Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Fest lineup announced: Candye Kane, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Leo "Bud" Welch, Dwayne Dopsie, more

SPENCER DAVIS GROUP, CANDYE KANE, DWAYNE DOPSIEROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOO(FEATURING CYRIL NEVILLE AND DEVON ALLMAN)CANNED HEAT, LEO “BUD” WELCH, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDYGUITAR SHORTY, TERRANCE SIMIENBIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANYHEADLINE 25th ANNUALSIMI VALLEY CAJUN & BLUES MUSIC FESTIVALSATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 23-24 Los Angeles area’s largest Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and Roots music festival, held over Memorial Day weekend, features two stages, a Mardi Gras parade, crafts and dozens of food booths SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The 26th annual Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival will rock once again at Memorial Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, at Rancho Santa Susanna Community Park, 5005 Los Angeles Ave., in Simi Valley. The event features two full stages for each of its musical genres. Music will proceed non-stop each day from 12 noon until 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults (13 and over) and children 12 and younger are free.  Discount single day tickets of $20 and two-day passes for $35 are available only online at http://www.simicajun.org. Parking is ample and free. Fast-moving California Hwy. 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) can be taken to the Stearns Street exit; the festival is four blocks south. The blues stage features classic blues-rock (Spencer Davis Group, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Canned Heat) with a side trip into swing (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), plus the first-ever West Coast appearance of 82-year-old Mississippi bluesman Leo “Bud” Welch. West Coast legends Candye Kane and Guitar Shorty return to the blues stage, while “super group” Royal Southern Brotherhood (featuring Cyril Neville, Devon Allman and Mike Zito) make their Southern California festival debut. Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers become the first band to cross over from the Cajun/Zydeco stage to the blues stage. Two-time Grammy winners Terrance Simien & His Zydeco Experience make their Simi Valley debut, as do Grammy-nominated Arhoolie recording artists The Magnolia Sisters. Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Ruben Moreno, Curley Taylor and Jeffrey Broussard round out the lineup, making the Cajun/Zydeco Stage the pre-eminent Southern California showcase for Louisiana-inflected music. The annual Mardi Gras Parade will take place both days at 4 p.m. About the performers: • Candye Kane, according to B.B. King, “has that big, brassy voice that has authority and sass; the kind of thing men like because it’s seductive and women like because it’s powerful.” Candye cut her musical teeth in the early ‘80s onstage with Hollywood musicians and friends like Social Distortion, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, The Blasters, X, Fear and Los Lobos to name just a few. Her fans are a mixture of true outsiders: bikers, blues fans, punk rockers, drag queens, big girls, burlesque dancers, rockabilly and swing dancers, gray-haired hippies, and everyday folk of all ages. Her live shows are the stuff of legend — she belts, growls, shouts, croons and moans from a lifetime of suffering and overcoming obstacles. • Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite. The band gained international attention and secured its legacy with performances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Who) and the headlining slot at the original Woodstock Festival. Canned Heat’s unique blend of modern electric blues, rock and boogie has earned them a loyal following and influenced many aspiring guitarists and bands during the past 40 years. Their hits “On the Road Again,” “Let’s Work Together” and “Going up the Country” became rock anthems throughout the world with the last being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock and the “Woodstock Generation.” More than 40 years later and with 36 albums to its credit, Canned Heat is still going strong. Anchored throughout by the steady hand of drummer/band leader Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra (a member since 1967) and with one of their strongest lineups ever, Canned Heat is on track to carry the boogie-blues it made famous well into the 21st century. Since 2009, the lineup has Fito on drums, Greg Kage on bass and vocals, Barry Levenson on lead guitar, and Dale Spalding on guitar, harmonica and lead vocals. The band’s most recent CD is entitled Friends in the Can. This record brings together a number of Canned Heat’s musical friends from the past and present to join them in this musical collaboration and celebration of Canned Heat’s career. Fito’s book, Living the Blues, is available through the band’s web site. • Royal Southern Brotherhood: Before they even hit a chord, this band has your attention. In the South, where music is religion, two rock ‘n’ roll bloodlines tower above all others. In saloon bars from Mississippi to Maryland, mere mention of the Allman and Neville Brothers casts a magic spell. With a lineup that includes both Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, Royal Southern Brotherhood come pre-loaded with expectations. The family tree might be auspicious, but the new band trades on talent, not genealogy. Let’s rewind to the summer of 2010 and the stifling heat of New Orleans and a pivotal meeting between Cyril, Devon and Mike Zito. Talk turned to forming a new breed of blues-rock band, and when jams began at a secluded studio in the city’s Garden District, the fizzing chemistry was too strong to deny. Their debut album was produced by the legendary Jim Gaines in Louisiana. The rest is history as the band is set to release their third studio album, Don’t Look Back: The Muscle Shoals Sessions, on May 26. • Spencer Davis Group: Davis, born in Wales, created the famed Spencer Davis Group in 1963, helping to bring British rock ‘n’ roll to the rest of the world. Among nearly 20 Top 10 hit songs are “Gimme Some Lovin,” “Somebody Help Me,” “I’m a Man” and “Keep on Running.” The popularity of these tunes lives on as Davis continues to tour internationally. His latest album is titled So Far on Fuel Records. • Big Brother & the Holding Company first performed in the Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, in 1965. After their appearance at The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, lead singer Janis Joplin quickly became a phenomenon, and Big Brother made a real contribution to Janis’ rise to international fame. Big Brother’s classic 1968 album Cheap Thrills charted at #1 for eight weeks. After Joplin left the band in 1968, Big Brother continued to perform with a new female vocalist before disbanding in 1972. Having reformed with the original four members in 1987, they have performed worldwide and throughout the United States. In 2007 Big Brother joined the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Tour with Jefferson Starship, Quicksilver Messenger Service, David & Linda LaFlamme (It’s a Beautiful Day) and the Grateful Dead’s Tom Constante. Big Brother carries on today with original members Peter Albin and Dave Getz, with Tom Finch and Tommy Odetto playing outstanding guitar. Darby Gould (Jefferson Starship) fronts the band, singing all of the classic material made famous by Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company. • Leo “Bud” Welch was born in Sabougla, Miss. in 1932. Bud picked up a guitar for the first time in 1945. By 1947 at age 15, he played well enough to perform publically and garnered the blessing of many elder guitar players. Welch was offered an audition by B.B. King but could not afford the trip to Memphis. He remained under the radar for 65 years, undetected by the vast majority of blues aficionados. Welch’s debut album, Sabougla Voices, was released in 2014 on Fat Possum’s Big Legal Mess label, just two months before his 82nd birthday. The follow up, I Don’t Prefer No Blues, was released on March 24 of this year, receiving notices in The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. • Big Bad Voodoo Daddy celebrate their 22nd anniversary with a first-ever Simi appearance. The band co-founded by Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren made their debut in their hometown of Ventura, Calif. in April of 1993, helping to usher in the swing revival founded on a colorful fusion of classic American sounds including jazz, swing, and Dixieland mixed with the energy and spirit of contemporary culture. Having secured their legendary residency at the Derby nightclub in Los Angeles, they reminded the world — in the middle of the grunge era, no less — that it was still cool to swing, big-band style. Today the high-energy nine-piece ensemble continues the party and takes things to the next level with the release of Rattle Them Bones, which still urges their millions of fans worldwide to shake and move to their inimitable grooves. • Guitar Shorty, a.k.a. David Kearney, was born in Houston in 1939, raised in Kissimee, Fla., and now makes his home in Los Angeles. Over the years he’s played behind T-Bone Walker, Willie Dixon, Guitar Slim, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and fellow Simi Valley Festival performer Swamp Dogg. His recent albums on Evidence and Alligator albums attest to the high energy level of this survivor of blues’ classic era. Texas Music Magazine writer John Morthland summed things up perfectly: “Axebuster extraordinaire Guitar Shorty is an old-school guitar showman. He plays with technique and flash, without ever sacrificing the passion. He’s a blues-rock hero.” • Reverend Tall Tree plays original blues and American roots music in the tradition of Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, and others. His debut album was recently released on Nine Yards Records. In addition to his own headlining tours, Reverend Tall Tree has opened worldwide shows and tours for such artists as B.B. King, Al Green, Toots and the Maytals, Seal, Aaron Neville, Beth Hart, Robert Cray, Blues Traveler and Jamie Cullum. His music has been heard in numerous films including Soul Men and the Academy Award-winning motion picture Crash and has been licensed by such TV shows as True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, Single Ladies, Eli Stone, In Plain Sight, Dawson’s Creek and Army Wives. • Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers have been rated one of the “Top 100 Reasons to Visit Louisiana.” Dwayne (Dopsie) Rubin hails from one of the most influential Zydeco families in the world. Although inspired by tradition, he has developed his own high-energy style that blazes a new path for 21st century Zydeco music. Dopsie and the Hellraisers have played throughout the world since Dwayne debuted the band at age 19. First appearing at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival in 2014, Dopsie’s set was such a big hit that he’ll return in 2015 and will on both the Cajun/Zydeco and blues stages. • Terrance Simien has been performing Zydeco music for more than 30 years, and is a two-time Grammy winner and eighth generation Louisiana Creole. Leading his Zydeco Experience band, Simien has become one of the most respected and accomplished artists in American roots music today. Last year marked their 28th consecutive appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, an event that is the gold standard for showcasing and celebrating all Louisiana music traditions. • Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic: Thierry’s French Creole heritage is deeply rooted in Louisiana although he was born and reared in Northern California. Thierry and Zydeco Magic won the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame award for Best Zydeco Group in 2008. The 33-year-old is a multi-dimensional musician who has a finely honed ability to merge traditional Zydeco music with hip-hop, blues, jazz and rock. Building from his love and respect for traditional Zydeco, his original music is a blend of old and new. • Ruben Moreno, making his debut on the Cajun/Zydeco stage, was born in Houston and was immersed in Zydeco music and culture from day one while living in the same building as his grandmother’s bar, Henry’s Lounge. He literally fell asleep each night listening to Clifton Chenier blare out of the jukebox on the other side of the wall. He developed his musical style while playing and touring with C.J. Chenier and Leroy Thomas. And it was Andre Thierry, also performing at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival, who guided him to his love of the accordion in the summer of 2009. • The Magnolia Sisters are a band of women who can play the whole gamut of musical styles from southwest Louisiana: Cajun, Creole, dancehall favorites, and front porch ballads. They each switch from one instrument to another during their shows. They are also an ideal band for seated concerts because, in addition to their vast dancehall repertoire, they tell stories, sing rich harmonies on a cappella ballads, and play string band numbers from the 1930s. Much of the Magnolia Sisters’ music has been gleaned from long-buried Cajun music jewels. Their most recent album, Stripped Down on Arhoolie Records, was nominated for a Grammy in 2010. • Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble: Curley Taylor’s bluesy, soulful vocals and the band’s hard driving Zydeco beat blend to create high-energy dance music for all audiences. Curley’s music is true to its roots in Zydeco and blues, but contemporary enough to appeal to a broad range of music lovers. When at home in Louisiana, Curley can be found in the studio working on his latest album, or playing in one of the local clubs around the Lafayette/Opelousas area to the delight of his hometown fans. • Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys: One of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music, Jeffrey Broussard continues to be one of the genre’s most dynamic performers. He began his career with traditional Creole Zydeco music playing drums in his father’s band, Delton Broussard & the Lawtell Playboys, then moved on to develop the nouveau Zydeco sound in Zydeco Force, and now returns to the more traditional Zydeco sound with his own band, Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. Once again the blues stage is booked by Martin Fleischmann and his company, Rum & Humble. For more than 20 years Rum & Humble has played a key role in presenting some of the world’s most celebrated musical talent (Radiohead, Manu Chao, and the Rolling Stones, to name a few) to Los Angeles audiences, in venues ranging from the Echoplex to the Orpheum Theatre to the Hollywood Bowl. The company has co-produced the Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Concert Series since 2011. In addition, Rum & Humble has collaborated closely and creatively with artists such as Jackson Browne and Paul Oakenfold as well as with a varied roster of corporate and non-profit clients ranging from KJAZZ Radio to the Conga Room nightclub to the National Geographic Society. The festival has received national press accolades: “Everywhere you turned, there was something exciting happening. Put this on your 2013 festival calendar,” wrote Blue Revue editor Art Tipaldi, who made the trek from New England. The Blues Blast writer enthused, “I attend many venues and festivals throughout the year but the ones that seem to impress me the most are the ones that serve the community in some way. I highly recommend you put this on your calendar for next Memorial Day weekend.” And the music industry trade journal Hits added, “As the last strains of [Candye] Kane’s set rang in our ears, we left the grounds fully sated by music, food, drink and, as the saying goes, bon temps.” The festival boasts dozens of food booths featuring a variety of fare: authentic Cajun creations and Southern BBQ as well as multi-cultural cuisine. More than 100 craft booths and retailers will be scattered throughout the festival grounds. Tickets may be obtained online at http://www.simicajun.org/2015/tickets.html Support of the not-for-profit Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival has benefited dozens of local community, national and international organizations, a list of which may be found at http://www.simicajun.org/2014/whobenefits.html. Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival web site:http://www.simicajun.org

Otis Taylor's 'Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat' features guests Warren Haynes, Langhorne Slim, String Cheese Incident

March 30, 2015

ROOTS MUSIC VISIONARY OTIS TAYLOR CREATES ATIMELESSS PSYCHEDELIC ALBUM AND DEBUTS HIS TRANCE BLUES FESTIVAL LABEL Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat seamlessly blends hypnotic songs and instrumentals; features guests Warren Haynes, Langhorne Slim and String Cheese Incident’s Bill Nershi, out May 5

BOULDER, Colo. — Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat, the new album from visionary roots music songwriter and bandleader Otis Taylor, is a psychedelic masterpiece. Blending his uniquely poetic songwriting and the compelling musical approach that he calls “trance blues,” the recording — due on May 5, 2015 on Taylor’s new Trance Blues Festival label — cuts to the core of the human spirit with its mix of vocal and instrumental performances, letting its hypnotic sound as well as Taylor’s lyrics tell its story. The artist explains that his 14th album is “about decisions and their consequences. It’s about how decisions and the actions that result can change our lives, the lives of our families and the lives of people we don’t even know. Sometimes you win in life; sometimes you lose. You want the outcome of your decisions to be good, but sometimes its bad. And that’s when you don’t eat the meat. The meat eats you.” Typical for Taylor, he’s found a unique way of expressing those ideas in a grand work. The songs on Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat comprise a suite in 10 parts, designed to be heard as a complete recording, with the classic song of decisions and their consequences “Hey Joe” as its overarching theme. That number, made famous as the debut single from the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966, was written by folk artist Billy Roberts and has intrigued Taylor and been part of his live concerts for two decades. In a gambit that recalls Pink Floyd’s use of recurring musical themes on their enduring multi-platinum album Wish You Were Here, “Hey Joe” appears on Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat twice. The first version, which starts the album, features Gov’t Mule and Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes. The second features Langhorne Slim on backing vocals. Haynes also plays on the first of three appearances of the Taylor composition “Sunday Morning,” which follows. His bold guitar tones mesh perfectly with Taylor’s sonic tapestry as both songs set the tone for the album. The recurring motifs in “Sunday Morning” are especially striking, drawing on powerful, single-chord rhythms and the interplay of Taylor band members Todd Edmunds on bass, guitarist Taylor Scott, drummer Larry Thompson and violinist Anne Harris, who often plays melodic and textural foil to Taylor’s idiosyncratic, mesmerizing guitar. They’re joined by keyboardists Gus Skinas and Steve Vidaic, cornetist Ron Miles, banjo player David Moore and, on “Peggy Lee,” a song about a man undergoing a sex change, String Cheese Incident guitarist Bill Nershi. Together they bring Taylor’s unfailingly brilliant ideas to kaleidoscopic life. The album introduces four more new Taylor songs. “The Heart Is a Muscle” is a driving tune about the complexities of love and “Cold at Midnight” mixes loneliness and infidelity into Taylor’s potent aural swirl. There’s also “Red Meat,” driven by Taylor playing his signature model Santa Cruz acoustic guitar, and the elegant instrumental “They Wore Blue,” which transitions the album into its second half.  “I’m always trying to find something different to do with each album,” says Taylor. “It gets harder with each one I make, but I really enjoy the idea of challenging myself to find new ways to tell stories and make art.” His previous album, 2013’s My World Is Gone, explored the struggles of Native Americans and enlisted the virtuoso guitar of Indigenous frontman Mato Nanji, who is a member of the Nakota Nation. Taylor has been pursuing his own singular musical vision — a fusion of the primal hum of raw, primitive blues and contemporary, free-ranging expressionism — since the 1960s, when the banjoist, guitarist, bassist and harmonica player first toured the U.S. and Europe with a variety of blues-based bands including Zephyr, for whom Taylor played bass, and G&O Short Line, which included legendary guitarist Tommy Bolin. Taylor left the music business in 1977 to pursue dealing in art and antiques, and to raise a family. (His daughter Cassie has appeared on many of his recordings singing and playing bass, and today is a recording artist in her own right.) He also pursued his passion for bicycle racing, as a coach. During the ’90s, Taylor was drawn back into music making by friends in the Boulder area. By 1996 and the arrival of his debut album Blue-Eyed Monster, he was performing once again. With the release of his next two discs, When Negroes Walked the Earth and White African, Taylor began to emerge as a singular voice in the American roots scene, acclaimed here and abroad for his riveting music and his unflinching honesty in writing about racism, struggle, freedom, heritage and the complications of human life. To date he has received 16 Blues Music Award (BMA) nominations. White African captured a BMA for best debut album. Taylor is also nominated regularly as an instrumentalist for his banjo playing, and won a Blues Music Award for his original style in 2009, following the release of Recapturing the Banjo, an album that examined the instrument’s deep African roots. His albums Double V, Definition of a Circle and Recapturing the Banjo all won DownBeat’s Best Blues CD award in 2005, 2007 and 2008, respectively. He also took the magazine’s Critic’s Choice Award for Best Blues Album for 2003’s Truth Is Not Fiction. And Taylor has been nominated two times for the prestigious Académie Charles Cros award in France, winning the Grand Prix du Disc for Blues in 2012. Three years ago, Contraband — his 12th album — took the DownBeat Critics’ Choice award again for Blues Album of the Year. In 2009 Taylor’s Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs was unveiled the same week that two of his tunes appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster Public Enemy, directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Previously his music had appeared in the 2007 Mark Wahlberg vehicle Shooter. And in 2000 Taylor was a fellow in the Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program.   In 2010 Taylor began his Trance Blues Festival, which gives his new label its name, in Boulder, Colorado. The annual event brings a broad cast of professional and amateur musicians together for three days of performances, jams and workshops. This year’s Trance Blues Festival will be held at the eTown Theater in Boulder on November 7. “Music is not a spectator sport,” he observes. “In a world where there is a lot of misunderstanding, music can help people communicate and break down barriers, and really start to see each other for who they are.” His songs also lend perspective, thanks to the spare and insightful lyrics and elemental music that’s always at the core of his albums, including Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat. “My music,” says Taylor, “is always about the truth. People care about the truth, because the truth is important. And I want people to care about my songs, because I push myself very hard to create each album and make it the best that I possibly can. My albums are my legacy, and I want them to endure.”

Hypnotation Records artist: Michael Falzarano - I Got Blues For Ya - New release review

I just received a copy of the newest release, I Got Blues For Ya, from Michael Falzarano and it's a riot. Opening with The Night King Curtis Died, a lumbering 12 bar number, features strong vocals, lead and rhythm guitar from Falzarano, bass by Chris Matheos on bass, Ray Grappone on drums and excellent slide work from Kane Daily who has a lot of the feel of slide master Rod Price. Title track, I Got Blues For Ya, is structured along the Bo Diddley beat with a swampy feel and guitar not unlike Peter Green. Klyph Black joins on bass and Christian Cassan joins on drums. Josh Colow takes the lead guitar on I Never Think About You, a bluesy ballad. Professor Louie adds a cool piano runs and Miss Marie gives the track a warm texture on backing vocals. Colow lays out a few really nice compact solos on this track and the Professor rides the B3 high. A hot riding boogie, Snake Box Boogie, has a super beat and Falzarano really grinds this one out with the Professor and Colow for one of my favorite tracks on the release. Big Fish is one of those great laid back tracks with the Elvin Bishop saunter. Vasser Clements' unmistakable sound on fiddle joined by Kerry Kearney on slide and super chops gives this track a real authentic country blues rock feel. Very cool. Shuffle track, We Got A Party Going On, has really hot rolling piano work by the Professor and cheering backing vocals. Colow lays in a pinched guitar solo backed nicely by Frank Campbell on bass and Gary Burke on drums. Good Good Lovin has a cocky beer chugging Lynyrd Skynyrd feel. Daily lays on a slick melodic "Lindley" style slide solo with Jon Marshall Smith on organ and Lisa Bouchelle on backing vocals. Very nice! One of my favorite blues vocalists, Alexis P. Suter joins Falzarano on vocals for a darker, Hooker style boogie, Crossroads Avenue. Jimmie Fleming on mandolin, Pete Sears on piano, Charlie Wolfe on harp, Frank Celenza on bass and Eileen Murphy provide instrumental texture behind this boogie jam track. Slick blues strut, The Devil's Gone Fishin', featuring Kerry Kearney on lead guitar and the Professor on Hammond and piano has a really nice groove. Kearney smokes the strings up pretty good on this one... enjoy! One of my favorite Rev. Gary tracks caught live, Death Don't Have No Mercy, has a life of it's own here with Falzarano on vocal and acoustic guitar, Mike Miz and Tom Circista on acoustic guitar, Freeman White on keys, Klyph Black on bass, Dave Diamond on drums and featuring Barry Mitterhoff and Jason Crosby with excellent mandolin and fiddle work, respectively. Upbeat shuffle, Trouble, is a cool blues number with rolling piano by the Professor, Farfisa organ by Harley Fine, and fine guitar and slide solos by Falzarano, Daily and Kearney. Wrapping the release is a rocking cover of Wilbert Harrison's Let's Work Together. A nicely blended cover featuring concluding solos by Daily and Falzarano and vocals by Falzarano and Miss Marie make this a super closer.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Walkright Records artist: John Earl Walker - Mustang Blues - New release Review

I just received the newest release, Mustang Blues, from John Earl Walker and it digs in deep. Opening with Hey Baby, a cool 12 bar jam with a Allstars flare. John Earl Walker has been playing his guitar for some time and he lays on it early showing he knows his way around. Joined by Peter Harris on bass, Frank Diorio on drums and Gene Cordew on keys, this track is a great opener! Solid down, The Devil Follows Me, sounds like it's straight from Chicago and Walker slings his guitar with comfort. His riffs roll off of his fingertips like water pushed along nicely by Cordew on piano. Title track, Mustang Blues, has a funky R&B feel along the lines of Mustang Sally or Poke Salad Annie. This is a cool track with Steve Ress adding some real nice slide guitar work on the mix. Funkify is a guitar led instrumental with a funky beat and extended guitar soloing. I'm Already Gone is a modern blues style take on a soul feel. It has the blues basis with strong bass by Harris and keys by Cordew with Savoy Brown like guitar and vocals giving it a very cool bluesy sound. One of my favorite track on the release. My Mama Told Me is a nicely paced shuffle track with stinging guitar riffs. Slower drag blues, Superstorm Sandy Blues plays into any blues guitar's hand with a great tempo and plenty of space to improvise. Walker really breaks loose on this track with some great trem bends. Excellent! Readjust falls more into a rock feel with R&B anchor. Tandem guitar leads and one flat out solo near the end of the track cap it off. Another nice shuffle track, One Plus One, finds Walker using some real nice double stop techniques on his solos giving them a grittier feel and George Thorogood like vocals makes this another top track. Wrapping the release is Even Up The Score, a driving shuffle backed track with Walker on vocal and lead guitar. A rowdy blues rocker, this is a fine track to close the set.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Up 2 Zero Entertainment artist: Anthony Gomes - Electric Field Holler - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Electric Field Holler, from Anthony Gomes and it's blistering! Opening with Turn It Up, Gomes sets high expectations with a solid cowbell which tells you right off where the track is going. Hot, stinging and rocking. A modern rocker with a blues root and clearly modern riffs permeate this track. Back Door Scratchin' sets down with a bit more southern rock feel and heavy kick drum bottom by Chad Cromwell. Theo Harden on bass and Cromwell set a heavy stage for Gomes who really throws up the pyrotechnics. Whiskey Train has a real cool swagger and I particularly like Gomes vocals on this track. Particularly bluesy guitar riffs make this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Blueschild is a lumbering heavy rocker with snappy blues guitar riffs. Nowhere Is Home has a simple rock rhythm and tight vocal harmonies with Vicki Hampton, Wendy Moten, Minnie Murphy and Kelly Wild. Cool keyboard effects add to the overall effectiveness of this track. A melodic ballad line on guitar makes this a real standout track. Losing Game is a straight up rocker with a solid bottom. Gomes explodes into the track with flame thrower heat from his guitar giving this track particular sting. The Blues Ain't the Blues No More has a primitive blues feel with acoustic resonator slide work and solo vocals with only minimal percussion. Very nice! Junk In The Trunk is another hard rocker with a straight up kick drum. Fans with a love of blues infused rockers will definitely like this one. Love Crazy has a definite pop feel with smooth vocal harmonies. I really like Cromwell's drum attack and Gomes' vocals on this track definitely radio bound with an interesting blend of key and guitar work. Red Handed Blues, a track with deliberate intention kicks down the doors and rumbles. Gomes has never been shy with his guitar and Red Handed is no exception. Wrapping the release is Listen To The Universe with a great groove. With it's guitar chant sounding heavy like Mountain and overlaid guitar riffs, this track hits home. Pulling out all of the stops Gomes lays down some of the hottest guitar riffs on the release making for a super finale.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Fest lineup announced: Candye Kane, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Leo "Bud" Welch, Dwayne Dopsie, more

SPENCER DAVIS GROUP, CANDYE KANE, DWAYNE DOPSIEROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOO(FEATURING CYRIL NEVILLE AND DEVON ALLMAN)CANNED HEAT, LEO “BUD” WELCH, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDYGUITAR SHORTY, TERRANCE SIMIENBIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANYHEADLINE 25th ANNUALSIMI VALLEY CAJUN & BLUES MUSIC FESTIVALSATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 23-24 Los Angeles area’s largest Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and Roots music festival, held over Memorial Day weekend, features two stages, a Mardi Gras parade, crafts and dozens of food booths SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The 26th annual Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival will rock once again at Memorial Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, at Rancho Santa Susanna Community Park, 5005 Los Angeles Ave., in Simi Valley. The event features two full stages for each of its musical genres. Music will proceed non-stop each day from 12 noon until 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults (13 and over) and children 12 and younger are free.  Discount single day tickets of $20 and two-day passes for $35 are available only online at http://www.simicajun.org. Parking is ample and free. Fast-moving California Hwy. 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) can be taken to the Stearns Street exit; the festival is four blocks south. The blues stage features classic blues-rock (Spencer Davis Group, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Canned Heat) with a side trip into swing (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), plus the first-ever West Coast appearance of 82-year-old Mississippi bluesman Leo “Bud” Welch. West Coast legends Candye Kane and Guitar Shorty return to the blues stage, while “super group” Royal Southern Brotherhood (featuring Cyril Neville, Devon Allman and Mike Zito) make their Southern California festival debut. Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers become the first band to cross over from the Cajun/Zydeco stage to the blues stage. Two-time Grammy winners Terrance Simien & His Zydeco Experience make their Simi Valley debut, as do Grammy-nominated Arhoolie recording artists The Magnolia Sisters. Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Ruben Moreno, Curley Taylor and Jeffrey Broussard round out the lineup, making the Cajun/Zydeco Stage the pre-eminent Southern California showcase for Louisiana-inflected music. The annual Mardi Gras Parade will take place both days at 4 p.m. About the performers: • Candye Kane, according to B.B. King, “has that big, brassy voice that has authority and sass; the kind of thing men like because it’s seductive and women like because it’s powerful.” Candye cut her musical teeth in the early ‘80s onstage with Hollywood musicians and friends like Social Distortion, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, The Blasters, X, Fear and Los Lobos to name just a few. Her fans are a mixture of true outsiders: bikers, blues fans, punk rockers, drag queens, big girls, burlesque dancers, rockabilly and swing dancers, gray-haired hippies, and everyday folk of all ages. Her live shows are the stuff of legend — she belts, growls, shouts, croons and moans from a lifetime of suffering and overcoming obstacles. • Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite. The band gained international attention and secured its legacy with performances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Who) and the headlining slot at the original Woodstock Festival. Canned Heat’s unique blend of modern electric blues, rock and boogie has earned them a loyal following and influenced many aspiring guitarists and bands during the past 40 years. Their hits “On the Road Again,” “Let’s Work Together” and “Going up the Country” became rock anthems throughout the world with the last being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock and the “Woodstock Generation.” More than 40 years later and with 36 albums to its credit, Canned Heat is still going strong. Anchored throughout by the steady hand of drummer/band leader Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra (a member since 1967) and with one of their strongest lineups ever, Canned Heat is on track to carry the boogie-blues it made famous well into the 21st century. Since 2009, the lineup has Fito on drums, Greg Kage on bass and vocals, Barry Levenson on lead guitar, and Dale Spalding on guitar, harmonica and lead vocals. The band’s most recent CD is entitled Friends in the Can. This record brings together a number of Canned Heat’s musical friends from the past and present to join them in this musical collaboration and celebration of Canned Heat’s career. Fito’s book, Living the Blues, is available through the band’s web site. • Royal Southern Brotherhood: Before they even hit a chord, this band has your attention. In the South, where music is religion, two rock ‘n’ roll bloodlines tower above all others. In saloon bars from Mississippi to Maryland, mere mention of the Allman and Neville Brothers casts a magic spell. With a lineup that includes both Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, Royal Southern Brotherhood come pre-loaded with expectations. The family tree might be auspicious, but the new band trades on talent, not genealogy. Let’s rewind to the summer of 2010 and the stifling heat of New Orleans and a pivotal meeting between Cyril, Devon and Mike Zito. Talk turned to forming a new breed of blues-rock band, and when jams began at a secluded studio in the city’s Garden District, the fizzing chemistry was too strong to deny. Their debut album was produced by the legendary Jim Gaines in Louisiana. The rest is history as the band is set to release their third studio album, Don’t Look Back: The Muscle Shoals Sessions, on May 26. • Spencer Davis Group: Davis, born in Wales, created the famed Spencer Davis Group in 1963, helping to bring British rock ‘n’ roll to the rest of the world. Among nearly 20 Top 10 hit songs are “Gimme Some Lovin,” “Somebody Help Me,” “I’m a Man” and “Keep on Running.” The popularity of these tunes lives on as Davis continues to tour internationally. His latest album is titled So Far on Fuel Records. • Big Brother & the Holding Company first performed in the Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, in 1965. After their appearance at The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, lead singer Janis Joplin quickly became a phenomenon, and Big Brother made a real contribution to Janis’ rise to international fame. Big Brother’s classic 1968 album Cheap Thrills charted at #1 for eight weeks. After Joplin left the band in 1968, Big Brother continued to perform with a new female vocalist before disbanding in 1972. Having reformed with the original four members in 1987, they have performed worldwide and throughout the United States. In 2007 Big Brother joined the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Tour with Jefferson Starship, Quicksilver Messenger Service, David & Linda LaFlamme (It’s a Beautiful Day) and the Grateful Dead’s Tom Constante. Big Brother carries on today with original members Peter Albin and Dave Getz, with Tom Finch and Tommy Odetto playing outstanding guitar. Darby Gould (Jefferson Starship) fronts the band, singing all of the classic material made famous by Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company. • Leo “Bud” Welch was born in Sabougla, Miss. in 1932. Bud picked up a guitar for the first time in 1945. By 1947 at age 15, he played well enough to perform publically and garnered the blessing of many elder guitar players. Welch was offered an audition by B.B. King but could not afford the trip to Memphis. He remained under the radar for 65 years, undetected by the vast majority of blues aficionados. Welch’s debut album, Sabougla Voices, was released in 2014 on Fat Possum’s Big Legal Mess label, just two months before his 82nd birthday. The follow up, I Don’t Prefer No Blues, was released on March 24 of this year, receiving notices in The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. • Big Bad Voodoo Daddy celebrate their 22nd anniversary with a first-ever Simi appearance. The band co-founded by Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren made their debut in their hometown of Ventura, Calif. in April of 1993, helping to usher in the swing revival founded on a colorful fusion of classic American sounds including jazz, swing, and Dixieland mixed with the energy and spirit of contemporary culture. Having secured their legendary residency at the Derby nightclub in Los Angeles, they reminded the world — in the middle of the grunge era, no less — that it was still cool to swing, big-band style. Today the high-energy nine-piece ensemble continues the party and takes things to the next level with the release of Rattle Them Bones, which still urges their millions of fans worldwide to shake and move to their inimitable grooves. • Guitar Shorty, a.k.a. David Kearney, was born in Houston in 1939, raised in Kissimee, Fla., and now makes his home in Los Angeles. Over the years he’s played behind T-Bone Walker, Willie Dixon, Guitar Slim, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and fellow Simi Valley Festival performer Swamp Dogg. His recent albums on Evidence and Alligator albums attest to the high energy level of this survivor of blues’ classic era. Texas Music Magazine writer John Morthland summed things up perfectly: “Axebuster extraordinaire Guitar Shorty is an old-school guitar showman. He plays with technique and flash, without ever sacrificing the passion. He’s a blues-rock hero.” • Reverend Tall Tree plays original blues and American roots music in the tradition of Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, and others. His debut album was recently released on Nine Yards Records. In addition to his own headlining tours, Reverend Tall Tree has opened worldwide shows and tours for such artists as B.B. King, Al Green, Toots and the Maytals, Seal, Aaron Neville, Beth Hart, Robert Cray, Blues Traveler and Jamie Cullum. His music has been heard in numerous films including Soul Men and the Academy Award-winning motion picture Crash and has been licensed by such TV shows as True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, Single Ladies, Eli Stone, In Plain Sight, Dawson’s Creek and Army Wives. • Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers have been rated one of the “Top 100 Reasons to Visit Louisiana.” Dwayne (Dopsie) Rubin hails from one of the most influential Zydeco families in the world. Although inspired by tradition, he has developed his own high-energy style that blazes a new path for 21st century Zydeco music. Dopsie and the Hellraisers have played throughout the world since Dwayne debuted the band at age 19. First appearing at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival in 2014, Dopsie’s set was such a big hit that he’ll return in 2015 and will on both the Cajun/Zydeco and blues stages. • Terrance Simien has been performing Zydeco music for more than 30 years, and is a two-time Grammy winner and eighth generation Louisiana Creole. Leading his Zydeco Experience band, Simien has become one of the most respected and accomplished artists in American roots music today. Last year marked their 28th consecutive appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, an event that is the gold standard for showcasing and celebrating all Louisiana music traditions. • Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic: Thierry’s French Creole heritage is deeply rooted in Louisiana although he was born and reared in Northern California. Thierry and Zydeco Magic won the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame award for Best Zydeco Group in 2008. The 33-year-old is a multi-dimensional musician who has a finely honed ability to merge traditional Zydeco music with hip-hop, blues, jazz and rock. Building from his love and respect for traditional Zydeco, his original music is a blend of old and new. • Ruben Moreno, making his debut on the Cajun/Zydeco stage, was born in Houston and was immersed in Zydeco music and culture from day one while living in the same building as his grandmother’s bar, Henry’s Lounge. He literally fell asleep each night listening to Clifton Chenier blare out of the jukebox on the other side of the wall. He developed his musical style while playing and touring with C.J. Chenier and Leroy Thomas. And it was Andre Thierry, also performing at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival, who guided him to his love of the accordion in the summer of 2009. • The Magnolia Sisters are a band of women who can play the whole gamut of musical styles from southwest Louisiana: Cajun, Creole, dancehall favorites, and front porch ballads. They each switch from one instrument to another during their shows. They are also an ideal band for seated concerts because, in addition to their vast dancehall repertoire, they tell stories, sing rich harmonies on a cappella ballads, and play string band numbers from the 1930s. Much of the Magnolia Sisters’ music has been gleaned from long-buried Cajun music jewels. Their most recent album, Stripped Down on Arhoolie Records, was nominated for a Grammy in 2010. • Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble: Curley Taylor’s bluesy, soulful vocals and the band’s hard driving Zydeco beat blend to create high-energy dance music for all audiences. Curley’s music is true to its roots in Zydeco and blues, but contemporary enough to appeal to a broad range of music lovers. When at home in Louisiana, Curley can be found in the studio working on his latest album, or playing in one of the local clubs around the Lafayette/Opelousas area to the delight of his hometown fans. • Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys: One of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music, Jeffrey Broussard continues to be one of the genre’s most dynamic performers. He began his career with traditional Creole Zydeco music playing drums in his father’s band, Delton Broussard & the Lawtell Playboys, then moved on to develop the nouveau Zydeco sound in Zydeco Force, and now returns to the more traditional Zydeco sound with his own band, Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. Once again the blues stage is booked by Martin Fleischmann and his company, Rum & Humble. For more than 20 years Rum & Humble has played a key role in presenting some of the world’s most celebrated musical talent (Radiohead, Manu Chao, and the Rolling Stones, to name a few) to Los Angeles audiences, in venues ranging from the Echoplex to the Orpheum Theatre to the Hollywood Bowl. The company has co-produced the Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Concert Series since 2011. In addition, Rum & Humble has collaborated closely and creatively with artists such as Jackson Browne and Paul Oakenfold as well as with a varied roster of corporate and non-profit clients ranging from KJAZZ Radio to the Conga Room nightclub to the National Geographic Society. The festival has received national press accolades: “Everywhere you turned, there was something exciting happening. Put this on your 2013 festival calendar,” wrote Blue Revue editor Art Tipaldi, who made the trek from New England. The Blues Blast writer enthused, “I attend many venues and festivals throughout the year but the ones that seem to impress me the most are the ones that serve the community in some way. I highly recommend you put this on your calendar for next Memorial Day weekend.” And the music industry trade journal Hits added, “As the last strains of [Candye] Kane’s set rang in our ears, we left the grounds fully sated by music, food, drink and, as the saying goes, bon temps.” The festival boasts dozens of food booths featuring a variety of fare: authentic Cajun creations and Southern BBQ as well as multi-cultural cuisine. More than 100 craft booths and retailers will be scattered throughout the festival grounds. Tickets may be obtained online at http://www.simicajun.org/2015/tickets.html Support of the not-for-profit Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival has benefited dozens of local community, national and international organizations, a list of which may be found at http://www.simicajun.org/2014/whobenefits.html. Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival web site:http://www.simicajun.org

John Renbourn has passed - Our thoughts are with his family

British folk guitarist John Renbourn, a founding member of Pentangle whose solo career stretched for more than 50 years, was found dead at his home in Hawick, Scotland, on March 25. He was 70.
Renbourn’s body was discovered after he failed to show up for a concert at the Ferry in Glasgow on March 25. Renbourn’s agent Dave Smith confirmed the news, but no cause of his death was given.
One of the finest folk musicians of the 1960s and ‘70s, Renbourn was an active performer up until his death. He had already played nine shows this month in the U.K. with guitarist Wizz Jones and was set to return to Crete for a guitar workshop in May.
Renbourn, like many early British rock ‘n’ rollers and folk musicians, got his start playing skiffle before studying folk music and classical guitar. In London in 1964, he started performing in pubs in Soho, accompanying singer Dorris Henderson, with whom he would eventually record the albums There You Go and Watch the Stars.
During that time, Renbourn fell in with a folk crowd that included Bert Jansch, Davey Graham and Paul Simon. Jansch (who died in October 2011) and Renbourn started performing together and after both secured solo recording deals -- Renbourn was on Transatlantic == and teamed up as Bert & John.
His first full-length solo album, Sir John Alot of Merrie Englandes Musyk Thynge & Ye Grene Knyghte, was released in 1968, and soon thereafter he and Jansch formed Pentangle with Jacqui McShee, Terry Cox
and Danny Thompson. The band’s first tour of the U.S. included performances at the Newport Folk Festival and
Fillmore West with the Grateful Dead.
The group made five albums for Transatlantic, which Reprise released in the U.S., and signed Renbourn to the label as a solo artist as well. All five the band’s albums reached the lower rungs of the Billboard 200, 1971’s Reflection charting the highest at No. 183 in 1971.
Twice Grammy-nominated in the 1980s, Renbourn made solo albums throughout his tenure in Pentangle. Once the group disbanded, he worked solo, in group settings and in duets with guitarist Stefan Grossman
His book of compositions and tablature, starting with Guitar Pieces in 1972, were popular with budding guitarists interested in fingerpicking.  In the 1980s, Renbourn studied composition at Dartington College and would later teach guitar at Dartington and at guitar seminars elsewhere. He also wrote columns for the magazines Frets and Guitar Player.
In 2007, Pentangle reunited to receive the BBC Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement honor. His final recording was Palermo Snow, released in 2011.

By Phil Gallo

VizzTone Label Group artist: Debbie Davies - Love Spin - New release review

I just received a copy of the newest release (4/21/15), Love Spin, from Debbie Davies and she rips as always! Opening with Life Of The Party, Davies has a little of the Albert King funky sting in her guitar with Paul Opalach on organ, Wilbo Wright on bass and Don Castagno on drums. Title track Love Spin, still holds a light funk but with a bit more country funk along the lines of Elvin Bishop. Opalach lays out a real nice lap steel solo and Davies hits right back with a fine articulate solo of her own. On ballad Let The Heartaches Begin, super sax man joins Davies on on lead vocal and throws out a healthy sax solo. Davies lays down one of the nicest guitar solos on the release... controlled but sweet. Don't Change It Up has a solid bottom by Scotty Spray on bass and is joined by Jay Stollman on vocals. Another number with a funky rhythm, this track has solid commercial potential. Davies plays some hot plucky lead on this number heating things up nicely. Shuffle track, It's All Blues has a nice easy sway and with Dana Robbins reinforcing the back with a nice sax line, Davies steps up with short crisp guitar riffs. Talk Real Slow has a cool groove with lightly inlayed lap steel effects. Davies gets some otherworldly sounds from her guitar on this track making it a definite standout. Boogie track, I'm Not Cheatin' Yet, features a really hot sax solo from Robbins and Dave Keyes on boogie piano. Vocal duet by Davies on this track coupled with the instrumental solo trading makes it my favorite on the release. Two Twenty-Five-Year-Olds has a country blues rhythm (T For Texas) and a stinging Texas style guitar solo. Davies continues to mature as a guitar player and her skills are ice pick sharp. Jazzy track, A Darker Side Of Me, is lightly accompanied by Castagno on brushes, with Davies playing a richer part of the fretboard venturing more into Duke or Earl territory. Very nice! With a blend of Willie Dixon and Freddie King, Davies brings out I Get The Blues So Easy, a guitar shuffle with Hanck blowing out his sax. Davies cuts loose with one of her hurricane solos on this track and coaxing Hanck into a shared spotlight. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Way Back Down, featuring Davies on slide guitar. With a Rollin and Tumblin basis and hot slide work you couldn't ask for a better closer.

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