Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Balkun Brothers by the Balkun Brothers and it is raw, bluesy and rowdy. Opening with Been Drivin' , the Balkun Brothers do have a driving beat and with over the top drumming by Rick Balkun, a solid guitar base and single lead lines by Steve Balkun, these guys set high expectations (think stripped down blues version of Golden Earring). I Know What Ya' Did has a boogie bottom and heavy feet along with nicely blended vocals and tidy slide playing. These guys have something here that you gotta hear! She Got It All has a real strong guitar riff that sets the stage and solid vocals with a sound like Steppenwolf had a baby with the Stripes or the Keys. Steve's guitar work is flamboyant but contained in context maintaining a hard blues line with great vocals. Control Yourself leans strongly toward contemporary 2 piece blues rock bands and has a great sound with tight vocals and essential drum and guitar riffs. Excellent! Cold Heart is a ...

I just received the newest release, ReDrova , from Balkun Brothers and it is a solid blues rocker. Opening with Last Jam (Oh Yeah!) this track has the solidity of early Sabbath and the attitude of Humble Pie. Guitarist/vocalist Steve Balkun has a solid voice and really knows how to grind out the riffs supported by ace drumming by Nick Balkun and heavy bass work of Caleb Battersby. This track rips! Excellent! Next up is title track ReDrova opening with a Peter Green like riff but with a lot of southern rock heavy grit. Steve shows a lot of finesse on slide work and Nick and Caleb drive the train. Very cool! Got My Boots On takes a different direction with a lively stripped down blues rocker. One of my favorite tracks on the release, it rocks! With a lot of the flavor of the new blues rockers with simple instrumentation, this track hits it square on the head. I really like Steve's vocals and stylistic guitar work on this track. Keep Me Warm has a 12 bar format but with a country...