Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blue Eyed Soul Volume I , by J.T. Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters and it's very cool. Opening with R&B track, Anything I Can Do , J.T. shows just how smooth he can be on lead vocal backed by Ian Frederick Johannessen and Arnfinn Torrisen on rhythm guitar, Morten Nordskaug on bass, John Grimsby on drums, Paul Wagnburg on B3 Jens Petter Antonsen on trumpet and trombone and a nice guitar intro by Dave Fields. Stay With Me All The Time is a classic with a super melody and really nice balance. On Allen Toussaint's Nothing Takes The Place Of You , J.T. really shines with his soulful lead vocal with Borge-Are S. Halvorsen on sax, Deanna Bogart on backing vocals and nice solo guitar work by Mike Zito. Excellent! Funky blues number, You Got Me Down has a great bass line compliments Nordskaug and the clean cowbell work of Grimsby is not at all lost. Guitar solos by Johannessen and Torrisen give the track that s...

I just received the newest release (February 12, 2016), New Dawn , from Aunt Mary and it's bursting with energy. Opening with guns blazing on Slave Parade , Bjorn Kristiansen (guitars), Ketil Stensvik (drums), Bent O. Bodal (bass) and Henning Ramseth (keys) march ahead with the finesse of a 2 ton giant and Glenn Lyse has the mic for lead vocals. That's an opener. Unconditional Love has a much smoother and melodic Bryan Adams like feel with an eye toward radio play with a cool, funky bass lines. Hopelessly Lost takes a more straight ahead approach with it's blend of metal and Aerosmith with driving rhythms and slick guitar riffs. With a softer, ballad style, Happily Ever After , has an metal base with soaring guitar riffs, but with Roger Waters styling. Interesting mix. G Flat Ford is one of my favorite tracks with it's irregular rhythm and driving bass/drum combo juxtaposed against echoed vocals and synthesized guitars. Very cool! I Was Born To Ride On The Wrong...

I just received the newest release, The Voodoo Sessions/Live at Down Under from Berdon Kirksaether & The Twang Bar Kings and it's got bite! Opening with Mama Roll Over , Berdon Kirksaether on guitar and vocal, sets a solid pace with swagger and sting. Joined by Erik Gabrielsen on guitar and vocal, Roy Hanssen on drums and vocals and Stein Tumert on bass and vocals, these guys mean business. Some Kind Of Voodoo , has a Bo Diddley beat and cool reverb guitar effects with nicely blended vocals. A solid tom tom beat by Hanssen sets the pace and nicely accented guitar tweaks reinforce the Voodoo effect. Very cool! Robin Trower's, Mad House , is a great rocker with definite Hendrix/Trower looseness and rip. Super! Wrapping the release is When The Moon Is On The Rise , is a cool understated rocker that builds as it goes. Obtuse guitar riffs and light/tight drumming carries this track. With traces of Led Zep and tons of guitar effect, this is a real cool closer for a super EP....

I just received the newest release, Cut Me Loose , from Magnus Berg and I really like it! Opening with title track, Cut Me Loose , Berg takes command on vocal and guitar showing a maturity beyond his age. Joined by Bjorn Tore "Daffy" Larsen on harp, Havard Sunde on drums and Roy Oscar Pettersen on bass. This is rock solid! On One Way To Please You , Berg slips into Chicago style and Daffy really hits the harp. Blues riffs with a twist of country, flash from the fretboard of Berg and these guys cook! Very nice! On Texas style loper, Drifting , Berg has commanding lead vocals and sets the rhythm riff and Daffy punctuates nicely on harp. Berg takes center stage again laying down a nice helping of Texas style blues rock guitar. Very cool! When You Leave Me is a understated blues in the style of SBW with well placed guitar tones and some of the best vocal work on the release. Berg plays some really nice slide work on this track with Kristian Koppang on keys making it one of my...

I just received the newest release, Play By The Rules , by JT Lauritsen . Opening with William Bell's Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday , Lauritsen lays down an extremely soulful track with essential keys by Paul Wagnberg; clean guitar soloing by Arnfinn Torrisen and Ian Fredrick Johannessen and super gospel like vocal backing from Atle Rakvag, Sven Zetterberg, Larry McCray and Kerry Clarke. Really strong. up next is original track Next Time , a New Orleans style track with jammin rhythm by Jon Grimsby on drums and Victor Wainwright on piano. Josh Roberts plays a cool guitar riff on this track and the vocal backing crew is again spot on. On Play By The Rules vocal duets between Lauritsen and Teresa James and Debbie Jamison are really nice but you also can't miss sizzling slide guitar work by Josh Roberts throughout. Nice job! On Big Walter's Need My Babe , Billy Gibson steps up on harp and pushes Lautitsen who sings lead and also plays harp into a really super Chicago sty...

I've just received the newest release, No Regret , from international sensation Pristine . In case you missed my earlier coverage of this Norwegian band, these guys have pulled from many influences but have a really cool fresh sound. Opening with Carry Your Own Weight, lead singer/songwriter Heidi Solheim bursts up with powerful vocals to rival Grace Slick and the band really drives! With a power blues rock sound, Espen Elverum Jakobsen on guitar and Anders Oskal on organ really fill the sphere of sound. She Won maintains the dominant strong vocal sound with wah guitar effects and searing guitar leads. With the intensity of an original San Francisco band, Pristine steamrolls through this cool track. Tell Me is a rocker with strong blues influences. Asmund Wilter Kildal Eriksson on bass and Kim Karlsen on drums support this track which is likely to be a hot airwaves track with super guitar work and vocal hook. The Occasional Wife is a sweet R&B style blues ballad. This tra...

In 1996, Andreas Stamnes entered the Norwegian blues scene through the legendary Norwegian blues pub Muddys Pub in Spydeberg. Despite his young age of only 16, Andreas quickly made a name for himself as a talented singer and guitarist. During the winter of 1999 he was invited to tour all over Florida with the famous blues master David C. York, better known as Rock Bottom. Andreas returned to Norway seething with inspiration and energy, and formed a group of his own: Little Andrew & The Blue Masters. They won the Union Blues Cup in 2000 and toured all over Norway throughout the millenium. Some highlights included Notodden Blues Festival, Åmål Blues Festival, Drøbak Blues Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival and many others. The rest, as they say, is history. To back him, Little Andrew has picked among the best musicians from the Norwegian blues scene. Pål M. Dahlø on bass, Robert Skoglund on the drums and a pianoplayer as the fourth instrument. Little Andrew is known as “The uncrowned king ...

Bluesman & The Hammond Grooves is a bluesband from Askim, Norway. We are special happy to play gigs for a small amount people at pub as well as many people at big festivals The band was established in 2001 in Fredrikstad and in 2003 the band played as a warming act for master guitarplayer Knut Reiersrud at the Kraftfestival in Askim Norway. After this, the band went in the studio at Høgda Soundstudio in Moss and NRK Studio in Fredrikstad and recorded own stuff and a version of Robert Johnssons Crossroads. The Crossroads song was put out on Acidplanet.com and went on to the 1 place on their blueslist, voted by fellow musicplayers. The band was put to a rest in 2004. In the summer of 2008 Stig-Ole Skaldebø (Guitar and Vocal ) and Fritz Hunstad, Master Hammond player , met each other at a cafè in down town Askim, and decided to start up the band again. They had annoncement on net and in the local newspaper because they wanted new blood in the rythmesection. Thru this activity they ...

William Troiani, Bill or Billy among friends, was born in New York City, NY in 1949. He started playing the bass when he was 11, and was quickly turned on to RnB and Blues. By the time he reached his twenties, he was playing music full time. While still situated on the American east coast he toured and/or recorded with such diverse artists as Eddie Kirkland and Tom Russell..... Since moving to Norway, just over a decade ago, Bill Troiani has established himself as one of Scandinavia's premier bassplayers for RnB, Blues and Roots Music. He has played with virtually the entire Norwegian music elite, and has been a permanent member of both Amund Maarud's and Vidar Busk's touring bands. In '99, Bill Troiani founded the Muddy Waters Blues Club's houseband together with Kid Andersen, Charlie Musselwhite's current guitarist. He led the houseband until the fall of '06. Backing international artists like Nappy Brown, Homesick James, Lazy Lester, Marva Wright and B...

Jarle Aabo Oslo Norway 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”

John Terry Norum (born February 23, 1964 in Vardø, Norway) is a rock music guitarist and founder of the Swedish rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a side solo project. During his career in music, Norum has also played with Eddie Meduza & The Roaring Cadillacs, Dokken, Don Dokken's solo band, as well as side collaborations with other artists including Glenn Hughes. While living for a few years in the United States, he met and married Michelle Meldrum in 2005, founder and lead guitarist of the all female hard rock band Phantom Blue and the Swedish metal band Meldrum. The couple had one son, Jake Thomas, born on September 22, 2004. Michelle died on May 21, 2008, due to a cystic growth in her brain. On April 16, 2012 he had a son from his Swedish fiancée Camilla Wåhlander. John Norum is the older brother of singer Tone Norum. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to gro...

Half English/Norwegian Krissy Matthews was born 25th May 1992, and now at the rare age of 17, has already managed to do a lot of things a normal young teenager wouldn’t. Krissy’s father, Keith Matthews first got him up on stage at the age of three, but Krissy got his first electric guitar at the age of eight, and from then on it was an upwards spiral. It all started in August 2004, when Krissy sat in with John Mayall and the BluesBreakers in the Notodden Blues Festival, Norway. He played two nights running, and from that, Krissy had national radio and press interviews and sat in with several top Norwegian acts. Krissy went back in October 2004, where he appeared on “God Morgen Norge”, Norway’s national breakfast TV, did a radio session with Knut Reiersrud for “BluesAsylet” on NRK P2, and performed live on stage with Larry Burton (Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Albert King) in the club “Muddy Waters”, centre of Oslo. When Krissy got back to the UK, he started his first band Krissy’s B...

Vidar Busk was born 19 May-1970 and is considered today as the best guitarist in Norway. He grew up in Langesund but moved to the United States at 15 to play blues with the American band Rock Bottom. They toured the USA many years before Vidar moved back to Norway. In 1996 started he started his own band, Vidar Busk and his True Believers. The the critically acclaimed song "Stompin' Our Feet with joy" in 1997. Since Baby's Happy the 2 new records before the band was placed on ice in 2000. Vidar selected a new musical profile 'Venus Texas", "Starfish" and "Laws Buzz". Vidar Busk has played in most of the major festivals in Norway, Skandinavia and Europe. He is host on radio, TV ,Magazines and is a very prolific artist. Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Jolly Jumper ( Kjell Inge Brovoll) Jolly Jumper, born 1965, has played the harp for many years, and you can hear Little Walter, Sonny Boy and James Cotton influence his way of blowing. He also a skilled blues singer with a strong voice plays the guitar in a very Blind Boy Fuller way. Big Moe ( Jan Erik Moe ) Big Moe, born 1950, has played the blues guitar since the mid-60`s, at that time influenced by Buddy Guy and Freddy King. He then started playing acoustic guitar, and you can hear a lot of Lightning Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt and John Jackson in his style. Moe also plays the mandolin and the slide steel guitar and his singing sounds like Tom Waits on a happy day. Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

I just received a copy of the new recording by Pristine called Detoxing . Pristine is a Norwegian band led by vocalist Heidi Solheim. The recording opens with a very cool unusual jazzy blues tune called Damned If I Do . It hints back to the exploration into progressive or psychedelic rock and with heavy blues overtones. It is loaded with plenty of blues lead soloing backed by Hammond and rhythm. I think that it is a very strong track. You Don't Know , a funk infused song follows the intro and again has a terrific guitar interlude that gets my gears moving. Breaking Bad is a up tempo texas style blues and delivers the good with jazz overtones. Interesting touch. Whipping Post , yes the Allman Brothers Whipping Post slips in there. Pristine puts their own twist on it in a more stripped down version. The Countdown , a more straight forward rock style tune gives the band another shade of blue. Damage Is Done is a light funk track which mostly features Solheim's vocals. The Last ...

Born and raised in Norway, Chris "Kid" Andersen moved to California to pursue a career in the blues in 2001 at the age of 21. He quickly became a staple of the thriving West Coast Blues scene, just as he had been a vital part of the Scandinavian Blues scene for years already. He currently plays in the touring band of harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite and also tours with sax great Terry Hanck and harp ace RJ Mischo as well as the up and coming harpist and vocalist extraordinaire John Nemeth. With all this sideman work, you'd think the Kid would never have time to do his own thing, but you would be wrong! With the 2003 release of his solo debut "Rock Awhile", Kid Andersen established himself firmly as an artist in his own right. He received world wide praise for his guitar chops as well as his soulful voice. He blends a multitude of different influences from all fields of music into a singular, unmistakable style that is all blues, but more importantly, all Chr...

Amund Maarud (born 04.07.81 ) has dealt with traktor and guitar from he was 6 years old. After an interregnum with the Grand has he has now returned to the roots "and to reinspikka blues! Amunds projects will consist of bluesbasert music with an emphasis on Amunds many influences and with a focus. In other words, a further development of Amund Maarud band where we face a more fully and erfaringsrik artist who take up that from 2006. With itself has Amund his brother Henrik Maarud on drums and Simen Aanerud on piano - known from Maarudkara. Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here

Vidar Busk. A true blues Artist! Discovered 14 years old in small Norwegian coastal city Langesund and taken on the road by Us Blues Artist Rock Bottom. Spent several years from the age of 15 under Bottoms´s wings in Florida before returning to Norway. Constantly on the road playing his guitar. Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here

Jan Tore Lauritsen - Vocals, accordion (JT for short) is 42 years old living in Lillestrom, Norway. He began playing at the early age of 6 and pretty much immediately got interested in the Blues and related music after first hearing BB King, blues pianist Charles Brown and the legendary Ray Charles. JT had his first paying gig at the age of 14, which resulted in a steady flow of jobs for him on the organ - an instrument he stayed with for many years. J.T. was searching for his own style on the instrument when he had to admit that a B3 Hammond organ was too heavy to drag around from gig to gig - so he compromised by taking up the accordion. Eventually, his blues harp began accompanying him wherever he went and became a new sound in J.T.'s music. Since 1989, both accordion and blues harp have been his trademark instruments