Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release (March 25, 2014), Thin Blue Line , from Johnny Cox . Opening with Your Love , is a poppy track with a light splash of country. Robbie Bellmore lays some easy going harp work on the top of this track with complimentary backing vocals by Shelley Zubot and Brad Roth. High Price To Pay is an uptempo blues rocker with clean lead guitar work from Cox and driving bass work from Kenny Neal Jr. Runaway Train is a contemporary blues rocker with a light Latin influence. Cox opens up a little on guitar and actually knocks down some pretty hot riffs. Drummer Richard Greenspoon adds a lot of texture. New Way has a familiar sound of One Way Out, traditional blues track with a New Orleans style drum rhythm. Hot, smokey backing vocals really make a lot of impact on this track and Cox again turns up the heat on guitar. Something For Me is a jazzy, shuffle track along the lines of Trouble No More (Someday Baby). Cox steps up with a clear clean guitar solo on this ...

I just received the newest release (April 15, 2014), Taboo , from Bob Corritor e and I have to say it's absolutely spectacular! I won't have to review this in my car a month from now to know whether I will like it next time around. It is simply that good! Living in the Phoenix metro area for a long time, I have seen Corritore many times and been to his famous blues club, The Rhythm Room many times as well. I have to say that this is surpasses every live performance that I have ever seen Bob do, and will easily make it into one of the must have releases of the year. This all instrumental, yes, all instrumental release opens with Potato Stomp , a cool Chicago style blues track with Junior Watson on guitar, Doug James on sax, Fred Kaplan on keys, Kedar Roy on bass and Ray Innes on drums. Corritore is forward in the mix and playing strong. A nice sax solo leads to a stutter stepped guitar solo from Watson. Excellent! Many A Devil's Night , one of my favorite tracks on the rel...

SMOKIN' JOE KUBEK AND BNOIS KING RE-SIGN WITH BLIND PIG RECORDS Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King , one of the most talented guitar tandems in any genre, have signed a recording agreement with Blind Pig Records.  The pact marks a reunion between the veteran music duo and the label, which issued the group's CD entitled Roadhouse Research in 2003 and released Show Me The Money the following year.   In 2006, Blind Pig released a live full length concert DVD and a CD titled My Heart's In Texas that was recorded in Fort Worth on New Year's Eve. Kubek and King, who have been playing together for twenty-five years, have developed into a dynamic musical tour de force, with 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...

Nik C & The BlueTops are a musical group excelling at a soulful style of blues and funk that will move you and make you move. Nik Callahan - Vocals / Guitar Keith Gamble - Bass Jules Coulson - Drums    “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  

I just received the newest release (April 15, 2014), This House , from Shane Dwight and it really has it's own character and a bunch of charisma. Opening with the title track, This House , a R&B structured track done totally laid back and acoustic style... it's quite smooth featuring Bekka Bramlett on backing vocals and nice key work from Kevin McKendree. Next up is funky track, We Can Do This , which has more movement than anything I've heard of this style since Sneakin Sally Through the Alley (Robert Palmer and Little Feat).... super guitar work and I dare you to sit still! Fool drops into a ballad slot but thankfully missing the John Mayer hook and going straight toward Fiona Apple. This is a cool track with again nice vocal backing by Bramlett and featuring a nice guitar solo from Dwight and clean drumming from Kenneth Blevins. Sing For Me (Search For Sierra) is a swampy ballad with nice guitar effects and a really strong melody and backing vocals. One of my f...

Co-authored by Ted Fox I'm 66 years old, and I've been making music my whole life. I always knew that would be the way I'd make my living. I'm still doing that, but things have sure changed! I've seen it all and been involved in it all from making local records to now creating a YouTube series, Buckwheat's World , to get my music out there. When I was just nine years old they used to sneak me in the back door of clubs in Lafayette, Louisiana so I could get up on stage and play the Hammond B3 with whoever was headlining. By the time I was a young teenager I was in Sammy and the Untouchables, and we backed up many of my heroes like Ray Charles and Fats Domino. In my twenties I put together a big 15-piece funk outfit with a five girl chorus called Buckwheat and Hitchhikers and we played all over the South. In the mid '70s I joined the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, playing the B3 -- and he showed me what zydeco music was all about. After that ...

PROVOGUE / MASCOT LABEL GROUP ANNOUNCES JUNE 10 RELEASE DATE FOR WALTER TROUT'S THE BLUES CAME CALLIN' ON ARTIST'S REQUEST AS HE FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE AWAITING LIVER TRANSPLANT AT UCLA MEDICAL CENTER IN LOS ANGELES http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/walter-trout-needs-a-new-liver-you-can-help-/151911 EPK: http://youtu.be/btiS6ijncMk Los Angeles, CA --- Last year, Walter Trout was struck with a life-threatening liver disease, and as a result lost 100lbs. Marie Trout shares, " For five years, Walter, Provogue Records, and I have worked towards making Walter's 25th year as a solo artist a special celebratory event.  But the festivities will have to wait.  Walter is urgently in need of a liver transplant.  It has been heart-breaking for me to watch Walter struggle through these past many months, as we tried various treatment options provided by Walter's doctors and liver specialists.  One by one the treatments failed.  Yet through...

     NEWS FROM THE VIZZTONE LABEL GROUP VizzTone is proud to welcome a new artist to the family with this slammin' new album ! MIKEY JUNIOR TRAVELING SOUTH What is the future of the blues?  Who will lead the charge? Well, for blues fans in the Northeast United States, that question is routinely answered every night Mikey Junior hits the stage. His infectious personality and absolute command of his medium leave little doubt the blues is in good hands. Self-taught from his impressive collection of blues vinyl, Mikey was a full time musician before he graduated high-school. By the time he was in his early twenties, seasoned players were taking notice and it wasn’t long before one blues society after another scrambled to get him to their stage. Before long, Mikey was a staple of the summer blues circuit on the East Coast. So it came as no surprise that his newest r...

I just received the most recent release (3.25.14), Black Crow ,from Cathy Lemons and it covers a lot of bases. Opening with upbeat R&B style track, I'm A Good Woman , written by Kim Wilson, Lemons flexes her laid back bluesy voice over solid bass from Paul Olguin and drums from Robbie Bean. O'Kanes penned, Ain't Gonna Do It has a much more country pop flavor showing lemons voice in it's most comfortable mode on the release. Title track, Black Crow , has a southern rock ballad sound, not unlike Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Boogie track, Hip Check Man , features some cool harp work from Stevie Gurr who also adds some spanky guitar riffs to this driving number. On slow blues ballad, You're In My Town Now , Lemons conjures up some really emotional feelings eliciting some excellent guitar work from Gurr and also a really super piano expression from Kevin Zuffi. This is my choice of best track on the release. Earl King's It All Went Down The Drain , has a re...

The  River City Blues Society of Virginia  is proud to announce the second annual  Parkfest Blues Festival  on Saturday, May 3, 2014, at  Pocahontas State Park  in Chesterfield County, VA The Festival begins with In Layman Terms and The UnXpected – a new generation of blues musicians   The music will continue with the RCBS Band Entry to the 2014 IBC, Herbie D and the Dangermen .    Local favorites representing the Ellersoul Record Label come together for your enjoyment as the Ellersoul Blues and Soul Revue.    Moreland and Arbuckle , from Wichita, Kansas are sure to amaze the crowd as the three piece band tears up the stage. It is no wonder that their album, 7 Cities, is a top blues album. If you have not seen them before, you won’t forget them after their set.    The evening will end with Albert Cummings . When it comes to blues guitar, C...

Big Song Music House Presents!   Peach Pickin' Mamas EG Kight and Lisa Biales   Sunday, April 6th at 8pm   Doors open at 7pm for potluck and mingling A $20 donation at the door will get you in. Please reply to this email to reserve yourself a seat.      EG Kight                                      Lisa Biales     Peach Pickin' Mamas tour  Ohio & Indiana Thursday, April 3 @ 7:30pm EG Kight & Lisa Biales / Peach Pickin' Mamas  Fountain/Warren Musical Arts, Inc.   Harrison Hills Country Club   413 East New Street Attica, IN  765-762-1135 Price: Adults $7.50  Students Free Friday, April 4 @ 8pm EG Kight & Lisa Biales / Peach Pickin' Mamas  House Concerts on the Knoll at Marg Henry's house. 8226 Beech Knol...