With his eighth solo CD The Goods, which finds him again working with close musical compatriot Duke Robillard and new collaborators the Grammy winning Blind Boys of Alabama, Al continues to tell his unique stories in song, blues-roots style. Al has fused his songwriting, cornet, and vocal talents together seamlessly, and his 2010 nomination for a Blues Music Award as best horn player shows that the lofty reputation he has earned among his musical peers is continuing to spread to the wider world.

 

This two-part DVD tells the story of South Carolina farmer and bluesman, Mac Arnold, and his unexpected return to the Blues. Over 40 years ago, Mac joined the Muddy Waters unaware of the lasting impression his presence would make in music history and his future. This opportunity led to him playing with legends John Lee Hooker, Tyrone Davis, Otis Spann and others. The first disc is a portrait of his legacy; the second shows him as he is now, with a younger band playing clubs and festivals and also being reunited with many of the other sidemen from his Muddy Waters days. Bass in hand, Mac Arnold helped pave the way for many of the Blues successful artists of the day.

 

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You'd never think it to look at Paul Pigat, but behind that unassuming grin and underneath those Doc Watson glasses lurks one of the most restless, combustible musical imaginations ever crammed like so much canned heat into a single body. Blessed with a jazz man's sheen, a rockabilly heart and a hobo's soul, there aren't many genres of music that don't pull at Pigat's wayfaring imagination like a magnet.

 

One could be forgiven for thinking that up until now Paul Pigat has spent his whole career flying under the radar. Like all those great old Stax records where Steve Cropper stood behind Otis Redding and played his heart out before anyone knew who he was, Pigat has been creating sweet sounds for some of the best artists in the country without getting the attention you'd expect. Still, you'd have to have been hiding under a pretty big rock to have never heard the immediately recognizable sound of his distinctive guitar playing as over the last several years this unassuming Vancouver native has quietly compiled a list of credits that would be the envy of anyone in the music business.

 

With "It's a Sin" , expect a sizzling mix of rock 'n roll, vintage country, swing, bebop and blues that only Cousin Harley can deliver.

 

Reserve your ad space in the 9th annual issue of Blues Festival Guide magazine today!
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The 22^nd annual Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival in Simi Valley, CA has announced an impressive lineup of performers for the two day event which runs Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

 

The Blues stage features the 6^th Annual Delta Groove All-Star Blues Revue.  Saturday’s performers include Los Fabulocos featuring Kid Ramos, Mikey Jr. & Stone Cold Blues, Arthur Adams, Ana Popovic, the Mannish Boys Review with Tracy Nelson, John Nemeth and the 44s.  Sunday’s lineup features Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Cadillac Zack with special guests, the Mitch Kashmar Band, the Kirk Fletcher Band, Big Pete with a tribute to Lester Butler and Shawn Pittman.

 

The second stage features Cajun & Zydeco music with Buckwheat Zydeco, Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Lil Pookie & The Zydeco Sensations, Bayou Brothers and Billy Lee & The Swamp Critters.  All Cajun-Zydeco performers will be appearing both days.

 

In addition to two stages, each with dance floors, there is a huge kids area with their own stage featuring a variety of talented kid friendly acts.  And there are jumpers and crafts just for the kids.

 

 

Included at the festival are a variety of food choices from authentic Cajun and Creole dishes like crawfish and alligator to traditional barbecue and hot dogs. And each day there is a New Orleans style parade with bands, stilt walkers and audience participation.

 

Tickets are $ 18 for adults ages 13 and up, $ 15 for kids ages 5 through 12.  Kids under 5 are free.  Tickets may be purchased at the event or on-line.  For more information and ticket purchases, visit the website at www.cajun-blues.com.

 

The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival is produced by the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise and all proceeds go to charity.

 

LAS VEGAS (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) -- The 2011 edition of the Experience Hendrix concert tour, presented by Fender guitars, launches in May with musical greats paying homage to Jimi Hendrix.

 

This year's tour will include performances by Billy Cox, Steve Vai, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, David Hidalgo & Cesar Rosas [Los Lobos], Keb’ Mo, Eric Johnson, North Mississippi All Stars, Brad Whitford [Aerosmith], Living Colour, Ernie Isley, Chris Layton [Stevie Ray Vaughn & double Trouble], Indigenous and additional special guests to be announced.

 

Experience Hendrix bassist Billy Cox -- who first befriended Hendrix in the 101st Airborne Division of U.S. Army, played in both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys and performed with Hendrix at such landmark festivals as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight -- said,"It's a thrill for me to play Jimi's music for audiences now as it was in the 1960s."

 

Tour Dates:
5/20 - Las Vegas, NV - Hilton Theatre, Las Vegas Hilton
5/22 - Dana Point, CA - Doheny Blues Festival 
5/23 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center
5/24 - Tucson, AZ - AVA Amphitheatre, Casino del Sol
5/26 - Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Performing Arts Center
5/27 - Reno, NV - Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
5/28 - Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Blues Festival
5/29 - Avila Beach, CA  - Avila Beach Blues Festival

 

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I am a guitar freak. More correctly, I have grown much older to become an unrepentant guitar buff. Both acoustic and electric guitar! I remember the bruised near-bleeding fingertips of my left hand after self-imposed agonising hours of trying to master complex acoustic guitar chords. My friend, the late Peter Thomas, first African/Black boy to be Head Boy of a British Public School, and I, had this notion in the sixties that the hard way (without a capo) and lots of practice could make us good amateur guitar players in the mould of the country blues guitar masters we admired so much. Why not? After all, the star guitarists of the world- famous white pop groups of the sixties - the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Animals, Who, Cream (Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton et al) had literarily copied the inspirational country blues roots of the modern electric Chicago Blues music on which their repertoire and fame were anchored! 

 

 

Musical instrument history reveals that the modern acoustic guitar came out of the African lute. It's no surprise that the Spanish, across the Mediterranean from Africa, eventually became masters of the flamenco classical-guitar genre. It is however, the then Negro in the Mississippi Delta of America, who completely revolutionised the sound of the guitar; stretching the sound texture of the instrument, both six-string and twelve-string, beyond conventional imagination. It was out of this Negro/African-American musical inventiveness on the guitar; created within the ‘new' musical genre of Country/Delta Blues as from the twenties that the now popular genres of music - Electric (Chicago) Blues, Rock n' Roll and ‘Soul' Jazz (all guitar-driven) - emerged.

 

A quarter-century ago, when cigar-box guitar enthusiast Pat MacDonald was half of the Austin, Texas, alternative pop-rock duo Timbuk3, the singer, songwriter and instrumentalist’s moment in the pop spotlight came with the group’s breezy, wisecracking hit single “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.”

 

 

Now relocated to Wisconsin and rendering his name now as pat mAcdonald, the musician’s recent past, present and foreseeable musical future no longer revolves around a pair of Ray Bans, but around his beloved Lowebow cigar box guitar.

 

For mAcdonald and many others in the growing community of cigar box guitar players, makers and  listeners -- including the high-profile likes of Johnny Depp, Steve Miller, Jack White, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme -- this throwback to primal instruments akin to those once played by blues musicians in poor rural communities offers an irresistible sense of liberation. 

 

Guitar Center King of the Blues 2010 Finalist

 

 

 

The latest traveling Museum on Main Street exhibit is stopping by the Austin Public Library: "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music." In a partnership with the Mower County Historical Society and the Minnesota Humanities Center, the free exhibit kicks off this Saturday and runs through April 23, open during the library's regular business hours.

 

"It's always really exciting to get something that's been designed by the Smithsonian," Austin Public Library Director Ann Hokanson said. "They did a very good job of taking what could be just a huge subject and bringing it down to a scale that works in a small display."

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The continuing saga of the quest to ask the perfect question of those who view the Blues as we hear the magic.  As we look at a magnanimous photo we think of the artist/s who are photographed.  I'm asking questions of the photographers who follow our beloved musical stream.

 

This week - Adrian Mendoza Photography from Modesto, Ca.

 

Q:   With so many concerts going on at any given time, how do you choose which ones to attend for maximum exposure for your photography?

 

A:   Most of my music photographs are result of a multi-year project I've been doing documenting 11th Street in Modesto, CA. There are several street festivals there throughout the year, including the Fat Tuesday where this photo was taken. In addition to the street festivals, music venues such as the Gallo Center for the Arts, Barkin' Dog Grill and Fat Cat Music House and Lounge provide a very wide variety of musical choices, including blues, jazz, rock, folk, classical, pop and soul/R&B.

 

Chris Cain at Tresetti's Fat Tuesday on 11th Street, Modesto 

 

OTTAWA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) -- The Major International Festivals and Events Network (MIFEN) has recognized the Ontario government’s commitment to the festivals and events industry. The honor was announced by the Minister Chan, Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

 

MIFEN was founded in 2009 and is comprised of the top festivals and events in Ontario. These festivals and events are responsible for driving over $200 million in economic impact to the province each year. Members include the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, Rogers Cup, Oktoberfest, the Stratford Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Caribana, and Sarnia Bayfest among others.

 

“Tourism is a billion dollar business that supports over three hundred thousand jobs. Festivals and events play a key role in attracting visitors, supporting jobs, and generating economic activity while enhancing our quality of life in communities across Ontario," says Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture.

 

Over the past four years, the commitment from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism has risen to $20 million annually.

 

“This investment in our industry will keep us on a competitive playing field and allow us to continue to attract tens-of-thousands of tourists to Ontario,” concluded chair, MIFEN group, and Ottawa Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan, according to the press release. 

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Coco Montoya calls Chatsworth "a great little town... it reminds me of an older time." The blues guitarist and former drummer has traveled the globe, but is glad to have an address in Chatsworth for more than 8 years. "I moved here from Woodland Hills, which has become too busy. I like this part of the Valley."

 

Touring as he does, everywhere from Japan, Australia, all over Europe and around the United States, Coco is looking forward to some local dates. "I will be playing at the Simi Valley Blues Festival on Saturday April 30, with my band.  I'll be bringing a couple of new things to the show, opening up with a few new songs."

 

No stranger to this event, it will be the bluesman's third appearance at the 6^th Annual  2011 Simi Valley Blues Festival at Hummingbird Nest Ranch. The charity event benefits Kiwanis Club community projects and the American Diabetes Association.  "Michael John, the director of the festival, pretty much talked me into it, which was really cool." Turns out Coco and Michael grew up together. "His brother Chucky Lee and I grew up in Mar Vista, and Michael and I got close."

 

Since it emerged on the Atlantic City nightlife scene, the House of Blues at Showboat has been one of the East Coast’s premier live-music venues, boasting impressive worldwide ticket sales.

 

 

Part of the Caesars Entertainment chain, HOB at Showboat has played host to some of biggest names in the music industry, cracking Pollstar Magazine’s Top 100 worldwide venue list in 2007, moving up to No. 38 worldwide in 2008, and landing at No. 20 in 2010 with over 90,000 tickets sold. Additionally, the HOB at Showboat is the No. 1 most successful venue in the House of Blues portfolio, which includes 13 properties nationwide.

 

“We are very proud to be making our way up the Top 100 rankings and are eager to continue offering the hottest music acts at the House of Blues at Showboat,” said Joe Domenico, senior vice president and general manager for Showboat and Bally’s Atlantic City, in a media release. “Atlantic City has become one of the country’s top entertainment destinations, and the House of Blues is excited to keep the momentum going in 2011.”

 

Huey Lewis' songs were at the top of the charts when one evening he found himself at a party with jazz great Stan Getz.  Lewis approached him and asked if he would like to collaborate. Getz said yes.  "On the ride home, my dad said, 'If you don't take Stan Getz up on that I will never talk to you again.'"

 

As a fellow music lover, I was heartsick for Lewis when he told me how hard he worked on his project with Getz. The result was the 1988 Huey Lewis and the News album, "Small World." The album peaked at No. 11 and "only" went platinum. (That means it sold over one million copies.)

 

 

Rolling Stone magazine said it was the worst album made that year.

"The irony is that, artistically, it is really one of the best things we've ever done. That was when I realized that you can grow in this business, but only to a point."  To say that it stung Lewis is an understatement. 

 

In another interview, fellow musician Bruce Hornsby told me that his pal Lewis is quite a skilled blues performer, so much so that Hornsby offered publicly, on the record, to help Lewis record a blues album.

 

On tour, he promotes blues artists, like Paul Thorn. But he hasn't taken Hornsby up on his offer yet. Could it be that Lewis is worried that the world won't accept such a performance from him? "We got hurt by the MTV phenomenon," Lewis said. "We were seen and continue to be seen in many circles as a pop band."

 

                 

 

The Cincy Blues Society has given a lot to local and regional Blues fans with its annual festivals and other musical events. And the organization has given back to the community with its Blues in the Schools program. But what about the people who actually play the Blues? Adding to opportunities like the annual Band Challenge, this April, the Blues Society is offering a direct line of assistance to performers in the area with a workshop focused on better self-marketing and promotion.

 

The “Your Band’s Marketing Sucks” workshop is scheduled for Sunday, April 10, at 3 p.m. (with a “meet-and-greet happy hour” afterwards at 7 p.m.) at Know Theatre (1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine).

 

A panel of experts will be on hand for the workshop (including experienced PR and marketing people and Blues Society staff and member musicians) and topics covered include everything from putting together effective press kits and Web sites to merchandise, branding and getting the most out of social media. Participants will be given materials to take home relating to the subjects covered in the workshop, including templates for press kits and press releases.

    

 

Jimmie Vaughan turns 60 this week. Elwood heads to Texas to celebrate: Texas blues old and new, with Jimmie, brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, T. Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and up and comers Tyler Bryant, Seth Walker, and Johnny Moeller. This week’s blues breaker is juke joint funk from Colorado bluesman, John-Alex Mason. And on the website, a chance for you to win Stone Rollin', the latest CD from smooth soul man Raphael Saadiq.

 

 

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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