Dr Truth

formed by Chris Roach and Mike Bowden, Dr Truth have fast becoming one of the most respected original bands on the blues circuit...Following successful gigs at Beauvais, Maryport and Colne Festivals, and a headlining slot at the Blueswater festival in Morecambe, Dr Truth are now booking for 2013 Festivals .  







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Lucky Trouble - Blue Note Blues Band

Mal cool und laid back, mal frisch und rockig, der Blues hat viele Spielarten und die Blue Note Blues Band aus München beherrscht sie alle. Die sechs Musiker covern Chicago-Blues im Stil von John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Sonnyboy Williamson, Junior Wells und anderen schwarzen Musikern auf überzeugende Art und Weise. Eigene Kompositionen und guter alter Motown-Soul runden ihre Auftritte ab. Bei der Blue Note Blues Band ist die Lust am Musizieren deutlich zu spüren. Ohne große Show-Effekte, einfach nur durch professionelles Zusammenspiel der Instrumente, den stimmgewaltigen Frontmann, die persönliche Austrahlung und das Engagement der Musiker fasziniert die Blue Note Blues Band ihre Zuhörer. Die Blue Note Blues Band aus München, das sind: Gerd Hart - vocal Andi Hofmann - drums Chris Hof - bass Mario Bollinger - guitar Werner Burhop - harps In Memorium to Martin Hiestand - bass, gestorben am 22. Januar 2005

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Kjell Gustavsson and The Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

Kjell Gustavsson gathered some of the best Rhythm & Blues musicians in Sweden 2008 for the release of his first solo album Many Million Miles. Since then the band been playing clubs and festivals all around Sweden and Europe. The members in the band has been playing with all kind of artists in Sweden, Europe and Us. Like: Peter Carlsson Blå Grodorna,The Boppers, Eric Bibb, Ulf Lundell, Jump 4Joy, Dana Fuchs, Jerry Williams, Owe Thörnqvist, Peps Persson, Billy Bremner, Junior Watson, Jukka Tolonen and many many more.... They all have there heart in the Rhythm & Blues and New Orleans rhythms. So get ready with your dancing shoes and get prepared for a hot night on the dance floor...

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Jumpin' Jack Flash - Johnny Winter

John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III (born February 23, 1944) is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters. Since his time with Waters, Johnny Winter has recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums and continues to tour extensively. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked 74th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III (born February 23, 1944) is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters. Since his time with Waters, Johnny Winter has recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums and continues to tour extensively. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked 74th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" Winter caught his biggest break in December 1968, when Mike Bloomfield, whom he met and jammed with in Chicago, invited him to sing and play a song during a Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert at the Fillmore East in New York. As it happened, representatives of Columbia Records (which had released the Top Ten Bloomfield/Kooper/Stills Super Session album) were at the concert. Winter played and sang B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" to loud applause and, within a few days, was signed to reportedly what was then the largest advance in the history of the recording industry—$600,000. Winter's first Columbia album, Johnny Winter, was recorded and released in 1969. It featured the same backing musicians with whom he had recorded The Progressive Blues Experiment, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner, plus Edgar Winter on keyboards and saxophone, and (for his "Mean Mistreater") blues legends Willie Dixon on upright bass and Big Walter Horton on harmonica. The album featured a few selections that became Winter signature songs, including his composition "Dallas" (an acoustic blues, on which Winter played a steel-bodied, resonator guitar), John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Good Morning Little School Girl", and B.B. King's "Be Careful With A Fool". The album's success coincided with Imperial Records picking up The Progressive Blues Experiment for wider release. The same year, the Winter trio toured and performed at several rock festivals, including Woodstock. With brother Edgar added as a full member of the group, Winter also recorded his second album, Second Winter, in Nashville in 1969. The two-record album, which only had three recorded sides (the fourth was blank), introduced a couple more staples of Winter's concerts, including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited". Also at this time Johnny entered into an intimate, albeit short-lived affair with Janis Joplin which culminated in a concert at New York's Madison Square Garden where Johnny joined the then reigning Queen of R&R on stage to sing and perform. In 1970, when his brother Edgar released a solo album Entrance and formed Edgar Winter's White Trash, an R&B/jazz-rock group, the original trio disbanded. Johnny Winter then formed a new band with the remnants of The McCoys—guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, and drummer Randy Z (who was Derringer's brother, their family name being Zehringer). Originally to be called "Johnny Winter and The McCoys", the name was shortened to "Johnny Winter And", which was also the name of their first album. The album included Derringer's "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" and signaled a more rock-oriented direction for Winter. When Johnny Winter And began to tour, Randy Z was replaced with drummer Bobby Caldwell. Their mixture of the new rock songs with Winter's blues songs was captured on the live album Live Johnny Winter And. It included a new performance "It's My Own Fault", the song which brought Winter to the attention of Columbia Records. Winter's momentum was throttled when he sank into heroin addiction during the Johnny Winter And days. After he sought treatment for and recovered from the addiction, manager Steve Paul courageously put Winter in front of the music press to discuss the addiction candidly. By 1973, he returned to the music scene with the release of Still Alive and Well, a basic blend between blues and hard rock, whose title track was written by Rick Derringer. His comeback concert at Long Island, N.Y.'s Nassau Colliseum featured the "And" line-up minus Rick Derringer. Performing on stage was also Johnny's wife Susie. The follow-up album, John Dawson Winter III featured Sweet Papa John, a highly-dubbed slow blues number written by Johnny, which also appeared in an extended version on the later issued "Captured Live." Saints & Sinners, continued the same direction; this was followed by another concert set, the aforementioned Captured Live!, which featured an extended performance of "Highway 61 Revisited". In 1975 Johnny returned to Bogalusa, Louisiana to produce an album for Thunderhead, a local band which included Pat Rush and Bobby "T" Torello, who would later play with Winter. In live performances, Winter often told the story about how, as a child, he dreamed of playing with the blues guitarist Muddy Waters. In 1977, after Waters' long-time label Chess Records went out of business, he got his chance. Winter brought Waters into the studio to record Hard Again for Blue Sky Records, a label set up by Winter's manager and distributed by Columbia. In addition to producing the album, Winter played guitar with Waters veteran James Cotton on harmonica. Winter produced two more studio albums for Waters, I'm Ready (with Big Walter Horton on harmonica) and King Bee and a best-selling live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live. The partnership produced three Grammy Awards for Waters and an additional Grammy for Winter's own Nothin' But the Blues (Johnny Winter album), with backing by members of Waters' band. Waters told Deep Blues author Robert Palmer that Winter had done remarkable work in reproducing the sound and atmosphere of Waters's vintage Chess Records recordings of the 1950s. The albums gave Waters the highest profile and greatest financial successes of his life. After his time with Blue Sky Records, Winter began recording for several labels, including Alligator, Point Blank, and Virgin, where he focused on blues-oriented material. In 2004, he received a Grammy Award nomination for his I’m a Bluesman album. Beginning in 2007, a series of live Winter albums titled the Live Bootleg Series and a live DVD have all entered the Top 10 Billboard Blues chart. In 2009, The Woodstock Experience album was released, which includes eight songs that Winter performed at the 1969 festival. In 2011, Johnny Winter released a new studio album titled Roots on Megaforce Records. It includes Winter's interpretation of eleven early blues and rock 'n' roll classics and features several guest artists (Vince Gill, Sonny Landreth, Susan Tedeschi, Edgar Winter, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks). Winter has continued to perform live, including at festivals throughout North America and Europe. He has headlined such prestigious events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, the 2009 Sweden Rock Festival, The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, and Rockpalast. He also performed with the Allman Brothers at the Beacon Theater in New York City on the 40th anniversary of their debut. In 2007 and 2010, Winter performed at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals. Two guitar instructional DVDs have been produced by Cherry Lane Music and the Hal Leonard Corporation. The Gibson Guitar Company released the signature Johnny Winter Firebird guitar in a ceremony in Nashville with Slash presenting.
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Ora Nelle Blues - LITTLE WALTER

Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations. His virtuosity and musical innovations fundamentally altered many listeners' expectations of what was possible on blues harmonica. Little Walter was inducted to the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 in the "sideman" category making him the first and only artist ever to be inducted specifically for his work as a harmonica player. Jacobs was born in Marksville, Louisiana and raised in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, where he first learned to play the harmonica. After quitting school by the age of 12, Jacobs left rural Louisiana and traveled around working odd jobs and busking on the streets of New Orleans, Memphis, Helena, Arkansas and St. Louis. He honed his musical skills on harmonica and guitar performing with much older bluesmen such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards and others. Arriving in Chicago in 1945, he occasionally found work as a guitarist but garnered more attention for his already highly developed harmonica work. According to fellow Chicago bluesman Floyd Jones, Little Walter's first recording was an unreleased demo recorded soon after he arrived in Chicago on which Walter played guitar backing Jones. Jacobs reportedly grew frustrated with having his harmonica drowned out by electric guitarists, and adopted a simple, but previously little-used method: He cupped a small microphone in his hands along with his harmonica, and plugged the microphone into a public address system or guitar amplifier. He could thus compete with any guitarist's volume. However, unlike other contemporary blues harp players such as Sonny Boy Williamson I and Snooky Pryor, who like many other harmonica players had also begun using the newly available amplifier technology around the same time solely for added volume, Little Walter purposely pushed his amplifiers beyond their intended technical limitations, using the amplification to explore and develop radical new timbres and sonic effects previously unheard from a harmonica, or any other instrument. Madison Deniro wrote a small biographical piece on Little Walter stating that "He was the first musician of any kind to purposely use electronic distortion. Jacobs made his first released recordings in 1947 for Bernard Abrams' tiny Ora-Nelle label, which operated out of the back room of Abrams' Maxwell Radio and Records store in the heart of the Maxwell Street market area in Chicago. These and several other early Little Walter recordings, like many blues harp recordings of the era, owed a strong stylistic debt to pioneering blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Williamson). Little Walter joined Muddy Waters' band in 1948, and by 1950, he was playing acoustic (unamplified) harmonica on Muddy's recordings for Chess Records. The first appearance on record of amplified harmonica was Little Walter's performance on Muddy's "Country Boy" (Chess 1452), recorded on July 11, 1951. For years after his departure from Muddy's band in 1952, Little Walter continued to be brought in to play on his recording sessions, and as a result his harmonica is featured on most of Muddy's classic recordings from the 1950s. As a guitarist, Little Walter recorded three songs for the small Parkway label with Muddy Waters and Baby Face Leroy Foster (reissued on CD as "The Blues World of Little Walter" from Delmark Records in 1993), as well as on a session for Chess backing pianist Eddie Ware; his guitar work was also featured occasionally on early Chess sessions with Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers. Jacobs had put his career as a bandleader on hold when he joined Muddy's band, but stepped back out front once and for all when he recorded as a bandleader for Chess's subsidiary label Checker Records on 12 May 1952. The first completed take of the first song attempted at his debut session became his first hit, spending eight weeks in the number-one position on the Billboard R&B chart – the song was "Juke", and it is still the only harmonica instrumental ever to become a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B. (Three other harmonica instrumentals by Little Walter also reached the Billboard R&B top 10: "Off the Wall" reached number eight, "Roller Coaster" achieved number six, and "Sad Hours" reached the number-two position while Juke was still on the charts.) "Juke" was the biggest hit to date for Chess and its affiliated labels, and one of the biggest national R&B hits of 1952, securing Walter's position on the Chess artist roster for the next decade. Little Walter scored fourteen top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts between 1952 and 1958, including two number-one hits (the second being "My Babe" in 1955), a level of commercial success never achieved by his former boss Waters, nor by his fellow Chess blues artists Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Following the pattern of "Juke", most of Little Walter's single releases in the 1950s featured a vocal performance on one side, and a harmonica instrumental on the other. Many of Walter's vocal numbers were originals which he or Chess A&R man Willie Dixon wrote or adapted and updated from earlier blues themes. In general, his sound was more modern and uptempo than the popular Chicago blues of the day, with a jazzier conception and less rhythmically rigid approach than other contemporary blues harmonica players. Upon his departure from Muddy Waters' band in 1952, he recruited a young band that was already working steadily in Chicago backing Junior Wells, The Aces, as his new backing band. The Aces consisted of brothers David Myers and Louis Myers on guitars, and drummer Fred Below, and were re-christened "The Jukes" on most of the Little Walter records on which they appeared. By 1955 the members of The Aces / Jukes had each left Little Walter to pursue other opportunities, initially replaced by guitarists Robert "Junior" Lockwood and Luther Tucker, and drummer Odie Payne. Jr. Others who worked in Little Walter's recording and touring bands in the '50s included guitarists Jimmie Lee Robinson and Freddie Robinson. Little Walter also occasionally included saxophone players in his touring bands during this period, among them a young Albert Ayler, and even Ray Charles on one early tour. By the late 1950s, Little Walter no longer employed a regular full-time band, instead hiring various players as needed from the large pool of local blues musicians in Chicago. Jacobs was frequently utilized on records as a harmonica accompanist behind others in the Chess stable of artists, including Jimmy Rogers, John Brim, Rocky Fuller, Memphis Minnie, The Coronets, Johnny Shines, Floyd Jones, Bo Diddley, and Shel Silverstein, and on other record labels backing Otis Rush, Johnny Young, and Robert Nighthawk.[ Jacobs suffered from alcoholism and had a notoriously short temper, which in late 1950s led to a series of violent altercations, minor scrapes with the law, and increasingly irresponsible behavior. This led to a decline in his fame and fortunes beginning in the late 1950s, although he did tour Europe twice, in 1964 and 1967. (The long-circulated story that he toured the United Kingdom with The Rolling Stones in 1964 has since been refuted by Keith Richards). The 1967 European tour, as part of the American Folk Blues Festival, resulted in the only film/video footage of Little Walter performing that is known to exist. Footage of Little Walter backing Hound Dog Taylor and Koko Taylor on a television program in Copenhagen, Denmark on 11 October 1967 was released on DVD in 2004. Further video of another recently discovered TV appearance in Germany during this same tour, showing Little Walter performing his songs "My Babe", "Mean Old World", and others were released on DVD in Europe in January 2009, and is the only known footage of Little Walter singing. Other TV appearances in the UK (in 1964) and the Netherlands (in 1967) have been documented, but no footage of these has been uncovered. Jacobs recorded and toured only infrequently in the 1960s, playing mainly in and around Chicago. In 1967 Chess released a studio album featuring Little Walter with Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters titled Super Blues. A few months after returning from his second European tour, he was involved in a fight while taking a break from a performance at a nightclub on the South Side of Chicago. The relatively minor injuries sustained in this altercation aggravated and compounded damage he had suffered in previous violent encounters, and he died in his sleep at the apartment of a girlfriend at 209 E. 54th St. in Chicago early the following morning. The official cause of death indicated on his death certificate was "coronary thrombosis" (a blood clot in the heart); evidence of external injuries was so insignificant that police reported that his death was of "unknown or natural causes", and there were no external injuries noted on the death certificate. His body was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park, IL on February 22, 1968. His grave remained unmarked until 1991, when fans Scott Dirks and Eomot Rasun had a marker designed and installed. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! 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You Dont Know - T Bone Walker Jr.

b. 22 February 1933, Royse City, Texas, USA. Rankin’s uncle was T-Bone Walker, who encouraged the youngster to play blues guitar and then took him on the road as a valet in the late 40s. He worked and recorded with Walker during the 50s, and was dubbed ‘T-Bone’ Walker Jnr. around 1955, and it was under this name that he recorded for the Midnite label in 1962. He has been less active on the music scene since the mid-60s but did surface to play at the T-Bone Walker Memorial Concert in Los Angeles, California, in May 1975, when Blues Unlimited reported that ‘he did a fantastic job on his uncle’s classics’. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Blue and Sentimental-Buddy Tate

George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. He has been counted as one of the great tenor saxophonists of his generation and was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame. Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, and began performing on alto saxophone. As a teenager in 1925, he played with his brother and their band called McCloud's Night Owls." Tate quickly switched to tenor saxophone making a name for himself in bands like Andy Kirk's. He joined Count Basie's band in 1939 and stayed with him until 1948. He had been selected by Basie due to the sudden death of Herschel Evans, which Tate states he predicted in a dream. After his period with Basie ended, he worked with several other bands before he found success on his own, starting in 1953 in Harlem. His band worked at the "Celebrity Club" from 1953 to 1974. In the late 1970s, he co-led a band with Paul Quinichette and worked with Benny Goodman. In 1980, he was seriously injured by scalding water at a hotel shower, which kept him inactive for four months. He later suffered from a serious illness. The 1990s saw him slow down, but he remained active playing with Lionel Hampton among others. In 1992, he took part in the documentary, Texas Tenor: The Illinois Jacquet Story. In 1996, he recorded on woodwind artist James Carter on his second release for Atlantic Records "Conversin' With The Elders" along with fellow veterans trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison & Lester Bowie saxophonists Hamiet Bluiett & Larry Smith. He lived in New York until 2001 when he moved to Arizona to be cared for by his daughter. He died in Chandler, Arizona at the age of 87.

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Texas Johnny Brown

Texas Johnny Brown is truly one of the legendary figures of the American blues scene. Johnny began his professional musical career in Houston in the mid- 1940s with Amos Milburn's "Aladdin Chickenshackers". Johnny played guitar on many of Milburn's recordings on Aladdin Records, and Milburn and other members of his band backed Johnny during his Atlantic Records recording session in 1949. Johnny also appeared on Ruth Brown's first Atlantic Records recordings, which were cut during those sessions. Three of Johnny's original songs from his Atlantic session, There Goes the Blues, Bongo Boogie and Blues Rock, were included on an Atlantic compilation of blues guitarists in 1986. Johnny recut There Goes the Blues for his debut full-length CD, Nothin' But the Truth, which was released in 1998 by Choctaw Creek Records. Johnny toured with Bobby "Blue" Bland and Junior Parker in the 1950s and 1960s as guitarist and bandleader and was a studio musician for Houston's Duke/Peacock Records. He recorded a number of his own compositions for Duke/Peacock, including Snakehips and Suspense, and his distinctive guitar style graced the recordings of numerous other Duke/Peacock blues artists, including Bland, Parker and Joe Hinton. Johnny also wrote the beautiful blues classic, Two Steps from the Blues, which was one of Bland's biggest hits. Nothin' But the Truth marks the first time that Johnny recorded Two Steps from the Blues himself. Nothin' But the Truth also contains nine new original compositions by Johnny and an instrumental version of Aretha Franklin's Am 't No Way. Nothin' But the Truth was nominated for a W.C. Handy Blues Award (1999) for Comeback Album of the Year and received Real Blues Magazine '5 Real Blues Awards as Best Texas Blues CD (New) and Best Independently Released Blues CD for 1998. Since returning to music full-time in 1991, Johnny has played the Telluride, Colorado Blues & Brews Festival (2000), the Baltimore (2000), W.C. Handy Blues Awards (1999),Chicago (1998 and 1996), Houston Juneteenth (1998, 1996 and 1995), Pocono (1997), Molde(1997), Long Beach (1996) and Bowie Street (1999, 1996 and 1995) Blues Festivals, the 2001Mardi Gras Galveston Festival, the 2000, 1999, 1996 and 1995 Houston International Festivals, the 1999 Reliant Energy Power of Houston Festival, the 1998 Bluestock Festival and the 1992 Blues Estafette, and has toured in the United States and Europe. He is scheduled to play the Houston International Festival in April 2001. He has also been featured on the cover of Juke Blues Magazine (issue 41; July, 1998) and in Living Blues Magazine (January/February, 1997) and Soul Bag (Fall, 1996). Johnny also won the 2000 Houston Press Music Awards for Best Blues and Best Male Vocalist and the 1999 Houston Press Music Awards for Best Guitarist and Best Male Vocalist.

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Two Sides on the Same Coin - No Possession Blues

No Possession Blues is a live blues/rock, rockabilly quartet based in Vaggeryd, Sweden. Founded in ‘09 the band focuses on live performances as well as writing their own brand of blues rock and aims to entertain anyone tired of the commercial scene. The band members are: Micko Ylinikka - lead guitar player from Vaggeryd. With a long history of music creation Micko has a writing and riff structure...See More Description Band members: Danne "Dagny" Pettersson (rythm guitar,harmonica and vocals) Micko "Ylmen" Yllinikka (leadguitar and vocals) Mattias "Steve" Vestlund (bass guitar) Mikko "K2" Karppinen (drums)  

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Oh Well - Bruce Wojick

Bruce Wojick from Niagara Falls, NY is regarded as one of the most talented and respected guitarists and songwriters, in the Western, NY area. The veteran musician has been a mainstay on the area scene for nearly two decades, performing as a key component in two of the area’s best and most popular original rock bands--Gods Children and Klear.

Since 2001, he has been named the top original guitar player five times at the Buffalo Music Awards. Wojick's songs, have been featured in numerous television shows and films, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "X-Files", "ER", "Touched by an Angel", "The Osbournes" and "E True Hollywood Story", as well as the films "Vegas Vacation”, “The Station Agent" (Miramax), "Man of the House" (Disney) and "A Thousand Acres" (Meryl Streep and Jason Robards), as well as many more.

Bruce has also opened for and shared the stage with The Goo Goo Dolls, Chuck Berry, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper, Government Mule, Puddle of Mudd, Creedance Clearwater (CCR), to name just a few.

In 2009, he decided to go solo and blend rock, soul, country and Americana, to form his own unique style. With the debut release of 99' With a Bullet (four song EP) in 2010 and his first full length self titled record released in November of 2011, he is set to blaze his own trail for the future..

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Secretly Famous - The Rev Jimmie Bratcher - New Release Review

Got another new one here for ya! Just received the new release, Secretly Famous, from The Rev Jimmie Bratcher. The release opens with Jupiter and Mars a cool laid back Texas style blues number. I like the drone note blues style used on rhythm and the slide work is just a taste of what's to come on later. 57, a tribute track to the Shure SM57 microphone is a great sticky funk number. I like Bratcher's voice and Craig Kew brings a nice bass line on this track shoring up strong guitar work by the Rev. This track has the light funk attack that I've seen used by my friend Hamilton Loomis as well as others and it's a lot of fun. Feels Like Friday is a driving jazzy blues track with rhythm sounding a bit like Golden Earring. This is a much cooler track. I hope that the Rev gets as much mileage out of it. The Rev stretches a sweet solo on this track showing his super taste. Check Your Blues At The Door is a blues rock shuffle with just north of a Texas lope. Never over the top guitar soloing nicely compliments The Rev's fine vocals. JD Loudermilk's Tobacco Road gets a total makeover and certainly almost a different from the first cover of it that I head by Edgar Winter. This is done as a straight out rocker and to cool result. Nowhere To Go But Down has a bit of what to me sounds like a British blues feel ... reminds me of early Savoy Brown but with a definite twist. Kew plays some real nice bass lead on this track with The Rev keeping it contained and Lester Estelle keeping the drums solid. Bratcher plays a real nice jazz influenced solo as a sweet diversion to this tack giving it an entire different texture. When I Fall Apart is another track that gets a cool rock funk to it and a I think that the band does a real nice job on it as well as adds some interesting vocal harmonies to an already cool track. Rick Steff adds some keys on this track rounding out the mix. The Rev pulls out a real unexpected number with the Association's Never My Love. This is a real clean version of the original track but with a little soul added to the mix. Nice job! I Can't Shake That Thing is another cool funky blues rock track and you all know what a sucker I am for this stuff. The Rev has a super voice for this music and Estelle does a nice job of driving this train. Bratcher plays some cool blues riffs on this track and all of a sudden the dance floor is full...sit the hell down...I can't see! The looser Bologna Sandwich Man is a little 2 step kind of track with a slick little slide guitar work. Overall this is a really cool release and one I think anyone liking their blues funky style served up with some cool guitar isn't gonna wanna miss!

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 Sorry that I could not find an appropriate video... this one is cool but not from the cd.

Magic Slim, Blues Icon, Dies at 75

MAGIC SLIM, BLUES ICON, DIES AT 75 Magic Slim, a revered and towering figure in the field of traditional Chicago blues, died today in a Philadelphia hospital at the age of 75. Born Morris Holt in Torrance, Mississippi in 1937, the guitarist performer, bandleader, and recording artist went on to enjoy a career that launched him to national and international recognition and acclaim. Slim was one of the foremost practitioners of the raw, gut-bucket, back alley blues associated with the postwar Chicago blues sound. He and his band, the Teardrops, were known as "the last real Chicago blues band" for their authentic, no-frills, straight-no-chaser performance of the music. Slim's slash and burn guitar technique and booming vocals made for a commanding stage presence. His intense style was the blueprint that spawned much of the music played by modern blues artists and rockers.  After catching one of Slim's electrifying live shows at a local nightclub Eddie Vetter invited Slim to open Pearl Jam's concert in Chicago.  Magic Slim also had an encyclopedic repertoire of hundreds of blues songs in his head, giving his live shows a charming impromptu quality. Growing up in Grenada, Mississippi, Slim took an early interest in music, singing in the church choir, and fashioning a guitar for himself with baling wire from a broom, which he nailed to the wall. "Mama whooped me for that," recalled Slim. His first love was the piano, but having lost the little finger on his right hand in a cotton gin accident, he found it difficult to play properly. Undaunted, he simply switched to guitar, working in the cotton fields during the week and playing the blues at house parties on weekends.  In 2011 the state of Mississippi erected a Blues Trail Marker in Slim's honor in front of a building in Grenada where his mother operated a restaurant. In 1955, like many musicians from the Deep South, Slim migrated to Chicago, where he was mentored by his friend Magic Sam, who gave the lanky Morris his lifelong stage moniker.  Initially discouraged by the highly competitive local music scene, Slim went back to Mississippi and spent the next five years woodshedding and perfecting his craft.  He confidently returned to Chicago and became a formidable player on the scene, eventually putting together the Teardrops, who would become one of the busiest and best-loved blues bands around, and one of the most sought-after headliners for festivals in Europe, Japan, and South America.  Slim and his group won the coveted Blues Music Award in 2003 as "Blues Band of the Year," one of six times Slim won a BMA, considered the highest honor in the blues.  Living Blues magazine called Slim and the Teardrops "a national treasure." Slim's recording career began with a series of singles in 1966, and he recorded his first album for a French label in 1977.  With the release of Gravel Road in 1990, he began a twenty-two year association with Blind Pig Records, who issued ten albums and a live DVD over that span.  His last release, 2012's Bay Boy, proved that Slim could still deliver the goods. As No Depression said, "Magic Slim doesn't just play the blues, he body slams his audiences with a vicious guitar attack that pins them to the floor. His blues are the in-your-face variety."  AllMusicGuide added, "Magic Slim turned 75 in 2012, but his growling vocals have the fire and brimstone of a Young Lion and his guitar playing is still as razor-sharp as it was when he turned pro in the '50s." Blind Pig Records owner Jerry Del Giudice said, "Magic Slim embodied the heart and soul of this label.  It was Magic Slim, and the guys like him, and their music, that inspired us to start the label in the first place." Blues Revue once remarked, "Whoever the house band in blues heaven may be, even money says they're wearing out Magic Slim albums trying to get that Teardrops sound down cold."  Now Slim can assume his rightful place as the leader of that band. For a complete biography, please click HERE.  To see a video of Slim recording "Goin' To Mississippi" in the Blind Pig Chicago warehouse in April of 2002, please click HERE.

Micke Björklöf & BlueStrip

When did you last hear a vibraphone hobnob with a frantic slide guitar? Probably never, but now you can. After a five years wait, Micke Björklöf & Blue Strip finally delivers a new album "Whole´Nutha Thang", featuring eleven exquisitely completed new songs. The album was recorded in London, England with producer Neil Brockbank (Nick Lowe, Tanita Tikaram, Bryan Ferry) in fall 2006. In addition to the excellent band members there are guest appearances by horn players Matt Holland and Martin Winning (Van Morrison, Lisa Stansfield) and keyboard player Geraint Watkins, known for his work with Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, Van Morrison and Mark Knopfler. The album title “Whole´Nutha Thang” refers to a new era for the band. The whole process of recording in London was a big thing on its own and it can also be regarded as a giant step for the band towards an international career as a roots & blues music artist. The song writing is stronger than ever and the band is really groovy. The album offers a mature and focused collection of all-original roots and blues songs with soul, rock and pop flourishes. The rockin´ songs like “Hard for a woman, hard for a man”, “Jungle cat”, “Grapesugar love” as well as beautifully built laid back tracks “I fell down from the tree (when I saw Robert Johnson pass me by)”, Extreme”, “Silver moon” and “Whatever your name” are a soul stirring listening experience. “We already had the new material ready and some preliminary plans made for the realizing of our fourth album when we met with Neil Brockbank. He worked with Geraint Watkins on a festival gig here in Finland”, Björklöf recalls. “We jammed with Geraint that night and after the show we had a few drinks with the guys, just to socialize a bit. Next morning I had a dicussion with Neil over breakfast and he impressed me with the way he talked about making music. He is really into this organic, live approach and letting things happen naturally. At that time no plans were yet made but I thought to myself “I want to make a record with this guy”, says Björklöf. After a couple of weeks he proposed the producing of the next BlueStrip album to Brockbank and six months later the band found themselves in the recording session in London. BlueStrip was founded by the bandleader and singer Micke Björklöf and the bass player/songwriter Seppo Nuolikoski in 1991. After a few changes at the very start the line up has been the same for almost ten years. They started as an acoustic pubrock cover band but before long the roots & blues music and producing original material took over. Today the band is one of the most popular live acts in the roots & blues scene in Finland. They have strirred up audiences with their energetic live shows wherever they play, from small club stages to big festival arenas. The exceptionally ingenious guitar player, songwriter and singer Lefty Leppänen is regarded as one of the top slide guitarists in Europe. His resourceful playing is one the BlueStrips trademarks, as well as the sound of vibraphone, played by the mallet virtuoso/arranger Timo Roiko-Jokela, who also builds striking percussion elements with the dynamic drummer Teemu Vuorela.  

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Blue Corn Music artist: Hadden Sayers - Rolling Soul - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (release date February 26, 2013), Rolling Soul, from Hadden Sayers and I really like it. Doesn't seem too long ago that I was saying that this was going to be a good year for music and so far it's been great! This is another really strong release. Opening with Don't Take Your Love (Out On Me), Sayers lays the ground work for a very snappy blues infused R&B style set. This track is strongly rhythmic and has cool guitar riffs pushed by solid drums by Tony McClung. Something Wrong In The World is a classic R&B track and sounds like it could have been written by Al Green. Excellent! This track is strong enough to carry the release alone! Want What You Have is based on Wang Dang Doodle or You Don't Love Me with a rock twist. Alone With The Blues opens with Sayers on soulful vocal and heavily delayed/reverbed guitar. This is a really cool track has a certain polish in it's stripped down state. Sayers takes time out on this track for a nice guitar solo. Lay Down Your Worries is another track with a stepping R&B rhythm trading vocal lead and harmonies with Ruthie Foster. The Man I'm Supposed To Be is a well constructed country style ballad. Crazy Enough is a bright jazzy track that could capture a totally different market. Unlucky is a two step country style track with a lot of piano  along with Sayres on guitar. Sayers breaks into the very cool, Insomniac Blues, blending the charms of Ray Charles with his own personal style on vocal and guitar. Frye lays down some nice piano work on this track as well but it's Sayers vocals in particular that really shine. Can't Get You Off My Mind is a funky track with a southern twist. Using a talking lyric style and playing slide guitar, this is a happy go lucky track and a cool ending to a really cool recording. “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here

 

Subdude's Tommy Malone Signs With M.C.

Tommy Malone Of the Subdudes Signs With M.C. Records First Solo Recording In 12 Years To Be Released in June Northport N.Y. - M.C. Records is proud to announce the signing of the lead voice and guitarist of the Subdudes, Tommy Malone. His first solo recording in 12 years is slated for a June release and will feature Tommy's outstanding songwriting, inviting vocals and amazing guitar playing. He will be touring throughout 2013 to promote the new album. The sessions for the new album were recorded in New Orleans and produced and mixed by 10 Time Grammy Award winner John Porter (Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, B.B. King, R.L. Burnside, Ryan Adams). On the new recording Tommy Malone works with some of New Orleans finest ; Drums - Doug Belote, Bass - David Hyde, Guitar - Shane Theriot and Keys - Jon Cleary. Tommy Malone has had a musical love affair with fans for over 30 years. As the 'heart and center' front man of the legendary Americana act The Subdudes, he has carved his way as a gifted singer, player and songwriter with a distinctive musical voice. In Tommy’s solo band, as lead guitarist and singer, he punctuates soulful, heart-felt vocals with playing that is at turns joyful, incendiary and melancholic. A musician’s musician, he has recorded with Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin and Anders Osborne, and has impacted markets with hit other projects including Tiny Town and the Continental Drifters. Tommy's songs have been recorded by Joe Cocker, The Radiators, Tab Benoit and many others, but it’s his ability to perform his own stories and turn them into vivid musical images that sets him apart from other performers. Click on the photo to check out the new song, "Home" recorded earlier this year at Tipitina's.   Tommy has a new website. http://tommymalone.net Tommy is now represented by The Sweetwine Entertainment Group. Please contact them for all bookings. http://sweetwinegroup.com Phone: 303.444.1554 Fax: 303.845.7202 Ira Sweetwine CEO / Agent / Manager ira@sweetwinegroup.com Tommy Malone Dates Tuesday, February 26 8:00 pm Chickie Wah Wahs New Orleans LA: 2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA, Tuesday, March 5 8:00 pm Chickie Wah Wahs New Orleans LA: 2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA, Tuesday, March 12 8:00 pm Chickie Wah Wahs New Orleans LA: 2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA, Tuesday, March 19 8:00 pm Chickie Wah Wahs New Orleans LA: 2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA, Tuesday, March 26 8:00 PM Chickie Wah Wahs New Orleans LA: 2828 Canal St, New Orleans, LA,

Magic Slim has passed

This has now unfortunately been confirmed.

For Immediate Release

Posted by Magic Slim on February 22, 2013 at 3:50 AM

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It is with great sorrow that I inform you that Magic Slim, a.k.a. Morris Holt of Grenada, Mississippi passed away Thursday, February 21, 2013. He will be missed by his family, friends and blues fans all over the world. Funeral arrangements and a Memorial Service will be announced later this week. The family wishes to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers.
Marty Salzman - Manager Magic Slim
Linda Cunningham - Public Releations Magic Slim
Mike Blakemore - Tour Manager Magic Slim

"Music Maker Signifier" Debuts!

Music Maker Signifier Launched!

Photo by Kevin Hoppe Check out our new blog! The Music Maker Signifier has launched! Music Maker's new blog written by staff, friends, fans and musicians will bring you original, interesting content with a dash of signature Music Maker humor every Tuesday and Friday. Why is it called the Signifier, you ask? Tim says "Signifyin'" is a slang word developed from a folk trickster character in African-American culture called the Signifying Monkey. It can mean bragging, boasting, or gossiping, and Wikipedia (via Gena Dagel Caponi) says it can also mean "a way of demonstrating respect for, goading or poking fun at a musical style, process, or practice." Guitar Gabe used that word so often that it really was the only choice for a blog name. Read our first posts here!  Video Diggin': "Cherry Pie" Aaron comments on Ironing Board Sam performing "Cherry Pie" at The Hamilton in DC. Check out this rare Video Diggin' here! Ironing Board Sam in ATL after over a decade! Ironing Board Sam is part of the "Kings of the Keyboards" event at Blind Willie's in Atlanta March 1st and 2nd! Click here for more info.  Keep up with Music Maker's gigs See who's playing in your area! You never know when a Music Maker artist will be rolling through your town. Check out the Tour Calendar. Keep the Roots Alive. Donate today.

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