Straw Family - Family Matters - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Family Matters, from Straw Family and it's sweet and melodic. Opening with rocker, Alive, Straw Family, is really a vocal group of Denise Fabricius, Henriette Fabricius, and Sally Fabricius with Carsten Fabricius,  Frederik Nordvang and Jens Runge on guitar, Helge Solberg on bass  and Michael Axen on drums producing a warm, bouncy sound with tight harmonies. Definite radio material. 1965 has a bit more of a pop country sound, again with rich harmonies and a cool melody. Bang Bang has a driving bass line and still with solid radio qualities, but with a grittier edge. One of my favorite tracks on the release is quiet ballad, Spider Making new Web, featuring Sally on solo vocal and piano, accompanied lightly by drums and guitar. Another solid ballad, I Hope,  features Soren on piano and solo vocal.  A third ballad, Family and Friends, finds the family blending nicely on vocal with just a little more movement. Their vocal blending is actually quite perfect. Wrapping the release, Dreaming, is a light jazzy track with rich vocal blending and a snappy beat. This is a solid closer for a full vocal release.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

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The Blues Overdrive - Overdrive Live! - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Overdrive Live! from The Blues Overdrive and it's really solid. Recorded at one of Denmark's biggest and most prestigious festivals, Smukfest, TBD opens with Death On The Highway with it's laid back JJ Cale or Eric Clapton style country blues rocker feel. Martin Olsen fronts the band on lead vocal and guitar with Brother Birck on bass, Louisian Boltner on drums and Andreas Andersen on lead guitar. On shuffle track, Three Time Lover, the band gets a cool groove going with extended soloing by Andersen. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Ball & Chain (not Big Mama's) but with a strong San Francisco sound, lush ringing chords and interesting guitar work by Andersen under Olsen's vocals. Very nice. With a touch of hill country sound and a heavy bass rhythm, Bob Dylan's High Water (For Charley Patton) is a really strong track that really draws me in. Excellent! With a straight up rhythm, Everybody Was Rocking has the spirit of early rock and roll well endowed with slick rock n roll guitar riffs. With a Latin flavor, Cherry, the band starts out quiet with vocal, bass, easy guitar riffs, cymbal and tom tom but builds steam winding the guitar out as it goes developing a real nice tension. Wrapping the release is smoking boogie, I Was Wrong, with a cool walking bass line, a super guitar jam and some of the best vocals on the release. This is a really nice closer and one that leaves you wanting more.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

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Ruf Records artist: Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado - Change My Game - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Change My Game, from Thorbjorn Risager & the Black Tornado and it's very interesting. Opening with I Used To Love You, Risager sets a new stage with a calm, poised melody and rich vocals backed by Peter Skjerning on guitar, Emil Balsgaard on keys, Soren Bojgaard on bass, Martin Seidelin on drums, Hans Nybo on tenor sax, Kasper Wagner on sax and Peter Kehl on trumpet. On Funky rocker, Dreamland, the band really hits the groove and the horn section pumping up the work of Bojgaard, Seidelin and Balsgaard I really like this track. Title track, Change My Game has a solid radio format with a spunky beat, clever guitar riffs, a cool funky rhythm and cool horn punctuation. With a blues vamp platform, Risager rides high in a cool, polished blues hollar. Hold My Lover Tight is a solid rocker with a driving beat, super vocals and punchy horns. Another of my favorites. Maybe It's Alright has a universal appeal with a memorable melody, arena beat, cool guitar tones and always strong vocals. Train is a real nice modern blues rocker. With nicely paced vocals, hand claps, rhythmic guitars, tambourine and cool piano, this track is strong. Another track that I really like is ballad, Lay My Burden Down. Risager's rich vocals are really spot lighted here with this beautiful melody over mostly a orchestral accompaniment. Very nice. Wrapping the release is blues rocker, City of Love with saturated guitar, funky horns and nicely arranged vocals. Stiff footed drum work by Seidelin and grinding organ work by Balsgaard really give this track texture for soaring guitar soloing making this track a super closer.

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Danish/American Singer Nina Massara Clicks Her Heels, Winks And Says WATCH ME - Out 3/3

Danish/American Singer Nina Massara

Clicks Her Heels, Winks And Says WATCH ME

With Her US Debut Out On March 3^rd

Nina Massara is putting everything she has into a sound she hopes will bring the music she loves to every generation, young and old.

Nina has the looks of a retro black and white movie star with a sassy voice that will remind you of modern day belters like Rhiannon Giddens, Victoria Williams, and Valerie June. With a tinge of “I told you so” in her voice, Nina takes on critics and fans with her U.S. debut, Watch Me. This album is set to release on March 3, 2017, on CSP Records, an independent label out of Texas. Label President Jimmy Rogers, who has spearheaded many a blues artist over the past 40 years, was so knocked out by her that he signed her on the spot.

“Look out world; Nina Massara is a fantastic new artist!” Jimmy Rogers, CSP Records.

Recorded and produced by Morten Wittrock both in Denmark and at Austin’s famous 5th Street Studios, Nina brings her distinctive vocal and personal style to a fabulous collection of original Americana songs written by producer Wittrock and Ray Weaver. These two music veterans were able to wrap the melodies and words to fit this young budding talent. Ray Weaver is an American songwriter living in Denmark whose work has been compared to Kevin Welch and Steve Earle. Combine that with Morten’s rocking blues the two succeed with songs like, “Impossible To Resist” a duet with Colin Brooks, who is a former member of Band Of Heathens now an Austin session player. The two bring a playful and flirty flavor to the tune with a funky back beat. A Bourbon Street drenched “Big Easy” recalls her American father’s Louisiana roots complete with a slide guitar that echoes a slow gait down the sidewalk. 

Raised in Denmark by her American father and Danish mother, Nina grew up listening to legends like Delbert McClinton, Keb’ Mo, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan while working beside her father in his local Mexican restaurant. That myriad of influences continues as Nina accompanied her parents when they did the backstage catering for artists like B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Feat, John Hiatt and more. The music of legends flowed deeply into Nina’s heart, and she couldn’t wait to make her own music.

She began working in the studio with the award-winning Danish producer Morten Wittrock when she was just 15-years-old, doing everything from making coffee to editing Pro Tools tracks. When she turned 18, she bartended at Copenhagen’s storied Mojo Blues Bar continuing her musical education through experience.

Nina’s unique blend of New Orleans earthiness, a little Etta James vocal styling along with some Scandinavian sweetness this young songbird, brings a magical mojo to every song. Her voice, along with the playing and production creates a listening experience that honors both Nina’s deep commitment to her musical roots and her desire to do something entirely new.

Earlier this year this young woman moved to New Orleans to experience their extraordinary culture first hand and now she is residing in Nashville, TN to embed herself in their music community. She is brave, unafraid and determined. Nina Massara will be bringing her remarkable blend of the best of the past and the future to music lovers for many, many years to come.

Gateway Music artists: The Blues Overdrive - Clinch! - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Clinch! by The Blues Overdrive and I really like it! Opening with suspenseful track, Pistol Blues, this Danish band really understands it's craft. With a feel of North Mississippi and easy instrumentation by Martin Olsen on guitar and vocal, Andreas Andersen on guitar, Thomas Birck on bass and Lars Heiberg on drums these guys create an invite to their cool blues interpretation. Rolling Thunder steps up the rock feel but maintains the stripped down feel with cool double stopped guitar riffs. Cool! Shuffle track, Three Time Lover, starts to show more of the richness of Olsen's vocals and Olsen and Andersen compliment each other nicely as they trade lead/rhythm guitar riffs. Duke Robillard steps up with a signature solo of his own blending right in. Very cool! A little twist of Latin in the rhythm give Woman Of Love a more pop blues feel. Simple guitar riffs and overtones of JJ Cale make the track smooth and breezy. John Nemeth's Daughter of the Devil is one of my favorite tracks on the release having a bit of a Kimbrough feel. With it's swampy feel and tight guitar riffs (featuring Robillard) this is certainly one of my favorite tracks on the release! Jealous has a cool shadowy sound and maybe a track of early Black Keys. This track is infectious and with it's slightly out double stops is extremely effective in creating tension. It even has an underlying almost western guitar themed solo... excellent! Joel Patterson joins on Cherry providing a cool lap steel aura. With it's Latin rhythm this track is airy and fun. Another of my favorite tracks is blues rocker, Lay Your Burdon Down, again with a real stripped down feel and almost a John Kay feel. Vibrant guitar riffs on this track and tight drumming from Heiberg gives it an almost Jimi Hendrix blues taste. Very smart! Living Here With You is an excellent track with a JJ Cale style. With it's light funky rhythm and Mark Knopfler style lead guitar penned against it's David Gilmore like vamps, this track is sure a winner. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Aurora, a thick and greasy track with really rich guitar tones. Olsen's vocals are really soulful on this track and with it's strong blues flavor and even John Lee Hooker like blues riffs, is my favorite on the release. This is an absolute sleeper of a release that needs to be heard! Check it out!!

   

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Award-Winning U.S. Blues Artist PEACH at Mojo Blues Bar

AWARD-WINNING U.S. BLUES ARTIST IN CONCERT AT WORLD-FAMOUS MOJO BLUES BAR IN DENMARK 9 May (Saturday), 2015

(Copenhagen, Denmark) - Award-winning U.S. blues artist PEACH and Band featuring guitarist Aske Jacoby along with bassist Fredrik Damsgaard and Stefan Pasborg on drums, and Esben Just on keyboards, perform in concert at the world-famous Mojo Blues Bar, Løngangsstræde 21 C, 1468 Copenhagen, Denmark, 9 May (Saturday). Doors open at 8:00 p.m., show starts at 9:30 p.m. Telephone: 33116453. Advance reservations can be made at: mojo@mojo.dk. Additional info at www.mojo.dk. PEACH performing in Venice, California, USA, last November. (photo by Ed Simon)    "(PEACH) exhibited her guitar skills along with strong singing on Stix Hooper/Will Jenning's 'Never Make Your Move To Soon' and also showcased 'It Meant Nothin' that she co-wrote with Keb' Mo', singing ever so soulfully and supported by Gospel-liker piano solo," writes L.A. Jazz Scene in a review of her  previous show at WitZend last November. "PEACH proves that nice girls CAN sing the blues," asserts Ed Simon in L.A. Beat, in a review of the blues diva's last WitZend gig. "The music seems to flow naturally out of her almost effortlessly, a natural singer (and excellent guitar player too) who kept the crowd at the WitZend transfixed. She sings without the forced 'blues inflection' that many performers add in songs just to make it bluesy. Instead, she has a crystal clear voice that was born to sing the blues," concludes Simon.                                     PEACH  - BIO      PEACH is at the forefront of female-fronted blues acts performing both modern and old-time blues, with an All-Star band of musicians featuring keyboardist Ken Stange (Joe Cocker); guitarist Jamie James (Jamie James & The Kingbees, Steppenwolf); bassist Jervonny Collier (Bruce Hornsby, Pointer Sisters); and legendary drummer James Gadsen (Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson, Thelma Houston, Ray Charles, Freddie King, many more). In the recent past PEACH has recorded with Taj Mahal, Marty Grebb (Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell), Reggie McBride (Elton John), Joey Delgado (Delgado Brothers), Garth Hudson (The Band) and Paul Barrere (LIttle Feat). She has co-written with Keb' Mo' and Marty Grebb and is a past Los Angeles Music Awards, Rockwired Radio Awards, All Access Magazine Music Awards, and South Bay Music Awards recipient.      "PEACH has done a duet with Taj Mahal, co-wrote a song with Keb' Mo' and uses her decades of experience to bring real blues to her audience. Her kind spirit and passion make for a unique blend of Blues artist." - INFLUX MAGAZINE.                              PEACH: "Today I Sing The Blues"                                                                                            www.peach.us                            https://www.facebook.com/PeachBluesBand?fref=ts Influx Magazine - Feature L.A. Music Examiner - CD Review Rockwired Magazine - Interview Los Angeles Beat - Live Show Review

Ruf Records artist: Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - Too Many Roads - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Too Many Roads, from Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado and it's classic blues rock. Opening with If You Wanna Leave, a driving shuffle track with Risager and Peter Skjerning on guitar, and backing horn work from Kasper Wagner (sax), Hans Nybo (sax) and Peter W Kehl (trumpet). Title track, Too Many Roads takes a more traditional route with Risager on dobro and slide contrasting against his firm but rugged vocals. Lea Thorlann and Pia Trojgaard add warm backing vocals giving it a southern country blues feel. Acoustic ballad, China Gate has a real rural feel accompanied only but acoustic guitar, solitary electric guitar and keys. Very nice. Paradise is an uptempo foot stomper with an almost spiritual feel. This nicely composed blues track backed by Emil Balsgaard on keys, Martin Seidelin on drums and percussion and again nice horn work makes for a very cool track. Drowning is a really effective use of instrumentation to showcase Risager's voice. Isolated but well blended into this sensitive track with key bass work from Soren Bojgaard and artistic inclusion of guitar riffs, horn work and keyboard make this quite and interesting track. Backseat Driver is a quiet rocker waiting to erupt. Balsgaard breaks through the myst on keys and is followed shortly thereafter by Kehl. Solid vocals by Risager overall give this track a lot of interest. Through The Tears has a flavorful R&B sound showing not only Risager's versatility as a soulful singer (which he does really well) but also the adaptability of the band to carry off a track so well. Very nice. High Rolling is a pure blues rocker with a stiff back beat but what grabs me by the short hairs is the great grinding guitar tones on this track. A stinging guitar breakout on this track accented by horn work pushes Risager into yet another vocal style and well done. Red Hot and Blue efficiently blends R&B, pop, ska and rock for a unique feel. Horn work on this track is particularly effective and with the addition of stylized percussion, the track seems to dance on it's own. Rich Man has a low slung delta swing feel with super vocal work from Risager and particularly articulate piano work from Balsgaard. The horn section steps up for a cool break out giving the track a New Orleans flavor. Wrapping the release is a piano boogie Play On, with Risager and pianist Balsgaard leading the way. A fast Rock and Roll pace (a la Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard) gives Balsgaard a real wide opening to really hammer out a cool boogie. This release has it's own sound and Risager has a unique and very solid voice. This is a tight band and a cool release.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Woman Across The River - Skriver & Bjarnesen Blues Band

Blues band from Denmark.








Jysk blues-rock-kvartet, 4 herrer med et tilsammen fuldstændigt uoverskueligt cv, men med en fælles kærlighed til god blues guitar og vocal - og RYTME!!
Dannet i efteråret 2009 i Serridslev Forsamlingshus ,-offentlig debut på Danmarks Smukkeste Festival 2010.
CD aktuelle med albummet "Nothing But Love", som kom på gaden 9-8-2013.
CD rummer 14 originale tracks og kan købes ved at indsætte 100 kr+porto 21 kr, ialt 121kr på reg.nr.9890 konto3060457386. Husk at opgive navn og adresse.
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Gateway Music artists: The Blues Overdrive - New Release Review

I just received a new self titled release from The Blues Overdrive, on of Denmark's most talented blues bands. The release is made up of 10 original tracks and one never released track by JJ Cale. The opening track, Death On The Highway, is a jazzy boogie style track with head boppin' guitar riffs. Out In The Country has a lot of the musical characteristics of a Jim Morrison composition. Dual lead guitar players Martin Olsen and Andreas Andersen share the space rather than vying for it. I Was Wrong is a really uptempo shuffle track and gives the band great opportunities to riff away. bassist Thomas Birck and Drummer Lars Heiberg lay down a solid bottom for strong lead guitar slinging. Ball and Chain is a stripped down slow blues very reminiscent of early British blues including vibrato enhanced guitar effects over a solitary vocal track and chorded rhythm guitar with simple guitar leads. I really like this track. Puts me in mind of some of the early creative work by Kim Simmonds and Peter Green. Mr. 16 Tons (Blues For Thorup) is a tribute to Danish blues legend Peter Thorup who was a pioneer on the Danish blues scene and lead guitar player for Alexis Korner. This is a cool track along the creative lines of "Help Me" but at a different tempo and with musical changes in the melody creating a whole new feel. Oh yeah, there are some familiar licks in there but this is a cool track. One of the things that I like best as I listen to this recording is the "real" quality of the music as opposed to the hyper fidelity that I hear so often that sounds plastic. Too Blind To See is a simple blues rocker with a straight forward vocal track and a solid instrumental return. I Need Your Lovin' is a real European style rock/blues track which has it's roots in Seattle. Immediately I like the "Stone Free" echo and the band keeps the track together with crisp guitar riffs over solid unpretentious rhythm. Keep it simple! JJ Cale track I Got Myself A Woman retains the simplicity of Cale from his earliest period and the band builds on the theme musically as is often customary in boogie bands. I like this technique and I'm glad to see bands doing it again. Big Fat Woman is a strong Texas 12 bar blues with a serious swagger. Thomas Foldberg adds some complimentary harp work on this track which makes for a cool compliment. Done Tryin' again has that sound that was so prevalent in Europe at the beginning of the blues reemergence (60's). I'm glad that Blues Overdrive has maintained this sound. Feelin' Kind Of Blue is the final track on the recording and has a noticeably more modern sound. It's almost like taking away the screen door to clarity. It has a bit more of a sophisticated sound but still retains that euroblues quality that I like with the rest of the recording.
 Nice job!  

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Its My Own Fault - Jake Green & Bleu Lane

Jake Green - vocals/guitar
Bleu Lane - guitar
Steve Klotz - slide
Jeff - bass
Mark - drums
Larry - keys
Jake Green Band is one of the most promising names on the danish blues scene. In a music genre that is both strongly traditional and a bit hide-bound in style sometimes, this band shows there's still a kick to blues rock. They aim to break the boundaries without smashing them.

The Jake Green Band style is a mix of powerful blues rock, heavy shuffles and heart-wrenching slow-blues you can feel deep in your soul.

These are skillful, experienced people who are passionate about what they do. It has power from that passion, and they work hard, sweat more, and draw the audience into the feel of the music. This dedication has landed the Jake Green Band some very high-profile gigs such as steady monthly weekend gigs at Mojo Blues Bar in Copenhagen, and repeated invitations to play the blues tent at the Malmo Festival in Sweden. Both are highly sought after, and not something you land unless you bring something special to the table.

Now it's time to turn it up a notch with their new album recorded live at the Malmo Festival this past summer, it is time to get out on the road again and do what they do best; make the audience feel the blues deep down.

It is no secret that Jake Green Band are looking to play abroad more in the near future, expanding on their existing international goodwill on the blues circuits.

The guitarist and singer Jake Green has played with just about everyone on the danish blues scene, not least because he's been a steady host at the legendary, 17 year old, thursday night blues jam at Mojos for the past years. Jake has also taken several trips to places around the world to get some "milage" and road experience on the foreign stages of Austin, NY, London, Thailand and Spain. He has reaped nothing but positive experiences, and has returned with more finely honed skills every time.

The bassplayer Thomas Birck has lived Chicago, cutting his teeth in the southside blues caverns of legend, developing a solid feel for groove, and an uncanny habbit of always being right in the pocket.

Drummer Hans Rosenberg has recorded over 140 albums, and played all over the world with countless big name acts including Nanook, Poul Dissing, Ole Frimer, Uffe Steen and Rasmus Lyberth Band.

The combination of this rock steady backing is the brick wall upon which Jake Green gets to shine.

The journey has only just begun. Be a part of it.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

I've Got To get Myself Together - B.B. & The Blues Shacks

In beer, they did not share the same taste. Grammy award winner Liam Watson is Guinness fan, the BBs prefer strong German stuff from the north, so Liam’s favorite pub was not quite the right place for the German band. Yet, it turned out to be a real party night and this cold november evening for sure marked another important step in their career.

When piano player Dennis suddenly sat down at the piano to give a-thrilling live performance, Liam Watson apparently decided to add a new German band to his list of favorites.

He invited the five piece band from Hildesheim into his legendary ToeRag Studios where the White Stripes taped their Grammy Award-winning album „Elephant“.

So the band truck, filled up with old vintage gear, set off on the journey right into the heart of London, one of the world's greatest music capitals. It was not the first time Andreas Arlt, guitar player and composer of the band and his brother Michael on harmonica and vocals, have launched into the unknown: Music has always been their passion and it turned into a profession. They founded the band „B.B. & The Blues Shacks. At that time, not only their parents advised strongly against this and the first gigs were a disaster, in front of not more than ten people.

Meanwhile the quintet is playing more than 100 gigs a year. They have received numerous honors and awards including „Best European Blues Band“. The latest album was awarded with the German Record Critic’s Award The BB’s are touring from Moscow to Barcelona, and thrilled a crowd of 10 000 with their performance in L.A.
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Cisco Kid - Lee Oskar w/ Lowrider Band

Lee Oskar (born March 24, 1948, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which he formed with Eric Burdon, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. He currently plays with Lowriderband , with Harold Brown , Howard Scott and B.B.Dickerson
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1948, Oskar was six years old when a family friend gave him his first harmonica. "I came from an area where every kid on the block had a harmonica," he remembers. He grew up listening to Danish radio, enjoying all types of music and cites Ray Charles as the biggest influence from that period. When he was 17, Oskar decided that the United States was where a harmonica player should make his career, so he moved to New York at the age of 18 with little more than a harmonica in his pocket. With no money, Oskar played harmonica in the streets of New York. Eventually arriving in Los Angeles, California, via Toronto and San Francisco, Oskar soon met and joined forces with Eric Burdon who had recently disbanded The Animals and was searching for new collaborators. Together, the harp-playing Dane (born Oskar Levetin Hansen) and the British blues-rock singer made the rounds of the L.A. clubs, eventually hooking up with the soon-to-be members of War. Burdon agreed to the novel idea of pairing up Oskar's harmonica with Charles Miller's saxophone to form a horn section. This team-up set War apart from the start, giving Oskar room to display the full spectrum of his improvisational prowess. Oskar's harmonica magic was always a vital element in War's music and performances. Oskar continued with War for 24 years non-stop. At the end of 1992 he made the decision to end his association with that group in order to have the time to pursue his solo career.
Lee Oskar who has been described as "a virtuoso," "the harmonica whiz" "a war hero," "legendary," "musical wizardry," and as "generally regarded to be among the best rock-blues-soul harmonica players." His role as a founding member and former lead harmonica player of the pioneer funk-jazz group War won him international renown for over two and a half decades (1969–1993). Oskar's signature solos helped to define the War sound from the band's beginning in 1969, adding dashes of color to its R&B, jazz, rock, and Latin influences. Oskar's position with War was a prominent one from its early days with singer Eric Burdon onward. "My playing has become more aggressive over the years," he says. "In the beginning, my role was playing horn lines. Today, it's evolved to the point where I'm playing a lead instrument. If I'm not doing a solo, I'm playing counterlines—I try to paint within certain spaces in the music to help create the overall picture."
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Maggie Bjorklund Chosen By Jack White As Bandmate, SNL Performer __FREE DOWNLOAD

The former White Stripes frontman Jack White has called upon our very own pedal steel playing, Danish singer/songwriter Maggie Bjorklund to join him on his first-ever solo headlining tour. The backing spot has thus far brought her in front of sold-out audiences in Nashville and Chattanooga, and onto the stage of Saturday Night Live. Watch the SNL performance of “Love Interruption” here:

A listing of the tour dates can be found here: (with more to be added soon).

Date	City	Venue	Country
03/12/12	Birmingham, AL	WorkPlay Soundstage	United States
Address: 500 23rd Street South. SOLD OUT.
03/13/12	Memphis, TN	New Daisy Theatre	United States
Address: 330 Beale Street. SOLD OUT.
03/15/12	Tulsa, OK	Cain’s Ballroom	United States
Address: 423 North Main Street. SOLD OUT
03/16/12	Austin, TX	TMR SXSW Showcase – The Stage	United States
05/18/12 - 05/20/12	Gulf Shores, AL	Hangout Music Fest	United States
Buy tickets
05/26/12	Quincy, WA	Sasquatch! at the Gorge Amphitheatre	United States
Buy tickets
06/23/12 - 06/24/12	London	Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend	United Kingdom
06/27/12 - 06/29/12	Niigata	Fuji Rock Festival	Japan
Buy tickets
06/29/12	Werchter	Rock Werchter	Belgium
Buy tickets
07/01/12	Belfort	Les Eurockeennes	France
Buy tickets

To celebrate the announcement, we are launching a second free MP3 from Maggie’s recently released Bloodshot Records debut, Coming Home. “The Anchor Song” features an all-star cast of guest contributors including vocalist Rachel Flotard, Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and others. You can download, re-post, and share the FREE track from the following link: Maggie Bjorklund "The Anchor Song"

Maggie will be joining Jack White on the road on selected dates throughout the spring and summer promoting his new record Blunderbluss, out in April via Third Man Records. In between she will also be headlining two shows in the Netherlands, supporting Laura Gibson in Belgium, and performing at Bloodshot’s official showcase at Red Eyed Fly on Saturday, 3/17 during Austin’s SXSW festival.

Following these live dates, Maggie will be returning to the studio in the US to record the follow-up album to Coming Home.

Further bio, tour, and contact information can be found below.

*****

Early in her career, Maggie was best known in Europe as a guitarist for The Darleens and influential group Miss B Haven. After the breakup of Miss B Haven, Maggie discovered the pedal steel and soon made trails to Nashville, where she studied with pedal steel legend, Jeff Newman, and quickly found herself immersed in the Seattle music scene lending her talents to Christy McWilson, Mark Pickerel (Screaming Trees), Giant Sand and John Doe.

After spending years perfecting her skills on the pedal steel as a supporting player, in 2011 Maggie released her beautiful solo debut Coming Home through Bloodshot Records, an album featuring Calexico (Joey Burns and John Convertino), Mark Lanegan, Jon Auer and Rachel Flotard.

"Bjorklund's playing and songwriting conjure up romanticized roadhouses and late-afternoon sunlight filtered through whiskey, smoke and windows coated with decades' worth of dust. It's enough to make you want to jump ship and join her in whatever voyage she's on." - NPR

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ALAIN APALOO BAND

Born in Aneho, Togo on 13. March 1976, Alain Apaloo started from childhood playing traditional drums in traditional ensembles in his home country in West Africa and at a very early age, singing choir in the Catholic Church. He had his first guitar lessons under the guidance of his priest at the age of 11. Wanting to follow in the priest’s footsteps, Apaloo joined the Catholic seminar for priests, the same year where he was introduced to music theory and choir conduction.

Back in Lomé, he was brought to the attention of legendary Togolese blues-rock singer Jimi Hope, who instantly recognised his talent and joined his band. Apaloo spent his late teens playing and touring with Hope, as well as setting out on his own first Afro-rock-fusion band, Azos Pipe’ and playing own original compositions, practiced jazz standards and further developed his bass play. In the late 1990´s Alain moved to Accra, Ghana, where he joined the Sakra band led by keyboard player Kwame Yeboah (Craig Davis Tour, Kat Stevens’s tour) played the guitar. During the same period Alain had a regular Jazz club gig playing standards, switching between guitar and bass together with player Charles. In 1996 Apaloo fell in with Ghana’s leading Afro-pop star, Kojo Antwi. While developing his skills on the Accra music scene, Alain toured extensively with Antwi throughout Europe and North America – a partnership that is on going as Alain continues to guest play in Kojo´s music ventures.


From Africa to Europe.


Alain’s ambition and curiosity to further explore his musical reach brought him in 1997 to Switzerland, where he began to collaborate with the Swiss jazz drummer Gabriel Schiltknecht on an afro-jazz project. In 1999 Alain moved to Denmark to study at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen to further develop his skills as guitar player and composer in all kinds of rhythmic music. He graduated in 2005.


Since his move to Copenhagen in 1999 Alain is performing at Copenhagen's most original and respected blues scene, Mojo’s Blues Bar. Countless gigs were given here. It is here and other music venues in Copenhagen that Alain cut his teeth on the blues scene, building up and strengthening his music by playing regularly his solo
repertoire, writing and composing for his own blues-funk project Mezzy Slide & the Crew, hosting the Thursday jams with the Mojo Blues jam band.

With his rhythmically and melodically different approach to music, his enthusiasm and dedication to his work, Alain soon found himself involved in collaboration with well known musicians like French jazz flutist Marianne Bitran, saxophone players Simon Spang-Hanssen and Jakob Dinesen, Kenn Lending, Dan Hammer, Bob Rockwell, Willi Jonson, Michael Puggaard, Jakob Dinesen,…. In 2006 he joined the Kenn Lending Blues Band, one of Denmark’s finest and most established blues bands.

In addition he performed at various blues and jazz festivals in Denmark (Tonder Blues Festival, Copenhagen Jazzfestival, Spot Festival, Skanderborg Festival, Folk Festival…) and in Sweden ( Åmol, Malmø Blues Connexion )


His continuously growing song repertoire in afro, jazz and blues, has led Alain to working on his own projects, not only as soloist but also with his band Mezzy Slide and the Crew (Afro-funk), his Blues trio APT3 and last but not least his Api Pipo big band, performing fine world music that is inspired by Alain’s African roots and jazz. Especially this project has been successful with two albums and was officially awarded in 2009 with the prize for Denmark’s best World Music Album, called “ Floodgate”, guest starring guitar player Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Already in 2007, he was nominated for Best Danish Blues Album for his Blues record “Flying Vision”.

He received international recognition in 2010, when he represented Denmark internationally in the world’s leading Blues competition, the International Blues Challenge, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Alain continues to reside in Copenhagen where he concentrates on several ensemble projects and his solo work while fostering the talents of new Danish musicians. He is currently finishing his next Api Pipo album, to be released in February 2012.
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WORRIED BLUES - The Little Devils

Bandmembers

Ringo Dennov: vocal, guitar
Philip Jones: Bas, backing vocal
Per Anker: Drums

The band write and play their own material

The bands music all through based in Rock`n Roll, also has a good mixture
of elements, ranging from Rhytm and Blues, punk, country, reggae, funk and soul

All of the 3 musicians, have been around on the danish music scene for many
years, playing in many different bands and parcipated in many deversed music
styles throug the years, from pure Blues bands, HeavyRock to hardcore punk, pop, funk

The first 6 months of 2009: 1 & 2 on Bandbase's musicchart
Last half of 2009: number 4 on the Copenhagen musicchart - Local Heroes
And last as number 8 on the national musicchart - Local Heroes

The band stay true to their own original writing music
and for the main part play there own material

But when the band are performing life, their also find a place for a couble of cover songs,
but their play them, in The Little Devils own style and always ad their own unique touch

Do you like nicely produced popmusic
nice good clean sounding guitar and smooth vocals
and the popular music of today

Then the Band THE LITTLE DEVILS is NOT FOR YOU
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But if you like music with and edge and all played, with just the right amount
of attitude and passion that screams Rock `n Roll but all still delivered in a original way

Well then check The Little Devils out

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Baby Please Don't Go - Thorbjørn Risager

In the blues world, a big voice is often accompanied by a big ego (or at least a medium sized one…)
But the Danish singer Thorbjørn Risager, praised for his rough and strong voice by an unanimous choir of critics from a growing number of countries – 15 the last time we counted them - is a soft-spoken gentleman off stage. He is the leader of his seven-piece band mainly for practical reasons – to bring any little issue into a group discussion can be quite time-consuming. He is also composing most of the band’s music, and during the performance he is the obvious center of attention, even if the band has a charming way of passing round the task of introducing the songs between them, so that each musician gets his word in.

And this is a real smooth organization, who has divided all practical tasks such as web master, CD sales on gigs etc beween themselves. Which makes life easier in the midst of their heavy touring schedule. Since the start, they have played in 15 countreis, and only from Feb – Aug 2010 they have concerts booked in 11 European countries.

But the 38-year-old Dane had other plans for his life. He studied to be a school teacher, and worked in this profession for some years, before he decided to let the music take over. He studied at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, a quite unique education where many of the teachers are jazz- or rockmusicians, and where the emphasis is on Rhythmic music of all genres.
In 2003 he started his band, selected musicians he liked both musically and personally, and the fact that up until today only one of them left and was replaced, at an early stage of the band’s career, proves that the choice was excellent.

But of course Thorbjørn’s musical interest started long before this. He played the saxophone from the age of 12, then guitar – but the singing was more of a coincidence at first. He was exposed to the blues through a neighbour, a middle-aged gentleman who was friends with his parents, and who started playing blues records to the young Thorbjørn. That’s how his life-long love story with the blues started, with B B King as his biggest hero. Ray Charles is one of his other obvious influences, but today, with almost 40 recorded songs from his own pen, he has definitely defined his own sound and style.

His mixture of genres is something that is sometimes mentioned by critics, who are looking for something of more homogeneity. But this is Thorbjørn’s deliberate choice. To hear a band that plays one shuffle after another, or only jump blues through an entire CD or concert, might please some critics but there’s definitely a risk that the audience will get bored.

And this is why Thorbjørn and his band have created their specific sound by other means, especially his characteristic raunchy voice and the band’s typical sound, with its horns, solo performances and rolling, almost big-band-like grooves. So he weaves threads of soul, gospel, rock, R&B and funk into his music, to create a variety and keep the audience interested, something that the band succeeds with on each single gig.
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