Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Southbound I-95 , from JP Soars and it's really cool. Opening with Ain't No Dania Beach , there's a country flavor but still folky/rock along the lines of the Band...you know...just right. Joined by Travis Colby on organ, Paul DesLauries on ultra cool slide, Greg Morency on bass, and Sam Harrison on percussion, this is a stylin' opener. Swamp funky, Sure As Hell Ain't Foolin' Me , is a great track with a solid bass line and vocal delivery by Soars. His guitar playing is really nice as well, backed by Teresa James on vocals, Oscar Santiago on percussion and Scott Ankrom on trumpet, this is my favorite track on the release.  Title track, Southbound I-95 has great Dale/surf feel with dancing guitar work and a great rocking bass line by Jason Newstead. Excellent! Rock n Roller, The Grass Ain't Always Greener , will really get you moving with a tight piano solo by Colby and a ripping sax solo by ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Spare Keys , from Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers and it's quite good. Opening with instrumental, Candy Apple Red , this release is on the road with a surf driven track. Thackery's clean mastery of his trade is evident and pure with lower octave riffs setting the track off nicely. Backed by Rick Knapp on bass and Chris Reddan on drums. On Blues All Night , Thackery switches to a straight up 12 bar giving his a super opportunity to play call and response with his vocal and guitar. Jimmy is a certain master of the 6 string and this track is cool and clean. On slow bluesy ballad, No More Than Me , Thackery belts out the blues and plays beautifully melodic guitar lines. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release, I Even Lost The Blues , follows a cool jazzy line...kind of a modified T-Bone Walker track. With nice round guitar tones, Thackery really works up a lather on this one digging deep for soulful lead r...

I just received the newest release, Extra Jimmies , from Jimmy Thackery and it great! Made up of tracks from previous releases, Empty Arms Motel, Wild Night Out! and Switching Gears, this release is super. Opening with Write If You Find Love , a bluesy rock number, Thackery leads on vocal and guitar joined by Michael Patrick on bass and Al Gamble on B3. BB King's cool shuffle track, You Upset Me Baby , is up next and Thackery is immediately in the groove. Drummer Mark Stutso takes the lead on vocal and Thackery gives this track a good spanking on guitar and Wayne Burdette joins on bass. Recorded live, a whole different dynamic occurs with a bit more time to jam. Very cool! Fast instrumental shuffle, Rude Mood is a terrific opportunity for Thackery to spread his wings and smoke show what he's got and he's not holding back. Excellent! On New Orleans influenced, I Got To Be Strong , Patrick, Gamble and Stutso carry the rhythm and Thackery spices it up with red hot riffs. I...

Wide Open . What a perfect name for the newest release by Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers ! This album knows no boundaries and is in fact wide open to whatever Thackery was inspired to record. And his inspiration took two years to come to fruition. He began writing for this album back in 2012 with final recording finally wrapping in April of this year. There's something here for many musical tastes, as long as it's not too far from the blues/jazz/rock vein. In fact it is so diverse that listening to the album from start to finish makes it seem disjointed at times. But that does not diminish the quality. For when a song is good, it's very very good. When it's not, it's still very listenable. Two tracks had been previously released for download from iTunes, the blues-rocker Hard Luck Man and the melancholy Someone Who's Crying Tonight . And while I would consider Hard Luck Man very good and one of many highlights on this release, Someone Who's Crying To...

General Admission tickets: Presale $20 (Limited Time Only) $30 at Gate Kids 12 and under are FREE with paid Adult VIP Tickets: $100 (Online Only) all ages For ticket info CLICK HERE !

                   9TH ANNUAL VENTURA COUNTY BLUES FESTIVAL/SATURDAY, APRIL 26 FEATURING THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP TO DATE; THIS YEAR'S NEW ATTRACTIONS TO INCLUDE A VERY SPECIAL TICKETED V.I.P. AREA      (MOORPARK, CALIF) - The 9th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival on Saturday, April 26, 2014 returns to Moorpark College and features its best lineup to date with performances by Fabulous Thunderbirds front man, Kim Wilson's Blues All-Stars ; premier Southern California-based record label Delta Groove Records' own Delta Groove All-Star Blues Revue featuring Sugaray Rayford with Kid Ramos and friends; soulful vocalist extraordinaire, Sista Monica Parker ; festival favorites making a command return appearance, Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers ; the stellar band fronted by VCBS President, Michael John and The Bottom Line and friends, including BMA nominee, vocali...

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 Penne...

I just received the new release, The Crux, by Cathy Ponton King. King has assembled a who's who of contemporary blues artists including Jimmy Thackery, Ronnie Earl, Butch Warren and Ron Holloway. The release features 10 new blues ballads covering the spectrum from the zydeco influenced I Want You To Be Happy to the jazz infused Little House In The Country. Opening with Sugarface, a horn filled track with cool guitar riffs from Thackery and nice key work from Bill Starks King sets the groundwork for the release. I'm Just A Woman has a bit of country blended into the blues again featuring Thackery on guitars. The riffs on this track are right out of Thackery's bag of country tricks. Cerulean Blues is a pure ballad featuring the beautiful guitar phrasing of Ronnie Earl. Blues Companion, again featuring Earl, is a standard 12 bar blues track. Tattoo On My Heart, a country folk style ballad, features some really nice acoustic guitar work from Jason Byrd. Holloway has a nice ...

Ventura County Blues Society Presents Its.... "Sunday Blues Concert Matinee Series Event II" - Benefits Moorpark Foundation For The Arts AUGUST 5TH EVENT FEATURES A TRIO OF TOP BLUES GUITARISTS - HEADLINER JIMMY THACKERY - PLUS ALASTAIR GREENE AND MIKEY MO (MOORPARK, CA) - If you love the guitar - and let's face it, who doesn't? - then this is a show that can't be missed, as the Ventura County Blues Society (VCBS) presents veteran blues guitar great Jimmy Thackery along with Socal/Ventura-based guitar aces Alastair Greene and Mikey Mo at their Sunday Blues Concert Matinee Series Event II, Sunday, August 5 at the High Street Arts Center , 45 East High Street, Moorpark . Doors open at 12 noon, music starts at 1 p.m. Tickets $20. (VCBS members), $25. (...

Jimmy Thackery (born May 19, 1953, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American blues singer and guitarist. Thackery spent fourteen years as part of The Nighthawks, the Washington, D.C. based blues and roots rock ensemble. After leaving the Nighthawks in 1986, Thackery toured under his own name. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Washington, Thackery joined The Nighthawks in 1972 and went on to record over twenty albums with them. In 1986 he began touring with The Assassins, a six-piece original blues, rock and R&B ensemble which he had previously helped start as a vacation band when The Nighthawks took one of their rare breaks. Originally billed as Jimmy Thackery and The Assassins, the band toured the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, and Texas regions. The Assassins released a variety of recordings on the Seymour record label, two on vinyl (No Previous Record and Partners in Crime) and the 1989 CD Cut Me Loose. In the wake of the Assassins 1991 break-up, Thackery has ...

Jimmy Thackery played live in Phoenix, AZ last night at Bob Corritore's Rhythm Room. First, as most of you know, I think that this is a terrific place to see a band (with Rolling Rock in stock) and it was standing room only. Jimmy and the Drivers, Mark "Bumpy Rhodes" Bumgarner (bass) and George "Bam Bam" Sheppard (drums) put on an absolutely excellent show. Now I'm not the kind of guy who takes a pencil to a concert so don't ask me what the track list was. I did talk with Sheppard between sets to see if they had a written set list and he indicated that Jimmy cues them for each and every song. I just gotta tell you, Jimmy knew exactly what to play to keep the crowd on it's heels. Jimmy opened the show with a barn burner blues rocker and the crowd reacted likewise. I think that it really pumped Thackery up because as many times as I've seen them, this was the most consistently excellent performance that I have seen. Tunes that I remember for sure ...

I had a big build up of this recording, Live As It Gets , from my pal Stilladog and I couldn't wait for it to come. Well, here you go. To say they captured Thackery at his best and live is the understatement of the year. This thing rips! This is a 2 cd package opening with a 7 plus minute version of Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones's Letter To My Girlfriend , a cool swing tune with Thackery playing great riffs and a full horn compliment thanks to the Hydraulic Horns. Blind Man In The Night is a slower blues with shimmering chords beneath the vocals and clean riffs at the turnaround. Thackery and crew do a massive job on Johnny Guitar Watson's Gangster Of Love including a blistering solo by JP Soars mixed in with Thackery's own wizardry.Muddy Waters' Gypsy Woman gets a total rework by Thackery to the point that it is barely recognizable. He has transformed this classic into a long slow blues again with beautiful lush chords. Joe McGlohon plays a great tenor sax ...

I promised you a review on the new Jimmy Thackery cd as I hear it is a barn burner but I received his most recent studio release, Feel The Heat , so I'll give it a spin while we're waiting. Ain't Gonna Do It is a jump blues giving Thackery the opportunity to demonstrate his fleet fingers and enviable style. Blind Man In The Night begins with a very clean Strat playing solo with echo as an intro but slowly turns into a full blast gritty anthem. Thackery has great control and never overplays. Hang Up And Drive is a great blues rocker that gives Thackery a great opportunity to show what he's got in his bag of riffs. This is a great tune and one likely to be on most blues rocker play lists. Bluphoria is a cool track that reminds me of another regional guitar player, the great Danny Gatton. Thackery coaxes all kind of obtuse jazzy tones out of his guitar on this definitely blues track. Everyone knows that Thackery is a great player and this is a nice change up for t...

I have had the pleasure to watch Robert Mugge 's All Jams On Deck , a documentation of late night jams as they take place on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise . The scene opens with an interview of guitarist and band leader Tommy Castro and one of my absolute favorite artists, Elvin Bishop (the beginning of a dialog that continues throughout the film in clips). The film then cuts to a live jam with Castro and a backing band with guests including such luminaries as Commander Cody (Keys), Keith Crossan (sax), Randy Oxford (trombone), Tom Poole (trumpet), Mike Schermer (deluxe Tele). The first thing that strikes me is how incredibly clear the sound track is and how great of tone Tommy Castro is laying down. This film is incredibly clear considering that it is being shot in pitch black in the middle of the ocean! Tommy is playing a two pickup reverse Firebird and his tones are really creamy through what appears to be Blackface Super (one of my personal favorites). This firs...

Jimmy Thackery with Tab Benoit Lionel Young and Curtis Salgado. Pro Jam on Last night on the October 2011 Bluescruise. Main Stage Tab Benoit (born November 17, 1967, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American blues guitarist, musician and singer. He plays a style that is a combination of blues styles, primarily Delta blues. He plays a Fender Telecaster electric guitar and writes his own musical compositions. Benoit graduated from Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma, Louisiana in May, 1985. In 2003, he formed an organization promoting awareness of coastal wetlands preservation known as "Voice of the Wetlands." A guitar player since his teenage years, he appeared at the Blues Box, a music club and cultural center in Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas. Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray and other high-profile regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues first-hand from a faculty of living blues legends. He formed a trio in 1987 and began playing...

Jimmy Thackery (born May 19, 1953, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American blues singer and guitarist. Thackery spent fourteen years as part of The Nighthawks, the Washington, D.C. based blues and roots rock ensemble. After leaving the Nighthawks in 1986, Thackery toured under his own name. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Washington, Thackery joined The Nighthawks in 1972 and went on to record over twenty albums with them. In 1986 he began touring with The Assassins, a six-piece original blues, rock and R&B ensemble which he had previously helped start as a vacation band when The Nighthawks took one of their rare breaks. Originally billed as Jimmy Thackery and The Assassins, the band toured the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, and Texas regions. The Assassins released a variety of recordings on the Seymour record label, two on vinyl (No Previous Record and Partners in Crime) and the 1989 CD Cut Me Loose. In the wake of the Assassins 1991 break-up, Thackery has been leading a...