Introducing Band From The Boardroom; at Arcadia Blues Club

Band From the Boardroom is a group of musicians that wear suits during the week at the businesses they run and on the weekend, they rock out! They're in concert at Arcadia Blues Club in Arcadia on Saturday, March 14. More at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/BAND-from-the-Boardroom/

INTRODUCING BAND FROM THE BOARDROOM, MUSICIANS WHO WEAR SUITS DURING THE WEEK & THEN ROCK THE BLUES ON THE WEEKEND      Performing Locally: ARCADIA BLUES CLUB - Saturday, March 14                                        (ARCADIA, CA)  - Band From The Boardroom perform locally at the Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, Friday, March 14. Tickets $5 in advance, $10. at the door. All ages. Tickets/info: http://arcadiabluesclub.ticketleap.com/cold-blue-water-band-from-the-boardroom-3-14-2014-abc/. Also appearing: Cold Blue Water.       Band From The Boardroom (BFTB for short) is a group of musicians that wear suits during the week at the businesses they run (most of whom work at Swann Communications in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.), and on the weekend, they rock the blues!  Fronted by Keith Oldridge on drums, other Swann company mates include Sandy Scott on vocals, Eli Martinez on keys, plus Jenni Oldridge and Geoff Schorz on percussion.  Also in BFTB: guitarist Richard Fortune, bassist David DeLeon, and keyboardist, Mike Licari.    BFTB has performed at the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) Kickoff Party for the past three years in Las Vegas, and have been invited back to play there again next January.  At this year's aforementioned CES BFTB added some well-known musicians from around the world for the famous late-night CES Jam.    Band From The Boardroom also perform at a very special event being sponsored by the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, "The Playoff," a competition seeking to find the "Best Corporate Band in America. The event happens Saturday, March 28, 12 Noon at the world-famous Whiskey A Go-Go in West Hollywood. Winner gets to compete at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this September. More at https://rockhall.com/events/the-playoff/.                                                               https://www.facebook.com/pages/BAND-from-the-Boardroom

"Fat Man's Shine Parlor" #1 at radio!

"FAT MAN'S SHINE PARLOR" #1! Latest Kubek & King Release From Blind Pig Tops Living Blues Radio Chart Fat Man's Shine Parlor, the latest release from Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, jumped to the top of the Living Blues Radio chart for the month of February.  The album is also #2 on the Contemporary Blues radio chart from Roots Music Report. Joe and Bnois are one of the most talented guitar tandems in any genre, known for their red-hot Texas rockin' blues.  The dynamic musical tour de force features Joe's flame-throwing guitar work complemented by Bnois' cool, jazz-inflected playing and soulful vocals.  Their incendiary live shows feature two top flight guitarists intuitively locked in with each other and backed by a firepower rhythm section, making for a powerful and irresistible combination. Here's a list of their upcoming shows in support of the album: March 6 Phoenix, AZ The Rhythm Room March 7 Tucson, AZ Boondocks Lounge March 8 Long Beach, CA Malarkey's Grill March 9 Tarzana, CA Maui Sugar Mill Saloon March 11 San Francisco, CA Biscuits & Blues March 13 Birkenfeld, OR The Birk March 14 Milwaukie, OR Winter Blues Festival March 15 Seattle, WA Highway 99 Blues Club April 1 Kansas City, MO BB's Lawnside BBQ April 2 Sioux City, IA Hard Rock Hotel & Casino April 4 Omaha, NE 21st Saloon April 8 Memphis, TN Lafayette's Music Room April 9 Monroe, LA Bleu Bayou Harley Davidson Rally April 18 Erie, PA Get The Winter Blues Out 2015 April 19 Auburn Hills, MI Callahan's Music Hall April 21 Del Ray Beach, FL Bostons On The Beach April 24 Goodland, FL Little Bar Restaurant April 25 Sarasota, FL Sun Coast Blues Festival April 26 Sebastian, FL Earl's Hideaway April 27 Pensacola, FL Seville Quarter May 16 El Paso, TX El Paso Blues & Jazz Festival May 30 Mobile, AL Blues Tavern May 31 Montgomery, AL Capitol Oyster Bar

Corinne West Travels the "Starlight Highway" on New CD, Coming May 19 from Make Records

Corinne West Travels the Starlight Highway on New CD, Coming May 19 from Make Records

Special CD Pre-Release Show for Her Full Band Set at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, on April 4

LARKSPUR, CA – Corinne West announces a May 19 release date for Starlight Highway, the new album from the Californian artist issued on her own Make Records imprint, distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. West will offer local San Francisco Bay Area fans a special advance musical treat in the form of a pre-release show with her full band on Saturday, April 4, at Berkeley’s famed Freight & Salvage venue (http://www.thefreight.org/) starting at 8:00 PM.

Corinne West, who recently returned from an official showcase and additional performances at the International Folk Alliance music conference in Kansas City, will perform a number of songs off the new CD at the Freight & Salvage show, backed by her group The Bandits, which includes several of the musicians who perform with her on Starlight Highway. Additionally, Corinne West and The Bandits will also perform another pre-release show as part of the “Lighted Window Concerts” series at the Unitarian Church in Campbell, California, near San Jose on April 18, at 7:30 PM. Announcements of additional US shows are forthcoming, as is an extensive European tour coming later this year.

A fourth generation Californian, Corinne West, who now resides in the mighty redwood forests of the state’s coast north of San Francisco, has been described as “the Siren of the Sierras” by the SF Bay Area’s Times Herald. Another reviewer from the North Coast Journal in Arcata, California, declared,” “West’s voice invokes angels, if angels had a dangerous side.” Corinne’s powerful and eloquent voice, coupled with the way she forges a song, has earned her a unique identity within the global acoustic roots scene. Relix noted her “voice of gold,” coming at you with honey, velvet-dusk wine and distant sage. Legendary BBC radio DJ Bob Harris proclaimed, “I love Corinne’s music and truly believe in her as an artist. She has spirit, integrity and talent. I am a massive fan.” 

The songs on West’s latest recording came about after a year-long sabbatical in Austria, which culminated in the new disc. “Starlight is my first completely self-produced record,” West says about the sessions. “I wanted to create a body of songs that moved my music forward in new directions, while paying tribute to the music I have done in the past. This influenced my decisions regarding the instrumentation; piano, organ, acoustic rock angles, heavy harmonies, the deep-drive of drums, the laid back floating ballads… I wanted to play with many flavors, and I didn’t hold back on using any spices while in the sonic kitchen.”

Joining her in creating these musical recipes are such celebrated players as Ricky Fataar – drums; Edo Castro - 7 string fretless bass; Kelly Joe Phelps - guitar, vocals; John R. Burr - Hammond organ, Wurlitzer; Karl Sevareid - electric bass; Mike Marshall - mandolin, octave mandolin; Henry Salvia - Hammond organ, piano, Wurlitzer, accordion; and Joe Kyle Jr. – acoustic bass, electric bass. Starlight Highway was recorded at Opus Studios in Berkeley, California; and the Skywalker Ranch in Novato, California.

“I am fortunate to be able to surround myself with extremely talented musicians,” offers West. “Kelly Joe Phelps and I recorded and toured as a duo for two years, and he is highly featured both vocally and on guitar. Mike Marshall produced my 2007 release, Second Sight, and it was pure fire and pearls to have him embellish a few of the slower songs and lend some serious steam to the title track. Ricky Fataar (Bonnie Raitt, Beach Boys) was recommended by my rock-solid engineer, David Luke. We connected right off the bat, and he brought in so much groove and such a bed to lean into. It's amazing how when music is tight... it all becomes beautifully loose. 

Everyone on the record was a gem to work with, and it was a high adventure for me to both steer and gently hit cruise-control at times to get just the right synergy, tones and movement the songs were reaching for. 

“The songs for Starlight Highway have taken quite a journey. Many of them were written in 2011, on the heels of my last release, and have been waiting - wherever it is that songs do wait - for a place to land and sing themselves. The songs are decidedly more revealing than others I have released; less dripping in metaphor, more direct and perhaps stark.”

“This is an intimate record, and covers a lot of territory,” adds West, summing up the new album. “I marvel at how deeply personal experiences so often translate into universal and mythic principals. It’s as though there is an invisible blueprint somewhere, continuously showing up in stories and art. My aim with this recording is to communicate a personal emotive glimpse of what we all experience in our own way, on our own roads, as we climb, fly, fall, isolate, believe, reinvent, connect, dream... Though seemingly different, we are all somehow cut from the same cloth.”

Click here to watch the fundraiser video on the making of Starlight Highway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2S2eV0GLP0

To hear song samples of some of the tracks of her upcoming CD, click on this link: http://www.corinnewest.com/starlight-highway-samples.php

For more information, visit her new website coming soon at www.corinnewest.com

HAMILTON LOOMIS -- March 2015 Schedule

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Here's the March 2015 schedule -- West Coast, here we come! DISCOUNT TICKETS are available for some shows listed below, so click "TICKETS" in the listings below to get yours. The full schedule is at www.hamiltonloomis.com/schedule.html ! 3/6/15 Mandeville, LA Ruby's Roadhouse 9:30pm 3/7/15 Beaumont, TX Madison's 9:30pm 3/13/15 Littleton, CO Englewood Correctional Facility 1pm (closed to public) 3/13/15 Littleton, CO Toad Tavern 9pm TICKETS 3/14/15 Rock Springs, WY Johnny Mac's 8pm 3/15/15 Salt Lake City, UT Bleu Bistro 6pm to 9pm 3/17/15 Loomis, CA Country Club Saloon 6:30 to 9:30pm 3/18/15 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley 7:30pm TICKETS 3/20/15 Sacramento, CA Torch Club 9pm 3/21/15 Fresno, CA Club Habanos 7pm TICKETS 3/22/15 San Francisco, CA Biscuits & Blues 7pm 3/27/15 Galveston, TX Crow's Cantina 9pm 3/28/15 Austin, TX One 2 One 8pm to 9:30pm TICKETS Please forward this email to any of your friends/family in these cities!!

www.hamiltonloomis.com

RJ Ray Entertainment, Inc., artist: Ray Goren - Save My Soul - New release Review

I just received the newest release, Save My Soul, from Ray Goren and it's quite good. Opening with Stop, Goren on lead vocal and guitar steps up with a poppy blues rocker and a really soulful voice. I need to compare his vocals to someone? OK...Stevie Wonder. Yeah, the kid can sing and has nice phrasing. Matching his solid vocals with a mean streak on the guitar gives Goran the double whammy, swacking this track right at the radio hard! Save My Soul is a bit rockier with solid drum works from Rob Humphreys and an explosive guitar solo by Goren showing his chops. On ballad, Can't Live Like This, Goren stretches out vocally, showing his soul roots. Real nice radio track. I Need You Here To Stay is my favorite track on the release with a modern R&B feel and traces of D'Angelo syncopation in vocal delivery. Masterful guitar riffs flow giving weight to the instrumentation. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Rise Together actually has the feel of an earlier era of Wonder and his pop/soul mastery with a modern polish. Can't argue with success. This release has a lot of strengths and not many weaknesses. Goren is proving to be a tasteful guitarist with good song writing capabilities and a strong voice. Nice job!

  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! -  ”LIKE”

 

Black Hen Music artist: Big Dave McLean - Faded but Not Gone - New release review

I just received the newest release (March 3, 2015), Faded but Not Gone, by Big Dave McLean and it's gritty and solid. Opening with Tough Times, a 12 bar Chicago style blues track with Steve Dawson on National Steel guitar and Kevin McKendree on organ. On I Best Choose To Pick The Blues, McLean picks up the pace and Colin Linden contributes the smooth slide guitar. On Dead Cat On The Line with a bit of bluegrass influence and Piedmont style, McLean is joined on vocal by Dawson who also plays banjo. John Dymond adds bass, Gary Craig drums and Colin James some really tight mandolin work. On western style ballad, The Fallen, McClean takes the spotlight vocally backed by sweet electric and steel guitar work by Dawson. Very cool! Sittin' On A Fence has a light country 2 step feel. Double stop guitar riffs by Dawson are a really nice touch on this track. Don't Get Mad, Get Even is built over a 12 bar structure but has a much more contemporary feel and a catchy melody. The lyrics are certain to attract the crowds attention and McKendree rolls a nice piano solo to top things off. Devil's In The Jukebox has an easy country rock pace with slicing slide work from Dawson. McKendree never disappoints with his nimble organ solos rounding out this track. A Latin rhythm from Craig and hot slide work from Dawson, complimented by McKendree's tight piano work lead this track up to the bridge where McLean takes it to swing time and back. Tom Waits' Mr Siegal has a New Orleans blues feel with particularly effective drum work from Craig. The grittiness of McLeans vocals contrasted against Dawson on banjo and McKendree on organ make this one of my favorites on the release. Shades Of Grace is an easy country style folk tune with a nod to Amazing Grace. The McCrary sisters add some supple backing vocals on this track giving it extra warmth. Oh- Mr. Charlie - Oh has a number of the characteristics of an old gospel or slave song giving it an immediate bump up. I like this track a lot with it's rudimentary style, guitar work from Dawson and backing vocals from the McCrary sisters. McLean accompanies himself effectively on harp on this track as well. Wrapping the release is Skip James' Devil Got My Woman. Stripped down to only McLean on vocal and National steel guitar, this track maintains the feeling of the delta and a fitting conclusion to an adventurous release.

  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! -  ”LIKE”