Bman's Blues Report: Blues Foundation Touts Guitarist Dave Widow's CD "Waiting For The World To End" As One Of Five Finalists In "Best Self-Produced CD

BLUES FOUNDATION TOUTS DAVE WIDOW'S "WAITING FOR THE WORLD TO END" AS ONE OF FIVE FINALISTS IN "BEST SELF-PRODUCED CD" CONTEST; WINNER ANNOUNCED FEBRUARY 2ND AT 29TH IBC FINALS IN MEMPHIS TN

    (MEMPHIS) - "Waiting For The World To End" by Los Angeles-based guitarist Dave Widow is one of five Finalists in the "Best Self-Produced CD" contest being touted by the Blues Foundation, with the winner to be announced Saturday, February 2 at the 29th IBC (International Blues Challenge) Finals at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee.
    Widow's acclaimed album -- which has received international radio airplay and charted on the Roots Music Report - represents the Ventura County Blues Society in the Blues Foundation competition (Dave also sits in with Michael John And the Bottom Line at the 8th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival on Saturday, April 27).
     Prior to leaving for Memphis, Widow performs at the 2013 NAMM Conference at the Eminence Speakers Booth with fellow axe ace Coco Montoya on Saturday and Sunday, January 26 (1 p.m.) and January 27 (12 noon). Dave is also front and center on guitar, backed by harp great Stanley Behrens (from the group War) at the Sonic Core Booth on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Dave Widow and the Lineup also appear at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Thursday, February 7 in the Voodoo Lounge. Dave has also been invited to be part of the prestigious "Down To The Crossroads" Blues Guitar and Bass Camp in Clarksdale, Mississippi from May 28 through June 1.

Here's What The Media Has Written About "Waiting For the World To End"

"Fourteen fantastic songs that will keep you grooving song after song. And don't forget about the great axe work by Dave!"

Wayne Reinhart/BLUES E-NEWS

"One of the finest blues discs I've heard all year...his vocals are prominent all over the album, such as on opening cut "Bluesman" as well as the dazzling "Reach Out." He can also groove to the first degree, as he shows on "Leave A Piece Of Me" and "Second Hand Love." Well worth checking out!"

Chuck Dauphin/MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE

"Leave A Piece Of Me" by Dave Widow And The Lineup is our Blueblood Artist Of the Week."

Dave Johnson/BLUES DELUXE RADIO SHOW

"On Waiting For The World To End Dave Widow sings and plays a vibrant guitar, while his band provides plenty of rhythm...comfortable blues with a message that we can all appreciate."

Jim Santella/SOUTHLAND BLUES

"Dave Widow has assembled a great band including Reggie McBride, Gary Mallaber, Mike Finnegan, Bill Champlin, Barry Goldberg and a crew of outstanding horns and vocalists and they demonstrate their broad background on this stellar part CD...a very entertaining recording."

BMAN/BMANS BLUES REPORT

"Waiting For The World To End is a great, fun album to listen to over and over again. If you love blues; if you love R&B; if you love great, original music, this is a must-have CD."

Randy Patterson/BOOMERCITY

"Dave Widow is a blues playing singer and songwriter who smokes on the electric guitar...an outstanding collection of blues songs, demonstrating first-rate production and musicianship."

B. Noel Barr/RANDOM LENGTHS

"Widow melds Americana, blues, funk, R&B, and soul to forge his signature sound...Critic's Choice goes to "Piss You Off" with its great hooks, blues guitar solo and powerful horns."

Will Phoenix/L.A. EXAMINER

"Great music from a great artist...American Veterans Radio is proud to spotlight Mr. Dave Widow."

Jim Lederle/AMERICAN VETERANS RADIO

Dave Widow - Background/Bio.

Neither flashy nor egotistical, Dave widow doesn't necessarily fit the parameters of what might be your prototypical Los Angeles-based guitarist, circa 2012. And that, of course, is a good thing - because as any musician (or true music lover) knows, substance trumps sizzle any day of the week, especially when it comes to playing the most high-profile instrument in music, the guitar. Keep this in mind when listening to the fourteen quality tracks that populate Widow's latest independent release, Waiting For The World To End.

Dave's humor, droll and tongue-in-cheek, is on display in both the CD's cover art (on his throne, horns on head, suitably smoked out and whimsically attired...waiting on the world to end), and in the album's title (which refers to the predicted end of all life foretold by the Mayan Calendar).

One true indication of a musician's worth is the level of fellow musicians that will both play and record with you. Not only did Widow co-produce Waiting For The World To End with noted drummer Gary Mallaber (Steve Miller, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt), he also enlisted the talents of several A-List musicians - including keyboardist/vocalist Bill Champlin (Sons of Champlin, ex-Chicago); bassist Reggie McBride (Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Keb Mo'); organist Mike Finnigan (Bonnie Raitt, Crosby Stills & Nash, Rod Stewart); drummer James Gadson (Ray Charles, Bill Withers, Quincy Jones); and pianist Barry Goldberg (Electric Flag, Chicago Blues Reunion Band), to name a few. Several of the aforementioned musicians regularly perform as "Dave Widow And The Lineup" at his L.A. gigs; with players like those by his side, its easy to see why Dave Widow And The Lineup were nominated for "Musical Act Of The Year" by the 2012 Los Angeles Music Awards.

In his own words, Waiting For The World To End "runs the gamut of the music spectrum - from Funk, R&B, and Rock, to Roots, Americana, and Blues." Adds Widow, "some of the tracks are brand new, conceived during the course of the recordings for the album, and some are older tunes, that are now seeing the light of day." Dave describes some of the record's songs: "One of my new songs is called "Piss You Off" and I think that needs little explanation. "Picture Of You" is a melancholy song about remembering a lost love, via an old photo I found, on a rainy afternoon, and it's an Americana/dreamy-sort of tune. "Leave A Piece Of Me" was written about an old girlfriend who broke my heart."

Waiting For The World To End is available on I-Tunes, CD Baby and Amazon.com.