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From: Blues Blast Magazine <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 2:20 PM
Subject: Jimi Bott - Heartbeat of 21st Century blues - in this week's issue
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*Cover photo © 2021 Marilyn Stringer*
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* In This Issue *
*Marty Gunther has our feature interview with Jimi Bott. We have six blues
reviews for you this week including new music from Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn
Band, Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal, Skage, Skylar Rogers, Zed Mitchell and
New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers.*
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[image: image]
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* Featured Interview - Jimi Bott *
[image: image]Guitar players capture most of the glory in the blues, but
they’re hung out to dry without a solid rhythm section behind them, and
there’s no cog in the industry keeping a steadier beat than Jimi Bott.
It’s been about 32 years since San Francisco native Jimi hit the road at
age 19 as a member of Hummel’s Blues Survivors, and what an impressive
journey it’s been with a ten-year run in Rod Piazza’s Mighty Flyers, eight
years each in The Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Mannish Boys – and
currently as a founder of the supergroup The Proven Ones, too.
Bott’s a 20-time nominee as percussionist of the year in the Blues Music
Awards. But he remains one of the most personable, well-grounded folks in
the business – an attitude he’s managed to maintain through all the high
points that have come with such an illustrious career that includes
operating Roseleaf Recording in Portland, Ore., one of the best studios in
the Pacific Northwest.
But winning trophies has never been Jimi’s focus, as *Blues Blast* learned
in a lengthy, extensive interview. His life bares proof that, as he says,
the only goal he’s ever had is to play the music he loves -- something he’s
managed to accomplish despite back problems so severe that doctors have
told him on three occasions that he’d never be able to play again.
“A lot of people don’t understand that it’s not something you do and then
retire,” he added, noting that – for the first time since Oregon shut down
last fall, he was eager to get back on stage that evening with Kevin Selfe
& the Tornadoes. “If you’re lucky, you just keep doing it.
“Music has saved me more than once when I’ve been the very lowest. It’s
always been the thing that flips the switch back on for me…that energizes
me. And it can be something as simple as one little part of some song or a
chord change that does it...and not necessarily in blues.”
Bott feels blessed that he figured out what he wanted to do in life in his
teens. “It seems kinda crazy that I decided that in *one* night,” he says.
“And here I am now, 40-something years later, and I’m still doing it.
“The friends that I had in high school who wanted to be playing music to
get girls or get rich, they aren’t playing music any more. I never was
about that. And it’s one of the things that (longtime T-Birds’ keyboard
player) Gene Taylor and I bonded on: It’s not for the money or the kicks.
You do this because you love it.
“Gene’s take on it really stuck with me – and it’s valid no matter what you
do in life: It’s the music you make, the people you make it with and the
money that you make. Those three things have to equal ‘yes’ to you – and
not in any particular order – or else you’re in the wrong business.”
Born on Aug. 13, 1965, and raised in Los Gatos, Calif., Bott’s love for the
blues came early through his general contractor dad Ken, a World War II vet
who played guitar and sang on the porch he’d built every evening to chill
out after a hard day constructing buildings. “I was so excited when I
watched him that I’d start out laughing,” Jimi says. “I thought it was so
amazing.”
A genuine character, Bott says, his father could play just about any
instrument you handed him if you gave him a couple of minutes to figure it
out. He played in a style all his own – something akin to Lightnin’ Hopkins
meets Leon Redbone, delivering word-heavy originals that he never sang the
same way twice.
Music ran in the family, although they didn’t realize it until Jimi was
already grown when his mom Lee discovered that she and jazz trombone great
Jack Teagarden were cousins. It was a real shocker for her because she and
dad Ken used to see him in action when they were courting. Both an uncle
and Jimi’s brother Jere exhibited musical talent, too.
It was a family tradition that all of the Bott children took piano lessons
for a year when they reached fifth grade. Even then, Jimi was more
interested in boogie-woogie than the classical instruction he was receiving
– something he demonstrated in his only recital, when he veered from
straight delivery and jazzed up “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Around the same time, Jimi’s dad brought home a 1938 Slingerland Radio King
drum. It sat in the garage for years, but eventually played a small, but
vital role in Jimi’s musical development. In junior high, Jimi’s friend
Curtis Smith and his older brother, Eric wanted to start a band, knew the
Botts owned the solitary drum and told Jimi he could be the drummer.
They suggested Bott buy a kit that a neighbor was offering to sell for $80.
Jimi’s dad was encouraging about his son’s desire to play, but quickly
rejected the set because of its obvious poor condition. “He said: ‘If you
want to buy an instrument, you should get something much better than that!
You should work and save your money,’” Jimi says.
“So that’s what I did…heavy construction with him…just like I did every
summer from the time I was little,” noting “there were times when he pulled
my brother and me out of class during the school year to finish a house,
too.”
[image: image]Bott eventually purchased his first drum set, a CB 700, and
started jamming with his friends even though he didn’t know how to play it.
Lessons soon followed – but not from any run-of-the-mill neighborhood
drummer. One of Jimi earliest teachers was the Forrest Elledge, a legendary
teacher in the Bay Area whose career included stints with both Carmen McRae
and Billie Holiday.
Eric Smith was the guitarist in the band, and it was he who turned Jimi on
to the blues.
“We went from listening to AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd to *The* *Allman
Brothers Band at the Fillmore East* LP,” he remembers. “They became a huge
influence. We started looking at who wrote the songs – Blind Willie McTell,
T-Bone Walker and others – and jumped all the way from that record, which
was released in ’71, to (the music of the songwriters in) the ‘50s.
“Eric also had his finger on the pulse of what was happening. He caught
wind of the band The Mighty Flyers – it was before Rod got top billing --
and that they were coming through town, playing Mountain Charley’s in Los
Gatos.
“We went down there, snuck in and sat at a table two or three hours before
show time. The waitress kept asking us if we wanted something, and we kept
saying no. About ten minutes before they were supposed to go on, she said:
‘I hope you’re not planning to stay for the show.’
“The club was packed, and I don’t know what kinda look we had on our face,
but I’m sure it was pretty deflated. She said: ‘Hold on a second,’ and we
thought we were in trouble. She talked to the bartender, told us ‘Come with
me’ and then us up at the back of the bar so that we could see over the
heads of everybody. She also brought us free Cokes and said: ‘If any cops
come in the front door, you go out the back.’
“That really was the defining moment of my life,” Bott says. “When I saw
that band and saw that *drummer* – Willie Schwartz, I decided: ‘This is
what *I’m* going to do!’
“I literally went back to school on Monday and told my algebra teacher: ‘If
I sit here, don’t bother you and pass the final at the end of the semester,
but don’t do any more homework, will you pass me?’
“She said: ‘I guess so. Why?’ I said: ‘Because I don’t need algebra for
what I’m going to do in my life. I’m going to be a drummer – specifically a
*blues* drummer.’”
For the final two school years, Jimi worked ahead and took all of his hard
courses during summer school to reduce his class load even though he didn’t
have to. During his junior and senior years, he only took three easy
classes, freeing himself at 11:15 every morning, allowing him all afternoon
to practice drumming before heading off to work as a busboy at a burger
joint at night.
“By no means was I a *brain*,” he insists. “Quite honestly, I was in the
stoner crowd – but I was a very *responsible* stoner!”
A high school graduate at age 17, Bott started playing in the Monday night
jams at Mountain Charley’s led by guitarist/harp player Paul Durkett and
his band, the House Rockers, the same unit that West Coast harmonica legend
Gary Smith fronted for years after his departure. Jimi was playing with
bassist Mark Carino – a future member of both the Hummel and T-Bird bands,
when they encountered Durkett in a record store one day. He invited them to
the jam, and subsequently became a major influence, expanding their
knowledge by sharing and trading LPs with them.
Still underage, Jimi arrived early each evening and helped with the load in
despite having to watch the action through a window until getting the
chance to play. Once finished, he returned to the window for the rest of
the night before assisting the load out, too.
When Durkett eventually hired him on as a member of the house band, Bott’s
relatives watched on proudly from the audience. “And I folded,” he says. “I
don’t know if it was the pressure of being *the* drummer on the gig or
what, but it did not go well. Paul took me aside after it was over and
said: ‘You’re just not ready yet. But I want you to come back next week’ –
and I did again and again.
[image: image]“I wasn’t a natural on stage. It was something that I had to
work on over the years.”
When he finally *was* good enough, Durkett took him on full-time, but it
didn’t last long. Another harp player came in and stole the gig by offering
to do it for half the price. “Welcome to the music business!” Jimi
exclaims, noting that the new jam leader crashed and burned a short while
later.
Bott subsequently hooked up with Mark Hummel while playing behind Byrd
Hale, another harp player who’s best known today as the longtime host of a
blues show on Stanford University’s radio station, KZSU-FM. Hummel dropped
in to a club to see Byrd’s band and catch a performer who was billing
himself as Guitar Gable – a name he’d “borrowed” from the genuine artist –
in action.
“Mark sat in for three songs,” Jimi recalls. “His drummer had just quit,
and he gave me his number and told me he was going on tour…would I call him?
“He was going to the Southwest and up to Colorado, and he needed a drummer.
That was my first big decision in life. I was just about turning 19, and
didn’t know what to do. I called my dad and Byrd for advice – and obviously
went with Hummel.
“Mark took me out on the road, and figured out pretty quickly that I just
wasn’t *that* good. I didn’t have the stamina, and I’d never been anywhere.
We showed up in the first time, and ‘oh, my God! There’s a Main Street! I
can’t believe it! There’s a Main Street back home, too!’”
Reflecting back, Jimi’s grateful that Hummel – still a good friend after
all these years -- was as hard on him as he was, insisting that Bott needed
to practice. “His criticism seemed like the end of the world, and I was
pretty dejected, but whatever he told me to do, I did double or triple.”
That included taking a full set of practice pads on the road – something
that drove his roommate, bassist Tim Wagar, crazy because he gave them a
constant workout. The time he spent as a Blues Survivor was an education in
another way, too, Jimi says, because he got to play behind Luther Tucker,
Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee, Jimmy McCracklin, Rick Estrin, Joe
Louis Walker and others on tour and at the band’s regular Tuesday sets at
the Chi Chi Club in San Francisco.
“It was a great education,” he notes. “I had to rise up to play with these
people, studying their records ahead of time when I knew they’d be playing.
I wanted to be like Fred Below, Billy Stepney and all these drummers that
they’d played with. They were *my* heroes.”
Two years later, however, Jimi landed the job of his dreams thanks to his
friendship with Ed Mann, who’d taken Schwartz’s spot in the Mighty Flyers.
Mann met Bott during Jimi’s first Hummel tour when their bands had played
consecutive nights at Terry & Zeke’s in Tucson, Ariz., and Ed and Junior
Watson dropped in for the show and sat in after playing the club the night
before.
“Ed and I got along really well, and we kept in touch,” Bott remembers.
“Flash forward to ’86 and I was going through a life crisis, ready for a
change and looking for a sign about what to do. I called Ed, and he said:
‘I was just about to call you!’
“I always had called *him* in the past. He never called me. And he had my
number – but it was off by one digit. He says: ‘I’m quitting the Flyers. I
want to try something different…and I think you should be the one to try
out for the band.’”
Apparently, Piazza was reluctant to offer an invitation to try out out of
professional courtesy to Hummel, but relented after Mann’s insistence that
he do it. Jimi made the 500-mile drive from the Bay Area to Southern
California. His parents had relocated to Victorville, about 50 miles from
Rod’s home in Riverside, after his graduation, and the audition took place
on Aug. 13, 1986 – Jimi’s 21st birthday!
“I threw up on the way, and it was just Rod and (his pianist wife) Honey in
a little studio in back of their house,” Bott recalls. “Rod had just had
his driveway poured, and Richard Innis (another world-class percussionist
who’d worked with Piazza in the ‘60s) had done the concrete. I thought that
I’d never get the gig – that every drummer in the world would want it.
“Looking back now, though, I don’t think he had a lot of other choices
then.”
Fortunately, “I did *really* well,” Jimi says, noting that one song they
played was Little Walter’s “Rocker” – a song for which he’d already written
down the drum part and knew completely from the way Piazza played in on
record. Rod complimented him when they finished, but claimed that Bott had
left out a portion of the tune. Jimi politely told him that it had been
Piazza who’d omitted an entire *section* – something that Honey confirmed a
few moments later after they’d played it back from their LP.
Rod hired him on the spot, and Hummel – who was about to embark with Jimi
on Bott’s first European tour – wasn’t happy when Jimi broke the news.
In short order, Bott relocated to Southern California, believing Rod
“probably hired me until somebody else came along,” he says. “But I just
*made* myself better – until I became indispensable.” Their relationship
endured for a decade despite Jimi quickly realizing that it’s important to
be careful what you wish for because band politics – like family
relationships -- can be far more than what you bargain for.
[image: image]Jimi’s playing started jumping major levels during that
period when Mann suggested he start taking lessons from his teacher, Murray
Spivack. Then 88 and the man who created King Kong’s roar as a sound
technician, Spivack’s prior students had included Joe Morello (Dave
Brubeck), Louie Bellson (Tonight Show) and David Garibaldi (Tower of Power)
among others.
Bott waited for what seemed like an eternity before Murray had an opening,
but eventually picked up his impeccable stick control techniques and sense
of rhythm from him. He also converted Jimi from playing both-palms-down,
matched grip to traditional grip with one palm up and the other down –
something that took a year to accomplish before feeling comfortable to do
it on stage.
Always a dedicated student where the drums are involved, Jimi rolled out of
bed every morning and practiced for 30 minutes before allowing himself a
bathroom break, and he used a stopwatch to make certain he got in the eight
full hours of practice he wanted to accomplish every day.
Today, a photo of Spivack holding his 1969 Oscar for *Hello, Dolly* looks
down upon him from above the desk in Bott’s studio. As he spoke, he fondled
one of his most prized possessions: a pair of Murray’s sticks – one of only
five in existence – that he passed down through his assistant after his
death to his favorite students.
When blues exploded internationally in the late ‘80s, Jimi toured the world
with the Flyers, playing major festivals in Norway and Australia, where he
also toured with the Blind Boys of Alabama after their regular drummer
failed to make the flight for the Byron Bay festival. Bott subsequently was
invited to join the Blind Boys full-time -- something he considers a huge
honor, but something he had to decline.
But Jimi’s comfortable away from the blues, having spent time in the band
Mad Hattie, which blended jazz, punk, country and bluegrass, and Federale,
which he co-founded with Mark Ford (Black Crowes), longtime friend Luther
Russell and other heavyweights. Playing music he describes as The Band
meets Neil Young, they landed a huge contract with Geffen Records before
disbanding.
“Every step of the way, I’ve got luckier and luckier about who I got to
play with,” Jimi insists, noting that he left Piazza in ’96, feeling he
needed another change. Almost immediately he replaced another childhood
hero, Fran Christina, in The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
“When I joined them, it was Kim Wilson, Kid Ramos, Gene Taylor and Willie
J. Campbell (now his partner in The Proven Ones). Kim started talking about
the particulars about getting paid and rooms on the road and whatnot, and
I’m the one who stopped him and said: ‘Hey, we haven’t even played together
yet!’”
Bott was living out of a 1979 Dodge camper van at the time, quickly passed
an audition and began an eight-year run that was a real life-changer. One
of the most successful bands ever in the blues, the T-Birds allowed members
to live anywhere they wanted and provided door-to-door travel to the
jumping-off point of tours.
Even better: instead of cramming into a van with all their gear, the group
relaxed on a tour bus and employed roadies as they played huge events with
Buddy Guy and other major acts at concerts attended by as many as 20,000
people.
“I felt bad at having roadies at first,” Jimi admits. “But I got over it
quick. And seeing me on a tour bus for the first time finally gave my
parents a chance to relax!”
The T-Birds had been Jimi’s second favorite band in school and the lineup
was pretty close to the original with the addition of keys. He and Taylor
hit it off from the jump. A pair of young wild men, their first gig
together came at a resort in Arizona, where they stole a golf cart, drove
through the property late at night and then crashed and abandoned it – not
realizing that every move they made was being watched on closed-circuit
cameras.
“We were kinda known as the ‘Toxic Twins,’” he says, growing somber
momentarily as he reflected on the beloved friend and would-class keyboard
player who’d died unexpectedly without any underlying medical conditions in
frigid Austin this past February during the Texas power failure.
Jimi’s initial stay with the T-Birds lasted two years. He quit the band and
relocated to Portland, where Federale was based, in the late ‘90s and has
been there ever since. Always interested in the recording side of the
business, he’s been deeply involved in it since that era, beginning with *The
Blues from Bottsville*, his father’s debut CD, which was captured on
eight-track cassette at his parents’ home in Victorville and then modified
with tracks from Ford and others in Oregon.
[image: image]Federale recorded one album and were planning another, but
disbanded after a two-year run. Jimi rejoined the T-Birds and stayed
another six years. Recently married to wife Laura and wanting kids, he
exited in 2006, settling in with Woodbrain, a local band, which released
the album *Swimming in Turpentine* on Memphis’ Yellow Dog Records.
“I’ve been recording since before I got to Portland in ’98, using a Mackie
24x8 board and ADATs (Alesis Digital Audio Tape recorders),” he says. “When
I moved here, I had a portable studio at my first house, but wanted to put
one in the basement. But the ceiling was too low, so I jacked the whole
house up by myself.”
Somehow, a promoter in the Netherlands got ahold of the CD, called Jimi
directly and booked the band to open their 25th annual Moulin Blues
Festival. And Randy Chortkoff -- bandleader of The Mannish Boys and owner
of Delta Groove Records, heard it and wanted to sign the group to his label.
Although Woodbrain never made that jump, Jimi was soon touring as a member
of Chortkoff’s band. It was another major change for Bott, who’s now the
proud father of a teenage daughter and twin sons. Unlike Piazza or the
T-Birds, the Mannish Boys were truly an ensemble operation with a revolving
lineup that included multiple people at each position. Check out the
credits of *Double Dynamite* – the BMA traditional album of the year in
2013 -- and you’ll find that there are about more than 30 different artists
in the 26 cuts, but Jimi’s the only drummer.
The Boys disbanded after Chortkoff’s death in 2015. Ever since, Bott’s been
busy recording with others, operating his Roseleaf studio out of a
stand-alone building next to his home. Fashioned after Wire Recording in
Austin, he did all the work on the building, which features cedar-lined
walls, no right angles, a treated ceiling, four isolation booths and
equipment that ranges from vintage to modern.
It was there that his latest, wide-spread supergroup, The Proven Ones,
truly took shape. The lineup includes keyboard player Anthony Geraci from
Massachusetts, guitarist Kid Ramos from Southern California, bassist Willie
J. Campbell from Missouri and vocalist Brian Templeton -- former front man
for The Radio Kings and Delta Generators – from New Hampshire.
They initially came together with Sugaray Rayford on vocals at what Jimi
describes as a “crazy New Year’s gig” way out in the country near
Campbell’s home. It proved to be so much fun, they decided to get together
to record at Roseleaf and booked a series of gigs in the Portland area.
The core band recorded ten tracks in April 2018, and Sugaray was going to
come in later to lay down vocals. But his solo career got so red-hot that,
even though he wanted to, he couldn’t do it and, at Anthony’s suggestion,
Brian was brought in to replace him.
“We sent tracks out to a few different singers,” Jimi says. “Brian’s came
back, and he’d recorded it in his son’s bedroom – and it was the only one I
needed to hear. *This is the guy!*
“So Brian booked a ticket, few out to Portland and stayed with me and my
family. We clicked like *that* even though we’d never met before. And he
*nailed* all the vocals.”
Their first CD, *Wild Again*, was released on Bott’s Roseleaf Records
imprint, earning a BMA nomination for contemporary album of the year. “Our
first big show was on July 4 at 5 o’clock on the main stage of the
Waterfront Blues Festival to a sold-out 25,000-person crowd,” he remembers.
“What else could you ask for? It was the first time we all walked on stage
together.”
The remainder of the year was pretty quiet, but things picked up
dramatically the next spring when they appeared at Moulin. “We hadn’t
played together in months,” Jimi says. “But Willie J. and I and Mike Zito
were touring Europe with The Blues Giants with Albert Castiglia around the
same time. Mike was there when we were at Moulin. And, honestly, I thought
it was a disaster.
“But Mike was like: ‘Oh, my God! This is a *band*!’ He was so excited that,
a few weeks later, he invited us to record for Gulf Coast Records, his new
label – and you couldn’t ask for a better one because they’re in it for the
musicians…something I believed then and still believe now.”
Their new album, *You Ain’t Done*, was released at the height of the
coronavirus last summer. The disc hit the No. 1 spot on *Billboard* charts
and No. 3 on Apple Music during the summer – ironically at the same time
Jimi was filling out paperwork for a PPP loan for gig workers.
“I was happy to mix it and do the post-production in my studio at home,”
Bott says, “but just as happy not to record it myself. After all these
years, I’d rather be just the engineer *or* the drummer. I don’t enjoy
being both because, almost inevitably, something slips by you and you don’t
find out about it until later – when everybody’s flown home.”
The actual recording occurred at Zito’s Dockside Studios in Maurice, La.,
under the direction of Dave Farrell, the producer who worked on one of the
first LPs Bott recorded with the Flyers for Black Top decades ago.
Recording, he notes, is problem solving – much like construction, and it’s
always important for everyone involved to be able to concentrate solely on
their own tasks and to build from a sound foundation.
COVID-19 has been both a blessing and a curse, Jimi says. “For the first
time in my life, I’m going to bed at the same time every night, which isn’t
a bad thing. But I felt right away that I needed to be doing something that
was productive and do things with the kids.”
[image: image]They’ve been home-schooling for the entire school year and
helping Bott with rigorous physical projects around the house, learning the
same skills about working with tools that Jimi picked up from his father
decades ago.
And The Proven Ones recorded a rock-‘n’-roll version of “Blue Christmas”
long distance for the *A Gulf Coast Christmas* compilation album in the
fall – “something that wasn’t an easy feat with all of us in different
states,” Jimi says. “Brian and I came up with the arrangement, and I laid
down the drums here by myself, then had a couple of close friends come in
and do some scratch piano and vocals before sending it around piece by
piece to get it recorded.
“As an engineer, I’m always up for a challenge,” he says. “I really enjoy
that part of it. The technical part of lining things up and making things
happen is a little laborious, but it’s the way of the world right now – and
the only way we can make magic happen with everyone working for their own
homes.
“And what I do as an engineer is synonymous with producing. Whether I’m
producing or not, there’s a lot of production in running the actual
program. If folks bring in their own producer, I’m fine with that. But
often, it’s people who are looking for your opinion – whether they use your
idea or not.
“I prefer to have the whole band playing together, which is one of the
benefits of my studio, where everybody can be in the same room, but with
separation. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible – especially in the
past year when everybody wanted to continue recording during the pandemic.”
His current setup is suitable for full-band, 24-track recordings to
overdubs using three Universal Audio Apollo 8 interfaces and Neve 1073,
API, Manley VOXBOX, UA 610 and Hamptone tube pre amps.
“I usually work by word-of-mouth,” he says, “but people from around the
world send me things to either have people here in Portland or to have me –
as a drummer – to record on. I’m always all mic-ed up and ready to go.”
His clientele has included Paul deLay, Hummel, the Mannish Boys All-Stars
and a multitude of others, including award-winning albums for Kevin Selfe
and Ben Rice’s *Wish the World Away*, an album that earned Rice three BMA
nominations. A follow-up is already in the works.
As comfortable and happy he is in the studio, Bott’s also eager to get back
on the road again with The Proven Ones – hopefully for the Notodden Blues
Festival in Norway, which is the only gig they currently have on the books
for 2021. He’s especially grateful for all the support he’s received
through the years and for everything fans have done for national acts
through contribution to online performances during the shutdown, and
stresses the importance of supporting local artists, too.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to be good and kind to each other in this
time of such opposition and divide,” he insists. “If we try to see things
we all have in common – to provide for our families, to keep them safe and
for them to be treated equally – if we could keep these things in the
forefront, it would be my hope that we could talk to one another more
openly and freely with compassion, understanding and, possibly, without
judgment.”
Learn more about Jimi by visiting his website -- www.jimibott.com
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4MEsRAy1bdc-2Fq76PULDbzqs-3DzhMF_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySispB8Jd2OEfqzi0d-2BYZKtyYT82YGv1psXaLpUeRjfoKqf3kQUDH-2BlYkUXYAmzTYUX77b-2Bzoasq35CRVei2ruTcF-2FtCQjhqVOkn-2Fad2OM8ATlcqXPlU8U8jIgpnTYZuwf6QOXd-2FPq5Mma85lgiE8r9hOPZGmEo6-2Fum0MPpgW8UZOGFT4siSQq-2F4TFL2PpyC-2B2Q-3D-3D>
– or check out his studio by visiting www.roseleafrecording.com
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4JaRA2Oznt0SB0-2FfR25C7SRui38fFU7DP-2BPe5C1smS7piNO1_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySnfT-2BRvVqHuuLRgIAvHwFmkOdyhspano9N-2F6JRXUGJtaaAri8n7pij-2BtPTSCsZSjXwsKOhQ4w2vl1XVpRClolKRxWK-2Fd7Bbij5-2BCUmGe84Ur-2Btft3wiBUcFkzpREq6jBixKJYF8ynYhr7tyGmyFTPwufiDjq09FzUtzs58-2Bt1ijVvh599gv902jLkOHvEYC6tg-3D-3D>
*Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life.
Now based out of Charlotte, N.C., his first experience with live music came
at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk
Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community,
he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded
the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.*
*For other interviews on our website CLICK HERE
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4L9YjJ3xCAqb579HB0Bnke4f8tjZHtNLKna2CIh1VrWgbxORNsfpCySGn8fmISOjmYvgI2PVf3yF91d6GRgC1Ug-3DV-dG_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYyShIyoK7ryVcyzqyT2-2FU10o3wtwsPIQZF6d2rvb93-2F3wgnsksU8Zl2wY2WXzD5sRsPE1zgQp-2BOyE-2ByllNKgXtO-2FtTRxOegbEgAEoPQXRzI48qn3ZV5mUsq7IiwUkzKTmGvz-2BvXWw8-2FfKvYNf-2FzPB-2Fy7gcXIzHDgiimxeLPNh3eQamwLESf-2Fhu21DSNuJcgmEZPA-3D-3D>*
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*Blues Blast Music Award Submissions
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=LoShjEkCLnSVLy1Vx3zP7KQVKsSIoGiuogArzE6fpdtdfUTZrC2rke-2FY4QF2l-2BW9KjLlvQzc7sssEGaqujl4Ii5jDBBWYbl-2FnrFZk2PjpFSv0rzmy8unpkvVUPPuK4aJ7187_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySqw-2FJbzty4zDvkaJo0YyQx2xstxE3VoEALey5hqEgEV42dr-2FScEboYFM9TlYN0kX2mIvNNUIGKelYci2lDCOUSaRJbzZK78a14Fh4RQuHXpGYVPhvQmGB3t76-2BecWKa7EVMOk7ObQddM9bqk8nLALHLtg8AAPAOVYdL-2BmIsML-2F0DNe7M9rIo7ZFYwmsqwbT8dw-3D-3D>
Now open until May 31st, 2021!*
[image: image]
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=LoShjEkCLnSVLy1Vx3zP7KQVKsSIoGiuogArzE6fpdtdfUTZrC2rke-2FY4QF2l-2BW9KjLlvQzc7sssEGaqujl4Ii5jDBBWYbl-2FnrFZk2PjpFSv0rzmy8unpkvVUPPuK4aJzod8_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySjyfUCd1UB0Hm9U-2B90JtUvNawYfv4D0i1lRoatyeUbT5kFONsyBgUmzuKNyHi1eAzD127nDDGX-2BzYromIQpIRNpcbCUiIjSbB6yGNCEOmW-2BC9-2F-2F-2FwTQzV4Hl7I12UZJsrVZlnnmh9fM8B-2Fk0jpMuNJGQcM-2F48N7YUfvmnpgHHvmpWAFBw-2FGkRQsq0CpAk4PBng-3D-3D>
*The Blues Blast Music Awards honor contemporary Blues artists and their
recordings.*
*Artists with major labels and independent artists are eligible to be
considered.*
*NEW FOR 2021* - All submissions are digital. No physical CDs needed.
*Submission Fees for 2021*
$50 until April 30, 2021.
$75 May 1, 2021 to May 15, 2021.
$100 May 16, 2021 to May 31, 2021
*Please submit your music as soon as possible!*
It makes the nominators job easier.
*For complete information, click HERE
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=LoShjEkCLnSVLy1Vx3zP7KQVKsSIoGiuogArzE6fpdtdfUTZrC2rke-2FY4QF2l-2BW9KjLlvQzc7sssEGaqujl4Ii5jDBBWYbl-2FnrFZk2PjpFSv0rzmy8unpkvVUPPuK4aJRJxU_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYyShBhdKzS4OL2xjRzQTb9VrKH-2FIMsGVuFNQKcSZ0XgVkTCwGo3yAYjKXSLdFbcs86ZyVRjSp90y4xg1cRWq56DdSB6ADzLiuhoSKTjjiJ8vatG4yHTc4UvP8h8lIeWqNA5gEDTatVhjElmBKAKkPQHp8zVb0bLc1UhlX1MqFN5EmUFI2VJyPny4GBCiRAPHnfRQ-3D-3D>
to visit our website.*
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* Featured Blues Review - 1 of 6 *
*[image: image]Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band - Dance Songs for Hard Times *
*Family Crown Records/Thirty Tigers*
*11 songs - 35 minutes*
*www.bigdamnband.com
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4J0L8yPK9oCMIMU3xRLP94SB-2BBeOUk8U5c1puuslNVfjPnBP_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySuoUbmVduc3d3PWKgav-2Fsn3LSEfg-2F-2B5tLXFlT5edy6qivq1DtHYg2KSNHK5w4IQz1hEwpJ1EMrm1317Z4nnOLvby2qPOhgTEgaEPX0-2FGMlDAlg5upBeY2n-2BMLhBnfpL-2BVcPkEsK-2BWYxEHjKyOuJVl5v4-2BXHQZSiW7c5-2F0CN-2FSeA9w2VEgq-2FNtJYMHZNA2anrKg-3D-3D>*
One of the most unique outfits on the blues scene today, Rev. Peyton’s Big
Damn Band present a large presence despite being a country blues trio, and
they’re larger than life on their latest release, a collection of originals
written by candlelight at the depths of despair during the coronavirus
epidemic.
But don’t let the title fool you, Despite its somber tone, the material
here is an in-your-face set of intense, highly rhythmic tunes that confront
troubles head-on and put a somewhat positive spin on life in the most
difficult time imaginable. “I like songs that sound happy, but are actually
very sad,” Peyton says. “I don’t know why it is, but I just do.”
Currently nominated for Blues Music Award blues-rock band of the year –
quite a contrast to an image more suited for a front porch in the backwoods
rather than main stage, the past year was particularly difficult for
guitarist vocalist Reverend Peyton, wife Washboard Breezy Peyton and
percussionist Sad Max Senteney.
Not only were the Peytons robbed of their ability to make a living, but the
their 150-year-old log cabin in rural southern Indiana lost power for an
extended period after a wind storm and both Breezy and the Rev.’s dad
experienced lingering medical issues. The Rev. literally penned most of the
material here in a home lit only by flickering candles. “It’s been a
struggle the entire time,” he says. “Nothing’s been easy. Other than the
music.”
*Dance Songs for Hard Times* was produced, engineered and mixed by
four-time Grammy-winner Vance Powell at Sputnik Sound in Nashville, where
it was recorded old-school on vintage analog equipment with the Rev.
playing through a 1954 Supro Dual Tone amp, kicking up his usual down home,
finger picking stylings by adding a taste of vintage Chicago slide, too.
The action opens with “Ways and Means,” a driving shuffle that juxtaposes
having a $3 shirt and a $100 hat and other anachronisms, symbolizing
Peyton’s yearlong economic frustration after being laid low after constant
touring. The message continues in the loping, rapid-fire “Rattle Can” –
delivered on slide – as the Rev. insists: “I need the whole enchilada. I
need the whole shebang. Just a little bit won’t do.”
The Rev. faces his situation head-on in "Dirty Hustlin'" and professes “I
ain’t scared of nothin’” while proclaiming he’ll do whatever necessary to
survive – a message that continues in the optimistic “I’ll Pick You Up.”
His picking skills come to the fore in “Too Cool to Dance,” which insists
that he and Breezy take a spin on the floor and ignore whatever folks might
say.
The sound quiets for the stripped-down “No Tellin’ When,” which offers a
simple plea for a reunion with family and friends. It gives way to “Sad
Songs,” a deceptive title because Peyton warns that he’s a dangerous man
who shouldn’t be left alone with depressing melodies. “Crime to Be Poor”
serves up a Hill Country complaint about folks imprisoned for committing
crimes because of their living conditions to follow.
The final three numbers instill a smidgeon of hope for the future. “’Til We
Die” – an urban blues delivered on slide – predicts success no matter what
come at him. The message continues in “Nothin’ Comes Easy but You and Me”
before “Come Down Angels” serves up a request for a little heavenly relief
to close.
The dark themes run deep in this one, but it’s surprisingly uplifting, too.
Pick this one up if you’re looking for a little inspiration from down in
the bottom.
*Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life.
Now based out of Charlotte, N.C., his first experience with live music came
at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk
Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community,
he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded
the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4L9YjJ3xCAqb579HB0Bnke4f8tjZHtNLKna2CIh1VrWg7QR-2BuDUH2QPhYzbkfNJbY6GHYghHg5mxqzVdw-2B4dymQ-3DpZp3_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYySgjtJ6h8-2Bq2VpZG3Uu4NvPhQdH3-2BZ92FEBF6YR3iBqK1x-2Bwgog1vgKBdbS63ICOWDUydOXXBEMBDy2h15cVos7yadoM4rJ8vW3DZ6YP6-2BMvOcJve8r4SGxN6DODr2owmW42-2BXwAva53MXUQuOFmpMmjBeMabLMJJEVIP4qGUUgkMZzjz2E-2B1lwCIecWSDK2-2Bdw-3D-3D>*
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* Featured Blues Review - 2 of 6 *
*[image: image]Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal - Natural Born Hustler*
*Color Red - 2021*
*10 tracks; 43 minutes*
*www.joshhoyer.com
<http://email.robly.com/ls/click?upn=Zrxr0pOXDnhuxjPUk-2BxL4OMO-2Ff5o0gZllvniY8-2B9DDY-2FS10BpaGiB2HIYy7MnlunSVRJ_qd4ImvanJbjpdZICcCtKv-2FlKkO8jN3DMeS5UILJGLTNfhKpkvBgLy9XYZFNmHbfWF6-2Fb5q-2Fq9-2BwYpkL9-2FrMrlWIrsgJV-2B6wMn7muRW3XXtV6P-2FKcg0ZEbABOYtGLHskg6Ok3aqbDN-2BzVjUqfrlvfC3XOdQl7BBjxYTObiJmVNbxncofdhHMtg5JI8T4J47vYyVsSNaXUOw4CoWHi3-2Bx5S4LD8aYAIILiMolIVeJUZ6X5AEnoRcgSGJW7-2FTJKreXWbItGlw0Mb5obd8t25EYyStAYsNGMN8sVhc6HNdvzaUoQBz7W43RbjYfvzWbV18QguB0NFCjB-2BIiIC13fE9C5g-2BLuapm-2BtG3nlERUuoCFY0mLc4TnO6pR6b5wi2xD4tOAr7-2FhxTwmyMo4bDNLKYxIaTlWz9isELmoJXlWm2xXkyn5NGwAQHBAIwa7564-2FOqJdgX4mm1CvV-2FP191eEyhv8tw-3D-3D>*
I have been a fan of this Nebraska-based soul band since their debut CD in
2013, a disc that earned them a nomination for New Artist Debut Album at
the 2014 Blues Blast Awards. Josh wrote all the material and handles lead
vocals and keyboards, Blake DeForest is on trumpet, Benjie Kushner guitar,
Mike Keeling bass and Harrison Eldorado drums; additional musicians
involved are Larell Ware who is behind the drum kit on four tracks,
trombonists Luke Annis and Tommy Van Den Berg who play on eight and two
tracks respectively, Carrie Beth Stickrod and Ally Peeler who add B/V’s to
two tracks and Marina Kushner who provides strings on one cut.
Opener “Hustler” has elements of funk from Benjie’s wah-wah wash and horns
that evoke Tex-Mex borders, Josh vaunting his credentials as a tough
survivor in hard times. “Whisper” is a ballad with a lilting refrain beefed
up by the horns on the chorus and a vocal that gets stronger and stronger
as the track develops. Backing vocals feature behind Josh’s lead on the
next two songs: driven by Josh’s insistent piano “Take Your Time” is
classic soul, a song that could have been sung by Al Green back in the day;
“Changing” builds from a gentle start to a catchy number with the drums
well up in the mix, a song in which Josh sets out his philosophy on life:
“Changing is the hardest thing that you will ever learn.” We then return to
the funky side of things with “Sunday Lies” which has a great bass line
underpinning trash-can drums and wah-wah guitar, the horns only making an
appearance half way through.
The whole band really gels on “The Night”, trumpet and guitar both featured
on the outro and Josh in full vocal flight. “Take My Chances” is a slightly
longer cut and has another strong bass line over which the horns riff while
Josh describes his attitude to life, not caring “how the dice will fall”.
Strings are added to “Automatic” which risks falling into ‘crooner’
territory though the trumpet playing is sublime before a short and funky
“Automatic” gets things moving again. The album closes with “Ring The
Bells” which successfully combines a Memphis soul groove with gospel
overtones in the uplifting lyrics.
Josh Hoyer has the sort of voice that is ideally suited to soul and Rn’B.
While *Natural Born Hustler* possibly lacks the killer song that graced
earlier albums, it is a solid piece of work with no real weaknesses, so if
blue-eyed soul is your interest, check this one out.
*Reviewer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a
wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the
'soul/blues' category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as
Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic
artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three 'Kings'. He gets
over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
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* Featured Blues Review - 3 of 6 *
*[image: Image]Skage - Procrastination Blues*
*Slide Productions*
*www.skage.com
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*
*8 songs - 32 minutes*
*Procrastination Blues* is the debut solo album from Norway’s Arne Skage,
who has stepped into the limelight after serving 30 years as the guitarist
for Reidar Larsen, himself one of the leading lights in the Norwegian blues
scene. Skage has also contributed to nearly 70 albums by a variety of
different artists. And, as one might expect from someone with that kind of
background, *Procrastination Blues* is an absolute delight, channelling a
deep Louisiana vibe from the album’s opening track, “Dressed Up To Get
Messed Up”. It is followed by the title track, which sounds like something
JJ Cale would have produced if he had spent much time in New Orleans, with
superb fiddle from Jonno Frishberg and lovely slide guitar from Skage.
The basic tracks on the album were recorded in both in New Orleans and
Flekkefjord (with overdubs apparently “done all over the place”), with a
wide variety of different musicians, but *Procrastination Blues* maintains
a singular thematic uniformity thanks to Skage’s vocals and guitar, the
consistently high quality of the songwriting (primarily by Skage and Leslie
Blackshear Smith or by Skage alone - the sole cover on the album is Steve
Conn’s “Famous”) and by the excellent engineering and mixing (again by
Skage).
Skage sings in an engagingly rough and road-worn voice, hinting at a
slightly cleaned-up version of Dr John on the wonderful second-line groove
of “King Of The Hill”, replete with tuba from Dr. Bekken, and his guitar
playing is first class throughout, turning in a series of short but tasty
solos and clever licks that serve the song (and these songs are well worth
serving). Skage plays standard and slide guitar, lap steel, baritone
guitar, mandocaster and resonator as well as adding bass on “King Of The
Hill” and percussion on various tracks.
The closing track, the instrumental “River Road” nods towards one of
Skage’s primary slide influences, Sonny Landreth, while the funky “Soul
Food Mama” is a co-write with the great slide guitarist, Roy Rogers.
The core band providing masterful support to Skage includes Terence Higgins
on drums and percussion, John “Papa” Gros on piano, Hammond B3 and
Wurlitzer and René Coman on bass. They are joined at various times by
Reidar Larsen on piano, Lars Christian Narum on Hammond B3, Atle Rakvåg on
bass, Jonno Frishberg on fiddle, triangle and accordion, Steve Conn and
Arve Håland on accordion, Erica Fall, Leslie B Smith, Tricia Bouttè, Thale
Log Skage, Joe Rusi, Inge Svege, Daniel Eriksen on background vocals, Dr.
Bekken on tuba, and Knut Hem on drums. Together they create a glorious mess
of sound that instantly transports the listener to the musical swamps of
Louisiana.
*Procrastination Blues* is a relatively short album but there isn’t a
wasted note on it. It works both as a standalone album and as a love letter
to the region that has provided Skage with limitless inspiration over the
decades. It may have taken Skage over 30 years to release his first solo
album but let’s hope the next one is released more promptly. Wonderful
stuff.
*Reviewer Rhys Williams lives in Cambridge, England, where he plays blues
guitar when not holding down a day job as a technology lawyer or running
around after his children. He is married to an American, and speaks the
language fluently, if with an accent.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
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* Featured Blues Review - 4 of 6 *
*[image: image]Skylar Rogers - Firebreather*
*Skylar Rogers Music 2020*
*www.skylarrogers.com
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*10 songs, 39 minutes*
Being raised in a tough Chicago neighborhood, and experiencing difficult
times which included abusive relationships, homelessness and the stillbirth
of her child provided Skylar Rogers with extensive material for heartfelt
songwriting. This is evident in the song inspired by her strained
relationship with the father she never knew growing up, who then also
blocked her efforts to initiate a relationship as an adult. “Like Father
Like Daughter” speaks to how “the student’s become the teacher, now the
whole world will see. Like father like daughter…remember what I taught you.
Well, you taught me one thing…how to turn around and walk away. You say
that you’re trying to right the wrong, but I can see that nothing’s
changed. And now I see that thinking about you don’t bring me nothing but
pain.”
“Like Father Like Daughter” led to Rogers placing as a semi-finalist in the
International Songwriting Competition. But it is just one of ten skillfully
written songs on her latest album *Firebreather*. “Drowning” is equally
powerfully written, starting with a beautiful piano intro (by Pete Zimmer),
and building to an emotional climax, noting “I’m drowning, baby…Your memory
is a past that haunts me. I can’t find my peace of mind nowhere. I never
got to say goodbye. I’m trapped in a prison…in a memory of something that
was never meant to be.”
There are certainly more upbeat songs on this album, including the sassy
“Hard-Headed Woman,” which begins with Rogers sounding proud of her
hard-headedness, but then lamenting that “this hard-headed woman is going
to be sorry someday.” And “Back to Memphis” which offers hope for a new
life in a new location. However, the best tracks seem to be the slower
ones, often processing grief and pain. “Thankful” is a beautiful song
encouraging some to change their ways and develop an attitude of gratitude.
“You take your life for granted—just passing through…it’s all about you.
It’s all about your stuff and it’s never enough…be thankful.”
Rogers has powerful vocals with a wide range and beautiful tone, and her
singing is clearly influenced by Tina Turner, Etta James and Koko Taylor.
She also has a talented band supporting her. Besides Zimmer on piano, Jerry
Ewing plays bass, “Disco Fuzz” Bradley Arl (who co-wrote three of the
songs) plays drums, and Steven J. Hill and Marty Gibson both play guitar.
There is truly not a bad track on this album. Give *Firebreather* a try,
and you will soon see why Annika Chambers has been quoted as admiring
Rogers’ “energy and pizzazz and her raw honesty to every performance”, and
why Ms. Zeno “The Mojo Queen” has stated about Rogers, “give her a
microphone, and in a minute she will win your heart.”
*Reviewer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors
for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the
1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book "Blues Therapy," with all
proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
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* Featured Blues Review - 5 of 6 *
*[image: image]Zed Mitchell - Route 69*
*Z Records - 2020*
*12 tracks; 52 minutes*
*www.zedmitchell.com
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This is guitarist Zed Mitchell’s eighth solo album release though over a
50+ year career in music Zed has been involved in over 20 albums, both as
group member and session musician. Originally from Belgrade, Zed is now
based in Germany and this album is mainly a solo effort as only three
musicians are involved throughout: Zed on vocals, guitars, keys and bass,
his son Todor Manojilovic on guitars and B/V’s and David Haynes on drums;
Sascha Kuhn plays keys and Max Schurakowski sax on one track each. Zed
presumably plays everything else we hear, produced, programmed and mixed
the album and wrote all the material, with lyrics provided on four tracks
by London-based music promoter Pete Feenstra.
The general feel here is relaxed, melodic rock with the obvious touchstones
being artists like Mark Knopfler and Chris Rea; indeed, Zed’s vocals sound
rather like Knopfler with a trace of foreign accent. There is little actual
blues music here, but no shortage of clean, lyrical guitar phrasing on
tracks like “Freedom Trail”, one of four songs with Pete Feenstra’s lyrics.
Pete’s other contributions include the opening track “By Sundown You’ll Be
Gone” with the catchy chorus “But I know, the wolf gets hungry, and I know
it won’t be long, when your love runs out of money, by sundown, you’ll be
gone” and “The Girl That Broke Your Heart”, a ballad whose moody feel is
enhanced by the addition of keyboards. The sax appears on “Midnight Melody”
which has something of a late-night jazz feel from a strong bass line,
Hammond effects and David’s use of brushes.
Much of the album is of very similar pace and feel, even duration; for
instance, eight of the twelve tracks are between 4.00 and 4.30. You end up
wishing that there was a real rocker to break up the melodic material but
there really isn’t one here. The result is an album that is pleasant
throughout but somehow fails to achieve lift-off.
*Reviewer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a
wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the
'soul/blues' category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as
Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic
artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three 'Kings'. He gets
over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
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[image: image]
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* Featured Blues Review - 6 of 6 *
*[image: image]New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers - Vol. 2*
*Stony Plain Records SPCD 1417*
*11 songs - 53 minutes*
*www.stonyplainrecords.com
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Stony Plain Records owner Holger Petersen popped opened a musical treasure
chest last fall when he released *New Moon Jelly Roll* *Freedom Rockers
Vol. 1* – a stellar, “long-lost” collection of tunes that featured Charlie
Musselwhite, Alvin Youngblood Hart and ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers front man
Jimbo Mathus as well as late Hill Country legend Jim Dickinson and his
sons, Luther and Cody.
A laid-back tour-de-force, it harkened back to a time long before COVID-19,
when good friends could get together and play for a while when the tapes
were rolling – not surprising when you consider that the material had been
sitting in a vault since 2007, when the tracks were laid down during a jam
at the Dickinsons’ Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Miss., and since Jim passed
two years later.
At the time of the sessions, Charlie and the North Mississippi AllStars
were taking of a multi-day break in the midst of touring with Mavis
Staples. And the tapes had been pretty much a matter of legend until
Petersen visited Musselwhite backstage at the 2019 Edmonton Blues Festival,
learned they actually existed and acquired the rough mixes from Luther
shortly thereafter.
Luther and his engineer/partner Kevin Houston subsequently put the
finishing touches on the material, which comes across imbued with the
warmth of friendship and steamy summer nights. But there was so much
quality material that, when *Vol. 1* was released to acclaim last
September, Petersen announced that *Vol. 2* would soon follow.
Fortunately, this one picks up where that one left off – and blues fans
didn’t have to wait that long for its arrival. The action’s augmented by
Chris Chew on bass and Paul Taylor on tub bass.
Charlie takes the lead for a loping version of his original, “Blues for
Yesterday,” to open the set with the three guitarists – Alvin, Jimbo and
Luther – all getting space to shine. The ensemble delivers a little acid
flashback as Hart takes the lead to cover Doug Sahm’s familiar “She’s About
a Mover,” which is propelled by Jim on keys, before Mathus assumes command
for “Searchlight (Soon in the Morning),” a medium-paced shuffle of his own
design.
An unhurried take of “Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop that Atomic Bomb on Me”
follows. A dark, modern-day gospel number penned by jazz great Charles
Mingus – gives Jim Dickinson plenty of space to shine, wringing emotion out
of every phrase vocally and on the 88s with choral accompaniment before
Mathus launches into his song, “Greens and Ham,” a modern tune with a
strong Tin Pan Alley feel.
Musselwhite and the senior Dickinson tag-team “Messin’ with the Kid,” the
Junior Wells standard written by Mel London. Charlie’s harp lilts
throughout with Jim featured atop an unusual counterpoint rhythm before his
original, “Black Water,” flows slow and deep like the river it describes.
The feel goes pure country as Alvin dips into his own songbook for
“Millionaire Blues (If Blues Was Money).”
The sound shifts north to Chicago as Jim puts an interesting spin on Jimmy
Reed’s “Can’t Stand to See You Go” and Luther puts a Hill Country spin on
the Earl Hooker instrumental, “Blue Guitar” before his dad dips into the
catalog of the Mississippi Sheiks for “Blues Is a Mighty Bad Feeling” to
close.
Available through most major retailers and strongly recommended for anyone
who appreciates good times and good blues.
*Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life.
Now based out of Charlotte, N.C., his first experience with live music came
at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk
Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community,
he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded
the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.*
*For other reviews on our website CLICK HERE
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