Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Gonna Die Tryin' , from Chris O'Leary and it's in your face super! Folloing up to last year's Live At Blues Now! this release is long awaited. Opening with Can't Help Yourself , a slinky blues track with a gritty guitar vamp by Chris Vitarello and Chris O'Leary on lead vocal and harp this track is a great opener. Backed by Matt Raymond on bass, Bruce Katz on piano and Jay Devlin on drums, O'Leary hits solid on his harp solo making this one of the best opening tracks of the year! 19 Cents A Day has a strong, SB Williamson vamp behind it but with a fast driving pace really kicks it. Katz on organ really lays it out there with a hot solo with Andy Stahl and Chris Difrancesco joining on sax. Hot! Hook, Line and Sinker has a funky R&B feel Willa Panvini and Libby Cabello adding super backing vocals alone with Stahl and Difrancesco on sax. Vitarello adds some really nice guitar lines over Raymond's driving bass l...

I just received the newest release, Live At Blues Now! from the Chris O'Leary Band and it has a super groove. This release was recorded live in Basel, Switzerland in March of 2014. Opening with Give It , a one-chord modal blues structure with a repeating guitar figure and Diddley-style rhythm, O'Leary leads the way into this live set on vocal and harp. Joined by Chris Vitarello and Alex Schultz on guitar, Andy Stahl on tenor sax, Chris DiFrancesco on bari sax, Matt Raymond on bass and Jay Devlin on drums this band is tight. On jump track, Trouble , the band ramps it up with Schultz laying down some hot smokin' guitar work. O'Leary cranks it up as well with a mighty solo of his own. Very nice! Louisiana Woman has a swampy sound with a nice bass lead from Raymond. Cool shimmery guitar effects from Vitarello as well as a soulful guitar solo and the masterful harp work from O'Leary make this a really cool track. R&B style track Walk The Walk really invites the ...

      NEW FROM THE VIZZTONE LABEL GROUP THE CHRIS O'LEARY BAND LIVE AT BLUES NOW! click to preview or download from VizzTone.com Recorded Live in Switzerland with special guest Alex Schultz     The VizzTone label group and Fidellis Records are proud to present the Chris O'Leary Band 's new release, LIVE AT BLUES NOW!  Chris enthuses, "This special night was recorded earlier this year in Basel Switzerland with very special guest Alex Schultz! The room was beautiful, the crowd was great, and we had a blast!"     Chris O’Leary has put in his time on the front lines – as U.S. Marine Corps infantry squad leader, and seven years as singer, harp player, and front man for Levon Helm’s Barn Burners.  His two Fidellis Records/VizzTone label group releases, Mr. Used To Be (2010) and Waiting for the Phone to Ring (2012), establ...

Chris’s musi­cal back­ground includes duties as lead singer and front man for rock and roll hall of famer and Grammy award win­ner Levon Helm’s band The Barn­burn­ers. Dur­ing the 6 years that Chris and Levon played together they toured across the US and Canada light­ing up stages every­where they went. Chris has appeared on stage with: Leg­endary Rolling Stones side­man Bobby Keys, The Fab­u­lous Thun­der­birds, Jimmy Vivino, Jeff Healy, Dan Akroyd, Albert Lee, Dave Edmunds, Dave Maxwell and the great James Cot­ton to name just a few. Chris has also recorded with Bill Perry and Hubert Sum­lin among others.   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Chris’s musi­cal back­ground includes duties as lead singer and front man for rock and roll hall of famer and Grammy award win­ner Levon Helm’s band The Barn­burn­ers. Dur­ing the 6 years that Chris and Levon played together they toured across the US and Canada light­ing up stages every­where they went. Chris has appeared on stage with: Leg­endary Rolling Stones side­man Bobby Keys, The Fab­u­lous Thun­der­birds, Jimmy Vivino, Jeff Healy, Dan Akroyd, Albert Lee, Dave Edmunds, Dave Maxwell and the great James Cot­ton to name just a few. Chris has also recorded with Bill Perry and Hubert Sum­lin among others. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!