Born the grandson of a Mississippi sharecropper, Ben Prestage has been soaked in Blues tradition and Mississippi culture since birth. Growing up in the swamps of south central Florida, Prestage began to mix Mississippi Country Blues with his own brand of Florida Swamp Blues. This muddy- water- meets- black- water stew has led him to perform from California to the Carolinas to the Florida Keys, in large festivals, every kind of bar, and sometimes on downtown sidewalks.

Ben's new CD REAL MUSIC is a new sound with an old soul. Funky Americana, Ragtime Guitar, Dark Gospel, Alcohol-Fueled Hill Country Blues, and Florida Swamp music. Fingerstyle Guitar, Slide/Dobro, Tuba/Jug, electric Diddley-Bow, harmonica, and vocals.

To get the complete picture on BEN PRESTAGE or bookings go to:

http://bluesboys.com/home/ben-prestage

BEN PRESTAGE will be appearing at the following Festivals & Events in 2008:

APRIL 19         Hibiscus Festival    Vero Beach  FL
MAY 23-25      Florida Folk Festival    White Springs  FL
JUNE 21         Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza    Huntsville  AL 
JULY 3 & 5     Mississippi Valley Blues Festival   Davenport IA
AUGUST 29    Howlin Wolf Memorial Blues Fest   West Point  MS    

(Visit the Ben's myspace for more dates at: www.myspace.com/bprestage


Click the LISTEN button to hear "Darktown STrutters' Ball" from REAL MUSIC

MySpace said Thursday it will launch an online music venture designed to turn the social networking site's trove of musician profile pages into portals for selling everything from concert tickets and band merchandise to the music itself.
 
Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp. are participating in the new venture, dubbed MySpace Music, which will roll out gradually in coming months.

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, but each of the music companies will receive an unspecified equity stake in the new company, said Chris DeWolfe, MySpace co-founder and chief executive.

MySpace Music will enable artists to sell music downloads, concert tickets, merchandise such as T-shirts through their profile pages and ringtones through News Corp.'s Jamba mobile service unit, MySpace said. "We believe that the Web is becoming increasingly more social," DeWolfe said during a conference call. "MySpace Music is a new way of experiencing music online that everyone can participate in."

Fans also will be able stream audio and video for free through the profile pages.

DeWolfe said some tracks will be sold without copy-protection safeguards but noted that the major labels had committed only to experimenting with offering content in an unrestricted format.

MySpace has more than 5 million profile pages showcasing major label artists, independents and unsigned acts. All those artists would eventually be able to take advantage of MySpace Music's offerings, the company said.

Apple has overtaken Wal-Mart to become the biggest music retailer in the US, outselling the big CD retailers for the first time.

Sales at iTunes over January and February also surpassed Best Buy and Amazon, which took third and fourth places respectively.

"We launched iTunes less than five years ago, and it has now become the number one music retailer in the world," said Eddy Cue, vice president of iTunes at Apple.

Apple quoted sales figures from market research firm NPD Group, which counts one CD as representing 12 tracks, confirming the company's status as number one music retailer.

Hot on the heels of Apple's milestone, MySpace yesterday announced a joint venture with Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal to offer a music download service that will go head-to-head with iTunes.

The company described MySpace Music as a "360-degree global solution" that would "evolve users ability to discover, share and socialise by adding commerce and music management tools".

The insert in more than 20 Universal Music Group titles being introduced as a part of Wal-Mart's "Earth Month" promotion contain a paper insert imbeded with wildflower seeds. Its all part of a growing movement to green the music industry with environmentally friendly packaging and messages.

The albums will be sold in the new REPAK CD package, an all paperboard option containing third-party certified, renewable recycled paper. The REPAK's design features a recessed cavity to hold the disc in place, eliminating the need for a plastic hub or tray and is part of Shorewood Packaging's "greenchoice" program. The new packaging will replace the jewel box version of each title. Those albums (see list below) will also include the wildflower insert offering three free digital downloads from the UMG catalog.

A partial list of titles included in the catalog albums re-release:

Bryan Adams - The Best Of Me
Bon Jovi - Cross Road: Greatest Hits
Boyz Ii Men - Legacy: The Greatest Hits Collection
James Brown - 20 All-Time Greatest Hits!
Jimmy Buffett - Songs You Know By Heart
Eric Clapton - Cream Of Clapton
Patsy Cline - Definitive Collection
Sheryl Crow - Very Best Of Sheryl Crow
Def Leppard - Vault - Greatest Hits
Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
Melissa Etheridge - Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled
Marvin Gaye - Every Great Motown Hit
Vince Gill - Souvenirs
Jimi Hendrix - Experience Hendrix
K-Ci & Jojo - All My Life: Greatest Hits
Toby Keith - Greatest Hits
Kiss - Very Best Of Kiss
Lynyrd Skynyrd - All-Time Greatest Hits
Van Morrison - Still On Top
Willie Nelson - Songs
New Found Glory - Hits
Nirvana - Nirvana
Lionel Richie - Definitive Collection
Rush - The Spirit Of Radio
Scorpions - Bad For Good: Best Of Scorpions
Soundgarden - A-Sides
Steely Dan - Definitive Collection
Styx - Greatest Hits

In 2006, UMe launched the first completely paper-recyclable (sleeve and tray) packaging in the music industry. Since then, more than 10 million nearly carbon neutral packaging have used special eco-friendly materials with UMe reducing the CO2 emissions and carbon footprint by 2400 tons. This lower carbon footprint does not include the reduction of CO2 emission during the transportation due to the lower weight of the special packages (half the weight compared to a jewel case).

[pictured left to right: Bobby Rush, Janiva Magness, producers John Hahn and Steve Simon, Billy Gibson, and Tony Braunagel (photo courtesy of Mark Goodman)]
BLUZAPALOOZA,is the first Blues concert tour to go to a war zone.

Created by Blues producers Steve Simon and John Hahn and presented by Armed Forces Entertainment, this inaugural BLUZAPALOOZA tour stars Blues icon and four-time Blues Music Awards (BMA) nominee Bobby Rush, two-time BMA Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year Janiva Magness, Beale Street Entertainer of the Year Billy Gibson, and Tony Braunagel from The Phantom Blues Band heading up the BLUZAPALOOZA All-Stars Blues Band.

“BLUZAPALOOZA gives America’s greatest Blues musicians the opportunity to say ‘Thank you’ and ‘We love you’ to America’s greatest troops,” stated Steve Simon, co-producer of BLUZAPALOOZA.

“For our men and woman serving on the front lines, BLUZAPALOOZA is like attending a great Blues festival right in their own home town,” stated John Hahn, BLUZAPALOOZA’s co-producer.

Chip Eagle (not pictured), publisher for Blues Revue and Blueswax is the roving reporter travelling with the tour.  He has been providing daily blogs which can be read in their entirely on http://myspace.com/theblueswax

This is a brief synopsis of what's happened so far....

After losing almost an entire day leaving the USA, thanks to the FAA grounding 777's for inspection the group including backup musicians and Bobby Rush's dancers, finally made it to Kuwait. The plan was for a days rest before the first performance in Kuwait to allow the performers a chance to adjust and rest.  But after losing a day stateside, it wasn't to be.

The military thought BLUZAPALOOZA would want to cancel the night's performance....but not Blues folk. They (we) are by nature a tough and stubborn breed.  The show must go on, and so it did.  And all indications are it was a very successful and well received show too!

Still operating on no sleep, the group had to check out of their hotel at 1:30 in the morning enroute to Bagdhad.  They were flown from Kuwait to Bagdhad in a C130 transport plane.  Now heading into an active warzone, they are each required to wear helmets and armour.  (Can't wait for the pictures!) Security is very strict.

One of Saddam's old palaces is now serving as sleeping quarters for some of the group.  After being up  for almost a day and a half straight, the group is now taking a well deserved nap.

The next show, for the troops stationed in Bagdhad will be tomorrow.  Til then...sleep well blues solders, and come back safe.

May 1st, 2008 will see the sixth edition of a street festival commemorating Jimi Hendrix and his music, as well as attempting to establish the 1st of May as "World Guitar Day".

In 2003, 588 guitarists gathered together in Wroclaw's historic Old Town Square to play Jimi Hendrix songs together. It has grown steadily—the following year more than 900 performed, and in 2007 there were 1,876 confirmed guitar players (including Guitar Player Magazine's own Barry Cleveland). There are thousands of additional observers in the audience. Even greater numbers are expected in 2008.

As was true in 2007, there are simultaneous smaller international satellite events planned as well as real-time on-line participation. As the event has grown it has taken on the ambition of making May 1st "World Guitar Day". The festival has benefited from unique support from the city of Wroclaw, Poland that has taken on the title of "Wroclaw Guitar City"—the city sponsors the event, which takes over the entire city center and sees a large influx of young people in particular.

The Thanks Jimi Festival/World Guitar Day is organized by master guitarist and Hendrix interpreter Leszek Cichonski, who will lead the crowd in playing "Hey Joe," "Little Wing," and other Hendrix-associated songs, as well as introducing performances by some of Poland's finest guitarists and singers, and additional international guests.

As in the past years, the festival will be preceded by a two-month educational workshop via mass media and the Internet. "My idea was to teach people the songs so that we would be able to play them together," says Cichonski. "And step by step we mastered the songs."

For more information:

http://www.myspace.com/thanksjimifest

http://www.cichonski.art.pl/eng/record.htm

An exhibition celebrating the life of Jimi Hendrix is set to open in Seattle, Washington. Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound will be shown at the city's Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame venue on April 26th.

Visitors will be able to view previously unseen footage of Hendrix concerts and listen to rare recordings of the legendary rocker - who died tragically at the age of 27 in 1970.

Memphis, TN (April 4, 2008).  The Blues Foundation's Blues Music Awards just keep getting bigger and better.  More than 65 of the 2008 Blues Music Awards nominees have already confirmed their attendance for the 29th edition of the biggest night in Blues music.  The Awards will be presented at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi on Thursday May 8.  Tickets are still available for $75 and may be obtained at www.blues.org or by calling 901.527.2583.

The following nominees have confirmed their attendance:  Ann Rabson; Bettye LaVette; Big George Brock; Big James Montgomery; Bob Corritore & Dave Riley; Bob Margolin; Bob Stroger; Bobby Rush; Bruce Katz; Bryan Lee; Calvin "Fuzz" Jones; Darrell Nulisch; David Maxwell; Deanna Bogart; Debbie Davies; Denise LaSalle; Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy; Doug James; Doug MacLeod; Duke Robillard; Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges; Fiona Boyes; Fruteland Jackson; Gina Sicilia; Henry Butler; Hubert Sumlin; Jackie Payne; James "Blood" Ulmer; Janiva Magness; Jeff Turmes; Jimi Bott; Jimmy "Duck" Holmes; Jimmie Vaughan; John Nemeth; Johnny Sansone; Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Kid Ramos; Kilborn Alley Blues Band; Kim Wilson; Koko Taylor; Lurrie Bell; Magic Slim & The Teardrops; Mannish Boys; Mary Flower; Mem Shannon; Nappy Brown; Nick Moss & the Flip Tops; Nora Jean Bruso; Omar Dykes; Phillip Walker;  Robb Stupka; Root Doctor; Ruthie Foster; Sam Lay; Sharrie Williams; Steve Calif; Sugar Blue; Tad Robinson; Teresa James;  The Holmes Brothers; The Insomniacs; The Soul of John Black; Tommy Castro and Watermelon Slim & the Workers.

Whew!  And a few more nominees are likely to still be added to the list.

And most of these artists will be performing during the course of the show, many in the one-of-a-kind pairing for which these awards are so famous.  The presentation of the 25 awards will be interspersed with an equal number of performances. 

Also in Tunica, on the 8th, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour will unveil the Highway 61 Blues Trail Marker at 3:00pm before Blues fans from around the world in the Delta to attend the Blues Music Awards.  

The Blues Foundation will present the Blues Music Awards for the first time in their 29-year history in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the Blues.  In addition to the nominees, industry representatives and fans from around the globe will celebrate the best in Blues recording and performance from the previous year on May 8, 2008 at the Grand Casino Event Center, just down the road from Memphis, the Awards’ home since their 1980 inception.  

The Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists.  

The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Charter Members' Dinner will be held the night before on Wednesday, May 7 at the Tunica RiverPark museum situated on the banks of the Mississippi River.

# # #

The Blues Music Awards are produced by The Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization established to preserve Blues history, celebrate Blues excellence, support Blues education and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form.  The Foundation consists of a worldwide network of 165 affiliated Blues societies and has individual memberships spanning the globe.  In addition to the Blues Music Awards, the Foundation also produces the Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the International Blues Challenge and the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards. It fosters education through its Blues in the Schools programming and supports the medical needs of Blues musicians with its HART Fund.  Throughout the year, the Foundation staff serves the worldwide Blues community with answers, contact information and news.   For more information or to join The Blues Foundation, log onto www.blues.org

2008 Blues Music Award nominee, Candye Kane will not be appearing at the Blues Music Awards, nor at the Delta Groove All-Star Blues Revue, schedule for the next night. Candye has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Candye has scheduled her 5+ hour surgery for April 18th, and will remain hospitalized for at least 2 weeks. Recovery could take months.  The surgery is very intense. Candye elaborates "They will remove 1/3 of my pancreas, 10 inches of my small intestine, part of my stomach, part of my bile duct and my gall bladder. They will reattach my intestine to my pancreas and may have to take a vein from my neck to rebuild the portal vein that goes to my liver".

Also cancelled is her European tour, schedule to start in mid-May.  In addition to performing with her own band, Candye spends time as part of the Ruf Records 2008 Blues Caravan tour.  Also part of this years Blues Caravan tour is Dani Wilde, and Deborah Coleman.  Rather than cancel the Caravan tour, Candye has been replaced (until she's well enough to return) with 2008 IBC 2nd place winner Shakura S'Aida (they are gonna love her in Europe).

Several benefit events to raise money to cover the giganticmedical bills have been scheduled:

(Tucson, AZ) Boondocks on April 6th with Lisa Otey, Steve Grams and more.

(Phoenix, AZ) The Rhythm Room, Monday April 14th will host a benefit at 6pm to ?. Candye has been actively playing the Rhythm Room for about 15 years, and is greatly loved by the Phoenix blues community. Many musicians will perform, including Sistah Blue, Big Pete Pearson & The Rhythm Room All-Stars (with Big Pete, Bob Corritore, Chris James, Patrick Rynn, and  Brian Fahey), Dave Riley, Rocket 88s, Mike Eldred, and many more yet to be announced. This event is supported by The Phoenix Blues Society. The Rhythm Room is located at 1019 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85014. There will be a $10 minimum donation at the door, which will all go to Candye.

(Huntington Beach, CA) Perqs on April 20th from 1:00 pm to 6:00pm. Desiree Martinez and Carlos Guitarlos have assembled an amazing array of performers including Janiva Magness, Juke Logan, Cesar Rosas from Los Los Lobos,  Phil Alvin, Billy Sheets, Lynwood Slim, Laurie Morvan. Kid Ramos, The Gears, Gil T, Jeff and Kurt Ross, Thomas Yearsley, Greg Boaz, Jungle Juice and The Kooks. Perqs is located at  117 Main St in Huntington Beach, CA (714) 960-9996.

(Hoboken, NJ) Scotland Yard, April 27th, with Gina Sicilia and friends

(San Diego) Humphrey's Lounge Monday May 5, from 7:00 pm - ?
Artists confirmed at this time include: The Sue Palmer Orchestra with Toni Price, John 'Juke' Logan, Joey Harris and The Mentals, Missy Andersen, The Bayou Brothers with Michele Lundeen, Anna Troy, Scottie Blinn and Company, The Mighty Horns of Robbie Smith and Chris Kilch, Mr. Billy Watson, Miss Ruby, Kenny Schoppmyer's Delta Heat, and The Committee.  $20.00 at door - your donations will also be accepted. All Proceeds from the door and donations go direct to Candye.

(Arlington, VA) Claredon Ballroom on May 13th for more info visit www.gottaswing.com

(San Diego, CA) The Casbah on May 14th with Joey Harris, Mojo Nixon, and Steve Poltz

(Hartford,CT) Black Eyed Sallys on May 16th

****
Barbara Hammerman is planning a benefit in the Seattle area. If you would like to play, please contact Giginthenarrows@aol.com

Rosie Flores is also planning a benefit in Austin, assisted by Susan Antone and Margaret Moser. To play the Antones benefit, please contact Rosie at chickwpick@earthlink.net

The World Of Blues is extremely excited that we will be part of the Bluzapalozza Tour going to Kuwait & Iraq. There will be daily LIVE! interviews, as time and connections allow, from the various members of the group.

Live phone interviews on www.TheWorldOfBlues.com with various members of the tour will happen at Noon – 12:30 PM Pacific… most every day starting April 1, 2008. We invite your participation by making use of our website chatroom and ask questions of the tour via our broadcaster. With the complexity of connection times the actual schedule of the interviews may vary a bit. If for some reason we can’t air them live at the designated time, they’ll be recorded and aired at an alternate time (s).

COLUMBUS, GA — She danced the black bottom, doled out world-weary advice and claimed to be ready with a butcher knife if she caught her lover straying. She was a whiskey-slugging contralto with raunchy songs, a sound business sense and bisexual tastes.

So a visitor to the newly opened home of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, the embodiment of the "big mama" blues singers of the 1920s, might be a tad disappointed to find nothing more titillating than painstakingly restored bedroom furniture and prim period wallpaper.

"She had kind of calmed down by the time she moved back here," said Fred C. Fussell, the curator of the Ma Rainey House, which opened four months ago as a small museum in this city on the Chattahoochee River. "She wasn't living that kind of life."

Besides, said Fussell and Florene Dawkins, the chairwoman of the Friends of Ma Rainey, what is remarkable is not so much what the Ma Rainey House has on display (in fairness, there are also photos, minstrel show memorabilia, original recordings and theater invoices) but that the house is still standing.

"This is the house that nobody wanted," Dawkins said.

Located in the historic black neighborhood called the Liberty District, the two-story house that Ma Rainey built for her mother at the height of her success was in slow-motion collapse in 1991, when the city bought it for $5,000. The roof had fallen in, the stairs had fallen out and Ma Rainey's piano, painted bright green by subsequent residents, was exposed to the elements.

The city considered razing it. Many in Columbus had either forgotten Ma Rainey, one of the first professional entertainers to record the blues, or had never heard of her. The notion of cultural tourism had not yet acquired the power to turn people's eyes into small cartoon dollar signs. But just stabilizing the house would cost $90,000. The mayor at the time, Frank Martin, cast a tiebreaking yes vote.

Martin, a white trial lawyer elected with a large part of the city's black vote, said he was motivated in part by a sense of racial equity. "You could always promote white tourism," he said, "but when it came to something black, people were like, 'Why would you do that?'"

But skepticism about the project, Dawkins said, was not limited to white residents. Many black people thought of the blues as the devil's music, she said, adding, "We did dog-and-pony shows about Ma Rainey for years, and we just could not pick the momentum up."

Restoration money was slow in coming, even after the Postal Service issued a Ma Rainey stamp in 1994 and B.B. King played a benefit concert for the project in 1997. Finally, a federal "Save America's Treasures" grant for $149,000 was approved. The project began to move forward.

Fussell began the often frustrating process of nailing down the life and times of a woman whose birthday was listed incorrectly on her own death certificate. "There were a lot of dead ends," he said.

Assassinators of the Blues

Rainey, born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886, left Columbus with a traveling music show in 1902. One of the musicians was William "Pa" Rainey, and before she turned 19 she had married him and taken the name "Ma." The couple was billed as the "Assassinators of the Blues."

The marriage was short-lived, but Ma went on to become a well-known performer, wearing a talismanic necklace of gold $20 coins. Her songs dealt with broken hearts, cheating lovers and chain gangs, but she was always less miserable than defiant.

"Don't like my ocean, don't fish in my sea," she sang in a song she wrote with Bessie Smith. "Stay out of my valley, and let my mountain be."

As a professional entertainer, Ma Rainey incorporated many musical styles, but Fussell said her cavalier attitude was a reflection of the place where she grew up. "The blues in the Chattahoochee region is lively, it's frivolous, there's a lot of dance music — what they call 'play party' music," he said. "There's not a lot of woe-is-me."

Ma Rainey — known to theatergoers through the 1982 August Wilson play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" — was a strong influence on many other musicians, in particular, one of her accompanists, Louis Armstrong.

"His facial expression, his singing, his very stage presence were all vivid reminders of Ma," wrote Thomas Fulbright, a white itinerant actor who met Ma Rainey while performing in East Texas oil towns. "He sounds like her, and when he opens his mouth and stretches his lips across his teeth in that certain way, he even looks like her."

Reopening the house

The end of Ma Rainey's career began with the stock market crash of 1929, but not before she recorded "Prove It On Me Blues," often cited as a watershed moment for the frank acknowledgment of lesbian desire. ("Went out last night with a crowd of my friends/They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no men.") In 1935, she returned to Georgia, where she owned two theaters and lived in the house in Columbus until she died in 1939.

Now that the house has opened to the public, with warm kudos and financial support from the city, Fussell and Dawkins like to joke that Ma Rainey's obscurity in her own home town actually helped their cause.

"If they had known a little bit more about her," Fussell said, "they would have been more opposed than they were."

The 7th Annual Little Riverfest is set for Saturday April 19th in Hornersville, Mo.

Some scheduled groups to perform are The Gurley Show—The Holmes Brothers— ASHLEY—JADED—Fresh from a show out of state The Usual Suspects—also, from Tupelo, Ms. The runners up from the 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis are The Homemade Jamz.  Since the competition, these kids have national as well as international exposer.

As always, Riverfest will be an awesome experience and one of the best outdoor events you will attend this year.

Saturday April 19th the gates will open at 4pm with music beginning at 5pm. This year advance tickets will be $15.00 and gate price of $20.00. Advance tickets can be purchased on- line with pay pal or mail a check to Coldwater Productions, Box 69, Hornersville, Mo. 63855 or call 573-717-6042 for inquiries. Also visit www.myspace.com/lilrivermusic here you will find pictures and bios of this years line up.

Once again as always Riverfest would not be possible without our valued sponsors: Budweiser—NUCOR-YAMATO—Mitchell Drug—FOCUS Bank—SOKOLOFF -Syngenta—WICKERS -Rep Dr. Terry Swinger—AARON'S rents—EDWARD D. JONES with Randi Allgood—Elect KarenVandiver CountyAssessor—Hogland's Honda—BIGG BUTTS BBQ—Pemiscot Dunklin Electric Co-Op—Wilcoxson's Homeplace—Ken's Music—UTLEY inc.—NUARK warehouse & Logistics,LLC.


[paid advertisement]

Shout! Factory Acquires Hightone Records Catalog

Shout! Factory, a leading multi-platform audio and video entertainment company devoted to revitalizing the very best of pop culture, is proud to announce the acquisition of the HighTone Records catalog. Formed in Oakland, CA in 1983,HighTone would go on to issue close to 300 albums.

HighTone signed great new artists such as Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Robert Cray, Buddy and Julie Miller, Big Sandy, Dale Watson and Joe Louis Walker, and further developed the careers of already established artists who came to the label like Dave Alvin, Tom Russell, Hank Thompson, and Chris Smither. One such established artist signing was Joe Ely, who came to HighTone in 1986, at the very beginning of the Americana movement. The label's Merle Haggard tribute Tulare Dust was the country's first #1 Americana record.

"Blues for people who hate blues," they distill rock 'n' roll, punk and country into their heady houserockin' punch. Give them a stage, any stage and they'll put on the best show they can for whoever's there. Each one is a seasoned pro on their instrument of choice but, never afraid to take chances, the boys are fond of switching it up in an onstage game of musical chairs. To quote a much used and abused cliche, The Perpetrators have to be seen to be believed.

"...my favourite band."
- Sue Foley

"The Perpetrators have made the blues tent in Canada bigger."
- Shelagh Rogers,  host of CBC's Sounds Like Canada

Discography
(2007) Tow Truck

(2005) The Gas and the Clutch (WCMA winner - Outstanding Blues Recording; JUNO nomination - Blues Recording of The Year;  Maple Blues nominations - Best Electric Act, 2005 and 2006)

(2003) The Perpetrators

http://www.perps.ca

Santa Clarita Valley Blues Society President Passes

John Parker, the President of the Santa Clarita Valley Blues Society passed away. He was not just a musician and fan, but one who contributed so much to the blues scene just north of Los Angeles and indeed around the country.

John's last wish was to be able to complete his new CD, which he did and it is in the process of being mastered and duplicated and will be released soon.