Blues fans know vocalist and lead guitarist Chris James and Patrick Rynn as the leaders of their own band, The Blue Four, as well as for their stellar work with a dazzling array of blues legends. Now they're stepping out on their own in "Stop And Think About It", their new release on the Earwig Music label.

Over the last 18 years, the duo has honer their on-stage interplay to ESP-like levels. They're proud traditionalists who delight in digging deep into a postwar Chicago vein, yet this debut album also boasts a plethora of satisfying originals. Their rollicking energy level instantly grabs young audiences who may not even be familiar with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

Loving revivals of vintage numbers on this disc, such as Elmore James' crashing "Hawaaiian Boogie" and Bo Diddley's "Confessin' The Blues" mesh seamlessly with their invigorating fresh material such as "You're Gone" and "Mister Coffee."

Special guests on this album include Sam Lay, David Maxwell, Bob Corritore and several more!

Born in Barcelona (1973), Lluís  Coloma is one of the most demanded pianists in the spanish Blues scene.

Influenced from early age by records of Jerry Lee Lewis, Roosevelt Sykes and Alan Price, Lluís little by little moves away from the classical piano studies to dedicate himself, in a self-taught way, exclusively to Rock & Roll. He shows very soon a surprising ability for Blues and Boogie Woogie.

Considered a specialist and awarded with the prizes “Best catalan musician 2003” and “Artista BluesCat 2006”, Lluís has given conferences and master classes on the history of Blues and Boogie Woogie piano, being one of the few pianists in Spain able to recreate the primitive styles of this genre. Lluís is often invited at European Blues & Boogie Woogie piano festivals where he stands out for his originality and powerful performances.

In his new CD," Boogie Portraits"(Swing Alley 2008), Lluis records duets with Blues & Boogie Woogie piano greats

A piano duets Cd with European and American  Blues & Boogie Woogie piano players.

Lluís plays duets with Carl Sonny Leyland  Bob Seeley,  Mark "Mr B" Braun, Barrelhouse Chuck, Frank Muschalle and others.

http://lluiscoloma.com/en/index.asp

Disc Makers Acquires Leading Online Independent CD And Download Seller CD Baby 

CD Baby enables independent musicians to sell their music in both physical (CD) and digital (download) format through its online store cdbaby.com. The Portland, Oregon-based company is the largest seller of independent music in the country, working with over 240,000 artists worldwide, and its online music store receives over 100,000 visitors each day. With over 2 million digitized tracks under management, CD Baby is also the largest provider of independent music for Apple, iTunes and other digital download sellers like Amazon, MP3, Napster, and Rhapsody

"I'm excited to bring together the two strongest brand names in the independent community," said Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. "CD Baby has paid musicians more than $81 million over the past 10 years for CD and download sales. It is one of the greatest tools created to allow musicians to make money from their music. Now artists can get manufacturing, CD sales, download sales, and web hosting – through CD Baby's HostBaby division – seamlessly and more easily than ever."

CD Baby will continue to operate as a separate company, focused on online CD sales, distribution, and download sales. CD Baby founder Derek Sivers commented: "It's amazing that this little hobby I started 10 years ago has benefited so many musicians. Disc Makers was my first choice to take the company to new heights. Their operational expertise is just what little CD Baby needed to grow up."

Sivers will continue to be involved with CD Baby as a consultant.  

http://cdbaby.com/
http://www.discmakers.com/

(Photos Courtesy of the U.S. Army)



BLUZAPALOOZA, the world-famous Blues concert tour that goes to Iraq to entertain our troops, is providing a once in a lifetime opportunity for one Blues fan to go on an All Expense-Paid BLUZAPALOOZA Celebrity Blues Tour to Iraq and experience the Blues as few ever have.

The winner will fly with some of your favorite Blues artists nonstop from Washington's Dulles International Airport on United Airlines to Kuwait City. You will spend 2 days in this historic city, stay at a world-class hotel with the entire BLUZAPALOOZA team and on your second day you will be taken by our U.S. military hosts to one of our bases in Kuwait for our first concert.

During the concert you will have an All-Access Back Stage Pass and a front row seat to be an official BLUZAPALOOZA embedded journalist or photographer with full media access on our tour.

After the concert you will join all of the performers in meeting the troops, signing autographs and taking photos with them and then you and our Blues artists will be issued camouflage Kevlar vests and helmets and flown by an Air Force C-130 transport plane directly into The Green Zone in Iraq where you will be housed in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces deep inside one of our military bases.

You and all of our Blues performers will spend the following week touring various U.S. military installations in Iraq, meeting and greeting our troops, learning about what they do and seeing things that most Americans never see.

And, then in the evenings you will enjoy your exclusive position as an embedded BLUZAPALOOZA journalist or photographer during our concerts.

To be eligible to win a seat on our tour you must be 21 years of age or older and you must be an American citizen with a valid U.S. passport.

To enter the contest you must submit a contest entrance fee donation check or money order in the amount of $100 (one hundred dollars) made payable to Moonlight Blues.

Your entrance fee donation should be mailed to Moonlight Blues along with a sheet or card with your name, address, phone number, date of birth and email address to:

Moonlight Blues
BLUZAPALOOZA Contest
P.O. Box 37
St. John, VI 00831-0037

Contest entrance fee donations must be received by BLUZAPALOOZA no later then October 24th, 2008. You can enter as many times as you want.

http://www.bluzapalooza.com/

Because of the overwhelming success and demand for Gibson USA manufactured instruments, Gibson USA in Nashville, Tennessee must immediately increase the general labor and manufacturing employee base by approximately 200 people.

If interested, apply for a position at one of several Gibson USA Job Fairs this August. The Fairs will take place at the Gibson USA Plant located at 641 Massman Drive off Elm Hill Pike.

The schedule is as follows:   

Thursday, August 7: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, August 12: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CDT

Wednesday, August 20: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CDT

Saturday, August 23: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. CDT

Thursday, August 28: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CDT

Applicants should be prepared to complete the full application process including on-site interviews. Candidates with production experience, knowledge of basic tools, woodworking, and a passion for the brand a plus. All applicants should be prepared to spend an adequate amount of time at Gibson USA completing the process for review.  

“We are excited at the growth of Gibson USA and the opportunity this brings to many experienced Nashville-based candidates who will have the opportunity to join our company,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “We continue to innovate and expand and with that comes the need to hire enthusiastic team members who can share in our success. We hope to hire up to 200 people during the Gibson job fairs in August.”

http://www.gibson.com/

(Pictured: Terry"Big T"Williams,Zollie Polk,Fillmore Slim)

Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival - July 12 & 13  2008.Hayward, CA-

 This was a historical event that brought together young and elder musicians from the Delta to the High Country of the State of Mississippi and also showcased many talented Bay Area musicians.The line-up this year included Johnny Rawls, Zac Harmon, Homemade Jamz, Terry “Big T” Williams, Vasti Jackson,  Johnny Brown, John Primer, Billy “Big Daddy” Cade, Howl n Madd Perry, Wingnut Adams, Zollie Polk,  and many more ( for complete line-up and for current and historical information on the East Bay blues scene, visit www.bayareabluessociety.net). Most of the Mississippi musicians came without their bands, but you would have never known. They were backed by an ever-changing array of Oakland and East Bay musicians variously known throughout the weekend as the Caravan of All Stars and the Hayward-Russell City Memorial Band.  These were incredible blends of musical traditions and talents, and every act came across as a tight band. Some of the back-up musicians played for over three hours straight -- and seemed to enjoy every minute.

What a “Blues Deal”! Two days full of great music that starts at 11:00AM and goes to 8:30PM. Once the festival stops on Saturday the music moves to the Bistro in Downtown Hayward for an “All Star” Jam. My husband, Tom, and I truly enjoyed Teddy “Blues Master” Watson at the Jam. He definitely knows how to work the crowd and he’s quite the entertainer. The Hampton Inn in Hayward was the Hotel Festival Sponsor and offered great rates that included free festivals tickets with the rooms. Mark your calendar for next year since this festival is a must for blues lovers.

Thanks to Paula and Ronnie Stewart for bringing this festival together and bringing us talent we rarely see on the West Coast. Paula is the “machine behind the scene” and takes care of all the details. Ronnie is not only a musical talent, but he’s also a mover, shaker and a motivator. When it comes to thanks we can’t forget the City of Hayward, which joins the Bay Area Blues Society in hosting the event, and all the many sponsors who make the show possible each year.  

Cheryl O’Grady-Yearnshaw


 
[PAID AD]

Roots music label Blind Pig Records and country-roots icon Commander Cody both originated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Now the two are teaming up to release Cody’s first studio album since 1993, tentatively entitled Drunks Dopers and Everyday Losers.

George Frayne, aka the Ol’ Commander, said, "Looking to getting back in the studio after almost 15 years, Commander Cody has beamed down from the ozone just to partner up with old friends from Blind Pig."

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen was formed in Ann Arbor in 1967 (where they played on the tiny basement stage of the Blind Pig Café, among other places) and moved the following year (along with Asleep At The Wheel) to Berkeley, where they immediately immersed themselves in the vibrant Bay Area rock scene. They were one of the first country rock bands to incorporate Western Swing and hardcore barroom country into their music. The group was signed to Paramount in 1971 and released four albums for the label, producing several hit singles along the way, including "Lost In The Ozone" and "Hot Rod Lincoln." They went on to record albums for Warner Brothers and Arista before disbanding in 1976. Frayne continued to perform simply under his stage name or as the Commander Cody Band.

Blind Pig Records, which grew out of the aforementioned Blind Pig Café, released Cody’s Lets’ Rock! album in 1986, which the New York Times called "one of the strongest rockabilly-based albums in some time." Cody continues to tour frequently. Reviewing a 2007 show, Blueswax called it "another smoking Rockabilly, Country, Boogie-Woogie set from Commander Cody, with a great band, a fistful of cleverly evil songs, and a whole lot of boogie soul."

Recording sessions for the new album are scheduled to begin in late August at the LRS Recording Studio near Woodstock, NY. The producer, Aaron (Professor Louie) Hurwitz, plans to utilize the members of the Commander’s current road band, which have been with him for almost twelve years, along with veteran studio musicians from the Woodstock area.

DELTA GROOVE SIGNS CEDRIC BURNSIDE
& LIGHTNIN' MALCOLM

This two man wrecking crew were recently snatched up and whisked into a studio in Memphis, TN with acclaimed producer David Z after Delta Groove CEO Randy Chortkoff witnessed the juke joint duo’s raggedly inspired performance outside Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi during the 3rd Annual Delta Groove All-Star Blues Revue. Look for the duo’s debut release on Delta Groove coming this October.