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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

Monday, August 22, 2016

Bluzpik Media Group artist: Kat Riggins - Blues Revival - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Blues Revival, from Kat Riggins and she has pure soul. Opening with Now I See (Ooh Wee), a R&B number with a bit of a James Brown feel, Riggins balances nicely on vocals with Darrell Raines on keys and guitar, some really sweet bass lines from George Caldwell and Doc Allison on drums. Soulful, Good Girl Blues, has a swampy, lumbering feel with a sensitive bass line and expressive guitar riffs. Riggins' vocal pharsing is smooth and rich. Slow blues number, Wail Away, opens with a nice guitar intro by Raines and Riggins really opens up vocally encouraging Raines to lay it out. Very nice. Shuffle track, Queen Bee, is a solid blues with a cool, low key solo by Raines on guitar. R&B track, Murphy's Law has the hook and melody to be a pop or blues radio track. With it's walking bass line, Music Fiend, has a real nice pace. With just a touch of jazz, this track kicks a groove. After the traditional Let It Shine in simple verse, Riggins turns up the heat on Sam Cooke's classic Change Is Gonna Come. Riggins really digs in deep on this one and she hits it square. Raines chords on guitar are warm and Caldwell's bass work is really nice. With a casual melodic solo by Raines on guitar, this track is super. Funky blues number, Blues Is My Business, sets the floor on fire and Riggins keeps showing her versatility. With Santana like riffs, Raines scorches it. My favorite track on the release, The Devil Is A Liar, has a swampy feel with terrific vocals and floating guitar sounds over a solid bottom. Exceptional. Wrapping the release is a gospel style track, Blues Is the New Black, with a lot of spring and soul. A real uplifting closer for a solid new release.

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Severn Records Sets October 7 Release Date for "Seeing Is Believing," New CD from Acclaimed Sugar Ray & the Bluetones




Severn Records Sets October 7 Release Date for Seeing Is Believing, New CD from Acclaimed Sugar Ray & the Bluetones

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Severn Records announces an October 7 release date for Seeing Is Believing, the new CD from the acclaimed Sugar Ray & the Bluetones. Seeing Is Believing is the band’s seventh album for Severn Records and follows their highly-successful 2014 CD, Living Tear to Tear, which garnered them seven Blues Music Award nominations, including “Best Band,” plus individual nominations for Sugar Ray as “Traditional Male Blues Artist” and “Instrumentalist – Harmonica,” and a song nomination for “Things Could Be Worse.” At the most-recent Blues Music Awards in May, the group was again nominated for “Band of the Year,” as well as individual nominations for keyboardist Anthony Geraci, guitarist Monster Mike Welch and bassist Michael Mudcat Ward. Anthony Geraci’s album with The Boston Blues-All-Stars, Fifty Shades of Blue, received three additional nominations.

Produced by the band, the dozen tracks on Seeing Is Believing – 11 originals and a scintillating instrumental cover of B.B. King’s “You Know I Love You” – sweep out of the speakers with the power of a gale force wind, blowing with a transcendent groove. The band: Sugar Ray Norcia on lead vocals and harmonica, Monster Mike Welch on guitars, Anthony Geraci on pianos and Hammond organ, Michael Mudcat Ward on bass and Neil Gouvin on drums, never wastes any notes. From the opening Mississippi blues of “Sweet Baby,” that features Norcia's down-and-dirty harmonica and his signature blues growl, and the wink-and-a-nod jazz blues of “Misses Blues,” to the smoky lounge tune, “Not Me,”  Sugar Ray and the Bluetones wring out every emotion, demonstrating  just how blues ought to be played.

“We do this to have fun,” laughs Sugar Ray. “Every time we go into the studio or out on a road trip or onstage, we always say ‘let’s have some fun’.” It’s that spirit of keeping it loose and playing for the fun of it and simply letting the music carry them wherever it will that keeps Sugar Ray & the Bluetones burning up the musical landscape. As the band sings on the song, “Blind Date,” written by Norcia, “if you ain't having fun/you're doing something wrong.” Each player’s ability to step right up and plug right into the groove with his own musical vision for the song creates the overarching unity of the band’s music.

“We’re almost telepathic in the way we work together,” says Sugar Ray about the band’s communication, creating a unity that results in the band’s tightness. No notes ever get left on the floor, and Welch, Ward, Geraci, and Gouvin seem to know just when to come in with a riff or a beat and when not to. Monster Mike “understands me very well musically,” observes Sugar Ray; “so if I want to play a low-down blues, he has the part down and comes right in.” Mudcat knows the right things to do and the right things not to do, “and that last part might be even more important,” chuckles Norcia. It’s so refreshing to work with Anthony and Neil, too, Norcia says, because “they, like all of us, want to play this music right to pay homage to it.” This unity of musical vision and ability, says Norcia, is what “sets us apart.”

That musical oneness also grows out of the Bluetones’ time together. They just celebrated 35 years as a band. Monster Mike Welch is the “youngster” of the band, since he’s only been with the Bluetones for 16 years. Over those years, the band has put out many critically-acclaimed albums and garnered high honors; this past April, Sugar Ray & the Bluetones were inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2014, Sugar Ray received his third Grammy nomination (“Best Blues Album”) for his playing on Remembering Little Walter.

On Seeing is Believing, as on all their albums and at their shows, Sugar Ray & the Bluetones are having fun—and so will anyone who listens to any song on this new album—but they’re also paying homage to this “beautiful, wonderful genre of music.” This new album itself is a work of beauty and wonder, indeed, both paying tribute to the music of everyone from Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Little Walter to Louis Jourdan and Louis Armstrong. The sound is that big and that tight.

Websites: www.sugarrayandthebluetones.com                www.severnrecords.com


Itinerary
Aug 26 - Blues & BBQ Event, Webster, NY
Sept 2 - Blues In Hell Festival, Hell, Norway
Sept 4 - Harvest Time Blues Festival , Monaghan, Ireland
Sept 9 - Thunder Road, Somerville, MA
Sept 10 - The Knickerbocker Cafe, Westerly, RI
Sept 17 - Pennsylvania Blues Festival (Boston Blues All-Stars) Lake Harmony, PA
Sept 24 - Pitman’s Freight Room, Laconia, NH
Oct 1 - Crossroads Music Series, North Andover, MA
Nov 19 - Blackstone River Theater, Cumberland, RI
Nov 25 - Poland (Sugar Ray and the Bluetones with The Boston Blues All-Stars Featuring Anthony Geraci, Darrell Nulisch and Michelle Willson)
Nov 26 – Holland
Dec 2 - Blue Rooster, Sarasota, FL
Dec 3 - Bradenton Blues Festival, Bradenton, FL
Dec 7 – Englewood’s On Dearborn, Englewood, FL
Dec 8 - Wireless Blues Society Christmas Party, Dothan, AL
Dec 9 - Aces, Suncoast Blues Society Christmas Party, Bradenton, FL
Dec 10 - Eats and Beats, Parkland Amphitheater, Parkland, FL
Dec 16- Chans, Woonsocket, RI

4th Annual Woodystock Blues/Rock Festival Returns to High Desert












4TH ANNUAL WOODYSTOCK FESTIVAL RETURNS TO HIGH DESERT,
FEATURING 2 BIG DAYS OF TOP-NOTCH BLUES AND ROCK BANDS;
WITH OVERNIGHT CAMPING ON 10-ACRE WOODARDVILLE RANCH


Saturday, October 1 & Sunday, October 2 /Music Starts 11AM  Daily


                                 



Kenny Cederholm brings his distinct country-blues sounds to the Woodystock Festival when he headlines on Sunday, October 2. Kenny won "Country Artist of the Year" at the 2016 Los Angeles Music Awards.






  (Apple Valley, CA/August 18, 2016) - Staking it's claim as the largest yearly original blues and rock music event in the SoCal High Desert, the Woodystock Rock 'N' Blues Festival is back for it's fourth big year, taking place Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, at Woodardville Ranch, (end of Chicago Rd.), in Apple Valley. Music start at 11 am each day. Tickets $20.00 per day in advance, $25.00 at the gate/day of show; 2-day tickets $35.00 in advance, $40.00 at the gate/day of show. Camping tickets $10.00 per night/per vehicle. Kids 12 and under, free. Tickets/info.: (760) 963-4994 or: http://www.woodystockblues.com/. Emceeing Woodystock again this year is High Desert station, KJAY Epic! Radio.

  "Our goal is to bring first-class musicians to the High Desert," states Woodystock founder John Woodard, who's also a Councilman for the City of Adelanto. Woodard was also a driving force behind the Adelanto New Blues Festival last May at Stater Bros. Stadium.

   Woodystock operates on Donations and Sponsorships. Contact John Woodard for Donation and Sponsorship opportunities.
     


Diana Rein & Papermoon Gypsys are Orange County's hottest new blues-rock group featuring the dual guitar attack of the "Six-String Siren" Diana Rein and Kenny "Big Daddy" Williams. They'll perform Saturday at Woodystock.

 
 About Some of the Performers at Woodystock Rock/Blues Festival


 *All the way from Ventura come Crooked Eye Tommy, fronted by brothers/guitarists, Tommy and Paddy Marsh. The band  - who headline Saturday at Woodystock - is up for Best Blues Band and Album of the Year at the 2016 Ventura Music Awards.

  *Hailing from Hesperia, The Lillies' sound is in the spectrum that lies between the raw/avant-garde tumble of sixtie's indie greats The Velvet Underground and modern-day rock greats, U2. Yet, the quartet are also heavily rooted in the Blues.

  *Returning to Woodystock this year is the 'Reverend' Smack Jonez. The singer-songwriter, New York-born and raised in Gavelston, Texas, was "sent here on a mission from God to bring you the love thru song and sound so that you, too can get down." Watch Jonez electrify the Woodystock crowd with his energetic blend of blues, funk, rock and soul.

  *One of the more eclectic bands to grace the Woodystock stage is Electric Parlor. The L.A.-based quartet takes pride in creating music that has an honest, raw, and live feel to it, relatable to music fans all over the world.  They are inspired by the past, and the lessons they have learned from years of listening to the forefathers of Rock 'n' Roll.


The tasty Down-Home Blues of guitarist Victor Crain
graces the stage of Woodystock again this year.


  *The guitar playing style of well-known High Desert-ite Victor Crain was once favorably compared to the great Jimi Hendrix. Crain, who resides in Llano, returns to Woodystock again this year to play some tasty Down-Home Blues. 









                                           woodystockblues.com/home.html

                                             facebook.com/Woodystock.info
       

VizzTone artists: Katy Guillen & The Girls - Heavy Days - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review Heavy Days, the latest release from Katy Guillen & The Girls and I really like it. Opening with Driving To Wake Up, Katy Guillen & The Girls let you know right up front that they mean business. Guillen on lead vocal and guitar is joined by Claire Adams on bass and vocal and Stephanie Williams on drums producing an authoritative rock sound with edge. Guillen's vocals may be similar to Chrissie Hynde with healthy attitude but with more clarity and blending with the vocals of Adams, a new fresh sound. A stripped down 3 piece sound is all you need and these ladies show that big time. Guillen is also no wall flower when it comes to guitar attitude laying it out there pretty nicely. Heavy Days has an essential blues rock sound and raw energy but with just the right amount of melodic backing harmony to pull you in. These girls are putting on the heat and Williams kicks ass on drums... and that adds real weight as they swing from sweet vocals to heavy axe wielding. Absolutely excellent! Waking Up From You shows a more pop side with really smoothly crafted melody and instrumentation. This track could see solid radio play across genres with J. Santiago like guitar work. Don't Need Anyone is a solid rocker with straight forward beat and aggressive guitar soloing. Very nice. The Load has really nice bass lines by Adams under rhythm and vocals by Guillen. With it's more indie sound, it still has solid rock framework and excellent drum work leading to some less structured guitar work. Very interesting. Humbucker is a real nice blues rocker with standout lead vocals and a solid guitar riff. I am really blown away by how tight this band is and how powerful the rhythm section is. Really solid! Ballad, Cold Was The Night, is a brilliant showcase of Guillen's voice with traces of Amy Winehouse ... I mean seriously? This girl can really sing and her guitar playing is powerful... the entire band is. Mike "Shinetop" Sedovic adds some really nice key work on this track making this already super track even fatter. I mean, check out the rich guitar soloing on this one... think torment...think Big Brother. Excellent! Hot rocker, Can't Live Here Anymore, has a definite power pop feel with plenty of kick and solid rock. Big Joe Williams' Baby Please Don't Go has a sultry edge that I've never heard on any of the previous covers. Guillen really knows how to bring it and Guillen's original guitar vamp is perfect to frame her vocals. Raw and explosive this track is hot! This is a perfect example of how the blues continues to be vibrant in contemporary rock music. Love it! Wrapping the release is Pulling Up From The Grooves, a really sweet track, again based solidly on the strength of Guillen's beautiful voice and very complimentary backing by Adams. Adams' bass work, with light guitar rhythm, Ryan Heinlein's contributions on trombone and the ever sensitive drum work by Williams makes this an extremely memorable closer for a fine release. A definite keeper!

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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Dirty Cat Records artists: The Lucky Losers - In Any Town - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, In Any Town, from The Lucky Losers and it's a cool blend of pop, country and blues. Opening with So High, a blend of country funk and pop, Vocalists Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz harmonize over the rhythmic work of Marvin Greene on guitar, Chris Burns on keys, Tim Wagar on bass and Robi Bean on drums. Kid Andersen rips a cool lead guitar solo to close track one with Berkowitz on harp. Cool. It Ain't Enough features Lemons on lead vocal and it's a slinky, swampy soul track. Possibly my favorite track on the release, it has warm backing vocals and Andersen lays down some real nice Rhodes lines. Excellent! On classic track Jackson, made popular by Johnny Cash, finds Cathy and Phil exchanging lead vocals making it a solid radio player with a nice harp solo by Phil. Another Lemons penned number, Don't Let 'Em See Ya Cry, is a solid blues ballad with sensual horn work from Michael Peloquin on tenor and bari sax, Mike Rose on trumpet and Mike Rinta on trombone. Greene's featured guitar solo on this track is real nice as is Phil's harp solo and Peloquins sax work. Excellent! Blind Man In The Dark has a distinct Mickey Thomas R&B style. Terry Hanck steps up with a nice sax solo surrounded by warm horn work by Rose and Rinta as well as really nice keyboard work by Burns. I Can't Change Ya is a peppy 2 stepper featuring Lemons on lead vocal. Frank Goldwasser rips some really super slide guitar riffs setting this track out really nicely. Funky, Still Enough Time To Cry, has a real nice groove with particularly nice bass work by Wagar bringing to mind the cool work of Sly Stone. Great groove with excellent piano lead by Burns. Berkowitz uses his harp nicely giving the track bit of edge. Ballad title track, In Any Town, is really a showcase for Lemons on vocal with nicely woven harp and keyboard work over a subtle rhythm. Wrapping the release is Small Town Talk, a smooth pop track featuring Lemons and Berkowitz on harmony backed by a rich horn section of Peloquin, Rose and Rinta, Andersen on bass, D'Mar on drums and nice keywork by Burns. A particularly nice trombone solo by Rinta closes the release.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Cleopatra Records artist: Kenny Neal - Bloodline - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Bloodline, from Kenny Neal and it has strong blues and R&B roots. Opening with country blues influenced, Ain't Gon Let The Blues Die with it's Elvin Bishop/country flavored gospel flavor. This track is off and running with Kenny Neal on slide guitar and lead vocals, Tom Hambridge on drums, Tommy Macdonald on bass and Syreeta, Tyrell, Jazzy, Brine', Kaydence Bates, Tahj Mosby and Darien Neal as well as the McCrary sisters. Title track, Bloodline, has a deep groove with a funky bottom and Kenny on lead vocal and harp. Cool loping Plain Old Common Sense is one of my favorite tracks on the release with great guitar work, supeer vocal phrasing, nice piano lines and strong horn backing from Quentin Ware on trumpet, Billy Huber on trombone, Tyler Summers on sax and Dana Robbins on sax. Very cool. On Willie Nelson's Funny How Time Slips Away, skillful piano work and crafty vocals give this track the weight of a serious R&B/country ballad. Coming out with horns blazing, Keep On Moving, has a funky R&B feel and the electric key work of Lucky Peterson is a perfect setting for strong soloing by Kenny. With tight horn work by Ware, Huber, Summers and Robbins. With it's BB King style phrasing, I Go By Feel, is a real cool track along the lines of The Thrill Is Gone with soulful vocals by Kenny and nice horn work by Ware, Huber, Summers and Robbins. Kenny takes a relaxing guitar solo that has really nice grip. R&B style, I'm So Happy, is really a super horn track with prime radio vocals by Kenny and crew. Blues Mobile is an uptempo shuffle with Kenny leading the way on harp. Kevin McKendree on piano and Ware, Huber, Summers and Robbins on horns give this track a bright feel and Kenny's vocals are super. With a much more acoustic feel, I Can't Wait, has Kenny way upfront on vocal and harp with Steve Dawson on Weissonborn, Bob Britt on guitar, John Lancaster on keys and Hambridge on percussion. Really digging in on an R&B feel, Real Friend, has a super Wilson Pickett kind of feel with Kenny on vocal, Ware, Huber, Summers and Robbins on horns. Ware takes a smooth trumpet solo followed by a soulful sax solo that really sits nicely. Neal's own guitar solo is tight and warm giving the track a cool Memphis feel. Wrapping the release is Thank You BB King, a track that could be right out of BB's song book with BB vocal and guitar phrasing styles. Kenny of course puts his own spin on the guitar work making and with Peterson on organ, this a super wrapper for a cool release.

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Saturday, August 13, 2016

David "Honeyboy" Edwards - I'm Gonna Tell You Somethin' That I Know - New Release Review - CD/DVD

I just received the newest release, I'm Gonna Tell You Somethin' That I Know, by David Honeyboy Edwards and it's terrific! Opening with Howlin' Wolf's Ride With Me Tonight, Honeyboy is accompanied by Jeff Dale and Michael Frank. Honeyboy, a young 95 years old at the time, plays solid lead LP jr. as he sings. If you haven't had the pleasure to see and hear Honeyboy, he is the real deal ... in my mind, one of the few, first generation pure delta blues men alive during our current generation. Singing blues like few men in modern times, Honeyboy keeps his own time. On That's Alright, Honeyboy shows real spark and enjoyment playing his trade in a private and up-close environment. Robert Jr. Lockwoodhas a more's Little Boy Blue and Jimmy Rogers' You're The One and really cool blues jams and Honeyboy's vocals are emotional and raw. Edwards cover of Oden's Goin' Down Slow is more uptempo but no less sensitive. His guitar riffs are ragged but fluid and expressive. Muddy Waters' Country Boy is one of my favorite tracks on the release with Honeyboy grinding it out. Robert Petway's Catfish Blues and Apron Strings is a particularly lively jam with Honeyboy flexing his guitar prowess. Expressive and authentic. Honeyboy slips on his slide for Sweet Home Chicago using an Elmore James guitar riff and his classic vocal style, this is a super groove to wrap the concert. Included on the release is a short conversation with Honeyboy about his younger life and Robert Johnson. You want the first hand info...this is as first hand as it gets.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Gonzalo Bergara - Zalo's Blues - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Zalo's Blues from Gonzalo Bergara and it's terrific! Opening with instrumental, Drawback, a quick paced shuffle, you'd swear you were listening to Gatemouth Brown featuring Gonzalo on Guitar, Mariano D'Andrea on bass and Maximiliano on drums. These guys are hot and flaming! On rock and roller, Drinking, Chuck berry Style, Gonzalo steps up to the mic and shows his appreciation of fine rock. This stuff is pure and fun ... dig the riffs! This release doesn't have any weak spots and this is one of my favorites on the release. Singing My Song puts me in mind of a song, Made Into A Movie, from one of the best (sleeper) ZZ Top albums, XXX. If you don't have it....get it! This is a dramatic ballad with smoking hot emotional blues guitar soloing. Excellent! Opening with Jimmy Reed himself, You Don't Have To Go is augmented by the band and Gonzalo's vocals are sticky and the pace is amazing. This is the blues...yes! Excellent! Dirty Socks is a great track with like a blend of like Jeff Beck and ZZ Top sounds with a funky beat and excellent bass work. Gonzalo really gets into a great groove showing just a band is supposed to do with an instrumental track! Really switching gears, Gonna Go, is full out country truck driving music with "chicken pickin" and "train drums". Guitar soloing is nothing less than great. Yes...this is cool! Nice Texas style blues with a rocking lope is what makes No More click with solid vocals and fresh guitar riffs from Gonzalo over a tight bottom. Super. Another flame thrower, Been Runnin' is just scorching with jazz lines coming like a freight train. I would have loved to have seen this guy on stage with Gatemouth. Excellent!!! Woosh is a super track that sneaks up on you. Dynamics to burn, this track has super vocals, a great melody and raw guitar riffs that will throw you back. Excellent! Levi has a great groove and builds over a twist on a simple riff. An excellent instrumental, this is a super showcase of what a talented guitar player and writer can do, given the freedom to express himself! Bulls-eye! Ines is a beautiful instrumental track, subdued in nature but with a haunting melody and twin guitar leads blended just perfectly. The lead soloing is tight and expressive. How many times can I say excellent! Wrapping the release is Won't Stay With You, a cool acoustic number with Zalo accompanying his own vocals. Done in more of a modern Piedmont style, it has traces of Jimmy Cox's Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out. Excellent closer. This may be the best release that I've heard this year. With the excellent album cover, this is the entire package... get it now and tell your friends. You can thank me later!


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