Hear Todd Wolfe talk about his soon to be released CD, Borrowed Time, as well as tracks from the CD .

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On October 1, 2008 Blues Leaf Records will release the new CD by Todd Wolfe, Borrowed Time. This will be Todd’s fifth solo CD. However, this story starts back with the British Invasion and seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles got Todd’s interest in music going. When Cream and Hendrix come along that furthered Todd’s interest in music. These new bands got Todd looking to the people that inspired them like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy. This also got Todd playing guitar and joining different bands. By the late eighties Todd started writing music with a yet unknown, Sheryl Crow. Both of them moved to California to try and get a record deal. Todd found himself working with Carla Olson, formally of the band the Textones (MTV video “Midnight Mission”). Carla had been working on a CD called Within An Ace along with former Rolling Stone guitarist Mick Taylor. There were some places for guitar to be added and Todd got the job. Todd was also working a part time job during the day, worked in a blues/rock trio at night, and did some soundtrack work for the Playboy channel. At this point Sheryl Crow puts out her first record and ask Todd to be in her touring band. For the next five years Todd traveled the world playing in Sheryl’s band. In his off time he had his own band called Mojoson. Later after working with Sheryl he started a new band called The Todd Wolfe Blues Project which later was called Todd Wolfe. So here we are on the eve of the release of the fifth CD by Todd Wolfe, Borrowed Time.

Todd Wolfe and Leslie West jammin with their SGs

Borrowed Time starts off with the rocker “Tears Of Rage”. Todd has had this song in the concert lineup for years now. This will be your first time to hear this great rocker on a record. Todd said “Ready For Love” was just an excuse for writing a funky riff. The lyrics were rewritten in the car on the way to the studio. “Cold Black Night” is a great blues/rock song, very much in the style of something Led Zeppelin would have done. It is strong in the rhythm section with a lot of room for Todd to play lead all over the place. The song clocks in at 5:40 but I always have to play it twice. Let’s hope live they jam on this song for a long time. This one song is well worth getting the CD for. You will see what I mean when you listen to the podcast. Following “Cold Black Night” you’d think it would be impossible to come up with something good, but Todd does. You may even remember “Baby I’m Down” from the 1969 Mountain/Leslie West record. Very nice song with good guitar work, Leslie West even joins in on the song. “You’re Not The Only One” has nice slide guitar and the vocals for better or worse remind me of Eric Clapton. In the end, the song is just a little to slow for me. “California” is kind of an Eagles like song that Todd recorded with Mojoson. Todd wrote this and Sheryl Crow wrote the middle part of the lyrics. Susan Cowsill sings on part of this song with Todd. “Oh Well” is of course the famous Peter Green song (Fleetwood Mac). Nothing is really new here but like always it’s nice to hear, and he does a good job of it. Next is the Howlin’ Wolf song “Who’s Been Talking”. The first time I heard this it sounded like a new version of “Black Magic Woman”, the Santana version with new lyrics . This is well done, very beautiful with wonderful guitar work, nice vocals. I was surprised to find out this was a Howlin’ Wolf song. For me this is far better than the version I have on the 1970 London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions. If you’re like me and you loved Santana’s version of “Black Magic Woman” but just tired of hearing it so many times check out Todd Wolfe’s version of “Who’s Been Talking”. It has some real similarities to the Santana song but course it’s a different song. Great song you will love it. Speaking of love it, wait till you hear “If This Is Love” in the podcast. Not only is this a wonderful blues song, Mary Hawkins sings this and steals the show. Very powerful and dynamic sounding, Todd does some beautiful guitar work on it too. “Big Nose Kate (Borrowed Time)” is a fun romping rocker that lets the CD end on a high note. Actually the last three songs “Oh Well”, “Who’s Been Talking” and “If This Is Love” are all on a high note. While this is not a straight blues CD there is plenty of it there for most people, along with some rock and a ballad. After listening to the podcast be sure to go by Todd Wolfe’s website and order this CD.

Sheryl Crow Band 1994 • Tad, Sheryl Todd, (on top) Wally & Scott

Songs in the podcast:
1 Tears Of Rage
2 Ready For Love
3 If This Is Love
4 Cold Black Night

Todd Wolfe Website

Buy CD’s from Todd’s Website

Todd Wolfe MySpace page

Buy CD’s from Todd’s Record Label

Blues Leaf Records

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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark

Hear the Steve Johnson interview and some great songs from his CD’s Bluestoons and Bluesville.

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Like many of us, Steve grew up in the sixties listening to rock n’ roll and playing guitar. First he played in garage bands then later, bar bands. Steve however, took it a little farther by recording his bands and doing studio work. At this point Steve is not quite sure how many records he has made of his band. Checks come in the mail from time to time for studio work he has done. Rarely does he remember the band’s name he was playing for. To Steve it is about getting to play and create music. Who the band was is of little interest to him.

The names he remembers are the artists he has gotten to jam with like Little Jimmy King, Popa Chubby, Jon Paris, and Johnny Copeland. Then there was the time he got to play a set with Albert Collins, or the late night jams with Paul Butterfield. You can hear it in his voice how he feet so honored to play with these guys. He told me how Albert Collins was a friendly, happy person in a good mood. Steve said Albert Collins was a good example of how blues is not always about sad things. The songs are not always like an Albert King song that has the knife in the back kind of story. Many blues songs are up beat, fun, party type of music. That seems to be what Steve came away remembering the most about Albert Collins was his good nature enjoyable personality.

Steve Johnson’s Bluestoons is a nice mix of originals and covers with some nice surprises thrown in. Steve has a really neat blues voice, it sounds like it’s coming from deep inside of him. A somewhat rough, deep, dark, mournful voice, maybe even a little like Howlin’ Wolf but deeper and fuller. Hey, I know the best way for you to know Steve Johnson’s singing voice, play the podcast so you can hear him sing. The First song “I Won’t Be There” is a great blues rocker to start off the CD. It is a really good guitar solo I would like to use in Guitar Solo of the Week but this song is already tagged for the main part of the show. “Badside” is another blues rocker about someone he knew that had everything going for them but a cocaine problem. I said there are some nice surprises on Bluestoons well, here is the first one. “Sex Meachine” is an old Sly & the Family Stone’s song. A good funky instrumental that Little Jimmy King heard Steve play one time and liked it so much he asked to play it with Steve Johnson and his band. Side note: when Little Jimmy King would come to New York City he’d have Steve Johnson and his band be his back up band. This song is great because it gives Steve a lot of room to play around on guitar. The next surprise is the old Savoy Brown song “Tell Mama”. Steve’s deeper voice works really good on this. The whole song has a fuller, slightly stronger sound to it, very well done. Steve said “Blue Lincoln” started out as a faster song but he kept slowing it down to the point that he could play all the complicated slide guitar lines while still singing. There is a very nice slide guitar solo in this too. A real surprise for me was finding out that not Steve Johnson but Eric Johnson wrote the very beautiful instrumental “East West”. This is followed by “Bad Day”, a nice blues rocker, followed by another instrumental “Endless Blues”. A real change of pace comes in with country blues song “Flathead Blues” on which Steve demonstrates his guitar picking and slide work. Flathead is a motorcycle, you know like the one Lee Marvin used in The Wild One.
“Rockin Robin” is a fast blues rocker with great harp playing by Harry Fritz. Harry really shows you why some people call it a Mississippi saxophone. The CD ends with another fast rocker called “Hardluck Blues”. The last two songs really put the icing on the cake. As you will hear in the podcast Bluestoons has good guitar and slid guitar work with refreshingly unique vocals. This would be a fine addition to any music collection.

Bluesville is another CD of Steve Johnson’s that I’ve been enjoying lately. Some quick highlights are “Call Me Baby”, Roofman both written by Steve. Tom Waits “Walking Spanish”, Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “Loan Me A Dime” made famous by Boz Scaggs. This CD could have just as easily been the spotlighted CD, it’s also very good.

Bluestoons – Bluesville – Blues From the Roadhouse – Leaving New York

They have been together for about 14 years:
Steve Johnson – guitars, lead vocals
Mark Pavlica – bass guitar, vocals
Cliff McComas – drums, vocals

Songs in the podcast:
1. Badside
2. Out the Door
3. Flathead Blues
4. Call Me Baby
5. I Won’t Be There

Guitar solo of the week was the song “Endless Blues”
All songs are from the Bluestoons CD, Except “Call Me Baby” from Bluesville

Steve Johnson Website
You Tube video
Steve Johnson MySpace
Buy Bluestoons or Blues From the Roadhouse (Live) from Dixiefrog Regords
Download CD Leaving New York

Thanks to Steve Johnson for all his help with this.

Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark

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A phone interview with Boo Boo Davis about his new CD Name of the Game. Listen to the Podcast to hear his story and music.

Boo Boo Davis was born in the south on Nov. 4, 1943. He remembers Elmore James coming over to the house to play music with his father, Sylvester Sr. Davis. His father also played with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and others. Boo Boo said his father could play fiddle, guitar, bass, flute, horns and piano. Sylvester Sr. also danced on a show called The Rabbit Foot. Boo Boo started singing and playing harmonica in church and later he picked up guitar playing. His first encounter of touring the Delta came with the family band. His dad was the singer, older brother Sylvester Jr. (S.L.) on bass guitar, younger brother John on guitar, and sister Clara on vocals in the Lard Can Band. Boo Boo played the lard can as a drum. You laugh, but this band backed up a guy named B.B. King when he was unknown.
Finally Boo Boo and his brothers moved from their hometown of Drew, Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri. This was in the early sixties when St. Louis was known as a blues town. Boo Boo has been living and playing there ever since. Well kind of, he does a lot of touring in the Delta as well as Europe. This year (2008) he has been to Europe three times already.

Boo Boo was heard on another St. Lousian’s CD called Harpin’ on It by Arthur Williams. As a result Boo Boo was asked to come to Amsterdam to perform and record a CD.
Now seven years later he has five CD out on Black & Tan Records.
2001 – East St. Louis
2002 – Can Man
2004 – The Snake
2006 – Drew, Mississippi
2008 – Name of the Game

Thanks to Joe Corner for permission to use this photo.

The new CD Name of the Game came out Sept. 8, 2008. The first song “Dirty Dog” is so good I played it three times before moving on. The vocals are solid, harp playing good, but the show is stolen by Jan Mittendorp’s wah-wah guitar. This is some of the best wah-wah guitar ever. No joking this is some industrial wah-wah guitar playing. Very powerful stuff that makes you wonder why no one has ever made their wah-wah sound like this. Every radio station should be playing “Dirty Dog” over and over again. Next is “I’m Comin Home” a slow hard stomp with good harp playing. The beat of the music almost makes you feel the steps he is taking going home to his baby. Boo Boo told me “Stay From The Casino” is about how so many people are losing there money in the casinos. “Want Nobody Tell Me How To Live My Life” may be one of the longest titles of a song I’ve seen in a long while. The song is a laid back shuffle that gives Boo Boo some room to blow harp.
The title track’s lyrics for “Name of the Game” pretty much came from a conversation he had with some friends about going hunting. “Who Stole the Booty” was one of the high points from his 2006 Drew, Mississippi CD. Here it has more of an industrial strength. I like the other versions but this one is even better, more powerful. “Why You Wanna Do It” is a heartfelt song about people doing things they know they should not have done. In this case leaving someone and breaking their heart. Followed by the blues’ song “Lonely All By Myself” again a heartfelt song that Boo Boo does some fine harp playing on. Then we go in to a fifties rocker called “It’s A Shame” which is a good change of pace. “Hot Foot” brings us back to the industrial wah-wah guitar with a strong groove. Boo Boo’s harp playing is really good although I wish there was more if it. The CD ends on a high note with a “St. Louis Woman”, a good blues rocker. This song Boo Boo probably plays the most harp on making it just a little more special.

Before hearing “Dirty Dog” I was not a Boo Boo Davis listener. The songs I’d heard didn’t do anything for me. Funny how one song can change the way you listen to other songs. “Dirty Dog” made me really listen to Boo Boo’s music with much more attention than I had given it before. Songs like “Drew, Mississippi” and “Standing In The Cottonfields” really impressed me. Then hearing more of the new songs like “Hot Foot”, “I’m Coming Home”, and the remake of “Who Stole The Booty” really showed me I’d been overlooking a very powerful blues artist. As you listen to the songs in the podcast you will hear a very powerful voice coming from a 64-year-old man. A man that saw and played with many of the pillars of today’s blues world. Below is a link to where you can buy Boo Boo Davis CD Name of the Game.

The band on Name of the Game is:
Jan on guitars, John on drums & Boo Boo Davis on vocals & harmonica,
give them a hand.

Songs in the podcast are:
Hot Foot
I’m Coming Home
St. Louis Woman
Who Stole The Booty
Dirty Dog

Boo Boo Davis live at BB’s on 9-12-08 premiering his new CD

Boo Boo Davis Website

Boo Boo Davis MySpace

Go to buy Boo Boo Davis CD Name of the Game at Black & Tan Records

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Congratulations to Chris James and Patrick Rynn, The Blues Foundation has nominated them for a 2009 Blues Music Award in the category of “Best New Artist Debut” for the CD Stop and Think About It.

A phone interview with Chris James & Patrick Rynn about their new CD Stop and Think About It. Listen to the Podcast to hear their story and music.

The band the Blue Four have released their first CD, Stop and Think About It, under the name Chris James & Patrick Rynn, its two star players. From the very first time I heard one of their songs I know I had to get them for this show. Chris James & Patrick Rynn’s CD Stop and Think About It is a great collection of Chicago blues and Delta blues. Chris James is the lead vocalist as well as lead guitarist. Wait until you hear him play slide guitar, wow can he play. Patrick Rynn is 2nd vocalist and bass guitarist. Patrick also helped James write their five original songs.

Chris James was playing blues songs on the piano when he was around 11. Chris got to know San Diego blues artist Tomcat Courtney who let this 13 year old play Harmonica in his band. Later, when the bassist quit the band Tomcat told Chris he needed to learn the bass for next weeks show, Chris did. Chris later learned guitar and started his own band to play in when he was not working with Tomcat. In 1990 Chris went to Chicago where he landed a job with Detroit Junior. He also went around to different clubs where he was able to jam with different blues artists.

Patrick Rynn started off playing classical music when he was young. Around 15 he switched from violin to bass and from classical to jazz. In college he picked up an Elmore James recording and fell in love with it. Later, Patrick joined a blues band called The Griswolds, who he played bass with for about five years. Junior Wells needed a bass player one night, as fate would have it Patrick was standing there. Junior Wells liked Patrick’s playing and invited him to be his guest at a Chicago festival. Patrick was able to meet a lot of famous Chicago blues artisst as well as perform with James Cotton. It was time for Patrick to move to Chicago where the blues were being played all around him.

In 1990 Chris was playing around with a guitar in the music store Patrick was working in. Very quickly both of them found they shared a common interest in the blues. Working together they landed gigs like the Tribute to Little Walter where the audience had Billy Boy Arnold, Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards, and Dave Myers. They later worked for five years with Sam Lay who had played drums for people like Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Bob Dylan. Sam is also in the Blues, Jazz and Rock Hall of Fame in Memphis, Los Angeles, and Cleveland respectfully. Chris and Patrick also worked with and became good friends with Dave Myers. Dave has made records with Little Walter, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and performed with Arthur “Big Boy” Spires, Eddie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Junior Wells, Earl Hooker, Luther Tucker, “Big Bill” Broonzy, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins, John Brim, and Bo Diddley to name more than a few. Chris and Patrick can also be seen in Martin Scorsese’s documentary on the blues, available on DVD. They are on Rob Stone’s CD Just My Luck as are Sam Lay and Dave Myers. Dennis Binder CD Hole in That Jug and Jody Williams CD “Evidence” both have Chris and Patrick on them. For more details on everything they have played on see their website (link at bottom).

Chris James & Patrick Rynn’s new CD Stop and Think About It is 12 great blues songs. Patrick decries their sound as traditional Chicago blues with an aggressive edge. That’s a very good description. Whether they are doing covers by Elmore James, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, Snooky Pryor, or their originals, it’s a powerful Chicago blues sound. I was impressed how the originals are woven in with the covers.
Look at the first eight songs and who wrote them:
You’re Gone Chris James & Patrick Rynn
Early One Morning Elmore James
Mister Coffee Chris James & Patrick Rynn
Confessin’ the Blues Little Walter
I’d Like to Write a Letter Chris James & Patrick Rynn
Hawaiian Boogie Elmore James
Stop and Think About It Chris James & Patrick Rynn
Mona Bo Diddley

The songs Chris and Patrick wrote are sandwiched between songs by big blues artists. This could be a disaster for an artist with weak songs but not the case here. Chris and Patrick’s songs hold up just as good as Elmore James or Little Walter’s songs. Chris pointed out in our conversation that they picked songs that were not covered by other artists as much. Even though I have all the covers but Snooky Pryor’s “Someone to Love Me”, only Bo Diddley’s “Mona” stood out as a song I had heard before. All the songs sound new, fresh and of equal value. The lead off song “You’re Gone” is about a couple breaking up and being glad that partner is finally gone. Bob Corritore does a great job of playing harp on almost every other song starting on “You’re Gone”.
We move into the first of four songs of Elmore James “Early One Morning”, “Hawaiian Boogie”, “Got to Move”, and “My Kind of Woman”. Hearing Chris play slide guitar on these songs is a real treat. “Mister Coffee” as well as the title track “Stop and Think About It” are the high points of the CD for me. Both have somewhat humors lines like “you might live a hundred years but you won’t get no smarter, you’re sharp as a marble and your heads even harder, you’re going to pay the price it’s just a matter of time, lucky for you being stupid ain’t a crime”. Guess because we all know someone like that it really resonates with you. These songs have equally good grooves, as you will hear in the podcast. In the Little Walter song “Confessin” the blues have a more upbeat fuller sound by Chris and Patrick than on Little Walter’s recording. It’s also truer to the style of Little Walter than The Rolling Stones 1964 version. Bo Diddley’s “Mona” is done well. I’m not much of a Bo Diddley fan so I’m not a good judge here. Quicksilver Messenger Service burned me out on this song back in the seventies. If you, like most people, enjoy Mr. Diddley this will be a well added song. Snooky Pryor’s “Someone to Love Me” is a fun blues/rock song, very nice. “Relaxin’ at the Clarendon” is a swing instrumental with great sax and slide guitar. We end with the Elmore James song “My Kind of Woman”. Like the last song it has some cool sax playing then Chris goes into his slide guitar and you’re wowed one last time.

The CD is a little over 45 minutes and it was the fastest 45 minutes of the week. Stop and Think About It was played over and over again on my iPod this week. The only real disappointment is this is their first CD as a band (not doing back up work) so I can’t go out and buy more Chris James & Patrick Rynn CDs. I love this recording and will be playing it for a long time to come. I highly recommend Stop and Think About It because it’s a great blues CD. You should rush to your computer and buy it(links below). Hey, you’re in front of a computer right now. Don’t stop and think about it, this is the perfect time to buy Chris James & Patrick Rynn’s new CD. You’ll love yourself for it.

Songs played in podcast are:
You’re Gone
Mister Coffee
I’d Like to Write a Letter
Stop and Think About It

Chris James & Patrick Rynn Website

Chris James & Patrick Rynn MySpace

To buy Stop and Think About It from CD Baby Website

To buy a digital download Stop and Think About It from iTunes, eMusic, or amazon.com
Their about 9 or 10 from the bottom of the page.

Earwig Musi

I would like to thank Chris James & Patrick Rynn for taking time to be on this show.

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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark