Cover photo © 2023 Jimmi Soldo

 In This Issue 

Mark Thompson has our feature interview with Dyer Davis. We have ten Blues reviews for you this week including A Black Roots Music Compendium, plus new music from Duke Robillard, Nat Myers, Christopher Dean Band Featuring ‘Chicago’ Carl Snyder, Bob Corritore & Friends, Delta By The Beach, Steve Howell, The Marshals, Mark Searcy and Namedroppers. Scroll down and check it out!

Blues Blast Music Awards Weekend

The Blues Blast Music Awards Weekend was amazing! The venue is the best we have ever used and the artists performing were all incredible.

The awards winners were announced in a press release on Monday. If you missed that there is a list of the winners at the end of this issue below.

Both night’s performances were streamed live on Facebook and the unedited archive for Saturday’s stream is now up there for your viewing pleasure under the Blues Blast Magazine’s Facebook page at https://fb.watch/nkR6UK9PvG/.

We have begun editing the master video of the show and we feature some of the individual artists performances in upcoming issues of the magazine.

In addition to the BBMA winners we also presented our Lifetime Achievement Awards to Bob Stroger, Bob Marglin and John Primer.

Here are a few photos from the show by Jim Hartzell. More will be posted on our website soon.

The Eric Demmer band and Bob Margolin performing with Billy Price.

92 year old Bob Stroger receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cash Box Kings performing with Doug Deming and Jimi “Primetime” Smith

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bob Margolin

Bob Corritore performing with TC Coleman, Bob Margolin, Bob Stroger and Jimi “Primetime” Smith

A photo of our Blues Blast staff. L to R John Mitchell, Mark Thompson, Steve Jones, Bob Kieser, Anita Schlank, John Sacksteder and Rhys Williams

Every so often, a young artist seemingly appears out of nowhere with a recording that gets blues fans and critics excited. Sometimes that initial burst of attention fades, never to return if the musician can’t build on the early success. Then there are artists who seem to peer far deeper into the human experience than one might expect, given their young age. We sometimes forget that you can do a lot of living in a short period of time.

Guitarist Dyer Davis (Edwin Dyer Davis III) has garnered plenty of praise for his debut release, Dog Bites Back, on Wildroots Records. The hard-rocking album is nominated for a 2023 Blues Blast Music Award in the New Artist Debut Album category. In his review for Blues Blast, senior writer Steve Jones commented, This is an exceptional album….. what a fine soulful blues rock CD….. The second time through I was even more impressed.” Over 12 original songs and one cover, Davis consistently impresses with his vocals, songwriting, and six string prowess.

Born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, Davis got his start listening to records from his dad’s collection.

“ I grew up with a very wide variety of different genres and bands, all primarily from the 1960s and 70s. That’s where my loyalties tend to lie, bands like, you know, Cream and Iron Butterfly and Spirit on the American side, but on the British side, the Stones and the Beatles, the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Specifically the British Blues stuff really stuck with me, especially when you get it in the context of knowing who the Yardbirds, and you hear pop songs by the Yardbirds that are retrofitted. Instead of swinging the grooves and playing them up tempo, the Yardbirds played them straight and slowed down, so there’s just a certain level of rawness that was always really attractive to me.

“I got turned on to that at some point when I was uber little, because I started playing guitar when I was four ears old. So there was a decent amount of influence that happened before that, causing me to want to move in that direction. Of course, I love American rock bands, but the British blues stuff, especially bands like Cream when they covered Albert King songs, provided a really cool opportunity to know where to go, This is the way that they did it, but I wonder what the original sounded like. And then you go back and you find the Albert King version of “Born Under A Bad Sign”. and all that kind of thing. As far as getting into the American blues side of things, it was very backwards for me. It started with all the British bands.

“My dad got to see a bunch of those bands back in their heyday. I know that he saw Jimi Hendrix once, early in 1970. His review of the show wasn’t great, however. I think he saw Iron Butterfly and Cream on the same bill another time. I would have loved to be able to be around for that, especially since at that time you weren’t having to pay $250 for a ticket!” When he was growing up, the Allman Brothers were still going to Seabreeze Junior High, and my aunt Diane actually went to prom with Duane Allman.

“When he Allmans were in Hourglass, my dad was too young to get into the local dance hall, so he would ride his bike there, then sit on the steps and listen to them play from outside. Hearing a lot of those stories growing up was pretty cool. By the time I was really at an age where I was ready to cut my teeth, the heyday of how cool this place used to be, the shit that it used to breed was on its way out. But it is where I come from, and the history is cool nonetheless.

Guitar was not his first instrument. He began to learn to play drums when inspiration came from a somewhat unusual source.

“I started off playing drums originally because of the movie, That Thing You Do!. I wanted to be Shades, the drummer, because he was just the coolest man on the planet. I was familiar with guitar, but it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing at the time. Then I saw a video of the Eagles Farewell 1 tour in Australia in 2004. Joe Walsh come out onto the stage wearing these frickin’ obnoxious Grateful Dead pajama pants with the dancing bears around the hem. He was wearing a hard hat with a camera in it, playing “Life’s Been Good”.

“He was just being ridiculous. And I thought that is probably the coolest guy I’ve ever seen in my life. There was a certain fluidity about the way that he played and how he looked doing it. That was next level to me. So the following week, when I went in for my for my music lesson, I told my teacher, hey man, or however I spoke when I was four years old, but I told him I want to start playing guitar like this. Check out what I saw. And I told him how to find the video on the internet, which he did. He was like, yeah, man, this is cool. So he sat me down that day and taught me how to play the Ventures “Walk, Don’t Run”. That was the first thing I learned on guitar, and it was all downhill from there.

“In the beginning, I didn’t want to take lessons. Because you’re a kid, you don’t want to have to be somewhere and listen to somebody else. So I was sort of against the idea of it. But my parents saw something in me that I didn’t see because I was only four. So they signed me up for music lessons. I wasn’t very happy about it, but I very quickly realized this is awesome. So there’s always some motivation, but I don’t think I was thinking about that at that age.

“I took lessons until I was about 12 years old, in a store called Yancey Music Center, and I still know the family very well, although the store is no longer there. They used to do concerts once every six months to showcase all of their students. And so I would do those. I didn’t really see myself ever doing anything else. It was a very much of a full time pursuit for me and I never really questioned it. Then I stopped taking lessons. This isn’t a dig at my teacher, but he just didn’t have anything to teach me on guitar anymore. From there, I got into a bunch of different genres of music, had my Randy Rhoads phase and my Steve Vai phase and all that kind of thing. Eventually I was able to hone in a way to play that I was actually happy with.”

A few years later, Davis signed with a marketing company out of Philadelphia, and they immediately put him on tour. They were able to get some commercial placements for him with NASCAR and ESPN. In the meantime, there were some other cool things that happened as Davis was invited to be on The Voice and America’s Got Talent television shows, although he ultimately turned down both of them because he didn’t feel they were his thing.

“Then I came back home and I cut a record, but only certain things off of it ended up being released and licensed. Eventually, I put together my last rock band, Rubber Soul Child. That was when I realized that what I considered rock and roll isn’t considered rock and roll anymore. I was sort of at a loss. Dog Bites Back is the antithesis of what I had been about. I had spent the previous eight or nine years trying to effectively do what that record was, but do it in rock mode. And I sat there scratching my head wondering why it wasn’t working.”

In 2018, Davis had a band that he had thrown together, playing the usual long hours for low pay at bar gigs. A friend, producer Billy Chapin, was able to get Davis in touch with Tony Battaglia, a very well decorated producer who had been responsible for for breaking Shinedown and Mandy Moore. They ended up writing songs together in Wautoma, Wisconsin.

“Yeah, we wrote some songs up there and then tracked them in the studio once we got back to Florida. The original band fell apart, It was like, okay, do you want to do a solo thing like you’ve been doing, or do you want to actually throw together a band with a proper band name? I’d been doing the solo thing for long enough, so let’s try the band thing. Throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks. So I called the group Rubber Soul Child. It was intended to be a showcase band. We did pretty well for ourselves. Our music streams did well, up in the six figures worth anyway. We had some really killer opportunities, like getting invited to play the Kiss cruise.

“But it wasn’t an easy band to be in. It was a very weird dynamic between me and management, and me with the band. I felt like I was getting torn in two directions all the time. And there was just a lot of politics that were going on that I wasn’t happy with, making it pretty un-enjoyable. But our track record up to that point was good enough that it was worth staying in it. We had a series of gigs scheduled. I had a drummer that had been with me for two years, right from the start on that project. The band, when it started, was a trio for the first two and a half or three years. I went through 11 band members, making it extremely hard to keep that thing together. I had been through the ringer on trying to find new members, constantly on the prowl all the time, just getting tired of it.

“It was to the point where if somebody else quits the band, I’m not looking again, because this is just not worth it to me. I don’t like what we’re doing enough, don’t like how this is going. So we had these gigs lined up, and the drummer sent me a text that said, “Hey man, this is a waste of my time. I’m not happy. This is ridiculous, and I quit”. And that was it for me. I called up the management at the time and I said, I’m out. We’re terminating this whole thing. And that was how Rubber Soul Child ended right at the end of 2021. Everything fell apart just about the time that things were starting to be fully opened up again after COVID.”

That left the guitarist adrift. As a lover of the old British blues rock sound, he found it increasingly difficult to find his place in the music scene, which led to some serious personal tribulations.

“It’s not always been a walk in the park. I started drinking when I was 13, dealing with a lot of anxiety for the first time. Then I got sent off to this private school that was effectively a prison. I got bullied by my teachers all the time, couldn’t really do anything about it. That kicked off the drinking to alleviate my stresses. And then that devolved into much more serious issues.

“I was in and out of outpatient rehab programs for most of my teenage years. I ran away from home when I was 15 to go live with a friend of mine because I wanted to do drugs and my family wasn’t going to let me do that under their roof. I willingly went out and tarnished a lot of really great relationships that I had at the time, stealing money so I could go buy meth or whatever else I could get my hands on. I OD quite a few times and had a heart attack in my truck, so it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows by any stretch. I wasn’t raised in a crappy parental background. In fact, my life growing up was very much the exact opposite. But there was a lot of self inflicted struggles that that had a lot to do with how dark things were.

“I ended up having to dive into head first and then had to claw my way back out, to spend a lot of time rebuilding trust with friends and family members. No matter what I might exude outwardly, inwardly I very much focus on the negativity of things. Because of that, a lot of my music comes out pretty dark. I’m very, very critical of myself and things that I’ve done. Now that I’ve come out the back side of that, I have a hard time being able to forgive myself for it. The hardship of it is trying to make sure that, as time goes on, you don’t forget the weight of certain things when they happened, things that caused you to finally get straightened out . So now the battle is trying to make sure that I can keep everything in between my lines.”

Depressed, but working on putting his life back together, Davis got a most opportune helping hand from his long-time friend and producer, Billy Chapin.

“Billy came to me and said, look, I have this really good friend of mine named Stephen Dees. He owns a label called WildRoots Records. They were putting out a compilation album called Wildroots Sessions, Volume 2. And there’s a song slated to be on there called “The Bad Seed”. Billy went on to say that he had sent over to Stephen a version of “Oh Darling,” that I had sang on when I was like 16 or something like that. Billy wanted to to see what Stephen would say. And he loved it. So Stephen wanted me to sing on “The Bad Seed” for this record.

“I went down there and I sang on the song. Stephen was elated enough about it that he decided that he wanted to make a record with me. Of course, through that, I very quickly met Victor Wainwright, who was, and still is, a very big deal in Daytona, but especially was when I was growing up. So I had heard his name a million and five times around here, but I just hadn’t ever met the guy. Victor and Stephen run WildRoots along with Patricia Ann Dees, Stephen’s wife. It was pretty cool when that all came to fruition. I got a date to open for Victor at the Bank and Blues club here in Daytona. That was awesome. My feet didn’t touch the ground the whole night!

“Before that initial contact was made, Billy sent me over a link, asking me to go check out these blues charts. I don’t remember which songs they were. Billy said I should just work my way down that list and listen to these songs. He felt very strongly that they represented where I’ve needed to be this entire time, that I just didn’t know it. And I was like, yeah, okay. So I go through and I start listening to everything.

“And I just lit up. It was the moment when I realized I was in the wrong place the entire time, my entire career I’ve been in the wrong spot, trying to go after the wrong things. All these songs are everything that I want to be doing. It was this really uplifting, reinvigorating moment. But it was frustrating too, because it was under my nose the entire time, and I just wasn’t even aware of it. That’s kind of how Dog Bites Back got started.”

His current band is comprised of Jay Swann on bass, Warren Beck on keyboards, and David Weatherspoon behind the drum kit, who played on a handful of tracks on Dog Bites Back.

On stage or in the recording studio, Davis has always relied on “Bella,” his 1995 Gibson ES335 guitar. He also has a Gibson Les Paul Jr. as a backup. For amplifiers, he uses two Bugera V22 tube combo amps run through Egnater Rebel 20 tube heads, one as primary and one just in case.

“ I usually play those on a clean channel and then run an overdrive through it. The overdrive stays on the whole night and I work off my volumes. Guitar-wise, almost exclusively, “Bella” has been with me since the start of my career. I’ve put her on every single session, every record. Anything that I’ve ever played on, that guitar is on.”

Life is on the upswing for the guitarist. He is excited about attending the Blues Blast Award show on September 23 as well as continuing to tour in support of his album. He keeps his tour schedule updated on his website: www.dyerdavismusic.com.

“I have a music video my song “Angels Get The Blues” that is going to be coming out on September 22^nd on the Wild Roots YouTube channel, which I’ll be sharing all across social media. We shot it in the church in a really beautiful setting and we are working very diligently to make sure that visually the video is going to do that song justice. I plan to keep plugging away, see what opportunities open up for me, and then working off of those. I’m very grateful for the Blues Blast Music award nomination, and I feel like I’m in a position where the world is kind of my oyster, so I’m just going to see what I can make of it.”

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!

Duke Robillard – Duke’s Mood (Live in Bremen 1985 / 2008)

MiG Music

www.dukerobillard.com

25 songs – 169 minutes

Let’s cut to the chase: Duke’s Mood (Live in Bremen 1985 / 2008) is a wonderful release and absolutely unmissable for fans of top drawer blues guitar playing.

Most readers will already be familiar with Robillard and his 50+ year musical career, either leading his own band or from his stints with the likes of Roomful of Blues, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Legendary Blues Band or Robert Gordon.  He writes great songs, has a fine voice and is an astonishingly versatile guitarist, equally comfortable playing jazz, rockabilly, blues-rock or the entire spectrum of electric blues, from the early Texas blues of T-Bone Walker and the jump blues of Big Joe Turner onwards.

Duke’s Mood (Live in Bremen 1985 / 2008) is a three CD collection, capturing two blistering gigs in Bremen 23 years apart. The first CD has 11 tracks from 1985, with Robillard and his band The Pleasure Kings (Thomas Enright on bass and and Tom DeQuattro). It understandably features a lot of material from his then-current release, Too Hot To Handle. In a live setting, however, Robillard is able to stretch out, take his time and let his guitar do the talking, resulting in what the studio album should have sounded like. The 7 minute “Duke’s Mood” is a superb slow blues, while “T-Bone Boogie” swings with abandon. There is also a fire and grit in the performances that wasn’t captured on the studio album, so Chuck Berry’s “It’s My Own Business” or the dirty groove of “Someone” have a real kick to them, while the band and Robillard take “Long Gone Baby” to a wholly unexpected place, musically.

The second two CDs see Robillard with the Duke Robillard Band (Bruce Bears on organ and keyboards, John Ross on electric bass and Mark Teixeira on drums. The liner notes list Doug James as playing “bass and harmonica”, but to this reviewer’s ear it sounds that it’s more likely to be the Doug James from Roomful of Blues, providing the magnificent saxophone playing throughout). The CDs still see plenty of swinging Jump Blues, such as on “Jump The Blues For You” and the wild ride of “Gee I Wish”, but the band leans away from the blues-rock of the 1985 era and a little more towards the early jazz and swing of “Swinging With Lucy Mae.”  There is of course of straight blues too, from the upbeat shuffle of “Gonna Get You Told” and the funky blues of “Fishnet” (with fine sax, organ and guitar solos) to the nine minute T-Bone homage, “Glamour Girl” (long a staple of Robillard’s sets), which doesn’t have a wasted moment.

The recording quality across all three CDs is first rate, although the press kit provides no information on who recorded and engineered the sound, which is a shame. The sound quality is uniformly excellent, with a mix that is bang on.

Either way, if you enjoy hearing top class musicians playing great songs in a live setting and allowing themselves to really let loose with their endlessly inventive solos, Duke’s Mood (Live in Bremen 1985 / 2008) is an essential purchase.

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

Various Artists – Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium

Craft Recordings

www.craftrecordings.com

Disc 1: 20 Tracks 72 minutes

Disc 2: 20 Tracks 68 minutes

Starting with a sprightly take of “Bourbon Street Parade” from the 50^th anniversary concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, this outstanding collection takes listeners on a journey of discovery through the world of music created by African-American artists. Utilizing a heady mix of styles from across the nation, the two discs paint a vivid portrait of the impact these artists, and many others, have had on our nation’s musical culture.

The package includes a 46 page booklet that features notes from musicians Corey Harris and Dom Flemons that provide some cultural perspectives while touching on the conditions that gave rise to the music in its earliest forms. Historian Ted Olson delivers an opening statement, then provides brief descriptions for each track. Interspersed throughout the booklet are color and black & white photos of many of the artists. It is a wealth of information, particularly for artists that listeners are not familiar with.

Harris sings and plays guitar on “Station Blues,” joined by Sharde Thomas on the cane fife and three drummers, paying tribute to the legacy of Othar Turner, Thomas’ grandfather. That is followed by the deep blues of Mississippi Fred McDowell, playing slide guitar on an unaccompanied rendition of “61 Highway.” The music shifts to the East coast where the original Carolina Chocolate Drops – Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson – backed fiddler Joe Thompson on an unreleased version of “Georgie Buck,” showing that the string band tradition still had plenty of life.

Tracks by Lightnin’ Hopkins, the Staple Singers, Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry, Skip James, and Clifton Chenier give listeners some familiar names to enjoy, with “Blues Before Sunrise” by McGhee & Terry being a notable performance. James lays down a haunting remake of his original, “Hard Time Killing Floor,” take that burrow deep in your soul.

The real pleasure of collections like this is discovering artists for the first time. One highlight is the group Ranky Tanky on a song by the same name that is brimming with energy and plenty of infectious rhythms. Their 2017 album received a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Equally fine is “Grizzly Bear,” sung by Bennie Richardson on a recording done in 1975 at a Texas penitentiary, with vocal accompaniment by other members of the work gang, highlighting the vocal call and response tradition. Listeners get a glimpse of the Mardi Gras Indian culture on the Golden Eagles run- through of the New Orleans standard, “Little Liza Jane,” featuring Big Chief Monk Boudreaux on the vocal. The influential guitarist Joseph Spence created interest in the calypso sounds of his native Bahama, getting the attention of artists like Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. You may very well fall under his spell too after hearing “We Will Understand It Better By And By.”

Highlights on the second disc include Odetta’s marvelous vocal power illuminating a stirring take of “Special Delivery Blues,” while a once rare John Lee Hooker track finds the legend playing an acoustic guitar as he takes listeners to church on “When I Lay My Burden Down.” Any song that features Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ is bound to delight, and so it does when cover “Diving Duck Blues.” The intricate guitar picking of Mississippi John Hurt is highlighted on his classic, “Candy Man,” while Professor Longhair reminds why he achieved legendary status with his own classic, “Go To The Mardi Gras.”

Olson outlines the story of Leslie Riddle, a guitarist who helped his neighbor, A.P. Carter, with songwriting, and taught Maybelle Carter some of his guitar techniques. While the Carters went on to become the first family of Country music, Riddle’s skin color kept him from getting any recognition for his contributions. His solo rendition of “Titanic” is a mesmerizing piece of music-making. Another memorable turn occurs on “Pretty Polly,” a tune that originated several centuries ago as an English ballad. Over the insistent rhythm from Roy Andrade’s fine banjo picking, singer Amythyst Kiah’s striking voice relates in compelling fashion the story of a murder most foul. Another fascinating track comes from the efforts of folklorist Bruce Jackson to document the oral traditions on Texas prison farms, where men weren’t much more than a number. He will only be remembered as a prisoner named Peter, but his eloquent statement on standing up as a man foreshadows the rise of rap music.

The collection ends with the noted female group Sweet Honey In The Rock making a joyful noise as they harmonize beautifully on an impassioned version of “Study War No More,” tying together the various threads that flow through the two discs, particularly those of peace, harmony, and social justice.If you care about music, especially the sounds that have resonated from generations of Black artists, this project will bring you several hours of powerful music that inspires and gives hope for a brighter day.

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!

Nat Myers – Yellow Peril

Easy Eye Sound

http://www.gnatmyers.com

10 Songs – 32 minutes

Nat Parker is a Korean – American born in Kansas. In his early life, he moved to West Tennessee and then to Northern Kentucky. He states that he had a rowdy childhood, was signed up by his parents to play trumpet in the school band, which he hated. He spent his days on his skateboard and listening to pop-punk and hardcore music. His mother bought him a guitar and although he taught himself how to play, he still had no aspirations as a musician. But he loved poetry and realized that his musical interests were in the blues, which his father loved, particularly the itinerant musicians from the 1930’s and 40’s. He studied poetry at the New School in New York City. He worked odd jobs and eventually took up busking, realizing that today’s poets must perform. Covid hit and he returned home through the pandemic.

He then started to upload videos on social media.  Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys and the founder of Easy Eye Sound heard his music on-line and brought him to Nashville. After several visits, the two determined they had many common interests. Dan arranged for Nat to co-write with him, songwriter Pat McLaughlin, and blues artist Alvin Youngblood Hart. Dan then produced Nat’s album in his home rather than in his studio as Nat’s folk blues seemed more suited to Dan’s 100-year-old house and Nat’s foot stomp on the hardwood floor. The result is an album that can sound like something from an earlier era of music but is modern in its lyrics and today’s social concerns. Of obvious concern to Nat is the growing anti- Asian sentiment that has grown out of Covid.

Nat had led an itinerant existence that feeds the first song “75-71”, the two interstates that feed from Northern Kentucky down to Lexington and Louisville. In the song he talks about traveling to those two cities to meet his gal in Lexington, then pick up a riverboat in Louisville. He then says he met a hobo, and they jumped a train to Memphis. He ends back in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, a small community in the western side of Boone County, Kentucky.

On “Trixin”, he says “Way you been treating me is rubbing me raw”. ” I ain’t trixin’ with you no more”. The title song addresses the animosity he has experienced following Covid. “Started in China, lordy, you headed to my backyard, lordy.” “Telling me that you looking like a yellow man, lordy”.  “Everywhere I been somebody being abused.” “There never ever was a difference ‘tween you and I”. He said that he wanted the song to have the feel of Charley Patton’s “Boll Weevil Blues”, which addressed a period of time when the boll weevil spread across the land and was the personification of Patton’s experiences.

He promises his woman that he will not “Ramble No More”, “if you let me in, baby”. He notes “When a man ain’t got nothing there ain’t nothing he can do but find some old highway and put on his traveling shoes.” “Duck and Dodge” comes from him listening to Hogman Maxey on Negro Prison Blues and Songs and a fascination of his strings’ sound. he again begs his woman to “Let me in.”

“Roscoe” paints a picture that his woman might be trying to kill him, alternately telling her to “put down that roscoe”, “put down that ball-peen hammer, darling, I’m sorry I mad you mad”. “Strychnine, turpentine, Darling what you put in my food?”. “No heaven in your future, judge gonna give you 99.” He says that “Misbehavin’ Mama” comes from listening to Blind Boy Fuller’s “Step It Up and Go” and Son House describing blues as a feeling. “Ask my baby where she been she told me that been out with a friend.” “Misbehavin’ mama, it’s always something like that.”

Next, he tells his woman “You got a “Heart Like a Scroll”, wrap me in it wherever you go” “you can tell your friends, tell your other man, since you met me, you done had a change of plans.” Dan pulled out a slide guitar to join Nat on “Undertaker Blues” as he sings, “someone better check your head; I will call the undertaker; believe our love is dead.” After all of the songs above dealing with issues with his woman, on “Pray for Rain” he is trying to assure that he wants a long-term relationship. “I’ll put you in mother’s locket, drag you around in my back pocket, carry you with me every day.” “4 years in I still want more, I ain’t walking out the door.” “If I told you once I told you twice, I’m a be your ever-loving man for life”.  Auerbach joins in on acoustic guitar and upright bass, McLaughlin also plays guitar and mandolin, and Leroy Troy play banjo and washboard on the track.

Nat’s vocal style and dobro guitar matches much of the style of depression era musicians. His real-life roaming ways fit that earlier eras’ musical ventures. Auerbach has done an excellent job of catching Nat’s poetry and casting it in terms that can reach blues lovers.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Christopher Dean Band Featuring ‘Chicago’ Carl Snyder – Need A Friend

Lost World Music – 2023

 http://www.christopherdeanband.com

13 tracks; 56 minutes

A touring musician since 1997, Christopher Dean started out with Big Jack Johnson & The Oilers and formed his own band in 2000. Since then they have toured frequently, notably long the East Coast, and recorded several albums, most recently Songs From French Street (2021) which received very positive reviews for its soul-blues approach. This time around Christopher has gone back to a purer blues style, covering material from a range of the blues greats. The band is Christopher on vocals and guitar, Mike McMillan on second guitar, Dave Hollingsworth on drums, Walter Jarrett on bass and ‘Chicago’ Carl Snyder (an early supporter of Christopher’s music) on keys; horns are added to some tracks by Steve Lombardelli and Nate Myers play harmonica and sings on a couple of tracks.

“What Have I Done Wrong” is the first of three visits to the Magic Sam catalogue: the band’s lively version has some excellent interplay between the two guitarists and Carl’s piano stylings, making a great start to the album. There is an immediate contrast with Memphis Minnie’s “Need A Friend”, Christopher and Carl playing in a semi-acoustic style and Dave using brushes to create an effective, older style blues. Back to the West side of Chicago for a busy take on Otis Rush’s “It Takes Time”, the bass pushing the tune along and Christopher responding with some fine fretwork, very much in Otis’ signature style. “Out Of Bad Luck” is the second Magic Sam tune, the churning rhythms punctuated by Carl’s piano and an impassioned solo from Christopher before the band takes us back to 1954 for ‘Baby Boy’ Warren’s shuffle tribute to “Mattie May”. The pace drops for Magic Sam’s “Call Me If You Need Me” before a visit to New Orleans for “Country Boy In New Orleans”, a Snooks Eaglin song from his time as a street musician in the Crescent City which manages to blend country and swing, saxophone helping with the NO style. Horns also appear on an excellent reading of BB King’s “Blind Love” that really bounces along.

Christopher turns to acoustic slide for Blind Willie Mc Tell’s “Cold Winter Day”, making a complete change of style and pace from the BB King cut, but equally accomplished. The only original song here is “Appalachian Woman”, a lively cut with some terrific country picking over a thumping rhythm, Christopher sharing the vocals with Nate Myers, as he does on a swinging take on Robert Lockwood’s “Pearly B” which has a touch of jazz in the guitar chords and Carl’s solo, this time on organ, with short harmonica and sax solos towards the end. Buddy Guy’s “Strange Feeling” gets a full band treatment with horns and organ providing a lush backdrop for Christopher’s vocal; the longest track on the album, there are ample opportunities for everyone to solo. Christopher then closes the album with “Blue Serenade”, an obscure song originally recorded by Babyface Turner for Modern in 1952. Christopher again uses a different style of playing, perhaps influenced by Elmore James, nicely counterpointed by Carl’s cool piano work.

Throughout the album Christopher shows himself to be a fine and varied guitar player and is well supported by the band, making this an enjoyable disc that will appeal to fans of traditional blues styles.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Bob Corritore & Friends – Somebody Put Bad Luck On Me

VizzTone Label Group

http://www.bobcorritore.com

16 Tracks – 69 minutes

Harmonica master Bob Corritore has delivered a large quantity of top-notch recordings over the last few years, most of which fall into his “From the Vaults” series that involves recordings of artists he played with over the years at his famous Phoenix, Arizona night club, The Rhythm Room. But unlike those recordings, this latest collection is all freshly recorded songs with a vast array of his friends. The friends being many of the top blues artists playing in today’s music scene. And while Bob’s harp is certainly a major portion of every recording he releases, he blends his harmonica into the style of music presented by each of his friends. Jimi “Primetime” Smith also plays guitar on thirteen of the tracks on the album and takes the lead vocals on one.

John Primer kicks things off on vocals and guitar on A.C. Reeds’ “This Little Voice”, a pure blast of Chicago blues with Anthony Geraci on piano. Thornetta Davis proclaims “I Need a Whole Lotta Lovin'” with Johnny Burgin taking the guitar lead and David Keyes on piano on a rockin’ number.  Johnny Rawls on vocals slows things down with the powerful, moody “Midnight Love” with Shea Marshall on organ, while Bob’s harp cries and Doug James accents on sax.  The title song “Somebody Put Bad Luck On Me” was written and first recorded by Baby Boy Warren in 1954. Oscar Wilson takes on the vocals for this one with Ben Levin providing the piano on another Chicago blues number and Billy Flynn on guitar.

Bobby Rush tells the tale of the woman who broke his heart on “I’m Good as Gone”. with Dexter Allen and Chester Thompson on organ. This is the first single release from the album. “Stranded” is credited as having been written by Deadric Malone, which is the pseudonym for Don Robey. The song was originally recorded by Clarence “Gatesmouth” Brown. Carl Weathersby does the vocals and guitar on this one with Anthony Geraci again on piano. Thornetta Davis returns to plea to her lover to “Remember Me” “when I’m buried in the cold, cold ground.” The song was originally written and recorded by Alberta Adams. Johnny Burgin provides the guitar lead with David Keyes on piano.  Tia Carroll is the vocalist on Willie Dixon’s “I Want to Be Loved” with Sid Morris on piano.

Eugene “Hideaway” Bridges plays guitar and the vocals on a smooth R&B “If You Don’t Want to Love Me”. Sugaray Rayford announces that he is “Goin’ Fishin'”, on a funky track that notes “I don’t need no rod and reel… my newly printed dollar bills and my big Lincoln seals the deal.” with Kid Ramos and Johnny Mann on the guitar. Lurie Bell plays guitar and growls on Jimmy Rogers’ “Act Like You Love Me” with Bob Margolin adding guitar. Francine Reed begs him to “Draw Me Closer” in a R&B number originally written and performed by Doris Payne in the early 1960’s. Kid Ramos again joins on guitar with Shea Marshall on organ. Jimi “Primetime” Smith takes on the vocal duties on “Tough Enough” with Johnny Rapp on guitar.  Carl Weathersby plays guitar and is the vocalist on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “I Don’t Know” with Anthony Geraci on piano.  Diunna Greenleaf begs everyone to “Help the Poor” on a song first recorded by B.B. King in 1964. Frad Kaplan plays organ and piano with Doug James on sax and Jeff “Doc” Chandonhouse on a jazzy trumpet.  Willie Buck closes the album with William Crawford’s “Let Me Find Out Your Name” with Billy Flynn on guitar and Ben Levin on piano.

The rhythm section for the songs also includes a vast array of well-known friends. On bass, Bob Stroger performs on seven of the cuts with Yahni Riley, Kedar Roy, Troy Sandow, Mike King and Bill Stove filling out the remainder. Drummers include Wes Starr, Brian Fahey, Steve Ferrone, June Core, Stephen Hodges, and Andrew Gutterman. James “Jamaldi” Anderson also adds percussion.

As always, every track is a masterpiece featuring Bob’s sharp production and amazing harmonica work. His albums have been one that I look forward to for every release and he certainly has a lot of very talented friends. Keep them coming Bob.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Delta By The Beach – The Single Of The Month

C Street Records – 2023

www.DeltaByTheBeach.com

12 tracks; 41 minutes

Delta By The Beach, as the name suggests, play Delta-influenced blues from their base in California. The band is led by Doc Ventura who writes most of the material and handles vocals and baritone guitar, aided by Milo Sledge on guitar/harp and drummer Eddie Layman. Although a trio the instrumentation is varied with a number of guests also adding to the musical palette. The three guys got together for what was intended as a single event, but rehearsals showed that they enjoyed playing together, the problem being that there was nowhere to play at the time due to Covid. The concept of recording a track each month and streaming it was enormously successful and here we have the songs from that project united into one album, consisting of those twelve tracks, released monthly through 2021.

The album is in chronological order of the singles’ releases, so we start in February 2021 with the trio in Chicago mood, Doc’s gruff vocals adding to the Howling Wolf vibe of “You Did A Bad Deed”. The pace drops for “1000 Tears”, echoey guitar and vocals, Doc’s baritone guitar doing everything that a conventional bass would do and Milo adding some tough picking and a little harp too. Mandolin player James Schulfer joins in on “How Do You Treat Me Like You Do”, a stop-start rhythm with harp and mandolin featured, while “Tired Of My Luck” goes back to the trio format, Milo playing some varied stuff over a steady rhythm; Doc plays harp on this one, sounding rather distant and thin in the mix.

We reach the June single and alto sax is added to “Need Your Squeezin’” by Robert Kyle, Milo on slide over a slinky rhythm, a track that adds an element of funk to the proceedings. “Give Me Back My Tears” brings the distant-sounding harp back over a chugging blues in which Doc is clearly unhappy that his girl has left him and “Baby You Got What I Need” has the loping rhythms of a Jimmy Reed song with a noticeably clearer vocal from Doc, making you wonder if some of the earlier tracks employed some distortion on the vocals. “You Made A Mistake” has slide and acoustic guitar on an uptempo country blues.

The final tracks cover October – December. “Delta By The Beach” is a stripped-back tribute to the band’s coastal base with guest Flattop Tom on the harp, David Gorospe’s organ adds a gospel feel to the slow-boiling “Wanted Man” and “She Did It” builds up a good head of steam. The band clearly felt that the album would not be complete without a Christmas song and give us the cheerful, upbeat “Very Best Christmas This Year”.

The album presents a record of a laudable project over 2021 which was surely well appreciated by listeners and viewers in a year when everyone needed some cheer.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Steve Howell – Gallery Of Echoes

Out Of The Past Music – 2023

www.stevehowell.ws

11 tracks; 41 minutes

Steve Howell is, by his own admission, a lover of American music from the first half of the Twentieth Century, hence his label being called Out Of The Past. He has recorded several albums before, some with his band, The Mighty Men, some in duo/trio formats, but here he plays solo on material that he has been playing for over 50 years. Steve has an easy style, finger-picking in the Piedmont tradition and singing in a clear, warm voice that draws the listener into the narrative, as the players of yesteryear did. Steve saw Mississippi John Hurt play when he was thirteen and it was a pivotal moment for him, as he then went back to earlier artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and The Rev. Gary Davis, both of whom feature strongly here.

Steve opens with Lemon’s 1926 song “Stockin’ Feet Blues”, the walking bass line being the heart of the tune as the author is rebuffed by the girl, a song that includes the line “make me down a pallet on your floor”. “Cluck Old Hen” is a traditional Appalachian tune that dates back to the nineteenth century; Steve is joined on the comic song by producer Jason Weinheimer who adds bass to the arrangement. “Statesboro’ Blues” has become a staple of modern blues bands, courtesy of Taj Mahal’s and The Allmans’ covers, but Steve returns the song to Blind Willie McTell’s 1928 original in a very laid-back and relaxed version. A second visit to Blind Lemon’s catalogue is “Easy Rider Blues” which Lemon recorded in 1927.

Rev. Gary Davis recorded both gospel and secular songs and Steve visits both sides of his repertoire here. “Twelve Gates To The City” was based on a verse from Revelations, describing the different entry points into Heaven, while “Sit Down On The Banks Of The River” dates from the later part of Davis’ career, being first recorded in 1960. In contrast, “Sally, Where’d You Get Your Liquor From?” is definitely secular with references to a girl who likes a drink and “raising sand”!

William Brown’s leisurely instrumental “Mississippi Blues” was recorded by Alan Lomax in 1942 in Arkansas and Steve points out in his liner notes that this is not the same Willie Brown who was Robert Johnson’s running mate. Two other tunes are classed as ‘Traditional’: “All My Friends Are Gone” recounts the real-life murder of a 14 year-old girl in Savannah and has been covered by many artists, including Rev. Gary Davis, but Steve uses the arrangement by Stefan Grossman and delivers the sad tale in convincing manner; “I’m Going Away” is another traditional folk song, this version being inspired by Nick Katzman and Ruby Green’s 1976 version. Steve closes the program with the instrumental “Dallas Rag”, originally recorded by The Dallas Stringband in 1927; like everything here, its is beautifully played and fans of traditional acoustic blues can check this release out with confidence.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

The Marshals – Le Ptit Cham Session

Flower Coast

https://flowercoast.fr

9 songs time – 29:20

The Marshals are a French trio with a make-up of a singer-guitarist, harmonica player and a drummer. Their sound is mainly pretty raucous, owing more to The Black Keys or The Whites than to the blues. Really the only element that is bluesy is the extraordinary and fluent harmonica playing from Laurent Siguret. Guitarist Julien Robalo’s main thrust is heavy strumming on his electric that is under-pinned by Thomas Duchezeau’s forceful drumming. Julien’s voice is robust throughout. All the songs save one were composed by Julien Robalo.

On songs like “Rolling” and “Oh My”, there is such a cacophony of sound that the lyrics are hard to decipher. Tony Joe White’s “Elements and Things” retains some of his swampy feel while allowing the words to come through the thunderous beat. “Steal The Silence” with only guitar as accompaniment also lets the words come through clearly. There is a swampy vibe to “Howl” that is reinforced by alligator references.

“New Dawn” is a hardy offering and the only tune to include backing vocals. Acoustic guitar and harmonica are the only instrumentation to be found on the pensive “See The Lightning”. Actually it is the only song that qualifies as a blues. Laurent tones down his harmonica to fit the solemn tone of the song.

A classic case of less is more as the three instruments more than fill in the sounds, at times almost reaching sensory overload in a good way. Not a guitar solo to be found, but the incessant strumming and wandering harp machinations make that a moot point. There are lighter moments to even things out at times. Whatever you need to call this music, there is certainly no lack of energy or thought put into it. This record will surely blow the dust out of your speakers. Check it out!

Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.

Mark Searcy – Denouement

Moose Milk Music – 2023

www.marksearcy.com

8 tracks; 36 minutes

Born in Arkansas but a long-time Texas resident, Mark Searcy Middleton started playing guitar in his teens but stopped altogether for fifteen years while raising his family. He started playing again as therapy after an accident at work severely damaged his fingers and, since then, he has been prolific, releasing eighteen albums and four guitar tab books, ranging across many styles, including blues, country, rock and jazz. His latest release, Denouement has some blues elements but also veers into full-blown rock. The version submitted for review contains no information on personnel but keyboards, drums and bass are present on most tracks.

The album is predominantly original with just two covers: The Black Keys’ “I Got Mine” is given a grungy treatment with distortion on both guitars and vocals; BB King’s “Rock Me Baby” is the closest to straight blues here, played in a lightly funky style with fluid guitar over a bubbling rhythm section and incorporating snatches of Muddy’s “Champagne & Reefer” for good measure to deliver an enjoyable cut.

Mark’s website describes the album as blues-rock and his originals mostly fit that description, starting with “Give Me Time”, his lead work set over rhythm guitar while “Getaway With Me” has some screaming wah-wah leads over busy drums. “Sitting On The Edge Of Time” is a little slower-paced as Mark sings of Man’s obsession with material things, failing to see the real dangers; electric piano is in the mix and the organ mid-tune adds a touch of the 60’s. “In A Van Down By The River” has Ange Kogutz’s powerful backing vocals behind a mainly spoken vocal and is apparently based on a Saturday Night Live sketch. The lengthy “Warriors Of Passion And Crime” spends the first of its seven minutes on heavily distorted guitar before Mark starts reciting rather than singing the strange lyrics: “We watch the hands spin, yet trapped by the time; some aim for glory while others see mastery”. Lots of wah-wah guitar here, for aficionados of that style. The title track again has semi-spoken lyrics, the piano, acoustic guitar and more restrained electric guitar providing a more comfortable listening experience until the closing section in which Mark hits the wah-wah pedal hard.

Mark Searcy has produced a lot of music in recent years, this being his sixth album in less than three years. Existing fans will no doubt want to get this album but it is not easy to recommend it to those who prefer their blues free of rock trappings.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Namedroppers – Blue Diamonds

Horizon Music Group

www.thenamedroppers.net

10 tracks – 36 minutes

The Name Droppers were originally the backing band for harp player Charlie Karp. Charlie died before finishing the album that ultimately became their debut release. The Connecticut based band consists of Rafe Klein on guitar and vocals, Bobby T Torello on drums, Scott Spray on bass and Ron Rifkin on piano and organ. Spray and Torello previously played with Johnny Winter.  Spray played bass on Johnny’s 2015 Grammy winning album and also played in Edgar Winter’s band. Torello has been inducted into the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame and the New England Hall of Fame. Klein and Rifkin played with Charlie Karp for many years prior to his death in 2019.

The album consists of eight originals, seven of which were penned by Torello and one by Klein, and two covers. The album opens with the title track. Klein’s vocal is paired with a gospel-like backing from Heather Joseph. Ron Rifkin is in the lead for much of the song and Al Ferrante guests on guitar. The song deals with drug abuse and how he cannot escape the damage done by the drug.

Bill Holloman guests on sax on a rocking number, “Hollywood” that features Torello’s somewhat raspy vocals and a fine organ run mixed with excellent guitar work. He tells her that she should “go to Hollywood cause the walk would do you good”. Klein takes the vocals again on an R&B plea for her to “Just Come Home” and declaring that he “did not mean what he said”. Holloman also adds sax to this cut.

The first cover is of the Joe Medwick and Don Robey penned “Further on up the Road”, which was originally performed by Bobby “Blue” Bland. The song is a driving blues rock number again offering a nice mix of organ and guitar. Jay Willie guests on slide guitar and immediately tears up the music with a Bo Diddley-reminiscent beat delivered by Torello on “Back to Chicago” as Torello cites his desire to get back to his woman and the sights of the Windy City. The music slows down with a ballad comparing “New York” to Chicago and San Francisco. He says the city “let me down again last night” noting that the city has “so much class and twice as much trash”.

The group pulls a cover, Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House”, out of their vaults that has Charlie Karp on guitar and features Mark Naftalin guesting on piano. Klein again provides the vocals.  The song is from a 2018 studio session. Following considerable strife shown in the media surrounding the conflict in Ukraine, the band wrote the military sounding “Ukraine We Stand” with the blues snaking through on Torello’s snare drum beat. Jay Willie’s slide guitar also runs through the song.

Klein asks, “Are You Lonely” and declares “I can give you real, true love” and “will be there whenever you need me”. Carol Sylvan adds backing vocals. They end the album with a Chuck Berry – styled rock number, “Blue Guitar”, that also adds some Jerry Lee Lewis piano riffs into the mix and gives Torello an opportunity to throw in some surf style drum rhythms. Torello finds that “women you can’t trust them; she stole my blue guitar”.

The Namedroppers continue to provide fun albums that cross through many genres.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.