The beat goes on…Blood & Treasure is the highly-anticipated follow-up to Mark’s celebrated 2006 release Trick Fiction. Barroom tested and road-weary tuff, the band weaves stellar songwriting and a smashing live band sound with blithe disregard for the tepid conformity of today’s corporate music playlists. This new release builds on Paul Mark’s word-of-mouth legacy with a live, no-holds-barred roots rock sound. This is emotional, thinking-person’s music that overlays a contemporary singer/songwriter sensibility on to the Americana legacy of blues, soul and raucous rock’n roll.

http://www.paulmark.com/music.asp

The terms “Renaissance man” and the “blues” will rarely appear in the same sentence. But master musician Dave Fields is truly a “Renaissance bluesman” of exceptional skills as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and producer.

Dave was born in Manhattan but was raised by a nanny from Athens, Georgia named Olive Nettles Still. The experience would provide the rich, funky flavor of “grits, gravy and chitlins” to the sophisticated, urbane influence of his famous father, Sammy “Forever” Fields. Sammy is a virtuoso pianist and world-renown producer, arranger and composer with eclectic and refined tastes that run the gamut from fifties rock ‘n’ roll to Broadway show tunes, jazz and beyond. Though Dave was enamored with the guitar and Jimi Hendrix from an early age, his supportive but strict father insisted he receive a thorough grounding by first studying the piano beginning at age eight. At 15 he began playing sessions with Sammy and a year later composed his first big band score. The time spent in the studio would prove to be a technological education preceding his enrollment at Berklee School of Music in Boston.

When Dave returned to Manhattan he applied his enormous energy and talents to arranging, composing, producing and playing in the studios for an array of labels as Dobro, steel guitars, mandolin, drums and B-3 organ were added to his arsenal. He was performing and directing the New Voices of Freedom who performed with U2 in their movie Rattle and Hum and founding Fields Music, adding to his growing resume. Dave has performed or shared the stage with Hubert Sumlin, Richie Havens and Aretha Franklin. In 2006 Dave produced Roxy Perry’s Back In Bluesville that subsequently won Best Self-Produced CD at the 2007 International Blues Challenge.

Dave recorded his first solo CD, Field of Vision, in 1998, followed by Time’s A Wastin’ in 2007 and recently All Wound Up in 2008 (FMI Records). All Wound Up is an expansive 12-song set of originals that span the musical rainbow of the blues featuring blues harp “Ace” Billy Gibson, Gospel-R&B Queen Ada Dyer and “Mississippi” Dave Hughes.

Dave Fields is an extraordinarily talented contemporary singer, songwriter and instrumentalist who knows his music inside and out and from the bottom up. The result is an exceptional aesthetic experience for the mind and body. All his recordings reveal eclectic and exuberant original blues, R&B, rock, jazz and pop compositions featuring his slyly expressive vocals, virtuosic guitar and sassy organ stylings.

        -Dave Rubin GUITAR EDGE MAGAZINE

WASHINGTON —  Songs that make our hearts soar can make them stronger too, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They found that when people listened to their favorite music, their blood vessels dilated in much the same way as when laughing or taking blood medications.

"We have a pretty impressive effect," said Dr. Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

"Blood vessel diameter improved," he said in a telephone interview. "The vessel opened up pretty significantly. You can see the vessels opening up with other activities such as exercise." A similar effect is seen with drugs such as statins and ACE inhibitors.

When blood vessels open more, blood flows more smoothly and is less likely to form the blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes. Elastic vessels also resist the hardening activity of atherosclerosis. "We are not saying to stop your statins or not to exercise but to add this to an overall program of heart health," said Miller, who presented his findings to a meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

Miller's team tested 10 healthy, non-smoking men and women, who were told to bring their favorite music. They spent half an hour listening to the recordings and half an hour listening to music they said made them feel anxious while the researchers did ultrasound tests designed to show blood vessel function.

Compared to their normal baseline measurements, blood vessel diameter increased 26 percent on average when the volunteers heard their joyful music. Listening to music they disliked — in most cases in this group heavy metal — narrowed blood vessels by six percent, Miller said.

Miller said he came up with the idea after discovering the laughter caused blood to literally flow more smoothly. "I asked myself what other things make us feel real good, besides calories from dark chocolate of course. Music came to mind. ... It makes me feel real good," he said.

Most of the volunteers chose country music but Miller said the style is not as important as what pleases each individual.

With blue-collar hero Bruce Springsteen and hip hop superstar Jay-Z on his side, Barack Obama rocked the vote, says Neil McCormick

It was arguably the most musical election in history - and Barack Obama had all the best tunes. Hip hop star Will.i.am cut and spliced Obama's powerful speech from January's New Hampshire primary into the inspirational Yes We Can, which rapidly became a YouTube sensation and an anthem for his whole campaign.

While John McCain lamely cited Abba as his personal favorites (it's hard to picture the Vietnam veteran as a dancing queen), Obama was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, discussing the contents of his iPod. His was a persuasively eclectic selection spanning rap (Jay-Z), rock (Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones), blues (Howlin' Wolf), singer-songwriters (Bob Dylan, Elton John), old-school soul (Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire are his all time favourites), classical (Yo-Yo Ma) and jazz (Miles Davis, John Coltrane).

For more: CLICK

From: BLUES TRUST


The Blues Trust has received an organizational grant from the MCC for fiscal '08. This money will allow us to continue with at least one of our initiatives; honoring veteran Blues artists with the Blues Trust Lifetime Achievement Award. The grant is a matching grant, which means we must raise a minimum equal to the grant or give the money back. We fought hard for this funding, so if you don't want to see this money returned and go towards another arts discipline, we need your help! We truly feel that Blues music is underserved in our community and would like to continue to bring Blues legends here to perform and provide them with the recognition that they deserve. We realize that times are tight, but if everyone gives a little, we all get a lot.


http://www.bluestrust.com/

When Les Paul's grandchildren are jamming on the video game "Guitar Hero," it's not lost on him that he made it all possible.

Paul, known as the "Father of the Electric Guitar," will be honored at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's annual American Music Masters series, a weeklong event that starts Monday.

Paul is a rock 'n' roll da Vinci, part artist, part inventor, and at age 93 still performs weekly at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City.

Paul recalled that the first time he heard a guitar on his mother's radio he knew he had to have one. By age 13, he was performing semiprofessionally as a country-music guitarist.

He built a solid-body electric guitar in 1941 -- an invention born from his frustration that audiences were unable to hear him play.

Paul remembers the moment when inspiration hit. He was playing at a barbecue stand somewhere between his hometown of Waukesha, Wis., and Milwaukee when a man told him his guitar wasn't loud enough.

It took Paul 10 years to sell the Gibson guitar company on the concept.

"They thought it was a crazy idea to make a guitar come through an amplifier," he said.

In 1952, Gibson introduced the Les Paul model, which became the instrument of choice for musicians such as Duane Allman and Jimmy Page.

"We now could be king because you could turn the level up and you could be heard and you could play things that you could never have played acoustically," Paul said.

Paul's other innovations include recording techniques like close miking, echo delay, overdubbing and multitracking. He also made his mark as a jazz-pop musician, recording hits like "How High the Moon" with his second wife, singer Mary Ford.

Paul was inducted into the early influence category of the Rock Hall in 1988.

He said he still tinkers with new ideas and is busy designing four new amplifiers and two new guitars for Gibson, including a model that beginners can afford but still fall in love with.

"Most of the people that I know that have a guitar love that guitar like they do their wife," he said.

Paul will perform at a tribute concert Nov. 15 that caps the American Music Masters series. He will be joined by a legion of guitar virtuosos, including Slash, Duane Eddy, Billy Gibbons and the Ventures.

"I'm very grateful to the generation that came after me and picked up the instrument and carried on with it," Paul said. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be where I am."

JACKSON - Blues great Bobby Rush has been honored with a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in the capital city.

This past Veteran's Day, one day after celebrating his 72nd birthday, Rush lifted the veil on the marker that recognized his more than five decades of entertaining. The Mississippi Blues Commission and the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Heritage Trails Program are responsible for recognizing Rush and more than 50 others.

The marker is located at Lynch and Valley Streets in front of the space that once was home to former WOKJ radio. A light rain fell as dozens gathered around the marker which bears pictures of Rush's record label, past promotional concert ads and scenes from his on stage performances.

The blues recording artist, who started out on the famed Chitlin' Circuit, has recorded 259 songs. The Homer, Louisiana native lives in Jackson and calls Mississippi home. Those in the music industry call him an icon and Good Will ambassador for the state. He has performed all across the United States and almost everywhere from the rural clubs of the delta to Carnegie Hall, London and Norway.

"I'm standing here to say thank you for the people who can not say thank you. Who've past and gone. Who do more than I do to be here today. We're talking about many guys who have started the blues and who are not with us anymore, who've gone on to glory," said a grateful Rush.

Following the unveiling the blues great performed one of his hits for a crowd of admirers. His marker is the 57th on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News: 

The Efes Pilsen Blues Festival, Turkey's first and only blues festival, will greet fans during a winter tour from Oct. 24 to Dec. 3. Some of the well-known names of blues will be the guest of the 19th-annual festival, in 25 performances to take place in 21 cities.  

  The festival will kick of in the Mediterranean city of Mersin and end in the Marmara city of Edirne, after touring Adana, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Kayseri, Moscow, Kyrenia, Denizli, Antalya, Konya, Trabzon, Ankara, Eskişehir, Bursa, Istanbul, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, İzmir and Kocaeli.

  The festival will host piano genius Eddie Bo,  as well as the son of blues legend John Lee Hooker, Grammy nominee John Lee Hooker Jr., and one of the hottest new names in blues, Watermelon Slim.

   Unlike previous years, this year the festival will go beyond the borders of Turkey and be held in Russia and northern Cyprus. People of Moscow will meet the blues on Nov. 2 to 3. The concerts will continue in Kyrenia on Nov. 5.

 http://www.efesblues.com/

Reserve the date and tell your friends, the Stone Crab Jam is coming to Crystal River, FL. on November 15, 2008 from 4:00PM to 11:00PM. This event is being sponsored by Kings Bay Rotary Club of Crystal River with proceeds to benefit both the club's charitable foundation and the Save Three Sisters Springs Foundation. 

The festival will be held on Citrus Avenue west of US Highway 19. The local streets will be closed to traffic from US19 to the park on Kings Bay.

  Plan to come and enjoy a wonderful evening of music, food and fun. Kings Bay Rotary announced that continuous music can be enjoyed on Citrus Avenue-west side of Highway 19 in Downtown Crystal River. Side streets will have several band venues, vendors, food and beverages. Admission is $5.00 and tickets can be purchased in advance.  For your listening and dancing pleasure, you’ll hear blues, rock-n-roll, country and saxophones.  Kings Bay Park is at the west end of Citrus Avenue and provides a beautiful area for viewing Nature Coast beauty.

http://stonecrabjam.com/default.aspx


BURKE'S OF IRELAND TO HOST "BLUES IN THE BEER GARDEN"

While your at the Stone Crab Jam make sure to check out Burke's of Ireland's backyard beer garden area and catch DEJA BLUES playing their unique style of blues.

For more about Deja Blues: CLICK

The 2009 International Blues Challenge will be the 25th year of Blues musicians from around the world competing for cash, prizes, and industry recognition. The Blues Foundation will present the 25th International Blues Challenge February 4-7, 2009 in Memphis, TN. The world's largest gathering of Blues acts represents an international search by The Blues Foundation and its Affiliated Organizations for the Blues Band and Solo/Duo Blues Act ready to take their act to the international stage. In 2008, 100 bands and 60 solo/duo acts entered, filling the clubs up and down Beale Street for the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday and the finals at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday. There will be at least that many in 2009.


IS YOUR BAND COMPETING AT THE 2009 IBC"S?

Everybody knows that the IBC's are THE PLACE TO BE to network with the people that count in the blues world. Now is a great time to take advantage of the E-Guide to promote yourself or your band before you go to Memphis. The E-Guide goes out to 17,000+ confirmed blues fans every week and is a great way to let everybody know that you are going to Memphis.

For rates : CLICK
or contact
  Cheryl@Bluesfestivalguide.com 
  Gordon@Bluesfestivalguide.com 

BREAKIN' BREAD WITH THE BLUES 5


That’s the noble theme of the Greater Lansing Food Bank’s 2008 Envelope Campaign, and once again the Capital Area Blues Society is teaming up with that worthy organization to fight hunger in our hometown.  The fifth annual fund- and food-raising concert for the Capital Area Blues Society and Greater Lansing Food Bank, “Breakin’ Bread With The Blues (B5),” will take place at the Green Door Blues Bar & Grill from 4 until 9:30 p.m, Sunday November 16. 

With Michigan’s unemployment rate standing at 8.7 percent in mid-October, the highest in the nation, “we have seen the need grow and we anticipate that will continue for some time,” says Sharon Krinock, Greater Lansing Food Bank  Executive Director.  According to their website, the GLFB this year has “experienced a 13% increase in the number of families accessing the Food Bank.  That is why events like this are so important.  Each donation makes a difference.” 

For the cause, we have a thrilling show line-up; all are return performers from the 2008 Old Town Blues Festival, one with a twist  Donating a full set each are Jimmy G & The Capitols, Cool Daddy Ray & The Snake Handlers , the Lansing Guitar All Stars with Frog from the Beeftones, Stan Budzynski from 3rd Degree, Bill Malone from the Old Town Blues Band, plus special guests, then followed by whiz kids Marble Garden.  As headliners, we are proud to announce Detroit’s The Alligators – they will be playing a full 90 minute set to close the show!  Lead vocalist David Krammar said, when asked, that they were “happy to do a 90 minute set.  It’s always easy to play more, hell, it gives us a chance to warm up and groove for a while.”  And we’ll never turn that down! 

Admission is $5 for all ages 12 and up, which benefits the Blues Society, plus one canned foodstuff or as much as you feel like carrying for the Food Bank. We’ll have information about the good works of the GLFB and accept cash donations on their behalf.  You can bring the family and enjoy the great hospitality and food of the Green Door; find them at www.thegreendoorlive.com, 2005 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, 517 482-6376. 

Come out for what promises to be the best blues show of November and feel good about it while you’re dancin’!  Read more about the local fight to end hunger at http://lansingfoodbank.org.  For more event information, contact CABS President Toni Alexander cabsprez@comcast.net, 517 282-6796.