Luther Grosvenor

Luther Grosvenor - Floodgates - 1996 - Ruf

English guitarist Luther Grosvenor was one of the most inventive guitarists of his generation. Regarded as one of the clutch of flashy young axe-slingers who emerged at the end of the 1960s and early 1970's and turned rock music on its head. Luther played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and under the pseudonym "Ariel Bender", in Mott the Hoople. With artists like Brian May, Mick Ronson, and Paul Kossoff, Luther Grosvenor rewrote the guitar players' rule book, simply by remembering that there is more to playing guitar than technique. You have to have some fun as well.

Released in August 1996, the album features the same musicians who worked with Luther on the Peter Green album: Steve Dolan (ex- Hard Meat) on bass, Dave Moore on keyboards, and Mike Kellie on drums. Luther handles all the guitar and lead vocal chores, with the exception of two covers sung by Jess Roden. Five of the nine tracks were written by Luther and his Blues `92 bandmate John Ledsom. Luther said that "'Floodgates’, ‘Evesham Boy’, ‘Ninsky Prospect’, all those songs were put together for the album. John and I got together and knocked out these songs, and I took them to the studio. John’s not a studio player at all, he plays a bit of guitar and a little bit of bass, but he’s not a studio man. He’s hardly played onstage in his life. John did well, we wrote some good things together. Everything that you hear on there is one or two takes. When we actually played ‘Floodgates’ back … that guitar that you hear is just the rough one. We decided to keep that, because it had everything the guy wanted. It had great feel, and the notes were good, so we left it. I think the album is great, and we recorded the whole lot in like ten days. There were no illusions of putting that album out and having it do big business. What it did for me, it was a platform, as bit of a stepping stone for another one. But if I never make another album again, I made a fucking great album and it makes me quite happy". © http://www.justabuzz.com/lg-0-bio.shtml

A bit rough around the edges, but this album was recorded in ten days, and the songs were recorded in one or two takes. Sound lacks clarity at times, but not enough to spoil your enjoyment. If you like Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter, you will find plenty of influences here. Luther is a very underrated guitarist and songwriter, and this is a very overlooked album. The brilliant Jess Roden sings lead vocals on two tracks. Check out Luther's "Under Open Skies" 1971 album, Spooky Tooth's "Spooky Two" album, Mott the Hoople's "The Hoople" album, and "Rattlesnake Guitar: The Music of Peter Green" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 100 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1.Evesham Boy (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)
2.Best Years Of My Life (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)
3.Floodgates (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)
4.Fullness Of Time (Mike Kellie)
5.I Wanna Be Free (Joe Tex)
6.Ninsky Prospect (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)
7.Loneliest Man In Town (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)
8.Fire Down Below (Bob Seger)
9.Cathy (Dave Moore)
10.Floodgates (Acoustic) [Hidden Track] (Luther Grosvenor/John Ledsom)

MUSICIANS

Luther Grosvenor - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals
Mike Dolan - Rhythm Guitar
Steve Dolan - Bass
Dave Moore - Hammond Organ, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Kurzweil Synthesizer, Clavinet
Mike Kellie - Drums, Percussion, Shaker, Wood Block, Voices, Background Vocals
Jess Roden - Lead Vocals on Tracks 5, & 8
Jim Capaldi - Background Vocals on Track 4

DETAILED INFO

Born on 21 December 1946, Luther Grosvenor grew up in Evesham in the same estate as Traffic's Jim Capaldi. His first prominent engagement came with a band called Deep Feeling, which included Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, Dave Meredith, and John Palmer. Previously, Luther had been in an Evesham band called Wavelength. Deep Feeling evolved from a Worcester band called the Hellions, which featured Dave Mason on guitar. The band also recorded briefly as The Revolution in 1966, before packing it in. Many reference books list Luther as a member of both The Hellions and The Revolution, but although he was good friends with them, he was not in either of those bands. [Luther] "The Hellions were a Worcester band. A lot of people get confused with that one, but their guitar player was Dave Mason. I was not in that band, although I knew them very well and I used to go and watch them rehearse. The band that I was in before Deep Feeling was a band called The Wavelength, with all of the Evesham guys where I grew up. Then I got promoted to Deep Feeling with Jim Capaldi. Jim and I grew up together, he lived just around the corner and we knew each other’s families". When Steve Winwood formed Traffic with Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason in 1967, there was no room for Grosvenor in the band. Winwood gave Luther a tip that the Carlistle-based VIPs were looking for a guitarist, and so he joined up with them. The VIPs already had four singles under their belt, the last two being recorded for Island Records under the watchful eye of Guy Stevens. At the time Luther joined, the band included a young Keith Emerson along with Mike Harrison, Greg Ridley, and Mike Kellie. Emerson soon left, and the band changed their name to Art and released the Supernatural Fairy Tales LP (UK Island ILPS 967) in 1967. The band also backed other artists, most notably for the Hapsash and The Coloured Coat featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids LP (UK Minit MLS 40001E) in 1968. [Luther] "Apart from being a great guy, he was a great motivator. If you had an eight hour session, he was excited from the first minute to the last minute. Guy was very creative, and did a lot for us. He did a lot for Mott The Hoople, and Traffic, and lots and lots of other people. But he also had a very dark side as well, a very down side. If he came into a session on a downer … a very strange man, Guy". With the addition of Gary Wright, Art changed their name to Spooky Tooth. The band cut four albums for Island, starting with 1968's It's All About (UK Island ILPS 9080). Their second album Spooky Two is acknowledged as their best work, and the group garnered critical praise but only moderate commercial success. An indication of the group's reputation among ytheir peers came in 1969, when Luther was on the list as a potential replacement for Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones. The group broke up after the 1970 album The Last Puff (UK Island ILPS 9117). After Spooky Tooth packed it in, Luther took Chris Blackwell up on an offer to record a solo album. Luther and his wife Githa spent three months at Blackwell's villa in Spain, working on material with encouragement from his neighbor, film star Hugh Milias. The result was Under Open Skies (UK Island ILPS 9169), released in October 1971. Neither the album nor the single, Here Comes The Queen, made a dent on the charts. Plans to tour in support of Under Open Skies never materialized, nor did the reported followup album to be recorded with help from Jim Capaldi. [Luther] "Chris Blackwell had just gotten a villa in Spain. He said, “Look, why don’t you go away for a couple of months and write an album?” So I went down to Spain. We were partying and not really writing songs, so basically we just got the skeleton of it together down there, and came back and finished it off in London. When I made that album, it was never meant to be a guitar player’s showpiece. It was just a little album of songs. It’s a pleasant record - nothing to scream about, but a pleasant album. Some of the songs are quite pretty even today when I listen to it, which is probably twice a year. It was my first solo effort, and I’m very proud of that record". In late 1972 Mike Harrison and Gary Wright decided to reform Spooky Tooth, building a new group using musicians from their recent solo efforts. Luther was not the least bit interested in joining them. Instead, he replaced Gerry Rafferty in Stealer's Wheel in early 1973, joining Joe Egan, Paul Pilnick, De Lisle Harper, and Rod Coombes. They toured for the first six months of 1973 in support of the band's debut album, which had already been recorded and released before Luther joined. Although most of Luther's time with Stealer's Wheel was spent on the road, he did make it into the studio to record a single called Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine (UK A+M AMS 7079), which also appeared in the USA and Holland. [Luther] "I was in limbo, and they asked me to join the band. Rafferty came back in while I was there, which was a little bit odd because I had actually taken his place. It was a strange band, Stealer’s Wheel. Rafferty was a great songwriter, but the band didn’t have the sound and performance that he would have projected with his own band. There were five pieces that never really fit together. I think for that simple reason alone it was never going to work. There was nothing wrong with people’s playing or anything like that, it was just the wrong lineup. It came to a very quick halt, but looking back, I’m glad that I did that". Immediately after Stealer's Wheel broke up in July 1973, Luther took a phone call in Hampstead from Ian Hunter, asking him to join Mott The Hoople. With only a few days rehearsal, he found himself onstage as Ariel Bender for the second half of Mott's USA tour. The band returned to the UK in early November for a tour supported by Queen, capped by a pair of shows at the Hammersmith Odeon which were put to tape in anticipation of a live album. January 1974 saw Mott The Hoople enter Advision Studios to record The Hoople. One of the first chores for Luther was to re-record Mick Ralph's guitar on Roll Away The Stone. After a short warm up tour of the UK in late March, Mott The Hoople returned to the States for two more months of dates. The high point for the band came in early May, as they became the first rock band to sell out a week of shows on Broadway. These shows at the Uris Theater were also recorded for the upcoming live album. [Luther] "There were some great nights there. Mott The Hoople at the Uris, it was fucking amazing. I’m not saying for a minute that we played amazing every night, it didn’t happen like that. But looking back, it was wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Great times. I’m in and out of the Live album. When I listen to the performances, not just my own, I think it wasn’t one of the better nights that could have been recorded. I think some of the songs were a little bit overweight, but it was live and that’s what you get". Although the US tour was a crowning achievement for the band, by fall 1974 it was clear that Luther was not cut out for the Mott The Hoople role. Although press reports indicate that Bender quit Mott, it was more of a polite sacking. Mick Ronson was brought in to play out the final month of live dates, before the band called it quits for good. After he parted company with Mott The Hoople, Luther was reported to be working on a solo album with Pete Gage and Steve York from Vinegar Joe. Once again, the plans for a second solo album did not pan out. He then spent a month as guitarist for a newly-formed band called Motorhead. [Lemmy Kilminster] 'The original line up stunk! It was really fucking terrible. It was five piece band. I wanted to form the MC5 of Britain. We had a bad drummer - Lucas Fox - and Larry Wallis. Me and Larry seemed to rub up against each other and I don't mean that sexually. Another guitar player, Luther Grosvenor, was in the band for a month - his stage name was Aerial Bender, great guitar player. We were going to get a singer and that never happened, so I got stuck with the singing. That line up fell apart and then it took off as a trio.' In mid-1975, Luther got together with his friend Paul Nicholls and bankrolled the formation of Widowmaker. In addition to Nicholls, the band featured Bob Daisley, Hugh Lloyd-Langton, and reluctant singer Steve Ellis. The band's debut LP, Widowmaker (UK Jet LP 15), was released in April 1976 . After touring the UK and the USA in support of the debut album, Ellis left the band and was replaced by John Butler. The followup LP, Too Late To Cry (UK Jet UAG 30038), was to be the band's last. [Luther] "I formed Widowmaker with my own money. The first recruit was Paul Nicholls, who was a friend of mine who played with Lindisfarne. Then we got Bob Daisley from Chicken Shack. Roger Chapman, who used to sing with Family, said “Look, I’ve a friend of mine, great singer. I don’t really know whether he’s interested, but give him a bell.” So I went ‘round to see Steve Ellis, and he wasn’t interested at all. He’s just packed in his band called Ellis and he didn’t want to do anything for a while. But I kept on and on, and eventually we coaxed him round to come down and have a sing and a play. And he joined, and we got Huw Lloyd Langton on guitar as well. We were thinking about a keyboard player. We thought about having some keyboards to give it a little color. But we went for the other guitar, which was a lot better as far as I was concerned. I think Steve canned the idea of a keyboard player". Luther kept a low profile for the next decade, preferring to build his own decorating business rather than risk the uncertainty of the music industry. Although he did record a few sides with Verden Allen in 1978, it wasn't until the early 1990s that Luther returned to the music scene in a band called Blues `92. The band featured Luther on guitar, John Ledsom on bass, Darren Horn on drums, and Pete Devoy on vocals. Boues '92 gigged briefly in and around Liverpool, and headlined the Wirral International Guitar Festival in November 1992. Although Blues '92 didn't last very long, the project did prove that Luther still had his edge. [Luther] "Blues `92 obviously happened in `92, it seems like a hundred years ago now! John Ledsom and I were friends. John lives on the Wirral which is just outside of Liverpool, and I used to go up there to do some decorating for him. He had a little studio, a good little studio, and we found ourselves not doing any decorating but doing a lot of jamming. The jamming got so good that we got this drummer called Darren, a guy who fitted glass windows for a living but he was a fucking great drummer. And we thought, we’d put a little band together for fun. Keep it amateur, because we were all working. I think we did six gigs around the Wirral and Liverpool and we packed ‘em out, man, it was brilliant. We played just outside Liverpool at a place called Brighton Beach, at a big convention that they have around Liverpool. There were some big acts on there, and it went on for a whole week. They squeezed us on for one of the nights, and we got the biggest draw of the whole week! We filled the place out, it was fucking amazing. I was living in London, and that was happening on the Wirral, and for some strange reason it just disappeared. It was just a passing phase, the Blues `92 thing. It was a good little patch, very relaxing. That sort of brought me back. I wasn’t even playing before Blues `92". In 1995, Luther got together with Mike Kellie and Jess Roden to record a couple tracks for Rattlesnake Guitar, a Peter Green tribute CD. He was approached for the project by record executive Bob Laul, who offered Luther a chance to finally record that elusive second solo album. [Luther] "In 1995 Bob Laul phoned me up out of the blue to ask if I was interested in playing on the Peter Green album. I wasn’t sure. I had a guitar, I was playing, but I hadn’t been in the studio for a lot of years. I wasn’t quite sure whether I could get it all together, because I’ve been away for such a long time. I came in at the back end of the album, and everybody else had chosen the better songs. We had very short time in the studio, we only had half a day to put the two songs together. That slow blues is not brilliant, but it has good feel. It’s not too bad. As far as I was concerned, it was great, because I was a long time away. So anyway we did that, that came out, and Bob Laul said “Look, why don’t you do your own CD?” I thought, “Do I want to do it? Do I want to get back, do I want to get the songs together, do I want to get the musicians together?” Because it’s not easy". Luther took Bob Laul up on his offer, and only ten days in Steve Winwood's studio were needed to create Floodgates (Brilliant RBCD 1007-2). Released in August 1996, the album features the same musicians who worked with Luther on the Peter Green album: Steve Dolan (ex- Hard Meat) on bass, Dave Moore on keyboards, and Mike Kellie on drums. Luther handles all the guitar and lead vocal chores, with the exception of two covers sung by Jess Roden. Five of the nine tracks were written by Luther and his Blues `92 bandmate John Ledsom. [Luther] "'Floodgates’, ‘Evesham Boy’, ‘Ninsky Prospect’, all those songs were put together for the album. John and I got together and knocked out these songs, and I took them to the studio. John’s not a studio player at all, he plays a bit of guitar and a little bit of bass, but he’s not a studio man. He’s hardly played onstage in his life. John did well, we wrote some good things together. Everything that you hear on there is one or two takes. When we actually played ‘Floodgates’ back … that guitar that you hear is just the rough one. We decided to keep that, because it had everything the guy wanted. It had great feel, and the notes were good, so we left it. I think the album is great, and we recorded the whole lot in like ten days. There were no illusions of putting that album out and having it do big business. What it did for me, it was a platform, as bit of a stepping stone for another one. But if I never make another album again, I made a fucking great album and it makes me quite happy". Plans for a Spooky Tooth reunion album were initiated in 1997. Luther Grosvenor, Mike Harrison , Greg Ridley, and Mike Kellie went into FFG Studios in Gloucester in July, and three tracks were finished: Mike Kellie's How, the group composition Kiss It Better, and Sunshine (written by Karl Wallinger of World Party). Additional sessions were planned for October 1997, but the physical distance between the group members made rehearsals difficult and the plans fell apart. With no new material in sight, plans were laid for an album called Sunshine, which would combine the new studio tracks with a 1968 BBC live concert and an unreleased Deep Feeling track. A mid-1998 release was planned. But when the Ruf organization heard the new material, they asked asked the band to record more material, and agreed to shoulder the cost of bringing the band to Adapoe Sound in Weimar, Germany. Grosvenor, Harrison, Ridley, and Kellie spent September 12-20, 1998 recording seven new tracks for the album. The disc album finally surfaced in February 1999 as Cross Purpose, released in both the USA and Europe. On 17 April 1999, Luther made an appearance at the first annual Mott The Hoople Convention in Bilston (UK), still looking every inch the Rock Star. He signed autographs for fans, and that evening he joined Ian Hunter onstage for an over-the-top performance of Walkin' With A Mountain. In the summer of 2000, plans were laid for a third Luther Grosvenor solo album, to be called If You Dare. Demos were recorded, and musicians were lined up including Huw Lloyd Langton (guitar), Steve Dolan (bass), Max Middleton (piano), and Simon Cooper (drums). Unfortunately, the project was shelved at the last minute When Luther decided to hang up his guitar. Luther made a few guest appearances over the next few years, playing at a benefit for Steve Dolan's family in Sep 2000, and sitting in with The Raiders and Darrell Bath. In late 2004, it was reported that Luther was putting together a new Ariel Bender Band, settling on a lineup of Luther Grosvenor (guitar and vocals), Mark Eden (vocals), Jim Houghton (bass), Mick Kirton (drums), Mick Trigg (keyboards), and Gary Oswell (guitar). Luther and Mark Eden made an appearance at the Greg Ridley Memorial on 20 Nov 2004. © http://www.justabuzz.com/lg-0-bio.shtml

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He was one of the most inventive guitarists of his generation, one of the clutch of flashy young axe-slingers who emerged at the tail end of the 1960s, and turned everything on its head. Up alongside Brian May, Mick Ronson, and Paul Kossoff, Luther Grosvenor rewrote the guitar players' rule book, simply by remembering that technique isn't everything; you have to have some fun as well. Grosvenor grew up in the English town of Evesham, where he and the young Jim Capaldi formed their first bands together, before traveling down to London together, where their band Deep Feeling attracted the attention of producer Giorgio Gomelsky. It was separately, however, that the pair established their names, Capaldi as a founding member of Traffic, Grosvenor aboard Spooky Tooth, one of the most influential British rock bands of the late '60s/early '70s. Releasing four albums, including the million-selling Spooky Two, the band toured extensively both in the U.S. and Europe, building a loyal fan base which even included the Rolling Stones -- who contacted Grosvenor as a possible replacement for Brian Jones in 1969. He turned them down. Grosvenor quit Spooky Tooth in 1972, and released his first solo album, Under Open Skies, before deciding that the solo life was not for him. A brief spell alongside Gerry Rafferty in Stealers Wheel was followed by an invitation to join the band which was, essentially, the decade's answer to the original Rolling Stones, Mott the Hoople. And this time, there was no hesitation. He even changed his name for the occasion, to Ariel Bender. Ariel Bender was the ultimate rock guitarist. In an age when even the most pedestrian guitarist was tarting up beneath barrels of makeup and finery, Bender went completely over the top, visually and aurally. His name was gifted to him by singer Lynsey de Paul, a friend who shared his vision of the world's most Over the Top guitar player, and it fit like a glove. Except he didn't simply bend ariels. He could break them with a single chord. In the studio, Bender transformed Mott, firing them through one more studio set, 1974's The Hoople, a storming live album, and a clutch of immortal hit singles. But it was on-stage that Bender made the greatest impression, with his mane of hair flying, literally battling Ian Hunter for the center stage spotlight, and peeling off riffs as raucous as they were riotous. Posthumous exhumations from the band's live archive have heightened awareness of Bender's brilliance even further -- the 30th anniversary edition of Live, swollen from one short LP to two stuffed CDs, includes some of his most ferocious playing ever. Grosvenor left Mott in 1974 (to be replaced by Mick Ronson), and immediately formed Widowmaker, a hard rock band that plunged straight into the spotlight when they were invited to open for the Who's latest U.K. tour. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got. Although Widowmaker made what Grosvenor still remembers as "two great albums," by 1979, bored with the bullsh*t, he didn't simply quit the group. He walked out on the music industry altogether. The idol of millions became a legend instead, and would remain one for the next 17 years. It was early 1996 before he was tempted back into the studio, by the opportunity to record two tracks, "Crying Won't Bring You Back" and "Merry Go Round," for the Rattlesnake Guitar tribute to Peter Green. Aided by old friends Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Jess Roden, and former Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie, the Ariel Bender Band became the impetus for Grosvenor to finally record some of the songs he had written during his years away, for release as 1996's Floodgates album. Sadly, poor promotion and distribution saw the album sink, and it would be another five years before an expanded reissue (on the U.K. Angel Air label) finally resuscitated it, via a bonus-stacked edition that also included the two Rattlesnake Guitar songs, three songs recorded at a 1997 Spooky Tooth reunion, and an unreleased 1966 recording of Deep Feeling, from the Gomelsky sessions. Grosvenor himself, meanwhile, did not completely vanish; he continued to play live and even made the occasional visit to the studio, to cut a song or two for some new project, including a tremendous recasting of "Roll Away the Stone" for the 2005 Mott the Hoople Family Anthology. © Dave Thompson ©2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/luther-grosvenor-mn0000805591

BIO (WIKI)

Luther James Grosvenor (born 23 December 1946 in Evesham, Worcestershire) is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym "Ariel Bender", in Mott the Hoople and Widowmaker. Luther first began playing in local bands in his hometown of Evesham. He met Jim Capaldi, who later played with Traffic, with whom he formed a group called Deep Feelin. Later he joined a group called The V.I.P.'s, in which Keith Emerson played for some time. The V.I.P.'s were renamed Art and later became Spooky Tooth. The years with Spooky Tooth (1967 to 1970), Stealers Wheel (1973) and Mott the Hoople (1973 to 1974) were the most successful years in his musical career. After leaving Mott the Hoople, Luther published a few solo albums, and formed Widowmaker, releasing Widowmaker in 1976 and Too Late to Cry in 1977. In the 1990s, Luther Grosvenor returned in a Spooky Tooth reunion. In 2005, he revived his pseudonym, forming the Ariel Bender Band. In 2007 and 2008 he performed under the name Ariel Bender's Mott The Hoople performing Spooky Tooth and Mott The Hoople songs, as well as cover songs. In 2009, he worked with London act, The Winter Olympics, recording guitar parts for their song, 'The Great Outdoors'. This was released in August 2010.

Rob Blaine's Big Otis Blues

Rob Blaine's Big Otis Blues - Rob Blaine's Big Otis Blues - 2010 - Swississippi Records

"The liner notes are on-target when they say Rob Blaine yanks big chunks of music from his guitar"-Vintage Guitar

"With his tenacious grooves, commanding guitar presence, and soulful personality, Rob Blaine leaves a mark on the contemporary blues scene."- Living Blues Magazine

"When I say that Rob Blaine is a Guitar God, I mean that with two capital “G’s.” Not only is this a fantastic blues album, it’s just one of the best damn guitar albums I’ve heard all year. Period."- The Ripple Effect

"But, if you want to hear some no holds barred, down and dirty Chicago style blues, you gotta see this band play, or at the very least pick up a copy of his latest CD. Rob Blaine slices and dices on the guitar and adds great vocals to boot." -The Weekly Musician

A great album from the Chicago born guitarist Rob Blaine. This guy is an exceptionally talented guitarist with a great band behind him. Rob is obviously influenced by greats like Albert Collins, Otis Rush, and Buddy Guy but he can play some licks that none of those guys could play. This is not comparing Rob's guitar abilities and techniques with these great players. These guys had a style all their own, as has Rob Blaine. If you want new school Chicago blues, hard hitting Rock heavy Blues, soulful R&B, smooth subtle acoustic blues, and great vocals, it's all here. Rob solely composed nine of the twelve tracks on this album. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. This guy is a force to be reckoned with in the blues rock world. Watch out for future releases, and if Rob is playing in your area, go and see him. Support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 117 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Not The Forgiving Kind
2. Only Mine
3. Affection And Pain
4. Same Old Blues
5. Hourglass Baby
6. Gone, Not Forgot
7. Trouble
8. Can't Help But Wonder
9. Must Be Nice
10. Find A Way
11. Don't Burn Down The Bridge
12. Must Be Nice (Acoustic Version)

All tracks composed by Rob Blaine except Track 4 by Don Nix, Track 6 by Robert Blaine & Nigel Mack, and Track 11 by Allen Jones Jr. & Carl A. Wells

MUSICIANS

Rob Blaine - Guitar, Vocals
Pete Galanis - Slide Guitar
Joewaun Scott - Bass
Gary Gary, Marty Sammon - Organ
Roosevelt Purifoy - Organ, Clavinet
Ariyo Sumito Ariyoshi - Piano
James Knowles - Drums
Cory Dennison - Background Vocals

SHORT BIO

Rob Blaine- Born in Chicago 1981, moved to Michigan, grew up listening to Blues, R&B, Funk, Rock, Soul, because of his father. Began playing guitar at 15, started giging and playing out by age of 17 with his guitar teacher, Charlie Schantz's band.Playing the blues standards. Started his own band with his brother Buck and other friends, playing around Grand Rapids for the next couple of years. He moved back to Chicago in 2003, where since has been on 3 U.S tours, and one European tour. Touring with Little Milton before his untimely passing, and currently touring with the Chicago Rythme & Blues Kings (formerly Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows) featuring Gene Barge a.k.a. Daddy G., and his own band. Big Rob Blaine plays at Kingston Mines every tuesday and at B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted once a month. © 2003-2012 Myspace LLC. All Rights Reserved http://www.myspace.com/bigrobblaine

MORE ABOUT ROB BLAINE / ALBUM

Chicago has long been a city associated with guitar stringers. From the post-war migration that electrified and urbanized the genre with artists like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers and the Howlin’ Wolf, through the disco/funk inflected ‘70s and ‘80s, a long line of (primarily male) guitarists have defined our sound. The latest crop have blended rock’s reverb, funk’s grooves and metal’s speed, delivering a loud, in-your-face, insistent brand of hot leaded howling that is unlike anything previously thought of as “Chicago Blues”. Rob Blaine epitomizes that mix. Growing up in Grand Rapids, MI, Rob Blaine knew what he wanted to do from the first blues track he heard on his Dad’s stereo. He got a guitar and made for Chicago, earning his way into the scene by working as a doorman at local blues clubs, listening and learning from the artists onstage. He toured with the late great Little Milton and currently plays with the Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings (of which Gene “Daddy G” Barge is a member). Rob paid his dues and honed his guitar chops on the viciously competitive local blues scene and has emerged as its latest and strongest voice. With his band Big Otis Blues, Rob has roared onto the national scene, winning the 2010 Windy City Blues Society Challenge, taking third place in the International Blues Challenge band finals in Memphis and winning the Albert King Award for Best Guitarist. His youth, fire and energy come blasting out of the speakers, in both his live shows and on this record, demanding your attention! This is not your Grandpa’s blues or even your father’s. This is music from a young man, serious as a heart attack, with a message: “Listen to me, I’ve got important things to say!” Ten of the twelve songs on this disc were written by Big Rob. The message is a positive one for the most part: live and let live, don’t assume you know me by how I look. One exception, Don Nix’s standard “Same Old Blues”, is a masterful vehicle for Rob, who plays impassioned guitar and sings with heartfelt sincerity on this gospel-tinged slow blues hybrid. Rob’s voice, a rich, husky baritone, serves him well on both funk/rock belters like the first version of “Must Be Nice” (there are two takes on the song) and on soulful ballads like “Find A Way.” But make no mistake: this is a GUITAR CD from a GUITAR PLAYER. Rob Blaine’s Big Otis Blues is a sonic environment that caters to two basic themes. The first being funky, rocked- up, “tell it like it is” grooves (“Not the Forgiving Kind,” “Hourglass Baby,” “Trouble”) are ably supported by power house drummer James Knowles. He and bassist Jowaun “Man” Scott, (who hails from the renowned South Side musical Scott family) jump out of the box on the first beat of “Not the Forgiving Kind,” and don’t let up until the last note has died. The clean, energetic rhythm section lays an insistent pulse for Rob’s throbbing, wah-wah-ing guitar. It’s a carefully crafted recipe, one-part Hendrix, one-part Buddy Guy with a dash of Stevie Ray and a splash of Chico Banks. The CD’s many guitar solos sing on a lush bed of organ played by Gary Gary [sic] and sparkling piano courtesy of Ariyo Sumito Ariyoshi. The other side of Rob Blaine favors slower, gospel infused ballads. The one song that deviates from this pattern is “Gone Not Forgot,” a swampy, acoustic, slide guitar tune. It’s a refreshing break from the electric wall of sound, rather like a bite of lemon sorbet between rich courses in a meal. Rob Blaine’s Big Otis Blues wraps with a nice acoustic reprise of “Must Be Nice.” The overall effect is a haunting, lingering mood that begs for a replay. This is a fine first effort from a young man with a bright future. By & © Liz Mandeville © http://www.chicagobluesguide.com/reviews/cd-reviews/rob-blaine-cd/rob-blaine-big-otis-cd-page.html

David King

David King - Strangely Familiar - 2007 - David King

Born: July 18, 1965: David is a guitarist and composer of contemporary jazz instrumental guitar based in Motherwell. He has played in various bands since the early eighties before completing a degree in Media Music Composition recognized by the Film Institute of Los Angeles. His debut album 'Strangely Familiar' was released last year to critical acclaim and has gained regular airplay on various web stations in America and Europe and has been performing live in the Central belt. He performs solo to backing tracks programmed and produced by the composer himself creating a very melodic and relaxed vibe. If you and your guests are looking for something a little different then David's music could be right up your street. David has been playing guitar since he was 8 but it became a serious concern when, in his teens he started going to gigs at Glasgow's legendary venue The Apollo in the early eighties witnessing guitar hero's galore including Alex Lifeson, Angus Young, and Andy Summers. David has consumed all things guitar ever since including the Jazz genius of Martin Taylor and Pat Metheny and effects influenced players such as The Edge and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds and the acoustic work of Tommy Emmanuel and Acoustic Alchemy. Having exhausted all possibilities in various bands he returned to his home studio and gained a degree in Media Music Composition recognized by the Film Music Institute of Los Angeles. David has just completed his debut album of guitar instrumentals encompassing some smooth jazz grooves with a hint of fusion and just for the hell of it the occasional big rock solo to ! The album, “ Strangely Familiar “ is now available from the very fine people of CD Baby - or the equaly fine people of iTunes - please click on the links below. David's own site www.davidkingmusic.net is now live. - from ***** David King Posted by & © Leslie on Aug 15, '11 10:29 AM for everyone © Petpaz 2008. All Rights Reserved © http://petpaz.multiply.com/reviews/item/215

“This song has a truly nifty feel to it. The drums are laying it down, nice and solid, really steady, and sharp. The guitar work is impeccable. I think it is every guitar player's dream to be able to pull off a piece like this. There is melody, and accuracy, and the guy handles it all like a pro. Overall, this sounds as good as any theme music you hear these days. A really excellent recording. Great job, sir.” Tunesmith from Irving, Texas: This is a review of David's song "Strangely Familiar". This was the first track recorded for this remarkable album of Instrumental Smooth Jazz. Beautiful smooth guitar melodies wrapped in warm ambient keyboards and punctuated by a tight rhythm section. David has consumed all things guitar from an early age. His early influences were created after numerous visits to Glasgow’s legendary venue The Apollo – Mostly rock genius like Alex Lifeson, Angus Young and Andy Summers of The Police. He was then introduced to the Jazz Great Martin Taylor which lead to a passion for Jazz guitar and it's smooth exponents Larry Carlton and Pat Metheny. Acoustic guitar was always involved to and a chance viewing of Acoustic Alchemy on a daytime TV show in the late 80's proved a to be a turning point in David’s development as a player and composer. After exhausting all possibilities in various bands he returned to his home studio to obtain a degree in media composition recognized by the Film Music Institute of Los Angeles. This is David’s debut release and it encompasses all his musical influences to produce a truly unique guitar voice. © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidkingtunes#

"King's round tone and sensitive phrasing is inspired and he elevates the guitar to a near mystical place." - Guitar Player Magazine

You may find this album in the "Smooth Jazz" section of your local record store, but it is not the bland, elevator sound often associated with the genre. Described by cdbaby.com as "Smooth chill-out contemporary instrumental guitar album incoprporating jazz, blues, and pop with ambient overtones and a hint of fusion". There is nothing groundbreaking here, but It's a good album of nine very well played original soulful contemporary instrumentals from this very talented Scottish guitarist. The album has a lot of merit, and the guy's music is well worth hearing. Try and listen to David's "Son Of Strangely" album [All tracks @ 192 Kbps: File size = 56.8 Mb]

TRACKS

1. I'll Be Back Someday [04:16]
2. Magnificent Mile [03:59]
3. What's Up Norm [04:45]
4. Provincetown [05:09]
5. Beacon Street [03:57]
6. Summers Edge [03:56]
7. Strangely Familiar [04:25]
8. The Red Room [04:14]
9. Son of Life [06:21]

All music composed by David King. David plays solo, using backing tracks which he produced and programmed himself

ABOUT DAVID KING

I've been playing guitar since I was 8 but it became a serious concern when I started going to gigs at Glasgow's legendary venue The Apollo in the early eighties witnessing guitar hero's galore including Alex Lifeson, Angus Young, and Andy Summers.. I've consumed all things guitar ever since including the jazz genius of Martin Taylor and Pat Metheny and effects influenced players such as The Edge and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds and the acoustic work of Tommy Emmanuel and Acoustic Alchemy. .. Having exhausted all possibilities in various bands ( i.e bugger all happened !!) I returned to my home studio and gained a degree in Media Music Composition recognized by the Film Music Institute of Los Angeles. .. My debut album "Strangely Familiar" was released in 2007. Its an album of guitar instrumentals encompassing some smooth jazz grooves with a hint of fusion and just for the hell of it the occasional big rock solo to ! .. I released my second album Son of Strangely in September 09. In a slight departure , it incorporates a more urban and dance feel. .. The albums are both available from the very fine people of CD Baby - or the equaly fine people of iTunes - please click on the links across. If you are interested in booking me for gigs or house concerts, please send me a message... Thanks for dropping by. . . My earliest influences were all the rock guitar legends of the time. Alex Lifeson will always be numero uno but Angus Young, Michael Schenker, Eddie Van Halen and Andy Summers were always regulars on the turntable. Remember them ?? Turntables I mean !!..I saw Pat Metheny on a late night TV show - would have been around the days of the Travels album - I had never heard anybody make the guitar sound so beautiful. Martin Taylor also blew me away to with his astonishing technique... Away from guitar players, I have always loved The Blue Nile - such perfect atmosphere from everything they ever produced... Acoustic Alchemy have been a huge influence on my writing since I saw them in the late 80's on another TV show - TV was great in those days obviously !!.. I continue to be influenced on a daily basis most notably by John Mayer, Tommy Emmanuel, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton - the list is endless. And there are just not enough hours in the day © 2003-2012 Myspace LLC. All Rights Reserved © http://www.myspace.com/davidkingmusic06

Dweezil Zappa

Dweezil Zappa - Automatic - 2000 - Favored Nations

Described as a wild and eclectic collection of original songs and traditional favourites! Typical Zappa-esque humour. However, anybody who includes the theme from "Hawaii Five-O" by Morton Stevens, and two excerpts from a Georges Bizet opera on a fusion album is definitely dabbling in wildness and eccentric eclecticism! A great album from Dweezil heped out by some brilliant musicians including Blues Saraceno, Mike Keneally, Joe Travers, Lisa Loeb, and Scott Thunes. Eight of the 12 tracks are less than three minutes in length, and thats a big minus. Nevertheless, the album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Dweezil's "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" and "Return Of The Son Of... " albums [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 90.6 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Fwakstension with Zappa, Terry Bozzio, Scott Thunes 4:13
2 Automatic with Zappa, Blues Saraceno, Joe Travers, Christopher Maloney 3:59
3 Hawaii Five-O with Zappa, Joe Travers 1:52
4 You're a Mean One Mister Grinch with Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, Joe Travers 3:12
5 Therapy with Zappa, Terry Bozzio, Scott Thunes 2:59
6 12 String Thing with Zappa, Joe Travers, Mark Meadows 2:46
7 Secret Hedges with Zappa 2:12
8 Habanera with Zappa, Dick Cinnamon 1:54
9 Les Toreadors with Zappa, Dick Cinnamon 2:35
10 Shnook with Zappa, Scott Thunes, Mike Keneally 2:55
11 Dick Cinnamon's Office with Zappa, Lisa Loeb, Joe Travers, Christopher Maloney 0:55
12 Purple Guitar with Zappa, Joe Travers, Mike Keneally 9:18

All tracks composed by Dweezil Zappa except "Hawaii Five-O" by Morton Stevens, "You're a Mean One Mister Grinch" by Dr. Seuss & Albert Hague, and "Habanera" & "Les Toreadors" by Georges Bizet

MUSICIANS

Dweezil Zappa - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Flange Bass, Electric Piano, Feedback, Harmony, Vocals
Blues Saraceno - Guitar on Track 2
Mike Keneally - Rhythm Guitar, Harmony on Tracks 1,10,12
Bryan Beller - Bass on Track 12
Christopher Maloney - Bass on Tracks 2,11
Mark Meadows - Bass on Tracks 4,6
Scott Thunes - Bass on Tracks 1,5,10
Terry Bozzio - Drums on Tracks 1,5
Morgan Ågren - Percussion, Drums on Track 10
Joe Travers - Percussion, Drums on Tracks 2,3,4,6,11,12
Dirk Cinnamon - Percussion, Voice on Tracks 8,9,10
Ahmet Zappa - Vocals on Track 4
Lisa Loeb - Voice on Track 11
Jason Freese - Wurlitzer on Track 11

BIO

Son of Frank Zappa and a heavy metal disciple of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai, Dweezil released his first album, Havin' a Bad Day, in 1986. He worked a stint as a VJ on MTV, appeared in the films Pretty in Pink and The Running Man, and had a brief sojourn in TV situation comedy with his sister Moon Unit, on 1988-1989's Normal Life. Dweezil also issued his second album, My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama, in 1988, following it in 1991 with Confessions, and subsequently took a break from solo recording. He worked in television for a time, composing the theme song to the sadly short-lived Ben Stiller Show and voicing the character of Ajax on the brilliant USA Network animated series Duckman. He next formed the band Z with brother Ahmet on vocals; the group released two albums together: 1994's Shampoohorn and 1996's Music for Pets. In addition to his work as a session guitarist, Zappa busied himself with Happy Hour ( a TV show for the USA Network which debuted in 1999 and was co-hosted with Ahmet ), and his first solo album in nine years, 2000s mostly instrumental Automatic. Following this, Dweezil fell back out of the public eye and re-dedicated himself to learning guitar, changing his style a bit and adopting many of his father's picking techniques. In 2005, he assembled a crack band of younger players and recruited FZ alumni Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, and Napoleon Murphy Brock for the critically acclaimed Zappa Plays Zappa tour which hit the road in the summer of 2006. The band (with Brock ostensibly as the frontman) performed an entire program of Frank Zappa compositions with Vai and Bozzio appearing as guests and Dweezil himself as lead guitarist/bandleader. Between legs of that tour, he released Go with What You Know, easily his most ambitious album to date. A studio version and DVD of Zappa Plays Zappa appeared in 2008 with a live album from the project -- Return of the Son Of... -- following in 2010. © Cub Koda © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dweezil-zappa-p5902/biography

Dave Perkins

Dave Perkins - Pistol City Holiness - 2009 - Lugnut

Dave Perkins is an artist whose musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music. Perkins’ work as a guitarist includes playing bluegrass and swing with fiddle-great Vassar Clements, Texas renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, alternative rock with Chagall Guevara, folk with Guy Clark, blues and jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, alt-pop with Over The Rhine, reggae with Mystic Meditations, and industrial hard-core with Passafist. Then, there were the occasional odd jobs, such as accompanying Ray Charles on his “3/4 Time” video. If there is a style of American music that calls for guitar, chances are Dave Perkins has played it, and played it with passion and skill. With Pistol City Holiness, Perkins comes full circle to his first love—the blues. “The blues was the first music to capture my imagination. It grabbed me because it was something other—alien—and, yet, at the same time, deeply familiar. I’ve never gotten over it. I’ve worked in a lot of different styles of music, but my approach to each one was and will always be shaped by the blues.” Reflecting on the creation of Pistol City Holiness, Perkins says, “I wanted to make an album that brought back the excitement I felt when I first heard Muddy Waters, Cream, Fred McDowell, and Peter Green. And, I wanted to record with the musicians I shared the most history with.” Featured on the album are three of Perkins’ longest running musical relationships—Richard “Hombre” Price, Reese Wynans, and Mel Watts. Their musical association is decades deep. Like Perkins, each of these players has a significant performance pedigree with ties to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lucinda Williams. Pistol City Holiness builds on the model of the traditional Chicago blues band, where guitar, piano, and harmonica play important roles as solo instruments. Along with Perkins’ guitar and Wynans’ piano and organ, TJ Klay fills out the section on blues harp. Around those foundational elements, aspects of techno, southern and alternative rock are interwoven to create a bracing, muscular take on blues-inflected American music. Much like his sound, Perkins’ lyrics are simultaneously traditional and innovative. Perkins brings a contemporary poetic sense to his treatment of the blues even when dealing with age-old themes. Long Eleven Road is the story of a blue-collar family’s forced dislocation in pursuit of illusive employment. In Break, Perkins speaks for the frustrated, hard working person denied their piece of the American dream; Perkins sings, “The taste of life is oh so sweet—they’re finding money in the street—some folks live a life that’s charmed—some folks can go through hell unharmed. But, hard luck days have caught me in a corner for a kill—why does the road seem to always run up hill? I want a break that I don’t have to make!” Two of the album’s songs revisit a topic that has been present in the blues since the beginning--religion and spirituality. With Preacher Blues, the womanizing, cult-of-personality preacher is Perkins’ target. On a more positive note, Revival speaks to the healing power of community for the prodigal son. Perkins’ songs, Flown and Bottles and Knives give fresh perspectives on the difficulties of relationships. Here, Perkins anchors the album by working with what has traditionally been the first topic of the blues—love, or, the lack of it. A brew of musical energies, Pistol City Holiness blurs boundary lines between styles, and makes an artistic statement that speaks to the variety and depth of Perkins’ experience—musical and otherwise—all while keeping the blues as the emotional, musical, and spiritual center. - from Album Notes © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/daveperkins

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave Perkins is, perhaps, best known as one of the creative forces behind the early-1990s rock band Chagall Guevara. Some may remember him as one of the architects responsible for mid-90s industrial/alt-rock terrorists Passafist, whereas others may know him as the producer behind such successful CCR bands as the Newsboys. Whether he's playing guitar behind Jerry Jeff Walker or singing with Amy Grant, Perkins' talent has always risen to the top. One of Perkins' greatest loves has always been the blues, however, and with the release of Pistol City Holiness the artist rediscovers the vibrancy, electricity, and excitement that got him into music in the first place. Influenced and inspired by blues greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and blues-rockers like Cream and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Perkins has delivered in Pistol City Holiness a stunning collection of ambitious blues-rock tunes that was almost a decade in the making. Pistol City Holiness opens with a squawk and a holler, the muddy Delta grit oozing from Dave Perkins' serpentine fretwork, his vocals gruff and supple and soulful all at once. Although the song has inherited the spirit of a hundred juke-joint jams, its underlying funky swagger, metal-edged guitar, and contemporary poor man's lyrics clearly stamp it as a fine example of 21st century electric blues, the song swinging wilder and harder than a blacksmith's hammer. The album's lone cover, Don Nix's classic Memphis blues standard "Goin' Down," is provided a tune-up under the hood and a fresh coat of paint up top. With roaring, whiskey-soaked vocals driven by Perkins' brutal six-string assault, T.J. Klay's rampaging harpwork, and a fine bit of nearly-hidden piano-pounding courtesy of former Double Trouble keyboardist Reece Wynans, Perkins and his manic mechanics hot rod "Goin' Down" from its turbocharged, flat-track origins into some sort of interstellar, space-ace speed machine. Perkins gets down-and-dirty with the powerful "Long Eleven Road," the song itself a showcase for Klay's tortured harpwork. With a wiry guitar riff that chases its tale in circles, Perkins' best black cat moan vocals, and Klay's timely blasts of soul, the song is a hard luck tale of a factory ghost town where little is left but sin and degradation. With a true Delta vibe that reminds of Son House's most apocalyptic visions, "Long Eleven Road" is a potent modern American fable of hopelessness and misfortune. If "Long Eleven Road" is the story of hard luck men and long suffering women facing another brutal workweek, "Bottles and Knives" is a rollicking and curious mix of Chicago and New Orleans blues music that signals the arrival of the weekend. With the entire band playing helter-skelter, Wynan's flailing ivories are matched by Perkins' joyful, ramshackle guitar solos. Perkins' humorous lyrics are pure genius - "bottles and knives flyin' all around this place, we're gonna leave here darlin' before I lose my pretty face" - the song's protagonist claims that his girl ain't happy goin' out on Saturday night unless he gets into a fight. It's 1930s blues jukin' reality set to music, delivered with reckless abandon (and highly-amped instruments). Blues guitarist Jimmy Nalls sits in for "Devil's Game," the former Sea Level fretburner adding some tasty acoustic notes behind Perkins' greasy slide guitar runs. The song's languid pace is deceptively framed by an underlying rhythm that moves at the speed of kudzu growing, blasts of ice-cold sax complimenting the red-hot notes of Klay's harmonica and Perkins' flame-thrower guitar. Lyrically, the song is a Southern Gothic dirge of sore temptation and the wages of sin, punishment meted out in an aching limbo that again evokes the blessed ghost of the mighty Son House. Perkins' "Preacher Blues" is a blistering, raw blues-rock rave-up with noisy, buzzing rhythms, blustery vocals, and whipsmart lyrics that reference Robert Johnson and his fabled hellhounds. The song is probably also the best showcase on Pistol City Holiness for Perkins' phenomenal six-string skills, the two-and-a-half-minute rocker virtually humming and crackling with the electricity generated by the guitarist's rattling leads. The album closes with the explosive "Mercy in the Morning," a full-tilt, anarchic, stomp-and-stammer that throws dynamite in the water in the form of scorching guitarwork, darts of gospel-tinged and honky-tonk piano, powerful drumbeats, and shots of machine-gun harp notes that dive-bomb your ears like a horde of angry hornets. Those of us that have followed Dave Perkins' lengthy career as sideman, band member, producer, and solo artist have never been surprised by the artist's immense talent, deep musical knowledge, and ability to perform well in nearly any musical genre. Nothing could prepare the listener for the nuclear-strength fall-out of Pistol City Holiness that cascades from your speakers. Perkins has created a masterpiece that fuses Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues tradition with a hard-rocking, guitar-driven blues-rock sound that fans haven't heard since Stevie Ray Vaughan burst onto the scene. Although it's hard to find, go out and beg, borrow, or steal a copy of Pistol City Holiness.... (self-produced, released June 2, 2009) ***** About.com Rating By & © Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com Guide © 2012 About.com. All rights reserved http://blues.about.com/od/cddvdreviews/fr/DavePerkins.htm

What a great title for a blues album! A raw, rootsy, and full tilt jam all the way through makes this one of the best discs of 2009. Perkins had virtually gone into dustbowl obscurity since his stint with Chagall Guevara and his '95 industrial-laden Passafist project. You can't keep a quality guitarist down for long though. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who gave us a solo disc way back in '87. I still love the song "Orbit" from that vinyl in my collection. But I digress... "Pistol City Holiness" covers the familiar blues formulas with reckless abandon. Nothing new is here, but relentlessly dirty, gritty blues are meshed out on the blues club floor. “Break” kicks in and you can hear the strong chops of TJ Klay on the harp. A slight modern element of rhythmic looping throws you a surprise before “Going Down” explodes with a wall of electric guitar and piano. There is not one sleeper on this 12-song rocking blues offering. The musicians don’t appear to be the standard session players either. True blues feeling comes shining through at every corner. My only question is, ”Where have you been hiding Dave Perkins these last 10-15 years?” I guess my musical tastes ran in different circles back then. I would have gobbled up everything of yours in sight had I known you were still kicking around. © thecannyshark © 1996 - 2010 The Phantom Tollbooth http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/dperkins.html

It has been twenty two years since Dave Perkins released his last solo project. It was called The Innocence and was released on the unfortunately short lived What Records. Well it's twenty two years later and Dave has released his newest solo offering called Pistol City Holiness. The question is was it worth the wait? The answer is beyond a shadow of a doubt absolutely YES! "Pistol City Holiness" could very well, at least in my opinion, be one of the best rock n roll records ever produced. I say this as someone who has been listening to rock music for well over fifty years and I take my music very, very seriously. Falling into the category of blues rock this project screams total professionalism from beginning to end. With the exception of the classic "Going Down" by Don Nix all of the tunes are Dave Perkins originals. Musicians that Dave has brought along for this musical ride include among others, Rick Cua, Ashley Cleveland, Reece Wynans and some red hot smokin' harp playing by TJ Klay. That's harmonica to those unfamiliar with the blues. Some of the tunes presented here especially "Bottles And Knives" & "Train At Night" need to be listened to with a fire extinguisher close at hand. They just might cause spontaneous combustion, they're that hot. Dave's vocals on this album are awesome and fit the music to a tee, pained, raucous and weathered. © Chris MacIntosh aka Grandfather Rock © 1996 - 2009 The Phantom Tollbooth http://www.tollbooth.org/2009/reviews/perkins.html

One of Perkins' greatest loves has always been the blues, however, and with the release of Pistol City Holiness the artist rediscovers the vibrancy, electricity, and excitement that got him into music in the first place. Influenced and inspired by blues greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and blues-rockers like Cream and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Perkins has delivered in Pistol City Holiness a stunning collection of ambitious blues-rock tunes that was almost a decade in the making. By & © Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com Guide © 2012 About.com. All rights reserved http://blues.about.com/od/cddvdreviews/fr/DavePerkins.htm Dave, speaking about "Pistol City Holiness" said that “My first professional sensibilities in music-making were in blues and blues-rock, and that's what I've come back to...but my journey has been wildly diverse, between here and there.” Buy Chagall Guevara's s/t album featuring Dave Perkins, and support the blues and great music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 111 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Break 4:19
2 Going Down 3:55
3 Cherryfish & Chicken 2:00
4 Revival 3:35
5 Long Eleven Road 5:03
6 Bottles and Knives 3:53
7 Train at Night 3:24
8 Flown 4:32
9 Tiger Texas 3:46
10 Devil's Game 5:31
11 Preacher Blues 2:30
12 Mercy in the Morning 6:16

All songs composed by Dave Perkins except "Going Down" by Don Nix

MUSICIANS

Dave Perkins - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Organ, Piano, Vocals
Jim Nalls - Acoustic Guitar on "Devil's Game"
Richard Price, Rick Cua, Byron House - Bass
Reese Wynans - Organ, Piano
Paul Griffith, Craig Krampf, Mel Watts, John Elliott - Drums
West Tennessee Jeff - Saxophone
TJ Klay - Harmonica
Odessa Settles, Ashley Cleveland - Background Vocals

Jack Bruce, Bill Lordan, Robin Trower

Jack Bruce, Bill Lordan, Robin Trower - B.L.T. - 1981 - Chrysalis

It wasn't until the 1980 Victims of the Fury album, seven years into his solo career, that Robin Trower would employ former Procul Harum bandmate Keith Reid to provide lyrics (with Reid probably the only lyricist in history to get band status). Though this is officially a Robin Trower release entitled B.L.T., the marquee giving Jack Bruce and Bill Lordan equal heading above the double-sized name of Robin Trower, the project is shouldered by all talents involved and inhibited by a dreadful cover photo of a white bread sandwich: bacon, lettuce and tomato with -- if you look closely -- raw bacon. All concerned would have been better off titling this a Jack Bruce/Robin Trower project with drummer Bill Lordan. The vocals are all the work of Bruce with the production by Trower, and a moment like "Won't Let You Down" is among the best for both the vocalist of Cream and the guitar player from Procol Harum. "Won't Let You Down" is subtle, stunning, and beautiful. It oozes out of the speakers with double-tracked Trower guitar work that sounds like he was listening to Hendrix's Cry of Love album again. And there's nothing wrong with that. "Into Money," "What It Is" (another song about money), and "No Island Lost" are interesting because they take the West, Bruce & Laing concept further into the realm of progressive rock, a place where all parties concerned feel very comfortable. For the Trower fans who couldn't get enough of him sounding like Hendrix, take the "Voodoo Chile" riffs of "No Island Lost" and add the highly commercial voice of Jack Bruce. The combination is appealing while the artists lift the melody of "Voodoo Chile" as well the guitar, making for some amazing and magnetic stuff. With the exception of "End Game" and "Won't Let You Down," the songs are all in the three-minute range for this artistic experiment which works so well. Where Peter Brown is to Jack Bruce what Dewer and Reid are to Trower (a rare Brown/Bruce/Trower composition would show up on the following disc, Truce), this is only the second album where Keith Reid gets to collaborate with his former bandmate in the eight years between Trower's solo debut and B.L.T.. There would be more. The Trower/Reid combo makes perfect sense, especially since the lyricist is probably the only one in history who got band billing. The music these fellows weave is tremendous and becomes a distinctive work in the Jack Bruce catalog, combining his talents with colleagues who share his vision. The fluid sounds which make "Life on Earth" such an appealing opener for side two show that even on a title written solely by Bruce,the only one on the disc, it blends in perfectly with the material, mostly written by Trower and Reid. "Carmen" is absolutely haunting, and this is one of those beautiful discs that true fans have to seek out. Couple the terrible album cover of B.L.T. with the equally absurd marketing of West, Bruce & Laing's Whatever Turns You On and one gets the feeling that numerous record labels were trying their hardest to keep Jack Bruce's music as underground as possible. He deserves better, and B.L.T. is an experiment that, musically, is very successful and holds many revelations. A more compelling package is in order for the magic that's in these grooves. © Joe Viglione © 2012 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/blt-r20535/review

A wonderful album of many rock styles from the ex-Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower with the legendary ex-Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Bill Lordan. HR by A.O.O.F.C. Try and listen to James Dewar's "Stumbledown Romancer"album, The Dave Steffen Band's "Give Me A Thrill" album featuring Bill Lordan on drums, Jack Bruce & the Cuicoland Express' great "Live at the Milkyway" album, and Robin Trower's "20th Century Blues" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps except Track 9 @ 256 Kbps: File size = 82.7 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

SIDE ONE

1 Into Money - Robin Trower
2 What It Is - Keith Reid, Robin Trower
3 Won't Let You Down - Keith Reid, Robin Trower
4 No Island Lost - Jim Dewar, Robin Trower
5 It's Too Late - Keith Reid, Robin Trower

SIDE TWO

1 Life On Earth - Jack Bruce
2 Once the Bird Has Flown - Keith Reid, Robin Trower
3 Carmen - Keith Reid, Robin Trower
4 Feel the Heat - Keith Reid, Robin Trower
5 End Game - Keith Reid, Robin Trower

MUSICIANS

Robin Trower - Guitar
Jack Bruce - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Bill Lordan - Drums

Ric Denis

Ric Denis - Tadoussac - 2003 - Ric Denis

I have been a professional guitarist, singer/song writer and performer for over twenty five years. It's actually been longer but I'd rather not conjure up images in the reader of a stumbling old man with a walker. Trust me, I can still feed myself. I have released two solo CD’s; 'Lush' and 'Tadoussac', and two CD’s with The Ragged Flowers; 'Love To Burn' and 'Story Be Told'. I have also performed in a wide array of styles in cover bands. I'm currently performing in the The Ric Denis & 3. (http://ricdenis3.com/index.php/ric-denis-performances/the-ric-denis-3) We're best pictured as a harmonious contradiction. We are essentially acoustical, yet we can make a ruckus. In fact, somtimes we call ourselves Ruckus. Have a listen… - Simple Plan (http://ricdenis3.com/images/stories/Simple%20Plan.mp3)- Favorite Bone (http://ricdenis3.com/images/stories/Favorite%20Bone.mp3) Joining me is Rob Riendeau on bass and Ian Douglas on percussion, both of which were also members of The Ragged Flowers with me, and Tony Stuart on keys, sax & vocals. I've started work on a third solo CD with songs that The Ric Denis & 3 are performing. It should be released in about four or five thousand dollars from now. A little over six years ago I suffered a medical condition that has compromised the right side of my body. When the community discovered my state and the financial situation of my family the response and support was immediate and incredibly warm. Since then I have worked very hard to recover as much of my previous playing ability as I can. Although I can’t perform the high octane guitar work featured on Tadoussac, my playing has improved substantially, and continues to improve regularly. Basically, if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know. I say this so to not conjure up images in the reader of a stumbling old man with a walker. © Ric Denis http://ricdenis3.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4:ric-denis-performances-story&catid=1

Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Extraordinare, Ric Denis plays music that is intimate, expressive and sometimes explosive. Evoking comparisons from Don Ross and Terry Tuffs, to Robben Ford and Eric Clapton, he has started build a loyal fan base from the ‘pleasantly surprised' who have caught his show. He combines Blues, Jazz, World Beat, Folk and Rock into his mix of exceptional guitar work, soulful singing and honest words © Ric Denis http://ottawa-blues-jazz.ncf.ca/denisr.html

"Tadoussac" is a really good instrumental acoustic guitar album, but it is not easy to find out too much about it. Maybe somebody in Canada/Ottawa could help with more info. Try and listen to Ric's "Lush" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 100 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Gone By
2 Moon & Tide
3 A Jig For Chuck
4 Tadoussac
5 Eleanor Rigby
6 Becalming Me
7 A Foghorn Morning
8 Thursday's Best
9 Schmoozin' With The Guru
10 Lo Eh
11 Lament For Josh

ABOUT RIC DENIS

"Music is my best and most natural form of communication.I want to discover all her languages and have my finger tips speak fluently." Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Extraordinare, Ric Denis plays music that is intimate, expressive and sometimes explosive.Evoking comparisons from Don Ross and Terry Tuffs, to Robben Ford and Eric Clapton, he has started build a loyal fan base from the ‘pleasantly surprised' who have caught his show.He combines Blues, Jazz, World Beat, Folk and Rock into his mix of exceptional guitar work, soulful singing and honest words.He draws the inspirations for his songs from travelogues, love lost, lust, loved ones, self analysis, self doubt, friends, foes, dogs ... His first solo CD entitled ‘Lush' is a collection of original songs and instrumental pieces, produced by Ric right down to the cover design and the manufacturing through his own label, Z Sun Records.His follow up CD ‘Tadoussac' is due out this spring and will showcase Ric's guitar playing with a collection of acoustic guitar instrumentals. He is also known in the Ottawa Valley for his work with the Ragged Flowers.The ‘Flowers' have performed at the ‘Ottawa Folk Festival', the ‘Blue Skies' festival, Stewart Park Festival and ‘Artsfusion'.Ric has also been featured on The Blues Brokers, ‘Bag Full Of Blues' CD and has made several appearances on ‘The New RO Breakfast Show' in Ottawa.His guitar work has appeared on radio jingles for Warrens House Of Britches, The Rum Shack and Tommy & Lefebvre.Ric can also be 'caught' performing with Jerome 'J' Jeffrey in the jam band 'The Sway Dogs' or playing Jazz standards and originals in 'Clever Mess'. ...As well as a professional guitarist, singer and performer, Ric has been a professional guitar teacher for over fifteen years.He has performed workshops with Don Ross, David Woodhead and Stephen Fearing.He has also presented clinics on improvisation and musical composition.He teaches privately and at The Ottawa Folklore Centre School of Music. A resident of the quaint little town of Almonte Ont, Ric lives in a busy little house with his busy wife and three brilliant busy kids, plus a nosey little pet rat named Harriet. © 2002, Ric Denis http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=203722265&targetid=profile

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Ric Denis has been a professional guitarist, singer/song writer and performer for over fifteen years.He has been teaching guitar privately and in music schools for over ten years.He is an ‘Honours Graduate' from the Applied Music program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ont.Ric has performed in a wide array of bands and styles.He has done opening gigs for Sass Jordan, Alannah Miles and Blue Rodeo.He was featured on ‘CJOH Newsday' with The Maria Hawkins Band and ‘The New RO Breakfast Show' with The Ragged Flowers.His guitar work has appeared on radio jingles for Warrens House Of Britches, The Rum Shack and Tommy & Lefebvre.He regularly performs as a soloist and in duets and combos throughout the Ottawa area music clubs and pubs including The Rainbow Bistro, Zaphod's, Rasputin's, The Blacksheep Inn, The Bayou, plus many , many more. Ric is a member of The Ragged Flowers which has performed at the ‘Ottawa Folk Festival', the ‘Blue Skies' festival, Stewart Park Festival and ‘Artsfusion'.The Ragged Flowers CD ‘Love To Burn' has received airplay on CBC Radio and CKCU. He has also been featured on The Blues Brokers, ‘Bag Full Of Blues' CD.Ric won a ‘Mohawk College Board of Governors Arts Award' for original music composition with his single recording of the song ‘Nine'.Today, Ric is considered by his peers to be one of the best and busiest professional musicians around. © www.landolakes.ca, 12 April 2003

Cold Blood

 
Cold Blood - Vintage Blood: Live! 1973 - 2001 - DIG Music

Many of the greatest groups in rock and roll history have made their home in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area. While 'Frisco was at the forefront of the psychedelic music movement spinning around the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, some serious funk was springing up as well. Free-form DJs like Tom Donahue, who coined the term "underground" radio and Abe "Voco" Kesh interspersed hip soul and jazz in between the extended jams of the Dead and Quicksilver in their nightly shows. Sylvester Stewart, aka Sly Stone, was also a noted Bay Area DJ and record producer and an influence on the scene. Latin music was always in the air as well, and bands like Santana. Tower of Power, and Malo vibed to the incantory force of the extended boogaloo. One of the best bands in combining the punch of great rhythm and blues with the hippie aesthetic of brotherhood and freedom was Bay Area's legendary Cold Blood. With the backing of pioneer rock impresario Bill Graham, they won over area audiences almost immediately after their formation in 1968. The Fillmore Auditorium was the epicenter of San Francisco rock, and no better place to see a band "let it all hang out," as many shows ran all night long. The band's first two albums on Bill Graham's San Francisco Records — Cold Blood, released in 1969 and produced by David Rubinson, and Sisyphus, a 1970 release produced by Santana engineer Fred Catero, are excellent representations of a powerhouse band that could really move an audience. They were a winning combination of good songs, excellent covers and the powerful, expressive voice of Lydia Pense, their extraordinarily beautiful lead singer. The reissue of these two LPs is currently available on Collectables (Col-CD-6813). A change in management and a move to Reprise Records in 1972 would see the release of their third album First Taste Of Sin. The twenty-something members of Cold Blood had quite a few years of touring and recording under their belts by now, and while their records did not have the massive com-mercial success of some of their peers, they still had many fans around the country. There were some personnel changes in the group at this time most notably the departure of founding member guitarist. Larry Field. Lydia Pense, their lead singer was still fronting the band. While she had the burden of being compared to Janis Joplin, the preeminent female white soul singer of her day, Lydia's individual style and beauty was continuing to blossom. Another evidence of maturation in the abilities of the group was their choice of budding soul genius Donny Hathaway as producer for First Taste Of Sin. Despite his relative youth, this Chicago-born singer and a songwriter had already received kudos for his work with Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler and The Impressions. His reputation in the industry as the next generation's leading soul music auteur was spreading throughout the music industry. Warner Bros, and its sister label Reprise were a stronghold in the Seventies for the production of records of high artistic integrity, that were also a gas to listen to. The combo of Hathaway and Cold Blood produced a sophisticated blend of R and rock that appealed to both soul and progressive crowds.
Hathaway contributed two excellent songs to the album, the slow blues You Had To Know, a showcase for singer Lydia, and Valdez In The Country, as well as his gospel-influenced piano and jazzy organ playing. The presence also of Bay Area session veterans Coke and Pete Escovedo on congas, timbales, and percussion generated fire in the rhythm section with their Third World poly-rhythms. Also beefing up the horn section is noted jazz tenor saxophonist Pete Christieb. A longtime member of Doc Severensen's Tonight Show Band, he was an in-demand session player. A rare cover version of fellow Warner-Reprise artist James Taylor's Low And Behold is an adventurous choice of song, and Cold Blood adapts the tune to their rough and ready rockin' soul style. Cold Blood recorded three more albums in their life span before disbanding in 1976. Thriller was released in 1973 and Lydia in 1974, both also for Warner-Reprise. Their swansong was Lydia Pense and Cold Blood. produced by Stax Records stalwart and respected guitarist/songwriter Steve Cropper for ABC Records. There have been continued rumblings of activity in the Cold Blood camps , so the book may not yet be closed on the contributions of this relatively unheralded group to rock's legacy. Here then is one of Cold Blood's finest endeavors—First Taste Of Sin. - Taken from: booklet "First Taste Of Sin". by & © Al Fichera © www.old-rock.ru - 2009 http://www.old-rock.ru/paleontology_bands/cold_blood_en.html

Cold Blood was on the verge of a musical breakthrough during the early '70s, but the band's inability to write compelling original material or expand their range beyond high-octane, horn-dominated R&B relegated them to second-tier status. The band was at their best on-stage, but curiously never released a live album until this release 30 years past their heyday. Vintage Blood Live! 1973 catches the band at their funkified norm. Recorded at a studio before a small but appreciative audience, this performance emphasizes the groove. Cold Blood hits it quickly and stays there for long stretches, submerging beneath Lydia Pense's powerful R&B voice. Pense, keyboard player Raul Matute, and bassist Rod Ellicott were the only original members remaining in the band. The three-man horn session was filled with newcomers who acquit themselves well. The sound quality is outstanding, and the performances are right on the mark, except for one detour into gospel that falls flat. Cold Blood is stronger when they delve into secular treats such as "Funky on My Back." Followers of the band will enjoy this material. Listeners curious about early-'70s hard rhythm & blues will receive an informative, enjoyable lesson here. Dig Music is a small Sacramento-based label that specializes in releases by Northern California artists of the '60s and '70s, such as the Beau Brummels and Stoneground. © Casey Elston © 2012 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/vintage-blood-live-1973-r556170/review

Between 1967 and 1977 Lydia Pense was a well known vocalist in the San Francisco/Oakland area. She has been called "the female voice of San Francisco" and was one of the best rock 'n' blues singer of her day. She was produced by Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, guitarist with the legendary Booker T. & The MG's. She temporarily retired from the music scene in the '80s and early '90s, to rear a daughter, but returned with a bang to reform the great soul/jazz rock band Cold Blood, with a new line-up of some talented local Bay Area musicians. If you like BS&T, early Chicago and Tower of Power you may like this 1973 live album from one of the greatest ever Bay Area funk-rock-blues outfits. The album is full of terrific jazz and soul funk grooves, and East Bay Grease at it's best. Hornwork is brilliant and Lydia's vocals are special. Sound quality could be better but normal for a release of this type, and the album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Try and listen to Lydia Pense's 1974 "Lydia" album, and Cold Blood's 1971 "Sisyphus" album. You can find Lydia Pense & Cold Blood's "Transfusion" album and also Cold Blood's 1969 s/t album on this blog. In September of 2011 Cold Blood released a 5 song EP, "The River City Sessions". Buy it and promote real music. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 92.2 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Feel So Bad 9:25 - David Porter, Isaac Hayes, James Johnson, Leslie Temple
2 Kissin' My Love 7:27 - Bill Withers
3 I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free 7:34 - Billy Taylor, R. Lamb
4 Funky On My Back 12.21 - C. Stolte, D. Hull, L. Field, L. Pense, R. Ellicott, Raul Matute
5 You Got Me Hummin' 5:32 - David Porter, Isaac Hayes

BAND

Michael Sasaki - Guitars
Rod Ellicott - Bass
Raul Matute - Keyboards
Gaylord Birch - Drums
Skip Mesquite - Saxophone
Max Haskett, Jack Walrath - Trumpet
Lydia Pense - Vocals

BIO

Lydia Pense & Cold Blood debuted when the Fillmore was at its peak as one of the nation's musical Meccas. Owner Bill Graham was so impressed with Lydia's voice and the sound of the band that he immediately signed Cold Blood to his new record label. During the span of six original late-60's, early-70's albums, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood helped, along with Tower Of Power, forge their own specific brand of funk/soul and R&B which came to be known as East Bay Grease. That music still holds up today, proving that great music is timeless and will continue to inspire generations to come. Cold Blood is one of the original R&B horn bands from the late 60's/ early 70's that exemplified the "East Bay Grease" melding of funk & rock with blues and jazz elements. Lydia Pense has been compared to Janis Joplin, but is a true original and a pioneer in the women's rock movement. Lydia and the band debuted when the Fillmore was at its peak as one of the nation's musical Meccas. Owner Bill Graham was so impressed with Lydia's voice and the sound of the band that he immediately signed Cold Blood to his new record label. During the span of six original late-60's, early-70's albums, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood helped, along with Tower Of Power, forge their own specific brand of funk/soul and R&B which came to be known as East Bay Grease. That music still holds up today, proving that great music is timeless and will continue to inspire generations to come. Lydia Pense and Cold Blood packed the San Francisco Ballrooms in their heyday, but that was then and this is now. In the now, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood still fill halls with cheering, dancing, foot-stomping fans. Far from fading over the years, Cold Blood has flourished. The word legend certainly applies to Lydia Pense and Cold Blood…and not in some past tense-make-a-living-as-an-oldies-act sort of way either. Pense can still shout like a 60's soul diva and purr a slow blues tune with spine-tingling subtlety. Cold Blood, as a whole, features a stellar group of musicians who have been playing together for nearly 20 years including Steve Dunne on guitar, Steve Salinas on keyboards, a gritty-growling horn section comprised of Rich Armstrong and Rob Zuckerman along with a stellar rhythm section featuring Evan Palmerston on bass and Donny Baldwin on drums. The band members are all veteran Bay Area musicians who have played with many great artists including Elvin Bishop, Jefferson Starship, Boz Skaggs, Albert Collins and more. Of course there is Lydia who still has the chops with the patina of a seasoned veteran who's done and seen it all. Together she and the band continue to twist together R&B, (both Old School and New School); into something that doesn't have a label... On any given night, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood power through their historic essentials, like "You Got Me Hummin'," "I Just Want To Make Love To You," "I'm A Good Woman," and "Down to the Bone." In 2005 the band released “Transfusion” a whole new CD of future classics that draws on their heritage but is not stifled by the past. In September of 2011 the band has released “The River City Sessions”, a 5 song EP. Now able to draw from the first two new Cold Blood albums in three decades, Lydia and the band blast out a set that covers 40 years of thumping, throbbing, East Bay funk. Several of the tracks that make it on to the set list each night come from original Cold Blood alum Skip Mesquite. Another tune of particular note, "Face the Music," is written by guitar ace Steve Dunne. All this fresh music, laid down by a crisp, tight 6-piece, makes any Cold Blood show invigorating. And, of course, anything Lydia sings is sung well. She has a list of famous admirers that includes Bonnie Raitt, Michelle Shocked, David Lee Roth, even Janis Joplin back in the day. It's been a long road, over 40 years to be exact with a break somewhere in the middle. But, Lydia and the band are living proof that a little time off can be a really good thing. With their new CD, “The River City Sessions” turning heads across the country, fans are remembering just what has been missing from music in the last few decades. These songs exemplify how a performer can take great strides forward, without forgetting her roots. Cold Blood is booking dozens of shows across the country, entertaining generations of club, theatre and festival goers. Cold Blood has been blessed with the ability to reach backwards for original influences and the creativity to reach forward, working with new approaches. The music they play is ageless, and can still fill any room to the rafters. © http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?epk_id=289950#bio

SHORT BIO

A San Francisco-based R&B band originally formed by guitarist Larry Field as the "New Invaders" in the wake of the Summer of Love, Cold Blood had the key elements of strong female vocalist, a fine guitarist, and a powerful horn section. After successful gigs at Golden Gate Park and at the Fillmore, they were signed by impresario Bill Graham to his new San Francisco Records label, on which they released their self-titled debut in 1969. Four more albums followed over the next five years -- in fact, later efforts boasted the production and musical contributions of Steve Cropper -- but all were hamstrung by Graham's underhanded distribution deals with Columbia and Atlantic. Though the debut's single "You've Got Me Humming" crawled up to number 52 on the American charts, Cold Blood seemed doomed to labor in the shadow of bands like Tower of Power, Chicago, and especially Janis Joplin. The latter comparison became endemic among critics; for although blues belter joined Field's band as its youngest member -- she had formerly been, of all things, a childhood national rollerskating champion -- her magnetic stage presence established her as the band's central force. Eventually, the band billed itself as Lydia Pense With Cold Blood, and even released an album simply titled Lydia. Joplin sensed a kindred soul; after screaming at Cold Blood for scooping her on a blistering cover of "Piece of My Heart," she warmed to Pense enough to give her a swig of Southern Comfort. After hitting increasingly lower tier venues in San Francisco by the late '70s, Cold Blood disbanded for most of the next decade; Pense focused her energies on child rearing. By the late '80s, the band slowly awoke from its long sleep, and they began regular features on California's festival and fair circuit. A 1998 return to their Fillmore stomping ground brought out the band's faithful. © Paul Collins © 2012 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cold-blood-p16571/biography

ABOUT LYDIA PENSE (WIKIPEDIA)

Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who since 1969 has performed with the band Cold Blood. Her style has been compared to powerful singers including Janis Joplin (who recommended the band to Bill Graham for their first audition), Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie. Pense's mother, the former is Miss Ramos, was born in Madrid, Spain, while her father came from Nebraska, United States. While attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California at the age of 16, Pense started singing with a band called The Dimensions, With Guitarist Paul C Saenz. They initially played Big Band songs, but she soon was attracted to the music of Ray Charles and Chuck Berry. Lydia joined Cold Blood in 1968. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood, Sisyphus, First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller remain their best known work. The band continues to record and perform today. The band separated in the late 1970s and Pense suspended her career in the 1980s to raise her daughter before re-forming the group.

COLD BLOOD BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Cold Blood is a long-standing soul-rock-jazz band founded by Larry Field in 1968 and originally based in the San Francisco East Bay area. They have also gone by the name "Lydia Pense and Cold Blood" due to the popularity of their lead singer, Lydia Pense. The band first came to prominence in 1969 when rock impresario Bill Graham signed them after an audition and they played the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Pense has been compared to Janis Joplin, and it was Joplin who recommended the audition to Graham. The band has often been compared to another long-standing popular Northern California group, Tower of Power, and like Tower of Power they were rare in that they featured a horn section in addition to guitar, bass and drums. The Tower of Power horn players have performed with Cold Blood on a regular basis since the early 1970s. Skip Mesquite and Mic Gillette have been members of both Tower Of Power and Cold Blood. Their fan base also overlaps with the Sons of Champlin, although their musical styles are quite different. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood, Sisyphus, First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller remain their best known work. The band disbanded in the late 1970s, reformed in the 1980s and stabilized with its current membership in the 1990s. Cold Blood continues to record and perform today, and some former band members such as Raul Matute (and some from Tower of Power) appear on its most recent album. Original band members were founder Larry Field (lead guitar), Lydia Pense (vocals), Danny Hull (tenor saxophone and songwriter), Larry Jonutz (trumpet), Raul Matute (Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter), Jerry Jonutz (Baritone, alto and tenor saxophone), David Padron (trumpet), Rod Ellicott (bass), Paul C Saenz (Guitar), and Frank Davis, who was replaced on drums by the legendary Sandy McKee during the Sisyphus sessions. Narada Michael Walden and Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett both mention McKee on their short list of drummers most influential in their stylistic development. Over the years there have been various incarnations of the band including singer/trumpet player Max Haskett, Tower Of Power horn player Mic Gillette, Journey keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman on Hammond B-3 organ, Sons Of Champlin drummer Jim Preston, guitar player Michael Sasaki, Tower Of Power guitarist Jeff Tamelier, Boz Scaggs horn player Tom Poole, Elvin Bishop sax player Bill Slais, bass player Michael White & others. Current personnel are Lydia Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Steve Dunne (guitar), Mike Morgan (percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, percussion), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes) and Donny Baldwin (drums). Cold Blood is featured playing live in Fillmore, a documentary of the last concerts at The Fillmore auditorium.

Power Job

Power Job - Power Job - 2001 - Zizo

For many years now, Japan has produced some great cutting edge fusion groups. Power Job is a heavy fusion power ‘duo’ featuring Toshimi Nagai, on fretless bass, and Kazu Michishita on guitars. Noriaki Kumagai of Casiopea, and TRIX is a guest drummer on the album, and guest guitarist Takashi Mazuzaki plays on Tracks 6,7,& 10. Well written, all original material, reminiscent of bands like Prism and Fragile, but even more aggressive. These guys smoke! More info on this band would be appreciated. HR by A.O.O.F.C. Try and see the TRIX' "Live in Tokyo" DVD. Mindblowing stuff! [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 151 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Power Job - T.Nagai 5:26
2. Trap (Includes a quotation written by Tiger Okoshi) - K.Michishita 5:55
3. Bumpin'- K.Michishita 5:22
4. Spice Love - T.Nagai 7:33
5. Just One Of Them - K.Michishita 7:04
6. Sit Inn - K.Michishita 5:01
7. Cloudia - T.Nagai 7:10
8. Earthquake - T.Nagai 6:09
9. Horizon - K.Michishita 6:29
10. Summer Night - K.Michishita 8:09

MUSICIANS

Kazu Michishita - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Takashi Mazuzaki - Electric Guitar
Toshimi Nagai - Fretless Bass, Sound Effects
Noriaki Kumagai - Drums (except on "Cloudia")

David Grissom

David Grissom - 10,000 Feet - 2009 - Wide Lode Records

David Grissom is one of Texas' premier Rock, Blues, and Americana guitarists who has toured and recorded with artists such as Storyville, John Mellencamp, Joe Ely, , The Allman Brothers Band, Dixie Chicks, James McMurtry, Webb Wilder, Chris Isaak, Robben Ford, Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy, John Mayall, and many others. David moved to Austin in 1983 and quickly became a stalwart on the vibrant local scene playing with both Lucinda Williams and Lou Ann Barton. He joined Texas legend Joe Ely’s band in 1985 and toured and recorded nonstop until 1991 when he joined John Mellencamp’s band. David made 3 records with John and toured extensively from 1991 through 1993. After, Mellencamp, David went back to Texas to form Storyville, the band that included the Double Trouble rhythm section and powerhouse vocalist Malford Milligan. He recently played on Buddy Guy’s 2011 Grammy Award winning Living Proof CD. He is the author of the book “A Guide To Blues/Rock Guitar Soloing.” In 2007 Paul Reed Smith introduced the DGT, David’s signature model guitar that represents the culmination of a 25 year relationship working with Paul on the design and improvements of their guitars from a touring/session player’s perspective. He is also currently working with Doug Sewell and PRS to help develop their new line of amps. His first solo CD entitled “Loud Music” was independently released on the Wide Lode label in July 2007. His second Cd, “10,000 Feet” was released in March of 2009. “Way Down Deep” is David’s third solo release. Backed by the powerhouse rhythm section of J.J. Johnson (John Mayer, Derek Trucks) and Chris Maresh (Eric Johnson, Bonnie Raitt), this effort finds Grissom digging deeper into the Austin Blues/Rock vein he is well known for. Equally divided between vocal and instrumental tunes, Way Down Deep features blistering guitar work and lyrics reflecting an artist embracing change and growth. © 2012 David Grissom. All Rights Reserved © http://davidgrissom.com/

David Grissom has said that "I can remember being 9 or 10 years old and hearing that guitar lick in the Beatles song “Got to Get You into My Life.” Something magic clicked in my head that drew me to the guitar. Then I heard more Beatles stuff, Stones, and Hendrix. Later, I really got into the Allman Brothers, B.B. King, Magic Sam, [Paul] Butterfield Blues Band. When I was 15, a guitar teacher who was a jazz guy, turned me on to Wes Montgomery. Louisville was kind of a pass-through point for the jazz musicians working the chitlin’ circuit. Also, Jimmy Raney lived in Louisville. I actually took a lesson from him once—he gave me a lot of confidence. Growing up in Louisville, we had a big bluegrass festival every summer, and I got to hear Doc Watson and Norman Blake. I can’t point to anything that I play and say, “I learned that from Norman Blake,” but there were things like the way he does doublestops and rolls, and the way he phrases that sounded musical to me. Touring with the Dixie Chicks in 2003, right after they had done their bluegrass record, I had the chance to work with some guys that were for-real bluegrass players, and I learned so much from them. I just combined all of those things into a blend that appealed to me." I (A.O.O.F.C) am not a great fan of "Country" music, but neither am I enthusiastic about defining musical genres. Even if this album is slightly 'over produced' and some of the music borders on the AOR commercial side, David is able to blend some amazing instrumentals and vocal selections into a great blend of rock, blues, and Texas country with great tones, and great playing. His guitar and songwriting skills are Grade A, and this album from the Louisville-born, Austin-based picker is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Sometimes "Country" music gets unfairly slagged off, but listen to John Fogerty's "Centrefield" and "Deja Vu (All Over Again)" albums, or any of James McMurtry's albums and you may have a different opinion on just how diverse this music genre can be. I have also stated before on this blog that no music is exempt from being posted as long as it has musical merit. Check out David's "Loud Music" album, and Storyville's brilliant "Piece Of Your Soul" album [Tracks @ 224-320 Kbps: File size = 82.5 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Keep A Rollin' On - David Grissom 4:45
2. 10,000 Feet - David Grissom 4:47
3. Sqwawk - David Grissom 5:37
4. Ain't No Game At All - David Grissom, Ryan Beaver 4:02
5. Take Me Back To Texas - David Grissom, Ryan Beaver 4:12
6. Butterbean Friday - David Grissom 5:35
7. Jet Trails In The Sky - David Grissom, Chad Hudson, Helen Darling 3:24
8. Gone And Lonesome - David Grissom 5:03
9. Dover Soul - David Grissom 4:13
10. Ain't No Other Way 4:52
11. True Love Don't Work That Way - David Grissom, Stephen Bruton 4:12
12. Good Day For The Blues - David Grissom 4:59

MUSICIANS

David Grissom - Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Scott Nelson - Bass
Michael Ramos - Keyboards
Kenny Aronoff, Chris Layton - Drums
Warren Hood - Fiddle
Carolyn Wonderland - Background Vocals

BIO (WIKI)

David Grissom (fl. since 1978) is an American session guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists. David Grissom, currently of Austin, Texas, is a guitarist known for his early work with Joe Ely, for whom he was the main guitarist between 1985-1991. While still recording with Ely, Grissom went on to join the John Mellencamp Band. Following Mellencamp, he went on to form the critically acclaimed Storyville with Malford Milligan (vocals), David Holt (guitar), and Double Trouble together with Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums). David Grissom has since toured with the Allman Brothers and the Dixie Chicks. On May 19, 2007, at a free concert titled "The Road To Austin", Bobby Whitlock performed his electric version of the definitive rock music love songs, Layla and Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad with dueling guitars courtesy of David Grissom and Eric Johnson. Grissom released his first solo album, Loud Music, in 2007. He has also recorded sessions, played and toured with a number of other American recording artists, including Buddy Guy, Chris Isaak, Sarah Hickman and Bob Dylan. David Grissom recently recorded with Owen Temple on his latest album, Two Thousand Miles, produced by Lloyd Maines. 2009 saw Grissom release his second solo album "10,000 Feet" featuring 11 new songs plus an acoustic version of "Good Day For The Blues" original recorded with Storyville