Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent New Truth release from Mark Daniel and it's a solid rocker. Opening with Slow Setting Sun , Daniel who handles lead vocal and guitar is joined by Mickey Curry on drums and Marc Hickox on bass. Heart Stops Beating is a heavy footed rocker with a tight bottom. Daniel's vocals are crisp and his guitar playing loose and colorful with blues and metal influences. Very cool. Walk Through Fire is a definite radio track with a solid melody and a great bass line. Coming Down is an interesting rocker sounding a bit like The Police but with a more forward drive. Wrapping the release is Got It Bad with a solid melody and tight rhythm. This is a cool first release (February 23, 2018) for Daniel.   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 ...

I just received the newest release, Baroque Blues Vol. 1 , from Robert Zott and it is quite adventurous to say the least. I first need to say that I don't often get works that are literally pieces of art to be experienced and less resemble conventional music, but I do welcome new experiences. There are parts of this release that have familiar themes and passages and others that defy my description. Opening with I'm Just Me , the most musical track on the release, finds Zott singing through a nautical singing tube along with minimal acoustical guitar, electronics and Morse code. This track sounds like it could be from my favorite David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) era and I must say, I really like it. Next up is an interpretation of Willie Dixon's Red Rooster . Now this is a really loose interpretation with electric guitar and basic bass and percussion for atmosphere with dog barks and rooster crows, supplemented by random thoughts. Interesting at the least! Timepiece is a mel...

Josh Smith was born October 7, 1979 in Middletown, Connecticut. Before he was 1, his family relocated to Florida, eventually settling in Pembroke Pines, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. At age 3, he received his first guitar and at 6, he started taking guitar lessons. Josh was exposed to the blues at an early age. He listened to a variety of artists, such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert King and T-Bone Walker. He also started going to concerts, including the Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. By 12, Josh was playing at established professional blues jams in South Florida, such as Musicians Exchange Café in Fort Lauderdale and Club M in Hollywood, FL. When Josh was 13, the Rhino Cats, house band at Club M, asked him to be the lead guitarist. Musicians Exchange owner Don Cohen was so taken aback by the talent of this young musician that he offered to help manage and develop Josh’s career. The Café was renowned for bringing in the best national touring blues bands...

Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz (born May 13, 1945) is an American musician, and the harmonica player for The J. Geils Band. In addition to the harmonica, Salwitz plays the trumpet (the first instrument he learned) and saxophone. Born in New London, Connecticut, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he met John "J" Geils and Danny Klein and became a founding member of The J. Geils Band in 1968. Salwitz's harmonica playing became a major and distinctive element in the J. Geils Band's sound during their hard-rocking 1970s heyday. Critics have described his performance of "Whammer Jammer" on the J. Geils Band's live album Full House as proof of his remarkable harmonica skill. To this day, aspiring harmonica players the world over attempt to emulate that musically challenging performance which several harmonicists have cited as the inspiration that started their interest in the instrument. In The Rolling Stone...

Hash Brown (Brian Calway), born September 22, 1955 has been playing the blues since 1973. He moved from Connecticut to Dallas, TX in 1983. Since moving to Dallas, Hash Brown has played with many of Texas's finest bluesmen, including ZuZu Bollin, Sam Myers, Henry Quails, Ray Sharpe, Big Al Dupree, Robert Ealey, and U.P. Wilson just to name a few. Currently, Hash Brown runs no less than 3 blues jams a week, and plays in a multitude of different arrangements of musicians, everything from solo Texas and Mississippi style blues, to a trio playing a wide range of modern sounds, 4,5 and 6 piece bands playing Chicago style blues or jump style big band. Hash Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, and besides being a great talent on guitar, he is a superb harmonica player and vocalist. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Tony Joe Sarno is a guitarist, singer, producer, and songwriter. As a recording artist Tony has toured the United States, Europe, Australia, and Argentina. As a songwriter he has over 20 published songs and has co-written with Keith Christopher ("Over the top"-Ray Charles), Eddy Shaver ("Live forever" -Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings & Kris Kristofferson) and Fred Koller ( "Angel eyes"-Jeff Healy). As a guitarist he has played with David Clayton Thomas' Blood Sweat and Tears, The Crystals, Del Shannon, Essra Mohawk, and Peter Tork. As a record producer, Tony produced international releases Thunderhawks, his Tony Sarno and Silent night records, and co-produced Dee Archer Band's "Sooner or later" and Tony Sarno & the screamin' blue demons "It's a blues thing". He has shared numerous concert bills with B.B. King, as well as bills with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hall & Oates ,Johnny Winter, and L...

Lazer Lloyd is a World Renown Blues/Rock singer/songwriter/guitar player that lives in Israel. He record’s and performs both acoustic and electric. Lazer has toured around the world and has warmed up for such artists as Johnny Winter, Prince, Snowy White, Olie Brown…as well as headlining major festivals in his home country Israel. Lazer was raised on The Blues. That was his religion growing up in CT/USA. At age 15 Lazer was playing in night club’s and around the Connecticut Shoreline/New Haven in his successful group Legacy. At 18 Lazer went to major in music at Skidmore College where for 4 years he played extensively and studied under famous blues men such as Milt Hinton (bass player for Louis Armstrong) Randy Brecker (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and Gene Bertoncini. After college Lazer returned to CT to form his own band The Last Mavericks which played Lazer’s original energetic and emotional Blues/Rock. The Last Mavericks became very popular and their first Demo gained them a showcase w...

This Anaheim, California, Blues, Funk and Soul band melds a diverse group of SoCal musicians, who integrate their musical styles and experiences to deliver a fresh 'SoCal Style' musical edge to the blues. Powerful vocals, signature guitar work, a tight rhythm section, and the world renowned Blues Bettie Horns give the band versatility and musical strength, and Blues Bettie knows how to deliver this musical experiance straight into your soul. Their audiences are growing, validated by four nominations as the best Blues Band by the OC Music Awards. Shari Puorto Vocals Claude von Trotha Guitar, Vocals Tommy Bellone Hammond, Piano Billy Pulliam Bass, Vocals Felix 'D-Kat' Pollard Drums & Percussion Louis Van Taylor Tenor Sax Adam Schroeder Bari Sax Ryan Porter Trombone Bijon Watson Trumpet If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Just got a copy of Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts new cd, Call My Name , and it really fine! The recording is made up of 11 band penned tracks and starts off with Anti-Blues Pill ,a spartan blues rocker with just the right mix of vocals, guitar, harp and rhythm. Love At First Sight is a driving blues rocker track with a really cool guitar ripper in the middle. One More Night is a R&B track with a strong vocal lead. The harp solo on this track shows not only good feeling but also great tone. When It Rains has that Texas Blues lope with harp and slide base. This is a pretty strong track. Call My Name has a bit of the R&B sound with a southern twist. These guys have obviously done their homework. I Choose The Blues is a great song set around the Link Wray style sound...reverb and all. It sets a cool ambiance and then uses the contrast of the vocal with the guitar trem and the harp to blow it out.... excellent! Real Prince Charming gets into the Chicago groove and the ha...

“YOU GOT TO LIVE IT TO GIVE IT”, states the first line from Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts’ latest CD, “Call My Name”. In their 12 years together, Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts have, indeed, lived it. They’ve logged countless gigs and countless miles in a Honda minivan, playing clubs and festivals throughout the Northeast and beyond. Being in a blues band in today’s music market is never easy. Nonetheless, the band keeps moving forward, outlasting musical trends and clubs that have come and gone. Though the band will always be rooted in the Chicago and West Coast blues they have built their reputation on, “Call My Name” expands their sound with soul, proto-rock & roll and even ska. Their songwriting has matured equally. Certainly the common blues themes of love lost and found are here, but the songs on “Call My Name” also reflect the changes and growth of the band members over the last seven years with topics ranging from depression to choosing music over a relationship to the...

While not traditionally known as a blues player... Mayer sure gets a rise out of the predominantly young crowd when he plays it.... is there still some thought that the blues is in poor health? BS John Clayton Mayer (play /ˈmeɪ.ər/ may-ər;[1] born October 16, 1977) is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues...

Desireé Apolonio Bassett (born September 11, 1992) is an American rock music guitarist and recording artist. Considered a child prodigy, she has performed alongside mainline performers such as Sammy Hagar, Ted Nugent, Living Colour, Barry Goudreau, the Marshall Tucker Band and members of the Allman Brothers Band. She was named "Best Musician" by Talent America in 2005, has released two studio albums and has performed many times on both coasts of the United States. In 2005, Bassett was voted Talent America's "Musician of the Year" in New York City. After Bassett performed on the side stage at Ozzfest in Hartford, CT, Bassett started playing open microphone events around Connecticut. Bassist Doug Wimbish discovered Bassett at an open mic in Hartford, Connecticut and invited her to play at his annual Wim-Bash the following night. Now playing shows in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont and performing alongside artists like Living Colour, Andy Aledort,...