I Just Want To Make Love To You - Buddy Guy w/ Tony Z

Hammond B-3 blues organist Tony Z was long a fixture on the New England blues club circuit, and for two years as part of Boston-area guitarist Ronnie Earl's touring band, the Broadcasters. Born and raised in Boston, Tony Zamagni began playing organ at St. Patrick's School in Roxbury. He cut his musical teeth with the Boston band Combat Zone and then went on to play with the Platters for the next ten years. He spent most of the latter part of the 1980s trying to organize his own touring band (no small feat) and working as a session player in Miami for TK Records, where he recorded an LP with the group Miami. After meeting Ronnie Earl through a mutual friend, trumpeter Bob Enos, Zamagni teamed up with the guitarist and joined his road band, the Broadcasters, from 1989 to 1991. Get Down with the Blues In 1991, Zamagni moved to Chicago, where he worked for three years with guitarist Larry McCray and found work as a session musician on albums by Son Seals, Saffire, Little Smokey Smothers and Lee "Shot" Williams. Zamagni's debut album, Get Down With the Blues, was released on Rounder's Tone-Cool subsidiary in 1995. The outing is first-class, self-produced in Chicago's Streeterville Studios with some stellar backing musicians: former Roomful of Blues guitarist Duke Robillard, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, saxophonist Houston Person, harmonica master Sugar Blue and former Albert Collins band bassist Johnny B. Gayden. Buddy Guy was so impressed by Get Down With the Blues that he hired Tony Z to tour with him. In 1998, Tony Z released his second record for Tone Cool, Kiss My Blues. The record featured another all-star cast including Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums again, Chuck Rainey on bass, Lenny Pickett on sax and Kim Wilson blowing harp on two tracks. Since then he has toured with Buddy Guy and on his own, continuing to spread his unique take on the B-3 sound. 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!

Shining Stone Records artist: David Maxwell - Blues In Other Colors - New Release Review

I have just received a copy of the newest David Maxwell release, Blues In Other Colors. This is a 13 track composition with all songs written and performed by Maxwell. Joining Maxwell (keys) is Harry Manx (Mohan Vina and guitar), Jerry Leake (Indian and West African percussion) Fred Stubbs (Turkish ney),Boujmaa Razgul (Oud and Moroccan raita), Troy Gonyea (guitar), Eric Rosenthal (drums), Marty Ballou (double bass), Paul Kochanski (electric bass) and Andy Plaisted (congas). The recording is fairly hard to describe with conventional melodies and familiar sounds woven with the sounds of the east and Africa. Movin' On as an example, has a very traditional western styling which is carried throughout on piano but features the overlay of Mohan Vina and African percussion. The sounds are almost a juxtaposition of cultures. Conversely, Blue Dream begins with more of an eastern feel and is overlaid with piano as a woven compliment. The entire recording has a contiguous flow more in a jazz vein with some particularly straightforward taps on the blues. Cryin' The Blues finds Maxwell playing very direct piano blues riffs and Gonyea playing straightforward blues riffs on guitar. The Turkish ney is featured on Heart of Darkness along with the balafon giving is a much more eastern cultural feel. Manx plays some bluesy riffs on the Mohan Vina but this is still very eastern in nature. Rollin' On is a take on Rollin' and Tumblin' and takes a fairly straight forward shot at it with conventional instrumentation for the most part as does Just The Blues. Overall a very well composed and soothing recording.
  “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 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”

 The following video is not of a song from the CD. It is attached here for the reader to see the quality of work performed by Maxwell as raved about by Bonnie Raitt, James Cotton and Otis Rush. If I am able to find a more suitable video it will be added later.

Statesboro Blues - Joanna Connor

The Joanna Connor Band is a frequent attraction not only at leading blues nightspots but also as a featured act at major festivals in the USA and Canada. Joanna has also developed a strong following in Europe, South America and Japan. As a result of many overseas appearances, in Germany she became very popular after being featured several times on national television.

Joanna Connor is a complete electric guitar package and vocalist extraordinaire. She covers the range of modern blues, slide guitar and blues rock with her own compositions very much influenced by funk, rock, jazz and world music as well as delta blues. Her sense of melody, phrasing and dynamics along with a very modern technique make her a very funky, soulful and compelling guitarist. As for vocal abilities, if Joanna wasn't a guitarist, she could easily be a lead singer in any band.

Joanna Connor Band has many CD's released during the years. They can be found in major bookstores and top music stores.
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Ivy Music Company - No Regrets - Albert Cummings - New Release review

I have been listening to No Regrets, the newest release from Albert Cummings (release date August 28, 2012). Since his first release in 1999 (The Long Way) Cummings has been blazing a blues guitar trail and with this release he opens up a little more his inner self and plays a variety of styles. Track one, Glass House is a hard driving blues track along the lines of Don Nix's Goin' Down. Cummings kicks the crap out of it and takes no prisoners. 500 Miles shows more of a country rock flair along the lines of Marshall Tucker but with guitar muscle. Eye To Eye continues along the country rock vein even possibly leaning a little toward Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now when I draw these comparisons, I don't mean that they sound like copies as much as I can hear comparative sounds ...but this is all Cummings. Checkered Flag takes the country influence even a step further with a hot country blues number showing blues roots and country pickin'. She's So Tired is a solid country style ballad right off of the juke box. Cummings uses a modified fat strat with a humbucker in the bridge position and a tele pickup in the neck position getting the twang when needed but able to pull the fat humbucker tone at will. Your Day Will Come, another ballad has some pretty grindy guitar work to compliment his honest vocals. Cry Me A River follows a pattern set by Donovan Leitch, with interesting backing vocals and some really rich guitar tone wailing at request. Drink, Party and Dance is a straight shuffle and possibly my favorite track on the recording. It's not only a nice swing but the guitar work is really strong. Foolin' Me lays down a cool funk line further illustrating the breadth of Cummings interest in different musical styles. There is a particularly hot guitar solo on this track that enters the Hendrixphere. Cummings tracks in a little Mud with Mannish Boy. His vocals on this track show real conviction and he sings it as if it really means something to him. This track really gives Cummings the opportunity to show what he's got on guitar and if you don't already know... here it is! Cummings concludes the 12 track release with Home Town, a heartfelt ballad. Overall this is a very interesting release from a well established guitar slinger. He doesn't appear to have anything to prove but has art that wants to get out. He's done a nice job of letting it flow and topped it off with some terrific guitar riffs along the way.
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I've Got Feelings Too - Albert Cummings-Tommy Shannon-George Rains

Breaking every cliché associated with the blues while producing some of the most powerful music of the 21st century comes as natural to Albert Cummings as swinging a hammer while constructing one of his award-winning custom built homes. The Massachusetts native learned the requisite three chords on the guitar from his father, but then switched to playing banjo at age 12 and became a fan of bluegrass music. Like everything he tackles, he threw himself headlong into the pursuit, going to festivals and winning several picking contests in high school. Before graduating he heard the early recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, however, and was floored by the virtuosity. While in college in 1987 he saw Vaughan perform and he returned to the guitar with a new outlook and resolve. He had another tradition to live up to first, however, and he studied the building trade in order to follow his family into the home building business. Not until he was 27, an age when other musicians were either already established or had long ago put their dream aside for the realities of life, did Albert finally decide to go for it.

An intense period of wood shedding resulted Albert sharing a bill with Double Trouble, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section. So taken with Albert’s fire and passion were bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton that they volunteered to play on and produce his debut recording. In 2003 the aptly-titled From the Heart (Under the Radar), with the awesome power of a Nor’easter and the soul of a natural born artist. No less a giant of the blues than B.B. King, who Cummings acknowledged with a funky version of ‘Rock Me, Baby,’ dubbed Cummings ‘a great guitarist.’ In an era of cowboy-hatted poseurs, Cumming delivered the goods straight from the heart and shoulder with a wallop generated by his talent rather than his wardrobe.

A year later Double Trouble joined Cummings again as he signed with Blind Pig Records to create True to Yourself. This time they brought in legendary producer Jim Gaines to control the sessions. The all-original release further showcased Albert’s rapidly developing songwriting chops and deeply emotional vocals as well as stunning guitar pyrotechnics that put the metallurgical properties of his strings to the test. Tours and shows with blues legends B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and others brought his music to an audience grateful for the opportunity to be rocked hard by a man possessed to play every song like his life depended on it.

Working Man (Blind Pig), Albert’s summer of 2006 blockbuster release, is the culmination to date of a guitar hero’s career just taking off. A punchy, stomping cover of Merle Haggard’s blue collar standard ‘Working Man Blues’ brings it all home for the master builder and musician. The swinging Texas blues of ‘Please,’ the instant barroom boogie classic ‘Party Right Here,’ the snaky slow drag ‘Rumors’ and the rousing rocker ‘Feeling End’ show variety well beyond the typical slow blues and shuffles of so much contemporary music. The deeply emotive ballad ‘Last Dance’ that closes the disc is so evocative that a Hollywood movie could be written around it.

Albert Cummings is a man of his times and the man for the times. As he has done with his innovative homes, he has taken tradition and built his own musical edifice that expresses his thoughts and dreams. It is a vision that alternately excites and soothes while also clearly providing a glimpse of his unlimited future. The best is yet to come.
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Doves Nest Records artist; Wildcat O'Halloran Band - Cougar Bait Blues - New Release Review

I have been listening to the new release, Cougar Bait Blues, by the Wildcat O'Halloran Band. This recording has a little bit of something for everyone. First the band is fully loaded with 13 musicians playing drums, horns, guitars and vocals. The recording opens with Too Big To Cry So I Might As Well Laugh, a country cock style track twisted with humor. Bottled Bravery and Canned Courage is a real cool horn track right out of New Orleans. If You Won't Do What I Want gets the funk line going with solid vocals and a slick guitar solo for a very entertaining track. Magic Sam's All Your Fault takes a traditional blues line and the horns take the backseat to a more traditional stripped down blues sound. There are particularly nice sax and guitar solos on this track as well. The title track, Cougar Bait Blues, finds a two guitar solo exchange which is pretty tasty. Sam and Dave's Hold On, I'm Coming gets a more traditional blues/rock run (as opposed to the R&B treatment as original) turning to a fairly nice vocal duet and featuring some smart harp work. Better Luck Next Time finds another trip to New Orleans but this time with more of the NO R&B sound. The track does nicely feature the musicians including guitar and horns. Come In My Kitchen is done acoustically with guitar and vocal duet. A very nice rendition of thie Robert Johnson track. Redneck Woman hits the blues rock sound head on making for a cool crowd pleaser and an opportunity to get that harp back out front again. Daisy Dukes is another blues rock track featuring again some pretty nice guitar work and solid backing from the band. The final track, I Worship The Ground She Walks All Over Me On, again shows O'Halloran's sense of humor and ability to blend great musicianship with crafty lyrics.

This is an interesting recording and one that anyone who likes a variety of blues styles as well as humour in their blues should check out.
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The Soul of a Man

The Soul of a Man is an eight piece band dedicated to blues and soulful music. Incorporated in the band are musicians from as far away as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Quebec, Canada, and from all across the US. The Soul of a Man is based out of Boston, Massachusetts, but can be found performing through out the North East and the greater New England area. Please take a look at our performance schedule to see when the group will be playing a show near you. Thesoulofaman.com is the place to go to hear our most recent recordings, and to stay informed about our current and future performances. You will also be able to read individual band bios and get updates about the band. The Soul of a Man prides itself on delivering the best in live entertainment, and we hope to see you at our shows. We love to make music, but it’s the fans that really make it special for us.
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Baby Names - Johnny Carlevale & The Rollin' Pins

Johnny Carlevale & The Rollin' Pins.. began as a raw rockabilly racket with an edge that pays homage to Carlevale's New England roots! But since several line-up changes, ..The Rollin' Pins.. have adapted a rock n' roll sound that is all their own and heavily influenced by Chuck Berry, Larry Williams, Otis Redding and then the artists that followed them like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks and The Rascals..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ......Johnny Carlevale & The Rollin' Pins
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Move On Down The Road - Alan Wilson and Canned Heat

Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson (July 4, 1943 – September 3, 1970) was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.
Wilson was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in the Boston suburb of Arlington. He majored in music at Boston University and often played the Cambridge coffeehouse folk-blues circuit. He acquired the nickname "Blind Owl" owing to his extreme nearsightedness; in one instance when he was playing at a wedding, he laid his guitar on the wedding cake because he did not see it. As Canned Heat's drummer, Fito de la Parra, wrote in his book: "Without the glasses, Alan literally could not recognize the people he played with at two feet, that's how blind the 'Blind Owl' was."
With Canned Heat, Wilson performed at two prominent concerts of the 1960s era, the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969. Canned Heat appeared in the film Woodstock, and the band's "Going Up the Country," which Wilson sang, has been referred to as the festival's unofficial theme song. Wilson also wrote "On the Road Again," arguably Canned Heat's second-most familiar song.

Wilson was a passionate conservationist who loved reading books on botany and ecology. He often slept outdoors to be closer to nature. In 1969, he wrote and recorded a song, "Poor Moon", which expressed concern over potential pollution of the moon. He wrote an essay called 'Grim Harvest', about the coastal redwood forests of California, which was printed as the liner notes to the Future Blues album by Canned Heat.

After Eddie 'Son' House's 'rediscovery' in 1964, Wilson taught him how to play again the songs House had recorded in 1930 and 1942 (which he had forgotten over a long absence from music); House recorded for Columbia in 1965 and two of three selections featuring Wilson on harmonica and guitar appeared on the set. On the double album Hooker 'N Heat (1970), John Lee Hooker is heard wondering how Wilson is capable of following Hooker's guitar playing so well. Hooker was known to be a difficult performer to accompany, partly because of his disregard of song form. Yet Wilson seemed to have no trouble at all following him on this album. Hooker concludes that "you [Wilson] musta been listenin' to my records all your life". Hooker is also known to have stated "Wilson is the greatest harmonica player ever"

Stephen Stills' song "Blues Man" from the album Manassas is dedicated to Wilson, along with Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.
Wilson died in Topanga Canyon, California of a drug overdose at age 27. Although Wilson had reportedly attempted suicide twice before and his death is sometimes reported as a suicide, this is not clearly established and he left no note.
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I Know You Know Me - Chris Bell

Chris was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Massachusetts on down-home cooking as well as on blues, jazz, rhythm & blues, and gospel music by his New York City dad and North Carolina mom. Before starting to play guitar at fourteen years old, he studied in Germany, where his dad was a visiting professor of American and African American Cultural Studies. Later, as an art and music major at the University of Massachusetts, Chris participated in jazz workshops with Archie Shepp and in a summer session at Berklee. He also studied guitar with Tony MacAlpine. His major influences range from B.B. King and Albert Collins to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Chris is currently the producer and host of "100% Blues," a cable access TV show in the Los Angeles area. 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”

Spider in My Web - Ronnie Earl with Diane Blue, Seth Holzman, and Gil Correia

Boston's DIANE BLUE has the “whole package” – she is a strong vocalist, skillful harmonica player and a crowd pleasing entertainer. Voted Outstanding Female Singer in The Blues Audience 2011 Readers’ Poll, Ms. Blue is a soulful and sassy performer with a strong, confident attack and energetic delivery, serving up her own spin on soul, blues and R&B.

Ms. Blue won the 2010 Massachusetts Blues Challenge, earning the honor of competing at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. She was nominated for "Best Female Singer" in the 2010 Blues Audience Readers Poll, "Best Blues/R&B Act" and "Best Female Vocalist in 2007 by the Providence Phoenix and also nominated "Best Local Blues Act" by Motif Magazine in 2007.

Ms. Diane Blue has played harmonica and/or sung with guitarist extraordinaire, Ronnie Earl, as well as international performers Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson (former sideman for Muddy Waters), Big Jack Johnson (of Clarksdale, Mississippi) and Irma Thomas (the Soul Queen of New Orleans). Juke joint legend Big Jack Johnson dubbed Ms. Blue “A Monster” on the harp after she performed as his guest star at Red's Lounge in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Ms. Blue continues to tour internationally as well as performing in the USA.
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Instrumental - Levy-Stubbs-Rivelli Trio

Organist/pianist Ron Levy has devoted most of his career to keeping the flame of funky, bluesy soul-jazz alive. Born Reuvin Zev ben Yehoshua Ha Levi in 1959 in Cambridge, MA, Levy played clarinet as a child but switched to piano after seeing Ray Charles at age 13. When he encountered the music of Jimmy Smith, Billy Preston, and Booker T. & the MG's, he fell in love with the Hammond B-3 and made the switch. Levy began working the Boston blues club scene as a teenager, and was hired by Albert King in 1971, before even graduating from high school. He spent a year and a half with King, and then joined B.B. King's backing band, where he remained for the next seven years. He also began working with the Rhythm Rockers in 1976, an association that lasted four years, and then became a member of Roomful of Blues from 1983-1987. It was during that time that Levy recorded his first session as a leader, 1985's Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom for the Black Top label. Safari in New Orleans followed in 1988, after which Levy moved to the Bullseye Blues label, where he eventually became an in-house producer (an area where he's garnered seven Grammy nominations). His albums for Bullseye Blues include 1992's B-3 Blues and Grooves and 1996's Zim Zam Zoom: Acid Blues on B-3. 1998's Greaze Is What's Good (recorded for Cannonball) featured an all-star roster of guests, including Freddie Hubbard, Melvin Sparks, David T. Walker, Steve Turre, Idris Muhammad, and Preston Shannon. Since 1988 Levy hasn't released anything under his own name, but continues to tour regularly and collaborate with and produce artists like Jimmy King, Karl Denison and Charles Earland.
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Excellent Concert Footage - Bob Margolin

Bob Margolin, (born May 9, 1949, Brookline, Massachusetts, United States)and featured here with Mike Sponza, is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is "Steady Rollin'".
Bob Margolin was born and raised in Brookline. He started playing guitar in 1964, and his first appearance on record was with Boston psychedelic band Freeborne, and their 1967 album Peak Impressions.

Margolin was a backing musician for Muddy Waters from 1973 to 1980, performing with Waters and The Band in The Last Waltz. As a solo recording artist, he has recorded albums for Alligator Records, Blind Pig, Telarc and his own Steady Rollin' record label.

In 1979 he made a guest appearance, along with Pinetop Perkins, on The Nighthawks album, Jacks & Kings.

In 1994, he appeared with Jerry Portnoy as guest musicians on the album, Ice Cream Man by John Brim. It received a W. C. Handy Award nomination as the best 'Traditional Blues Album of the Year'.

Margolin is a columnist for the Blues Revue magazine.
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Out Of My Mind - T Bone Daddy

TBD is a rockin blues trio, plain and simple. Soulful, but with a big, bad sound. Influenced by blues legends like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton, coupled with new flavors of artists like John Mayer and Joe Bonamassa, TBD puts its fingerprints on everything it does.
From contemporary interpretations of iconic blues compilations to original material, TBD pursues a tone that is uniquely theirs. Band members Paul Cowan (bass, backing vocals), Tyler Fairbank (guitar, vocals) and Lou Parreault (drums, vocals) have each spent a large part of their lives with instruments in their hands, but are now having more fun than ever with this trio.
After two years of performing throughout the region at every venue from small hill town clubs to large music festivals, TBD has just completed their latest CD River of Blues reflecting their love for the blues, respect for its heritage, and desire to keep the blues fresh and new.
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Keith Dunn Band

Keith Dunn is a harmonica player, singer, producer and the founder of deeTone records. Born in Boston, he currently resides in Rotterdam, Holland. He has over thirty years of blues experience. He possesses a deep-blues voice and is an exciting harmonica soloist.

Keith's stage presence and charisma as a bandleader brings him to major festivals and venues all over the world. He is also an in-demand back-up musician. Keith has performed at the Sunflower River Blues Festival with Big Jack Johnson in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Big Jack's hometown. In Europe, he is a featured member of Big Jack Johnson’s touring band. Keith’s current group is the International Blues Band.

Keith's songwriting, described as having "the political activism of J.B. Lenoir and the attitude of Junior Wells," is highlighted on "Alone With The Blues," released on his own deeTone records label (dcd 5501). On these recordings, Keith plays and sings his songs alone, without overdubs or guest musicians making this a first in the history of recorded blues. "Alone With The Blues" has received enthusiastic reviews from many of the leading music publications including Living Blues in the U.S.A. and Blues and Rhythm in England and Soul Bag in France. Two of his songs from the album, “Strange Things Are Happening” and “Need To Make A Dollar” have received songwriting awards.
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Chris Smither's 'Hundred Dollar Valentine' due June 19

CHRIS SMITHER COSMIC BLUES COMES FULL CIRCLE
ON 12th ALBUM, HUNDRED DOLLAR VALENTINE OUT JUNE 19

First long-player by fingerpicker/singer/songwriter to feature all original songs features session support
from Morphine, Groovasaurus, The Lemonheads players

BOSTON, Mass. — There are such things as the cosmic blues. Janis Joplin once recorded a song by that name — she spelled it kosmik. But Chris Smither lives them.

Smither’s cosmic blues are on full display in Hundred Dollar Valentine, a brilliant amalgam made of equal parts past, present and future. It is music that traces its roots back deep into tradition, anchors its rhythms and textures in today, and reaches forward into the future, asking the Big Questions — why am I here? Is there purpose to all of this or is it just a spinning cascade of random moments?

And he does it all with six strings, an insistent, understated groove and a sly wink — letting you know that we may all enter and leave this world alone, but that don’t mean we can’t have a good time while we’re here.

Hundred Dollar Valentine, Smither’s 12th studio disc, due out June 19, 2012 on Signature Sounds, sports the unmistakable sound he’s made his trademark: fingerpicked acoustic guitar and evocative sonic textures meshed with spare, brilliant songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice.

From his early days as the hot New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years, to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither has always been his own man. He has zigged when others have zagged, eschewing sophisticated studio tricks and staying true to his musical vision, surrounding himself with sympathetic musicians ranging from Bonnie Raitt and the late Stephen Bruton to the next-generation kindred spirits with whom he works today.

It’s easy to see that Smither’s primary touchstone is acoustic blues, once describing his guitar style as “one third Lightnin’ Hopkins, one-third Mississippi John Hurt and one-third me.” While “blues” can evoke images of beer-sodden bar bands cranking out three sets a night wondering why one’s baby left them, Smither reaches back to the primordial longing and infinite loneliness held within the form.

Sure, the album kicks off with the deceptively jaunty title track, whose good-time, ricky-tick shuffle masks the singer’s walking the creaky floorboards of doubt. But the cosmic blues come to the fore on the next cut: “On the Edge” is part conversation, part confessional and part affirmation. This is when you start to realize what extraordinary artistry — what seamless meshing of sound, subject and delivery — is going on here.

Producer David “Goody” Goodrich (credits: Peter Mulvey, Jeffrey Foucault, Rose Polenzani, The Amity Front), a true musician’s musician, is a natural partner for Smither. “He knows me and my music so well that I trust his ideas implicitly and he keeps coming back with new ones,” says Smither. “This is my fifth project with Goody and each time he raises the bar.”

The recording sessions came together during early 2012 at Signature Studios in Pomfret, Connecticut. Stopping by were the nexus of two of Boston’s most distinctive and influential acts of the recent era — Treat Her Right’s (later Morphine) drummer Billy Conway and Jimmy Fitting on harmonica, and Goodrich’s ex-Groovasaurus bandmates Anita Suhanin (vocals) and violinist Ian Kennedy (Page/Plant, Lemonheads, Juliana Hatfield, Peter Wolf, Susan Tedeschi).

“I've either worked with or been around all the musicians on this record over the years so it was a very comfortable and personable situation,” says Smither. “All these folks are the best at what they do. It makes my job easy.”

While this is Smither’s twelfth studio album, this is his first-ever outing comprised entirely of self-penned songs. He’s always favored the cream of songwriters, such as Dylan, Mark Knopfler and Chuck Berry, mixed with classics from the blues canon, but this time, the credits read all-Smither. “Actually,” he laughs, “there are two covers on the record; but it’s me covering myself.”

“My producer and manager made the argument — a strong one — that songs from my earlier catalog were written by a young man. I'm not a young man any longer but they thought it would be interesting to interpret work from my youth from the perspective of having been on the planet as long as I've been now.”

While it is no surprise that several of his songs have become virtual standards, it is ironic that the assuredly masculine Smither has found favor almost exclusively with female singers: “Love You (Me) Like a Man” has been recorded countless times, with the best known versions by Bonnie Raitt and Diana Krall, “Slow Surprise” by Emmylou Harris and “I Feel the Same” by Raitt, Candi Staton and Esther Phillips among others.

“We chose ‘I Feel the Same’ because of its conciseness. I’ve been told it’s a good example of less is more,” says Smither. Indeed, in three spare verses, “I Feel the Same” is one of the most hauntingly evocative modern blues ever written. “All that nothin’ causes all that pain,” marvels the singer, as he surveys the desolate landscape of heartbreak before him.

Equally unflinching is “Every Mother’s Son.” Tracing a direct line from Cain to Billy the Kid to David Koresh and Timothy McVeigh, “Every Mother’s Son” is an indelible portrait of nihilism:

“I speak to you. I think you'll understand/You know you’ve made your son Joseph a dangerous man/He's gone to town, he's bought himself a gun . . .” “It’s a song I wish would become irrelevant,” says Smither, “But I don’t think it ever will.”

On Hundred Dollar Valentine, Chris Smither makes music that simultaneously breaks and fortifies one’s heart. It’s music that acknowledges that even as we are together, we are alone. This is music that stares into that absolute abyss and does not lie. This is music that locks its gaze with life and death and does not look away.

On Hundred Dollar Valentine, Chris Smither sings the cosmic blues.

They Call Me the Snake - Luther ' Snake Boy' Johnson

The confusing plethora of artists working under the name of Luther (nickname here) Johnson can leave even those with a decent knowledge of blues in a major state of confusion. But in this biographical entry, we concern ourselves with the life and times of Luther "Georgia Boy/Snake Boy" Johnson who, to make matters even more confusing, also worked and recorded under the names Little Luther and Luther King. (It turns out his real name wasn't even Luther, but Lucius.) Upon his military discharge, he picked guitar as a member of the Milwaukee Supreme Angels gospel group, working the local church circuit. But the blues bug hit and he soon had his own little blues trio together, eventually settling in Chicago by the early '60s. He played for a while with Elmore James and was a regular fixture in the Muddy Waters band by the mid-'60s. He recorded as Little Luther for Chess in the mid-'60s ("The Twirl") and by 1970 was relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, working as a solo artist. The next five years found him working steadily on the college and blues festival circuit before cancer overtook him on March 18, 1976, at a mere 41 years of age. ~ Cub Koda, Rovi
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Beyond Here Lies Nothing - Peter Parcek (and Free Download)

Peter Parcek’s daring, incendiary and soulful style is a distinctive hybrid. He weaves rock, gypsy-jazz, country, folk, and blues-- especially blues-- into a tapestry of melody, harmony and daredevil solos that push those styles to their limits without sacrificing the warmth of his own personality.

Peter calls his approach "soul guitar," an appellation that alludes to his playing’s depth of feeling and character, as well as its deepest roots in classic American music. But Peter’s sensibilities are equally attuned to the future.

Peter’s journey as a musician began when the Vietnam War erupted and he graduated high school. With the blessings of his mother and the help of a family friend, he relocated to London, England, and found himself in the thick of the British blues explosion.

"I got real lucky," he recounts. "Whenever I could afford it or sneak in, I could see Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Peter Green in clubs, as well as many other great guitarists who were on the scene, but never made it big.

Daunted by the six-string virtuosity on display all around him, Peter put down his guitar to sing and blow harmonica and joined a band, playing rooms like the famed Marquee Club — one night on a bill with the Pink Floyd. But fate intervened. He was returned to the States for lack of a British work permit.

Once back in Middletown, CT, Peter began witnessing great American blues artists in concert: Skip James, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy. "I would sit as close as possible so I could see exactly what they were doing on the guitar," he says. "It was an amazing education."

Decades later, he would receive a superlative from Guy. "I met some people who knew Buddy and took me to his dressing room after a show," Peter says. "I felt a little out of place, because I didn’t really know anybody. So out of nervousness, I guess, I just absent mindedly picked up one of Buddy’s guitars, unplugged, and started playing. After a while I realized the room was quiet and I looked up, and Buddy was watching me with his finger pressed to his lips for silence.

"You’re as bad as Eric Clapton," Guy remarked. "And I know Eric Clapton."

Peter, who is remarkably modest about his virtuosity, says he didn’t get serious about his instrument until he moved to Massachusetts. "That’s when I developed from a guitar owner to a guitar player, by practicing eight to 10 hours a day," he explains.

Between jobs as a school counselor and instrument salesman, Peter joined his first serious band, Boston’s Nine Below Zero. Their visceral take on classic and original blues won them regional acclaim and led to Peter playing on recordings for the piano legend Pinetop Perkins and a stint as Perkins’ touring bandleader.

"It was an amazing time," Peter relates, "and it inspired me to take the reins of my own music and form a band."

"What I try to bring to any music I play, but especially to blues, is something I learned from Skip James when I saw him perform at Wesleyan University in the ’60s," says Peter. "He played beautifully, with real elegance, and conducted himself in a gentlemanly manner. But people kept talking, so at one point he stopped playing and announced, ‘Mr. Skip would appreciate it if you would stop perambulating when he is expressing.’ And then he left until things quieted down.

"That made something click in me. Skip showed me that it was right to play blues with dignity and style, and to express and conduct yourself as an artist. He obviously put his entire soul into what he was doing on a lot of levels. And that’s what I try to do whenever I pick up a guitar."
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Jet Airliner - Paul Pena

Paul Pena (January 26, 1950 – October 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.

His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll. Pena is probably best known for writing the song "Jet Airliner," a major 1977 hit for the Steve Miller Band and a staple of classic rock radio; and for appearing in the 1999 documentary film Genghis Blues, wherein he displayed his abilities in the field of Tuvan throat singing.
Pena was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His grandparents were from the islands of Brava and Fogo in the Cape Verde islands off the western coast of Africa, and emigrated to the United States in 1919. Pena spoke Cape Verdean Creole with his family while growing up. His grandfather, Francisco Pena, and father, Joaquim "Jack" Pena, were both professional musicians, and taught Paul to play Cape Verdean music, including Morna. Pena performed professionally with his father, including a summer spent in Spain and Portugal, where he studied flamenco music.

Pena was born with congenital glaucoma. He attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, from the age of 5, and graduated in 1967. He then attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Pena was completely blind by the time he was 20.
In February 1969, Pena's band played for a week at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, opening twice for both Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead. Pena performed in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop at the Newport Folk Festival the same year. He also played in the T-Bone Walker Blues Band during the early 1970s, including an appearance in the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972. He played bass guitar and provided backup vocals on Bonnie Raitt's debut album.
In 1997 Pena was severely injured after his bedroom caught fire. He suffered smoke inhalation and was in a coma for four days.

Pena suffered from diabetes. He also waged a long battle with pancreatic illness, and was originally mis-diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He began chemotherapy treatments and doctors gave him six months to live. In 2000 he was properly diagnosed with pancreatitis, a life-threatening illness.

Pena died in his San Francisco, California, apartment of complications from diabetes and pancreatitis on October 1, 2005
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Paul Rishell and Annie Raines

When 22-year-old harmonica ace Annie Raines first sat in with 42-year-old country blues guitarist Paul Rishell in a Boston bar in 1992, few in the crowd suspected that they were witnessing the beginning of a musical partnership that would span the next fifteen years and counting. As a working team, Paul and Annie have racked up hundreds of thousands of miles on the road in the U.S. and Europe, collaborated on original songs, and released I WANT YOU TO KNOW (Tone-Cool/Artemis 1996), MOVING TO THE COUNTRY (2000), the W.C. Handy Award winner for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year, and GOIN’ HOME (2004), which was nominated for two Handy Awards.

Paul Rishell and Annie Raines’s fifth CD together, “A NIGHT IN WOODSTOCK” will be released on October 21, 2008 and distributed internationally by Burnside Distribution. The pair’s first live release features special guests John Sebastian, Bruce Katz, and Paul and Annie’s own backing band joining the duo for an eclectic, high-energy set of acoustic and electric originals and classic blues songs. Despite the difference in their ages, Paul and Annie are equally passionate about their craft and devoted to the study and performance of a wide range of blues styles, from the syncopated acoustic guitar wizardry of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Son House to Chicagoan “Little” Walter Jacob’s swinging amplified harmonica. Paul has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called “a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays.” Annie has added vocals, mandolin, piano, and other instruments to her musical arsenal, while being recognized by top professionals and fans worldwide as the “queen of the blues harmonica.” Says blues legend Pinetop Perkins, “She plays so good it hurts!”

Touring internationally at festivals, clubs, and concert halls, and teaching workshops and seminars, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines have earned loyal fans around the globe. Paul and Annie are featured in the new jug band music documentary, Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost, which debuted at the San Francisco Film Festival in August 2007. They have performed on diverse radio and TV shows including A Prairie Home Companion, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and PBS’s Arthur. They have performed and recorded with Susan Tedeschi, John Sebastian, Pinetop Perkins, and Rory Block. Susan Tedeschi recorded an “unplugged” version of Paul’s Blues on a Holiday with Paul and Annie for her 2003 release, Wait For Me. Recently, Annie began writing a ‘blog of tales from their road tours for their website, paulandannie.com, garnering a new following in the online community.

Annie Raines was born in 1969 in Boston and grew up in the suburb of Newton, Massachusetts. She picked up the blues harp at 17 and made her stage debut at the 1369 Jazz Club in Cambridge a few months before her high school graduation. Enthralled by the recordings of Muddy Waters, Little Walter Jacobs, Big Walter Horton and Sonny Boy Williamson, she became a fixture at Boston area blues jams. She briefly attended Antioch College and 1988 interned with Washington, DC homeless rights activist Mitch Snyder, who persuaded her to drop out of school to pursue her musical career. One of the few female blues harmonica players in the country, Annie played the New England club circuit with local bands, and traveled to Chicago where she met and played with many of her musical idols including Pinetop Perkins, Louis Myers, and James Cotton. She also enjoyed yearlong stints with the Tarbox Ramblers and the Susan Tedeschi Band, going on to perform on Susan’s first three albums. She lives in Boston with her number one musical hero, Paul Rishell.

Paul Rishell was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950, descended from a long line of Methodist preachers and Norwegian painters. At the age of ten, he discovered that he could keep time on the drums, though his feet didn’t reach the pedals. He started a band a few years later, playing surf music and rock ‘n roll, until a friend turned him on to the country blues records of Son House, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. He immediately took up the guitar and in the early 70’s Paul moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and had the chance to play with many of the first and second generation of blues masters — including Son House, Johnny Shines, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Howlin’ Wolf. Paul Rishell’s debut recording, BLUES ON A HOLIDAY (Tone-Cool) was released in 1990 to resounding critical acclaim. The album was half acoustic, half electric, and established Paul as a masterful, versatile blues player and as well as a deeply soulful singer and songwriter. He followed that with SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH in 1993, which featured heart-stopping solo performances as well as guest artists Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters and “Little”Annie Raines. Paul’s original music has been used in plays, films, and countless television shows including Friends, Oprah, and A&E’s Biography. He has built up a stellar reputation over 40 years as a performer, teacher, and torchbearer of the country blues tradition. His former students include Susan Tedeschi and Michael Tarbox. Paul’s first instructional video/CD-Rom for Truefire will be released in 2008 with detailed demonstrations and transcriptions of his original songs and songs by Scrapper Blackwell, Blind Boy Fuller, and many others.
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