PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews

Saturday, September 21, 2024

#704 : J.D. Simo & Luther Dickinson - Do the Rump (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Forty Below Records

Release Date : Sep. 20, 2024

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 21, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I was very excited when I first heard Luther Dickinson and J.D. Simo were going to collaborate on an album together. I have been an avid follower of Luther’s for quite a while, and became a fan of J.D.’s after catching a live performance of him opening up for Tab Benoit last year. The two forces first played together while touring with Phil Lesh and Friends. They discovered they both had a lot of the same influences and musical alignments. Although their approaches to playing guitar is vastly different, they found their styles complemented each other very much so. Simo and Dickinson joined forces, bringing drummer Adam Abrashoff onboard to complete the band and recorded Do the Rump at Simo’s home studio in Nashville. The album has a strong hill-country blues presence. It collides the familiar with the unfamiliar and slow-simmers the results in a swampy goodness.

They pour a beautifully haunting groove into JJ Cale’s “Right Down There” from his 1972 album Really. With Abrashoff’s notorious beat laying the tracks, a lush dose of greasy slide guitar and heavy fuzz-laden guitar breathes a new glorious life into the song. “Lonesome Road” is downright amazing. It conjures images in my head of Hendrix and SRV playing together in a smoky, whiskey-soaked juke joint in the middle of Mississippi. I dig the John Lee Hooker cover of “Serve Me Right to Suffer”. Served in a bowlful of hypnotic North Mississippi hill country blues, it truly becomes an entirely different song. I find it fascinating to hear the results of mashing Junior Kimbrough’s “Do the Rump” and Fred McDowell’s “Louise” together and backed with a Fela Kuti-inspired afro-beat. “Do the Rump Louise”, a nearly eight-minute-long performance is quickly absorbed into my inner being. I love every bit of it. The album ends with an extraordinary extended ten-minute jam taking on R.L. Burnside’s “Peaches” for another healthy dose of music for the soul.

Do the Rump is everything I hoped this album would be and more. I truly hope to hear more musical collaborations between Simo and Dickinson.

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For more information about J.D. Simo, visit his website at simo.fm

For more information about Luther Dickinson, visit his website at lutherdickinson.com

For more information about Forty Below Records, visit their website at fortybelowrecords.com

Saturday, September 14, 2024

#703 : Ping Rose - Conjure Man (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – New Sun Music

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 14, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Conjure Man, the second release from Memphis-based singer/guitarist Ping Rose is definitely suited to be his break-out album. There’s a certain freshness to his style which I enjoy immensely as he seemingly draws influence from favorite artists like Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Robert Plant, and Stevie Wonder.

I love way he approaches the slide guitar on the opening song “Cloverhill Stomp”. This rootsy country-blues instrumental is an absolutely fabulous listen. This rolls right in a real-deal blues track “Don’t Drink Me Dry”. Fearless vocals and his amazing guitar mastery make this track a hands-down favorite. Title-track “Conjure Man” beautifully shines a light on his soulful side. His soft guitar approach pairs sweetly with the Stevie Wonder-esque tone in his vocals. When “Salty” hits, I feel the Led Zeppelin presence within every note. Ping immaculately captures that Plant-style rasp in his voice with that slow-dripping blues we loved to hear Page dish out. It’s simply amazing. The smooth sounds of the George-Benson-friendly “Careful What You Wish For” pops nicely with the splash of funk.

Conjure Man is such a wonderful album, I’m certain the world will be hearing a lot more from Ping Rose in the near future.

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For more information about Ping Rose, visit his website at https://www.pingroseplays.com/

Find Ping Rose on Spotify too!

Saturday, September 7, 2024

#702 : Brad Fielder - Demons + Rationals (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Shive Records

Release Date : June 4, 2024

By Phillip Smith; Sep, 7, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

A nostalgic wave washes over me with every listen to Demons + Rationals, the latest release from Oklahoma song-writer/performer Brad Fielder. He is a master at tapping into the that pre-war music vein and breathing new life into that style with new, original songs. His music blend blues, ragtime, folk, and country, and is performed acoustically, often using a resonator guitar. According to Fielder, the music on this record draws its influence at the ‘intersection between Saturday night and Sunday morning” catering to both hooligans and bible-thumpers. With Fielder on guitars, vocals, and harmonica, he is backed by Charley Reeves on sousaphone and bass fiddle, Brandon Brunious on six string banjo and electric guitar, Megan Harris Brunious (Hank III, Peaches) on vocals, accordion, percussion, and trumpet, Jesse Armerding on drums and percussion, and Juel Niimi on trombone.

Fielder quickly draws my attention with “Little Lake Turnaround”. His masterful lyrics have a fascinating Charles Bukowski appeal and a Jimbo Mathus sense of presentation. Following up next is “Outreach Bibles” in which Fielder tells the story of a depression-era bible salesman. I couldn’t help but think about the 1973 film Paper Moon. Megan Harris Brunious steps in for a wonderful duet on “Daddy’s Water” a song which reminds us that our hidden secrets are often revealed once we encounter death. She also heads-up lead vocals on the beautiful folk-spiritual “Catch That Spirit and Fly”. Fielder places the trifecta of consumption at the front of the line in “Eatin Drinkin Smokin”. This song has a way of rattling around in my head long after hearing it, and I don’t mind a bit.

Demons + Rationals is an amazing listen from start to finish. I highly recommend giving this album from Brad Fielder a listen.

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For more information about Brad Fielder, visit his website at https://www.bradfielder.net/

Available on Bandcamp

Monday, September 2, 2024

#701 > Bowlful of Blues Festival - 2024 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

Bowlful of Blues Festival – Sep 1, 2024
Fred Maytag Bowl
Newton, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 2, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Soaking up the blues in Newton, Iowa at the Bowlful of Blues Festival on Labor Day Weekend is one of my favorite things to do. Presented by The South Skunk Blues Society, this event is like a summer family reunion for Iowa blues fans. A crisp blue sky and temperatures hovering in the seventies made for perfect weather at Maytag Park this year.

The music kicked off this year with Newton’s own The Sears Band fronted by Jim Sears on guitar and vocals. Their high-energy set the pace for the rest of the day. Next up was Des Moines-based bluesman and 2005 Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inductee Steve E. George. I don’t know how I’ve missed this entertainer over the years, but I am very happy to have caught him in this stellar performance. Between sets, Clayton Ryan provided a mix of original songs and covers. This balladeer has a hell of a knack for writing songs. Brandon Santini took the stage and delivered a searing ninety-minute set of harmonica-fueled blues. I’ve been wanting to see him play live for a long time. Headlining the fest was Iowa’s Avey Grouws Band. I’m used to seeing the band as a quartet. This show was special in that they added Leo Albertoni on keys, Heath Alan on saxophone, and Jeni Grouws’ daughter Lillian Grouws on backing vocals. They rocked the park for two hours, with their final two songs being joined by Santini. I loved every bit of it.

Special thanks go out to The South Skunk Blues Society and all the volunteers who makes this wonderful event happen every year.

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· All Photos by Phillip Smith

The Sears Band

Steve E. George

Clayton Ryan

Brandon Santini

Avey Grouws Band

* All photos by Phillip Smith

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.