047 - Blindside Blues Band - From Cream to Robin Trower They're Keeping Rock Alive [34:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A1 Artist Spotlight.Com did a phone interview with Mike Onesko about his band the Blindside Blues Band and their CD Keepers of the Flame. Listen to the Podcast with the interview and music of the Blindside Blues Band.
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Blindside Blues Band is led by Mike Onesko who is the lead guitarist and vocals for the band. Mike grew up in Cleveland Ohio were he remembers his parents playing the popular music of the day. He loved Elvis and even had a windup Elvis guitar. Mike’s real journey began when he moved to California. After playing in a bunch of different bands Mike Varney discovered Mike Onesko playing in a club. The two of them started the Blindside Blues Band. Mike Varney is now best known for being a record producer, publisher, and founder of record labels like Shrapnel Records, Tone Center, and Blue Bureau. Mike Varney also discovered Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine, Greg Howe, Marty Friedman, Vinnie Moore and Jason Becker. Onesko and Varney went on to make four records together as the Blindside Blues Band before Varney decided to move on. This did not hold Mike Onesko back at all. Mike has gone on to make two more Blindside Blues Band records as well as numerous other recording projects. Perhaps one of his most interesting one is Cream of the Crop with Tim Bogert on bass guitar and vocals and Emery Ceo on drums and vocals. They do live shows playing Cream songs. If you’re like me and never got to see Cream, this may be the next best thing.
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Blindside Blues Band new CD Keepers of the Flame is a heavy blues rock sound with a lot of energy and fun. The CD opens with “Keepers of the Flame” which is like a car spinning its tires on take off, it’s full speed ahead no looking back. Mike said the song is about how Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan are gone. Eric Clapton and Robin Trower are getting older, who will be the keepers of the flame? Who will carry on this kind of heavy blues-rock we grew up on? It will be the Blindside Blues Band. This is a good thing because they do a good job of it. Now if we can just get radio stations to play this style of music once again. The CD continues on with “Sonic Love” and “Jagged Edge” two more classic rock style songs with a guitar driven sound. “Maybe I’m A Leo” everyone will know from the Deep Purple record Machine Head. I think it’s very hard to take a classic rocker like this and update it because we all know this song so well. Blindside Blues Band made the song better. They keep it a lot like the original, yet made it a little more powerful, a little more solid. An interesting note, Mike Varney returned to play on this song. Joe Romagnoia the owner of Grooveyard Records, the label Blindside Blues Band is on, asked the band to do this song. Joe and Mike Varney both take turns playing guitar solos, Joe’s first then Mike’s. How cool is that, two record company owners will work together because they love the music. “Lonesome Road” is more of a laid back song that fits very nicely in the middle of the CD. The guitar strumming reminds me of “Friends” from Led Zeppelin III. It’s not the same song but there are some nice similarities. Mike said he wrote this about being on the lonesome road of touring. Check out the very nice instrumental part in the middle along with drummer Jeff Martin’s fine Harp playing. “Back Stabber”, “Electric Wave” and “Bad Luck” are back to a harder classic rock style. “Back Stabber” has a sound like Cream, maybe “Sunshine of Your Love” I’m not quite sure. It’s not obvious, just kind of a subtle riff from time to time. Davey Patterson who was with (Ronnie) Montrose and now sings for Robin Trower’s band joined in on this CD too. Davey is the singer on Blindside Blues Band’s remake of the Robin Trower’s song “Hannah” originally on the 1973 Twice Removed From Yesterday CD, Robin’s first solo record. Again, I think Blindside Blues Band does a better job on this song than the original. The real treat for me came in the song “I Wanna Be Free” from Uriah Heep’s Look At Yourself record. Sandwiched between “Look At Yourself” and “July Morning” I kind of overlooked the song. Mike said that was one of his favorite records and always liked that song a lot. Uriah Heep’s version is good but Blindside Blues Band’s version is great. The keyboards, (by Barry Prior) the guitars, and Jeff Martin’s vocals all have a fuller and more powerful sound. I would think trying to do a Uriah Heep song and make it sound good would be very hard to do. How many people can you think of that have even tried to pull this off. These guys not only tried to pull it off but made it better. “I Wanna Be Free”, “Keepers of the Flame”, and “Lonesome Road” are worth the price of the CD, still there are eight more songs. Keepers of the Flame is well over an hour long. Yes that’s right Grooveyard Records let Blindside Blues Band put out a CD that’s one hour and fifteen minutes long, that’s a bargain. If you like the sound of Cream, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Robin Trower and the others of that time you have just found a new band with that kind of great sound. The Blindside Blues Band are the keepers of the flame.
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Cream of the Crop with Tim Bogert on bass guitar
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Songs in podcast are:
Keepers of the Flame
Lonesome Road
Back Stabber
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Guitar solo of the week is from “Electric Wave”
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Blindside Blues Band Website
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To buy Keepers of the Flame from CD Baby
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To buy their last CD Long Hard Road from CD Baby
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Check out other great artist on Grooveyard Records
“Keep Rock Alive”
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I would like to thank Joe Romagnoia of Grooveyard Records for his help & setting up the interview.
Thanks also to Mike Onesko of Blindside Blues Band for doing the interview & all his help in putting this together.