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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


Please email me at Info@Bmansbluesreport.com
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts

Monday, January 21, 2013

Pinoy Blues Jam - New Release Review

I just received a copy of Pinoy Blues Jam,  a recording made at Roadhouse Manila Bay featuring various regional blues bands. First up is Dr. Crowley, a blues rock band on the province of Cavite. Opening with rock n roll classic New Orleans DC brings it with full horn section getting the audience hot and ready. Ngiti has a more tropical feel but retaining a blues feel. Next up is Bleu Rascals featuring Paul Marmey Leobrera on lead guitar and vocal, Spencer Rymonte on bass and vocals and John Jason Garcia on drums and vocals. Opening with A Better Man, BR demonstrate their study of the blues with traditional blues riffs and phrasing. On a ripping version of Couldn't Stand The Weather they further demonstrate the power that they have harnessed. 69 Proof featuring Butch Montejo (lead vocal), Arwin Querubin (bass and vocals), Aldos "Bishop" Ramento (percussion and vocal), Stephen "The Ambassador" Lazam (lead guitar and vocal)and Carlo "Cigar" Manalo (drums). Playing three tracks, Evil Eyes, Killing Time and Till The Night Is Over, 69P demonstrates their ability to innovate the blues putting on quite an interesting set. I particularly enjoy the guitar work and performance on these tracks. Ian Lofamia Band featuring Ian Lofamia (harp and vocals), Arvin Austria (guitar), Ejae Mercado on drums and Oliver Salaysay on bass. A three track set: Play The Blues, Kaibigan and That's What Makes Me A Man shows that ILB has captured the spirit of the blues with slick harp riffs, cool vocals and hot guitar riffs. Sangre Blues Revival features Alcoholex Quebral (lead vocal and harp), Johnblues De Zuniga (lead and rhythm guitars), Burnblebyl Cuenca (bass and backing vocal)and Rexwoodstock Vargas (drums) playing ripping versions of Boom Boom, Got My Mojo Working and Roadhouse Rock. Outstanding harp, guitar and vocal supported by a tight band. Next up Tarantulas features Joonie Centeno (vocal and harp), Popoy Uy (lead and rhythm guitar), King Baldoz (bass) and Japs Reyes on drums. Playing U Turn, Dahan Dahan and Didi shows funk, pop and blues. This band has got to be a lot of fun in concert. The last band is Plug featuring Emy Rodil (vocal), Chester Manalang (guitar), Rusty Magcalas (drums)and John Marin Flores (Bass). Playing Blues Be With You and Slow Burn, Plug closes the set nicely with power style blues rock in the manner of Mountain. This is a real cool set of bands and I hope that we hear more from them.

  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”
 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Hesistation Blues - Jook Jam


Jook Jam was founded by its leader Joric “Delta Slim” Maglanque as a showcase of acoustic blues and roots music that he and like-minded musician-friends love performing. Delta Slim has been playing blues since the early 1990s, either solo, in duets, or with a full band. Delta Slim and Jook Jam's strength is the traditional, classic country blues from the Delta, Jackson, Bentonia, and other regions of Mississippi, Texas, Piedmont, and Eastern seaboard ragtime. These include material from Charley Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, Fred McDowell, Rev. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightnin Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Henry Thomas, Tampa Red, Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Mississippi Sheiks, Memphis Jug Band, Bessie Smith, etc. Delta Slim/Jook Jam also performs traditional black spirituals, gospel, and old-timey/early bluegrass songs from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mae Smith, Brother Joe May, Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe.

Delta Slim and/or Jook Jam has played in many major blues festivals, including the 1st Crossroads Blues Festival in Music Museum (mid 90s), Kidd Creole Mardi Gras-Blues Festival (late 90s), and Fete de la Musique 2006. Past small bar/cafe gigs include Backdoor Blues Cafe, Conspiracy Cafe, and Magnet Cafe in QC, Penguin Cafe in Malate, and The German Club in Makati. They have also guested in Howlin Dave's blues/classic rock radio show at RJUnderground. As a solo performer, Delta Slim has also performed (or busked!) in small pubs, barbershops, and other places in Alexandria, Virginia and Washington DC.

With him at the core, Jook Jam is in fact a very flexible group, with guest musicians regularly being invited to jam and preform (hence the name, “Jook Jam”). This and it's improvisational (ergo, “Jam”) approach in terms of instrumentation, interpretation, and even song selection lends excitement to the group's performances. Delta Slim plays regular and 12-string guitars in finger or flat-pick style, bottleneck/slide on metal-bodied resonators, and a guitjo (6-string banjo). In Jook Jam, he is with Ruben Flores on lap-steel guitar, Chester Manalang rhythm/lead guitar, Kakoy Legaspi on guitar/dobro/mandolin/harp, and Ronnie Badilla on harp and kazoo.
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Friday, February 24, 2012

Too Much Alcohol - Friends of Adam


FRIENDS OF ADAM IS
Clayton Campania (guitar/vocals)
Ernie Ecreala (bass)
Justin Inocelda (drums)

"My dad told me, 'Nobody wants to hear that music here,'" says Campania. "But I'm going to play what touches me."

Play they do. From "Crossroads" and "Little Wing," the soul of Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, to a blistering rearrangement of Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil," and their own originals, Friends of Adam speaks to a genre where Guitar Player is a musician and not a computer game

Can three, young Filipino men play the blues? John Heckathorn, editor of "Honolulu Magazine" wrote: "When Campania picks up his guitar, he channels Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan."

John Hart, confidant of the late guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan exclaimed "they are as for real as anything you will see on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas.

The band has recently opened for Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer, AEROSMITH, at The Blaisdell Arena, multi-Grammy-Award winner, Sheryl Crow, at the Waikiki Shell, and 70s pop sensation, Pablo Cruise at the Aloha Tower Waterfront. They also have recently played a show at the world famous Pipeline Cafe with Darby Slick, of Great Society fame, writer of Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane.

The "Honolulu Star Bulletin" stated: "If you like your blues hard and electric, you might look for these guys."
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tell Mama - The Blue Rats


The Blue Rats are a Manila-based blues band that serves up a menu of straight-up electric blues, old-time R&B and blues-based music. Founded on the tradition of blues improvisation, the Rats mix up their sets, try not to play a song the same way twice and churn out unique versions of the songs they cover. The fact that some of the band's members rotate on any given night assures a fresh sound, provides a hint of danger and moves the musical goalposts up and down the field from one performance to another.

The Rats were founded by in mid-1995 by three friends -- Butch Roxas, a classical guitar professor at the UST Conservatory of Music, Apa Ongpin, a business executive, and Andy Locsin, an architectural design consultant. The current core lineup in rotation consists of Melinda Torre (also of Baihana, vocals), Joey Puyat (Mother Earth and Kiss the Bride, guitar), Kedy Sanchez (Working Stiffs, vocals and guitar), Johnny Besa (The Breed, bass guitar) Vic Borgaily (KO Jones, drums), Bennii Obana (Overdrive and Tempestuous Jones, drums), Roxy Modesto (Radioactive Sago Project, saxophone), Tom Epperson (harmonica) and Andy Locsin (guitar).

Over the years, many talented musicians have been regular members of the band -- something made possible because of the improvisational nature of the music. Even more remarkable is is the range of musicians that have jammed, performed onstage, or done time in the studio with the band -- a virtual who's who of Pinoy blues, rock and jazz: Mike Hanopol and Joey 'Pepe' Smith (Juan de la Cruz), Sampaguita, Jun Lopito (Cociojam, Bodhisattvas), Chikoy Pura and Nitoy Adriano (the Jerks), Dondi Ledesma (Wally Gonzales band), Miyakee de Castro (Sampaguita), Binky Lampano, Edwin Vergara, Tom Colvin, Edmund 'Bosyo' Fortuno, Norman Belardo (Advent Call) and many more.

Sixteen years later, an all time 170 song menu, and ever-evolving roster and an unwavering committment to fly the blues flag, the Rats continue to plug in at venues in and around Manila.
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Hooker - Snakecharmer


Filipino blues band Snakecharmer playing the first Blues festival at the Hobbit House in Manila. Sorry. Thats all I have for now!
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tin Pan Alley - Bleu Rascals with Michael Bourne


Out of nowhere emerged Paul Marney Leobrera, at age 16 stepping onstage in early September 2010 for a single-song courtesy jam at Skarlet’s Jazz Kitchen, home base for Manila’s pre-eminent jazz sessionists. Jaws dropped over his musical maturity as a blues musician, and he was immediately asked to stay onstage for the rest of the night. And suddenly he began receiving invitations to “sit in” all over town.
Within months, Paul put together his own band, the Bleu Rascals, with friends Spencer Rymonte on bass and Darwin Quinto on drums, both 18. All three are intensely devoted to the blues, ranging from the traditional Chicago style and on to Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Mayer. They quickly established themselves as the tightest and most convincing blues band in Manila, even at their young age.
The band now is the busiest blues band in the Philippines, performing as many as four gigs in a single week. In early June 2011, they were selected as backup band for visiting American blues professional Michael Bourne. In four gigs over three days, including an online radio-TV broadcast, Michael and the Bleu Rascals gave some of the strongest blues performances seen in Manila night spots over the past 25 years.
The band is now receiving invitations to perform at major music festivals in Manila, and it has even been approached about performances outside of the country.
Yes, the future of the blues in the Philippines is indeed in good hands. And, with luck and lots of work, perhaps they will bring along with them a new generation of blues fans throughout the country.

Live Jam - Brendan Power with Bleu Rascals


Brendan Power is a New Zealander who has developed a considerable reputation for his concert and recording work featuring the harmonica. Equally at ease on both the earthy Blues Harp as well as the sophisticated Chromatic Harmonica, he employs his own custom tunings to breathe fresh life into an often typecast instrument - especially in his original compositions, which feature on several of the instrumental CDs he has released to date.

Since arriving to live in London in 1992, Brendan's innovative approach has earned him some notable achievements in a variety of musical fields. He has recorded with classical guitarist John Williams and flautist James Galway, and in the popular music world has played on tracks by Paul Young, Shirley Bassey, Mary Black, the French orchestral composer Paul Mauriat, Van Morrison, and Sting; he has also guested with Sting's band in several TV appearances. However, it is in the Irish/Celtic music scene that Brendan has become best known; he is of Irish extraction, and playing traditional music on the harmonica is one of his passions. He won the 1993 All Ireland Title in the 'Miscellaneous Instruments' category, and subsequently recorded a CD entitled New Irish Harmonica. Its fresh approach virtually redefined the role of the harmonica in traditional Irish music, and the album won considerable critical praise: Folk Roots magazine picked it as one of their top albums of 1994, Rock n' Reel called it "...simply superb...probably the best instrumental album this year", while the Irish Times described Power as a "master player" and the album as "electrifying". New Irish Harmonica is licensed worldwide by the American label Green Linnet.

Its success has led to some prestigious recording and performing work with top Irish musicians, including extensive guest appearances on albums by Altan, Arty McGlynn & Nollaig Casey, Arcadie, and a track by Paul Brady on a recent crossover compilation album entitled Common Ground featuring major Irish artists, produced by Donal Lunny and released by EMI. Brendan composed the soundtrack for the acclaimed Irish feature film Guiltrip (his album Blow In contains music from the movie). He’s also composed music for several radio plays in Ireland and NZ.

His playing was featured in a BBC/RTE television series on the future of Irish music called A River of Sound, and the Celtic music programs SULT (Irish) and TAKSI (Scottish). From 1996-99 Brendan toured Europe, Australia and New Zealand as a member and featured soloist of the orchestra for the hit Irish dance show Riverdance. He is now a free agent again, and has been busy completing an album of original tunes, a blues duo album with Dave Peabody, a collaboration album in Bulgaria with Georgi Petrov and local folk musicians, the debut album of the innovative harmonica group Iron Lung, and Live In Ireland, recorded on tour in Feb 2000 with guitarist Andrew White.

Along with playing and recording, Brendan is particularly interested in harmonica tuning and construction, and has developed a number of innovations in these areas. One of his ideas (the Power Reed Valve System), was adopted by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Co. of Japan, who incorporated it in their top-of-the-line ProMaster harmonica
Out of nowhere emerged Paul Marney Leobrera, at age 16 stepping onstage in early September 2010 for a single-song courtesy jam at Skarlet’s Jazz Kitchen, home base for Manila’s pre-eminent jazz sessionists. Jaws dropped over his musical maturity as a blues musician, and he was immediately asked to stay onstage for the rest of the night. And suddenly he began receiving invitations to “sit in” all over town.
Within months, Paul put together his own band, the Bleu Rascals, with friends Spencer Rymonte on bass and Darwin Quinto on drums, both 18. All three are intensely devoted to the blues, ranging from the traditional Chicago style and on to Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Mayer. They quickly established themselves as the tightest and most convincing blues band in Manila, even at their young age.
The band now is the busiest blues band in the Philippines, performing as many as four gigs in a single week. In early June 2011, they were selected as backup band for visiting American blues professional Michael Bourne. In four gigs over three days, including an online radio-TV broadcast, Michael and the Bleu Rascals gave some of the strongest blues performances seen in Manila night spots over the past 25 years.
The band is now receiving invitations to perform at major music festivals in Manila, and it has even been approached about performances outside of the country.
Yes, the future of the blues in the Philippines is indeed in good hands. And, with luck and lots of work, perhaps they will bring along with them a new generation of blues fans throughout the country.
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