#632: Buckmiller Schwager Band - Live at XBK (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Buckmiller Schwager Band

Live at XBK

2023 – Buckmiller Schwager Band

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 2, 2023

 Release Date : Sep. 1, 2023

  

After nearly a year and a half since the release of Buckmiller Schwager’s debut album To Memphis and Back, the Iowa boys have returned with a fabulous new album Live at XBK.  XBK, where this performance was recorded on April 6, 2023, is a 250-seat entertainment venue/listening room in the Drake neighborhood of Des Moines.  Performed with a full band comprised of vocalist/guitarist Tom Buckmiller, guitarist Brian Schwager, drummer Larry Mersereau and bassist Eric Smidt, this album of new songs, favorites, and covers wonderfully captures the electric essence of their live shows. 

The set starts off in a bodacious way with their smoking original “Thrill of the Thrill”.  Schwager lets loose on guitar with a searing performance, and it sounds great.  Their cover of Luther Allison’s “Cherry Red Wine” steals my heart as I feel every note navigate right into my being.  The mood swings one hundred eighty degrees to their rocking anthem “These Are the Good Days”.  This one keeps me focused on the bright side of life.  Schwager ushers in a vibrant boogie shuffle on John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom”, with Buckmiller delightfully delivering his deep growly vocals.  I love the sampler platter of music they serve on “Keeping the Blues Alive”.  This mini class on the genre brings a smile my face as they cover various styles of blues as found in different regions of America : Chicago, West Coast, Texas, and Detroit.

If the new originals are a taste of what’s to come on Buckmiller Schwager’s next studio album, I am all-in.  Live at XBK has been on heavy-rotation in my ear-pods for the past couple of weeks, and I don’t think that will change any time soon.

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.buckmillerschwager.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Buckmiller Schwager Band at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Buckmiller+Schwager

  

Click on the link below to purchase this terrific album from Bandcamp.

#631: Scott Weis Band - Raise Your Hands (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Scott Weis Band

Raise Your Hands

2023 – A Happy Carrot Production

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 26, 2023

Release Date : Aug. 1, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve immensely enjoyed the past couple of releases from Scott Weis Band. Their eighth and latest album Raise Your Hands is no exception.  For something a little different this time Weis injects a heavy dose of southern rock into his blues and it sounds fantastic.  Weis is joined again by drummer Roger Voss and bassist Robert Kopec.  He is also accompanied by vocalist Cindy Mizelle, keyboardist John Ginty, and percussionist Bashiri Johnson, with Sarah Smith making a guest appearance on vocals.

Weis fills the air with the swampy sounds of the Mississippi Delta on the first track “Motherless Child”.  I enjoy hearing him tear it up on slide guitar with the rolling sounds of organ joining in.  “Shine Down” follows up in a nice Skynyrd-esque fashion.  I love the arrangement of the backing vocals on this slow cooker.  Vocally and instrumentally, it hits on all cylinders.  There’s a lot of ZZ Top influence running in the hard-driving Texas boogie-laced blues of ”Judgement Day”.  I like to turn the volume up when this track starts.  One of my favorite Beatles covers is Joe Cocker’s take on “With a Little Help From My Friends”.  Weis delightfully takes on the Joe Cocker version and it sounds glorious.  His gravelly vocals nail every note of this six-minute classic as the band comes together in a full-on Muscle Shoals-fashion.  Weis breaks out the dobro and Kopec the standup bass on “Bring Me Home” to close out the album.  The stripped-down vintage sound fully captures my attention as is conjures up memories of seeing the legendary Watermelon Slim in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

With songwriting and performance both taking top priority, Scott Weis Band has another winner with Raise Your Hands.  I appreciate how the music flows seamlessly from beginning to end, taking on an album-oriented rock appeal.  This is a release I am highly recommending.

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For more information about Scott Weis Band visit their website at :  https://scottweisband.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Scott Weis at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Scott+Weis

 

 

#629: Mario Rossi Band - Smoke Burst (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Mario Rossi Band

Smoke Burst

2023 – Mario Rossi Band

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 19, 2023

Release Date : July 16, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Brazilian singer/songwriter/guitarist Mario Rossi discovered his deep passion for blues in 2013 while joining John Primer’s touring band across Brazil.  Since then, he has blazed a trail that has caught the eyes and ears of many fans.  Smoke Burst, his fourth and most recent album is a fantastic recording of all original tunes loaded with hot guitar licks and infectious riffs.  With Rossi on guitar and vocals, his band is comprised of Edê Boy on keyboards, Marcelo Rocha on bass, and Rafael Cacavallo on drums.

Kicking open the gates with his title-track instrumental “Smoke/Burst”, Rossi’s impressive guitar performance is a smoldering wonderment.  I love the slow goodness of “It Means Blues”.  Every note is delivered with feeling as guest Lu Vitti lends her voice to give the song an extraordinary soulful touch.  Harmonica in hand, Steve Bell (son of Carey Bell) joins the Mario Rossi Band along with a gospel choir comprised of Magally Farias, Je Farias, Lu Vitti, and Edê Boy for “There’s No Hope For Willie Brown”.  Guided with a driving second-line cadence, this spirited homage to the legendary blues pioneer embraces the music of the Mississippi Delta, down to the Big Easy.  The psychedelic blues-rock vibe is strong with “Don’t Tell Me What To Do”.  Rossi draws deeply from his Hendrix influence for a delectable cut.  This is positively lightning-in-a-bottle.  He then continues to channel that Hendrix energy for a cosmic instrumental “Jammin’ for Jimi”.  I am filled with awe with every listen.

I can’t get enough of this new album from Mario Rossi Band.  Smoke Burst is a recording I am going to highly recommend for blues fans and guitar aficionados.  It’s spectacular.    

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For more information about Mario Rossi Band visit the website at :  https://www.mariorossiband.com

#628: Chickenbone Slim - Damn Good and Ready (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Vizztone Label Group

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 12, 2023

 Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

San Diego-based musician Larry Teves aka Chickenbone Slim has returned to Greaseland Studios to record his fifth release Damn Good and Ready.  The album is a cocktail of all-original blues and rockabilly with a cool-as-hell vintage sound.   It is quite obvious why he was awarded the 2022 San Diego Music Award for “Best Jazz/Blues Recording”.  With Christoffer “Kid” Anderson engineering, mixing, and mastering this twelve-track recording, Chickenbone Slim is joined by Laura Chavez (2023 Blues Music Award winner for Best Blues Guitarist) on guitar, Marty Dodson on drums/percussion, Justice Guevara on electric and stand-up bass, and Kid Anderson on everything else.

Loaded with a fistful of musical badassery and a searing blues riff, Teves’ homage to the wonderous lifeforce H2O has me hooked with “Drink Me”.  “Rather Be Up” follows up with sweet twangy tones and a western delivery.  It’s a beautiful song, and draws me in tight.  From the first smokin’ guitar lick Chavez drops, title-track “Damn Good and Ready” is pure unadulterated blues, and sounds absolutely wonderful.  With a fearless vocal delivery, Slim belts out “Ice in My Whiskey”.  Chavez truly shines on this favorite track.  It is songs like “Ty Cobb’s Chiclets” which put a spotlight on Teves’ songwriting mastery.  This suspenseful tale of a baseball legend and his false teeth unfolds with a splash of surf guitar, and I dig it immensely.

Chickenbone Slim’s Damn Good and Ready is a one-of-a-kind album and I highly recommend it. 

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Note: 

I caught Chickenbone Slim live in Memphis this past May performing at Rum Boogie Café on Beale Street for the Vizztone Blues Music Award Showcase, and had the opportunity to speak with him a bit while we were waiting for Uber rides at the end of the evening.  That was very cool.  The next evening, I attended the Blues Music Awards where Laura Chavez was awarded Guitarist of the Year.  Being the first female to be honored with that prestigious award in the forty-four years they have been held, will hopefully begin a new trend.  It was a special moment, and I am very happy she won.   

         

Visit Chickenbone Slim’s webpage at https//chickenboneslim.com to purchase Damn Good and Ready.

#625: Scottie Miller - Carnival Cocoon (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2022 – Scottie Miller

By Phillip Smith; July 29, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Carnival Cocoon, the latest release from Minnesota poet/pianist Scottie Miller, has me gob-smacked with amazement and delight.  This companion set features an eighty-three-page book of poetry coupled with a twenty-three track album featuring those poems eloquently set to music with a classic beat-inspired delivery.  Miller, a three-time inductee of the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame has toured with Bo Diddley and currently tours with Ruthie Foster.  With Miller on vocals and piano, he is joined by JT Bates on drums, Jeff Bailey on electric and double bass, Cierra Alise Hill on violin 1, Bex Gaunt on violin 2, Jesse Kellerman on viola, Greg Byers on cello, and double bass.  As a bonus, there is a special appearance by Ruthie Foster.

The album opens with a flowing beat as Miller recites “Ah, New York”, a fast-passed from-the-street lyrical treat from which the title Carnival Cocoon is birthed.  I can smell the smells and hear the sounds of traffic, automotive and pedestrian both.  With “Whiskey, Coffee”, my thoughts effortlessly drift toward Tom Waits.  This track swims among my favorites.  As ear-worms go, this is the most welcome.  Hearing Miller reminisce about his days at “Berklee” certainly bring back college-days memories of my own.  “Adrenalina” lives up to its name, breaking through with staggering words and a surging riff.  The Bukowski-esque “Bleecker Street” paints a bleak vision of homeless folks and hopeless alcoholics lining the street in Greenwich Village.  An air of somberness hovers over “A Better Way to Cope” while it rings out like a long-lost Bob Dylan song.  Ruthie Foster joins along for “Stay” an anthem against injustice.  Miller vocalizes this one with a cadence reminiscent of Eminem, and tops it with a chill beat and smooth R&B hook.  “Beggar, Banker, Fisherman Pay” is nested in a Celtic tradition and beautifully performed.  The recording comes to its end suited up in full gonzo attire with “24 Hours in Mexico”.  Miller condenses a day’s worth of debauchery in Puerto Vallarta into eight minutes of freewheeling fun. 

Carnival Cocoon is an unexpected masterpiece.  It is unlike anything I have ever read or heard.  I will certainly be revisiting this one for a very long time.                       

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 For more information about Scottie Miller or to purchase Carnival Cocoon, visit his website at:  https://www.scottiemiller.com/

 

#624: Soulful Femme - Attitude (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Skydog Studios

By Phillip Smith; July 22, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Funk, soul, and blues form a magical convergence with the sounds of Soulful Femme.  Comprised of lead vocalist Stevee Wellons and guitarist Cheryl Rinovato, Soulful Femme was formed shortly after the two women met at a blues society event in 2014.  Attitude, the follow up album to their 2021 release It Is Well With My Soul, is produced by Albert Castiglia and features him on guitar for three tracks.  The backing musicians include drummer Michael Bram, bassist Matt Reynol, Dave Gross on Hammond organ and tambourine, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, and Mark Earley on tenor saxophone.  Special guests on this record include Tommy Castro and Kevin Burt.

The funky, infectious rhythm of title-track “Attitude” leads the way with Castiglia joining in on guitar.  The bassline is thick as Wellons’ vocals ring out with a striking fearlessness.  I absolutely love their cover with Kevin Burt which breathes new life into the 1968 Willie Dixon/Koko Taylor duet “Insane Asylum”.  Burt and Wellons sing this heartbreaker with pure emotion as they stick the landing for a stellar performance.  Reminiscent of the lovely sounds of Sade, “Breathe Again” rolls in on a crisp wave of fresh air.  Rinovato digs in deep with a George Benson-like approach on guitar and it sounds fabulous.  Tommy Castro joins in the fun on the bodacious cover of James Brown’s “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing”.  This funkdafied track is one I really enjoy.

The musical chemistry between Wellons and Rinovato extends beyond their performance and into their song-writing.  Soulful Femme’s “Attitude” is an album soul-blues fans will surely want to hear.  They are definitely an act to keep one’s eyes and ears on.

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For more information about Soulful Femme visit the website :  https://www.soulfulfemme.com

 

#623: Jimmy Bennett - Sunday Morning Sessions (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Junkyard Dog Productions

By Phillip Smith; July 15, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Sunday Morning Sessions, the new album from Jimmy Bennett (Bennett Brothers, Alexis P. Suiter, John Ginty, Bruce Katz) stole my heart from the first listen.  Bennett, an original member of Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, New York, began writing this record on Easter Sunday 2020 as a response to the beginning days of the Coronavirus outbreak.  That day, he wrote, recorded, and posted a video for his new song “Easter Morning Melody” on Facebook.  The positive response he received encouraged him to keep moving forward, spawning the Sunday Morning Sessions which he continues producing today.  This record is a tribute to those Sunday sessions and to the listeners who tune in.  Produced by John Ginty at Shark Tank Studio in Sarasota, Florida, the album features Bennett on acoustic guitar, dobro, and vocals, with Ginty on Vintage Vibe piano, Hammond organ, and drums. 

Bennett begins the listening experience with the instrumental title-track “Easter Morning Melody”.  Its bright melody rolls off his guitar on waves of bliss and flows like a soft breeze on a sunny Spring day.  With dobro and slide in hand, Bennett captivates me with “Snow Sliding”.  Ginty holds this swampy instrumental treat down with a steady, thunderous beat and it sounds magnificent.  Bennett shares a simple but profound insight about life in “Bay Ridge Blues”.  I find this infectious song repeatedly bouncing around my head.  I’m quite taken by the song “Mr. Charlie”.  This character-driven, story-telling ditty has a Beatles-esque charm with a deliverance reminiscent of The Band.  Bennett’s guitar prowess truly shines on the instrumental “Broken River Stream”.  It is an amazing listen.  I love the singer/songwriter approach to his cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.  Recorded with just Bennett on vocals and guitar, this ‘Man in Black’ classic sounds fresh and rootsy. 

I absolutely adore this album.  The songs of Jimmy Bennett’s Sunday Morning Sessions seem to connect directly right into the soul.        

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For more information about Jimmy Bennett visit the website :  

https://www.thebennettbrothersband.com/

 

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews mentioning Jimmy Bennett at : 

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Jimmy+Bennett

 

#622 : Micke Bjorklof and Blue Strip - Colors of Jealousy (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Hokahey! Music Productions

By Phillip Smith; July 1,2023

Release Date : June 16, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve been writing about the music of Micke Bjorklof since 2014 with the After the Flood release.  I love the way his crafted lyrics and musical arrangements are brought to life with Blue Strip.  Their latest album Colors of Jealousy has again captivated me with every listen.  Bjorklof has a unique way to making the blues sound new again.   It’s no surprise to me that they are among the most popular live blues and roots acts in Finland where they have been playing music since 1991.  Bjorklof who fronts the band on lead vocals, harmonica, and electric guitar, is joined with Ville “Lefty” Leppänen on electric, slide, and acoustic guitars, mandolin, and backing vocals, bassist Seppo Nuolikoski, drummer Teemu Vuorela, percussionist/MalletKAT master Timo Roiko-Jokela, backing vocalists Lena Lindroos and Veera Railio, with Harri Taittonen on Hammond organ and keys.

“Highway Highway’ rolls out atop a driving rhythm with a soulful fusion of Muscle Shoals and Texas blues.  Once heard, I am hooked.  The swampy sounds of “Feel it in my Bones” follows up on a plate of delectable slide guitar and searing harp.  The hook is very infectious.  Title-track “Colors of Jealousy” hits like the soundtrack to a lost Sergio Leone spaghetti western film.  The landscape is ominous and beautifully twangy as Bjorklof sings about lost love.  I keep going back for seconds, each time I hear Micke’s hard-driving harp and Lefty’s searing guitar on “Thought You Were Mine”.  Imagery of having an ice-cold beer and rocking out the song in a steamy Mississippi juke joint are conjured from my brain.

Colors of Jealousy is another hit record from Micke Bjorklof and Blue Strip.  I highly recommend it.

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TRACK LISTINGS

 

1.      Highway Highway

2.      Feel it in My Bones

3.      Colors of Jealousy

4.      Missing That Woman

5.      Are You Real

6.      Long Ago

7.      Thought You Were Mine

8.      Good Times Somehow

9.      Get Out

10.  Into the Fire

11.  It Takes Two

 

For more information about Micke Bjorklof  visit his website at :  https://www.mickebjorklof.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Micke Bjorklof at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Micke+Bjorklof

 

 

#621 : CRUZ the Dame, Watermelon Slim, & Sean "Bad" Apple - Live in Clarksdale (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

June 23 - 24 , 2023

Clarksdale, Mississippi

By Phillip Smith; June 25, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I took a short break this weekend for an excursion to Clarksdale, Mississippi to surround myself with some live blues.  After a mandatory stop at Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Arts, I landed at Sean “Bad” Apple’s place to hear some music from Sean and Miss Australia “Honeybee” Jones.  Their performances were mesmerizing.  I still find it hard to comprehend that Honeybee is eighty years old.   

After a delicious catfish dinner at Hooker Grocery, I landed at Ground Zero Blues Club to take in the soulful sounds of CRUZ the Dame.  This is the act I really wanted to see.  CRUZ has a voice that only comes around once in a blue moon.  Whether she is taking on Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Etta James, or Billy Holiday, she approaches the microphone with a dynamic fearlessness and angelic delivery.  Her original songs are funkdafied with an energy that the Godfather of Funk George Clinton would surely bless.  Graced with three amazing sets of music, I had a wonderful evening indeed.   

The next morning, I headed to Bluesberry Café to catch Watermelon Slim.  CRUZ and her band were just departing to begin their five-hour journey to Biloxi to play the new Ground Zero Blues Club.  After a short stop-and-chat, we wished each other safe travels, and I proceeded inside for breakfast and a wonderful three hour set from the great Watermelon Slim.  The coffee was much needed, the omelet was delicious, and seeing Watermelon Slim perform live, was plumb fascinating. 

 

Photos by Phillip Smith 

Australia "Honeybee" Jones

Sean "Bad" Apple

CRUZ the Dame

Watermelon Slim