Homemade Jamz Blues Band

 

 

Homemade Jamz Blues Band’s (HJBB) unique sound and style is a product and compilation of the trio’s hunger and thirst for the music (blues) that they so love. Their passion and dedication has proven to be electrifying and energetic to witness. HJBB’s astounding sound blends Mississippi, Chicago, and Contemporary juke joint blues that will surely get you on your toe tapping, knee bending, and foot stomping stance, copping the gritty slickness of the former and the dirty soul of the latter—never betraying its authors’ age. The trio exudes nothing but confidence and attitude as they sing of betrayal, love, hard times and other bad things gone down as if they've lived a life rich in strife. They are sure, a veritable blues explosion poised to continue making the big sound.

HJBB started in Baumholder, Germany.  Young Ryan found a Stratocaster copy among dad’s, (Renaud Perry’s) bags and wanted it. A week later, Ryan had composed a short instrumental tune, (which he’d play at his school talent show) and was playing along to commercials. When the family relocated to Tupelo, MS, the passion stayed with him. Returning home, Ryan, dove head first into the blues.  “I heard and emulated B.B. King, Albert King, Jimmie Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan,” he recalls.  Having found his passion and direction, Ryan progressed like tenfold.

Ryan Perry, now 23, the oldest of the trio, has vocals that are mind blowing and beyond his years.  It’s almost as if he was an old soul, reincarnated into a new generation of the blues.  Some of his early music influences are Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, BB King, and Junior Kimbrough, while modern blues influences includes the likes of the late Michael Burks, Bernard Allison, and Gary Clark, Jr.  Ryan has managed to captivate and mesmerize the minds and hearts of his followers with his raspy and gritty vocals.  His electrifying and soulful guitar picking is sure to entice and seduce your most inner soul.

Two years later, Ryan was joined by little brother Kyle, then nine years old, wanted in on the action.  Kyle, now 20, first took up piano and guitar before he found his calling playing the bass, teaching himself the nuances of the instrument, and its role in the blues. Before long, he was performing with his brother Ryan in small venues and local restaurants, as confident as any wizened old pro and digging his role. “[I] keep the timing and lock down the beat along with the drummer, which allows the lead guitar player to do his own thing while everyone is juking to the beat.”

Little sister Taya, then seven years old, was not going to be left out.  Her determination to give the drums a shot came after Ryan and Kyle reluctantly allowed her to play along during practice.  Taya, now 16, already possessing a rhythmic sense from playing tambourine, settled onto the stool, and in no time was providing the beat behind Ryan and Kyle.  Learning by ear, she taught herself the beat and rhythm that binds the complete sound of the trio.  “I love being a drummer, especially being a girl drummer. I feel energetic when I’m playing the drums,” she says.

It’s likewise energizing and invigorating to watch Homemade Jamz perform; the exhilarating trio was a hot ticket, and well on their way to becoming one of the youngest blues bands actively traveling the blues music trail. Ryan’s raspy, gruff vocals along with visceral, stinging, guitar licks, Kyle’s solid rumble and Taya’s cool stomp have electrified festival goers across the country, Canada, Europe, Legendary Blues Cruise, and music festivals all over. 

The trio saturated their local media, appearing numerous times in several local papers and national blues magazines, and on local and national TV—including feature segments on CBS Sunday Morning Show, The Today’s Show, The Monique Show, and The Tavis Smiley Show.  As well, HJBB won the 3rd Annual MS Delta Blues Society of Indianola’s Blues Challenge (2006), were the youngest band ever to compete in the 23rd International Blues Challenge (2007), taking 2nd in a field of 93 seasoned bands, youngest blues band to sign with a major blues label (NorthernBlues Music) (2008), and the youngest Blues Music Award Nominees for Best New Artist (2009).  

 http://www.allsaintmalohotels.com/hmjamzbluesbandcom/

Sam Maghett

 

No blues guitarist better represented the adventurous modern sound of Chicago's West side more proudly than Sam Maghett. He died tragically young (at age 32 of a heart attack), just as he was on the brink of climbing the ladder to legitimate stardom, but Magic Sam left behind a thick legacy of bone-cutting blues that remains eminently influential around his old stomping grounds to this day.

Maghett (one of his childhood pals was towering guitarist Morris Holt, who received his Magic Slim handle from Sam) was born in the Mississippi Delta. In 1950, he arrived in Chicago, picking up a few blues guitar pointers from his new neighbor, Syl Johnson (whose brother, Mack Thompson, served as Sam's loyal bassist for much of his professional career). Harpist Shakey Jake Harris, sometimes referred to as the guitarist's uncle, encouraged Sam's blues progress and gigged with him later on, when both were Westside institutions.

Sam's tremolo-rich staccato fingerpicking was an entirely fresh phenomenon when he premiered it on Eli Toscano's Cobra label in 1957. Prior to his Cobra date, the guitarist had been gigging as Good Rocking Sam, but Toscano wanted to change his nickname to something old-timey like Sad Sam or Singing Sam. No dice, said the newly christened Magic Sam (apparently Mack Thompson's brainstorm). His Cobra debut single, "All Your Love," was an immediate local sensation; its unusual structure would be recycled time and again by Sam throughout his tragically truncated career. Sam's Cobra encores "Everything Gonna Be Alright" and "Easy Baby" borrowed much the same melody but were no less powerful; the emerging Westside sound was now officially committed to vinyl. Not everything Sam cut utilized the tune; "21 Days in Jail" was a pseudo-rockabilly smoker with hellacious lead guitar from Sam and thundering slap bass from the ubiquitous Willie Dixon. Sam also backed Shakey Jake Harris on his lone 45 for Cobra's Artistic subsidiary, "Call Me If You Need Me."

After Cobra folded, Sam didn't follow labelmates Otis Rush and Magic Slim over to Chess. Instead, after enduring an unpleasant Army experience that apparently landed him in jail for desertion, Sam opted to go with Mel London's Chief logo in 1960. His raw-boned Westside adaptation of Fats Domino's mournful "Every Night About This Time" was the unalloyed highlight of his stay at Chief; some other Chief offerings were less compelling. 

Gigs on the Westside remained plentiful for the charismatic guitarist, but recording opportunities proved sparse until 1966, when Sam made a 45 for Crash Records. "Out of Bad Luck" brought back that trademark melody again, but it remained as shattering as ever. Another notable 1966 side, the plaintive "That's Why I'm Crying," wound up on Delmark's Sweet Home Chicago anthology, along with Sam's stunning clippity-clop boogie instrumental "Riding High" (aided by the muscular tenor sax of Eddie Shaw). 

 Delmark Records was the conduit for Magic Sam's two seminal albums, 1967's West Side Soul and the following year's Black Magic. Both LPs showcased the entire breadth of Sam's Westside attack: the first ranged from the soul-laced "That's All I Need" and a searing "I Feel So Good" to the blistering instrumental "Lookin' Good" and definitive remakes of "Mama Talk to Your Daughter" and "Sweet Home Chicago," while Black Magic benefitted from Shaw's jabbing, raspy sax as Sam blasted through the funky "You Belong to Me," an impassioned "What Have I Done Wrong," and a personalized treatment of Freddy King's "San-Ho-Zay."

Sam's reputation was growing exponentially. He wowed an overflow throng at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival, and Stax was reportedly primed to sign him when his Delmark commitment was over. However, heart problems were fast taking their toll on Sam's health. On the first morning of December of 1969, he complained of heartburn, collapsed, and died.

Even now, more than a quarter-century after his passing, Magic Sam remains the king of Westside blues. That's unlikely to change as long as the subgenre is alive and kicking.

Janiva Magness

 

Singer-songwriter-author Janiva Magness makes a forceful return on June 24 with the release of Hard to Kill, the Los Angeles-based musician’s first new collection in three years, on her own label Fathead Records.

The seven-time Blues Music Awards recipient (and the 2009 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, the Blues Foundation’s highest honor) and 2016 Grammy Award nominee will simultaneously release the Fathead audio book edition of Weeds Like Us, her frank, profoundly moving 2019 memoir. Los Angeles composer and musician Matt Cartsonis produced.

LA Weekly named the volume its “Book of the Month,” while No Depression said, “[Magness] plumbs her own emotional depths, carrying us with her through her own hells and back to the other side. Ultimately, Magness’ memoir is a story of hope and the refusal to let the worst experiences of life kill you.”

Magness, who co-wrote four of the dozen new compositions on Hard to Kill, says of her boldly honest and affecting new collection of songs, “I feel like it’s a retrospective — not just of my musical life, but of my life. At this point, with what I’ve been through in my life, top to bottom, you know what, the gloves are off, and the rules are, there really aren’t any rules.”

The musician sees a direct link between her new album — which leads off with the autobiographical track “Strong As Steel” — and her book, an unflinching and shattering look back at a life shaken by physical and sexual abuse, the suicides of both her parents, years in foster care, drug addiction and alcoholism, and teenage pregnancy and motherhood. It also details the beginnings of her distinguished musical career, for which she found early inspiration in the work of such blues titans as Otis Rush and Etta James.

“I like true stories,” Magness says. “My dad said something to me a long time ago; the meaning of it has changed over time, as things like that do, if we wake up. He said, ‘The truth will set you free.’”

Sitting on the bedrock of blues, soul, and funk, the music on Hard to Kill is so tough and assured that it comes as a surprise when Magness says she was initially uncertain about undertaking the making of a new album.

She recalls, “Coming out of the pandemic, I had gotten to a pretty dark place.” She chuckles, adding, “I laugh, because how is that a surprise? Is this news of some kind? I’d gotten there just as many of us had, and I had lost myself.”

Magness turned the corner creatively after her husband suggested that she should talk things over with Dave Darling, her longtime producer, guitarist, and friend.

“He’s a scrapper like me,” Magness says of Darling. “He’s pragmatic. I said, ‘I don’t know if I can do this again. I don’t know if I should.’ And he goes, ‘Of course you should.’ I said, ‘But why?’ And this sounds really simple and stupid, but he said, ‘Because it’s what you do. Because it’s what we do, as artists, and you are a f___ing artist. So cut it out.’”

Magness began writing new material in the spring of 2021. Looking back, she now realizes that her new songs were tied to the intense memories and feelings she had exposed in Weeds Like.

 https://www.janivamagness.com

Debbie Davies

 

Debbie Davies’ rise to the upper echelon of blues music started at an early age as she absorbed the music heard constantly in her home. Her (professional) musician parents were either sitting at the piano or spinning discs on their turntable, filling the air with the sounds of big band jazz, harmony vocal groups, or the pop icons of the day. But the young Davies was particularly attracted to the bluesier sounds of her father’s Ray Charles records, and by the age of 12 realized that her affinity for an instrument was not for the piano, but for the guitar.

​Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1960’s, she found that being a female guitar player meant only one thing: acoustic guitar. Electric guitars were still toys meant only for boys. But when Debbie heard the sounds of the British blues-rock bands, particularly the electric guitar of Eric Clapton with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, she became completely captivated. Going against the grains of society’s accepted roles of the time, Debbie pursued her dream with the passion of an artist and the soul of a rebel.​

Davies cut her teeth playing in blues and rock ‘n roll bands in the San Francisco Bay area before returning to Los Angeles in 1984, where she landed the lead guitar spot in Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs, an all-female band led by wife of British blues pioneer, John Mayall. In 1988 she was recruited by Albert Collins to join the Icebreakers, and for the next three years she was a featured guitarist performing behind one of the most innovative bluesmen of all time. “I stepped through a door into the real blues world when I joined Albert’s band,” Davies says. “It’s one thing to listen to the records and pull off the licks, or sit in the audience watching these artists play. But actually going out and touring with one, turned the blues into something completely three-dimensional for me. I knew then what a special opportunity this was, but I know it even more now.” During her tenure with Albert, Debbie was invited to perform on John Mayall’s 1990 album, A Sense of Place, and in 1991 she recorded with Albert Collins and the Icebreakers on the Grammy nominated self-titled release for Point Blank/Virgin Records.

​In the summer of 1991 Debbie became lead guitarist for Fingers Taylor and the Ladyfingers Revue, which served as the opening act for Jimmy Buffett’s “Outpost” tour. In September 1993 she came out with her debut solo release, Picture This, on Blind Pig Records, which featured a cameo by Collins on “I Wonder Why.” People like to ask Debbie if she learned her technique from Collins, to which she gently points out that she had to play well from the start to hold her own with Albert at every performance. However, the experience taught her lessons in being a better musician, both onstage and off. Says Davies, “It was the most powerful band I had ever played with, so I learned to dig even deeper into myself to pull out the music. Albert was a man of so much grace and kindness, so I can only hope that I was able to absorb some of his humanity too.”

​Since 1993, Debbie has produced 13 solo recordings and two collaborative CD’s, one with guitarists Tab Benoit and Kenny Neal, and another with guitarists Anson Funderburgh and Otis Grand. The roster of other artists who have joined Debbie in the studio on her recordings reads like a who’s who of the blues: Albert Collins, John Mayall, Ike Turner, James Cotton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya, Duke Robillard, Tommy Shannon, Chris “Whipper” Layton, Sugar Ray Norcia, Mudcat Ward, Charlie Musselwhite, Bruce Katz, and Noel Neal.

​In 2009, Debbie Davies released the ground-breaking and acclaimed all instrumental CD, HOLDIN’ COURT on Vizz Tone Records. That year also found Davies teaming up with blues singer and harp player, the late Robin Rogers to tour the country with performances at many festivals, until Robbin passed away in 2010.

​Davies then joined Tommy Castro’s Legendary Rythym and Blues Cruise Revue that same year, performing both on the land and at sea with fellow guest artist, Joe Louis Walker.  Debbie Davies is featured on the 2011  Alligator Records release of THE LEGENDARY RHYTYM and BLUES REVIEW performing the tune ALL I FOUND. 

 https://www.debbiedavies.com/

Sam Watkins

 

Nashville Recording Artist Sam Watkins is a Country/Rock/Blues Singer-Songwriter who currently resides in Las Vegas. He recorded his second single “No Shame’ in the world-renowned Music Row in Nashville, with some great musicians including Chris Leuzinger who tours and records with Garth Brooks. The song is based on a true love story.

Sam Watkins was born and raised in Texas by his grandparents. His influences were: George Strait, Waylon Jennings and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Sam’s band “Sam Watkins & Fate Train” have a set list of over 1000 originals and covers of various genres, but consider themselves a Country / Rock / Blues Band, Sam knows all songs by memory.

He is known by his friends and family as the “Walking Jukebox”

 https://itnsradio.com/sam-watkins

Mark Ruebery

 

 

Pandemic blues having become a trope of our times, it’s not surprising that seasoned artist Mark Ruebery’s new single, "Get Away", his own pandemic tune, penned on a cruise ship stuck for a month between Southampton and Oz, lacks despair, conversely celebrating positive escapism!

There again, Mark Ruebery has a lot to be happy - and proud - about. Graduating in style from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Mark wasted no time racking up notable kudos, debut album "Because of You" rocking BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Wales. Mark’s talent, honed onstage from London to New York and Shanghai, and an award-winning songwriter, since his last album "One Night One Chance" en route to his next, Mark knocked out this cabin fever mini-classic and continues to 'get away' with his show on the biggest cruise liners in the world. Unsinkable? You could say!

 https://www.markruebery.com/

Scott Van Zen

 

 

Guitarist Scott Van Zen has released his debut solo EP "Trouble" on Love Conquered Records. Co-produced by Scott, John Hopen and Grammy winner Khaliq (Khaliq-O-Vision) Glover, he has co-written for rock legends Kiss; won a Dove Award with Ken Tamplin; toured with top artists, and had over 1,000 songs placed in films, TV, and commercials (everything from The Green Hornet and Cars movies to McDonald’s ads).

Scott is Influenced by six-string greats like Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher, and Johnny Winter – but also appeals to fans of Jimi Hendrix, Joe Bonamassa, etc.

"Trouble" is a raucous virtuoso romp to survive through life’s dark desires and dilemmas. Songs like "Devil on Both Shoulders" and "Born in Darkness" tell gritty stories fueled by Van Zen’s fast and furious fingers.

Scott has also been a first-call session player and sideman for decades plus a world-class songwriter.

 

Official website: https://scottvanzenofficial.com

New Releases of the week.

 

This week we release new music from : BJORN HELGE KURSETH, TODD BARROW, YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS, THE METAL BYRDS, MARCO DROETTO, CHRISTIAN PETERMANN and others.

The Blog of JAM 66 Radio, is the blog of the radio that plays rock, country, blues, blues rock, music of route 66 and the newest.

Every day new stories on radio, new posts, new bands, blues, blues-rock , country, folk and rock music are posted on this blog. Also, updated news on the blog in real time.

Tune in and hear us on this blog or through the links on the right column. https://jam-radio.blogspot.com/

Also you can hear us on https://bit.ly/3xAefB1 Stream https://bit.ly/3gZ6caI

Muddy Moonshine

 

Muddy Moonshine was founded in summer 2014. Original idea for this project was to have a small three person blues band (Jonne Rytkönen, Tero & Jarmo Ikala), to perform few pub shows. Moonshiners quickly developed own material and they needed to add some man power, so Saku Manninen joined to play drums and Jaakko Ruusulampi on bass guitar. 3rd guitarist slot was for Niko Turunen. This lineup  recorded the bands first EP “ Distilled in Finland” in Porvoo Magnusborg studios 2015. 

Muddy Moonshine continued to make their own music and played shows in good pace. Jaakko decided to left the group and was replaced by Kim Sandström. Niko was replaced by Stefan Granroth. Just before Moonshiners were about to start recording their debut album, Tero’s health issues started and he was replaced by Aleksi Ahokas.

Debut album Muddy & Wild” 2016 was recorded in Porvoo Magnusborg studios and was published via Inverse Records affiliated company Secret Entertainment worldwide.

Due to musical differencies Aleksi left the group to follow his own path in music and Muddy got an experienced former frontman of: Iconofear, Doperman, Hedonist & Zombie Rodeo Thomas Vee in vocals. Transition was easy and natural, since our paths had crossed before and there had been talks about collaboration before.

Moonshiners made more material and gig pace was good. It was almost time to enter the studio and publish their second album. Stefan decided to focus on family. Muddy Moonshine didn’t recruit anyone to replace him. 2 track single “Charm of Drinking Hard” was released in september 2021.

Sencond single “Crystal Riders” leads this path for the forthcoming album “Are We There Yet?” which will be released on March 18th 2022 via Secret Entertainment.

 

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/officialmoonshine
http://www.muddymoonshine.com
https://www.instagram.com/muddy_moonshine
https://muddymoonshine.bandcamp.com

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Marco Luponero & The Loud Ones

 

 

Finnish hard rockers Marco Luponero & The Loud Ones return with the second single from their upcoming debut album. ”I would describe ‘The New Dark Ages‘ as a straightforward punk rock banger with a strong message”, says Marco. 

”I wrote it while reflecting on the current state of the world.”

In spirit of the track’s title, the band collaborated with Frank Berger of folk music act Ratatosk, who brought some true medieval flair to the song with the help of a hurdy-gurdy. ”It’s a fascinating instrument. It has a massive sound, at times very reminiscent of a bag pipe”.

The hurdy-gurdy has a rich history and is associated with several different parts of the world, perfectly fitting for Marco’s original idea. ”I knew I wanted the song to have some Old Norse flair, but I also wanted the sound to resonate with other cultures, because that’s what I was after lyrically, as well. The basic message is that no matter who we are and where we’re from, one thing is for sure: If we succumb to ignorance and fundamentalism, we’re on a dark path.”

 https://marcoluponero.com/

El Mocambo & Sam Grosso Present: Sue Foley, Live Recording

 

There’s an unmistakable magic that comes with — not only being in the room with live music — but live music captured live-off-the-floor and forever archived in album form. Now such experience is on the horizon with multi-award-winning powerhouse blues guitarist and singer Sue Foley and the upcoming show recording this September 8th at the El Mocambo. 

   

Presented by El Mocambo and Sam Grosso, the JUNO-nominated and Blues Music Award and Toronto Maple Blues Award-winner’s Live Recording event joins an iconic roster of previous live releases at the legendary venue — including The Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Elvis Costello. 

 

Sue is a 5-time JUNO Award nominee and 2001 winner for Best Blues Album and a few weeks ago, was also named as the winner of the Traditional Blues Album, and Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year at the 2022 Blues Music Awards in the US. Last month, she won Guitarist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards, and her new album, Pinky’s Blues has been on the Roots Music Report’s Canadian Chart top 10 albums for the last 27 weeks.

 

Sue Foley’s Live Recording will take place on September 8th at El Mocambo. Tickets are $40, and $20 for students with a special meet and greet VIP ticket for $80. 

 

 

Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sue-foley-tickets-372124874517?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

Red Eleven

 

 

“Handled with Chaos” is Red Eleven’s long-awaited fourth full-length album that was released on April 23, 2021. The band’s previous album “Collect Your Scars” accumulated fans and positive feedback from around the world and “I Follow” -music video was premiered at Germany’s Metal Hammer. The new record brings an alternative rock and groovy metal with 80´s nuances to your stereo player. Red Eleven has found its own sound but has not forgotten its inspirers, such as Faith No More.

In the 11 tracks of the “Handled with Chaos” -album, the low-tuned guitars are supported by eighties synths and the rolling is hard, guaranteed Red Eleven quality. Additional spices to the sound world of the album are brought by using instruments such as didgeridoo and saxophone.

By now Red Eleven has released 3 singles and videos from the upcoming “Handled with Chaos” -album. The fourth music video will be released in connection with the release of the album. One of the singles - Starry Eyes - was backed by a high-budget music video that has garnered winnings and nominations from numerous international music video competitions.

 

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/redelevenband
http://www.redeleven.info/
https://www.instagram.com/_red_eleven_/

 

Kruunu

 

 

Mustan Kuun Lapset's seventh album Kruunu is the band's first fully acoustic recording, and also the first production with an international group of singers and musicians. The material is a melancholic and beautiful atmosphere familiar to Mustan Kuun Lapset, now even more than ever. In addition to acoustic guitars and pure male and female vocals, the album has e.g. bowed lyre, French horn and ukulele!

Kruunu is a genuine product of the Corona era. Not just because of its name, but in such a way that it was implemented completely remotely. Pete Lehtinen and Heikki Piipari made arrangements together, after which each singer and musician recorded their part, with a few exceptions, remotely. Still, the end result sounds like the band played and recorded it in the studio together.

 

Listen "Kruunu" on music services:
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3dOwjQ3
Bandcamp: https://mustankuunlapset.bandcamp.com/
Apple Music: https://apple.co/3uz1ViB
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Mqh6JB
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/album/201789662
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/170462763

Astral Bazaar

 

 

A Sudden Realization is the second album by the Finnish art rock band Astral Bazaar and is scheduled to be released in March 2021. The album is influenced by various modern psychedelic rock artists such as Tame Impala, Pond and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. During the making of the album, the band spend a good deal of time experimenting with different kinds of guitar and vocal effects. As a result A Sudden Realization has a more psychedelic and experimental sound compared to its predecessor. The album’s eight songs feature atmospheric vocal harmonies, delicate guitar arrangements, occasional saxophone licks and various percussions. Moreover, there are a few improvised and frisky jam sections that have been recorded live in the studio and tend to have a rather jazzy feel to them.

A Sudden Realization is a concept album whose events take place far in the future. The album’s lyrics are written from the perspective of a single person, who struggles to find the right interpretation of reality and gradually makes his way towards enlightenment. The album’s musical choices, ranging from compositions to guitar sounds, aim to describe the varying moods of the narrator, whereas the mixture of different musical styles represents his eventual internal conflict.

Three singles will be released to promote the album: Embrace the Reverb in August 2020, The Girl with the Purple Hair in November 2020 and The Y10K Problem in February 2021. The band has also shot two music videos and has made plans for a series of live shows around Finland.

 

https://es-es.facebook.com/AstralBazaar/

 

 

Everture

 

Sometimes great hardships evoke beautiful things. Concerning this album it applies to both creating the music and actually producing the songs.
 
While our previous single releases ’Rightly Accused’ and ’Long Way Down’ were being recorded in early 2019, the idea of creating something bigger came up. The time was right. By the summer we had gathered the best and most co-fitting songs and in September we were already in the pre production phase. Soon after that the drums were already on tape. Things looked very good... 
 
Emerge starts off big time as all good albums do! The songs ’In Between’ and ’For Tomorrow’ get your mood up immediately with their cool intensity and melodic phrasings. They view life as something to be respected and feared. ’Undersky’ is a big one, a perfect song to be played at stadiums. It tells a story of clinging onto hope under oppressive powers.

Then we turn it to eleven with ’The River Flows’, the unheard side of Everture until now. It is a furiously raging, dark metalcore beast that still has quite a beautiful melodic side to it. As a good continuation, we get ’Promises’, the compassionate ”ballad” of depression, a combobreaker and the ending of the ”A side” of the album.

...Recording the bass came and went easily enough but when the turn for the guitars came, trouble began. Our schedules started to strecth more and more because of various factors. The time of long winter and despair had come. We had to rely on our nonexistent patience and make the ends meet. We got lead vocals done quite succesfully considering the circumstances but some guitars had to be rescheduled to February and the very last of them had to wait until the summer 2020. We recorded all of the vocal harmonies in our singers Jere Kuokkanens home, mostly in February. We also had some trouble regarding the mixing; we had to test at least four different options during spring/summer 2020 before finding the service provider that fitted to our needs...

The darker ”B side” of Emerge starts a bit more politically in a metal way. ’Ivory Tower’ addresses peoples way of having blinkers on their eyes and chasing things they don’t really need or even want whilst losing all they have. ’The Unfortunate End’ is the wild one with highest tempo on the album. This song includes aggressive drumming and Göteborg styled riffs. Oh, and the catchiest chorus ever. Then we get to the nighty mood parts of the album. Fittingly enough ’White Lies, Black Skies’ was written during a long nightshift which gives this song its dark doomy feel. The song has some of the most well written vocals in Evertures catalog dealing with moral self reflection.

Before dawn we dwell deep in ’My 52 Shades’, the gloomy and a bit Twin Peaksy, yet incredibly beautiful song. It’s about all the worries that haunt you. In addition to the touching vocals and guitar solos the song really takes off with furious cathartic riff sections.

The closing track ’Closure’ is the perfect wrapping for the journey soon ending. The song is definetly brings light of dawn along and the mood for a party. It’s the understanding things in the end of events and internal struggles. It’s all about the beauty born among hardships. About the fact that one must do their best to keep good things alive and accept that nothing will ever be perfect. Having understood that, we have grown and emerged.

...so now having spent countless hours of time and quite a bit of money on this thing. We must ask ourselves: ”Was it worth it?”. I would say it totally was!

The struggles and despair gives personality and feel to this album also from the point of the listener. This is what in given time have been able to do and we are proud of it. 

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/evertureband
https://www.instagram.com/evertureband
https://spoti.fi/3iZbu38
https://everture.bandcamp.com

The Metal Byrds

 

The Metal Byrds launch a new single, VICIOUS CIRCLE. The band from Texas is promoting its new song. 

The Metal Byrds band are born musicians. London born Suzanne Birdie, has a power-pop rock voice, that compliments Sly Rye's ripping rock riffs and lead guitar solos in every song!

These catchy songs are throwback to a time where female front-women dominated the radio waves with rocking sounds. A time where Hair Bands and Classic Rock & Roll ruled the world.

More info on their website  https://www.themetalbyrds.com

Olya. New release.

 

N

New song by Olya. 

Info, bio and track on https://www.reverbnation.com/olyasongs/song/32274373-waking-up-in-nashville-eggs-and

Murray McLauchlan

 

He’s been hailed as one of Canada’s most culturally conscious songwriters of the 70s’ but Murray McLauchlan’s sympathetic song portraits of ordinary folk have appealed to our social conscience for more than five decades. The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) is pleased to announce the Induction of singer-songwriter Murray McLauchlan, composer of more than 35 hit singles including the SOCAN Classics Farmer’s Song, Down by the Henry Moore, and Try Walkin’ Away.

Marking its first in-person songwriter induction ceremony since the pandemic, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is partnering with Mariposa Folk Festival to recognize McLauchlan on Saturday, July 9 on the Festival’s main stage. Since 2018, the CSHF began partnering with music events and festivals across the country to connect with fans and celebrate the songs and songwriters to their musical roots. McLauchlan will be officially inducted at Mariposa by long-time friend and CSHF Inductee Gordon Lightfoot and honoured with a special tribute performance by Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

“I am honoured to join my respected friends Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and so many others in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says McLauchlan.

Murray McLauchlan was born in Scotland, and raised in Toronto ON, where he studied art and began singing in coffeehouses at age 17. He frequented Yorkville’s The Riverboat, a hub for the folk-rock music scene in the 70s where fellow singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and other Canadian icons would play – that was also a favourite tour stop for American artists including Simon and Garfunkel, and folksinger Tom Rush. McLauchlan would play his bittersweet compositions Old Man’s Song and Child’s Song on the backsteps of The Riverboat for Tom Rush, who became the first artist to record one of McLauchlan’s insightful songs. Child’s Song was recorded by Tom Rush in 1970; and would later garner McLauchlan three JUNO Awards for Folk Single, Country Single, and Songwriter of the Year.

In 1971, McLauchlan signed with True North Records and recorded his debut album, “Song from the Street,” that reached Top 40 in Canada. His first Top 10 single came from The Farmer’s Song which drew attention to the industrial forces decimating family farms, while earning him his first JUNO Awards for Best Songwriter, Folk Single, and Country Single. His follow up album “Sweeping the Spotlight Away” earned him a JUNO for Best Country Vocalist; and his homage to Toronto, Down by the Henry Moore, became his first No. 1 hit to cross over on both pop and country charts.

McLauchlan’s first gold record came with the 1976 album “Boulevard,” which included the hit single On the Boulevard. Through the 1980s, McLauchlan enjoyed further success with hit singles like Do You Dream of Being Somebody?, Somebody’s Long Lonely Night, Little Dreamer, and Never Did Like That Train. He rounded out the decade with the anthem If the Wind Could Blow My Troubles Away,participation in Tears Are Not Enough, and his JUNO-nominated album “Swingin’ on a Star.”

His most recent endeavors include his 2012 hit albums “Human Writes” and “Love Can’t Tell Time.” and 2021’s Hourglass that has made numerous Top 10 lists in Canada, the U.S. and throughout the world. He was won 11 JUNO Awards throughout his esteemed career and is among the Top 20 most-winning JUNO artists of all time.

McLauchlan’s songwriting, whether in his earlier narrative style or his later impressionistic one, has definite grassroots appeal. And the visual sense he developed while studying art as a youth still inspires his songwriting: “I always try to write visually, to put someone into their context,” he explains.

His love for songwriting and art came together in 2021’s “A Thomson Day”, a tribute to the work of Group of Seven painter Tom Thomson that resulted in a collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Recently, Child’s Song was featured in the hit NBC TV show “This Is Us;” and Widespread Panic recorded a hit rock cover of McLauchlan’s dark ode Honky Red. Others to cover McLauchlan’s work over the decades include Bonnie Dobson, John McDermott, Renée Claude, David Wiffen, George Hamilton IV, Waylon Jennings, Kathy Mattea, David Bromberg, The Ennis Sisters, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, R. Harlan Smith, Walter Ostanek, Bob Neuwirth, 3’s a Crowd, Melanie Safka, and Junkhouse.

 https://www.murraymclauchlan.com

The Vulcan Straight

 

David Findley and Marc Reynolds formed The Vulcan Straight just prior to lockdown, recording all the demos for their spectacular debut album in their respective homes, sharing online until each song was completed. 

 

Since releasing their debut album they have been broadcasted by BBC Introducing Hereford and Worcester, played worldwide and have gained the recognition they deserve.

 

Mastered by world-renowned multiple gold record engineer Adam Fuest at his Twin Peaks Studio, ‘You and me’ is a track suited to ears loving classic rock from all eras, but especially the heights of the Seventies.

 

 https://m.facebook.com/thevulcanstraight/

 

 https://twitter.com/vulcanstraight

The ZINVANDELS

 

The ZINVANDELS have had a busy year of recording during the course of 2022 as well as headlining The Newton festival to 4,000 on their last tour.

 

The ZINVANDELS released debut single ‘Heartbreaker’ to great acclaim with radio support from John Kennedy, Bethan Elfyn and Tom Robinson, gaining over 30,000 youtube views. They were featured as BBC introducing artist of the week on two occasions. Following this, the band self-released the next 4 singles in anticipation of completing this debut album, which has recently been finished.

 

With new member Matt on board in '22, the ZINVANDELS have evolved their sound with their latest tunes. The band see next single 'Blackholes' as a statement of intent ahead of their debut LP release.

"Blackholes is a thunderous return to the scene for Welsh rockers The Zinvandels.

 

A powerful release that rocks with an urgency and leaves you excited to seek out their upcoming album. It's great to have you back." Pete Devine Pete's Rock News and Views.

 

 https://www.facebook.com/Thezinvandels/

 

 

The mythical original 'skin' of the WinAmp player was auctioned as NFT in Open Sea for solidarity purposes

 

Winamp sold a non-fungible token (NFT) linked to its media player’s original 1997 graphical skin, becoming the latest company to blend nostalgia and crypto. Winamp did put the NFT up for auction through OpenSea between May 16th and May 22nd, followed by a separate sale of 1997 total NFTs based on 20 artworks derived from the original skin. The proceeds will go to the Winamp Foundation, which promises to donate them to charity projects, starting with the Belgian nonprofit Music Fund.

The NFT sale appears to be a combination of a publicity move and a fundraising effort. Winamp is sourcing the derivative art NFTs by asking artists to submit Winamp-based works between now and April 15th, then giving selected artists 20 percent of the proceeds from each sale of their image as an NFT. Nineteen of the pieces will sell in editions of 100 copies, and the remaining one will have 97; they’ll all sell for 0.08 Ethereum — around $210 at current exchange rates. The artists will get 10 percent of any royalties on later sales, where the seller will set their own price.

 Winamp’s head of business development Thierry Ascarez tells The Verge that buyers will get a blockchain token linked to an image of either the original skin seen above or one of its derivatives, which is a common setup for NFTs. Buyers will have the right to “copy, reproduce, and display” the image, but they won’t own the copyright. Likewise, selected artists will agree to transfer all intellectual property for their work to Winamp, according to a page of terms and conditions.

Winamp isn’t precisely the service you might remember from the ’90s. The MP3-playing software was acquired by AOL in 1999, then sold to online radio company Radionomy in 2014 after a long decline and shutdown. Radionomy (and later its majority stakeholder AudioValley) revamped it as a mobile audio app, then announced a broader relaunch for this year. There’s also a long-running community update project for the original app.

 However, there’s a stronger connection between Winamp’s current form and its original one than some crypto projects. Venerable peer-to-peer file-sharing service LimeWire recently “relaunched” as an NFT marketplace, but it shares effectively no connection to its previous iteration; a new company apparently just bought the domain name and revived an expired trademark. It’s a little closer to a resurrected RadioShack’s plans to launch a cryptocurrency marketplace, except that this NFT sale is a small part of its relaunch as a music service, not a broader move into crypto — at least so far.

Wynton Marsalis

 

Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader, an educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He has created and performed an expansive range of music from quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras and tap dance to ballet, expanding the vocabulary for jazz and classical music with a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.

Always swinging, Marsalis blows his trumpet with a clear tone, a depth of emotion and a unique, virtuosic style derived from an encyclopedic range of trumpet techniques. When you hear Marsalis play, you’re hearing life being played out through music.

Marsalis’ core beliefs and foundation for living are based on the principals of jazz. He promotes individual creativity (improvisation), collective cooperation (swing), gratitude and good manners (sophistication), and faces adversity with persistent optimism (the blues). With his evolved humanity and through his selfless work, Marsalis has elevated the quality of human engagement for individuals, social networks and cultural institutions throughout the world.

Wynton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, to Ellis and Dolores Marsalis, the second of six sons. At an early age, he exhibited a superior aptitude for music and a desire to participate in American culture. At age eight Wynton performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist Danny Barker, and at 14 he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During high school Wynton performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, various jazz bands and with the popular local funk band, the Creators.

At age 17 Wynton became the youngest musician ever to be admitted to Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. Despite his youth, he was awarded the school’s prestigious Harry Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. Wynton moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979. When he started gigging around the City, the grapevine began to buzz. The excitement around Wynton attracted the attention of Columbia Records executives who signed him to his first recording contract. In 1980 Wynton seized the opportunity to join the Jazz Messengers to study under master drummer and bandleader Art Blakey. It was from Blakey that Wynton acquired his concept for bandleading and for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In the years to follow Wynton performed with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and countless other jazz legends.

Wynton assembled his own band in 1981 and hit the road, performing over 120 concerts every year for 15 consecutive years. With the power of his superior musicianship, the infectious sound of his swinging bands and a far-reaching series of performances and music workshops, Marsalis rekindled widespread interest in jazz throughout the world and inspired a renaissance that attracted a new generation of fine young talent to jazz. A look at the more distinguished jazz musicians to emerge for the decades to follow reveals the efficacy of Marsalis’ workshops and includes: James Carter, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, Wycliffe Gordon, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, Eric Reed and Eric Lewis, to name a few.

Wynton also embraced the jazz lineage to bring recognition to the older generation of overlooked jazz musicians and prompted the re-issue of jazz catalogs by record companies worldwide.

https://wyntonmarsalis.org/

How LimeWire, Winamp, Napster and more internet relics are finding new life in Web3

 

At the turn of the millennium, peer-to-peer file sharing was a transformative innovation. Decentralised computer networks were poised to upend industries, reshape how we consumed media, cut out middlemen and empower individuals. Sound familiar?

Parallels with the new Web3 gold rush are difficult to miss. The key difference is that, back then, such disruption was widely viewed in apocalyptic terms. Sharing audio files was the equivalent of digital purse-snatching and, if it wasn’t stopped, would bring the entire music industry to its knees. Companies such as Napster, LimeWire, and Kazaa made a big impact but were ultimately squashed by an onslaught of legal action.

It came as some surprise, then, when some of the biggest names in digital piracy began their online comeback recently, attempting to establish themselves as major players in the new music ecosystem of Web3. Napster, BitTorrent, and LimeWire have all been purchased by members of the crypto crowd, with accompanying promises to revolutionize music just like they did in the good ol’ days.

Keep reading  https://musictech.com/features/opinion-analysis/napster-limewire-winamp-new-life-in-web3/

 

The Michael Mills Band

 

The Michael Mills Band is a high energy Blues Rock band out of California. The bands  showmanship exhibits their extensive touring experiences in their radiating energy allowing you to imagine how they charm crowds from the stage..

THE BAND MEMBERS:
Michael Mills is the front man with the killer vocals and lead guitarist.
Jesse Godoy is a highly skilled award winning guitarist.
Scot Campbell is the bassist for the band.
Ron Ravicchio is the drummer with extensive history touring with major bands.

"We are excited to announce the new single 'See My Baby' by The Michael Mills Band feat. Tom Hambridge (Grammy Award Winning Producer). Taking time during the pandemic, Michael Mills and Jesse Godoy started writing 'See My Baby' ... then Mike had the thought 'I want to get Tom Hambridge to produce this song. He wanted Tom because he knows how to make a hit out of a song'. That was the
beginning of the creative collaboration between Michael Mills and Tom Hambridge. 'Honored to have Tom perform and produce 'See My Baby'. We were fortunate that. Tom added some of his own style of drums and produced the single.' Michael Mills

www.michaelmillsband.com
Facebook.com/themichaelmillsband

Vince Gill

 

One of the most popular artists in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing and warm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit. Gill achieved his big breakthrough in 1990 with “When I Call Your Name,” which won both the Country Music Association’s (CMA) Single and Song of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. Since then, Gill has won 17 additional CMA Awards, including Song of the Year four times – making him the most-awarded artist in that category in CMA history, and a total of 22 Grammy Awards, his most recent one for Best Country Solo Performance – “When My Amy Prays.”  The Academy of Country Music has conferred on Gill eight awards, including its Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the Career Achievement Award.

A gifted songwriter, Gill’s compositions earned him the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2014, and entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2007, Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2012 he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which was placed in cement right next to his wife Amy Grant’s star. In 1991, Gill was invited to become a member of The Grand Ole Opry, a position he treasures. He continues to perform on that historic stage on a regular basis.

Throughout his career he has released 20 albums, sold over 30 million albums, and charted 45 singles.

Known for his many collaborations, Gill has made guest appearances on more than 1000 albums, and has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Sting, Emmylou Harris, Diana Krall, Jimmy Webb, Bruno Mars, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and George Jones. His collaborative efforts also include albums he has produced for Amy Grant, Ashley Monroe, The Time Jumpers and Wendy Moten.

Always considering himself a musician above all else, Gill has over the years been a part of some iconic bands including Pure Prairie League, The Cherry Bombs, and The Time Jumpers. In 2017 Vince was asked to join the Eagles on the road and continues to be a part of that historic band’s tour.

Gill’s current album, the critically acclaimed OKIE, is his most personal album, as he sings about his wife in prayer, about kindness and forgiveness, about his heroes in death, and about his own loves, joys, and regrets.

https://vincegill.com/

The Kabooms

 

 

The Kabooms are a band based in Barcelona and founded in 2014 with members of several well-known groups in the field of 50's rock and roll, Matt Olivera on vocals (Matt and The Peabody Ducks) El Lega on guitar (Legacaster, Locos del Oeste) , Xavi Carajillo on bass (Los Torontos, Los Locos del Oeste) and Jesús López on drums (Pike Cavalero, The Ragtones) form this combo of surf rock and late 50's rock and roll sound that have made their live show wild and full of energy by festivals and stages around the world such as: Viva Las Vegas, Fuss and Holler (USA), The Rockabilly Rave and Hemsby (UK) Let's Get Wild, Get Rhythm Go Wild (Germany), High Rockabilly and Rockin Race (Spain) And a long etcetera.

Their latest full-length “Right Track, Wrong Way” collects another discharge of pure energy, fun and quality as the band has accustomed us, the combo goes a step further to meet the tastes of a wider and more eclectic public, but equally demanding. Matt, the singer, leads the action providing the required claw at all times. Javier and Alex put the precise rhythm and strength to each song. And El Lega on guitar is a phenomenon. In fact, there are four phenomena. Directly. Music that gets you excited, with a catchy rhythm of drums and double bass, a guitar bordering on perfection and outstanding voice work. “50's cut rock played at full blast, furiously, as it should be”.

 https://www.facebook.com/thekabooms

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

 

 

 Jalacy Hawkins, better known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Cleveland, Ohio, United States, July 18, 1929 - Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, February 12, 2000), was a popular African-American American singer. He had a major hit during the rock explosion of the mid-1950s. Known for his circus performances and (sometimes macabre) aesthetic, he recorded one of the biggest hits of the era, I Put a Spell on You, in 1957. He learned to compose music and play the piano as a child at the Ohio Conservatory. At the age of 14, he drops out of school and lies saying that he has one more year to join the army and fight in World War II. In the army he began to play the sax entertaining the troops. He fell into enemy hands on the island of Saipan when he was parachuted, being rescued a year and a half later.

Van Morrison

 

 Born in 1945, Van Morrison heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life. Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly he was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964. 

Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club, Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and songwriting talents produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’. 

Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career. After working with Them’s New York producer Bert Berns on beautiful Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), Morrison moved to another realm.

 Recorded over 3 days with legendary jazz musicians Astral Weeks (1968) is a still singular album combining street poetry, jazz improvisation, Celtic invocation and Afro Celtic Blues wailing. 

Morrison would weave these and myriad other influences into the albums that followed in quick succession. 

Reflecting on new life in America on the joyous Sinatra soul of Moondance (1970) and the country inflected Tupelo Honey (1971) he summoned old spiritual and ancestral life in the epic St Dominic’s Preview (1972) closer track Listen To The Lion. 

Double live album Too Late To Stop Now (1973) highlighted Morrison’s superlative performing and bandleader skills. Mapping out a richly varied musical course throughout the 70s he shone among an all-star cast including Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters on The Band’s Last Waltz. 

Indeed, borne of his Irish Showband instincts, the magic of the live performance has been a consistent feature of Morrison’s career. 

Settling back into life in the UK in 1980 he released Common One an album centring on Summertime In England an extraordinary invocation of literary, sensual and spiritual pleasure the song would often become a thrilling improvised centrepiece to his live shows. 

Steering his own course throughout the 80s on albums such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher he claimed Celtic roots with The Chieftains on Irish Heartbeat. Teaming with Georgie Fame brought new impetus to his live show while Avalon Sunset saw him back in the album and single charts by the decades end. 

Van Morrison continued to advance on his status as a game- changing artist through the 90s and into the 21st century. 

Awards and accolades - a knighthood, a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, 6 Grammys, honourary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, entry into The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres - attested to the international reach of Van’s musical art. 

Yet there was never any suggestion that Morrison, one of the most prolific recording artists and hardest working live performers of his era, would ever rest on his laurels.

 The breadth and reach of his collaboration work continues in 2015 with the release of his new album ‘Duets: Re-working The Catalogue’. Featuring singers as influential and diverse as Bobby Womack, Gregory Porter, Mavis Staples and Michael Bublé, the album re-works songs handpicked from Morrison’s catalogue of over 360 tracks across his career. Including songs such as Real Real Gone, Higher Than The World and Irish Heartbeat, the album was recorded in his home town of Belfast and London over the last year, using a variety of musicians and fresh arrangements.

With one of the most revered catalogues in music history and his unparalleled talents as composer, singer and performer Morrison’s past achievements loom large. But, as throughout his extraordinary career, how that past informs his future achievements and still stirs excitement and keen anticipation. 

And so in 2017 Van released his 37th and 38th studio albums, the first of which, Roll With The Punches, is a blues flavoured offering. The 15 track album reconnects Morrison with artists such as Leadbelly, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Walter and Bo Diddley…musicians he first heard at home on the family radiogram. But more so, it brings Van together with musicians he encountered on the road during his time with Them in the ‘60s blues boom as Chris Farlowe, Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones and The Yardbird’s Jeff Beck all make contributions to the recordings. The rich jambalaya enjoyed on Roll With The Punches is Van Morrison both looking back, and moving forward. And though he references the past, Morrison always makes it his own, stamping his unmistakable spin on what has gone before.

Following shortly after the release of Roll with the Punches was the aptly titled Versatile. This album sees Morrison cross the genres of blues, soul and reconnect with his love of jazz. Across Versatile’s sixteen tracks, Van Morrison interprets some of the very building blocks of modern music in his own utterly unique style.  As well as songs originally made famous by the likes of Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra, the Righteous Brothers, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole, Versatile features the stunning new Van composition Broken Record – a timeless piece of late-night swing – and new interpretations of classics from his back catalogue (I Forgot That Love Existed from the 1987 album Poetic Champions Compose, Start All Over Again from 1990’s Enlightenment and Only A Dream from 2002’s Down the Road).

2018 is a significant year in Morrison’s career, marking 50 years since the release of the iconic Astral Weeks album in 1968. To date, the year has been full steam ahead for Morrison beginning with a string of shows in the USA and further shows scheduled for Europe later in the year. Morrison shows no sign of slowing things down, continuing to work on new material and exciting upcoming projects.

 https://www.vanmorrison.com

 

 

Othar Turner

 

 

Othar "Otha" Turner (June 2, 1907 – February 26, 2003) was an American blues musician, best known as one of Fife's leading musicians and a performer of the Fife blues and drums tradition.

Turner was born in Madison County, Mississippi, and spent his entire life in the northern part of the state, working as a farmer. In 1923, at the age of 16, he began playing fiffari made of bamboo canes here. The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, consisting primarily of Turner's family and friends, played primarily at farm parties. Wider success was achieved only in the '90s, when the band appeared on Mississippi Delta Blues Jam in Memphis, Vol. 1 (where Napoleon Strickland and the Como drum band, other fife and drum lineups also appear) and other collections. of traditional blues. In 1998 Turner and his band released Everybody Hollerin' Goat, often well received by critics. The title refers to a tradition Turner began in the late 1950s, which he planned to host at his De La Granja picnic on May 1, during which he personally slaughtered and cooked a goat. The rest of the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band provided musical entertainment. This first album was followed by From Senegal to Senatobia in 1999, which also featured some members of Turner's family this time accompanied by professional musicians. The formation is called Afrossippi Allstars. "Shimmy she wobble" also appears in Everybody Hollerin' Goat, which appears in the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York. The same director, in his miniseries The Blues, interviews Otha Turner, considered one of the living witnesses at the time of the Delta and country Blues tradition, closely related to the traditional music of West Africa. The project was carried out by Corey Harris, in 2003, with the album Mississippi to Mali. The album is dedicated to Turner, who disappeared a week before the scheduled recording date. His niece, Shardé Thomas, then twelve years old, filled in for him for the recording sessions. Othar 

 

Turner died in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, at the age of 95. His funeral was held on March 4, 2003 in Como, Mississippi, along with his daughter, who died the same day as his father. The procession was led by the rising star Fife and Drum Band, at the head of which Shardé Thomas played the same instrument as her grandfather.