Hear Alvin Jett talk about their new CD Honey Bowl as well as songs from this new record.
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Alvin Jett was born in the early sixties, in East St. Louis to a family of music lovers. His father was a postal worker, who also played drums for blues bands that would come through town like Little Milton or Albert King. He also played a little guitar and gave a young Alvin pointers on the instrument. With thirteen kids in the family, there were always different kinds of music being played in the house. Alvin picked up on all the different styles of music, but blues always seemed to be what he related to. Even though Alvin was a big guy he never played many sports in school, and his guitar was not getting used much either. Then after high school he joined the Navy. When he got out, he picked up the guitar again. This time, at twenty, he really started taking the guitar seriously. His hard work at learning the guitar paid off by getting him a job with St. Louis blues legend Tommy Bankhead. This gave Alvin a chance to learn more about playing in a band, as well as advance as a guitar player. After a few years with Tommy Bankhead & the Blues Eldorados, he moved to California for a while. When he returned to St. Louis, Alvin went back to working for Tommy Bankhead, and then went into a band called Hired Help. They played a mixed set with blues and rock, doing things like Hendrix and Cream. Later Alvin and saxophonist Frank Bauer left the band to start Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band. Frank had his own band back in the mid-nineties called Blues Attitude for about five years before joining Hired Help with Alvin. A short time later Matt Davis joined as the bass player, song-writer, and singer. Corey Woodruff replaced the original drummer in 2007.

What really struck me about Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band is the huge sound a four-piece band can have. Much of this is the result of having Frank play the saxophone. Without Frank they’re just a good three-piece blues-rock band like so many others. Frank adds another sound that is not heard much in rock these days. In the fifties a rock solo was not done by the guitarist, but by the sax player. Blues bands used harp players in part to substitute an expensive brass section. Frank can deliver either of those or give the song a jazz tone. On a record this may not seem as important with all the side men that are added to records now-a-days, but when you see them live this makes a huge difference. At first you just keep looking at this four piece band wondering why they sound so big and phat. The answer is simple, Frank is on the Saxophone. He also wrote some of the songs on Honey Bowl and sings on at least one of them. Alvin is of course the lead singer and guitarist he also wrote or co-wrote most of the songs with Frank. Matt Davis (bass) also sings on a few of the songs as well as writing a few. With three different voices and writers this helps to add a little diversity to Honey Bowl.

The songs chosen for this show will give you a nice overview of what this band is like. With only twenty minutes to play music it’s hard to play everything you should hear from a record that is an hour long. The opener “Make Me Blue” is a good hard hitting blues song with good lead guitar, and I really hated leaving it and “Lay My Burden Down” out of the show. “Lay My Burden Down” is a blues/rock/gospel song with great lyrics about the problems going on around us in the world. “Lucky Charms” is a very beautiful instrumental similar to “Me, You & Cydnee,” which I only had time to play a small part of. “Dem Haters” and “Alone & Drinkin’” are both upbeat songs with some stellar sax playing in them. The CD Honey Bowl is available in Europe now, but is not yet on sale in the United States till May 12th 2009. You may find places like Amazon.com that will let you Pre-order the CD though.

If you live in the United States near St. Louis, Missouri, you may wish to attend their Cd release party on May 2nd 2009 at BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups

The CD will officially be released on May 12th 2009.

Songs played in the show are:
Bluesman’s Hat –harp by Arthur Williams
The Wreck
Graveyard Shift
Me, You & Cydnee (only part)
Zombie Land
Honey Bowl

Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band’s Website

Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band’s MySpace

To buy Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band’s CD Honey Bowl from Amazon.com

To buy Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band’s CD Milk & Cookies from the CD Baby Website

To buy Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band’s CD Wet My Beak from the CD Baby Website

I would like to thank Alvin Jett for taking the time to do this interview as well as Allison Davis for setting everything everything up.

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