Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues Remind Me , from Kelly's Lot and it's a solid blend of soul, blues, boogie and rock. Opening with I Gotta Sing The Blues , an easy paced soul track featuring Kelly Zirbes on lead vocal shared with Mo Beeks, backed by Perry Robertson on guitars, Matt McFadden on bass, Beeks on keys, and Art Mendoza on drums. With a memorable melody and well balanced vocals, this is a strong opener and a likely airplay track. Kelly takes the mic on Mama's Blues , with it's slow dance feel and warm horn work by Bill Johnson (Bari), Aviva Maloney (alto), Paulie Cerra (tenor and alto), Didier Reyes on trumpet, and Chip Tingle on trombone and a solid sax solo. Swampy, Without You , is a firm ricker led by Kelly and Robertson on guitar and has a rocky bottom provided by Mike Sauer on drums and McFadden on bass. Rocker, Aces features Tomislav Goluban on harmonica trading lead with Kelly on vocal. Steady drum rhythm by Sa...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Where and When , from Kelly's Lot and it's a solid blend of blues and country. Opening with Stronger , a basic acoustic blues number featuring Kelly Zirbes on lead vocal, Perry Robertson on rhythm guitar, Doug Pettibone on lead guitar and David Grover on bass. Zirbes has a solid voice with just a slight grit and Pettibone's tight guitar riffs over the rhythm of Grover and Robertson makes for a cool opener. Reworking Howlin Wolf's, Somebody In My Home , kelly gets the feel of Wolf's performance without his thickness and gruff and Pettibone's slide work very nice. Uptempo, Howlin' Wolf's Nature , has a real nice guitar line and Kelly's vocals are the best on the release. Robert Johnson's Stones In My Passway is my choice track on the release with a nice balance between Kelly's lead vocal, the rhythm work of Grover and Robertson and the solid slide work of Pettibone. The dual acous...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Can't Take My Soul , from Kelly's Lot , and it's a cool mix of blues, rock, country and folk. Opening with Boogie rocker, All I Ever Want Is the Blues , Kelly, backed by Perry Robertson on guitar, Matt McFadden on bass, and Mike Sauer on drums set a rocking example. Funky, All Hope Ain't Lost , is a cool track with essential vocals and a great bass line by McFadden and the addition of Bobby Orgel on keys. Primarily acoustic sounding, Safe and Warm has a county/folk feel with a terrific melody and ambiance really showcasing Kelly's voice. Very nice. On Rise Up , Kelly duets with Jean-Francois Thomas with Rob Zucca on lead guitar. A real nice track with a bluesy feel and some clean, articulate guitar soloing. Another bluesy track, Broke Myself , has a shuffle approach with dominant bass bottom, more driven vocals by Kelly and features Frank Hinojosa on harmonica. Kelly steps up with a simple pop tune o...

                   10TH ANNUAL VENTURA COUNTY BLUES FESTIVAL BLENDS AWARD-WINNING ACTS, POPULAR FESTIVAL PERFORMERS FROM THE PAST; SPECIAL 'BENEFIT RIDE' FOR MICKEY JONES; NEW "SECOND STAGE" OF CONTINUOUS LIVE MUSIC; BENEFITS THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY              Saturday, April 25, 2015  - 11:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.    (MOORPARK, CALIF) - Excitement is building for Southern California’s longest-tenured Blues festival, the 10th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival , taking place Saturday, April 25 on the grounds of beautiful Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Rd. in Moorpark, California. Gates open 10 a.m.; music begins at 11 a.m.   “The tenth year is truly a year of celebration of this charity event with repeat performers who supported ...

I just received the newest release, Live @ the Montmartre from Kelly's Lot . Opening with Reason For The Blues , a lively shuffle track, vocalist Kelly Zirbes has a natural feel for the stage. Guitarists Perry Robertson and Rob Zucca trade some nice blues and slide riffs on this track and Matt McFadden is solid on bass with Robert Dill on drums. Hush Up, another shuffle tune has a faster pace and the guitar duo push the track to the next level. Taking Time has more of a pop blues style but with some interesting musical twists. Redbone finds Kelly singing with a more old style blues vocal style and maybe with a little Grace Slick mixed in. Clever guitar riffs surround the vocal track. Better Way has a Latin rhythm accentuated by Dill. Robertson plays some cool southern slide guitar riffs as well as chicken picken finger licken riffs. Funky track Come To Thi s, has some musical similarities to Use Me Up but with more of a rock feel. Again simple but effective guitar work adds...