#663 : Memphis & the Misfits - Halfway to Number Nine (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Memphis & the Misfits

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 23, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Loaded with a fistful of swagger, Halfway to Number Nine, the debut album from Memphis & the Misfits has really caught my attention. Singer/songwriter/standup & electric bassist Gary Davis aka ‘Memphis’ explains “Every song on this album is based on real life events or inspirations…”. That explains why I can feel the DNA of the Mississippi Delta intertwined with every song. Born in the Delta and based out of Nashville, Tennessee, singer/songwriter/bassist Davis aka “Memphis” is joined by his band the Misfits comprised of guitarist Ryan Sise, drummer Dave Halstead, and additional guitarist Chris Voorhees.  

Davis pines for the slow-paced living in Number Nine, Arkansas as he brings the listener into the album with his cooking title track “Halfway to Number Nine”. Hearing Sise’s slide guitar on “Walk That Line” is an absolute treat. I love the way he baptizes this song in swamp juice.  The smoldering Texas blues of “Good Love” hits with a solid ZZ-Top/SRV-inspired wallop. It sounds great. Davis conjures up memories of good times with the swing-blues of “Ride these Mississippi Backroads”. I’m rapidly hooked and reeled in to “Hongry”, caught in the net of its infectious riff. I love when Sise lets loose and unleashes his blues-soaked performance.               

Memphis & the Misfits’ Halfway to Number Nine is an impressive eight tracks of original delta roots music. I’m already looking forward to their next album. 

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Gary Davis aka 'Memphis'

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

 

#662 : Philip Sayce - The Wolves Are Coming (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2024 – Forty Below Records

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 17, 2024

Release Date : Feb. 23, 2024

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

There’s a bright and fierce energy surrounding the music of LA-based blues-rocker Philip Sayce.  The tours-of-duty he ventured with alongside legends like Jeff Healy and Melissa Etheridge certainly pushed him to obtain his 10,000+ hours of experience, elevating him to his current level of greatness.  Loaded with explosive guitar performances, and drizzled with his soulful vocals, Sayce’s ninth and latest album The Wolves are Coming is an extraordinary listen.     

Sayce smashes the gates open with a Hendrix-inspired “Oh! That Bitches Brew”, leaving me gob smacked as I take in his unleashed arsenal of atomic guitar licks.  An infectious rhythm draws me into the funky, smoking anthem of “Babylon is Burning”.  I can’t help but feel his heart-felt emotions poured all over slow ballad “It’s Over Now”.  It is such a beautiful song.  His covers of John Lee Hooker’s “This is Hip” and Albert Collins' “The Moon is Full” both bring smiles to my face too.  I dig the high-octane track “Black Moon”.  Its pulsing rhythm and fuzzy guitar host a furious punch and hits like the go-to songs I loved from The White Stripes.  Sayce’s vocal and guitar performance are absolutely amazing on “Backstabber”.  With the force of a derecho, he tears the freaking roof off.

I highly recommend picking up Philip Sayce’s “The Wolves Are Coming”.  It’s superb from beginning to end. 

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

#660 : Mike Zito - Life is Hard (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2024 – Gulf Coast Records

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 9, 2024

 

Release Date : February 23, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve been writing about the music of Mike Zito since my earliest days of reviewing albums.  His literal finesse and musical mastery propel his songs into a realm of their own.  Zito’s latest album Life is Hard stands apart from the rest.  Drenched with passion, love, and grief, this record is a heart-felt dedication to his wife Laura who succumbed to cancer last summer.  Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith team up again to produce as well as lend their talents as guitarists, with Reese Wynans on keys, Calvin Turner on bass, and Lemar Carter on drums.

“Lonely Man” hits first with a cooking rhythm, searing guitar, and rolling keys.  It is then topped with a healthy serving of sax from Paulie Cerra.  This Little Milton cover absolutely swings and it sounds great.  The blues gets serious and real as Zito tears it up on title track “Life is Hard”, originally by Fred James.  I’m left speechless as his guitar openly wails from emotion.  I dig how he injects a Chuck Berry vibe into the classic Lefty Frizzell song “No One to Talk to (But the Blues)”.  Wymans gives the song a Little Richard-treatment on keys for an energetic accompaniment.  I love the cover of Tinsley Ellis’ “Dying to do Wrong”.  This cowboy-blues track runs along an ominous set of rails and I am instantly drawn in.  I can’t help but tear up when I hear him take on the Guess Who song “These Eyes”.  The production on this track is superb, featuring Jennifer Kumma and Anna Spina on French horn, and Jade Macrae and Dannielle Deandrea on background vocals.  “Without Loving You”, a Zito-original, has an intriguing, progressive element which captivates me as it pulls me into its crawling hypnotic rhythm.  Life is Hard concludes with a solemn rendition of Gary Davis’ 1960 gospel blues spiritual “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”.  As the song approaches its finish, it wonderfully swells with the sound of spirits and the ethers until total silence suddenly crashes.

Life is Hard is a blues album to be listened to in its entirely.  This is one everyone needs to hear.  

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Track list

1 - Lonely Man

2 - Life Is Hard

3 - Have a Talk with God

4 - Forever My Love

5 - No One to Talk to (But the Blues)

6 - Dying to Do Wrong

7 - These Eyes

8 - Darkness

9 - Without Loving You

10 - Nobody Moves Me Like You Do

11 - Death Don’t Have No Mercy

12 - Forever My Love (radio edit)

 

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

 For past reviews mentioning Mike Zito on PhillyCheezeBlues : 

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=mike+zito

 

#659 : 'daBluesapalooza 2024 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Billylee Janey

‘daBluesapalooza 2024

The Olympic Southside Theater

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

February 3, 2024

 

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 4, 2024

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

For the third year in a row, KCCK Jazz 88.3 has celebrated the blues with a fabulous blues event in Cedar Rapids called ‘daBluesapalooza held at Olympic Southside Theater.  For nearly five hours, the blues was honored with performances by local and regional artists.  The event was sold out and was a complete success.   

 

Funkatude, a funk band from Cedar Rapids gave a stellar performance to start the evening off.  A searing set of electric blues from Billylee Janey and Bryce Janey as The Janeys followed.  The music continued with D-Dog & the BBits featuring Dennis “Daddy-O” McMurrin, Kat Blue & The True Believers, Homebrewed, The Tanya English Band, Matt Panek & the Electric Kool Aid Trio with special guest Johnny Kilowatt, and Dr. Z’s Experiment.

 

It was an outstanding evening of music.  I certainly enjoyed it. 

 

·         * All photos by Phillip Smith

Funkatude

The Janeys

D-Dog & the BBits

Kat Blue & The True Believers

Open Jam

Homebrewed

The Tanya English Band

Matt Panek and the Electric Kool Aid Trio

Dr. Z's Experiment

* All Photos by Phillip Smith