Bman's Blues Report

Hazmat Modine is a blues/indie folk/world fusion musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself. According to lead singer, Wade Schuman this is appropriate since the band "blows a lot of hot air," including harmonicas, tubas and saxophones. The band's first album, titled Bahamut and released on the Geckophonic label, peaked at #12 on Billboard's "Top Blues Albums" chart. Reviewing the album for Allmusic, Jeff Tamarkin gave it four stars out of a possible five, and termed it a "stunning debut". Tamarkin praised the band for successfully fusing styles as disparate as blues, jazz, klezmer, calypso, and ska into "music that sounds at once ageless and primeval, authentically indigenous and inexplicably otherworldly, familiar and unlike anything else." He also prai...

Playing an old Jaybird Coleman tune. New cd coming on on May 21. Check back for review. One of New York’s most original bands, HAZMAT MODINE delivers a rustic, deliriously Dionysian blend of whorehouse Blues, Reggae, Klezmer, Country and Gypsy-tinged music. The band features the dueling harmonicas of front-man Wade Schuman and his sparring partner Bill Barrett, funky tuba powerhouse Joseph Daley, guitarists Michael Gomez and Pete Smith, trumpeter Pam Fleming and drummer Rich Huntley. HAZMAT holds down a smoldering groove behind Schuman’s raspy, bluesy voice and passionately energetic stage presence. (Schuman is one of the most dynamic performers on the New York scene). Their playful blend of genres also extends to their use of instrumentation, including the sheng (the ancient Chinese mouth organ), the unique and odd claviola, and sometimes the cimbalom (the Romanian hammered dulcimer). While they play mostly originals, their cover versions are choice and eclectic, including songs by Sl...