Bman's Blues Report

Omar and the Howlers have a new recording, I'm Gone and it's a hot one. The recording opens with the title track, I'm Gone , a blistering rockabilly song with hot guitar riffs that will part your hair. All About The Money is a slinky shuffle blues providing a cool avenue for some Texas style licks. Down To The Station , an Elmore James style blues keeps things loping along and providing Dykes a great avenue to demonstrate yet another of his versatile playing styles. Lone Star Blues , one of my favorites on the recording is along the lines of a T-Bone Walker composition and shows beautiful guitar articulation and some lower fretboard playing which is particularly effective. Omar's Boogie gets things up and hopping and like other guitar boogie's before it, it an absolutely great showcase for a guitar player. Goin' Back To Texas is a cool slow shuffle track and and is another nice change up allowing the band to play some tasty solo's. There are some doub...

RUF RECORDS SETS FEBRUARY 14 RELEASE DATE FOR OMAR & THE HOWLERS ESSENTIAL COLLECTION 2-CD SET ONE DISC INCLUDES “OMAR’S PICKS” OF SONGS SPECIAL TO HIM Band to celebrate release with in-store at Waterloo Records in Austin on February 14 AUSTIN, TX – Ruf Records announces a February 14 release date for the Essential Collection , a special 2-CD set from seminal roots band Omar & the Howlers. Ruf Records is distributed in the U.S. by the Allegro Corporation. The twin-disc pack is comprised of one CD titled “The Best of,” while the second one is called “Omar’s Picks,” which are songs that “represent a snapshot of influences and heroes throughout my career and are special to me for one reason or another,” says Omar. Omar & the Howlers will celebrate the release of the new album with a special in-store performance at Waterloo Records in Austin on February 14 at 5PM Central Time. The 30 studio and live recordings on the Essential Collection we...

Austin, besides being the Texas state capital, is home to much of the best in American roots music. Since the 1970s, gutsy blues players, renegade country pickers, and raw-voiced rockers have mixed & matched their musical styles in Austin ’s thriving club scene. And that’s where Kent “Omar” Dykes holds court too. He hails from McComb, Miss. , a town with the distinction of being home turf for Bo Didley. Omar started playing guitar at seven, took to hanging out in edge-of-town juke joints at 12, joined his first band at 13 – the next youngest player being 50 – and started honing his music. He was still Kent Dykes in those days, but by the time he hit 20 he had hooked up with a crazy party band, called the Howlers, looking back, he says, “We had two saxophone players on baritone and tenor who wore Henry Kissinger masks. They were called the Kissinger Brothers. Not on every song, mind you. Sometimes it was Dolly Parton playing saxophone. Or Cher. And we had these cardboard cutouts fro...