Wed 22 Apr 2009
Congratulations to Jason Ricci, The Blues Foundation has nominated him for a 2009 Blues Music Award in the category of “Instrumentalist-Harmonica”.
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This week you will get a triple threat. You get to hear songs form the two-day-old CD Done With The Devil before it ascends to the top of the blues charts. You will also get to hear guitarist Shawn Starski talk about how he got interested in music and landed the job as guitarist in Jason Ricci & New Blood. Last but certainly not least you will hear Jason Ricci talk about their new Eclecto Grove CD Done With The Devil.
Shawn Starski is the guitarist for Jason Ricci & New Blood. He was born in Detroit, but moved to Southern Florida when he was nine. Around the age of eleven Shawn asked if he could play guitar in the church band. They didn’t need another guitarist but asked him to switch to bass. Which is exactly what Shawn did. Even though he was suppose to be learning bass, Shawn spent most of his time learning Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix on the guitar. While in high school he joined the school jazz band, which taught him a lot of music theater. This really helped later in understanding how to play different kinds of music. Through the late nineties and early two thousands, he played in different bar bands playing rock, blues, and even one band kind of like Squirrel Nut Zippers. During this time period Shawn and Jason met in Florida but had never played together. Jason needed a fill in guitarist for a few shows in North Carolina, so Shawn filled in. A few weeks after the shows Jason asked Shawn if he’d like to join New Blood. Shawn said, “Hell yeah.” At that time they just jammed on songs they all knew, yet it was some what like the style of the current day band. Just not as well defined. As time went on they started writing their own songs. In 2004 they recorded a live CD called Live at Checkers Tavern (out of print) with all original material. Shawn said they were in the middle of a tour in 2005 with two days off and needed a new CD, so they popped in a studio and recorded Blood On The Road.
Then in 2007 Delta Groove Records signed the band to their sister label Eclecto Groove Records. The band finally had a record label that would record them with a good budget and people that really know how to make a good record, as well as promote the band. This produced their first ground-breaking masterpiece Rocket Number 9. Now this past Tuesday you probably felt the ground-breaking tremors that went shooting through the blues community as Eclecto Groove Records released the follow up record Done With The Devil. As you probably recall from the last show A1Blues.Com did on Jason Ricci & New Blood’s CD Rocket Number 9. Jason’s innovative harmonica playing was compared to Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix’s innovations on their respective instruments. With Done With The Devil, those comparisons are still true, however now the whole band is growing in sophistication. This record is over flowing with creativity that you will pick up on the on first listening but days, weeks, even months later you will still be finding new things you had not found before. Jason said this was recorded over a two-week period instead of just a few days as the case had been in the past. They also had producer Phillip Wolfe working with them who filled in with some very nice keyboard work too. Jason also said this was the first time they went into the studio with out the idea of reproducing their live sound on a record. This time they went in with the idea of exploiting the art form in the studio. The opening song “Done With The Devil” has kind of a Steven Tyler/Aerosmith rock sound to it. The next song “Sweet Loving” is a fun, up beat song about getting over problems couples have to achieve something higher. “Broken Toy” may be Jason’s most heart-felt vocals. In the show you will hear Jason explain why he feels like an outsider or a broken toy. Todd Edmounds, their bassist, co-wrote the song with Jason, as well as playing upright bass on this one. “Pteryptophan Pterodactyl” is a cool jazz instrumental also written by Todd. This one took a little longer to get into but was well worth the extra time spent on the song. Jason’s harp solo is really good as well as the unfortunately too short solos by Phillip Wolfe on keyboards and Shawn’s guitar solo. They do the punk rock song “I Turned Into A Martian” originally by The Misfits. This version is much more powerful, twice as long and has to be in their live set, great job. Drummer Ed Michael wrote and sings this fun rocker “Keep The Wolf From The Door.” This is just another example of how talented this band is, and you’ll get to hear this in the show.
There are three covers that you will have to buy the CD to hear. Willie Dixon’s “As Long as I Have You,” probably the best blues song they have recorded so far. Ramon Santamaria’s “Afro Blue” which Jason said is more based on the John Coltrane’s version than Ramon’s. You may remember in the last interview Jason said he wants to put a Sun Ra song on all his records. This time we’re treated to their interpretation of Sun Ra’s “Enlightenment”. This is an out standing peace of music to close the record with, but Phillip Wolfe almost steals the show with his accordion playing. With these three covers, plus The Misfits cover, and “Done With The Devil”, “Broken Toy”, “Sweet Loving” and “Keep The Wolf From The Door”. This is a must have CD, that you will be playing over and over again for many years to come.
There is one thing I did not like. The inclosed pamphlet has three pages that Jason wrote. I literally used a magnifying glass to read the first page, and then gave up, even though it was interesting. Maybe Jason or Eclecto Grove Records could post it at their website. Everything else I loved. Good front cover and back cover, also who plays what instruments on what songs is well documented.
Jason Ricci is up for the 2009 Blues Music Award for Instrumentalist-Harmonica player. Next year he should also be in the album of the year category for Done With The Devil .
Songs played in this week show:
Keep the Wolf from My Door
Sweet Loving
Broken Toy
Done with the Devil
Go to buy Done With The Devil from Eclecto Groove Records
Go to buy Rocket Number 9 from CD Baby Website
Check out some great Delta Grove records by artists like
The Insomniacs, Bobby Jones, The Mannish Boys, Mitch Kashmar,
Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, Elvin Bishop
& many more of today’s top blues artists.
Thanks to Jason Ricci and Shawn Starski for taking time out of their tour to talk to me.
Thanks to Jody Best at Eclecto Groove Records for all her help in putting all this together.
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Blues Music and Interviews
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