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Editor’s comment

WELCOME to BM 114

putting it together to give you

a perfect picture of some of

the Blues out there. So satisfying!

Praise the team.

Maybe you’ve been reflecting

on life, work, family etc

and digging back into your

record, CD and DVD collections

playing and watching old

favourites. Some of you may

have needed the distraction

from having so much time at

home.

So how is everybody? The world

is in an unknown place with this

‘new’ virus which is a part of the flu

family we are told. So much yet to

be confirmed and noted for future

reference and to thank all of our

health professionals around the

world. A big cheer to you all wherever

you are.

So just what have you all been up to

during ‘lockdown’?

Putting together this new issue has

continued as usual really as we all

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us. It’s like getting all the pieces of

a jigsaw from different places and

We can all hope that the

world will become a better,

more caring, careful and

considerate place and that

everyone remembers some

of the lessons that have

been learnt in cleanliness in

particular - which we should

have been doing anyway.

Someone said to me “hey a gallon of

petrol sure is lasting longer during

lockdown!”

We’ve thought about readers

around the world who cannot get

out for their shop bought copies

and so if you want our digital issues

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I’ll leave you all to read on to the

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mm going to play that now...

Enjoy!

www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 113 BLUES MATTERS! 5

INTRODUCTION | JUN/JUL 2020

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6

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 113 Our name says it all!

university

of texas

press

utexaspress.com

GUITAR KING

MICHAEL

BLOOMFIELD’S

LIFE IN THE BLUES

DAVID DANN

Guitar King

Michael Bloomfield’s

Life in the Blues

BY DAVID DANN

This first comprehensive biography of the late,

great Michael Bloomfield brings to life a dazzling

electric-guitar virtuoso who transformed

rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s and made a lasting

impact on the blues genre.

Hardcover $39.95

CONTENTS

30 |

100 |

114 |

116 |

BLUE BLOODS

Artists you may not have discovered yet

THE BIG BLUES GUIDE

New album reviews - check them out!

IBBA CHART

The IBBA top 50 chart

RMR CHART

The RMR top 50 chart

REGULARS

10 |

14 |

18 |

22 |

26 |

DUMFRIES ROCK, RYTHM & BLUES FEST

Scotland’s new blues festival

SUN SHINES ON THE BLUES

John Angus Blues Band visit Sun Studios

PHENOMENAL BLUES WOMEN

Marjorie Hendrix

FINDING BLUES IN FINLAND

Wentus Blues from Robban Hagnas

BLUES DOWN UNDER

Looking at supporting the industry

FEATURES

8


INTERVIEWS

36 |

42 |

48 |

52 |

56 |

64 | 72 | 76 | 82 | 87 | 94 |

BETHO IEESUS

Blues battles from Brazil

BRANDON SANTINI

A man with harps, vocals, lyrics and soul

RORY BLOCK

From her Mentor series to Power Women of Blues

ROBERT JON & THE WRECK

Southern rockin’ blues spiced with country soul

WHITNEY SHAY

Talks Stand Up and Ruf’s Blues Caravan

DION - COVER STORY

Blues With Friends and so much more

ROY ROBERTS

The North Carolina bluesman looking over his career

WADDY WACHTEL & DANNY KORTCHMAR

Finally making it on their own

SASS JORDAN

From rock chick to blues chick and Rebel Moon Blues

ZAKIYA HOOKER

The legacy lives on…

ERJA LYYTINEN

A perfect Finnish from the slide guitar goddess

DUMFRIES ROCK,

RHYTHM AND BLUES

FESTIVAL

Cairndale Hotel, Dumfries |13th-15th March 2020

WORDS & PICTURES: Colin Campbell

It’s was a bold venture to put on a music

festival just when the country was getting

ready for the pandemic that is Covid-19

which has now decimated our live music

scene in general.

Fortunately, though, Dumfries and Galloway,

was a region that at that time was

unaffected by the virus. However, ticket

numbers were lower than anticipated and

as the weekend progressed the attendance

figures decreased. It was a shame because

this was a really great festival enjoyed by

all who came, and the calibre of acts was of

a very high quality. The venue was superb,

large room with great acoustics and enough

room for the audience to dance their blues

away on a particularly cold and dank wet

weekend. Not specifically a Blues festival

but something for any music lover of any

generation. Sound quality and lighting was

excellent, so let’s get on with the review.

Friday, saw the first act to play at this new

festival, a daunting prospect but local

Dumfries singer-songwriter Stoney Broke

(AKA Jake Scott) took to the stage and

played a mixed set of originals on his acoustic

guitar with the use of pedals and at one

point it sounded like he was playing two

guitars! This Love Is Too Hot, the opener

including a very good guitar solo. What

About Those Flowers? a new song that had

an Americana feel to it. Some good fret work

and subtle key changes made Caroline a

highlight of the set. He introduced his songs

with funny narratives but also sang with

great emotion, Nothing But The Truth, was

delivered well. A very good set.

Connie Lush Band were next and having

heard their soundcheck which was terrific

and continued through her set. In recent

years Connie’s vocals seem to be improving

and taking on songs like Love Me Like A

Man, Twenty Four Hour Blues, No Regrets

and newer tunes like Blame (It All On Me)

dedicated to her mother really enforced

10


Mary Barclay Band

what a levelled vocal range she has and she

still has that humour and drive to be a pure

entertainer and wonderful bandleader. It

was the drummer Colin Lamont’s first gig

with this line up and he added a lot. Crowd

reaction was good on the likes of Dog and

Mannish Boy. Rolling And Tumbling was

particularly good with the band really got

into a groove, Steve Wright jammed well. A

great performance by a truly talented and

professional, tight unit.

Last on bill at night was The Stevie Nimmo

Trio, who rocked the joint and the noise

level on stage, certainly got cranked up.

He did a couple of numbers before the

“noisy ones appeared”. Coming On Home

To You was a joy to behold. Stevie has such

a great stage presence and his vocal range

is so succinct and melodic, he really has all

the charisma of a great showman. He played

songs from the latest release, The Morse

Code Sessions where, Change was a particular

highlight. For a threesome they make

a big sound and Good Day For The Blues

brought the tempo down but it soon lifted

again during Hurricane and the wonderful,

Drowning In A River Of Tears. Finishing with

a snarling guttural version of Going Down,

it brought a standing ovation from an

appreciative audience.

Saturday afternoon session saw the introduction

of Cumbrian duo Jon Bowie & Phil

Saunders. A multi-instrumentalist duo, they

gave an uplifting tuneful set again adding

humour and personality to it. Starting with

an elongated, Baby Please Don’t Go, they

went into a cover of Johnny Cash’s Folsom

Prison Blues with some fine finger picking

guitar techniques. Chuck Berry’s Nadine

was given a stripped down Delta blues feel.

Their own, Maximum Wage had very intelligent

lyrics, mixing with harmonica by Phil,

this time with Jon on guitar. They got into a

jamming zone with John Lee Hooker Repetition

Blues, it was mesmeric at times, very

competent blues men, much appreciated.

Next was a band from Dumfries, The Dogz,

an amazing trio playing rockabilly style

punk blues with attitude and even merging

in a couple of AC/DC tracks, best being Let

There Be Rock. Lead singer Andy McMillan

playing double bass was manic but only

mirrored by guitarist, Anza and Colin on

drums. An explosive set with People Are

Strange, Devil Went Down To Georgia and a

Stray Cats cover, Rock This Town. They also

did Be Bop A Lula, a crowd favourite. A fun

band with really in your face entertainment,

another tight outfit.

Shiverin Sheiks from Glasgow did a highly

polished set full of wonderful songs to get

your feet tapping and the audience dancing.

Their set included rock and roll, gospel,

blues and lots of Doo Wop full of power.


FESTIVAL | DUMRIES ROCK, RYTHYM & BLUES

Enigmatic lead singer Dave’s vocals were

superb and the group’s stage persona

made for great entertainment. Cadillac,

was superb, as was their version of Lipstick,

Powder And Paint, harmonies were stunning.16

Tons was a particular favourite,

very slick arrangement. Mess Around was a

great dance tune. They mixed it with slower

tunes like, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, but

it’s the band’s enthusiasm to keep this music

style going that is the key. They even did

a medley that included The Can Can,

what’s not to like.

Matt Long from Catfish did an early evening

Jam Session which included Rod McKay on

bass from Redfish as a late replacement,

much respect for this he even stayed on for

the later session, more to follow, but Got My

Mojo Working went down well.

After the audience ate, they were then

was epic from the visceral start of Hard To

Make A Living, with the energy level increasing

with each song. Two Time Lover, had a

great shuffle to it. Gerry the frontman and

guitarist poured his all into playing and singing.

Peter did walkabout with his harmonica.

They even did Black Rain, a slow blues

number. Lewis, the drummer started singing

on Somebody, and then the band took it to

another level. Trouble With The Blues was

also outstanding, a really great set.

Dr Feelgood were on next to finish the

night, and with yet another scintillating set

of rhythm and blues classics. They played

all the hits, I Can Tell, All Through The City,

Down To The Doctors, Milk And Alcohol,

She Does It Right, just timeless classics

played to perfection. Steve Walwyn played

slide guitar on Dust My Broom keeping a

good tempo. This led to a great version of

John Verity

Gerry Jablonski Band

entertained by the Gerry Jablonski & The

Electric Band, and they have it all, great

showmanship by all members, a vibrancy to

beat no others and Lewis the drummer is a

sensation. Genre defying in their musicality,

to see them in their live habitat is just such a

good experience; they gave a 100% on each

song and left their mark on a rapt audience

who mostly had not seen them before. This

Rolling And Tumbling, with Robert Kane

coming in on harmonica here. Last song was

Give Me One More Shot before the audience

was treated to encores of Badman

Blues, Route 66 and a storming version of

Great Balls Of Fire.

In the Solway Suite there was a jam session

of incredible calibre. Gerry Jablonski band

12


DUMRIES ROCK, RYTHYM & BLUES | FESTIVAL

members joined Matt Long, Sandy Sweetman,

backstage crew, Rod McKay and

bassist from Dr Feelgood, Phil Mitchell. But

it was a fifteen-year-old guitarist Stewart

McMillan who went down well with the

listeners, just a great session.

Sunday opening act was Dumfries based

Strumsum Blues Band who

played an infectious mix of

mainly blues covers. A five

piece band with lead singer

and guitarist Fraser Milligan

orchestrating things

with a charm and humour.

Kansas City was well appreciated,

moving on to Bessie

Smith’s In The House Blues.

Keyboard player Fraser Black

was phenomenal; he also

plays with Redfish a great

talent. Let’s Work Together

had a driving bass by Jack Anderson. Watch

Yourself was catchy and last song Sweet

Home Chicago hit the right note, a very

accomplished band.

John Verity was next on and played a lot

of tracks from his latest release called

Passion. Full on classic rock, five decades

in the business and John still has the dulcet

tones to cover Hold Your Head Up and God

Gave Rock And Roll To You and kept the

audience spellbound by his intricate guitar

playing, along with bass man Roger Innes.

Where’s The Love was a slow tune, Passion

was up-tempo. Cocaine was full of guitar

riffs and great techniques all lapped up by

the crowd. At the end there was time for a

homage to Jimi Hendrix including a blistering

Purple Haze.

Connie Lush Band

The Stumble took centre stage next

and gave a fantastic performance full of

up-tempo feel-good tunes in the main. Just

Stop, got things started, then Be My Slave

had Paul singing to the gallery. Then mix in a

bit of B.B. King for measure, You Upset Me

was divine. The tune New Orleans had the

dancers moving and even onstage during

the song 360 Degrees. This Is My Life was

the highlight; Simon’s saxophone riding a

top of Colin Black’s searing guitar shreds.

I Don’t Want Much, was also a highlight, a

very good set.

Paul from The Stumble also joined Matt

Long for a Jam Session after and the highlight

here was the song Louise, very well

delivered.

The festival finished with another local

band called The Mary Barclay Band who

played some original material but mostly

rock covers that were very well appreciated.

They are a four piece with Mary on

vocals and Douglas Carrol on lead guitar,

with Fraser Graham on drums and Kenny

Urquhart on guitar. They rocked with, Be

Good To Yourself and Take Another Little

Piece Of My Heart. Feel Like Making Love

was done to perfection with a soaring guitar

solo from Douglas. Mary’s vocals were great

on I Just Wanna Make Love To You and

Black Velvet. There was even time for covering

Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll, before

finishing with Purple Haze.

A great weekend, much praise goes to the

organisers for keeping this on and hopefully

they’ll be back again next year.


SUN SHINES

SUN SHINES

ON THE BLUES

John Angus Blues Band are a hot new prospect

on the UK blues scene.

Their album It’s About Time was self-released

in 2019, gaining radio play with both

the BBC and IBBA radio stations across the

UK and are proving popular with audiences

at venues and festivals.

In 2020 this rocking blues band are set

to rocket.

John Angus and the band aim for credibility

as UK blues artists and with an album

two years in the making and a Vinyl LP,

John is fulfilling his dreams by investing in

the band’s future. He says, “I really hope

that I’ve not left it too late, but I know this

is something I believe in and so does my

band. Recording and performing original

blues-rock is what we want to do, and we’re

encouraged by what we have achieved

so far.”

John has just returned from recording at

the world-famous Sun Studios in Memphis,

where he cut two songs. He explained “the

plan was to record a unique blues-rock

version of Heartbreak Hotel as a cover/

tribute to the legend, Elvis. The original

was recorded at Nashville in 1956, the year

of my birth and released on RCA Victor. It

turns out that Sony Publishing and Universal

feel my version is a derivative having made it

very different to the original. I believe if you

want to do a tribute to a legend with such an

iconic song, you have to try something new

and original. So, we are waiting for publishing

rights before we can release anything,”

he added, “I’ve already presented a demo

and now have a fully finished single waiting,

14


JOHN ANGUS BLUES BAND | FEATURE

for what will be amazing for us, if all goes

well. The experience alone, recording at Sun

where the legends in blues, country, and

rock have gone before makes it all a privilege

and worthwhile”

John wanted to give his version of Heartbreak

Hotel Blues the ‘Sun Studio Sound’

and now he knows first-hand how this is

achieved, working with engineers, Daniel

Crocket Hall and Erick Parrish. The unique

‘Slapback’ delay sound being added to the

dry vocal after recording, using three vocal

mics at the same time to capture a wide

range of tone including the famous mic, used

on many recordings “in the round”.

The visit wasn’t only about a cover however

as John had penned a new song called “I’ve

Got Your Number” which will be released as

a part of an EP this year and features more

guitar work showing his chops as a blues/

rock guitarist. “My first album included

a broad mix of blues genres and styles

inspired by my heroes, Rory Gallagher,

Johnny Winter, and Billy Gibbons. The songs

tell of my own life’s experiences and I’m sure

The legend Sam Phillips who believed in the blues

John gets to hold one of B.B. Kings Lucille

guitars with Joe Chambers at the Musicians

Hall of Fame Nashville.

people will recognise theirs too. I feel that

my new material will have more of our own

sound and style, I like to play the songs as

close to recording live.”

“The session at Sun Studios just flew by” said

John, who had pre-recorded backing tracks

at his regular UK studio, Prism Studios

in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent, who’s owner/

producer, Shaun Lowe worked with him to

make it all run smoothly.

John added, “Lead vocals and some extra

guitar tracks were added using Scotty

Moore’s Gold Gibson ES 295, that was a real

bonus! The list of famous musicians who’ve

recorded at Sun is too long to list and I feel

blessed to have been able to step in their

very big shoes.” He admits it was a thrill but

also a bit nervy when the red light went on

and he hoped the end result would show his

passion for creating blues-rock music that

audiences will love.

He also visited New Orleans, Memphis, and

Nashville and was made very welcome by


FEATURE | JOHN ANGUS BLUES BAND

Session done and John, Daniel Crockett Hall (R)

and Erick Parrish (L), Sun Studio Engineers pose

with the legends who’ve gone before

some major blues personalities. A trip to the

Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum resulted

in a chance meeting with Joe Chambers,

founder, owner, and former CBS A&R executive.

John was amazed that Joe, a personal

friend of B.B. King, Chet Atkins and many

more major artists took him to the display

cabinet featuring one of B.B.’s Lucille guitars,

he opened the locked door and handed John

the guitar. Who said the Thrill is Gone?

John is currently arranging gigs for the band

to promote their new album. These include

headlining their own regional ticketed gigs

and support slots for artists already established

on the blues circuit.

“Everyone knows that it’s hard for an

unknown original act to break into music

as the competition for festivals is so great.

I believe that you have to be different to

stand out, which is why we are working on

our music, performance, and show just as

importantly as recording songs”

John said “Ideally I would prefer to release

John with Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES 295

with a label and promoter in place to make

it easier, but I realise that it takes time and

effort to attract the right people and they

have to believe in me and the band”

The band line-up includes, John on guitar

and vocals, Steve Bell on guitar, Pete

Hopkins on drums, Trevor Upton on

harmonica and Tim Hopkins on bass. They

are currently auditioning a new keyboard

player who will be ready for their first major

festival of the year at the Nantwich Jazz,

Blues & Music Festival where they will

perform at The Crown Hotel.

www.johangusbluesband.co.uk

16


PHENOMENAL

MARGIE

BLUES WOMEN

HENDRIX

MARJORIE “MARGIE” HENDRIX (MARCH 13th 1935 – JULY 14th 1973)

WORDS: Dani Wilde

American rhythm and blues singer Margie

Hendrix was best known for her performances

as leader of the vocal group the

Raelettes, who famously backed Ray

Charles. Despite having a voice that could

give Tina Turner and Etta James a run for

their money, as a solo artist Margie failed to

get the recognition that she deserved.

Sadly, her fantastic musical talent would

become eclipsed by her drug addiction.

This is Margie Hendrix’s story:

Margie Hendrix, the daughter of Kattie

and Renzy Hendrix, was born in 1935 in a

small town called Register in Georgia. Her

passion for music became clear throughout

her childhood and by her teens she was

directing her local church choir whilst

singing and playing piano.

In the early 1950’s Margie decided it was

time to chase after her dream career; she

took a leap of faith and moved to New York

City. It did not take long for her gritty powerhouse

voice to start turning heads. In 1954

she signed to the Lamp record label and

made her first record entitled “Everything”.

Although this was not a landmark recording,

it allowed Margie to begin to build a fan base,

to hone her craft and to network within the

New York music industry.

Two years later, she was invited to join all-female

vocal group ‘The Cookies’. The group

soon signed to Atlantic records and Margie

got her first taste of success with their song

“In Paradise” which hit #9 on the RnB Chart.

The Cookies also began to work as session

musicians at Atlantic, providing back up vocal

harmonies for many acts on the Atlantic

roster, including LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown

and Joe Turner; and then they were introduced

to Ray Charles.

Ray met Margie and The Cookies 1956

in Philadelphia, where Chuck Willis was

performing accompanied by the girls.

Ray was immediately hooked on the sound

of their blended harmonies. He had already

recorded Drown In My Own Tears with

Mary Ann Fisher and two other female

session singers, and had decided that he

wanted to make female backing vocals an

on-going part of his sound.

Ray Charles spoke with Margie Hendrix and

invited her and the Cookies to a recording

session with Mary Anne Fisher in New York,

where they taped Lonely Avenue, I Want To

Know and Leave My Woman Alone.

At the session, Ray was moved by the sincere

emotion and sheer power of Margie’s voice

and the fantastic vocal harmonies the women

delivered. They fused the spirituality of

gospel with the grittier, sexualised, Rhythm

and Blues.

Margie Hendrix would later explain the name

change from “Cookies” to Raelettes: “Since

we became an integrated part of Ray Charles’

18


PHENOMENAL BLUES WOMEN | FEATURE

orchestra, it would have been perfectly

stupid to continue using the ‘Cookies’

name. On a nice morning Ray tackled the

problem, and came to the conclusion that

only two names were possible: the ‘Silver

Bells’ or the ‘Raelettes’. I immediately rejected

the ‘Silver Bells’ - that name appeared

ridiculous to me - and that’s how we called

ourselves the Raelettes. We’ve never been

the ‘Ray-lettes’: that name would be an error.

In American English ‘Ray’ is for men, and ‘Rae’

is for the ladies.”

The rumour goes that Ray chose the name

Raelettes as a dark joke, in that to be a

‘Raelette’, you had to ‘let Ray’; a hint to

Charles’ infidelities. Ray is rumoured to have

had affairs with many of the Raelettes as the

line-up changed over the years. His hit song

“Oh Mary Anne” was a sexual blues song

about his adultery with his back up vocalist

Mary Anne Fisher who left the group when

Ray invited The Raelettes on tour in 1958.

That same year, Ray Charles and his Raelettes

recorded ‘Night Time Is The Right Time’

which would reach #5 on the R&B chart the

following year. For many of her fans, this

song represents the moment they discovered

‘Margie Hendrix’. Ray allowed 23 year old

Margie to step up as a lead vocalist for

a short section of the track where she gives

her absolute all to the lyrics “tease me,

squeeze me, please me, oh don’t leave me”.

The begging and pleading quality to her voice

is beautifully painful as she hammers home

the deepest of emotions with grit, power and

integrity. You can’t listen to that Ray Charles

song without thinking “Wow, who is that girl?

And what a voice!”

Ray Charles said of Margie, “Aretha, Gladys,

Etta James — these gals are all bad, but on any

given night, Margie will scare you to death.”

Early on, Raelettes members Pay Lyles and

Earl-Jean McRea chose to leave the group.

They were replaced by Darlene McRae

and Ray Charles’ wife Della Bea Robinson.

The Raelettes were a key feature on many

successful Ray Charles recordings in the late

50’s and early 60’s including ‘What’d I say’,

‘Unchain my heart’ and ‘Hit the road Jack’

which again showcased Margie Hendrix as

a lead vocalist duetting with Charles. As a

vocalist, Ray had met his match with Margie

and musically they spurred each other on to

reach emotional and vocal peaks within their

performances. With that, the sexual tension

between Margie Hendrix and Ray Charles

built on stage each night.

In 1962 the Raelettes were featured on Ray

Charles’ ‘Modern Sounds in Country and

Western Music; with the hit single ‘I can’t stop

loving you’ topping the pop charts for five

weeks that same year. The Raelettes huge

contributions to these records are undeniable;

and by fusing stereotypically ‘black’ and

‘white’ genres of music, this record helped to

break down colour barriers during America’s

civil rights movement.

When Ray’s wife Della Bea Robinson took

maternity leave from the group to have their

third child, Margie and Ray grew close and

began an affair. Margie quite quickly fell pregnant,

and their son Charles Wayne was born

in October 1959. However, when Margie was

on her maternity leave, Ray soon struck up a

relationship with Margie’s replacement Mae

Mosely. Ray would eventually father a total of

12 children with ten different women.

The following five years became Margie’s

downfall. Having borne Ray’s child, Margie

Hendrix re-joined the Raelettes only to find

she had been replaced in Ray’s affections. To

the fans, Margie appeared to have it all: She

was the star vocalist of the Raelettes, touring

the world with ‘The Genius’ and performing


FEATURE | PHENOMENAL BLUES WOMEN

fantastic music in sold out theatres. She was

making good money; but her mostly flawless

public facade masked private despair. Both

Ray and Margie developed serious addictions

to alcohol and heroin.

In 1964, Margie recorded a solo single on

Ray’s Tangerine record label. It was called

‘A Lovers Blues’ and I highly recommend

you check this song out. All of the hurt she

had been feeling having been rejected by

Ray along with her losing battle with drink

and drugs fuels this deeply heartfelt vocal

performance. It has an Ike and Tina feel to

it. Margie’s despair is evident as she sings

“Sometimes you abuse me, but it’s alright, and

all of my friends accuse me, but it’s alright”

as if she is desperately holding onto the

hope that life will get better. More and more,

Margie was arguing with Ray and that same

year, a final argument led to her being fired

from The Raelettes.

Margie Hendrix was keen to show that she

could be a successful solo artist in her own

right. She soon signed a solo artist deal with

Mercury Records. The first two singles on

Mercury were released in 1965 entitled ‘Now

The Hurts On You’ and ‘Baby’.

Baby is one of my most favourite Margie

Hendrix songs. It’s a take on a slow minor

blues. Her vocal on it is just phenomenal. She

has all the gritty power of a Koko Taylor in

her blues belt, but she is also very dynamic,

and it’s this light and shade in her vocal tone

that adds that crucial emotion. Margie loses

herself in the message of the song and you

can’t help but wonder if all that hurt that you

hear in her voice is still aimed at Ray.

In 1967 Margie moved to Memphis to

record ‘Restless’ and ‘Nothin’ But A Tramp’

with orchestral arrangements by producer

Gene “Bowlegs” Miller. There is a strong

Otis Redding influence on these two upbeat

Memphis Soul tracks. Despite delivering

some wonderfully soulful vocals, these singles

didn’t receive a whole lot of attention and so

Margie found herself once more turning to

drink and drugs.

Margie’s final recordings were released by the

Sound Stage 7 label in 1969. My most favourite

of her songs from this period is a track

called ‘Do right baby’ which wasn’t issued on

a 45, instead coming out on a compilation LP

entitled ‘Southern soul sisters’. Here she fuses

that Memphis soul sound with Slow Minor

Blues and Gospel influences. Once again, it

is her sincerity and emotional commitment

to the vocal delivery that makes this a truly

magical performance. “I work hard for you

baby, down to the bone, so stop it baby, this

doing me wrong,” she sings with utter despair,

literally screaming out her pain by the end of

the track.

It really is incredible that Margie’s solo work

failed to chart. Her lack of commercial success

certainly has nothing to do with the quality of

her recordings. Her records are outstanding.

As Ray Charles once sang: “My little Margie.

After all is said and done there is really only

one and that’s Margie, Margie it’s you.” She

was an amazingly talented young vocalist; one

of a kind.

Having failed to ignite her solo career, Margie

Hendrix fell into obscurity. It is rumoured she

was living in poverty in her final years, spending

the last of her earnings on her drug habit.

Margie Hendrix died in New York on July 14,

1973, aged 38 of a heroin overdose.

Be sure to check out these great Margie

Hendrix songs:

• A Lover’s Blues

• Baby

• Restless

• Nothin’ But A Tramp

• Do Right Baby

20


FINDING BLUES IN

FINLAND

WORDS: Iain Patience

PICTURES: Supplied

Finland is often called the land of the midnight

sun, for good reason. Others think of it as the land

of Santa Claus and Reindeers, thickly blanketed in

snow through most of the winter festive season.

For others, however, it’s known for its music, with

blues playing a core part of the thriving music

scene. One band, more than any other, in the

land, has pushed the country to the fore. I

phoned Wentus Blues Band’s bassman

and self-promoter, Robban Hagnas, to

ask just why this should be the case

Now, like most of the world’s musicians

in lockdown, Robban laughs

as he explains how Spring had at

last arrived in Finland this

22


SCANDINAVIAN BLUES | FEATURE

Easter weekend, but Easter Sunday brought yet another dump

and covering of snow to the town of Kokkola, where the band

originated and remain rooted. Now together for over thirty

years, he confirms that the band plan to do a 35th Anniversary

bash, hopefully, next year to celebrate the milestone: “We first

got together in 1986. I was sixteen at the time and Niko (Riippa

– lead guitarist) was only fourteen. We were actually taking

part in a singing and pop music camp and got together.

Back then we had another second guitarist, Kim

Vikman, and I brought along a drummer

friend, Axel. We got our first gig

and had no name! We come

from an area of town

called Wentus,

so we

just said,

as a bit of a joke

really at the time, we’re

the Wentus… and added blues

band, because we played a couple of

blues songs, ‘Stormy Monday’ and one other.

It all just started from that!”

At the time, Finland was largely in thrall to heavy

rock and heavy metal music, with countless cover

bands doing their thing playing Iron Maiden

covers and such like. But, as luck would have it,

there was an established small-venue blues club

scene throughout the country and the Nordic

region generally. Outlets that soon became the

regular stomping-ground for the fledgling band and

its growing bunch of blues followers: “The Heavy

Metal bands all lost their gigs for some reason. But

we didn’t. We got more, we kept growing, getting gigs

that eventually took in more cities and Helsinki, then Stockholm

in Sweden. At the time we were still doing other things, studying

and whatever but there was recession in Finland, and we

thought it over and thought to ourselves ‘let’s give the band a

shot. Let’s see what can be made of it.’ We took a chance and it

paid off, I guess, you could say,” Hagnas chuckles at the memory

of events now three decades past.

And the band’s success continued when they hit on the idea of

‘inviting’ US bluesmen to join them on-stage. For some time,

the band had a monthly slot at a near-legendary Swedish club,

Faschings. Known for its blues and jazz excellence throughout


FEATURE | SCANDINAVIAN BLUES

the region, Hagnas remembers that Wentus

began to invite other international and local

bluesmen to join in the fun: “We asked guests

to come and play with us. Initially, mostly Finnish

artists, all well-known, and in Finland. Then

we moved on taking that same concept and

idea to Sweden. Our first real US bluesman

was Louisiana Red. We played with

him and became his sort-of support band,

taking on further gigs afterwards and recording

with him.”

The Wentus Blues Band soon found its feet,

playing up to 180 gigs a year and being pretty

much constantly in demand throughout the

region, playing with many other visiting US

bluesmen as the years passed: “Red told us

we should try hooking up with Eddie Kirkland.

I got in touch and he agreed. He had a

crazy promoter guy and I remember it was

just after 9/11 and all flights from USA were

cancelled. I asked if it was going to happen and

he said “Don’t worry, he’ll be there!’ It seemed

unlikely but Eddie turned up on the first flight

out of USA to Finland. He was a character,

great fun. We all got on really well, had a

great time touring and working with him.

We were supposed to go out to the States

to play with him. Somebody warned us off,

telling us Eddie played all these rough joints

where we might get killed. We laughed at the

thought but never made it over and it was a

real shock when we learned he’d passed in a

car accident!”

Other players who hit the Nordics and worked

with Wentus include Lazy Lester, Omar and

the Howlers, Dick Hextall Smith, Carey Bell,

Mick Taylor, Barrence Whitfield, Eric Bibb

(another guy with US-Scandinavian links

having lived many years in the region) and one

of Louisiana’s finest pickers, Duke Robillard, a

guy that the band now count as a good friend

and often record and tour together with.

Indeed, around now, they should have been

working again with Robillard following the

success of their last joint album, ‘Too Much

Mustard.’ “We’ve known Duke many years

now. The album was great and we should have

been touring again this summer with him. But

everything’s cancelled right now, of course.”

“We did a 20th Anniversary album with many

of these old friends on Ruf Records label. It

was a celebration for us and also a film documentary

was released that was nominated for

a major award,” Hagnas recalls. “At the time

we were really inspired by the Band’s famous

wind-up film, The Last Waltz, and wanted to

do something similar for ourselves.”

Hagnas also looks back with pleasure at time

spent working with Florida blues harp-man,

Rock Bottom: “We did a tour of Sweden and

Finland with Rock. He was a great harp player.

He wanted us to go out and play with him in

Florida but sadly he passed with a heart-attack

before we could get out there.”

Perhaps the most lasting development, and

one that has clearly shaped the Wentus Blues

Band’s own shape and performance down the

decades is their true blues roots and rootedness.

Hagnas explains it this way: “We’ve been

lucky to play with many great old bluesmen,

old guys that are the blues. It’s been a university

of blues for us. We hear their amazing

stories, about their lives, what the music is all

about and, really, what blues actually is! We’re

so thankful for what it has given us. It’s not

simply something you can study or learn. It’s

something that’s in the air, when you’re with

these guys and you can breath that same air!

It’s always sad when these guys pass on, but

they were our teachers and mentors. They

have given us the keys to do it our way, but

always in the tradition that they came from.”

And it doesn’t end there either. The Wentus

Blues Band are keepers of the transient, passing

blues flame, happy and always willing to

24


SCANDINAVIAN BLUES | FEATURE

pass on the knowledge to a new generation

of players and fans: “It’s a heritage and we

can pass it on to the next generation. There’s

a lot of young players out there keen to learn.

It’s important that we work with them too,

and pass on that musical heritage. I think

the love of blues music in the Nordic region

owes its roots to the 1980s when many touring

US artists could be seen playing, mostly

in Sweden at first. Many blues societies and

magazines, like Sweden’s Jefferson and our

own (Finland’s) Blues News, and Norway’s

Blues News magazine, grew out of those

founders first seeing the old black bluesmen

play. They’ve kept the tradition strong. Here

in Finland we still have a national radio Blues

show every week. That’s also played its part.”

As we part company, Robban Hagnas adds

that Wentus is lucky to have a very good

international publicist in the USA, with Frank

Roszack always going the extra mile to help

push the band ahead. Looking forward,

Wentus Blues Band has traditionally been the

hardest working band in Scandinavia, averaging

over 150 gigs a year.

Now, with a global lockdown, he is hopeful

that gigs will gradually resurface, with smaller

club venues initially re-opening for blues business

and maybe festivals again in Spring and

Summer 2121. A sentiment we can all relate

to, I’m sure!


BLUES

DOWN

UNDER

Writer: Matty T Wall

SUPPORTING THE ARTIST

Well, I really hope you are all safe and well out

there in these scary times.

We are all stuck in our homes, glued to the news,

going stir crazy and trying our best to follow

government directions. It is in times like these that

we turn to our love of music. We can no longer

go out and see our favourite bands and artists

in concert, so cranking up the tunes at home has

become as important now as ever. For me, it brings

me back to my youth, when music was my best

friend and listening to new albums was an incredible

exploration, listening to my favourite tried and

tested albums was my therapy.

As blues artists down under, we have been hit with

the same restrictions on concerts and gigs as are

most other countries and it is fair to say it has had

a major impact. I’m very lucky to have an ‘essential

worker’ job to do right now, but many of my friends

from the industry are having to line up for government

support to pay the bills. For most of us, it is

a time to practice, write new songs, connect with

our audience through video and think of new ways

to do this thing we call music.

So, how do we continue to connect with you, the

listener, and how can we support each other to

keep this industry alive?

STREAMING

MERCH

Spotify and Apple Music have come a very long

way in the last 5 years, and it is fair to say that

streaming is now the most popular way to listen

to music at home. Although sometimes, I am

not a fan of the sound quality and would much

rather pop on a vinyl album and turn it right

up, but the access to new music that streaming

gives you is absolutely revolutionary. Spotify

in particular has amazing programs and algorithms

in the background that introduce you to

new artists with sounds and songs in styles that

you are attracted to, and the more you use it,

the better it gets at this. So, how does streaming

help artists? We have probably all seen the

reports that streaming services are ripping off

artists and such, but it is becoming increasingly

apparent that streaming is the new radio. I can

tell you 100%, without a shadow of a doubt,

that worldwide and particularly in places as

isolated as Australia, that artists are increasingly

relying on payments from streaming for

paying the bills. So, this is absolutely one of

the major ways in which to help your favourite

artists and filling your house with non-stop

blues morning to night is the way to go.

Of course, I am writing about the Aussie music

industry, so it would be remiss of me not to

mention some artists here who are carving up

Spotify with great music. If you want to explore

Aussie blues on streaming platforms, check out

some of these major hitters:

The Teskey Brothers / Fiona Boyes / Lloyd Speigel

/ Owen Campbell / Ash Grunwald

Now, some artists do this thing particularly

well, matching t-shirts with coffee mugs and

stubbie holders.

(wait – don’t know what a stubbie holder

is? Totally necessary device for Australian

summers in 35C to 40C heat, keeping beer

the right temperature to cool you right down.

Drinking beer in Australia is the internal version

of air conditioning, haha!) …but I digress.

Merch done well is an artform in itself. And we

usually pick up merch when we are at a show,

gig, concert or something like this. I did mention

streaming earlier, and whilst it can be a regular

pay, it is far from the ability to pay all the

bills. When artists are on tour, it is actually the

MERCH that makes the whole tour financially

viable. So right, now, us artists aren’t touring,

aren’t doing concerts, so therefore we are not

selling any merch to help pay the rent. So, how

can you help? Something I have noticed is that

clothing/fashion stores have pretty much shut

down, so, need another t-shirt? Well, no need to

jump on Amazon and help Jeff Bezos earn more

pennies… how about ordering a t-shirt from

your favourite artist.

I can guarantee you will still get the feeling of

having picked it up at a concert. There is something

about band t-shirts that do that – keep

you connected to your youth and to music.

Down here in Australia, there are some artists

that are amazing at merch. I have to mention

one of my favourite purveyors of fine merch –

Eightball Aitken. He is a fine guitarist, singer

and songwriter, but is supremely talented in

coming up with new lines of merch. Some really

cool designs here. From Beach Towels to Tea

Towels, from Tote Bags to T-shirts, caps and

bandanas, check out www.8ballaitken.com I

also need to mention the amazing guitar player

Geoff Achison, one of my fave guitarists here,

who also does the merch thing very well.

Check him out.

VINYL

Personally, I separate music from merch, so to

me, CDs and Vinyl are different from ‘merch’.

Vinyl has seen a huge resurgence over the last 5

years, similar to the rise in streaming and many

people are either coming back to the glorious

sound of vinyl or listening to it for the first time.

How do you purchase vinyl? The favourite for

me is second-hand vinyl stores, or indie record

stores. But, did you know you can purchase

vinyl direct from indie blues artists? My second

album, mixed by the legendary Bob Clearmountain,

titled ‘Sidewinder’ was mastered by

Sterling Sound in New York onto lacquer, specifically

for vinyl printing, and it sounds incredible

– I just love the tone of the drums on this vinyl

print. You can pick it up from my mattytwall.

com site, but, what other Aussie artists have

special vinyl for you to pick up?

One of the runaway success stories of the last

few years has been the incredible Teskey Brothers

with a sound that is supremely suited to the

turntable – their new album ‘Run Home Slow’.

You can pick it up directly from their website,

even signed copies, like you get at a show.

There are so many ways in which you can help

out artists, find new albums and songs, even

get a new wardrobe during these tough times.

We need to think differently, think of the

‘little guy’, help out small businesses and indie

artists, because this is what makes the world a

more interesting and diverse place. We all love

music, we love the sonic colours and images

that music paints for us and although we

can’t go out and see a gig, we can still connect

directly to the source.

Until next time, stay safe, stay inside, listen to

the blues and listen to what Australia has got

going on.

No oNe

shOuld

face

cAncer

aloNe

No mums. No dads. No

brothers or sisters. Not

your next-door neighbour

or the lady from the

corner shop. No grandmas.

No grandpas. Not the

chap from the chip shop

or the noisy lads at the

back of the bus. Not

your best mate. Not a

single stranger. No one

whatsoever. No one

should face cancer alone.

Text TOGETHER to 70550

and donate £5 so we can

be there for everyone who

needs us.

Texts cost £5 plus your network charge.

We receive 94p of every £1 donated in this way.

Obtain bill payer’s permission first.

Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity

in England and Wales (261017), Scotland

(SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).

MAC14175

BLUE

BLOODS

DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

MARIE MARTENS

WORDS & PICTURES: Supplied

I started playing bass when I was a teenager.

Growing up in Sweden, I had lots of

exposure to rock (and what’s now called

“classic rock”) and I played in a bunch of

different bands doing mostly covers.

mariemartens.com

I didn’t really discover my love for Blues

until sometime in the ‘80s, when I met this

guy who was a real dedicated blues fan and

blues guitar player. He turned me on to a

world of people who really changed my

musical outlook; heavyweights like John

Lee Hooker, Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore

James and also newer (but no less important

to me) players like Jeremy Spencer

from the original Fleetwood Mac. Once I

was exposed to that world I knew where I

wanted to be and never really looked back.

That was also when I started playing guitar

and, shortly after that, slide guitar - which I

really fell in love with.

All along I’d always been co-writing with

people in the bands I’d been in, but once I

made guitar (and slide) my primary instrument

I really started writing my own songs and

developing my own style both as a songwriter and

a musician.

I moved to the States almost 16 years ago and,

after playing in other bands and just jamming

with people for years, I finally found the combo

of the right people to make a band I could lead

and call my own. I started Marie Martens & The

Messarounds in 2015 here in the Milwaukee-Chicago

axis, and we recorded and released our first

album, Travelled, in 2019. We went to a studio

in Brooklyn (Excello Recording), which is owned

by an old friend of mine, Hugh Pool, who I played

with in Sweden 25 years ago.

I hooked up with him via Facebook and after all

these years he still plays slide and resonator, but

his studio has all old sorts of vintage gear and

he gets great sounds. I knew he could bring out

exactly what I wanted, plus I really wanted to

make this record using old gear to get the sound

I heard in my head, and he did it. What you hear

on Travelled is exactly what I was going for. Aside

from being a great engineer, Hugh was also really

great to work with as far as sort of coaching us

to do the right thing that each track needed. I

think all of the guitar playing was one-take, that

was relatively easy because we’ve been doing

most of these songs for some time now - it was

just a matter of getting the right tones. But when

we started mixing was when he was absolutely

invaluable. He wove in things he had just incidentally

caught on tape, and they really changed the

impact of some of the songs, and now we play

them that way because those changes made them

better. It’s more of a rock approach.

Even though the Blues is where I’ve made my

home, it’s where I’m most comfortable, I can’t

ignore my rock and roll roots.

30


RAIE

WORDS: Steve Yourglivch & Rachel Bennett

PICTURES: Alex Waespi

BLUE

BLOODS

DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

Raie is a name that might be familiar to longterm

BM readers, we gave her previous release,

Earthbound, a glowing review.

Now Raie has released a fully formed album,

This Music Thing, with an album launch at The

Lexington, one of London’s premier venues. After

showing early musical ambition and with a single

out at 9-years-old, life then got in the way for a bit

but the music was always going to win through.

Here’s her story in her own words...

It’s taken me a long time to realise my music, but

I was always gonna get here! My first 45 single,

when I was 9 years old, was Bob Dylan’s Like A

Rolling Stone and from that point on I knew

music was gonna be a big part of my life and

that I had something to say, I was always singing

around the house and to neighbours or relatives

at gatherings.

I left home at 16 and was a single parent by the

time I was 19 years old, lots of life experience

and fuel for song material but times were tough. I

started my adult education late, I attended Rose

Bruford drama school at aged 29, when my son

was 10 years old, old enough to get the shopping

in or walk the dog. I went from drama school into

a career of writing for and performing in shows,

memorable moments include MD work for a

national tour with Black Theatre Co-operative’s

Paper and Stone and songwriting work with

Connectingvibes* (Irie Dance Theatre).

I have always loved soul music, and country and

blues are so much a part of my culture they are

‘in me’ I think my love of words, lyrics and poetry

comes from listening to Dylan, John Mayall, Joni

and Leonard Cohen as a teen, and getting to

Greens Playhouse in Glasgow as often as I could!

I began Raie as a duo with a lovely guitarist, Dan

Cochrane and moved through various influences

with great musicians until I gave Wes Maebe the

green light to produce my work; since then he

has brought some amazing players and people on

board who feel just right, Chris Bell (Specimen,

Gene Loves Jezebel, Spear Of Destiny, Thompson

Twins, Hugh Cornwell) and Jon Klein (Specimen,

The Banshees, Sinead O’Connor).

Every hour spent in the studio with Wes and the

musicians and singers on this album has been

wonderful; it’s been a massive learning curve,

even at this later stage in life; I have collaborated

with Wes and Jon Klein on some songs, it’s a new

approach for my writing, it’s been so much fun and

so rewarding that we three are already writing

new material for the second album!

www.raiemusic.com


BLUE

BLOODS

DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

TRUE STRAYS

WORDS & PICTURE: Supplied

The challenges of forming a band mean that

most split up before they even leave the practise

room. True Strays met in a sandpit when they

were 4 years old and have seen many a great

band fall by the wayside since.

But despite many previous band break ups and

hard knocks, we (Joe James and James Cameron)

are using these personal experiences to fuel

our latest endeavour with greater urgency and

honesty than ever. Life’s too short to hide yourself

away and give up on your dreams. Based on

friendship, honesty and hard work True Strays are

the culmination of a life-times ambition.

True Strays make sounds for an America that

didn’t quite exist. Although we are quite definitely

Americana Roots Rock, our Influences are laid by

the early foundations of Charlie Patton, the country

blues of Lead Belly, the songwriting of Willie

Dixon, the slide work of Muddy Waters and the

energy and prowess of Sista Rosetta Tharpe. We

take these early influences

and combine them with the calls for justice of Bob

Dylan and Neil Young, the dirt of Queens of the

Stone Age and the sonic brilliance of Alabama

Shakes. We aim to honour the late greats through

our sound but with an aim to push our songwriting

and style in a forward momentum.

Not just brainless rockers, the music is concerned

with zero-hour contracts, the destruction of the

National Health Service, climate chaos and the

mental health epidemic. These issues to us are

our modern blues. True Strays are using the rights

and wrongs of the past to paint a brighter hope

filled future. Writing songs and creating a sound

that is believable, real and authentic is at the heart

of what we do. The shows are always melting

barriers between audience and band, and end in a

riotous crowd singing hoedown.

We have been the soundtrack for late night

lock-ins, pool party break-ins, festival headline

mayhem, Sofar Sessions, ceilidhs, crowd surfing

and Extinction Rebellion occupations. From

sand pit beginnings, the band

have completed countless UK

tours winning fans old and new,

supported bands as diverse as

My Baby and Elles Bailey, been

jump started by Keith Allen,

played by BBC Introducing and

BBC Radio, played their first

European dates, survived 70+

festival shows at prestigious

festivals like Green Man, Boom

Town, Larmer Tree and Shambala,

been featured on the Spotify

Nu-Blue & Modern Blues Rock

playlist, and even curated their

own venue for 5 years at the now

legendary west country Fieldview

Festival.

facebook.com/truestrays

32


RON ADDISON

WORDS: Alan Pearce

PICTURE: Supplied

BLUE BLOODS

DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

Ron Addison is a soulful bluesman who is enjoying

the culmination of a music filled life that is

now getting to shine. His voice can be deeply

resonant and rich or can forcefully growl and

drive with a hot southern rock edge.

His original music can excite a room, mellow it out,

and bring people clapping and singing along back

to their feet! His newly released debut album

Testify has been a long time coming and is proving

to be well worth the wait. It shows his vocal versatility,

his unique perspectives and how well he

delivers many styles of blues.

After a career in the military as a helicopter pilot

and a Virginia State Trooper, Ron Addison went

from the long arm of the law to the outstretched

arms of the blues, his first love. His career paths

gave him much life experience and thematic mate-

rial for blues ideas, tunes, stories and lyrics. “I

started playing guitar when I was about seven,”

he recalls. “My dad taught all of us to play an

instrument. I grew up in rural Southwest VA on

country artists like Merle Haggard and Johnny

Cash. When I was a teenager, I found Elvis,

Chuck Berry, and the bands of the British inva-

sion. About that same time the sounds of B.B.

King, Ray Charles, and a handful of blues sing-

ers took my love for music into another world.

A lot of music was influenced by the blues and I

always feel the best when I’m singing or playing

the blues.”

His current band, Ron Addison and the

Tomcats, play a mix of his originals, but you

may also hear an old Sister Rosetta Tharpe

song followed by an Eric Clapton or Tab

Benoit song. Each song is meant to bring

out some type of emotion.

The album Testify, includes rockabilly

flavored upbeat songs and the passionate

angst filled No Damn Good. Title

track Testify shows off a rockin’ side,

driving vocal abilities, zeal and energy.

You’ll also find a contemplative side to

his music in “Crayons in Heaven” that listeners

find relatable.

“I’ve been to the UK many times but never to

play music. The next time I visit, I want to tell

my wife that I’m working, but it won’t be work

knowing that I’m playing and having the best

time of my life”

Ron is currently recording his next single and

writing songs for his next album. He and his band

are bringing this enjoyable mix of blues to a growing

listening audience worldwide.

Check out his website: ronaddison.com and

Instagram account: ronaddisonmusic

Testify can be found on all downloading sites

and Spotify.

www.bluesmatters.com

BLUE

BLOODS

DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

BOURBON STREET


Bourbon Street clearly takes its name from the

famed New Orleans thoroughfare beloved of

blues music revelers globally.

But this is no US band, they’re from France, a

country that Louisiana shares much of its DNA

with. From its inception back in 1992, the band

has now produced five albums and a DVD, played

over 1000 gigs and established itself as one of

France’s most assured blues outfits. With a new

album just released, the thirteen-track Stop and

Listen, band frontman, founder and guitarist,

Eric Vacherat explains how Bourbon Street got

together and immersed itself in blues.

“It was English players that first interested me

when I was young: Alexis Korner, Eric Clapton,

even some Beatles. Back then, I thought ZZ Top

was the best blues band. Then I heard more music

and saw Champion Jack Dupree at Brive with

the Englishman, Dave Kelly. I started listening

to more and more old records, slowing down

the turntable to find out how to play the music

– maybe some Rory Gallagher! Cyril plays more

slide guitar, with a Danelectric. He loves those

older guys like Tampa Red. We were lucky with

a ‘Hot Club’ for jazz and blues music in Limoges.

Bill Broonzy played there before I was born, but it

gave the band a chance when we started out.”

The new album is a mix of traditional, well-known

and much loved classics like Rev Robert Wilkins’

That’s No Way To Get Along, JB Lenoir’s Down in

Mississippi and Sittin’ On Top of the World, and

self penned numbers rooted in the US southern

blues tradition, with some searing harp-work

from band regular, Laurent Cagnan, and always

cool slide work from founding co-member,

Cyril Menet. Over the years Borbon Street has

visited the southern US states that so inspired

them and their music, Clarkesdale, Mississippi,

New Orleans, swampy Louisiana, and Memphis,

Tennessee. With the new album dedicated to the

memory of New Orleans picker, the late Spencer

Bohren. With so many professional gigs under

their belt, Eric Vacherat confirms the band has

shared stages with Little

Jimmy Reed, Otis Grand,

Monster Mike Walsh and

French harp virtuoso, Jean

Jaques Milteau, among

others as well as working

the Chicago Blues Festival

and opening for many

acts including, John Primer,

Louisiana Red, Peter

Green’s Band, Magic Slim,

Larry Garner and countless

others. Now in lockdown,

like the rest of us, Vacherat

is spending his time picking

guitar and looking ahead

hopefully to the release

of lockdown tensions and

getting back out on the road

to promote the new album

again whenever possible.

34 BLUES MATTERS!

ISSUE 114 Our name says it all!

INTERVIEW | BETHO IEESUS

WORDS: Eddy Bonte

PICTURES: Supplied

Although realizing that the Blues is being

performed all over the world, it did come as

a bit of a surprise when Betho Ieesus from

Brazil sent me his first full blues cd, ‘Pretty

Woman’ two years ago.

I was instantly struck by his deep emotional

voice, often underlined by a slice of Dobro

or an equally deep-down guitar rumble, but

also by his ability to use musical idioms to

capture grave problems such as poverty,

violence and inequality - while not giving

in once to the blues template. A biography

mentioning his mastering of a vast array of

instruments, production work with stars

like of Mariah Carey and classical musical

studies made me wonder why such a career

path had led to the blues. After listening to

his second full blues cd, 2019’s ‘Bodacious

Blues Bazaar’, I thought it was time for a few

questions….

What was your first instrument and how

did it come about?

My grandfather, Albino Adriano, was

a hero in the revolution of 1912 which

implemented the Republic of Portugal. He

travelled from village to village with his

guitar, playing and singing during campaigns

for the Republic. He taught me my first

chords and that’s how I became a guitar

player. I have dual Brazilian and Portuguese

nationality, but went to school in Brazil.

I studied classical guitar with the great

Brazilian teacher Henrique Pinto, himself a

38


BETHO IEESUS | INTERVIEW

pupil of guitar maestros like Andres Segovia,

Isaias Savio and Abel Carlevaro. He

taught me music and, above all, musical

logic, culture and the skill of clean, precise

finger-picking. Strangely, I lost my fear

of playing other instruments - just like a

child who has many colouring pencils at his

disposal. So, yes I was classically trained and

played concerts in my youth, but the pressure

to survive led me to popular genres. In

Brazil, an erudite musician has to consider

living in Europe or becoming a teacher of his

instrument. I also studied arrangement and

composition and all this made me a better

musician. Everyone should study classical

music, regardless of their favourite genre or

country of origin.

You have your own studio, Sun Trip in

São Paulo, and produced stars as diverse

as Mariah Carey and Jimmy Cliff. Which

comes first: the musician or the producer?

It is difficult to find musicians specialized in a

particular genre here, but on the other hand

there is a plethora of drummers, guitarists,

bass-players and keyboardists playing

all kinds of music. Since no musical education

is taught at schools, things happen in

the studio. I go into the studio and make

it happen - but not without having studied

what must be done first. When writing

my bio, I stressed my ‘star’ curriculum to

get some visibility, but in my studio I have

worked with most Brazilian musicians. It is

a very small market here, so you either do a

little bit of everything or you don’t make any

progress. It is a country with a lot of wealth

and hardships at the same time. Everything

said and done: I´m a musician first.

Now, can you explain why such a background

eventually led to the blues and two

full blues albums in two years?

I have always listened to the blues greats,

especially Muddy Waters, B.B. King (who

was really famous in Brazil), Lightnin’

Hopkins, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Brownie

McGhee, Sonny Terry, Robert Johnson…

but eventually the rock of Led Zeppelin and

The Rolling Stones showed me the way to

the blues. They opened the gates to the

treasure trove. In my case, I went wild when

hearing Steve Ray Vaughan’s ‘Tin Pan Alley’.

From that moment onwards, my dream was

to make a blues CD. In 2000, I launched

an album through Road Runner which

received a lot of praise in Europe - but nothing

happened. A lazy record company isn’t

exactly uplifting. Today, the internet allows

me to introduce my music to the world – and

it works. You must keep in mind there is no

market for the blues in Brazil. Blues venues

are common in the USA and Europe, but

they simply do not exist here.

Can we say that the blues had laid dormant

for many years before you started writing

your own blues songs?

To me, there are three types of music:

erudite, Asian and the Blues. Blues is of

African origin and got mixed with the

predominant European culture in the USA.

The same thing happened in Brazil and

became Samba or Bossa Nova. Blues is

everywhere, I use it all time. One way or

another, all modern occidental music comes

from the Blues. Today, I play the blues only.

I only produce things that I find musically

interesting. Playing the blues makes me

evolve constantly, because the creative

possibilities are limitless.

Do you pursue real success or is the making

of a blues album more a matter of ‘fun’, a

field where you can do whatever you like as

Betho Ieesus the musician and not just the

producer who has to deliver a ‘product’ for

someone else and make sure it becomes a

success?


INTERVIEW | BETHO IEESUS

To launch a blues CD is my life, just like playing

the blues. Blues drives my soul. It’s my

identity, my musical dream. I have always

been able to live off my music and I wouldn’t

want to change that. I have received several

queries for shows in Europe and the USA,

but the venues suggested are too far apart.

I have to get my work out there to enable

excursions outside Brazil. I am now negotiating

several theatre shows over here. In

the meantime, I keep doing instrumental

tracks and productions – not just for artists,

but equally for TV and the theatre – a world

where I landed a few successful jobs actually.

My work is played throughout Brazil,

but mainly on segmented and niche radio

stations. A poor, uneducated country like

mine does not leverage an audience, but I

am very well known in the market.

What sets you apart as a blues performer?

I believe it is creativity and originality,

like writing my own lyrics. I keep listening

to the roots of the blues and try to be in

constant harmony with this world. I have

used popular themes in my lyrics to this

day, but I’ll change that for my next work.

I want to discuss global issues. I think I am

ready for it now and so is my public. The

corona virus is the alarm bell, the password

to a profound questioning of a failed

and evil global economic model. Music has

to be relevant again in this questioning. In

the song ‘Maria Eduarda do Brasil’, I question

the death of children by stray bullets,

a common thing in Rio de Janeiro. I usually

sing in English, but this one is in Portuguese

since it is a message for my fellow countrymen.

I studied singing for many years and I

have an extensive vocal range which allows

me to even sing lyrically. Robert Plant’s singing

in ‘Houses Of The Holy’ opened my eyes

and I always think about changing my voice

from tune to tune my way: a deep bass is my

main feature. The Dobro certainly is part of

this search for deep emotion. I love Dobro

and slide.

May we expect your next effort to be

socially committed?

For a start, the roots of the blues reflect

a reality of suffering and many current

mismatches in society. My song ‘Edu Loved

the Blues’ is a real story: I witnessed the

violent death of a young man who has his

bike stolen. It can happen anywhere in the

world, but in Brazil it is a social disease. Ours

is a violent country. Call it a protest song. I

have these concerns because as a student

leader I fought the dictatorship in Brazil. As

my work progresses, I think I will be able to

master this narrative musically and do so

on a level that does not make it too heavy

or boring, so that people can still have fun

at the show, sing and dance… I want everyone

to feel happy without losing the ability

to question reality ... a happy world is not a

world without questions.

As we were discussing your social

commitment, you stated ’Blues is musical

resistance, a revolutionary attitude’.

The blues emerged from the fields of slavery

and triggered an incredible body of work

that had remained virtually intact when it

hit the record market in the 1960s. To cut

a long story short: the blues is a primordial

intact cell of the legitimate feelings of

freedom and humanity. It has become the

musical element of resistance, because

it was forged by a history of poverty and

deprived freedom, which is nothing more

than what we are going through today,

beaten as we are by the advancement of

pure digital materialism, slaves in the face

of globalization and the precariousness of

jobs. The blues probes, protests, seeks the

lost love of humanity through its humanity.

40


BETHO IEESUS | INTERVIEW

We speak of sad and serious things, but we

can also rejoice because we have the Blues

as a means of resistance against the trivialization

of art, against ‘McDonald Music’,

because we hold the revolutionary proposal

of always questioning the system and its

frivolous decisions on our lives, which only

favours the rich. Long live the blues! Long

live creative freedom detached from the

market: we do what we love and can share it

with the world.

www.bethoieesus.com.br

“roots of the blues reflect

a reality of suffering”

DISCOGRAPHY

• Bodacious Blues Bazaar 2020

• Pretty Woman 2018


INTERVIEW | BRANDON SANTINI

BRANDONSANTINI

N O L O N G S H O T

WORDS: Tim Arnold

PICTURES: Aigars Lapsa

Brandon Santini is set to rule with his harp,

his vocals, his writing, and his soul.

A bunch of years ago Brandon Santini takes

his barely-legal young self and a bag of harps

on the road to Memphis, leaving behind

pretty much everything back in ‘Carolina,

where,’ as he sings it many gigs later, ‘I was

born, and people, I was raised in a lion’s den

‘(This Time Another Year, 2015 Vizztone/

OLM Entertainment).

Everything except his mojo for the blues, he

takes that with him, whatever it was back

then, his band goes with him. Delta Highway.

A prophecy.

Back when he was 15 years old, he catches

The Blues Traveler on the radio, and some

dude whammin’ and jammin’ on a harmonica,

making it sound almost like a guitar: “Mom

take me down to the music store. I got to

have one of those!” and that was it. He’s on

Highway 61, but it’ll be some years and miles

before he hits those crossroads.

I caught up with Santini at the Clearwater

Sea Blues Festival where he owned it on the

Saturday evening, and blew the joint away

with his harp and vocals. His newly-formed

band, Tennessee Redemption, features Timo

Arthur on guitar and background vocals, and

Jeff Jensen on acoustic guitar and vocals,

both are on his latest album: The Longshot

(American Showplace Music), released

March 15th, 2019, nearly five years after his

last one and it immediately hit #7 on the Billboard

Blues Chart.

The studio band in Jersey that he records

this fifth album with also includes Jed Potts

on acoustic axe, drummer Reid Muchow, and

Chuck Combs on bass. He’s got Greg Bumpel

playing slide on three tracks; Jimmy Bennett

on guitar for one; Michael Bram and Doug

Hinrichs add percussion to five cuts and

John Ginty is on just about everything else

you hear on these tracks.

‘So, where did that 15-year-old kid find that

feeling?’ I ask him. “I didn’t have it as a kid,”

he tells me. “I grew up poor, with a single

mom who never let me know we were, in

fact, sometimes she’d forego eating just so

I could. Pain was there but nowhere near

the pain and suffering lots of black folks

were going through. No wonder they were

connected to the blues all along. Anyway,

I guess I had some kinda blues, I just didn’t

know what to call it.”

It didn’t matter. ‘He’s got that boogie-woogie.

It’s in him and it got to come out,’ like

Hook sang (“Boogie Chillun,” John Lee

Hooker, 1944).

42



It turns out that whammer-jammer on the

radio, in The Blues Travelers, is John Popper,

who remains to this day as Santini’s go-to

guy for the rhythm that is his blues. So

Santini gets the album, and then he learns

about these guys he never heard of that

Popper says are his influences: Paul Butterfield,

James Cotton, Little Walter.

He wasn’t hearing any of their stuff on the

radio, but he fixed that right quick with more

records and trying to play some of that along

with classic rock, and the blues keep pulling

him in. He’s on the proverbial highway, and

soon enough he’s on the road to Memphis.

He came to the right place, Memphis.

In1934, a community leader named George

Washington Lee published Beale Street:

Where the Blues Began - the first book

by a black author advertised in the Book

of the Month Club News (Sewell, George

A; Dwight, Margaret L. (1977) Mississippi

Black History Makers, University Press of

Mississippi). And Congress declared it the

Home of the Blues. It was already an official

US National Landmark.

When Santini gets to Memphis, in 2003,

Beale Street is jumpin’. Joints, clubs, bars,

restaurants, and a vintage record store. Up

and down its 1.8 miles, starting down by

the Mississippi River and the Beale Street

Landing, on up past B.B. King Blvd and Rufus

Thomas Blvd to the park, there was live

music, every night. Some places are open

until 3am.

B.B. King opened his Blues club on a Beale

Street corner in 1991 and was playing there

a couple of times a year when Brandon got

there.

There’s plenty of kick-ass blues outside of

town too including Wild Bill’s Juke Joint, out

on Vollintine Avenue where a killer house

band cranks it up and you never know who’s

gonna be sittin’ in.

Gibson were also crafting their hollowbody

guitars in Memphis for 60 years until

44


BRANDON SANTINI | INTERVIEW

they moved all that back to Nashville a

year ago, but they still have their spectacular

store next to Beale Street. And, there’s

the historic Stax Records, their museum,

and Soulsville Foundation sits out on East

McLemore.

All part of the Memphis mojo.

Soon Santini and the band are jammin’ up

and down Beale Street, feelin’ it, like all

the players that came there before him.

Like B.B., and Albert, Muddy, and Robert

Johnson. Minnie Pearl and Rufus Thomas.

And now they’re getting regular gigs and

record a first album which gets them a Blues

Music Award nomination for Best New

Artist Debut.

Before too long Santini’s getting

hard-earned recognition and goes on

the road with some 100 gigs a year in

and out of Memphis.

Along the way he plays next to Buddy Guy,

trades licks with Charlie Musselwhite and

performs with Gary Clarke, Jr. and is

finally being recognised as one of the

best blues harp players out there, anywhere,

and receives more industry-wide blues

awards nominations, including Contemporary

Blues Album of the Year, Male Blues

Artist, Instrumentalist - Harmonica,

Live Blues Album et al.

His 2014 nomination for Best Instrumentalist

- Harmonica put him alongside Charlie

Musselwhite, Kim Wilson, Rick Estrin and

James Cotton, right where he belongs.

Since its release, The Longshot, after debuting

at #7 on the Billboard Blues Chart has

also charted at #4 on iTunes Blues Chart, #2

on the Top 50 Blues Album Charts, #1 for

Contemporary Blues Album, and #2, #4, and

#8 on the Top 50 Blues Song Chart for songs

with Don’t Come Around Here, Drive You

Off My Mind, and Going Home on the Roots

Music Reports (Atlas Music Publishing).

It includes a range of original composi-



tions, six of which Santini wrote, the rest

he co-wrote. In fact, the only cover on it is

Willie Dixon’s Evil (Is Going On).

His range will twist your heart up all kinds

of ways, then think about it, pump it back

up and take it dancin’. There’s some James

Cotton in it with a touch of acoustic country.

He pulls on Credence, and the Stones, and

the Allman Brothers, and washes it all down

with some Muddy, and Wolf.

All of it movin’ and shakin’ with the rest of

the plugged-in players. The Longshot’s got

some backup vocals on it, and some keys, the

Hammond organ, added percussion. All of it

new territory.

Santini puts it this way, “Got this yearning

inside me. Always wanting to paint another

part of the canvas.” Somewhere between

subway graffiti and Modernism. “Yeah, I’m

stretchin’ it. Got to grow to survive. For my

own personal good. Got this yearning inside

me,” he says, which is totally not necessary,

‘cause it’s so obvious.

He’s mixing rock up with some classic blues

harp, call it blues rock, all the way back to

his man, James Popper. Feelin’ it, all of it. So,

will you. He tells me there’s another Brandon

Santini album coming out later this year.

He’s writing all the time.

“I’ve got words in my head,” he’s saying. “I

play a little acoustic guitar and play some

licks along with some of the words. And I’ll

get down in my little basement studio, well,

not exactly a studio but I’ve got Garage Band

set up so I can lay down some chords, some

bass licks, multi-track it, and later even lay

down some of those words.

“I fall in and out of love with my songs all

the time. They sit there in my head. One

of my favourites from this last album, One

More Day, was sittin around since like 2014

before I recorded it.”

The man’s got more than 30 harps, some

minor keys, some that go super loud. He’s

been an endorser for Hohner Harmonicas

since 2013 and he fills his harp case with 24

of them for a gig.

“I usually use about five of them, but hey,

boys got to be ready.”

He typically sticks with his Bullet mic, a

‘60’s Shure 707, that: “gives me a good, fat

sound, and no, I can’t read music,” says he, in

response to my question, like virtually every

other blues dude out there. Don’t matter. He

doesn’t need to. He just feels it.

Santini’s got an interesting take on that

feeling, that ultimate blues feeling. ‘Where’s

that come from?’ I ask him. And after a

one-bar pause to think about it, he calls it:

“lost… elevating… levitating… I get lost in the

band’s sounds, sometimes I’m sucking and

blowing so big I forget I gotta sing.”

And this guy has definitely got both kinds

of pipes: “we get into some slow, 12-bar E

thing, mic’s fat, amp’s sounding great… and

it’s like some big weight’s bein’ lifted off my

shoulders.”

Damn straight. Put on The Longshot. Crank

it up. Your gonna levitate, too. Get lost in it.

Till you remember you just got to dance to

this stuff.

Find out more at brandonsantini.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• The Longshot 2019

• Live & Extended 2015

• This Time Another Year 2013

• Songs of Love, Money & Misery 2011

46


BRANDON SANTINI | INTERVIEW

“

Got this

inside me...

yearning


if proof was needed


PICTURES: Sergio Kurhajec

Rory Block is a US acoustic blues great.

Now in her sixties, Block has been

travelling the world, toting her guitar,

picking the blues and always with

her trademark slide to hand for

more years than even she wants to

remember.

We managed to squeeze in some

time with her as she came off the

road from a US tour disrupted

by COVID-19 shutdowns and

with a new album on Canadian

label Stony Plain, ‘Prove It On Me,’

about to hit the streets.

In recent years Block has turned

out a series of truly inspired

albums, themed around the great traditional

blues players that inspired,

influenced and impressed her as

a youngster and as a performer.

Artists covered included the likes of

Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip

James, Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi

Fred McDowell and Son House, many guys

she herself met and players she considered

as mentors.

Now, a few years on, she has moved from

the ‘Mentor’ series of remarkable recordings

to the latest project, the Power Women

of Blues series. Block’s debut release in

the series featured the music and work of

Bessie Smith, an album that picked up positively

rave reviews generally. The second in

the run, ‘Prove It On Me,’ highlights many

lesser-known blues women but is equally

likely to wow the blues-loving public. This is

music from artists like Arizona Dranes, Elvie

Thomas, Helen Humes and peppered with

a few revered blues names including Ma

Rainey and Memphis Minnie.

So, where did the stimulus, the concept for

the new series come from, I ask, and where

did she find these largely overlooked ladies::

“When I did my mentor series, it was based

on six males, all guys I’d known and met.

Just the way it was. But I knew there were

all these great women out there too. So I

thought I must do this new series of power

women in blues.

The first, Bessie Smith, was a certainty, a

no-brainer to ignore. Then when it came to

the next, ‘Prove It On Me,’ I was interested in

the unknowns, and there are just so many of

them. An old buddy, guitar builder and blues

singer Marc Silber, in California, said I should

check out Arizona Dranes. ‘Who? I said.’ I’d

never heard of her. But with YouTube these

days it’s possible to find so much and there

she was. I loved it. So, I began researching,

looking and studying these other players. I


INTERVIEW | RORY BLOCK

actually found one that blew me away but

I didn’t take a note of her name thinking I’d

find her again. But when I went back, despite

trying so many times, I’ve not found her yet!”

Asked why she thinks these women were

ignored and overlooked by the resurgence

of interest in blues back in the 1960s in the

USA, Rory is quick to explain the conundrum:

“With women back in the 20s and

30s, it was a different world. It was difficult,

maybe even near-impossible for them to

just go out on the road. They couldn’t jump

a freight-train and turn up to play at a Juke

Joint without being criticized and labeled

as some kind of low-down woman back

then. It was a big issue. Sure, a few did go

out and take it on…Bessie Smith, Gertrude

‘Ma’ Rainey… they made it in their own way.

But it was no easy choice if, say, they had a

home, a family and kids. I was lucky when I

started out in New York. I met all these great

blues players who were being rediscovered.

John Hurt – a real sweetie, one of the nicest

people I ever met – Fred McDowell – he

used a little, single knuckle slide - Reverend

Gary Davis - some spend their whole lives

trying to play like him - Bukka White, Skip

James, Son House - he was always quiet and

shy. But at that time it was all males. So this

series is a statement of love to those great

women of blues.”

But with so many true greats of acoustic

blues music already in her personal mix, who

does she think is, or was, the greatest? Without

a second’s hesitation, Rory fires back:

“Robert Johnson is top of the mountain!

There are lots of other styles but Johnson

was in a league of his own. Others played

some great slide, there’s always Willie Johnson

who had a very strident style, and Skip

James; Gary Davis, never – though I was

told he would at home sometimes and some

heard him, Stefan (Grossman) heard it –

Mississippi John Hurt didn’t play much slide.

But Johnson was the best. It’s that simple,

for me anyway.”

But surprisingly, perhaps, the slide style

didn’t come easily. Block tried various ways

of playing before she hit the slide method

after listening in the studio one day to a

friend, Bonnie Raitt, playing through the

speakers: “I started playing when I was

about ten, you can do the math,” she quips

with a laugh. “I stopped for a while but

basically it’s been guitar and me for my life

really. I went through many stages, all types

of picking. I heard Tommy Johnson and that

was a style that worked for a while with that

sort of strumming bass sound. Then I had to

50


RORY BLOCK | INTERVIEW

adapt to another style, to analyse it – Son

House – playing slide.”

“At first I’d overshoot the fret and notes,

then I’d undershoot it. It was so frustrating.

It was just never like that perfect tennis

back-hand really! But Bonnie was on an

album and I was listening to speakers in

the studio. I’d asked her how she did it but I

still found it a battle at times. I was just way

too tense., so it was hard to always get the

right fret! I heard that Bonnie was relaxed,

she took what I now call ‘a stroll up the

neck.’ I could hear that Bonnie was relaxed

and funky, so I relaxed into it. I teach this at

workshops and with my students now!”

And she recalls a meeting with a UK picker

that also helped move her on, pushing

her own developing talent ever further

ahead: “I had a visit from Brendan Croker

of the Notting Hillbillies, a guy who plays

with Mark Knopfler. Again, he was a great

slide player. I could see that he played up

then down, playing with the slide in another

way. It was a revelation! I play with bare

fingers, I only used a thumb-pick on the

Reverend Gary Davis album (Mentor Series)

because you must use one to get anywhere

near that bass sound he had. You really

need a thumb-pick for that Reverend Gary

Davis attack. His style has an edge related

to the thumb-pick.”

Returning to the theme of power women in

blues, Rory inevitably mentions Memphis

Minnie with a cover of her track, ‘In My

Girlish Days,’ included in the new album:

Of course Memphis Minnie is another of

those women who we all know and love. She

was great. And of course she was also

a guitarist. She’s impossible to ignore, the

only difficulty was in choosing which track

to include,” she laughs.

We joke about the strange idea that she

might be nearing retirement, a theme we

touched on when we last spoke together a

few years ago: “It just didn’t take! I’m totally

immersed in the music, I think. Whatever

the explanation might be it’s sure gonna be

difficult! And I have my own studio and so

much more I want to do. I still enjoy being

on-stage playing. I’m now on my fourth roadbus.

I got tired of driving over the Rockies,

maybe getting to Denver then the old bus

would break down and I’d be in a rental car!”

As her latest release ‘Prove It On Me’ hits

the streets, Rory confirms that she is planning

a six-disc set of Power Women in Blues,

to mirror her Mentor set: “Six is a good

number, could make a nice box-set size,”

she confirms and adds, when prompted ”I

honestly don’t know what the next will be,

who it will feature. I just haven’t got it yet.

There are just so many great, strong blues

women out there to discover.”

Before we part, Rory emphasises her appreciation

for the blues music world generally:

“I’ve had such wonderful support from the

entire blues community over the years.

It’s always welcome to have the support.

Awards, for example, are always welcome

too. The whole blues community is like

a great family, a blues family. That’s important

always!”

www.roryblock.com

RECENT DISCOGRAPHY

• Prove It On Me 2020

• A Woman’s Soul 2018

• Shake ‘Em On Down 2016

• Keepin’ Outa Trouble 2016

• Hard Luck Child 2014

• Avalon 2013

• I Belong To The Band 2012

• Blues Walking Like A Man 2008

• The Lady & Mister Johnson 2006


INTERVIEW | ROBERT JON & THE WRECK


NO BRAKING ALLOWED

They might be based in California, but the

music is pure Southern rockin’ blues spiced

with just enough country soul.

Led by the charismatic Robert Jon Burrison,

this is the band that are making waves in all the

right places even if that was on board during

the recent Joe Bonamassa blues cruise. The

planned European tour this year is another

victim of the coronavirus, but rest assured the

band will be invading our shores at the first

possible opportunity, spreading the love and

WORDS: Steve Yourglivch

the vibe. New album, Last Light On The Highway,

will be out as scheduled and it continues

the band’s rise to prominence. I was thrilled to

catch up with Robert via phone.

Hi Robert, how you doing?

Hey man, good to hear from you. I’m doing

alright.

That’s good to hear, these are weird times

52


ROBERT JON & THE WRECK | INTERVIEW

we’re going through.

Just a little bit, I guess we’re all coping OK and

trying to figure out how to get through every

day.

I want to talk to you about the new album,

it must be really hard having to promote it

under these circumstances. You have built

a lot of your reputation through live performances.

Yeah, it’s definitely harder, and we are a live

band who really enjoy performing onstage all

the time. Not being able to do that for several

weeks now has been tough but we still wanted

to release the record. I think maybe this is a

good time because people might wanna hear

something new. Something to help you forget

about what’s going on.

Yes, that’s true. It would be very easy to just

put everything on hold.

You know, if we can’t play live at least we can

release some new music for everyone to listen

to and to let people know stuff is still happening

and the world hasn’t stopped completely.

The first Robert Jon & The Wreck album

I picked up on was the self-titled one that

I think came out about two to three years

ago. The follow up, Take Me Higher, I really

enjoyed too; you’ve been prolific in writing

and releasing new material and I feel this one

takes you to a higher level do you all feel the

same?

You know when you’re in the room working

on it, you don’t realise it, it’s not until you hear

the finished product. During the writing and

recording process it felt like this had a bit more

to say, and its louder than ever.

You guys are based in California, but the

music has a very Southern rock vibe although

this album is more bluesy and soulful. Where

do you pick that inspiration from?

Ha, we hear that a lot. You know, we’re influenced

by everything not just the music from

around here. You know we are influenced by

people like The Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Young

and Nash, we do a lot of vocal harmonies and

that sort of thing. You get attached and drawn

to certain sorts of music and that’s where our

hearts went, kinda into that Southern rock

thing.

You’ve captured the traditional feeling and

integrity of that music on this, but you’ve

added a really contemporary edge and you

can sense other influences being mixed in

there. How does the writing work, are you the

main lyricist?

Yeah, we’re all songwriters in the band, every

single one of us. There’s not a single writer

dominating the record, we all pitched ideas

and created things together in the room, we

flush them out together and we find what best

fits together whether it’s musically or lyrically.

We all feel a couple of extra pairs of ears on

something is good.

You mentioned harmonies earlier and that

was something I picked up listening, not just

vocally but musically too. You can really feel

the harmony between the guitars, it creates

a feel-good factor even if lyrically they might

not be happy songs. The songs all feel positive.

Yeah, that’s what we were going for.

I mean like on Work It Out, you’ve got a horn

section and backing singers giving it a Detroit

feel.

That song was real fun to put together. It might

seem like a bit of a departure from what we’ve

done in the past but when we were in the room

putting it together and then when we heard

the horns and the backing singers it just felt

good.

I still love to play albums through from start


INTERVIEW | ROBERT JON & THE WRECK

to finish and this holds up as a well-constructed

piece of work, it flows. It’s not just a

collection of songs.

Well, thank you, that is what we went for.

Can’t Stand It, is another track that I was

enjoying, then these amazing backing singers

came in and took it to a completely amazing

place. I thought, wow! And then realised

Mahalia Barnes is on there, that’s some coup.

Yeah, yeah, it was really exciting for us to work

with them because they’re over in Australia,

but we met them on Joe Bonamassa’s cruise

and became friends, so we asked if they would

become part of the album. They were keen and

excited, so it worked out really well, we were

excited to have them.

That cruise was a great thing to be a part of.

Would you say that’s helped open up doors

for you and get you playing in front of the

right people?

It’s certainly played a big part in where the

band was and where we are now. We were put

in the position of being able to play with these

great artists. We became friends and we took

the opportunity to show what we can do and

also learn from them. See what they do at that

level. Meeting and learning from people, was

just a great experience.

There seems to be a real buzz around the

band just now. I mentioned earlier that I got

to know your music through your self-titled

album, but I know you’ve been playing and

recording a good while

prior to that.

That’s right, the band as

a band has been together

since 2011. We’ve had

some line-up changes

because, you know, not

everyone has the same

passion for the same

thing. Touring schedules

and such.

I wanted to mention

Henry (James), he brings

such a lot to the band, we

already talked about the

guitar harmonies.

Oh yes, very much so.

He’s an incredible player

and an incredible artist

in general. He brings a

little bit more of that Jimi

Hendrix vibe to what

we’re doing. It’s been

amazing to work with

him. And of course, the

rest of the guys. Warren

54


ROBERT JON & THE WRECK | INTERVIEW

Murrel, our bass player, came in at the same

time Henry did, so the camaraderie has been

in place now for about two and a half years.

As well as me, Steve Maggiora and Andrew

Espantman having been together since the

beginning. They came in and the train just kept

moving, it didn’t stop at all.

Looking down at the track list, Don’t Let Me

Go, that’s probably the most out and out rock

song, another terrific tune.

I would say if you’re used to what we’ve done

in the past you would say, yeah, they still have

that rocking out in there.

I also love what Henry brings to the table on

One Last Time.

That one was really fun to write and compose

together as a group. We did a lot of moving

pieces with that. It turned out pretty epic.

The title track, Last Light On The Highway is

quite epic too.

In the past we’ve done a lot of instrumental

pieces because we love those Allman Brothers

jams so this was our version of that, but we

also wanted to have a lyrical component to it.

Gold is great too, sometimes it’s brave to try a

ballad like that but this one really works.

Sometimes those break up songs are too

sugar coated. I think that is an honest track

for anyone whose gone through anything like

that. That honesty is so important, the blues

is about as honest as you can get sometimes. I

really started out listening to gospel music and

then at school a friend got me into classic rock,

The Eagles, Black Sabbath all of that stuff. As a

band we’ve crossed into all sorts of stuff, even

played in punk bands. There’s a lot of diversity

in us growing up together. It wasn’t until later

on that I realised everything derived from the

old-style blues. I’m just happy that I found my

way into the blues at some point.

I’m sure I read somewhere that you started

out as a drummer.

Yeah, I was a drummer in a 5th grade band. I

was a drummer long before I was ever a singer

or guitar player. All through high school I was

in bands as a drummer, guitar just became a

side thing that I enjoyed doing, actually our

whole band is full of drummers. Out bass

player used to be a drummer and Henry was a

drummer too when I first met him. We used to

jam with Henry and Warren for years before

they joined the band.

Like everyone, live touring is on hold right

now. Do you have any idea what might be

happening on that front?

We’re just waiting to hear. It’s so uncertain all

over the globe. As soon as we know everyone

will know. It’s out of our hands.

The official release date remains in May.

Yes, May 8th. Whatever is happening on May

8th everyone will be able to listen to the whole

record. It can be ordered online from us and

there’s a white vinyl version too.

Good luck with it all, thanks for taking the

time to talk to us.

It’s a pleasure. Thanks, so much for the call.

Robert Jon & The Wreck’s new album “Last

Light On The Highway” is available from

www.robertjonandthewreck.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Last Light on the Highway 2020

• Take Me Higher 2019

• Robert Jon & the Wreck 2018

• Wreckage 2017

• Good Life Pie 2016

• Glory Bound 2015


ITNEY WHITNE

AYSHAYSHAY

AN INTERVIEW WITH

WHITNEY

Y WHITNEY W

SHAYSHAYSH

INTERVIEW | WHITNEY SHAY

YOU’VE GOT TO BE

YOURSELF!

WORDS: Colin Campbell

PICTURES: Andy King Photography

No stranger to a stage, Whitney Shay has

been entertaining audiences since she was

three years old. Whether in a big band, duo,

jazz, or a blues outfit, Whitney is a hardworking

frontwoman.

She is a singer-songwriter who has just

released her new album Stand Up on the

Ruf Records label. She is also part of Ruf’s

Blues Caravan Tour with Jeremiah Johnson

and Ryan Perry. I managed to catch up with

her via video link...

Hi Whitney, where are you today?

In my home in San Diego South California,

this is my abode. I have a recording studio in

my bedroom. It’s been good to spend time at

home and set this up with software as well.

I’ve never produced stuff on my own before,

so this is a good time to learn.

How are you coping with the present lockdown/quarantine

situation?

It’s been a bit of a struggle because there’s

been such momentum for the record and

the tour. I was supposed to be leaving to

tour Europe yesterday! We were going

until May time and it looks like all the UK

dates for the Blues Caravan tour are getting

rescheduled to September this year. Hopefully

the venues will still exist after all this.

The Arts industry is really struggling!

So, how do you keep your vocal cords sharp

when you’re not doing concerts?

Actually, to be honest, my vocals have been

extra fresh because I haven’t been abusing

them as much! So, my voice sounds much

higher than it normally does. I’m usually so

full on doing music, I don’t get a chance to

breathe, it’s nice to take a step away for a

moment. When I do get the chance to sing

again that makes it more special, it makes

you appreciate this at a deeper level. You

don’t take anything for granted no more, you

can’t!

Do you do any live streams or have any

plans to in the near future?

I like them but I’ve not done any yet. I’m a

perfectionist so I’m worried that something

won’t be perfect. But there is something

to be said about living in the moment and

connecting with people. People need something

to get them out of their daily lives.

I’m working on a video collaboration at the

moment.

You are in so many bands, can you talk

about this and about working with Ryan

Perry and Jeremiah Johnson on the Blues

Caravan 2020 tour?

58


WHITNEY SHAY | INTERVIEW

So, when I work at home, I’m lucky that in

San Diego there are so many opportunities

for doing different types of music. So, I

have a jazz quartet I sing with sometimes.

I also have a five-piece rhythm and blues

band and we do my original material and

some 50’s and 60’s R&B. I am in a fourteen-piece

big band and sing with them

occasionally. I occasionally get hired for

corporate work and session work also. This

year was supposed to be different…you’re

always adapting as an artist. Comments

about the Blues Caravan tour have been

positive, things like it’s a real band feeling,

and we seem to get on well with each other.

We all allow each other to shine in our own

moment as well.

What’s the weirdest concert or event that

you’ve played?

A few years back, I did a gig at an Asian

grocery store next to the frozen food

section. It was the opening of their

bakery. It was a jazz gig and I sang jazz

standards next to the frozen fish! I also

got hired once to jump out of a birthday

cake and sing “Happy Birthday”.

Tell us about your musical influences and

what made you want to become a sional musician?

My first trip to Europe was when I was three

and I was with my mother and grandmother.

As a kid I loved sitting through plays. They

took me to see the Wizard of Oz which was

my favourite movie at that time. They asked

me what I thought later, and I said, “well I

liked it, but I thought I was going to get on

the stage”. My mum then found a theatre

company that would take me at three and

a half years old! My first show was Annie it

was a children’s theatre show. Then there

was a transitional period from theatre to

music in 2009. I moved to Colorado profesand

www.bluesmatters.com BLUES MATTERS! 59


graduated from college and then came back

to San Diego, but what was I going to do, I

was twenty-two. I found an advert about

a duo and joined that. I did swing dancing

about then also which was some of our first

live concerts. I saw another advert for a

Speakeasy Bar, we auditioned and played

four times a week. My first gigs were playing

three nights a week there as a duo. I had to

learn to get pretty good, quick!

I prefer playing with a band, with a full

rhythm section, bass and guitar. But there’s

also something special about playing as a

duo. You use different paintbrushes should

I say to do that kind of gig. Etta James is my

favourite singer. They talk about the qualities

of different singers and they talk about

the honesty of Etta James. That’s what I

love, she is genuine, and you believe her.

Something I have learned is to be yourself

and commit. Bonnie Raitt’s honesty I like,

also Eva Cassidy. But it’s Little Richard who

was the best entertainer, also Jackie Wilson,

I would like to emulate those singers. Sam

Cooke, Otis Redding. I was told not to sing

anything that I didn’t love, because people

will know.

Let’s talk about your newest release,

“Stand Up”, how did this come about,

production and band? You wrote most of

the songs as well?

I went to Austin, Texas, it’s so musically

inspiring. The people there, drip blues

out of their pores. I met Thomas Ruf

at the Grammy Awards in L.A. and he

sent me a lot of records, the one I liked

the production on the most was Ina

Forsman’s. My friend Laura Chavez

who played on that record talked to me

about playing for Kaz Kazanov. He had

produced a record for Candy Kayne. Adam,

my songwriting partner and myself started

writing for this record six months before

60

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 114


WHITNEY SHAY | INTERVIEW

recording. We went to Kaz with demos and

he helped so much that when the demos

were done it was nearly finalised into tracks.

The players are all heavyweight session

musicians. Red Young is a genius on organ, I

saw him play the Continental Club in Austin,

wow! Chris Maresh on bass is incredible and

Brannen Temple who is on drums just won

three Grammys with Gary Clark Junior. We

had one day rehearsing then just jumped

What music did you listen to when you

were growing up?

I did not get my musical interest currently

from people I listened to in my childhood! I

grew up listening to the Country music that

my mum listened to. I listened to Christina

Aquilaria and NSYNC! I didn’t know

about jazz and blues until I befriended some

blues musicians. I took guitar lessons and

found out about Elmore James and Bessie

“Music lets people forget

for a moment what’s

going on around them”

in and started recorded things. We left the

horns and overdubbed my vocals at the end.

I got to bring Marcia Ball, Kaz knows her

very well, she lives in Austin, and she plays

on, ”Boy Sit Down” and Derek O’Brien plays

slide on “Equal Ground”. Gigs don’t pay so

well in Austin because there are so many

good musicians there. It is just so inspiring

to have these musicians around you!

On your last album you played with Kid

Anderson what was that like?

Kid is brilliant and Jim Pugh. I wouldn’t

be on Ruf Records if it wasn’t for working

with them. A good friend of mine said you

should make a record at Greaseland, Kid

Anderson’s house. Jim and Kid liked the

record so much they put me on the label. I

did the release party with Igor Prado and a

promoter from Germany was there, he told

Thomas Ruf about me and there you go, it’s

funny how it all worked out.

Smith and Memphis Minnie. Once I started

listening to it, it was like a treasure trove of

discovery. I’ve always loved BIG woman’s

voices! I’ve been trying to learn to play resonator

guitar in my free time.

What’s the best musical advice you have

had and from whom?

One of my acting teachers always said,

“learn how to do everything because that’s

only going to make you more marketable”. I

feel that I have brought this into my singing

now I write original music, I keep to this

feeling. I didn’t feel I had my original voice

up until recently, that was the thing that was

so important to me doing this record. It’s

all original music I’m writing and that’s so

important. It feels like I am an artist.

Have you a certain song writing technique,

does the vocal come first or a chord?

My friend Adam and I write 50/50. We

schedule two days a week for writing. We



sometimes come with a lick or a melody or

a theme. Sometimes it’s a hook, we’ll usually

come up with a line, then a melody and

that’s the focus. When you look at catalogues

of songs that people love, they love

songs that stick in your head. It’s all fine

to write a ballad that’s deep and personal

To me our job is to

entertain

but if it doesn’t connect to someone else,

people won’t understand it. To me our job is

to entertain. Music lets people forget for a

moment what’s going on around them.

Do you have any favourite venues that you

like playing?

In San Diego, The Belly-Up Tavern, is

wonderful. They have an elevator they call

the Ettavator. They put the elevator in to

get to the stage for Etta James because she

couldn’t reach the stage. It’s very intimate.

Is your persona off stage similar to onstage

or are they similar?

Pretty much the same, on stage my energy

levels increase. I’ve been on the stage for so

long now it’s second nature to me.

If you were not a musician what would

you be?

Our business is always uncertain and even

people at the top can have all their tours

cancelled. I thought of being a Therapist,

people have always come to me with their

issues. I also once thought about being a

Lawyer.

There are so many ways of selling music

and listening to it, how do you approach

this?

Ruf is an old-fashioned label and they sell a

lot of vinyl. Thomas Ruf says his business is

still mostly physical sales. It’s good to be on

this type of label. I don’t have an answer to

utilise social media to sell music. You

have to look at other ways of learning

how to deal with everything including

the music business. If you don’t have

focus and drive to market yourself,

you won’t survive.

Tell us something about yourself

that people would not know about

you, if you can?

I’ve always loved Art. Especially sculpture

I could have been a sculptor! My favourite

thing to do in cities is to go to Art Galleries.

Any plans for the future?

To play more in Europe. One of our favourite

gigs was playing on a Monday in Bavaria,

it was great, but Scotland will beat that! A

lot of festivals are getting cancelled and this

might mean the Blues Caravan may go on to

2021. I’m an optimist I believe in the power

of positive thinking. The thing is not to take

anything for granted. We can only survive by

sticking together!

Thank you, it’s been great talking with you.

You too, bye!

For more details see website:

www.whitneyshay.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Stand Up 2020

• A Woman Rules The World 2018

• Soul Tonic 2012

62


COVER INTERVIEW| DION

BLUES WITH

FRIENDS

WORDS: Steve Yourglivch PICTURES: David Godlis COVER IMAGE: Allison Michael Orenstein

Blues With Friends is the title of the

legendary New Yorkers new album and

what a list of friends! An ‘A’ list of some of

the best guitarists and vocalists around

today, including Bonamassa, Springsteen,

Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Billy Gibbons,

and more. All happy to perform with an

artist who has been an inspiration to them

all in some way.

It’s hard to believe that Dion recorded his

first hit in 1958 with The Belmonts, a track

called I Wonder Why, before achieving

global success with songs like Runaround

Sue and The Wanderer. He is still looking the

part though and still being creative. This is

a record of new material, great songs in the

true sense. Resisting rehashing old standards

Blues With Friends stands up as one

of the best albums of the year so far. Dion

splits his time these days between New York

and Florida, where he was in lockdown when

I phoned him.

Can we talk about the new album?

I’m loving it.

Thank you, you’ve heard it already?

Yes, it would’ve been very easy to have just

recorded a load of blues standards, re-interpreting

them with all the guests you

have. So, it’s fantastic that you’ve recorded

all-new original material.

You know Steve, I wish I could say I planned

it. I was working on this project in the

studio for the last four years, and I’d written

these 14 songs, wherever I was, like in

hotel rooms, I’d just get out the guitar and

work on them. I think I’m becoming a better

songwriter. I knew Wayne Hood, and I’d

heard his work as a producer and thought

I’d like to work with him, so we got into the

studio and I cut all the songs with my guitar

in three days with a great bass player and

drummer. Joe Bonamassa’s manager lives

right next to me, so anyway, Joe hears one

of the songs and says he wants to play

on it. So, he plays on this song, Blues

Comin’ On. He just took it to another

level and beyond. That gave me the

idea to give these songs to great

artists who could contribute a vision of

what they hear because I’m limited. For

instance, on Hymn For Him, I thought

Patti Sciafa would sound amazing on

that, I could hear that soulful voice of

hers, you know that tremolo, vibrato. So, I

almost started casting, sending songs out

to people that I’d heard. One of the biggest

surprises to me was Samantha Fish, I knew

66


DION | COVER INTERVIEW

“I’m so fortunate

all these people

said yes”


she was good, I love the way she sings, just

her sensibilities. I sent her a song called

What If I Told You, and Steve, well when

that came back, I couldn’t believe what the

hell she did to it! She used a cigar box guitar

and told me it’s the Mississippi rhythm she

put on it. The lead guitar on it, when I heard

it, I said if I put that much emotion into

anything, I wouldn’t be able to walk for three

weeks. She killed it! I mean some of the time

it was scary like you give a song like Uptown

No7 to Brian Setzer, you wonder what the

hell is he going to do with it y’know. I mean

when someone like Jeff Beck says yeah, I’ll

play on it I knew we were in a good place.

And then Van Morrison wanted to sing, I

only wanted him to play horn on this song,

he said no, let’s sing it.

Added to that you’ve got Joe Louis Walker

playing the guitar on that track too.

Yeah, and he was so good. These class of

artists respond to any sound you make.

However, you phrase something they add to

it. It’s unbelievable.

What struck me is that you’ve got all of

these wonderful guitar players, but nobody

overplayed or added any show-off solos,

everything they played was for the benefit

of the song.

You’re right. I guess these great artists

understand it. I got more and more trusting

as I went along. It’s hard to let go of control

because you think, what are they gonna do

with my song. But thankfully they all added

something, like an extra dimension. I hadn’t

done anything like this before and it was

really fun.

Also, the album, obviously it’s a blues

album but it covers a lot of bases. There are

some country blues and some backwoods

style. I Told You Once In August is a lovely

song. Plus, some gospel, it’s just a really

good blues album.

Yeah, I tell you, I sent a song to Billy Gibbons

called Bam Bang Boom, he is one of a kind.

He said he’d be honoured to play on it. Me,

I’m a rhythm singer, give me a rhythm and

naturally, I have this style. I can’t hold big

notes you know. With a guitarist like Billy

Gibbons when you listen you know that it’s

him, same with Jeff Beck.

68



The song Jeff plays on Can’t Start Over

Again is lovely, it’s got that countryish

vibe to it.

Yeah, he’s just, what can I say? He’s Jeff

Beck.

On, My Baby Loves To Boogie you’ve

got John Hammond Jnr on harp, and sax

on Stumbling Blues too. So, it’s not just

a guitar album, lots of other things are

happening as well?

Yeah, you know Jimmy Vivino produced

my last album and he’s a great guitar player

when he heard Stumbling Blues, he introduced

it to his brother Jerry, who is a great

sax player. There’s amazing talent throughout

the family, another brother Floyd plays,

great piano. I wanted Jimmy to play a traditional

blues guitar, but he asked could Jerry

play on it. It ended up beautiful.

On my notes, I’ve written late-night jazz

club feel and traditional love story.

Yeah, yeah. You got it. I sent another song

out to Paul Simon, he plays great acoustic

guitar, so rich in sound, but in the end,

he could only do the vocals. That was the

Song For Sam Cooke, which I explained to

him it’s not about segregation or racism, it’s

more about brotherhood. When I went on

the road with Sam Cooke, he was the son

of a preacher and living out the gospel, his

compassion and understanding of me, you

know he was protecting me. This was way

before he became, really well known. He

took me into clubs and protected me. He

was a very stand up, regal, refined guy. I was

brought up in the Bronx, I was a little rough

around the edges, but he was a real gentleman.

So, Paul Simon understood, we had the

story in common. He went into a studio and

worked three days on it, y’know I’m so grateful

to have worked with these people. What

he did, really framed the song.

Another big surprise to me was Patti Sciafa,

I asked for some echoing and different

things on various lines, and she loved the

song. She started layering vocals and capturing

the essence of it, like the wind of the holy

spirit. She made it into something sublime.

And then Bruce walked into the studio with



his guitar and said I’d like to play on this too.

Sometimes you get these nice surprises.

Someone we haven’t mentioned yet

is Sonny Landreth. What an incredible

slide player.

Steve, you know, I’m so glad you mentioned

him. This guy is the most unassuming guy

I’ve ever met. He plays like a freaking

top-notch surgeon. He can play the violin

as good as the greatest violinists that ever

lived. That slide guitar, he picks on it like a

violinist. I don’t know how he does it, but he

is amazing. I told him we’re either sad in the

blues or bragging, and I can brag with the

best of them. The Wanderer, Gangster Of

Love, y’know I love those kinda songs. Man,

I was so happy when he said yes. I’ve always

admired his playing it’s very distinctive.

And you know, Joe Bonamassa, I gotta say

it’s only fair that he was the catalyst for the

whole thing.

Blues Comin’ On opens the album and

I think it’s the first single? It throws

down a marker for the whole album.

A real straight-ahead blues song that

just rolls along.

I remember thinking I just couldn’t give the

song enough soul. It’s so fast you have to

get it right in the pocket. If nothing else I

know how to groove, so I laid it down right

in the pocket. Joe loved it. I’m so fortunate

all these people said yes. Even my friend Joe

Menza who’s a great guitarist. He kinda flew

under the radar cos he’s one of those guys

who just doesn’t get outta the house. He

collects heirloom guitars. I asked him to

lay down a rhythm track and a lead, and

he did. He put the song, Kickin’ Child

just exactly where I wanted it to live.

Talk about a groove.

A lot of people will remember you

recording with The Belmonts and

releasing songs like Runaround Sue

and The Wanderer, but you were

influenced by the blues very early on,

weren’t you?

Yeah, I did Groovy Baby, even Runaround

Sue is a heavily disguised blues

song. I remember the so-called British

invasion, I called it the British infusion.

That’s really what it was. That picked up

where I was all along, I felt. You know Pete

70




Townsend of The Who, I found out he was

a fan. I was in a studio once and he found

out I was there, he came bursting in and

said, Dion, I always wanted to tell you this,

he says, me and Roger, our favourite song

is your version of Spoonful, tell me how

do you do that song, it’s amazing. He went

on and on, I was taken aback. I told him I

walked in with a Birdland Gibson, I had all

the guys there, I turned the tremolo on, and

I went for it. It’s kinda nice to know how it

connected, that I reached somebody with it.

It made me feel really good.

Your father was an entertainer, wasn’t he?

My father was in vaudeville. He manipulated

marionettes. He went to England when I was

14 or 15 years old and he played with The

Crazy Gang. He was there for a year. He was

an artist, he would sculpt. He wasn’t always

the greatest at being a father, but he had

great qualities. He certainly influenced my

enthusiasm for creativity, wonder and awe

and mystery.

Another thing you must get asked about a

lot, the Winter Dance Tour when sadly we

lost Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and others.

Yes, I have a whole video, The Rock & Roll

Hall of Fame people came down here and

filmed an hour and a half of me talking

about that. I hadn’t ever really talked about

it before that, so that’s online if anybody

wants to watch it. That was such a big thing,

I was 19 years old, it really upset me. I guess

over the years I’ve wanted those guys to be

proud of me. Buddy Holly influenced my life

on so many levels, as a guitar player, friends,

just, y’know as men. Buddy Holly was such a

nice guy, an amazing guy. He was like an old

soul. I mean he chartered a plane at 22, even

today 22-year-olds don’t charter planes, and

this was 1959. He was taking flying lessons,

he opened his own publishing company, he

had gotten married. The guy was like on a

mission. He was a very decisive guy, next

to him I was unsure, he made decisions just

rapid fire. He was just terrific. He was definitely,

a visionary.

You mentioned the Hall of Fame, you were

inducted in 1989. That must have been a

proud moment?

Yeah, yeah, wow. Steve, that made me feel

really good. What can I tell you, I never got

any awards as such? I don’t even know if the

Grammys were around when I made The

Wanderer and Runaround Sue if they were,

they sure weren’t nominating rock n roll. I

never got anything like that, I got recognition

for million-selling records on my wall.

Any awards I got were almost private, so

getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of

Fame made me feel like what I had done had

influenced or reached somebody. It’s very

fulfilling.

Blues With Friends is released on June 5th

on Keeping The Blues Alive Records which

is a new label started by Joe Bonamassa

and his manager Roy Weisman. It can be

ordered via KTBArecords.com

www.diondimucci.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Blues With Friends 2020

• New York Is My Home 2016

• Tank Full of Blues 2011

• Son of Skip James 2007

• Bronx in Blue 2006

• New Masters 2003

• Deja Nu 2000

(Dion has had a prolific recording career and space

restrictions mean we can only list his most recent

recordings)


ROY ROBERTS

BLUES,

HEART

& SOUL

Now nearing eighty years of

age, North Carolina soul-bluesman

Roy Roberts looks back

over a career that started as a

kid, with a guitar to catch the

women and to free him from

a life working the family farm.

We hooked up on the verge of

a new release, the first in some

time, to chat with an old friend.

IMAGE: Bill Clubb


When Greensboro, North Carolina

soul-bluesman Roy Roberts was just a kid

he tried piano lessons for a while but just

couldn’t suffer the indignity of it all: “I’d be

sitting playing and it felt sort of ‘……a girls

thing’ to me, If you know what I mean. It was

just cissified, I guess,” Roy laughs and adds,

“I’d be able to hear my buddies outside in the

yard playing and hollering, having a great

time. So I gave that up,’ he explains.

A few years later, however, the young,

budding musician discovered guitar, taught

himself how to play and was out on the road

gigging, a jobbing musician with a hunger

to learn and develop as fast as he could.

“I think I was about 18 years old when I

went out on the road,” he recalls, “playing

with Stevie Wonder, then known as Little

Stevie Wonder.”

Roberts recalls getting his first guitar from

the famous Sears catalogue when he was

about 16 years old: “I’d been to a few clubs

and I’d heard that Elvis stuff, and Chuck

Berry. I saw the guitarists were always picking

up the women. They had no worries on

that score and I wanted some of that. So

guitar it was. I think it cost something like

fourteen bucks back then. I had a buddy

who could play a bit, knew some licks, and

he helped show me some chords and we

got together. When the guitar arrived, the

mailman had it. I was working out in the

fields and I saw him come, he called and I ran

across to get the package. I was so pleased.”

And Roberts was still a young guy when he

first met up with a guy who was to become

his professional music mentor, taking him

under his wing and teaching him the musical

ropes - the late Solomon Burke.

“I joined Solomon’s band and he sure took

good care of me. I was always, and remain,

the kind of guy who plays what is wanted

PICTURES: Jan Venning

of me. I don’t do none of that ‘…..I only play

what I want to play stuff,’ like lots of the

guys around these days. If they’re paying,

they get to call the shots,” he says, with an

evident disdain for the shameless self-promotion

of many younger sidemen and

band-members these days.

“I was playing guitar with Solomon. He liked

to have the band open for him, with a singer,

and then after a few numbers he’d come out

– a grand entrance – and come up on stage.

One night, the guy who usually sang didn’t

show up, he’d been drinking or something

like that. Solomon went round the band and

they all said ‘No, not me, I can’t sing boss.’

He came to me and I gave in. I was no singer

then, real rough, but I thought I could give

it a go. And half-way through he appeared

from his dressing-room and smiled, waved

me on to keep going..”

This was to prove a turning point in Roberts’

career, giving him the confidence to

continue up-front each night and develop his

skills and confidence.

For some time, Roberts also played and

worked with Eddie Floyd. He also worked

on a number of occasions with the late Otis

Clay and indeed talked with Clay a few

short months before he passed in January

2016. And having worked most of the

local clubs and venues in his home-state,

Roberts became known as a powerful, reliable

professional who could be trusted and

relied on to produce the musical goods when

needed, a trait that resulted in him playing,

touring and working with one of soul music’s

truly legendary greats, Otis Redding.

“Otis came through Greensboro and played

the club I was then working with a house

band. We got on real well and he liked my

playing and approach. At the time he had a

huge hit record out, ‘These Arms Of Mine’,

ISSUE 114 BLUES MATTERS! 73

INTERVIEW | ROY ROBERTS

and I backed him so he took me out on the

road with him. He was a great guy, always

respectful and understanding. We were

good buddies. I was real cut-up when he

passed.”

That was in 1967 and following Redding’s

death, Roberts decided to try going it alone

for a few years, releasing a handful of single

45s - and being ripped-off by his then

management, leading to him taking a bit of

a break in late 1969. “I sat back and considered

the future. Best thing I done. I opened

my own record company and took control of

my own stuff, with my own recording studio.

I became a sort-of one-man-band, in effect.

It means if you get it right - that’s great. But,

if you get it wrong, you can’t go blaming

nobody else. I guess I’ve got something right

cause I’ve about 17 or 18 albums out so far.”

Roberts also knew and worked with BB

King way back in the day, a memorable

experience he still treasures: “BB was a

real old-fashioned gentleman, great to play

alongside and know,” he says with an admiring

shake of the head.

When the talk turns to more current,

modern bluesmen, Roberts is scathing at

times. Quite a fan of Robert Cray, for example,

he recalls hearing him for first time and

thinking they both shared a similar attack

and approach to the music but reckons the

guy has grown too big way too fast, acknowledging

the importance of Clapton - who he

has also shared billing with in the past in the

USA - in the generation and development

“If you get it wrong,

you can’t go blaming

nobody else”

74


ROY ROBERTS | INTERVIEW

of Cray’s musical persona and undeniable

popularity. Tedeschi Trucks, on the other

hand, he admires and enjoys on a personal

level.

Roberts describes himself as being ‘…..a

road man.’ “I’ve been over 55 years out on

the road. It can get kinda tiresome but I’m

used to it by now. We take to the road with

gigs covering all over the USA. Sometimes

it means driving for 20 hours at a time. But

I can still do that stuff and often take the

wheel for up to sixteen hours at a stretch

myself.” This despite now approaching eighty

years of age, as he confides with his customary

warm laugh.

Currently in the process of cutting a

new album - it’s in the bag but still to be

Roy and Koko Taylor

mastered and should drop around end of

April - Roberts confirms he still loves that

old traditional soul sound, the Memphis Stax

sound, with full-on horns in the mix: “You

just gotta move when you hear that music,”

he laughs. And having caught the man in

action live a few times in recent years and

when for the second time he played Cognac

Blues Festival in France, that is exactly what

he does.

When I comment on how he ‘works the

house and audience,’ he beams with clear

pleasure, confirming that was one of the

professional tricks he learned from Solomon

Burke, himself a past-master in the field.:

“I used to watch Solomon in action and I

thought to myself, ‘that’s what I want to do…’

He had the crowd eating out of his hand. He

grabbed them and kept them with him till

the moment he walked from the stage. He

was my favourite. I learned so much from

him. The trick is to keep them with you all of

the way, to keep it always moving. You just

gotta always roll with the flow. I love making

people happy. I’m just an old bluesman, I

guess. Gonna be that till the day I die. At the

end of the day we’re all just passing through!

For now, I’ll just keep working, playing the

blues and won’t let anything beat me down!”

www.royrobertsblues.com

DISCOGRAPHY

Big Bill Morganfield with Roy

• Strange Love 2012

• It’s only You 2008

• Man With A Message (Gospel) 2007

• Roy Roberts & Friends 2006

• Sicily Moon 2006

• By Request 2006

• Partners and Friends 2004

• Daylight With A Flashlight 2003

• Burnin’ Love 2001


WADDY WACHTEL AND DANNY KORTCHMAR TAKE CONTROL WITH

WORDS: Don Wilcock

PICTURES: Arnie Goodman

“We have such high standards as to

what’s a good song,” says guitarist Danny

Kortchmar of Immediate Family. He and

his “brother” and fellow guitarist Waddy

Wachtel have worked both together and

separately for more than half a century

supporting some of the most iconic acts

in popular music from Carol King, James

Taylor and Warren Zevon to Don Henley

and Linda Ronstadt.

But, at ages 73 and 72 respectively, they’re

functioning as band leaders, not sidemen,

for the first time in Immediate Family.

“There’s no constraints except the ones we

make on ourselves,” explains Danny. Their

first album on Quarto Valley Records is due

out in June.

To put it bluntly, they’re in heaven. “We’re in

the studio with the same “brothers” we’ve

been in the studio with for 50 years,” says

Waddy. “So, we all assume the same roles

we’ve always done with each other. Danny

and I are finding the counter point, parts to

play, and (fellow guitarist) Steve Postell has

done a great job. With three guitars counterpointing,

it’s a little difficult sometimes,

but we’re finding a great way to do it, and

with Russell (Kunkel on drums) you can’t

really falter on the rhythm section.”

The musicians in Immediate Family all

worked on Danny’s solo album Honey Don’t

Leave LA, a 2015 release that included

newly arranged versions of songs Kortchmar

wrote either alone or in collaboration

76


IMMEDIATE FAMILY | INTERVIEW

with artists, including Don Henley’s ‘Dirty

Laundry,’ ‘All She Wants to Do Is Dance’ and

‘New York Minute’ and Jackson Browne’s

‘Somebody’s Baby’ and ‘Shaky Town.’ There

were also a few new compositions. Guest

performers included James Taylor, Jackson

Browne, David Crosby & Michael McDonald.

“When we got done playing on the solo

record,” says Waddy, “Danny looked at us

and went, ‘Ok, guys, I’ve got to tour with

this, and I can’t do it with anyone else. So,

let’s make a band.’ That’s the strong reality.

That’s the freedom we get, and that’s

the justification for it. We can actually go

and do our own singles, now. A unique new

avenue. It’s great. It’s really great.” It’s hard

to imagine how wonderful it must feel for

Waddy and Danny finally to be in control

of their own project. “(Until now) our parts

were determined by what everyone else was

playing. That’s very different than the way

we’re doing it.

“One of the songs we’re working on I had

almost the whole song’s lyrics down, and

I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I told

Waddy. It took him 15 seconds to come out


INTERVIEW | IMMEDIATE FAMILY

78



with the melody. The whole thing was over

in 10 to 15 minutes. The whole song was

done. And you can’t do that with everybody.

It takes a lifetime.”

Waddy concurs. “It’s different because it’s

all brand-new material, and we’re not trying

to back someone else up. We’ve spent so

many years being sidemen to so many great

artists, we’ve been so lucky. We’re trying

to fill that same (position) ourselves. So,

it’s a little more challenging. I would say it’s

not easy, but it’s so easy to depend on each

other to come up with the right stuff.”

Both artists have supplied “the right stuff” to

the American songbook since the late ’60s.

Waddy Wachtel began writing songs at age

14 and has appeared on hundreds of albums

by artists ranging from Bon Jovi, Keith Richards,

and Stevie Nicks. He produced Stevie

Nicks’ 2019 induction into the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame. He calls Keith Richards

a complete, total musician and, unlike his

public image a complete gentleman. “He’s

a dear, dear man and really has respect and

is interested in the people around him and

lets them know it. He is so giving musically

and verbally and heartwarmingly. He’s a

total gentleman. and driven. He doesn’t

miss a trick.”

One of Waddy’s lesser known credits

includes playing guitar with an orchestra in

the film The Poseidon Adventure in 1971.

“The director goes, ‘Ok, here we go. Here we

go. Ok, do it in A flat.’ And I just froze, with

40 pieces. The rhythm section begins, and

I just hit three or four of the melody notes

and then just lost it. And he’s going, ‘What

the hell is happening? What’s going on here?

Try again. Try it again!’ And I’m like panicking.

We tried it again, and I got through eight

or nine notes, and it just fell apart again,

and he looked at me and he goes, ‘Maybe

we should take lunch while “Marylin

Monroe” here gets it together.’ I said, ‘Yeah,

why don’t you take lunch, ok? A good idea.’

My big mouth.”

Kortchmar played guitar on two Carol King

albums including Tapestry which in 1971

became for a while the biggest selling album

of all time. He plays on James Taylor’s career

defining album Sweet Baby James. He

co-produced and played on Don Henley’s

Building The Perfect Beast and The End of

Innocence albums, writing or co-writing

several songs including “Sunset Grill,” “New

York Minute” and “If Dirt Were Dollars.”

He toured with Linda Ronstadt in the ’70s

and ’80s and has produced albums by Neil

Young, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel, and Tracy

Chapman. He co-produced Jon Bon Jovi’s

number one album Blaze of Glory.

Danny’s relationship with James Taylor goes

back to a time when they were both kids in

summer camp on Martha’s Vineyard. “We

were just into the same music, listened to

blues and, dare I say, some folk music, too.


“We started out playing, and we’re

gonna play until we are dead”


We just listened to the same stuff. So, we

just grew up together. We taught each other

a lot; I think. We both learned from the same

incredible musicians: Ray Charles, Otis

Redding, The Beatles and everybody that

was happening.”

Immediate Family’s first record will contain

original material by Waddy, Danny and other

members of the group. When I interviewed

them in December it was being recorded at

Groove Masters Studio in Santa Monica,

a place Danny calls a “dream facility.” He

told one reviewer about recording Honey,

Don’t Leave L.A. there. “I didn’t want any

‘production’ on it. I wanted it to be absolutely

real and authentic, and that’s the

way it came out.”

Danny sums up the group’s feelings about

the impending album. “We have such high

standards as to what’s a good song. This

is different in that there’s no constraints

except the ones we make on ourselves.

Before, the ones we were working for

decided what songs they liked. All the songs

we play are songs we love. So, it’s totally

different in that way.”

Waddy adds, “Yeah. If you gotta play, you

gotta play. That’s all we do. We play. We

started out playing, and we’re gonna play

until we are dead. It’s what we do, you

know? Whether we’re in the fast lane or

not, I don’t care. Whether we’re in the

mainstream or not, I don’t care about

that, either. Whether rock is alive

or dead, I don’t care about that

either. We have to play.”

www.waddywachtelinfo.com

One note of clarification: This interview was done

over a three-way telephone line, and it was difficult

to differentiate who was talking at any given

time. So, it’s possible that some of these quotes

are attributed to Danny when they were said by

Waddy and vice versa.

DISCOGRAPHY

• Honey, Don’t Leave L.A. - 2018

www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 114 BLUES MATTERS!

81

ART OF

Rebellion?

Sass Jordan

WORDS: Stephen Harrison

PICTURES: Supplied

Sass Jordan has been in the music business for over forty years,

mainly on the rock scene, and she has had a fantastic amount of

success over the years. In fact, she has notched up sales of over one

million records. But in 2020 she decided that she wanted to do a

full-on blues album. She has just released her first all blues album

entitled Rebel Moon Blues. I recently caught up with her and asked

the relevant question. Why?

INTERVIEW | SASS JORDAN

So, rock chick to blues chick. How did that

come about?

Well the one factor that has remained the

same is chick. And if I’m a chick I must have

come from an egg. And that egg is music.

Music has brought about the birth of rock

and blues. But the absolute main thing for me

is the roots. It’s all about the roots. Rock has

its roots in blues and jazz so whatever combination

of all that is cool. I love hybrid music.

The coming together of all sorts of music.

This record that I’ve just made is just one

style, blues, it’s all blues. This album is such

a pot of where I came from and a lot of the

artists that are covered here are who I used

to listen to. I’ve covered artists that have

covered the originals. For example, Taj Mahal

did not write Leaving Trunk, but I didn’t

know that, but the only version I know is the

Taj Mahal version. I’m definitely not a blues

expert in anyway shape or form, apart from

emotionally, but my voice fits those emotions

perfectly.

I agree, your voice and style are so naturally

drawn towards the blues.

I do have a blues background as in what I

listen to. I listen to all types of music and I’m

hugely influenced by what I’m listening to

at that particular moment. Music is music to

me, but I did grow up listening to that style

of music. Perhaps not a great number of

different artists but the ones that I did listen

to were authentic. Taj Mahal was probably

one of my favourites as was Dr. John who

was also not a blues artist in its purist sense,

but he did have a southern style, especially

New Orleans which is another genre that is

very close to my heart. What is interesting

is, these styles that I’m discovering are very

closed clubs so to speak. If you are not known

specifically as an artist that has been doing

that style all their lives, then you are not

perceived as authentic. On the other hand,

I must say that I’m receiving more attention

and good feelings from people for this blues

stuff I’ve just done than for anything else I’ve

done in years.

Did you enjoy recording an all blues album?

You sound like you were having a great time.

We had so much fun doing it. We were laughing

all the time, and it was all recorded live,

actually as we were doing it, so that proves

how much fun we were having and why

it sounds so good. They are this bunch of

people that I’m extremely proud of and feel

so comfortable with because we travel so

much on the road together.

Will there be some more blues stuff in the

future?

Oh yeah, about one million percent.

Any plans to tour the album in the UK when

things get back to normal?

Yes of course. I was born there in Birmingham.

Of course, I’d love to tour the UK. All my

Birmingham family are still there and a load

of friends, and fans also. I’ve got a big fan

base over there. I speak to Chantel McGregor

a lot on Instagram although I don’t know

her personally, so I get good feedback as to

what’s going on over there.

So, how did your band (love the name) The

Champagne Hookers take to doing an all

blues album?

I thought of the name for them when I was

standing on the side of the stage waiting to

go on and somebody said, how do you want

to be introduced? And I just blurted out,

The Champagne Hookers and all the guy’s

in the band just loved it. But going back to

the album, they all pretty much come from a

blues background especially the guitar player

Chris Caddell, and the drummer he’s also in a

blues band.

84


SASS JORDAN | INTERVIEW

How long have you been with The Champagne

Hookers?

Well we all met at different times, Chris

Caddell is the guy I’ve known the longest out

of the group and he plays with a lot of other

people to. So, they all come from different

bands and join up in my band and then go

play with someone

else for a while. The

drummer with The

Foo Fighters (Taylor

Hawkins) started

off playing drums

in my band, it was

the first band he

ever played with so

if you Google Sass

Jordan Foo Fighters

on YouTube he tells

the story on there.

Chris Caddell and

Jimmy Reid are such

great guitar players.

Derrick Brady (bass)

and Cassius Pereira

(drums) also played

with Chris Caddell

in various cover

bands so we decided

to get the band that

I normally played

with and made them my band. Steve Mariner,

the Harp player also plays with others including

Colin James, so it becomes a melting pot

of all different players basically all coming

from the same direction. The main aim was

to get my live band on the recording, so that’s

what we did.

What was the first record that you bought

with your own money?

John Lennon, Imagine. That wasn’t the first

music I listened to though, my parents only

ever listened to classical music, so all I was

exposed to was classical music. Then one day

after we moved back from India my brother

and I discovered that you could change the

dial on the radio, and the very first song that

I ever heard was The Night They Drove Old

Dixie Down by The Band. I heard that song

and I said to myself, that’s what I’m gonna do.

I knew from the age of about 9 or 10 that’s

what I wanted to do.

I wanted to reach

large numbers of

people with my

voice. John Lee

Hooker was another

guy that I used to

listen to a lot along

with Johnny Winter

because that’s real

blues right there.

Who has had the

biggest impact on

your career musically?

I literally cannot

answer that

because there are

so many, but when I

was about thirteen,

I used to listen to a

lot of David Bowie,

but it didn’t go past

Station To Station. I also went through a big

passion with The Rolling Stones, but that

ended with Goats Head Soup. But right now,

I’m having the time of my life with the blues

thing and kind of getting into the club. The

closed club of the blues. But for some reason

little cracks are opening up for me and I’m

getting in there.

You did a theatre performance about the

life of Janis Joplin; how did that come

about?

That was a complete accident. I didn’t really


INTERVIEW | SASS JORDAN

like Janis Joplin at the time, but I was offered

a free flight to New York city to do the audition.

I never dreamed in a hundred years

that I’d get the gig; I was just thinking about

spending some time in New York with one of

my best friends. Then right out of the blue I

got the job. I did it for five months, and this

was right after 9/11 and New York was still

reeling from it. You could still smell the dust.

In retrospect it was one of the most engaging

and challenging things I’ve ever done, and I

got to work with an amazing vocal coach that

changed my life. I also made some terrific

friends.

Well thank you so much for taking the time

to talk to Blues Matters Magazine, it’s been

an absolute pleasure talking to you.

Take care.

You too honey. Take care of yourselves over

there’

Find out more about Sass over

on her website:

www.sassjordan.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Rebel Moon Blues 2020

• Racine Revisited 2017

• From Dusk ‘Till Dawn 2009

• Get What You Give 2006

• Hot Gossip 2000

• Present 1997

• Rats 1994

• Racine 1992

• Tell Somebody 1988

“The main aim was to get my live

band on the recording, so that’s

what we did”

86


ZAKIYA

HOOKER

THE LEGACY

WORDS: Steve Yourglivch

PICTURES: As Credited

To say Zakiya Hooker was born into the

blues might sound like a cliché but in her

case it’s certainly true. Legacy is often an

over-used word too, but again Zakiya has

earned the right to entitle her new release

just that.

As the youngest child of John Lee Hooker,

the blues were destined to be a part of

her by both nature and nurture, it was all

around her during her childhood in Detroit.

Now living in Georgia via a spell in California,

Zakiya has released her most personal

recordings ever, digging deep into her life

experiences and expressing the songs in her

own intimate way.

She’s suffered her own private hardships

along the way, losing one son to a car crash

when he was 20, and another to a long prison

sentence. An unhappy marriage break-up

provides the inspiration for some of the

writing as does the happiness she has now

discovered with her husband Ollan Christopher,

a talented musician, producer and

one-time vocal coach with Curtis Mayfield.

I phoned her at her Georgia home during

lockdown and she cheerfully dragged herself

away from her beloved garden to talk to us.

Hi Zakiya, how are you? It’s great to get to

talk to you.

Hi, I’ve been sitting breathlessly waiting by

the phone for your call.

Oh no (laughs). You’re in Georgia, how are

things there. Are you all OK?

I’m not in the city, we’re outside in a small

place called Douglasville. We’re quite

remote so we’ve been safe so far.

The way things are at the moment it’s hard

to know how the industry will look in the

future, plus it’s difficult having to decide - do

we carry on and release an album on the due

date or be cautious and hold back.

Oh, my gosh, yes. We’re going ahead and

releasing it. I think the labels are all pretty

much on hold but at least as independent

artists we have a bit more freedom.

I have to say I am really enjoying the album.

I’ve read you say in a couple of interviews

that this is different to your previous

releases. To me this feels like it’s very

personal and very honest. It seems as though

you’re being very natural and not performing

to any kind of expectation that’s been put

upon you.

That’s pretty much it. All of my previous

albums, we wrote most of the songs, but it’s

88


LIVES ON...


different this time in that I’ve written in the

way I feel them, the way I tell them. And I’m

a real late bloomer on the guitar, I’ve only

just started to play. I’m no virtuoso, I picked

it up to help me write the songs the way I felt

them. And so, you’re right, these songs are

just how I feel them and just basically me.

When you say they feel natural that’s just

the stories I had to tell.

I find it really refreshing that the vocal

is given space to tell the story, there’s no

unnecessary guitar solos or anything fighting

to be heard.

Oh, thank you. This album has taken two

and a half years to finish. As I said I’m not the

greatest guitar player, I can do my chords

and some rhythm. My aim in writing with

the guitar was to get my melody line. My

husband Ollan can then take that and make

it work. More than anything else I’ve ever

done this is the record I like the best. I really

love this one because I can sit and listen to

this, just put it on and it takes you somewhere.

Also, it has a great flow. You can put track

one on and just let it go.

Oh yes, the flow of the CD. We went back

and forth trying to decide the order of the

songs. Front Door To Hell was interesting, we

had two versions, the one Ollan preferred

opens the album but we also liked the more

guitar player one so we decided to end with

that. A lot of the songs cover personal experiences

too. Or maybe I’ve heard a phrase

that inspires something. The ladies really

love the song Big Girl Panties.

One of my favourites is Love The Pain Away.

I love the little guitar solo in there.

Oh, you know we did a video that goes with

that song. It was recorded by Sound Waves

TV based in California. The solo was Enrico

Bozas, he’s from Buenos Aires Argentina,

and he is my guitarist. I’ve got a few I use but

he is the one who tours with me. That’s him

playing it and it is a beautiful solo.

Yeah, that solo lends itself perfectly to the

song, but as I said earlier that’s true all the

way through. All the music is sculptured to

the vocal.

It’s amazing that you’ve noticed everything

goes around the vocals. What happens is

that Ollan is very careful about that. Back in

the 60’s he was part of a vocal group called

The Natural Four, and he worked with Curtis

Mayfield for several years, and others like

Wolfman Jack. He’s also a vocal coach so he’s

very cognitive about the voice and fitting

everything around the voice because it’s the

voice that tells the story. He mixed the album

and he focused a lot on the vocals, making

them shine. I don’t know if you’ve heard my

Dads album Face To Face, it came out soon

after he died. We had some unreleased

tracks that we put together, Ollan produced

that too.

One of the other tracks that stands out to me

is One More Dance.

Ha ha...that’s my favourite. I love that song

and you know I love country music. In the

centre of that song you’ll hear an oboe.

That’s Anthony Cook. He’s from Manchester,

and he’s been with us almost thirty years.

You know I’m really proud of this album,

I was afraid at first because I’d written all

the songs and so different from what I had

done that people wouldn’t be accepting of it.

Z

90


ZAKIYA

Anthony also helps with the production.

I wanted to mention the cover

artwork too, it’s great.

Ahh, thank you. You know that’s a

cotton plant. I met with my graphic

designer in a little coffee shop to talk

about ideas, and he asked me a few

questions, and when I mentioned the

blues he said, oh yeah that started

about fifty years ago didn’t it. I just

kinda laughed, he had no history,

he was a typical white guy from the

suburbs. So, I gave him a shortened

history of the blues and from where

it came. I told him my dad was a

shear cropper He picked cotton. In

many ways my people are defined

by cotton, so that is my legacy no

matter how harsh that is. Also, it’s

such a beautiful flower before it

becomes the cotton ball. There are

so many different colours it truly is

beautiful but then for many African

Americans it yielded pain and suffering.

I remember the first time I saw

a big cotton field we were driving to

a festival in Mississippi, huge fields

and it was 90 degrees. How could

people work sun-up to sun-down in

that field.

I’ve read that you’ve also done

spoken word presentations about

the blues and its history.

I have but I prefer to be on the stage

singing rather than speaking. The

HOOKER

blues history is very important to me. You know

I was born into it and grew up with it 24/7. I’m

not a historian but I know a lot of the history of

it and I love to sit down with historians and hear

them talk about it.

Being the daughter of someone like John Lee

Hooker who was a giant figure in the blues, can

that be a double-edged sword at times?

Oh yes it can be. When I started out it was

really hard. For one thing people don’t

always take you seriously, and a lot of times

people expected me to perform his type

of music. I can’t do his kind of music. He

communicated from a place where he came

from, the cotton fields and the struggle and

journey he took. I can’t sing about his journey

with the passion that he would sing about

“The ladies really

love the song

Big Girl Panties”

it with. My father could not read or write

so when you hear him singing it’s coming

straight from his heart, his soul. And these

are things that have happened to him in

his life. Travels, inequalities, watching

his brother die from TB. All those are

things he experienced. You know you

sing about what you know. You know

92



there’s a song on the album I wrote about

my mum and dad, it’s hidden away in there,

called I Don’t Know How It Happened, you

know how people end up living together and

they don’t know how it happens. Carrying

on living together and sharing the pain until

one day you can’t go on anymore. Sometimes

people can look from the outside and think

they are so happy, but they are not, there’s a

struggle going on.

I thought that with the song Front Door To

Hell, that line about bruises in a secret place.

Yeah, that’s a personal one from my younger

days. You finally get the strength to talk

about them. I’m working on a song now

about my mum, my dad and my youngest

son who I lost when he was twenty back in

1991. That could break you. It breaks you for

a minute and then you have to get back up.

You have to move on, and you can. I’ve led a

very colourful life.

You’ve been performing live since the early

90’s. First with your dad.

Boy, that was intense. Really intense for me.

Before the performance my stomach was full

of butterflies. Afterwards I got sick, I had to

go home. Then I understood the gravity of

what was going on. After a while it got easier

and easier. I don’t get nervous now because

I just enjoy doing it. For me, I’m just such a

people person, for 28 years I worked in the

court system. I was a jury manager, so I dealt

with hundreds of people every day coming

through, so I learned how to judge people

and so that’s my expertise.

You must be asked all the time about growing

up in Detroit with your father.

As the daughter of John Lee Hooker, you

know he was my dad, so it felt normal

although I understood he didn’t have a 9 to 5

job. We just accepted that our dad went out

and performed. He loved watching baseball,

he forced us all to watch it cos we only

had one TV. I loved that he used to buy raw

peanuts, put them in the oven to cook them

and he always burnt them. Every time. But

we didn’t care we ate them anyway. He loved

cooking he made the best oxtail stew. He’d

be gone sometimes for quite a while and

he would always bring back gifts for everybody.

When I was 10 or 11, he brought me

back expensive perfume, or silk scarves.

He was just a really wonderful, wonderful,

wonderful father. You know there were

problems between him and my mum, but he

just weathered the storm until at one point

they got divorced. I lived in Detroit until I

was 27, then I lived in California until 2013.

That’s when I moved to Georgia and now,

I’m really happy with my life. I love gardening

and I work in my yard all the time, and I

make jewellery and I have my music. I guess

that’s happiness. I love using my hands, I

love digging in the dirt. In fact, I’ve been out

planting flowers this morning before breakfast

at about 6.00am.

Thank you so much Zakiya for talking to us

today.

Steve, it’s been a real pleasure. Thank you.

www.zakiyahooker.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Legacy (Independent) 2020

• Keep It Real (Boogie With The Hook) 2009

• Colour Of The Blues (MDR Records) 2005

• Flowers Of The Blues (Virgin) 1996

• Another Generation Of The Blues

(Silvertone) 1995


ERJA

LYYTINEN

A PERFECT FINNISH

WORDS & PICTURES: Adam Kennedy

When you think about the blues you are

never too far away from a King - whether

that be B.B., Freddie or Albert. But when

it comes to blues queens, you need look

no further than slide guitar goddess Erja

Lyytinen.

Last year the high-flying Finn unveiled

her first biographical book, which is titled

‘Blueskuningatar’ in her native tongue.

This roughly translates to ‘Blues Queen’.

Although the book is presently only available

in Finnish - an updated edition in

English is currently in the works, with a

release date yet to be confirmed.

Adam Kennedy recently caught up with

Erja Lyytinen at home in Helsinki, Finland

amid the city’s coronavirus lockdown to

find out more about her new book, the

impact of the current pandemic on her

plans for 2020 as well as the gifted guitarist’s

touring activities this year, so far.

INTERVIEW | ERJA LYYTINEN

So, first of all, you’ve just completed

the first part of your Blues Queen tour

in Finland. How were those shows up

to this point?

It’s been an amazing tour, and everything

went so fluidly. Everything was so easy

going. We had both new and old songs

coming into the set. We had arranged

and rehearsed some of my old songs from

twenty years ago. So, it was kind of like a

retrospective tour where we almost covered

all of the albums that I have done. We almost

had, like, one song from each album. Maybe

we missed two albums or something like

that. But it was very nostalgic in that way.

We looked at some songs that we could

rebuild totally and made new versions of

them. We tried them out at the shows and

people liked that.

We had sold-out shows. And people were

saying this is the best tour you’ve done so

far. And so, we had a great response, and

everything was going so well until the 12th

of March. The Finnish government imposed

a restriction on all of the shows. At first,

they restricted gatherings to no more than

a capacity of 500 people. And we figured,

okay, let’s just leave the ticket sales to that

amount. But in one day it all changed. As

we got more information and more news

about the situation with COVID-19 we just

figured we cannot put our fans through this.

I cannot put my team through this because

I have two guys in my band who are part of

the high-risk group. So, I needed to make

a responsible decision. So, we decided to

postpone the tour in Finland and those dates

have been moved to the Fall.

You’ve also recently released your first

biography, which came out at the end of

last year. I know it’s been a long time in the

works, but it’s an interesting time in your

career to release a book. I mean, a lot of

artists wait until the end of their career to

put out a biography whereas you’re still

very active, very busy and on tour all of the

time as well as being still very young. Why

did you choose this particular point in time

to release a book? Is it that this book is kind

of just the first chapter of a longer project?

Yeah, something like that. I started to get

requests from people who were saying a

book about you could be interesting for

people to read. To share my story, which is

not very particular, not for general audiences.

Like why is a female from the middle

woods in Finland playing blues orientated

music and being a mother?

I’m travel to more than a hundred shows per

year around the world, but it’s not the most

typical thing, we have more women doing

this nowadays. Like maybe ten or twenty

years ago that was still very rare. And so

yeah, I started to get these requests, like it

would be nice to read the story. And then

again, there had been a lot happening, a lot

of things in my career which for me it feels

amazing that these things happen. Like for

instance, playing with Santana and stuff like

that. It’s like they are rare and interesting.

Actually, in Finland, it’s quite trendy now to

write books. We have some artists in their

twenties releasing books. So, of course,

they’re not talking about their whole career.

It’s something else, like how they ended up

where they are right now. So that’s the way

I’m looking at it as well. Like I’m in my forties,

so I’ve already seen life. I would like to think

that I’ve got something to say already, but I

also want to look at it as this position in my

life where I still have a lot to achieve. So, I’m

only partway and I’ve still got lots to do, but

yeah, it was interesting to look back on my

career and life.

And then we started to work on the book

two or three years ago with the author

Mape Ollila, who also wrote a book on the

96


ERJA LYYTINEN | INTERVIEW

Finnish metal band Nightwish. At one point

there was a publishing company that got

hold of me saying we would like to write a

book about you. And I said, oh, we are doing

it already. I was first going to self-release it,

but then I got this huge company behind me.

They put out hundreds of books every year.

So that was a really good point.

When you write a book like that, you’re

going right the way back to your youth and

through your whole career. Were there any

parts of that where you kind of thought

that these things are too personal to speak

about or did you find

the whole experience

to be kind of

therapeutic to get

some that stuff off

your chest, so to

speak?

Yeah, it was both. I’m

not much of a person

to talk about my

personal life. I was

very cautious about

what I said out loud

and of course, everything is in my songs, so

go and listen to that. But the author, we had

done a few sessions together and he said we

need to get to the bones of the ugly stuff in

your life, you have to tell some of that. So, I

thought OK, let’s dig some shit.

So, you have to push yourself. Well there’s

been a lot of happenings in my life and you

learn from them and you become stronger

from the negative things. But then again,

you sometimes end up in odd situations

where you just happen to see things happening.

And it’s probably not something that

happens to you, but you just make these

observations throughout your life.

One of them was when we were doing this

album in Mississippi about fifteen years ago -

“there was some kind

of fight going on at

the local juke joint”

my first international solo album. There was

this guy that was hanging out in the studio

- he was a friend of one of the musicians.

And, I remember he was talking so nicely

to me. He thought I was very exotic being a

white woman from Finland, who played slide

guitar. And he was very kind to me, but at

the same token, he had a hangover or something,

and a black eye.

Well, the next day if I remember correctly,

or the day after, we got a phone call in the

morning at the studio and the guy who was

our technician, just kind of froze at the telephone,

and then he

put the phone away

and said that this

man had been killed.

And you go like,

whoa, I just spoke to

him. There was some

kind of fight going on

at the local juke joint.

You know, things like

this. Some of these

things I’ve revealed

in the book - not like

putting anybody

down, but just telling about these occasions

from my point of view.

Life on the road is interesting and people

only ever see the stage side of things.

Yeah, you try to reveal a little bit of what’s

going on behind all of that kind of glamour

and all that happiness. I enjoy performing, I

love being on stage and the interaction with

the audience. Sometimes they don’t know

that I might be in pain, you know, or I might

be sick. You might have some troubles with

your lover or whatever kind of things are

going on, but you just channel all of that into

the music and that gives you energy. It’s so

amazing, that’s why I love performing. You

give something, and you get back in the

same token.


INTERVIEW | ERJA LYYTINEN

So, in the book, of course, I’ve revealed a lot

of stuff going on. I’ve had fans coming up to

me saying, okay, I’ve read your book, you’ve

been going through some stuff. And you go,

hmm, well here I am, I’ve recovered from all

of that. I’m cool and everything is fine. I bet

there must be a lot of people who’ve experienced

the same things. Even worse things in

life - it’s just my story, you know.

There is talk of you releasing an English

translation of your book because it was

initially released in Finnish. I know that’s

probably somewhere on the cards, but do

you think that’s going to come out maybe

this year or next year?

Well, we have already kind of started the

project. We’re going to add and do some

definitions for the Finnish version and then

we’re going to translate that into English. So,

you’re going to get a bit extra. So, you know,

because the first version is the first one, we

can improve it a little bit and maybe add

some things. It’s nice when I read it through,

I go like, okay, I forgot to say about that, or

I forgot that. Oh, I forgot that too. So, we

might add some of those things that we

forgot during the first round.

And so, I’m hoping we would get it out by the

end of this year because it would be kind of

convenient because of the Coronavirus as

well. After all, we don’t know how long we

have to stay inside or if we can do concerts.

We don’t know what the governments are

going to say. And will people want to go to

concerts, if they’re too scared? But if not, I’m

pretty sure we will have it with us when we

come to the UK in February next year.

You’re going to be coming back to the UK

next February. What do you think this

next tour will look like? Are you going to

try and do something similar to what

you’ve just done in Finland with the

Blues Queen tour and maybe play some of

the earlier material?

Yeah, I think we’re going to do something

like that, especially if we don’t put out a new

studio album by that point. I think the next

studio album will be in 2021, not this year

for sure. So, first releasing some live material

would be nice because this band is kicking

ass - they’re amazing. So, it’s about time to

make some kind of live recording as well.

The last one was 2016 - ‘Live in London’. So

that was a long time ago.

I think we have to treat our UK audience as

well and give something different to them.

So, we’re going to do our best to make it as

great as possible because it’s going to be

almost two years for me not playing in the

UK. And that feels strange because I’ve been

coming to England and the UK almost twice

a year. Next February it’ll be almost two

years since our last UK shows.

Like they always say, all good things come

to those who wait.

Erja Lyytinen’s rescheduled UK tour will be

taking place in February 2021.

For up to date touring details and ticket

information please visit

www.erjalyytinen.com

DISCOGRAPHY

• Another World 2019

• Stolen Hearts 2017

• Live 2016

• Live In London 2015

• Bad News Travels 2015

• Attention 2015

• The Sky Is Crying 2014

• Songs From The Road 2012

• Where The Blues Crosses Over 2010

98



REVIEWS | JUN/JUL 2020

REVIEWS

The BIG blues reviews guide - accept no substitute!

Albums, DVD’s & Book Reviews

The BIG blues reviews guide - accept no substitute!

WHITNEY SHAY

STAND UP

Ruf Records

This is the third studio album

from San Diego’s Whitney

Shay; here she has a chance

to exhibit her songwriting

prowess in the 12 tracks. She

has performed in bands all of

her musical life and with this

album she opts for what she

is known for, some good old

rhythm and blues.. All tracks

are high energy and very

catchy. The opener is Stand

Up which has rhythm written

all over, the horn section

gets you first then Whitney

opens up vocally to an upbeat

tune, you have to take notice.

Someone You Never Got To

Know has great keyboards by

Red Young, a very emotional

song. Equal Ground has a slow

riff and fine slide guitar from

Derek O’Brien. PS It’s Not

About You, has some funk to

it, Chris Maresh adding some

mean basslines. I Thought

We Were Through, is a slow

burning ballad sung sublimely

with jazzy tones. Guy Forsyth

duets on Far Apart, and Laura

Chavez on guitar is wonderful.

You Won’t Put Out This Flame

is a great dance number.

Tell The Truth has a brilliant

groove. Boy Sit Down has

Marcia Ball on piano, this has

a New Orleans take. I Never

Meant To Love Him is sung

so beautifully just full of soul.

Getting In My Way, mellows

things down. Last song is

Change With The Times

ending on an optimistic note

and will fill a dance hall when

played live. Classy, sassy and

full of energy this is a full on

passionate vocalist destined

for more success.

COLIN CAMPBELL

100


JUN/JUL 2020 | REVIEWS

JIM DIAMOND

REVUE

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Big Tone Records

This is the fourth album by

Kentucky based band Jim

Diamond Revue.

All the songs were written

by Diamond himself. Making

up the band are, Chris

Henderson who shares vocal

duties with Jim and Nick

Mowery and Joe Litteral

share the guitar work. Joining

them on a couple of songs is

Hank Mowery who plays a

mean harp.

The opening track See The

Light has hard powerful guitar

backed up by hard powerful

vocals. It has a blues/rock

feel, but leans more towards

the blues lyrically, while the

blistering guitar takes on the

rock side.

I’m Cryin’ has a more jazz/

swing approach with a dash of

rockabilly, but what it also has

in abundance is real passion.

Hot For You is an old-school

blues number. The combination

of keys, bass, drums and

searing vocals make this a

humdinger of a song. Eventually

the guitar gets the chance

to force its way into the

proceedings with a bang.

Tight Mini Skirt ft Hank

Mowery on the harp, is a well

worked tune. Although not

strictly an all-out blues tune,

what it does have in its favour

is the harp running right

through it like a freight train.

Its like the harp meets

rock ‘n’ roll. 15 Below,

is a slow sultry track

that oozes sensuality.

Melancholy delivery in

the form of the vocals and

lyrics alongside soulful

keys and sweet sax all go

to produce a stunning song.

I Walkin’ is full-on 70’s style

funk, it is the kind of tune

that gets your feet tapping

and the rest of your body

just follows suit. Once again,

the soulful sax just makes you

melt. Cannonball is an instrumental

that immediately puts

me in mind of the first Blues

Brothers movie and that is a

very nice thought.

You could just imagine the

Blues Brothers Band playing

this tune at full pelt to a

rapturous audience high on

adrenaline. Dog House is pure

R&B, a great groove going on.

This whole album is pure joy.

Treat yourself. Get it.

STEPHEN HARRISON

STEPHEN DALE

PETIT

2020 VISIONS

333Records

The Joy of Vinyl! 2020 Visions

is a double album in 180 gm

beautiful translucent blue

with gatefold sleeve. It has a

disc insert, which brings back

memories of twiddling the

classic Led Zep 3 album. The

artwork was created by the

incredible Klaus Voormann,

who was responsible for The

Beatles’ iconic Revolver album

artwork. The album itself is in

the classic 3-piece rock/blues

format, with guest appearances

from the outstanding

Shemekia Copeland and the

legendary Paul Jones. The

opening and title track 2020

Visions is a rocky number,

with an idiosyncratic hint

of punk rock. There’s some

very punchy bass work from

Sophie Lord, which is matched

with some great drum thrash-



ALBERT CASTIGLIA

Last year’s Masterpiece album

was just that, by far Albert

Castiglia’s best and most

complete work to date, this live

album comes hot on its heels

and includes live versions of four

tracks from that powerful release.

The album flies straight into the

full blooded Let The Big Dog Eat,

no intros, no idle chatter. This has

long been a live favourite and it’s

easy to see why. Big chunky riffs

and guitar pyrotechnics. Hoodoo

On Me follows from the Up All

Night album, Ephraim Lowell

driving it relentlessly on drums,

Albert ripping into the track giving

it a new raw energy. I Been Up

All Night from the same album

follows seamlessly, this one not

quite so frenetic but giving Albert

room to display his virtuosity

with some shattering notes. The

first of the Masterpiece tracks

is Heavy, which starts off fairly

gently, the guitar notes picked

out and shimmering, the vocal

almost spoken and observational,

these days aren’t getting

hard, there just getting’ heavy. At

almost ten minutes Albert lets

the song grow at its own pace,

WILD & FREE

GULF COAST RECORDS

gently increasing the intensity to

the riff filled climax. Then we’re

into Get Your Ass In The Van, a

high tempo straight blues, about

hitting the road and playing the

blues with Lewis Stephens adding

some lovely keys infills. Searching

The Desert For The Blues is

a gorgeous take on the old Blind

Willie McTell song. The band treat

it with respect and Albert flies out

of the traps towards the end giving

it a freshness and energy. Keep

On Swinging is another choice cut

from Masterpiece, a little slower

paced but no less energetic or

powerful. Things really hot up on

the Johnny Winter classic Too

Much Seconal as Mike Zito and

John Ginty join the party. We get

a full tilt eight-minute workout

with Albert and Mike trading

riffs, not forgetting an amazing

Hammond solo from Ginty. The

keys wizard stays for Paul Butterfields

Lovin’ Cup that also gets the

full eight-minute treatment. The

whole band go to town on this,

great sustained notes from Albert

and another outstanding solo

from John, the pair interplaying a

big climatic finale. I Tried To Tell Ya

is another Masterpiece track, big

and powerful, screeching guitar

and rock-solid rhythm section. The

Albert King monster track Boogie

Funk brings the show to a grand

finale. The instrumental track

giving Albert full rein to display an

arsenal of skills on the fretboard.

This is the perfect pairing with

Masterpiece, and if you like blues

rock you should own them both.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

ing from Jack Greenwood.

SDP’s guitar weaves deftly in

between the two with high

energy. The Fall Of America

is a Kasabian style heavy-riff

extended track, with echoing

vocals adding to the haunting

atmosphere. Roxie’s Song is

a much more clearly defined

blues tune with a great range

of guitar tones, somehow

going from a Gary Moore style

to a soaring Robin Trower,

with a weighty drumbeat

very reminiscent of F Mac’s

Albatross. A heavy version

of Blind Willie Johnson’s The

Soul of A Man has Paul Jones

on harmonica and some great

slide. On Top is a short and

very sweet instrumental. It’s

concise, but still showcases

Stephen’s guitar versatility.

Long Tall Shorty is (and always

was) a classic track, even if the

lyrics don’t necessarily stand

up to modern day PC scrutiny.

It’s also 3-piece blues at its

best. Raw is the sort of track

John Peel would have loved.

Tinderbox is a dirty piece of

3-piece band rock. The Ending

Of The End has a strange

dreamlike start (First time I’ve

heard I’m a little teapot on a

blues album and is that Ringo

singing Happy Birthday?)

but it soon turns into a great

B.B. King style blues number.

Steppin’ Out has the energy

of the original Bluesbreakers’

version. Makin’ It is in a

very 60’s rock groove. Sputnik

Days is a fun instrumental and

the album ends with the idiosyncratic

track Zombie Train.

This is an album with many

facets and proof of SDP’s

102



varied talents. It’s worth it for

the artwork alone.

PETER KARP

MAGNIFICENT

HEART

Rose Cottage Music

STEVE BANKS

Following on the heels of last

year’s critically acclaimed

Blue Flame, Karp releases

striking new album, Magnificent

Heart. A stirring

collection of songs and

observations, it bends the

boundaries from blues to

ballads, With Karp on slide

guitar, guitar, piano and

vocals, along with Kim Wilson

(harmonica), Jason Rocco

(harmonica), John Ginty

(B3organ), Jim Eingher (piano

and Keyboard), Paul Carbonara

(guitar), James Otis Karp

(guitar), Niles Terrat (bass),

Edward Williams (bass),

Michael Catapano (drums/

percussion), Cold City Horns

(Jacob Wynne, trumpet and

David Kasper tenor sax)

and Eyrn O’ree (background

vocals). opening the album

with post-apocalyptic love

song Sitting On The Edge Of

The World, a foot tapping

shuffle with terrific harmonica

and rhythmic guitar work,

next with its solid rhythm

section and soaring guitar

work. The Letter delivers a

loves lost blues rocker, changing

styles with a highlight

for me is the danceable She

Breaks Her Own Heart, a

soulfully sung number with

a steady drum beat overlaid

with some excellent Stax style

trumpet and sax playing, next

the piano and organ complement

each other well as they

drive along. This World, an

Americana/Roots number,

mean dirty slide guitar and

harmonica covered with swirling

organ evoke a swampy

blues setting for the tale of

The Grave, originally a poem

by his late wife poet Mary

Lou Bonney Karp Scared, was

re-wrote as a ballad, Karps’

vulnerable soulful vocals

entwined by organ and gentle

smouldering guitar work

from son James makes this

poignant ballad a highlight

for me, next up the humorous

acoustic Chainsaw is given

a backing vocals gospel feel

finish, with funky blasts from

the horns, the deep funky

rhythms on Let It On Out

will have you grooving, while

relaxed vocals and hypnotic

beat drive the pace on Cool

Cool Thing some excellent

gritty organ adds contrast,

The Last Heartbeat is a

country tinged slow ballad,

and rampant blues wailing

harmonica dominates the

delta blues of Going Home,

while there is a subtle Latin

rhythm to Compassion, the

album finishes with the string

filled cinematic orchestral feel

of Face The Wind. Splendid

stuff, well worth a listen

SHIRL

THE JAKE LEG JUG

BAND

GOODBYE BOOZE

Green Bullet Records

The very idea of an album

‘celebrating’ a hundred

years since the beginning of

Prohibition in the US seems

a little strange in these days

of lockdown but this album

containing 11 songs of the era,

is actually pretty damn good.

The band consist of Duncan

Wilcox on vocals & double

bass, Neil Hulse on vocals and

guitars, Toby Wilson on guitar

and dobro, Liam Ward on

harmonica and jug and Bryony

Rose on vocals and the five

of them make a pretty good

noise around Bluegrass, jug

music and ragtime. Most of

the songs are about the perils

of drink and booze or the joys

of sobriety with a scattering

of songs that look at prohibition

from the drinkers side but

the album overall is very jolly

and represents the period

really well, I particularly liked I

Never Knew I Had A Wonderful

Wife (Until The Town Went

Dry), a classic bit of vaudeville

and the playing and harmonies

of Just A Little Drink but

there isn’t a weak number

so you can dip in anywhere

and pick out a little delight.

The most modern sounding

number is God Don’t Like It

which decries the drinking of

moonshine in a raw Northern

Mississippi style with a great

vocal by Bryony and there is

different sounding number in

I’ll See You In C-U-B-A which



Yes, this is the Dion who sang

The Wanderer. Hard to believe

that he is and always has been

a true blues artist. This album is

14 original songs written mainly

by Dion and Mike Aquilina. The

guest artists on the album read

like a who’s who from the blues

world. The opening track, Blues

Comin’ On ft. Joe Bonamassa is

a great way to start the album.

As ever Joe B produces some

great guitar work alongside the

soulful vocals of Dion. What

is very evident all through this

album is that all the guests are

happy to play just a supporting

role to Dion, as opposed to

being a star guest. Can’t Start

Over Again ft. Jeff Beck is a

lovely soft blues ballad. From

the very first note its instantly

recognisable as a Beck guitar

song. Each song is suited

perfectly to the guest artist or

DION

BLUES WITH FRIENDS

KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE

artists. I Got Nothin’ is

a perfect example of

that. Ft, Van Morrison

and Joe Louis Walker

it’s as good a blues song

as you could ever wish

for. Sublime vocals and

lyrics delivered with

perfection by Van and

Joe respectively. I’ve

heard Sonny Landreth

being described as Mr.

Dependable. Well on

the song I Got The

Cure you realize that

he’s much more than

that. Mr. Exceptional

in my eyes. He’s a

wonderful slide guitarist

with a silky blues vocal to

match. Now, you wouldn’t put

Paul Simon down as a blues

artist and for good reason.

But on the track Song For Sam

Cooke (Here In America) he

fits right in. For me, this is a

tune regaling the story of Sam

Cooke’s interpretation of life in

America. And it works tremendously

well. Told You Once In

August is one of the best blues

songs I’ve heard in a very long

time. Simply sensational. With

John Hammond and Rory Block

for company Dion hits the bullseye

with aplomb. The album

culminates with Hymn to Him

with a collaboration between

Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen.

I could talk about this

album for a month and not get

tired of it. Do yourself a favour.

Buy it.

STEPHEN HARRISON

sounds as though it came from

a Bob Hope & Bing Crosby

movie. Good fun and lovely to

listen to.

O.S.L.U.

ANDY SNIPPER

ANOTHER TOKEN

Best Side Records

This album is a bit of a

mystery as there are no

details of the band/musicians

who play on the album

and following some internet

research I have established

the band name is an abbreviation

of Our Secret Little

Underground who are some

sort of Blues loving musical

collaborative although I

‘am not really any the wiser

so onto the musical content.

The album opener is a rolling

style piano boogie instrumental

titled Julian which was

written by Andy Lewis. This

is a great opening taster to

what follows, which are ten

tracks of varying styles of

Blues of which five are covers

of predominately non-blues

material, very unusual but

effective. Highlights from

the covers are JJ Cale’s

Crazy Mama which is not as

smooth as the original but is

blessed with some very sharp

lead guitar breaks. George

Harrison’s psychedelic short

instrumental Ski-ing from his

debut 1968 album Wonderwall

is an interesting selection

although the original did have

Eric Clapton, under the guise

of Eddie Clayton, providing

104



the Blues guitar riff the song

was built on. This version

also highlights a fine guitarist

at work. The original material

is strong and varied. The

pick of the bunch is Magic 8

which has some scintillating

guitar work, closely followed

by Blues For Embassy which

creates a distinct early Fleetwood

Mac feel, both songs are

blessed with strong authentic

Blues vocals. From the

song writing credits Andy

Lewis and Sean Osgood are

members of the band. If so,

they do an excellent job in

profiling different styles of

Blues albeit without taking

themselves too seriously. If

the sleeve notes and lyrics are

anything to go by. While there

are only ten tracks shown on

the cover the CD contains an

additional bonus track which

is an alternative take of the JB

Lenoir song I Want To Know,

no complaints in having two

doses of this song.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

FRANCESCO PIU

CROSSING

Appaloosa Records

Sometimes albums arrive

without press releases, so

a little judicious research

is called for. In this case, it

is rewarded by discovering

that Francesco Piu is a highly

thought of and equally highly

successful Blues artist. On

the basis of the music here,

that is not surprising. All

the songs are Robert Johnson

compositions, and the

arrangements add a depth

and spooky atmosphere that

the master would have deeply

appreciated. Instead of the

stark minimal scary vibe of

the Johnson originals, these

cuts are dense with unusual

percussion instrumentation

that weave their own insidious

musical and magical spell

over the sounds. It all has

a distinct African/Eastern

atmosphere to it, the sort of

mojo that Brian Jones was

looking for all those years

ago. On top of it all is Piu’s

voice, which belies his Italian

origins with a blues accent

as southern as gumbo and

Jack Daniel’s. Francesco Piu

is gifted with one of the great

blues voices, equally defiant

and defensive, cocky and

vulnerable, and underlined

with a constant unnamed

fear that something is waiting

down the road, and it may not

be something to rush towards.

The instrumentation, most of

which I had to identify, breaks

down basically into exotic

pipes and flutes and equally

varied drums and percussion

all of which underpin

the fuzzy guitars, the exotic

acoustics, and of course that

fascinating voice. Rarely do

you find a musician whose

name is on the front allowing

such largesse as the exotic

instrumental break on Stop

Breaking Down, allowing

the accompanying musicians

to shine to a level where an

instrumental album from

them would be an attractive

proposition. Johnson fans will

no doubt skip to the awesome

Hellhound On My Trail, as

scary a song as has never been

recorded. Piu retains the stark

atmosphere of the original,

his cracked and strained vocal

echoing the fear and tragedy

that Johnson captured, but

this is underlined with sharp

stabbing percussion and

ghostly slide guitar. I would

never say you could improve

on Johnson’s originals, but

these songs come as close as

is possible.

ANDY HUGHES

MA POLAINE’S

GREAT DECLINE

CITY OF LOVE

OMH records

This is the third album by

Ma Polaine, who are singer

Beth Packer and guitarist

Clinton Hough. I first heard

this distinctive combination

on BBC6’s excellent Cerys

Matthews show. From this

publication’s standpoint, is

this a blues album? No, but

it has an enticing, bluesy

undertow supporting eleven

superb compositions. There’s

a haunting quality to Beth’s

vocals. She also plays double

bass, accordion and harmonica.

The duo is complemented

on this album by Pete Flood

on drums and Martin Elliott

on Fretless bass. The overall

effect is mesmeric, and the

story behind some of these

songs is worth a mention.

Paris is Burning is inspired by

a trans woman and drag artist

called Dorian Corey. After



JAY CODA WALKER & PETE JOHNSTONE

Happy hour! I remember them.

Sadly, they’re a thing of the past

over here and judging by the

amount of melancholy music on

offer from Jay Coda Walker and

Peter Johnson there’s not much

cheer over in Canada (via Gateshead!)

either.

Walker and Johnson are a blues

duo with Mr. Walker taking care

of singing and guitar picking

while Mr. Johnson plays the

harmonica. And they do all of

these things very well indeed.

It’s an odd mix as the guitar

work is straight out of an echo

filled rockabilly recording

studio while the harmonica is

more straight-ahead traditional

blues. But the mix works well as

they range across a handful of

Walker originals and a selection

of covers.

HAPPY HOUR

PJRSMP

They touch on

country blues and

the rockabilly but

there is a unified

approach to the

music that ensures

nothing jars. They

rarely step out of

first gear, something

that suits the

plaintive vocals

from Jay Coda Walker. I was

trying to remind myself of who

he reminded me of until they

arrived at a cover of Wicked

Game by Chris Isaak and then it

all fell into place.

The harmonica work of Gateshead

born Peter Johnson is

fabulous, redolent of the greats

and lending a folk blues touch

to affairs. The originals are

strong with Ya Did, Done, Do

Me a favorite but the two tunes

best known from the Stevie Ray

Vaughan versions really struck

home. They would be Life By

The Drop and Boot Hill. It’s a

delightful record, ideally suited

for sitting on the porch, wondering

when the world will spin

back on its axis.

STUART A HAMILTON

Corey died, they found the

mummified remains of a man

in her closet. The song doesn’t

deal with that, but with the

pride of self-expression and

the freedom to be yourself.

There’s a haunting quality

to songs such as Ghost Ship,

which was inspired by a stay

in a lighthouse, yet it deals

with the grim rise of hate and

rightwing politics. There’s also

We Won’t Let It Be, a song

which supports the #metoo

movement. You’ll experience

atmospheric drama with The

Wreck and nostalgic romance

with Carnaby Street. This is

21st century creative music

chock full of mystery and

acute observation.

ROY BAINTON

CHICKENBONE

SLIM

SLEEPER

Lo Fi Mob

I would love to find out how

this guy, Larry Teves, ended up

with the moniker under which

he currently performs alongside

of his band The Biscuits.

Whatever the back story

these chaps are purveyors of

very fine Blues, Jump Jive and

strutting Texas Swing. I loved

it as soon as track 1, the single

Vampire Baby, blasted out of

my studio speakers. This a no

frills cracking release containing

ten originals however, I

should imagine that, were you

to see these guys in a concert

setting then, for sure there

106



would be some choice covers

from the archives dusted off

and given an airing. Based

in San Diego California they

manage to retain originality

whilst acknowledging

the vast history that is our

beloved genre. So, for sure

you can hear the influences

of Muddy or Howlin’ Wolf etc

but Chickenbone ramps up

the band and his guitar/vocal

performances for the 2020s.

There is, to my ears, nothing

to dislike about Sleeper at all.

The tracks are concise and to

the point just straight-ahead

vocals, guitars, bass, harmonica

and drums to get your feet

moving. Hell, even the cover is

minimal with just a picture of

an old car. However that car,

owned by his dad, had hidden

power to outrun many other

Hot Rods of the era hence the

album title Sleeper. So don’t

pass over this CD when you

see it advertised because it

looks dull, that would be to

totally miss out on a real gem

of a good time. I defy you not

to enjoy Tougher Than That,

The Ballad Of Jack or My Bad

Luck. Yes indeed Strolling

With Chickenbone is terrific

fun and in these dark virus

days we need to smile again.

GRAEME SCOTT

REVEREND

FREAKCHILD

THE BODISHTTAVA

BLUES

Treated And Released

Records

On his 12th album the

Reverend resurrects classic

blues and rock tunes from

Muddy Waters to Grateful

Dead with the help of

stellar musicians. Corolado

resident Freakchild is both

a performer and a preacher

who proclaims, “Music is my

religion. Through song I seek

transcendence.” The sermon

begins with the pretentious

sounding Buddhist mantra

meditation, Om Mani Padme

Hum, as a prelude to Muddy

Waters’ I Can’t Be Satisfied

with its growling voice and

soaring steel guitar sound.

Big Boss Man swings along

nicely thanks to the rhythm

section of drummer Chris

Parker and bassist Robin

Sylvester. Freakchild puts

in some great slide work on

Little Red Rooster with Scott

‘Shack’ Hackler excelling on

barrelhouse piano. A highlight

and personal favourite is

Friend Of The Devil, a moving

tribute to Jerry Garcia courtesy

of Mark Karan’s tasteful

guitar interludes. The vibe of

San Francisco’s summer of

love is recreated on I Know

You Rider with some memorable

harp antics from the Rev,

followed by another Garcia

tune, the mystical Black Peter.

Less impressive are the interpretations

of The Beatles Yer

Blues and Imagine despite

memorable performances

from Hammond B virtuoso

Melvin Seals on the former

and bassist Phil Marino on

the latter. The only original

song, Sweet Sweet You is a

fitting tribute to blues and

rock heroes eerily told from

the site of Robert Johnson’s

grave. It is appropriate to

include another preacher

troubadour, Gary Davis, for

Death Have No Mercy which

retains the integrity of the

original. Based on the acapella

sung by Grateful Dead, this

interesting album closes with

And We Bid You Goodnight.

THE BISHOP

THE REVEREND

SHAWN AMOS &

THE BROTHER-

HOOD

BLUE SKY

Put Together Music

This is a collaboration

between the Rev and some

old friends featuring ten

original songs encompassing

Americana, blues, country,

rock and jazz. Opening track

Stranger Than Today flows

gently like a stream with

lovely fragments of harmony

vocals, lilting harmonica and

smooth slide guitar floating

along on the surface.

Nice start! The mood darkens

for Troubled Man where

the Rev shares vocals with

Ruthie Foster on the gospel

flavoured number and also

adds some tasty harp fills to

the soaring backing. Counting

Down The Days is a stomping

blues/rocker with the Rev

proclaiming fiercely “I swore

I wouldn’t get angry this

time” and also wailing wildly

on harp. Hold Back is a short

and sweet touch of refined



JAY WILLIE & JAMES MONTGOMERY

This is a homage to the blues

peers that Jay Willie and James

Montgomery were influenced

by. Montgomery has a blues

musical career dating back

to 1973 and has toured with

Johnny Winter and James

Cotton to name but two. Three

Cool Cats is the opening track

that was written by Leiber and

Stoller in the fifties. So, it’s no

surprise that it has a distinctive

fifties feel about it. Great vocals

and wonderful harmonica give

a nice easy introduction to this

album. As I stated earlier this

is an album that pays homage

to some of the great blues

musicians that have greatly

influenced this band of musicians.

Cadillac Walk has a nice

understated feel to it. The

problem you sometimes get

with an album of covers is that

the present incumbents lose

their identity. Well, that doesn’t

CADILLAC WALK

ZOHOMUSIC

happen here. These guys

just add their own personal

ingredients to an old familiar

recipe. (I Can’t Get No)

Satisfaction is one of the

most well-known tunes of

the twentieth century. So,

to turn it into your own

blues version whilst still

retaining the core of the

structure is by no-means

an easy task. But this

band nail it. It’s a brilliant

bluesy rendition that I’m

certain Mick and Keith

would approve of. Detroit

Blues by Hudson Whitaker

a.k.a. Tampa Red is one of my

favourite blues tunes. And this

serving has me salivating. James

Montgomery hails from Detroit

so this for him is manna from

heaven. Soft, relaxing vocals

with a stunning harmonica piece

running right through it is a joy

to behold. Give Me One Reason,

originally written by Tracy

Chapman allows Lee- Ann Lovelace

to showcase her brilliant

vocals. You don’t normally associate

Tracy Chapman with the

blues but I’ve heard her deliver

some fine blues stuff in the

past so this sits very well with

me. You can’t pay homage to

blues masters without a Johnny

Winter tune. Luckily there are

two on here. Mean Town Blues

being one of them that finishes

the album. I look forward to an

all original blues album from

these guys.

STEPHEN HARRISON

punk rock but The Job Is

Never Done is a steady roller

featuring a sweet backing

chorus from The Sisterhood.

The Brotherhood are Chris

“Doctor” Roberts on guitar,

bassist Christopher Roberts

and Brady Blades on drums

plus various guests contributing

keyboards, lap steel,

dobro, mandolin and backing

vocals. A deep, swampy,

atmospheric feel pervades

the slinky Albion Blues but

the rollicking piano boogie

of 27 Dollars is an old-fashioned

R&B rave up. A surprise

arrives with closing number

Keep The Faith, Have Some

Fun which is a N’Awlins style

party which quickly becomes

my favourite track featuring

the Mudbug Brass Band and

everyone is having an absolute

ball. The rhythm section

lay down some righteous funk,

the horns riff furiously and

the whole congregation join

in the fun. Great finish to an

excellent album which covers

many bases and one I enjoyed

immensely.

DAVE DRURY

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108



Dr JOHN

THE SPIRIT of

SATCH

Last Music Company

This album was first released

seven years ago in a tribute to

Louis Armstrong

(Satch) and consists of 13

songs that Satch was associated

with and are played here

by a selection of invited guest

musicians covering a wide

gamut of popular music. It is

always hard with a project

like this to determine how

to review it, Should I aim it

at the Dr John fans or to the

Louis Armstrong fans? The

CD has been out there for 7

years already and is probably

the last studio recording

that Dr John did, so I think

that I have to review it as

such. Well if you like Dr John

and you haven’t already got

it, it would be a good one to

buy, as the range and standard

of the various guests are

truly mind blowing, from the

opener What a Wonderful

World with The Blind Boys of

Alabama hitting their best and

Nicholas Payton on trumpet

standing in for Satch. Bonnie

Raitt figures on Got the world

on a string. Superb versions

too by Shemekia Copeland,

flawless as ever, and a great

gospel rendition of Nobody

knows the Trouble I’ve Seen

.by the McCrary sisters, all

of whom are of course either

accompanied or led by Dr

John in his own inimitable

style. I think this one has to

stand up as a must have for

the Dr John fans out there. A

giant in the business who will

be sadly missed.

MALIA

DAVE STONE

THE GARDEN OF

EVE

Edel

Malia was born and raised

in Malawi before coming to

England in her teens where

she discovered music, not

least Billie Holiday and Nina

Simone who have clearly

remained influences on her

vocal style. Now based in

Germany, Malia is generally

classed as a Jazz artist but

this album is a homage to the

blues. Most of the material

was written by Malia,

keyboardist Nis Kötting and

bassist Lars Cölin who are

the main musicians apart

from a drummer. The listener

is drawn into the songs by

Malia’s fine voice and the

relaxed musicianship, all

produced in a crystal-clear

mix. The two covers might be

very familiar but the treatments

given are effective: The

Thrill Is Gone gets a novel, late

night makeover with Malia’s

vocals very much in Billie

style; Love In Vain sounds

more familiar with minimal

accompaniment, piano bass

and brushed drums only. The

original material ranges from

the soulful Last Show which

celebrates our ability to rise

above adversity (“It’s human

to break, it’s human to fall,

keep standing tall”) to Me And

My Girlfriend where muted

trumpet accents add to a definite

jazz feel. Songs like Death

and Two Seedlings are more

in a blues vein, especially

when Nis breaks out the harp

on the latter tune, and Lord

I Feel So Bad follows gospel

traditions as Malia preaches

the right way forward in life,

rejecting greed and fear, a

definite winner. Freedom At

Last sets Malia’s optimistic

lyrics over slide guitar and

harp, giving the song a Delta

feel, and Moving Away has an

easy groove as Malia celebrates

a fun Saturday night

out. There are moments here

when Malia’s vocals remind

me of another fine singer on

the current scene, our own

Zoe Schwarz, and across this

disc there is plenty of good

music to enjoy. Stylish, sophisticated

and engaging, a disc

that repays repeated listens

and definitely has blues DNA,

albeit in something of a latenight

style.

JOHN MITCHELL

PHARIS AND

JASON ROMERO

BET ON LOVE

LULA

When people talk about

Americana, this is probably

the ideal that they have in

mind. This female/ male duo

out of Canada has a deep, high



LOVE THIS ALBUM!!! This

album crashes through the

speaker and from the very first

track through to the last, it

keeps you listening.

JOHN VERITY

PASSION

VERITY MUSIC

8 songs, quality not quantity, I

ended up with favourites but

loved them all, track one, Higher,

was stadium quality and I would

pay to go see these guys, reminiscent

of a young Bon Jovi or

Ozzy Osbourne Verity’s voice

has a falsetto quality that means

the range and power in his voice

is captivating.

Reading the bio, I was astonished

to hear Verity has been

in the business over 50 years,

the energy and voice strength

lead me to believe I was listening

to a punk kid that had attitudeand

talent.

The production of the album is

first class, usually I miss some of

the lyrics due to the music but

somehow, despite the rousing

rock drums and guitars I could

hear Verity crystal clear over

the top and even hear the lyrics,

meaningful stuff. Track 4 Broken

Heart was soulful, beautiful,

made me think of summers

night in L.A. sitting on the beach,

sexy and romantic.

Honestly, I could go on and on

and am worried I haven’t told

you enough good things about

this album! Suffice to say if you

like your Blues FULL of rock and

you like your rock with all the

depth and passion of the Blues,

get this album!!

JEAN KNAPPITT

up in the mountains type of

intimate, blues-influenced

country and folk inflected

sound - the epitome of one

form of American roots music.

Mind you, I guess it does help

when you own a banjo shop

just outside Horsefly, British

Columbia, as do Take a

listen to the title track with its

references to “this hammer”

(think of Leadbelly, though he

never had such a high, pure

voice as Pharis does - but the

guitar work here is not very

far away from Mr. Ledbetter’s

in one or two places) or the

quietly atmospheric old-timey

instrumental New Caledonia.

This is the duo’s fifth album

overall and their second of

original material and finds

their banjo (played by Jason)

and their two-guitar sound

augmented by mandolin and

bass, adding a touch of bluegrass.

Old Chatelaine may be

lacking that style’s breakneck

approach, but the bluegrass

influence is certainly there.

We All Fall is a folky ballad

and A Bit Old School is a fine

bluesy piece that sounds like

it could have come out of a

30s old-timey catalogue, so

too does the opening Hometown

Blues. Kind Girl ends

with a lovely short interlude

for primitive banjo, and the

whole set closes with a heartfelt

love song delivered by

Jason. Interested in Americana?

Then you need this.

NORMAN DARWEN

110



THE MIGHTY

BOSSCATS

TICKET TO

MEMPHIS

Independent

This is the 11th album that

has been recorded by Richard

Townend and his Mighty Bosscats.

He wrote all fourteen

tracks and played virtually

all the instruments with the

variable help of a couple of

studio musicians. The opening

track Ticket To Memphis

immediately put me in mind

of Tony Joe White. A sort of

deep south drawl to his voice

that I really like. An almost

smokey edge to his vocals that

give a blues/bluegrass feel to

the proceedings. Dixie Dixie

has a more realistic blues

style about it. The lyrics hark

back to darker times in the

deep south of America including

references to the KKK.

Powerful lyrics and a simple

but effective guitar running

alongside. What I do particularly

like about this album is

that it almost tells a story that

carries on through each song.

I Found You is a perfect example

of that. Lighter moments

darker moments and sullen

moments that eventually turn

into a lighter moment all in

the one song. This album is

not pure blues as we know it

but more a tale of a journey

through life that engulfs every

aspect of life which invariably

leads back into blues history.

Jesus On The Wall completely

threw me in terms of what I

was expecting from the title. I

was expecting a peaceful tale

of worship or homage but how

wrong could I be. Wonderful

slide guitar and brilliant lyrics

that bring out the very best in

Richard Townend. On The Run

is a box-car type of tune. Leaning

slightly towards Rockabilly

but not to far to take away the

essence of the tune. Strong

blues/country tune with a

fifties style of delivery which

is complemented by Scotty

Moore style of guitar work.

The final track Thoughts And

Prayers is pure country. And

that is not necessarily a bad

thing given how the album is

structured. The whole album

is a mish mash of fine tunes

drawn together by a great

singer-songwriter in Richard

Townend. I’d love to hear The

Mighty Bosscats do a full-on

blues album. They have it in

their locker to do it justice.

STEPHEN HARRISON

STEVE BAKER &

THE LIVEWIRES

THE GREAT DIVIDE

Timezone

For a long time, harp player

Steve Baker has been one of

those hard-working sidemen

adding a level of quality to

other artist’s records. Since

forming his own band he’s

demonstrated a broad talent

as a writer and singer with a

quartet of hardy musicians to

frame his lyrics. If you want

good harmonica playing, then

track 4 here, Steppin’ High,

is great stuff. The songs, with

fine descriptive lyrics, have

an undercurrent of anger.

For example, Judgment Day

expresses the way many of

us feel about today’s political

landscape; ‘The true

believers fall on their knees

and pray/While the rest of

us are still losers anyway’.

This is an album recorded

in Germany and it hints at a

deeper story behind the idea

of a blues quintet. Take the

angry polemic, Chains, which

is the story of a man suffering

in 1945 post war Hamburg

who escapes to Canada, yet

the economic chains when

kept him down have returned.

Blues aside, you need to

listen to Steve Baker and the

Livewires very carefully, this

is a nicely packaged album

of well-played and diligently

recorded music with a fascinating

narrative.

LISA MILLS

THE TRIANGLE

ROY BAINTON

Melody Place Music/BMG

The Triangle? The Bermuda

Triangle? The Yorkshire

Rhubarb Triangle? Nope,

fortunately for fans of powerful,

soulful blues music neither

of the above, but the triangle

formed by the legendary

locations that are Memphis,

Muscle Shoals and Jackson,

Mississippi, where Lisa

recorded all the tracks for

her latest album. It could be

said that Lisa is going back to

her roots, being a native of

Mississippi, but that would



VARIOUS ARTISTS

CRAWLING UP A HILL

Well folks we what we have

here is a refreshing take you

back triple CD set of early Brit.

Blues Boom acts between

1966-1971. The label do tend

to do these sort of releases

rather well and the set has a 40

page booklet compiled by David

Wells, it is excellent and plenty

of images and posters if you can

actually read the minute print,

had this been a vinyl release

with appropriate sized book

enclosed it would be fantastic.

There are probably tracks

you would expect but some

you may not and the selection

makes up for a really good long

listen. Disc 1 kicks off with John

Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and

All Your Love but then lends

an ear to The Zany Woodruff

Operation and the wonderful

previously unissued title track

Crawling Up The Hill the Mayall

classic of course covered by so

many. We are presented with

A JOURNEY

THROUGH THE

BRITISH BLUES

BOOM 1966-1971

GRAPEFRUIT/

CHERRY RED

a total of 56 tracks over

the three discs so a lot

to get through which

I can’t do here but at

less than £20 you have

a fine purchase to look

out for. Several previously

unissued tracks

including; Yardbirds

– I’m A Man Live 9Aril

’67), Savoy Brown – A

Hard Way To Go (Jan ’70), Alexis

Korner w/Robert Pant – Operator,

Red Dirt – Time To Move,

Angel Pavement – Madison

Blues, Christine Perfect – It’s

You I Miss, and more. The set

is a damn good play and very

interesting indeed with some

of the mix of artists we may

have forgotten about and will

send some of you in a searching

frenzy for some of these acts

own albums.

There was a good BBC4 documentary

on Eel Pie Island Hotel

I watched having recorded it, it

has been repeated and no doubt

is on BBC iPlayer well worth a

look and to go that bit deeper

do check out Suburban Steps To

Rockland that is on Now TV and

probably You tube (www.nowtv.

com/watch/suburban-steps-torockland)

Having said all that I do recommend

this set

FRANK LEIGH

be to overlook the fact that,

musically speaking, Lisa has

never left them. The opening

track, Greenwood, Mississippi,

(somewhere between

Memphis and Jackson) has

that very distinctive Muscle

Shoals feel and is a real rocker,

a sort of cross between The

Stones and The Commitments.

Lisa’s powerful vocals

grab the listener right from

the start. (It gave me the

feeling that I’d walked into a

blues bar, where the band had

already warmed up quite a

while ago and that the singer

was well and truly into her

performance and was not

going to be stopped anytime

soon!) It’s a terrific track and

a great opener. Tell Mama

is another very full-bodied

sound. The heavy horns and

deep bass are a perfect background

to Lisa’s imploring that

mama should be told what

you need, further enhanced

by some lovely great backing

vocals. (After a couple of plays

I’d convinced myself that this

version was an old soul classic

I’d heard years ago). Slip Away

maintains the soulful beat,

but the keyboards give it a

more mellow feel. I’d Rather

Go Blind has been covered

by so many artists with

varying success. This song

could have been just written

for Lisa’s gravelly Southern

tones and she has created a

fantastic true-to-the-original

version. One of the five

tracks recorded in Memphis,

That’s What Love Will Make

You Do has some great funky

horns. The final tracks were

created in Jackson. Someone

112



Else Is Steppin’ In maintains

the heavy driving beat of the

whole album and fades out

with an outstanding sax break.

The bonus track is a beautiful

stripped-back version of Just

Walking In The Rain, recorded

live at the iconic Sun Studios.

In my opinion, this is Lisa’s

best album so far.

ROOMFUL OF

BLUES

STEVE BANKS

IN A ROOMFUL OF

BLUES

Alligator

Although the Roomful of

Blues line up has changed over

the years, they have never

sounded fresher or stronger.

The current eight-piece unit is

led by guitarist Chris Vachon

who produced the album and

wrote/co-wrote eight of the

tracks, with keyboardist Rusty

Scott and baritone and tenor

saxophonist Alek Razdan

both writing one. Along with

bassist John Turner, trumpeter

Carl Gerhard, drummer

Chris Anzalone, tenor and

alto saxophonist Rich Lataille

and singer Phil Pemberton

bringing his sweet and soulful

vocals to their winning combination

of jump, swing, blues,

R&B and soul. The album

opens up with a cover of the

Buddy Ace track What Can

I Do with the horn section

creating a terrific swing feel

from the start. You Move Me

is a searing blues groove with

horns and soulful vocals that

will soon have you dancing.

The title track In A Roomful

Of Blues is a funky R&B with

tasty guitar work, following

on with the rocking contagious

tongue in cheek that

is Phone Zombies. The band

play around the driving

rhythmic double bass on the

rock and roll of Watch Your

Back. A highlight for me as

the mood softens with Phil

delivering wistful whisky

tinged vocals on the exquisitely

played smouldering

blues ballad. She Quit Me

Again. The tempo returns on

She’s Too Much, with its Latin

groove and Cab Calloway

horn styling, while guest Dick

Reed on accordion takes us

dancing to New Orleans on

the Zydeco grooves of Have

You Heard. The rock and roll

blues of We’d Have A Love

Sublime takes us to Carcinoma

Blues one of five songs

co-wrote by Bob Moulton,

a feisty driving blues about

Bob’s fight with cancer. Next

up is the Doc Pomus cover

Too much Boogie, a call and

response with a bouncing big

band swing sound. Guest Jeff

Ceasrine holds down an effective

percussion rhythm on the

more bluesy Let The Sleeping

Dog Lie, before the band close

the album with the upbeat

jump blues of I Can’t Wait.

With its infectious grooves

this is very enjoyable indeed

SHIRL

WIDE MOUTH

MASON

I WANNA GO WITH

YOU

We Are Busy Bodies

In the last ten years or so

Canada has bred a real hotbed

of musicians across the Folk,

Blues & Americana spectrum

and it is not uncommon to

hear something new and find

the artist is resident somewhere

in the deep backwoods

of Newfoundland or Prince

Edward Island rather than

the Nashville or Clarkdale

centers. Wide Mouth Mason

are one of those, hailing from

Saskatchewan and forming

in 1995. They have been

through some changes in

line-up and form in the 25

years preceding this release

and this finds them as a duo

with Shaun Verrault on vocals

and guitars and Safwan Jayed

on percussion The sound of

Wide Mouth Mason is Blues

based, a lot of the Mississippi

Hill Country sound to

their playing, especially with

Verrault’s ‘trislide’ where he

plays the lap steel, dobro or

resonator with slides on three

fingers to let him play slides

and chords at the same time.

For sure, he plays with a great

deal of talent and his slide

solos are really fine and I love

the rawness of their sound as

well as the variety but… There

is a bit of a but in that they

often fall between the two

stools of Blues and Pop and it

doesn’t always work although

there are no tracks here that

are downright bad. Opening


IBBA TOP 50 | JUN/JUL 2020

114



pair are a case in point. Bodies

In Motion is a terrific Blues,

grumbling guitars, lots of slide

and a jaunty rhythm but it is

followed by Every Red Light

which kicks off with a great

slide riff but as the vocals cut

in takes on a much more lightweight

rhythm, two tracks

that share many of the more

successful elements but sound

as though they come from

two different bands. Overall,

I really like Verrault’s playing

all through the album and it is

definitely worth the trip.

LEE AINLEY

BLUESSTORM

Evolution

ANDY SNIPPER

Straight from the off, a rousing

guitar gets hold of you and

brings you in with the opening

track, Train Wreck but that’s

far from it. A nice self-penned

number by Lee Ainleys as

nearly all the tunes are on this

album. Fronted by a mother/

daughter combination, with

powerhouse vocals and

harmonies, the close family

bond brings out something

quite stirring. Mix this in with

the driving guitar of Elliot

Young who welds his guitar

like a Jedi Knights light Sabre

and a steady as a rock rhythm

section of Nat Ainley on bass

and Dave Atkin on drums and

Tori Mai makes up the band..

With these guys having their

roots firmly in the Blues Rock

genre and they do it so well,

each track grabs hold of you

as soon as it starts and brings

you into story after story of

life and all it brings. Track

5, Hell Yeah, is something

we’ve all said at one time in

our lives and you can picture

the gig crowd saying just that

after these guys play live. The

combination of two young

talents and three veterans

makes this band a force to be

reckoned with, I mean these

tunes make me want to put

the top down on a convertible

car and have it at full blast

whilst driving home, with two

female lead singers, they’ll be

compared to the likes of Fleetwood

Mac and we all know

what they achieved ...

MAYA RAE

BARRY BLUESBARN

HOPWOOD

CAN YOU SEE ME

Black Hen Music

At just over 18 years old,

singer-songwriter Maya Rae

has had a storied career so

far. Singing professionally

since she was twelve, releasing

her first jazz album at 13,

and recording and performing

with some of the best-known

names on the Canadian Jazz

scene since then, she has

certainly packed a lot in, and

Can You See Me? Is the result

of a lot of a natural talent,

combined with a strong work

ethic. The songs that appear

on the album, written with

her brother Gabriel tip their

hats towards Jazz and Blues,

but also contain elements of

soft dance music, pop, reggae,

and the sounds of classic

singer-songwriters such as

Joni Mitchel, Carole King and

Nina Simone. The instruments

used range from light

and frothy ukuleles, to bluesy

lap steel and dobro guitars,

and trumpets. The album

was recorded live, with all of

the musicians on the floor at

the same time, which gives

the sound an immediacy and

directness, often missing from

over-dubbed records. It starts

with the effervescent title

track, with its gentle acoustic

arpeggio, and inventive

dobro solo, with Rae’s light,

high voice pitched perfectly

with the song. Get By is a

brass driven piece, with some

beautiful violin playing, and

The Sun Will Come Out Again

is an experimental, but jaunty

pop song, perfect for a film

soundtrack. The songs are all

expertly played, performed

and recorded, and show a

bright future for a talent who

has already delivered much.

BEN MACNAIR

BLIND LEMON

PLEDGE

GOING HOME

Ofeh Records

This album is unashamedly a

homage from James Byfield

under his blues nom-de-play

to the blues greats and their

music that have given him a

platform for his skills as an

interpreter of their spirit

and legacy. It’s a strippedback

format, just Byfield and

his long-time bassist Peter

Grenell, which is perfect,


RMR TOP 50 | JUN/JUL 2020

RMR TOP 50

Roots Music Report’s Blues Rock album chart

Pos Artist Album Label

1 In A Roomful Of Blues Roomful of Blues Alligator

2 That’s What I Heard Robert Cray - R Nozzle

3 Stand Up! Whitney Shay Ruf

4 Drive On Tas Cru Subcat

5 Church House Blues Crystal Shawanda True North

6 Peace in Pieces The Betty Fox band Self-Release

7 Ice Cream in Hell Tinsley Ellis Alligator

8 Prove It On Me Rory Block Stony Plain

9 Blacktop Run Sonny Landreth Provogue

10 Out of the Box Ben Rice and RB Stone Middle Mountain

11 Playing with Fire Liz Mandeville Blue Kitty Music

12 Blue Sky The Reverend Shawn Amos Put Together Music

13 Lessons Learned Jim Gustin & Truth Jones Self-Release

14 The Moon Is an Ashtray Miss Tess Tone Tree

15 Rebel Moon Blues Sass Jordan Stony Plain

16 High Risk, Low Reward Ryan Perry Ruf

17 Two Rivers Back The B. Christopher Band Guitar One

18 Wild and Free Albert Castiglia Gulf Coast

19 You Ain’t Done The Proven Ones Gulf Coast

20 All My Dues Are Paid Frank Bey Nola Blue

21 Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Tribute To Chuck Berry Mike Zito Ruf

22 The Devil May Care Avey Grouws Band Self-Release

23 Good As Gone Casey Hensley Vizztone

24 Kill Or Be Kind Samantha Fish - R Rounder

25 Front Porch The Mary Jo Curry Band Self-Release

26 Every Day of Your Life Jimmy Johnson Delmark

27 Run Home Slow The Teskey Brothers Glassnote

28 Weed ‘Em & Reap Misty Blues Self-Release

29 What My Eyes Have Seen John Blues Boyd Gulf Coast

30 What They Say CW Ayon Self-Release

31 The Bodhisattva Blues Reverend Freakchild Treated And Released

32 Come On In Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado Ruf

33 Lighter Side of the Blues Val Starr & The Blues Rocket Sandwich Factory

34 Goin’ Home Blind Lemon Pledge Ofeh

35 It’s a Mighty Hard Road Popa Chubby Dixiefrog

36 Gotta Have It The Jimmys Brown Cow

37 The Gypsy Woman Told Me John Primer & Bob Corritore Vizztone

38 Tall, Dark, and Handsome Delbert McClinton & Self-Made Men Hot Shot

39 Your Baby Has Left Backtrack Blues Band VizzTone

40 Bywater Call Bywater Call Gypsy Soul

41 Songs from the Road Bernard Allison Ruf

42 The Triangle Lisa Mills BMG

43 Look for the Light Diane Blue Self-Release

44 Alive Sister Lucille Endless Blues

45 Out of My Head Hamish Anderson Self-Release

46 Coming in Hot Coco Montoya Alligator

47 Colors Sugar Blue Beeble

48 Don’t Give Up on the Blues Giles Robson American Showplace

49 Still Cookin’ Phantom Blues Band VizzTone

50 Harlem King Solomon Hicks Mascot

www.rootsmusicreport.com

116



these songs were never

conceived for the electric

renditions they received

decades later, they were

designed for one or two players

to set up in a club and

simply play through, get paid,

and move on. If for nothing

else, this album acts as a

instruction for those new to

this wonderful genre, a quick

run through of great songs by

great artists that will encourage

new listeners to delve

into the archives and find the

originals, and more besides,

thus beginning the lifelong

love affair with blues music

that drives and comforts us

all. There is a wonderfully

subtle appeal in the chord

progressions of Somebody

Loan My A Dime, the staple

blues subject of love not

running entirely smoothly.

Byfield underlines his mournful

vocal with a beautifully

executed acoustic solo. Given

the limitations of the format,

there are musical restrictions

enforced by two instruments

and voices, Byfield does well

to maintain a variation of feel

and tone, as evidenced by his

lively slide work on Big Road

Blues, a nice break from the

more emotional angst created

by the masters. In contrast

with those, Sweet Celine is

positively joyous, and readies

us for the rueful sadness of

It’s Too Late To Cry, and the

almost obligatory Robert

Johnson cut, Love In Vain.

If there is such a thing as a

blueprint for a blues song,

this is surely it, a song that

still sounds utterly different

every time it is recorded.

Byfield nods to his Bay Area

blues musical ancestors Hot

Tuna with their country blues

I Know You Rider. Finishing

up with the gospel acapella

Little Black Train rounds off a

homage for one blues disciple,

and a series of pointers for the

newcomers to blues music,

and it succeeds admirably in

both.

CHASIN’ THE

TRAIN

DEAD MAN’S

HANDLE

Independent

ANDY HUGHES

The Scottish blues scene is

still flourishing with top notch

bands. Here is an example of

one them, the band Chasin’

The Train, who hail from

the Dumfries delta country.

This is their debut release

and packs a punch, just like

their live shows which are

not to be missed. They are

a five piece band comprising

of Tom Cuddihy on lead

vocals and guitar. He is joined

by Bob Howlin’ Clements

on blues harp. Next is Peter

Jamieson on bass, keyboards

and backing vocals. Rory

Nelson provides great licks

on guitar and Jason ‘Moon

Drummer’ Little on percussion.

Usually their sets are

peppered with cover versions

but here are nine self-penned

tracks of differing musical

genres, including blues, some

jazzy tones and classic rock

throughout. The opener, Beat

Up Ford, incorporated a rock

and roll style with a nod to

Chuck Berry. FWPB next,

(First World Problem Blues)

a tongue in cheek take to

modern living is very quirky

some very good harmonica

here and a good groove.

Temporary Man starts with

a wonderful scything slide

guitar lick, and then the song

explodes into a real shuffle

of a tune, exhibiting the

band’s big sound and tight

form. Some good guitar solos

complement the vocals also,

a highlight. Down Home

mellows the tone altogether

at least initially, and then

the pace quickens. It seems

to allude to their hometown

Dumfries, locals call themselves

Doonhamers, and so

here is the town’s upcoming

anthem, catchy chorus, and

fine musicianship. Whisky

Bottle has a good chorus also,

good rhythm section here

marrying searing harmonica

tones. Too Much Sugar has an

up-tempo jump jive beat again

with fine guitar playing. Exit

Wounds is a fantastic slow

blues song laid back groove

here. No Blues, opens with

great drum beat, another optimistic

tune with a great vibe.

Don’t You Lie To Me, a mellow

tone to this again showcasing

the band at their best. This

is a talented band that is full

of electrifying rhythm and

lots of energy. Certainly one

to look out for, if you get the

chance to see them on stage,

catch them. Diverse sounds

and catchy riffs and choruses,

what’s not to like!

COLIN CAMPBELL




LAST LIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY

Since guitarist Henry James and

bass player Warren Murrel joined

the band in 2017 the upsurge

in energy and momentum has

been palpable bringing us to the

release of this, by far the band’s

most outstanding release to date.

Oh, Miss Carolina is the perfect

opener and not surprisingly the

single that has been getting played

on rock and blues radio everywhere.

It fizzes and pops with

Southern riffs from the get go

balanced with Roberts plaintive

vocal and memorable chorus.

Work It Out brings the soulful side

of the band to the fore, complete

with wonderfully understated

horns and outstanding backing

vocals provided by Mahalia

Barnes and her colleagues. This

makes you realise that Robert

really is a top-class singer. Write

these off as a generic Southern

Blues Rock band at your peril,

there is so much more here. Can’t

Stand It is next, a bit of an Eagles

country rock feel with a catchy,

hooky refrain going on that sticks

with you. Tired Of Drinking Alone

might be the perfect lock down

song although written as a break

up and get back together song.

INDEPENDENT

The emotion feels real, the music

swirling around the lyrics. Do You

Remember is as the title suggests

a look back at teenage times,

musically a blend of Southern

country soul. Don’t Let Me Go

shows the boys can rock it when

the need arises, big crunchy guitar

from Henry and soaring vocals

from Robert ably backed by the

relentless rhythm section. One

Last Time shows another facet

of the band, this is a song about

the journey they are on and pulls

in elements of the best modern

rock traditions, slowly building to

a monster guitar driven crescendo

before falling to the outro. They

follow that with a heartfelt ballad,

Gold. A break up song in the best

tradition but unlike many this

is honest in its observations, no

sugar coating going on here. This

highlights the fantastic harmony

this band has, not only vocally

but musically too. A guitar solo

perfectly and tastefully taking

everything higher towards the

final verse. All too soon we’re at

the closing double hit of Last Light

On The Highway Parts One and

Two. Part One all acoustic and

reflective, Part Two more intense

and urgent, music drawn from

such diverse acts as Radiohead,

Steely Dan or Deep Purple but

blended into a bubbling stew of

inventiveness. This album is the

modern contemporary face of

Southern Rock Blues and is one

of the most complete recordings

I’ve heard in a long time. I think

it’s going to put Robert Jon & The

Wreck firmly on the map.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

ARCHIE

EDWARDS & DR.

ROSS

PIEDMONT BLUES

MEETS MISSISSIPPI

DELTA BLUES

Wolf

This CD is a wonderful,

atmospheric slice of blues

heritage. Here you have two

blues styles; Mississippi and

Piedmont contrasted to great

effect by two masters. The

quality of the recordings is

exceptional. For example, Dr.

Ross, with just a harmonica,

singing Biscuit Baking Woman

is close to having the man in

your kitchen with you. Born

on a Virginia farm, Archie

Edwards came into this world

in 1919 and passed away in

1998. He was a champion of

the Piedmont blues guitar

style and had worked with

Skip James, John Jackson and

Mississippi John Hurt. You

want background? Try this

– Archie ran his own barbershop,

which became a focal

point for helping blues players

in their careers. Charles Isaiah

Ross, a.k.a. Dr. Ross, was born

in 1925 in Tunica, Mississippi

and left us in 1993. He had a

substantial hit with Chicago

Breakdown (included here)

and the distinction of recording

for both Sun Records and

Chess. There are 14 uplifting

tracks here and each one

as pure, unadulterated blues

as you could wish. The songs

are all classics; Meet Me in

the Bottom, Good Morning

Little Schoolgirl, Baby Please

Don’t Go, Goin’ Up Coun-

118



try. The combination of Dr.

Ross’s highly rhythmic harp

and Archie’s crisp guitar is

irresistible. A must for all true

acoustic blues fans.

ROY BAINTON

WATERMELON

SLIM

TRAVELING MAN

Independent

Double album of live cuts

from Oklahoma bluesman Bill

Homans aka ‘Watermelon

Slim’ featuring mostly original

material plus a few choice

covers with Slim playing solo

backed by his slide guitar

and harmonica. CD1 was

recorded at The Blue Door

Oklahoma and opening track

Blue Freightliner features fine

slide guitar and gruff road

weary vocals and this theme

continues with Truck Driving

Songs a humorous tale of life

on the road. Slim’s passion

for passing on his experiences

is evident and this solo

setting is surely the best way

to hear him tell his tales. Slim

howls on Northern Blues as

he tells of the harsh winters

and having to leave New

England. Other highlights

from the first CD are a lengthy

workout of two Howlin’ Wolf

classics Smokestack Lightnin’/Two

Trains Running, also

the jaunty harmonica backed

Jimmy Bell and a great cover

of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s

61 Highway Blues.

CD2 was recorded at The

Depot Oklahoma and opens

strongly with the funky Let

It Be In Memphis a surprisingly

upbeat song about death

featuring great bottleneck

guitar. Slim is on wonderful

form here and tears into the

country flavoured Into The

Sunset with gusto. A cover of

the old blues standard John

Henry shines brightly and

more sparks fly with some

speedy picking on Archetypal

Blues as Slim pays homage

to the great blues performers.

Oklahoma Blues is a

slightly introverted tale that

leads into Devil’s Cadillac a

harrowing song about “heading

for that Crossroads with

a monkey on my back”. Phew,

heavy stuff but beautifully

done. The album closes with

Dark Genius a political song

about assassinated presidents.

This Traveling Man is

surely the real deal hearkening

back to the old days of

the great bluesmen. Highly

recommended to acoustic

blues lovers.

DAVE DRURY

VARIOUS ARTISTS

AMERICAN FOLK

BLUES FESTIVAL

R And B Records

This European package tour

was first organised in 1962

and introduced audiences to

the leading blues performers

of the day. Manchester

Free Trade Hall hosted the

only UK date on the tour,

an event attended by Paul

Jones, Alexis Korner, John

Mayall, Jimmy Page, Mick

Jagger and around 2000

other blues fans. As Page

explains: “It was not only the

first time that I would actually

see artists like John Lee

Hooker and T-Bone Walker

perform, but it was also the

first time I met the Stones. We

were all like-minded enthusiasts

and in those days we

regarded the artists we were

going to see as idols. David

Williams, author of First Time

We Met The Blues, was at

the show and his insights,

alongside those of Keith Richards,

illuminate the detailed,

illustrated cover notes. The

festival recording was dominated

by the sensational

appearance to tumultuous

applause of Sonny Terry and

Brownie McGhee at their

most raw and authentic best,

singing Kansas City Blues,

I’m Leaving In The Morning,

I’m A Poor Man But A Good

Man and Easy Rider. John Lee

Hooker had opened the show

but his singing was distorted

and so does not feature on

the album. Memphis Slim

performed Broonzy’s Just A

Dream, his trademark rolling

blues piano underpinning his

grandiose vocals. Willie Dixon

was Sittin’ And Cryin’ The

Blues, his voice warbling and

playing his bass with power

and superb technique. Walker

sang his self-penned Call It

Stormy Monday and My Baby

Is Now On My Mind plus the

finale Bye Bye Baby with the

Ensemble, Walker playing

more in the style of the 40s

than the 60s. This is pure

blues history and one for the

collection.

THE BISHOP



Rory Block needs no introduction.

A blues lady since the age

of fifteen or so, she has worked

with almost everyone of note

in the modern acoustic blues

cannon, including her old buddy,

Bonnie Raitt, and as part of the

renowned Sisters of Slide team

with Cindy Cashdollar in recent

years. After a stunning series

of albums, the Mentor series,

where she focused each release

on the work of a true blues

great, Gary Davis; Mississippi

John Hurt; Bukka White; Son

House; Fred McDowall and

Skip James, mostly guys she

personally knew and learned

from, Block has now resurfaced

with an equally important,

stage-setting series of releases

focusing on women in blues.

RORY BLOCK

PROVE IT ON ME

STONY PLAIN

The first album in

the new series from

2018 featured the

legendary Bessie

Smith and now, with

the sophomore

release, Block turns

to many lesser

known blues musicians

with Prove It

On Me, a genuinely

inspired and

inspiring collection

of covers, featuring

some really unexpected

and many

largely unknown

blues ladies who

played a significant

part in the development

of the

blues. ‘Ma’ Rainey

and Memphis

Minnie, both instantly recognizable

names, feature here

alongside the likes of Arizona

Dranes and Rosetta Howard,

both newcomers to me. And

it’s truly these lesser known

ladies that make this album

truly delightful. Others include

songs from Lottie Kimbrough, a

gospel track that sure shimmies,

and Madilyn Davis’ It’s Red

Hot, a sensual, simpering cut. A

version of Motherless Children

originally from Elvie Thomas,

also rattles along perfectly in

the mix. This is a marvelous

album, one that is likely to again

lead Block to the international

awards stage, where she picked

up an acoustic award of the year

in 2019.

IAIN PATIENCE

CHRIS CANAS

BAND

WOULD YOU MIND

Third Coast

Okay, yet another new name

to me Chris Canas (real name

Cottingham) and his band hail

from Detroit, Michigan and

this release his eighth. You

certainly get a very full CD

as Would You Mind contains

fifteen all original cuts. Mixing

elements of Blues Soul and

Jazz it swings along very

nicely indeed. They create

the kind of music that you

need to move to and I recon

that were you to see them in

a live environment you would

have a super evening grooving

away to these hot tunes. It is a

pretty straight forward band

line-up, all seasoned musicians

on drums, bass, guitar

and keys, however the one

slightly unusual twist being

sharing the stage with Angela

Cottingham who just happens

to be Chris’s mother on vocals

and percussion. Now to the

music, as I said this is a real

fusion album so you have a cut

like Paradise which strays into

George Benson Weekend In

LA territory or Thick And Thin

which is sultry night club Jazz.

Feel So Good is pure Funk

redolent of AWB. Worry not

though Blues based lovers as

there is truly much fine music

for us to enjoy in Having A

Good Time, Dirty Blues Man,

Cloud 9, Get Out Of my Life

and indeed the title track

Would You Mind. Production

values are clean and

120



clear. Some of the tracks are

given space to breathe with

nine weighing in at over five

minutes. However at no point

does it feel like over indulgement.

No, the instrumental

breaks are well thought out

and sit well within the context

of the song. I think tight is

the best way to describe this

body of work and well worth

exploring.

GRAEME SCOTT

AVEY GROUWS

BAND

THE DEVIL MAY

CARE

Independent

With a sound all their own, a

mixture of blues, roots, country

and blues rock, there is

something for everyone on

this album. The band formed

in 2017 and immediately

found their place winning

the Iowa Blues Challenge

the same year! Passionate,

powerful and playful is one

review and I have to agree, 10

tracks with stand outs for me

being track 7, Weary, fantastic

base line, I could imagine an

acoustic version of this in an

intimate club, very cool. Track

6, Let Me Sing My Blues, gets

your attention from the off, a

little bit rock n roll for me but

no denying the passion and

energy in the song and track 8,

Dirty Little Secret, reminded

me of the sort of track Tarrantino

would use in one of his

films, great rhythm, sexy and

very cool. The production of

the album is very good, clear

with a group of accomplished

musicians bringing an eclectic

feel to each original song,

all written by the dynamic

duo that is Jeni Grouws and

Chris Avery. At times soaring

vocals, a gritty slide guitar

and a tasty honkey tonk piano

backing tell of the Mississippi

River and old American Jazz

influences that exist between

the duo. If you like your

Blues a little country, a little

Jazz and a little old school

rock’n’roll then you will enjoy

this album.

JOHN LEE

HOOKER

JEAN KNAPPITT

DOCUMENTING

THE SENSATION

RECORDINGS 1948-

52

Ace

John Lee Hooker’s first

recordings, made for Sensation

in Detroit with Bernard

Besman, launched him on the

road to fame though, as you

will hear on the three discs in

this box-set. His very personal

boogie style was already fully

formed. Mostly playing solo

and accompanying himself

on guitar and foot stomp

these sides give a complete

insight into early JLH. Some

of the material will be familiar

but when Ace acquired the

rights, they uncovered nineteen

previously unreleased

sides or alternate takes, all

of which appear here for the

first time. Everything has been

taken from the best available

masters and cleaned up

as much as possible so what

you hear here is as good as it

gets with recordings of this

age. There are three discs in

the set, in chronological order

and each running to well over

an hour. Disc 1 includes the

song that really started it for

Hooker, Boogie Chillen’, as

well as Hobo Blues, Crawlin’

King Snake and Burnin’ Hell;

Disc 2 has no fewer than five

versions of Boogie Chillen’

#2 and Disc 3 features four

takes off I’m In The Mood –

just to pick out some of the

more familiar JLH titles. The

instrumental Hoogie Boogie

is one good example of how

adept a player Hooker was

within the style he created

and the accompanying notes

by Peter Guralnick and the

more academic treatise by

Dr Wayne Goins, Professor

of Music at Kansas State

University, both stress what a

unique approach he had to the

music. Goins even argues that

the way he improvised and

ignored the standard patterns

of blues lyrics really places

him closer to jazz. Certainly,

as you listen to the multiple

takes of tracks like Build

Myself A Cave (also known

as World’s In A Tangle) you

get the sense of what Goins

means as Hooker varies the

lyrics and delivery significantly

on each version. The

set includes detailed notes on

the tracks’ recording and issue

dates plus any occasional

other musicians involved, such

as Eddie Kirkland on guitar



SASS JORDAN

REBEL MOON BLUES

STONY PLAIN RECORDS

and Eddie Burns on harp.

Probably more JLH than the

casual listener will want but

an important release for hardcore

fans and completists.

JOHN MITCHELL

Sass Jordan has had a 40-year

career in the rock world. This

is her first outing as a bonafida

blues singer with her album

Rebel Moon Blues. Now, I have

to admit I’ve not heard of Sass

before this album, which is not

surprising if she has dedicated

her life to rock music. Where

has she been all my life? The

opening track is a version of

the Sleepy John Estes/Taj

Mahal track Leaving Trunk.

Her backing band, The Champagne

Hookers blend perfectly

with this god given raw blues

vocal that Sass is blessed with.

My Babe (Willie Dixon) allows

Sass to bring to the table what

she has in abundance, charm,

charisma and raw talent. Covering

these blues classics would

have been excusable if she just

wanted to parody them for her

first attempt, but she’s

not content with that.

Oh no, she stamps her

own identity over each

and every song. Am I

Wrong is a foot- stomping

bar-room blues

tune that just grinds its

way through to your

soul. It combines just

the awesome vocals of

Sass and the brilliant

playing of the Dobro

National- Resonator

guitar of Chris Caddell.

So simple, yet so brilliantly

done, this will

have you stomping

around the floor from

the first note. One

Way Out, for me demonstrates

the confidence, and bravado

that Sass has. Not content with

putting down a great vocal, and

having The Hookers deliver

blues at its finest, but she also

makes you think that she owns

the song. Having a distinguished

career in rock music has obviously

helped, but this album is

a step up in class. This is where

she belongs. She is born to the

blues. The Key is the solitary

song on the album that is written

by Sass. Sultry lyrics, gritty

vocals and an understanding of

blues helps to create a wonderful

tune. Finishing the album

with Still Got The Blues, Sass

Jordan has arrived in style.

There are quite a few female

blues artists around who are all

at the top of their game right

now. Make way for one more.

STEPHEN HARRISON

THE WILDCAT O’

HALLORAN BAND

DECK OF CARDS

Independent

Singer/ guitarist/ bandleader

Wildcat O’Halloran is based

in New England and makes

extremely listenable records.

The opening track, Crunch

Time is a meaty piece of early

60s styled Chicago rhythm ‘n’

blues (think maybe vintage

Buddy Guy). If you want to

hear his straight blues chops,

lend an ear to his version of

the slow blues I Wonder Who,

with its classic and classy

guitar introduction, excellent

vocals, and superb instrumental

breaks from Emily

Duff on tenor sax and the

Wildcat himself. In fact, it is

worth noting here that Emily

makes nearly as much of an

instrumental contribution

to this album as the leader.

She impresses throughout,

but then so do all concerned.

Wildcat has a strong sense of

humour, which comes through

fairly frequently - he is an

excellent song-writer. As the

blues is often about communication,

note that he has some

very salient points on the

latter. Try the second number

But, about the second most

powerful word in the English

122



language, after “Love”, or

They Told Me, about phrases

we all use, and then there is

also If Ifs Were Fifths about

possibilities, whilst the title

track is a wonderful litany of

clever put-downs (“if your

lips are moving, chances are

you’re lying”, is just one example).

Blues Energy describes

his approach and the problem

these days of playing to

younger audiences (and looking

like Tom Cruise), whilst

the closing, acoustic-based

Cost Of Living is certainly a

blue-collar blues. All in all,

this is an excellent, enjoyable

contemporary blues set,

firmly rooted in the tradition

but with a strong, vital spark

of individuality.

EAMONN MCCORMACK

STORYTELLER

BEM RECORDS

NORMAN DARWEN

THE SLEEP EASYS

EASY TO BUY HARD

TO SELL

Provogue/Mascot

This is so far away from what

you would normally expect

from a Joe Bonamassa album,

but I for one am really glad in

a way. I’m glad because it will

finally lay to rest any stupidity

that Joe Bonamassa is a

one-trick pony. I have never

been of that persuasion but

some people have. A totally

instrumental album recorded

with his awesome touring

band of the last few years

kicks off with Fun House.

This opening track has a jazz/

swing big band arrangement

This is the Dublin blues rocker

Eamonn McCormack’s seventh

release and encapsulates an

eclectic mix of music styles and

formats. They are all originals

written by this talented singer

songwriter and virtuoso guitarist.

It has a retrospective feel

to it and offers the listener an

insight into his life experiences

and how patriotic he is, as on

first track, the ballad, The Great

Famine, sung with true emotion

and that’s the link to all songs

here, he is a true lyricist. The live

production in Gypsy Women, is

very precise. Help Me Understand

is quite hypnotic in tone a

slow paced number. Tie One On,

is narrated by him full of Irish

craic, with a smooth rhythm

with good slide. Cowboy Blues,

keeps the punchy rhythm

going. Next is, In A Dream, the

most bluesy riffed tune doffing

a cap to influences like Rory

Gallagher and Johnny winter

perhaps. Arne Wiegmand plays

subtle keyboard on this, he also

produced this release. Every

Note That I Play, is a masterful

ballad. With No Way Out,

changes tempo to a blues rock

feel. Cold, Cold Heart, has a

Texan shuffle to it, Eamonn

snarls the lyrics out. South

Dakota Bound, has a Southern

rock twist to it, very catchy.

Last track, Make My Move,

is another rocky number and

exhibits the band’s talents with

Max Jung-Poppe keeping a tight

beat and Edgar Karg’s bassline

tones sublime, a brilliant track

to just get lost in and rock out.

The core of a song is the lyrics

and this storyteller takes you

on a musical journey not to be

missed.

COLIN CAMPBELL



THE MARY JO CURRY BAND

Mary Jo Curry is an Illinois

based singer who was originally

classically trained on the

piano and vocals. This is the first

album with this newly acquired

band that includes husband

Michael Rapier on guitar and

Hammond. Of the elven songs

on the album ten are originals.

Nothin’ Is Easy is the opening

track that kicks off with a solid

bass line. Fast driving bass

that invites Mary Jo to quickly

follow with her stunning vocal

to make this a beauty of a tune.

All Your Lies has a slower more

relaxed way about it. Guest

guitarist Tom Holland delves

into proceedings alongside

Michael Rapier to make this

such a bluesy track. Lookin’

has Andrew Duncanson joining

Mary Jo on vocals to some

aplomb it must be said. Strong

FRONT PORCH

INDEPENDENT

driving rhythm from the

engine room pushes

the song along at a

frantic pace to keep the

gritty vocals company.

If anyone landed from

Mars and needed the

blues explaining to

them then they should

look at Explaining The

Blues. A very apt title

that fits like a glove.

This is as good as a

blues tune that I’ve

heard in a long time.

Simply sensational.

No- holes barred,

straight between the

eyes blues as God

intended. Shake And Bake is

a nice up-tempo instrumental

that makes you feel good. It’s

as simple as that. We All Had

A Really Good Time is the only

cover on the album. Originally

written by Dan Hartman and

Edgar Winter this is a jim-dandy

of a tune. With Mary Jo on

vocals it obviously has a different

swing to it, and I’m certain

that Dan and Edgar will be over

the moon at this interpretation.

Front Porch, being the title track

sums up this whole album. With

guest guitarist Albert Castiglia

joining proceedings it takes the

album up another gear. Joyful is

the final track. That’s what this

album made me feel. Joyful. It’s

one of the best blues albums I’ve

heard in a long time. Do yourself

a favour, get it.

STEPHEN HARRISON

and it sounds superb. Move is

very keyboard lead and if ever

there was a keyboard guy you

want to play on an album then

its Reece Wynams. Brilliant

collaboration with the rest

of the band mixing with the

horns and of course the guitar

of JB. Ace Of Spades takes

us into more familiar territory

with an up-beat blues/

rock style that this bunch

of musicians know so well.

Bonamassa on top form on

this song sweeps effortlessly

through this great track. On

Her Majesty’s Secret Service

is definitely off the beaten

track but is treated with such

reverence and skill that it

makes the original score look

almost amateurish. This is not

a copy or even a tribute to the

original but a new approach

and angle to deliver something

of class. If the Bond

producers here this, then

what they need to do is get all

these fine musicians together

with Beth Hart and let them

do the next Bond song. Polk

Salad Annie is more of a blues/

rocker performed as it was

by Tony Joe White. He’d have

loved this version I’m certain.

Even Elvis would tip his hat to

this. Blue Nocturne is a sloe

blues like melody done with

expertise and feeling. It Was

A Very Good Year finishes

what is a mighty fine album.

My favourite Sinatra tune of

all time, but this is something

else. I expected it to be good,

but not this good. The whole

band coming together like an

orchestra to produce a thing

of beauty. 2020 is indeed

a very good year for Joe

124



Bonamassa and his awesome

band.

STEPHEN HARRISON

JOHNNY RAWLS

LIVE IN EUROPE

Continental Blue Heaven

Records

Soul Blues is definitely the

name of the game with Johnny

Rawls. This is his 20th album,

recorded live for the most

part in Germany and Denmark

with a European band. Johnny

starts off with the Stones

song, Beast Of Burden. An

inspired choice, he gives it a

smoothness and his unhurried

delivery makes you totally

reassess the song. Things

move up a gear with Country

Boy, a jaunty funky work

out with some delightful keys

playing by Alberto Marsico.

Johnny’s voice is pure silk, the

equal of any of the Motown

greats. Too Weak To Fight, a

soul classic, is next. The band

apart from Alberto consist

of the Ozdemirs, Erkan on

bass and his sons Lavent and

Kenan on drums and guitar,

and as you would expect they

are slick and well-rehearsed.

Can I Get It is a bit more of a

READ EVEN MORE

NEWS AND REVIEWS

ON OUR WEBSITE

.com

THE PROVEN ONES

To call yourselves

The Proven Ones

might seem like an

audacious claim

but the individuals

involved in

this project sure

have the credentials.

Kid Ramos,

Anthony Garaci,

Willie J Campbell,

Brian Templeton

and Jim Bott have

proved themselves

over and

over. Get Love is a

muscular robust

opener, Ramos

soon displaying

his chops and

Templeton strident

in his forceful

vocals. Gone To Stay is next,

the solid drum and guitar intro

keeping the power of the band

to the forefront, Templeton

displaying a slightly vocal, by the

time the keys and brass come

in the song has developed a

tasty swing underpinned by the

rhythmic Bott. The title track

shows a funkier side with a

great brass section helping to fill

it out and some great interplay

between Ramos and Geraci.

There is some really nice New

Orleans style piano in Already

Gone, the break in the middle

adding to the catchy feel. Whom

My Soul Loves is a surprise,

wonderful vocal intro by guest

Ruthie Foster, Brian Templeton

joining the gospel vibe and

harmonising as the song grows

augmented with some churchy

YOU AIN’T DONE

GULF COAST RECORDS

organ.

Melinda follows, a reflective

softer love song, perfectly

executed. Soaring guitars bring

in Nothing Left To Give, an

almost Cuban vibe with some

lovely female backing vocals.

I Ain’t Good For Nothing is a

stripped back fun take that

could have been recorded on

Bourbon Street full of piano

and brass. Fallen is a great

blues with a rock edginess to it.

Favourite Dress is the last track

and is a full-blown showcase for

all the talents on display. These

guys have absolutely nothing

to prove. If you are a fan of

The Fabulous Thunderbirds,

Mannish Boys or The Radio

Kings grab this, you’ll love it.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH



THE SPECTACULARS

LET’S HEAR US, NOW

The family band The Spectaculars

have put together a lively

set on Let’s Hear Us, Now. Over

the course of eleven originals,

which take in funk, blues, jazz

and rock and roll they create

many moods. Led by Eric Olsen

on lead guitar and vocals, his

brother Mike on Drums and

background vocals, their father

Leon on Bass and backing

vocals, Joe Loeffelholtz on

guitar and vocals, and keyboard

player Rob Waters they pack

a lot of action into the album.

The rocking opener Mean Old

Woman is packed full of slide

guitar, and joyful Hammond

Organ. What Was I Thinking?

Is a rollicking blues stomp, and

On The Prowl is a slower piece,

which takes the Hammond

SPEXTONE RECORDS

Organ stylings of Booker T to

a new place. Lost my Marbles

is another song about love

going wrong, Can’t Break

Through is a slow and moody

Wah-Wah enhanced blues

raver, and album closer That’s

a Track, Jack! is a fine jazz blues

stomper, with a lively walking

bass part, and some fine guitar

playing, and a great way of

ending this collection. Although

The Spectaculars aren’t really

doing anything new with some

old ingredients, the sounds

that they produce are always

impressive, with solid grooves

and solos being produced by all

members. A solid, foot-tapping

collection of songs.

BEN MACNAIR

bluesy number, reminding me

of the soulful side of Bobby

Rush. Turning Point is next,

a cover of the Tyrone Davis

recording. The keys give this a

slightly different feel from the

original but it’s still pure soul

blues heaven. T-Bone Walkers

classic Stormy Monday

though is a showstopper.

Johnny takes it at his own

tempo, never rushed, taking

the song through to a natural

conclusion. The pace quickens

with Into Something (Can’t

Shake Loose), the song best

known from the O.V. Wright

version. Johnny’s vocal sounding

a bit more urgent on this,

the band cooking behind him.

Pouring Water On A Drowning

Man is next, a James Carr

original but this perhaps

nearer to the Percy Sledge

version. Johnny plays guitar

excellently throughout. As we

head for the home straight the

band break into Lucy, a Rawls

original, it’s a funky number

that gets some interaction

with the audience going on.

The album concludes with the

studio recording of I Miss Otis

Clay, a heartfelt tribute to the

sadly departed legend and

close friend of Johnny Rawls.

It’s a wonderful song that

Johnny reaches deep into his

soul to perform. This is a soul

blues masterclass and if that’s

your scene get this album.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

126



CASEY HENSLEY

GOOD AS GONE

Vizztone

This is Casey’s second album

following her live album debut

in 2017 which contained a mix

of mainly Blues covers; this

release has nine self written

songs with an added bonus

of the inclusion of guitarist

Laura Chavez who also chips

in with some co-production

duties. I had a lot of expectation

before listening to this

album as I had seen Casey

compared to the likes of Janis

Joplin, Big Mama Thornton

and even Etta James. While

Laura is a powerhouse throaty

vocalist, she has not reached

these artists heights yet,

needing to have more empathy

with the songs although as

she is still in her mid-twenties

I am confident she is well on

her way. Casey has a powerful

voice with the ability to

scream from the bottom of

her lungs while alternatively

delivering some emotional

and soulful interludes that

belay her power. None more

so than on the Peter Green

influenced slow Blues song

called Don’t Want It To Stop,

where she meets the high

notes with ease and works

well with the fiery lead guitar

work put down by Laura. This

song also benefits from the

inclusion of two horn players;

Jonny Viau and Steven Ebner.

The material is a mixture of

Chicago rocking style Blues

and slower songs that have

a soulful element, which all

work well together highlighting

how well Casey handles

the various Blues styles,

at times I believe she sings

within herself to maintain

control, it would be good to

here her live where she is not

constrained by the studio

boundaries. The CD copy I

had to review seemed to have

a very low volume setting

which meant I had to crank up

the volume to experience the

best of Casey’s performance,

which was frustrating but did

not impact me in recognizing

that there is an exciting artist

on the horizon.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

THE KENDALL

CONNECTION

THE KENDALL

CONNECTION

Independent

This self-titled debut album

comprises nine previously

released singles and three

new tracks by the London

blues-rockers who formed the

band in 2016. Their publicity

blurb claims that they

are some of the UK’s finest

session musicians and that

the album is “sonically exhilarating”,

citing influences such

as Joe Bonamassa and Stevie

Ray Vaughan. Rarely has such

hyperbole proved to be an

understatement! The CD is

crammed full of magnificent,

original songs such as Breathe

with its superb jazz infused

keys and guitar licks courtesy

of Steve Holness and front man

Nick Kendall respectively. The

funky Sign Of The

Times with its rhythm changes

and thought-provoking lyrics

is both compelling and innovative,

setting this band some

distance apart from others on

the current scene. Hello My Old

Friend digs deep into the blues,

Nick’s vocal range and intricate

guitar work telling the story

about the relationship between

a man, his best friend, worst

enemy and a bottle of whisky.

Driving Without Headlights

does exactly what the title says,

taking the listener on a blind

journey between dream and

reality, the atmospheric vocals

reminiscent of Bowie. A similar

vibe is evident on A Change Is

Coming, a journey through life

with its twists and turns whilst

Keep Driving showcases the

dynamic rhythm section of bassist

Greg Hagger and drummer

Tom Clare. Soul’d Out is further

proof of the musicians’ versatility,

adding soulful, emotive

lyrics to an already varied mix.

The gloriously arranged finale,

Ready To Come Home with its

poignant lyrics and screaming

feral guitar interludes is a fitting

climax to one of the best debut

albums this reviewer has heard

in a long time.

THE BISHOP



BRIAN KRAMER

THE PROVIDER

Independent

Brian Kramer will be

no new name to Blues

Matters readers and

blues fans generally. Originally from blues

melting-pot, Brooklyn, he has been based in

Sweden for around twenty years and runs

Scandinavia’s most admired weekly blues

music jam in Stockholm every Saturday.

He has worked with many bluesmen over

the years from the late Larry Johnson and

Junior Wells to Taj Mahal, Mick Taylor, Alvin

Yougblood Hart, Bob Brozman and another

Swedish-US blues import, Eric Bibb. It has

now been around six years since he last

turned out an album of his own material,

with the widely acclaimed, Full Circle. Now,

with The Provider, Kramer seems to be in a

more visceral place, with lyrics that are raw

and emotive, politicized and passionate, a

forceful statement where Kramer pushes the

edges of the music, featuring his ever-tasteful,

fretwork and generally nuanced picking

and vocal delivery. Kramer also includes

some fine Memphis horns here, something

of a departure for him. Kramer can always

be relied on to deliver proper, rough-edged

full-on blues, pretty much that authentic,

old-school style coming from and ranging

through the USA from Delta to Chicago and

all points in between.

With The Provider, he does just that

supported by many of his Swedish buddies,

the guys who work with him regularly and

know exactly where he’s going and likely to

take them: Daniel Ransten on bass, Finnish

Markku Reinlkeinen on drums, Mats Qwarfordt

on harp and a few others from his

international blues jam in Stockholm. Anyone

with an interest in blues-with-bite should

grab a copy of this latest release, they’ll love

it for sure.

IAIN PATIENCE

KAT PEARSON

MY ROOTS

Tone Trade

Born in the USA and

raised in California Kat

was brought to the UK

as a teenager for a family holiday on several

occasions. Something clearly left a impression

on her as a number of years later she

relocated to London and her musical career,

following a sojourn to Spain, ignited into the

Blues artist she is today. This is Kat’s third

album release and finds her exploring her

family and past life for the inspiration that

has generated these very personnel nine

songs. All self-written by Kat or jointly with

members of her supporting band.

Kat has a “made in heaven” Blues vocal that

has a rough scratchy edge to it and allows

her to vary her sound from almost a talking

start to a full-blown soaring style. She is ably

supported by her very talented band that

include guitarist Francesco Accurso who also

takes on the production duties admirably

maintaining the musical edge that so typifies

Kat’s music. There are several highlights

with the songs; my particular favourites are

the raw and emotional Ode To My Mother

which starts with a stark African style drum

beat before Kat cuts in with her heartfelt

vocal highlighting her respect and dedication

to her mother, Francesco also adds a deft

guitar solo in for good measure, the other

track that stands out is; Until I Get What I

Need which again benefits from an intriguing

intro this time supplied by a meandering stark

rock Guitar solo from Francesco that lays the

platform for Kat’s slow stomping vocal that

takes a while to ignite but it does at the songs

conclusion. This is an excellent rootsy Blues

album performed by an outstanding vocalist

who has a fairly unique style mixing her

American roots with a more modern contemporary

sound.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

128


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