Bman's Blues Report

Featured on March 2, 2012 44 Years Ago: Cream in San Francisco 44 years ago this week, only six months after their first-ever headlining show (at the Fillmore) and eight months from their impending break-up, Cream returned to the Bay Area. The band was at their peak, so artist Lee Conklin showed their stature by drawing the band members at the top of the mountain. To commemorate these shows, we're offering 20% off the complete set of original tickets through the weekend with promo code CREAM . And while you're at it, check out all we have to offer from these memorable shows . New Release: Lou Reed and the Moogy Klingman Band After firing The Tots, Lou Reed hired keyboardist Moogy Klingman (future member of Todd Rundgren's Utopia) to quickly assemble a new backing band for the remainder of his Transformer tour. With a tight rhythm section and swirling layers of keyboards, this group put a unique stamp on Velvet Underground and solo Reed classics, and catapu...

Bman: How did you get hooked up with ESP Disk? Howie: In 1966 I was living in a tenement building on Broome Street on the Lower East Side. Living in the apartment above me was Michael Solden, a friend of Jordan Matthews, who was the art director for ESP Disk. Jordan was looking for an artist to do the first album covers for ESP Disk. I worked at a drawing board in his apartment almost non-stop for two years. I had total freedom to create the artwork and was never given any input. The poster shown here was designed by Bernstein and is available through Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham) Bman: Looks like you did quite a few covers while you were there. How long was your affiliation with ESP Disk and who else were you working with? Howie: Approximately three years. During that time I built a portfolio. Bman: I have a number of the early ESP Disk covers that you designed available for viewing here. I understand that you actually did these by hand? Howie: Yes, the...

Bman: How did you get hooked up with ESP Disk? Howie: In 1966 I was living in a tenement building on Broome Street on the Lower East Side. Living in the apartment above me was Michael Solden, a friend of Jordan Matthews, who was the art director for ESP Disk. Jordan was looking for an artist to do the first album covers for ESP Disk. I worked at a drawing board in his apartment almost non-stop for two years. I had total freedom to create the artwork and was never given any input. The poster shown here was designed by Bernstein and is available through Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham) Bman: Looks like you did quite a few covers while you were there. How long was your affiliation with ESP Disk and who else were you working with? Howie: Approximately three years. During that time I built a portfolio. Bman: I have a number of the early ESP Disk covers that you designed available for viewing here. I understand that you actually did these by hand? Howie: Yes, the first 200 alb...

Present of the Year: Baron Wolman Book In 1967, Baron Wolman became principal photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine during its first three years. His latest book "Every Picture Tells a Story, the Rolling Stone Years" celebrates those years with a time-capsule of photographs and the stories behind them. The Hardcover 1st Edition comes signed (exclusive to Wolfgang's Vault), while the Limited Edition is signed & numbered and comes with a Jimi Hendrix print and original 1968 ticket (a combined value of $465)! This is THE gift to give this Holiday season! New: Muddy Waters Blues Band 1977 was a comeback year for Muddy Waters, as he returned to his original Chicago sound on a new album and then hit the road with a fantastic group that included old companions like Pinetop Perkins and Luther Johnson. One of the stops along the way was Nice, France, where Waters was in strong vocal form and the band was blazing, pushing Waters to heights reminiscent o...

New: Jimi Hendrix Experience In 1968, Jimi Hendrix was putting more passion and fury into his live improvisations than ever before. This final set from his legendary October, 1968 run at Winterland captures Hendrix playing with relentless energy from beginning to end. With extended versions of classics like "Little Wing," "Spanish Castle Magic" and "Purple Haze," this is truly one for the ages. Hold on tight and enjoy the ride with this new 1968 Jimi Hendrix Experience set! 50% Off Winterland Jimi Hendrix Poster Since we are featuring a live Hendrix concert today , we thought it would be fitting to offer 50% off the poster for that 1968 Winterland show ! Artists Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso (two of the best) collaborated on BG140 with psychedelic lettering and a scarab beetle. From now through Sunday , take 50% off the 2nd printing of BG140 by using promo code JIMI at checkout. This makes for a great gift, but only lasts a few days,...

Wolfgang's Vault Newsletter Featured on October 28, 2011 40th Anniversary of Duane Allman's Passing On his 22nd birthday, a sick Duane Allman was given a bottle of pills for his fever by younger brother Gregg. Duane emptied the bottle and used it as a slide to play Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues." So was born a sound essential and unique to The Allman Brothers, formed four months later. The humble man with blistering guitar licks was gone before he reached 25. We celebrate the music we still love with a gift thru Sunday October 30th - use promo code DUANE at checkout to get 40% off this photo of Duane , taken by legendary photographer Joe Sia. New Release & Download Deal: Jeff Beck This 1975 concert features much of Beck's classic jazz-fusion Blow by Blow album played with a killer band that included Bernard Purdie on drums. Making his guitar plead, weep, wail and sweetly sigh throughout this instrumental set, it's a fant...