Cover photo © 2024 Bob Kieser

 In This Issue 

Ken Billett has our feature interview with DieDra Hurdle-Ruff. We have four Blues reviews for you this week including a book on William Clarke from Paul Barry plus new music from Bees Deluxe, Kerri Powers and Cedar County Cobras. Our Video of the week is DieDra and The Ruff Pro Band. Scroll down and check it out!

Paul Barry – Blowin’ Like Hell: The William Clarke Story

Palmetto Publishing

www.paulbarryblues.com

150 pages Soft cover

Anyone who was fortunate enough to see a live performance by William Clarke can attest that he did indeed blow the harmonica like a true force of nature. He took command of the stage, which could barely contain his large frame and the swinging sounds that he pulled from his instrument. With stellar musicians in his band, and plenty of captivating original songs, Clarke was climbing the ladder to stardom until fate intervened.

Author Paul Barry is a blues harmonica player from Minnesota with several albums to his credit. More importantly, he was a good friend of Clarke’s, even moving to California so he could learn all he could from his friend about playing the harmonica, especially the chromatic harp, which Clarke had mastered after getting coaching from harp legend George “Harmonica” Smith. The friends had spent time putting together a book on how to play blues harp that never was completed. A few years ago Barry was tempted to finish that book, but then changed course in favor of a biography that would remind the world of Clarke’s outstanding legacy.

Tracing a life that started in a California trailer park, Barry utilizes a variety of sources to paint a portrait of a musician who tried drums and guitar before falling under the spell of the harmonica. Clarke got his love of music from his mother, who loved to dance to big band jazz records. He quickly fell under the spell of the blues music he heard on radio stations from the Los Angeles area, with Junior Wells and Big Walter Horton making indelible impressions. He learned what he could from records, reaching the point where he knew that he needed to hear the music live to continue to improve.

That meant venturing into the “ghetto” blues clubs in South Central Los Angeles, where at the age of 18, Clarke started earning $2 a night for playing live with artists like Iron Board Sam. He wasn’t old enough to be in the clubs, but his physical size and beard made him seem much older, allowing easy entrance to the venues. He joined other musicians like Rod Piazza and Doug MacLeod, who were also deep into the music and pursuing their own path to greater knowledge.

There were three musicians that further shaped Clarke’s musical direction. Guitarist Smokey Wilson and Shakey Jake Harris were great role models along with Smith, educating the young musician not only on how to play the music, but also stressing the importance of entertaining the audience, a lesson Clarke took to heart. Wilson and Harris ran clubs that Clarke would frequent. Smith was a master of the chromatic harmonica, and under his tutelage, Clarke became the torch-bearer for the full-throttle style as exemplified on his instrumental “Chromatic Jump,” a highlight of his live shows.

Married to his high school sweetheart, Jeanette Pulcini, and with children to raise, Clarke toiled as a journeyman machinist by day, playing clubs by night. It all became too much, so in 1987 he made a commitment to play music full time. It was rough at first, as he struggled with a few low playing gigs as other less talented artists seemed to be hitting it big. But Clarke stayed true to his vision, writing creative original songs and putting together killer bands that brought plenty of life to his music. Backed by guitarists like Junior Watson, Alex Schultz, Zach Zunis, and Rick Holmstrom, Clarke’s music rarely fell short of being razor-sharp.

Free to tour, Clarke hit the road. He quickly established a growing fan base while dealing with the usual issues of long drives, broken vehicles, and low pay. Shy by nature, he had turned to alcohol for some liquid courage. Over time, the demon rum began to affect his performances, and more importantly, his health. The effects were often hidden from his fans as Clarke continued to give all he had on stage.

After a number of albums on small labels and several self-released titles, Clarke realized a dream when his concerted efforts resulted in a contract with Alligator Records. It was an unusual arrangement as owner Bruce Iglauer agreed to let Clarke be the first artist on the label to record and mix his own releases. With the label’s backing, Clarke eventually put out four dynamic albums to overwhelming critical acclaim internationally. His thought process and playing were geared toward the sound of horn players and jazz organists. Thanks to his outstanding technical skills, Clarke was able to create similar sounds on the harmonica

But the years of late nights, hard living, and too much alcohol had taken it’s toil. Fighting a leg infection mixed with a blood thinner, Clarke developed a bleeding ulcer. His body couldn’t take it any more. He passed away at the age of 45 in November, 1996, robbing the blues world of one of its brightest stars.

Barry lays out the saga in chronological fashion, mixing in comments and reminisces from many musicians who played with Clark, as well as memories from Jeanette and their two children. Also included are 28 pages of photos covering the span of Clarke’s life, many with detailed notes. Another section has testimonials from harmonica aces Jason Ricci, Dennis Gruenling, Ronnie Shellist, and Adam Gussow, and the author on Clarke’s lasting impact and influence. A two page discography accounts for all the recordings Clarke appeared on, including numerous posthumous releases on the Watch Dog label, which Jeanette uses to make sure the world does not forget about William Clarke.

Those readers who are familiar with Clarke will certainly enjoy learning more about his life. And if his music has not found it’s way onto your playlist, grab a copy of this fine book, buy some of Clarke’s music in your favorite format, and be prepared to be dazzled by killer tunes like “Hittin’ Heavy” and “Pawnshop Bound”. A debt of gratitude to Paul Barry for helping Jeanette fulfill her promise to continue to shine a light on William Clarke’s legacy.

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!

Bees Deluxe – Hallucinate

Slapping Cat Records

www.beesdeluxe.com

12 tracks

Hailing from Boston, Bees Deluxe have toured up and down the East Coast to present the sounds from their imagination. Recorded in a studio “hidden in the forests of Massachusetts,” the band took a year to produce a dozen new songs in response to demands from their listeners. Mixing Chicago blues and a heavy dose of psychedelic rock, the album is certainly eclectic and different.

The Bees Deluxe liken their music to a genre called acid blues, a bluesy version of acid rock. The All Music Guide writes, “Acid Rock was the heaviest, loudest variation of psychedelic rock. Drawing from the overblown blues improvisations of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, acid rock bands relied on distorted guitars, trippy lyrics, and long jams. Acid rock didn’t last too long — it evolved and imploded within the life span of psychedelia — and the bands that didn’t break up became heavy metal bands.” That pretty much sums up the sound and feel of this album.

The band is Carol Band on keys, vocals and harp, Allyn Door on bass and vocals, Joe Egan on keys and manuscripts, James Gildea in bass and vocals, Paul Giovine on drums and percussion, Adam Sandowski on bass, and Conrad Warre on guitar, bass, vocals, trumpet, kaossilator, strings and keys. A couple of other musicians are noted where they appear.

“Sharkskin Suit” starts us off. It’s a little bouncy and has a 1970’s vibe to it. Jared Egan adds his guitar to the mix which gives the song depth. “When Is Yesterday” is a trippy, slow cut with somber vocals and guitar work. We get a little distorted harp thrown in late in the piece. “Another Close Shave” follows, a thoughtful cut that makes me feel like I’m perhaps listening to Dire Straights on hallucinogenic drugs.

“Scared” takes us on a journey that evokes a mix of Pink Floyd and LSD. Band takes us on a journey of depression and fear as he sings and Warre plays some ethereal, trippy guitar. Up next is “Queen Midas” which takes us with acoustic guitar added to the mix. Warre also adds some cool cupped trumpet along with nice electric guitar and a cool organ line, too. “How To Play 96 Tears” follows with some elegant piano in this cool instrumental number. Replacing the Farfisa with a piano and taking us in new directions, it’s a slick cut.

“Nitro” is next and features Poogie Bell on drums. More breathy vocals and a jazzy approach with horns and guitar setting a nice tone in this explosive tune. “Call Me Frank” is next, a dreamy guitar piece that gets a harp added that finally introduces the vocals. The harp returns for some extended, dreamy sounding stuff. “Men & Women” is next, more dissonant stuff that ambles along to a slow to mid-tempo groove and ethereal guitar.

“Gary Burton’s ex-Guitar Player Stole My High School Girl” follows, a heady instrumental fronted by acoustic guitar and an overall heady feeling. “Houdini” changes things up with breathy vocals and a nice electric guitar lead. The album concludes with “What’s Wrong With Me?” This one’s a song that the vocals search for what is wrong with the vocalist. Striving to find himself after likening to being hit by a falling tree, we get another heady cut with interesting guitar lead and soloing.

This album is not something to sit down to listen and chill with. The album presents wild, imaginative themes and images that take the listener on a sometimes disturbing and always interesting journey. Heavy and heady rock with blues overtones and full of psychedelia, the album permeates with strong feelings of sadness and fear. It’s interesting for sure, and if you are looking for something all original and quite different then this may be for you. It’s well crafted and full of distorted images and music that give the listener a ride through the band’s nightmares.

Blues Blast Magazine 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.

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Kerri Powers – Love is Why

Wildflower Child Records

www.kerripowers.com

11 songs, 43 minutes

Roots Music, Americana, Alt-Country – they are all terms used to describe the, at times, disparate styles of popular music that have sprung out of the Blues and other traditional music. Although not Blues in the more literal sense that some of us hard core fans would consider, Roots Music is a form of Blues in itself. New England’s Kerri Powers’ new record Love is Why makes a case for this broader Roots understanding of the Blues. With 10 originals and an emotive Gregg Allman cover, Powers sings of loss and heartache over a roiling musical backdrop that is affecting and deep.

Love is Why is anchored by one of New England’s strongest rhythm sections: album producer and drummer Marco Giovino, Duke Robillard veteran bassist Marty Ballou and Grammy and BMA winning keyboardist Bro Paul Brown. Giovino, Ballou and Brown lay down a sympathetic pocket for Powers’ acoustic guitar and unique vocals to flit, fly and grind over. There is a strong rotation of electric guitarists who support the proceedings: Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Gregg Brown), Luther Dickinson (you should just know who he is!), Kelvin Holly (Little Richard, The Amazing Rhythm Aces), Doug Lancio (John Hiatt, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin), and, John Putnam (Rufus Thomas, Southside Johnny, Madonna). Pedal steel by Asa Brosius and accordion by Charlie Giordano stud a song each while background vocals from the sublime McCrary Sisters and a duet with singer/songwriter Paul Thorn create a fully realized song cycle.

Kerri Powers is the central focus of Love is Why. Powers sings with a clarion alto that is shaded with gritty tarnish. A truly unique sound, Powers’ voice does not draw easy comparisons to the past. Her instrument is all her own just like unique singers Lucinda Williams, or Emmylou Harris, or Etta James, or Tina Turner. But Powers doesn’t sound like any of them, she has her own delivery and tone which really sets her apart.

Powers’ exceptional vocals are matched with outstanding songwriting. Her grief over losing her father, her defiant push back against the desolation and heartache of the pandemic and a lifetime of creativity infuse her original songs with mournful, redemptive catharsis. Medium tempo testimonies like the hopping title track, the sweetly sentimental slow burn of “Someone Else’s Prayer,” and more overtly Bluesy “Morning Glory, Midnight Blue” tell stories that are universal, clear but never hackneyed. Even on more rollicking tunes like “Rusted Bell,” the 6/8 Dylan-esq “When it Rains” and the chugging “Rummage Through My Love” bring a deep plain spoken poetry to the love and loss of daily life.

Kerri Powers has been making records since 2014, a little later in life after raising a family. It is clear that her music comes from deeply personal emotion and connection. Powers sings with an easy nonchalance that comes from real talent and hard work. Powers’ songs are crafted to perfection with reverence to the past but enough unique flavor to make them their own thing. Partnering with exceptionally talented support, Powers has created in Love is Why a real statement of purpose.

Writer Bucky O’Hare is a slide guitarist, songwriter and singer. Based out of South Eastern Massachusetts, Bucky plays Slide Guitar Soul Jazz and Funk Blues inspired by the music of the 60’s and 70’s all around New England.

Energy, enthusiasm, and a can-do spirit all describe DieDra Hurdle-Ruff, aka “The Alabama Blues Queen.” In spite of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and its impact on live music, DieDra has spent the last several years staying engaged and creative as a musician, a performer, and even a screenwriter. In addition, she continues to give back to her community, both locally and in the state of Alabama.

DieDra has done all this while looking for new ways to make her star shine brighter. She understands that the life of a blues artist is full of ups and downs. So, while she works hard every day at her craft and her business, DieDra understands that patience is a virtue.

“I always tell myself that…I want to be happy (for others) and wait my turn. I feel like everyone has a season, so I wait my turn and keep on pushing until my turn comes.”

Pushing through those ups and downs has been key part of DieDra’s career, which started in 1998. While patience may be a virtue, DieDra’s energy and spirit won’t allow her to simply wait and wonder what could be. She intends to continue pushing in 2024 with a goal of expanding her followers by playing more festivals and special events.

“I just keep pushing until that person in charge, or a festival (promoter) accepts my EPK (Electronic Press Kit) and likes what they see.”

The title of DieDra’s first album, Overcoming Hurdles, summed up the early years of her career. Eventually released in 2007, the album had been delayed almost ten years due to scheduling conflicts. But DieDra’s debut album also brought her together with Keithen Ruff, who was assigned as her producer. Not only a producer, Ruff’s a songwriter and an accomplished guitarist. In 1995, Ruff began playing lead guitar for Bobby Rush and would tour with the blues legend for many years to come.

As DieDra tells the story, both she and Ruff commuted back and forth to the Bronx, New York, where their former record label was located. DieDra, who lived in Florida, at that time, would literally pass Ruff—who is from Alabama—in the airport and only occasionally talk with him on the phone about label business. That went on for three years until one day Ruff called DieDra and she immediately knew it was Keithen from his distinctive voice. DieDra says she’ll never forget that she and Keithen talked from “4:20 that afternoon ‘til ten o’clock that night.” Keithen told DieDra before he ended the call that she was “going to be his (wife).”

“Me? I don’t even know where Alabama is on the map.”

Shortly after that, they got married and DieDra moved to Pinson, Alabama, a small city of about 7,000, northeast of Birmingham. Pinson is Keithen Ruff’s hometown. DieDra signed on with Ruff Pro Records and the pair formed “DieDra and The Ruff Pro Band.” They’ll have been married 17 years in June.

The Ruffs are not only a married couple, but a creative team, as well. DieDra says she writes all her own songs, but that most times her lyrics come after Keithen has put together the music.

“Keith will come up with the music…and I’ll go back to the studio and listen to what he’s played, record it on my phone, and then…I’ll listen to (the music) until I hear…what the music is saying to me.”

Released in 2020, DieDra’s last album, Alabama’s Blues Queen, highlights her vocal range, songwriting, and a soulful funky blues style that is all her own. Her latest single, “Good Ole Country Love,” features a tight arrangement and smooth sultry vocals. DieDra hopes the single will be the anchor for an upcoming album titled Blues on Ruff Road.

The Ruff’s creative talents also extend to the performance stage. DieDra says that she loves to interact with an audience, which she learned from Bobby Rush. She calls Rush her “Blues Daddy,” and that “he literally taught her everything about the blues life.” After they were married, Keithen insisted that DieDra go on the road with Rush and his band. “I watched Bobby and paid a lot of attention to him and how he got people involved.” She learned from Rush how to entertain as well as perform.

Early in 2024, DieDra, Keithen, and the band will brightly shine with a couple of key gigs. The first is a Saturday night—March 9^th—at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. On Saturday, April 6^th, DieDra and The Ruff Pro Band will take the stage at the Seawalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, for the Springing the Blues Festival, one of the oldest and largest outdoor festivals on the East Coast which attracts tens of thousands of fans..

That entertainment quality paid off for The Ruff Pro Band in 2014, when they were finalists at that year’s International Blues Challenge (IBC), held on historic Beale Street in Memphis. Their last IBC experience hadn’t gone as well as they’d hoped, so they approached 2014 as simply having a “good time” and to enjoy themselves in the moment. Both DieDra and Keithen were surprised when they made it to the IBC finals, held inside the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis. (Mr. Sipp won that year under the Band Category.)

Although they didn’t win, DieDra and The Ruff Pro Band believed their style could translate into bigger and better opportunities to make that star shine brighter.

Sometimes that star shines in ways that one never dreams possible.

“Hip Swing’in Blues,” DieDra’s best known single, was an immediate success, garnering several song of the year nominations and, according to her bio sheet, moving up as high as number five on several blues charts. The success of “Hip Swing’in Blues” led to another phenomenon—a line dance that, at some point, went international with dancers swinging their hips all the way from Taiwan. Radio personality Tom Joyner featured DieDra’s hit song on one of his Fantastic Voyage cruises.

“Hip Swing’in Blues” also gave DieDra exposure to the “beach music” scene of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She remembered a phone call from a woman who asked if she was DieDra from “Hip Swing’in Blues.” The woman immediately started screaming, “It’s DieDra, it’s DieDra” to the folks in the background. She introduced herself as Judy Collins, owner of the Myrtle Beach record store Judy’s House of Oldies.

DieDra didn’t know at the time that Collins, who passed away in 2019, was a music producer, and an icon of the “shag dance” movement that made up the South Carolina beach music scene. She was unofficially known as the queen of beach music and a major presence in her community.

The queen of beach music explained to the future Alabama Blues Queen that her hit single was rocketing up the beach music charts and that DieDra needed to send more CDs to Myrtle Beach.

DieDra’s star was shining in some unlikely places.

The backstory of how she became “The Alabama Blues Queen” also involved an unlikely setting. Scheduled to perform at a show in Arkansas, the promoter, Vernon Wells, called and told DieDra to check out the commercials he’d created online for the event. According to DieDra, the ads featured her as “The Alabama Blues Queen” and DieDra “freaked out,” as she put it. She called Wells back and told him that he couldn’t use “Blues Queen,” because, at that time, Denise LaSalle was the reigning Queen of Soul-Blues.

“You can’t call me that,” she told the promoter. “Denise LaSalle gonna beat me up.” Wells, however, stuck to his guns, telling DieDra that if she could prove that another Alabama-based blues artist was as busy and productive as DieDra, he’d take the title back.

“And I couldn’t, I really couldn’t,” she said. After hanging up from the call, DieDra told Keithen what had happened, and he told her she should feel honored. “That’s an honor that they want to call you (The Alabama Blues Queen),” he said.

While DieDra wasn’t sure what to make of her new moniker, a few years later at a gig in Pensacola, Florida, the Blues Society of Northwest Florida, the event’s organizers, asked how DieDra should be publicized. When she told them about what Vernon Wells, the Arkansas promoter, had called her, the Blues Society folks decided that they’d have a ceremony to officially recognize DieDra as “The Alabama Blues Queen.”

Once she was crowned in 2016, DieDra continued to use her new title, but she does so for promotional purposes by making herself and The Ruff Pro Band stand-out in the eyes of festival promoters.

“I’m not one of those people who likes titles,” she clarified. DieDra went on to say that she felt honored and humbled to have that type of distinction when so many important female blues artists have worn that crown. Denise LaSalle, Koko Taylor, and, more recently, Shemekia Copeland, have all been honored as “The Queen of the Blues.”

According to her bio sheet, DieDra has racked up other titles and support throughout her career. One blues group, the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation, based in Douglasville, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, nominated DieDra for their Song of the Year award and Female Artist of the Year (in 2009).

At the 23^rd Annual Jus’ Blues Music Awards, DieDra was honored with the Millie Jackson “Classy and Sassy” Award for outstanding female artistry that keeps it real in blues and soul music. Held last August in Tunica, Mississippi, the four-day conference featured workshops, industry panels, performances, and networking opportunities. According to the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation’s press release, the 2023 conference honored several prominent members of the music industry including actor Morgan Freeman, Stax Records luminary William Bell, and Oona and Boo Mitchell of Royal Studios, recipients of the Willie Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award.

The experience, DieDra said, was “so wonderful.” She went on to explain that when “you’re in the room, sharing the spotlight with them (other honorees), it makes all the difference in the world…and they are happy to see you. It’s a shared acceptance of another artist knowing who you are…and it’s pretty cool, you know.”

Growing up, DieDra says she was never far from the spotlight.

DieDra Tucker was born in Norfolk, Virginia and raised by her maternal grandfather, Joseph Tucker, who was heavily involved in the music of their church. Her grandfather created a gospel singing group called The Tucker Family, featuring DieDra and her siblings. Tucker recognized the talent in his young granddaughter and “threw me out in the front” to sing lead.

“My grandfather taught me everything…how to write songs and how to play the piano.”

She reflected on her times with her grandfather and his significance in her life. “He was the only father I ever knew.”

In many ways, Joseph Tucker not only influenced DieDra’s musical journey but also that can-do spirit and the importance of giving back.

In June 2023, the Ruffs participated in the Folklife in the South conference held in Guntersville, Alabama, and sponsored by South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts organization. DieDra and Keithen were session leaders and performed an acoustic set for the Alabama Blues Artists Preserving the Tradition. According to DieDra, the conference and the experience were “awesome…we believe we already know the history of blues and folk music,” but they learned so much. She added, “we learn(ed) a lot about other artists…(the) history behind the music (of Alabama).” For DieDra, learning is not only important, but should be done every day. The conference showed the Ruffs the importance of “continuing our own personal education.”

Educating others and giving back to the local community have been key parts of DieDra’s involvement with her adopted hometown of Pinson. In 2022, she founded the Pinson Valley Arts Council, and she and Keithen have regularly led afterschool music programs in and around Pinson.

“Keithen and I believe in helping others,” DieDra said.

DieDra’s energy, enthusiasm, and love for her community came together in 2021, when she wrote and directed, Frienemy For Life, a movie about friendships and challenges, that was filmed entirely in Pinson. Many of the cast members were Pinson residents. The film premiered last September to great local reviews.

DieDra mentioned several times that she stays busy. “I do everything…I do it all,” she said, and then, she laughed. “But I love it, because I’m not stuck in one place.”

DieDra is certainly not stuck as she continues pushing forward, looking for new ways to brighten her star.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

This video is DieDra and The Ruff Pro Band. Click on the image to view the video

Cedar County Cobras – Homesick Blues

Self-produced CD

www.cedarcountycobras.com

10 songs – 33 minutes

Traditional acoustic blues usually takes a backseat to electric in America these days, and most practitioners of the art toil in relative obscurity before earning the right to play before larger audiences. That’s the case of the Cedar County Cobras, an Iowa-based duo who played small clubs and festivals for a decade before releasing this pleasing debut full-length CD.

Delivering foot-stomping blues and boogie that have a direct link to the first generation of the music, the Iowa City-based Cobras are composed of Tom Spielbauer, a legally blind, prolific tunesmith who drives the beat forward on guitar and percussion, and April Dirks, who handles both upright bass and mandolin. They produce a sound that’s contemporary but rooted in the work of other visually impaired artists, including producing Blind Willie McTell and Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson along with sighted heroes Elmore James and R.L. Burnside.

A concrete and construction worker who was diagnosed with macular degeneration in childhood, Tom’s spent years as a rocker before shifting to the blues. He took home the winner’s trophy in the solo competition at the 2022 Central Iowa Blues Challenge, following that up with an appearance at the International Blues Challenge, where he reached the semi-finals. Formerly a professional bluegrass artist, April discovered she had a talent for the upright bass as she and Spielbauer gravitated more and more toward the music they play today.

Recorded and mixed by Jon Locker at Sonic Factory Studios in Des Moines, the album opens with “Utah,” a propulsive, uptempo original with Tom in the vocal lead, describing a lady who fears she’ll be stopped and “taken in” if she does and notes: “But don’t ask her what happened, she won’t tell you what she did.” It gives way to “Country Records,” a duet that features Amy’s mandolin and delivers an upbeat sound that plays counterpoint to lyrics that describe a failed relationship.

“Long Time Gone” follows a sprightly, but similar format. This time, Spielbauer announces his departure and intent to attempt to forget his troublesome woman’s name as fast as he can which Dirks mirrors his words in call-and-response. “Gimmie Lightnin’,” which is up next, asks for corn liquor early in the morning because of a late night drinking and partying the night away while enjoying T-Model Ford and Cedell Davis at a club called Gabe’s and realizing the hangover will destroy any plans the singer had for the day.

Three covers — Gus Cannon’s “Poor Boy,” Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More” and Son House’s “Walkin’ Blues” – all get a sweet contemporary acoustic makeover before the original, “Voodoo Doll,” delivers a view of another troubled romance, this time finding the singer so pained and weak that he feels like someone’s sticking pins into a doll bearing his image. Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “Shake It Right” is full of dirge-like Hill Country rhythms before the original “Homesick Blues” – which describes being unwanted by the local men while being totally ignored by the women – finds the singer ready to find a new home.

If, like me, you bemoan the fact that quality acoustic music emanates more from overseas than it does these days in the good, ol’ U.S.A., you’ll rejoice in this one. The beats are infectious. And while the subject matter of most of the songs describe troubles, you’ll still be left with a smile.

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.