Ben Rice - Wish The World Away - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Wish The World Away, from Ben Rice and it's light and airy with great guitar riffs and cool melodies. Opening with Dirt Road Home, a driving understated boogie, Rice shows just how much music can be played with just vocal, guitar and drums by Jimi Bott. Cool opener. Peace Will Overcome has a really nice rhythm set up by Bott, Julio Appling on bass and Dave Fleschner on piano, topped by excellent slide work by Rice. Very nice. Mojo Hand feels like hill country with a lot of rag tag and a lot of rockin blues. Rice's vocals are perfect for this track and his resonator guitar work is tight and clean with highlights drawn by Mitch Kashmar on harp and Dave Melyan on percussion. Very nice. Soulful track, Hardtimes is one of my favorites on the release with the best vocals on the release and rich organ tones of Dave Fleschner. Very nice. Stevie Wonder's HigherGround get an acoustic rework and retains a lot of the original energy with only the power of Rice's excellent vocals and tight slide guitar work. Wrapping the release is Don't Worry Mama with the mourning sounds of Rice accompanied by his steel resonator. This is a very strong release with contemporary blues roots.

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Swingsuit Records artist: Jeff Jensen - Road Worn And Ragged - New Release Review

I just received the new release, Road Worn and Ragged from Jeff Jensen. Assembling a strong cast of supporting players Jensen hits it hard right out of the chute with Brunette Woman, a blues rocker with hot harp from Brandon Santini and rippin' guitar riffs from Jensen. Tom Waits' Heart Attack and Vine has a Cab Calloway style with a mostly spoken lead vocal and a slinky rhythm. Again solid guitar work gives the track a special something but laying the table open for some slick organ work from Chris Stephenson. Possibly my favorite track on the release, Pepper is a fast swing number with a bright and lively guitar lead. Les would be proud... a d*** fine track! Classic blues/jazz track, Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You gets a really strong blues infused jazz treatment and with a slow pace is instrumentally super. Jensen playing Montgomery style licks really shows polish. Morganfield's Crosseyed Cat has an interesting pace with James Cunningham playing almost military style drum riffs. Santini does an exemplary job on harp on this track and Jensen isn't far behind with riffs which have been bubbling over for a while just waiting to get out. Another Jensen (and Victor Wainwright) original, Raggedy Andy, has a moderate swing pace and lends itself to a real nice piano break from Wainwright as well as a few nice riffs from Jensen. Wrapping up the release is R&B style track, Thankful, penned by Jensen. Bill Ruffino establishes a solid groove on bass and Cunningham dress the track out with cool drums. It's on this track that I appreciate Jensen's voice the most with his free flowing vocal style having just a slight similarity to one of my contemporary favorites, Macy Gray. This a a cool release with some interesting tracks, hot guitar riffs and plenty of solid instrumental work. It will be available August 6, 2013.

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Clothes Inna Matchbox - Dk Stewart Sextet

This all-star Portland quartet (plus horns) infuses classic cuts, obscure nuggets and DK Stewart originals with a fresh take on the blues, New Orleans funk and R&B... Stewart, whose two-fisted stride blues and jazz piano style has been a driving force behind such Northwest blues giants as Robert Cray, Paul deLay and Curtis Salgado often works as a compelling solo vocalist/performer with only a piano for back-up...In addition he has, for the past several years been tearing up major festival stages with his latest creation, the DK Stewart SEXTET. The band features the "Soul Survivor Horns" that includ Chris Mercer on sax and Joe McCarthy on Trumpet. Stewart serves up an evening of uptempo, jump-blues and traditional swing with material by Nat Cole, Charles Brown and T-Bone Walker along with hard-grooving New Orleans funk by Professor Longhair, Clifton Chenier and the Meters. The band also brings hard-core, stinging Chicago blues to their set with songs written by Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Magic Sam; along with Stewart's own soulful, compelling originals... In 2012 Chris Mercer and DK Stewart collaborated to create the "Tell Momma" Etta James Tribute, a collection of some of the NW's finest female volcalists assembled into an evening of introspective appreciation of the late Etta James' material. Featuring the Dk Stewart Sextet with the addition of percussionist Bobby Torres and guitar master Chris Carlson, the band produced an amazingly fine "live' performance at the Alberta Rose Theater in April of 2012. Singers Duffy Bishop, LaRhonda Steele, Lisa Mann, Rae Gordon and Amy Keys bring their best to this performance before a sold-out crowd and are filmed using state of the art HD video and a 32 channel digital-audio console by Rex recording. This CD has propelled the band into the regional if not national spotlight this year and brings a world focus on the tremndously talented pool of artists that due reside and thrive throughout the northwest, in spite of not being near more nationally recognized music scenes. Stewart has performed with such blues legends as Big Walter Horton, S.P. Leary, Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, James Cotton, Albert Collins, George "Harmonica" Smith, Joe Louis Walker, and Roomful of Blues, and has appeared on bills with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Junior Walker, Clifton Chenier, Ray Charles, Paul Butterfield, and BB King. Stewart's keyboard virtuosity can be heard on recordings by Robert Cray, Paul deLay, Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, The NW Ray Charles Tribute and on his own three solo projects, featured at CD Baby including the band's latest releases, ""live In Olympia" and "For The Troops". The latter recording features extra bonus tracks and proceeds go directly to the USO to support the families of deployed service members overseas. As a band leader and a featured sideman, Stewart has appeared at major blues venues throughout the US, including Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, the San Francisco Blues Festival, New York Rhythm & Blues Festival, The Texas T-Bone Walker Festival, Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival, Winthrop Blues Festival, Mt. Baker Blues Festival, and the Legendary R&B Cruise. .. Stewart also presents a stripped-down version of this same music format with less emphasis on big-stage production with former Lloyd Jones and Paul deLay drummer/percussionist Mike Klobas and the amazing Joseph Conrad on stand-up and fretless bass, recently with the band "Rhythm Culture". Original materials are also featured in this ensemble. Guests of the 3-DK Trio Plus One include the very exciting tenor sazophone work of Tim Jensen, guitarists Peter Dammann and William Chapin and recently harmonica soloist Tim O'Hare.  

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Toughen Up - Lloyd Jones Struggle

Portland, Oregon roots artist Lloyd Jones has recorded six critically acclaimed albums, toured internationally, and racked up dozens of major awards and accolades. He’s a relentless road dog, hitting festival stages, Delbert’s annual Sandy Beaches Cruises (he’s been a regular on six winter cruises), and clubs all across the land to enthusiastic crowds who can’t get enough of his swampy blues, his backporch picking, his serious-as-anthrax funk, soul, roadhouse two-beats, and old-school rhythm and blues (back before the R&B tag was somehow appropriated for other musical purposes, apparently when we weren’t looking). Yet he may be the most invisible, best-kept roots/blues/Americana secret on the contemporary scene.




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Henry Copper

Henry Cooper is in love, in love with a sound, a high-water-mark of blues guitar tone that had been set by the likes of Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk and Hop Wilson. It is clear from his newest release, "Slide Man", that it is influence, not imitation, that he has learned from the blues masters. He has taken to heart the importance of keeping things uncluttered and of driving straight down the middle of the groove until the last note has faded. The slide into the blues began for Henry at the age of 16, while he was working at the Eugene (OR) Hotel as a busboy. It was while listening to a local radio station that he heard The Paul Butterfield Band playing "The Work Song" off of "East West". Henry recalls, "I heard that amplified harp and thought "My God! What's that sound? It was amazing, I'd never heard anything like it." Henry began buying Blues records - one of the first ones he bought was "Fathers and Sons", which featured (among others) Paul Butterfield and Muddy Waters. Living in Eugene, Cooper was surrounded by some of the best Northwest harmonica players: Curtis Salgado (with his band the Nighthawks), Bill Rhoades, and Mike Mother. Henry checked them out, picked their brains and got turned on to Little Walter and other blues musicians. By age 19, he made his first recording as a harp player, a 45 with his friend Chris Coltraine. After finding a lap steel guitar at a pawn shop, Henry began using the licks he knew on the harmonica and applying them to the guitar as well as the sounds he'd heard from Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Albert Collins. By the age of 22, he was playing guitar in his first band Los Explorers. Even though he was living in Eugene, a small college town, there was a thriving blues scene and the musicians were always happy to offer their knowledge openly to an eager guitar player. After a few different bands, Henry met Boyd Small and Andy Strange and, along with former Los Explorers band-mate John Barley, they formed Los Falcons. In 1987 Los Falcons was booked into a New Year's Eve show with Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The band learned a bunch of Jay's tunes for the show and during sound check, Jay heard them play and said, "I'm taking you boys to Europe with me!" When the tour ended Henry moved to Portland and started several other bands which included: Henry and the Hamhawks and one of Portland, Oregon's favorite trios, The Terraplanes. Henry's relationship with Burnside Records began in the early 90's when he and his wife Anne moved to Seattle and Henry was introduced to a singer named Duffy Bishop, who was looking for a blues guitarist for her new band. Little did Henry know that The Duffy Bishop Band would take him on a five year ride as one of the hottest blues bands in the Northwest. The Duffy Bishop Band along with Cooper on guitar recorded two CD's for Burnside, "Bottled Oddities" and "Back To The Bone", before he decided that it was time for him to fly solo. Devoting most of 1997 to writing and recording, "Baby Please" was released on his own label, High Action Records, in May of 1998. Being Cooper's first solo effort, with limited distribution, "Baby Please" sold over two thousand copies and made several favorite lists from critics and fans alike. It made Real Blues top 100 CD's of 1998 as well as winning one of their four awards for "Best Pacific Northwest Blues CD Releases". Henry also shared Real Blues' "Best Slide Blues Guitarist in North America" award that year.

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DELTA GROOVE “BLUES STIMULUS PROGRAM” WINNERS!

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	DELTA GROOVE “BLUES STIMULUS PROGRAM” WINNERS! Delta Groove Music is very pleased to announce the participants in their first annual Blues Stimulus Program, an opportunity for blues talent around the world to become members of the successful Delta Groove Family.  Over the last decade, Delta Groove Music has set the new standard for producing, promoting, and booking exciting blues and roots music talent.  Now they’re sharing in their success by inviting emerging blues acts to submit their recordings for review, and each year Delta Groove will choose two U.S. and one foreign blues act to come on board with one of the biggest success stories in blues in this millennium!  After much careful review and painstaking consideration over the last several months, the producers and talent scouts at Delta Groove have chosen the Nashville-based Andy T and Nick Nixon Band, and Portland, Oregon’s Kevin Selfe as this year’s U.S. participants in the Blues Stimulus Program.  Guitarist Andy T and singer/guitarist Nixon are both veteran blues players who enjoyed long and successful careers on their own for years before joining forces to create one of the most dynamic and soulful blues bands in Nashville – a town with no shortage of great musicians.  Andy T’s fiery yet tasteful guitar provides the perfect backdrop to Nixon’s deeply bluesy, church-schooled vocals, an appealing combination that caught the attention of Texas blues guitar legend Anson Funderburgh, who produced and guests on their debut CD for Delta Groove. Virginia native Kevin Selfe is one of the most exciting and tasteful young blues guitarists and singers on the scene today, with that golden combination of reverence for the masters and the fire and passion of an artist from a new generation, out to write his own chapter in the blues history books.  Selfe has been on the scene since 1997, and appeared on numerous CDs with The Fat Daddy Band and Little Roger and The Cheap Thrills.  In 2005 he formed Kevin Selfe & The Tornadoes in his native Roanoke, VA, eventually relocating to the other side of the country in Portland, OR.  Since then he’s continued to hone and perfect his own unique sound, using his mastery of traditional blues as a springboard into his own exciting blend of cutting edge attitude and original songs that speak to several generations of roots music and blues fans. The debut CDs on Delta Groove by Andy T - Nick Nixon Band “Drink Drank Drunk”, and Kevin Selfe “Long Walk Home”, are scheduled for release by Delta Groove in February of 2013.  ANDY T - NICK NIXON BAND Andy T - Nick Nixon Band "Drink Drank Drunk" Featuring: Anson Funderburgh John Garza Christian Dozzler and more! "Andy was a great musician when we started and I think he's an even better player now. His dedication to the music that he loves is unstoppable…And Nick is one of the greatest singers in blues today. When people hear his voice, they are moved." – Anson Funderburgh "Andy T Band, featuring James "Nick" Nixon is one of those amazing artists that rarely surface today." – Bman's Blues Report "Nick and Andy T are both world class performers with a show that offers something for everyone." – Peter Fleming co-founder, Nashville Office – AirPlay Direct   KEVIN SELFE Kevin Selfe "Long Walk Home" Featuring: Jimi Bott Mitch Kashmar Gene Taylor and more! "Selfe plays with rare thoughtfulness and taste…his clean tone and deep well of approaches keep things fresh." - Blues Revue "They have originality of lyrics, individuality of playing their chosen instruments and a collective output which ranks at the best of the modern era in blues" - Blues Matters "Kevin draws the crowds to the band with fiery fretwork that gets"wanna-be" guitar heroes excited and professionals listening closely." – Greg Johnson, President, Cascade Blues Association FOR MORE INFO VISIT US AT: WWW.DELTAGROOVEMUSIC.COM

Would I Lie - Big Monti Amundson

His name is Monti Amundson but most people call him Big Monti. Not just because of the man’s physical appearance, but because of his larger than life voice, guitar virtuosity, and sheer presence. When Big Monti takes the stage, it’s clear that there’s more going on than the usual extended guitar solos – the man plays and sings larger than life.

Monti’s breakout band, The Blubinos (pronounced blue-bye-nose), were a dominant force in the Northwest music scene from 1987 to 1992 and shared concert stages with some of the biggest names in the business, including John Lee Hooker, Johnny Winter and Buddy Guy. In 1991 The Blubinos won Portland Music Association’s award for “Outstanding Blues Act”. In 1993 Monti signed on with Munich Records in Holland and promptly moved his headquarters to Amsterdam. Over the next six years Monti recorded five albums and toured extensively in Europe, developing a huge fan base.

When Monti gets compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan or Johnny Winter he just says “thank you”. The fact is, the big man has his own style. “I’m a blues guitar player in a band that plays rock n’ roll,” is how Monti explains it. He doesn’t so much as straddle the line between the genres as bend it, ignore it, or race back and forth across it until both sides go up in flames. The blues of Big Monti comes straight from the heart, cuts through your soul and is as real as it gets.
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Playin With Fire - Boyd Small

Frontman Boyd Small was a local hero in the Portland area as singer/drummer of the Terraplanes for 11 years.
He drummed with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, Guitar Shorty and Pinetop Perkins to name a few.
After touring Europe with Monti Amundson in 1997 he moved to Amsterdam and co-founded Amsterdam based alternative roots and modern blues label "Cool Buzz". While working with Cool Buzz he co- produced several CDs for American and Dutch artists including Monti Amundson, Jim Wallace, Drippin' Honey and The Cuban Heels .
Besides doing shows with his band throughout Europe in the last few years Boyd Small has worked with Black and Tan recording artists such as Byther Smith (Chicago, Ill.), Big George Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) and Billy Jones (Arks.) doing what he does best playing drums and singing.
2005 brought on a new collaboration project entitled "Somebody's Happened To Our Love" with fellow Portland , Oregon native Monti Amundson. Produced by Boyd and Monti for Rounder Europe it features Boyd writing and singing half the songs on the cd.
He also recorded three critically acclaimed albums including two with the 9-piece Boyd Small band titled "This Time No Lies" and "So Easy". He recorded one with his 4 piece band titled "Boyd Small Four + One".
Recently he released his CD "Diamond Boy" recorded in the states, mixed in Holland. It's NOW Baby!
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”

Treat Me Like The Dog I Am - Lloyd Jones

Portland, Oregon roots artist Lloyd Jones has recorded six critically acclaimed albums, toured internationally, and racked up dozens of major awards and accolades. He’s a relentless road dog, hitting festival stages, Delbert’s annual Sandy Beaches Cruises (he’s been a regular on six winter cruises), and clubs all across the land to enthusiastic crowds who can’t get enough of his swampy blues, his backporch picking, his serious-as-anthrax funk, soul, roadhouse two-beats, and old-school rhythm and blues (back before the R&B tag was somehow appropriated for other musical purposes, apparently when we weren’t looking). Yet he may be the most invisible, best-kept roots/blues/Americana secret on the contemporary scene.
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”

Massa John - Alexander's Realtimeband

Alan Alexander III is a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist with numerous credits. As a performing musician he has toured internationally (US, Europe, the Caribbean and Japan), headlining and opening for artists like UB40, Jimmy Cliff, Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal, Third World and many others. He is perhaps best known as the former lead singer, principle songwriter and producer for the critically acclaimed world beat band, Dub Squad. Alan has composed source music and original scores for several motion pictures including: 'Hear No Evil' (20th Century Fox), 'Alien Invaders' (National Endowment for the Arts),'Street Talk and Tuxes' (Susan Shadburne Productions) and, most recently (summer 2011), the feature length independent film 'Stuff' by director Larry Johnson. He resides in Portland Oregon.
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Nice and Strong - The Paul deLay Band

Paul Joseph deLay (January 31, 1952 – March 7, 2007), was an American blues vocalist and harmonicist from Portland, Oregon.
Paul deLay was born January 31, 1952 in Portland, Oregon.

His musical career started in the early 1970s with a band called "Brown Sugar", which played numerous West Coast gigs. In 1976, he and guitarist Jim Mesi formed the Paul deLay Blues Band, which performed well into the 1980s. The band also recorded several albums during that time.

By the late 1980s, deLay was suffering from alcohol and cocaine addiction. In 1990, he was arrested for drug trafficking, and served a 41-month prison sentence. While he was incarcerated, his band continued without him, performing as the "No deLay Band" and featuring longtime Portland blueswoman Linda Hornbuckle as lead vocalist in lieu of deLay. Upon his release from prison, deLay (now clean and sober) rejoined the band and recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums.

In 2002 deLay assembled the final version of his band, with David Vest sharing lead vocals and playing piano, Peter Dammann on guitar, and Jeff Minnick and Dave Kahl on drums and bass. A live CD featuring this lineup was released in 2007, entering the Top Ten on Billboard's national blues chart.

Paul deLay continued touring and recording until his final illness. In March 2007, after returning to Portland from a gig in Klamath Falls, Oregon, deLay felt ill and sought medical treatment. It was discovered that he was suffering from end-stage leukemia; he soon lapsed into a coma from which he would not recover. He died in Portland on March 7, 2007, aged 55. Memorial concerts in Portland and Seattle attracted large audiences.
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Mississippi Blues - Mary Flower and Thad Beckman

Mary Flower is an award-winning American musician and music educator on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues and ragtime fingerstyle guitarist and vocalist, she combines intricate syncopated Piedmont style fingerpicking with lap-slide guitar.

In 2000 and 2003, Flower placed in the top three at the National Finger Style Guitar Championship, the only female to do this twice for guitar.

She’s performed with Jorma Kaukonen, guitarist/songwriter Pat Donohue, Hot Rize founder Tim O’Brien, singer Molly O’Brien, guitarist/songwriter Geoff Muldaur, and the Campbell Brothers. As a songwriter, arranger and educator she has several musical and instructional releases to her credit.

A professional musician for more than 20 years, Thad Beckman has paid his dues on these same dusty roads which run from California to New Jersey and points in between. His finely-crafted original songs are the story of life, the voice of modern America...from the growling delta blues of the Deep South to evocative contemporary folk...bound by the common thread of experience gleaned from the road . You can hear it in his voice....he's been there.

From an admittedly non-musical family, Thad started out as a teenager playing in Portland, Oregon high school bands, joined the Air Force during Vietnam and ended up studying classical guitar in Florida. One day the blues got a hold of him and have yet to let go. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Gatemouth Brown, Buddy Guy, T - Bone Walker, Freddie King and Albert King have all left their mark on Thad's early development as a guitarist. You can feel it in his playing.

Moving from Portland to northern California in the late 1980's, Thad was quickly recognized by music promoters as an exceptional talent. As a guitarist, Thad Beckman has been hired by Bo Diddley, The Shirelles and Earl Thomas. As a bandleader he soon found himself sharing the stage with such renowned artists as B.B. King, Albert Collins, James Cotton, The Band, Emmylou Harris, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. During this time, Thad also recorded three self-produced album projects, all of which received outstanding local press.

Thad returned to his hometown roots in Portland, OR where he is a popular guitar instructor and continues to perform locally, abroad, in the midwest, Texas and California. In 2002, Thad released his CD "Thad Beckman" which also received critical acclaim. His new project "Blues Gone By" was just released and features Write on our Facebook Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! -  Here

Interview and performances - Savanna Coen

Hmmm. I guess I began my singing career at age five, when, as the story goes, I sang the Cinderella classic, “So This Is Love,” at my kindergarten talent show, leaving numerous moms in tears. However, it took four more years without singing, followed by a show-stealing number in a local play, for me to realize that singing and music are my passions.

I’ve since opened for the Slug Queen competition, perform regularly on stage at Saturday Market and venues in and around Eugene, and was the surprise highlight of the Willamette Valley Blues & Brews Festival. I’ve been part of the Kidz Rock lineup, as well as the Grrrlz Rock Festival for the past few years, and this past summer, went to Chicago to a first-of-its-kind blues camp, where I studied with some of the genre’s greats.

Now at age 13, I’m exploring interests in many musical genres — from rock and pop to jazz — but blues is what touches my soul.

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Rolling Stone - Paris Slim & Peter Dammann

Guitarist Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser is no stranger to those who've been paying attention to the West Coast blues scene over the last two decades. Born in Paris, France in 1960, his initial blues inspiration came from Hound Dog Taylor's "NATURAL BOOGIE" LP. After working his first professional gig at age 21 supporting visiting U.S. bluesman Sonny Rhodes, Rhodes invited him to move to the San Francisco Bay Area. With the commitment of a true believer, Franck packed his bags and moved to the Bay Area within a year, whereupon he was immediately hired by Troyce Key (who gave him the stage name of Paris Slim) to play in the house band at Key's legendary Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland.

He eventually assumed leadership of the group while Key took a professional hiatus, and became deeply immersed in the area's then-vibrant blues scene. He racked up three years touring with Jimmy McCracklin, as well as positive reviews for appearances at most of the prominent local venues with a distinguished roster of blues talent including Lowell Fulson, Percy Mayfield and Charlie Musselwhite. Four years after his first single was issued in 1984 on San Francisco's Backtrack label, his CD debut "BLUES FOR ESTHER" appeared, a strong outing which received a nomination from the prestigious W.C. Handy Awards. Its follow-up, "BLEEDIN' HEART", was co-produced with Joe Louis Walker, who guested along with Sonny Rhodes. An ongoing list of other sessions and frequent European touring (most prolifically as part of the Fedora Records house band behind Clay Hammond, Jimmy Dawkins, Homesick James and others) followed. Relocating to Southern California in 1998, he became a fixture on the vibrant L.A. blues scene, and continued to absorb new influences and hone his art. His recent CD "BLUJU" was produced by Randy Chortkoff, and has garnered acclaim as one of the most progressive blues releases in years while still remaining firmly rooted in the blues tradition. His association with Chortkoff led to a spot as regularly featured guitarist in the rotating cast of The Mannish Boys both in the studio and on the road.

Peter Dammann is a man of extraordinary talents and abilities. Not only is he a freelance writer, a dedicated family man and a topnotch Blues guitarist with The Paul deLay Band, but he is also the Talent Coordinator for The Miller Genuine Draft Waterfront Blues Festival. And, on top of all that, he's also a cordial and friendly human being as well! Peter took time out of his busy schedule preparing for this year's Waterfront Festival to talk with BluesNotes about his exciting and interesting life in the world of music.
Peter is well-schooled in the music he loves, the Blues. He recalls, "I grew up around Chicago, that's where I really learned to play. I played in a garage band in high school. The keyboard player from that band, Jimmy Pugh, now plays with The Robert Cray Band. We were playing Kinks and Rolling Stones covers and later Hendrix, Cream. Then, one summer around 1967 or '68, we heard about the first Chicago Grant Park Festival which was the precursor of all the Chicago Blues festivals that have come since. Muddy Waters, Lucille Spann, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Jimmy Dawkins, Luther Allison, Koko Taylor; everybody was there! It was unbelievable. It was the first time I felt like I'd heard real music. After that festival we drove back to the suburbs and became a Blues band."

Peter spent some time jamming down at the infamous Maxwell Street Market and at the clubs on the Chicago's Southside. He continues, "I would go down to Maxwell street on Sundays. It was a thieves market. They would have barbecues going all over the place, sort of like Saturday Market here, but in a more ethnic part of town. On nearly every corner there would be a power cord hanging out of a window. At the bottom of the power cord there would be a small drum set and an amplifier or two and a guitar player and maybe a harmonica player. There would be little bands set up all over and they would all be competing for the crowds."
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New Release - Can't Kick Love - Franco Paletta and the Stingers - review

I just received a copy of the new release from Franco Paletta and the Stingers called "Can't Kick Love". The band is made up of Franco Paletta on Vocal and Harp, Timmer Blakely on Bass, David Ward on Guitars, Jon Beyer on Drums, Steve Kevin on Piano and Organs, John Soller on Hammond B3. This is a tight little package of blues mostly in the upbeat style (call it what you will...not that good with definitions). All I know for sure is it's put together well, has great instrumentals and vocals. There are some real stand out harp, piano and guitar soloing on this recording disbursed throughout. I know it's the lazy mans way out but I'n not often a man of a lot of words... ok...let me rephrase that. I may go off for a while but music is subjective. Rather than tell you that I liked each song individually, I'll say I wasn't real keen on one song, Southbound but the rest of the recording was really good. The stand out track for me is "My Baby's Leavin" with use of great effects and abundant soloing.

Hope I convinced you to pick up a copy... you'll like it!
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/francopaletta

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Death Cab Blues - Bhakta Paul - New release review

I just received and have had the opportunity to listen to the new Bhakta Paul release, Death Cab Blues. The recordings are a combination of traditional and original blues tunes played solo with acoustic accompaniment. Paul does a nice job to adapt the songs to his personal style and deliver traditional songs without changing them beyond recognition.



If you like the acoustic blues, you may like to check this out.



Enjoy