Omar and the Howers - Too Much Is Not Enough - New Release Review

I just received a copy of Too Much Is Not Enough, the newest Omar and the Howlers release. Gary Primich is featured on 10 of the 12 tracks and the release is dedicated to his memory. In the liner notes, Omar apologizes for a second tribute to Jimmy Reed and then tells about the story about how and why. I'll tell you why. It's great music and it needs to be heard! The release opens with Too Much and it has the great Jimmy Reed lope and Primich harping away. On I Gotta Let You Go, Gary Clark Jr. joins the band and plays some hot slide work. Omar is in top form on vocals and Primich has perfect balance. On Honest I Do, Clark and Jay Moeller round out the band and Primich again plays some sweet harp. Omar sings this song like he owns it. I Ain't Got You is a bit stripped down and I really like it. The first time I heard this (embarrassingly enough) was by the Yardbirds but yes ...it's all about the journey. High And Lonesome is a slow Texas style blues with Omar grinds this track on vocal and guitar, Primich on harp, Barry Bihm on bass and Jon Hahn on drums. Roll In Rhumba is a cool instrumental with the band keeping it tight while Primich airs it out. Very cool!! Omar puts a little extra swing on Take Out Some Insurance. These guys are really together and Omar and Primrich keep the dialogue between vocals and harp. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town, another of the more slowly paced tracks, really gives Primich a chance to milk the harp for all it's worth. I'm Gonna Ruin You again with the stripped down band of Omar, Gary Clark Jr. (guitar and harp) and Jay Moeller deliver a straight up Chicago romp. Shame, Shame, Shame takes the pace up quite a bit a Primich again grabs the floor and delivers. You Don't Have To Go, an Elmore James style track, again featuring Clark Jr. on slide. This is a terrific ending for a very cool recording. If you like Jimmy Reed you're bound to like this release!
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Sorry that I could not find a current (subject appropriate) video.

Old Pal Records artist: Gary Primich - Just A Little More...with Omar Dykes - New Release Review

I've been listening to a new album of music by Gary Primich that will be released on April 17, 2012. To celebrate the release of this new cd, a number of special events are planned in Austin including appearances by many of Gary's musical friends as well as a screening of the harmonica film Pocket Full Of Soul. This new double Cd package includes a 10 page booklet as a great package of blues music featuring over 20 songs some which have not previously released and others which were previously featured on recordings such as Travelin' Mood, Mr. Freeze, Doghouse Music, Riding The Darkhorse as well as Omar and the Howlers recordings, Muddy Springs Road, Swingland and World Wide Open. The cd features such musicians as Gary Clark, Jr., Derek O'Brein, Sarah Brown, Wes Starr, Mark Korpi, Dave Biller, Jay Moehler, Nick Connolly, George Rains, Mark Rubin, Billy Horton and of course Omar Kent Dykes. When you review a cd that has so many fine tracks it becomes exceedingly difficult to describe the high points as the recording is just great throughout. The cd opener , Satellite Rock is a real screamer absolutely showcasing Primich's energy on harp. Hot!! Sweet Fine Angel not only features Primich but some stellar guitar work. September Song, though really a jazz classic, has a really clean and soulful sound to it. Nice that it has been included. School Of Hard Knocks is again a jazzy T-Bone style blues and it gives the band a bit of time to stretch their chops. On Disc 2 I particularly like the harp tones that Primich blows on Mr. Freeze. One Room Country Shack, possibly my favorite track on the set, features Dykes on guitar and vocals. It's a cool slow blues and they are digging deep on this one. Down in Mississippi is a little blues jam featuring just Dykes and Primich together and it's a great simple blues track. The set wraps up with another jazz tune, Indiana showing Primich's versatility as a musician and interpreter. I think that this recording will be widely successful.
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”
The following track is not from the cd but a good representation of Primich's work.

Gary Primich with Nick Curran on Guitar

Blues harmonica player, vocalist, and songwriter, the late Gary Primich was among a rare breed of musicians on the blues scene today — those who learned directly at the feet of the masters and proved themselves on the mean streets and ghetto club stages of Chicago. A dedicated musician who not only revered tradition but forged his own innovative sound, Primich honed his meaty, fat-toned harmonica chops and energetic R&B vocal style at Chicago's storied and legendary Maxwell Street Market. Performing there in the late '70s and early '80s along greats like Big Walter Horton, Johnny Littlejohn, Sunnyland Slim, and John Henry Davis, Gary received a first-hand blues education that could never be taught in a classroom. Although a resident of Austin, Texas for over 20 years, Primich still embodied the characteristic blue collar work ethic of his Midwest stomping grounds, recording eight albums, and relentlessly playing over 200 nights per year nationally and internationally. Gary was also held in high esteem by his peers. Juke Logan says "Gary Primich scares the bejesus outta me. As a harmonica player's harmonica player, that is." The late Cub Koda echoed that sentiment with "He's always willing to lay his heart on the line for the music." In addition to his solo efforts, Gary was an in-demand sideman, gigging and recording with notables such as Omar & The Howlers, Tish Hinojosa, Steve James and Libbi Bosworth. Humble, ever a bluesman and "a regular Joe," he envisions his epitaph. "He changed his oil every 3000 miles." 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”

Gary Primich Family Announces "Just a Little More .. with Omar Dykes" CD Release on April 17 Tribute to Late Harmonica Master

THE GARY PRIMICH FAMILY ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ALBUM SALUTE TO THE LATE BLUES SINGER/HARMONICA MASTER,

JUST A LITTLE MORE … WITH OMAR DYKES, COMING APRIL 17 ON OLD PAL RECORDS

AUSTIN CD RELEASE EVENTS INCLUDE WATERLOO RECORDS IN-STORE, “POCKET FULL OF SOUL” FILM DOC SCREENING AND FREE TRIBUTE SHOW AT CONTINENTAL CLUB

AUSTIN, TX – The family of the late blues singer/harmonica player Gary Primich has announced the April 17 release of a very special CD tribute, Just a Little More … with Omar Dykes, on Old Pal Records, with distribution through CD Baby. To celebrate the release of the new CD, a number of special events are planned in Austin, including an in-store performance by many of Gary’s musical friends at Waterloo Records on Friday, April 20, at 5PM; a screening of the harmonica film documentary, “Pocket Full of Soul” (which includes Primich), on Saturday, April 21, at 4PM at the Wyndham Garden Hotel (located at !-35 and Woodward); and a FREE live tribute show at the Continental Club on Sunday, April 22, from 2-6PM.

The Waterloo in-store performance will feature Omar Kent Dykes on vocals and guitar, Wes Starr on drums, Randy Glines on bass (who used to be Gary's bassist) and Ted Roddy on harp. The “Pocket Full of Soul” film screening on April 21 will benefit the SIMS Foundation, which provides mental health and addiction recovery services to Austin-area musicians and their families. In addition to Gary Primich, the documentary includes such other stellar harmonica players as James Cotton, Delbert McClinton, Kim Wilson, Jerry Portnoy, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza and a host of others. To watch the trailer for the film, go to www.pocketfullofsoulmovie.com. For the free tribute show at the Continental Club on April 22, artists scheduled to play include Omar Kent Dykes, Mark Hummel, Sarah Brown, Mike Morgan, Juke Logan, Mike Buck, Wes Starr, Ted Roddy, Mark Rubin, Nick Connolly, Barry “Frosty” Smith, Lee McBee and many others.

Just a Little More … with Omar Dykes features 24 cuts of prime Gary Primich recordings that range from 1994 to 2006, the year before Primich passed away, and represent such CD titles as Travelin’ Mood, Mr. Freeze, Doghouse Music and Ridin’ the Darkhorse, as well as several previously unreleased tracks. Also included are several songs that first appeared on such Omar & the Howlers albums as Muddy Springs Road, Swingland and World Wide Open and highlight Gary Primich’s unique talents as a harmonica player.

The musicians on the CD represent a veritable “who’s who” of Austin’s finest, including Gary Clark, Jr., Derek O’Brien, Sarah Brown, Wes Starr, Mark Korpi, Dave Biller, Jay Moehler, Nick Connolly, George Rains, Mark Rubin and Billy Horton. A number of the players were regular members of Gary Primich’s band through the years, either on record or on tour.

As the album’s title indicates, the CD showcases the special musical relationship Gary Primich had with Omar Kent Dykes, who sings and plays guitar on many of the tracks. One of the special previously unreleased cuts is “Down in Mississippi,” which features just Dykes on vocals and guitar and Primich on harp.

“I was close to Gary. I loved him, too,” says Dykes in the album’s liner notes. He was always brilliant with me, and so talented! He was one of my favorite players. He always

made it seem like it was so easy. I remember Gary coming down from Indiana and showing up at my gigs in Austin. It was a little club … they’d clear the tables off this little second-level and we’d set up and go for it. I started seeing Gary out there and after a few gigs I got to talking with him and he said he played harp. I think we got him up and I went ‘MAN, you can PLAY harp.’ But you know, he was so humble about it. He never had to tell anyone he was good. He was just SO good, you know?”

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.