Reference Recordings Signs Blues-Roots Singer-Songwriter Doug MacLeod & Will Release His Label Debut, "There's a Time," on March 12

Reference Recordings Signs Blues/Roots

Singer-Songwriter Doug MacLeod

Label Debut Album, There’s a Time,

Set for Release March 12

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -   Reference Recordings announces the signing of blues/roots singer-songwriter Doug MacLeod, and a March 12 release date for his label debut album, There’s a Time. Produced by Doug MacLeod and Janice Mancuso and recorded at Skywalker Sound, the “baker’s dozen” tracks on There’s a Time showcase his soulful vocals and trademark guitar sound backed by Denny Croy on bass and Jimi Bott on drums. Acclaimed for their quality audio recordings, Reference will also release the new album on a 200-gram vinyl two-LP set, half-speed mastered and pressed at Quality Record Pressings (QRP), as well as on CD.

“Making this album was different than any other one I’ve done in the past,” recalls MacLeod about the sessions. “They put Jimi, Denny and me on this huge soundstage at Skywalker Sound in Marin County and we sat around in a circle where we could see each other. We played live, no overdubs, just three guys playing some music together.

“Simply put, Jimi and Denny are two of the finest musicians I have ever had the pleasure to make music with. I’ve been known to change arrangements on the spot: add a bar here, take away a bar there. I go with the feeling of the moment. Both Jimi and Denny have this uncanny ability to follow that - even under what could have been pressure circumstances for other musicians.”

A perennial Blues Music Award nominee, MacLeod is currently nominated for “Acoustic Artist of the Year.” Doug is a throwback musician in the great tradition of the traveling bluesman from the genre’s classic era, having apprenticed with some of the best as a sideman with such legends as Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Big Mama Thornton and George “Harmonica” Smith. During that time, he developed his unique, unorthodox and powerfully rhythmic acoustic guitar style, which he puts to great use on There’s a Time playing on a variety of guitars with such pet names as “Moon” (a National M-1 Tricone), “Little Bit” (a Gibson C-100 FE) and “Owl” (a National Style “O”), plus a National El Trovador 12-String.

The other element of Doug’s style is his remarkable ability as a storyteller, another trademark of the classic itinerant blues musician. Listening to the songs on There’s a Time is like attending a master class on storytelling, as MacLeod weaves tales that are visceral, insightful and often humorous (as on the songs, “My In-laws Are Outlaws,” “St Elmo’s Rooms and Pool” and “Dubb’s Talkin’ Religion Blues”).

Like the old masters who taught him, MacLeod’s songs are based primarily on his own life and experiences, instilled with the spirit one particular influential bluesman once told him: “Never play a note you don’t believe, and never write or sing about what you don’t know.”

“If you’re speaking honestly, then I believe you’re coming from your heart,” MacLeod says. “And if you’re coming from the heart, then I believe your chances of getting to another heart are real good. If you can get to the heart, then you can get to the soul, and I think that’s where songs like to live.”

In a career that spans over 30 years, Doug MacLeod has recorded 19 studio albums, several live records, compilations, a blues guitar instructional DVD and a live performance DVD. His songs have been covered by such artists as Albert King, Albert Collins, Joe Louis Walker and Eva Cassidy. Two of his songs were on Grammy-nominated albums by King and Collins.  He’s co-written tunes with Dave Alvin and Coco Montoya, and his songs have been featured in many TV movies, as well as the hit TV series, “In the Heat of the Night.”

From 1999 to 2004, Doug hosted “Nothin’ but the Blues,” a very popular weekend blues radio show on Los Angeles’ KLON-KKJZ. He has also been the voice for “The Blues Showcase” on Continental Airlines and contributed his soulful slide guitar playing to the Los Angeles opening of the August Wilson play, “Gem of the Ocean.” For 10 years, he penned “Doug’s Back Porch,” a regular feature column in Blues Revue, in which he shared his humorous and insightful stories with the magazine’s readers. In 1997, he won the Golden Note Award for his Audioquest Music album, You Can’t Take My Blues; and in 2006 Solid Air/Warner Bros. released Doug’s guitar instructional DVD, 101 Blues Guitar Essentials.

Tell Me - Joe Louis Walker

Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as a electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. A feature of his work is his recourse to older material or playing styles, which revealed his knowledge of blues history. Joe Louis Walker was born in San Francisco, California, United States. He came from a musical family, amidst the early influences of T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Meade Lux Lewis, Amos Milburn, and Pete Johnson. Walker first picked up the guitar at the age of eight, and became a known quantity within the Bay Area music scene by the age of 16. While publicly performing through his teens, he soaked up many influences (especially vocalists such as Wilson Pickett, James Brown, Bobby Womack and Otis Redding). Over these early years, Walker's musical pupilage saw him playing with John Lee Hooker, J.J. Malone, Buddy Miles, Otis Rush, Thelonious Monk, The Soul Stirrers, Willie Dixon, Charlie Musselwhite, Steve Miller, Nick Lowe, John Mayall, Earl Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix. By 1968, he had forged a friendship with Mike Bloomfield; they were roommates for many years until Bloomfield's untimely death. This event was the catalyst that placed Walker into a lifestyle change. He left the world of the blues and enrolled himself at San Francisco State University, achieving a degree in Music and English. Throughout this time, Walker was regularly performing with The Spiritual Corinthians Gospel Quartet. After a 1985 performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, he was inspired to return to his blues roots whereupon he formed the "Bosstalkers" and signed to the HighTone label. Under the auspices of Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker, his debut album, Cold Is The Night was released in 1986. He began a worldwide touring schedule, delivering a four more releases in succession for HighTone (The Gift (1988), Blue Soul (1989), Live At Slims Vol 1 (1991), and Live At Slims Volume 2 (1992). After the long partnership with HighTone, Walker was signed by Polygram to their Verve/Gitanes record label. His first of many Polygram releases ensued with Blues Survivor in 1993. This marked the beginning of an eclectic era that merged many of his gospel, jazz, soul, funk and rock influences with his trademark blues sensibilities. 1993 also saw the release of B.B. King's Grammy Award-winning Blues Summit album, which featured a duet with Walker (a Walker original, "Everybody's Had the Blues"). This was followed up by a live DVD release, featuring another duet with Walker (a rendition of "T-Bone Shuffle"). JLW was released in 1994, featuring guests such as James Cotton, Branford Marsalis, and the Tower Of Power horn section. During this period, Walker's touring schedule saw many re-appearances at the world's music festivals (North Sea Jazz, Montreaux, Glastonbury, San Francisco, Russian River Jazz, Monterey, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Byron Bay, Australia, Notodden, Lucerne, and at the Beacon Theatre in New York). Walker also spent years covering all the major western television networks (Conan O'Brien, Imus, Jools Holland UK, inauguration for George W. Bush, inducting B.B. King for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton into the Kennedy Centre Honors, Ohne Filter, Germany, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame) as well as numerous worldwide TV networks. Blues Of The Month Club was released in 1995, and was the first of three Walker albums that were co-produced with Steve Cropper. This was followed up by the release of Great Guitars in 1997. Walker's guest musicians on this release, included Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Otis Rush, Scotty Moore, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Steve Cropper, Tower Of Power, and Ike Turner. Also in 1996, Walker played guitar on James Cotton's, Deep in the Blues, a Grammy Award winner for "Best Traditional Blues Album". In addition, Walker won his third Blues Music Award for Band of the Year (1996) which was preceded by two similar awards for "Contemporary Male Artist of the Year" (1988 and 1991). Walker also won the 1995 Bammy (Bay Area Music Award) for "Blues Musician of the Year". He then released Preacher and the President in 1998 and Silvertone Blues in 1999 (his sixth album for Polygram). This sequence continued with In The Morning (Telarc 2002), Pasa Tiempo (Evidence 2002), Guitar Brothers (JSP 2002), She's My Money Maker (JSP 2003), Ridin' High (Hightone 2003), New Direction (Provogue 2004) and Playin' Dirty (JSP 2006). In 2002, he featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album, Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "Who Do You Love". In March 2008, Walker signed to Stony Plain Records, and recorded his first album for the label in April (produced by Duke Robillard). This album featured guest appearances by Robillard and Todd Sharpville, and was released in September 2008. His second album for the label was released in September 2009 entitled, Between A Rock and The Blues. This album featured Kevin Eubanks as a special guest, best known for his work as the musical director for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This album has garnered five nominations in the 2010 Blues Music Awards. 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!

Jay Trainer Band

Jay Trainer combines thick, prolific guitar riffs and stark lyricism, while drawing on the traditions of funk, rock, blues, and psychedelia to craft a modern classic. The singer/songwriter possesses a unique ability to effortlessly negotiate tone and volume, moving from a quiet, almost jazzy tone to a booming thunder at any given moment. The effect calls to mind the masters of several genres of rock music. To achieve this, Trainer pulls from his roots: blues revivalists, folksy protest songs, classic songwriters and classic rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers Band. But the aspect that grabs both music lovers and critics is the additional elements ranging from the likes of Jeff Beck to Jeff Buckley. His unique combination of genre-defying compositions and free-form jams have been causing a stir in the local Bay Area scene. Having shared the stage with national acts including North Mississippi All Stars, legendary guitarist Dickey Betts, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress (founding member of The Greyboy Allstars), Eric McFadden (former touring member of George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars), Cowboy Mouth and Vinyl, Jay Trainer has created a new foothold in the West Coast music scene with a rare combination of infectious backbeats and guitar driven grooves. The live show is what Trainer is known for. His performances are raw, personal and uninhibited. It is clear from his latest EP, simply titled Jay Trainer Band, that he has brought this same energy to the studio. Tracks like “Miss You Well” and “As The World Burns Down” capture the emotion and expression of his live performance. Tracks like “Maybe I’m Wrong” and “Run” show Trainer’s ability to use the studio like an additional member of the band. A veteran of countless recording sessions, his “get it in the first take” approach has paid off and is bringing back a great sense of honesty to Rock ‘n’ Roll. “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 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 favorites band!

Gary Smith

For three decades, San Jose harmonica player Gary Smith has been an influential figure in the San Francisco Bay Area Blues scene. His band was the first to grace the stage at the inaugural San Francisco Blues Festival way back in 1973. Long regarded as the Godfather of San Jose Blues Harmonica, he really demonstrates his harp playing prowess and Little Walter influenced tone on Blues For Mr. B.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Tip of the Top

Who says the good old days of the blues are over? "This music isn't long gone; it's alive and happening right here and now in Northern California! " says blues guitar virtuoso Kid Andersen. He's talking about Tip of the Top, the San Francisco Bay Area band that has taken the blues scene by storm since 2009. The band's musical style is reminiscent of the 1950's. Their live show delivers all the primitive pulsating rhythms, repetitive chord changes and gritty amplification that defines early American Rock 'n' Roll. But these bluesmen are no mere imitators. They feel this music to their core. They represent it with 100% authentic personal expression and deliver it with emotionally charged energy. Tip of the Top's debut CD, Depot Street Blues, and their second release, Rock Tonight, received rave reviews from fans and blues critics alike. Their latest release From Memphis To Greaseland features some of the band's finest original work and their unique, spontaneous take on blues classics. Engineered and produced at the world-famous Greaseland Studios in Campbell, California, this album is a MUST HAVE for any serious blues afficionado! If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Summertime - Big Brother & The Holding Co.

Had it not been for the melodic and accomplished guitar work of Peter Albin flowing out of an upper story window at 1090 Page Street in the early summer of 1965, there might never have been a Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was on that day that Sam Andrew happened down Page Street in San Francisco and was so impressed by what me heard, that he went in and introduced himself.

Peter was born on June 6, 1944 in San Francisco. He began playing guitar at an early age and became involved in the folk scene of the early 60s. While attending The College of San Mateo, Peter and his brother Rodney played in a bluegrass band called the Liberty Hill Aristocrats.

By the time Peter met Sam in 1965, he had aspirations of forming a band that would write and perform children's songs. One of the first songs he wrote while working with children at The Marin Jewish Community Day Camp, north of San Francisco, was "Caterpillar". This song went on the appear on the first Big Brother and the Holding Company Album.

But the guitarist who inspired the first meeting with Sam Andrew ended up making the transition to bass and has spent the majority of his career with that instrument. Although his fine guitar work can be heard on cuts such as "Coo-Coo", "Oh, Sweet Mary", and "Turtle Blues" and also on Big Brother LPs "Be A Brother" and "How Hard It Is".

Witty and personable, Peter provided much of the on-stage commentary and also served as the liaison for the group with managers and promoters. Also, in the early days of Big Brother, before Janis, Peter did most of the lead vocals for the band. Among the many songs he sang were "Blow My Mind" and "Down On Me". Even after Janis, the first album finds Peter's lead on "Blindman", "Light Is Faster Than Sound", and "Caterpillar".

Peter's musical pursuits have also extended beyond Big Brother and the Holding Company. He has played with Country Joe and the Fish and can be heard on their 1969 Vanguard album "Here We Are Again". He later toured in an all-star band with Joe McDonald that cut an album outside Paris (Paris Sessions, Vanguard - 1973) in September of 1972.

In 1982, Peter was one of the founding members of the Bay Area super group, The Dinosaurs. Along with Peter, the group consisted of, John Cipollina, Barry Melton, Merl Saunders, Robert Hunter, and Spencer Dryden.

Peter has loaned many items to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. The most notable piece is his legendary psychedelic Fender Jazz Bass from 1968 which is now a popular museum attraction.

Today, along with keeping a regular tour schedule with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Peter serves as an advertising coordinator with City Hall Record Distributors.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Americana/Blues Troubadour Jeffrey Halford Brings All-American Sounds To Armandos

"Hemingway With A Blues-y Guitar" - Dirty Linen

"Jeffrey Halford specializes in "swamp rock with soul," which means that Poor House Bistro, the valley's center for New Orleans food and music, is the perfect venue for the San Francisco singer/songwriter/guitarist and his band, the Healers." SAN JOSE METRO

"Jeffrey Halford and The Healers album, 'Broken Chord', does not hit your ears as much as it slinks, shutters, shakes and shimmies across the surface of your mind. Barrel roll pianos, big, fat swamp guitar notes and hard hitting rhythms push around Jeffrey's vocals. His voice comes on like a lyrical conversation as it snarls admonitions and finger points, naming names ("Louisiana Man", "Ninth Ward"), paints a picture of a hot rod pin up wife-to-be ("Rockabilly Bride") and offers a great visual of someone who looks like a barnyard feathered friend, forget about how he tastes ("Chicken Bones Jones"). THE ALTERNATE ROOT

Acclaimed Americana/Blues Troubadour Jeffrey Halford and the Healers Bring Their All-American Sounds To Armando's In Martinez - Friday, June 8 At 8:00 P.M.

(MARTINEZ) - Called "Hemingway with a blues-y guitar" by Dirty Linen Magazine, Americana/Blues singer-songwriter-guitarist Jeffrey Halford and the Healers plays a return engagement at Armando's, 707 Marina Vista, Friday, June 8. 8 p.m. $10. Info: (925) 228-6985 or log onto www.armandosmartinez.com.

Jeffrey Halford delivers a uniquely American melting pot of roots, blues, rock, and kick-ass pop - take some Southern soul, add a heap of Texas storytelling, a dash of Bay Area's freewheeling liberal spirit/literary leanings/seedier side, throw in some desert sunshine and dirt, then stir together with an architect's eye for detail and durability and you've got yourself an idea why Paste magazine recently named him to their "Ten Most Influential Artists of the Decade."

A guy who doesn't play favorites when it comes to words and music, Jeffrey Halford knows how to get his point across subtly, and he also knows when to hammer it home. But most of all, he knows how to craft music that grabs your attentionand keeps it - on record, but particularly on stage, where he and the band make you want to jump out of your seat..Jeffrey has shared the stage with Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, and George Thorogoodto name a few. Turns out the streets of San Franciscomight have been the best teacher of all.

Watch Halford perform an intimate acoustic version of his poignant tune about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, "Louisiana Man," here:

Jeffrey Halford has been called "An Americana heavyweight" (MERCURY NEWS) for his heartfelt songs about the conditions of the everyday man and woman in America. Among his most memorable: "Cry of Hope," about Americans' need to keep faith in America; and "Louisiana Man," about the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster and our government's slow response to it. As validation of Halford's writing prowess, he won "2009 Songwriter of the Year" at the 5th Annual South Bay Music Awards. BROKEN CHORD went as high as #8 on the Americana radio charts.

Based in San Francisco over the last 15 years, Halford's original roots rock 'n roll songs etch a uniquely American, and specifically California, landscape. Look for a new Jeffrey Halford and the Healers album to be released late in 2011.

If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Bman's Exclusive Interview with Howard Bernstein - Album Cover and Poster Designer

Bman: How did you get hooked up with ESP Disk?

Howie: In 1966 I was living in a tenement building on Broome Street on the Lower East Side. Living in the apartment above me was Michael Solden, a friend of Jordan Matthews, who was the art director for ESP Disk. Jordan was looking for an artist to do the first album covers for ESP Disk. I worked at a drawing board in his apartment almost non-stop for two years. I had total freedom to create the artwork and was never given any input.

The poster shown here was designed by Bernstein and is available through Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham)

Bman: Looks like you did quite a few covers while you were there. How long was your affiliation with ESP Disk and who else were you working with?

Howie: Approximately three years. During that time I built a portfolio.

Bman: I have a number of the early ESP Disk covers that you designed available for viewing here. I understand that you actually did these by hand?

Howie: Yes, the first 200 album covers were hand silk screened by Jordan Matthews and me.



Bman: I understand that a few of these covers have other relevance other than just the art and the immediate music.

Howie: Yes, curiously enough. The Willow cover is Debbie Harry's first lp and Jean Erdman (who I did one of covers for) was married to Joseph Campbell.

Bman: Joseph Campbell.... That's wild!
I found quite a few of your early posters on the internet. I have a few compiled here:



Bman: I also saw a newspaper article about your meeting with Salvadore Dali. Tell us about that.

Howie: Dali was my art hero during my teenage years. While I was living in NYC, a friend of mine, Jacqueline Battle, telephoned Dali at the St. Regis Hotel, and using her command of French and Spanish, managed to arrange an audience for us to meet Dali in the hotel’s King Cole Bar. Before the meeting with him I bought the Dali book, which he signed for me. Dali was more interested in examining and discussing our sketchbooks rather than talking about himself.

Bman: I also read that you did some book covers. One that comes to mind is the outrageous cover for Roger Zelazny’s book “Lord of Light.” Were there others?

Howie: Yes. I did numerous book cover illustrations that were published by Random House, Doubleday, Alfred Knopf, Ballantine Books, Herald Tribune, Village Voice, Evergreen Review, Cashbox and Billboard, including full-page ads for The Who’s “Magic Bus,” and also designed album covers for MGM, Capitol Records, RCA, DECCA, and Verve Folkways.

Bman: Now this was all in NYC. Then you moved to San Francisco?

Howie : Yes. I left New York City in 1969 and headed for San Francisco, but moved to the Napa Valley where I did a series of ten posters for Sausalito-based Tho-Fra (Tom Burke). Went back to New York briefly, then headed north to Canada and traveled across the Trans-Canada Highway, stopping in numerous cites before crossing back into the U.S. in 1970. Moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and lived at the Stable Art Gallery owned by Avis Reed, a legendary art dealer.



Bman: I’ve also seen a bit of work that you have done with a sharpie pen. In fact, I saw Don Heffington on the Tonight Show with drum heads designed by you if I’m not mistaken.

Howie: Yeah, I drew on his drum heads using a big black marker.




Bman: Those are really wild. I came up with this cool photo of Elvis Costello with Hef's drums. I'm sure that they get attention wherever Don Plays!

What really gets me going is your line work. I just love your sketches. You have taken this to a new level. Tell us about “Werner Von Burner.”

Howie: The heart of the subject matter on the wood comes from the night sketchbook with a micro-ball pen. It just flows. I’m very grateful for that.

Bman: I know you have been working for years with the Boys & Girls Club and love the interaction with the kids and young adults. . . . . . . . I remember seeing one of Werner’s pieces called “The Palms” which relates directly to your work with the club. Can you tell us about this exceptional piece?


Howie: This was the only piece that was a direct response to a street “moment” in the hood. I was working at a B&G Club in South Phoenix and witnessed a drug bust at the Palms Motel, home to drug dealers and prostitutes.

Bman: This is a powerful piece. It has the same intensity of your earlier work but your style has matured and obviously you have really honed your skill with burning instruments.

Howie: I had a buddy in San Francisco, a guitar maker, who told me to check out the Leichtung torch. This precision tool shoots out a butane flame that can be adjusted to a fine point, which allows me to shade the work.

Bman: You seem to have gotten it down to a science... just like drawing with a pen! Is there anything else that you’d like to share with your fans?

Howie: At the age of five I was on the kitchen floor pushing my toy truck. Dad came home from his law office, sat down, called me over and pulled out his fountain pen and drew a profile of a man’s head on his yellow pad. I never again played with a truck and Mom kept me supplied with art materials.

Bman: I'm guessing that your mom and dad's support of your interest in the arts is now being given back 10 fold to the community through your involvement with the young people. Thanks a lot for your time Howie.

Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! - Here

Bman's Exclusive Interview with Howard Bernstein - Artist - Album Cover and Poster Designer

Bman: How did you get hooked up with ESP Disk?

Howie: In 1966 I was living in a tenement building on Broome Street on the Lower East Side. Living in the apartment above me was Michael Solden, a friend of Jordan Matthews, who was the art director for ESP Disk. Jordan was looking for an artist to do the first album covers for ESP Disk. I worked at a drawing board in his apartment almost non-stop for two years. I had total freedom to create the artwork and was never given any input.

The poster shown here was designed by Bernstein and is available through Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham)

Bman: Looks like you did quite a few covers while you were there. How long was your affiliation with ESP Disk and who else were you working with?

Howie: Approximately three years. During that time I built a portfolio.

Bman: I have a number of the early ESP Disk covers that you designed available for viewing here. I understand that you actually did these by hand?

Howie: Yes, the first 200 album covers were hand silk screened by Jordan Matthews and me.



Bman: I understand that a few of these covers have other relevance other than just the art and the immediate music.

Howie: Yes, curiously enough. The Willow cover is Debbie Harry's first lp and Jean Erdman (who I did one of covers for) was married to Joseph Campbell.

Bman: Joseph Campbell.... That's wild!
I found quite a few of your early posters on the internet. I have a few compiled here:



Bman: I also saw a newspaper article about your meeting with Salvadore Dali. Tell us about that.

Howie: Dali was my art hero during my teenage years. While I was living in NYC, a friend of mine, Jacqueline Battle, telephoned Dali at the St. Regis Hotel, and using her command of French and Spanish, managed to arrange an audience for us to meet Dali in the hotel’s King Cole Bar. Before the meeting with him I bought the Dali book, which he signed for me. Dali was more interested in examining and discussing our sketchbooks rather than talking about himself.

Bman: I also read that you did some book covers. One that comes to mind is the outrageous cover for Roger Zelazny’s book “Lord of Light.” Were there others?

Howie: Yes. I did numerous book cover illustrations that were published by Random House, Doubleday, Alfred Knopf, Ballantine Books, Herald Tribune, Village Voice, Evergreen Review, Cashbox and Billboard, including full-page ads for The Who’s “Magic Bus,” and also designed album covers for MGM, Capitol Records, RCA, DECCA, and Verve Folkways.

Bman: Now this was all in NYC. Then you moved to San Francisco?

Howie : Yes. I left New York City in 1969 and headed for San Francisco, but moved to the Napa Valley where I did a series of ten posters for Sausalito-based Tho-Fra (Tom Burke). Went back to New York briefly, then headed north to Canada and traveled across the Trans-Canada Highway, stopping in numerous cites before crossing back into the U.S. in 1970. Moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and lived at the Stable Art Gallery owned by Avis Reed, a legendary art dealer.



Bman: I’ve also seen a bit of work that you have done with a sharpie pen. In fact, I saw Don Heffington on the Tonight Show with drum heads designed by you if I’m not mistaken.

Howie: Yeah, I drew on his drum heads using a big black marker.




Bman: Those are really wild. I came up with this cool photo of Elvis Costello with Hef's drums. I'm sure that they get attention wherever Don Plays!

What really gets me going is your line work. I just love your sketches. You have taken this to a new level. Tell us about “Werner Von Burner.”

Howie: The heart of the subject matter on the wood comes from the night sketchbook with a micro-ball pen. It just flows. I’m very grateful for that.

Bman: I know you have been working for years with the Boys & Girls Club and love the interaction with the kids and young adults. . . . . . . . I remember seeing one of Werner’s pieces called “The Palms” which relates directly to your work with the club. Can you tell us about this exceptional piece?


Howie: This was the only piece that was a direct response to a street “moment” in the hood. I was working at a B&G Club in South Phoenix and witnessed a drug bust at the Palms Motel, home to drug dealers and prostitutes.

Bman: This is a powerful piece. It has the same intensity of your earlier work but your style has matured and obviously you have really honed your skill with burning instruments.

Howie: I had a buddy in San Francisco, a guitar maker, who told me to check out the Leichtung torch. This precision tool shoots out a butane flame that can be adjusted to a fine point, which allows me to shade the work.

Bman: You seem to have gotten it down to a science... just like drawing with a pen! Is there anything else that you’d like to share with your fans?

Howie: At the age of five I was on the kitchen floor pushing my toy truck. Dad came home from his law office, sat down, called me over and pulled out his fountain pen and drew a profile of a man’s head on his yellow pad. I never again played with a truck and Mom kept me supplied with art materials.

Bman: I'm guessing that your mom and dad's support of your interest in the arts is now being given back 10 fold to the community through your involvement with the young people. Thanks a lot for your time Howie.

Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! - Here