Clive Gregson

 

Born and raised in Manchester, England, Clive Gregson is an accomplished singer, musician and record producer. He led cult band Any Trouble. The group toured extensively in support of five critically acclaimed albums and a number of singles that became radio hits before disbanding at the end of 1984. Fondly remembered and greatly missed, the band have occasionally reformed since 2007, recording two brand new albums: “Life In Reverse” (2007) and “Present Tense” (2015). The band toured to support these releases and the three CD box set of “The Complete Stiff Recordings 1980-1981” (2013). Grown men cried!

In 1985, Clive released his first solo album and he has maintained a solo profile ever since. His solo recordings and tours have been one of the main outlets for his prolific songwriting and a solo “Best Of…” compilation was released in April 2009. Clive’s solo albums feature an eclectic mix of pop and folk styles, ranging from a stripped down one man and his acoustic intimacy to a full on electric band approach. Clive’s live shows are usually solo performances and the guitar skills that prompted Guitar to include him in their “1,000 Great Guitarists” are always well in evidence.

Along the road from pop frontman to singer-songwriter, Clive has followed many musical diversions. Between 1985 and 1992, he formed a partnership with Christine Collister that Rolling Stone called “the state of the art in British folk-rock”. They released five albums and toured the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Christine’s distinctive voice allied to Clive’s songs, instrumental and production skills created something truly special and their decision to call it a day left a huge gap in the roots music scene. The entire Gregson & Collister catalogue plus a “Best Of…” compilation were re-issued in 2009.

Clive has also toured and recorded with Richard Thompson (1982 to 1992), Nanci Griffith (1996 to 2007), Eddi Reader and Boo Hewerdine (1993 and 1999), Plainsong (1997) and he was the musical director for the Dennis Locorriere “Hits & History” tour in 2007, which resulted in a gold album and a concert DVD that also charted. His songs have been recorded by many artists, including Nanci Griffith, Kim Carnes, Fairport Convention, Claire Martin, Norma Waterson and Smokie. Nanci’s version of “I Love This Town” (performed as a duet with Jimmy Buffett) was released as a single in 2006 and became a radio hit in both America and the UK, receiving more than 5,000 spins in the USA.

Clive relocated to the USA in 1993. He continued to tour regularly, write prolifically and remain in demand as a record producer and session musician. Clive has decided to retire from solo touring at the end of 2020 in order to concentrate on writing and studio work. He will still consider live projects that capture his interest… but his days of sitting alone in the car in a Friday afternoon traffic jam on the M6 are now numbered!

https://clivegregson.com

Hilde Vos

 

 

Hilde Vos is an Americana roots singer songwriter born in 1986 in Nijmegen. She has already built up some fame with her voice and guitar. 

She sang together with Dick Van Altena, Ilse De Lange, Sandra Vanreys and Ruud Hermans. In 2012 she proudly played at various beautiful locations in Norway. In addition to artists such as Bobby Bare and Vince Gill, she sang the  Norsk Country Treff at the annual Country Festival.

With her very own sound, and sources of inspiration such as Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan, Hilde writes beautiful songs. She only touches the audience with a guitar and her voice.
She is a popular duo with her 'discoverer' Dick Van Altena, with whom she has performed a lot.

 https://www.hildevos.com

James Henry Cotton

 

 James Henry Cotton was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. He played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing.

Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records, under the direction of Sam Phillips. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. Cotton became Waters's bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with the Muddy Waters band. He eventually left to form his own full-time touring group. His first full album, on Verve Records, was produced by the guitarist Mike Bloomfield and the singer and songwriter Nick Gravenites, who later were members of the band Electric Flag.

In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Muddy Waters' Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter.

Cotton was born in Tunica, Mississippi. He became interested in music when he first heard Sonny Boy Williamson II on the radio. He left home with his uncle and moved to West Helena, Arkansas, finding Williamson there. For many years Cotton claimed that he told Williamson that he was an orphan and that Williamson took him in and raised him, a story he admitted in recent years is not true. However, Williamson did mentor Cotton during his early years. Williamson left the South to live with his estranged wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, leaving his band in Cotton's hands. Cotton was quoted as saying, "He just gave it to me. But I couldn't hold it together 'cause I was too young and crazy in those days an' everybody in the band was grown men, so much older than me."

Cotton played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing. He began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings as a solo artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1953. In 1954, he recorded an electric blues single "Cotton Crop Blues", which featured a heavily distorted power chord–driven electric guitar solo by Pat Hare. Cotton began working with the Muddy Waters Band around 1955. He performed songs such as "Got My Mojo Working" and "She's Nineteen Years Old", although he did not play on the original recordings; Little Walter, Waters's long-time harmonica player, played for most of Waters's recording sessions in the 1950s. Cotton's first recording session with Waters took place in June 1957, and he alternated with Little Walter on Waters's recording sessions until the end of the decade.

In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters's band. Their performances were captured by producer Samuel Charters on volume two of the Vanguard recording Chicago/The Blues/Today! After leaving Waters's band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin while pursuing a solo career. He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. The band mainly performed its own arrangements of popular blues and R&B from the 1950s and 1960s. Cotton's band included a horn section, like that of Bobby Bland's. After Bland's death, his son told news media that Bland had recently discovered that Cotton was his half-brother.

In the 1970s, Cotton recorded several albums for Buddah Records. He played harmonica on Waters's Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter. In the 1980s he recorded for Alligator Records in Chicago; he rejoined the Alligator roster in 2010. The James Cotton Blues Band received a Grammy nomination in 1984 for Live from Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself!, on Alligator, and a second for his 1987 album Take Me Back, on Blind Pig Records. He was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for Deep in the Blues in 1996. Cotton appeared on the cover of the July–August 1987 issue of Living Blues magazine (number 76). He was featured in the same publication's 40th anniversary issue of August–September 2010.

In 2006, Cotton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at a ceremony conducted by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. He has won or shared ten Blues Music Awards.

Cotton battled throat cancer in the mid-1990s, but he continued to tour, using singers or members of his backing band as vocalists. On March 10, 2008, he and Ben Harper performed at the induction of Little Walter into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, playing "Juke" and "My Babe" together; the induction ceremony was broadcast nationwide on VH1 Classic. On August 30, 2010, Cotton was the special guest on Larry Monroe's farewell broadcast of Blue Monday, which he hosted on radio station KUT in Austin, Texas, for nearly 30 years.

Cotton's studio album Giant, released by Alligator Records in late September 2010, was nominated for a Grammy Award. His album Cotton Mouth Man, released by Alligator on May 7, 2013, was also a Grammy nominee. It includes guest appearances by Gregg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Ruthie Foster, Delbert McClinton, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, Chuck Leavell and Colin Linden. Cotton played harmonica on "Matches Don't Burn Memories" on the debut album by the Dr. Izzy Band, Blind & Blues Bound, released in June 2013. In 2014, Cotton won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Blues Artist and was also nominated in the category Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica.

Cotton's touring band included the guitarist and vocalist Tom Holland, the vocalist Darrell Nulisch, the bassist Noel Neal (brother of the blues guitarist and harmonica player Kenny Neal) and the drummer Jerry Porter. 

Cotton died of pneumonia on March 16, 2017, at the age of 81, at a medical center in Austin, Texas and was buried on July 11, 2017 in Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Carie & the SoulShakers'

Carie & the SoulShakers' original music is a blend of blistering blues and sultry soul with New Orleans style and Memphis grit. Their covers include rare cuts from Allen Toussaint, Willie Dixon, Fats Domino, Johnny Taylor and Taj Mahal. 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6I99B6nDPjKeCx6dUF4jpl

Sleepy John Estes

 

John Adam Estes, known as Sleepy John Estes, was an American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. His music influenced such artists as The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
Estes was born in Ripley, Tennessee, either in 1899 (the date on his gravestone) or 1900 (the date on his World War I draft card). In 1915, his father, a sharecropper who played guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes lost the sight in his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him. At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally, mostly at parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. Estes continued to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years. He also performed in medicine shows with Willie Newbern.

At the suggestion of Jim Jackson, Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records. He recorded the tracks "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" with Nixon in 1935. He later worked with Son Bonds and Charlie Pickett. He went on to record for Decca Records and Bluebird Records, with his last prewar recording session taking place in 1941. He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was out of the public eye in the 1940s and 1950s.

Estes sang with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, such as Yank Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead (and because the musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that he was dead). By the time he was tracked down by the blues historians Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he was completely blind and living in poverty. He resumed touring with Nixon and recording for Delmark Records. Estes, Nixon and Rachell appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964.

Many of Estes's original songs were based on events in his life or people he knew in his hometown, Brownsville, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), the local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues"). In "Lawyer Clark Blues", about the lawyer and later judge and senator Hugh L. Clarke, whose family lived in Brownsville, Estes sang that Clark let him "off the hook" for an offense. He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent [Railroad Police Blues]"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.

Some accounts attribute the nickname Sleepy to a blood pressure disorder or narcolepsy. Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records, said that Estes simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention". Estes himself explained that the nickname was born of his exhausting life as both musician and farmer. "'Every night I was going somewhere. I'd work all day, play all night and get back home about sunrise. I'd get the mule and get right on going. I went to sleep once in the shed. I used to go to sleep so much when we were playing, they called me Sleepy. But I never missed a note.

Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.

Earl Gaines

 

 Earl Gaines Jr. (August 19, 1935 – December 31, 2009) was an American soul blues and electric blues singer. Born in Decatur, Alabama, he sang lead vocals on the hit single "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)", credited to Louis Brooks and his Hi-Toppers, before undertaking a low-key solo career. In the latter capacity he had minor success with "The Best of Luck to You" (1966) and "Hymn Number 5" (1973). Noted as the best R&B singer from Nashville, Gaines was also known for his lengthy career.

Gaines was born in Decatur, Alabama, in 1935. After moving from his hometown in his teenage years, and relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, he found employment as both a singer and occasional drummer. Via work he did for local songwriter Ted Jarrett, Gaines moved from singing in clubs to meeting Louis Brooks. Brooks led the instrumental Hi-Toppers group, who had a recording contract with the Excello label. Their subsequent joint recording, "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)," peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard R&B chart in 1955. It was Gaines' biggest hit, but his name was not credited on the record.

Breaking away from the confines of the group, Gaines became part of the 1955 R&B Caravan of Stars, with Bo Diddley, Big Joe Turner, and Etta James Their tour culminated with an appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall.[2] Without any tangible success, Gaines recorded for the Champion and Poncello labels for another few years, as well as joining Bill Doggett's band as lead vocalist. In 1963, he joined Bill "Hoss" Allen's repertoire of artists, and by 1966 had issued the album The Best of Luck to You, seeing the title track reach the Top 40 in the US R&B chart. He appeared on the television program The !!!! Beat, and later released material for King and Sound Stage 7, including his cover version of "Hymn Number 5". Recordings made between 1967 and 1973 for De Luxe were reissued in 1998. On many of his De Luxe recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gaines was backed by Freddy Robinson's orchestra.

In 1975, Gaines recorded "Drowning On Dry Land" for Ace, before leaving the music industry for almost a decade and a half, to work as a truck driver. He finally re-emerged in 1989 with the album House Party.

In the 1990s Gaines worked with Roscoe Shelton and Clifford Curry. On Appaloosa Records, Gaines issued I Believe in Your Love (1995), and in 1997 he reunited with Curry and Shelton for a collaborative live album. He released Everything’s Gonna Be Alright in 1998. Gaines work was on the 2005 Grammy Award-winning Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945–1970, an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. His own albums The Different Feelings of Blues and Soul (2005) and Nothin’ But the Blues (2008) followed, the latter released on the Ecko label.

In late 2009 Gaines had to cancel a concert tour of Europe due to ill health, and he died in Nashville on the last day of that year, at the age of 74.

Kings & Associates

 

 

 

Since their humble beginnings winning the 2014 ARBA award for ‘Most Outstanding New Act KINGS  &  ASSOCIATES have truly developed into one of Australia’s most uniquely new and exciting neo blues acts. Within 2 short years The Kings had quickly become a regular at Australian festivals including Mordi, Blenheim, Echuca, Semaphore and Bendigo, along with premier venues such as the Cherrybar (Melbourne), Lazybones (Sydney), and the Gov (Adelaide).

Their debut album ‘Red Dress’ was tracked in various studios around Adelaide from April to June ’14, with the guys heading to Nashville for final production and mixing with Andrija Tokic in July. Tokic mixed the Grammy nominated smash debut album for the Alabama Shakes ‘Boys & Girls’. The album also features some of Nashville’s best musos including the late Ikey Owens from the ‘Jack White band’ & ‘The Mars Volta’ on hammond, rhodes & farfisa. Red Dress incredibly hit no.1 on the iTunes Blues charts in Australia.

K I N G S  &  A S S O C I A T E S are excited to announce the follow up to their debut album Red Dress…..TALES OF A RICH GIRL dropped on 6/10/17! This marks over 2 years of writing, touring and recording with 10 new original tracks on what is expected to be a land mark release….and going by the reputation of those who helped make this album a reality it’s no wonder expectation is high. This started with tracking in LA in August ’16 with 7 time Grammy winner Jim Scott as engineer and producer. Scott’s catalogue of hit albums and awards include the Rolling Stones, Tedeschi Trucks, Sting, the Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, Matchbox 20 and Crowded House. After initially making contact with the management of the industry legend Scott personally reached out to the band to confirm his interest and ‘book the session’. Bassist and co-songwriter Steve Portolesi rates this 6 day session in Scott’s studio PLYRZ in Valencia north of Hollywood as the musical highlight of his career. ‘Jim is the most down to earth guy we’ve met, and considering his massive list of successful recordings I have to say it was totally refreshing. He knew how to create the perfect environment to get the best out of you both in performance and creativity….but still having time to eat, hang and chat….’ Portolesi says, ‘at times Kelv and I had to pinch ourselves to remind us of where we were and who we were working with, this guy had worked with bands and artists who have sold millions of albums and influenced us personally, to have the opportunity to work with him and have him speak into our songs was humbling to say the least’. So, after a brief 9 day trip across the pacific the album was tracked and it was back to Adelaide Australia to finish editing.

But, the quality didn’t finish with Jim Scott and LA… the band secured the services of Nashville based Vance Powell to mix the album, another industry legend and multi Grammy winner. Powell’s credits include Grammys with the Dixie Chicks and Jack White and had just finished producing the breakthrough album for Chris Stapleton. So it was back to the States again to mix the album in Music City….this time the band used the trip to perform live including shows at the legendary Bourbon St Blues Club in Printers Lane Nashville, and a quick fire semifinal appearance at the IBC in Memphis….between tracking in LA with Jim Scott, and mixing in Nashville with Vance Powell the guys had travelled over 34,000 miles in 8 months to finish their album.

‘Unlike Red Dress where we felt we were finding our feet stylistically, Tales is a lot closer to our heart’ says lyricist and vocalist Angie Portolesi. ‘This album was written for most from real life experiences…friends dying, relationships breaking up, overcoming personal tragedy, significant life changes, these are all the stories of our lives…these songs represent who we are today in so many respects, they speak back to us like kids, and we can say we’re proud of them’. 

By week 2 the album went to number 1 on the Australian blues and roots radio charts, and debuted at number 30 on the international charts which is compiled from global radio play lists. Reviews have been nothing short of astonishing with Huff Post’s Randy Radic labelling it “a humdinger from the land down under”, Chris Spector from Midwest Records describing it as “killer stuff that knows all the right moves….”, and from PBS Melbourne Peter Merrett stating “wow! I think I’ve just been to heaven and back delivered a new man….”.

Producing and performing music is not the sole focus or motivation for Kings & Associates. In conjunction with their new album the band continues their relationship with global NGO World Vision. This partnership was birthed from the 2016 Red Dress album which was produced as part of World Vision’s #nochildforsale campaign to help raise awareness of childhood sex slavery, specifically in Brazil. Kings & Associates have developed a close relationship with World Vision as a partner artist, the issue of sex slavery remains a driving passion for the band and a huge influence on their artistic direction. ‘We’re not about bashing people on the head with a social message or pointing the finger’ comments Angie, ‘our time in Memphis and specifically our visit to the site of the shooting of Martin Luther King reaffirmed in us how slavery has been with us for generations and the impact it’s had on humanity is something we need to continue to address. It’s not about saying “there are the bad guys over there”, but for us it’s about saying what in my life allows the repressed of this world to remain enslaved’.

Tales Of A Rich Girl is available on cd from kingsandassociatesmusic.com and the bands’ FB page along with iTunes, Amazon and most other on line outlets.

Kings & Associates will be performing a string of shows throughout Australia to support their new album.

Breaking news…the Kings have been added to the bill of the 2018 Womadelaide festival held in Adelaide annually in March. Womadelaide features acts from all over the globe with literally 10’s of thousands of people attending this mega event.

Dennis Burns

 

 Dennis Burns has been a performing and teaching musician in Boulder, Colorado for over 30 years. In 2005 his recording A Rose On The Lake was released on the Avant-Acoustic label. He is also the founder of BOLDER Sounds, a sound design company that specializes in the production of sample libraries (otherwise known as virtual instruments).

  https://www.dennisburnsguitar.com/