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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


Please email me at Info@Bmansbluesreport.com
Showing posts with label Indiana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indiana. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Jon Strahl Band - Heartache And Toil - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Heartache and Toil, from Jon Strahl Band and it 's a cool, gritty blues rocker. Opening with Hey Yeah, All Right a snappy but grimy blues number with great vocals and overdriven guitar tones from Strahl, solid bass work from Mitch Millhoff, simple drum rhythms from Nick Mallers, keys by Bill Mallers, and the addition of Joshua Silbert on sax, Bruce Knepper on trumpet, Charlie Krone on trombone, this band is is on its way. How Long sounds like a page right from the Mississippi hill country blues notebook. With it's simple, driving rhythm and guitar/vocal melodic lead, this track is terrific. With more of a jam approach on title track, Heartache and Toil, the band shows blues and jazz influences. An extended, all clean and rich guitar lead, Strahl leaves no question that he has chops. R&B ballad, The Weight I Feel shows Strahl's influence from yet another base and his voice lends itself nicely to this soulful effort and the warm vibe of Bill on organ leads nicely into a melodic guitar solo by Strahl. Wrapping the release is Indiana Moonrise featuring Strahl on straight up acoustic guitar, finger picked clean and bright. Excellent closer for a real solid release.


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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Leave My Little Girl Alone - Tyler Mac

Born in Anderson, Indiana, Tyler started his professional career at the age of 13 and touring internationally at age 18. He has shared the stage or opened for everyone from Joe Bonamassa, Van Morrision, The Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter, John Rich and the list goes on and on. Tyler has toured the world and played for thousands over the last 8 years. His debut album "Already Home" (recorded with super producer David Z) is scheduled to be released early 2012. Check out his video of "Leave My Little Girl Alone" featuring Dane Clark from the John Mellencamp band!




  “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Coal Shed - The Ken Tucker Band

Ken Tucker was born on January 12, 1965, he was born in Sullivan, Indiana. .. Now on Benevolent Blues Records ( www.benevolentblues.com ) with latest CD, "Juke Joint Serenade". Booking and representation through: Iris Ayers at Ayers Entertainment 702-439-6443... Ken Tucker has 27 years experience as a guitarist, songwriter, and performer. He has played for several groups over the years including,Christian Music Legend, Larry Norman. Canadian Rocker, Lindsay Ell, Darrell Mansfield, as well as sharing the stage with the extraordinary, Shawn Mullins. Josh Hammond, Ken's occasional music partner and collaborator, is a harmonica playing and guitar picking force of nature. In spite of their diverse musical upbringings, they compliment each other amazingly well. Ken's gravelly, baritone voice is a perfect blend for Josh's high tenor harmonies. They have been getting lots of airplay in the US and overseas. If blues, gospel, folk, americana, and old school country is your forte', then you will find a musical friend in BackPorch Pilgrims. Check 'em out. Go ahead... you know you want to.

  “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Sad Sam Blues Jam

Girls. Guitars. Blues. THE SAD SAM BLUES JAM is all that and more! These ladies are oozing with talent and have created quite a stir in Indiana and beyond. Fronted by sisters Sadie Johnson, 16, on lead guitar and vocals, and Sam Johnson, 18, on bass, these gals exude amazing chemistry and bring extreme excitement to the stage. Sadie plays guitar with the heart and passion of a much older, wiser soul, yet her original songs have a young, gritty attitude. Sam can rock a bass like NO other, giving an unforgettable performance every time. Matt Mc Carthy holds down the groove whether it is blues or funk. He is a drummer/mind-reader and keeps up with the girls every time.

 “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE



 

Monday, August 5, 2013

Experience "Indy Blues"/Two Big Planetary Blues Band Indiana Shows This Weekend


 
Friday, Aug. 9 - Leroy's Hot Stuff, Porter  
Saturday, Aug. 10 - Shoreline Brewery, Michigan City
Experience 'Indy Blues': The Planetary Blues Band, three brothers hailing from Valparaiso, are out to do Indiana proud with the release of their new album, Once Upon A Time In The South Loop. They play two high-energy live gigs in Indiana this Friday and Saturday. For more info log onto www.planetary.com or https://www.facebook.com/theplanetarybluesband.

  (Indianapolis, IL) -  Experience 'Indy Blues' twice this weekend when rising Indiana-based blues/jam/rock group The Planetary Blues Band hit the road for shows this Friday, August 9 at Leroy's Hot Stuff, 333 W. US Highway 20, in Porter; and Saturday, August 10 at Shoreline Brewery, 208 Wabash St., Michigan City. Click on links for additional show information.

 
"Once Upon A Time In The South Loop"  - What The Press Is Saying So Far

"Someone you want to keep on your radar...able to take an older genre and incorporate new and fresh sounds...sound like a band who's been playing on Memphis' Beale street for years. 9 out of 10 Stars."
                                                                           BLUES ROCK REVIEW

"After giving "Once Upon A Time In The South Loop", the latest release by The Planetary Blues Band, just a few listens, I could not come to any conclusion, other than this album is pretty damn good. Consists of ten immensely entertaining tracks...an extremely talented band that offer up a nice fresh take on the Blues."            BLUES UNDERGROUND NETWORK

"This is what the Rolling Stones would sound like if they were just starting today: a band dedicated completely to the blues..."Blues Resurrection is so deep and so real that you could almost swear you're in some wooden shanty of a blues bar in some Southern backwoods, with the stale smell of smoke and illegal whiskey in the air. Keep an eye on The Planetary Blues Band, folks. These guys are going places."  BOOMEROCITY

"Having characteristics similar to early British blues bands, this album has a fresh, familiar sound...'The Thorns Will Show You' has a real Sixties sound than can easily become a radio player. Definitely an interesting release."                                                          BMANS BLUES REPORT
 
  'Legend'-ary Memories: At Buddy Guys Legends in Chicago this past May, a capacity crowd of Planetary Blues Band friends and followers were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime memory: Blues great (and Legends proprietor) Buddy Guy joining the group onstage, performing a few songs with the band during their CD Release Party.

  Giving Back: The Planetary Blues Band are presently donating half of their song sales to the Fender Music Foundation charity - @GiveMusicLife #musicforgood.

 This unique trio of brothers (Martin Schaefer-Murray, guitar-vocals; Michael Schaefer-Murray, guitar-vocals; Bobby Schaefer-Murray, bass; also Nick Evans, drums) got their start playing, and being influenced by, the Blues. The band was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1999 in their mother's basement, where they spent countless hours learning entire albums by Chicago Blues greats like Magic Sam, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Son Seals. From there, over the course of the past ten-plus years, Planetary has held onto those roots while expanding outward into various other corners of the musical universe.
                                

  "We decided to keep it simple, and write with the Blues as our focus. The idea for this album, and our albums to come, is to explore the Blues genre as fully and concisely as possible." - Martin Schaefer-Murray in All Access Magazine interview (read entire interview here: http://allaccessmagazine.com/2013/04/25/the-planetary-blues-band/).

  With the release of Once Upon A Time In The South Loop, The Planetary Blues Band take a giant step towards fulfilling their goals - "pushing our new album, getting more radio play, and gigging as much as possible....(also to) work, write songs, and pay tribute where it is due.  
  "We know the blues scene and we know our unique selling points. A plan is in place. Any goal without a plan is a wish, and we have big goals."
  The Planetary Blues Band at Buddy Guys Legends performing during their sold-out CD Release Party in May.




                   

       
Once Upon A Time In The South Loop CDs & Band Interviews Available. 
 

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Marsha's Lament - The Ken Tucker Band

Ken Tucker was born on January 12, 1965, he was born in Sullivan, Indiana. .. Now on Benevolent Blues Records ( www.benevolentblues.com ) with latest CD, "Juke Joint Serenade". Booking and representation through: Iris Ayers at Ayers Entertainment 702-439-6443... Ken Tucker has 27 years experience as a guitarist, songwriter, and performer. He has played for several groups over the years including,Christian Music Legend, Larry Norman. Canadian Rocker, Lindsay Ell, Darrell Mansfield, as well as sharing the stage with the extraordinary, Shawn Mullins. Josh Hammond, Ken's occasional music partner and collaborator, is a harmonica playing and guitar picking force of nature. In spite of their diverse musical upbringings, they compliment each other amazingly well. Ken's gravelly, baritone voice is a perfect blend for Josh's high tenor harmonies. They have been getting lots of airplay in the US and overseas. If blues, gospel, folk, americana, and old school country is your forte', then you will find a musical friend in BackPorch Pilgrims. Check 'em out. Go ahead... you know you want to.

  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!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Carson Diersing

Stammering, 8-year old Carson Diersing mustered up every ounce of guts he had to tell his harmonica teacher, Indiana music legend Tony Cooley, that “Skip To My Lou” (his first assignment) was not his style. Mr. Cooley looked Carson straight in the eye and proclaimed, “You’re 8 years old. You don’t have a style.” Two weeks later Tony encouraged Carson’s family to go to The Bean Blossom Blues Fest and enter young Carson in his first harmonica contest. Carson did—playing “Skip to My Lou,” naturally. However, Carson was stunned when he was announced the first-place winner. He walked onto the huge stage at the Bill Monroe Campground—and from that point his life changed: “Looking out at that huge crowd that day did something to me—the energy was astounding!” Carson recalls. He never looked back—deciding there that he would make his life making music. Carson began playing as much as he could, and continually sitting in with other artists—and his life became a whirlwind. By 12, he was featured on “Yoke’s Easy” from Bobby Hayden’s Broadway Project with Ozzy Osborne’s late drummer, Randy Costillo, and Meatloaf’s original bassist, Rick Bozzo. At 13, he became the youngest harmonica player in history to be endorsed by Hohner Harmonicas. Just this year, he won the 2012 Honeyboy Edwards Fund for the Blues at The National Blues Museum, and will attend a master class in Clarksdale, MS. Along the way he picked up an endorsement from Shaker Microphones, was photographed by world-renowned rock photographer Robert M. Knight (in Indianapolis, and on Memphis’ Beale Street)—all while notching shows at The International Blues Challenge (Memphis), The Super Bowl Village, The Indianapolis 500 Hall of Fame, NHRA Nationals, The Hard Rock Café (Chicago & Memphis), and BB King’s in Memphis. Part of the intrigue surrounding Carson’s music is how effortlessly he honors the past—while unapologetically showing his youth. And the music world has noticed: “Once every decade or so I get the opportunity to work with a true prodigy. THANK GOD I lived long enough to hear Carson. At 13 this kid is better than most 40-year harp vest. The kid is the harp player of tomorrow, and he’s playing it today!” proclaims legendary Indianapolis music promoter Bill Levin. Carson is both self-confident—yet supremely humble. He knows exactly who he is musically—citing Jimi Hendrix, Howlin’ Wolf and Tony Cooley as his biggest influences. Yet, Carson is equally passionate about his guitar playing and singing—and is committed to making films about skateboarding (he’s also an avid skater). For Carson, music is all about communication. “I want my music to tell stories and influence people. I want to write music and perform music that makes people want to hear more.” This was a dream he realized while playing at The Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis. Despite the rain, the huge crowd was extremely receptive—with everyone from toddlers to 80-year olds dancing along with his music. In short, Carson’s music is infectious, and transcends boundaries.

 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!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

One Too Many Women - The Donald Kinsey Band

Donald Kinsey (born May 12, 1953, Gary, Indiana, United States) is an American guitarist and singer, best known as a member of The Wailers Band, the reggae backing group for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Kinsey is one of three sons of the late Chicago blues performer, Big Daddy Kinsey. He is a member of The Kinsey Report, which he formed in 1984 with his brothers Ralph Kinsey and Kenneth Kinsey, plus Ron Prince. Previously he had toured and recorded with Albert King, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley & The Wailers and Roy Buchanan.


 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!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Big Fat Mama - Chuck Higgins

Charles Williams Higgins (born April 17, 1924 in Gary, Indiana; died September 14, 1999 in Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist. Higgins, who was noted for mixing elements of Latin Jazz with Blues, recorded in Los Angeles during the mid-fifties, notably for the Specialty, Combo and Doo-Tone labels, and is best remembered for the song "Pachuko Hop". Higgins relocated from Gary to Los Angeles in his teens, where he played trumpet and went to school at the Los Angeles Conservatory. Later switching to saxophone, he penned the single "Pachuko Hop" (1952), which became popular among American Latinos on the West Coast. The "Pachuko Hop" single's B-side, "Motorhead Baby", was the inspiration for the nickname of musician Motorhead Sherwood, who played with Frank Zappa. The song "Pachuko Hop" is also referenced in the lyrics to the songs "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" on Zappa's album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968) and "Debra Kadabra" by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart on their collaborative album Bongo Fury (1975). Zappa listed Chuck Higgins as a reference in his influence list accompanying his album Freak Out! (1966). The 1955 single, "Wetback Hop", became the subject of controversy because of the use of the derogatory term for Mexicans in the title. It was an attempt to associate the listener with the earlier success of "Pachuko Hop", which refers to Mexican zoot suiters of the 1940s. He died of lung cancer in 1999 Higgins also played as a sideman with Charlie Parker and The Orioles, among others, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson played in Higgins's band for a short time. He recorded for Aladdin Records, Caddy Records, Lucky Records, Specialty Records, and Dootone Records, achieving regional success into the 1960s. In the middle of the 1960s he left active performance to become a teacher, though in the 1970s he recorded a few songs in the disco style. Later that decade and into the 1980s he returned to 1950s-style R&B, touring California clubs as well as England. Some of Higgins's back catalogue was released on reissue labels in the 1990s and 2000s  

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 favorites band! ”LIKE”

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Moanin' - Freddie Hubbard & Art Blakey

Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trumpeter Lee Katzman, former sideman with Stan Kenton, recommended that he begin studying at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music (now the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University) with Max Woodbury, the principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In his teens Hubbard worked locally with brothers Wes and Monk Montgomery and worked with bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding. In 1958, at the age of 20, he moved to New York, and began playing with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy, J. J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. In June 1960 Hubbard made his first record as a leader, Open Sesame, with saxophonist Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Clifford Jarvis. In the 1980s Hubbard was again leading his own jazz group - this time with Billy Childs and Larry Klein, among others, as members - attracting very favorable reviews, playing at concerts and festivals in the USA and Europe, often in the company of Joe Henderson, playing a repertory of hard-bop and modal-jazz pieces. Hubbard played at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in 1980 and in 1989 (with Bobby Hutcherson). He played with Woody Shaw, recording with him in 1985, and two years later recorded Stardust with Benny Golson. In 1988 he teamed up once more with Blakey at an engagement in Holland, from which came Feel the Wind. In 1990 he appeared in Japan headlining an American-Japanese concert package which also featured Elvin Jones, Sonny Fortune, pianists George Duke and Benny Green, bass players Ron Carter, and Rufus Reid, with jazz and vocalist Salena Jones. He also performed at the Warsaw Jazz Festival at which Live at the Warsaw Jazz Festival (Jazzmen 1992) was recorded. Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992 where he ruptured his upper lip and subsequently developed an infection, Hubbard was again playing and recording occasionally, even if not at the high level that he set for himself during his earlier career. His best records ranked with the finest in his field.

  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!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Floyd's Guitar Blues - Floyd Smith Combo

This guitarist covered much stylistic territory in his long and active career, starting out in wandering '30s territory bands such as Eddie Johnson's Crackerjacks and winding up smack in the middle of the disco era, playing an important part in the career of singer Loleatta Hollaway, whom he married. Smith's father was a drummer; the boy's entry to guitar was a ukulele and after switching up he went to the trouble of studying music theory in high school. During the late '30s the guitarist was a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and the Sunset Royal Orchestra as well as an outfit known as the Brown Skin Models. Prior to serving overseas during the second World War, Smith also flailed out chord changes behind bandleader Andy Kirk, doing a good enough job that this job was waiting for him when returned to civilian life. Smith began leading his own groups, usually small configurations such as trios. The stepping stone toward his later musical productions was the kind of soul-jazz created by players such as organist Wild Bill Davis. During the early '60s Smith also worked with Bill Doggett, whose funky instrumental recordings became popular hits. A late-'60s profile on this guitarist in John Chilton's Who's Who in Jazz winds up with Smith playing in an Atlantic City duo with Hank Marr, but next on the agenda was starting his own label in Chicago and becoming the first producer to record Holloway, previously a gospel singer. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

  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!


Monday, March 25, 2013

Boy, What a Girl - Big Sid Catlett & Gene Krupa

Sidney Catlett (January 17, 1910 – March 25, 1951), was a swinging jazz drummer often referred to as "Big Sid Catlett" because of his large frame. Catlett was born in Evansville, Indiana, and started at piano, but switched to drums and entered formal study when his family moved to Chicago. His career began in Chicago in 1928 with Darnell Howard. In adulthood, he moved to New York City and worked with Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Elmer Snowden, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, and others. In 1941, he joined Benny Goodman's band and after that joined Teddy Wilson's Sextet. In 1944, he did an album with pianist Harry Gibson. He also had his own band and played for Louis Armstrong's All Stars from 1947 to 1949 and became his drummer of choice. He played bop, dixieland, and other styles. In early 1951, he began to suffer from pneumonia. In that same year, he died of a heart-attack while visiting friends backstage at a Hot Lips Page benefit concert in Chicago, Illinois. In 1996, he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

 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!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Tossin' and Turnin' - Bobby Lewis

Bobby Lewis (born February 17, 1933 or 1925, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an African American rock and roll and R&B singer. Lewis learned to play the piano by age six. Adopted at age twelve, he moved to a home in Detroit, Michigan. Growing up with the influences of the pioneer blues musicians until the advent of rock and roll, Lewis began to build a musical career in the 1950s, and in 1960 appeared at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. In July 1961, his recording of "Tossin' and Turnin'" went to No.1 for seven weeks on the Billboard chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Later that year, he had a second Top Ten song, "One Track Mind", his only other major hit record, at #9 Pop. "Tossin' And Turnin'", composed by Ritchie Adams and Malou Rene, was featured in the soundtrack for the 1978 film, Animal House. The song was also covered by Steve Goodman, The Replacements, The Guess Who, Peter Criss, and Jimmy Sturr, among others. The Ivy League's UK hit 'Tossin' And Turnin',
however, is a completely different song.

  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!


Saturday, February 9, 2013

Dark Was The Night/By and By - Catfish Keith

Cutting-edge blues singer, songwriter and bottleneck slide guitarist Catfish Keith has established himself as one of the most exciting country blues performers of our time. Catfish's innovative style of foot-stomping, deep delta blues and American roots music has spellbound audiences the world over. He has reinvented the guitar with great power and artistry, and brings a rare beauty and vitality to his music. Handing down the tradition, Catfish continues his lifelong journey as one of the brightest lights in acoustic blues and roots music. A two-time W. C. Handy Blues Award nominee for BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM, and 2008 inductee into the BLUES HALL OF FAME, Catfish has fourteen NUMBER ONE independent radio chart-topping albums to his credit, and packs houses all over the world with his dynamic stage show. The 30-year veteran has toured the USA, UK and Europe dozens of times to wide acclaim, headlining major music festivals, and appearing with legends John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj Mahal , Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines and many, many others. Catfish Keith was born in East Chicago, Indiana on February 9th, 1962. He first heard blues as a child while living in "The Harbor," a working-class, steel mill town. When he picked up the guitar as a teenager, he was inspired to pursue the deep delta blues after being converted by Son House. Following high school in Davenport, Iowa, Catfish hit the road, embarking on a lifelong quest as a solo performer of American roots music. His travels took him to the Caribbean, where in the Virgin Islands he crewed briefly on a sailboat, soaking up a wealth of island sounds. Rhythms of Jazz, Calypso, Reggae and the music of Joseph Spence gave Catfish inspiration to reach new musical heights. Though he grew up on the Mississippi River, Catfish earned his monicker from a West Indian lobster diving partner who, after seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man." In 1984, at age 22, Catfish recorded his first album (on Kicking Mule), Catfish Blues. The all-solo debut established him as a new force in acoustic blues, reaching Number One on independent worldwide radio charts. This enabled Catfish to play and tour continually, learning directly from legends such as Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, Jesse Mae Hemphill and Henry Townsend. Since then, Catfish has made a fourteen solo albums, including his latest, Put on a Buzz (on Fish Tail). He constantly tours the world, is a major endorser for National Reso-Phonic Guitars, and his music plays on top-rated TV shows in the USA and abroad. He’s also become a respected educator as well as performer, doing guitar workshops, master classes and blues in the schools throughout the the world. 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!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Down Behind The Rise - Guitar Pete Franklin

b. Edward Lamonte Franklin, 16 January 1928, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, d. 31 July 1975, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. His mother wrote many songs for her lodger Leroy Carr, and Franklin’s interest in music developed early, beginning with piano, on which he was as adept as on guitar. His guitar playing was influenced by local musicians Scrapper Blackwell and Jesse Ellery (who recorded as accompanist to Jack ‘Champion’ Dupree), but he could change his playing completely to fit with an amplified Chicago ensemble. As a pianist, Franklin was, not surprisingly, indebted to Leroy Carr, but on both instruments he was an original and remarkably accomplished musician, who was not recorded to the extent his talent merited. 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 favorites band! ”LIKE”

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Muskrat Ramble - Wilbur deParis and his New New Orleans Jazz

Next to Wilber deParis on trombone there are Sidney deParis on trumpet and cornet, Omer Simeon on clarinet and Wilbert Kirk on drums. Wilbur de Paris (January 11, 1900 – January 3, 1973) was a trombone player and band leader, especially known for mixing New Orleans jazz style with Swing. De Paris was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his father, Sidney G. Paris, who came from West Virginia and who was a musician (trombone, banjo, guitar), a circus barker, a ventriloquist, a minstrel, etc., had met and married his mother, Fannie Hyatt. By the autumn of 1906, when he was five, de Paris had started playing alto saxophone, and a year later was working for his father in one of his plantation shows. These shows were small travelling theatrical-musical groups of singers, dancers, actors, comedians, and musicians who mainly worked for Theatre Owners and Bookers Association in the South. They performed in small tents and theatres with a mixture of drama, musical and comedy sketches, magic, etc., which would later be incorporated into vaudeville. De Paris heard jazz first at age 16, circa 1917, as a member of a summer show that played at the Lyric Theatre. He also met Louis Armstrong whilst playing the saxophone at Tom Anderson's Cafe, and with A. J. Piron. After high school, de Paris worked for his father for a time, then worked for more travelling shows in the east, then started playing in Philadelphia in the early 1920s. His first band was Wilbur de Paris and his Cottonpickers. After the Wall Street Crash in 1929 he disbanded his second group and went to New York to play for many years with the greats of jazz and to make records. In the late 1940s, together with his brother, Sidney De Paris, he started a band called New New Orleans Jazz, featuring legendary jazzmen including the famed Jelly Roll Morton clarinetist Omer Simeon. Other band members included drummers Zutty Singleton & Freddie Moore. The banjo chair was filled first by Eddie Gibbs and later by Lee Blair also of Morton fame. Don Kirkpatrick was the band's most consistent piano player. This band became an institution in New York City during the 1950s and toured the world in the late 1950s. The band recorded extensively. 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!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I Wont Be Your Fool - Little Joe Hinton

Joe Hinton (November 15, 1929 – August 13, 1968) was an American soul singer. Hinton, who was born in Evansville, Indiana, began as a gospel singer with the Chosen Gospel Quartet and the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. Producer Don Robey asked the singer to try doing secular tunes, and Hinton began recording for Robey's record label, Peacock Records, in 1958. It was not until 1963, with his fifth single on the label, that he managed to chart with "You Know It Ain't Right"; the next single, "Better to Give Than to Receive", also hit the lower regions of the charts. His biggest hit was 1964's "Funny How Time Slips Away", written by Willie Nelson; the tune peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. Cash Box magazine listed "Funny How Time Slips Away" as #1 for four weeks on their R&B chart. The track sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. "I Want a Little Girl", the next single, also charted, but it was his last hit. Hinton died of skin cancer in 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 38, while still in the prime of his recording career. 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!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Your Cousin's on COPS - Rev. Peyton and His Big Damn Band

Roaring out of the southern Indiana foothills comes Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band playing a brand of Americana and Blues that stands alone – Delta blues and hillbilly fervor combine with musical acuity sharp as razor wire – best know, this trio is a force to be reckoned with. The growl of a good truck engine, the fiercest passion for his country home and family and an uncanny ability to breathe new life into old forms of music give them a pedigree many Americana acts would kill for and an ironclad work ethic keeps them on the road 250 dates a year, playing for the people with hurricane force. Locked in with an audience, the band create their own community and welcome the crowd into it, transporting them away from their troubles to joyous release, the way great musicians have done for centuries. The Rev. J. Peyton, his wife Breezy and distant cousin Aaron “Cuz” Persinger are a living breathing embodiment of the traditions and hard work ethic native to their Brown County, Indiana home. Their new album Between The Ditches is a chronicle of this lifestyle. 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”

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Ruby's Blues - Beat Daddys

Larry Grisham is a survivor, plain and simple. Both personally and professionally, he has overcome obstacles most people will never face. Time and again he not only met these challenges, but rose to them and came out the other side stronger for the experience. But isn't that what the Blues is all about? Larry was born in southern Indiana in 1953 and moved about much as a child, attending sixteen different schools before graduating from high school. He did, however, spend several formative years in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky living with his grandmother (whose first cousin happened to be legendary Country/Blues guitarist Merle Travis). This is where young Larry started to soak up the music. Not only was he exposed to the area's indigenous Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel and Soul Music, but like most kids his age he was taken with the new sound of Elvis, The Everly Brothers and later The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stax and Motown. Soon Larry learned to play drums, and enough guitar to start fooling around with trying to write his own songs. He went off to Lander University in South Carolina on a basketball scholarship but moonlighted playing drums with various Rock and Soul bands. Like a lot of young musicians in the late 1960s Larry discovered the Blues. It was a powerful force and by the time he left university the die was cast. He'd decided to pursue music as a career. He went back to his hometown of Evansville, Indiana and formed a Rock band called The Phonz in the late 1970s. Between 1980 and 1984 the group recorded two 45s and an EP for the small independent Limp Dog record label. The Phonz were a regional success but had run their course when Larry met Blues guitarist Tommy Stillwell and joined his band Stillwell in 1985, playing mostly Blues standards. By 1986 Larry and Tommy had decided to get serious about the music business and formed The Beat Daddys to showcase their original material. The band quickly became a success, toured the mid southern states and opened concerts for touring acts like Johnny Winter and Koko Taylor. In 1988 the group signed with Camelot Records and their debut album "Houserocking Rhythm & Blues" was released the following year. The record garnered substantial radio airplay and sold respectably enough to attract the attention of the most powerful Blues record company in the South. The Beat Daddys signed with Malaco Records and in 1992 released the critically acclaimed album "No, We Ain't From Clarksdale" on the Waldoxy subsidiary imprint, recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound studio. The record was an instant success and began a whirlwind of activity for the band. They toured relentlessly, sharing the stage with artists as diverse as B.B. King, Foghat, Mighty Sam McClain, Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets, Omar & The Howlers, 38 Special, Tower Of Power, Robert Cray, Elvin Bishop and James Cotton. Needless to say, The Beat Daddys had a broad appeal and a bright future ahead. They followed up with the album "South To Mississippi" in 1994, on which the group is augmented by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Muscle Shoals Horns. The following year Tommy Stillwell decided to leave the band and was replaced by Britt Meacham, the legendary Muscle Shoals studio guitarist who played lead on Bob Seger's multi million seller "Old Time Rock & Roll". They also added original Wet Willie drummer Lewis Ross and recorded their "Live" album in 1997. Larry Grisham had a franchise to look after and was not about to let the Beat Daddys falter. By the mid 1990s Larry was firmly entrenched in the Malaco family. He co-wrote with George Jackson ("Down Home Blues", "One Bad Apple", "Old Time Rock & Roll") and A.D. Prestage ("Shade Tree Mechanic", "I'm A Blues Man") and Larry's songs were recorded by Little Milton ("Love Of A Woman"), Dorothy Moore ("I'll Always Love You" and "Blues In The Night" which was used as the theme song of a television show of the same name in Sweden) and One Eyed Cat ("Train In The Distance", "Ruby's Blues"). He also played harmonica on recording sessions at Malaco, most notably on Bobby "Blue" Bland's Grammy nominated hit record "I'm A Blues Man". The Beat Daddys recordings were also featured on several Malaco compilations, including the incredible box set "The Last Soul Company". By the late 1990s Larry was living in Pass Christian, Mississippi and the band was going strong. At the turn of the century The Beat Daddys recorded "Delta Vision" at Kingsnake Studio in Florida with the aid of Allman Brothers Band keyboard player Johnny Neel (the album also featured a guest vocal by Sonny Rhodes). The record was released in 2001 and the band continued its relentless working schedule. It seemed there was nowhere to go but up for the Beat Daddys. Then, in 2005, tragedy struck. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but it completely wiped out the coast of Mississippi. Larry Grisham lost everything. Everything, that is, but his will to survive. Survive? Hell no! He found the strength to rise again even stronger. He lived in a FEMA trailer for the next eight months, trying to regroup and decide his next move. Out of all this turmoil came one of Larry's finest works. The album "Five Moons" was recorded in Nashville and released in 2006. It contains some of Larry Grisham's finest, most heartfelt songwriting. Wanting to put the Katrina nightmare behind him, Larry decided to relocate to the Nashville area, settling on a small farm outside of the city. The group continued to tour and released their second live album "Live At The Quincy Blues Fest" in 2007. Logistics were becoming an increasing problem for the group, however, as Larry was now living hundreds of miles from his Gulf Coast based musicians. Something had to give. In early 2009 The Beat Daddys rhythm section quit en masse. Larry and Britt soldiered on for a few months using pickup musicians, when Larry contacted his old friend, bass player Jeff "Stick" Davis. Davis had played with the group for a while in the late 1980s and was happy to help out. Jeff had been a founding member of the Amazing Rhythm Aces as well as a veteran sideman with artists like B.B. King, Al Green, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Ron Wood, Memphis Slim, Otis Rush and Jesse Winchester to name but a few. When Larry laid out his concerns for the future of The Beat Daddys, Jeff suggested a couple of his Nashville pals. Guitarist/songwriter/producer (and a recording artist in his own right) Fred James soon came on board as Britt Meacham bowed out. Fred had also played with the Amazing Rhythm Aces and handled guitar chores for artists as diverse as The Sam Lay Blues Band, Tommy Tutone, Frank Frost & The Jelly Roll Kings, Dr. Hook and Billy Joe Shaver. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Winter, Koko Taylor, Charlie Musslewhite, Son Seals and Junior Wells & Bonnie Raitt. He's produced albums for Homesick James, Roscoe Shelton, The Delta Jukes, David Olney, Johnny Jones and many others. To complete his "wish list" rhythm section, Davis chose drummer Waldo LaTowsky. Waldo had played with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (appearing on his Grammy nominated Alligator Records release "No Looking Back") and Bo Diddley, as well as recording with Frank Frost, Homesick James, Al Garner, The Roadrunners, Johnny Neel, and Mary-Ann Brandon. He had also toured and recorded with Chet Atkins and Country Music chanteuse Suzy Bogguss. The Beat Daddys suddenly had a powerhouse, all-star lineup. The newly revamped band is hard at work touring and writing songs for their next Malaco release. You've really got to hand it to Larry Grisham. Thanks to his unwavering dedication, The Beat Daddys have risen up yet again just when it seemed the odds were irretrievably against them. The future looks mighty bright for the group, but one thing you can be sure of......no matter where or when you encounter The Beat Daddys.......Larry Grisham will be at that drivin' wheel. 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” Video

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Walkin' The Dog - Kinsey Report


The Kinsey Report is a Gary, Indiana based band, established in 1984 by the brothers Donald, Ralph, and Kenneth Kinsey, plus a family friend, Ron Prince. As Big Daddy Kinsey and the Kinsey Report, they effectively backed their father, Big Daddy Kinsey. Lester Davenport played harmonica with the group.

The Kinsey Report's father was instrumental in steering his offspring towards the blues. The older brothers, Donald and Ralph, formed a blues/rock trio called White Lightnin', before the younger children also ended up in the group. Albert King, Bob Marley, Middle Walter and Big Daddy Kinsey have all toured with the groupIf 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”