I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live , from Zac Harmon & The Drive and it's super! Opening with soulful, NTRO , Nate Robinson on bass and Gino Iglehart on drums set a solid foundation, with Corey Lacy building on keys and lush guitar work by Zac Harmon and Kingston Livingston really setting the bar. Terrific opener. Blue Pill Thrill has super movement and soulful vocals by Harmon. Lacy on keys works the rhythm with Robinson and Iglehart and Livingston and and Harmon play stinging riffs on guitar really giving this track some kick. Deep blues track, Feet Back On The Ground features Albert King like stinging riffs and super soulful vocals by Harmon. Keeping the music floor low allows Harmon plenty of space to go dynamically from soft to wow quickly adding real emotion to the track. Excellent! Boogie Down is a strong jam with a firm piano base by Lacy giving Harmon plenty of headroom for vocal corralling. Lacy lays in some real tasty keyboar...
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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!
I just received the newest release, Blues In Good Hands, by Mighty Mike Schermer and I really like it! Opening with R&B track, Baby Don't Stop featuring Mighty Mike on lead vocal and guitar, Paul Revelli on drums, Steve Ehrmann on bass, Tony Stead or organ, Austin Delone on piano, Terry Hanck on sax, and backing vocals by Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland. Hanck steps up with a clean solo and Mighty Mike throws down a nice riff or so himself but I gotta mention that I really like Delone's piano work on this track. Great radio track with a cool melody and a good hook. With a funky beat, Heaven's On The Other Side struts in and Ehrmann's bass really sets the pace. Mike rips really tasty blues guitar lines over a warm organ line by Stead. With a laid back Philly kind of sound, It's A Pleasure, really hits a solid. It's catchy melody, even pace and warm overall feel, with Delone on electric piano and nice jazz style guitar work from Schermer makes this a radio success story. Reggae track, One Tear At A Time, has a really nice Jimmy Cliff kind of feel with Keith McArthur on bass and spot on guitar riffs from Schermer and perfect vocal blending between Schermer and Randle. Very nice! Pop jazz track, World Gone Crazy has a nice Steeley Dan feel with some of Schermer's best vocals on the release. Nancy Wright hits the sax on this number adding warmth and texture and Schermer's own guitar riffs at the bottom of the fret board are really nice! The writing on this release is really quite good with traces to many of the great song writers of the 70's to now. Blues In Good Hands has a real Becker/Fagen compositional style (Any Major Dude Will Tell You) but based around a different style. It is quite interesting and successful with Hanck on sax and King and Wonderland adding smooth backing vocals. Shuffle track, Wait-On-Me Woman, is more Dylanesque with a definite blues feel. Greg Izor's contributions on harp and Damien Llanes on drums give it it's looser style. Nice! New Orleans style Most People has just a twist of Chuck Berry (Almost Grown) and Schermer's vocals paired with Delone's piano deliver the goods. A plucky guitar solo from Schermer and breaks the basic 2 step pace but compliments the track nicely. Boogie Woogie track, Barkin' Up The Wrong Tree, features Marcia Ball, the perfect piano player for this track. With it's country blues feel and casual vocal delivery, Elvin Bishop would be proud. Schermer takes and excellent guitar solo followed by Ball. One of my favorites on the release. Latin style, Take Me By The Hand, lets Llanes loose on drums, complimented by Izor on harp. Schermer has a rockin good time on vocal and guitar and Johnny Bradley's bass line is perfect. Tommy Castro joins on Stop Cryin' the hottest blues track on the release. With only simple bass and drums complimenting the vocal, Castro (on left) and Schermer really tear this one up. Excellent!! R&B track Baby Be Kind, is another track that really lends itself to cross radio play. John Nemeth trades harp riffs with Schermer on guitar giving the track nice balance. Wrapping the release is Hear You Calling Him Baby, has a strong dose of New Orleans and a spunky guitar solo from Schermer over the stylized piano work of Stead. Excellent closer! I definitely recommend that you check this one out!
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Lucille Bogan (April 1, 1897 – August 10, 1948) was an American blues singer, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson . The sexologist and music critic, Ernest Borneman , stated that Bogan along with Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith , was in "the big three of the blues". She was born Lucille Anderson in Amory, Mississippi , United States, and raised in Birmingham, Alabama . In 1916, she married Nazareth Lee Bogan , a railwayman, and gave birth to a son. She first recorded vaudeville songs for Okeh Records in New York in 1923, with pianist Henry Callens . Later that year she recorded " Pawn Shop Blues " in Atlanta, Georgia , which was the first time a black blues singer had been recorded outside New York or Chicago. In 1927 she began recording for Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin , where she recorded her first big success, " Sweet Petunia ", which was covered by Blind Blake . She also recorded for Brunswick...
Charles LoBue was one of the fathers of the custom electric guitar business. Charles came to the industry after taking classes from Michael Gurian, first working in and around the guitar repair business in NYC in the mid 60's. Charles' interest in the business began by doing basic repairs on factory made guitars. These were primarily made by Gibson and Fender, the "Gold Standard" for electric guitars, as well as any guitar including acoustics which came through the door. As a professional player in the U.S. in the 60's, Gibson and Fender were the most likely choices if you wanted an electric guitar. It is well known that the Brits used European made guitars as well, primarily due to their accessibility. By the mid late 60's both companies had been sold to larger corporations which were not primarily in the guitar business. The basic perception even today is that the guitars made by these companies during this period were inferior in quality and also l...
It is with great sadness to report that J. Blackfoot (born John Colbert , November 20, 1946) died today, November 30, 2011 at Methodist Germantown Hospital near Memphis, TN. We will keep you abreast of service information as we receive it. J. Blackfoot will truly be missed. “Like” Bman’s Facebook page (available in over 50 languages). I will not relay senseless nonsense. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here
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