Andy J. Forest Band

Andy J. Forest Band - GrooveRockBluesFunk'N'Roll - Live - 1989 - Appaloosa

The Andy J. Forest Band has recorded many albums, and opened for artists like B. B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins, Canned Heat, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Otis Grand, Duke Robillard and Johnny Winter. Guest artists on Andy J Forest's CDs include Marva Wright, John Mooney, and the late Willy DeVille. "GrooveRockBluesFunk'N'Roll" is a good bluesy, jazzy album with many blues jazz influences. If you like Dr. John, Rod Piazza, and the late Willy DeVille's music, you may find this obscure album of interest. The album was recorded live on 9th, 10th, & 11th March, 1989 at Il Posto, Verona, Italy. The album is live, real as played with no overdubbing. Track 10 was released on the CD as an incomplete take. Try and listen to Andy J. Forest's "Blue Orleans" album.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Whole Stole My Monkey? - Richard, Medica, Lege
2. Rollin' Up - Forest, Zonca
3. Baby I'm Alone - Forest, Grandi
4. I'm Not Free - Forest
5. Long Ago - Forest
6. Lazy - Forrest, Zonca
7. Halleluja - Charles
8. Gotta Get Out - Forest, Zonca
9. PG's Thing/Rock With Me - Guarnera (PG's Thing), Piazza (Rock With Me)
10. My Baby's Crazy [Incomplete Take] - Forest, Kappa

BAND

Andy J. Forest - Lead Vocals, Harmonica, Percussion and Slide Guitar on Track 4
Roby Zonca - Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Lead Vocals on Track 7, Acoustic Guitar on Track 3
Vince Valley - Drums, Vocals, Percussion
Joe Guarnera - Keyboards, Sampled Upright Bass on Track 7

BIO

The first harmonica lessons came from hearing live performances by SonnyTerry, Walter Horton, Charlie Musselwhite, and Rod Piazza in the Los Angeles area as a teenager. The legendary George "Harmonica" Smith gave the young man pointers in the parking lot of the Ash Grove in Hollywood. But he really started playing in New Orleans in the early 70's, jamming with James Booker, Earl King, John Mooney, Antoine Dominoe, Billy Gregory (of Professor Longhair's band) and other local musicians who went on to form the Radiators and the Subdudes. He began his professional career at age 22 demonstrating a unique and personal style from the beginning. Forest recorded the first of 15 (and counting) LP's and CD's in 1979 at age 24. Live performances, mostly in festivals gave him the opportunity to open up for B. B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins, Canned Heat, Magic Slim, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy & Jr. Wells, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, J. Geils & Magic Dick, Terrance Simieon, Otis Grand, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Johnny Copeland, Roy Rogers, John Hammond, Melvin Taylor, Duke Robillard and Johnny Winter. On some of these occasions Andy was invited to play with his heroes. In 1989 B. B. King let him play with him during a jam session with Bobby "Blue" Bland, Joan Baez (!) and Luther Allison at the Montreux Jazz Festival. That same summer B. B. invited Forest to join him in a jam with Jeff Healy on stage at the Pistoia Blues Festival in Italy. Champion Jack Dupree asked Andy and his band to back him up for an entire set. He also played a set with the Otis Rush Band which was televised on national Italian TV (RAI). Other illustrious artists to have had Andy J. up to jam with them include; Taj Mahal, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Matt Murphy, James Cotton, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Jimmy Johnson, Sugar Blue, Willy DeVille, Louis Meyers, Johnny Heartsman, Bernard Allison, The Memphis Horns, Johnny Shines and John "Juke" Logan. Andy's first appearance on the national award winning program "Louisiana Juke Box" on Cox cable TV was put on the "Best Of" compilation program which was aired repeatedly in 1997. Two concerts were aired on Swiss National Television in 1994 & 1996 from Lugano's Blues to Bop festival. Several Canadian television shows have been host to appearances by the Andy J Forest Band. Also BBC's "Jazz me Blue" with Paul Jones. A documentary directed by Ray Roth, entitled "I Got The Blues" shot at the Sherbrooke Blues Festival featuring an interview and performances was aired in Canada in 1997. The Italian RAI TV network has featured Andy on scores of programs including "D.O.C.", "Jeans", "Roxy Bar", MTV, "Pickwick", San Remo Blues Festival, and Ravenna Blues Festival with B B King, Charles Brown and A Tribute to Muddy Waters. A Prolific song writer, Forest has penned over 100 tunes, mostly blues and New Orleans style. Blues Revue called his "wordplay Berryesque" and rated the CD "Bluesness as Usual" an "UN-usually strong album". Of the book Letter from hell "Sounds and reads like good blues to me" - "agile imagination". Off Beat magazine columnist John Swenson recently wrote of a live performance "..causing such mayhem that Forest pushes the party limits until he's body surfing across the dance floor on his frattoir". In a review of Forest's CD "Blue Orleans" stated "The songs present an uncompromising look at the life of a traveling musician... Also Forest proves his versatility by tackling themes like insanity and growing old. His understated delivery has a poignancy which comes from the heart". "One of the best harp players in New Orleans" Michael Cote of Blues Revue wrote of Sunday Rhumba: "...eclectic sesibility" - "featuring fine harp and barbed lyrics.." "...the best example of Forest's storytelling, a sample of the hard-edged writing found in his novel Letter From Hell." Gambit Weekly in New Orleans hailed Forest as "One of the scene's more experienced and vital practitioners". Christina Dittenger called Andy's songs "bluesy musings on everyday occurances from the frustration of losing one shoe to the state of mankind". OBScene, Ottawa's blues periodical printed, "Andy performs harp magic...every number was truly entertaining... his original tune "Motel Blue Orleans" is the epitome of the blues". Living Blues gave him a "solid harp player" vote and of his songwriting reported, "...from soulful instrumentals to raunchy (lyrics).." Blues Access "a fine series of intriguing albums...original compositions, lusty singing and virtuouso harp". "...hot harmonica" "... distinctly out of the ordinary". Guest artists on Andy J Forest's CDs include Marva Wright, Eddie Bo, John Mooney, Lil' Queenie, Mason Ruffner, Willy DeVille, Davell Crawford, Bruce Daigrepont, Anders Osborne, Tommy Malone, George Porter Jr., Herman Ernest III, Lenny McDaniel, Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, John Magnie (of the Subdudes), Dave Malone (of the Radiators), Jerry Jumonville, and Johnny Vidacovich. He has played at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival a half dozen times since1983, King Biscuit Festival, Trois Rivieres and the Ottawa Blues Festival several times, The Montreux Jazz Festival in 1989, Cognac Blues Passions, Antwerpe Parkblues Festival, Amsterdam Blues Festival, Tamines, Beermem Blues Festival, More Blues Festival, Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival, Lokerse Feesten, Pistoia, San Remo, Nantes-Rendezvous dans l'Erdre, Lugano Blues to Bop '94, '96 & 2000, Sherbrooke Blues Festival, Windsor International Festival, Montremblant and many others in France, Italy and Canada. After being nominated in two categories for the William Faulkner Society Awards for a short story and a poem, Andy has written a novel "Letter From Hell" about a blues band from New Orleans that goes to Hell. With this novel, Forest was short listed for the Pirates Alley Faulkner House awards 1998. The book was first released in February 1999 in English and Italian on Pendragon and the prestigious Gallimard Editions is publishing "Letter From Hell" in French in March of 2002. Off Beat Magazine listed two of Andy's recordings among the "best" Louisiana CDs of 1999. After the popular and critcle success of "Sunday Rhumba" Andy called on Anders Osborne once again to produce his new CD "Deep Down Under (in the Bywater)" recorded for Appaloosa Records. Anders also co-wrote several tunes. He sang some backup vocals, played guitar on a couple of songs, bass on another and even drums on one track. So this was a very hands on production. This "live" in the studio recording goes back to an older sound but the slant of the songs, stylistically and lyrically branch out to fresh territory. "...the dominant voices are those of Forest's various harmonicas which he deploys with high-flying dexterity" said Keith Spera; music writer for The Time Picayune. © @ 2009 Slang Music s.r.l - All rights Reserved