|
FEATURING:
Kim Wilson - Sugaray Rayford
Rod & Honey
Piazza
Mud Morganfield - Lynwood Slim
Mitch Kashmar - Junior Watson
and
more!
“Keeping
the Blues Alive” is the ubiquitous mantra that’s become the battle cry of the
modern-day blues community. To those unaccustomed with this tenet, the phrase
can often imply that this enduring, beautiful and quintessential American music
is hastily approaching its twilight years. One merely has to cast an eye
southward, towards the Equator in São Paulo, Brazil, to find evidence that the
blues is still a vital and thriving form of soulful communication, courtesy of
the strikingly talented and notably youthful quartet, the Igor Prado Band.
At
11-years old, Igor Prado fell in love with the guitar. Completely self-taught,
this promising lefty learned to play a right-handed guitar upside down. Together
with his brother Yuri Prado on drums, these two siblings embarked on a
remarkable 15-year journey beginning in 2000, which encompasses numerous
recording and production credits, in addition to sharing stages with many of the
idioms most revered veterans. Bolstered by the auspicious talents of bassist
Rodrigo Mantovani and saxophonist Denilson Martins, the Igor Prado Band
eventually came to the attention of the well-traveled and finely-tuned ear of
American blues harmonica player and vocalist, Lynwood Slim. A lifetime bond
forged out of mutual respect and admiration was formed, culminating in the
expertly crafted and highly acclaimed 2010 release, Brazilian Kicks on Delta
Groove.
Today,
the Igor Prado Band has become one of the most popular and in demand blues
outfits for any artist seeking mature and authoritative, yet sympathetic backing
support in South America. Way Down South represents the very best of these
frequent collaborations with recording sessions gleaned from south of the border
and spanning 2011-2014. Here Igor and the boys are joined by a myriad of talent
assembled from the Delta Groove roster and beyond including Kim Wilson, Sugaray
Rayford, Mud Morganfield, Mitch Kashmar, Rod and Honey Piazza, Junior Watson,
Monster Mike Welch, Wallace Coleman, Omar Coleman, JJ Jackson, Randy Chortkoff
and Raphael Wressnig. Of special note are two songs featuring the late, great
Lynwood Slim performing memorable renditions of Lowell Fulson’s Baby Won’t You
Jump with Me and Paul Gayten’s You Better Believe It.
Although
it may be a long way from São Paulo to America, the passion and dedication found
within the grooves of these recordings will most certainly make the distance
between these two locales feel that much closer. Way Down South dispenses any
notion that the blues is not only alive, but doing quite well indeed, thanks in
large part to this incredible Brazilian ensemble.
|
 |
|
Don’t
think of My Own Holiday as a blues/rock band, even though the duo of Joey
Chrisman and Nick Bartolo claim that as a fair description. Don’t think of them
as a White Stripes / Black Keys homage, even though their stripped-down,
just-guitar-and-drums instrumentation might lead you to lump them into that
category. And don’t think of My Own Holiday as this year’s flavor or a flash in
the pan – they’re in it for the long haul.
My
Own Holiday hails from Lake Arrowhead, CA, an inland resort community far enough
away from the superficial glitz and glamour of Los Angeles to have allowed the
band to create their own unique sound unpressured by any of the trendy bandwagon
jumping that is de rigueur in the showbiz mecca. Vocalist/guitarist Chrisman has
been writing original songs since he was in sixth grade, and over the years has
honed his craft to create an original voice that incorporates influences from
classic rock, post-punk, pure pop, and Dylan-esque folk among others, often
infused with a darkness and danger that belies the relatively bucolic
surroundings of his upbringing. Drummer Bartolo meshes perfectly with Chrisman’s
vision, laying down a rhythmic drive that is both in-the-pocket and dramatic
enough to push the music into previously uncharted territory.
Their
self-described “broken-down” approach to their music emphasizes the propulsive
drive and relentless groove at the core of their sound, while at the same time
putting the focus on the songwriting. The band’s minimalist approach leaves
little opportunity to hide flimsy material behind instrumental gymnastics and
gimmickry – without great original songs, little else matters. And My Own
Holiday has the ‘great originals’ category sewn up, with songs strikingly
evocative of love, loss, hope, longing, sin and redemption – often in a single
tune.
My
Own Holiday distills a large portion of the best that rock music has had to
offer over the last half century into a compelling sound that is all their own.
You could spend a lot of time picking out all the various influences, but in the
end, it would be a pointless exercise, because My Own Holiday doesn’t really
sound like anyone else. They’re an original band, with an original vision, and
the only way to really ‘get’ them is to listen. That is most decidedly NOT a
pointless exercise – in fact, it’s almost guaranteed to pay dividends.
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment