#712 > Cedar County Cobras / McMurrin and Johnson / Illinois John Fever at The Ideal Theater 10/26/24

 

Cedar County Cobras / McMurrin and Johnson / Illinois John Fever – Oct. 26, 2024

Ideal Theater & Bar
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 27, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I'm always happy to experience live music, and it makes me happier to experience it with like-minded music lovers. The Ideal Theater and Bar in Cedar Rapids, Iowa hosted an absolutely astounding three-act show headlined by Cedar County Cobras. Illinois John Fever kicked the evening off with a very cool set of country blues.  This was my first time to hear these artists.  They played a quite impressive set and are certainly on my radar now. It was great to see Dennis 'Daddy-O' McMurrin and Dan 'DJ' Johnson again. I have been a fan of them both since I moved to Iowa just over thirty years ago, The Cedar County Cobras, finished off the evening with an outstanding-as-usual performance.  They are always a delight to hear. After winning the 2024 Iowa Blues Challenge recently, the band earned an entrance to participate in the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee which will take place in January. I wish them my very best on their journey.  

  ---

 

·       All Photos by Phillip Smith

Illinois John Fever

Dennis 'Daddy-O' McMurrin and Dan Johnson

Cedar County Cobras

·       All Photos by Phillip Smith

For more information about Cedar County Cobras visit https://cedarcountycobras.com/

For more information about Illinois John Fever visit https://www.illinoisjohnfever.com/

  

#645 : PhillyCheeze Interviews Buckmiller/Schwager (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

PhillyCheeze Interviews Buckmiller/Schwager 

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 7, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Interview date : Nov. 7, 2023 Phillip Smith aka PhillyCheeze interviews Tom Buckmiller and Brian Schwager of the Des Moines-based blues act Buckmiller Schwager Band.

Trailler for the documentary To Memphis and Back

For more information about Buckmiller Schwager Band, visit the website https://www.buckmillerschwager.com/

That's a TBuckT – That's a TBuckT

#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.

---

 

 

 

             

 

         ,

 

 

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

 

 

#618 : Leonard "Lowdown" Brown - Blues is Calling Me (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Music Maker Foundation

By Phillip Smith; June 10, 2023

Release Date : June 23, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Born in Arkansas and raised in Indiana, Leonard “Lowdown” Brown has been surrounded by music most of his life.  In 1980 he moved to Houston, Texas for his work with General Electric and became in involved in the local music scene.  In 1988, he acquired his moniker “Lowdown” from the organizers of the Benson and Hedges Blues Festival, and the name has stuck with him since.  He has opened for music-greats Sister Sledge, ZZ Hill, Johnny Taylor and Bobby Bland.  At seventy years old, Brown is just now releasing his debut album Blues is Calling Me.  It is a soulful ten-track serving of original blues.  With Brown on vocals and Fender Jazzmaster guitar, his backing band is comprised of producer/drummer Ardie Dean, guitarist Microwave Dave Galaher, bassist Tony Grady and Dan Hochter on keys and bass.

With a hint of rasp in his voice, Brown gets the record started with a sweet and tangy platter of real-deal blues in “Juke Joint”.  I love the tone he coaxes out of his guitar as he sings about good times, dancing, and eating barbeque.  Baptized in Memphis soul, “Find a Bridge” follows next.  I find this response to Hurricane Katrina very relatable and inspiring.  Brown takes me to church with “Blues Makes Me Feel Good”.  This instant classic features warm soulful vocals, lush organ sounds, and a guitar performance played with finesse.  Delivered atop a tasty funky rhythm alongside a cool horn accompaniment, title-track “Blues is Calling Me” bears a thick Stax influence.  It is undoubtedly a splendid number.

Blues is Calling Me has a classic sound akin to the music released during the blues revival of the Sixties, and I absolutely dig it.  It is artists like Leonard “Lowdown” Brown that are keeping this music alive. 

--- 

 

 

 

For more information about Leonard “Lowdown” Brown visit :  https://musicmaker.org/artist/leonard-lowdown-brown

 

 

*          Special thanks go out to Music Maker Foundation for their work in helping blues musicians who otherwise may not have an opportunity to get their music heard.

#510 : Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - 662

 

2021 – Alligator Records

By Phillip Smith; July 24m 2021

 

Clarksdale, Mississippi’s breakout blues star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has just released his second studio album 662, and it’s fantastic.  It’s even stronger than his 2019 debut album Kingfish which entered the Billboard Blues charts at #1, remained in the charts for ninety-one weeks, and was nominated for a Grammy.  This recording has that same promise.  662, the album’s title refers to the area code in Mississippi where the twenty-two-year-old Kingfish was born and raised.  It’s truly the land many consider the ground zero or cradle of the blues.  And it’s within that magical place, Kingfish draws his inspiration.  662’s fourteen original tracks were cowritten by Kingfish and the album’s acclaimed producer/drummer Tom Hambridge.  Also appearing on the record are guitarists Kenny Greenberg and Bob Britt , bassists Glenn Worf and Tommy MacDonald,  pianist/organist Marty Sammon, saxophonist Max Abrams, and Julio Diaz on trumpet.

Fueled with a driving beat from Hambridge and his own blazing guitar mastery, Kingfish paints a lyrical picture of his home and family as he leads off with title-track “662”.  A pulsing rhythm and infectious riff pull me right in to “Long Distance Woman” where Kingfish’s guitar play is over-the-top fabulous.  “Not Gonna Lie” downright rocks on the riff, and is chockful of guitar ear-candy, and suave vocal stylings.  Loaded with a fistful of funk, Kingfish sings about the juke-joint experience which the older generation reminisced about in “Too Young to Remember”.  This one is another favorite.  I really like to hear him go into ‘crooner’ mode as he does on “You’re Already Gone”.  Reminiscent of those early days of Robert Cray, everything is just so perfectly smooth, from his guitar playing to Kingfish’s voice.  He tears the roof off with “My Bad”.  This song is so hot and smokin’, it absolutely cooks.  I simply adore “Something in the Dirt”, another homage to his home and the legendary bluesmen who played there.  It’s a great mix of barrel-house piano, paired with Kingfish’s instrumental finesse.  Beautifully performed, “Rock & Roll” softly and sweetly brings this stellar record to its close with a present-day twist on Robert Johnson’s visit to the crossroads. 

662, the second album of hopefully many more to come in Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s career, is an absolute gem.  I highly recommend this one for all music fans.                      

 ---

For more information about the artist, visit this website : www.christonekingfishingram.com 

 

#509 : Bryce Janey & Merrill J. Miller - Live at Checker's Tavern

1997 – Blue Sunday Entertainment

By Phillip Smith; July 20, 2021

Twenty-five years ago, Iowa bluesmen Bryce Janey and Merrill J. Miller stepped onstage at Checker’s Tavern, in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and cut one hell of a live blues record.  Bryce, who had been playing guitar professionally since the age of thirteen with his parents as the The Janeys, has performed with acts such as Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and Johnny Winter.  Merrill, the son of a protestant minister, immersed in a background of gospel, infatuated with the blues, and notes his influences as Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter, has been playing harmonica since the age of 10.  The two have been friends since their school days together.      

Live at Checker’s Tavern consists of fifteen deep-blues tracks.  It starts out with an acoustic blues original “I.O.U.” written by Bryce.  His deep vocals alongside Merrill’s rolling harp gets the album off to a brilliant start.  They keep it going as Merrill sings Little Walter’s “It Aint Right”, followed next by a brilliant take from the duo on Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues”.  “Gamblin’ Man” is another great example of Bryce’s talent for songwriting.  This musical chemistry between the two shines on this song.  I really like the sliver of funk running through Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor”.  It’s loaded with hot electric guitar licks, and sounds great.  The funk gets even stronger when they break out “Practice What You Preach”, the title-track off Bryce’s first solo studio album. “Purple Haze” is a lot of fun as well and heats things up right before sliding into “Goin’ Back Home” a track written by Bryce’s father BillyLee Janey (Truth & Janey). This is Iowa-blues at its best.  The up-tempo harp-blues track from Merrill, “Slow Bluze”, absolutely cooks.  It’s cool to hear them belt out Sonny Boy Williams’ “Pontiac Blues” to bring the show to its end.

Checkers, known for its Sunday night blues shows, supports local and regional blues acts such as Bryce and Merrill.  I had the pleasure of seeing them perform there many times.  In 1997, the recording of this event was released and it has been a go-to cd for my listening pleasure for a long time.  Sunday, August 29^th , from 4-7pm Checkers will host the 25^th Anniversary of this recording featuring Bryce and Merrill playing selections from this CD as well as some of their original material. 

---

 

#424 : Northern Social - (self-titled)

2019 – independent

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 28, 2019

Northern Social, a mesmerizing duo from Ontario, is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Dylan Wickens and drummer/percussionist Mike Rajna.  Their debut release is this wonderful five-track EP, saturated in blues.  Wickens, a two-time winner of the Toronto Blues Society New Talent Search, and nominee for The Maple Blues Awards’ Best New Artist in 2005, has been steadily touring these past twenty-two years, with either his own band, or with his Hendrix Tribute.  

The high-octane blues-rocker “Waiting” fearlessly rips this package open with fiery hot licks and a driving beat.  I’m instantly drawn to the hypnotic rhythm Wickens lays out in their cover of Keb Mo’s “Am I Wrong”.  It settles nicely in the pocket while his smooth and heavy vocals take charge.  “King of Hearts” is another one I can just get lost in.  There’s a bit of that North Mississippi moonshine poured on this one.  It’s fabulously dirty.  “Dead Neighbor Blues” is work of genius and beautifully brings this recording to a close.  Wickens definitely tapped into the blues when writing this one.

The five tracks on this EP surely packs a punch, and demands attention.  Northern Social is definitely worth taking a chance on. 

---

·         Streaming formats are not available.  Purchases can be made through the website, www.dylanwickens.com

#421 : Jay Gordon's Blues Venom - Slide Rules!

2019 - Shuttle Music

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 14, 2019

I was first introduced to Jay Gordon’s Blue Venom when I reviewed the No Cure album for Blues Review Magazine in 2011.  It appeared on their online web-zine BluesWax.  That was one of my favorite discs that year.  Slide Rules!, Gordon’s latest release is even more spectacular, as his heels dig deep into the Mississippi delta mud for thirteen ferociously outstanding electric slide blues.  Gordon, one of the best guitarists/vocalists around fronts the band with bassist Sharon Butcher and drummer Tom Parham making up the rhythm section.

Gordon opens up with one of his originals “Dripping Blues” which definitely lives up to its name.  The slide-work on this is covered in grease and cooked to perfection.  He follows with another astonishing track “Pain”.  It is packed with more tantalizing guitar, and topped with his trademark fearless, gravelly vocals.  I positively dig it.  “Dockery’s Plantation” is an absolutely fabulous seven-and-a-half minute experience.  It’s ambrosia for the blues lover’s soul. 

The cover songs they choose for this record are brilliant.  First we get Elmore James’ “Stranger Blues” with its unavoidable driving rhythm.  They do this one just right.  Hearing Robert Johnson’s “Travelin Riverside Blues” puts a big smile on my face.  But their version of “Train Train”, that badass song released by Blackfoot in 1979, is a killer indeed.                             

So, like the first album from Jay Gorden I reviewed, Slide Rules! is definitely among my favorites from the year.  I highly recommend it.    

---

For more information about the artist, visit this website : bluesvenom.com     

#393 : Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - Kingfish

2019 – Alligator Records

By Phillip Smith; May 25, 2019

I first heard of Christone “Kingfish” Ingram a couple of years ago, while watching a YouTube video.  I remember being amazed at his guitar prowess and being enamored by the sheer depth he plunged himself into the Blues.  Earlier this month, I was fortunate to have witnessed a live performance of this Clarksdale, Mississippi blues prodigy at Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was indeed a rare treat for this blues music loving soul. 

Ingram’s debut album, simply titled Kingfish, has finally been released, and I’m absolutely loving it.  Produced and co-written by two-time Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, the album features notable guest performances from Buddy Guy, Keb’ Mo’, and Billy Branch.  With Kingfish holding court on vocals and guitar, and Hambridge behind the drums, the band is comprised of guitarist Rob McNelley, bassist Tommy MacDonald, and Marty Sammon on B3 organ/piano.     

From the beginning, I was hooked by the dynamic groove of “Outside of This Town”.  Kingfish’s fearless delivery and robust vocals stand tall in the saddle.  Buddy Guy who has stated “Kingfish is the next explosion of blues.”, appears with Keb’ Mo’ on the delightful gem of a tune “Fresh Out”.  This track about being down and out has a cool vintage quality about it.  Sammon’s piano accompaniment is terrific.  “Before I’m Old” is another great song.  It is funky, soulful, and topped with more searing guitar.  Keb’ on this one too, as well as three other smoking tracks.  One of which is “If You Love Me”.  With Billy Branch on harp and Chris Black on drums, it’s a downright jamboree.          

One of my absolute favorites on the album is, “Been Here Before”.  Kingfish plays this amazingly-reflective song on acoustic guitar and sings it with heart.  I remember being wowed and captivated by his performance of this song at Beale Street Music Festival. It really stuck with me. 

Kingfish is one of those albums, every blues fan will want in their collection. It’s that damn good.   

---

      

For more information about the artist, visit this website.. www.christonekingfishingram.com  

Mr. Sipp - Knock a Hole In It

2017 – Malaco Records 

By Phillip Smith; Apr 22, 2017

Records like Knock A Hole In It from gospel-musician-turned-bluesman Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp , “The Mississippi Blues Child”, are far and few in-between.  Coleman, winner of the 2014 International Blues Challenge and Gibson Guitarist Award in Memphis, Tennessee pours his soul into his craft, both as a songwriter and performer. This album features a dozen original tunes and one fabulously superb cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” which runs nearly eight and half minutes long and segues right into a sweet guitar instrumental of “Star-Spangled Banner” which brings it to a close.

I absolutely dig the funky raw groove woven into the title-track, “Knock A Hole In It”.  The energy running through this song is stunning and electric.  This one surely goes down as my favorite song of the year.  Terrific vocals and smoking hot guitar from Coleman along with a searing performance from organist Carrol McLaughlin make “Bad Feeling” another stand-out song.  Coleman certainly does not mess around when it comes to dishing out serious blues.  From the slow, smoldering “Strings Attached” to the heel-stomping house-rockin’ “Juke Joint”, his artistry shines through. 

I have a feeling Knock a Hole In It will be at the top of my list for a quite a long time.  It’s definitely a good time.

---

Cécile Doo-Kingué - Anybody Listening, Pt 1 : Monologues

2015 – CDK Musik

By Phillip Smith; Mar 21, 2015

Soulful vocals paired with infectious rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics, are the heart of Cécile Doo-Kingué’s latest album, Anybody Listening Pt. 1: Monologues, the first installment in a trilogy of albums. Anybody Listening features nine blues-soaked, cleverly written songs performed on acoustic guitar in a solo setting. 

Doo-Kingué makes a huge powerfully submissive splash with album opener, “Make Me”. I love her sultry vocals on this fusion of funk and blues.  She keeps the mood light in “Little Bit” as well, in this ditty about what it takes to get in the happy place. I can’t help but smile when I hear this one.

As a voice for a new generation of activists, Doo-Kingué picks up where the Seventies left off, when it comes to writing songs promoting civil rights.  “Bloodstained Vodka” is her response to the arrest of feminist punk rockers, Pussy Riot for charges of hooliganism, and Putin’s anti-gay stance.  Stand-out track, “Six Letters” takes a seriously heavy look at racism and the atrocities which go hand in hand with it.  Doo-Kingué plays this one in a traditional blues style, complete with slide.        

Title track, “Anybody Listening” a mellow ode to loneliness closes the album with a sad and slow yet funky rhythm. Although Anybody Listening Pt. 1: Monologues seems to goes by fast, it has a lot of replay-ability.  This poignant album leaves me wanting to hear more, and excited to hear the next two albums in the series.       

For more info on Cécile Doo-Kingué, visit her website http://www.cdkmusik.com/

http://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/