Sunday, July 30, 2017

319 Music & Arts Festival - 2017


Czech Village
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
July 29, 2017


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.      


Sleeping Jesus (Winona, MN) 
Sleeping Jesus (Winona, MN)


Wenslow (Marion, IA)

Lance Maynard, Iowa


The UI Breakers
The UI Breakers
The UI Breakers



Willys Wonders / Dready Glass 

Nexus Merch Booth


The Negotiators


EJ Swavv (Iowa City, IA)
EJ Swavv (Iowa City, IA)


Thomas Clark (Oink)

Cubits (Fairfield, IA)
Cubits (Fairfield, IA)

Cubits (Fairfield, IA)
     
Hep Cat (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Hep Cat (Cedar Rapids, IA) 


Crystal City (Iowa City, IA)

Crystal City (Iowa City, IA)

Jason Zbornik introducing Insomniac Folklore
Insomniac Folklore (Nashville, TN)
Insomniac Folklore (Nashville, TN)



Insomniac Folklore (Nashville, TN)


Soultru (Davenport, IA)
Soultru (Davenport, IA) 

Thomas Clark (Oink)



Sister Wife (Quad Cities)

Sister Wife (Quad Cities)

Colleen (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Colleen (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Colleen (Cedar Rapids, IA)

KMB (Cedar Rapids)
KMB (Cedar Rapids)
KMB (Cedar Rapids)






US The Network (Waterloo, IA)
US the Network (Waterloo, IA) 







Lee Big Daddy Kohl
Lee Big Daddy Kohl


PrettyGirlHateMachine (Des Moines, IA)
PrettyGirlHateMachine (Des Moines, IA)


Thomas Clark (Oink)




treesreach (Cedar Rapids, IA) 

Dueling at Dawn (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Dueling at Dawn (Cedar Rapids, IA)


SIRES (Des Moines, IA)
SIRES (Des Moines, IA)
SIRES (Des Moines, IA)
SIRES (Des Moines, IA)



The Hex Girls (Cedar Falls, IA)
The Hex Girls (Cedar Falls, IA)
The Hex Girls (Cedar Falls, IA)


Reggae Rapids (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Reggae Rapids (Cedar Rapids, IA)



Billylee Janey (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Billylee Janey (Cedar Rapids, IA)



Condor & Jaybird (Quad Cities)
Condor & Jaybird (Quad Cities)
Condor & Jaybird (Quad Cities)


Young Ezzy (Cedar Rapids, IA)


In the Attic (Cedar Rapids, IA)

In the Attic (Cedar Rapids, IA)

In the Attic (Cedar Rapids, IA)



In the Attic (Cedar Rapids, IA)


* All photos by Phillip Smith













































































Saturday, July 29, 2017

Paul Nelson Band - Badass Generation


2016 –Walk the Dog Music / Friday Music Inc.

By Phillip Smith; July 29, 2017


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.

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Saturday, July 22, 2017

Gina Sicilia - Tug of War


2017 – Blue Elan Records
By Phillip Smith; July 22, 2017

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.- Montserrat


2017 – Ivor Simpson - Kennedy

By Phillip Smith; July 22, 2017


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.

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Here's a quick link to check out my review of Ivor S.K.'s  Delta Pines EP ->   https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2016/05/ivor-sk-delta-pines.html