s All I Need Self Released http://johnnyandtheheadhunters.com/ 10 Tracks Johnny & The Headhunters hail from the Washington DC/Maryland/ Virginia area. They have made music for over 30 years. I believe this is their 8th release, put out on their own label. Johnny Ticktin plays guitar and handles the vocals on the release. He formerly played guitar with Louisiana Red for several years. Over the years he has played in Chicago and Philly. Tam Sullivan (keys), 4 different bass players and 3 different drummers fill out the band. The music has roots in swing, surf and blues. There is one original and the rest are covers for this CD. The opening cut is the title track “That's All I Need” from the great Magic Sam. This is a swampy blues tune with decent guitar work (think John Fogerty). Pete Kanaras handles the bass on this one. Up next is a tune by Deadric Malone (Don Robey of Peacock Records). Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland sang “Lead Me On” in the past on Peacock Records. It is a slower, soulful tune. I love the old tune “Body And Fender Man”. Johnny Adams did a great version of this Doc Pomus/Duke Robillard written tune. This is a soulful funky tune, delivered well by The Headhunters. The band heads to the way back machine to cover the rockabilly tune “Chicken House,” written by Dave Rich. The version has a bit more blues than the rockabilly original from 1957. It is an okay tune with solid guitar, but vocals are a bit buried. I like the cover of Lowell Fulsum’s tune “Rock ‘Em Dead”. Texas comes through loud and clear on this guitar-rich tune.

There is plenty of slide guitar work on “Shake Your Money Maker”. Elmore James wrote this great slide guitar blues tune. The band does a good job on this one. Up next is the surf rock instrumental tune from Link Wray called “Ace Of Spades”. This one is guitar-laden, and really hits hard. I hear a Bo Diddley feel in “Watch And Chain”. The tune was written by Donovan from the UL in the mid 60’s. It gets more of a blues feel on this interpretation. The band returns to a Magic Sam tune next. “All My Whole Life” gets right into that west side groove, and maintains it throughout the song. Good job on this one! The lone original “Collins Mambo” closes out the CD. Tam Sullivan gets the B3 grooving on this funky tune. This is an instrumental dedicated to the great Albert Collins.

There is solid guitar on this release. Ticktin has the chops and experience. I’m not sure this will be a big blues hit. It is a well done local/regional release from a veteran group of musicians.

There are good choices for covers, but a few more originals would be nice. Blues guitar fans and even just guitar fans will enjoy this. The vocals are OK, and the rest of the musicians hold their own.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Ray Bonneville—At King Electric Stonefly Records www.raybonneville.com 11 Tracks Ray Bonneville is a Canadian that has spent time in his youth in various parts of America. He relocated to Austin about the 10 years ago. I crossed his path in New Orleans where he spent a few years. He plays both guitar and harp on a regular basis. This is Bonneville’s 9th release overall. He won a Juno in Canada (their Grammy) in 1999, and The International Blues Challenge for solo/duo in 1997. One cannot be in Austin without Austin, and Texas in general, rubbing off on you. Bonneville has absorbed from his adopted home and put it into his music. The music is all originals with an Americana slant on the tunes. Joining Bonneville is Richie Lawrence (piano and accordion) and Andre Bohren (drums). Bonneville is a great storyteller.

The opening cut is “Waiting On The Night.” The tune is a haunting slow tune with fine touch on the guitar by Bonneville. The rough voice of Bonneville fits into the tune “Next Card To Fall”.

He is a good story teller. “Tender Heart” paints a great picture of a bar scene, and how a woman becomes his focus for the night.

The band supports his singing without drowning him out on the slower tune. The pace picks up a bit on “South Of The Blues”.

This one has some Texas troubadour meets rock in it. I would love to hear Townes Van Zant tackle this one. A song of love lost and won features some fine guitar work is “It'll Make A Hole In You”. This is a good tune, with a faster beat provided by Bohren.

The 6th tune is “Codeine”. Just from the title we can assume it is not a happy tune. It is a haunting story of drug addiction and the perils of it. I like the feel of “Until Such A Day”. It is more upbeat love song, with a quicker pace than most of the CD. I like the New Orleans beat to “Papachulalay”. The piano work by Lawrence is quite good, as is Bohren’s Big Easy beat. It is not a rapid tune, but has a good pace to it. The topic of “The Day They Let Me Out” is pretty clear. A man is getting out of jail and looking forward to see if his brother will be by his side after that. On “Forever Gone” the band plays together well. It is another story tune about traveling and being on the road and rails. The closing tune is called “Riverside Drive”. As an instrumental it tells a story in a different way. Your ears will enjoy this one.

Ray Bonneville is not for the high energy blues rock crowd.

There is no Chicago blues here. There is quality playing and really good story telling songs. It is a bit dark, so not an uplifting set of tunes. The music and lyrics will get you thinking about life and how it happens to people. This is intimate music to listen with the lights down in a comfy chair. Thanks to Ray and the band for this one.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Joe Filisko & Eric Noden – Destination Unknown Self-Release www.rootsduo.com 13 tracks/47 minutes Joe Filisko and Eric Noden make a great contemporary acoustic harp/ guitar duo, playing in the style of oldtime greats like Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee or Mississippi John Hurt. This is their fifth album together and it is entirely original music with Eric writing six songs, Joe two and the pair collaborating on four; the final track was written by Eric’s grandfather, the late Harry J. Noden. Everything you hear was recorded live in one session in Spring 2018, the music being mainly country blues with a few detours into country and old-time music.

“Anxious Blues” starts out the duo’s efforts with lyrics that reflect the pace of modern life and the need to slow down a little, Joe getting a vast range of sounds from his harp. “Shut It Down” is an uptempo piece with an element of ragtime in the rhythm; some well-judged kazoo and Joe’s harp conjuring up a fiddle sound take us back to 1920’s jug bands. “Louisiana Song” celebrates the distinctiveness of Louisiana as seen by Joe whose breathier, almost spoken vocals feature on this one. Joe manages to make his harp sound almost like a harmonium or accordion on “Path You Choose”, which is a blues boogie that a band like Canned Heat would have done well with. In contrast, “Beginning Of The End” is a country blues with Eric’s lead vocal echoed by Joe’s harmony responses, the refrain “don’t die until you’re dead” not perhaps being the most cheerful line on the disc! The dirge-like “Black Clouds” sounds suitably minimal with Eric’s simple slide work (perhaps influenced by Muddy) underpinning Joe’s Sonny Boy 1 style harp.

The title track is a homage to Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee with lyrics that reflect the freewheeling life of the itinerant musicians of yesteryear (and maybe today!). “As We Are Now” is a mournful slow song about Joe’s grandfather and mother who were forced to leave their old world home to find a new life in the States, Joe’s low register harp sounding like an accordion in the section of the song set in the old world but changing to more of a blues style for the New World part of the song – clever stuff indeed! Less serious is “My Kitchen” which gently pokes fun at people trying to help out in an area in which they have no expertise, played in Mississippi John Hurt style. “Four Letter ‘F’ Word” examines how people react to the word ‘free’ and is in the Sonny Boy 1 style, influenced by “Mellow Chick Swing” as well as by Big Bill Broonzy’s rhythmic guitar attack. “My Jesus” adapts a prayer from the Old Testament (Micah 6:8) and “Can’t Take The Edge” is a driving blues in the style of Mississippi Fred McDowell, Joe attempting some difficult playing in the style of Johnny Woods who played with Fred back in the day. The album closes with “Time Is For You”, a charming song written by Eric’s grandfather which is in fact a waltz, a first for the duo.

Anyone who appreciates acoustic blues will enjoy this album.

The album notes that are available to download from the duo’s website give a huge amount of information that will help fellow musicians to appreciate the techniques being used by Joe and Eric; they are also well worth reading as you enjoy listening to the album.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Big Apple Blues—Manhattan Alley Stone Tone Records http://bigappleblues.com/ 10 Tracks Big Apple Blues is a New York City band with veteran musicians with many years of experience. Admir “Dr. Blues” Hadzic aka Hugh Pool (bass), Zach Zunis (guitar), Anthony Kane (Harmonica), Barry “Baron of the Blues” Harrison (drums) and James Alfredson (B3 & Keys) are the band members. The music is a mix of blues, soul, funk and rock. The music is all instrumental, which is not common these days. All of the tunes are original music.

The opener is “You Gotta Start Somewhere”. It is a funky blues track with guest Chris Eminizer adding saxophone. The band members take turns showing their licks, though it does fade to a bit of an abrupt end. Alfredson plays a solid B3 on the rocking funky tune called “Happy”. It is a pretty good name for the tune.

On “Take Two” the band slides into a jazz organ trio groove.

Alfredson treats our ears to a fine driving B3 experience. “SDW” is a slow deep groove of a song. Eminizer is back with his sax on this southern soulful experience. This is an interesting tune. I like the opening on “Deep Talkin'”. The B3 work again shines and harkens back to the wonderful soulful organ that came from Memphis (Booker T)!

On “Hudson Breeze” I hear some feel from an easy going band of jazz & rock mix. Kevin Jones adds some congas to this organ/ guitar led tune. “Steamroller” rolls out with a funky intro on this modern urban funk tune. The guitar work by Zunis fits it like a glove for this tune. I like the funky groove of “Subway Rumble”.

The B3 is out front and hitting a “Chest Fever” rock funk groove on “Subway Rumble”. This one will get people dancing! For “Love As I Know It”, my ears enjoyed the sax work by Chris Eminizer. This is a hard working tune with lots of passion in the playing. The CD closes out with the energetic “Rock On”. This is an all out blues rocker, and a great tune to close out the disc.

This is pretty good contemporary blues and funk. These guys all have long careers with varied blues stalwarts. I enjoyed this more than I thought I might. This is not traditional blues nor country blues. It is urban, a bit raw and full of fire. The lack of a vocalist does make you concentrate on the music a bit more.

Blues rock fans check it out, you might just like it.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

September and October Crossroads Shows

Howard and the White Boys at the Hope and Anchor

Ivy Ford on the Morning Blend on WIFR Channel 23

Ghost Town Blues Band at Owly Oop Sports Bar

Breezy Rodio at the Lyran Society Club

Ghost Town Blues Band at Owly Oop Sports Bar

Ghost Town Blues Band at Owly Oop Sports Bar Dave Hanson Sitting In

Chris O’Leary Band at Mary’s Place

Chris O’Leary Band at Mary’s Place

Studebaker John with Earl Howell at the Lyran Society

Chris O’Leary at Mary’s Place

Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers at the Hope and Anchor

Blues Disciples at the Lyran Society

Crossroads Christmas Party Every year we celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday at Hope and Anchor at our December show. All members are welcome to find the craziest looking LP 33-1/3 record, wrap it up and be part of our gag record exchange!

The Groove - Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Crossroads 25th Year

Membership News

We have great news for our 25th anniversary celebration! We are trying to hold the event at the Timberlake Playhouse Theater in Mount Carroll, Illinois, right next door to our birthplace in Lanark. There will be three bands and tickets will be $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Tickets will be limited and will go on sale in early 2019. we are still solidifying the date in the Spring!

We continue to grow with new members and renewals continuing! Thank you for supporting live music and helping to keep the blues alive to all our new and returning members!

New members: Peggy & Allen Duerksen Ben Ezell John George Jr. Jeffrey K. Johnson Julia Johnson Family Elaine Pannell Beverly Wheatly Elizabeth Wray Renewing Members: Rick & Diane Blodgett Robert & Susan Brilbeck Dan Burke Linda Cain Steve & Janey Califf Dayle Coburn & Leann White The Dicklin Family Rick & Donna Douglas Joe Filisko John Grall Luke Fredrickson & Jill Greenig Dave Hanson Pat Ippen Paul & Mary Kegel Nancy Keller Terry Keller Len Lindeman & Recently Paroled Al McNary Richard Meyer William Nielsen Wes Ralph Gregg Riverdahl Mike & Kim Walsh Ross Youngberg New members get a CD upon joining and new family members get two CDS. If you did not get any please let us know the next time we see you!

The Email newsletter averages about 40 pages an issue and is in full color, delivered as a PDF to members. Mail newsletters are 12 pages and printed in greyscale. Mail members have a $5 surcharge to help with printing and postage costs.

We produce six newsletters a year with about 30 reviews and all sorts of other great information related to the Society and our events. Again, we thank our members for their support and helping us to keep the blues alive! See the membership form on page 3 of this newsletter to sign up. It’s a great way to help keep the blues alive!

We hope to have Patrick Hazell opening the day for us at 3 PM. Patrick appeared as the main act for both of the Lanark blues festivals in 1994 and 1995; he has tentatively said yes and is just waiting to see other possible schedule conflicts that may arise.

All times also are tentative, but close to reality.

At 5 PM we will have the first of two bands that we love and represent that the future of the blues look bright. Ivy Ford and her band will take the stage and we will get to see and hear her high energy performance. She has been dubbed The Chicago Blues Kitten for her sultry and cool performances. She is a rising star in the blues world!

Last but not least is another high energy band, Jimmy Nick and Don’t Tell Mama.

Jimmy is an irrepressible force and is one of the hottest new acts out there. He and his band hit the stage at 7 PM. Lena Brewing Company beers, great food and more is planned– stay tuned for more info!

www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Hope and Anchor English Pub Second Saturday Blues The Hope and Anchor Second Saturday Blues is a fun monthly event at a super restaurant and pub!

Shows are from 8 to 11:30 PM. There is a $5 cover charge. Featuring fine English pub fare, the Hope and Anchor is a great spot for dinner, craft beers and liquors, and great live music! Located at 5040 N 2nd Street, Loves Park IL, USA, phone 815-6332552 for info!

11/10/18 Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials 12/8/18 Reverend Raven & The Chain Smoking Altar Boys Featuring West Side Andy Linderman 1/12/19 The Blues Disciples 2/9/18 Mike Wheeler Band 3/9/19 John Primer

Lyran Society First and Third Friday Blues (Once a Month In Summer) The Lyran Society featured blues, a fish fry, other great food and a lot of fun. The Lyran Club has great shows twice a month outside of summer.

Located half a block east of 7th Street at 1115 4th Ave, Rockford, IL 61104, you can call (815) 9640511 for info. There is no cover charge, it’s a free show. Open to our members and friends, all ages are welcome! Shows are 7 to 10 PM. 11/2/18 Dave Weld & the Imperial Flames 11/16/18 Billy Flynn 12/7/18 Trinadora Rocks 12/14 Special Ivy Ford Band IBC Benefit 12/21/18 Madtown Mannish Boys 1/4/19 Written Warning 1/18/19 Dave Potter Band with Madison Slim 2/1/19 Sistah Beth Blues

Ice Hogs Friday Home Game Blues Friday night Rockford Ice Hog home games are also home to the blues at the BMP Harris Center.

5:45 to 6:45 pm features music in the Blues Flame Lounge. A ticket to the game and you are in for music and the game!

11/23/18 Paul Hieser 12/7/18 Matthew Caleb 12/28/18 Paul Hieser 1/18/19 Andrew Robinson 1/25/19 Hobson's Choice 2/1/19 Recently Paroled 2/8/19 Wellstrung 3/1/19 Country Night

Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010 On the web at: crossroadsbluessociety.com/ Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park: www.crossroadsbluesfestival.com Email us at: sub_insignia@yahoo.com Call us at: (779) 537-4006

THE

THE BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF CROSSROADS BLUES SOCIETY

Keeping the Blues Alive Since 1994 2014 Blues Foundation Keeping the Blues Alive Affiliate Award Recipient 2014 Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Inductee 2005 Rockford Area Music Award Winner– Musical Outreach Organization

Mail to:

Award Winner

Blues News and Upcoming Events The Blues Blast Music Awards were held in Rockford on September 29th at the Tebala Events Center. More inside on page 9. Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to Sugar Pie DeSanto and to Jimmy Johnson. See inside for more on that great night of music. The awards were just some of the fun we had in the area in September and October.

November and December portend more great music for us! At the Lyran Society are Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames, Billy Flynn, Trinadora Rocks and Madtown Mannish Boys along with an IBC Fundraiser for the Ivy Ford Band. At Hope and Anchor we feature Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials and Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys featuring Westside Andy Linderman. We will send the old year out with some great music and then start 2019 with a bang. See inside for upcoming shows!

Our BITS programming began with Hamilton Loomis and Wheatbread Johnson; you can read about that inside this issue. Dave Weld and Billy Flynn are working for us in November and we have lots more in the works!