Cover photo by Bob Kieser © 2015 Blues Blast Magazine
In This Issue
Terry Mullins has our feature interview with slide wizard Roy Rogers. Marilyn Stringer has photos from the Doheny Blues Festival. We have 10 music reviews for you including a DVD from Joe Bonamassa, and music from The Rusty Wright Band, Roy Rogers, Celso Salim Band, Eight O’Five Jive, Jon Spear Band, John Campbelljohn, Missy Andersen, Tomislav Goluban and Michael Jerome Browne.
We have the latest in Blues society news. All this and MORE! SCROLL DOWN!!!
From The Editor’s Desk
Hey Blues Fans,
Our friends at the Illinois Blues Festival have released their lineup for this years festival. The festival is over Labor Day Weekend and features Jonny Lang, Taj Mahal, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Rusty Wright Band, Nick Boettcher, Chris Stevens, Bret Bunton Project, Victor Wooten and Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on September 4th and 5th on the riverfront in Peoria, IL. Information at: www.illinoisbluesfestival.com.
This weekend there is some great Blues at the world famous, Chicago Blues Festival. You can see some of the best Blues on the planet in a park setting for FREE.
The Chicago Blues Festival in held in downtown Chicago in Grant Park and admission is free. The festival runs Friday through Sunday and features 5 stages of continuous entertainment and includes more than 65 real blues artists. Check out the schedule HERE.
Look for the Blues Blast photographers Bob Kieser and Marilyn Stringer at the fest this weekend and be sure to say hello!
Also, Marilyn will have signed copies of her book “Blues In The 21st Century” available for purchase at the Windy City Blues Street Stage area. Get yours personally inscribed by the author!
Wishing you health, happiness and lots of Blues music!
Bob Kieser
For a free track off this great album, check out our May Blues Overdose feature on soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/bluesblast
Featured Blues Review – 1 of 10
Rusty Wright Band – Wonder Man
Sadson Music
www.rustywrightband.com
10 tracks
The Rusty Wright Band hails from Michigan and offer up here their fifth release on Sadson Music. Not made for the faint of heart, RWB features blazing dual guitars that blend blues and southern rock into a mélange of hot sound. Featuring Rusty Wright on guitar, lead vocal and keys, Laurie LaCross-Wright on guitar and vocals, Dennis Bellinger on bass and vocals, Robert John Manzitti on keys, and Marc Friedman on drums.
This quintet makes a huge driving sound that crowds love. The husband and wife duo spar on guitar in the style made popular by the Allman Brothers and taken to heart by the blues infused southern rockers who followed them in the 1970’s. All original songs are featured here.
The cover song “Wonder Man” opens the set. It’s a big, well orchestrated piece with lots of synthesized horns and a big production sound that drives 100 mile an hour. The band really showcase their individual talents and work well as a team as they set the hook and open the album with my favorite song.
“Ain’t That The Blues” is a cool little shuffle that tells us about a life filled with the blues. Rusty gets into a couple of big solos, including one that takes us out with a fade into the “Black Hat Boogie.” This is odd but fun number with Rusty yelling out the choruses as the band joins in backing him; he does a spoken set of verses in an interesting style. The dual guitars go stratospheric and the beat is frenetic.
“You Know I Know” is a mid-tempo tale of love gone bad where keys and guitar swap solos back and forth; piano, guitar, organ and then guitar blaze and then Wright returns to bellow out how his women is, “Doin’ me wrong.” “Loves Gonna Treat You Right” is basically a 1970’s arena rocker a la Lynard Skynard with big guitar sound and the band doing a little harmonizing on the choruses. Not blues- this is a big, monster rock song.
They take a bit of a breath with “Gonna Come a Day,” going into a slow blues that begins with a stinging guitar solo intro. Wright then testifies about heartbreak as the song builds and builds for impact. “Corvette Sunday” is another rocker with blazing dual guitars; Wright and company seem to have the Southern rock sound down to a science. This time it’s a huge instrumental where the keys and even the bass get aired out for some solo work.
The ballad “Arms of Another” is more rock than blues, but effectively delivers another message of love gone wrong. Dirty, rocking stuff is next with “Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman;” the one-sheet included with the CD called it “a Lo-fi vibe” and I must say that is a succinct descriptor. Huge, rocking sound, a little distortion on the vocals and they play around with the guitar pedals for effect. “Chinfoot Ball” closes the set with another huge rocker. Electric companies must have to increase capacity when they play songs like this; big-assed rocking stuff.
While it’s not all blues; a huge infusion of rock and country with the twang of Skynard, Marshall Tucker and perhaps even Charlie Daniels make for an interesting ride. Those who enjoy a rocking and rolling sound from south of the Mason-Dixon line will enjoy this band from the Great Lakes State.
Blues infused into an arena rock sound, check these guys out!
Reviewer 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.
Featured Blues Interview – Roy Rogers
The distance from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall on Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California to the old Fillmore West on South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco was roughly 40 miles.
Yet, back in 1968, the distance between those two venues had to be roughly the same distance as it was from Memphis to the moon for the late, great B.B. King.
It was at the Fillmore West where King – who had been playing the blues since the early 1950s – received his very-first standing ovation. The audience’s reception that evening moved King so much that it brought tears to his eyes right on stage.
Also in attendance at both the Vallejo VFW and the Fillmore West shows was a young Roy Rogers. And although he may not have had any idea of it at the time, he would one day be able to say that he shared the stage, as well as the recording studio, with B.B. King – along with John Lee Hooker – and a host of other legendary bluesmen over the years that were yet to come.
“I first saw B.B. King back in 1968 when he came to my hometown of Vallejo, California. He played the local Vets hall and we actually helped him and the band up the steps with their gear,” Rogers said. “It was a Sunday night and two weeks later was when he played the Fillmore, which was a real pivotal time for him. The audience in Vallejo was mostly older black folks who were long-time fans and dressed to the ‘nines’ and then two weeks later, he’s playing for Bill Graham’s crowd of young, white, long-haired hippies at the Fillmore and I was there for that show, too. I like all three Kings – B.B., Freddie and Albert – but as far as playing, it was always B.B. For me.”
Ever since Rogers (call him Roy, not Mr. Rogers, as ‘that’s the guy that stops and changes his sweaters and shoes, man’ – in reference to the dearly departed Fred Rogers from the long-running PBS series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) first placed a round tube on his left pinky finger, his highly-personal style of slide-guitar playing has left many jaws dropped and has raised many eyebrows as to just how he does what he does. His guitar playing will never be confused with B.B. King’s, yet Rogers does not hesitate to recite just what King meant to him as a guitarist.
“His impact on me was incalculable, I’ll put it to you like that. I had been to a folk festival and saw Muddy and Lightnin’ and Mance before that, so I was already in to the blues,” he said. “But B.B. Was always front-and-center for me. Early on – I wasn’t playing slide at that point – I wanted to play guitar like B.B. King. I mean, didn’t everybody? Then later on, I remember reading that one of the reasons that B.B. developed his style was that he never could learn how to play with a slide. That’s pretty amazing to think that vibrato of his came from that. He was basically trying to sound like a slide.”
Even after he had begun to make his mark on the world of the blues and had started to have his own impact on a generation of guitar players that were beginning to find their own way, Rogers often crossed paths with the King of the Blues.
“Well, I saw him so many times coming up and then of course, later on in life, I opened up a fair amount of shows for B. and then even recorded with him and got to play second guitar to him and John Lee Hooker for a track (“You Shook Me” from King’s Blues Summit album),” he said. “That was a wonderful experience. Separate from being the greatest blues musician you ever heard, B.B. was just the most gracious and friendly man you could ever meet. You hear that said about a lot of people, but with B.B., it was really true. He was so genuine. I mean, how many people do you meet that when they’re talking to you, their attention is genuinely focused on you? That was B.B.”
Rogers, who was indeed named after the famous cowboy (“Believe me, it’s given me a sense of humor my whole life,” he laughed. “Especially like that one time only that I wore my cowboy boots to the pencil sharpener (in school)”) started playing guitar when he was 12 and by the time he was the tender age of 13, he was in his first band and when he was in high school, he had his first blues band. By the time he was a ripe 15-year-old, Rogers was terminally infected with the love of blues music. But the slide bug didn’t really bite him until he fell under the spell of the iconic Robert Johnson.
“He’s the main man. We all have our stories, but as far as me, when I was a kid, I was like a sponge. For me (as a young guitar player), the blues trek took me to the Delta blues and the slide guitar just hit that chord for me. And Robert Johnson still is – as far as Delta blues – the quintessential guy,” Rogers said. “There’s lot of other great slide players, like Elmore James – who really electrified things, which undoubtedly Robert Johnson would have done, himself. I always put it this way – when you talk about influences, you can hear Robert Johnson’s influences in his playing. You can hear Son House and Charley Patton and the guys before him in his playing. But for me, Robert Johnson put it all together in a way that was so unique and so virtuoso and so masterful. How he did that, I have no idea and it really doesn’t matter. He really stands out among all the players in that idiom of Delta blues for me.”
Robert Johnson may occupy the headline spot in Rogers’ Mount Rushmore of slide guitar players, but that doesn’t mean that the Bay Area maestro is content to just sit and back and copy all of Johnson’s licks.
“I certainly played more traditionally when I started out, but I never considered myself a traditionalist, per-say, as in preserving anything. I point to Robert Johnson, but back during his time, he was the new kid on the block,” said Rogers. “He really defined it in a way, especially rhythmically, that had not yet been defined. But I think everybody has to find their own voice. And for me, using slide guitar has always helped me to stretch the boundaries. It’s obviously going to come out as blues, but not always as traditional blues in that fashion.”
Some musicians go through a lot of strife and struggle throughout the whole of their career to ‘find their own voice.’ This doesn’t seem to be the case for Rogers, but that still doesn’t mean he’s reached the ultimate destination of his signature sound.
“I think I’ve found my voice in slide guitar, but I’m still looking for the right notes,” he laughed. “I think if you give up looking for the right notes, man, you’re done. As the poet (Robert) Browning once said, ‘A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.’ You don’t ever want to say, ‘Hey, I’ve reached the pinnacle.’ That’s what keeps you going … it’s the whole performance of reaching for it.”
With one quick spin of Rogers’ latest solo CD – his first in half-a-decade – it is readily apparent that the man is not content to simply plow over the same old ground. The tracks are fresh, fierce and leave no doubt that Rogers is not content to rest on his previous laurels. Like most of his solo work, Into The Wild Blue (Chops Not Chaps Records) is made up of lively instrumentals, as well as songs that do feature vocals.
“It was just time to make another solo record. You can view this one as exploring new possibilities,” he said. “For this new record, I wanted to explore some different things, like R&B things and not just ‘rock it up.’ I approach making a record in a very old-school way. It’s important that the sequencing and the songs go together. It’s like chapters in a book to me. I like to make a record that’s a record. I grew up with that process and even though you don’t have a ‘Side A’ and a ‘Side B’ anymore, I still approach it that way. Hopefully that gives you an overall feel of listening to a real record.”
Four of the tracks on Into The Wild Blue feature Rogers letting his guitars do all of the talking. And in Rogers’ hands, those guitars can sing a mouthful; especially on the ethereal “Song For Robert (A Brother’s Lament)” a stirring and delicate song for his younger brother, Robert, who had recently passed away.
“Instrumentals have always been a big part of it for me. I just love the different slide textures. Like I said, it’s all blues to me, but it’s not like straight-ahead blues. Normally when I write a song, I start with the music, because the music gives me the mood that I’m in, either you’re happy or sad or pissed off or whatever,” he said. “Lyrics are always harder for me. They’re more difficult to capture. I mean, you can feel something, but describing that feeling in words can be tough. I can come up with riffs all the time. If I feel something is strong – like the title track, Into The Wild Blue – that goes through different feelings in the song, if that’s strong enough and stands on its own, I don’t need to try and come up with lyrics or match it with some words. But if I did, I would approach it from the same way of writing the song. I have had songs in the past where I’ve had a lyric and tried to put something together … but that’s not as prevalent as having a riff that’s great and is poignant. The rhythm of the music is and has always been so important for me. I sometimes consider myself a better rhythm player than a lead player. Rhythm moves you every bit as much as a good melody, if not more so. If you don’t have a groove, you don’t have much, man.”
Rogers has never limited himself to strictly absorbing the blues and nothing else. He’s always been intrigued by the sounds of funk, jazz, good old rock-n-roll and even a bit of Motown sounds, and all those elements can be deciphered on Into The Wild Blue.
“All of your influences do come out. One of the tunes on the record, “Got To Believe,” has that kind of R&B groove that’s straight out of Al Green. And I wanted that kind of groove,” he said. “But as far as most of the riffs, they just come out. I’ve been doing this long enough to where I want this kind of riff for this song and that’s just the way the tune comes out. I don’t think, ‘Oh, this is a Motown riff.’ But we’re all products of our influences and we can’t get away – nor should we want to – from that.”
Maybe it was just from the outside looking in, but Rogers’ trio of collaborations with the late Ray Manzarek, legendary keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, seemed like a bit of a head-scratching pairing. After all, you had a dyed-in-the-wool blues guitarist in one corner and in the other, a key component of the swingin’ psychedelic ’60s. But as it turns out, the pair were really closer to kindred spirits than they were musical opposites.
“That was just such a great collaboration and friendship that I had with Ray. I didn’t even know this, but Ray was originally from Chicago. We just clicked. They asked Ray about his influences in some of the interviews that he did and he was always so eloquent. He’d say, ‘Well, you know I grew up in Chicago and I remember when the local radio went from playing “How Much is that Doggie in the Window” to “Hoochie Coochie Man,”” laughed Rogers. “But he grew up around that music (blues) and The Doors music certainly was steeped in the blues. Ironically – and Ray and I used to have fun with this – but I wasn’t a big Doors fan, at all. He would jokingly say, ‘To hell with you, Rogers.’ But at that point (late ’60s) I was a blues fanatic. I came to appreciate the sound of The Doors later on, but not back then. I wanted to see Wolf and to see Muddy and Bo and Freddie, back then.”
Rogers and Manzarek issued three albums – Ballads Before The Rain (2008), Translucent Blues (2011) and Twisted Tales (2013), before the multi-talented Manzarek passed away in May, 2013.
“When I first met Ray, he was doing solo shows and telling Doors stories and I sat in with him (the two shared a mutual agent) and took my little Valco amp and played behind him. And it was one of those situations that just clicked,” said Rogers. “He was playing solo piano and I was playing guitar and I thought, ‘This is fun, why don’t we do this again?’”
Which is just what the duo of Rogers and Manzarek began doing.
“We did that for a couple of years (played as a two-piece) and became fast friends. We said, ‘This is too good. Why don’t we record this, but do it as a band?’ So I put the band together with some players from here in the Bay Area and that’s what led to Translucent Blues,” he said. “And it was highly-successful and hit the charts, so we started touring it, on a kind of limited basis. That was a fun record … it kind of defined the blues in a new way. Ray always liked to call it 21st century blues.”
Those ’21st century blues’ that he and Manzarek forged were light-years away from the sounds of the master where Rogers really started to become a household name in the blues – the one-and-only John Lee Hooker. Rogers joined Hooker’s Coast to Coast Band back in the early 1980s and eventually became bandleader and later produced four of Hooker’s late-period – and most critically acclaimed – albums (The Healer (1989), Mr. Lucky (1991), Boom Boom (1992) and Chill Out (1995)). The Healer even earned a Grammy Award.
“I was such close friends with John … and I played with him from ’82 until ’86 and that was a real thrill. People ask me all the time what I learned about music playing with John Lee Hooker. I say, ‘I didn’t learn about music, I learned about life playing with him.’ It was one-and-the-same for John and guys like that,” Rogers said. “He was his music. He was such a deep cat. If he felt like it, John could take it as deep as anybody … anywhere … think about that. We’re talking more than just being able to hear a pin drop in a room. We’re talking about a man who’s expressing himself through music so profoundly … it’s amazing to witness, or in my case to play with a guy, who can take it down so heavily. That’s the kind of stuff that I reach for in music, because that’s the brass ring. And I just loved his laugh … man, what a great laugh that man had.”
Those Rogers-produced albums by Hooker featured a cornucopia of star musicians in their own right; such as Keith Richards, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Bonnie Raitt, to name just a quick few. But according to Rogers, there was no doubt as to who the real star of those sessions was.
“We had all these great players in the studio, but the focus was always John Lee Hooker. A lot of people do those kind of records (classic artists paired with newer, or ‘big-name’ stars), but they don’t keep the focus on who they should focus on. I always kept the focus on John Lee Hooker, period,” Rogers said. “People were just happy to be in the studio playing with him and we got some great tracks.”
One of the most incendiary duets of all time has to be Hooker’s run-through of “I’m in the Mood” with Bonnie Raitt from The Healer. That track is so sexually-charged that it threatens to explode from the get-go and is so swampy you can almost feel the heat and sweat the studio session generated. And for a real mind-blower, Rogers says all he had to do was just press ‘record’ one time for that song.
“Yeah, that was a first take. That’s amazing, isn’t it? We did try a second take, but we put up a rough mix of it (the first take) and went out to John’s car and me and him and Bonnie and a bunch of us listened to it and I said, ‘Folks, that’s it to me. I don’t think we can get any better than that. This is the one that makes your hair stand on end.’ Everyone agreed, so I said, ‘We’re done with that one,’” he said. “It’s pretty rare, I’ll tell you that. But to his credit, John was always up to try new things and we threw a lot at him. John was a very spiritual guy … and when he sang, that voice was just unbelievable. It just really moved people. Those were special times.”
When he’s not on the road with his Delta Rhythm Kings or working on his own material in the studio, Rogers can be found producing records for a variety of other artists. He’s quick to point out what he considers to be job number one when he’s sitting in the producer’s chair.
“To be a facilitator. You have to facilitate and maybe assist someone in defining what they do. Maybe with an arrangement, or with tempo. I feel like a lot of times in this music that we’re talking about, producers have too much power,” he said. “I want to work with an artist and achieve what their vision is. With John Lee Hooker, it was a little different, because he was a living legend. You could still have a bit of an edge in the studio, but you wanted him to be in a comfort zone, as well. I heard stories about when he recorded with Canned Heat that they recorded all night. But that was a different deal; they were going for the boogie to have an all-night feel and to feel the sweat coming off the record. In our situation with John, I wanted him to be in a comfort zone and to have the studio set up for him. But the bottom line is, you’re (the producer) not playing the music, they (the artists) are. I’m harder on myself when it comes to my own music.”
Another hallmark of a Roy Rogers-produced album is the efficiency in its birth. While he’s not trying to rush things just for speed’s sake, he’s also not one to do a bunch of goofing around or hanging out at the studio as some kind of a vacation destination, either.
“When I hear stories of people taking a year to make a record in the studio, I just can’t imagine that. You want it to be right, but whoa! I think I recorded Into The Wild Blue in two weeks, then I took a break and went back to mix it, which was another two weeks. So it took about a month, which is just right for me,” he said.
In 1990, Rogers was also involved in the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to The Hot Spot, where in addition to John Lee Hooker, he also rubbed shoulders and worked with Taj Mahal and Miles Davis.
“That was completely wild … Dennis Hopper had made this film and his favorite jazz guy was Miles Davis and his favorite blues guy was John Lee Hooker. And so Taj Mahal and I backed them up,” Rogers said. “That was pretty amazing … every time Taj and I see each other, we talk about The Hot Spot, because it was such a special deal. I mean, think about it, John Lee Hooker and Miles Davis? Wow.”
Rogers also teamed up with the highly-underrated harmonica genius of Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller Band) for a few albums and the pair quickly developed a chemistry that worked on all levels, as their albums most definitely attest to. Another Bay Area-artist that Rogers has collaborated with over the course of the past couple of decades is the Red Rocker himself – Sammy Hagar.
“That was really fun, jeez. He had the idea some years back to do a blues-oriented record, but I think he tabled it. When he had left Van Halen, he had written this song called “Little White Lies” and that’s how I synced up with him,” Rogers said. “Someone had recommended me to him, because he wanted the song to have a bluesy feel. It ended up being kind of a minor hit for him. Then I started playing with him (live) and on a couple of his records and then we went on Letterman together and all that stuff. Sammy’s just the real-deal; a wonderful guy. You know, slide guitar can really fit into a lot of different music.”
Blues music has been around longer than most people on this earth have been alive. It certainly pre-dates Rogers and even goes back further than B.B. King’s debut at the fabulous Fillmore West. And the way that Rogers views things, no matter what you want to call them, the blues will probably outlive us all, as well.
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, people have always put together their influences and came up with new music. When people say ‘blues’ well what kind of blues are you talking about? Kansas City blues? Delta blues? Piedmont blues? People can get so wrapped up in labeling things that they can miss what’s in the music,” he said. “You’ve got to remember, labels were put on music to sell it. That’s the only reason for labeling music. You can call it whatever you want, but you should listen to the music first. But this music will always survive. When you look over the last century, it amazes me as to how much music got recorded that there was supposedly no audience for at all. That’s just amazing and it will still be so.”
With so much already inked onto his resume, what’s left for Roy Rogers to accomplish?
“Well, when I look at my career – if I could be so blunt – I’m not trying to get anywhere. I just want to make good music. I’m not trying to be more famous or anything like that,” he said. “Everybody wants to sell more records, but that’s a real chore these days. It’s really always been all about the music for me. And I’ve been fortunate enough to work with such amazing people.”
Visit Roy’s Website at: www.roy-rogers.com
Photos by Bob Kieser © 2015 Blues Blast Magazine
Blues Blast Magazine Senior Writer Terry Mullins is a journalist, author and former record store owner whose personal taste in music is the sonic equivalent of Attention Deficit Disorder. Works by the Bee Gees, Captain Beefheart, Black Sabbath, Earth, Wind & Fire and Willie Nelson share equal space with Muddy Waters, The Staples Singers and R.L. Burnside in his compact disc collection. He’s also been known to spend time hanging out on the street corners of Clarksdale, Miss., eating copious amounts of barbecued delicacies while listening to the wonderful sounds of the blues.
Featured Blues Review – 2 of 10
Roy Rogers – Into the Wild Blue
Self Release through Chops not Chaps Records
www.roy-rogers.com
11 tracks / 42:09
Grammy Award-winner Roy Rogers has worked hard on his way to the top to become the premier slide guitarist in blues music today. He has a history that most other guitarists can only dream of, having played with luminaries of the industry such as John Lee Hooker, Steve Miller, B.B. King, and the Doors’ Ray Manzarek. But his fretboard talents are not his only skill, as he is also a master songwriter, which can be heard in his 12th solo release, Into the Wild Blue.
Fans have been waiting five years for a new Roy Rogers solo disc, and Into the Wild Blue does not disappoint. He spent the last year writing the music, and most of the eleven tracks were laid down in just four days. This self-produced album includes a cast of awesome musicians that teamed up with him. On this effort, Rogers took care of the guitars and vocals, and he was joined by Steve Ehrmann on bass, Kevin Hayes behind the drum kit, and Jim Pugh on the keys.
Things get started on a fun note with “Last Go-Around,” a peppy tune with jangly slide playing galore. It is a lot more amicable than most songs about break-ups, and is well arranged with a full sound and a danceable beat. This is followed up by “Don’t You Let Them Win” which brings a world beat with some nice stringed-harp from guest artist Carlos Reyes, who brings his expertise to a half dozen tracks on this release. There is also a tasteful bit of Hammond B3 courtesy of Pugh, and a funky drum break from Hayes.
“Got to Believe” is the best vocal track on Into the Wild Blue, with Rogers’ inimitable voice, and lovely backing vocals from Omega Rae. Reyes brings his violin into the mix, giving the song a spooky aura over its Afro-Cuban beat. This is one of the tracks that highlight what a fine job they did in the studio and behind the mixing board. All of the parts are perfectly balanced and to the listener it clicks just perfectly. This is rare for self-produced albums, and the attention to detail is much appreciated.
This set also includes a handful of instrumentals, and they are just killer in every respect. They mostly defy efforts to shoehorn them into any one category as they have elements of blues, rock, jazz, and country. But the unifying theme is they are all truly original and played with consummate skill. “Dackin’” and “High Steppin’” are both righteous jams with stout backlines, plenty of organ and incredible guitar lines from Rogers. And then there is the title track, which is extremely ambitious. “Into the Wild Blue” has a foundation of piano and fat bass, and an intricate interplay between Reyes’ harp and Roy’s six-string. This is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album, even though it almost falls into the jazz/easy listening camp. The band should be proud of the work they put in here!
The album ends with a one last instrumental, “Song for Robert (A Brother’s Lament),” which is a tribute to Roy’s younger brother who passed away last year. But rather than being a sad song, this beautiful coda is melodic and intricate, yet still joyful. Reyes’ stringed harp is an appropriate counterpoint to Roy’s heartfelt slide work. You can truly feel the love here, and it is a wonderful testimony to the brothers’ relationship.
Into the Wild Blue was well worth the wait, and it is great to hear that Roy Rogers is still at the top of his game. This well-produced album is a collection of different genres that are thoughtfully sequenced into a cohesive whole, so it would be a disservice to just cherry-pick a few tracks off of iTunes.
It is a must-have for fans of guitar music, and if you are anywhere near the Bay Area check his gig schedule so you can check him out in person. You will not be disappointed!
Reviewer Rex Bartholomew is a Los Angeles-based writer and musician; his blog can be found at rexbass.blogspot.com.
Featured Blues Review – 3 of 10
Celso Salim Band – To The End Of Time
GRV 2015
www.celsosalim.com
11 tracks; 51 minutes
This is the fifth release from Brazilian guitarist Celso Salim. Celso plays acoustic and electric guitars, dobro and mandolin and is assisted by regular collaborator Rodrigo Mantovani on bass and Jason Sterling on drums. The core trio is supplemented by Ari Borger on keys, Darryl Carriere on harp (one track), Denilson Martins on sax and Sidmar Vieira on trumpet (one track). Vocals are by Celso except on two tracks where Bia Marchese and co-producer Rafael Cury step out from their backing vocal roles to take the lead. Celso wrote all of the material with Douro Moura except for three covers of classic blues songs.
The album opens in relaxed late-night mode with the title track. Celso handles the vocals well with plenty of backing from the other vocalists and there is some good rolling piano from Ari and dobro from Celso. Celso moves to electric guitar on the soul-blues of “Fool Of Me” which benefits from Denilson’s sax. Celso’s vocals express his anguish and that is echoed in a strong solo, the whole having something of an Albert King feel to this reviewer’s ears.
“Red Light Blues” has more of a honky-tonk feel courtesy of the piano work and Darryl’s harp adds blues authenticity though Celso’s vocals seemed to be mixed a bit low on this one. “Leave It To The Moon” presents a shift in style and pace as Bia sings the lead on a sultry, jazzy blues with sax and trumpet playing a major role in the production. Celso returns to the mike for “Blind Man With A Gun” which, despite its title, is a gentle piece of dobro and piano-led Americana.
We then get two old-time blues tunes. Barbecue Bob’s “It’s Just Too Bad” is another of those classic blues that asks why his woman is messing around with someone else and features some fine dobro, drummer Jason using brushes in a minimalist production. Sleepy John Estes’ “Liquor Store Blues” adds Ari’s piano to Celso’s acoustic work on an upbeat tune, the shortest cut on the album. In contrast the next cut “Devil In You” clocks in at over 7 minutes and it’s a full band production with Ari’s piano and Denilson’s sax there from the start of a slow blues which finds Celso playing some excellent electric guitar.
“Old Blues Goodbye” returns to a simpler trio style before the final cover, Elmore James’ “Talk To Me Baby”, hits us with raucous sax, slide and impassioned vocal. The tune is so familiar one wonders whether the world needs another version but this is a really good cover and adds something different to most covers of the song – a definite highlight of the album. The CD closes with “Rest My Bones”, another strong song with the extended band and Celso putting plenty of ‘twang’ into his solo and Denilson getting a well-deserved solo opportunity.
This is an interesting album that clearly demonstrates Celso’s versatility as he covers a wide range of styles from acoustic country blues to big-band soul-blues.
Reviewer 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.
Featured Blues Review – 4 of 10
Eight O’Five Jive – Too Many Men
Self-Produced/Red Rudy Too Tunes
http://eightofivejive.net
CD: 12 Songs; 37:28 Minutes
Styles: Jump/Swing Blues, Jazz-Influenced Blues
In the middle-to-late-‘90s, there was a revival of the big-band swing sound in popular music. Songs such as “Mr. Pinstripe Suit” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and “Jump, Jive and Wail” by the Brian Setzer Orchestra were gigantic successes. There’s a related subgenre known as “jump” or “swing” blues, which mixes high-tempo beats with traditional blues rhythms and melodies. Some may say this isn’t blues in the pure sense, but more related to jazz. Whatever the case, the Nashville, TN band, Eight O’Five Jive, plays it with panache in their debut album Too Many Men. Some blues is slow and relaxing, but theirs is better spelled D-A-N-C-E. Their twelve songs, ten covers and two originals, will propel audiences out of their seats and onto their feet.
In the CD liner notes, broadcaster Pete Wilson of the Nashville Jumps radio show comments: “‘Don’t let that music die,’ sang the Big Three Trio, and it never did. Never will. It’s immune to time. And that brings us to Eight O’Five Jive.” Performing alongside lead female vocalist Lee Shropshire are Patrick Mosser on saxophone, Duane Spencer on cocktail drums, guitarist Andy Scheinman, and bassist Bill Bois. All of these four gentlemen support Lee on background vocals. Even though Too Many Men over-relies on covers, most blues fans won’t know this right away unless they peruse the CD case. At times Shropshire talk-sings on the long notes, but this flaw is minor compared to the bouncy nature of their tunes. The three below will get crowds cavorting:
Track 01: “I’ve Got a Feelin’” – A fantastic cover of a Sid Wyche hit encapsulates one of the most popular blues themes: “I’ve got a feeling someone is trying to steal my man. Strange things are happening, things that I just can’t understand.” Duane Spencer’s peppy drum intro and Patrick Mosser’s blazing sax solo are the highlights of this opening number.
Track 07: “Feed Them Monkeys” – Legal or otherwise, we all have our addictions. Original composer S. Monick knows this too well, as does the band. “One smokes cigarettes; the other smokes crack. They drink too much beer; they drink too much wine, but they’re hanging around having a good time.” Sing along with the earworm refrain, and keep an ear out for the monkey of our social-media age.
Track 10: “Young Enough to Be My Son” – There is a downside to chasing so-called “cougars”, as this hilarious original ditty by Shropshire shows. “What you want with this old pickled beet?” she asks of her youthful paramour. The pace of this song is like a train barreling down the tracks, frenetic and unstoppable. Andy Scheinman’s guitar fretwork burns with hot sauce.
According to their website, Eight O’Five Jive won an award for Best Live Blues Performers at the 2014 Nashville Independent Music Awards (NIMA). They may have Too Many Men, but they’ll never have too many fans!
Reviewer Rainey Wetnight is a 35 year old female Blues fan. She brings the perspective of a younger blues fan to reviews. A child of 1980s music, she was strongly influenced by her father’s blues music collection.
For a free track off this great album, check out our May Blues Overdose feature on soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/bluesblast
Featured Live Blues Review – Doheny Blues Festival
Doheny Blues Festival – 2015 – Dana Point, CA
The best of California is how to describe Doheny Blues Festival. Situated right on the beach at Dana Point, the Sailor Jerry Stage looks out across palm trees to the ocean. The cool foggy mornings break away to beautiful sunshine for the crowds of blues fans. There is great food and drinks, and some of the best line-ups available on the West Coast. Hosting three stages, the festival rotates acts with the main Doheny Stage (DS) and Back Porch Stage (BP) performing on opposite ends of the park. In between those stages, and sets, is the Sailor Jerry Stage (SJS), where the majority of the festival goers converge to catch those acts.
The only damper for this year’s festival was the announcement of the passing of BB King the day before the festival began. The entire festival was dedicated to his memory, including a well-respected moment of silence across the festival for BB. In addition, many of the performers were part of, or had a relationship with Southern California’s Delta Groove label, and were still mourning the loss of CEO Randy Chortkoff the week before, who was a staple at Doheny. In addition, due to health issues, headliner Taj Mahal cancelled his tour a few days prior to the festival. With some quick rescheduling and new flyers hastily printed, Scandinavian Band Trickbag drove all night after their performance in Phoenix to fill in the open slot. We at Blues Blast Magazine send our condolences to all the family and friends of both BB King and Randy Chortkoff, and wish a speedy recovery for Taj Mahal.
Each morning, while the lines gather at the crack of dawn outside the festival, raring to go and eager for their favorite spot on the grass, performers put on a Breakfast Set in the parking lot. The first morning was a solo set by Ben Powell (pictured). Sunday morning was Whitney Shay & Robin Henkel (just missed this one by a few minutes).
Due to the limitations set on the pro photographers at the main stage, the coverage on the main Doheny Stage is minimal for this article. Needless to say, the music is great no matter what stage is playing and the music can be heard throughout the park. I was just happy to be there for the festival!
Saturday morning started out at the main stage with Candye Kane’s band. Bobby Abarca (bass) is responsible for the “R.I.P BB King” on the back of his standup bass in the opening photo. Along with Bobby, Laura Chavez (guitar) and Kurt Kalker (drums), Candye never fails to inspire the crowd with her music and her stories of strength and endurance. No matter how her day is going, or her battle with her health, the minute she walks on stage she lights up the world around her.
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