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Friday, August 1, 2025

#761- > Big Train and The Loco Motives - Sun Spots~ PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com

Big Train and the Loco Motives
Sun Spots : The Sun Studios Sessions
2025 – self released

By Phillip Smith; August 1, 2025

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Current fans of KFFA’s King Biscuit Time Radio Show will most likely recognize the band name Big Train and the Loco Motives. Jimbo “Big Train” Madsen can often be found in the chat room of nearly every episode which runs weekdays between 12:15pm and 12:45pm. Hosted by Thomas Jacques, King Biscuit Time featured Big Train and the Loco Motives last August for a live on-air performance in their studio located at the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas. I was there in-person and it was an extremely fun time. Madsen also has a huge following on social media sites. His fans chomp at the bit every morning to read his daily posts featuring moments of Blues Music history, and hear his This Week in the Blues podcast. Madsen, the entertaining ringleader of Oklahoma City’s ‘red-dirt’ blues band Big Train and the Loco Motives holds down the fort with guitar in hand and mic in front. His band is comprised of Bill “Top Dog” Cummins on harmonica, Nathan “The Possum” Johns on bass guitar, and Mike “Pinebox” Lander on percussion. August 7, 2024, the day before the band played at King Biscuit Time last year, they recorded this six-track album at Sun Studios in Memphis Tennessee.

“A Place Called Jimmys” cracks the record open with a groovy beat and crunchy riff, slathering out a nod to jukes anywhere whisky, guns, dancing, and loud dirty blues is likely to draw the attention of the local sheriff. It’s cool to hear the studio version of their glutenous favorite “Baby, I Ain’t Skinny No More”. Originally this song landed on their Live From Ground Zero Blues Club album recorded in 2021 at Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It’s a track Grandpa Jones would absolutely love. I sure do. With every listen, I’m hankering all of those Southern delicacies which remind me of my Arkansas roots. Sometimes love just isn’t in the cards, and Jimbo sings all about it in “No Vacancy Sign”. This ultimate rejection letter-in-song brilliantly covers a slew of his favorite pick-up lines, and their sharp retorts. I love how Jimbo pours the grease all over this one while Top Dog keeps the harp fired up. The roof is aflame on “House Party” as it closes this shindig down in a most-swinging way. Madsen plays this splendidly clean on a bed of grits and greens, and rice and red beans.

Sun Spots is a really fun disc which I recommend for all blues fans to check out. Give them a follow on your social medias too, you’ll definitely learn something.

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For more info on Big Train and the Loco Motives, visit their website at https://bigtrainblues.com/

Read my previous reviews for Big Train and the Loco Motives > https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Big+Train+and+the+Loco+Motives

Available on Bandcamp

<a href="https://bigtrainandthelocomotives.bandcamp.com/album/sun-spots">Sun Spots by Big Train and the Loco Motives</a>

Saturday, February 12, 2022

PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com #542 > Big Train and the Loco Motives - Red Dirt Blues! Live From Ground Zero Blues Club

2022 – Independent Release

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 12, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I first met Jimbo Madsen aka “Big Train” in 2019 at Clarksdale, Mississippi while in town for the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival. He was visiting from Oklahoma and was friends with the group I had traveled down to Mississippi with. In 2021, I saw him in Clarksdale again for the same festival. This time, he brought his band The Loco Motives and was booked to play the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale. This eleven-track album is a recording of that captivating performance. With Jimbo “Big Train” Madson on lead guitar and vocals, the Loco Motives are comprised of Mason “Thumper” Cullen on bass, Bill “Top Dog” Cummins on harmonica, and Mike “Pinebox” Lander on percussion.

The choice of cover songs Madsen and his ‘red dirt’ blues band lean into validates the affinity they have for the blues artists who sprang forth from the Mississippi delta. Right off the bat, they play Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working”, Willie Dixon’s “Built For Comfort” and John Lee Hooker’s “Bang Bang Bang Bang” as frontman Madsen sprinkles tidbits of blues trivia between songs. They serve up a big plateful of simmering, electric-blues on “Hoochie Coochie Man” and certainly captured everyone’s attention. I loved hearing their bodacious original “Baby I Ain’t Skinny No More”. This blues song for foodies, mentions all that good southern food I crave but can’t get up here in Iowa. Like a true bluesman, Madsen belts out “Make Love To You”, another Willie Dixon-penned song. One cover song caught me totally by surprise, and that was “Glocoat Blues”, originally from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and found on their 1974 album Stars & Stripes Forever. This one put a big smile on my face for sure. Bringing the album to its close is Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel”. Madsen’s guitar tones are crisp and sound great.

Big Train and the Loco Motives are unique and engaging. Check out the album Red Dirt Blues! Live From Ground Zero Blues Club, and hit one of their shows if you get the chance.

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*All Photos by Phillip Smith

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

Available on Bandcamp

Saturday, August 31, 2024

#700 > Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival - 2024 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival - 2024

Clarksdale, Mississippi

August 8-10, 2024

By Phillip Smith; August 30, 2024

I was so happy to make it back down to Clarksdale, Mississippi again to partake in the festivities of The Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival. This was my fourth visit down for this event, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to enjoy it with. Between the Iowans and the Oklahomans, there were nearly thirty of us. Usually, it’s hotter than hell this time of year in Mississippi, but the festival gods were smiling upon us all and gave us a break with clear skies and cool temperatures.

Before pulling into Clarksdale to check into my abode at the Shack Up Inn on Thursday, a detour was made to Helena, Arkansas to catch my friends Big Train and the Loco Motives play a live set at the Delta Cultural Center for the King Biscuit Time show hosted by Thomas Jacques. The studio was packed with friends who wanted to support the band and witness the broadcast. The band absolutely shined. Afterward we wrangled as many as we could to descend on the legendary Burger Shack to eat lunch and snag up some of that “Best Coke in Town”. It wasn’t long before we landed at the Shack Up Inn’s Gin/Bar to celebrate our arrival to Mississippi by drinking copious amounts of Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Beer Nut Brown Ale. After wiping out the bar’s supply of pecan beer, we caravaned downtown to the Grits, Greens & BBQ welcome party. The food was excellent and the music by provided by Sean “Bad” Apple, Stan Street & the Hokum Cats, and Terry ‘Big T’ Williams made for a relaxing evening. The night was capped with a trip to Ground Zero Blues Club to catch the world-class keyboardist Lala Craig for a couple of sets. I’m always amazed when watching her perform.

Friday, before pushing off to see Big Train and the Loco Motives at Ground Zero, we stopped off at Stan Steet’s Hambone Gallery to catch a performance by Ray Cashman. Then, a visit to Sean ‘Bad’ Apple’s Blues Club was in order. I loved that I had an opportunity to catch him play in his fabulously curated blues wonderland. That evening we made it back to the main stage to see Heavy Suga & the Sweet Tones, David Dunavant, Super Chikan & the Fighting Cocks, and Lucious Spiller. I was thrilled to make it to Red’s Juke Joint later that night. It was a rippin’ good time seeing Anthony ‘Big A’ Sherrod and The Allstars.

I always seem to meet some of the coolest folk on these trips. While trying to sort out a lodging issue, I ducked into Marty’s Barber Shop and met Bear Ryan and Ryan Robertson who were very kind and helpful. Bear, the owner and barber of the establishment, along with Ryan are a music duo who play music together. As Bear explained, they play “Country Mud Snake Bit Blues”. I didn’t get to catch them play this time around, but I found their songs online and found it to be rather captivating. I’m definitely going to try to catch one of their shows next time I am in Clarksdale.

Saturday, I stopped to hear 19^th Street Red busking in front of Cat Head. I made a point to stop at his Studio 305 later in the day to hear him some more. I hit as many blues acts as I could that day, making sure to see Kenny Brown, Bill Abel, Libby Rae Watson, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Space Cowboy, Terry “Big T” Williams, Mark “Mule Man” Massey, and Anthony “Big A” Sherrod.

Special thanks go out to the Patrick brothers: Kevin, Gaylon, and Kyle, who introduced me to Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival. You are all great friends. This is a one-of-a-kind festival which started in 1988 which I highly recommend to every blues fan.