Sweet Sixteen - Little Al Thomas and the Deep Down Fools

Little Al Thomas-vocals, John Edelmann - Guitar, Marty Binder - Drums, Rob Waters- Keyboard, Ed Galchick - Bass
Little Al Thomas is one of those rare older bluesmen that was actually born and raised in Chicago. His first recording, at the age of 69, was Southside Story with the Crazy House Band. It became an instant classic-in Chicago. In 2000, he and the band appeared at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. As a result, they released a second CD, In The House. Guitarist, songwriter John Edelmann of the Crazy House Band formed a new band, The Deep Down Fools with Mart Binder on drums, Rob Waters on organ and ad hoc Eddie Galchick also from Crazy house, and Mike Scharf, both on bass. Little Al Thomas and John Edelmann have a CD as Little Al Thomas featuring The Deep Down Fools titled Not My Warden.
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Big James Living Blues Award Nomination

BIG JAMES and the CHICAGO PLAYBOYS UP FOR "BEST LIVE PERFORMER" AWARD Voting for Living Blues Award Open to the Public Now Big James and the Chicago Playboys, six time winners of the Living Blues Critics Poll Award for "Most Outstanding Horns," are on the 2012 Living Blues Awards Reader's Ballot in the "Best Live Performer" Category. Balloting is open to the public, who can vote by filling out and submitting a ballot from the June issue of the publication, or by voting online at the magazine's website: (www.livingblues.com). Voting ends July 15th. Proof of the power of the band's live performances can be found in their latest release, The Big Payback, recorded live at the legendary Lionel Hampton Jazz Club in Paris. Living Blues had this to say about the high-energy, soul powered blues recording: "Big James and his mates have clearly established themselves among the masters of contemporary Chicago blues. This set captures them at their hard-hitting best and will be a must for their many fans." "One hot night for the formidable blues/rock/funk combo. They tear into a wellspring of truly exciting and diverse material." - Music Connection "It's a masterfully executed set that will make you wish you'd been there when it was laid down." - Vintage Guitar The Big Payback is a joyous celebration of the great tradition of horn-based blues ensembles that leaves the listener - much like the Parisian audience - wanting more. To hear samples from the album, please click HERE. Publicity: Debra Regur pigpress@blindpigrecords.com 415-550-6484 Radio: Peter Robinson radio@blindpigrecords.com 773-772-0043 For more information visit www.blindpigrecords.com.

Mayne Stage/ Act One Pub Newsletter 4.4.12

April 4, 2012 Just Announced PInk Floyd Laser Spectacular Show 8/17-8/18 IMPROV EVERY TUESDAY WITH ONE GROUP MIND 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 The largest stage to see improv in Chicago! UPCOMING SHOWS LEE RITENOUR 4/4 @ 8PM THIS IS TANGO NOW 4/6 @ 7PM THIS IS TANGO NOW 4/6 @ 9:30PM THIS IS TANGO NOW 4/7 @ 7PM THIS IS TANGO NOW 4/7 @ 9:30PM JUDAH FRIEDLANDER 4/11 @ 8PM STEVE GIBONS' GYPSY RHYTHM PROJECT & BULBUL ENSEMBLE 4/12 @ 8PM RUPA AND THE APRIL FISHES 4/14 @ 9PM SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD / THE PAULINA HOLLERS / THE LAWRENCE PETERS OUTFIT 4/18 @ 9PM LEON RUSSELL - SOLD OUT 4/19 @ 8PM JUDY AT CARNEGIE 4/20 @ 8PM JUDY AT CARNEGIE 4/21 @ 8PM AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH EDDIE PALMIERI 4/22 @ 7PM AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH EDDIE PALMIERI 4/22 @ 9:30PM THE KNUX ABSTRACT GIANTS / I LOVE RICH 4/26 @ 9PM NICK THUNE 4/27 @ 8 & 10:30PM 4/28 @ 8 & 10:30PM HEAR KITTY KITTY HEMI 4/29 @ 7:30PM FEAR NO ART PRESENTS THE DINNER PARTY 4/30 @ 7PM CLASSICAL CONVERSATIONS 5/2 @ 6:30PM ROCK & ROLL ROOTS HOSTED BY BOB STROUD 5/4 @ 7:30PM GEOFF TATE of QUEENSRYCHE 5/5 @ 8PM JAMIE KILSTEIN 5/16 @ 8PM CHICAGO RED LINE 5/18 @ 8PM CHICAGO RED LINE 5/19 @ 8PM CHRIS GREENE QUARTET CD RELEASE PARTY 5/24 @ 8PM THIRD COAST PERCUSSION 5/25 @ 8PM THE NEW ORLEANS SUSPECTS 5/26 @ 8PM CHICAGO DANCE CRASH KTF PRESENTS BAT DANCE 6/1 @ 8PM SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS 6/2 @ 9PM RICARDO LEMVO AND MAKINA LOCA 6/29 @ 9PM MARC MARON 8/2-5 CHICAGO DANCE CRASH KTF PRESENTS THE 2012 KTF OPEN INVITATIONAL 8/24 @ 8PM HAL SPARKS 9/6-8 CHICAGO DANCE CRASH KTF PRESENTS KANYE VS DYLAN: A NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS 11/2 @ 8PM Greetings! We have Grammy winning guitarist Lee Ritenour performing this evening! We still have a few tickets left and recommend that you purchase ahead of time. Remember, with our new "All-In" ticketing policy, the price is the same if you purchase online, over the phone or at our box office! Get your tickets here! Then, we have This is Tango Now: Identidad this Friday and Saturday! Check out this video - stunning! Identidad (This is Tango Now) This Sunday, Act One Pub has created a delicious menu for brunch! We'll have an egg hunt for the kids and $5 bloody mary's, mimosas and beermosas for the adults! Our menu includes: Steak and Eggs $10.95, Eggs Benedict $9.95, Eggs Florentine $8.95, Flo's Chilaquiles $8.95, Pound Cake French toast with fresh Berries $8.95, Thick cut French Toast /with fresh berries $8.95, Nutella Banana Crepes $8.95 and Fresh Blueberry Waffles. See you at the show! Mayne Stage ON THE HORIZON EDDIE PALMIERI WITH BRIAN LYNCH QUARTET Latin jazz legend celebrates 75th anniversary and over 50 years in music! APRIL 22 JUDAH FRIEDLANDER "Frank" from NBC's 30 Rock & I Love the 80's APRIL 11 SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD / THE PAULINA HOLLERS / THE LAWRENCE PETERS OUTFIT Califone's Jim Becker's project The Paulina Hollers have just been added to the bill. They opened for Wilco in December! APRIL 18 THIS WEEK AT MAYNE STAGE Lee Ritenour Lee Ritenour is a Grammy award winning American jazz guitarist with 19 Grammy nominations and over 40 albums to his credit. Wednesday, April 4 at 8 p.m. Tickets here! Sound Culture Presents: This is Tango Now: Identidad "This is Tango Now: Identidad" explores three fascinating issues relatable to anyone: identity, willpower, and passion. Who we are and our ability to act according to our own desires is what both makes us unique and binds us together. Friday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 6 at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 7 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets here! THIS WEEK AT ACT ONE PUB Steve Gibons (Gypsy Jazz) Thursday 4/5 @ 9PM FREE ADMISSION Swing Hakim Friday 4/6 @ 9PM FREE ADMISSION Crew of Crazy Cats Saturday 4/7 @ 9:30 PM FREE ADMISSION

Tickets to all performances can be purchased online at www.maynestage.com or by calling 866-468-3401. Reservations to Act One Pub can be made online at www.actonepub.com or by calling 773-381-4550.

New Release: Last Time I Saw You - Microwave Dave and the Nukes - Review

I have just received and had the chance to review the new release, Last Time I Saw You by Microwave Dave and the Nukes.The recording starts out with Drinkin' Wine Since Nine, a loosely structured rocky blues. Jesus Was Smart is a clever song put together just for your enjoyment with a cool guitar riff in the middle to top it off. I've Got A bet With Myself is a straight up rocker done country style. The Worst Thing is a soul oriented blues tune with a relaxed guitar solo interlude for you blues lovers. Tire Man is another clever song with lines alluding to suggestion to get the audience thinking and paying attention. Alabama Saturday Night is a rockin' boogie with harp and Nawlins flavor with a Bo Diddley beat. All Night Boogie is exactly what it is...boogie! Goin' Downtown has a great intro and I love the interesting guitar tone that Dave gets on this particular tune. Cadillac Ride has some pretty cool guitar riffs especially if you dig the under polished stuff like I do! Vagabundos is a cool surf style song. I don't want to listen to entire recordings of surf music but I always appreciate one stuck in the recording somewhere. This is a cool one! Rafferty is an instrumental that could have come right from a Dead or Phish recording. Sound good...CD Baby!

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It's My Own Fault - ANDREW BROWN

Folks lucky enough to hear him perform his classy brand of blues in clubs throughout Chicago’s southern suburbs referred to guitarist Andrew Brown as Big Brown. His muscular physique contrasted strikingly with his understated brilliance as a modern electric blues guitarist, rendering the imposing nickname doubly apt. Brown never received anything near the acclaim that he deserved over a career spanning more than three decades that ended with his 1985 death.It’s a tribute to his unerring taste and uncommon talent that Brown never made a bad record; the only question is why he received so few chances to cut loose in a studio.
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EVERYBODY AIN'T THE SAME - Iron Jaw Harris

IJ Harris, Chicago Blues singer on the Cash label died on January 5r, 1984.
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Blind Pig release: The Big Payback - Big James and the Chicago Playboys - Review

I just received and had the chance to listen to the new LIVE recording, The Big Payback recorded LIVE. This cd is deeply rooted in the soul and these guys are really working it. Although only three tracks written by Montgomery appear on the release, it sounds fresh and I really like it! The release starts off with an up tempo, horn driven The Blues Will Never Die. This is a great original tune with great instrumental support for Montgomery's vocal lead! It's a great intro for things to come. Next is James Brown's Big Payback. Now when you do James Brown in my presence, you better bring it.... and bring it they do!! Got James' groove down and I love the thumbing bass over the brass. I mean, nobody is James Brown...but this is the shit!! How bout some Sex Machine... do I hear Hot Pants.... this is cookin!! If you aren't dancing listening to this ...you're dead! Next up is another Montgomery original, "Coldest Man I Ever Knew". It has a bit of the James Brown rhythm shuffle going on behind the scenes of a great brass band with great vocals. What's not to like! All Your Love, a Magic Sam tune is getting down into the soul of the blues. It great to hear a band that has horns have a great brass section and it doesn't have to sound like the "Tower of Power".Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone, an old Johnny Taylor gives the horns a chance to stretch out a little. That's Why I'm Crying, another Magic Sam tune gets a nice blues groove going and allows Montgomery to show off his great soul voice as well as the band flare. Trying To Live My Life Without You made popular by Otis Clay again used as a showcase for Montgomery and his terrific band. Again Montgomery and his boys tread on sacred ground with a George Clinton/Eddie Hazel tune, I'll Stay, great job! This is such a cool tune and these guys really do a nice job on it. Mike "Money" Wheeler does a nice job of articulating the guitar solo that you would expect in a Eddie Hazel song and I gotta mention again I love the style of Larry "L-Dub" Williams cause bass players never get their due and his work is very present. The entire band including Big James on Trombone, Joe Blocker on Keys, Cleo Cole on Drums and the Chicago Playboys do a great job but the bass player never gets his due. James pens his last song for the recording in Low Down Dirty Blues and it is a solid blues tune. Again it gives the band a great opportunity to showcase around James vocals. The surprise tune on the cd is Smoke On The Water...yeah...the Smoke On The Water. Although they gave it a good try... they should have left it out. It's a 2:24 tribute to rock and gives the band a little background to toot their own horns and kind of like a this is it song... but it didn't do much for me. So in ove 40 minutes of music I'm crital of 2:24? This is a great release.... get a copy and have a great time!!
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Damn Good Speller - Gary Primich

Gary Primich (April 20, 1958 – September 23, 2007) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for his 1995 album, Mr. Freeze.
Gary Alan Primich was born in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in nearby Hobart, Indiana. In 1984, after he graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Indiana University, Primich relocated to Austin, Texas.

While working at the University of Texas, he started playing along with other musicians in local clubs. In 1987, he met Jimmy Carl Black, and they formed the Mannish Boys. Their debut album, A L'il Dab'll Do Ya was issued on the Amazing Records label, and although Black then left the band, Primich stayed with the Mannish Boys for another album, Satellite Rock. In 1991 Primich released his eponymous solo debut album, and My Pleasure followed the next year. Amazing Records then folded, and Primich was contracted to the Flying Fish Records label releasing Travelin' Mood (1994) and Mr. Freeze (1995). Mr. Freeze was named as one of the twenty best blues albums of the 1990s by the Chicago newspaper, New City.

Constant touring allowed Primich to expand his fan base, and by 2000, he had a recording contract with the Texas Music Group. He issued Dog House Music (2002) and then Ridin' the Darkhorse (2006). Primich also recorded with Steve James, Omar & the Howlers, John "Juke" Logan, Marcia Ball, Ruthie Foster, Mike Morgan and the Crawl, Nick Curran, Doyle Bramhall and Jimmie Vaughan.

In addition to his performance albums, in 1985 Primich released an instructional double CD, Blues Harmonica: The Blues And Beyond. In June 1999, at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose, California, Primich undertook a performance and series of workshops with Howard Levy, Magic Dick, Gary Smith, Lee Oskar, Jerry Portnoy, and Andy Santana. He was inducted in the Austin Music Hall of Fame.

In September 2007, Primich died at his home in Austin, at the age of 49, of acute heroin intoxication.