| April 13, 2007 |
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Vol 2 Issue 12
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ROXANNE POTVIN : : The Way it Feels
Roxanne Potvin is a 24 year old, bi-lingual Gatineau, Quebec based singer, guitarist and songwriter. Canada knows her as “The Blues Ingénue”.
"The Way It Feels", her vibrant sophomore effort produced by Grammy-winning Colin Linden, with its surprising list of guests in supporting roles, marks the emergence of a bright new artist on the music scene. "The Way It Feels", is a varied and powerful collection of predominately original songs ranging from hard-driving horn-laced R&B with Wayne Jackson (The Memphis Horns), to the intimate folk duet with Daniel Lanois (mega-producer for U2’s Grammy winning 2006 Album of the Year “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”), to the sultry “While I Wait for You” with Bruce Cockburn (Canadian Music Hall of Fame alumnus).
Released in Canada in March 2006 on Alert Records, "The Way It Feels" took the country by storm. Roxanne was nominated for a Maple Blues Award as “Female Vocalist of the Year” two years running; and in 2007 received a JUNO award nomination for "The Way It Feels" in the category of “Blues Album of the Year”.
"The Way it Feels" was released into world-wide distribution on April 10, 2007.
CLICK HERE to purchase from bandVillage.com
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WATERMELON SLIM and the WORKERS : : The Wheel Man
Bill Homans, a.k.a. “Watermelon Slim” is one of the most intriguing bluesmen out there. Watermelon Slim first appeared on the music scene in the early 1970s as the only Vietnam veteran to record a full length LP during the war.
In subsequent years, Slim played with a variety of famous blues stars, but only recently has he become a full-time bluesman. His previous job was hauling industrial waste, but after a near-fatal heart attack, Slim’s renewed perspective on mortality prompted him to get back to doing what he loves. Why drive industrial waste around Oklahoma to dispose of when one can drive band mates around the US to play music and entertain?
Slim’s NorthernBlues debut, "Watermelon Slim & The Workers", has received a near-record six Blues Music Award nominations, won Mojo Magazine’s Best Blues Album of the Year, collected nominations for Album and Artist of the Year on popular blues ezine Blueswax, won Blues Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards, and received a nomination for “Best International Artist” at the Maple Blues Awards, proving that he is truly the new ‘King of the Blues"!
“The Wheel Man” features Magic Slim and Dave Maxwell as special guests.
CLICK HERE to purchase from bandVillage.com
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Enter this contest and win!
Next contest launches on May 27th.
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Mississippi Celebrates Grammy Legacy With Gala
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The State of Mississippi’s ongoing "Birthplace of America’s Music" campaign will get a huge boost later this month when Governor Haley Barbour hosts Celebrating A 50 Year Grammy Legacy set for April 26th in Jackson, MS.
Sponsored by Peavey Electronics and the Mississippi Development Authority, the event will take place at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom in downtown Jackson, MS, preceded by a reception at the Governor's Mansion, hosted by Governor Barbour and First Lady Marsha Barbour. The evening’s focus will be performances by rock ‘n roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis, gospel greats The Williams Brothers, country music icon Marty Stuart, jam band rock sensations The North Mississippi All Stars as well as Swedish pop music superstar Carola. The many styles and genres of these artists reflect the diversity of music that Mississippi has spawned.
Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Mississippi Blues Foundation whose Blues Trail project places interpretive markers at notable historical sites related to the history and growth of the blues throughout the state.
In announcing the event, Governor Barbour noted, “Mississippi Grammy Night is a powerful and entertaining way to recognize our state's heritage as the 'Birthplace of America's Music.' This special event will showcase Mississippi artists with phenomenal talents and launch a new level of recognition for our distinct and unique musical culture." Beyond the artists set to perform at the gala, it is expected that a significant number of Mississippi recording artists will be in attendance to lend their support to their home state music initiatives.
Jon Hornyak, Senior Executive Director of The Recording Academy's Memphis Chapter commented, "The Recording Academy is very supportive of this celebration of Grammy winners and nominees from Mississippi. With over forty Grammy Award winners in a variety of genres, the state’s incredible influence is undeniable."
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Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend Guitars Featured in Holy Grail Exhibit
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The 30th Anniversary Dallas International Guitar Festival has announced a partial list of the more than 60 rare and historic pieces in its once-in-a-lifetime Holy Grail Exhibition April 20-22, 2007 at Dallas Market Hall.
The Holy Grail Exhibition presented by Heritage Auction Galleries will topple any collection of rare, historic and vintage instruments ever assembled under one roof. Never will this many private collections from all over the world be on display to the public again. Plan on ogling Eric Clapton’s “Blackie,” the most expensive guitar ever auctioned, Clapton’s Gibson ES 335 from Cream, the first Telecaster ever made, Leo Fender and Gibson’s original patent drawings, the 1936 D45s first Jumbo Martin Guitar valued at $500,000, Jimi Hendrix’s Strat, guitars from Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Lenny” and his signature black hat, and Pete Townshend’s “Flying V.” This event gained so much attention that is being filmed for a major movie for the Smithsonian Network and photographed for a book.
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Jimi Hendrix Estate Wins Big Pay Out In Legal Battle
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Jimi Hendrix's estate has won $900,000 in a four year-long court battle over the illegal sale of lost concert recordings featuring the guitar great.
Hendrix's family won the court battle against music entrepreneur Ed Chalpin, who was attempting to profit from recordings made when Hendrix was an unknown guitarist, in 2003 and the British businessman was ordered to pay Experience Hendrix L.L.C. $592,800.
But Chalpin didn't pay up and he also ignored a ruling in New York State that upheld the British court decision. He then tried to auction off the Hendrix tapes last year, but was blocked by the estate officials.
Chalpin has now settled the case, according to website TheRockRadio.com, by paying the full amount of the original judgment plus most of the interest accrued since 2003.
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Les Paul To Hold Fundraising Concert For His Museum
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One of Waukesha Michigan's favorite sons, Les Paul will be returning home on May 10 for a benefit concert. The concert is being held to raise funds for a museum being built to honor the guitar legend.
Originally born in Waukesha in 1915, Lester Polfuss AKA Les Paul is widely regarded as the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, (Leo Fender & Adolph Rickenbacher fans might contest this distinction.) Paul is also known for the innovation of the multi-track recording. First released on Capital Records in 1947, the record started as an experiment in Les Paul's garage where he recorded 8 different guitar parts in wax disks and then combined them into one. He later footed the bill for Ampex to design and build the first 8-track magnetic tape recorder.
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Buddy Guy Leads Chicago Blues Tour
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Chicago (April 1, 2007) -- Where do the Blues live? Ask an expert! The Chicago Office of Tourism invites you to walk in the footsteps of Blues giants and relive the evolution of Chicago Blues with the man who was there when it all began, Chicago Blues legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Buddy Guy. "Chicago is the home of the blues ... you can ask the Rolling Stones, The Beatles," says Buddy Guy. "They will tell you when they first heard it, they wanted to come here and find out what it was." The Chicago Blues Enhanced Audio Tour is narrated by Buddy Guy and presented by the Chicago Office of Tourism.
The Chicago Blues scene comes to life like never before as guests are guided to 15 of Chicago's historic Blues sites including Maxwell Street, Record Row and the former home of Muddy Waters. The Chicago Blues Tour includes over 50 minutes of conversation highlighting the history of the Blues, and focusing on how the city's musical tradition forever changed popular music and American culture.
The Chicago Blues Tour is free and can be downloaded at www.downloadchicagotours.com. The tour is available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Guests can listen and view the tour online or download the tour to a MP3 player and take it with them to explore. The visuals combine maps and directions for each tour stop, backstage photos of today's Blues scene, and rare archival photos to create a completely new downloadable tour experience.
"We are excited to be able to share the story of Chicago Blues with the world," said Dorothy Coyle, director, Chicago Office of Tourism. "This free tour connects past Blues legends with today's Blues scene and describes how it all began."
Listeners get the ultimate insider's view as renowned artist Buddy Guy provides listeners with an entertaining and educational perspective, complete with his first-hand experiences. Be sure not to miss the bonus cuts where Guy recounts his memories of the Chicago Blues scene. Now, for the first time, music lovers everywhere are granted special access with one of the most significant contributors and important figures in the history of the Blues.
Guy begins the exploration by describing Chicago as "the place where people just like myself came from the south to create new lives and a new kind of music." Travel to the neighborhoods where the great players once lived; discover the studios where electrified Blues was first captured; and see the sites where the players plugged in, jammed, and changed the country's musical landscape.
The tour highlights locations such as the former home of the famous 708 Club, where Buddy Guy began his career playing for Muddy Waters; Maxwell Street, where thousands were drawn when they first arrived at the old Illinois Central Depot; 2120 South Michigan Avenue, the former home of Chess Records and current location of Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation; 1449 South Michigan Avenue, once the thriving headquarters of Vee Jay Records; and the "State Street Stroll," where in the early 1900s, Chicagoans would dress in their finest and stroll down the street while music poured from theaters and cafes.
The Chicago Office of Tourism produced the audio tour with Acoustiguide, Inc. The Chicago Blues Tour is free and can be downloaded at www.downloadchicagotours.com.
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HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR WATERLOO RECORDS IN AUSTIN, TX
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Waterloo Records, which turned a quarter century this month, started at 33 1/3 rpm and keeps spinning forward
On April 1, 1982, a small store in Austin Texas called Waterloo Records opened at 221 S. Lamar Blvd. It held a mess of vinyl albums and a turntable at which you could listen to anything you wanted.
Twenty-five years later, the store, now at Sixth Street and Lamar Boulevard, fills about 6,500 square feet, six times the original. The shelves are packed with new and used CDs and vinyl, books, magazines and tchotchkes of all types. Waterloo Video is around the corner with a healthy library of DVDs and videotapes for sale and rent.
John Kunz will celebrate Waterloo's 25th anniversary with a free concert in the store's parking lot at 600 N. Lamar Blvd. The show starts at noon on Sunday, April 15. Look for performances from Ruthie Foster, Grupo Fantasma, Brothers & Sisters, Joe Ely, Zykos, Eisley, Omar and the Howlers and possibly more.
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BLUESROOT RADIO ACCEPTING EMERGING ARTISTS
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BluesRoot Radio, a streaming 24 hour a day, seven day a week internet radio station devoted to playing the great songs and artists from the 1950's has begun to accept, and air, music submissions from independent musicians from towns and cities throughout the United States and Canada. Artist song submissions must fit into the station's unique Americana / blues / rockabilly/ rock and roll format. Submissions ongoing.
http://www.bluesrootradio.com/
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TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
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Editor's Note: On March 23rd, we annouced that W.C. Taylor of Circuit Rider Records,Glory Road Records,Zig Zag Records,and Rider Records was looking for new blues artists to sign to a record deal. Apparently, he was a little over whelmed by the number of responses he received.
As a result, he's asked us to convey this piece of information and change of direction:
I have started a new Comp Blues Cd to go to all Blues Radio Stations
The price is $600 per song.
Promotion is $100 per month extra.
The ones that do good I will consider signing.
My web is www.circuitriderrecords.com
My web.email magazine is www.cronlinemag.com
My email is cridercrider@earthlink.net
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CORRECTION
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Last week in our story about the "What Love Is" movie premier, we incorrectly identified Blues-Soul DJ Lynette "Fire Diva" Brown as being from Mobile, AL.
Lynette "Fire Diva" Brown is from WLOR Jammin 1550 AM, www.jammin1550.am out of Huntsville, AL. Her show is 9-10 AM Saturdays.
Lucky Huntsville. Too bad Mobile.
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News from Ruf Records
Ruf Records recording artist Candye Kane will release in May '07, her new CD "Guitar'd and Feathered". Produced by Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, the CD features guest guitarists including Junior Watson, Dave Alvin,Sue Foley, Ana Popovic, Bob Brozman, Popa Chubby and more
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THE SEAN CARNEY BAND:2007 International Blues Challenge Band Winner
Representing The Columbus Blues Alliance of Ohio, The Sean Carney Band - Sean Carney, Eric Blume and Steve Perakis - swept The 23rd Annual Blues Challenge, held in February in Memphis, TN, taking home not only first place honors, but also The Albert King Most Promising Guitarist Award and even Best Dressed!
 "A one-man ambassador for the blues, Sean Carney has brought his music to such far flung locales as France, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. He has served three terms as President of The Columbus Ohio Blues Alliance, and he promotes concerts as musical director of The Island Arts Foundation in Ft. Myers Beach, Florida. He plays a mean hollow-bodied guitar, too.” - Blues Revue Magazine April/May 2007
The Sean Carney Band released in 2006 "Life of Ease". It's been called the most original sounding rhythm and blues release from a younger artist heard in many, many years.
Guest artists include Willie Pooch, Joe Weaver, Teeny Tucker, Gene Walker, and Phil Berkowitz.
Carney is also an accredited journalist with The Island Sand Paper in Fort Myers Beach, Florida with experience in politics, arts administration and adventure travel.
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News from Clarksdale MS
Near the junction of U.S. 49 and 61 in Clarksdale -- one of the crossroads where legend has it the great bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to play a mean guitar -- music fans will gather Saturday for the fourth annual Juke Joint Festival.
Organizers say that last year, tourists from seven foreign countries, 35 states and 24 Mississippi counties came to Clarksdale for the event, when a dozen juke joints simultaneously open their doors to fans of authentic Delta blues. The festival offers entertainment on six blocks of downtown Clarksdale, including a documentary film festival at Delta Cinema and a history bus tour.
The event brings people into struggling clubs owned by business people who work more than one job, said co-founder Kinchen "Bubba" O'Keefe.
"It shores up the juke joints to help support local music," O'Keefe said. "This is our Sesame Street. We didn't do this to exploit the culture but to promote and invite others to share."
During the day, four outdoor stages will offer continuous music.
Honeyboy Edwards, at 91 one of the last, older bluesmen who hobnobbed with Robert Johnson and who participated in the Library of Congress recordings made by folklorist Alan Lomax, will play at 5 p.m. at the Delta Blues Museum Stage, followed at 6 p.m. by Bobby Rush. Robert Belfour will play through the day at Miss Del's General Store.
A highlight of family-oriented events is the Paddlin' Porkers. Sixteen pigs sponsored by banks, businesses, and individuals race and swim for an Oreo.
The rodeo entertainment act Monkeys Riding Dogs is another family event. Trained monkeys ride saddled border collies while herding sheep into a corral.
A $10 dollar wrist band includes a ride on the Birdsong Historic Bus Tour through downtown, a seat at the blues film documentaries, and entrance into 12 night venues.
The night performances at all the jukes kick off at 9 p.m. "It's the biggest night for Ground Zero (blues club)," said O'Keefe.
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News from Louisiana and California
Baton Rouge Louisiana Blues Society presents on Tuesday, April 24 an "All Star" Jam featuring Luther Kent, James Johnson, Oscar Davis, Susan Owens and many more BR Blues greats. The Jam takes place at Phil Brady's Bar & Grill, 4848 Government Street, Baton Rouge, LA. Start time is 6:30 pm.
The Sacramento California Blues Society annouces that on May 6, 2007 they will be presenting "Blues In The Schools Benefit" featuring: Daniel Castro, The Jimmy Pailer Band, Mick Martin, Dana Moret, Kyle Rowland, Lew Fratis with the "BITS" Student Band.
Blues In The Schools Benefit
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Clarion Hotel - Ballroom
2600 Auburn Blvd. (Capitol City Freeway @ Fulton Ave.)
(916) 712-7277
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Cover: $8.00 members & students - $10.00 general
All Ages Welcome
Our Blues In The Schools program provides special opportunities to educate youth in the Sacramento area in order to teach the historical significance of the Blues and its on going impact on American and World culture.
The Blues In The Schools program strives to bring musicians, educators, storytellers, and other performers together to assist each other in teaching students about Blues music and its culture.
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TAX TIME BLUES:Tunes to do your taxes by
 It's Tax Time, an that's enough to give anybody the blues. So why not join Elwood Blues as he plays tune to do your taxes by? Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray, The J. Geil BAnd, John Lee Hooker and more, this weekend on a special tax-deductible House of Blues Radio Hour.
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For years, the Blues Festival Guide Magazine received numerous requests for updates on festivals via email, and on January 10, 2006, the Marketing Director of the Blues Festival Guide magazine, Nancy Edwards partnered with the magazine (RBA Publishing) and published the first emailed issue of the E-Guide E-Newsletter.
The E-Guide is a wonderful resource for everyone interested in Blues! You can expect to see the E-Guide in your inbox weekly. Please email the editor with any questions at
nancy@bluesfestivalEguide.com
To reach thousands of blues enthusiasts, click here to learn how to advertise in this Blues Festival E-Guide E-Newsletter.
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