Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, In The Dark from Sparky Parker is it's an energy packed fireball. Opening with title track, I n The Dark , a solid radio rocker, lead singer and guitarist Sparky Parker shows his showmanship with solid vocals and use of wah wah on his rhythm work under the lead. With Kevin Berry on drums and Phillip Lock on bass, a cool opener. This Old Thing has great rhythm, super tone and stinging guitar riffs under solid melody making it another strong radio contender. Games has a classic blues guitar styling and Parker's vocals really shine on one of my favorites tracks on the release. Sleepy Town is blues but a newer, less formal styling, strong lead guitar and nicely blended vocals gives it a great unique appeal. Excellent! The rolling Stones' country rocker, Dead Flowers , is always a great track and this is no exception. Parker takes the pace up just a notch and with a tight rhythm and simple paired vocals gives...

Connor Ray Music Set to Release New CD from Houston-Based Duo, Dry Johnson, Long Live Them Blues Vol. 1 , On October 5 HOUSTON, TX – Connor Ray Music announces an October 5 release date for the debut CD from Houston-based duo, Dry Johnson, Long Live Them Blues, Vol. 1 .    Dry Johnson is comprised of bassist Terry Dry and drummer Matthew Robert Johnson, who collectively have formed the powerhouse rhythm section backing award-winning Texas guitarslinger Mike Zito for almost two years. Zito returns the favor on Long Live Them Blues, Vol. 1 by playing guitar and singing on several tracks of the new disc. Zito also joins another Houston favorite, Annika Chambers, for a soul-searing vocal duet on the lead-off song, “Daddy’s Got a Cadillac.” Other special guests on the Dry Johnson debut include legendary singer (and Connor Ray labelmate) Trudy Lynn, guitarists John Del Toro Richardson, Mighty Orq and James Wilhite, harmonica ace Steve Krase...

'BADASS BLUES' STRAIGHT OUT OF HOUSTON, TEXAS: LOVELACE BROTHERS RELEASE NEW SINGLE, GET READY TO TOUR THE U.S.    (Houston, TX) - Straight out of Southeast Texas, home of ZZ Top, the late, great Johnny Winter, and Janis Joplin, The Lovelace Brothers have released a smokin' new single, " Leaving ," (purchase the single at CD Baby, here ) and are readying a U.S. tour for the Summer of 2017, Billy Lovelace, the group's guitarist-vocalist and principal songwriter, has announced.   The Lovelace Brothers, who made thei...

Acclaimed Houston Blues Singer Trudy Lynn Signs with Piedmont Talent for Booking Representation Trudy Lynn Just Nominated for a Blues Music Award in Traditional Blues Female Category HOUSTON, TX – Connor Ray Music artist Trudy Lynn, whose latest CD is drawing rave reviews and substantial radio airplay for I’ll Sing the Blues for You , has been signed by Piedmont Talent for booking representation. Trudy was also just announced as a nominee for the Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female) by the Blues Foundation in Memphis for the upcoming Blues Music Awards in May. “Piedmont Talent is honored to add Blues/Soul legend Trudy Lynn to our roster,” said Piedmont Talent CEO Jay Stollman in making the announcement. “Trudy’s profound talent and acclaimed musical history clearly define her as the ‘real deal’....a standout among the field of Blues vocalists, past and present. Simply put, Trudy Lynn sings the Blues as the Blues deserves to be sung....with heart, soul, p...

Connor Ray Music Set to Release New CD from Acclaimed Houston Blues Singer Trudy Lynn, I’ll Sing the Blues for You , on October 21 Trudy Lynn Will Celebrate New Album’s Release with a Special Show at Houston’s Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club on Saturday, October 22 HOUSTON, TX – Connor Ray Music announces an October 21 release date for I’ll Sing the Blues for You, the new CD from acclaimed Houston-based blues singer Trudy Lynn. I’ll Sing the Blues for You features 10 tracks dripping with blues, soul and R&B, and includes her unique takes on songs from Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Fulsom, Memphis Minnie and Johnny Copeland, among others, as well as the funky original, “Thru Chasin’ You,” destined to be a fan favorite. Backing Trudy on the new album are label president Steve Krase on harmonica, David Carter on guitar, Terry Dry on bass, Randy Wall on keyboards and Matt Johnson on drums.   Trudy Lynn will celebrate the new album with a special CD rele...

Houston, Texas-Based Glenna Bell Presents Lone Star: Songs and Stories Straight from the Heart of Texas on April 15 HOUSTON, TX – Singer-songwriter Glenna Bell announces an April 15 release date for her new CD, Lone Star: Songs and Stories Straight from the Heart of Texas , the provocative new album of songs from the native Texan. Produced by Mark Abernathy and  recorded at Sugar Hill Studios in Houston, The Finishing School in Austin and Sea Fog Studio in England, Lone Star offers an authentic array of songs ranging in mood and tempo from a cover of the chart-topping ballad, “Everybody’s Changing,” by the UK band Keane, which showcases its writer Tim Rice-Oxley on piano and harmonium, to Glenna’s all-original “Pig in Lipstick Blues,” featuring veteran Austin players Johnny Nicholas (Asleep at the Wheel) on boogie-woogie piano/guitar and George Reiff (Joe Walsh) and Rick Richards ( Ray Wylie Hubbard ) on bass and drums.  Themes run the gamut from story-so...

TEXAS: Come on out and welcome Hamilton & Band back from their Europe tour! Our Houston show  (Last Concert Cafe) on Fri. Oct. 3 features the youngest bands to ever do a show with Hamilton (ages 9, 11, 13, & 13)...see the listing below for details! 10/3/14 Houston, TX Last Concert Cafe (w/guests Campfire Soul & Rusted Avenue ) 8pm TICKETS 10/4/14 Houston, TX Guitars N Cars Fundraiser @ Sam Houston Racepark 6pm TICKETS 10/10/14 Breda, NETHERLANDS Blues Night Breda @ Mezz 8pm 10/11/14 Dunkerque, FRANCE Bay Car Blues Festival 11:30pm 10/24/14 Beaumont, TX Madison's 9:30pm 10/25/14 Houston, TX Private Event 10/30/14 Ganado, TX Rear Window Listening Room 8pm 10/31/14 Galveston, TX Crow's Cantina 9pm Halloween Party! 11/1/14 Conroe, TX Dosey Doe Music Cafe 8pm TICKETS Please forward this email to any of your friends/family in these cities!! www.hamiltonloomis.com

Alan Haynes (February 19, 1956), born in Houston, Texas, is an American Texas Blues guitarist. Alan has been playing professionally since the 1970s and has performed with a variety of Blues legends that include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Albert King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1980's version with Jimmie Vaughan), Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, and Otis Rush among others. He now resides in Austin, Texas and plays locally in and around Texas' major cities, especially Houston (where he performs nearly every month), occasionally in Dallas and Fort Worth, and also Europe, where he has a large following in Scandinavian countries, Germany, Denmark and Israel. In the late 1970s Alan joined the Texas Boogie Band as a second guitarist but eventually became the main guitarist. Alan moved to Austin, TX in the early 1980s. While playing with the Texas Boogie Band, Haynes got to open and share the stage with legendary Blues artists such as Muddy Waters....

Maurice James Simon (born March 26, 1929, Houston, TX) is a jazz saxophonist. A high school classmate of Eric Dolphy (1945-6) Simon appears on an early 1945 Los Angeles recording in a band led by Russell "Illinois" Jacquet and which also included Teddy Edwards, Charles Mingus, Bill Davis and Chico Hamilton. In 1948, again with Jacquet as leader, Simon was in an all-star band recording in Detroit, which included Sonny Stitt, Leo Parker, Sir Charles Thompson, Al Lucas and Shadow Wilson He went on to join the Gerald Wilson Orchestra which also included Snooky Young, Red Kelly and Melba Liston. In 1950 he recorded for Savoy Records backing Helen Humes in a big band with Dexter Gordon, Ernie Freeman, Red Callender and J.C. Heard. In the 1970s he was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. He also played with Fats Domino, Papa John Creach, Big Maybelle, Faye Adams, Bumble Bee Slim, Percy Mayfield and B. B. King.  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents...

Milton Roosevelt Hopkins was born in Houston’s Fifth Ward on January 30, 1934. His first musical influences came from the numerous bands in his neighborhood of Trinity Gardens and one local gospel quartet in particular. He picked up an old guitar with 4 rusty strings that was hanging from a nail on the back porch. It wasn’t long before he formed a band with other aspiring neighborhood musicians. One of the first gigs found Johnny “Guitar Watson” sitting in. This was the beginning of a career that led Milton to play with B.B. King, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, The Drifters and many, many other great Blues and R&B artists. Milton tried copying some licks from his famous cousin, Lightnin’ Hopkins, but soon realized he had to find his own way. The artists that sought his talents were playing more modern styles of Blues and R&B. His talent and work ethic brought him to the attention of Little Richard, who formed a band with Milton and Grady Gaines called the Tempo To...

Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband record labels, such as Lightnin' Slim and Lonesome Sundown. She also played piano with Otis Redding in the 1960s, but after his death went into semi-retirement. In the 1980s she was repeatedly booked for European tours and recorded albums for the German record label, Ornament Records. She cut You Know That's Right with the band Hot Links, and the album that established her in the United States; The Swamp Boogie Queen with guest spots by Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray. She performed at both the San Francisco Blues Festival and Long Beach Blues Festival. Webster suffered a stroke in 1993 while touring Greece and returned to performing the following year. She died from heart failure in League City, Texas, in September 1999. If you support live Blues...

Goree Carter (December 31, 1930 - December 29, 1990) was an American R&B singer and rock and roll guitarist, best known for his 1949 single, "Rock Awhile," which is considered a strong contender for the "first rock and roll record" title and featured an over-driven electric guitar style similar to that of Chuck Berry several years later Goree Carter was born in Houston, Texas. In 1949 he and his jump blues band, The Hepcats, signed for Freedom Records, a local record label set up by Sol Kahal, and recorded the label's first release, "Sweet Ole Woman Blues." As well as Carter, the band featured two saxophones, trumpet, piano, bass and drums Carter's electric guitar style was influenced by Aaron "T-Bone" Walker, but was over-driven and had a rougher edge which presaged the sound of rock and roll a few years later. His single-string runs and two-string "blue note" chords anticipated, and may have influenced, Chuck Berry. At...