Hornbuckle Competing in Denver Blues Challenge for IBC

Pictured: Michael Hornbuckle    HORNBUCKLE COMPETING AT "DENVER BLUES CHALLENGE"      CHANCE TO GO TO IBC'S IN MEMPHIS - SUNDAY, SEPT. 21   (DENVER, CO) - Hornbuckle, "Denver's First Family of the Blues" fronted by guitarist-vocalist Michael Hornbuckle, competes at the Denver Blues Challenge, presented by the Mile High Blues Society, Sunday, September 21, at Ziggie's Live Music, 4923 W. 38th Ave. 2 p.m. Info: http://milehighbluessociety.com/.  Winner advances to the 2015 International Blues Challenge competition in Memphis, January 20-24.    WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING ABOUT HORNBUCKLE'S  "VIRTUE & VICE"   Virtue & Vice is the title of Hornbuckle's recently-released album, which is quickly gaining critic's acclaim. They recently celebrated twenty years together as a band. "Hornbuckle's sound is fresh and interesting...these guys have managed to find a way to give the blues a mainstream, pop-driven sound, while at the same time staying true to their bluesy roots. The songs themselves are nothing short of excellent."                                             ROCK OVER AMERICA "Not since ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughn has there been a band that could wind a mean bar room boogie and bring the blues home like the Hornbuckle Brothers. One of the best new independently produced albums of the year."                                                   XOMBIEWOOF MAGAZINE "Spearheaded by Michael's smooth, soulful voice (a la Paul Rodgers in Tonality), the quartet presents a thoroughly sophisticated product right down to the subtle instrumentation that makes "Beautiful Rain," "Angels, Addicts, Poets & Thieves," and "Beautiful Rain" sound so rich."                                    MUSIC CONNECTION      In discussing their new album, Brian Hornbuckle says, "On “Virtue and Vice” we try and cover a lot of ground; sixteen songs of memories, love, lust, protest and personal discovery. We really tried to infuse as many influences as possible while still keeping continuity from song to song. We did some reggae in “Complicated”, funk in “Slave to the Benjamins,” a Latin feel on “Moment In Time” and a 70’s rock feel in “Ride Away”. All of it injected with the blues since that is still the main language we speak musically."                                     www.hornbucklemusic.com                https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hornbuckle Westword - Michael Hornbuckle Interview Rock Over America - CD Review All Access Magazine - Interview Xombiewoof - CD Review Colorado Music Buzz- Michael Hornbuckle Interview

Stony Plain Records artist: Duke Robillard Band - Calling All Blues - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (September 23, 2014), Calling All Blues, from the Duke Robillard Band and it has a fresh feel. Opening with Down In Mexico, Robillard takes the lead on vocal on this track with a dose of Memphis rhythm. Bruce Bears has the keys covered and Rich Lataille, Mark Earley and Doug Woolverton add some nice horn work. On boogie track I'm Gonna Quit My Baby, Bears leads the way on piano and the track which actually reminds me of a Neil Young song. Svengali is a very rudimentary track with very cool stumble drums by Mark Teixeira and and slide work by Robillard. With a lot of the traits of early blues this is one of my favorites on the release. Blues Beyond The Call Of Duty features Sunny Crownover on lead vocals and has that polished blues/jazz feel that Robillard has really made as his trademark. Well conceived and executed guitar work by Robillard as well as cool bass riffs by Brad Hallen. Very nice! Emphasis On Memphis has a definite R&B feel with solid horn work and vocal harmonies. Confusion Blues finds Bruce Bears at the mic accompanying himself on piano for a cool jazz feel. I always love Bears' piano styling and this track does a nice job showing it off. Robillard lays down one of the nicest guitar solos on the release creating a very nice groove. Motor Trouble has a Willie Dixon feel and with paired vocals from Robillard this track has a real honest feel. Robillard keeps the riffs less polished and Bears simple giving the track a real gutsy feel. Very cool! Nasty Guitar features Robillard and Crownover sharing the lead vocal duet. With a slow cocky strut the track is highlighted by a cool bass riff by Hallen and a primarily an overdriven guitar sound. Robillard does clean the sound up to clear for his solo but returns to a grinding sound overall. On Temptation, the band has a swampy feel with swirling trumpet, electric piano, and guitar riffs creating a kind of dark ambiance over the funky drumming of Teixeira. Robillard lays down a really nice guitar solo on this track as well as Dr John like vocals making it another of my favorite tracks on the release. Wrapping the release is Carter Brothers tune, She's So Fine. With 60's style guitar riffs and horn backing this track almost transports you back into the 60's. Cool finish to a cool release.

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 Here's a recent performance by Robillard:

Drew Nelson - The Other Side - New release review

I just received the newest release, The Other Side, from Drew Nelson and it's quite interesting. Opening with Seven Days, a country influenced blues number, Nelson shows his Dylanesque vocals backed by some of the sweetest slide melodic to be heard in a while. Nelson who plays guitar is backed by Matt Sobb on drums, Steve Marriner on bass, baritone guitar, harmonica, keys and guitar. Make It Right has a little bit of a Jimmy Reed feel with Marriner on harp and keys. There is really a lot going on here instrumentally here and I really like it! On Reggae flavored Stick Around you get a pseudo island feel ... a cool pop track. On Bird On A Wire, is given a real country flavor with nice steel guitar adornment by John Steele. One More Chance is an excellent Chicago style blues with super harp and key demonstrations by Marriner. Nelson does some of his best vocals on this smokin' track. Step back and hear Muddy Waters come alive on slide! Nice! Valentine has a bit of that spaghetti western feel with acoustically altered slide work and rugged vocals making this another strong track. Drifting Away is a C&W styled ballad with cool guitar effects which hits a niche which I personally feel is being neglected on a national basis. This is a nicely constructed and executed track again featuring Steele on pedal guitar. Please Come Home has a bit of new Orleans flair but not stepping out with the big horns. Marriner again steps up on keys and harp warming the track substantially. Did You Ever? is an easy paced ballad featuring a full throated sax solo from Steve Trecarien. Icing the track is a nicely articulated guitar solo in blues ballad style. Get It is a definite rocker, pitting Nelson's vocals against Marriner on slide and harp. Excellent! Wrapping the track is title track, The Other Side, a quiet folk ballad. Ken Kanwisher brings a warm cello interpretation to the track adding substantial warmth.

 “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here

This track is not from the release but is a flavor of Nelson's work.

Bluesman Tim Gartland releases Million Stars

TIM GARTLAND MILLION STARS

New Release From Triple-Threat Bluesman Tim Gartland

Tim Gartland doesn't like to play loud. He likes to hear himself and the musicians around him, and wants his audience to be able to take in the subtleties of the music, the lyrics, the tones.  I suspect he may even want them to be able to share a word of appreciation between his well-penned verses.  For a blues musician, particularly a harmonica player, this is rare.  Trust me on this, I know. Singer/songwriter/harp player Tim Gartland is a rare breed, indeed. After being bitten by the blues bug at a Muddy Waters show as a young teenager in Ohio, he soon found himself in Chicago, playing harmonica with the likes of Bo Diddley, Carey Bell, Big Jack Johnson and Pinetop Perkins. Tim became increasingly interested in songwriting, and began writing melodic songs with relevant lyrics and elegant, funny turns of phrase. Tim moved to Boston in 1991, where he became a well-respected player in the burgeoning Boston blues scene.  He became a founding member, lead vocalist and harmonica player for popular group The Porch Rockers, who released three CDs.  In 1998, he was a finalist in the Boston Blues Challenge.  In 2011 Tim wrote and published an instructional book entitled, "The Talking Harmonica," and launched a teaching career, becoming the first harmonica instructor at the prestigious Winchester Community School. Tim embarked on his solo recording career with the 2011 release of the critically acclaimed "Looking Into the Sun". Tim became a skilled harmonica player fairly quickly. And somewhere along the way, he became a first-rate singer and songwriter with a supple baritone and a very specific idea about how his songs should sound.  On MILLION STARS, Tim is surrounded with exactly the right musicians and producer/engineer to bring his vision to life. Tim's organ/piano player and songwriting partner, Tom West, has long been regarded as a key player (pun unavoidable, sorry) on the Boston scene, gracing stages and recordings with Susan Tedeschi, Peter Wolf, and many more. Producer/engineer/guitarist Chris Rival has been the hands and ears behing some of the best-sounding, most soulful recordings to come out of the Boston area — including Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Peter Wolf, Susan Tedeschi and many more.  Drummer Forrest Padgett (Charlie Musselwhite) and bassist Paul Justice are well-respected longtime staples on the scene. One of the first things to strike the listener about MILLION STARS is the sonority of the performance and the production;  nothing is fighting for sonic space, the instruments and voice nestle comfortably together so your feel like you're in the room with them, and glad to be there. The players are all tasty and relaxed, which lets them cover a variety of grooves and feels — mid-tempo shuffle, funky R&B, strutting "Exile on Main Street" era Stones, driving down-tempo blues, haunting ballads — and bring them all under the same umbrealla. Then you start absorbing the lyrics, which are real-world meaningful, funny, ironic and clever.  The bouncy opener "Let Me Keep the Dog" (also the first radio single) puts the spoils of a broken relationship into perspective, while "Mess Me Up" states "I could use some attention/from someone with bad intentions", and the title track has the classic line, "If you'd just extract our head from your behind / you'd see a million stars that can shine."  "I Should Have Cared Less" is a heartbreaking ballad worthy of an aritst like John Hiatt. A fine harp player, Gartland keeps it concise, then stretches out and nails it in a few different harp positions when the song calls for it.  He favors an acoustic sounding, undistorted tone on most of the tracks, though he does occasionally pay homage to his Chicago influences, particularly the intrumental "Tippin' Time" and the straight ahead blues "I Can Add". It is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Tim Gartland.                     — Richard Rosenblatt, VizzTone label group/Vizzable Music

GET THE MUSIC: Downlad a free track and stream the entire album at TimGartland.com

Malaco Records artist: Grady Champion - Bootleg Whiskey - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Bootleg Whiskey, from Grady Champion and it's an interesting blend of R&B, Blues, Soul and Gospel. Opening with Beg, Borrow, Steal; Champion has his harp on point and Taylor Scott is hitting it hot on guitar. With a twist of country and rock, this blues number is fast paced and nicely crafted to feature Champion's skills on harp. Bootleg Whiskey has a definite R&B feel with warm backing vocals from Darrell Luster, Ray Braswell and William Purvis. Addition of horns by Kimble Funches on trumpet, Micah Brown on sax, and William Brown on Trombone add additional depth to a very cool track. Don't Waste My Time takes a definite turn to the blues featuring Champion laying down some nice vocals with strong horn support. Home Alone maintains that horn feel but with a funkier groove. David Hood plucks a nice bass line driving the track and Champion alternates between vocal lead and harp echo and solos with a smooth feel. Ten Dollars has a real nice laid back feel and Champion put out some of the finest vocals on the release. A full horn sound punching the vocals and and Forrest Gordon setting the line on drums punctuates this as one of my favorite tracks on the release. South Side oozes R&B and Champion really captures the "South Side" feel. William Purvis on keys and Michael Thomas on B3 fill out the track nicely and backing vocals are perfect. Who Dat has that "special feel" bringing Al Green to mind. I love Al Green so his basic sound is a great start for anything. JJ Thames adds lush backing vocal on this track and Castro Coleman adds some cool guitar riffs. Very nice! I Tripped And Fell In Love has an easy R&B groove with Vick Allen and Sonya Allen adding really nice backing vocals to a solid front line vocal from Champion. Mr. Right is an easy going soul infused pop track. It has a smooth melody and a cool hook. Wrapping the release is White Boy With The Blues, having a really solid gospel like backing from The Crowns Of Joy (singing richly including Amazing Grace). Champion speaks the story as The Crowns carry the vocal melody and Clayton Ivey on warm enriched key work. Very nice!

 “Like” Bman’s Facebook page. I use Facebook to spread the word about my blog (Now with translation in over 50 languages). I will not hit you with 50 posts a day. I will not relay senseless nonsense. I use it only to draw attention to some of the key posts on my blog each day. In this way I can get out the word on new talent, venues and blues happenings! - click Here

 

8 Ball Aitken Bound For Texas & Australia

8 BALL AITKEN NOMINATED AGAIN… TOURING AGAIN… AND NEEDING YOUR HELP TO RECORD   Hi Folks, Nashville is like a big bubbling hot-tub full of fun ideas. This year, I have written 12 of the most barn-raising bad-a$$ songs that I have ever pointed a guitar at. I’m in the corner pocket, beyond the 8 Ball, and laying them down soon in the studio, working with some top Nashville session musicians. Here’s a taste of one of the new songs on the NEW RAINBOW FLAME GUITAR... Birthday present from the best fans in the world. http://youtu.be/SX43mvGC9q4 Now, this is where it gets exciting. YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT! We are offering some wild’n’crazy cool incentives to everybody who contributes as a crowd-sourcing co-producer (Yes! That’s your official title!) If you’ve ever wanted to be in the music industry, this is your big opportunity. First of all, for the Aussies, we can offer tax-deductibility for donations via an umbrella organisation; but with this arrangement, we aren’t allowed to offer incentives. Please PM us for info. Easier still is simply to donate via PayPal (from anywhere in the world), direct deposit to our bank (USA or Australia), or in cash at a gig. Just contact us for all the details! All contributions under $200 get a heartfelt ‘thank you’ in the album credits (your name in lights!) For $300, I will name you personally in the lyrics of a special “thank you” song (written and recorded after the album release), and I’ll send you a copy of that new song on CD and MP3. Your contribution of $500 will turn you into a character in one of my cartoon music videos. Your contribution of $1000 gets your name and cartoon portrait (with me) on a special-edition T-shirt… plus ten of these T-shirts for you to share with your friends. If you choose to contribute $2000, you can appear personally in one of my live music videos (BYO transportation to the film shoot.) You’ll be famous… on TV around the world! For $3000, I will set your words or ideas to music -- you pick the theme! You can make this song about anybody or anything (for a fantastic birthday gift, wedding present, wedding PROPOSAL, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, anniversary, or special occasion gift). I’ll record this song exclusively for you, and give it to you as a CD single and an MP3. I’ll also give you a framed copy of the CD, dedicated to you and signed by me. A $4000 contribution puts you and 3 friends (4 people all up, exclusively your choices) plus myself into a cartoon music video for one of my new songs. And for $5000, I will bring my band to your house (or wherever you like), and we will set up and play a 4 hour show for you and your friends. Best of all, YOU get to pick our song-list (as long as all the songs come from any of my 7 albums.) … FROM THE ROAD I played a crazy good gig at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch on my way to Texas. Now I am in the Lone Star State, with 7 gigs down and 7 more to go rocking my new (best birthday present ever from my fans!) ‘RAINBOW FLAME’ guitar. You have got to see the video above! Tomorrow night I will be doing my best to blow all swampulation devices on Texas legend and gentleman’s gentleman Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Roots & Branches of Americana” radio show. It all happens live from Gruene, Texas and can be heard world wide on KNBT Radio. I recently received a letter with a prestigious nomination for an AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD (Male Artist of The Year)! Please cheer from the sidelines if you can’t jump the fence. I am looking forward to my HUGE Australian tour starting in October and riding that mechanical-kangaroo through for four months of solid action. See TOUR DATES… Thank you, 8 Ball Aitken & Bird Jensen

Copyright © 2014 8 Ball Aitken, All rights reserved.

Rob Stone - Gotta Keep Rollin' - available now

NEW FROM THE VIZZTONE LABEL GROUP

ROB STONE gotta keep rollin'

NOW AVAILABLE! click to preview or download from VizzTone.com

Deeply Rooted Original Chicago Blues - Today with EDDIE SHAW, JOHN PRIMER, HENRY GRAY, CHRIS JAMES, PARTICK RYNN, DAVID MAXWELL

VizzTone proudly welcomes Rob Stone to the Family! Deeply rooted in traditional Chicago blues, yet delivering high-energy house-rocking performances with a thoroughly contemporary impact, Rob Stone is one of the busiest young bandleaders on the blues scene today, with blasting harmonica and cool, streetwise vocals. Stone started his career in Boston and Colorado, before moving to Chicago in 1993 to join the band of legendary blues drummer Sam Lay.  Touring internationally with Lay’s band for four years introduced Stone to blues fans worldwide. Rob and Sam continued to perform and record together over the years. “I have worked with many harmonica players, and he turned out to be the best. That cat is a monster harmonica player and musician!” said Sam (high praise from the drummer for Paul Butterfield’s vaunted mid-‘60s band, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter.) Gotta Keep Rollin’, Stone’s fourth album as Bandleader and first with the VizzTone label group, features longtime band mates guitarist Chris James, bassist Patrick Rynn, and drummer Willie “The Touch” Hayes, as well as some highly acclaimed Chicago Blues masters: sax blaster and recent Blues Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shaw, guitarist John Primer, piano player David Maxwell, and a special appearance by former Howlin’ Wolf piano man Henry Gray. Rob’s previous albums have been well received by fans and critics.  His 2010 Earwig CD, Back Around Here, soared high on the blues charts for months and was named by Living Blues magazine as one of the year’s top CDs.  It was preceded by 1998’s No Worries and 2003’s Just My Luck, which was nominated for a Chicago Music Award in the Best Blues Album category. Stone was also featured prominently in the Martin Scorsese-produced “Godfathers and Sons” episode of The Blues series that aired on PBS stations nationwide in 2003. Rob has opened for headliners as varied as B.B. King, Sheryl Crow, Robert Cray, James Cotton, Los Lobos and the late Etta James, and performed and/or recorded with a dazzling array of blues giants. Stone has done his mentors proud, tirelessly leading his crew across the U.S. and around the world. Rob frequently tours Japan, where he’s built quite a devoted following, and he has also barnstormed Europe. But no matter who he stands beside on the bandstand, Stone’s hard-hitting, honest, highly danceable blues never fails to delight everyone from aficionados to neophytes. He remains strongly committed to blues tradition, but Rob is clearly his own man, a vibrant singer and instrumentalist boasting his own very distinctive sound and a repertoire loaded with terrific original songs. From start to finish, Gotta Keep Rollin’ dishes up hard-driving electric ensemble blues that’s a nod to the genre’s glory days as well as a contemporary breath of fresh air— genuine blues unsurpassed in energy, feeling, and authenticity.

"Few harmonica players and singers uphold Chigago's blues ensemble tradition as irresistibly and innovatively as Rob Stone" — Chicago Tribune "Rob Stone respects vintage Chicago Blues deeply enough to blow the dust right off it." — Bill Dahl, Chicago Reader "Rob Stone brings a hard-hitting fresh energy to the Chicago Blues sound." — House of Blues "Rob Stone hits the deep in-the-pocket groove... he's got swing, he's got the de rigueur smoky voice, he's got a playful, good-time touch and a fine feel for what moves his audience." — Chicago Sun Times "Stone and pals tear the roof off the sucker taking to the bandstand with just the right amount of off kilter that comes from the right amount of giggle juice.  Blues with a feeling geared to the energy of the party at hand... wonderfully killer stuff that has all the heart and soul real, mainstream electric blues requires. Well done." — Chris Spector, Midwest Record "Yep, those blues “Gotta Keep Rollin,” and we’ve gotta have guys such as Rob Stone to keep bringing ‘em to us.  He’s got  the whole package–a tremendous vocalist and harp man, with a keen ear for insightful, clever lyrics.… — Sheryl and Don Crow, Nashville Blues Society

AVAILABLE NOW!!!   Click to preview and purchase from: and follow Rob online: RobStone.com