Bman's Blues Report

REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND RELEASES NEW VIDEO  FOR “WE DESERVE A HAPPY ENDING” Fresh off of viral shotgun guitar video that reached 20 million plus, Rev. Peyton literally sets his best friend on fire in new music video. BROWN COUNTY, Ind. — Rev. Peyton , known for his viral shotgun guitar video and virtuosic slide guitar, is back! This time Rev literally sets his best friend on fire, and all hell breaks loose behind Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band as they perform “We Deserve a Happy Ending” on their own front porch in the new video from the upcoming March 10, 2017 album   release Front Porch Sessions .  "We researched these dangerous Hollywood-style stunts and my best friend, J im Connor, volunteered to let me set him on fire insi...

On Crowin' The Blues , The Crowmatix dig down into the origin of many great Blues songs from the Texas Rhythm & Blues style of "I'm Gonna Play The Honky Tonks" by Marie Adams (Peacock) to "High Heel Sneakers" that is a Rock 'n' Roll standard. The Crowmatix combined the Soul tune, "On Broadway" with a blues by Jimmy Reed for our arrangement of "Bright Lights, Big City." They also remember Big Bill Broonzy recording his hit "Why Did You Do That To Me" and the shuffle blues by Elmore James, "Fine Little Mama."  Levon Helm taught us Jimmy McCracklin's hit "I Finally Got You" and a gut wrenching blues by Jimmy Rogers "That's Alright." The Crowmatix originals "Love Is Kill...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Beat of My Heart , from Lisa Biales and it's rich. Opening with Mabel Scott track, Disgusted , Biales is swinging right from the start backed by Jim Pugh on piano, Larry Taylor on bass and Tony Braunagel on drums. Darrell Leonard adds solid trumpet work and Joe Subjett really gets the sax working with some hot solo lines. Volt (Stax) record, What A Man , a hot R&B track by Linda Lyndell is up next with just a bit of polish a little more funk in the bottom, cool lead guitar work by Johnny lee Schell and cool backing vocals by Maxayn Lewis and Kudisan Kai. Allen Toussaint's I Don't Wanna Hear It has that primal R&B spirit with Tom Peterson on bari sax lead, Joe Sublett on sax and Darrell Leonard on trumpet. Nina Simone's Be My Husband has a swampy feel boosted by Pugh's Hammond work, cool Kay guitar riffs by Schell and top reinforcements by Braunagel. Meemphis Slim's Messin' Around...

NEW YORK – Legendary guitarist Larry Coryell died on Sunday, February 19 in New York City. Coryell, 73, passed away in his sleep at his hotel from natural causes. He’d performed his last two shows on Friday and Saturday, February 17 and 18, at the Iridium in New York City. As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock -- perhaps the pioneer in the ears of some (he’s known to many as the Godfather of Fusion) -- Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop influences. Yet as a true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, he was comfortable in almost every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar. Born in Galveston, Te...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live In Ghent , from Manitoba Hal , and it's quite entertaining. This is a blues packed double CD featuring classic blues tracks presented primarily as Uke and vocal. Opening with Come On In My Kitchen , Hal uses a fairly traditional arrangement and his vocal styling is real cool. Add in Hal's acoustic accompaniment and you have a real cool track. The Ukulele work on  Atlanta Moan is clean and cool. It has not been used much to my knowledge on recent releases but Ry Cooder's use of Uke on Goin' To Brownsville has always stuck with me and this track brings it to memory. Very nice. On Baby Please Don't Go , Hal uses some type of pairing device to duplicate and mimic the sound  he plays on Uke and it's really works well. His playing style is a bit more aggressive and with smooth vocals is very cool. Evangeline brings about some slide work and the sound is very interesting. Tight playing ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Call Of The Night , from Josh Hyde and it's super. Opening with title track, The Call of The Night , Josh White lays out a bluesy track that is ready for the radio with a great melody, nice vocal harmonies, nice organ support by John Gros, smooth vocals by Hyde paired with a stylized guitar solo that maintains compactness while expressive feeling, Jamey Bell on drums and Joe V. McMahan on guitar. The Truth is a really hot swampy funk rocker in the style of Little Feat with great pace and beautifully woven instrumentation. This really is an excellent track with nicely crafted guitar work, a moving bass line and tight organ work giving it a lot of spunk. Close is a quiet ballad with a sweet melody and expressive slide guitar work by Buddy Flett. Sonny Landreth joins the mix on Offshore adding his distinctive slide styling to this bluesy funk rocker. On acoustic, It's Not Too Late , Hyde shows some of his bes...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Get Ready For Me , by Tom Craig and Soul Patch and it's got a good vibe. Opening with Louita , a light funky track has a cool horn round and traces of David Bromberg bones. This track has a smoking hot sax solo really kickin it off right. Backing Tom Craig on guitar and vocal is John O'Connell on drums, Rando Branning on bass, Eric Johnson on organ, Vince Gleason on tenor sax, Mark Gallagher on bari sax, Dan Young on alto sax, Sean McClusker on trombone abd Skyler Hagner on bari sax. Can't Stop Thinking About You is one of my choice tracks on the release with a cool bass line and solid horn work, complimented by Mikey Jr. on harp. Captain Funk is a cool loosely jazzy track with sexy sax work and a tight jazzy guitar solo giving it plenty of juice. The blusiest track on the release, Please Forgive Me Baby , has really solid lead vocal and strong guitar feel. With Johnson's organ holding the line and the ...

Going to Folk Alliance? Be sure to check out one of Cary Morin’s shows. Wednesday Feb 15: 11:30 pm Shubb Capo’s Capocabana Room 541 Thursday Feb 16: 10:30 pm Bliss Hippy Showcase  Room 638 Friday Feb 17: 12:30 am Rocky Mountain Suite Room  532 1:10 am Wolverton Home Concerts Room 749 Saturday Feb 18: 11:30 pm Rocky Mountain Suite Room 532  “ Cradle to the Grave has found its way into near constant rotation in my cd player, it’s just that good. It seems only right that Americana music should take note of this Native Americana artist. I predict that by the end of 2017, when everyone is mentioning the top releases of the year, Morin’s name will be in there with the best of them.” – Joe McSpadden, No Depression

Vancouver's Steve Kozak Band Release 'It's Time' March 17th The latest offering from this seasoned Canadian bluesman offers a tasty mix of blues as seen through a decidedly West Coast lens Preview/Stream Tracks from It's Time on SoundCloud You only need three things to play the blues: a good guitar, an innate understanding of the music and thirty years in which to do it. Maple Blues Award winner Steve Kozak qualifies on all three counts. The latest offering from this seasoned Canadian bluesman offers a tasty mix of blues as seen through a decidedly West Coast lens. The aptly named new release It's Time prophetically and succinctly states that putting in time is indeed a prerequisite of being a great musician, with some veteran bluesmen even attaining the status of venerable, beating time itself at its own game. Time is also about understanding th...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blueberry Pie from the Starlite Campbell Band and I really like it. Opening with bluesy ballad, Walkin' Out The Door , Simon Campbell takes front and center on vocal and stinging guitar lead, backed by Suzy Starlite on solid bass and backing vocals, Steve Gibson on drums and Jonny Henderson on Hammond creating a Booker T feel. Great opener. Boogie blues track, I Need A Light , has a great driving bass line, again with Campbell on lead vocal and adding Danny Boy Sanchez on harp giving it an even blusier feel. Very cool. Title track, Blueberry Pie is a quiet acoustic duet featuring Starlite and Campbell's blended voices. Taking a brush with the blues, Guilty , finds Starlite front and center on lead vocal and with an infectious bass line and backing keys, sets a great stage for Campbell to show some really nice Beck like guitar fireworks. Very nice! Driving rocker, Empire , has a great bottom and super voc...