Fat Possum August Sale - 25% Off Everything

Feeling sad in the summertime? Feeling sad ALL of the time? That’s ok. We’ve got you covered. For the whole month of August, everything at Fat Possum is 25% off. EVERYTHING. All vinyl, CDs, shirts, tapes, hats, movies, and 7”s are 25% off. If that doesn’t cheer you up, at least you’ll look good in a new shirt and you can stay inside alone with a great record that won’t hurt your feelings. Check out the store on our new website and start feeling better. Or not. 25% off, man!

Al Basile Creates New Roots Music Masterpiece with "B's Expression," Due September 18 on Sweetspot Records

Al Basile Creates New Roots Music Masterpiece with B’s Expression, Due September 18 on Sweetspot Records

Latest Release Is Most-Fully Realized Album Yet

RUMFORD, RI – Singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile announces a September 18 release date for B’s Expression, the new CD from the “Bard of the Blues,” distributed nationally by City Hall Records. Produced by long-time friend Duke Robillard and recorded at Lakewest Recording Studio in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, B’s Expression features 13 all-original Al Basile songs, backed by a simpatico band that includes Duke Robillard – guitars; Mark Teixeira – drums; Bruce Bears – keyboards; Brad Hallen – bass; Doug James – tenor and baritone sax; and Carl Querfurth – trombone.

An original member of the seminal roots music group, Roomful of Blues, Al Basile is a multiple Blues Music Award nominee. He’s written songs for and/or appeared on over 10 Duke Robillard albums, including the Grammy nominated Guitar Groove-a-Rama and Stomp! The Blues Tonight. His songs have also been recorded by such other blues giants as Ruth Brown and Johnny Rawls. 

Following up the critical success of Basile’s last CD, Woke Up in Memphis (2014), the tracks on B’s Expression are firmly rooted in the blues and soul styles of the Memphis sound epitomized by Stax and Hi Records, while offering up a palette of songs that showcase his unique ability as a wordsmith. A widely published poet as well as songwriter, Basile has a way with words not normally heard in roots music. A testament to his scholarly credits, at one point last winter he had work in five different poetry magazines, simultaneously. He’s also given talks on songwriting and metric poetry writing at Boston University's Editorial Institute and the West Chester Poetry Conference.

  

“It’s pertinent to my branching out as a writer,” says Basile, “that aside from getting a song on Johnny Rawls’ last CD, I’ve been writing custom songs for New Jump Blues, a West Coast band that advertises itself as jump blues and calypso, and has three singers, one of whom is actor Antonio Fargas (“Huggy Bear” from the classic Starsky and Hutch TV show in the 1970s and a bunch of “Blaxploitation” films in the ‘70s/’80s). They put out a CD a year ago and followed it up by playing the Playboy Jazz Festival. Recently, they shot a video of a song I wrote for them for COZI-TV, an NBC affiliated network that shows vintage ‘60s-‘80s television fare. The stuff I write for that band is in classic R&B style, but it’s tailored to the three singers, who assume characters and do a kind of stage show where they sing and dance. Writing for them is a lot like writing for musical theater, which I started doing way back when I wrote musicals at Brown University, except in an R&B style.”

During the songwriting phase of B’s Expression, Basile also did something he hasn’t done before on any of his solo recordings. “While I was writing these songs, I also came up with the arrangements for each of them that I wanted to follow once we got in the studio,” he stresses. “In the past, I’d write the songs and take them into the studio and work out the arrangements with all the musicians who played on the sessions. The result is that this new CD is my most fully- realized album yet.”

While all of the songs on B’s Expression have a story behind their creation, it’s worth pointing out instances for Basile’s inspiration of several of them as listed in the liner notes:

“Answer Me” - “‘Silence is the unbearable repartee’ is variously attributed to Chesterton, Dickens, and Alexander Theroux. Whoever said it first, this song is an attempt to bear the silence of others by giving a little context to a plea for a response. Sometimes it feels like no one is ever going to answer!”

“Don't You Ever Get Tired of Being Right?” – “I wrote this with the jump blues style of Louis Jordan in mind and then changed the groove for this version. The lyric still sports his brand of humor, I think – blues humor can take all kinds of stylistic changes on the musical side (see any Johnny “Guitar” Watson remake, for example).”

“I Didn’t Come Here to Lie” – “Some straight talk to a friend who needs to hear it – but stopping short of judgement. There is always something we can't know about another, no matter how much we do know. We sure like to draw conclusions, though – with or without sufficient evidence.”

“It Wasn’t That Good” – “You could say this was inspired by James Brown's After You Done It. Sometimes songs really do inspire other songs. But sometimes even someone you’ve chased for a long time turns out to be what Gertrude Stein said about Cleveland. Romantically speaking, of course.”

“Somethin’s Missing” – “This is my take on the Ellington It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) theme. Swing is a groove, the first one I ever really loved. But there are others that have come along since, and if you don't have one – you better have another. Can’t even make coffee without one.”

“Whole Lot of Good Good Lovin’” – “No, it's not Good Lovin’ and it's not Whole Lotta Love. It’s not even Fats’ Whole Lotta Lovin’ or JB's Good Good Lovin’. But there’s been bragging in blues since forever, and if the shoe fits....”

“You Know – You Don't Know” – “The idea for this started back in the Roomful of Blues days; when we first worked with Cleanhead Vinson, he looked at us thoughtfully one day and murmured, ‘You know...you don't know. You know...you don't know.’ Exactly what he meant is anybody’s guess, but I took the phrase and applied it to the dramatic situation that's described in the lyric. This is an example of a song allowing someone to say something he couldn’t otherwise put into words.”

Award-Winning U.S. Blues Artist PEACH Performs at Den Bla Festival

AWARD-WINNING U.S. BLUES ARTIST PEACH AND THE COPENHAGEN CONNECTION IN CONCERT AT THE DEN BLA FESTIVAL IN DENMARK 14 August (Friday), 2015 "Når Peach står på en scene, så bliver ens blues gener vakt til live. Peach formår at skabe en vaskeægte blues stemning, når hendes smukke stemme får lov at udfolde sig. Publikum får en oplevelse, som rykker dem milevidt i deres opfattelse af blues. Nyd Peach og hendes bandmedlemmer, og sluk din tørst for rendyrket blues."                                               - Michael Canvin, PEACH fan from Copenhagen

Papermoon Gypsys - Self titled - New Release Review

I just received the newest self titled release from the Papermoon Gypsys and it's versatile and interesting. Opening with instrumental, When I Look Into Your Eyes, PG, led by Big Daddy Williams carves a gentle anthem with a guitar filled melody. William's style, a blend of melodic and shredding, proves a cool opener backed by Rich Smith on drums and Ron Moreno on bass. Love Medication has an easy funky beat with a jagged rhythm augmented by Smith, Albert Margolis on keys and lead vocals by Lexi G add a cool additional dimension. It's Complicated has an easy jazz pop (Steely Dan) feel with a low key loping guitar solo and lead vocals by Lexi. Cool track. She's Tough is right out of Elmore James' music stream. Williams is tight on the slide with a boogie groove. Nice! Little Town has a Latin blend overriding a rocker with vocals by Lexi and Spanish guitar riffs from Williams. Halls of Chandrian has a euro feel with low grinding distortion and eastern flavored melody. Lexi's vocals are bright and cultured and Williams sprinkles hints of sitar like sounds throughout. A forward rock guitar solo slices through the mix and a cool bass riff from Moreno hits hard. Down In Paradise has a New Orleans funk feel with Williams back on lead vocal. The "falling down the stairs" drums style on this track is really cool. Darrell Mansfield adds some real nice harp work on the track as well. Possibly my favorite track on the release, blues track, Have You Ever Had A Reason, has that Freddie King style as used by so many like Clapton et al. Lexi does a real nice job on vocals and Williams does his best guitar work on the release. Albert Margolis also lays down some really nice piano work rounding out the track nicely. Tex Mex styling and prominent vocals by Lexi on Arthur Alexanders, You Better Move On, makes this the natural radio favorite. Authentic sounding acoustic guitar work from Williams and subtle accordion gives it a warm feeling. Wrapping the release is Max Bennetti's Lonely Nights, a smooth jazz guitar instrumental warmed by the organ work of Rob Whitlock. Williams shows his stylistic flexibilities as he moves through guitar transitions throughout the track.
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”

 

Dudley Taft Rips Into You With Skin And Bones

Dudley Taft Rips Into You With Skin And Bones

The Guitarist’s New CD Out October 16, 2015

“… making paint peel from the walls with the heat of his guitar blitzkrieg…”

- Deep Roots

Atlanta GA – American Blues Music Group recording artist Dudley Taft brings his own version of the blues to the table with Skin And Bones, a hair-raising collection of blues, rock and a slice of grunge pie to be served on October 16, 2015. Recorded at Muchmore studio in his home in Cincinnati and Omni Sound in Nashville he and bassist John Kessler co-produced the record.

Skin And Bones came from three sessions with Jason Patterson on drums and John Kessler on bass at Taft’s home studio once owned by legendary rock icon Peter Frampton in Cincinnati, OH. Yes, that guy. Taft bought the house with the intent of utilizing the studio full time.  He didn’t know the support phone number when setting up the room would lead him to Frampton himself. Taking cues from Neil Young and his studio approach of using the first takes, Dudley gives Skin And Bones a raw feel with fresh air weaving in and out of the arrangements. Never mind the blemishes, let the soul of the songs shine through.

As the creeping chord progression starts the CD with the title track, “Skin And Bones”, Dudley sings about Bourbon Street in New Orleans. You can almost feel the hot pavement under your shoes as you walk through the Crescent City. He gives nods to the past musicians, the voodoo, and its patina history.

He grooves and boogies through riffs and melodies all while keeping his shades on

“Fuzzy Dice” is a musical air raid that started out as a riff using the Buzzmaster Fuzz Pedal and then researching the rearview mirror classic to get inspired to write the lyrics. Fuzzy dice were hung in B-17 cockpits showing 7 for good luck as the fighters carried out their missions. The heavy driving guitars and being honest with the subject matter makes this a standout. You can almost feel the plane soar and dive and shoot.

“Coming Home” is a simple yet expressive reflection of what matters in life. As we all know, life pulls us in 25 different directions, and we get lost; sometimes the home front is where we belong. Built off a classic 50’s fingerpicked riff, Dudley uses his bare knuckles to emulate Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hubert Sumlin. Another nod to a guitar hero of Taft’s is the straight forward, “Leland Mississippi Blues” from Johnny Winter. Never mess with a classic. “The descending riff is totally cool and fun to play. It’s one of my favorite songs to perform live,” Dudley states.

“I like blues because it touches on dark and heavy things. I’ve always believed that it’s important to have old and new influences.“ - Dudley told Premier Guitar in 2013

If you listen close, his influences range from Johnny Winter, Elmore James and ZZ Top to Alice Chains’ Jerry Cantrell. A gear head geek at heart he uses all the tools in his shed to create his sound. His relationship with Reese Wynans of the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan band continues as he supplies the hum with his signature organ sounds. The backing vocals of Rachel Williams and Ashley Christensen add a sweetness to the choruses.

Dudley’s music career began in high school when he founded the band Space Antelope with friend Trey Anastasio (of Phish). In the 1990’s he joined Seattle band Sweet Water, touring the states with Monster Magnet,  Flaming Lips, Candlebox, and Alice in Chains. After recording two albums for Atlantic, he left the band to join Second Coming. More touring followed with an album on Capitol Records and a taste of success thanks to the single “Vintage Eyes” which made it to #10 on the Rock Radio charts.

In his music, you’ll hear Delta roots mingling with Seattle grunge, a southern twang with a high-octane crunch. Dudley’s music is a visual film that comes to life with his dark look and respect to the music itself. He honors the players that came before him and those around him but is always looking down the road into the future.

Dudley will be playing Seattle and Midwest cities throughout the fall in the U.S. and will return to Europe for festivals and club gigs in the summer. Look for that upcoming information on his website www.dudleytaft.com

Follow the Dudley Taft YouTube promo:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7iH2KFZK1xDYy3w26XYDvxVE9hbHWHvB