Grant Dermody & Frank Fotusky - Digging in John's Backyard - New Release Review
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (January 14, 2022), Digging In John's Backyard , by Grant Dermody & Frank Fotusky and it's a solid acoustic blues release focused around the work of mutual friend, John Jackson. Opening with Blind Blake's Hey Hey Daddy Blues , Fotusky takes the lead on guitar and vocal. This is a springy, Piedmont style track with a solid harmonica solo by Dermody and continued super picking by Fotusky. Another Blind Blake track, Police Dog Blues has Dermody on lead vocal and guitar with some really nice stylistic harmonica riffs. One of my favorite tracks on the release is slower paced, You Better Lie Down with focused vocals and wailing harmonica by Dermody and tasty blues riffs by Fotusky. Rev Gary Davis' classic, Death Don't Have No Mercy is another of my favorites on the release featuring Fotusky on lead vocal and guitar. I've always loved this track and with understated harmonica throughout and a rich s...