The Lamont Cranston Blues Band

The Lamont Cranston Blues Band - Lamont Cranston Blues Band Featuring Pat Hayes - 1991 - Cold Wind

The Lamont Cranston Blues Band, was formed in the late ‘60s in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and is a favorite of many Twin Ports rock fans. They are rocking out the blues for over 40 years now, and are as good as ever. To commemorate the bamd's 30th anniversary, January 30, 1999 was named "Lamont Cranston Day" in St. Paul by Mayor Norm Coleman. In Minnesota and further afield, the Cranstons have become legendary. In 1996 the band made history when they opened the new House Of Blues in Chicago. Lamont Cranston is one of the important founders of the blues scene in Minneapolis, and has released many great albums. He has shared the stage with greats like Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones. The band has had numerous personnel changes over the years but the current line-up includes Pat Hayes (harp, guitar, and vocals), Ted Larsen (guitar), Jesse Petrowski (bass & upright bass), Greg Shuck (drums), and Brian Risling (saxophone). Their great song, “Upper Mississippi Shakedown,”(the name of one of the Midwest’s biggest blues jams), made the Billboard charts in the early ‘80s. "Lamont Cranston Blues Band Featuring Pat Hayes" is a great album of infectious high octane blues, full of passionate soul and energy. Just listen to Pat's harmonica playing! This is an album that really rocks. Check out the band's brilliant 1997 "Roll With Me" album. For similar music, listen to the late Big Walter Horton's "Can't Keep Lovin' You" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 I Don't Wanna Know Liban 5:20
2 Cold Winds Hayes 3:35
3 Two-Way Wishing Fulson 3:45
4 Love Grown Cold Fulson 3:00
5 You Don't Even Know Liban 2:50
6 Stop on By Liban 3:30
7 I Got Designs on You Liban 4:40
8 Whole Lotta Lovin' Davis, Josea 3:45
9 Too Young to Die Williamson 3:45
10 Fever Hayes 4:00

BAND

Pat 'Lamont' Hayes - Harmonica, Vocals.
Andy Bailey - Keyboards.
Ted "The Kid" Sherarts, aka 'Kid Morgan' - Guitars.
Charles Fletcher - Bass.
Mike DuBois - Drums.

BIO

From the rural hometown settings of Hamel, Minnesota and the river banks of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the blues influence surfaced as early as the mid 1960's for what was to become "The Lamont Cranston Blues Band". By 1969, The Lamont Cranston Blues Band was well on their way to becoming the legend that it is today. You can't seem to go anywhere today from coast to coast without running into someone that has heard of the band. They are one of the founders of the Minneapolis music scene which is flourishing more than ever to this day. From the clubs, concert halls and festivals to the auditoriums and stadiums, the Cranstons have shared the bill with Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Albert King, Albert Collins, Jimmy Rogers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Charles Brown, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Thackery, Junior Wells, Keb Mo, Jonny Lang, Robert Cray, Son Seals, Charlie Musselwhite, Sam Lay, Earl King, Mighty Joe Young, Sugar Blue, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts, Little Feat, Mick Fleetwood's Blue Whale featuring Ron Thompson, Delbert McClinton, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Kim Wilson, William Clarke, Tinsley Ellis, The Climax Blues Band, Tower Of Power, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Animals II, Kansas, Yes, Jeff Healy, Wilson Pickett, Bonnie Raitt, The Blues Brothers and many many more. One of the biggest thrills was opening for The Rolling Stones on a leg of their North American tour in 1981. Their visibility increased in the 1980's when RCA reissued the band's smash hit release "Upper Mississippi Shakedown", selling over 100,000 copies and cracking the lower reaches of the Billboard charts. Lead singer, guitarist and harmonica giant, Pat 'Lamont' Hayes has also enjoyed his own success touring with Bonnie Raitt as a member of her band on her 1990 "Nick Of Time" tour; blowing harmonica duets with Charlie Musselwhite in Minneapolis and during a 1994 Hollywood trip after Pat received an invitation from Dan Aykroyd to be a special guest performer at a private pre-grand opening bash at Dan's new 'House Of Blues' nightclub, where he performed with Charlie and his band the first night and with The Blues Brothers band the next. Pat has been hailed by Bonnie, Dan and many others as being one of the best harmonica players around. Dan even called on the boys to play the grand opening of his new Chicago House Of Blues in November 1996, Cleveland in 2004 and Atlantic City in 2005. The Cranston hit 'Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri' (written by Pat's brother Larry Hayes) was recorded by The Blues Brothers on the flipside of their 1979 hit "Soul Man", as well as on the soundtrack of the Tom Davis-Al Franken movie "One More Saturday Night", along with their biggest hit "Upper Mississippi Shakedown". Ted Larsen's (Jonny Lang, The Big Bang) scorching guitar style, melodic at times, will always leave you breathless. Newcomer Brian Risling on saxophone will rip it up every time. Add the solid bottom of bass player Jesse Petrowski and Greg Shuck (Mojo Buford, Percy Strother) on drums, and you have a combination that is unmatched. © http://lamontcranston.com/index.html



MORE ABOUT THE BAND

At the controls, Pat "Lamont" Hayes has led the legendary band since the late 60's through many personnel changes, 13 albums and many show stopping experiences. Besides leading the Cranstons through the years of popularity that they've enjoyed, Hayes also has solo ventures to his credit, touring with Bonnie Raitt as a member of her band on her 1990 "Nick Of Time" tour, blowing harmonica duets with Charlie Musselwhite in Minneapolis and during a 1994 Hollywood trip after receiving a special invitation from Dan Aykroyd to be a special guest performer at a private party pre-grand opening bash at Dan's new 'House Of Blues' nightclub, where he performed with Charlie and his band the first night and with The Blues Brothers band the next night. Pat has been hailed by Bonnie, Dan and many others as being one of the best harmonica players around. The Cranston hit 'Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri' (written by Pat's brother Larry) was recorded by The Blues Brothers on the flipside of their 1979 hit "Soul Man". It was also used on the soundtrack of the Al Franken-Tom Davis movie "One More Saturday Night", along with their biggest hit "Upper Mississippi Shakedown". Larsen, who just hopped on board on May 1, 1998, has a quite a history on the local scene already since moving to Minneapolis from Fargo in 1995 as part of 'Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang'. Ted also continued playing through 3 more re-incarnations of The Big Bang until recently. He has played on the original Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang release; "Smokin'", on Jonny's platinum 1997 release "Lie To Me" and can be found on the 1997 Cranston release "Roll With Me". Carvale has only been on the local music scene for around 6 years, in which he has played with Muggsy Lawson, Shake Oliver and Midnight Tea. Originally from Trenton, New Jersey, where he played with the band Alchemy, Michael started playing guitar before switching to bass about 5 years ago. He is a 1995 graduate of Music Tech and has worked on about 8 studio projects including laying down tracks on the new Lamont Cranston album. Not bad for one of the newest Cranston member (since January '97). Peterson, who joined the band in January 1999, took to the keyboards about 5 years ago. Some of his main influences include Lucky Peterson, Ron Levy, John Mayall, Otis Spann and Gregg Allman. Dale also credits ex-Cranston Andy Bailey as a major inspiration. Dale has played with many local bands including Under Suspicion, Reneé Austin, Liberty Street and Big Walter Smith. He has recorded with Under Suspicion on their release "Guilty" and on the latest release by Paul Holland and Supa Fuzz. Shuck, who has 25 plus years of experience, has played with a virtual "Who's Who" of Twin Cities blues acts including Mojo Buford, Percy Strother, The Butanes, Lynwood Slim, Lazy Bill Lucas, Sonny Rogers, Joe T. Cook and R.J. Mischo. Greg joined the band in January 2004, after filling in on a few gigs here and there over the years. Greenwell, who also plays with The Butanes, has himself been a member of the Cranston band on and off for years since the early 1980's. Jim is also an annual performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as a member of Earl King's backup band. His tasty style can be heard on many local recordings. HISTORY/ From the clubs, concert halls and festivals to the auditoriums and stadiums, the Cranstons have shared the stage with Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Albery King, Albert Collins, Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Musselwhite, Delbert McClinton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Koko Taylor, Jonny Lang, Bonnie Raitt, The Blues Brothers and many many more. One of the biggest thrills was opening for The Rolling Stones on a leg of their North American tour in 1981, winding up on the final show in their hometown of Minneapolis. This legendary band has been at the receiving end of many Minnesota Music Awards for both band and individual achievements. The band, along with performing many traditional blues standards penned by Waters, Willie Dixon, Lowell Fulson and others, has displayed tremendous song writing talent by Pat and his brother Larry over the years. The original "Upper Mississippi Shakedown", was a radio hit in the 1980's and appearedon the soundtrack of the Tom Davis-Al Franken movie "One More Saturday Night". One of Larry's songs; "Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri", was recorded by The Blues Brothers on the flip side of their 1979 hit single "Soul Man", as well as being included on the Davis-Franken soundtrack. In 1993, ERA Records released a compilation of the past Cranston's recordings in a collection titled; "Upper Mississippi Shakedown - The Best Of The Lamont Cranston Band". December 1994 brought another 'Best Of.....' compilation consisting of material from the first two albums along with 5 previously unreleased songs. It is titled; "Rock-Awhile - The Early Years, 1975 - 1978". ".... a great collection of covers and originals and the kind of full-throated sound you get from a large band with horns and an upfront singer/harpman leading this aggregation." - Phil Lloyd, American Harmonica Magazine, Chicago ".... a remarkably fresh and enjoyable R & B outfit...... a strong, understated ensemble performance, and one which certainly repays repeated listening." - Paul Lewis, Blues & Rhythm Magazine, Great Britain In September 1996, Atomic Theory reissued 1991's 'The Lamont Cranston Blues Band featuring Pat Hayes' with worldwide distribution through Rounder Records. "The sound is nonstop blues in the key of boogie, a virtual heat wave of jump from the upper Midwest." - James Reindl, The Associated Press "An energetic and infectious set of blues/rock." - PJK, Living Blues Magazine Now, FINALLY, their first studio recording of new material in 7 years hit the streets worldwide on September 9, 1997. It's called "Roll With Me". With all new songs written and produced by Pat Hayes, the CD is already receiving rave reviews. Many special guest stars that include Bruce McCabe (former Cranston, former Hoopsnake, now with Jonny Lang); Texas sax great Johnny Reno (who you may have seen with Chris Isaak); Ted "Lightning Boy" Larsen of The Big Bang; Dave "Biscuit" Miller of The Lonnie Brooks Band and hot blues newcomer Reneé Austin. "This CD is quite a number. Thumbs up, four stars, next to perfect, a good buy, an even better gift. I'm hooked, hog-tied and collared." - Mark A. Cole, Detroit Big City Blues, September 1997 "This is definitely a fun album and one of the better releases of 1997." - Ray Stiles, Twin Cities Blues News, September 1997 These two reviews along with the CD liner note quotes from both Bonnie Raitt and Dan Aykroyd (which you probably read on the homepage) lead everyone to believe that this is the best Cranston release to date. **The band recently made history when they were the 1st band to play the 1st note to the 1st paying crowd on grand opening night of the new Chicago House Of Blues for pal Dan Aykroyd in November 1996. THE SHOW/ The band's show consists of many blues standards including; Elmore James' "Talk To Me Baby" and "Stranger Blues", Fulson's "Two-Way Wishin'", T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues", as well as many tasteful selections from Cranston's prior CD of new works; "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Stop On By" by Jim Liban along with Pat Hayes' "Cold WInds" and "Fever". They also throw in some of their old hits for their loyal fans that really spotlight the band's writing talents; a tremendously moving version of Pat's "E Jam" and the always requested "Upper Mississippi Shakedown". Then, there is the popular, always requested Hayes brothers collaboration on "Streets Around Here". The highlight of the show features new writings by Pat which include "Hold On", "Play The Blues", "Don't Take Me Down Again" and "What A Party", which is destined to be the Cranston's next radio hit. Pat Hayes seems to be able to cover any harmonica style with ease, and when he puts the harmonica down, he cuts loose with his explosive guitar style. Larry Hayes' guitar work is some of the most tasteful you will ever hear. Add the powerful rhythm section of Carvale and Novak to the sax attack of Greenwell and you have a band that rocks the house wherever they go. "I saw these cats a few months ago in New Ulm, Minnesota at the Minnesota Blues Festival and they were great. Count on these guys to tear it up everytime they go out." © Tom Radai, Wisconsin Blues Society.