Cover photo © Laura Carbone

 In This Issue 

Mark Thompson has our feature interview with Sugaray Rayford. We have four Blues reviews for you this week including new music from The Hogtown Allstars, Anthony Geraci, David Lumsden and Rowland Jones & the Moveable Feast. Scroll down and check it out!

When viewed in its totality, life is a journey full of ups and downs, the inevitable twists and turns that knock us out of our usual routines with bursts of pure joy, heart-wrenching sadness, and all points in between. That certainly holds true for singer Caron Sugaray Rayford over the last four years since his last interview with Blues Blast Magazine (https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/featured-interview-sugaray-rayford/).

To start with, there was that morning in November, 2019. Rayford recalls, “I was in Metz, France getting ready to walk on stage in 30 minutes, so I was getting myself mentally prepared. Then I get a message from Willie J. Campbell, the bass player I worked with in the Mannish Boys, saying congratulations, Sugar!

“I wrote him back, asking congratulations for what? He replied that I was nominated for a Grammy Award. I messaged him back saying, you know this is Sugaray you are talking to, right. I didn’t believe him, thought he was pulling one of those musician tricks on me.

“After our set my wife called to congratulate me. I said, so is it true? My album, Somebody Save Me, was nominated in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category We were in the middle of a long tour. The whole band was exhausted. It took some time for it all to sink in. Once we landed back in the US we went out on the Blues Cruise. It all started to sink in a few days after we got back from the cruise. I was excited this year to see Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Cedric Burnside get Grammy Awards. They are two of the nicest guys I have ever known.

“I feel very blessed that my shows draw a variety of people – black, latino, white, young and old. It has been exciting to see the mix of the audience. Part of that is a result of moving away from the straight-ahead Chicago blues and West Coast swing I was doing with the Mannish Boys. I love that stuff, things like “Death Letter Blues.” But I realized that young people need a bit more excitement, and I love to entertain.

“My band has two horn players and a Hammond B-3 organ to give people that old-school sound that they don’t get any more. You don’t see too many bands traveling with horns due to the expense. I don’t care if it is a $200 gig or a $30,000 gig. I will have the horns and B-3 with me because that is my sound. Those instruments add so much depth to the music. Young people aren’t used to hearing that sound. Music has been a big disconnect for them because they grew up listening to nothing but deejays. The hip hop thing has died down a bit. Now more young people want to see live bands playing instruments. And my shows aren’t a concert – they are a party!

“A lot of musicians, the blues not withstanding, have forgotten how to entertain people. Think about groups like Earth, Wind, and Fire. You loved the songs you heard on the radio. But when you went to see them live, they couldn’t just play the song like the record. They needed to kick it up a bit and entertain. Otherwise it is no different than sitting at home listening to the radio, CD, or vinyl. I believe strongly that a lot of that entertainment factor has been lost. The songs mean a lot to me, and so does my performance.”

Since the release of his second solo recording in 2013, Dangerous on the Delta Groove label, Rayford has received four nominations for Blues Blast Music Awards and 24 nominations for Blues Music Awards, including eight straight years in the B.B. King Entertainer Award category, an honor the singer has taken home once, in addition to two Soul Blues Male Artist awards. That level of recognition speaks volumes about his ability to connect with audiences all over the world.

“It’s weird, I didn’t realize I had been nominated that many times. The attention is nice, but I never want to lose the fact that I am me. When I do a show, it should be a party. I am really focused on the people that spent time, money, and effort to come out to see me. I want to give them every bit of music that they are willing to take. They deserve that much. When I stop feeling that way, it will be time to find something else to do.”

Some of Rayford’s passion for the art of performing stems from his involvement in two theater projects that focused on blues music. The first one was “Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues,” filling a role that had originally been played by noted actor Ron Taylor.

“I had joined the Actor’s Equity Association so that I could do live theater. What happened was I got an invite to go to the Bohemian Club in San Francisco for a slide guitar showcase of styles from around the world. I met this guy, Danny Wheetman, who played with John Denver. He also wrote musical theater. A week later, I got a call from him. He said he was in Los Angeles to start casting a movie. He thought of me for one of the parts, and wanted to know if I was interested.

“Danny encouraged me to come down and audition. I told him that I had never done a audition. I only know how to be me, not anybody else. But my wife Pam also encouraged me to go, so I went down there. I had no idea how the audition process worked. When I arrived, there were all of these actors in the foyer, waiting to be called. They bring me in, take pictures, and hand me a one page script, telling me to go, study the script, and wait to be called for my turn.

“As a singer, we learn the song so that when you walk on stage, you don’t need a sheet of paper with the lyrics. That is how you get comfortable with the song. So I did the same thing. I thought that is what actors did, so I memorized the whole page. When my turn came, I went and delivered the lines to five people sitting at a table. They were all looking at me strangely as I did the lines. I was sure that I had messed up.

“They sent me back out to the lobby, asking me to wait for them to call me back. There was about 25 actors out there After four hours, there were three of us left. Each of us got called in one more time. When my turn came, they asked me why did I memorize the lines. I explained that as a singer, I sing songs, which tell stories, so I need to get them in my head where they stick & stay, because you sing those songs a lot. I thought that actors do that too.

“They explained that we were doing a “reading,” that you just read the lines. I apologized for doing it wrong. They quickly said, no, what you did was phenomenal! No one does that, so that’s why we had the weird expressions. Actors won’t take the time to learn lines until they know they have the part. Make a long story short, by the time it was over they had offered me two parts, one was Harry Belafonte and the other was Huddie Ledbetter. I was all excited until they told me the dates, which fell during my four month tour of Europe that was about to start. So that fell through.”

A year later, Wheetman came calling one more time. He was working with his partner, Randal Myler, who had written and produced the original “Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues” that ran on and off Broadway. They had struggled to find someone that fill the role that Taylor had excelled in.

“I got a call about going to Portland, Oregon to do this play that was going to run for 3-4 months. I looked at my schedule to find that I had the dates open. So I asked them when the audition was. They said we don’t want you to audition. We are giving you the part. I was shocked to hear that. So I am in this play that over the years got nominated for four Tony Awards. It sold out every night with standing ovations. It was so cool. Eight shows a week with one day off, no understudy. They wanted to extend the run another 2-3 months, but I had obligations to go on tour. I am a musician first. They tried to get me back several more times, but I was getting too busy, doing like 170 live shows a year.

“So Randal and Danny got together to write a new play. “ Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues” had about 15 parts with a full orchestra. “Lowdown Dirty Blues” had three parts plus an upright bass player and a piano man. They wrote a part specifically for me. The other actors were Chic Street Man and Felicia Fields, who has won numerous awards. It was nerve racking to be working with these veterans in front of 300-400 seat houses. They made me feel like family. That production was another huge success, and they wanted to extend it. We did it in Milwaukee for about four months, and later in Cincinnati for at least three more months. After that, my touring schedule took priority. But I love doing the theater, they’ve been trying to get me back, and I will definitely do it again.”

Rayford got a Blues Music Award nomination for Southside, a release on the Nimoy Sue label that he started with his wife. His next album, The World We Live In, was recorded in Italy and released on the Italian label, Transistor Sound, also garnered a BMA nomination. At this point in his career, things took an unexpected turn.

“I had just come off tour, and was standing in Memphis during the Blues Music Awards week. My friend, guitarist Jonn Del Toro Richardson, was playing at the Orpheum Theater. He invited me to come down and sit in. By the time I got there, jet lag had set in, and I was just too tired to go in. It was after another four month tour. Then Rick Booth from Intrepid Artists walked up, and I had just signed with him. I told him that he had damn near killed me on that tour, working so much. Rick said he had someone with him who wanted to meet me. When I asked him who it was, he replied, Eric Corne. So Eric and I started talking, standing there on the corner.

“Eric started talking business, so I cut him off. I don’t do business on the street corner. I informed him that my wife Pam was my manager, and they should talk. They talked for a bit, then a few days later we were back in Los Angeles having a sit-down meeting with Eric. I really liked the directions he was talking about. The World We Live In album was a departure from the blues sounds of my other records. It got into my gospel, soul, and R&B grooves. I was really digging that. There were a couple contacts on the table from several record labels. But I didn’t want to do another hunka-chunka blues record.

“I wanted to keep experimenting in the direction I was going. Eric was on-board with that. Later, I found out that he was working with John Mayall and Walter Trout, releasing their projects on his Forty Below Records label. We just hit it off. Eric is a wordsmith. He has been able to take ideas from the journals I have been writing in for years, and turn those ideas into songs with great stories and music. It makes my life very easy. I am a songwriter, but Eric is a wordsmith.”

Rayford has always maintain that he has to feel a song in order to deliver the story effectively. The fact that Corne can take the singer’s journal notes and transform them into material that merits Grammy consideration speaks volumes about the effectiveness of their songwriting process.

“We talk over my ideas, then he starts crafting a song. It could take months before we finish. I might want to say something this way, Eric might suggest saying a different way. In the end, the songs are about what I have lived. Eric has a way of creating a higher level of understanding across a broader spectrum of people than I would. But it is still my life. Sometimes there is a song that I feel very deeply about, that I have worked on for a long time. The way I wrote it down made sense, so Eric didn’t need to rewrite anything. In those situations, we both take co-writing credit. On the other material, while they started with my journal ideas, Eric wrote the song. A lot of artists have people who go out and look for songs for the artist to sing. At my level, it is about the singer and the writer working together to create a song.”

On his current release, In Too Deep, on Corne’s Forty Below record label, Rayford tackles a number of issues that resonate with him as they pertain to the current state of the human condition. The opening track, “Invisible Soldier,” is an intense plea for help for our nation’s military veterans. As a former Marine, the singer has lived the life.

“I still suffer a bit with PTSD. It was really bad until I got with my wife. Pam is a great listener, and she has a very calming effect on me. She also offers true and real advice, even if it hurts your feelings. That truthfulness always lets you know where you stand. So if I am really tired or aggravated, something might pop up. It used to be that sounds could bring on severe panic or I might suddenly be in an uncontrollable rage for no reason. I don’t miss the nights of having to get up three or four times a night to check all of the doors and windows. Thankfully I haven’t been like that for some time.

“Eric was really respectful. He asked if we could write about it. My response was that if it was five years earlier, I would have said no. Now I am in a better place mentally and physically. By expressing my struggles, I hope I can help someone who doesn’t have the voice to get out and share them. We cover some pretty heavy subjects. But Eric surrounds them with great music. On the first couple of listens you’ll be up and dancing to the soulful music. Then you’ll start to realize that the song is serious with a fine dance beat.

“Mental health is such a taboo in our country. It is even more taboo among black people. On this album, I wanted to get down to the nitty-gritty and grow up a little bit. I am at the age where I feel comfortable talking about some really personal things and political things, stuff I have never spoken about on any album I have done. The only song we didn’t “jazz” up was “Please Take My Hand.” We wanted that one to be crafted like an old Negro work song. That song is a reminder of where we come from, and what it is all about. I believe in unity, in love. Eric was able to marry the tune to my lyrics.

“”In Too Deep” is about the fact that no matter how bad things got, I couldn’t quit music. I am just too far in mentally, financially, spiritually, and physically. I’ve come too far now to turn around, as I have done in the past. “I’ve never had my hand out, gonna earn my keep. I keep trying to climb out, but I’m in too deep”. Even if I wanted to get out, I can’t. For twenty some odd years I have been doing music as my job.

“Covid was strange for everyone, but it was very strange for me. I had just been nominated for a Grammy. I won the B.B. King Entertainer Award, and I just signed with this huge booking agency, Intrepid Artists. Then my wife is struck by a major cancer, and two weeks later the Covid lock-down started. It was a very weird high-low experience. It was actually nice to have a break, something I hadn’t done for 18 years. I think that took a toll on me. And I needed to be here for Pam. The break was a blessing in that regard, and allowed me to take stock in what and who I am. Pam is in remission now. She was recently out at a festival dancing for the first time in three years. I am still feeding off of that high. It is nice to have my partner back.”

There is a story behind another song, “Golden Lady Of The Canyon”.

“That one is about two particular someone’s – my wife, and Eric’s wife. It is a tribute to them for the structure and support they have brought to our lives. Pam read the other day that someone asked a billionaire how he became a billionaire. He said that he stopped chasing women, and found one good woman who had his back. That has definitely been the case for me and Eric. That is our way of giving something back to them.

Another song, “Miss Information,” finds Rayford tackling the sometimes questionable spread of material throughout the various spheres of social media.

“I have always believed that subjects like religion and politics are best discussed person-to-person. Eric and I were watching all of the craziness that was going on in 2021, and we wanted to speak to that. We didn’t want to bash people over the head. But I wanted to put my opinion out there. So it seems like we are talking about a woman if you just listen to the music. Once you actually listen to the lyrics, it becomes very obvious what I am singing about, what the miss information is.

“I want all of my albums to be something that I will always be proud of. Life may knock me down, and I might get discouraged, but I will never give up hope. While many of the songs are deep on the new one, we wanted to have some that shared love, because that is at the core of my being. We have given people the truth, we have laid out the vinegar, now we need to lift their spirits.

“It is like the old Black church I grew up in. The preacher hits you with hell and brimstone, but leaves you with life is beautiful. The Holy Ghost is moving, the people are shouting, and you had a good time in church. But you also got knowledge. I approached this whole album like I was giving a sermon. I want people who purchase and listen to the album to feel the positivity of love and understanding. That is my core being, and that is never going to change.”

Check out Suraray’s website to catch a live show at: https://sugarayrayford.com/

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Mark Thompson lives in Florida, where he is enjoying the sun and retirement. He is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Suncoast Blues Society and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Blues Foundation. Music has been a huge part of his life for the past fifty years – just ask his wife!

The Hogtown Allstars – Hog Wild

Stony Plain Records

www.hogtownallstars.com

10 tracks

Canada’s Hogtown Allstars deliver a cool and fun album with eight original songs and two interesting covers in this debut album for these award-winning Canadian all star bluesmen. They started to play together in 2013, but this is their first recording together. The seven band members are Downchild Blues Band’s Chuck Jackson on vocals and harp, Pat Carey on sax, Gary Kendall on bass and vocals, Jim Casson on drums, Tyler Yarema on keys, and two former Maple Blues Band members, Teddy Leonard on guitar and Howard Moore on trumpet. Their accomplishments include over 20 Maple Blues Awards, 5 JUNO Awards, and a couple of Lifetime Achievement Awards, along with lots of recognition from outside Canada. They also have spots in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Blues Museum Hall of Fame, so these guys have done their time and have been recognized for their work.

“Mr. Lucky” gets things started. It’s a fun, honkytonk cut with gravely vocals, piano, horns and backing vocals that blend well. “Hog wild” follows with a slick groove and just a cool, dirty feel to it. Jackson sings with his grit and the guitar and organ compliment him nicely. Up next is “Real Good Night,” a bouncy cut with Kendall fronting the band. Piano and guitar get spotlighted here. “I Just Think of You” is a slow and thoughtful piece with Jackson back in front and getting a harp solo, too. Organ and horns help out on this one again; another nice original. “Angel In My Bed” is a bluesy ballad of love and passion with Jackson telling us of his angelic lover. A somber guitar solo is featured here.

“Subway Casanova” follows, a song gives us some slide and more organ to enjoy as Jackson has some fun with this one lyrically and vocally. “The Sad One” picks up the pace a bit in this call and response number as Jackson and he band bounce through this cut. Some slow and delightful blues follows with “Biscuits and Beans,” a song lamenting food and drink with life on the road. Guitar and harp are all that it takes here to deliver a cool song for us to enjoy. “She’s Got The Stuff” is a Big Dave McClean song that Hogtown handles well as Jackson and his buddies deliver another nice one. Another good guitar solo, more gritty vocals and just a great cover overall. The album concludes with “I Ain’t Lyin,” another cool cover that the band handles well. An organ and tenor sax solo are offered up; it’s a great, driving song and nice conclusion to a very good album.

Stony Plain releases great music and they continue in this direction with another winner with The Hogtown Allstars. I can’t ever recall them releasing something that I have not enjoyed. Here, the new assemblage of Canadian blues greats has resulted in another winner of an album. I highly recommend this one to all blues fans!

Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Anthony Geraci – Blues Called My Name

Blue Heart Records

www.anthonygeraciblue.com

10 songs – 46 minutes

Anthony Geraci needs no introduction to most blues fans, having added his superb piano and Hammond organ to countless albums over the last 30+ years as well as being an original member of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, and Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters amongst others. Blues Called My Name is Geraci’s fifth solo album and is a superb collection of modern blues songs, all written by Geraci, who also produced the album.

In addition to himself, Geraci’s core band comprises Paul Loranger on acoustic bass (except on the Latin-tinged organ instrumental, “About Last Night”, which has Chris Rathbun on acoustic bass) and Jeff Armstrong on drums. Charlie O’Neal expertly handles the majority of the guitar duties, with guest appearances from Sugar Ray Norcia, Monster Mike Welch, Erika Van Pelt, John Vanderpool, Walter Trout, Barrett Anderson and Anne Harris.

Loranger and Armstrong are a top-class, rock steady rhythm section who lay down a variety of clever blues grooves. Loranger in particular must be one of the most under-rated bassists on the current scene.

Recorded primarily by Jeff Largent and Mixology Studios in Duxbury, MA, Blues Called My Name abounds with highlights, from Van Pelt’s emotional vocals and Geraci’s heart-breaking piano solo on “Corner Of Heartbreak And Pain”, to the raucous barrelhouse blues of “I Go Ooh” (Geraci’s only vocal on the album) and “Boston Stomp”, and Norcia’s distinctive and commanding vocals on the opening “That Old Pine Box” (an intriguing contemplation on mortality), “I Ain’t Going To Ask” and the title track. The instrumental “Boston Stomp” is testament to what a glorious, irresistible racket three world-class musicians (Geraci, Loranger and Armstrong) can produce.

The mix of different musicians across the album ensures a wide variety of tones and approaches, from Anderson’s edgy slide guitar on “I Ain’t Going To Ask” to Vanderpool’s tenor sax on “I Go Ohh” and Harris’s violin on “Wading In The Vermillion”, which drips with the humidity of New Orleans. Welch adds his distinctive and always ear-catching guitar to the title track while Trout’s blues-rock guitar wails impressively over the minor key “Into The Night”

The closing track, “Song For Planet Earth” features Geraci alone at his piano with his playing on this track worth the price of admission by itself.

Geraci’s last few albums have all been nominated for various blues awards. If I were a betting man, I’d place a few bucks on Blues Called My Name receiving similar recognition. It’s a pretty essential purchase for anyone who likes modern blues expertly played by choice musicians steeped in the history of the genre.

Reviewer Rhys “Lightnin'” Williams plays guitar in a blues band based in Cambridge, England. He also has a day gig as a lawyer.

David Lumsden – Rooted in the Blues

Self Released

https://davidlumsdenguitar.com/

10 tracks

David Lumsden spent his youth enjoying rock from the late 1950s and 1960s and by reading the liner notes began to appreciate blues music by the folks those bands were covering. Unlike people like me, he picked up a guitar and began to learn the chords and riffs and gained real prowess in his guitar skills. He’s played with a number of great acts and spent 2011 to 2017 as the lead guitar player for Hurricane Ruth. In 2018 he went out on his own and has now delivered two great albums for all to enjoy. The band here features Lumsden on guitar and vocals, Gary Davis handles the bass, Jim Engel is on drums, Tim Bahn is on the organ, keys and piano, Ian Buschmann plays sax, and Chris Camp adds his harp on a track.

Lumsden begins with a classic song “I Wouldn’t Lay My Guitar Down,” an Eddy Clearwater cut in a Chuck Berry style. He and the band do an excellent job getting the listener hooked as they drive this hot song along with feeling. I was impressed and left waiting for more and I did not have to wait long. An original is next, “Runaway (Blues Train),” which is a great, high energy instrumental which highlights David’s guitar and gives us his interpretative train sounds. Camp’s harp makes an appearance here. Well done to all! “Ruthless Boogie” builds on a John Lee Hooker sort of groove delivered in a heavy rock and roll manner. He borrows from the music styles he enjoyed in his youth and delivers another fine original cut. I suppose the title gives notice to Hurricane Ruth from her former bandmate, too. He next turns the classic “Hound Dawg” into a funk number with heavy guitar, sax and piano accompaniment that is a cool interpretation. Next up is “Your Memory” which was written by jazz guitarist Greg Pasenko, a friend of Lumsden. It’s a pretty ballad and offers the listener a moment to reflect as Lumsden plays acoustic guitar. It’s a nice change of pace and Andon Davis helps out on guitar.

Lumsden nails it in his song “Hooked on Something” where he plays some hot and heavy blues rock guitar for the listener to savor. Reggie Britton sings on this cut. He then gives us an instrumental version of the Steely Dan hit “Josie” that pays homage to the original guitar sound as Lumsden places his own stamp on it, too. He follows that with the blues standard “Everyday I Have the Blues” and gives the listener his take on classic Chicago blues. “Ode to Jimi (Slow Burn) follows, an over-the-top instrumental guitar number that leaves the listener floored; there is some cool stuff here in the powerful cut. The album concludes with a love version of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd hit “Everything Is Broken.” Lumsden lets it all hang out and makes for a breathless, high-powered finish for the album. The bassist’s son Kylan Davis handles the lead vocals on this live add on track.

This is Lumsden’s second solo album, coming after his 2018 debut Hues of the Blues. He doesn’t hold much back and plays his guitar to make you notice. I enjoyed the album; I must say that David surely has built on the success and music from his first album to delivers a cool mix of original and cover tunes for all to enjoy!

Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Rowland Jones & the Moveable Feast – Live@Oswestry

Self-released – 2022

http://rowlandjonesmusic.com

7 tracks; 35:57

Rowland Jones keeps things live and acoustic on Live@Oswestry, an album of jazzy blues and bluesy rock made with his band, The Movable Feast.

Jones says folk rock legend Richie Havens influenced him, and that impact shows on Live@Oswestry. Jones’ guitar dives the songs, serving as both guitar and drums. That frees up his rhythm section to provide color and texture, reinforcing the groove but also able to do other things, which results in a surprisingly full sound.

“Always Thought” is a low-key ballad, Jones providing the melody and the beat, with the rhythm section laying down a subtle counterpoint. Jones has a nice voice comprised of hints of jazzy intricacy and straight-ahead rock power. His vocals would work well in many musical contexts, but here, singing over a sketch of a tune, he’s able to take advantage of the leftover sonic space. Percussionist Iain Mellor works in the background, and bassist Bo Lee does an impressive job pulling the song along.

“A Million Ways” is jazzy, with a Spanish vibe. It’s a mellow tune, even with its lengthy percussive interlude from Mellor. “Never Met Someone” is similarly jazzy and laid back, but for this tune Jones transitions into an electric sound, giving the album an energy jolt.

The best way to understand the album is by checking out “Never Been to Memphis,” a funky blues rock tune, where Jones sings, “No, I ain’t no Delta bluesman / Can’t tell a nickel from a dime” before eventually turning to the line “Blues feels like home for me.” Jones is playing acoustic music and he’s influenced by the blues, and by artists, like Havens, who drew from the blues, but Jones isn’t a pure blues artist. But there are blues flourishes within the album.

The joy of acoustic albums is they make it easy to hear the essence of a song. The challenge of acoustic albums is that they can get repetitive because of the limited musical palette. Jones does a nice job mixing up his song styles so that the album moves, although with three tracks coming in at over five minutes, there might have been some room to further prune some tracks. But his performances, coupled with a backing band that understands how to flesh out Jones’ songs, while also staying out of his way, makes for a relaxed listening experience, like an afternoon at a coffee shop with a tight, talented band playing in the background.

Reviewer Steven Ovadia interviews blues artists about their songwriting process for Working Mojo.