Crooked Eye Tommy CD Release Party August 7 in Carpinteria

                                                                 

  CROOKED EYE TOMMY RELEASES DEBUT CD, BUTTERFLIES & SNAKES;

  ELEVEN MEMORABLE SONGS IN THE BLUES GENRE FROM VENTURA    COUNTY GUITARIST-SINGER-SONGWRITER, TOMMY MARSH

CD RELEASE PARTY & DEBUT CONCERT at Plaza Playhouse Theater

Friday, August 7 - 7:30 p.m.

  

   (Carpinteria, CA) - Crooked Eye Tommy releases their debut effort, Butterflies & Snakes, marking the occasion with a CD Release Party and Debut Concert at the Plaza Playhouse Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Ave., Friday, August 7. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25. (includes CD); $30. (includes commemorative piece of album artwork and CD). Info: (805) 684-6380 or http://crookedeyetommy.com/calendar/. Buy tickets at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/crooked-eye-tommy-butterflies-snakes-debut-concert-tickets-16946668943.

   Crooked Eye Tommy also performs at the 1st Annual Ojai Blues Festival along with the Alastair Greene Band, Deb Ryder, and Shawn Jones at the Ojai Arts Center, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai, on Saturday, August 15. Showtime is 4 p.m. Tickets $25. available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ojai-bluesfest-tickets-17742088063.

ABOUT BUTTERFLIES & SNAKES (AND) CROOKED EYE TOMMY

  Butterflies & Snakes are eleven memorable tunes penned by Crooked Eye Tommy front-person and band namesake Tommy Marsh and Tommy's brother, guitarist-vocalist, Paddy Marsh (who also plays in the band). Other C.E.T. members: Glade Rasmussen, bass; Tony Cicero, drums; Jimmy Calire, saxophone/piano/Hammond B3. 

 The album's title track, a tasty down-home blues ditty entitled 'Crooked Eye Tommy,' "is sort of an autobiography", states Tommy. "I wrote it when we decided to name the band Crooked Eye Tommy. I was born with two lazy eyes, so the imagined discussion between a nurse and onlookers in the classic baby window at the hospital was a cool way to illustrate the way people can be  cruel without even thinking about it." Rocking blues number, 'Time Will Tell' is "the source of the album's name," states Marsh. "The second verse talks about the duality of women:

             Women are made of butterflies, butterflies and snakes

         Trying to please a woman can give a good man the shakes

   

   Time Will Tell "also talks about the duality of men as well in the first verse...and the dreams we all have (as musicians) to rise to the pinnacle of our profession - and how in each case, time is the equalizer and the test by which these are all proven out." The tune "shows the direction the band is taking with a more Southern hard blues feel", concludes Marsh. 'Somebody's Got To Pay' is a sexy Blues shuffle where Marsh laments in song, "the way the world is today, somebody's got to pay." He explains: "I wrote this song while dealing with a tax issue...I was very frustrated with the whole government and how no matter who is in office, it's always about who has the money." Dancing blues dittie 'Love Divine' is about "the relationships we have made along the way before we leave this world, they are the only real wealth that goes with us."

  Crooked Eye Tommy proudly represented the Santa Barbara Blues Society at the 2014 International Blues Challenge when they erupted onto the Southern California Blues Scene after reaching the Semifinals of this illustrious annual competition held in Memphis. For the last several years, Marsh has hosted a weekly Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored Jam Session featuring some of the biggest Blues artists on the SoCal music scene.

   Featuring scorching performances and original music firmly rooted in traditional blues, which feels familiar but somehow new, Tommy Marsh’s considerable songwriting, vocal and guitar skills have made him a Ventura County favorite. Capitalizing on local talent, Tommy and his brother Paddy Marsh invited the legendary Jimmy Calire on sax and the deeply-grooved, driving rhythm section of Tony Cicero on drums and Glade Rasmussen on bass to join the effort. The result is an irresistible alchemy of veteran experience, raw talent and enthralling original material. Listen and feel what a Crooked Eye can do.

                        

http://crookedeyetommy.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CrookedEyeTommy

Robert Zott - Baroque Blues Vol. 1 - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Baroque Blues Vol. 1, from Robert Zott and it is quite adventurous to say the least. I first need to say that I don't often get works that are literally pieces of art to be experienced and less resemble conventional music, but I do welcome new experiences. There are parts of this release that have familiar themes and passages and others that defy my description. Opening with I'm Just Me, the most musical track on the release, finds Zott singing through a nautical singing tube along with minimal acoustical guitar, electronics and Morse code. This track sounds like it could be from my favorite David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) era and I must say, I really like it. Next up is an interpretation of Willie Dixon's Red Rooster. Now this is a really loose interpretation with electric guitar and basic bass and percussion for atmosphere with dog barks and rooster crows, supplemented by random thoughts. Interesting at the least! Timepiece is a melodic instrumental with finely picked electric guitar over rhythm with minor soundscape additions. It is almost like a transition song between movements of a play. If I Could Rule The World is a spoken work piece. The more that you listen to it the more interesting it becomes. It is posed as a comparative to Alan Lomax's documentaries of toasting in Juke Joints as shown in The Land Where The Blues Began. Title track, Baroque Blues, is a peculiar pop melody sung partially in falsetto. Sung through a nautilus seashell used as a loudspeaker it has it's own sound. Eased by background vocals, acoustic guitar and miscellaneous tones and sounds (some possibly reversed) it is a composition to be experienced... not danced to :). Walk In The Park is an eccentric track with unmetered waves of sound presented as the carrier for the music. Twinkling tones from a 12 movement music box constructed from a black box flight recorder chimes the tones familiar from commercial travel. Zott has succeeded in stretching my listening to a different orbit for at least a short time. This recording is ultra clean and clear having been direct recorded in a bathroom with a single microphone and using pro tools.

  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”

 

Small Faces - The Decca Years ft. B-sides, outtakes, sessions, interviews and hits

SMALL FACES 1965 - 1967 THE DECCA YEARS 9TH OCTOBER 2015

5-CD COLLECTION FT. B-SIDES, RARITIES & OUTTAKES

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of their debut release comes this stunning 5-CD boxed set which brings together, for the first time, everything that the Small Faces recorded for Decca during their 18-month record deal with the label, along with the last remaining recording sessions that the group made for the BBC during the same period. For this project, hitherto ‘lost’ tapes have been unearthed from the Decca archives and BBC material, long thought lost and not heard since first broadcast, have been found. This includes a great Steve Marriott interview with Brian Matthew, which has not been officially heard in the UK since it was made by the BBC Transcription Services for transmission overseas. In total, 5 BBC interviews with Steve Marriott are featured. All of the audio, including the rarities and alternative versions, has been carefully remastered from original analogue sources under the close supervision of Small Faces’ last remaining member Kenney Jones. Housed in a rigid, deluxe, lift-off lid box set, the 5CDs come complete with a 72-page booklet, which includes interesting and insightful liner notes by respected music journalist and Small Faces aficionado, Mark Paytress. The notes track the group’s eventful and prolific 18-month tenure with their charismatic manager, renowned music impresario Don Arden, and Decca Records and their subsequent split from both to join Andrew Loog Oldham and Immediate Records. All is amply illustrated by fascinating press cuttings and photographs from the time. Small Faces were the quintessential 1960s mod band. Fronted by the charismatic Steve Marriott, perhaps Britain’s most soulful white vocalist ever, the band dominated the second half of the 1960s. Marriott, together with bassist Ronnie Lane, Drummer Kenney Jones and Hammond-player, Ian McLagan (who replaced original keyboard player Jimmy Winston early on) created an impressive body of work, evolving from high octane mod-soul and beat-pop in the earlier days into a more sophisticated blend of rock and psychedelia. Their influence casts a wide net, with their legacy still heard in more recent times from such artists as Paul Weller, Blur, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and countless others. The music, which included many memorable chart hits (What’Cha Gonna Do About It, Sha La La La Lee, All Or Nothing plus many more) continues to resonate and appeal to a whole new generation of music-lovers. CD 1 GREATEST HITS: Worldwide singles As, Bs & EPs 1. What'Cha Gonna Do About It 2. What's A Matter Baby 3. I've Got Mine 4. It's Too Late 5. Sha La La La Lee 6. Grow Your Own 7. Hey Girl 8. Almost Grown 9. All Or Nothing 10. Understanding 11. My Mind's Eye 12. I Can't Dance With You 13. I Can't Make It 14. Just Passing 15. Patterns 16. E Too D 17. Don't Stop What You're Doing 18. Come On Children 19. Shake 20. One Night Stand 21. You Need Loving CD 2 SMALL FACES Original UK LP Decca LK 4790 Released 6 May 1966 UK chart position: no.3 1. Shake 2. Come On Children 3. You Better Believe It 4. It's Too Late 5. One Night Stand 6. What'Cha Gonna Do About It 7. Sorry She's Mine 8. Own Up Time 9. You Need Loving 10. Don't Stop What You're Doing 11. E Too D 12. Sha La La La Lee CD 3 FROM THE BEGINNING Original UK LP Decca LK 4879 Released 2 June 1967 UK chart position: no.17 1. Runaway 2. My Mind's Eye 3. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow 4. That Man 5. My Way Of Giving 6. Hey Girl 7. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me 8. Take This Hurt Off Me 9. All Or Nothing 10. Baby Don't You Do It 11. Plum Nellie 12. Sha La La La Lee 13. You've Really Got A Hold On Me 14. What'Cha Gonna Do About It CD 4 RARITIES & OUTTAKES 1. Come On Children (alternate version) 2. Shake (alternate version) 3. You Better Believe It (alternate version) 4. Own Up Time (alternate version) 5. E Too D (alternate version) 6. Don't Stop What You're Doing (alternate version) 7. What's A Matter Baby (alternate mix) 8. What'Cha Gonna Do About It (alternate version) 9. Sha La La La Lee (stereo version) 10. Runaway (alternate mix) (stereo) 11. That Man (alternate mix) 12. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow (alternate mix) 13. Picanniny (backing track) 14. Hey Girl (alternate version) 15. Take This Hurt Off Me (different version) 16. Baby Don't You Do It (different version) 17. My Mind’s Eye (early version) (mono) 18. Talk To You (take 5 backing track) 19. All Our Yesterdays (take 7 backing track) 20. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (alternate take 2) 21. Show Me The Way (take 3 backing track) 22. I Can't Make It (take 11 backing track) 23. Things Are Going To Get Better (take 14 session version) CD 5 BBC SESSIONS BBC Studios - Saturday Club - 23-Aug-65 1. Interview with Steve Marriott 2. What’cha Gonna Do About It (BBC Session version) 3. Jump Back (BBC Session version) 4. Baby Don’t You Do It (BBC Session version) BBC Studios - Joe Loss Pop Show - 14-Jan-66 5. Sha La La La Lee (BBC Session version) 6. What’cha Gonna Do About It (BBC Session version) 7. Comin' Home Baby (BBC Session version) 8. You Need Loving (BBC Session version) 9. Steve Marriot Pop Profile Interview BBC Studios - Saturday Club - 14-Mar-66 10. Shake (BBC Session version 11. Interview with Steve Marriott 12. Sha La La La Lee (BBC Session version) 13. You Need Loving (BBC Session version) BBC Studios - Saturday Club - 3-May-66 14. Interview with Steve Marriott 15. Hey Girl (BBC Session version) 16. E to D (BBC Session version) 17. One Night Stand (BBC Session version) BBC Studios - Saturday Club 3-Aug-66 18. You’d Better Believe It (BBC Session version) 19. Understanding (BBC Session version) 20. Interview with Steve Marriott 21. All Or Nothing (BBC Session version) Buy the collection HERE

Food For The Soul Records artist: David Michael Miller - Same Soil - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Same Soil, from David Michael Miller and it, like his 2014 release, Poisons Sipped , it's quite remarkable! Opening with All The Blues To You, a smokey, slinky, groove machine this release is off to a real nice start. Miller has a deep but silky voice and a great funky feel. Joined by Mike Brown on drums and mandolin, Jim Ehinger on piano and Tom Vayo on bass this is a real nice opener. Just Ride, jazzy twist on a blues theme opens quietly but opens up with a lot of heat. His own sumptuous guitar soloing, scorching slide work and nice B3 work from Ehinger give this track a spicy flavor. Gospel influenced Got Them Blues, has super piano and B3 work from Ehinger and wicked slide riffs from Miller complimenting the lead vocal. His own hand claps and drums by Carlton Campbell pushes the track along nicely. Easing back into an excellent electric soulful blues ballad, Friend Of Mine, Miller shows what a super voice he has. This track is certainly one of my favorites on the release with beautiful sax work from Jason Moynihan and some of Miller's warmest guitar work on the release. A definite nod to Mr Morganfield, Doing Me In, Doing Me Wrong has the basic components of an original but with modern adornment. Miller does a really smart job of blending the guttural feel of I'm A Man with his own modern styling. Jeremy Keyes lays down some real nice harp work on this track and Miller shows control on guitar, even when the track breaks into a scattered step jazz feel, allowing the track to maintain it's primitive roots yet with today's tastes. Clever pop jazz style track, Shoes To Shine, has a really nice rhythm courtesy of Nick Patterson on bass, Ehinger on Rhodes and Josh Miller really snapping the drums. Sax work from Barry Arbogast and frenzied slide work from Miller really builds the climax on this radio perfect track. Soft and easy is the word on Needle To The Wheel. A nicely written and performed, primarily acoustic ballad makes it a super track for cross radio play. Funky, If'in You Hear Me, keeps a light pace with nicely woven B3 from Ehinger, slide work from Miller, bass by Richii Valentino, drums by Campbell and Moynihan on sax. Emotional singing by Miller complimented by his solid slide work is bound to make this a live favorite. Born To Lose comes out of the gate with Moynihan, Ehinger and Campbell ripping the irregular but really tight rhythm. Miller is riding high with really nice vocals. Moynihan and Miller each gut this tune with laser hot solos making this one of the hottest tracks on the release. Jimmy Reed like, Too Early In The Morning, has an easy shuffle feel. Robert "Freightrain" Parker drives on bass and Ehinger really rolls on piano. Miller 's vocals are bluesy, joined by Keyes on harp before kicking it into high gear for a hot finish. This is really Ehinger's track through and through... nice job! Wrapping the release is acoustic ballad, Man's Got Things To Do. Nicely written and performed, although quiet in stature, this is a really strong track. Featuring Miller on guitar, vocal, percussion, piano, Brown on B3, and John Kibler on upright bass this track leaves you wanting more. Haunting slide guitar work over primitive military style snare work gives this track an extra kick. Very nice!

  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”

 

Brand New Release From Hi Hat Records & Entertainment

Brand New Release From Hi Hat Records & Entertainment View this email in your browser

Hot Roux “Stranger’s Blues”                Louisiana flavored blues and swampy rock & roll. Musician and band leader Jerry McWorter comes from the somewhat rare tradition of “singing drummers” like Levon Helm, Sam Lay and Buddy Miles. Jerry is certainly steeped in the influences of his friend and hero Levon Helm and in the spirit of simple story telling blues.                                Hot Roux – Stranger’s Blues is a collection of well written original songs penned by Jerry and co-writer / bass player Brent Harding. Stranger’s Blues is a very organic and groove based record at its roots. All of the tracks were recorded “live in studio” with the aim of capturing the music as it lives and breathes. The tasty peppering of percussion and harmony vocals seasons it just right.                 Hot Roux is very well known in Southern California and has made a strong name as a rock solid rhythm section backing artists such as James Harman, Kim Wilson, Kenny Neal, Lynwood Slim, and countless performances with country guitar legend and music man, Albert Lee.                 Hot Roux often tours as a trio featuring the equally powerful guitar work of Ed Berghoff or Tommy Harkenrider. Both players have a unique stamp of originality and style. Also featured on Stranger’s Blues is the unmistakable guitar work of Franck Goldwasser on loan from “The Mannish Boys”. Franck’s musical contribution is as greasy and funky as it gets.                 Hot Roux – Stranger’s Blues. Served up on Hi Hat Records and Entertainment.   CDs & merchandise are available at Hi-Hat Entertainment Digital Downloads available at Amazon.com   “Jerry McWorter and his band, Hot Roux, trust me… they are shakin’ the place up. The CD “Stranger’s Blues” hit me like a point blank shotgun blast… I dig every track! Tommy Harkenrider, Franck Goldwasser and Ed Berghoff all make serious guitar statements during the seemingly few minutes this disk plays, before you start it again. I would say just go ahead and buy it, you can thank me later” -          James Harman, Award Winning Blues Artist “A formidable band in the blues and roots world. Hot Roux meets all expectations of its moniker: a roux is a tasty sauce and Stranger’s Blues serves up a smorgasbord of ten lively tunes from straight blues to rockabilly to a nice Cajun flavoring.” -          Steve Daniels, Big City Blues “Jerry & his boys have created one of the best roots bands in So Cal… Watch out for Hot Roux’s new CD!” -          Pete Anderson, Multi-Platinum Producer/Guitarist