Mike Bourne Band – Kansas City O’Clock

Overton Music

www.facebook.com/mikebourneband

14 tracks/60 minutes

Mike Bourne builds on the greatness of the music from Kansas City by the likes of people like Jay McShann and Big Joe Turner and joins forces with the amazing young saxophonist Dougan Smith, KC long standing bassist Cardy Quintero, barrelhouse piano man Jimmy Beisman and top notch drummer Bryan Herrman to deliver an hour of truly great tunes. A dozen original cuts and two tasty covers comprise this fantastic album’s collection of choice cuts.

In addition to the great artists noted, we also get to enjoy Johhny Burgin adding his guitar to a quartet of tracks along with fantastic drummer Steve Dougherty who joins him on those songs. Patrick Recob is stellar on his bass support through the majority of tunes.  Dan Starr (tenor sax), Mister B.T. (trumpet), Nick Hmeljak (trumpet), and Austin Barry (trumpet) add amazing horn support  to the mix. Bass guitar is supplemented by Greg Clinkingbeard and Paul Diffin. Kerry Denton and Oete Kaier add drums to a few tracks. Bob Paige adds piano to one cut and Ryan Syles is on sax for a pair of songs. Backing vocals are provided by Maria Bounds, Stephanie Howie, Stephanie Robertson, and Hayley Raxafsky.

“I Can’t Be Anybody But Myself” features Bourne’s gritty vocals and guitar and some really  slick sax. A driving beat and great effort by all involved make this an excellent start to get the musical ball rolling. “Beer In The Morning” jumps and jives as Bourne tells us about his breakfast of champions. Barrelhouse piano and great sax had my head bobbing as I listened with appreciation. Some guitar solos help flesh the cut out even more.

“Too Old To Be Young” follows with a somber intro before the party restarts. Trumpets blare, the sax remains solid, and this one keep the blood flowing and makes you want to get up to dance and swing.  Another guitar solo is provided to savor, too. Bourne switches drinks of choice in “Caffeine Blues.” The coffee he spurned for breakfast is now something he woke up to needing despite his doctor’s orders to avoid the brown elixir of the gods. His guitar rings as the band plays a NOLA styled swinging groove.

Then it’s “Yolo,” an acronym for You Only Live Once, a traditional NOLA jump blues where Bourne advises us to take advantage of each day. His guitar is strident and the piano support rings true to the Crescent City vibe. “Three Blind Mice” takes the children’s song to a new place with some humor and wordplay. The sax and piano are outstanding, we get a few cool guitar licks and it finishes with a sweet, long instrumental ending punctuated by the bass plucking us home.

“Really Nice Girl” is a slow and gritty torch song of sorts. Bourne sings the praises of his flame as he lays out some restrained and well-tempered guitar for us. The snare-led groove drives the cut and makes your feet tap uncontrollably. “Dive Bar Romance” is a jumping cover that slips and slides as Bournes testifies that it was, “Love at first sip.” Nice sax, piano, organ and guitar flesh this out well and the trumpet sneaks in to good effect, too.

Jay McShann’s “Fore Day Rider” is next, another well-presented cover. The trumpet and sax blend with the piano and Bourne’s vocals to give us a great treat here. “Truth Dressed Up Like A Lie” follows, a dirty blues with sax and trumpet helping to sell this one. More barrelhouse piano and then finally some well place guitar licks solidify the cut.

“Rather Be Happy Than Normal” is something we all ponder and believe. Normality is a distant second to happiness as Mike aptly describes for us. The sax gets greased up for us followed, in turn, by the trumpet  as the listener just relaxes to the excellent groove and solos. Bourne finishes us off with a stinging guitar solo before taking us home. The album concludes with “People Not Politics,” featuring the final  guest appearance by Johnny Burgin on guitar as Bourne reminds us of the importance of people over politics. He reminds us to love our children instead of building new buildings that serve no real purpose. The guitar licks are strong and well done and the song rolls and somewhat softly drives us home to a great conclusion to a really fine album. The piano continues to excel and the sax and trumpet add spice to the mix as the songs takes us to the end of a delightful set of fourteen superb songs.

This is a wonderful album. From start to finish, Bourne and the rest of the cast deliver outstanding performances to enjoy. The listener’s life is better off with the hour spent with this music; I truly loved it. If you love jump blues and swing with great vibes from KC and NOLA, then this is for you. This is a superb album and needs to be in your music collection!

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.

BB & The Bullets – High Tide

Dixie Frog Records

www.dixiefrog.com

12 tracks – 44 minutes

Whanganui, New Zealand guitarist Brian Baker performed solo throughout Australia before returning to New Zealand and joining with bassist Stu Duncan and drummer Brad McMillan to form the present band.  All three have had extensive musical careers prior to joining together and gaining international recognition. That recognition led to the iconic French label Dixie Frog Records release of this debut album. The album includes seven originals and five covers. Brian says they included the covers to establish their blues credentials.

They open with a blues rocker “Something in the Water” citing changes in his life as he wished, “I’d never left home”, notes a new woman in his life as he tells her “You’re something special.  Ain’t Seen nothing like you” and concludes that he is “Holding onto hope that the world don’t go to pieces in a little rowboat”. A cover of Albert King’s 1967 “Born Under a Bad Sign” is next. Eddie Rayner guests on organ as Brian tells the tale of a man trying to build walls to protect his land and worries that “High Tide” will ruin my land”. noting that “my father’s hands were in this mud and his fathers before him. What kind of son would I be? Who else could I be”.

On Bo Diddley’s 1962 “I Can Tell” as he explains “I know you don’t love me no more”. He then examines “Seven Ways to Sin” as he notes “The devil is on my shoulder whispering. It sounds so gleaming good like a politician’s promise of a velvet ride, like a fridge that’s full of food.” “I’ve seen how people tempt each other but I never thought I would be one.” Rufus Thomas’ 1963 dance move that offers to teach you “Walking the Dog” is the next cover.

On “Little Fishes”, Brian declares “It don’t matter what you do, in the end the little fish gonna feast on you”. The Beatles’ 1969 “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is given a straight interpretation. He proclaims, “Letting Go” of you is the hardest thing I ever had to do”. “As the distance between us grows only tomorrow knows whether we’ll be together again.”

“The Thrill is Gone” was written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell and recorded by Hawkins in 1951, nonetheless B.B. King’s 1969 release of the song is the best- known version and is the basis of their final cover. “Brian’s Boogie (Hurry Home)” is a rocking and funky instrumental. “Big Boot Running” starts with a spoken word music backed intro and makes several New Zealand references including “Hills with their guts spilling out to make gravel roads that lead north to nowhere and lowdown towns are drowning like Ruawai returning to the salty swamp”, another apparent reference to the high tide issues raised in the title song. He pleas “Kahikatea teach me. “Let me stand beside you our roots will pierce the clay”. To save you from having to look it up like I did, the kahikatea is New Zealand’s largest tree growing to heights of 80 meters (about 250 feet) and is considered to be one of the oldest surviving species in the world.

The band’s covers are well executed but certainly keeps in line with the original versions. The Beatles song is definitely not a song that would come in mind for the blues, but they make it fresh sounding and seems to fit the tone of the album. Their own original songs feature some intriguing thoughts among their lyrics particularly in line with issues in their country. Brian’s vocals are pleasant, and the band delivers solid instrumentals throughout. BB and The Bullets demonstrate a very capable band worth following for future releases and a deep dive into this one.

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.

Mark Cameron – Blues Factory

Overton Music

www.markcameronmusic.net

10 tracks 39 minutes

Minnesota bluesman Mark Cameron has delivered another sweet album of original tunes showcasing a variety of styles, tempos and approaches to the songs he offers here for the listener’s pleasure. Whether Mark is offering advice, bemoaning things gone wrong, love and happiness, joy or sorrow, he offers up a diverse set of tunes that really give the listener a musical treat with lots to savor.

Mark is on guitar and vocals. Dan Schroeder is on drums, Sheri Cameron is on sax, flute and percussion and Bill Keyes adds harp and vocals. Mark’s partner in life and two long term musical mates, these folks work together to deliver some fine performances. Bass duties are handled by Steve Hansen and Nick Salisbury for the most part; Josh Granowski is on upright bass for  track 6.Shane Cox and Zach Miller add horns to a cut and keys by Tommy Barbarella are added to a couple of tracks. Greg Shutte is on drums for a tracks and Sara Renner and Tonya Hughes are backing vocalists on a trio of songs.

The album opens with “The Wrong Thing.” It’s a bouncy cut with some ringing slide work that’s cool. “Too Hot To Boogie” adds more slide, electric guitar and greasy harp. It’s a swinging little number.

The title track is next, a bit swampy with a throbbing beat, the slide is slick, the flute echoes nicely behind the vocals, all adding to a sweet cut that grabs at the listener. “Drink On The Job” follows, a sort of “blues song noir” cut with Cameron telling a story of the woes of drinking on the job. Nice harp work helps make this even more cool.

“Sugar” changes course with a light feel with vocal harmonies and horns in a lilting and uplifting cut. The gears shift again with the greasy and grimy “Can’t Stand Still.” It’s a rocking good time as Cameron and company let their hair down a bit for this number. Lots of nice harp are featured here along with Cameron’s vibrant vocals.

Up next is “Change Your Ways,” a somber and slow blues that showcase Mark’s guitar and vocals. “Friends Like These” follows, changing the mood to a positive one as the harp helps to sell this number.

“Ain’t No Way” slows things down again as guitar, flute and the cadre of vocalist set a darker tone for this song. It’s haunting a well done. “Below The Bottom” closes out the album with a mid tempo, swinging cut. The harp blares and guitar rings out as Cameron and band conclude their set with a great cut.

Cameron has delivered many a fine album and this ranks up near or even at the top of them. There is a great variety of styles and presentations here, showcasing Cameron’s versatility and musical chops. It’s a cool album and well worth your time to listen to it!

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.

The Grocery Story – Situation On Aisle #3

Ma’s Record Co.

www.thegrocerystory.com

9 songs- 33 minutes

The Grocery Story is an eight-piece band from Fort Collins, Colorado, and Situation On Aisle #3 is their first release. Featuring seven originals written by various band members and two nicely chosen covers, Situation On Aisle #3 is an enjoyable mix of blues, soul and rock, with more than a hint of gospel and Louisiana swamp thrown in.

The album kicks off with the title track, written by keyboardist/accordionist John Magnie, which has the feel and groove of one of the Rolling Stones’ more threatening, late-60s numbers, before driving into Rhonda Merrick’s “Plaquemines Parish”, which mines a similarly ominous vein, but this time with a distinct New Orleans flavor.

The Staple Singers’ “Don’t Knock” is given a modern refresh, without losing the gospel heart of the original. It’s on tracks like this that The Grocery Story’s secret weapon of the combined voices of Peaches Embry and Rhonda Merrick really scores. The entire song builds to a wild, revivalist ending that is quite breath-taking. Indeed, there are a number of interesting facets to The Grocery Story that sets the band apart. One of them is the trio of lead singers, with Embry, Merrick and Erik Lunde all taking the lead on different songs, while also adding powerful backing vocals to every track. On a number like the soul-infused “Call Me Up”, the backing vocals are heavenly. Lunde’s lead vocals on “Far Country” are particularly impressive, as Embry and Merrick let loose behind him.

The band also benefits from having two drummers, in father-and-son team Steve and Jess Amedee, which provides the opportunity to add a Zydeco edge to songs like Johnny Cash’s “Big River”.

The band’s own songs are cleverly written with sharp lyrical observations. The title track tells the story of a woman going shopping, only to be phoned by her boyfriend, telling her that the relationship is over. Magnie’s “Stick With Love” weaves in a few lines from Martin Luther King Jr.

Situation on Aisle #3 was recorded and mixed by Darren Radach at Stout Studios in Fort Collins, and mastered by David Gallser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO.

The Grocery Store comprises various veteran musicians with decades of experience and each musician brings that experience to this album, together with grit and emotional depth. Marty Rein’s bass lines at the end of “Far Country” are a subtle delight. Mike Finders lays down a series of excellent guitar parts and, when he does have an opportunity to take a solo, he does so with taste and style. His solo on “Always Come Back Home” is a mini-masterpiece.

The album ends Embry and Magnie’s “Too Hurt To Cry”, which is perhaps the emotional heartbeat of the album, a total powerhouse of song, and a tune that makes you want to start listening to the entire album again. Really enjoyable stuff.

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

The world does not have a shortage of guitar players. Over the last sixty years, the instrument’s popularity has evolved to the point where, at times, it seems like guitar, and nothing but guitar. We are often subjected to lengthy solos that demonstrate technical mastery without making us feel much at all. Fortunately, there are players that understand the value of space, dynamic tension, and the “less is more” approach.

You can count Matt Woods in that group. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Woods was more into sports than music in his formative years. He showed lots of talent for baseball as a pitcher and first baseman, eventually pitching at Simpson College, an Iowa institution. Schools are always on the lookout for tall, left-handed throwers.

“When baseball went away as a career, I needed something to sort of fill that hole. I’d always wanted to learn to play guitar. So that’s what I did. I graduated college with a degree in biochemistry and went to work with that for a lot of years while playing music alongside of it. I guess I’m clever enough to fool people. For whatever reason, I was just attracted to that instrument because it’s cool! Of course, I figured girls would like it. I’ve been so horribly misled throughout this whole process. The thought was there would be girls, money, and glory. There really hasn’t been any of that stuff! Well, I got the woman I needed, my wife Rachel, so I got the one that matters.

“Music was something I was always really passionate about but just never had the space in my life to learn an instrument. I was so dedicated to sports. Then it seemed like a good time to try it. Obviously, I didn’t know what would become of it, just bought a used guitar and taught myself how to play a little bit. Soon I really wanted to get as good as possible. I didn’t even want to open the bedroom door. Probably within four months of picking up a guitar, I started playing little local gigs, getting into the grind of it all that has just never really stopped.

“Trust me, it was very, very bad for a long time. Going back to sports, I’m one of those guys with that switch that flips. One of the reasons I don’t want to do that stuff anymore is because the competitive side of me is really not pleasant to be around. That is the obsessive nature of my brain. I’m super stubborn, the kind of person that when I get onto something, I’m just not going to stop until I figure it out, for better or worse. It’s caused me more difficulty in life than successes, but that’s the way my brain works. A lot of it’s just a war of attrition, who’s gonna give up last.

“Our son Rodney has been trying to pick up a couple things musically. He had this song he wanted to learn on keyboard. He doesn’t play piano at all, but we were able to sit down and watch a YouTube video and within 45 minutes he was able to play the song. I explained to him that when I started, you did it the old fashioned way. You just clawed through the wall, listening to records, however long it took.

“That’s about as slow and tedious as it gets, an uphill battle for sure. But I think it has served me well because it really helped to develop my ear, and to understand all the subtleties of what’s going on in the music as opposed to just watching a YouTube video where you breeze right through the nuance of it all. Still, it’s pretty amazing to see these newer tools in use.”

By day, Woods is deeply involved in the science of farming, looking at ways to protect the land while increasing crop yields.

“I’m an agronomist, managing some research farm plots for Iowa State University. For the layman, that means I am a science farmer. I’m a researcher that works in agriculture. It’s fairly down in the weeds, so to speak. My specialty is cropping systems, how different crops work together. You’re always discovering something, the kinds of the soil health and sustainability benefits of longer cropping rotations than what are typically used in this part of the world.”

Starting to play music later in life meant the guitarist had to do some catching up, so he put that stubborn streak to good use.

“It’s always been just grinding away. With the exception of that first COVID year, I don’t think I’ve played less than a hundred gigs in a year this whole time. In those early days before I was married and had a family, it was closer to 200 gigs for a lot of years. I just played all the time, wherever I could get in.

“I decided that playing guitar was something that I wanted to be good at, and I knew from my sports experiences that if you want to be great at something, you have to constantly work on it. You have to be obsessed with it, and that’s the way I was for a lot of the 26 years of my career. I’ve mellowed out as I’ve gotten older and had a little bit more perspective on life, trying to be a little bit more well-rounded person.”

After putting in his time as a sideman in various local groups, he decided to front his own band, aptly named Matt Woods and the Thunderbolts

“That started about 2005, although we had done some recording together before then. We did a lot of regional work and was my first taste of being in charge of an operation as the front man, and from a business standpoint as well. The rhythm section was Scott Cochran on bass and Michael Swanger on drums. We did two albums together before calling it a day in 2012. Our drummer had to stop playing. He retired due to some physical issues,and had a couple back surgeries.

“Throughout that time I was always doing about 50-50 in terms of playing band gigs and playing my solo shows, which I do still. I was also playing with other bands, getting hired to back somebody up or play guitar on a recording session. My decision was to move forward primarily focusing on playing as a solo act, doing session work, and being a side man. Before the band ended, we represented Iowa at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, sponsored by the blues Foundation. I went back as a duo with Michael Swanger on drums, and also was proud to represent the state twice as a solo act.

“I learned pretty quick to surround yourself with not only people that are great musicians, but people that you can count on, that don’t have substance abuse issues or any other kind of issues that will affect the day-to-day operations of my business. Scott and Michael were older guys that had been around a bit. They taught me how to go about your business professionally, start on time, end on time, speak to the club owners in a certain manner, be professional even if things don’t go your way.

“I also learned pretty quickly not to take myself too seriously. It’s such a grind and most of the time things aren’t gonna go the way you think they are, or you want them to go. You learn not to focus so much on what’s right in front of you. It is better to play the long game. Those were important lessons I learned as a young man.”

In 2018, Woods felt the time was right to establish another band featuring his guitar work.

“Fronting a band is a different muscle to use, a different part of the brain. When you’re playing as a solo act, you’re required to fill up a lot of space musically, playing bass parts and, and melody parts all by yourself. That means I’m not really able to express myself on lead guitar. I missed that. I wasn’t really getting that itch scratched with the side side man gigs I would do, so I decided it was time to have my own band again so I could just play as many guitar solos as I want. That lad to the formation of the Matt Woods Band.

“When that band started, I had Dwight Dario on drums. He is an Iowa Blues Hall of Fame member, a really incredible top-tier drummer. My bass player’s name was Eric Gaukel. Those guys were my first rhythm section for a three piece band. Then starting in 2021, Patrick Recob started playing bass for the band. My previous band was great, but as I’ve gotten to a certain point in my career, this lineup is the way I want things to be. We’re all really close friends, but Dwight and Patrick are especially close, allowing them to lock in really well. Patrick likes to sing. I’ve been forced to sing my whole life, but I don’t like doing it, so he’s happy to sing part of the night, which makes my life a lot easier. We released an album, Almost Made It, in 2022.”

With all that is going on in his life, one would think that Woods has a full plate. Yet he somehow finds time to be involved in several other projects.

“I have been doing a duo thing with Dustin Arbuckle. He sings and plays harmonica, plus from time to time I sub on guitar with his electric band, the Damnations. We do quite a bit of work together. The whole goal for me as a musician, and as a guitar player especially, is to be as well-rounded as possible. In order to do that, you need to put yourself in a lot of different musical situations. The duo with Dustin allows me to not only work on my solo guitar chops, but also the chops required to back up a harmonica player and singer, exercising different creative muscles to get better at what I do. They are all rewarding in their own different ways.”

Additionally, the guitarist along with Dario and Recob perform locally as Malcolm Wells and the Two Timers, with Wells fronting the band as the lead vocalist and playing harmonica.

When it comes to equipment, like most guitar players, Woods has settled on some personal favorites.

“I’m a Fender Telecaster man for my electric stuff, I love Telecasters, the Esquires specifically, which is just a single pickup. They work in every scenario. By work I mean I can leave them in the car all day and they stay in tune at the gig. You can bash them around and they still work, super reliable. I like that they are very present in the mix, and the way the notes respond. The notes are immediate when you’re playing, with a very quick attack. They kind of jump off the guitar. They’re  super versatile. So what’s not to like!

“For my acoustic solo gigs, I like to play either a National steel guitar or a big Harmony arch top model. As amplifiers go, for a lot of years I used Fender Tweed amps, which I love, but recently I’ve been going in a different direction with a unit from Headstrong Amplifiers, based out of North Carolina. That’s been really great. It’s a Fender Princeton style amplifier, called Little King. I’ve had that for a couple years and just haven’t brought myself to use anything else because I love it so much.”

Ask Woods who are some of his favorite guitar players and you will get some familiar names, but also a few surprises on a more personal level.

“I play a lot of slide guitar, so I gravitated to artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell, Elmore James, and R.L. Burnside. I’m also a big Hubert Sumlin fan. As you might guess, there’s been a million of them, but probably my biggest hero is a guy named Joe Price. Joe’s the king as far as I’m concerned. Thankfully I still get to see him play, he’s still around. Joe is an Iowa guy who was inspired to play after seeing the great blues slide player Earl Hooker in a record store. There’s a lot of other Iowa musicians that I’ve really been influenced by including Bo Ramsey and Dave Moore, just to name some off the top of my head.”

Throughout his career, the guitarist has invested plenty of time, energy, and the old combo of blood, sweat, and tears. He fortunate to have a wife who understands and supports his passion for music. For Woods, it is his abiding passion for the music, and that stubborn streak, that fuel his quest to constantly redefine his artistry on the guitar.

“I plan to keep doing my thing. Hopefully people will listen. I decided a long time ago that I did this for myself and not really for anybody else. I don’t really have any expectations. The older I get, the more I try to focus on the process itself and not the results. That’s all I can do.

“I would encourage people to give the music a listen. It doesn’t cost anything these days, so getting some ears on it would be great. I hope that through what I’m bringing to the table people can hear in my playing that I’m expressing myself, that I’m a real person. I’m not really trying to win anybody over. That’s not my job.

“My job is to express myself and if people like it, or if I get people’s attention, that’s great, but it’s really not what I’m trying to do. It’s not my ultimate goal to make other people happy. Maybe that sounds selfish or silly. It’s kind of to explain, but I don’t put myself out there hoping that I get people’s attention. I’m just trying to make art. So I would hope that if if somebody’s listening to it, that comes across to them.

“A lot of times, honestly, I fall flat on my face doing that, but that’s what art is. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s different for each individual listener or observer of the art. You start off down that road and sometimes you hit a little side road, or you want to see what’s down this alley. You just kind of go, especially from a improvisational soloing aspect where a lot of times you’re just going wherever this road leads you and praying at the end of it you won’t drive drive off into a canyon or a cliff. You just try to come out on the other side hoping it works out.

“That’s what I would tell a younger musician just starting out, that it is okay. It means you’re going for it, something you’re trying to be, trying to do something interesting, not playing it safe. If you’re just up there, playing it by rote, not really challenging yourself, it would get old in a hurry. I was in my forties before I felt like I was truly expressing myself, not just playing licks that I’d heard somebody else do. For me, that’s what art is all about.”

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!

Henri Herbert – Get It While It’s Hot

HH Records

www.henriherbertmusic.com

12 Tracks – 42 minutes

Henri Herbert was born in France, raised in England, and now is a permanent resident of the United States having moved to Austin, Texas. At an early age, the young pianist became fascinated with Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Pete Johnson. That fascination has led him to become one of the premiere boogie-woogie and rock pianists in the world having toured all over the world including in front of the Royal Family of Monaco and with concerts in Switzerland, Quebec City, London and in festivals and clubs all over the US including residency in an Austin club. In fact, a video made of him playing the song “Gettin’ on Down” on the public piano in London’s Pancras Train Station has been viewed by 73 million people on YouTube.  The video is a regular part of his live performances. He has worked as a session performer for many bands including Kim Wilson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Chuck Leavell, Charlie Sexton, Nick Lowe and many others.

This is his eighth solo album release and his first full band release. Henri performs all vocals in addition to playing the piano. He is accompanied by guitarists Tjarko Jeen, Austin John, and Jim Jones; bassists Josh Williams and Luca Chiappara; and drummers Dino Malo and Jerry Pentacost on various cuts. The album consists of ten original songs and two covers.

The album opens with “Cold City”, a song he defines as an autobiographical tale of his journey as a musician.  He notes that as he started “I ain’t got no money, ain’t got no friends”. “Hold your head up high, low is all you know.” He says he headlined big stages and turned around and had to wash dishes at the same venue. He had “nothing left to give, nothing left to lose” as he moved “here on a dream” to the US. He comes out with a pounding piano and a solid rock beat that would have fit Jerry Lee Lewis. He says the song is not meant to be pessimistic, but rather is encouragement for perseverance and states that “if you have to entertain people three hours multiple times a day, you get good or you leave”.

“Guilty Pleasures” keeps the rock going as he notes they are things “you just try to justify when you want to get high”. Next, he realizes you “Can’t get “Nothing Free” with a solid boogie-woogie hook. He notes that “I am “Bad”, don’t mean bad as in good, but I mean bad as in bad” Some strong guitar powers alongside of Henri’s piano.

“I Got the Fury” continues the all-out rock assault and only kicks things up another notch. He says,” I am too drunk to get behind a driving wheel” and the fury “Is burning me up”. “Texas Boogie” is a straight up rocking boogie with a biographical touch as recites, “I want to tell you a story about the tricks my trade, tell you a story of how I got it made” ” I want to tell you about the boogie, makes you feel so good.”

He slows things down with a smooth R&B noting that she is “Just as “Bad as Me”. You “run all over town, never let me do those things you like to do”. and like to pretend “You are better than the rest”. “Blood From a Stone” kicks thing back up as he declares, “Well I can’t stop you wanting, you just got to dream”.  Jimi Hendrix’s 1967 “Fire” with its lyrics warning “Just don’t play with me, and you want get burned” and notes ” I have only one burnin’ desire, let me stand next to your fire”. His piano gives a shift to the song away from the guitar powered original.

He next declares, “She is “Poison”.  “When we kiss, it burns me up…I can’t get enough” as he moves back into full Jerry Lee Lewis mode. Snooks Eaglin’s 1961 “If I Could” is a definite throwback song to that period. He finishes the album in rollicking fashion as he says, “I don’t care for people “Talkin’ Trash”.

For this album, most songs are definitely taking a modern approach to the sound of Jerry Lee Lewis, with pounding ivory and slightly shouted vocals. The cover shows a burning piano that definitely is indicative of the sound you hear on the album and the declaration of “Get It While It’s Hot”, which offers both an opportunity to grab onto this hot act, but also indicates he understands that fame and success can be fleeting, and he is trying to strike while the opportunity exists.

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.

Canyon Lights – Breathe Easy

Sgt. Honeyeater Records

www.canyonlightsband.com

12 tracks – 40 minutes

Canyon Lights brings two former GA-20 members together in a united vision of music that appealed to them – Pat Faherty on vocals, guitar and bass and Tim Carman on drums, percussion and backing vocals. While they loved the blues that they played with their former band, the two discovered they had a mutual love of 70’s rock ‘n’ roll bands like Mountain, The James Gang and Thin Lizzy. Pat revealed he had been working on some songs and Tim also advised that he had some lyrics that he had been holding onto. The two realized that this was a new direction and decided to test the waters with the recording of their debut album.

“Seventh Son” gets things rocking immediately with Pat’s vocals immediately reminding of Steve Miller.  Pat asks “Won’t you let me heal your mind, soothe away all your woes?”  “Late To the Ball” keeps things rocking as he proclaims, “I am a certified starry-eyed stature of a man”. ” I want to be in love”. On “Song Behind Those Tears” he tells her “You can face your fears”.

He begs her to “Let Me In” “we’ll have a good time”. Johnny Stachela, who played in the Allman Betts Band, guests on guitar with Dave Brophy on percussion on “Drivin’ Me”. Pat sings “it gives me no pleasure to cause you this pain…and it gives me no pleasure to leave you this way”. “Got the cocaine blues and feeling fine.” A quieter song in a slightly bluesier vein follows as he offers “My father once said the best time of the day is the first thing in the morning when no mistakes have been made”. “Tequila’s on the night- stand” “Codeine and Caffeine” will cover up the pain”. “Tomorrow I will remember how to love again'”

They move back into a rocking tune as he declares “I’ve let my head out “Running Wild”. On “Movin’ Down”, Pat exclaims ” I love you, yes, it’s true. I need you so get “Movin’ Down”.  He begs her to “Love Me Sweetly” and drops in a nice guitar solo.

“Blood Red Moon” shifts things into a quieter, acoustic number with his electric guitar sliding underneath. Pat advises that “the damage is already done. “Take Care” is a short snippet that sounds like something that came from a 1940’s movie. They close with “Breathe Easy” as “the walls are closing in”.

The release notes the songs on the album are very personal relating to “Spending 200 days a year on the road, struggling with separation and loss, the thrill of living out of a suitcase…a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this album”. As first noted, their intent, which they certainly accomplished, was to provide a 70’s sounding rock album. The duo works well together, but as they take the music on the road, they have added Nashville musician Heather Gillis to the band on bass. Heather has toured with Butch Trucks and her own band, Wolf Twin.

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.