Tag Archives: Roomful of Blues

March 21, 2012

CD Reviews: Back From The Brink

Straight up here, no lie – sometimes I get overloaded with all the great music that our brothers and sisters are putting out these days. It is not only amazing but it also reaffirming as to the level of talent and abilities that these cats & kittens possess. Thank you all.

But ‘it’ happens – sometimes things just get by me – some releases take the short path after getting entered into the system for whatever reason, or something else jumps it’s place in line, or it sometimes doesn’t connect with me at that time – whatever – things fall thru the cracks.

I hate that, I feel that I am doing a disservice to these artists and often I am left without much recourse but to let it slide and hope to catch them on the next go round.

But here are a few that have resurfaced – magically they found their way into my mobile listening studio whereupon they act as the soundtrack to my totally awesome life. So let’s look at these releases that have come back from the brink, and I, for one, am thankful for it.

The Sugar Prophets: self-titled
Just One Teaspoon Records
http://www.reverbnation.com/thesugarprophets

OK, I caught these cats live in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge and I was reminded of how much I dug their solid sound. Led by Josh Spence who possesses a super voice and plays an incendiary harp ‘TSP’ runs the gamut of styles with a perfect understanding of how and when to deliver the goods.

‘Livin’ In Sin’ is a slow blues burner featuring Josh going down in the vocal alley to pullout some nuggets that are, at once satisfying and yet scary. Satisfying because of the the phrasing and deep nature of his voice, and scary because it sounds so damn real that I wonder if there is anything left in this boys’ heart after the end of this affair. Some damn sweet guitar work by Joe Asselin as he winds his way thru all six strings and recalls some of the early masters work on the electric. Spence’s harp playing shines on this track as he also gets the ‘feel’ for close knit, smoke filled rooms and that all encompassing darkness that the Blues can bring.

To pick the pace up a bit ‘Bad Ass’ is an uptempo homage to a former way of life (that just won’t go away HAH). Telling the eternal tale of ‘flight or fight’ and the choice of the later as a way of life is actually a witty story of a life that is all too familiar to me and captures a certain attitude that if one had they always will.

‘Brighter Day’ offers us hope for the instauration of joy and love that we once held deep in our hearts. Gritty vocal harmonies and tasty work from the band makes us see the light coming out of the darkness.

This release plays like a set list from back in the day, BANG one song to another, get it done and move on, leaving no spot for the reconstructive breath with just enough time to hear the last notes from the previous song as the new one begins. I like this – after seeing them live I found their set to be just like the recording – or is it the other way around. Live these cats killed it, full throttle balls to the wall Blues. The combination of Joe Asselin & A.J. Williams on guitars combined with a solid back line of Al Chapman on bass and Aaron D. Wilson on drums give us a full sound-scape that can handle and produce ay type of Blues ya want – just order up some from the Sugar Prophets and take a full dose of enjoyment.

Alex Wilson: Tell Me Why
Rathskeller Records

http://www.alexwilsonband.com/

Alex Wilson is one of those cats who catches you totally by surprise. His easy going, humble and respectful demeanor belies the burn that resides deep within him and comes pouring out full force in his music.
The opening riffs of the first track “I Like To Play” is Cajun/Country inspired guitar riff that drops straight down into the mean streets of the Blues. From there it peels out and leaves a path of burned rubber and fumes as the neighbors scram for him to turn it down and drive slow! Hey hey hey ya know he likes to play. That he does, and his guitar work proves it whether it’s jazzed up West Coast Swing to hot Texas grinders, Mr. Wilson has all the tools to do that while adding his own original notes and take on the music he chooses.

His choice for deep dish Chicago Blues is “Rockinitis”. A Billy Boy Arnold tale of a very common affliction that many of us have contracted whilst listening to the Blues. That beat gets a hold of ya and won’t let go – next thing ya know it’s 4am in the morning and you ain’t where you should be. Nice harp work and vocals by Madison Slim creates a nice picture of what would be going on at that hour of the morning in a jook joint or club.

Mr. Wilson’s’ influences are broad based, and the ease and verve with which he applies them to his vision if quite impressive. Scorching lead riffs on ‘Take It Easy Baby’ show off his knack for getting the most out of the space between the notes as well as the notes themselves.

From what seems to be from a time before his time Alex takes us on the hippest of all trips on “When We Get Close”. In this rumba styled paean to the music of the sixties – think Strawberry Alarm Clock meets Badfinger – we get a totally ‘gets it’ moment. Harmonies sung at just the right strain point, with snappy guitar raking as backdrop till the end when it turns into a psychedelic group grope of sound that brought a big ol’ smile to my face.

The disc ends with ‘You Used To Know Me’, a sweetly constructed lift off point for his explorations in the world of Hendrix styled voicings building up to a fiery wah-wah, phase call and response before crash landing in the land of mermaids and mermens.

Give this a listen folks, check out his web page and then buy his disc, you will not be disappointed.

Travis Colby Band: Quick Fix
self-released

https://www.facebook.com/traviscolbyband
http://www.myspace.com/traviscolbyband

Travis might be better known as the keyboard player with the Roomful of Blues band. But this cat is equally adept at guitar, vocals and songwriting as he displays here on this twelve track release of original music.

“Look Out” jumps off the vinyl with a swinging up-tempo proclamation to look out and re-asses the bad things and jump these grooves to a better day. A sound bit of advice that is backed up with musical enticements for all of us to take notice of. Guesting is Roomfuls’ Chris Vachon on guitar which is a treat.

The title track “Quick Fix” offers us a solid guitar driven reflection of life’s current situation complimented by spanking horns – arranged by fellow Roomful partner in crime Doug Woolverton. Travis shows his guitar prowess very nicely here and through the release.

What this is not is a Roomful showcase or gathering, though he is joined by fellow bandmates. Travis shines in his own light and covers a wide variety of styles from jump blues, to slow burners all done in a very neat form. Travis possesses a fine voice that he uses with a keen sense of space and timing. His guitar work is really pretty clean and good, not overly done with some consideration to phrasing and spacing of notes, makes ya want to hear him play some more.

The Blues shuffle is featured on “Baby Baby Baby” with horns working the counterpoint to Travis’ vocals and guitar. This cut has a certain element of funk to it that makes it hard not to tap your feet (or at least chair dance while listening). “Triscuit Jam” is a jazzy groove set up by some killer B3 work, that had me recalling the hey-day of Chick Corea and Return to Forever styled intelligent funk.

Travis closes it all out with a acoustic offering “What Can I Say” which serves as a nice end to a driving release.

Travis is a fine young artist and deserves to be heard and listened to in his own right. ‘Quick Fix’ is an entirely enjoyable release and shows promise of more good music to come from Travis. Also be sure to check him out with recent New England Music Award Winners for Blues Act of the Year – Roomful of Blues http://www.roomful.com/ .

Until next time,
Love, Peace & Chicken Grease
chefjimi
©Blues411.com 2012
photos: courtesy of artists.

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Shun Kikuta – Shogun of the Blues

Shun Kikuta, accomplished musical artist, classically trained but drawn to the Blues. His story is an interesting one, many roads but they all lead back to the Blues. He was kind enough to speak with me at length from Taiwan about his body of work, his trials and joys and how he came to work with Koko Taylor. Enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
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B411: Shun how are you ? How is living, and most especially working in Asia going?

SK: I’m doing fine, real fine. Actually besides playing the Blues I am working in a lay ‘Anything Goes’ it’s a musical. It’s very different from what I am used to with charts covering each note, no improvising allowed it is very challenging for me even though I went to school for music theory and all. But I think I have forgotten more than I remember !

B411: Well how different is it to go from Berklee School of Music and all that it encompasses to the world of the Blues – which is more free form – is it harder ?

SK: When I went to Berklee it is a great school for music, but to me, there are limits to analyzing music – scales, notes, chords but music is so much more than that stuff or theory. When I first heard BB King it was like ‘man that’s what I’m saying’, it’s something that you can’t analyze but you feel good hearing it. It was his ‘Live at the Regal’ record and I was maybe nineteen or twenty I realized that this was it. I was happy, sad, all of the emotional things involved with the music. It moved me the way he sang his ass off and played great guitar – it was the whole package to me.

Before that I was playing heavy rock music, so I had some chops, heavy rock always uses Blues licks and the like. It was easy for me to get deeper into the Blues because I had some chops but just didn’t know they were the blues. Then I started listening to guys like Otis Rush, Albert King, Buddy Guy Stevie Ray Vaughn all those good Blues players.
In Boston I saw Johnny Winter and John Lee Hooker, and also saw Ronnie Earl, Duke Robilliard and that big band sound from Roomful of Blues all local Boston area bands. The more I heard of the Blues the more I liked it and wanted to play it.
I started to go to jam sessions at the clubs in Boston, and started writing song sand learning how to play. I was still at the Berklee and playing Jazz but wanted to move in a new direction.

B411: It’s amazing how many artists cite B.B.’s ‘Live at the Regal’ as the pivotal recording that turned them on to the Blues.

SK: Yeah man, those cats were amazing and it really made me want to learn more. So within a week of graduating Berklee I moved to Chicago. I packed all my little bags into a mini-van and drove to Chicago. I found me a job at a Japanese restaurant washing dishes, but I got laid off because they were not doing well, so I was the first to go.

So I went to City Hall and got a Performer’s License for like $25 and started playing on the street. Set up in subway stations and stuff like that, it was around Christmas time and I was making like $70 in three hours and I was so excited about that – it was good money ! That was cool, playing on the streets and making good money but then after New Year’s the money dried up. I made like $1.25 in three hours so that wasn’t going to cut it.

At the same time, at night I would carry my guitar with me and go to the clubs where they had jams, places like Rosa’s Lounge, Buddy Guy’s Legends and Wise Fools Pub and do jam sessions and started meeting people and would pass around my cards. But after awhile I stopped that because not everyone was a professional at these jams and it was sometimes hard to really play out. I then started going to the clubs where bands were playing and then during the break I would introduce myself and tell them I am from Japan and play the Blues and could I sit in with them. So many times they would say yeah, and I would wait till they called me up, usually the last song late at night, and we’d play together. So I got to know so many people. It’s an amazing thing about Chicago they are so open about letting you play with them – they all give you a chance. That’s how I met Otis Rush. It was like a month after I got to Chicago he had a gig at the Wise Fools Pub, on a Tuesday and I was sitting right in front with my guitar. So at break he walked by me and asked if I play guitar, I said yes and he asked if I would want to sit in with him ! Imagine that, Otis Rush asked me to jam with him. Chicago is like that very open for musicians it’s a part of the great tradition to keep the Blues alive, and help others learn these great songs and how to play the real Blues.
A few months after that I got my first gig at Rosa’s with Louis Meyers. Tony, the owner of Rosa’s took a liking to me and kept me in the loop and helped me network with these great artists. That was the first gig that I got that was paying me money!

B411: So chronologically what year is this going on. I am trying to see how you went from the subways to playing with Koko Taylor.

SK: That was in 1990, I started playing with Koko in 2000. I didn’t know about Chicago Blues all that well back then. The sound was different then from what it was in the sixties, when I get there they were funkier and more hard-edged overdrive guitar sound. James Brown, Tyrone Davis, Funk, R&B, Al Green even Prince influences so I had to learn to adjust my style. It took me a little while but I can play a lot of different styles of music from classical, to Jazz and Rock that it helped me to adjust and learn from my past experiences. I observed the style and learned it well and I think that helped me get jobs.

A lot of cats came to Chicago expecting to play old style music like Muddy Waters, Little Walter and that but it wasn’t being played at that time unfortunately.
So around 1995 I was hired by Junior Wells for the US and Canadian tour which lasted about six months. That was my very first experience to travel outside the Chicago area to other parts of the country and the world while playing the Blues for people. We were played clubs like House of Blues and all the big festivals and by doing so I met Dan Aykroyd, Lee Oskar and guys like that through touring with Junior.

I learned a lot from Junior Wells, before I played with him I didn’t sing at all I only played guitar. So one day he comes to me while we are in the dressing room, and says to me “you don’t sing, you have to sing to be a Bluesman” – I was shocked and I said that I am a young Japanese guitar player and I don’t even speak English, never-the-less sing the Blues. He shakes his head and smiles and says I don’t speak English well either so you have no excuse. So he’s singing ‘Little By Little’ and tells me to follow him and sing along. So after that I started singing more and I appreciate what he did for me. I still work on my singing, and do more and more.

B411: Great story, especially singing Little By Little, he was right of course on all accounts. I saw a video of you on YouTube singing Little By Little in a club in Asia, very cool.

SK: Yeh, yeh I love it, I sing so much more now. So I first met Koko Taylor in 1996 when I cut my second album ‘Chicago Midnight’ for King Records in Japan. I had been working with them since 1994 so I have had Chicago artists play on my records. So they asked me who I wanted to be a guest on this record (big named people), so I said I’d like to have Koko. Koko was with Alligator and they had a relationship with King Records, so Bruce Iglauer introduced me to Koko and she said OK. We did two songs together in the studio for the release tracks 5 and 6 actually.

I didn’t see her again till 1999, I was playing together with JW Williams at the Kingston Mines every Friday and Saturday. JW and I have been together for a long time, until last year we were together sixteen years. JW is another great musician and guy. One night Koko came into Kingston Mines and she was just hanging out – she’s sitting right in the front row watching us play. So after the set I just went to say hello to her but she didn’t remember me from the recording sessions, so she said she was pleased to meet me etc., and I give her my card and say that I don’t have a day job this is what I do and I can go on the road if she ever needs me to. I never expected her to call me…..

So she calls me a few months later and says ‘do you remember me, it’s Koko Taylor’ ! Well she asked me for two shows and she really liked my playing and said she would call me again. After a few months she called me again and asked me join the ‘Blues Machine’.

B411: See if you don’t ask how will you ever know.

SK: Exactly, very true, you never know I’m glad I asked. So that was in October 2000 and had been with her up until she passed.

B411: So you are currently living in Asia, how are the Blues doing there?

SK: Yeh, I have been in Taiwan since February 2011. I tour frequently in Japan, but mainly stay in Taipei, Taiwan. The Blues is getting very hot in Asia right now. There is a big festival there that I am supposed to play in called the INA Blues along with John Mayall – we also have a Japan Blues Festival as does Beijing and India – Asia is starting to grow up more here. For me, being an Asian I feel it is important for me to be here to play the Blues that I learned in Chicago. I can also work on bringing more artists here to open the doors so everybody does well.

Indonesia is very hot now and I am looking forward to playing there at INA Blues. This is like their fifth or sixth festival, they have a lot of money to put into it. Last year they had Ana Popovic and they seem to have a large enough budget to bring big acts over here to play.
Chicago is still my home and I miss it, but being here right now is very important and I can do so much good for the Blues. Yet I think I am ready for the change, it is challenging and I am ready for it. Taiwan is not a big city like Chicago where there is a gig almost every night, but that’s OK. It is a very centrally located city it is near many cities and countries so it is a good place to be.

B411: Any plans on new recordings?

SK: I have about ten songs right now that are roughed out, not finished. Since I am in Taiwan I am talking to management company and seeing what interest there is and as soon as we get that done we will get it out there. I hope to get stuff out in 2012 in one form or another. I can even do it myself but it is always good to have someone backing you up and promoting you.

B411: Shun thank you sir, for your time today and your music.
2/23/12 PS: Shun just got married today also, how great is that - let’s all give joyous wishes to him and his bride !

For more info on Shun visit his web site: http://www.shunkikuta.com/english/index.php

Parts of this interview were originally published in Blues Blast Magazine, we thank them for allowing our shared format with them. You can visit them at http://www.thebluesblast.com/bbnow.htm

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Filed under Blues, Blues411, Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Rock & Roll

Tagged as Albert King, American Roots Music, Asia, Asian Blues, Berklee Music School, Blues, Blues Music Awards, Blues411, Buddy Guy, Chefjimi, China, Detroit Junior, Entertainment, INA Festival, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Wint, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor. Shun Kikuta, Otis Rush, Rock & Roll, Roomful of Blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn

February 1, 2012

The 411 in 15: Walking in Memphis

apologies to Mark Cohn . . . .
So after one day of laundry and re-grouping, it’s off to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge.
With over 250 bands from around the world competing for the top slots in two categories, this event truly turns Memphis into Blues Mecca.
Uneventful flights down but did enjoy the company of Don Montana, drummer from The C.D. Woodbury Band out of Seattle area, was his first visit and he was looking forward to the networking opportunities as well as jamming into the hours of weeeee while here.

After sharing a cab downtown, we parted and I got my self together and headed down to Beale to see the FedEx International Showcase. This featured around 16 bands from all over the world ranging from South Africa, the Philippines, Spain – pick a nation and they most likely had a band representing them. Exciting stuff, it is always interesting to hear other countries artists take on the Blues. We had hard rocking, fiery lead singing by Heidi Kristine Solheim of the band Pristine (Norway), to the tuba bottomed Big Daddy Wilson Duo from Germany and all stops in between. – very exciting !

While at the New Daisy Theater was great to meet some new friends who are fans of here and re-acquaint with old friends. Roomful of Blues was there and was great to finally meet Phil Pemberton the lead singer for them – they are one hard working band folks. Got to meet several competitors a super musician and gentleman Willie J. Laws representing the Massachusetts Blues Society – a pretty good cook too ! Also made friends with young Trent Romens the nineteen blues-rock guitar player who seemed very comfortable and courteous as he worked the crowd. I look forward to hearing him throw down on the guitar and chatting with him some more. He and other youngin’s are the future of the blues folks.

Everywhere I looked there seemed to be Canadian Bluesfolks, from the stunningly talented Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers, to the booty shaking 24th Street Wailers – heck they even have a showcase sponsored by the Ottawa & Montreal Blues Societies scheduled with goodie bags and stuff, eh! Had a great talk with Kirby Sewell of the eponymous band about music and the ever existing delineations of genres (my favorite topic).

So as if that was not enough, Tas Cru hosted a big jam at Rum Boogie late 0r shall I say early into the morning hours. Always a great jam host, there were way to many great folks jamming down to go mention but it was a super event and the music was over the top. But if you felt the need to ramble Brando Santini was holding court just a few doors away – and that’s a good thing !

Overall it was a great first night here in Memphis, super weather, friendly people and absolutely great music. Hope to keep y’all informed and updated. Remember to check us out on Twitter ‘blues411dotcom’ is our handle (old CB slang LOL) for updates and tweets, and on FaceBook.

Here is a link to some photos from last night to enjoy….
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.348552881836282.86393.100000447199720&type=3&l=7e61742f16

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