Together with producers David Z and Tony Braunagel, Mike Zitos' potential is fully realized and complimented by an assemblage of world class musicians that can best be described as “The Dream Team.” Joining Zito on “Today” are bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker), keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash), drummer Tony Braunagel (Eric Burdon, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal) and Michito Sanchez (Joe Walsh, Elton John, Crosby, Stills & Nash) on percussion.

“Today” showcases Mike Zito’s music in a distinctly contemporary setting, without any gimmicks or artifice. The producers perfectly captured the earthy essence and intimacy of Zito’s voice and the driving intensity of his music, creating a recording that sounds simultaneously comfortable and familiar, yet urgently fresh and vital. With all the pieces now in place, the time is right for Zito to break through as a major voice on the contemporary music scene.

“Zito’s voice is smooth and sexy, and yet his razor-sharp guitar licks are totally badass. He’s like a ninja assassin dressed up like Fred Astaire!” -- Michael Molenda, Editor in Chief, GUITAR PLAYER

"Mike’s soul shines brightly through his sweet bluesy guitar tone, rich vocals, and well crafted songs." - Aaron Lee (“Stone Blue” on XM’s Bluesville)

"Mike Zito is one of the best singer/songwriter/guitarists I have ever heard." - Walter Trout

http://www.mikezito.com/

David Gogo's seventh album, entitled "Vibe",  is an all-original affair with a unique blend of songs written with the likes of Tom Wilson, Craig Northey (The Odds/Colin James) and John Capek, who has penned the hit "Rhythm of My Heart" for Rod Stewart. Vibe showcases Gogo's newfound vocal strengths, on songs like "I'll Do Anything" and "300 Pound Shoes", which on this release, match his profound skill on guitar.

The single "Love in the City" from his VIBE CD has reached #35 on the Canadian Rock BDS Charts, another achievement for an independent artist on an independent record label.

2005 started out with a bang as he won the Maple Blues Award for "Guitarist of the Year". He was also nominated for "Entertainer of the Year". The second single "Cry Harder" was released from the VIBE CD in February.

Since signing with Cordova Bay , Gogo's records have been released in Canada , USA , Australia , New Zealand , the United Kingdom , the Republic of Ireland , France Germany, Holland , Belgium and Italy .

These successes have David busier than ever and happy to find acceptance as a world class blues man. And, oh yes… David Gogo is his real name.

For the first time since Maxwell Street, site of Chicago's original street market and the birthplace of city blues, was torn down and rebuilt, the city is honoring the site with a Maxwell Street Stage in the 2008 Chicago Blues Festival. The stage will be in Grant Park north of Buckingham Fountain.

In 1995 the city of Chicago‚ lifted the Maxwell Street market‚ over the Dan Ryan expressway and set it down six blocks eastward, where it runs a long line of stalls down a barren stretch of Canal. It's a common flea market now, but the sould of Maxwell Street has vanished.

Near the Maxwell Street stage, the Maxwell Street Foundation booth will exhibit photographs and sell books about Maxwell Street.

The Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving and publicizing the history of this famous block, will be giving away pamphlets describing the market and its connection with the blues. The market, with its portable carts set in front of the mostly-Jewish owned stores, worked like an international bazaar. People from all cultures were welcome to buy and sell, and this tradition continues at the new market location on Canal Street. During the Great Migration of the 1940s through the 1960s, African-Americans coming from the South joined the throngs on on Maxwell Street, and blues, country and gospel music resounded on every corner.

At the Festival's Route 66 tent, Ira Berkow‚ will conduct a history discussion about blues music on Maxwell Street in the 1960s-80s, Saturday June 7, 3:30-5 p.m with John Johnson (whose first Blues Bus will be on display near the Maxwell Street Stage), festival director Barry Dolins, and‚ photographer Marc PoKempner.

Pre-festival activities are also drawing attention to Maxwell Street's history. The Maxwell Street Foundation has co-sponsored the spring ‚ 2008 acoustic blues brunch series at Junior's Lounge on Chicago's Maxwell Street, from noon to 2 p.m. for 10 Sundays ending June 8. Noted blues teachers/guitarists Fruteland Jackson and Fernando Jones opened the series in April. Singer Ramblin' Rose and trombonist Felicia Porter join Barrelhouse Bonni on piano for a Blues Ladies Brunch series winding up June 8, at Junior's Sports Lounge, 724 W. Maxwell Street.

On Saturday May 24, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs with the Maxwell Street Foundation and the Mayor's Office of Special Events is presenting a free Blues Season Maxwell Street Film Series at 1 p.m.at the Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

For more information on the Maxwell Street Foundation, visit www.maxwellstreet.org.

Morgan Freeman is helping showcase authentic Delta blues with the opening of Ground Zero Blues Club in downtown Memphis. The club, co-owned by the Academy Award-winning actor and Delta resident, carries on the mission of the famed Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS -- to celebrate and sustain the rich heritage of Delta blues.

Blues lovers consider Clarksdale the starting point or "ground zero" because of its legendary blues musicians. Many of those bluesmen followed Highway 61 north to Memphis, so the new club fits right in. The owners of the original -- Freeman, attorney Bill Luckett, and businessman Howard StovallJohn Elkington of Performa Entertainment Real Estate in the new venture. -- teamed with Memphis developer

"We're offering customers the real deal -- down-home blues, the Mississippi juke joint experience, great Southern food," said Luckett. "Memphis rock and soul music is rooted in the blues, and we're here to celebrate that." The club, open daily for lunch and dinner with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, is located in the heart of the downtown entertainment district, a short distance from the FedEx Forum and next door to the Westin Hotel.

"Our mission is to showcase the best of today's Delta Blues musicians,those who carry on the tradition of Charley Patton, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker," said Luckett. "We're excited to bring that heritage to Memphis, home of the blues."

Since its opening in 2001, Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale has been featured numerous times in the national media and has been named one of the "Top 100 Bars and Nightclubs in America." For more information, visit http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com .

Actress Christina Ricci was so disturbed by the marketing campaign for her movie Black Snake Moan, she became an activist for rape victims. The 28-year-old actress starred in the 2006 drama as Rae, a sexually abused girl desperate for male attention.

But when she saw herself appearing on film posters posing seductively in a navel-bearing top and revealing shorts, the actress was prompted to step up her involvement in the Tori Amos-founded organisation RAINN (The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network).

She says, "I wasn't really comfortable with the way (Black Snake Moan) was being marketed and I was trying to combat how exploitive that campaign was, given what I thought the movie was about when I was making it. So I became directly involved with RAINN (on the issue of) rape trauma syndrome, and they were like, 'Wow, you know a lot about this.' They asked me to be their national spokesperson, which was amazing. Then they invited me to go to Washington to lobby the Congressional Appropriations Committee for funding for legislation. That was crazy. I didn't know just anyone could go and meet with congress-people. I kept saying, 'You guys know I didn't go to college, right? I'm just an actress."

She admits she loved making the film and had high hopes for it until she saw the marketing campaign, which included a poster featuring a scantily-clad Ricci at the end of a chain held by Jackson's character, Lazarus.

She fumes, "The way that movie was marketed was probably one of the most disappointing and upsetting things that's ever happened to me in my career. I have no interest in exploiting women any further than they've already been exploited. The whole reason I made that movie was to say, 'Oh yeah, that girl you called a slut probably went through this, so you might not want to use her and throw her away or judge her. All they (marketing bosses) cared about was college-age boys going to see it.

Music Maker Relief Fund is very proud to announce the 7th Annual Fishin' Blues Tournament February 15th - 20th 2009. This winter we have an exciting new location, Casa Vieja Lodge on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Check out it out at http://www.finsnfeathersinn.com/index.php.ÂÂ
February 15th : Travel to Casa Vieja Lodge
February 16th : Fishin' and Blues
February 17th : Fishin' and Blues
February 18th : Fishin', Awards Dinner and more Blues
February 19th : Option: full day fishin’ or tour of Antigua
February 20th : Travel home

The sailfish bite is very hot is this part of the pacific and we think fishermen will be more comfortable on Casa Vieja's larger boats. The fishing reports from this area are incredible.

As in past year's the Lodge will be ours exclusively for the week. Of course, we will be bringing down a bunch of great musicians for your listening pleasure.

Do reserve your spot early, as we are limited to 24 fishermen.

Your entrance fee of $5,200 includes:
Ground transfers between Guatemala City and Casa Vieja Lodge
5 nights at the Casa Vieja Lodge (based on double occupancy)
3 full days of Tournament fishing
4th day option  Antigua Tour or full day fishing
Breakfast and dinner daily at the Casa Vieja Lodge
Open Bar every evening
Beer, soda and lunches on the boat
All bait and tackle
World's Best Blues
$2,500 of fee is a tax deductible contribution to MMRF

A controversial video concerning the sexual escapades of Jimi Hendrix is the real thing, says rock 'n roll experts who have seen it, according to Vivid Entertainment, which has released the DVD in stores made it available for download from its website.

Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch said his company is so confident of the authenticity of the 40-year-old footage in "Jimi Hendrix The Sex Tape" that it recently offered $100,000 to Experience Hendrix, LLC ("Experience Hendrix"), the family company of the legendary guitarist, if it can provide verifiable proof that Hendrix is not the "star" of the tape.

The controversy over the tape escalated after Experience Hendrix publicly denied the tape actually showed Hendrix having sex with two unidentified brunettes. Mr. Hirsch said: "The press release/statement from Experience Hendrix proves nothing. Vivid took considerable time and spent a substantial sum of money to authenticate the footage and we are very comfortable that this is the real thing. We believe that those who say otherwise are relying on their emotions to make unsubstantiated claims. If Experience Hendrix can prove definitively that it's not Jimi Hendrix on this footage then we will pay them $100,000."

(reprinted from Forbes Magazine) The Blues Music Award and Grammy-winning blues singer Koko Taylor turns 80 in September. She’s in extremely poor health, likely exacerbated by decades of the kind of raucous hard living reflected in the lyrics of “Wang Dang Doodle,” her signature hit ( “Gonna romp and tromp ’til midnight; We’re gonna fuss and fight ’til daylight”). Taylor needs a wheelchair pushed by her child to reach the stage for her fewer and fewer live gigs. Her income has dropped precipitously, her expenses haven’t, and she has little savings or other hard assets besides a house in a Chicago suburb that Zillow.com figures is now worth only $280,000.

Nevertheless, the Internal Revenue Service says Taylor must pay $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Otherwise, she faces the possibility the G-men will grab most of her income, including royalties and Social Security, and maybe even her home. The feds rejected her offer to take out a reverse mortgage on that house and pay $200,000 plus up to 50% of any future net revenue, moves that would allow her to remain in her residence and live out her remaining time with her second husband. IRS personnel simply can’t believe a singer often called “Queen of the Blues” who still performs and has a fan base can’t ante up more scratch.

All this is detailed in the official record of two lawsuits Taylor filed in U.S. Tax Court to block IRS collection actions. Taylor’s lawyers are asking the court to order the agency to take their current offer. Such a mandate would be a rare rebuke to the IRS.

Federal law allows overextended taxpayers to make an “offer in compromise” to settle for less than the full amount the IRS is owed. In 1998 Congress even broadened the grounds for such deals. Now they are permitted to promote “effective tax administration” even when the taxpayer might be able to come up with more cash. Among the factors to be considered: the health of the taxpayer and a diminished future ability to work.

Born dirt poor on a Tennessee cotton farm and orphaned at age 11, Cora Walton (nicknamed Koko for her love of chocolate) moved to Chicago in the mid-1950s with her now deceased truck-driver husband, Robert Taylor. She worked as a maid and sang in nightclubs until a record producer discovered her powerful voice in 1963. Taylor has won the Blues Music Award 25 times, more than anyone else.

Her tax problems concern 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000. Taylor’s estimated tax payments came up short. At a 2006 Tax Court hearing in Chicago Taylor detailed some of the reasons. She had incurred losses from a failing nightclub she owned and finally shut. Her growing inability to sit for long periods in a minibus carrying her and her five band members to faraway concert venues finally forced her to shell out a lot more for everyone’s airfare.

Taylor testified she had endured multiple heart attacks— one while performing—lengthy hospitalizations and surgeries that, among other things, left her needing to wear an ileostomy bag to handle a stomach condition. “I was in a coma for a long time,” she said. Besides high blood pressure, diabetes and the inability to walk more than a few steps, she said she no longer can perform the three one-hour sets she used to do nightly. Thanks to a failing memory, “I can’t remember the words all together like it should be, but I just pretend it’s right to get through what I’m doing.” Her daughter and caregiver, Joyce Threatt, testified Taylor no longer could go on multiweek foreign tours and her yearly live performances had fallen from upward of 100 to perhaps 20.

Taylor’s adjusted gross income for 2006, the latest disclosed, was $175,000. That included $2,000 in record royalties. With no investments listed, her net worth, including the house, barely topped $300,000.

In cross-examination and in briefs, IRS lawyer Gregory J. Stull didn’t directly challenge the considerable medical evidence. Rather, he focused on Taylor’s continuing ability to perform and her artistic stature as depicted on her own Web site (which also carries a notice denying she died in February from yet another heart attack). Stull even tried to use Taylor’s occasional volunteer charity appearances against her, writing they would result in “less income” and thus lesser tax payments.

With the litigation already three years old, Taylor’s lawyers, Robert E. McKenzie and Kathleen M. Lach, have cut the upfront cash payment in their offer to $125,000. A ruling by L. Paige Marvel, the judge hearing both cases, could come by year’s end.

The West Virginia Blues Society (Charleston, WV) announces the first "Charlie West BluesFest" to be June 28 at Coonskin Park.

The 'USO style' show will be a benefit, with the proceeds going to the West Virginia National Guard Family Relief Fund, said Jack L. Rice, president of blues society.

The Charlie West BluesFest kicks off at Schoenbaum Stadium in Coonskin Park at 1 p.m. and will continue until 11 p.m.

It will feature national soul/blues touring act and national Blues Music Award Nominee Johnny Rawls and  The Johnny Rawls Blues Review as headliners at 9:45 p.m.

Along with Rawls, the festival will present nationally touring act The Patrick Sweany Band; Jill West & Blues Attack, International Blues Challenge finalists from Pittsburgh; Izzy & Chris, winners of the local WV Appalachian Blues Competition; and Charleston's own Carpenter Ants.

Also performing at the festival will be The Biscuit Rollers from Staunton, Va., Chad Freeman & Blue Revolution, from Elkins and Blues Crossing, from Milton.

The festival is free for all W.Va. National Guard members and their families, with military I.D. For others, gate admission for the day is $15.

Madison Blues Society (Madison, Wisconsin) will host another free Blues Picnic on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at Madison's Warner Park featuring a fantastic line-up of popular local and regional blues bands. Anticipated attendance is several thousand people. Details and music line-up follow:

What: 6th Annual Blues Picnic, hosted by Madison Blues Society
When: Saturday, June 21, 2008, 12:00 - 9:30 PM
Where: Warner Park in Madison, WI
Tickets: Free and open to the public
Music:

12:00 - 12:55 pm - Don Rembert with Clovis Mann
1:15 - 2:10 pm - Shari Davis & the Hootchy-Kootchy Band
2:30 - 3:00 pm - Joe Nosek's Blues Kids
3:00 - 3:55 pm - Cash Box Kings
4:15 - 5:10 pm - Danny Miller Band
5:30 - 6:25 pm - Mud Angels
6:45 - 7:40 pm - Paul Filipowicz
8:00 - 9:30 pm - Otis & the Alligators

More Info: www.madisonbluessociety.com