Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Storyteller , from Irish blues-rock sensation, Eamonn McCormack and it touches on many faces of european rock. Opening with The Great Famine , a folky rock tune with atmospheric backing and tight rock guitar riffs, Eamonn (pronounced A-min) McCormack  leads on vocal and guitar, backed by Edgar Karg on bass, Max Jung-Poppe on drumsand Arne Weigand on keys. Sounding a bit like David Bowie with the Beatles, Help Me To Understand is a sool, low key rocker with a solid bass line by Karg and powerful vocals by Eamonn. Jacking up the rock side of the business, Tie One On sounds like it's heavily influenced by Thin Lizzy with it's snappy drum rhythm and super Rory Gallagher like slide work. Very cool. One of my favorite tracks on the release is hard driving, Cowboy Blues , with it's tight bottom and slashing slide work. Very cool. On blues ballad, In A Dream, McCormack is up front on vocal with solid support from We...

I just received the newest release (February 3, 2014), Let's Start Again , from Bap Kennedy and it's quite entertaining. Opening with the title track, Let's Start Again , Kennedy creates the feel of real wholesome American country (rock) music. Very clean and straightforward with Richard Nelson on pedal steel, the band sounding quite like Gram Parsons. Excellent! Revelation Blues is a bit more fast paced with John Fitzpatrick behind the melody on fiddle and Rabb Bennett on train like drums. Another strong track. If Things Don't Change is a boogie track with slide giving it a bit more of a relaxed feel. Kennedy is an excellent song writer and backing vocals by Maura Donaghy, Mudd Wallace and Tony Hughes add substantially to the feel of the track. King of Mexico has a simple pop sound with a south of the border/Caribbean feel. Song Of Her Desire is a zippy little ballad. Again, well constructed this is a track that could easily reach strong airplay. Radio Waves is...

Gráinne Duffy is an Irish singer-songwriter from Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, Ireland. All Access Magazine described her music as a "powerhouse of soul and inspiration mixed with desire and passion". Her Success has led her to play 3 days on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2008, UK. and Blues On The Bay Festival 2008 in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, which has been twice headlined by Van Morrison. Grainne Duffy has opened for many major acts including Robben Ford, Dino Baptiste, Shawn Jones and The Yardbirds. Her tracks have also made it on many BBC Radio Ulster playlists including Alan Simpson's Playlist, Late Show with Cherrie as well as the blog of BBC Presenter Stuart Bailie Grainne Duffy has also been asked to record Oleta Adams' Get Here if you Can for the BBC in George Martin's renowned Air Studios in London   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ...

Five piece classic Chicago / Texas style blues band , with a large helping of original material. Tommy Grime's ... Vocals Pete Mc Gowan ... Guitar Tony Poland ... Harp Ciaron Brougham ... Bass Fran Dowling ... Drums   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!

Don Baker (born 26 August 1950) is an Irish blues musician and actor. Baker was born in Whitehall, Dublin. He is a singer-songwriter who plays the harmonica and the guitar. He appeared in several films, his most notable appearance being in In the Name of the Father. He also published harmonica instruction books and videos. In August 2008, he appeared in RTÉ's reality show Fáilte Towers,[1] finishing in third place, earning money for his charity "Health Action Overseas". He also plays gangster Thomas Flynn in Irish soap opera Fair City   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!

Eamonn was born in the center of Dublin, the capital city of Ireland and was raised on a North side Suburb. He started out on the acoustic guitar at nine years of age. Earliest influences included Slade, Cat Stevens, Neil Young and Rory Gallagher. By twelve he was singing along with his guitar and performing at church folk masses. Soon, finding the church music somewhat restricting the young teenager acquired his first electric guitar (a Guild Starfire) progressed to lead guitar and joined a local garage cover band prior to playing his first paid gig. By now influences extending to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Thin Lizzy and Dutch group Focus. At sixteen Eamonn performed live on a national Irish radio show. Around this time he also won a major high school competition performing his own material. After a short stint playing in various bands throughout Ireland, Eamonn headed off to the U.S.A. where he performed extensively. There he broadened his musical horizons, gained vital stage e...

Dave McHugh has been playing the blues for 21 years or so now. In 1996, he was voted Blues Newcomer of the Year at the Temple Bar Blues Festival, Dublin. Now aged 39, and based in and from Dublin, Ireland, he has played with many great Irish musicians over the years including Brian Downey, Shane MacGowan, John Earle, Jerome Rimson, Gerry MacAvoy, Mark Feltham, Robbie Brennan, Brush Shiels, Noel Bridgeman, Leo Barnes, Samuel Eddy, The Walls, Jape, Mary Stokes, Peter Moore, Eamonn McCormack and many others. With his beloved Fender Strat and Marshall amp, Dave and his band are a mainstay on the Irish and European blues scene. Whether it's opening the Alkmaar Blues Festival in The Netherlands on a barge (yes, it's true! see here - YouTube Page) or playing on the Danube, The Dave McHugh Band are up for any challenge! Specialising in raw Rory Gallagher type blues, Dave has also been compared to Gary Moore and Freddie King. Despite the heavy influence of all the great blues ma...

Henry McCullough is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band. Henry McCullough is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack. The 69-year-old from Portstewart, Northern Ireland, was taken ill on Monday night. McCullough, who played with Joe Cocker at the famous Woodstock festival in 1969, is being treated at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. A spokeswoman for the hospital said he was in a "critical condition". The rock guitarist embarked on a successful solo career after his time playing with Paul McCartney in Wings. He is perhaps best known for his playing on Wings' number one hit My Love. His sister Rae Morrison said the family were very distressed. "He is very special person," she said. "It really is a very worrying time for us." Henry McCullough is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songw...

The Mary Stokes Band are returning the world famous Cork Jazz Festival for another weekend run at the legendary Counihan’s Pub, Pembroke St. Joining Mary on stage in Cork will be Andrea Rodo on guitar, Brian Palm, harmonica, Steve Tierney, bass and Lee Boylan on drums. You can catch Mary and the band on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th. Two shows each day at 4pm and 10pm. New album "Avenue "Breakdown" available at all shows. Visit Dublin Blues Club at: http://bluesclub.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network  

Simon McBride started playing the guitar when he was ten. By age 15 and entirely self-taught, he was good enough to enter Guitarist Magazine’s Young Guitarist of The Year, a performance competition staged at Wembley Conference Centre, which he won against strong competition. Even before that achievement, Simon was endorsed by the notable American guitar builder Paul Reed Smith, a relationship that continues to this day. Other PRS artists include Al Di Meola, Santana and Buddy Guy. Observers of the blues-rock scene are calling Simon McBride the natural heir to Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore. Like these icons he hails from Ireland and from Moore’s hometown, Belfast. He is an astoundingly good guitarist, a fine singer and a prolific songwriter. His first professional job – at age 16 – took him into heavy metal territory with the Belfast-based pioneering metal band Sweet Savage, who reformed in 1994 without their founding guitarist, Vivian Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard), who Simon replac...

I just received the soon to be released recording, Crossing The Line, by Simon McBride. This new recording bridges a number of rock/blues genres but one thing that is consistent are the solid vocals and the strong guitar work of McBride. Lead Us Away is a strong composition bringing to mind Black Label Society of Mahogany Rush. No Room To Breathe has the structure of a blues ballad. The vocals and guitar work are powerful and the hook is solid. This guy really rips actually! Strong airplay possibility here. Starve This Fever is a real arena blues track with the potential to blow your hair back. McBride is highly accomplished and has the recorded presence of Gary Moore or Joe Bonamassa. Alcatraz takes on a bit of the Latin rhythm but the addition of horns pumps the track out of the standard blues rock idiom. Again McBride's finger work shows that he is an absolute guitar master. One More Try is another ballad set up to feature McBrides vocals and hard hitting soloing. If you like bl...

Blues Guitarist Dave McHugh has spent the past 15 years keeping the music of the great Rory Gallagher alive and well. This year alone Dave headlined the 6th annual Rory Gallagher review in Wiesbaden, Germany; the Wijk aan Zee festival in The Netherlands, and the 'Rock on the Ferry' festival in Glasgow. As well as tours on the continent, Dave and his band (Alan Devitt on Drums and Peter Butler on Bass) have toured throughout Ireland extensively, playing in bars and clubs. The band have also headlined the International Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon, the Cork Rocks for Rory Festival in Cork City, and the Cashelised Festival in Cashel, Co. Tipperary. The band is tight and fluid, and play a full 3 hour set of blues driven Rory Gallagher music; from early Taste classics such as 'Sugar Mama' and 'What's goin' on' to tunes like 'Tatoo'd Lady' and 'Walk on Hot Coals' and onto such acoustic numbers as 'Walkin Blues' and 'O...

RORY GALLAGHER THE NEXT SERIES OF CLASSIC ALBUMS RE-MASTERED AND REISSUED Includes Original Artwork, Bonus Tracks, Exclusive Booklet CD (Digipack), Download & Vinyl Released Monday 1st October 2012 Sony Legacy Recordings in association with Capo Records , is proud to announce the next series of Rory Gallagher’s classic albums re-mastered. The reissued series of classic albums continues with the following Rory Gallaghe r albums released in chronological order from 1975 – 1982. Albums include ‘Against The Grain’ (1975), ‘Calling Card’ (1976), ‘Photo-Finish’ (1978), ‘Top Priority’ (1979), and ‘Jinx’ (1982). Picking up where Rory left off with the phenomenal ‘Irish Tour ‘74’ live album, the release of 1975’s ‘Against The Grain’ , found Rory at the top of his game and in sparkling form both in the studio and on stage. The next seven years saw the release of these five outstanding records. Each reiss...

GERRY McAVOY’S BAND OF FRIENDS - A CELEBRATION OF RORY GALLAGHER’S MUSIC There are many tribute bands playing the music of Rory Gallagher; some good some not so good but what they are doing is keeping the music of this great musician alive. Rory’s music reached a massive audience from Norway to Spain, from Japan to the USA, Covering all parts of the globe and producing some of the greatest rock/b lues albums of the 60’s 70,s and the 80, s. Sadly we lost Rory on 14th June 1995, to his devoted fans and followers this was the ultimate tragedy. The BAND OF FRIENDS is not a tribute to Rory, more a celebration of his life and music. The band consists of musicians who played with Rory throughout his career. GERRY McAVOY (Bass Guitar) played with Rory for 20 years; from 1971 to 1991 and because of this has a great insight into the man and his music. Gerry played on every album Rory ever made. He also wrote a book following his career which was published in 2005. “RIDING SHOTGUN”, “O...

Lee "The Fixer" Hedley - Frontman and Harmonica and Slide Guitar - Originally taken under the wing of family friend and Irish Soul / Blues Legend, the late Sam Mahood, Lee has been fronting and blowing blues-harmonica for various Rock and Blues outfits since 1991. Lee has played on the same stage and supported an endless list of stars from various genres on his way up the long and seamingly never ending 'showbiz' ladder. These include some other homegrown, but household pop names such as The Corrs and Westlife; Irish Soul Band The Commitments and Dublin's very own Blues Harmonica maestro Don Baker, whom Bono from U2 has been quoted as being "...the best blues harmonica player in the world". Lee has enjoyed numerous TV appearances and has even recorded a live session on the Paul Jones Blues Show for BBC Radio 2. Lee's 'Blues for Concern' album in 2000 caught the attention of Old Grey Whistle Test presenter "Whispering" Bob Harris, wh...

Eric Robin Bell (born 3 September 1947 in East Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish rock musician and guitarist, best known as a founder member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy. Bell began his career with local groups around the Belfast area, including the last incarnation of Them to feature Van Morrison, between September and October 1966. He also played with a number of other bands including Shades of Blue, The Earth Dwellers and The Bluebeats, before joining an Irish showband named The Dreams. He left in 1969 having tired of the showband format, and at the end of that year he formed a band with local musicians Phil Lynott, Eric Wrixon and Brian Downey. Bell named the group Thin Lizzy, after Tin Lizzie, a robot character in The Dandy comic. In 1974, after a brief period fronting his own Eric Bell Band, Bell was recruited by ex-Jimi Hendrix sideman Noel Redding, along with keyboardist Dave Clarke and drummer Les Sampson, to form The Noel Redding Band. ...

Lee "The Fixer" Hedley - Frontman and Harmonica and Slide Guitar - Originally taken under the wing of family friend and Irish Soul / Blues Legend, the late Sam Mahood, Lee has been fronting and blowing blues-harmonica for various Rock and Blues outfits since 1991. Lee has played on the same stage and supported an endless list of stars from various genres on his way up the long and seamingly never ending 'showbiz' ladder. These include some other homegrown, but household pop names such as The Corrs and Westlife; Irish Soul Band The Commitments and Dublin's very own Blues Harmonica maestro Don Baker, whom Bono from U2 has been quoted as being "...the best blues harmonica player in the world". Lee has enjoyed numerous TV appearances and has even recorded a live session on the Paul Jones Blues Show for BBC Radio 2. Lee's 'Blues for Concern' album in 2000 caught the attention of Old Grey Whistle Test presenter "Whispering" Bob Harris, wh...

Here is another "must have" release from the Rory Gallagher archives. This set of recordings documents the best of four live performances at Montreux (1975, 1977, 1979 and 1985). This release includes Laundromat, Tore Down, I Take What I Want, Bought And Sold, Do You Read Me, Last Of The Independents, Off The Handle, Mississippi Sheiks, Out On The Western Plain, Too Much Alcohol, Shin Kicker and Philby . There isn't one throw away track on the cd and it is full throttle from the second the first track starts. This great live compilation release clearly demonstrated why Gallagher is a legend and his reputation has remained as a superstar even years after his demise. His guitar tone is terrific throughout and the recording quality is terrific one end to the other. On Too Much Alcohol Gallagher lets up for a few moments on his Strat and plays a great fleeting solo on his dobro. If you want to hear Gallagher torture his guitar relentlessly... look no further! Doesn't he...

Michael Tierney (known as Mick Pyro) is an Irish musician. He is best known as the frontman of the Dublin funk rock band Republic of Loose. He has also partaken in other independent work with fellow Irish and international musicians and performed a duet with Sinéad O'Connor at the 2008 Meteor Awards when she revealed her admiration for his vocals. He has also written for the Irish Independent. Pyro is known for his distinctive vocals and his bearded appearance. Recorded at the Leeson Lounge 13th June 2011. The Pyro Blues Executive are: Mick Pyro Guitar & Vocals, James Delaney Keys, Noel Bridgeman Drums, John Quearney Bass & Pat Farrell Guitar. Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

This is one that you don't want to miss! This is a lost Rory Gallagher album from 1978. After some internal distress after the end of his 1977 tour Gallagher shelved this album which he was recording at the time and broke up the band. Disc one is made up of 12 songs kicked off by Rue The Day which shows Gallagher's intensity was still up from the tour. Mississippi Sheiks highlights Gallagher's great guitar tone an presence on his soloing. Wheels Within Wheels is a much calmer Gallagher than I'm used to with a guitar playing in more of an ethereal manner. Overnight Bag is a great blues tune of course with strong guitars. You can actually hear Gallagher's inspiration for Brian May on this tune. Cruise On Out is uptempo and a real ripper! Fuel To The Fire is a modern style blues with a great guitar interlude. Cut A Dash is a great rock tune with great guitar and drums throughout. Out On The Tiles is a hard driven track almost literally paving the way for Stevie Ray Vau...