Get Your Blues On at Double D's With Chicago's Howard and The White Boys

            "Chicago's Hardest-Working Blues Band...For Over Two Decades!"

                   

                   "Chicago's Hardest-Working Blues Band," Howard and the White Boys. 

             

 <<<Perform Locally: Double D's in Tonawanda - Friday, June 22>>>

 

     (TONAWANDA, NY)  - Howard and the White Boys, known as  "Chicago's Hardest-Working Blues Band" for their over two decades of non-stop performing and touring,  return to the Tonawanda area to perform at Double D's Queen City Grill,  83 Niagara St., Friday, June 22. 8 p.m. $15. Info: (716) 743-0660 or www.doubledsqcg.com. 

    The veteran quartet are recently back from their yearly Southern tour and continue to perform through out the U.S., bringing audiences to their feet and out onto the dance floor - much as they have done for over twenty years - while getting ready to record the follow up to their critically-acclaimed most recent recording, MADE IN CHICAGO (Evidence Records). Most recently, band member Rocco Calipari has branched out with his side project Head Honchos', who have released a well-received debut CD.    

MADE IN CHICAGO  represents the zenith of the group's recorded output, and it's certainly the disc that Howard & the White Boys are most proud of. While the band hadn't recorded in six years, they've been gigging continuously throughout the U.S. and Europe; this, in turn, has lent their trademark brand of contemporary blues an indomitable tightness brimming with raw power. All of this comes through on the new disc, proving that the wait was well worth it.           

       Watch Howard and The White Boys performing their funky interpretation of the Robert Cray tune "Phone Booth" at the Blues Nights Festival in Lithuania below:
                
     The members of Howard And the White Boys first met at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb in 1988 and began jamming together just for fun, but their fast-growing popularity soon convinced them they could make a career of it. After only a few months, they got their first big break by opening for Blues legend, B.B. King. The band soon made the move to Chicago and began performing with the biggest names in Blues: Koko Taylor, Albert King, Junior Wells, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry (the latter whom they were the backing band for in a headlining capacity at the 2002 Long Beach Blues Festival in Long Beach, Calif.).

www.howardandthewhiteboys.net

Laundromat Blues - Richie Arndt and The Bluenatics

No no, really, Richie Arndt was not born in New Orleans. Neither does he hail from Memphis, for that matter. Still, his great passion is for the Blues and American Roots music in general – the origins of today´s Rock, Pop and Jazz music. The East-Westfalian (which sounds like a contradiction in itself) guitarist, singer and songwriter has been a constant force within the German music scene for ages, which is hardly surprising when you consider his emotional kind of playing, his moving compositions and rousing concerts. For three decades, Richie Arndt has been on the road in completely diverse line-ups and styles. Lots of opportunities for looking beyond one´s own spectrum, for learning how to grow and develop, and also for sensing when the right time comes to return to the very beginnings. Feeling once more how it all began when he was still a teenager. Even then, his heroes were called Rory Gallagher and Johnny Winter, while on the other hand, the great singer/songwriters like Van Morrison or Joni Mitchell made a lasting impression on the young artist. Following their trails, he discovered his deep love for “good, handmade music”, as he likes to call it. It meant aspiring for technical perfection as well as inspiration – and finding his own inimitable style in the process, actually: a style that gives his Blues its warm-hearted soul, while the rhythmic beat of his songs allows some Rock and Pop connections to raise their often rather attractive heads. 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”

Por la cara - Predicador Ramirez

From rumba rock to heavy boogaloo,from a stoned ranchera to an anxious ska piece, this couple of songwriters/producers from Barcelona (Spain) shows a complex view of the rock syntaxis in spanish language. They PREDICADOR RAMÍREZ & MANOLO D'MADRE, have a long career playing in well-know spanish bands of the 60's, 70's survivors like LOS SIREX, LOS MUSTANG, LOS DIABLOS and many more artists of diferent sing. AMOR DE MADRE was a common tattoo between the people in the jails. Maybe this image leads the listener to a desperado way of sense, a taste with ironically words around the triviality of live, out of political corrections. Here it can finds, the two first works of them.Latin rythms, ballads, country, bossa-nova flavour, or even funkuy-rock panflets, with no other goal than creare small celebrations of misunderstanding. 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”

Robert Cray - New Studio Album & UK Tour

Pre-order the album from the Robert Cray Shop

Five-time Grammy award winning legend and Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Cray is pleased to announce that his brand new studio album Nothin But Love will be released in the UK by Provogue Records on Monday August 27th.
Produced by Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes), the ten-song album includes material written by all four Robert Cray Band members; Robert Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Cray Band co-founder Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums). The new album blends blues, rock, soul and jazz, with a lyric-sheet that examines the triumphs, fallouts and follies of love.

Nothin But Love is Cray’s sixteenth studio album and marks the latest milestone in a career that has produced 15 Grammy award nominations (5 wins), over 12 million record sales worldwide, thousands of sold out concerts across the globe, and even his own signature line of Fender guitars.
Produced with what Shirley refers to as “the dirt under the fingernails,” Nothin But Lovewas recorded live over two-weeks at the Revolver Studios in LA. The album features the soaring break-up blues of Won’t Be Coming Home, the jazz chops of I’ll Always Remember You, the soul-drenched ode to repossession that is Great Big Old House and the frantic ’50s-flavoured rocker Side Dish.

Since the release of his 1986 break-out album Strong Persuader, Cray has been Blues rock royalty.  He has performed and recorded alongside the best in the business - from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughn, from Bonnie Raitt to John Lee Hooker.  Cray was recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at the age of 57; making him the youngest living legend to receive the prestigious honour.

ROBERT CRAY - BIOGRAPHY

With 5 Grammy Awards, 15 nominations, over 12 million of records sold worldwide, and thousands of sold out performances, rock blues icon Robert Cray is considered “one of the greatest guitarists of his generation.”  Rolling Stone Magazinein their April 2011 issue credits Cray with reinventing the blues with his “distinct razor sharp guitar playing” that “introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues” with the release of his Strong Persuader album in 1986.
Since then, Cray has gone on to record fifteen Billboard charting studio albums and has written or performed with everyone from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan, from Bonnie Raitt to John Lee Hooker.  Recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at the age of 57, he is the youngest living legend to receive the prestigious honor. And while he can look back over an astonishing three-decade career punctuated by his trademark sound and distinct playing style, Robert Cray is too busy moving forward on an amazing journey that has him releasing his sixteenth studio album and embarking on yet another world tour.
Nothin But Lovewill be released on August 27, 2012 and will be both his first collaboration with the Provogue Records label and super-producer Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa). This ten-song stand includes material from all four Robert Cray Band members; Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums) that blends blues, rock, soul and jazz with a lyric-sheet that examines the triumphs, fallouts and follies of love.
“Kevin did an amazing job producing this album and I’m really happy with the outcome,” says Cray, “he captured the real essence of the Robert Cray Band, that live energy we deliver on the road that is usually so difficult to nail down in the studio. I think it’s one of the strongest records that we’ve done.”
And he’s right. In terms of production, long-time fans will be thrilled with a recording featuring what Shirley calls “the dirt under the fingernails.” Recorded live over a two-week burst at the Revolver Studios in LA, Nothin But Love features the soaring breakup blues of “Won’t Be Coming Home”, the jazz chops of “I’ll Always Remember You”, the soul-drenched ode to repossession that is “Great Big Old House” to the frantic ’50s-flavoured rocker “Side Dish.”
Cray still remembers the first love that led him here. “My dad was in the army, so we moved around quite a bit,” he explains. “I had a lot of time and the guitar became my friend. Also, when I first picked up a guitar, The Beatles were just out, and that’s why I got one. That’s why a lot of kids got guitars. The whole atmosphere of that time was, ‘Hey, I learnt this’. ‘Well, let me show you this…’ So that’s what sparked my interest, and it never really went away.”
Cray cites Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and B.B. King as formative guitar influences, alongside singers like Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, but just as pivotal for the aspiring bluesman was witnessing Albert Collins play a set at his high-school dance.
It was that Collins performance that led to the formation of the Robert Cray Band in 1974, a four piece touring band featuring Cray on lead vocals and guitar and longtime friend Richard Cousins on bass, whose thrillingly modern take on the blues was the talk of the circuit, even if the singer was a bit of an introvert on stage.  “I just couldn’t speak to the audience,” says Robert with a smile, “so Richard would do all the introductions. These days I think I’m better at it.”  In 1976 after two years of touring and in the first of many pinch-yourself moments the band was  invited to be the house band for Albert Collins; a stellar musical apprenticeship and schoolboy fantasy that lasted over 18 months. 
Opening their account with 1980’s Who’s Been Talkin’, the Robert Cray Band fired off three albums in quick succession, and although 1985’s False Accusations hijacked the charts and won an industry blues award, it was the following year’s Strong Persuader that achieved lift-off, hitting a US#13 chart position that was unprecedented for a blues record in the synthesizer age. “I guess Strong Persuader just captured a good spirit and energy,” Cray reflects. “People are still calling out for some of those songs at shows. It gave us a good springboard. I guess it was the songs, but it was also the era, because radio and MTV gave us a foothold, and we had videos out too.”

Cray had arrived in the big league. As singles like “Smoking Gun” scaled the singles charts across the planet and word spread of his incendiary live shows, his name began to be mentioned in the same breath as the blues heavyweights, and he was regularly to be found working alongside them. He spent the years that followed guesting on Eric Clapton’s Journeyman album, jamming live with Keith Richards, appearing in Tina Turner’s TV special Break Every Rule, posthumously inducting Howlin’ Wolf into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and supplying solos for the late John Lee Hooker. “We became good friends,” says Cray of this latter hero. “We were with the same agency, so we did a lot of shows together. I went to Japan with John Lee and watched as the Japanese fans mobbed him. It was fantastic. He was a real one-off.”
The oft-quoted line reads ‘bluesmen improve with age’, and Cray’s evolving output through the next two decades gives weight to the theory. “In the ’90s, we had the I Was Warned album (1992), and then Sweet Potato Pie (1997), which was a Memphis kind of thing that got into the soul bag,” he recalls. “I really liked those two records: there was some good songwriting.”
In 2000 he took home a  Grammy for the album Take Your Shoes Off and went on to release two additional Grammy nominated albums Twenty (2005) featuring the poignant anti-Iraq war song of the same name, and This Time (2009) featuring the soul drenched favorite “I Can’t Fail.”  The following year, the Robert Cray Band release the live album Cookin’ In Mobile (2010) and once again toured worldwide to sellout crowds. 
“We have been very lucky,” says Cray, “with music becoming mostly digital in recent years and artists not selling the same number of physical records, we’re afforded the luxury of having a great loyal and amazing fan base around the world, allowing a band like ours to continue to work.”
It’s quite a humble and unassuming statement, given his illustrious career – but that’s always been Cray’s style. He doesn’t take anything for granted, doesn’t rest on his laurels. So on this sixteenth studio release, Robert Cray is once again laying down his cards, testing his talent, fusing that dazzling voice to some of the most powerful material in his three-decade back catalogue and offering his fans Nothin But Love.
Nothin’ But Love is not the kind of album you have a casual fling with. It’s the kind of album you fall for.

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”

Cotton Pickin' Blues - Louisiana Red & Lazy Lester

Back when blues was king and South Louisiana was the breeding ground for a blast of some of the most memorable American music ever recorded, at the heart of it was Lazy Lester. Those days are gone, and so too are most of its luminaries. And yet Lester carries the tradition almost single-handedly around the world several times over each year. As a true living legend, his talents are as much in demand as ever. After all, there aren’t many living bluesmen who’ve had major hits, as Lester did on Excello Records in the 1950s and ‘60s, and are still performing with the gusto and precision of their youth. Lester hasn’t lost a thing, and as his voice has richened with age, you could make a strong case for him being in his prime now. Leslie Johnson was born June 20, 1933 in the small town of Torras, Louisiana near the Mississippi state border to Robert Johnson and Maggie Hartford. He was raised mostly in Scotlandville, a suburb of Baton Rouge. As a boy, he worked as a gas station attendant, woodcutter and at a grocery store, where he purchased a harmonica and Little Walter’s famous “Juke” record. Lester began to blow harp, and in a relatively short time became somewhat proficient. One of his brothers had a guitar, which Lester also had learned to strum. He credits Jimmy Reed and Little Walter as his main blues influences, and you can easily hear Reed’s vocal style in Lester’s singing. But Lester isn’t shy about telling anyone that his first love was and still is country – the real, traditional kind. He got hooked early on Jimmie Rogers. In his late teens, Lester joined his first ever band, a group called the Rhythm Rockers that included Big John Jackson on guitar, Sonny Martin on piano and Eddie Hudson as singer. Lester blew harp. The group played primarily high school dances, and Lester also began to sit in with Guitar Gable’s band on club gigs. It was in the mid-1950s, on a bus, that fate turned Lester’s way, and the roots to what would become classic music began to grow. As Lester tells it, he was living in Rayne, Louisiana at the time and was on the bus riding home. Lightnin’ Slim, who was already an established recording artist, was also on the bus and was headed to Crowley to cut a record at Jay Miller’s Studio, where so much of the material for the Nashville-based Excello Records was being recorded. Since Crowley was just seven miles further than Rayne and because Lester had a serious itch to be around big-time music making, Lester decided to stay on the bus and accompany Slim to the studio. When they got there, the scheduled harp player, Wild Bill Phillips, didn’t show for the session. Lester told Slim that he had actually played with Slim’s band and thought he could handle the harp parts for the session. Remarkably, Slim and Miller gave Lester that chance, and he did not disappoint. A classic pairing was born, and Lester became a mainstay on Slim’s Excello recordings and his gigs. He’d follow Slim’s guitar licks with short, stabbing solos after Slim’s trademark prodding of, “Blow your harmonica, son.” Producer Jay Miller was impressed by Lester’s work with Lightnin’ Slim, and in 1957 Lester debuted as a lead artist on Excello, recording “I’m Gonna Leave You Baby” backed with the instrumental “Lester’s Stomp” with accompaniment from Guitar Gable’s band, which included Gable’s brother Yank on bass and Clarence “Jockey” Etienne on drums. Before the record’s release, Miller had decided that “Lazy Lester” had more of a ring to it than “Lester Johnson.” Miller is said to have come up the nickname based on Lester’s slow, lazy style of talking. And as Lester’s said, “I was never in a hurry to do nothing.” In any case, the name’s stuck for almost 50 years now. Lester’s first legitimate hits came in 1958 with the release of “I’m A Lover Not A Fighter” backed with “Sugar Coated Love.” Those two songs established Lester as a star. Record buyers went gaga when they heard that nasal-pitched voice and the harp work that imitated the voice note for note. The arrangements were tight yet still sounded homemade or organic. There was a rhythmic edge to the sound – something that we now know as the “Excello Sound.” These songs went as far as any others in establishing that association. Jay Miller, who wrote the songs along with much of the Excello output, realized quickly that Lazy Lester was a perfect vehicle for his budding vision, and the two collaborated on many great songs and arrangements to come. Lester hit again with the follow-up record, “I Hear You Knockin’”/“Through The Goodness of My Heart,” which featured a young Warren Storm on drums. Storm would go on to become a major Excello artist himself. For almost a decade, Lester remained as a regular Excello artist. Other notable songs from his 15 records for the company include “You Got Me Where You Want Me,” “Patrol Blues,” “Whoa Now,” “If You Think I’ve Lost You,” “The Same Thing Could Happen To You” and “Pondarosa Stomp.” In fact, his “Pondarosa Stomp” number is the namesake for one of today’s most important roots-based music festivals. The Ponderosa Stomp (note the slight spelling difference), begun in 2002, is a two-night celebration held each year in New Orleans between the weekends of the Jazz & Heritage Festival. It features the most legendary surviving blues and early rock and roll artists. The 2006 Stomp will be in Memphis May 9 and 10 and will benefit New Orleans and Gulf Coast musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. Lester’s song, an instrumental number, was named after a slang term (Pondarosa) for the Angola State Prison, rather than as a tribute to the TV show Bonanza. Lester was a constant in Miller’s studio, serving in the role of accompanying musician and arranger when he wasn’t the lead artist himself. Lester did everything. He sang. He played the harp. He played the guitar. And he provided every conceivable kind of percussion from actual drums to whacking on cardboard boxes, wood blocks or saddles, tapping newspapers in his lap, or even banging on walls. All told, he played on sessions for Lightnin’ Slim, Slim Harpo, Katie Webster, Lonesome Sundown, Whispering Smith, Silas Hogan, Henry Gray, Tabby Thomas, Nathan Abshire, Johnny Jano and many, many others. Excello was more than just a blues label, and Lester’s innate talents served every type of session Miller produced, including Cajun, country, swamp pop, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and blues. As Lester tells it, he knew the country music better than the guys who showed up to play it. But initially Miller wouldn’t allow Lester to perform on those sessions, believing that country was “white” music and having a black man on the record would hurt its sales. “That’s when I was ‘Colored,’” Lester likes to joke, poking fun at the changing labels for minorities through the years. Lester would teach the white country artists how to play the songs before they rolled tape. Finally, it got to the point where some of the country artists said to Miller, “Why don’t you just let Lester play on the song? He knows it better than any of us.” Lester still loves country and includes in all of his performances beautiful renditions of standards by Jimmie Rogers and Hank Williams. Through all of his influences and associations, Lester’s crafted a style as unique as his nickname. He calls it “swamp blues,” and it’s a mixture of blues, swamp pop and classic country. Lester says it’s a “down home” music without the additions and subtractions that other more urban-styled blues has included. Lester called it quits with Excello and Miller around 1966 and worked various day jobs including road construction, trucking and lumberjacking. Around 1969, he moved to Chicago for a very brief stint. In 1971, he reunited with his old buddy Lightnin’ Slim for a concert in Slim’s new hometown of Pontiac, Michigan. On the trip, Lester met Slim Harpo’s sister who also lived in Pontiac, and in 1975, he moved to Pontiac to be with her. After he moved, he retired from music. Like so many musicians, he’d tired of the garbage that can go with making your living as a performer. After a few years, he resumed some occasional playing with a few of the Detroit blues artists. Finally, in the late ‘80s, he began performing regularly and realized he was in significant demand. In 1987, he recorded Lazy Lester Rides Again for the Blue Horizon label in England. The record was released on Kingsnake in the U.S. and won a W.C. Handy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. In 1988, Alligator Records released Harp & Soul, further alerting the world that Lazy Lester was done resting. Since, he’s recorded two records for Antone’s and one direct-to-disc for APO Records. All of his Excello material has been reissued by various labels, primarily in the United States and England. Through the popularity of these recordings and as the Excello story has become the stuff of legend, Lazy Lester has enjoyed tremendous popularity worldwide. In 1998, he was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. In 2004, he played at Radio City Music Hall in New York as part of Martin Scorsese’s Year of the Blues super concert that resulted in his Lightning In A Bottle documentary. The concert included what was perhaps the most impressive lineup of blues stars ever assembled. Lester recently moved to Paradise, California to be with his girlfriend, Pike. He regularly performs both as a solo artist (with acoustic guitar, rack harmonica and foot percussion) and as the front man with a band, playing either harmonica or guitar. He knows more jokes than many comedians, and he’ll almost always include a few in his performances. Talk to him off stage, and he’ll tell you quite a few more. He’s just one of the guys and goes about his business without any pretense or ego, always accessible to his fans. You’d be well advised to see him when he hits your town. 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”

"The Wolf Pack" - Kid Thomas

Louis Thomas Watts, commonly known as Kid Thomas (20 June 1934 - 5 April 1970) was a rock and roll and blues musician. Kid Thomas was born in Sturgis, Mississippi. As a child he moved to Chicago, Illinois and learned the harmonica. While he later switched to rock and roll, he initially played blues in Chicago. Through the 1940s he played with Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Bo Diddley. In 1959 Producer George Motola recorded the single "Rockin this Joint Tonight." While unsuccessful commercially, his music has been reissued, most recently on Rhino Records "Loud Fast and Out of Control" box set. Finding little commercial success, Kid Thomas worked as a lawn mowing man in Los Angeles in the latter half of the 1960s. On September 3, 1969, while driving his truck he struck a young boy and killed him. Arrested on a charge of manslaughter, the charge was later dismissed for lack of evidence. However, the boy's father waited outside the courthouse and shot him. Kid Thomas died at UCLA Medical Center, Beverly Hills on April 5, 1970. 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”

Drink Muddy Water - Freddie Spruell

Freddie Spruell (December 28, 1893 – June 19, 1956) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. Spruell was probably born in Lake Providence, Louisiana, United States, but relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, as a small child. His Social Security records gave his birth date as December 1893. His recordings, although classed as Delta blues, were noted for reasons of his musical styling, rather than any geographical accuracy regarding his long-time place of residence. On June 25, 1926, Spruell cut "Milk Cow Blues" in Chicago. The track was released by Okeh Records, alongside "Muddy Water Blues" which was recorded in November that year, both sides using the Papa Freddie name. His second single release included "Way Back Down Home" and the same "Muddy Water Blues" track. He recorded two more songs in 1928, one of which was "Tom Cat Blues", and were issued by Paramount Records as by Mr. Freddie Spruell. Five further songs were recorded in April 1935, and released under the shorter Mr. Freddie name on the Bluebird Records label. This latter recording session saw him cut "Let's Go Riding", his best known number. Carl Martin played second guitar behind Spruell, on the track. At the insistence of his own mother, Spruell's playing of secular music ended in the mid-1940s, and he became a Baptist preacher. Spruell died in Chicago in June 1956, after a lengthy stay in hospital. He was aged 62. However, no death certificate has yet been uncovered. All his recorded work was included in the compilation album, Mississippi Blues: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1926-1935) He was variously billed as Papa Freddie or Mr. Freddie, and he is generally regarded as the first Delta bluesman to be recorded ("Milk Cow Blues", 1926). However, both Mamie Smith (1920) and Blind Lemon Jefferson (1925), pre-dated him in waxing the first 'blues' records. Details of his life are sketchy and sometimes contradictory. 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” Discography

Rollin' Blues - Deadstring Brothers

Deadstring Brothers: Country Toughs from the Motor City...... It may be a surprise to hear the country rock sounds of Detroits Deadstring Brothers coming from a city better known for loud rock and roll, but disillusionment can take many channels. Desolation, frustration and regret have always been present where great country music was played, and from its bombed-out inner city to its sterile suburbs, Detroit has its share. .... Deadstring Brothers began in fall 2003. Since then, the band has worked to develop their own take on the American Sound, drawing influences from a variety of sources. Its all in there somehow, declares Kurt, but blues and country music just feel the most natural. .... Not unlike Exile-era Stones, Deadstring Brothers deliver a menacing sound that draws equally on the melancholy of country ballads and the abandon of rock and blues. The bands music is deeply rooted in the storytelling and instrumental traditions of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and the American Outlaw Movement, but is also informed by the song structure and understated aggression commonly associated with Detroit bands. Their haunting melodies reveal the influence of early 70s rock icons like The Band and Gram Parsons and The Faces. Deadstring Brothers live performances have the energy of guitar rock, but sophisticated arrangements, Hammond Organ and a focus on traditional American music separate them from many of their Detroit contemporaries. .... The band has been touring steadily since the 2004 release of their eponymous debut and have shared the stage with acts ranging from Shooter Jennings, Cat Power and Jesse Sykes to Giant Sand, My Morning Jacket, Drive by Truckers and the Mekons. 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”

Outrageous Fusion Blues - Scott Henderson

Born in 1954, Scott Henderson grew up in an era where blues-rock was at it's peak. His formative musical years took place in South Florida where he played the clubs with various bands, playing everything from Led Zeppelin to James Brown. As he was learning his instrument, Henderson was influenced by Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, and his favorite blues guitarist Albert King. Even though Henderson claims to be more of a blues-rock player, it was the influence of jazz that led him to the style of playing and composing that he is now famous for. Scott finished school at Florida Atlantic University, then moved to Los Angeles where he played and recorded with Chick Corea's Elektric Band, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, bassist Jeff Berlin and "Players", and a four year stint with Weather Report's Joe Zawinul. Henderson formed the band Tribal Tech in 1984 with bassist Gary Willis, and after ten critically acclaimed albums, with the newest "Tribal Tech X" released on the Tone Center label in March 2012, Henderson has proven himself as a world class player and composer. In 1991, he was named by Guitar World as the #1 Jazz Guitarist, and in January 1992, he was named #1 Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player's Annual Reader's Poll. His first solo blues album "Dog Party", a welcome retreat to his musical roots, won best blues album of 1994 in Guitar Player Magazine. His second blues album for Mesa/Bluemoon Records, "Tore Down House" was released in April 1997 and pairs Henderson with legendary vocalist Thelma Houston. The album received four star reviews in Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Guitar, Guitar Shop, and L.A Jazz Scene Magazines. Well to the Bone", Henderson's third and most accomplished work as a leader, is a trio record currently being played live by his band featuring Travis Carlton on bass and Alan Hertz on drums. The trio has toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, South America and Japan, playing music from the blues albums as well as some of Henderson's music recorded by Tribal Tech. Scott has also released two albums with "Vital Tech Tones", a trio collaboration with bassist Victor Wooten and ex - Journey / Vital Information leader Steve Smith on drums. He's recently been touring with the HBC Trio, featuring bassist Jeff Berlin and legendary drummer Dennis Chambers. They completed a world tour in November 2011 and are now recording their first album, due to be released in October, 2012. As is often the case with a musician of Scott's caliber, the demand is great that he share his knowledge with the current generation of guitarists. He is on the faculty at Musician's Institute in Hollywood, and has written columns for Guitar Player, Guitar World and Guitar School Magazines. Alfred Publishing has released Henderson's instructional DVD entitled "Scott Henderson - Jazz Rock Mastery", which is a compilation of his two videos "Jazz Fusion Improvisation" and "Melodic Phrasing". Alfred has also released his first transcription book "The Scott Henderson Guitar Book". His other two transcription books, "The Best Of Scott Henderson" and "Scott Henderson - Blues Guitar Collection" are available through Hal Leonard Publishing, as well as his instructional book "Jazz Guitar Chord System", a revolutionary way for students to study the pluralities of jazz harmony. 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”

Exclusive Interview With Hamilton Loomis!

Bman:  Hi Hamilton. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. First I want to say that I am still enjoying the Live at the Hub DVD. It never fails to put a smile on my face. Your energy is contagious.

HL: Thanks for that!  I'm glad that energy translates to the screen...I love what I do, and I love making music.

Bman: That's very apparent! Who were your main influences as a kid. My musical tastes are pretty broad and when I first heard you what attracted me were similarities to the first Edgar Winter recordings and Johnny Guitar Watson. Then as I started to listen more, I saw you had developed an entire style of your own. Who do you currently listen to that inspires you?

HL: I was influenced in many different ways. For guitar, I listened to a lot of Freddy King and BB King.  I then got to learn from greats like Joe "Guitar" Hughes and Gatemouth Brown by not only listening, but sharing the stage. But growing up, I also listened to rock, funk, pop, and especially soul music (Stax and Motown), which influenced my writing/arranging style.  Then Bo Diddley told me, "You got to do your own thing...be original", so I basically took everything I loved and used what I thought were the best traits of all those styles and tried to make a sound of my own.  Nowadays, I tend to listen to any artists who are original-sounding, or who have something unique about them.

Bman: Funny that you should say that. When I was younger I was much more focused on specific sounds. Now I listen to a lot more variety in music and instead of the familiarity I look specifically for something different and special.

I was having dinner with some friends a while back and my friend Bob said, “Everyone in Texas has a guitar. It’s a part of life to get together with the family and play.” Is this true or an urban myth? Got me thinking because there seems to be an inordinately large number of great blues musicians from Texas.

HL: I think there's definitely some truth to that...maybe not in every single household, but it's definitely very common. 

Bman: I know you’re working your tour but is there a new recording in the works?

HL: I'm writing stuff now for a CD to be recorded and released (hopefully) by October 2012...we've already recorded 4 new tunes, and they're available for download on CdBaby and iTunes.

Bman: We’ll have to check that out! CDBaby Link

I see that you have a real personal interface with your audience as opposed another of my favorites, Jeff Beck for example, who says he prefers not to play smaller venues because he feels like people are looking at all of the flaws.

HL: Did he really say that??  I feel the opposite...while large venues like festivals and concerts are great because you get in front of a lot of people at once, small venues are sometimes even more fun because of the intimacy with the audience.  I like it when people are looking at us and you can see their facial expressions because you feel more of a connection.  Besides, flaws are part of what makes a live performance unique!

Bman:  Oh Yeah…he said that.   He’s pretty flawless as a player and a bit of a recluse really. I’m sure that he likes being appreciated but a bit shy really. Your warm personality comes through on stage and I can definitely prefer seeing you in a smaller club… but a small club is my preference in any case. I like being up on the action.

Are you constantly writing or do you have to sit down and grind it out? Doing what I do, I come across great old songs that I may have heard twice and think, wow ... what a great song for a cover. I mean, if I’ve never heard it or barely remember it … and it’s great, there’s a good likelihood that it will sound fresh played by a different talented musician.

HL: I'm constantly thinking of ideas, but when it comes down to it, I have to sit down and grind it out.  I'm very easily distracted.  I've noticed I work best under pressure, so when I have a deadline, I sit down and grind it out...a lot of that consists of sorting through my iPhone "voice memos", which is a great tool for recording little ideas while driving.

Bman: We’re a lot alike in that way.

I’m a gear head. Do you keep a stash of guitars and amps for fun or do you pretty much just have a working arsenal?

HL: I've always been lean on gear, even though I love trying new gear.  I don't own many guitars/amps/effects, and they all get used onstage, just rotated occasionally.  I'm pretty much a "one guitar" kind of guy on the road...so I guess I just have a "working arsenal", which is fine with me.

Bman: I can see that. You have honed a specific sound and it's great! Mine is more a luxury than a need.
Do you have a favorite piece of gear that you will likely always have?

HL: Well, for the last 4 years I've been in love with Music Man guitars...they're amazing!  They're so versatile and ergonomic, I can't really see myself playing much else...not for a long, long time.  Ironically, lately my trademark for many people has been those red alligator shoes I wore in the DVD, so I'll probably switch gear before I switch the shoes (laughing)!

Bman: That’s great! We’ll be watching the shoes. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with your fans?

HL: Thanks for supporting live music...without you we couldn't bring our music to the world.  Thank you!

Bman: Thank you pal for all of the great music!! I appreciate your time and hope to see you again soon!

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”

Big Guitar Artist: Omar and the Howlers - I'm Gone- New Recording Release

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 double stop notes that are just a half fret apart for effect. Let me Hold You gets into a r&b ballad groove allowing yet for another playing style by Dykes. I'm Mad Again has a more primitive approach to the blues like early Mud. It's a particularly effective song. The cd has 12 original tracks and is thoroughly enjoyable end to end.
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” This track isn't from the cd but is a good representative of their work.

BROTHER DEGE FEATURED ON TONIGHT'S SEASON PREMIERE OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S "AFTER THE CATCH"!

BROTHER DEGE'S SONG "HARD ROW TO HOE" FEATURED AS THE THEME SONG FOR DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S "AFTER THE CATCH"

"AFTER THE CATCH" SEASON PREMIERE TONIGHT AT 10PM (EST)!

AFTER THE CATCH Returns – The new season of Discovery Channel's After the Catch (Deadliest Catch mini-series) hits the high seas Tuesday, June 19 at 10PM EST, following the regular airing of The Deadliest Catch. Once again, Brother Dege Legg's "Hard Row to Hoe” is featured as the show's theme song. This is the third year running that the song has been featured as the theme, so give Discovery Channel, Silent Crow Productions, The Deadliest Catch, and Mike Rowe some big, southern "hell ya's" for going with the rawest sound in the underground via Dege Legg's highly addictive and thoroughly mind-blowing 21st century Delta Blues.

After the Catch is the ultimate after-show for the ultimate show. Go behind the scenes with the captains and crews of Discovery’s Emmy (R) award-winning DEADLIEST CATCH with an all new season of AFTER THE CATCH premiering Tuesday, June 19 at 10PM EST. AFTER THE CATCH will air each week after the premiere of DEADLIEST CATCH – taking a deeper look at one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and the men who do it. This year, America’s favorite crab fishermen say Rocky Mountain hi to one another, swapping tales of the Bering Sea and dropping anchor in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. Mike Rowe (host of Dirty Jobs and narrator of DEADLIEST CATCH) and the guys huddle at Breckenridge’s famous watering hole – The Whale’s Tail – for best bull session on television. Don’t miss the fireworks.

“Hard Row to Hoe” is the opening track from Brother Dege’s critically acclaimed album Folk Songs of the American Longhair, which in 10 smoking, original tracks, recharges the cannon of the Delta Blues for the next 100 years. Recorded in a shed in southern Louisiana, the album bursts with barn burning slide and Dobro drenched tunes that reel, rip, and scream like a master class in backwoods songwriting, while taking epic swings into the ambient darkness with Paris, Texas-like passages into the great unknown. It’s haunted, it’s harrowing, and it rocks.

Folk Songs of the American Longhair is available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Emusic and other vendors.

Brother Dege is currently mixing his second album How to Kill a Horse with Tony Daigle and Primo, which promises to push the slide and the traditions of the Delta blues far into the darkness of the millennium.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH BROTHER DEGE PERFORM THE THEME SONG FOR DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S AFTER THE CATCH "HARD ROW TO HOE"

 

HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT BROTHER DEGE:

“[Four Stars] In lesser hands all this might easily sound contrived, but instead it’s genuinely powerful and compelling stuff. 'The Girl Who Wept Stones' and 'Dead & Gone' might have been ripped from the Son House songbook, though the seven-minute epic 'House of the Dying Sun' is the real keeper.” – UNCUT

“Both ancient and modern, like an indie rock cover of something Lomax may have recorded a hundred years ago.” – BLOGCRITICS

“Fans of slide guitar, Southern gothic, or plain old rock & roll attitude need to run, not walk, and check out Brother Dege ASAP. Brother Dege is a case study in how one guy with a steel guitar and minimal accompaniment can out-rock a roomful of electric bombast, given the right songs, the right skills, and the right voice. Brother Dege has‘em all.” – POPMATTERS

“Brother Dege brings the ghosts of kudzu-covered swamp rats to life in your speakers.  Find the darkest spot in your backyard, light some candles and turn it up.” – THE BIG TAKEOVER

“Those willing to step into the Brother Dege abyss will likely reap its rewards.” – OFFBEAT MAGAZINE 

More on Dege

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”

Deep Blues - Robert Palmer

Robert Franklin Palmer Jr. (June 19, 1945 – November 20, 1997) was a 20th century American writer, musicologist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and blues producer. Robert Palmer is best known for books he authored such as Deep Blues , his music journalism articles for The New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, his work producing blues recordings and the soundtrack to the film Deep Blues,and his clarinet work in the 1960s band The Insect Trust. A collection of his work, titled Blues & Chaos: The Music Writing of Robert Palmer and edited by Anthony DeCurtis, was published by Scribner on November 10, 2009. Palmer was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the son of a musician and school teacher, Robert Palmer Sr. A civil rights and peace activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s, the younger Palmer graduated from Little Rock University (later called the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR)) in 1964. Soon afterwards he and fellow musicians Nancy Jeffries, Bill Barth, and Luke Faust formed a psychedelic music group blending jazz, folk, and blues with rock and roll, called The Insect Trust. The band recorded its first, self-titled album on Capitol Records in 1968. He continued playing clarinet and saxophone from time to time in local bands in areas he lived throughout the rest of his life. In the early 1970s, Palmer became a contributing editor for Rolling Stone. He became the first full-time rock writer for The New York Times a few years later, serving as chief pop music critic at the newspaper from 1976 to 1988. He continued his journalism work for film magazines and Rolling Stone; meanwhile, he began teaching ethnomusicology and American music courses at colleges, including at the University of Mississippi. In the early 1990s, he also began producing blues albums for Fat Possum Records artists like R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. After living near Memphis from 1988 through 1992, he spent about six months at a country estate near Little Rock before relocating in early 1993 to New Orleans, Louisiana, his home base until his death. Two of his better-known books are his 1982 Deep Blues historical study and his 1995 book Rock & Roll: an Unruly History, the latter of which was a companion book to a ten-part BBC and PBS television series on which he served as chief consultant. In 1985, he was recruited to play clarinet by friends Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on the song Silver and Gold by U2's Bono for the Artists United Against Apartheid album Sun City. Throughout his life, Robert Palmer published scholarly liner notes on albums by dozens of top jazz, blues, rock and roll and world music artists, including Sam Rivers, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Yoko Ono, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles, Ornette Coleman, the Master Musicians of Jajouka, La Monte Young, and many more. He worked as screen writer, narrator, and music director on the documentary films The World According to John Coltrane and Deep Blues (based on his book by the same name). He additionally worked as codirector with Toby Byron on The World According to John Coltrane and wrote a book about Jerry Lee Lewis entitled Jerry Lee Lewis Rocks. Palmer died from liver disease at the Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, New York, on November 20, 1997 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”

Stomy Monday - Buddy Guy & Derek O'Brien

Derek “Big House” O’Brien is a Texas-style blues guitarist, sometime bassist and record producer based in Austin, TX. A stalwart of the house band at the famous Austin blues club Antone’s Nightclub, O’Brien is most often found backing up other Austin frontmen, including Delbert McClinton, Lou Ann Barton, The Texas Tornados and almost anyone recording on the Antone’s Records label. O’Brien has also backed up major blues names such as Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. Ted Drozdowski, writing on Gibson Guitars’ website, says, “O’Brien has a terse, arrow-sharp and spare style comparable to Jimmie Vaughan’s – light on flash, but soooo right. Check it out.” 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”

Potato Patch - Jerry Boogie McCain

Jerry McCain, often billed as Jerry "Boogie" McCain (June 18, 1930 – March 28, 2012), was an American electric blues musician, best known as a harmonica player. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, United States, he was one of five children of a poor family, many of his siblings became involved in music as well, most notably his brother, Walter, who played drums on some early recordings. McCain picked up the harmonica from itinerant musicians "Chick" and "Shorty" who played at the local bars (and street corners) when he was young. McCain was a fan of the music of Little Walter and met the artist when, in 1953, he traveled to Gadsden for a show. McCain's recording debut came via Trumpet Records the same year under the name "Boogie McCain", with his brother Walter on drums. The two tracks were "East of the Sun" and "Wine-O-Wine". After recruiting Christopher Collins, who would be with him throughout most of his career, he went on to the Excello label. During his years with the Excello (1955–57) he developed his amplified harmonica style, and unusual blues lyrics. The Excello Label period saw the release of such noted songs as "The Jig's Up", and "My Next Door Neighbor". His later recording for Rex Records "She's Tough" / "Steady" was an inspiration to The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kim Wilson duplicated McCain's harp work on their version. McCain also released singles and albums for Columbia, under their Okeh Records label (1962), and for the Nashville based Jewel (1965–68) record label. The complete collection of his Jewel label records are available on a compilation album and, in recent years, several of his early recordings have been released on "retrospective" and compilation CDs, including the Verose Vintage album, Good Stuff. His longest partner, Ichiban Records, also released several retrospectives in the 1990s, including ICH1516-2: Jerry McCain. In 1989, after a period spent performing and touring with lesser known bands, McCain signed with Ichiban Records, and released the albums: Blues and Stuff, Struttin' My Stuff, and Love Desperado. During his time with Ichiban, McCain also released one record on the Jericho label, This Stuff Just Kills Me, which featured Jimmie Vaughan and Johnnie Johnson. His 1977 release, This Stuff Just Kills Me eventually appeared on the Music Maker label. In 2002, Ichiban released an album called American Roots: Blues featuring McCain. McCain's abridged work was featured on track 8 of the Rhino Records Blues Masters Volume Four: Harmonica Classics, with an almost lost recording of "Steady". McCain's inclusion in the Blues Master series, was alongside Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf, Snooky Pryor, and George "Harmonica" Smith. The City of Gadsden honored McCain by including his own day at their annual Riverfest Event; a four day music event. The addition of The Jerry McCain Broad Street Blues Bash rounded out the entertainment and allowed many local citizens to experience McCain. A commemorative CD, featuring some of McCain's music, was compiled for sale at the 1997 Riverfest Event. In 1996, McCain was selected by the Etowah Youth Orchestras as the most well-known musician from Gadsden. The EYO commissioned the composer Julius Williams to write a work for solo harmonica and orchestra, to be performed by McCain and the Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra, as a part of the City of Gadsden's Sesquicentennial Celebration. "Concerto for Blues Harmonica and Orchestra" was premiered in November 1996, on the EYO's Fall Formal Concert at Wallace Hall, on the campus of Gadsden State Community College. McCain performed the solo harmonica part with the EYSO, under the direction of Michael R. Gagliardo. The "Concerto" was subsequently performed in Alice Tully Hall, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City in June 1997, with McCain, the EYSO, and Julius Williams conducting. 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”

Boogie Children - D.C. Bender

D.C. Bender whose real surname was Bendy, was born in Arbana, TX. on June 19, 1919. He cut one two-sided single for Gold Star in 1949 billed as D.C. Washington, in Houston. He didn't record again as a solo artist until 1967 where he waxed a few sides on the Ivory label, owned by Ivory Lee Semien. A later session that year turned up another song issued in the U.K. on Sunnyland (An LP compilation) The facts about the remainder of his life appear to be unknown. 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” Discography

River Line Blues - Shirley Griffith

Shirley Griffith (April 26, 1908 – June 18, 1974) was an American blues singer and guitarist, mainly based in Indianapolis. He is best known for his recordings, "Walkin' Blues" and "Bad Luck Blues". Griffith was born in Brandon, Mississippi, United States. He died from heart disease in Indianapolis in June 1974, at the age of 66 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” Discography

B for Blues - THE DANA DIXON BAND

Fronted by the powerful singer/harmonica player Dana Dixon and featuring the outstanding Blues and Slide playing of guitarist Dave Dixon, the band play a mixture of authentic Texas & Chicago blues, tough R&B and superb original numbers. .. Since their formation and the launch of their critically acclaimed debut album "Boogie Woman", the band have garnered fantastic reviews from the British and overseas press for both their recorded work and excellent live act. .. Arguably one of the most exciting live acts in Britain today, the band have played at practically every major blues festival in Britain and Ireland, and perform in blues venues up and down the UK, Europe and USA. .. In the many reviews she has received, Dana has been likened to many of the blues greats - Koko Taylor, Big Mama Thornton, Maggie Bell and Janis Joplin - with much emphasis placed on her powerful vocals and harmonica skills. .. Dave Dixon, whose guitar playing "has to be seen to be believed", is an official endorsee of Gibson guitars (USA), and Rotosound strings (UK). .. As a result of the band's talent and reputation, they were chosen to represent Britain at the 2001 International Blues Challenge held in Memphis USA. 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”

Sweet Young Thang - The Jeremiah Johnson Band

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 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”

Gator Groove Records artist: Chris Watson Band - Pleasure and Pain - New Release Review

Gator Groove Records artist Chris Watson has just released a new recording called Pleasure and Pain. This is definitely one to check out! Chris released his first recording in 2010 at 18 and this followup recording is killer. This recording features 9 original tracks of the 12 on the release. It opens with Heart On My Sleeve, a funky blues with very tight drums by Jason Thomas and bass by Chris Gipson under the smooth flare of Watson's guitar and vocals. Untrue, a Texas style blues gets the shuffle going and all though the rhythm sounds familiar, the riffs are fresh and clean. The title track, Pleasure and Pain, is a modern sounding track more along the lines of Robert Cray but finding Watson playing heavy rhythm along with his singing. His fat guitar tone on the solo of this track is particularly cool. Heartache is a really nice soul style blues. Watson highlights his vocals with horns and provides a great hole to smoke the guitar strings. Mama Told Me has a more modern style uptempo rhythm to it and again Watson gets great tone as he demonstrates his guitar prowess. Traditional song Going Home is given a funky treatment and Watson takes the opportunity to show again that he really is a great singer and on this track backed with some solid background singers giving the track a lot of authenticity. Although the track would have been fine without a single note of soloing (it's that good), Watson takes the opportunity to lay down some really tasty riffs. Happiest Day Of My Life takes a country style boot stomper approach. There is a particularly cool piano interlude by Eric Scortia on this track. On Sean Costello's Hard Luck Woman Watson lays some more funk on the blues and it's really great. Jason Thomas lays some particularly strong drumming on this track. She's Wild is another soulful blues track and I keep thinking that this band is tight. This track has a laid back, almost Al Green nature to it. Watson does a nice cover of Bobby Womack's Check It Out. If this cd doesn't get you up moving around then there's a good likelihood you're losing your hearing. if you're thinking, I just want the guitar solo... it's here too. Wanted Man has a smooth groove to it. Watson lays it out there on guitar again and really shows it with taste. Don't Turn Around completes the recording with an uptempo rocker. This track gives Watson the chance to explore some different riffs and to wind the cd down properly. Overall I'd say this is one of the better cd's I've had the opportunity to review recently. The kid has a lot of talent including guitar playing, vocals, writing and knowing how to put it together. If you get the chance...this is one you should hear!
 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”
 This is not the best track on the cd but the only live cut from the cd I could find for promo.