Bman's Blues Report

I just received a cool new DVD from John Ginty , The Showplace Sessions Live . This is a live video session of Bad News Travels and it's quite live, tight and entertaining. Opening with Switch , a walking bass line driven B3 extravaganza. Paul Kuzik sets the tempo and Ginty takes over where Booker T left off. With a double drums setup featuring Dan Fadel and Andrei Koribanics this is a tight track. Very nice! Arrivals is a funky jam with cool guitar lines by Mike Buckman and Ginty playing against his retort. Next up is Black Cat featuring Albert Castiglia. A slow blues groove, Ginty sets a really nice stage for Castiglia to take the lead on vocal and guitar. I've only ever seen Castiglia on Youtube (never live) and he is an exceptional player. I am looking forward to seeing him if he ever makes it to Phoenix. He doesn't over sing, his phrasing is inviting and his vocals are really nice. Ginty plays both piano and B3 solos taunting Castiglia into a really sweet and ext...

NEW ALBUM, VIDEO FROM SINGING SENSATION SENA EHRHARDT “Sena Ehrhardt's voice cannot get any more powerful, range-defying, and throwback cool. Truly one of the most dynamic young voices any genre has seen in a long time. "   - Living Blues   Blind Pig Records has released the latest album from singing sensation Sena Ehrhardt, entitled Live My Life (streets Sept. 2) .   Produced by Grammy-winner David Z. (Buddy Guy, Prince, Jonny Lang, Gov't Mule) it features Sena's all-new band lineup of hard-driving, top-flight musicians. Sena has emerged as one of the freshest and most engaging young voices on the blues scene today, recently opening concerts for the likes of B.B. King, ZZ Top, Robert Cray, Dickey Betts, Gregg Allman, and the late Johnny Winter.  Live My Life further confirms Sena’s ascendance to blues elite status. After serving as her band’s lead guitarist and songwriting collaborator through her first two releases, Sena’s fa...

I just received the newest release, Chromaticism , from Big Harp George and it's really super. Opening with traditional swing track, Smack Dab In The Middle , Big Harp George Bisharat leads the way with a really solid voice. Chris Burns does a really nice job on keys and Kent Bryson adds a really cool vibes solo adding a different flavor. On Crazy About You Baby , Raja Kawar revs up the drums and Little Charlie Baty joins on guitar. Bisharat is a natural band leader with a spot on vocal delivery and harmonica accompaniment. Original track, Left So Soon , is a real cooker, down deep in the blues and George milks the blues from his harp. Rusty Zinn steps up on guitar on this track really adding a nice shine to an already smokin track. Excellent! My Baby Is Now On My Mind is a cool shuffle again with Zinn on guitar. The chromatic guitar really shines on this track and Zinn kicks off a gallop with his prime solo on this track aided by Kawar. Title track, Chromaticism , is a strong ...

                                                          August Is Sizzlin & So Is The Blowin' Smoke Rhythm & Blues Revue Returning To Harvelle's In Santa Monica on Saturday, August 30th                           Santa Monica's Hottest Monthly R&B/Blues/Soul Dance Party For 2 Decades!    (Santa Monica, CA) - August is sizzlin' and so is the Blowin' Smoke Rhythm & Blues Revue , who on Saturday, August 30 return to Harvelle's in Santa Monica for their monthly R&B/Soul/Blues dance/musical blowout that nevers fails to entertain and ...

TEXAS: This weekend is your last chance to catch Hamilton & Band before their Sept. Europe tour! All tour dates are at www.hamiltonloomis.com/schedule.html 8/28/14 Kemah, TX Jackie's Brickhouse 8pm 832-864-2459 8/29/14 Corpus Christi, TX Executive Surf Club 9pm 361-884-7873 8/30/14 Tomball, TX Main Street Crossing 8pm 281-290-0431 TICKETS Please forward this email to any of your friends/family in these cities!! www.hamiltonloomis.com

BLUES FANS: VOTE FOR THE BLUES BLAST MUSIC AWARDS! Voting for the 2014 Blues Blast Music Awards is now open to anyone who is a Blues Blast magazine subscriber. Subscriptions are FREE and an automatic part of the voting process on the website. Blind Pig artists and recordings are well represented on the ballot: "REMEMBERING LITTLE WALTER" Traditional Blues Album Unequaled live tribute to the harmonica icon from five of the finest harp players on the current blues scene - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia , and James Harman .  The album was named winner of two major 2014 Blues Music Awards - "Best Traditional Album" "Album of the Year." It also received a 2014 Grammy nomination for "Best Blues Album." BILLY BRANCH    Song of the Year - "Going To See Miss Gerri One More Time" “Going To See Miss Gerri One More Time” is a moving song about a lost chapter in the cultural hi...

I just received the newest release (September 16, 2014), Hey Hey , from Markey Blue and it has style. Opening with When Loves Comes Along reminding me a bit of a BB King track with more swing. I Can't Let You Go is a R&B style ballad with sweet guitar riffs from Latina and cool horn and keyboard backing. Something's Wrong again has a R&B feel with nice horn punctuation. A strong radio contender with a solid melody and a hook, this is a straight seller. Feeling Blue has a strong strut, cool backing vocals by Holly Steele, a stinging guitar solo from Latina and super horn work making it one of my favorites on the release. Flames has a real Billy Preston feel from the key style to the rhythmic beat. Latina again steps up with clean guitar riffs echoed against electric piano. Very cool. Play Me has a real nice groove and Markey's vocals are as clean as they come on this release. Another track that could garner a bit of airplay, features Jack Pearson on guitar. An...

I just received the most recent release, After The Flood, from Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip and it rocks. Opening with House For The Blues , a blues rocker, Vocalist Bjorklof and guitarist Lefty Leppanen set a strong pace backed by Teemu Vuorela on drums, Seppo Nuolikoski on bass and Timo Ruiko-Jukela on percussion. On Jack The Black Hat , the band takes a more expansive journey with heavier vocals, distorted guitars and free wheelin guitar work. Cool! Water From Your Shoe is a solid R&B style pop track with a taste of New Orleans featuring super cool piano work from Brian Coogan. Woogie Or Die is an interesting boogie track with a cool bass line. Soaring slide guitar work from Lefty give this track a sharp edge and Bjorklof's vocals with his edgy harp playing adds to the edge. Understanding opens with a slip sliding guitar part and a Latin influenced drum part. Having the flavor of a traditional western theme song with a twist, and backing vocals by Michaela Harriso...

I just received the newest release, Up The Wall, by Micke & Lefty (Featuring Chef) . Opening with acoustic ballad, You Better Me , Micke Björklöf on vocals, drums&percussion, harmonica, guitar, Lefty Leppänen on vocals, acoustic- and national steel guitar and Chef on vocals and bass sing in incredibly sweet harmony. I'm A Guitar Man is an acoustic track featuring alternating vocal leads and hard driving Texas style boogie. Lead resonator guitar soloing by Lefty is quick and clean. Up The Wall has a simple country blues feel with cool guitar and harp riffs under vocal lead by Micke, and clean bass and drums. Clean Up opens with a cool slide riff and had a early sixties rockabilly feel. Slick slide work throughout and clever vocal backing make this one of toe coolest tracks yet. Come Here Pretty Baby again showcases cool vocal harmonies and clever guitar finger work. Ultimate All Around Man has a bit of a Cajun feel with a light march beat from Micke. With it's li...

I just received the newest release, The Back On Track Recording Project , from The Jordan Patterson Band and it's quite enjoyable. Opening with hard driving blues rocker, Play My Song , features solid vocals from Patterson and a tight rocking unit behind him. Darryl Romphf (guitar), Shawn Kellerman (guitar), Darius McKinley (bass) and Benjamin Rollo (drums) provide a really powerful backing for Patterson's vocal and harmonica work. Don't Take Me Down is a rolling rocker and the more I listen to this band the more I appreciate the tight drumming of Rollo. He is not only on top of it, he's all over it. Excellent! With a driving ZZ Top kind of feel but with more polish (and might I say a lot more interesting than their pop stuff) this band hits the road running hard. If You'd Help Me Please gets down in the mud with a solid blues number showing hot guitar riffs and slide. With traces of Foghat and a bit of grit, this is one of my favorite tracks on the release. Pa...

Ted (Bundy) and Andy (Shack) have been talking about doing a Blues Brothers tribute for the past 20 years or so. Finally, one night over a couple of beers they decided to move forward with the project. They called their old "bandmates" from previous projects: Brian Solomon, David Schroeder (Schro) and Kurt Fleckenstein (Jorge) who were instantly on board and excited. After two years of changes in the horn section due to folks moving for jobs or leaving for Afghanistan (and thankfully returning home safe and sound), the Booze Brothers are happy to present Brian Dahm, Jeremy Ketter, Marty Herchko, Greg Sloan and Dan Rusnak as the horn line up for this project. The band rounded it out and added Rich Risnear on keys in February of 2014. Our love of the music the Blues Brothers band has produced (or reproduced) has brought us together. We hope you share our love for this timeless music and enjoy our shows as much as we enjoy performing for you. EVERYBODY GET RIPPED!!!!!!   If ...

I just received the newest release, Delicious Days , from Woody Russell and it's quite good! Opening with Light Like That I think how smooth this guy is. With a Todd Rundgren like voice and Philly style of music, this is very strong. Russell, who plays guitar and sings, is joined by Bryce Powell (keys), Brady Muckelroy (bass), Chris Hausler (drums), Jose Ruiz (harmonica) and Dez Desormeaux (sax). In The Open has a looser less Philly but still soulful feel with an open rhythm. Hausler leads the way with crisp drumming and Ruiz adds a nice harp solo but this is all about the silky style of Russell as a vocalist. Just Playing Along has a really nice groove (think Low Down)and Russell knows how to work it. With it's light jazzy feel and Russell's vocals all you need are some spanking guitar riffs and they are here too! Powell lays in a sparkling electric piano solo giving the track even more interest and Dez hits the note on sax. Very nice! Genuine Good has a more composed...

I just received the newest release (September 9, 2014), Million Stars , from Tim Gartland . Having more of an R&B attack on the blues, Gartland, joined by Tom West (Keys), Chris Rival (guitars), Paul Justice (bass) and Forrest Padgett (drums) present a very smooth soulful set. Opening with Let Me Keep The Dog is a well balanced track showcasing Gartland on harp and vocals, his voice being somewhat stark and interesting. Off Of My Mind is an upbeat track sounding a bit like a Billy Preston track (rhythmically). Again, Gartland has a real nice voice for the style of music and organ work by West supports the body quite well. Gartland's vocals have been compared to Jimi and on Mess Me Up , the phrasing and timbre do sound similar. A cool track with airy guitar riffs this track has a nice texture and a nice bridge featuring West and Rival on solos. When The Next Wind Blows has a funky rhythm and a cool bass line by Justice. Talking about universal appeal, this would be the trac...

I just received the newest release, In The Moment , from Missy Andersen and it scratches a lot of itches. Opening with Rent Party is a cool blues swing track with a touch of jazz. Heine Andersen lays out a nice guitar solo and Sue Palmer is tight on piano. Horn work from Robbie Smith (trumpet), Gerrard Nolan (tenor sax) and Bob Mathes (Bari sax) give it a bit of a club feel. Whole Lotta Nuthin' has a New Orleans feel with marching style drums from Marty Dodson and Ben Moore lays down some nice B3 work. Heine cooks the frets on this track with some hot jazzy riffs. On Latin styled Night Stalker Andersen again plays into a 40's - 50's sophistication. She really has a strong voice and has strong support from vocalists Sonja Mack and Karen Trapane. R&B track More Than Enough has a really strong presence and Andersen's vocals are top notch. Light instrumental accompaniment of light drums and B3 and punctuation but the horn section makes this one of my release favo...

"Chicago's Hardest-Working Blues Band " for over two decades is Howard and the White Boys, pictured here outside Rosa's Lounge in Chicago, where they recorded their new album, the aptly-titled "Rosa's Lounge". They'll celebrate the new album with two big Chicago-based CD Release Parties - one at Rosa's Lounge on Friday, August 22; the other at Buddy Guy's Legends on Saturday, August 30. www.howardandthewhiteboys.net HOWARD AND THE WHITE BOYS CELEBRATE THEIR NEW ALBUM "ROSA'S LOUNGE" WITH TWO BIG CD RELEASE PARTIES - FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 AT ROSA'S LOUNGE; AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 30@BUDDY GUY'S LEGENDS     (CHICAGO, IL) -  Howard And the White Boys celebrate their long-awaited new album "Rosa's Lounge" with two big Chicago-based CD Release Parties: Friday, August 22 at Rosa's Lounge , 3420 W....