Leny's Girl - Walk Outside Again - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Walk Outside Again, from Leny's Girl and it's a cool rocker with blues and country roots. Opening with Pretend, a wide open country rocker with plenty of twists and turns. Featuring Kasey McKenzie on vocal, Beggsy on guitar, Brownie on drums, Cookie on harp and Tom Raw on bass, it's a solid start.  Devil With A Gun is a real cool rock track with suspense and tension via a simple bass line, tight drum riffs, a vicious harp riff and great vocals by McKenzie. Title track, Walk Outside Again has haunting slide work by Beggsy, nicely isolating the vocals on McKenzie on the softer part of this track and giving the track real dynamics when they open up and pour on the heat. Very nice. Miss Robin Hood is a wide open rocker with a driving beat, fat slide work and McKenzie's most powerful vocals on the release. Wrapping the release is Table with a strong dose of the San Francisco psychedelic blues sound. This is a cool wrapper for a solid release.  

  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”

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Zenith Records artist: Adam Holt - Kind of Blues - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Kind of Blues, from Adam Holt and it's solid. Opening with up beat rocker, Mr. Morning Drive featuring Adam Holt on vocals and guitars, Owen Finley on bass, Greg DeLuca on drums and Donnie Sundal on keys. With it's upfront poppy sound, nice melody and lovable tempo, this is a sure radio track. One of my favorite tracks on the release is I'm Still Holdin' On with a melodic slide lead from Lee Yankie and beautifully country style vocal blending, underscored by the pedal steel work of Mark Welborn and real nice electric blues style soloing by Holt. Very nice. Piano rocker, Give The Dog A Bone is a cool stripped down rocker with a definite country twinge. Holt really has a great voice and his sense of lyrics are great. Sundal, piano work on this track set a nice groove and Holt's guitar used as punctuation is perfect. Very cool. Another country flavored track, The Bourgeoisie really is a great track with a tight Latin rhythm. With a cool bass line, tight drums, organ accents and excellent guitar punctuation, Holt's vocals ride high on the wave. Excellent! Crossing over into jazz land, The End is a strong jazz track with a foot in country. This is the one track where Holt's vocals aren't the best part (his vocals are really strong) but the composition is really nice and the blend of organ, drums, bass and lead guitar are superb. Wrapping the release is Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay with a rich pedal steel guitar undercoating. maintaining much of Dylan's original arrangement and some instrumental enhancements, a strong 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”

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New album from Carolyn Gaines - pays homage to blues greats - THE THRILL IS GONE out on 8/2

Carolyn Gaines Pays Homage

To B.B. King, Buddy Guy & Other Blues Greats 

With The Thrill Is Gone Out on August 2

Hand-picked covers convey her vocal prowess

Featured players: Grady Gaines, Sr and Grady Gaines, Jr and Ric Jaz

“Lady with Soul” – Johnny Rawls
“Gaines’ powerful, expressive voice has hints of the languid swing of Billie Holiday” – Blues Blast

Last year, fans and critics fell in love with Carolyn Gaines’ debut album, Beware Of My Dog, this year, she continues to sing her backside off, like Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Etta James,  Bessie Smith, and Diana Ross on her new album, The Thrill Is Gone via Polka Dot Records out on August 2, 2019. The collection is colorful and filled with snarls, sneers, growls, and guts all sung with a smile on the singer’s face. Gaines produced the album herself, and she recorded at Leon Haywood’s (“It's Got To Be Mellow,” Guitar Slim, “Bad Mama Jama”) Sunnyside Studio in Los Angeles, CA. The studio was on the verge of closing, and she had one month to do it, so Carolyn called on some legendary musicians and Family to get the job done. So, this album, The Thrill Is Gone was one of the last recordings to come out of the studio.

Special guests on the album include Ric Jaz; blues guitarist for Buddy Guy, her uncle Grady Gaines, Sr (Little Richard, Gatemouth Brown, Sam Cooke, Jimi Hendrix) and his son Grady Gaines, Jr (Grady Gaines, Sr band) both on saxophone along with Gino Baronelli, “The Blues Don” on guitars. Other players on the album are Charles Sherman on piano, Moe Bleek on organ, Glen Doll on harmonica and upright bass; duties were cover by both Dale Atkins and Paul Kennedy.

Having an album with no drums and very sparse instrumentation allows a lot of space around the notes so you can hear the emotion in Gaines’ voice. She opens with the Buddy Guy classic lines; “Damn Right I Got The Blues – from my head down to my shoes,” with the same real raw vocal prowess as Guy still conveys. Buddy Guy has always been an artist that Carolyn looks up for inspiration with his long-standing and celebrated career. Her cover of “Guess What” she confirms in song, that she won’t let her man walk all over her, “Your house all messed up, baby, and your line don't sound true, I smell a rat, cause it stinks all over you, say” (From Buddy Guy’s album, Living Proof, 2010).

On Ma Rainey’s tune, “Deep Moanin’ Blues” (1928) her uncle Grady Gaines, Sr and her cousin, Grady Gaines, Jr wail away on the saxophone while she sings deep from her bottom of her soul to get that lioness feeling out of her, [they] “just rock my socks!” laughs the blues singer. Carolyn’s voice has the swagger to it, and the attitude in her stylings and delivery is perfectly perfect like her father Roy Gaines, Buddy Guy, Ma Rainey, Bobby “Blue “Bland, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. Carolyn’s voice will remind you of the blues pioneer, Big Mama Thornton – a raspy, seductive sneer.

Side story: Leon Levy, a longtime mentor of her Carolyn’s played her music for the legendary Queen of Rock, Tina Turner and she said that her voice sounded like Big Mama Thornton.  

“A celebration of the distinctive vocal tone that has a roughness that is never smoothed into something that it isn’t; her vocals are full of warmth and expression. “– Blues Doodles (UK)

Carolyn digs way down with Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” and that’s when she starts to blend tears with her vocals as she begs her man to reconsider their love. Her vocals are with mixed emotions met with the sparse sounds of her cousin Grady Gaines, Jr on saxophone with guitar, bass, and organ, so her vocals stand out.  On the halfway mark of The Thrill Is Gone - her version of Muddy Waters’ “I Got My Mojo Working” is fun, sassy and her vocals are confident as Muddy Waters with Gino Baronelli’s hopping guitar licks matching her phrasing. Carolyn’s voice sounds like honey on Otis Redding’s “Dreams To Remember” her bittersweet melody of heartbreak with Gino’s chiming chords behind her, but it was Buddy Guy’s version that drew her to the song. The lonesome harmonica cries behind her voice, on Bobby “Blue” Bland’s ultimate heartache song, “Stormy Monday” and she comes back rocking out to Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” as she sings playfully with her uncle, Grady Gaines, Sr, on saxophone.

These songs on this album were carefully chosen by Carolyn, for she’s known and loved them since was a child from modern-day of Guy, and rockers like Jim Hendrix’s: her rock n' roll, bluesy vocals on “Hey Joe” and “Red House” are extraordinary. She brings energy and groove to the classics. It’s the teary-eyed cover of Billie Holiday’s classic “God Bless The Child,” that her cousin Grady Gaines, Jr on saxophone and Ric Jaz Buddy Guy's guitarist both strives to recreate a moment as if Billie Holiday was in the studio with them at Sunnyside. That song has always been a dream of hers to sing, taking cues from Lady Day and the singer who portrayed her on the silver screen, Diana Ross. “I always wanted to sing this song like Diana Ross, and I would dream of how I would combine it with the gracefulness of Billie,” Carolyn gushes.

The album closes with “The Thrill Is Gone,” a B.B. King song written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951 became a mega-hit for B.B. back in 1969. Carolyn pays homage to him as being one of her very favorite blues singers and performers. Along with her uncle Grady Gaines, Sr’s soulful saxophone and Buddy Guy’s guitarist Ric Jaz, they “bestowed raw blazing sunshine!” Carolyn shouts after hearing the final recording.

Some of this music history with Carolyn started before she was even born. The singer was born in Houston, TX and moved out to the Los Angeles area with her father as a teenager only to fall in love with blues.  Roy Gaines’ career started 60 years ago, with his band in Texas called The Jazz Crusaders, and he has released 18 albums, played with many blues and jazz greats, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Billie Holiday and Diana Ross. He played with the great Lady Day when he was just 21 at Carnegie Hall!

Her father’s love of the blues and jazz carried over to his daughter who developed a creative way, 20 years ago, to teach the American Blues genre, with her Blues School Programs by going into schools to teach children of all ages. She has the support of her father for this endeavor and Roy Gaines along with other artists Ike Turner, Guitar Shorty, Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland, Etta James, Keb MO', Herbie Hancock and B.B. King to appear at various events and show examples of their beloved genre. Roy Gaines’ was a legendary teacher of the blues. She was able to cover a lot of ground through the Los Angeles Unified Schools District; both Pasadena and Hawthorne from elementary to high school, homes for the elderly, and Roger Naber's Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise. As of today, Carolyn has taught over three million people the blues!

Carolyn’s family’s stories intertwine with so much rich musical history from Billie Holiday, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, to Bobby “Blue” Bland to Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding, it’s only natural for her to pay homage!

“Carolyn Gaines sounds like Koko Taylor” – Paul Goldman, VP at Paradigm Talent Agency (Buddy Guy)

Carolyn’s choice to conserve the blues was a good one, for it’s been rewarding. Accolades from education to local governments to California Governor Gray Davis, Mayor James Hahn, NAACP-President-CEO- Kweisi Mfume and the highest honor came from First Lady Michelle Obama. Her work with the schools in the Los Angles covered the entire city: from 54^th Street Elementary School (Nipsey Russell) to Alma Reaves Woods Watts Library, 74th Street Elementary School to Crenshaw High School and county libraries. Praise came from members many levels of government; Los Angeles City Council Bernard Parks, Superintendent LAUSD, Members of Congress, City Council Members, U.S. Senators Dianne E. Watson/Dianne Feinstein, and California’s Speaker Assembly. In 2015, Carolyn Gaines was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Rhythm and Blues University in Texas an organization led by Dr. Lawrence Redd, for her work in the genre. Now, she joins fellow blues artists like legendary- award-winning Buddy Guy and Aretha Franklin; whom both have Honorary Doctorate Degrees.

Lending their talents for Carolyn’s album was Roy Gaines’ grand-daughter, Jewel, a hairstylist, fashion stylist grand-daughter Rainey, and great grand-daughter Primas, a makeup artist glamourized the blues singer on The Thrill Is Gone' album art. “And, Grady Gaines, Sr’s; five-year-old great grand-niece (Roy's great, great-granddaughter), Alisa, is a fantastic blues singer at the age of five! “Our family is keeping the blues energy flowing; groovy and bluesy. The Gaines Family is outstanding!” smiles Carolyn.

''But pedigree will only get you so far. It's heart, feeling talent that makes a master musician, and make no mistake. Carolyn Gaines is the real deal.'' - Blues Matters! UK

Carolyn Gaines album, The Thrill Is Gone will sure to be another hit with fans and critics alike, and she can’t wait to get it out;  “I just wanted to cross over from these blues greats’ beautiful, “Bluesy” historical sounds and put my style on these classics! And I hope others will enjoy them as much as I do,” exclaims Gaines. So, this album, an homage, is her way to “Keep the Blues Alive!”

 ''Carolyn Gaines is an Entertainer.'' - Grammy Winner Bobby Rush

The Thrill Is Gone – songs and original artists with year

1-      Damn Right, I Got The Blues – Buddy Guy - 1991

2-      Deep Moanin’ Blues – Ma Rainey - 1928

3-      I Got Dreams To Remember – Otis Redding - 1968

4-      God Bless The Child – Billie Holiday - 1941

5-      Guess What – Buddy Guy - 2010

6-      Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix - 1966

7-      I Got My Mojo Working – Muddy Waters - 1956

8-      I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James - 1968

9-      Red House – Jimi Hendrix – 1967

10-   Stormy Monday – Bobby “Blue” Bland - 1962

11-   Sweet Home Chicago – Robert Johnson - 1937

12-   The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King - 1969

Rock-A-While Records artist: Kenny Parker - Hellfire - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hellfire, from Kenny Parker and it's a nice blues rocker. Opening with Chicago style, I've Got My Eye On You, Dan Devins is the lead vocalist and also covers harmonica. Kenny parker with just the right groove lay down strong blues solo phrasing, all backed by Mike Marshall on bass, Dave Marcaccio on drums, Bill Heid on piano and Jim McCarty on guitar. Cool opener. Blind And Paralyzed is strong Muddy Waters flavored track with a strong Waters style guitar riff and a lyric play on Etta James' most popular track. With a firm pace and deliberate lead guitar work by Parker, a strong contemporary blues entry. Rock n Roller, Bye Bye Baby has great feel and tasty piano work by Leonard Moon on piano.  Title track, Hellfire, has a firm, lumbering bottom and great organ work by Chris Codish. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Parker's guitar soloing shows genuine fire and inspiration. Very cool. Bluesy ballad, I'm Missing You, has a strong melody and just a dash of old style country, including the chorus of spoken lyrics. Classic. Country flavored shuffle track, Half Crazy has a great pace and Devins' harmonica work is cool and Heid's piano work is the icing on the cake. My favorite track on the release, Backup Plan, follows a great 12 bar format with Parker showing a great response to Devins' lead vocal. Getting a real chance to stretch, Parker takes full advantage and lays down some really sweaty riffs guaranteed to make you sit back and grin. Just short of an instrumental, very nice! Wrapping the release is a hard charging rocker, Hard Times with a driving beat. Parker and Devins both show a rockier and firm hand on this riff infused 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”

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"Johnny Burgin Live" Street Date 8.16, Single Available Now!

Johnny Burgin Live" on Delmark Records, CD/LP Street Date 8.16!   This live CD/LP offers twelve brand-new originals and two covers, performed in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Sonoma County, CA on Jan 5 of this year.  The band consisted of my road-tested rhythm section of Steve Dougherty and Chris Matheos in addition to some special guests and friends that I don't get to work together regularly, namely Kid Andersen, Rae Gordon, Aki Kumar, Charlie Musselwhite and Nancy Wright.  We had just one night to nail it, which made this recording a crazy, but thrilling, high wire act!  Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite's driving boogie-woogie harp on L"California Blues" is an absolute highlight.  You could feel a jolt of electricity run through the crowd when Portland, Oregon-based Rae Gordon took the stage.  The end result is a raw, fresh, and original all-star set of blues, shot through with live energy.   PLEASE NOTE: While the CD street date is 8.16, the LPs won't be available for purchase until January.  I'll keep you posted. CHICAGO CD RELEASE PARTY: Sept 19, Martyr's. 8-11, 3855 N Lincoln Ave, featuring the Chicago debut of Portland OR's award winning singer Rae Gordon and a rare appearance by Bollywood Blues star Aki Kumar.  Buy advance tickets here. EXCLUSIVE SWAG BAGS: Twenty 50$ bonus Swag Bags are available.  These will include a Delmark t-shirt, a bit of vintage memorabilia, a gift certificate for the autographed LP, free entry, and a band meet and greet from 7-7.30.  Reserve yours now via Paypal, click here or send payment to rjohnnyband@gmail.com.     THE TOUR CONTINUES...   It's been a great summer-- I had a great time in at one of the world's best blues festivals in Cazorla, Spain with Tail Dragger and Quique Gomez performing in a centuries-old bullring.  We also had a fun swing through the UK and the privilege of appearing with Billy Boy Arnold and Charlie Musselwhite at The Chicago Blues Festival.  For a youtube clip of Billy Boy Arnold with me in Madrid. click here.  Upcoming dates:  Fri-Sat:  July 19-20: Bejar Blues Festival, SPAIN, with Tail Dragger.  Wed July 24: Ina Mae's, duo show w Chris Matheos, Chicago Fri, July 26: The Washington, Burlington, IA Sat, July 27: Merchant St Festival, Kankakee, IL Sun, July 28: The Iron Post, Urbana IL 3-6 Thurs, Aug 1: The Smoke Daddy, duo show, Chicago  Fri, Aug 2: Third Base, Springfield, IL Sat, Aug 3: Elements Wine Bar, Valparaiso, IN Sun, Aug 4: private party, Greencastle, IN Wed, Aug 7: Ina Mae's, duo show, Chicago Thurs, Aug 8: The Smoke Daddy Wrigley, Chicago Fri, Aug 9: Acorn Coffeehouse, Wheaton IL   Sat, Aug 10: Flatted Fifth Blues and BBQ, Bellevue, IA  Sun, Aug 11: Bobber's, Winslow, IL 2-5 I'll have some new shirts and stickers as well on this trip-- here's the style: Aug 12-Sept 17: EU TOUR: Stockholm, Malmo Sweden, Swing Blues Festival Wespelaar Belgium, shows in Kouvola and Lahti in Finland, a house party and MOJO in Copenhagen, a house party in Lucern Switzerland, club dates and The Vinovo Blues Festival with Fast Frank near Turin, Italy, and a string of dates in Rome with Marco di Folco.  FALL TRAVELS: Watch for dates in Chicago, Michigan, Indiana, The Carolina Downhome Blues Festival, Pensacola FL, and then working my way back to Portland, OR by November 1.

Canadian National Treasures and Country Music Legends Ian Tyson and Sylvia Tyson to be Inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame; Historic Double-Album Release of "Ian & Sylvia

Canadian National Treasures and Country Music Legends Ian Tyson

and Sylvia Tyson to be Inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

Celebration Coincides with Historic Double-Album Release of

Ian & Sylvia The Lost Tapes on September 6th,

60 Years After They First Met

TORONTO,  – July 1959 was a pivotal month for the history of folk and country music. It was when Ian Tyson met Sylvia Fricker for the first time, which began a musical journey, both as a dynamic duo and with distinguished solo careers, that would help put Canadian country music on the map globally. In honor of the start of this historic musical collaboration, Stony Plain Records will be releasing Ian & Sylvia The Lost Tapes on September 6^th; the day after their much-anticipated inductions as individual songwriters into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, which will be presented on September 5^th at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, during Country Music Week in Calgary, AB.



“Ian & Sylvia were pioneers of the singer-songwriter movement – a genre firmly established today because of their leadership,” said Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. “As a performing duo they were superb, and it was apparent through their second album that they wanted to announce their strong individual songwriting skills as well, which continued to drive their authenticity throughout their music careers spanning more than six decades.”



During the ‘60s and ‘70s, as the folk-singing duo Ian & Sylvia, they were among North America’s leading singer-songwriters, achieving commercial and critical success and recording 13 studio albums.  The duo performed their hit songs for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 re-election campaign, at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in NYC; as well as appearances on television’s “Hullabaloo,” the Johnny Cash Show, Steve Allen Show, and Mike Douglas Show, and the BBC.



Their folk standards “Four Strong Winds” – deemed by the CBC to be the “most essential” piece of Canadian music – and “You Were on My Mind” were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and 2007 respectively.  Ian penned “Four Strong Winds” after an evening with Bob Dylan, and Sylvia is credited with “You Were on My Mind,” making her one of the few female folk artists to write a major song in that genre at the time, which was remade in 1965 by American folk-rock quintet, We Five, to become a worldwide #1 hit single. Both songs, cemented their individual status as hit-making songwriters. 



While Ian & Sylvia’s catalog is filled to the brim with stellar music, the release of Ian & Sylvia The Lost Tapes is culled from newly-discovered concert tapes from the early ‘70s, and never-before-heard versions of country and pop classics, cementing their reputations as performers who pushed the boundaries of folk, blues, country, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n roll.  Much of their best-known repertoire is superbly represented here including “Four Strong Winds,” “Summer Wages,” “Crazy Arms,” “Four Rode By,” “Little Beggar Man,” “When First Unto This Country” and “Darcy Farrow,” reminding fans of what they were able to do best - blend influences from folk and country on the way to be widely considered two of the eras greatest songwriters and musicians.



“The pivotal role of Ian & Sylvia in music history may be their refusal to be trapped in the patterns of their past as one of the leading acts of the '60s folk era,” notes Canadian music industry journalist Larry LeBlanc.  “Along with the Byrds, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, Ian & Sylvia laid the foundation of Canadian country music and Americana music that evolved as a recognized source of popular culture.”

 

Ian, who loves the cowboy way of life living on his ranch in Longview, Alberta, performs his own Western influenced repertoire; Sylvia continues to have a fascinating, and still-thriving solo career while performing, writing, and recording with Quartette with Caitlin Hanford, Cindy Church, and Gwen Swick.

 

For this richly rewarding retrospective complete with liner notes written by Larry LeBlanc, Sylvia and producer Danny Greenspoon picked unreleased performances that Sylvia had discovered while assembling memorabilia for the National Music Centre in Calgary.



On September 5^th with the country music industry gathered in Calgary for Country Music Week, Ian Tyson and Sylvia Tyson will receive their individual distinctions in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at Studio Bell. The release of Ian & Sylvia The Lost Tapes will be released on September 6^th, and available for pre-order here.







The Lost Tapes Track Listing



Disc One – Classics



1.    Keep On The Sunny Side (Ada Blenkhorn / J. Howard Entwisle)

2.    Darcy Farrow (Steve Gillette / Tom Campbell)

3.    Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Ada R. Habershon / Charles H. Gabriel)

4.    When First Unto This Country (Traditional, adapted and arranged by Ian & Sylvia)

5.    Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies (Traditional, adapted and arranged by Ian & Sylvia)

6.    Four Rode By (Ian Tyson)

7.    Nancy Whiskey (Trad.)

8.    Four Strong Winds (Ian Tyson)

9.    Little Beggarman (Traditional, adapted and arranged by Ian & Sylvia)

10. The French Song (Pease / Vincent)

11. Summer Wages (Ian Tyson)

12. Crazy Arms (Ralph Mooney)

13. I’ll Fly Away (Albert E. Brumley)

 

Disc Two – Previously Unreleased

 

1.    After The Fire Is Gone (L.E. White)

2.    Heartaches By The Number (Harlan Howard)

3.    Sweet Dreams (Don Gibson)

4.    Come On In My Kitchen (Robert Johnson)

5.    Jimmie’s Texas Blues (Jimmie Rodgers)

6.    How Long (Rick Nelson)

7.    The Last Thing On My Mind (Tom Paxton)

8.    That’s The Way Love Goes (Lefty Frizzell / Sanger D. Shafer)

9.    Crying Time (Buck Owens)

10. Starting All Over Again (Melvin McArthur Hardin / Hubert Timothy McPherson)

11. Together Again (Buck Owens)

12. Silver Threads and Golden Needles (Jack Rhodes/Dick Reynolds)

13. The Goodnight Loving Trail (Utah Phillips)



About Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) honors and celebrates Canadian songwriters and those who have dedicated their lives to the legacy of music, and works to educate the public about these achievements. National and non-profit, the CSHF is guided by its own board of directors who comprise both Anglophone and Francophone music creators and publishers, as well as representation from the record industry. In December 2011, SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) acquired the CSHF. The Hall of Fame’s mandate aligns with SOCAN’s objectives as a songwriter and publisher membership-based organization. The CSHF continues to be run as a separate organization. www.cshf.ca



About Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre

Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), is much more than a museum. A national catalyst for discovery, innovation and renewal through music, NMC is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in Calgary’s East Village. With programming that includes on-site and outreach education programs, performances, artist incubation and exhibitions, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information, please visit studiobell.ca.



About Stony Plain Records

One of the most prestigious record labels in Canadian music, Stony Plain has received three Grammy Award nominations and its artists have also garnered numerous W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations and won several Blues Awards from the Blues Foundation. In Canada, Stony Plain has won several Juno Awards, Canadian Country Music Association Awards, Maple Blues Awards and Western Canada Music Awards. 

Best Side Records artist: O.S.L.U. - Chasing The Kings - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Chasing The Kings by O.S.L.U. (really Andy Lewis and Sean Osgood) and it's nicely done. Opening with original composition, Albert named for Albert Ammons and the appreciation of the Albert Hall. A cool piano boogie by Lewis and the release is underway. Shuffle track, JJ Cale's River Boat Song is up next featuring Lewis on guitar and vocal. Clean, dexterous and simple. Very nice. On Janis Joplin's One Good Man, Jade Thunder is featured on lead. She certainly captures the spirit of Joplin and Lewis shows his blues chops on guitar. My favorite track on the release is Engagement Blues, featuring Lewis on vocal and guitar. A simple blues ballad with piano and guitar backing and some real nice guitar soloing, very nice. Jane's Song, sung by Su Kirby-Clarke. Her vocals are brilliant against the sledge like percussion of a work song. Charm Offensive is a multilayered contemporary assemblage with Lewis playing off what sounds to me like a Winwood guitar theme but with tributes to BB and Clapton jamming, all over a drum loop. Interesting. Wrapping the release is a simple pop track, Happy New Year featuring Lewis on lead vocal over piano and electric keys. A solid wrapper for a different release. 

  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”

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Orleans Records artist: Carlo Ditta - Hungry For Love - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hungry for Love, by Carlo Ditta and it's cool. Opening with title track, Hungry For Love, with it's a loose, Lou Reed meets Jr Kimbrough style, this work has a haunting quality. Ditta's vocals are aloof yet emotional and his backers (self on guitar, Anthony Donado on drums, David Hyde on bass, Rick Stelma on keys and Jerry Jumonville on sax) create an essential sound. I think that La Muchacha Chacha is my favorite track with Eric Burdon like vocals, a Latin beat and solid sax work by Jumonville and Andrew Bernard. Pass The Hatchet is an interesting addition with James Brown underpinnings but without all the polish and sophistication. Ditta manages the performance and Johnny Peninno's fat sax work really gives it a welcome lofi feel. Very cool. Traditional track, Just Came To Get My Baby allows Ditta to slide into a fairly comfortable groove with straight up lead vocals and nice backing vocals by Trea Swindell. Closing the release is uptempo version of House Of The Rising Sun. Ditta's vocals are particularly vibrant and Peninno's sax work smooth and reinforcing over Stelma's keys. This is an interesting release and not at all typical of what I hear. Cool. 

  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”

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Severn Records artists: The Texas Horns - Get Here Quick - New Relese Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Get Here Quick, by The Texas Horns and it's smokin'! Opening with Guitar Town, a real Texas style blues, cooked up with  Anson Funderburgh and Johnny Moeller on guitars and Gary Forsyth on lead vocals. Kaz Kazanoff on tenor, John Mills on bari and Al Gomez on trumpet and this track is hot. With a bit of New Orleans flavor, Instrumental, Feelin' No Pain is all horns to the floor with excellent piano work by Red Young, bass by Russell Jackson and Tommy Taylor on drums. Mills lays out and excellent sax solo and Moeller shows why he is regarded as one of the top bluesmen in Texas today. Title track, Better Get Here Quick is another instrumental with rich tandem sax lead and excellent guitar accents by Moeller. Gomez steps up with some crisp lead work of his own and Youngs takes a nice few bars of his own. Very cool. An excellent New Orleans style instrumental, 2018, has a super march style snare lead by John Bryant with Chris Maresh on bass and again featuring excellent work by Moeller and Connolly. Gomez's trumpet is bright and punchy. Very nice. Curtis Salgado is up front on lead vocals on Sundown Talkin'. His vocals are always soulful and stellar and this track is no exception, being clearly the radio track on the release. The horns flex their muscle through out and excellent accents by Moeller give the track a great presence. Instrumental, Funky Ape really gives Kaz, Al and John a chance to play and they push you back in your seat. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Truckload of Trouble, a springy, instrumental with a solid horn melody and with a cool muted trumpet interlude by Gomez, and a sweet sax lead by Kaz as well. Ronnie Earl is featured on lead guitar adding a bluesy component to an otherwise driving horn composition. This is a real cool outing for the Texas Horns. Enjoy! 

  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”

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LEEROY STAGGER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF HIS NEW ALBUM, "STRANGE PATH," ON SEPTEMBER 13th

LEEROY STAGGER ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF HIS NEW 

ALBUM, STRANGE PATH, ON SEPTEMBER 13th

VIDEO FOR 1ST SINGLE, “STRANGE ATTRACTOR,” PREMIERES TODAY

WATCH/SHARE “STRANGE ATTRACTOR” HERE

To say that Canadian musician Leeroy Stagger’s life journey has followed a strange path would be a bit of an understatement. 17 years as a singer-songwriter and 10 years sober, with two kids, a home in Lethbridge, Alberta, and a world-class recording studio to go with it, he’s far removed from the hard-living twenty-something who started on this musical path.



On September 13th, Leeroy Stagger invites us to be a part of his journey with the release of his new album and book, Strange Path, through True North Records. And today marks the release of the video for the glam-rock blissed out first single, “Strange Attractor.” Directed by Brock Davis Mitchell, the video draws inspiration from films like The Favorite and Marie Antoinette, and weaves an experimental narrative with shocking bursts of color. Watch video here. 



The name Strange Path applies as much to Leeroy’s unexpected route from the British Columbia punk scene to southern-Alberta singer songwriter as it does to the album’s own evolution. Following from 2017’s Love Versus, itself a creative re-emergence after a years-long fog of anxiety and depression, Strange Path is the end result of a triple-album’s worth of scrapped demos, and a spirit-reviving retreat inwards. It’s also Stagger’s most ambitious and philosophical creation yet, a veritable self-help book pulled from a lifetime of struggling towards the light and brimming with the hard-won joy at the heart of his recent renaissance. It’s an album full of sharp hooks and sharper insight, and the first single “Strange Attractor”’ rides that line right to the end. 



“Nothing is permanent when you really stop and think,” says Leeroy. “The home we live in, the car we drive, the children we raise, the art we make and the skin that we’re in. It’s not forever, it’s barely real, and that’s ok to me because I’ve been shown the truth of it all. In seeing that it’s not that big of a deal, this has shown me how beautiful it all is. It’s precious, impermanent and beautiful. “Strange Attractor”’ is about the unseen nature of impermanence and the sacredness of the life we live.”



In making Strange Path, Leeroy surrounded himself with some of the best players in the business, including drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elliot Smith, Los Lobos), longtime collaborator Tyson Maiko, Paul Rigby (Neko Case, Garth Hudson, Jakob Dylan), Ryland Moranz and Michael Ayotte. The album was mixed by five time Grammy winner Ryan Freeland (Ray LaMontagne, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell) and Brad Barr of The Barr Brothers shared producer’s chair with Leeroy on four of the eleven tracks. 



When it comes out on September 13th, Strange Path will be the 2nd album that Leeroy Stagger has released in 2019. Released on May 17th, Me and the Mountain is a companion piece to Strange Path, an Americana-influenced counterpart to Strange Path’s contemporary sound. Written during a 3-week singer-songwriter residency at the Banff Centre, Me and the Mountain is the album that Leeroy chose not to abandon. 



Leeroy Stagger and his musicians will tour to support Strange Path throughout North America and Internationally; see below for the full tour schedule. Strange Path will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes and other digital retailers and streaming services on September 13th. For more information, please visit: leeroystagger.com



LEEROY STAGGER | UPCOMING TOUR DATES

July 12 - Calgary, AB - King Eddy (Stampede Show)

July 19 - Fort MacLeod, AB - South Country Fair

Aug 3-5 - Canmore, AB - Canmore Folk Festival

Aug 29 - Mount Stewart, PEI - Trailside Cafe

Aug 30 - Halifax, NS - Halifax Urban Folk Festival

Aug 31 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus

Sept 1 - Wentworth-Nord, QC - Rickks Room

Sept 5 - Marlboro, NY - The Falcon

Sept 6 - New York, NY - TBC

Sept 7 - Rhinebeck, NY - House Concert

Sept 9 - Woodstock, NY - TBC

Sept 10 - Syracuse, NY - House Concert

Sept 11 - Burnstown, ON - Neat Coffee Shop

Sept 12 - Toronto, ON - The Horseshoe

Sept 13 - Ottawa, ON - The Rainbow

Sept 14 - Lethbridge, AB - Lethbridge College

Oct 11 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabe’s

Oct 12 - Los Angeles, CA - TBC

Oct 15 - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah

Oct 16 - Sacramento, CA - Feist Wines

Oct 17 - Portland, OR - White Eagle Saloon

Oct 18 - Vancouver, BC - The Fox Theatre

Oct 19 - Victoria, BC - TBC

Oct 21 - Parksville, BC - Bayside Resort

LEEROY STAGGER - STRANGE PATH 

RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 13th, 2019 (True North Records)

01.  Mother

02.  Deeper Well

03.  Breaking News 

04.  Strange Attractor

05.  Nobody Alive Gets Out Of Here

06.  Jesus And Buddha

07.  These Things

08.  Hey Hey! (For Gord)

09. Leonard Cohen is Dead

10.  Get Ourselves To Love

11.  The Light

Holly Hyatt - Wild Heart - New Release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Wild Heart, from Holly Hyatt and it's a solid R&B release. Opening with Wild Heart, a smooth hi stepper with a great melody and inviting lead vocal by Hyatt. Backed by Brandon Smith on keys, Clinton Swanson on horns, Jon Burden on guitars, Billy Mendoza on backing vocals and Steve Wilson on drums, this is a super opener. Laying down a funky groove on bass, Hyatt not only writes all of her own material but sings lead (and backing vocals) on most of her tracks. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release is soul track, Gravity with it's excellent bass line and lush vocals by Hyatt. This track stands head and shoulders above the balance of the release for me but it just hits a sweet spot. Excellent. Rainbows has a more contemporary pop feel with a strong melody and acoustic guitar and key backing over a less prominent bass line. Wrapping the release is With You Now, another more straight forward radio track a memorable melody and flowing electric piano and backing vocals carrying Hyatt's strong lead vocals. This is really a super release with rich vocal lead throughout. 

  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”

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Al Lerman - Northern Bayou - New Release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Northern Bayou, from Al Lerman and it has a great feel. Opening with Down To The River, a cool swampy track with solid vocals, harmonica and guitar work by Lerman, backed by Alec Fraser on bass, Chuck Keeping on drums and real nice piano by Lance Anderson. My favorite track on the release is country flavored, Dirty Little Secret, with just the right pace. Lerman's vocals are perfect, his harp work inspired, and another great display on piano by Anderson gives it a great boost as well. Shuffle track, Delta Stomp is another great toe tapper with Lerman on lead harmonica, tight rhythm by Fraser, Keeping and Anderson as well as real nice guitar work by Morgan Davis. Very cool. Classic traditional folk/blues track, Deep Ellum Blues is a great choice for this band with it's tight instrumental mix. Wrapping the release is cool Latin flavored pop tune, Hand-Me-Down Hate. This is the definite radio track for the release is it's smooth melody, memorable turnaround and lead vocal/harp by Lerman. 

  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”

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Out Of The Past Music artists: Steve Howell & Jason Weinheimer - History Rhymes - New Release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, History Rhymes, from Steve Howell & Jason Weinheimer and it a cool acoustic blues feast. Opening with There'll Be Some Changes Made. an early jazz (blues) style with excellent finger picking by Howell who also sings, with Wenheimer on bass. Very cool. On Blind Lemon Jefferson's Shuckin' Sugar, Howell lays down a basic boogie guitar line with Weinheimer and sets it afloat. Jack Of Diamonds, a traditional folk tune has a really great feel and with the addition of David Dodson on mandolin is a terrific song a features some of Howell's best vocals on the release.  Another terrific track and a known fiddle tune, Frosty Morn, has terrific instrumental traction with Howell, Weinheimenr, and Dodson. Excellent. The richness of Don Sumner's archtop shines through on I Got A Right To Sing The Blues, as he plays a nice guitar duet with Howell, backed by Weinheimer on bass. Howell's vocals are solid and the track very smooth. Wrapping the release is Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a cool old Bukka White track with an old style blues feel and subtle mandolin fill by Dodson. This is a real nice contemporary cover of some classic old tunes. 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”

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NEW SAVOY BROWN ALBUM 'CITY NIGHT' RELEASED ON JUNE 7th - New US Tour Dates Announced

NEW ALBUM ‘CITY NIGHT’ RELEASED ON JUNE 7th

New US Tour Dates Announced

Over 50 years of rocking the blues – Savoy Brown, with leader Kim Simmonds at the helm, return with 'City Night' – their 40^th album – released on June 7^th via Quarto Valley Records. After a recent European tour, Savoy Brown will hit the road in the US for a number of shows in August.

On the back of a number one Billboard blues hit in 2017, expectations are high for this new band offering. The album features Kim Simmonds on vocals and searing lead guitar, and he is complemented with the most consistent line-up in the band’s history, going strong for more than 10 years now with Pat DeSalvo on Bass and Garnet Grimm on Drums.

'City Night' is comprised of 12 high energy blues rock songs to surely please the worldwide fan base. "Walking on Hot Stones," “Payback Time," and "Don't Hang Me Out to Dry" will catch the attention of radio DJs looking for the fresh new sound Savoy Brown brings to roots music.

Savoy Brown was formed by guitarist Kim Simmonds in 1965 in London, England. Simmonds has been the group’s guiding hand from the first singles released in 1966 through the band’s newest effort, their fortieth album, released in 2019.



Energetic blues has been the calling card of the band from the beginning. “Blues rock” became the catch-all phrase in the late 1960s to describe the band’s music along with that of contemporaries such as Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix. In fact, in the 2013 drama film, Jimi Hendrix: All Is by My Side, a Savoy Brown song co-written by Simmonds was included in the soundtrack.



Many of the band’s singles and albums have appeared on the Billboard charts. Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, songs such as I’m Tired, Train to Nowhere, Tell Mama and Lay Back in the Arms of Someone became Hot 100 entries. Two of the band’s albums in the 1970s, Looking In and Hellbound Train, appeared on the Billboard Top Forty charts. This pattern continues today, culminating with Witchy Feelin', the band’s 2017 album, reaching #1 on the Billboard Blues chart.



Along the way, Savoy Brown has toured continuously, making it one of the longest running blues/rock bands in existence. Through the years, the band has headlined concerts at many prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, the Fillmore West and Royal Albert Hall in London. The band, having established national status in the 1970s, provided other groups opportunity. Kiss opened the bill on a Savoy Brown national tour, as did ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers and many, many more acts.



Former members, having cut their teeth under Simmonds’ leadership, have gone on to complete their careers with other bands. Among others, these include singer Dave Walker with Fleetwood Mac, Andy Pyle with the Kinks and Paul Raymond with UFO. Previous band members including Lonesome Dave Peverett, Roger Earl and Tony Stevens, went on to become founding members of the multi-platinum act Foghat.



A resident of the USA since 1980, bandleader Simmonds has received many accolades himself. These include placement on the front cover of Guitar Player magazine, enshrinement on the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame and acceptance in many regional “Halls of Fame” in the USA and Canada.



Said Simmonds, “I have always opted for a non-mainstream, yet complimentary, music route … one that would allow me personal and artistic freedom. In the end, it seems I’ve had the best of both worlds.”





Savoy Brown helped spawn the 1968 UK blues boom and later opened the eyes of many 1970s American teenagers to their own home territory blues artists. More than 50 years on, they still remain a progressive Blues rock force.



The three-piece line-up includes Kim Simmonds on guitar and vocals, Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums. This trio has established itself as the longest-running consistent line-up in the band’s history, now going strong for more than 10 years. Their legacy continues with the 2019 release of City Night on the California label, Quarto Valley Records.



Savoy Brown and Kim Simmonds have a body of work that is matched by only a small portion of musical artists. As they continue to tour the world, young and old find inspiration in their timeless music, classic style and ageless performances.

TRACKLISTING – ‘CITY NIGHT’

1.      Walking On Hot Stones (4:32)

2.      Don’t Hang Me Out To Dry (4:20)

3.      Payback Time (4:53)

4.      Red Light Mama (4:15)

5.      Conjure Rhythm (4:52)

6.      Neighbourhood Blues (5:11)

7.      Selfish World (5:21)

8.      Wearing Thin (4:03)

9.      City Night (6:13)

10.  Hang In Touch (3:38)

11.  Superstitious Woman (4:21)

12.  Ain’t Gonna Worry (4:55)

U.S. Tour Dates

8/24                       Iron Horse Music Hall                                                    Northampton, MA

8/25                       Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino                          Uncasville, CT

8/26                       City Winery                                                                        Boston, MA

8/29                       The Coach House                                                             San Juan Capistrano, CA

8/30                       Ramona Mainstage                                                         Ramona, CA (San Diego Market)

8/31                       Fantasy Springs Resort Casino                   Indio, CA (Palm Springs Market)

9/1                         Bowlful of Blues Festival                                             Newton, IA (Des Moines market)