The 319 Festival is one of my absolute favorites. It shines a tremendous amount of light on the musical talent that surrounds us, and allows the festival-goer to experience the music and genius which flows abundantly from those creators and performers. With almost 90 acts in this one day long event, checking out every band and artist was just not going to happen. I did make it to at least 22 different performances, which may be a single one day record for me.
One of the hottest albums I’ve heard this year is Badass Generation from The Paul
Nelson Band. Featuring a dozen
wonderfully written and performed original tunes, the album is a surefire hit
in my book. Nelson, who was awarded
a Grammy for performing on guitar and producing the legendary Johnny
Winter’s 2014 Step Back album,
fronts one tight as hell band. This killer
quartet consists of Nelson on guitar, singer Martin Fredheim,
bassist Christopher Alexander, and drummer Chris Reddan.
I love the thick Texas-style blues riff on “Down
Home Boogie”. The licks are searing and
the slide guitar is sweet and buttery. Fredheim’s
vocals are amazingly powerful and confident. “Keep it All Together” has an instant
likeability and hooks me with its southern-blues-rock charm. With only a few listens under my belt, “Please
Come Home” has already clawed itself inside my head, waiting to be running on auto-play
upon my awakening. Nelson’s
guitar performance is this ballad is spacy and cosmic. It reminds me tremendously of Jerry Garcia
from the Dead’s In the Dark
era. It’s a fabulous song indeed.
“Swamp Thing”, Nelson’s nitty gritty guilty-pleasure
love song, is one big ball of fun. With
an infectious hook surrounded by the sounds of the night, the tone is perfectly
set. The grinding intro on “Trouble” is chockful
of gusto. Reddan’s full-on drum
attack is terrific and Nelson’s solo on the bridge is downright
awe-inspiring. When the dual guitar
rings out on “Take it Back”, I immediately think of one my favorite bands, Black
Oak Arkansas. I have to turn the volume up a notch or two for this badass album
closer. It’s rock and roll at its best.
Gina Sicilia
continues to captivate listeners with her beautiful voice and lovely
compositions in her seventh release, Tug
of War. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Glenn Barratt and Grammy-nominated producer Dave
Darling, the album consists of six new tracks, along with the five tracks from
her 2016 EP release, Sunset Avenue.
Guest guitarist Zach Zunis (Janiva Magness) dishes out a heaping dose of electrifying licks on “I
Don’t Want to be in Love”. Strong and
confident, Siclia’s vocals on “Damaging
Me” are reminiscent of those of Linda
Ronstadt’s in the height of her career.
Her cover of Patsy Cline’s “He
Called Me Baby” is a magnificent and fresh homage to the 1976 Candi Staton version. The rich sounds
of Joel Bryant’s B3 slather the song
with soul. Sicilia gives an outstanding performance filled with emotion as she
sings The Beatles’ 1963 hit “All My
Loving”.
Drawing inspiration for the
album title and original tracks, from her own personal struggles and
experiences, this wonderfully gifted vocalist artfully encapsulates the Blues
into her music and into this album, Tug
of War.
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Here's a quick link to check out my review of Gina Sicilia's Sunset Avenue EP ->
Ivor
S.K. is quickly climbing to the top of my list of favorite
songwriters. One year has lapsed since
his critically acclaimed EP, Delta Pines
crossed my desk. I loved that disc. I adore his latest release, Montserrat as well. This debut full-length album consists of ten
original masterpieces steeped in blues. Montserrat showcases the genius of Ivor
Simpson-Kennedy, with each song written, arranged and performed by the
artist himself.
I quickly latch on to the marching rhythm of breakup
song “Don’t Say Goodbye” while enjoying the slick rockabilly guitar licks. The hook in “Ain’t No Cross” masterfully induces
a double-take, while tackling one of the largest white elephants on the planet. His
tale of double-crossing drug dealers in the Caribbean-flavored “I’ve Been Had”
is a sheer delight. It is funky and
contagious.
“It’s Raining”, beautiful and melancholy, sinks in
deep. His performance on acoustic guitar
is absolutely lovely. The jazzy homage
to the Big Easy in “Take Me Back to New Orleans” is vibrant and alluring,
painting pictures of exploring the local music scene and chilling at the
world-famous Beignets.
Listening to Ivor S.K. reminds me of
listening to Tom Waits for the first time, being caught up in the wonderfully
raspy voice, the musicianship, and the songs.. those killer songs. This album indeed stands up and stands out.
Boogie
Patrol, a high-energy five-piece R&B band from Edmonton,
Alberta has recorded an outstanding batch of ten original songs on their
latest album, Man on Fire. Rott’n
Dan Shinnan takes on lead vocals and harmonica, with guitarists Yuji
Ihara and Chad Holtzman, bassist Nigel Gale, and drummer/percussionist
Emmet Vanetten rounding out the band.
Special guests include Marc Arnold on Hammond B3/Keys and The
Mocking Shadows Horns.
I’m hooked from the moment the horns bust loose on
the smooth and breezy “Players Blues”. Shinnan’s
vocals, dripping with a cool hip rasp, ushers the album in with a suave and
strong confidence. His vocal and
harmonica performance on “Hard to Tell” is grand and soulful. It’s a beautiful
song for sure. The funk breaks out in a big meaty way on “Shaker Down Below”. Complete with a rich horn accompaniment, this
one is served just the way I like it, with lots of jam. The driving funky rhythm of “Got One On Ya” is
quick to grab my attention, and opens the gate for a fun and groovy listening
experience. With guitars blazing and horns
on fire, Shinnan delivers an amazing vocal performance on title track “Man
on Fire”, bringing the album comes to a powerful close.
Man
on Fire is a fabulous listen from start to finish. It doesn’t really get much better than this.
I’m totally smitten by the new album, Reckless Soul from the Seattle foursome
called The Knast. Their music, packed with catchy lush grooves inspired
by the British Invasion and the counter-culture movement of the Sixties, makes
for an outstanding listen. Making up the
band, are lead vocalist/guitarist AJ Delange , lead guitarist J.
Weichman, bassist Tascar Wise, and drummer Ian Thomas.
Baptized in psychedelia and fuzz-laden guitar, “Side
Effects” is one cool as hell track which I synchronize with immediately. Title track, “Reckless Soul” keeps the momentum
sweetly going with a driving rhythm, smooth vocals and spacy effects. The feel-good sounds of “Here and There” puts
me in my smiling phase and puts me in a care-free mood. When listening to “Waiting For the Lights to
Change”, I’m immediately infatuated with Delange’s lofty vocals and Weichman’s
cutting edge guitar performance.
Every song on this ten song album is an absolute
delight. Reckless Soul is a definite keeper.
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For more information on The Knast, visit their website @ https://www.theknast.com/
It’s hard to believe it has been twenty five years
since Craig Erickson’s fabulous breakout blues-rock album, Roadhouse Stomp hit the shelves. His latest, All the Way is an exquisite ten track shot of serious guitar-centric
rock and roll featuring the great Jeff Martin (Badlands, Racer X, Blindside
Blues Band, Michael Schenker, Dokken) on drums.
Intense and hypnotic, the grinding rhythm on “Breakthrough”
demands my full attention and begs to be heard at a high volume. Erickson’s positivity shines brightly
in “Like a Bird”, a beautiful track which soulfully soars skyward. “Touch The Sky” is absolutely superb. Erickson’s guitar performance is
searing hot, and sounds terrific alongside Martin’s thunderous drumming. A monster riff and a marching beat are the
heart-pulse of “Underdog”, another favorite decorated with electrifying guitar
licks. “Never Give Up” hits the ground
running down the red carpet with an extraordinary intro, and races to the finish
line on a double-dose of adrenalin.
I love how Erickson cleverly weaves an
inspirational theme of perseverance through this amazing record of guitar mastery.
This one is highly recommended for the
guitar enthusiast.
The
Shopkeeper, a warm and thoughtful documentary from folk rock
singer/songwriter Rain Perry, sheds an eye-opening light on the current
state of the music industry. With a focal
point of Mark Hallman’s Congress House Studio in Austin, Texas,
the film takes a close look at the what it has taken over the past few decades to
stay in the music game.
Delving into Hallman’s career as a musician, which
spans nearly forty years, we get a glimpse of his earlier years as a member of the
band Navarro, which happened to lead to simultaneously backing two legendary
greats, Carole King and Dan Fogelberg. In the Eighties, after
relocating to Texas, Hallman rented a house on two acres of land south
of Austin to use for a pre-production studio, and he just never abandoned it. Over
the years, The Congress House has become a haven for musicians from both
near and far away. Perry
brilliantly relays the tale of the ever evolving business of music through the
stories of Hallman and those who have worked with him, like Ani
DiFranco, Tom Russell, Charlie Faye, Betty Soo, and Colin Gilmore.
In 1974, the music industry boasted $10.5 billion in sales, which grew to $19
billion in 1994. With the introduction
of the MP3 and file-sharing services of Napster,Pandora, and Spotify,
record sales have plummeted. This not only affects the artists, it affects the
studios as well. Without the promise of record
sales, the artists embrace newer technology which gives them the ability to
inexpensively record at home, on devices which may be nothing more than an iPhone. There is a price to pay for this. The music itself takes a huge hit in quality,
as it bypasses the step where those with extremely trained ears can take a
really good song, and make it a great song.
Hallman, who is one of those extremely trained and talented
figures, is noticing the changing trends every day.
I love the stories Perry draws from the musicians who
all share a love for this sacred space and who might consider the studio a
second home. The comradery surrounding those tales of overcoming whatever obstacles
they had to overcome are truly the heart and soul of the film.
When he’s not immersing himself into his
mind-warping bass performances for the critically acclaimed Honey Island
Swamp Band, New Orleans Sam Price has a sweet gig fronting his own
funk-tified band, Sam Price and the True Believers. With Price on bass and lead vocals, The
True Believers consists of guitarist Matt Galloway, drummer Ethan
Shorter, keyboardist Phil Breen, Conga Mike on congas,
bongos, and percussion, and singer Whitney Alouisious. Their first release is a five-track jubilee
of infectious songs and note-worthy musical performances.
Good vibesare abundant in the soulful
bouncing rhythm of “Where I Want To Be”.
Featuring guest guitarist John Fohl (Cherry Poppin’ Daddys,
Dr. John), this one turns my heart light on full beam. Price breaks out the treasure chest of
old skool funk on “Down To You”. The
whirling sounds of keys set the stage for Price’s funky bassline, Alouisious’
fierce vocals and a blazing saxophone played by Tom Fitzpatrick. Eric "Benny" Bloom (Lettuce)
lends his trumpet mastery to this song leading it to a cosmic climax. It feels really good to snuggle up inside the
relaxed swaying melody of “Keep On Pushing”.
I can’t help but think of Steely Dan when listening to this one.
I look very much forward to hearing what may come
next from Sam Price and the True Believers. They definitely have a good thing going.