Blind Pig Records artist: Southern Hospitality - Easy Livin' - New Release Review

I just received the new release, Easy Livin' by Southern Hospitality and it's quite enjoyable. This band features three well known blues artists, Damon Fowler, JP Soars and Vistor Wainwright as well as bassist Chuck Riley and drummer Chris Peet. This release has a number of flavors of music due to the diverse but related styles of each artist. Opening with Southern Livin', a funky little easy going pop blues, the band sets a baseline for music to come. This is a well written track with some of the commercial blood of Wet Willie or Little Feat, with a soul twist, but with life of it's own. Long Way Home, a Soars penned track has a bit more rock to it and features a short instrumental break featuring each of the players giving a taste of what is to come. Kind Lies & Whiskey is a really cool Fowler penned swing almost country blues. I really like this track with it's laid back attack. Wainwright plays a nice piano solo on this track. On another Soars penned track, Mile After Mile, the men lay down a track that really sounds like it's off of a Bob Wills or Asleep At The Wheel release and it is really quite cool. Fowler plays some lap steel that actually approaches Hawaiian style which is interesting as well. Wainwright's Certified Lover is a really hot soul style track. The vocals alone on this track are enough to carry the release but with musicians like these, you know there are instrumental features. Wainwright plays a a very warm supportive organ and hot piano parts and Fowler and Soars each play hot guitar riffs. Excellent track! On Willie Bobo's Fried Neck Bones and Home Fries, the track opens with Spanish style lead work which leads into a Latin flavored instrumental showcase featuring quite a bit of guitar over light percussion. This is another really sweet track! Wainwright's Shoestring Budget is a jump style blues track and really gets the place hopping. Wainwright plays boogie on the piano leaving the floor open for some really tasty guitar work by both players. This is another track not to be missed. Fowler penned Don't Feel Like Going There Today has a reggae beat but a real bluesy sound. This may be my favorite track on the release. It has just the right touch of blues, rhythm and guitar with super vocals. Come Back Home, written by Soars is a rock and roller and Wainwright gets the JLL pounding going to drive the track. Fowler takes a distinctive steel guitar solo and then opens the floor for Wainwright and Soars to rip away. Hot dawg! Another Fowler penned track, Powered For The Mountain, has a strong rock/blues basis with a swampy spiritual overtone. This is another really nice track with rippin' guitar work. This would be the powerhouse Led Zeppelin style track off of the release.... and I mean powerhouse! A Martino Laying Jr. track, Don't Boogie Woogie could easily be out of Joe Cockers early 70's repertoire. This is a cool track with a lot rockin' jamming between Wainwright, Soars and Fowler. Closing the release is Fowler's Sky Is What I Breathe, a ballad having the qualities of the best of the pre alt country writers. Very nice. (Think "Wild Horses")

 This is an unusually good release and one that everyone should checkout. There is literally something for everyone.

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Vizztone artist: Long Tall Deb - Raise Your Hands - New Release review

I just received the debut release, Raise Your Hands, by Long Tall Deb (Deb Landolt). Deb opens the release with What Would a Good Woman Do, a soul strut featuring a vocal duet with Phil Pemberton and guitar work from Sean Carney. Hush Your Mouth gets a funk groove going with backing vocals by Nikki Scott and Melvin Powe sets the stage with some smooth bass lines. Let's Get Lost is a strong radio track and one that should fir well with strong vocals. Married To The Blues, a track talking about independence, features Jimmy Thackery on guitar along with Bart Walker and Matt O'Ree with a R&B style track and featuring vocals by Big Llou. Finally Forgot Your Name, a solid soul track sets up nicely as a blues ballad, with guests the Roomful Of Blues Horns (Mark Earley, Rich Lataille and Doug Woolverton). Raise Your Hands blends gospel, soul and rock for another airplay geared track. There is quite a bit of guitar work on this track courtesy of Sean Carney, Dave Clo and Brent Pennell. Ian Moore's Muddy Jesus has a real funky sound but blues based actually reminding me of Jack the Toad by Savoy Brown. JP Soars and Damon Fowler exchange guitar riffs on this track and Victor Wainwright plays some nice keys on this track. Cool track. To Find His Home opens with some cool slide playing on a resonator guitar. This is actually a really tasty track with Deb showing the depth of her vocal talents sharing the lead with Shaun Booker and Phil Pemberton. John Popovich plays some nice piano on this track and Reese Wynans plays some great organ on this track that turns into a full blown gospel track. Torch blues track by Tom Waits, New Coat Of Paint features Deb and Popovich on piano. Really nice finish.   

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Blind Pig Signs Southern Hospitality!

BLIND PIG SIGNS SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY The South has long been known for its hospitality and down home music.   Recently the region has seen the emergence of a musical group of young musicians who are masters of their craft and embody the soul and spirit of Dixie. Or as Blues Revue said, "There's a new entity in the blues world, a diverse, powerful group with enormous potential." The Band creating all the buzz, called Southern Hospitality, is comprised of lap steel guitar master Damon Fowler, guitarist extraordinaire JP Soars, and keyboard wizard Victor Wainwright. Blind Pig Records is proud to announce the signing of Southern Hospitality, which is about to record what promises to be one of the most exciting CDs in 2013.   The album will be produced by Tab Benoit, winner of three Blues Music Awards this year, including the prestigious "B.B. King Entertainer of the Year."  Said Tab, "I'm looking forward to working with Southern Hospitality because Damon, Victor, and JP are the future of roots music."   Recording is set to begin during Thanksgiving week at the Whiskey Bayou Studio in Houma, Louisiana. The three artists are musician's musicians, each bringing a unique style and fresh translation of the great Southern soul, blues, and rock music that came before them. Together, their mutual chemistry, high energy and skill sets create a cohesive vision, with echoes of Muscle Shoals and Macon, that organically flows together into an entirely original and dynamic form of Americana, Southern soul roots music with a modern sensibility. Damon Fowler is a master of the six string, slide guitar, lap steel and Dobro who's been compared to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck, while his slide guitar has a hint of the late Duane Allman.  JP Soars and his band won the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge in 2009 and he won the Albert King award as the best guitarist in the competition.  A singer/songwriter and guitarist best known for his distinctive gypsy-swing jazz playing with plenty of rock potency, he was nominated this year for a Blues Music Award as the best "Contemporary Blues Male Artist."  Memphis-based Victor Wainwright is known for his high-octane boogie piano, big soul sounds, powerhouse blues, and roots rock 'n' roll. Victor was nominated this year for the "Pinetop Perkins Piano Player" Blues Music Award. The Band originated when Fowler, Soars and Wainwright, who were performing with their respective bands at a festival in Florida in July of 2011, decided on an impromptu jam together at a post festival party.  After witnessing the performance, the South Florida Blues Society approached the trio about playing for the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Pre-Cruise Party. Fowler had already been thinking about doing a project with other musicians and contacted his pal JP Soars.  Like Fowler, Soars lives in Florida and traces his family roots back to Arkansas. "I thought it was great idea as soon as Damon called," Soars said from his home in Boca Raton. "I had jammed with him a few times on stage and was totally excited because there was a natural chemistry that seems to happen whenever we play together." The two guitar-slingers with the singular singing voices immediately decided they wanted pianist-frontman Wainwright to round out their aggregation.  Soars added, "I had played with Wainwright before, as well, and he has a lot of soul, and we just feed off each other." Dubbing themselves Southern Hospitality, the three musicians added bassist Chuck Riley from Fowler's band and Soars' drummer Chris Peet to the lineup and made their official debut opening for Buddy Guy in August 2011 at the Heritage Music Blues Fest in Wheeling, West Virginia. Each frontman sang a couple tunes and the Band jammed them to a thunderous conclusion.   Fowler said, "It was cool to have two guitars and piano, it really added to the overall texture."  By the time the performance ended the crowd exploded with cheers and applause." "We were all ecstatic about the reaction," Soars said. "I knew it would be good but not that good. The response was overwhelming. Walking around, people kept coming up and telling us how great it was. It felt good." "It was a super magical experience and excellent response right from the first number," Wainwright said. "That was something I've only experienced a few times after many years of playing. The reaction was amazing." BluesWax said of the show, "Southern Hospitality, which after a single gig has significant players in the blues world taking notice.  Fowler, Wainwright and Soars share much love for the songs of the South. The hot jazz and funk of New Orleans, classic country, gospel, soul, and blues that became rock 'n' roll in Memphis and went global by way of a trucker named Elvis." Since then Southern Hospitality has performed at a handful of select dates and been rehearsing for the recording sessions.  Fowler hopes to do something like the Traveling Wilburys, where each member brings his owns songs to the table, and then everybody works on them together. "We are representing the South," he said of the project. "We wanted to put together a package of where we're from that represents the music we grew up listening to and that we're making our own today." Publicity: Debra Regur   pigpress@blindpigrecords.com   415-550-6484 Radio: Peter Robinson   radio@blindpigrecords.com   773-772-0043 Booking: Piedmont Talent  info@piedmonttalent.com   704-399-2210

Gangster of Love - JP Soars

JP Soars is not a typical blues guitarist. He has a diverse musical background that encompasses a multitude of influences. " I love T-bone Walker, Jesse May Hemphill, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, Muddy Waters, Johnny Guitar Watson, Guitar Slim and Louis Jordan. But I also love Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Hank Williams, Black Sabbath and Slayer." Soars toured the globe and recorded several records with some of the most extreme metal bands in the world before finding his home in the blues! It is these attributes that are giving Soars an instantaneously recognizable style. ……… "When I first heard JP Soars I knew right away that he was separate from the rest of the pack" Jimmy Thackery……

Soars is also a prolific songwriter, penning a number of tunes in his repertoire himself. His first blues cd Back of My Mind 2008 garnered rave reviews and received a considerable amount of airplay on XM Radio's Bluesville; Comcast digital and other blues stations around the world and continues to do so. Soars' newest release More Bees With Honey 2011 was voted 2nd coolest cd of the year for 2011 by Little Steven and his Underground Garage Xm Radio station! It was also in the top 5 click to pick for weeks on BB Kings Bluesville. Xm Radio. More Bees With Honey has earned Soars a BMA "blues music award" for Best Contemporary Male Blues Artist of the year!

One of the most intriguing components in Soars' musical arsenal is his use of a two-string homemade guitar that he and his brother made. ……"Its basically a plywood box, a stick, two strings and a pickup"…………. By applying a modern approach to a primitive instrument Soars manages to conjure up sounds that usually leave folks in disbelief.

In February 2009 Soars and His Band took home top honors in Memphis TN by winning first place in the IBC "International Blues Challenge" as well as the coveted Albert King award for most promising guitarist. That win combined with Soars' intense work ethic, pure passion for the music he plays, a constant desire to improve and a continual strive for "customer satisfaction" has allowed Soars and Company to develop themselves into an in demand international touring band that is growing day by day, week by week and year after year.
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Stormy Monday - JL Fulks with JP Soars, Captain Reese and Aaron Allen

JL Fulks,(Jeffrey Lynn Fulks Jr.) started playing the guitar at age 13. By the 8th grade he was playing in his schools praise band performing weekly at school, and even traveled with the band to other christian schools to perform.

In the 10th grade he joined a rock band called Unsought Rejection. The band played weekly at skate parks, and other local gigs in the Greenville area. They won 1st place in his high schools battle of the bands. At age 15 he had already recorded his first demo track in a professional recording studio.

In November of 2008, JL performed in front of more than five thousand people at Brookwood Church in Mauldin South Carolina. In that time he learned how to use professional stage equipment, and how to work with multiple musicians.

Then in January of 2009, He formed another band called Until Next Time. UNT was very popular throughout Greenville and won Gorilla Productions battle of the bands for there first performance. Winning the battle of the bands took them to the Finals at the Handlebar, which they also won. Gorilla Productions voted them the best hard rock band in Greenville, South Carolina in 2009. After winning battle of the bands they were able to record for free at Sit-N-Spin studios, have a show headlining show at The Handlebar, and were offered contracts from two minor record labels. Eventually the band split up and JL started a solo acoustic act playing at private parties and coffee shops.

In December of 2009 JL's family and friends encouraged him to start singing and he quickly started to write his own blues songs. At that time he decided to become a blues singer and songwriter.

In the summer of 2010, JL decided to take private lessons from an instructor at University of South Carolina named Adam Knight. JL studied jazz and multiple styles of music with Adam Knight and quickly evolved as a musician. JL started playing in his own blues, jazz, and funk trio booking many gigs throughout Greenville. He also sat in with many bands and artists at venues, and recorded with a few. JL had the opportunity to jam with many successful musicians such as Rickey Godfrey, JP Soars & The Red Hots, Max Hightower, and Danny Keylon (Mac Arnold & The Plate full O blues band), Tez Sherard (Edwin McCain, Gypsy Souls), Julius Pastorius, Muggy (Buddy Miles Express, Double Trouble), and JJ Woolbright (Guitarist for Brett Michaels, Sweet Crude, and Jackyl).

As well as playing live music, JL plans to progress in his studies and become a professional guitarist. In September of 2011, JL enrolled in Berklee College of Music's Online school to become certified in Blues, Jazz, and Rock guitar.

As of right now JL lives in South Florida. He recently has done studio work for Reggae Artist Uncle Sam (Di Foreign Man), and plans to become a devoted Session Guitarist for many other artists in the future. JL is halfway into his classes at Berkleemusic maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He has been studying with Berklee professors Joe Musella, Kevin Belz, and Bruce Saunders. He is in the process of forming a professional blues band, and getting a job teaching guitar at a local music store. There is alot to come from JL so make sure you stay tuned!
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33rd Blues Music Awards Presented By The Blues Foundation

The Nominees For Contemporary Blues Male Artist are:

Joe Louis Walker

 

Johnny Sansone