Cover photo © 2023 Nathanial I. Kieser

 In This Issue 

Anita Schlank has our feature interview with Mathias Lattin. We have six Blues reviews for you this week including new music from Soulful Femme, Joel Astley, Clarence Edwards, Dr. Helander & Third Ward, G and The Doctor and Joe Payne. Scroll down and check it out!

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Over the last fifteen to twenty years, it has been often heard that young artists do not seem to embrace the blues.  Luckily, a group of young blues artists, including several under thirty years of age, (such as King Solomon Hicks, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Dylan Triplett, and Jontavious Willis) intend to prove that assumption wrong.  Joining that group is an extremely talented 21-year-old guitarist, singer/songwriter from Houston named Mathias Lattin who is well-spoken and appears wise beyond his years.

Many might have assumed Lattin would have turned toward sports, with his grandfather being the NBA Hall of Fame legend David “Big Daddy” Lattin.  In fact, he is the only musician in his family.

“Everyone in my family is an athlete.  My brother runs track and field professionally, another sibling plays basketball, and my sister just came back from being overseas playing volleyball.  I’m sure they would have liked me to be in sports, but when they saw I wasn’t really doing that great in it, they let go of that expectation.”

Lattin has reported that his family tells him he has been singing since he was able to talk.  He started piano lessons in the first grade and picked up the guitar for the first time at the age of only seven.  He initially studied classical guitar in elementary school.  However, as he was entering middle school, his mother enrolled him in the Summar Jazz Workshop, so his role models turned to artists such as George Benson, Wes Montgomery and Sonny Rollins.  Then his grandmother introduced him to the blues, beginning with the music of BB King, and he has been playing blues and jazz ever since.

“When I was ten years old, my grandmother showed me a video of BB King.  I went down the BB route and then learned about Little Milton and Lightnin’ Hopkins.  Also, Milton Hopkins—he was BB’s guitar player for about 35 years and he’s from Houston too.  Houston has such a wealth of artists, but it often gets overlooked.  If you look at the history of the bigger bands, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King and Little Milton, they all have Houston artists.”

Lattin graduated from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.  Throughout high school, Lattin was unusually focused for his age and did not concern himself with what most high school students might find important.

“I missed all of my high school dances, but I didn’t care. There was one I was going to attend because I hadn’t been to any of them, but then I got a gig and that was more important.  I’ve always, for the most part, done my own thing.  It’s always been me figuring things out.  Well, with the help of my mother.  My mom has been supportive the whole time.  She helped book the gigs and nobody has sacrificed as much for me.  I’ve also developed somewhat of a minimalist lifestyle which gives me time to focus on what I really want to do, which is the music.

Lattin was fortunate enough to be mentored by such artists as Jonn Del Toro Richardson, Al Campbell, Shawn Allen and Annika Chambers, and released a five-song EP during his senior year of high school titled Let’s Start Here, which contains the impressive original slow-blues number “All on My Own”.  In 2020, Lattin joined the Keeshea Pratt Band and played for several years as her guitarist.

“While in Keeshea’s band I learned a lot of teamwork skills and some about the tour lifestyle.  I learned some of the skills of how to stay active and healthy on the road and how to mingle with people and properly position yourself as an artist.”

Lattin participated in the IBCs three times prior to his recent win.  The first time he participated as a sideman for the Sarah Grace band in the youth showcase.  The second time was also in the youth showcase with his band called “Untitled”.  The third time was as a sideman for Cris Crochemore in 2022.  The 2023 International Blues Challenge was the first time he entered as the Mathias Lattin Band.  He noted that it felt like things had come full circle given that he went from a sideman to a frontman participating as a youth, and then again went from a sideman to a frontman as an adult.  In 2023, he not only won the award for best band but was also named as the best guitarist. These honors led to him receiving several writing gigs for other musicians and being booked at many more festivals.  For example, he was almost immediately booked on the Legendary Blues Cruise, the Big Blues Bender, and the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival.  He was equally excited about all of those opportunities.

The Bender was amazing, particularly because there were seven winners of the best guitarist award present in the lineup.  And I love the Legendary Blues Cruise because I always get to see a lot of great artists, the food is great, and there is non-stop music.  Additionally, Telluride is coming up and I’ve heard great things about that festival.”

Lattin’s next album is expected to be released October 27th on the VizzTone Record label, which was founded by Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt and Bob Margolin and managed by Amy Brat, who is also a partner.  Rosenblatt noted, “We are very excited to be working with Mathias.  He’s not just a great player and singer, he’s a serious composer whose unique blues songs are laced with tasty jazz influences and thoughtfully produced for maximum impact.”   Lattin expressed his excitement for this collaboration as well.

“I’ve been working mainly with Rosy and Amy, and I love them.  They’re really passionate about what they do and are really hard-working.  I wrote all the songs on the album, and I produced it from top to bottom—did all the engineering in my home studio.  I picked up the engineering part earlier, in high school because I was always interested in the recording aspect of everything.  I always loved arrangements and I just wanted to learn how to do it all.  I’ve been lucky and had a lot of people in my corner teaching me how to properly record and set up microphones.  I track guitar and bass and then retrack the bass again over the drums.  I think Marvin Gaye has been the biggest influence on my songwriting.  I will usually write the lyrics down and then the music.  I like the more interesting chord progressions.  Sometimes I’ll record myself scat singing the other musician’s parts for them to learn and send it to them that way.  Right now, my band is a power trio with Jesse Gomez on bass and Nick Andres on drums, but I also called in a bunch of Houston guys for the album.  I tried to keep the album all Houston-based musicians.”

“For my gear, I am mostly a boutique guitar person.  I’ve been playing Paul Reed Smith guitars recently.  I like those guitars.  The guitar I had been using for the past three years, and what I played in the IBC, was a Sugi.  That is a boutique builder from Japan and it’s a really amazing guitar.  I use a Category 5 amplifier (the Andrew model), and a twin reverb, and then I have my various assortments of overdrive pedals.  I mainly use the full tone of OCD and try to go wireless as much as I can.  I also like half wound strings.  Most people aren’t hip to those.  I like them because they allow me the freedom to play between my jazzier tones and my brighter tones.”

Lattin also noted that he would like to produce albums for other musicians.

“I would love to produce albums for others. I find doing that to be very fun for me. I would love to see where their mind is at, and to see if could throw my spin on their music if they would allow me to.  To throw in whatever stupid idea I might have.  Like most of my music has key changes in it.  That’s kind of the running joke in the band. There were three songs on the album with key changes. It can get complicated after a while.  It’s a thing I like and it’s also something that is not really done anymore.  It’s not really seen in today’s blues music.”

When asked about the commonly held belief that younger audiences don’t enjoy the blues, Lattin had the following to say:

“I don’t think that age group has lost the blues.  It’s more so that it has been doing the thing it needed to do—it needed to evolve.  Every other genre has been given that room to evolve.  Jazz went from ragtime to straight ahead, all the way to free form and R&B evolved. Rock turned from one thing to another with Heavy Metal.  Even pop music has evolved.  I think Reggae is the only genre that has really stayed the same.  But the blues is sometimes held to this standard where it’s not allowed to evolve.  People say, ‘I only want to hear it like this.’  I think it’s doing what it needs to do.  I think it will have a resurgence.  But I do think most festivals don’t have a good balance.  Some people might say that it is too far toward the rock end.  We need more people like Marquise (Knox), and Fish (Christone “Kingfish” Ingram), DK Harrell, the Peterson Brothers, Dylan Triplett and Jarekus (Singleton) to balance that out.  One thing I do recognize about the age group is that only people over thirty buy CDs.  People my age only buy vinyl. We’re going retro.  Or they are moving to the digital platforms, but they don’t realize that we get a really, really small payment for streaming our music, like .001.  You need to know your business. That’s extremely important, especially in today’s age. Because we are making such little money off streams (and sometimes off of our own record deals) you need to know how to make money.  If fans want to support an artist, buy their merchandise and tell a friend to check out their music.  Introduce friends to that artist.”

You can find out more about Mathias Lattin (and check out his merchandise) at www.mathiaslattin.com.  And you can soon see him on the October Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.  When you see him perform live you will soon realize why Frank “Lil Scrap” Robinson had this to say about him:  “The future of the blues is in good hands with Mathias Lattin.  He is a gentleman and a scholar and has proven himself worthy to be the frontman he is.”

Writer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the 1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book “Blues Therapy,” with all proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.

Soulful Femme – Attitude

Sky Dog Studios

www.soulfulfemme.com

11 songs time – 45:53

Pretty much a dynamic duo of music is the essence of Soulful Femme. The smooth and soulful vocals of Stevee Wellons combined with the creative guitar skills of Cheryl Rinovato mesh for a truly enjoyable musical experience. They wrote nine out of the eleven songs to boot. Their core band is tight as a bull’s butt and they get outside help from Albert Castiglia (guitar-producer), Tommy Castro (vocals), Kevin Burt (Vocals) and Mark Earley (ex-Roomful Of Blues-tenor saxophone). Their sound encompasses blues, R&B, soul, rock, jazz, and who knows what else.

They dig right in on the title track with Stevee’s commanding voice set against a mighty guitar riff by Cheryl. A really strong kick-off to a quality recording. Albert guests on guitar. Michael Bram keeps up a nasty shuffle beat to a stop and start guitar riff on “Not Like You”, once again with Albert. Kevin Burt teams up for a powerful duet on Willie Dixon’s “Insane Asylum”. Their gospel charged voices play well against each other. Stevee adds a brief spoken section midway through.

Cheryl contributes some great meandering wah-wah guitar on the funky “Can’t Get There From Here”. Jazzy guitar permeates the mellow R&B of “Breathe Again” on which Stevee provides her own background vocals as well. Cheryl turns in another well-crafted guitar solo to compliment Stevee’s vocal on the R&B charged “Loser’s Game”. Tommy Castro comes close to a James Brown impersonation on Brown’s needless to say funky “Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing” as he duets with Stevee. Albert Castiglia appears again on guitar.

Stevee commits one her strongest vocals over wah-wah guitar on “Walk Out”. Matt Raymond’s sturdy bass line gels perfectly with the horns on “Dysfunction Funk”. “Crazy” is a dissertation on getting over dark times. Another powerful bass line on “Time To Walk” that ruminates on the end of a relationship. The creative drumming locks in with the funky rhythm guitar.

Basically, this is Rythm & Blues music that is infused with various other musical elements. The musicians along with the production of Albert Castiglia and engineering of Dave Gross create a satisfying musical experience. Stevee Wellons voice is strong and emotionally charged. Cheryl Rinovato creates guitar atmospheres to suit each song. This is really good stuff.

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

Joel Astley – Seattle To Greaseland

Blue Heart Records – 2023

www.joelastley.com

11 tracks; 46 minutes

Joel Astley is a new name and this is his debut album release. He hails from Seattle where he has won several awards for his songwriting, singing and harmonica playing since he started out in 2014. For his debut he took eleven original songs to Greaseland Studio where Kid Andersen engineered, recorded and mixed the album, as well as co-producing with Joel. Naturally, Kid plays a variety of guitars and keyboards across the album, together with Randy Bermudes on bass and June Core on drums (Charlie Musselwhite’s rhythm section), Johnny Burgin on guitar: Jill Dineen and Marina Crouse add backing vocals to three tracks.

Joel’s natural vocal style makes all the songs clear and easy to appreciate from the first listen. The opener is a great example, a gospel-fueled view of the human condition which equates the blues with every human being, as we all are “Born Cryin’”: kudos to the rhythm section here, giving an outstanding performance, as they do throughout. Showing us a different style, “Candy Shop” is a jump blues with Kid on sizzling organ and Johnny playing some sweet licks, highly appropriate for a tale of a girl with a sweet tooth! Joel then puts on his best Johnny Cash impression on “Just Right”, the tune barrelling along with stinging guitar, a song about a guy who revels in adversity: “I ain’t happy unless I’m in misery; when the going gets rough it’s getting just right for me”. On “Karma Wheel” Joel warns that “it may take a while but you will reap what you sow”, a relaxed tune on which the two guitarists play well together, Johnny on slide, before Joel gives us the amusing tale of the “Secondhand Kid”: “I wrecked a car back when I was a kid, they thought I was going to die and I almost did, but the doctors topped me off with some blood from a donor; seems even the blood in my veins had a previous owner”. The lyrics are well written and deserve a careful listen, plus Joel blows some excellent harp here too, a fine cut.

Bright harp then introduces a song about the after-life. Is there heaven or not? Joel has his doubts, so decides that he is “Takin’ It With Me”, intending to take a few things he might need, given the uncertainty! The tune swings like crazy before the band shows its Rock n’ Roll credentials on “Hot As Hell”, Johnny’s guitar ringing out over the rhythm section’s hard-driving work, Joel adding a hot solo late on. Kid’s piano fuels another rocking tune as Joel sings of burning the candle at both ends though he sounds pretty determined to carry on and drive things “Down To The Rims”. The ladies add their choral vocals to “Work With What You Got”, a stop-start rhythm and more sage advice from Joel before Johnny’s slide and Joel’s harp provide a gritty backdrop to a fine tribute to 88 Keys, a club in Seattle where Joel started out, but known to all as “Bobby’s Place”. In another change of style Joel closes the album with “No Brighter Gold”, a song that celebrates finding true love, combining Country rhythms with a gospel-fueled chorus to great effect.

This is a genuinely impressive debut disc which shows off Joel’s songwriting, vocals and harp, supported by a great band. Brilliantly recorded and produced, this is an album that you will return to often and should figure in awards for new artists in due course. It certainly comes highly recommended by this reviewer!

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.

Clarence Edwards – Baton Rouge Downhome Blues: Louisiana Swamp Blues Vol. 9

Wolf Records CD 120.635

www.wolfrec.com

16 songs – 71 minutes

Born in Lindsay, La., in 1933 and one of 14 children, Clarence Edwards toiled in obscurity as a farmer,  scrap yard employee and guitarist for decades before finally being laying down several tracks for legendary British producer Mike Vernon in 1970 and eventually achieving fame on the national blues festival circuit in the late ‘80s. And he gets to live again 30 years after his passing with this compilation of tunes captured shortly before his passing in 1993.

An country-style artist in his youth, Edwards’ first efforts as a musician came in the ’50s as a member – along with his brother Cornelius — of the Boogie Beats before moving on to the Bluebird Kings and a group fronted by fiddle player Butch Cage, with whom he recorded for Folk Lyric.

Clarence developed a more contemporary style of play in his later years but disappeared from public view during the ‘70s and early ‘80s while holding down a day job. And he only laid down two albums  during his lifetime, Swamp’s the Word on Sidetrack in 1988 and Swampin’ on New Rose in 1991. But his work has been memorialized in three previous posthumous collections, Sidetrack’s Thibodeaux’s Café in partnership with Howlin’ Wolf pianist Henry Gray and the Short Fuse band, Last Call’s I Looked Down That Railroad (Till My Eyes Got Red and Sore) and a previous Wolf release, Louisiana Swamp Blues Vol. 4 with Oscar “Harpo” Davis.

Credit for the material on this disc goes to Steve Coleridge, a blues bassist from the United Kingdom who rediscovered Edwards after moving to Baton Rouge in the late ‘80s to conduct research about another Gulf Coast treasure, harmonica player Slim Harpo. The songs here were recorded and mixed by Coleridge between 1990 and ’93 in Fort Worth, Texas, Edwardsville, Ill., Montgomery, Ala. and various locations in California. Coleridge holds down bass on all cuts along with drummer Ronnie Houston in a revolving lineup that includes Davis, Harmonica Red and John Gradnigo on harp, Gina Forsyth and Scott Shipman on violin. Pat Morrison sits in on six-string on one track. And an uncredited piano player appears on other.

A rock-steady version of Fats Domino’s “Every Night About This Time” opens the action with a true roadhouse feel, and Clarence’s powerful vocals shine throughout. It gives way to an unhurried take on Cornelius Green and Bruce Bromberg’s “Dealin’ from the Bottom of the Deck” on which Edwards shows off his electric guitar skills. A extended cover of the traditional “Crawlin’ King Snake” takes on an unusual feel with fiddle accompaniment before Clarence delivers a standard but solidly delivered arrangement of Magic Sam’s “All Your Love” that would have made the Chicago master smile.

His take on George Jackson’s “Down Home Blues,” however, comes across with a juke feel and a diminished impact of the Z.Z. Hill version. Violins add another dimension to Guitar Slim’s “Well, I Done Got Over It” but it still comes across with the same feel the originator imparted – as does a dose of  Muddy Waters through “Still a Fool,” which follows. And the traditional “I’m the One” will have you and your honey gliding across the dance floor.

Next up, Bill Gaither’s “Rocky Mountain Blues” first saw the light of day in the ‘30s with Leroy Carr driving the melody, but it comfortably fits in Edwards’ style – as does “Don’t Make Me Pay for His Mistakes,” a tune that’s also been covered by B.B. King and Hill. Then it’s back to the Windy City again with a successful pairing of Muddy’s “I Want You to Love Me” and Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man.” The only original in the set, “Everybody Has Their Ups and Downs,” keeps the heat on high before Guitar Slim’s “The Things That I Used to Do,” Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day” and the traditional “Highway 61 Blues” bring the action to a close.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life. Now based out of Mason, Ohio, his first experience with live music came at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community, he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.

Dr. Helander & Third Ward – Shining Pearls

Blue Light Records

www.facebook.com/dr.helander

10 tracks – 39 minutes

Finnish trio Dr. Helander and the Third Ward feature the twin burning guitars of Ikko Helander and Esa Kuloiemi and drums by Leevi Leppanen.  While Ikko tears up the songs with his lead guitar work, Kuloiemi plays a mean slide guitar and doubles up on bass. This is the trios third album which contains eight original songs firmly set in the Chicago and Delta blues style with two well selected covers.

The slide guitar immediately accents the lead song “I Don’t Wanna Wake Up from My Dream”. as Ikka powers his guitar behind the rhythmic drumming. On “Unwanted Person”, he notes that “I cannot do nobody good” “Everyone I talk to turns their back on me”.

Listening to the guitar work of the two men can certainly lead your thinking of Lightning Hopkins, which makes it only right that the first cover is Lightning Hopkins’ “War Is Starting Again”.  The song was originally written as Hopkins was viewing the start of the Korean War, but it certainly fits the issues facing Europe today as he sings ” The World is in turmoil, I got news this morning that they need young men.” Mississippi Fred McDowell is listed as one of the inspirations of the band and therefore the second cover is McDowell’s “61 Highway.” (“Highway 61” in the US).

Leevi Leppanen plays organ in addition to drumming and Panu Syrjanen guests on sax on “Cemetary Wall” as he says the wall is “waiting for my downfall”. “Your Old School” emphasizes the slide guitar again as the good doctor says, ” I tried to teach you better, but I’m no fool”. On the title song he notes that “Shining Pearls” “won’t make you happy, diamond rings will make you frown”. “No matter what I try, you try to drag me down.”

Next Ikko declares I am going to build me a “Bridge To Freedom” “…and get a brand-new start” with Esa again ripping on the slide guitar. Syrjanen joins the trio and Serko Niemenen adds harmonica as Ikko declares “You Don’t Care”. The album ends with “Rollercoaster Riding” which compares his life to being on a roller coaster speeding along up and down.

The album features constantly driving electric guitar blues. Ikko’s voice is certainly suited to the older traditional style of Chicago blues.

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.

G and The Doctor – Dat Nola Trip

Self- Released

http://www.facebook.com/turrinigloria

9 Tracks – 31 minutes

Google Italian blues singer Gloria Turrini and you will discover that the vocalist is certainly well known in Italy and apparently quite well known in other European and even Asian countries. Articles about her appear in many different languages including immediately recognized French, Russian and Oriental letter formats. Gloria not only sings but also plays drums and the washboard as well as adding some percussion. For this album she teamed with Italian guitarist Riccardo Ferrini for a trip to New Orleans (NOLA) to take in all the sights, sounds, and particularly the music of the city. The result of the album is a love song to New Orleans and an energetic celebration of the music from its earliest roots in the swamps to a more modern approach to ballads and New Awlin’s jazz. For the recording, she reached out to resident musicians of the city to perform in her band. Andy J. Forest joins on harmonica. Robert Luti on electric guitar, Robert Snow on Double Bass, and Rosalynn Deroos on clarinet.

The album opens with “Not Today Satan” which quickly proves she is vocally on par with the early greats of the female blues singers. The song swings through with Forest’s harmonica leading the way. A female chorus backs her as she pushes Satan away. Next, she moves into a deeper vocals range as she declares “You Should Have Known” “I’m always right, but never wrong”. Ricardo plays a slow sensuous slide guitar slipping through the song. The “Four Day Creep” demonstrates her classic blues vocal style as she says, “If you got a good man and you don’t want him taken away from you, don’t tell your friends what you make him do.” and notes that “I am a big, bad mama and have some meat on my bones.” Forest and Ricardo again contribute subdued guitar and harmonica to punctuate her vocals.

“Solid As a Rock” takes a shift back in time to a vaudevillian sound with Rosalynn’s clarinet and Gloria’s light touch on the drums. Robert Snows’ double bass is featured on “Not Anymore” as she notes “Life’s not gonna last forever, we might as well start living”, a quote she adds as a liner note on the back cover of the album. “Two Voices” slows things down to a quiet ballad with the female chorus backing her with a gospel-like response as she sings “two voices are stuck in my head, one who wants to play and one who says you might be dead.” Ricardo’s slide again slips throughout the song.

On “That Dog” Ricardo and Robert Luti’s guitar interchange with Gloria’s metronomic percussion as “That dog’s howl makes me want to scream”. “Without You” backs into a quiet folk blues sound with a slow guitar accompaniment as she considers life alone after he is gone. The album closes with an all-out rocker with an R&B sound with the female chorus again punctuating her issues that demand that she just “Let Go and Let God”.

Gloria’s strong voice is reminiscent of many of the early powerhouse female vocalists. Her chosen songs are laid back, but nonetheless powerfully presented with the strong musicianship of her selected band. Her previous albums “Damn Blues” (not currently shown as available in the US) and a previous album released under group name G and The Doctor indicate that the “doctor” on that album was Mecco Guidi. That does not belittle Ricardo Ferrini’s contribution to this album but does show that she may have multiple doctors for her performances. Nonetheless, Gloria demonstrates that her voice is the driving instrument of the album.

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.

Joe Payne – Blues Muze

Independent release

www.joepaynebluesman777.com

10 Tracks – 44 minutes

On the inside cover of Joe Payne’s album, the first thing you see is a note that says, “Special thanks to my brothers Gene, Gary and Larry for all these years of inspiration and friendship” From a bio provided by Joe, he explains that “I started my music journey with my three brothers Gene, Larry, and Gary in Sweet Springs, Missouri. My father, Berry Gene Payne bought a Kay guitar and a small amp. One day while my dad was at work, Gene went into my dad’s room and brought the guitar and amp out to our front porch. We began trying to play.”

“Gene got an offer to play bass in a local black rhythm and blues band. So, my dad, Gene and I went to a music store and bought a sound amp, an Egmund guitar, and a bass guitar. We soon brought our younger brothers into the mix. Gary soon took over the bass duties and Gene switched to vocals with Larry and me on guitar. Around 1970 we started playing professionally as the Payne Brothers. We played locally for 45 years and put out two cd’s – Blink of an Eye and Take on Life. After Gene passed, we added Chris Trimblett on keyboards and sax. We played with so many great musicians including Robert Top Thomas, Shawn Beamer and Scott Corwin. The band eventually disbanded.”

Joe now lives in Edgewater, Florida where he continues to play as Joe Payne and Friends. This led to his recording at Sonny Yambor’s Sun Splash Studios in New Smyrna Beach Florida. Musicians on the recording include Bryan Bennett on drums on track two through ten and Billy Dean on track one; Mark Evangelista on bass and harmony vocals and lead vocals on track three; Lois Ridgdill on Hammond organ and backing vocals; Ryan Little on electric piano; and Mike Kaye also playing bass. Joe said “We produced my first solo cd to give credit and tribute to all the great guitarist who came before me and influenced me to write this original CD.”

As Joe stated, the album consists of ten all original songs with “Blues Busters” rocking out of the gate with Joe proclaiming “if you are feeling lonely, if you are feeling blue, call on us we know what to do”.  Joe’s guitar rocks out with Ryan playing a robust piano interlude. On “Honey Child”, he moves to a blues shuffle, Joe questions “Where in the world did you get your honey from…I just got to get me some”. “Iron Horse” gets the music rocking again as Joe tells a story about “when the full moon is rising up on the desert sky, the stagecoach is loaded tomorrow noon and headed for another town” “Rode into town this morning and the sheriff was looking for me.”  Joe’s guitar is backed by Lois’s organ.

He gets back into full blues mode as he sings” Mississippi Blues Man ” “plays the blues for you, nobody gonna slow the Bluesman down.” “Johnny Was a Good Boy” ‘that is what they say, went to church to learn to pray.” “As he got older, he got into trouble with the law…hanging out with the wrong crowd”. “When he got out, he bought a guitar, everybody loved the music he played”. Lois’s organ again gets a workout in the song with Joe again ripping a guitar solo. “Sea Of Blues” slows things down as “hard luck and troubles were bound my way, going down for a third time cause I am drowning in a sea of blues”. Joe’s guitar rings out on this one.

Joe then asks, “Will the Blues Ever Change” with a guitar opening that reminds of Peter Green and the organ continues to flow through the song as Joe pleads “Oh Lord will things ever change, Oh Lord will they remain the same, all this pain and sorrow, will this be the same tomorrow.”   Next Joe evokes some humor as she “told everyone I am just a fool, but you are running around breaking the all the rules”. “You are just not thinking right, your “Wig Hat” is too tight for your head.”

“Momma did not have much money, Momma just had ragged clothes.” “Life was not easy working on the plantation” as Joe sings of “Mississippi Freedom” and that’s where he wants to be. The album ends with a bouncy instrumental “Funky Avenue”.

Joe shifts gears constantly from song to song and even within a song letting his guitar soar at times and at other times content to let it slide along in the blues. Just as you think you pick up on some touch of a particular guitar style, he quickly and deftly shifts to another making the playing his own.

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.