This live recording takes us back to just a few months after the release of the legendary Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmark 612) album. Junior is accompanied by the Aces - Louis Myers, guitar; Dave Myers, bass; Fred Below, drums. Eleven songs and great bits between Junior and the audience in between songs comes to over 60 minutes of pure blues delight. "I Wanna Boogie", "Messin' With The Kid", "Man Downstairs", "Worried Life Blues", "Hideaway", "That's All Right", "Look On Yonder's Wall", "Fattening Frogs For Snakes", "Got My Mojo Workin'" and more.

 

The sound of the saxophone has been described as the closest to the human voice, but the "Mississippi saxophone", or harmonica, was one of the original "voices of the blues" following exportation from Germany to the US by Mathias Hohnerafter the Civil War. A modest instrument, it has the capability for extraordinary expressiveness in the hands of the exceptional musician.

 

"Phenom Jay Gaunt" (as described by Mo Rocca on CBS Sunday Morning), from Mahwah, New Jersey, is the newest and youngest i a short line of innovative virtuosos extending from Larry Adler in the thirties to Howard Levy ad Sugar Blue beginning in the seventies. Like them, he has developed sensational technique that allows him to play virtually any melody in jazz, rock and pop.  However, the blues is the heart of his music.

 

HARMONICOPIA is an apt title for this 12-song opus - seven instrumentals in an impressive variety of styles combine with five others featuring the burnished growl of blues singer Victor Wainwright.  Jason Ricci, the 2010 Blues Music Award winner for harmonica, serves up hip guidance as co-producer.  

 

 

Lauren Jordan was born and raised in the beautiful state of Virginia. She began singing at the tender age of 4 and was known throughout her early days as a great talent. Lauren got her start mainly in her father's church, where her mother was the minister of music. Lauren finds her musical influences in Etta James, Bettye LaVette, Sarah Vaughn and Aretha Franklin. However, Lauren did not always have her eyes set on a career in music. She wanted a career in broadcast journalism and speech pathology. It was not until a chance meeting with a local musician, that sparked her interest in music again. Lauren writes, arranges and produces all her own music. She believes that her observant nature in people and creativity naturally brings out her music. Lauren is a free spirit, musically evolving and looks forward to what her life and voice have in store. Lauren is a vivacious young old soul whose beautiful talent brings sincerity to song and life. It is the key to her journey.

 

 Patrick Goldstein/LATimes.com - My 12-year-old son and I are the kind of stone cold baseball fans who manage to watch way, way too much baseball this time a year, first with the pennant races in gear, now with the playoffs underway. And no matter what station we've watched games on in the past few weeks, we've always seen the same TV commercial, over and over, touting the benefits of Viagra. Clearly the makers of Viagra have decided that male baseball fans, excepting certain 12-year-olds, are the perfect middle-aged demographic for the product.

 

The ad itself is very low-key, almost like a haiku. (You can watch it here.) A cool, graying guy in jeans and a T-shirt (think Steve McQueen at 50) stops at a gas station in the middle of the desert when his car overheats. He hops out, buys some bottled water, takes a swig himself, puts the rest in the radiator and he's on his way home, where's there a light in the upstairs window, presumably signaling the presence of a female partner eager for his arrival. The visuals are simple but effective, hardly in need of the voice-over hammering home the ad's message: "This is the age of knowing how to get things done." I mean, guys, you had us with the bottled water gurgling into the radiator.

 

But what makes the ad so memorable is the music. My son, who's a big blues fan, heard it right away. All the through the ad, groaning and growling and playing his harmonica, is Howlin' Wolf, doing his 1956 blues hit, "Smokestack Lightning." Obviously today's commercials use a lot of unusual music to sell products, but this has to be a first, to build a Viagra ad around a half-century old blues song that has been re-recorded a thousand times but was never a hit itself, except in the juke joints of Chicago and the deep South. The men who first heard Wolf singing the song would have to be in their 70s and 80s today. That's a pretty ancient demographic, even by Viagra standards. (Wolf himself died in 1976.)

 

So how did Howlin' Wolf, a gruff, imposing man who at 6-6 and 300 pounds was built like a defensive tackle, end up being used to tout Viagra to middle-aged couch potatoes watching baseball games? I finally managed to make contact with Jean Scofield and Marianne Besch at McGarryBowen, the ad agency that did the commercial. Scofield, who's a music producer at the agency, says they explored all sorts of different music, but kept coming back to the blues.

 

"For us, the blues just sounded truthful," she told me. "It resonates with people in a really authentic way. And that led us to Howlin' Wolf, who was one of the great pioneers of the blues. So he was a great figure for us to draw from. As soon as we listened to 'Smokestack Lightning,' with his unmistakable vocals and harmonica performance, we thought it was the perfect way to accompany the story we were telling."

 

Besch, who's an executive creative director at McGarryBowen, said Wolf's music radiated another key ingredient in the Viagra campaign--masculinity. "Wolf's song has a really confident vibe to it," she said. "It felt so masculine--it really communicated the gritty tone and style of who this guy really is." 

 

All that AdSpeak aside about confidence and masculinity, I gotta think that if Wolf were alive today, he'd get a huge kick of hearing one of his songs being used to plug Viagra, once someone explained to him exactly what the product was for. I saw Wolf a couple of times when I was a teenager and even in the twilight of his career he oozed sex appeal, always drawing oohs and aahs from South Side Chicago women watching him work his magic in the local blues clubs. In fact, if you listen to the lyrics of some of Wolf's hits, like "Back Door Man," "The Red Rooster" and "Wang Dang Doodle," you could say that Wolf understood the essence of Viagra, long before it was even invented.

 

 

Click here to see Wolf in his prime, all dolled up in a suit and tie, performing "Smokestack Lightning"

 

                                               

       

 

A diverse group of musicians are gathering Friday to honor a blues legend: David “Honeyboy” Edwards. At age 95, Edwards is the only living bluesman who played with Robert Johnson and he’s one of the only original delta blues singers around.

 

At the Reel Blues Fest at the House of Blues in Boston, “Honeyboy” will be joined by Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau, jazz artist Grace Kelly, Mike Carabello of Santana and many others. The money raised by the concert will go to benefit musicians and first-time filmmakers who need health care.

 

Edwards has worked with most of history’s major blues musicians, from Muddy Waters to Charley Patton. He recently was honored with a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

A diverse group of musicians are gathering Friday to honor a blues legend: David “Honeyboy” Edwards. At age 95, Edwards is the only living bluesman who played with Robert Johnson and he’s one of the only original delta blues singers around.

 

At the Reel Blues Fest at the House of Blues in Boston, “Honeyboy” will be joined by Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau, jazz artist Grace Kelly, Mike Carabello of Santana and many others. The money raised by the concert will go to benefit musicians and first-time filmmakers who need health care.

 

Edwards has worked with most of history’s major blues musicians, from Muddy Waters to Charley Patton. He recently was honored with a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

 

Click for more

 

The popularity of the iPod was built primarily on its ability to provide users with access to hundreds of songs at the touch of a finger.  The iPad is coming along nicely as a musical companion because it not only allows users to listen to music but write, edit and view it as well. If you’ve have been looking for an iPad music notation app,  iOS developer KIRO has just released iMusician PJS which they tout as  ”the first application that lets you write real music on the iPad.”

 

The iPad’s large screen and multimedia capabilities provide a perfect tool for musicians using apps like iMusician PJS.  This new app provides musicians with a way to compose music for six different instruments (piano, guitar, saxophone, violin, drum and bass) with multitouch.  Using edit mode, musicians can add different notes, position them appropriately on the staff and then listen to their creation all with just a few taps of a finger.

 

Want to share you music?  You can export and download your compositions as a MIDI file that can then be opened with a sequencer on your PC or Mac.

 

If you are a musician looking for an app that allows you to be creative anywhere you go, take a look at iMusician PJS.  It’s available in the App Store at the introductory price of $7.99 for a limited time.

 

The Treasure Coast Blues Festival to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is scheduled for Nov. 6 at the South Regional Stadium in Port St. Lucie.

 

On tap for the day’s event are Clarence Carter, Ruby Wilson, Category 5 with the Storm Horns and a flash mob line dance led by Ira Weisburd. Dennis Mobley and the Shuffle Boogie Soul Dancers will perform live and simulcast around the world to participating flash mob line dancers.

 

Join the world-wide YouTube sensation and visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1O8Fqd5ax4. For more, call (954) 658-2798.

 

 

San Francisco, Ca (October 06, 2010)-  From soulful blues and rock based folk, to high-energy Southern rock and local guitar legends, THE KI has the honor and pleasure of welcoming  Blues by the Bay presented by Moylan's to its innovative, smart-living, experiential lifestyle event on October 22-24, 2010.  Blues by the Bay is ready to serve up a stellar live music extravaganza for the benefit of the Sonoma County Blues Society. A diverse line-up beginning Friday night, October 22, 2010 and continuing through Sunday afternoon, October 24, 2010, is certain to tempt even the most discerning music lover.  Guests will be able to enjoy such names, award winners and favorites as Jody Counter, Blackout Cowboys, Soulshine Blues Band, George Heagerty, Sadie Rix, the Scallywags, Jackson Stone, The Hellhounds, and many more. Attractions varying from panoramic setting on the bay, featuring the Yelp Lounge, to organic bites, wines and a host of Moylan's finest brews on tap will be available for guest to enjoy while listening to the cool sounds of Blues by the Bay.

 

For the friends and fans of the Sonoma County Blues Society, THE KI is offering the exclusive discount code “blues” to be used for 50% off the purchase of selected tickets and passes. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at http://blog.theki.net/tickets/.

 

About THE KI
THE KI (Ki Industries, LLC), based in San Rafael, CA, markets and educates value-based, smart living brands, technologies and designs through interactive live events and on-line properties.  Live activations include the annual KI event in San Francisco, as well as several national satellite locations launching in 2011. For more information please visit www.theki.net. 

 

wiltonvillager.com - The name J. Geils means different things to different people. If you were a teen in the '80s, you know his band as being responsible for MTV staples "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame"; those a little older may associate him with the blues style that the band began with in the '60s; and those who have followed him for the past decade know him more for his solo work playing blues and jazz on stage with other musicians when he's not too busy restoring old cars.

 

It's the latter that those going to see Geils on Friday, Oct. 8 at the Fairfield Theatre should expect when he takes the stage as a special guest of singer/songwriter Jeff Pitchell.

 

"J is an amazing player and we're going to have a really good time up on stage together," says Pitchell, who has worked with Bo Diddley, BB King, Buddy Guy, Ted Nugent and Clarence Clemons in the past. "I'm going to be playing some songs, he'll come up and join me and then we'll do some J. Geils Band tunes and mix in some others."

 

At the age of 15, Pitchell won the "Best Guitarist in Connecticut" award in a contest sponsored by the University of Hartford, and says he's been a long-time fan of Geils. Also playing with the pair will be guitarist extraordinaire Gerry Beaudoin, who Geils has toured with a great deal through the years.

 

For his part, Geils is excited about the concert and expects to do tunes such as "Homework" and "Cruisin' For Love."

 

"Jeff will do his thing and then I'll come up for the second half of the show and we'll have fun," Geils says. "I enjoy playing with different people and Jeff and I have only been on stage together a couple of times before, so it should be something great."

 

Don't expect to hear those '80s hits, though, as this isn't the J. Geils Band in concert.

 

"Once in a while someone will yell out 'Centerfold," and Gerry will announce in the mike, 'not a chance,'" Geils says. "I think Gerry and I have done enough of this stuff now that when people come to this kind of venue to see the gigs we do, they know what to expect."

 

Of course, Geils hasn't given up on those songs altogether. Whenever the J. Geils Band reunites for a concert -- and there have been many over the years -- those songs come out.

 

Although the band often says that it may be playing its last show together, another benefit, special concert or reunion seems to always be happening. The most recent few were just last month in sold-out shows in Detroit and Boston.

 

Considering that the band was recently nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Geils expects a lot of talk about those early days to come out.

 

"You have to remember that, in the beginning, we were a Chicago-style four-piece in the '60s, and we moved into more of an R&B influence and we were fortunate in that the music business dramatically changed between 1966 and 1970, and we came along at the right time," he says. "In the '80s, we weren't trying to make a pop record, we were trying to compete with Fleetwood Mac. ... That led to songs like 'Centerfold' and 'Freeze Frame."

 

At the time, the crowds coming to see the band expected a lot of the same, and many were confused by the style of the songs they didn't know.

 

"A lot of kids thought this was our first album, and it was something like our 11th," Geils says. "But people got into our music and it helped to create more fans."

 

These days, Geils spends a great deal of time at his hobby, restoring classic cars, and performing with musician friends and the occasional concert with his old band.

 

"I've been doing this for 40 years, and I still really like playing," he says. "There are certain styles and genres I happen to be pretty good at, so I get to hang out with some musicians, get a free meal, make some bucks and then be home at a reasonable hour. You couldn't ask for anything more."

 

Click for more

 

 

Check out this amusing video on You Tube. Click here

 

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Steve Gannon long  time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area blues scene, unfortunately is very ill w/ cancer.

 

For the last four years Steve has been a member of the Craig Horton Blues Band with whom he has recorded and toured extensively in the U.S.A. and Europe.

 

Steve's recording credits include albums by Jimmy McCracklin, Sonny Rhodes,Sugar Pie DeSanto, J.J.Malone, Craig Horton, Jimi Mamou and Freddie Hughes as well as two albums under his own name, 'Oaktown' and '52 Ford'.

 

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Saxophonist Myron Walden celebrates the release of his 5th CD in 9 months and his eclectic mix of musical themes with the new album Countryfied.

 

Tavis Smiley welcomed Myron to his NYC Public Radio Int'l show to talk about Countryfied, Myron's new  project.

 

Click to hear Myron talk about his blues roots.

 

Chrystal Hartigan presents...Songwriter's Showcase Showcasing local, national and international Songwriters "in the round" style

8PM SHARP - OPEN MIC (sign up no later than 7:50 PM)
9PM FEATURED SONGWRITERS "In the Round" style
$10 cover payable AT THE DOOR ONLY
(tickets are not sold at the Box Office)

This show will be the 2nd Anniversary of reviving the Songwriter's Showcase and the 3rd Annual Collaboration with the Daniel Pearl Foundation "World Music Days - Harmony for Humanity"

 

Featured songwriter's Monday, October 11, 2010
Grant Peeples
Nathan Brooks
Albert Castiglia

 

Broward Center for the Performing Arts

Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District
Fort Lauderdale, FL

 

Click for more

Chicagotribune.com - In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a narrow well in Midland, Texas, and was trapped for three days before being rescued. Among the millions worldwide transfixed by the ordeal was Charlie Musselwhite, the blues-harmonica virtuoso.

 

The event's life-altering impact on Musselwhite inspired a song that is the title track for his latest, heavily autobiographical album, "The Well" (Alligator), among the best releases in a career that stretches back to the explosive Chicago blues scene of the '60s.

 

Musselwhite had been drinking excessively since he came to Chicago in 1962 looking for work after growing up in the South. By '87, he was downing as much as two quarts of alcohol a day.

 

 

"In the beginning drinking was fun, but as I got older, that glow I used to get never came," he says. "But If I quit drinking, I'd get sick. I'd drink to be normal. I had a glimmer of sanity in that haze of alcohol and realized I had to get off. But I didn't know how. I felt trapped."

 

He slowly tried to cut down, and then was pushed to the finish line by  "Baby Jessica."

 

"She was trapped in there with a broken arm in the dark, in a life-and-death situation she was singing nursery rhymes to herself and being brave," he says. "It made my problems seem tiny. So as a prayer to her and myself, I decided I wasn't going to drink till she got out of that well. It was like I was tricking myself, telling myself that I wasn't going to quit for good, just until she got out. It took three days to get her out, and I haven't had a drink since. Made me wonder, 'Wow, what was that all about?' Thinking about quitting proved harder to me than actually quitting."

 

That decision revived Musselwhite's career 23 years ago. He's now on top form, and "The Well" marks the first time in his career that he's written every song on one of his albums. Most are deeply personal, tales of nights in jail and dealing with his mother's death.

 

"Suffering was an everyday fact of life," he says. "The best way for me to handle it was to say I was digging it. That took the edge off it: 'Get into it, make friends with it.' It helped me cope, even if it didn't take it away."

 

Musselwhite's only solace came when he'd perform.

 

"Especially for me blues is healing in itself," he says. "I always felt blues was more than just music, but an attitude, like the other side of the coin from gospel. It's your comforter when you're down, your buddy when you're up. The spirit of the music is, 'We can get through this.' If I couldn't play, I don't know what I would've done."

 

Bob Dylan's music will be introduced to a new audience, thanks to cover versions by musicians such as J Tillman of Fleet Foxes.

 

Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home goes on sale at iTunes this week and features artists like The Morning Blenders, Peter Moren of Peter, Bjorn and John, and Mirah tackling songs from Dylan's 1965 "going electric" album.

 

Its producer is Jim Sampas, who has done similar tributes to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album and the Beatles' Rubber Soul. James Reed of Globe.com had a chance to talk with Jim about the project.

 

Q. How did you decide on “Bringing It All Back Home’’ for this project?

 

"In Defense: Vol 1" is a musical kaleidoscope that serves as an important sign of the times. Socially relevant, impactful and empowering, the music selections serve to touch on the political issues of our time, reflecting the urgency of social unrest that is upon us.

 

NATIONAL TV AND RADIO EXPOSURE

FOR PETER KARP & SUE FOLEY

Blind Pig recording duo Peter Karp and Sue Foley are being featured on national TV and two nationally-syndicated radio programs.  The pair has been generating a critical buzz since the release of their CD entitled He Said She Said.

"Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour" is broadcasting a live performance of Karp and Foley that was recorded on July 19th in Lexington, Kentucky.  The show airs on over 200 U.S. radio stations, XM satellite radio, and over 175 countries worldwide through the American Forces Radio Network.  In addition, a television broadcast of the program goes out to three dozen TV stations.  Fans can also listen to and/or see the show on the program's Facebook link. 

 

During the week of October 13th "Beale Street Caravan" will run Karp and Foley's performance at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival earlier this summer.  The program is the most widely distributed blues radio program in the world, attracting more than 2.4 million listeners every week. 

 

The Cleveland Blues Society is proud to announce the second annual International Blues Competition's Memphis Challenge, to be
held November 7, 2010, at Wilbert's Food and Music, 812 Huron Rd. E., in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. 

 

The Cleveland Blues Society encourages all local blues artists, and bands to apply for this  year's Memphis Challenge. 

 

Winners will be determined based on weighted scores, considering blues content, talent, vocals, originality, and stage presence. 

 

Applications, rules and information, can be found, at
www.clevelandblues.org
. 

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George Thorogood joins Elwood this week.  His CD, DIRTY DOZEN, combines some new tunes and re-jiggered listener favorites. We will also hear The Beatles, John Hammond, Hound Dog Taylor, and more.  Hear new music from Portland roots rockers Hillstomp, and take a chance on winning a new CD from Boston’s Peter Parcek (Buddy Guy says he’s “as bad as Eric Clapton”).  The CD is called THE MATHEMATICS OF LOVE.  Win one here.

 

 

 

RBA Publishing Inc is based in Reno, NV with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, Florida. We produce the annual Blues Festival Guide magazine (now in its 7th year), the top-ranking website: www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, and this weekly blues newsletter: The Blues Festival E-Guide with approximately 20,000 weekly subscribers. We look forward to your suggestions, critiques, questions, etc.

Reach the E-Guide editor, Gordon Bulcock, gordon@bluesfestivalguide.com

or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
 

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