Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release (November 6, 2015), Keep Coming Back , from Mike Zito & the Wheel and it's a real rocker! Opeing with title track, Keep Coming Back , Zito is leading the way on vocal and screaming hot slide guitar. Jimmy Carpenter on sax, Scot Sutherland on bass, Rob Lee on drums and Lewis Stephens on keys really rock the house! Excellent opener!! Keeping up the driving rhythm with Chin Up , with a little more country rock twist. Rocking guitar lines and soulful sax work from Carpenter nicely compliment Zito's vocals. Easy country rock track, Get Busy Living has that laid back Dickie Betts Blue Skies feel. A perfect radio track, has cool vocal blending with Carpenter and Suzie Sims. Country rock ballad, Early In The Morning , nicely highlights Zito's vocal work, backed on vocal by Riley Zito. Comfortable track for cross radio play. I Was Drunk is a cool style ballad with a twist of southern blues. This is a really nice gritty track with Anders O...

Heritage Music Bluesfest 2015 Main Stage Lineup BUY TICKETS HERE FRI 7 ·          11:30am - 1:00pm - Taste of the Blues FREE PREVIEW ·          4:00 pm - GATES OPEN ·          5:00 to 6:00 - Eric Gales ·          6:30 to 7:30 - Nikki Hill ·          8:00 to 9:00 - Albert Cummings ·          9:30 to 11:00 - The Lowrider Band ...

I had promised a follow up on Mike Zito and the accompanying DVD to the CD that I reviewed before Thanksgiving. I finally found a spot in my schedule so here we go. The concert opens with Didn't Break A Leg and I have to say it is a terrific opener. Zito and Jimmy Carpenter really smoke the place and that's no crap! Second up is Greyhound, a Keith Richards flavored country style rocker and Zito lays down some really nice slide work. Although the video quality isn't spectacular, the musical quality more than makes up for it. I Never Knew A Hurricane is a quiet ballad and Carpenter harmonizes nicely with Zito on vocal as well as plays warm sax solo fillers. Hell On Me has a cool boogie beat and Zito grinds out a really nice tele solo driven by Scot Sutherland on bass and Rob Lee on drums. Pearl River is a cool bluesy number with a great melody and light arpeggiated guitar work. Zito steps it up and rips the sack wide open on this track letting all the meat out.... very...

I just received the newest release, Songs From The Road from Mike Zito & The Wheel and it's terrific! This like a number of other releases in this series is a 2 disc set and in this case, one a DVD and I'll tell you, I can't wait to get this thing home and watch it! I'll do a separate review of the CD here and a follow up for the DVD shortly. Opening with Don't Break A Leg , a real hot funky number is cooking. With Zito on vocal and guitar and hot sax lines from Jimmy Carpenter, a funky organ solo from Lewis Stephens, Scot Sutherland laying down a funky bass line and the tight rhythms of Rob Lee on drums, this is Zito at his best! Next up is Greyhound with an almost Keith Richards attitude but with a bit more country flavor. Carpenter rides high on sax with soul and clarity. A change up is a quiet remake of Prince's Little Red Corvette and again the supple vocal like sax leads of Carpenter. Another rocker with attitude is Rainbow Bridge . I really lik...

Mike Zito and The Wheel Makes An Illegal Turn In The Right Direction Live CD/DVD Songs From The Road Out November 11 th Atlanta, GA – Ruf Records artist, Mike Zito is set to release his Songs From The Road Live CD/DVD on November 11 th .  Zito, an award winning artist and producer, wows the Texas home crowd with his blues boogie-woogie one winter night in January 2014, at Houston’s Dosey Doe only a few miles away from where he lives in Beaumont. Straight from the start, Mike takes command of the stage with songs from his vast catalog over the years, with songs like Greyhound, “ Gone To Texas” and “ Pearl River” , co-written by the great Cyril Neville, won a Blues Music Award in 2011. Even a clever cover of the Prince classic ” Little Red Corvette” , would impress the Purple Rain man himself. Mike’s guitar work soars, sings and cheers against his velvet voice perhaps only after years of perfecting the two. Mike has cultivated this sound, one t...

“Where Blues Crosses Over” (Pronounced “Roof”) RUF RECORDS HITS THE BLUES CHARTS WITH TWO CDs NEXT WEEK New Records From SAVOY BROWN, ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD & JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR Out Now Label’s “Songs From The Road” CD/DVD Sets Chart With Joanne ...