Bman's Blues Report

Tippy Agogo, the “One Man Orchestra” and Mouth Musician, is known throughout the free world for making beautiful, scary, heavy, and insightful music on reclaimed tin cans, broken guitars, and racks full of technological gadgetry …. as well as popcorn filled shampoo bottles and clusters of car keys to put down the beats. When Tippy first saw kids making music with garbage cans and oil barrels, he learned through them that music could come from anywhere. His love for children and their creative energy lead to the cd/book “In the Groove – a guide to interactive music making,” adjudicated by the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. This passion has compelled him to conduct many children’s workshops all over the place, even a Bosnian Refugee camp. With his frenetic creativity and four octave voice, he makes music to connect, to build communities, not to build bank accounts. His multi-faceted talents will this year be focused on a very cool kazoo “making & playing” workshop for the kids, as...

I just received a new recording, The Amoeba Collective , that is quite out of the box. Songwriters Tippy Agogo and Bill Bourne complimented by Madagascar Slim on guitar and Michelle Josef on drums have put together something new. The first track, Yo Mojo , is a loose jam track with a funky slack beat and a twist of reggae creating a unique sound. I like it. Mud Bears Park is a modern interpretation of an 8 bar blues...say Canned Heat but with extraneous guitar soloing during the melody as opposed to after ... it is self defined and interesting. Marketplace has a definite world sound with warm vocal harmonies and African rhythms. MS plays some very intricate guitar riffs throughout this track. Bobby Johnson is a hip hop style track but without the harsh street lyrics. Black Banks is a different mix of R&B and Louisiana country blues. Cool track with cool guitar riffs. Old Crow has the distinct sound of early country music. Very authentic and very cool. Oh, How Beautiful has ...

Tippy Agogo and Bill Bourne Release Amoeba Collective National release date on November 6 from Busted Flat Records Songwriters Tippy Agogo and Bill Bourne team up with virtuoso guitarist Madagascar Slim and veteran drummer Michelle Josef on a new recording Amoeba Collective . Amoeba Collective is a certified organic project featuring ten original songs that are a brilliant and compelling blend of Blues, Rock, World Beat Hip Hop, Electro-Acoustic with a dash of Country. Sharing the songwriting and lead vocals equally, Tippy and Bill constructed a variety of songs that serve as vehicles for a multi-genre improv romp that exudes a sense of celebration and conveys a global sensibility. Madagascar Slim contributes his inimitable Hendrix/Malagasy guitar to the colourful melee and drummer Michelle Josef ties it all together with rock solid grooves.  Tom Mennier's wonderful piano and Donato Scipioni's fat bass fill out the fus...