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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


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Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

You Know I Love You Baby - The Soulard Blues Band

ART DWYER Born in 1946 and raised in St. Louis, Art Dwyer grew up on the city's north side. "Rufus, the Dells, T-Bone Walker, Otis Redding, and of course, Albert and B.B. King were my music. It fit in with everything my friends and me did. "Art drifted around for quite some time, working as a union organizer, a Maritime employee and a ditch digger, but he never lost the music. "There was always a dance party or jam session going on somewhere. That's how the Soulard Blues Band came together."Art has performed with the great Henry Townsend, J.B. Hutto, Little Johnny Taylor, Fernest Arceneaux and the Thunders, the Zydeco Farmers, Larry Davis, the legendary Billy Gayles, Chuck Berry, Doc Terry, Tommy Bankhead, Albert Collins and many others. In 1978, Art organized the Soulard Blues Band. Since 1987 Art has been a disc jockey on St. Louis' number one community radio station, KDHX 88.1 FM, hosting the weekly blues program, "Blues in the Night". MARTY ABDULLAH Bio coming soon TOM MALONEY Tom Maloney has been playin’ the blues for a long time. During that time he has entertained blues lovers all over these United States, Europe, (Germany w/the Soulard Blues Band) and South America. Tom is a musician’s musician. In his younger days he was known to get out on the highway with his guitar and his amp and his thumb, sometimes hitchhiking 150 miles just to get to the “gig”. Being a session man in St. Louis may not garner great riches but it brings a special honor to those who get the call to play with the venerable world class musicians that have made St. Louis, Missouri their home. Men like piano player Johnnie Johnson, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Oliver Sain, and Benny Smith, who gave guitar lessons to Ike Turner . These days you could count Tom Maloney among that esteemed group. Tom first joined the SBB for four years back in the early 80’s and has always been there to help out over the years. He has done stints in the Johnny Johnson Band and The Benny Smith Band and has been the musical director for groups in Las Vegas and Arizona. Look for a re-release of the 1982 SBB album “ Nothing to Lose” with Tom on guitar. BRIAN CASSERLY Bio coming soon KIRK “Dr. Drum” GRICE Kirk Grice, a native St. Louisan, played with Soulard Blues Band from’81 to ’95 and rejoined the band in the 21st century. During an eight year hiatus Kirk pursued a career as a professional boxing referee while performing with a number of local and national artists. Performances with national touring acts include Fred Wesley, Chuck Berry, WyntonMarsalis, Maceo Parker, Little Johnny Taylor and Jimmy Smith. Recordings with local artists include Soulard Blues Band, C. Felton, The Unity ArtEnsemble, and the Nuclear Percussion Ensemble. With many early years under the tutelage of the great Sonny Hamp, Kirk has never stopped growing as a drummer and percussionist. Thirty-five years worth of playing has taken him to a variety of ensembles and musically- related work, including twenty years as a percussion accompanist for dance schools and professional dance organizations among which are Washington University dance department, Dance St. Louis, COCA and Parkway School District’s Dance Discovery Project. The title “Dr.Drum” was affectionately given to Kirk by devoted students and dancers.Recent performances with Mojo Syndrome, Bob Case and the Wild Accusations, Bennie Smith and Urban Blues Express, and hometown jazz groups like the Bosman Twins, Ptah Williams, Mae Wheeler, and Bill Tucker keep Kirk current and in demand on the St. Louis Blues and Jazz scene in St. Louis.Kirk continues to referee professional and amateur boxing in his spare time while continuing his education. “I got a calling to return toschool.”Kirk is a dedicated musician and is always in pursuit of knowledge and development as a person. “I believe in the healing power of music” is a favorite quote of Dr. Drum’s. 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 favorite band!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Cheating and Lying Blues - Doctor Clayton

Doctor Clayton (April 19, 1898 - January 7, 1947) was an American blues singer and songwriter. Peter Joe Clayton was born in Georgia, though he later claimed he had been born in
Africa, and moved to St. Louis as a child with his family. He had four children and worked in a factory in St. Louis, where he started his career as a singer (he could also play piano and ukelele, though he never did so on record). Clayton recorded six sides for Bluebird Records in 1935, but only two were ever issued. Clayton's entire family died in a house fire in 1937; following this Clayton became an alcoholic and began wearing outsized hats and glasses. Moving to Chicago with Robert Lockwood, he received attention from Decca Records but ultimately returned to Bluebird, recording with them again in 1941-42. He also recorded for Okeh Records at this time. Among the songs he wrote were "Cheating and Lying Blues", frequently covered by other blues artists; "Pearl Harbor Blues", written after the Pearl Harbor bombing of 1941; and "Moonshine Woman Blues", which became a chart hit for B. B. King under the name "The Woman I Love" in 1968. He recorded again in 1946, recording the tunes "Hold That Train, Conductor" and "I Need My Baby" which were also both covered by King.[1] Most of his later recordings featured Blind John Davis on piano. He was a regional sales success and played regularly in Chicago nightclubs with Lockwood and Sunnyland Slim. Clayton died of tuberculosis in January 1947, in Chicago, shortly after his second recording session. Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red attended his funeral. Document Records has released all of Clayton's output recorded between 1935 and 1942 on one CD; Old Tramp Records released the remaining 1946 recordings. 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 favorite band!

The Rev Jimmie Bratcher Is "Secretly Famous" on New Blues-Rock CD Coming March 5

The Rev Jimmie Bratcher Is Secretly Famous on New Blues-Rock CD Coming March 5 on Ain’t Skeert Tunes

Latest Album from Singer/Guitarist Was Produced by Multi-Grammy-Winner Jim Gaines


KANSAS CITY, MO – The Rev Jimmie Bratcher announces a March 5 release date for Secretly Famous, the latest CD from the blues-rock singer/guitarist, coming from Ain’t Skeert Tunes. Produced by multi-Grammy-winner Jim Gaines and recorded at his Bessie Blue Studio in Stantonville, Tennessee, Secretly Famous marks the second time the two have collaborated on an album project; Gaines also produced Bratcher’s 2006 release, RED.

Secretly Famous is my seventh album but I really feel like it’s my first,” says Bratcher. “This album is different for me because I went further back into my roots than on any of my other albums, back to a time before I became “The Rev.” Back to the blues-rock root that I learned playing that old guitar.”
“That old guitar” Bratcher refers to is a classic white 1964 Gibson SG Jr., which he played on the new CD. And there’s a story behind how he got the guitar and how it set him on the path to become a musician as a youngster growing up in Kansas City.

“In the driveway was a 1958 Desoto; in the house were a 12-year-old boy and his dad with a plan,” recalls Bratcher. “‘Will trade 1958 Desoto for electric guitar and amplifier,’ was how the ad read in the Kansas City Star newspaper. One call came and I went home with a beautiful white Gibson SG Jr. and a Gibson amplifier. That’s where it all started and I still have both the guitar and amp to this day.”

On that day was not only a musician born, but also a self-confessed “guitar freak,” who plays several different vintage guitars and amps on Secretly Famous. “I never understood the attraction to vintage guitars till one day it hit me,” says Bratcher. “There’s something very special about playing a guitar that has had a lifetime of music played through it. I consider playing guitar as a gift. Throughout my life I’ve received many guitars as gifts. In fact most of the guitars that I own were given to me as gifts.  They are constant reminders to me that music is a gift to us all and it’s my honor to play it for you. Oh yeah, the songs I played the SG on are the solos of “I Can’t Shake That Thing” & “Starting All Over Again.”

And if you didn’t already know it, Jimmie Bratcher is a bona fide preacher, who regularly spends his time when not performing at clubs and festivals around the world, visiting souls who need a lifeline, including frequent performances for prison inmates all over the country. 

Backing The Rev Jimmie Bratcher on Secretly Famous  are Craig Kew on bass, known for his work with the group Proto Kaw, which features guitarist Kerry Livgren from the legendary band Kansas; Lester Estelle Jr. on drums, a Nashville-based skin-slammer who is currently touring with Big and Rich and also co-owns Off the Wall Studios on Music Row; and keyboardist Rick Steff,  a mainstay at Jim Gaines’ recording sessions who’s based in Memphis and also plays in the acclaimed band Lucero.

Secretly Famous features an even-dozen tracks including 10 originals and two scintillating covers: The Rev’s boogie-in’ take on John D. Loudermilk’s classic “Tobacco Road;” and a beautiful reading of the Association’s ‘60s hit, “Never My Love,” that brings s new depth of feeling and emotion to the song. Another track of note is “Check Your Blues at the Door,” an original blues shuffle destined to become a fan favorite and blues lover’s anthem. 
   
“I wrote most of the songs on Secretly Famous and had the honor of co-writing the opening track, ‘Jupiter & Mars,’ with my son Jason,” says Bratcher. “The song was Jason’s idea and once I read the first line – ‘Blinding light, flash of chrome, hot-head blonde in a tricked out Ford’ - I was hooked. There’s also something about my playing on this song that is just wrong enough to be right and the groove drags you into the song so you can’t help but feel it. All the songs I wrote on Secretly Famous are for people like me.  People that hurt, that love, that laugh, people that need to forget about their troubles and enjoy life.”

For more information on the artist, visit www.therevjb.com.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

What Kind Of Fool - The Mojo Roots - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (January 18, 2013), What Kind Of Fool, from the Mojo Roots and it's a barn burner. First I'm going to say that I will of course draw parallels to other bands and songs but these guys are all original and have put together a really sweet recording. The recording opens with What Kind Of Fool, the title track, which is written loosely over ABB's arrangement of Statesboro Blues. This is a cool track and the familiarity of the slide riffs and basic arrangement adds rather than detracts from the whole. I like it. Trevor 'TJ' Judkins rips through Mr. Allman like riffs adding his own style and originality. The second track, I Got The Blues, is a morphing of the Thrill Is Gone and a Savoy Brown arrangement of a classic R&B track with a new melody and a new spin again sounding very fresh. (If you don't know, I love classic Savoy Brown). Jordan Thomas has strong control over the vocals and is a perfect match for this type of blues rock band. TJ has just the right touch on guitar playing soulful blues solos without going over the top as some guys tend to do. Green-Eyed Baby, featuring Thomas on vocals and harp is up next. This track has a Key To The Highway style but again with a new song built aver a spectacular foundation is a certain winner. With Jim Rush (bass) and Andy Naugle (drums) the stage is set for TJ to play a very crisp guitar solo on this track. That Kind Of Girl has a Robert Cray style riff line but the track again takes a new turn with a a beat and hook line which will likely bee fairly popular on the airwaves. Otis Redding's I've Been Loving You Too Long is a nice soulful ballad smack in the middle of the set. This track is hard to compete with head to head but The Mojo Roots do a nice job at it with TJ stepping in with some hot riffs as the track builds. This is certain to be a crowd pleaser live. White Chicken Chili is a cool modern blues rocker with the poise of the Butterfield Blues Band playing the Work Song during the East West days with some Willie Dixon stirred in. The track has great balance between hot guitar riffs and lush harp riffs. This may be the best track on the release. Deaf, Dumb and Blind has a simple R&B theme and is set up as a simple ballad. The melody and performance are first class. TMR put up a really interesting arrangement of the traditional Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name). I have heard this track done many times but TMR have taken it to a new place and it is really done well. The melody is broadened and further explored. To a passive listener I believe it is not recognizable as an old spiritual. Excellent. John Mayall's, It's Over, is up next and The Mojo Roots really have it swingin'. TJ and Thomas play a tandem harp/guitar solo and then complimentary and it is well fit into another really well constructed and executed track. Not Loving You is heavily R&B influenced and has that warm familiar sound. TJ plays some really cool arpeggios on guitar throughout the track and closes with a single hot guitar riff. The recording is closed with one of my favorite harp tracks, Hoy Hoy Hoy. I was first introduced to this by King Biscuit Boy and from that time on I was hooked. In this case, TJ gets the opportunity to take a great few guitar treks and then of course the hot harp work by Thomas. This is a great new release and one that I think anyone who like modern blues tracks will really enjoy. I can see my pal Blues Ace whistling at near ear piercing levels and stompin' his foot as this track blows through.
  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”

Can't Make Another Day - Edith North Johnson

Edith North Johnson (January 2, 1903 – February 28, 1988) was an American classic female blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her most noted tracks were "Honey Dripper Blues", "Can't Make Another Day" and "Eight Hour Woman". She wrote another of her songs, "Nickel's Worth of Liver Blues". Born Edith North, in 1928 she married a local record producer, Jesse Johnson. She originally worked at her husband's Deluxe Music Store as a sales person. Although not a professional singer, between 1928 and 1929 Johnson recorded eighteen sides. She started on QRS Records in 1928, later switching to Paramount. Her output tally included those from a recording session in Grafton, Wisconsin, for the Paramount label with Charley Patton. Oddly, it is now reckoned that Patton did not play on any of her recordings. During World War II, Johnson managed a taxicab operation in St. Louis, as well as later running Johnson's Deluxe CafÄ— after her husband's death in 1946. By 1961, she had returned to recording when Samuel Charters tracked her down. She was accompanied by Henry Brown on Charters' set entitled, The Blues in St. Louis. It was released by Folkways. Using pseudonyms such as Hattie North (on Vocalion) and Maybelle Allen, Johnson also earlier waxed additional tracks for other small labels. Under the Hattie North name, she recorded "Lovin' That Man Blues" with Count Basie. Her recording of "Honey Dripper Blues" was the inspiration for the nickname used by Roosevelt Sykes. In her later life, Johnson spent time undertaking social work in her hometown. Johnson died in St. Louis in February 1988, at the age of 85. Four of her songs appeared as part of the boxed set, Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton (2001). 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”

Monday, December 24, 2012

Don't You Ever Leave Me All Alone - Andrew "Voice" Odom

Eminently capable of serving up spot-on imitations of both Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B. King, Andrew Odom was also a man of many interrelated nicknames: Voice, Big Voice, B.B., Little B.B., B.B. Junior. Perhaps his chameleonic talents held him back; Odom was a journeyman Chicago singer who recorded relatively sparingly. Like the majority of his peers, Odom started out singing spirituals but fell in with Albert King and Johnny O'Neal on the St. Louis blues scene of the mid-'50s and began plying his trade there. He made an unobtrusive recording debut in 1961, singing "East St. Louis" with the band of one Little Aaron for the highly obscure Marlo imprint. He arrived in Chicago around 1960, hooking up with Earl Hooker as the slide guitar wizard's vocalist. A single for Nation Records in 1967 (as Andre Odom) preceded his debut album for ABC-BluesWay (cut in 1969, it remained in the can for quite a while before the label finally issued it). A guest spot on Jimmy Dawkins' encore Delmark LP, All for Business, was a highlight of the '70s for the singer. He cut his own album for the French Isabel label in 1982 in the company of Magic Slim & the Teardrops (reissued by Evidence in 1993), but it was a 1992 set for Flying Fish, Goin' to California (co-produced by guitarist Steve Freund), that probably captured his considerable vocal charms the best. Odom was a popular attraction on the Windy City circuit right up until the fateful night when he suffered a heart attack while driving from Buddy Guy's Legends to another local blues mecca, the Checkerboard Lounge. He's been missed ever since. 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 favorite band!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Top R&B/Blues Ensemble Blowin' Smoke Return To Harvelle's For Pre-Christmas Concert/Dance Party


Hotter Than St. Louis BBQ!
Larry "Fuzzy" Knight Presents... 

Blowin' Smoke  - St. Louis-Style Rhythm & Blues Revue
Saturday, December 22@Harvelle's   
            
 Larry "Fuzzy" Knight (pictured below) fronts high-energy eleven-piece ensemble, Blowin' Smoke, along with the hot, sultry and sassy, Fabulous Smokettes. They're in concert this Saturday night, December 22 at long-renowned blues club Harvelle's in Santa Monica.   
                      
    (Santa Monica) -   Blowin' Smoke is hotter than St. Louis BBQ and twice as tasty! Catch the acclaimed eleven-piece R&B/Blues/Soul ensemble in concert this Saturday, December 22 at Harvelle's, 1432 4th St., Santa Monica. 9 p.m.-till? Info: (310) 395-1676 or https://www.facebook.com/harvelles?ref=ts&fref=t

    For nearly two decades, Blues/R&B/Soul group Blowin' Smoke has been one of the most in-demand, successful bands on the Southern California live music circuit. Front and center in Blowin' Smoke is its creator, bandleader/bassist/vocalist, Larry "Fuzzy" Knight - whose impressive musical resume' includes a decade-plus stint as bassist for one of the great SoCal bands to emerge from the psychedelic era of the Sixties, Spirit.  Knight has also recently launched a new band project, Sky King, featuring some top-name musicians, all the while keeping Blowin' Smoke going strong

    In a recent review of the band's Beyond the Blues Horizon CD,  BMans Blues Report writes, 'lead vocalist and bass player Larry 'Fuzzy' Knight delivers the goods..."C.O.D." is a hot R&B track featuring Michael Murphy on Hammond and Jimmy Delgado rippin' a great lead guitar...this is the kind of recording you can put on while you're working and driving and it will make the day fly...great tracks, great instrumentation, great vocals and great energy," the review concludes. 

   Check out Blowin' Smoke's terrific live rendition of 2013 Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Albert King's song, "Let's Have A Natural Ball."




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 favorite band!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Feel So Good - Andrew 'Big Voice' Odom

Eminently capable of serving up spot-on imitations of both Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B. King, Andrew Odom was also a man of many interrelated nicknames: Voice, Big Voice, B.B., Little B.B., B.B. Junior. Perhaps his chameleonic talents held him back; Odom was a journeyman Chicago singer who recorded relatively sparingly. Like the majority of his peers, Odom started out singing spirituals but fell in with Albert King and Johnny O'Neal on the St. Louis blues scene of the mid-'50s and began plying his trade there. He made an unobtrusive recording debut in 1961, singing "East St. Louis" with the band of one Little Aaron for the highly obscure Marlo imprint. He arrived in Chicago around 1960, hooking up with Earl Hooker as the slide guitar wizard's vocalist. A single for Nation Records in 1967 (as Andre Odom) preceded his debut album for ABC-BluesWay (cut in 1969, it remained in the can for quite a while before the label finally issued it). All for Business A guest spot on Jimmy Dawkins' encore Delmark LP, All for Business, was a highlight of the '70s for the singer. He cut his own album for the French Isabel label in 1982 in the company of Magic Slim & the Teardrops (reissued by Evidence in 1993), but it was a 1992 set for Flying Fish, Goin' to California (co-produced by guitarist Steve Freund), that probably captured his considerable vocal charms the best. Odom was a popular attraction on the Windy City circuit right up until the fateful night when he suffered a heart attack while driving from Buddy Guy's Legends to another local blues mecca, the Checkerboard Lounge. He's been missed ever since. 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 favorite band!

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Jeremiah Johnson Band w/The Sliders

Don’t be fooled by the baby boy good looks. With lyrics like “I was born in a tavern on the banks of the Mississippi” and a horn section that hammers the groove, Jeremiah Johnson is the new face of Mississippi River blues. Walk into a gin joint in St. Louis and you’ll likely hear the familiar “blues” sound that made the area famous. It’s lyrics about the struggles of daily living with the hallmark blues style guitar that rips at your soul and soothes the spirit.Johnson takes that rich heritage but also blends influences that shaped his rugged youth like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix, BB King, Albert Collins, Albert King, Johnny Winter, Alvin Lee from Ten Years After, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, and Hank Williams Sr. and Jr., to name just a few. On top of a rich gumbo of solid songwriting, Johnson kicks it up a notch with The Sliders, Jim Rosse (trumpet) and Stuart Williams (sax). In their 25-year tenure together, The Sliders have toured with Little Feat, Johnnie Johnson, Bob Weir of Rat Dog, and have played with too many great players to mention them all. Paired together with The Jeremiah Johnson Band, you get an energized entertainment experience that will put the honky tonk in major venues to come. 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 favorite band!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

JULIA'S BLUES - Julia Lee

Julia Lee (October 31, 1902 – December 8, 1958) was an American blues and dirty blues musician. Born in Boonville, Missouri, United States, Lee was raised in Kansas City, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included Charlie Parker. She first recorded on the Merritt record label in 1927 with Jesse Stone as pianist and arranger, and launched a solo career in 1935. In 1944 she secured a recording contract with Capitol Records,[1] and a string of R&B hits followed, including "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" (#3 R&B, 1946), "Snatch and Grab It" (#1 R&B for 12 weeks, 1947, selling over 500,000 copies), "King Size Papa" (#1 R&B for 9 weeks, 1948), "I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)" (#4 R&B, 1949), and "My Man Stands Out". As these titles suggest, she became best known for her trademark double entendre songs, or, as she once said, "the songs my mother taught me not to sing". The records were credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends', her session musicians including Jay McShann, Vic Dickenson, Benny Carter, Red Norvo, Nappy Lamare, and Red Nichols. She was married to Frank Duncan, a star catcher and manager of the Negro National League's Kansas City Monarchs. He, like Julia, was a native of Kansas City. Although her hits dried up after 1949, she continued as one of the most popular performers in Kansas City until her death in San Diego, California, at the age of 56, from a heart attack 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 favorite band!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Mary Had A Little Lamb/Texas Flood - Aaron Griffin

Only 16 years of age, he's already been a professional musician since the age of 13, and possesses a guitar style far beyond his years! His dad is a 35-year veteran of the Blues bands in St. Louis, and Aaron grew around all the great St. Louis Blues musicians, names like Arthur Williams, Boo Boo Davis and Tommy Bankhead. As he's developed his own style, he’s channeled all the Blues guitar greats into his playing. Albert Collins, Robert Cray, and the 3 Kings - Albert King, Freddy King and B.B. King - are just a few he pays tribute to. Currently a senior at Webster High School, it's no surprise he plays guitar AND also plays drums. Come witness the next generation of St. Louis Blues, as Aaron Griffin and the Mojo Risin band take the stage at the Saint Louis Art Fair presented by Sterling Bank! Aaron Griffin - Guitar, Vocals Larry Griffin - Guitar Eric McSpadden - Harmonica 15 year old Stephen Cole - Drums Derek Morgan - Bass 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 favorite band!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Little Red Rooster - LARRY DAVIS

Larry Davis (December 4, 1936 – April 19, 1994) was an American electric Texas blues and soul blues musician. He is best known for co-composing the song "Texas Flood", later recorded to greater commercial success by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Davis swapped playing the drums to learn to play the bass guitar. In the mid 1950s, Davis had a working partnership with Fenton Robinson, and following the recommendation of Bobby Bland was given a recording contract by the Duke label. Davis had three singles released, which included "Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston". Thereafter, Davis had limited opportunity in the recording studio. He resided in St. Louis, Missouri for a while, and played bass in Albert King's group. He also learned conventional guitar at this time, as the original guitar playing on Davis's recording of "Texas Flood" was by Robinson. Several single releases on the Virgo and Kent labels followed, but in 1972 a motorcycle accident temporarily paralyzed Davis' left side. He returned a decade later with an album released by Rooster Blues, Funny Stuff, which was produced by Oliver Sain. He won four W.C. Handy Awards in 1982, yet a decade on he was known only to blues specialists. His 1987 Pulsar LP, I Ain't Beggin' Nobody, proved difficult even for blues enthusiasts to locate. In 1992, Bullseye Blues issued another Davis offering, Sooner or Later, that highlighted his booming vocals and Albert King influenced guitar work. Fate then came calling again and Davis died of cancer in April 1994, at the age of 57 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”

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sweet Patootie - Doug Suggs

Regarding Doug Suggs (b Dec 3, 1894) “… one of the most exhilarating discs of 50s blues piano you'll ever hear.” Kenneth Bays Blues Revue November 2003 “First released in 1957 on Tone Records, this small trove of St. Louis and Chicago boogie-woogie and blues piano stomped by house rent party favorites Speckled Red, James “The Bat” Robinson and Doug Suggs is now supplemented with rescued-from-cold storage performances highlighting the gifted 10 fingers of New Orleans eclectic Billie Pierce and Suggs again. Suggs also talks about comrades Jimmy Yancey and Albert Ammons on the interview track.” 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”

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Blowin' Smoke Rhythm & Blues Band - Beyond The Blues Horizon - New review

I just got Beyond The Blues Horizon, a hot release from The Blowin' Smoke Rhythm & Blues Band featuring the Fabulous Smokettes. This live concert recording opens with C.O.D., a hot R&B track featuring Michael Murphy on Hammond and Jimmy Delgado rippin' a great lead guitar. This is a real foot stomper and Larry 'Fuzzy" Knight, lead vocalist and bass player delivers the goods. Willie Dixon's Built For Comfort is up next and is dropped into a smooth swingin' groove. Again with Knight on strong lead vocal this track is very cool. Delgado, shows he's been around the block a few times laying down riffs that would rival many of the prominent Texas blues players. Murphy, on this track adds significant electric piano riffs that really punctuate Knights guttural blues voice. Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time is a cool R&B/jazz track along the lines of WW Washington. Tenor Sax player the "Count" Yates takes the lead vocal spot on this track. This track has a really nice groove and more prominent horns. Again Delgado really shines with slick funky guitar riffs and Lee Campbell compliments Knight on the bottom nicely with really tight drumming. Carolyn Basley takes over lead vocals on Sam Cooke's Don't Fight It (Feel It). I really like this track as an addition to this bands repertoire. Elvin Bishop did it early in his career and it is a strong track. Turtle Blues takes the pace down real slow and Christiana Vierra does a real nice job. Her delivery is quite "Pearl" like and she takes the track by the scruff of the neck. A slow blues like this of course is always a nice set up for a guitar player with great chops and Delgado steps up and hits it long. You Can Have My Husband But Please, an Irma Thomas track, features Terri Brinegar on lead vocals and the track is done in a bright, uptempo pace. Murphy again plays really slick electric piano riffs and The Count leads up the horn section of Johnny Vandenberg on trumpet, Tom Morgan jr. on tenor sax and Chris Jennings on Bari sax for a full blown blues jam. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put A Spell On You, goes back to the original pace that Hawkins originally had and the vocal interpretation is exciting. The Count blows a great articulated sax solo on this track and the band as a whole is really solid on this track. Willie Dixon/Elmore James track Talk To Me Baby has a really nice Texas lope and Delgado milks it for what it's worth. Knight returns on lead vocals and his delivery is smooth. The Count takes another strong sax solo on this track and leads a strong horn support section on this track as well. It's nice to see an appearance of Ike Turner's I'm Blue. I haven't heard it in a long time and the Smokettes do a great job on it's resurrection lead by Carolyn Basley. Slim Harpo's Shake Your Hips is up next with lead vocals by Brinegar. Instead of the blues or rock treatments that you typically hear, a slick R&B swing takes this track to new places. Luscious harmonic backing vocals and Murphy again on Hammond gives this track a whole new sound. Basley takes the lead on Otis Redding's These Arms of Mine and she delivers a fine cover of this classic soul track. The Temptations, Shakey Ground is the next track up and Vierra takes the lead again with the Smokettes filling out the sound. Jennings gets the chance to play some really memorable riffs and even crosses into some Herbie Hancock with the balance of the band which is a really nice groove. Knight gets a really nice funk going on his bass on this track as well. Larry Williams' Bonie Maronie keeps the original rock n' rhythm but with really hot sax work and featuring the horn section and the Count on vocals. I really like this cd. This is the kind of recording that you can put on while you're working and driving and it will make the day fly. It has great tracks, great instrumentation, great vocals and great energy.

  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”

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Fiddle Blues - Eddie South

Eddie South (Louisiana, Missouri, November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. South was a classical violin prodigy who switched to jazz because of limited opportunities for African-American musicians, and started his career playing in vaudeville and jazz orchestras with Freddie Keppard, Jimmy Wade, Charles Elgar, and Erskine Tate in Chicago. He studied at the Chicago College of Music alongside violinist Petrowitsch Bissing. He was influenced by Hungarian folk music and Roma music starting with a visit to Europe in the 1920s, and adapted the music to jazz. In 1927 he started his own group, Eddie South and his Alabamians, named after the Alabam club where they played in Chicago, and, along with pianist and composer Henry Crowder, toured with them in Europe from 1928 to 1930. On subsequent visits to Europe in the 1930s, he performed and recorded with guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinists Stéphane Grappelli. He also played in the big bands of Earl Hines from 1947 to 1949. and Michel Warlop. He also led bands that included pianist Billy Taylor and bassist Milt Hinton. A 1951 recording for Chess Records, Eddy [sic] South and his Orchestra, credited Johnny Pate on bass and arrangements and was also the first of a series of Chess recordings on which Pate collaborated with saxophonist Eddie Johnson 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”

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Ooo Ouch Stop - Big Joe Turner

Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", Turner's career as a performer stretched from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Known variously as The Boss of the Blues, and Big Joe Turner (due to his 6'2", 300+ lbs stature), Turner was born in Kansas City and first discovered his love of music through involvement in the church. Turner's father was killed in a train accident when Joe was only four years old. He began singing on street corners for money, leaving school at age fourteen to begin working in Kansas City's nightclub scene, first as a cook, and later as a singing bartender. He eventually became known as The Singing Barman, and worked in such venues as The Kingfish Club and The Sunset, where he and his piano playing partner Pete Johnson became resident performers.[2] The Sunset was managed by Piney Brown. It featured "separate but equal" facilities for white patrons. Turner wrote "Piney Brown Blues" in his honor and sang it throughout his entire career. At that time Kansas City was a wide-open town run by "Boss" Tom Pendergast. Despite this, the clubs were subject to frequent raids by the police, but as Turner recounts, "The Boss man would have his bondsmen down at the police station before we got there. We'd walk in, sign our names and walk right out. Then we would cabaret until morning". His partnership with boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson proved fruitful. Together they headed to New York City in 1936, where they appeared on a bill with Benny Goodman, but as Turner recounts, "After our show with Goodman, we auditioned at several places, but New York wasn't ready for us yet, so we headed back to K.C.". Eventually they were spotted by the talent scout, John H. Hammond in 1938, who invited them back to New York to appear in one of his "From Spirituals to Swing" concerts at Carnegie Hall, which were instrumental in introducing jazz and blues to a wider American audience. Due in part to their appearance at Carnegie Hall, Turner and Johnson scored a major hit with "Roll 'Em Pete". The track, basically a collection of traditional blues lyrics featured one of the earliest recorded examples of a back beat. It was a song which Turner recorded many times, with various combinations of musicians, over the ensuing years. In 1939, along with boogie players Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, they began a residency at Café Society, a club in New York City, where they appeared on the same bill as Billie Holiday and Frank Newton's band. Besides "Roll 'Em, Pete", Turner's best-known recordings from this period are probably "Cherry Red", "I Want A Little Girl" and "Wee Baby Blues". "Cherry Red" was recorded in 1939 for the Vocalion label, with Hot Lips Page on trumpet and a full band in attendance. The following year Turner moved to Decca and recorded, "Piney Brown Blues", with Johnson on piano accompianment. But not all of Turner's Decca recordings teamed him with Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith accompanied him on "Careless Love", while Freddie Slack's Trio provided the backing for "Rocks in My Bed" (1941). In 1941, he headed to Los Angeles where he performed in Duke Ellington's revue Jump for Joy in Hollywood. He appeared as a singing policeman in a comedy sketch called "He's on the Beat". Los Angeles became his home base for a time, and in 1944 he worked in Meade Lux Lewis's Soundies musical films. Although he sang on the soundtrack recordings, he was not present for the filming, and his vocals were mouthed by comedian Dudley Dickerson for the camera. In 1945 Turner and Pete Johnson opened their own bar in Los Angeles, The Blue Moon Club. The same year he signed with National Records, and recorded under Herb Abramson's supervision. His first national R&B hit came in 1945 with a version of Saunders King's "S.K. Blues". He recorded "My Gal's a Jockey" and the risqué "Around the Clock" the same year, and Aladdin released his duet with Wynonie Harris, on the ribald two-parter, "Battle of the Blues." Turner remained with National up to 1947, but none of his records were big sellers. In 1950, he released "Still in the Dark" on the Freedom label. Turner made many records, not only with Johnson but with the pianists Art Tatum and Sammy Price and with various small jazz ensembles. He recorded on several record labels and also appeared with the Count Basie Orchestra. In his career, Turner successively led the transition from big bands to jump blues to rhythm and blues, and finally to rock and roll. Turner was a master of traditional blues verses and at the legendary Kansas City jam sessions he could swap choruses with instrumental soloists for hours. In 1951, while performing with the Count Basie Orchestra at Harlem's Apollo Theater as a replacement for Jimmy Rushing, he was spotted by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün, who signed him to their new recording company, Atlantic Records. Turner recorded a number of hits for them, including the blues standards, "Chains of Love" and "Sweet Sixteen". Many of his vocals are punctuated with shouts to the band members, as in "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" ("That's a good rockin' band!", "Go ahead, man! Ow! That's just what I need!" ) and "Honey Hush" (he repeatedly sings "Hi-yo, Silver!", probably in reference to The Treniers singing the phrase in their Lone Ranger parody "Ride, Red, Ride"). Turner's records shot to the top of the rhythm-and-blues charts; although they were sometimes so earthy that some radio stations would not play them, the songs received heavy play on jukeboxes and records. Turner hit it big in 1954 with "Shake, Rattle and Roll", which not only enhanced his career, turning him into a teenage favorite, but also helped to transform popular music. The song is fairly raw, as Turner yells at his woman to "get outa that bed, wash yo' face an' hands" and comments that she's "wearin' those dresses, the sun comes shinin' through!, I can't believe my eyes, all that mess belongs to you." He sang the number on film in the 1955 theatrical feature Rhythm and Blues Revue. Although the cover version of the song by Bill Haley and His Comets, with the risqué lyrics incompletely cleaned up, was a bigger hit, many listeners sought out Turner's version and were introduced thereby to the whole world of rhythm and blues. Elvis Presley showed he needed no such introduction. Presley's version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" combined Turner's lyrics with Haley's arrangement, but was not successful as a single. Suddenly, at the age of 43, Turner was a rock star. His follow-ups "Well All Right," "Flip Flop and Fly," "Hide and Seek," "Morning, Noon and Night," and "The Chicken and the Hawk" all continued the good-time feel of "Shake, Rattle and Roll". He appeared on the television program Showtime at the Apollo during the mid 1950s, and in the film, Shake Rattle & Rock! (1956). "Corrine, Corrina" provided Turner with another massive seller in 1956. In addition to the rock songs he found time to cut the classic Boss of the Blues album in 1956. On May 26, 1958, "(I’m Gonna) Jump for Joy," the twentieth and last of Turner's run of hits, entered the US R&B record chart After a number of hits in this vein, Turner left popular music behind and returned to his roots as a singer with small jazz combos, recording numerous album in that style in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966, Bill Haley helped revive Turner's career by lending him the Comets for a series of popular recordings in Mexico (apparently no one thought of getting the two to record a duet of "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as no such recording has yet surfaced). In 1977 he recorded a cover version of Guitar Slim's song, "The Things That I Used to Do". In the 1960s and 1970s he was reclaimed by jazz and blues, appearing at many music festivals and recording for the impresario Norman Granz's Pablo label, once with his friendly rival, Jimmy Witherspoon. He also worked with the German boogie-woogie pianist Axel Zwingenberger. Turner also took part in good natured 'Battles of the Blues' with Wynonie Harris and T-Bone Walker. It is a mark of his dominance as a singer that he won the Esquire magazine award for male vocalist in 1945, the Melody Maker award for best 'new' vocalist in 1956, and the British Jazz Journal award as top male singer in 1965. In 1977, Turner recorded "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" for Spivey Records, featuring Lloyd Glenn on piano. Turner's career stretched from the bar rooms of Kansas City in the 1920s (at the age of twelve when he performed with a pencilled moustache and his father's hat), on to the European jazz music festivals of the 1980s. In 1983, only two years before his death, Turner was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. The same year saw the release on Mute Records of Blues Train, an album which paired Turner with Roomful of Blues. Turner also receives top billing with Count Basie in the Kansas City jazz reunion film The Last of the Blue Devils (1979) which also features Jay McShann, Jimmy Forrest, and other players from the city. He died in Inglewood, California in November 1985, at the age of 74 of a heart attack, having suffered the earlier effects of arthritis, a stroke and diabetes. Big Joe Turner was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 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 favorite band!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Twice As Easy / Need My Baby - Big Walter Horton & Jimmy DeBerry

b. 17 November 1911, Gumwood, Arkansas, USA, d. 17 January 1985, Sikeston, Missouri, USA. De Berry was an active if peripheral member of the Memphis blues community from its heyday during the 20s until the early 50s. He grew up in Arkansas and Mississippi before moving to Memphis to live with his aunt in 1927. Teaching himself to play ukulele and then banjo and guitar, he associated with the likes of Will Shade, Charlie Burse, Jack Kelly, Frank Stokes and a very young Walter Horton. While in East St. Louis in 1934, he lost the lower part of his right leg in a train accident. Five years later, he recorded for Vocalion Records with his Memphis Playboys in a style that updated the hokum music from the earlier part of the decade. Over the next 15 years De Berry spent time in St. Louis and Jackson, Tennessee, returning to Memphis to make radio appearances with Willie Nix and Walter Horton. In 1953 he recorded two sessions for Sun Records; at the first session, he and Horton recorded the classic ‘Easy’, an instrumental adaptation of Ivory Joe Hunter’s ‘I Almost Lost My Mind’. The blues ballad ‘Time Has Made A Change’, with accompaniment from pianist Mose Vinson, came from the second session. In 1972 producer Steve LaVere reunited De Berry and Horton for sessions designed to recreate their earlier partnership, an endeavour that met with little success. 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 favorite band!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Lather, Rinse Repeat - Jason Vivone & The Billy Bats - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Lather, Rinse, Repeat from Jason Vivone & The Billy Bats. The line up is Vivone on vocal, guitar and harp; Matt Bustamante on drums, Jeremy Clark on bass; Paula Crawford on vocal and guitar; Imani Glasgow on vocal and percussion and Ben Hoppes on vocal and banjo. The release opens with a seductive I Hear A Heartbeat, a Texas Boogie style track with tempting lyrics and rippin' cigar box slide. Baby Fat using a tongue in cheek rhythm features Vivone on solo vocal and minimal band backing except a slide melody and drums. The Nina, The Pinta, The Santa Maria is a sped up Chicago blues with 50's style vocals and classic blues riffs but with a touch of humor and instrumentals. The Black Lone Ranger, loosely based on a Muddy Waters track and with a touch of George Thorogood, keeps the groove and again gives the slide king a chance to show his stuff. One Hot Mother, a prototypical 12 bar blues track allows Vivone the freedom to sing clever lyrics to anotherwise basic track. My favorite track on the release by far, Photograph, has the characteristics of a Tex/Mex blues along the lines of something Ryland Cooder would do. I like the melody and the slide work is controlled and interesting. Do The Nod has hints of Bo Diddley and further modern punk music. It breaks away form a lot of the balance of the recordings in that it is much more loosely recorded. Liquid Diet is a funky scratch track on the simplest basis. Medusa Blues wraps the recording with a more complex track... not in execution but in composition. This song has very simple components but is actually quite interesting with a quiet wailing harp. This is a party blues recording so get out your stuff and have a ball.

  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!


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan with Gus Thornton

Personnel Albert King : Electric Guitar, Vocals Stevie Ray Vaughan : Electric Guitar, Vocals only on Song 3 Tony Llorens : Piano, Organ Gus Thornton : Bass Michael Llorens : Drums Bassist Gus Thornton has lived a blues musician's dream. In the last 40 years he has traveled around the world recording and touring with blues greats such as Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Katie Webster. He has shared the stage with, and earned the respect of, every St. Louis Blues Musician he has played with. Gus Thornton is the epitome of St. Louis Blues. Thornton, like many rhythm musicians, is over looked by listeners who tend to get wrapped up in screaming guitars, monster harps and raspy vocals. Musicians, however, will readily agree that the key to any blues band is the rhythm section. "Every time one of my fingers moves, someone taps their foot or nods their head. Yeah, people pay attention to the guitar players and singers, but I have the audience attached to my fingers," said Derek Morgan, bass player for Mojo Syndrome. Thornton is known for his fingers. His chops are on the cutting edge of music, whether it‚s his recordings with Albert King or one of his new contemporary jazz compositions. Thornton continues to be a beacon of light and breath of fresh air for those who pay attention to his music. "He is prolific in everything," said Sharon Foehner, bass player for Bennie Smith and the Urban Express. "He is not just a bass player, though. He is an arranger and plays the guitar as well as many other instruments. He is a complete and total musician." Thornton is quiet about his success in the business, but very honest and surprised to know people admire him. He is a self-taught musician who originally began playing guitar, but became the bass player by default when his first band already had a guitar player. As a teenager, he played in popular gospel and R & B bands mostly, but quickly got drawn into the blues. Thornton played with local talents like Oliver Sain, Johnnie Johnson, and Shirley Brown before he started touring with Albert King. He traveled with King for several years and recorded albums like San Francisco '83 and the more recent release, In Session, with King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He also toured with Katie Webster and got to help cut the Two Fisted Mama album, which stands as one of his favorite recording experiences. At one time, Thornton was offered the opportunity to be B.B. King's bass player. He passed it up because B.B.‚s tour schedule of 300 nights a year would keep him away from his family for too long. Thornton's dedication to his family of six children and wife, Charlene, has been a blessing for both him and St. Louis. His obvious compassion and selfless dedication to the music has earned him a large group of people who care deeply for him and his well-being. St. Louis has in many ways become his extended family. 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”

Monday, October 22, 2012

Catfish blues / I just want to make love to you - Tony Spinner Band

I was born a poor black child....... No, wait! That was Steve Martin's character in "The Jerk." I was born June 9, 1963 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I grew up listening to the radio and to records. I was immediately attracted to 50's rock music at an early age, especially Chuck Berry (he's still one of my music heros.) Mom and Dad played records by Marty Robbins, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, etc. We also watched tv music shows like Sonny and Cher, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, and Johnny Cash. I liked to see people perform music live on tv. This got me interested in playing guitar. Later on I got into heavier music like Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter and Robin Trower. They are still my heroes and important influences today. Most people recognize me from my work as backing guitar player and singer for other bands and musicians. I toured with Pat Travers, recorded and toured with Paul Gilbert of Mr.Big and from 1999 to 2009 I worked as a backing guitar player and background singer for Toto. You can see me on all of Toto's live recordings during that time period and I've toured the world many times with the group. In the shadow of my work as a backing musician, I have continued to work on my solo career. I've recorded a total of seven solo albums as well as made guest appearances on many other artist's cd's and tribute recordings. The first three of my solo recordings, "Saturn Blues" (1993), "My '64" (1995) and "Crosstown Sessions" (1996) were released on Mike Varney's Blues Bureau International label. Due to Toto's busy touring schedule, it took some time before I recorded "Chicks & Guitars," my fourth album that was released in 2005. That album is the only one I've done entirely on my own, without any record company involvement. (I really like that one!) "Live in Europe" was recorded and released in 2007 on Grooveyard Records along with "Rollin’ and Tumblin'" which was recorded in 2009. The newest recording, "Down Home Mojo," also on Grooveyard Records (my favorite so far!) was recorded in 2011. The Tony Spinner Band has been touring throughout Europe since 2004. The current line-up of my European band consists of bass player Michel Mulder and drummer Alex Steier. These guys are great musicians as well as super nice people. They have the same passion for making good music as I do. When I play at home in the U.S., I have some local guys that I play with. Brent Long on bass and vocals and Derek Doyle on drums. They're also great guys and we have big time fun jammin' in the clubs here in the South. Put on your bullet proof vest and get your tetanus shot and come see us some time! (Sometimes the clubs can get kinda rough, ha ha!) My goal as a musician is to make good music with lots of improvisation. The tunes I play include rock, blues, funk and groove influenced jams. I never have liked set lists so I don't use one. You never know what you'll get but it is always honest, inspired and real "from the heart music." That’s what it's all about to me! “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!