Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter Michael “Iron Man” Burks died in Atlanta on Sunday, May 6, 2012. He was 54 years old. He was returning from a tour of Europe and collapsed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He was rushed to South Fulton Medical Center where he could not be revived. The preliminary diagnosis for cause of death was a heart attack.

Alligator Records

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This episode is about Jumpin’ Jack Benny and their new CD I’ll Be Alright.  Benny is really Benny Cortez the charismatic front man for the band. I’ll Be Alright is a high energy R&B/Rock/ Blues/Soul music that sounds great. After looking at some of the videos at their website I think we’re only getting part of the story.  When they play live it’s even higher-energy.  It’s time to push the play button so you can hear Jumpin’ Jack Benny tell you all about this great CD I’ll Be Alright.

Jumpin Jack Benny’s Website

Buy Jumpin Jack Benny’s CD from Amazon.Com

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No lie, if you were able to have heard this CD back in the late 60’s early 70’s it would have fit in perfectly with what was going on with the Blues-Rock bands of the day.  The Todd Wolfe Band Live CD is well over one hour long and includes a fourteen minute version of “Shame” that you will get to hear in this show.  The DVD of The Todd Wolfe Band Live is even longer.

Get The Todd Wolfe Band Live from his Website

Get The Todd Wolfe Band Live from Amazon.Com

I’d like to thank Rick Lusher and Mark Pucci for their help in setting everything up.

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

Last year ended with a show on Oli Brown, the young British Blues-Rocker that has been turning heads.  This year starts off with another young British Blues-Rocker, Joanne Shaw Taylor who is living in Detroit USA right now.

Last year Joanne Shaw Taylor made a big splash with her debut CD White Sugar on Ruf Records.  Joanne’s new CD Diamonds In the Dirt is going to get a lot more heads turning too.  Wow, what a CD to start the year off with.

Joanne Shaw Taylor Website

Buy Joanne Shaw Taylor’s CD Diamonds in the Dirt from Amazon.Com

Thanks to Mark Pucci for putting up with me always asking when will Joanne record the next CD, when is it coming out, and when can we do an interview.  Thanks for all your help Mark.

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This week last week will be a Best of the music on A1Blues.Com for 2010.  No interviews or count downs just a lot of great music.

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Jay Gaunt has been getting a lot of air play with his new CD Harmonicopia.  This is Jay’s first CD with a real variety of styles of music. Listen and see what you think of this new harp’s.

Jay Gaunt’s Website

Get Jay Gaunt’s CD Harmonicopia from Amazon.Com

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You’ve heard me speak many times of Chris James & Patrick Rynn well, their song writing partner is Rob Stone, our guest on this episode.  This is Rob’s third CD, I hope he comes Back Around Here many more times great Chicago blues.

Rob Stone’s Website (you can buy his CD here & watch some videos)

Get Rob Stone’ CD Back Around Here from Amazon.Com

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This episode I am talking to Rob Blaine.  He’s grown up playing the blues and now has a record out under his name.  Big Otis Blues you’ll know it when you hear it by Rob Blaine.

Rob Blaine Website

Get Rob Blaine’s CD Big Otis Blues at Amazon.Com

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169 – Karen Lovely – Still The Rain

A lot of you have been hearing Karen Lovely’s music in the Blues Revue’s sampler CD. Even more of you have been hearing her on the radio.  Everyone has been talking about this great CD and now you’ll get to hear her talk about Still The Rain.

Karen Lovely’s Website

Buy Karen Lovely’s CD Still the Rain at Amazon.Com

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Hear Magic Slim in this episode of A1Blues.Com talk about his last two records.  Magic Slim is one of the last Chicago blues artists from the 50’s. He was even in Magic Sam’s band in the early days.

Buy Magic Slim CD Raising The Bar From Amazon.com

Magic Slim’s Website

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This week you will hear Bnois King from the band Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King talking about their new record on Alligator Records called Have Blues Will Travel.

Bnois King like Smokin’ Joe Kubek plays guitar for the band but he’s also the vocalist and wrote or co-wrote all the songs.  Their last record the popular 2008 Alligator release Blood Brothers has been one of my fevered records of the last few years.   It’s been a long wait but the much anticipated new record Have Blues Will Travel come out this Tuesday.

The record is full of great guitar playing, good hooks, and the very pleasant voice of Bnois King.  Bnois really come up with some great lyrics like in the song “RU4 Real”  or “Payday In America” a song every person that works for a living will relate to.

Why take my word for it turn on the show and you will hear for yourself some of the coolest-hottest music of this summer.

Bnois said they will be doing a long tour so be sure to get out there and see them.

Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King – Website

Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King – MySpace page

To buy Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King’s CD’s Have Blues Will Travel & Blood Brothers

Check out other great CDs on Alligator Records like new ones  by Guitar Shorty, Anders Osborne, Janiva Magness & The Holmes Brothers

Buy Have Blues Will Travel from Amazon.Com

I’d like to thank Bnois King and Bruce Iglauer for their time and help in putting this show together.

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If you have not heard yet I’m sorry to inform you of the passing if blues guitarist Lil Dave Thompson.  Dave was killed in an automobile accident on February 13th while touring with his band. The other band members were not seriously injured.

Lil’ Dave is survived by Susan White, his wife of 15 years; his children: David Jr. (20), Danielle (19), Shequeena (18), Shirleiah (16) and Destiny (13); sisters Patricia, Barbara Denise, Jennifer and Pasty Thompson, Zenovia Henderson and Rose Marie Richmond; and brothers John, Sam, Elijah Allen and Tyrone Thompson. Please keep them and his band members in your prayers.

When I interviewed Lil Dave Thompson back in December he was in good sprites and looking forwarded to working on a new live record.  Dave will be greatly missed.

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Mike Zito’s new CD came out this week and he will be telling us about it as well as letting us hear some of the new songs from the CD Pearl River.
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You may remember that last December Mike Zito was on the show talking about his then current CD, Today. Well he’s back with an even better one. If you missed that show you may like to go back to listen to Mike talk about how he got started in music as well as songs from the Today CD. Click here to go to that show.
This week you’re going to hear a really great show. Mike talks about how he and Cyril Neville wrote the title track “Pearl River”. Every time I hear this song and look at the CD cover’s art work it’s like I’m in the deep south. The atmosphere that Mike creates in this song along with the lyrics that Cyril wrote can’t help but make you feel transported to another time in the swampy lands of the south. This is just one of many wonderful songs your going to hear on this weeks show. “Change My Ways” is a beautiful song where Mike demonstrates how in one song he can do some very beautiful guitar work then turn around and do a raw guitar solo that works just as well. Anders Osborne joins Mike for a nice acoustic duet on Anders’ “One Step At A Time” the song’s lyrics could be as much about Mike’s past life as Anders’ life. Then there is another duet but this time it is with Susan Cowsill, yes the same Susan Cowsill from The Cowsill who did “The Rain, the Park and Other Things”, and “Hair.” They do a fun song called “Shoes Blues” besides Mike’s good guitar solo, Reese Wynans plays some good piano. On the George Smith song, “All Last Night,” Mike really gets down to some tasty guitar playing. Wow, great job. Mike even does a good version of the old Sonny Boy Williamson song “Eyesight To The Blind,” which makes The Who’s version on Tommy sound like The Cowsill’s were doing it. Mike decried this as a kind of a New Orleans style version of the song. Then there are the great raw blues songs that Mike does so good, like “Dirty Blonde”, “Natural Born Lover” and “Big Mouth.” The types of songs that draw me to his concerts.

Having heard some of Mike’s older self produced records I can really see how he has grown as a guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. Pearl River is a diverse record with heart-felt vocals as well as touching guitar work. There is something here for everyone and then some. Please buy a copy of Mike Zito’s Pearl River and don’t forget see him in concert.

Be sure to listen to the whole show, because at the very end Mike has a funny story to tell about his fellow Eclecto Groove recording artist Jason Ricci.

Songs heard in this weeks show:
Dirty Blonde
Change My Ways
Natural Born Lover
Pearl River

Buy Mike Zito CD’s at Eclecto Groove Records

Mike Zito’s Pearl River from Amazon.Com

Buy Mike Zito’s Today CD from Amazon.Com

Mike Zito’s Website

Mike Zito’s Myspace

Mike Zito’s page at Eclecto Groove Records

See other great artists on Eclecto Groove Records
Like Ana Popovic and Jason Ricci & New Blood and many others.

Thanks to Mike Zito for such a fun interview and as always thanks to Jody Best for all her help in setting everything up.
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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

Hear Joanne Shaw Taylor talk about her debut record White Sugar as well as hearing some great songs from White Sugar.
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Joanne Shaw Taylor has released her first record its called White Sugar and it’s on Ruf Records. This record was cut from the same plastic vinyl as Led Zeppelin I. They have a raw English, blues-rock style that is often copied, but very seldom is done this well.

Joanne grew up in Birmingham, England where Black Sabbath and half of Led Zeppelin are from. At eight years of age she started playing classical guitar, but it wasn’t until around thirteen when she got into her dads blues record collection and picked up his electric guitar that the sparks started fly. First and foremost, Joanne said it was Stevie Ray Vaughan that got her interested in the blues. Albert Collins was another big influence on her. Joanne said it was important for her to go back and study the blues, and listen to blues artists like B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, Luther Allison and Buddy Guy. This was a way for her to really understand the genre and become a better player.

Joanne started her own band in high school and was lucky enough to have older musicians around town that would help and encourage her. Then one night a friend of Dave Stewart (formally of The Eurythmics) saw Joanne playing and passed a demo on to him. Dave liked Joanne’s playing so much he had her play in his touring band. In the off time from touring she had her own band to play in. Then there was the time she met Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones but hey, listen to the show and she will tell you all about it.

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s White Sugar is going to be one of these records people are going to be looking back on for years to come as the one that got her career started. This record is full of great raw blues-rock. The song “Going Home”, Joanne said, is her swampy dirty blues song. “Kiss The Ground Goodbye” she said is her homage to Hendrix. Somewhat like “Castles Made of Sand”. This is also her reply to all the record companies that told her you can’t do blues it’s a dead genre. The only song on White Sugar that Joanne did not write is “Bones” it was by a band called The Hoax. She liked their music and wanted to tip the hat to them. The title track’s name comes from an instrumental Joanne had written, but she had never named the song. Coming home from Bill Wyman’s house one day Dave Stewart turned to her and said you should write a song called white sugar as opposed to “Brown Sugar”. No joking, that’s how the name came about. Then there are the four songs I’m going to play for you. They are all great songs, but I bet you can’t play “Time Has Come” just one time.

“Time Has Come” should be a big hit, but Joanne needs your help. When you’re done listening to the show and your all fired up please call your loco radio station. You know the one that plays Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin. Tell them you hear this great new artist named Joanne Shaw Taylor and you want to hear more of her songs. We both know they will have no idea who you’re talking about but tell them to Google her name and go to her MySpace page or this website to hear what she sounds like. Call them throughout the week and request Joanne Shaw Taylor, (you do have a cell phone with you, right) maybe you will be the one to get the rock radio stations to play her music. Remember when people started asking for Stevie Ray Vaughan? The stations had to play it and there was a blues revival. Joanne Shaw Taylor’s music is the type of blues-rock that radio stations would play if you just don’t use the “B” word.

One last thing please buy Joanne Shaw Taylor’s White Sugar, if for no other reason than that it’s one of the GREATEST blues-rocks records to come out this year.

Songs played in the show:
Who Do You Want Me to Be?
Time Has Come
Blackest Day
Watch ‘Em Burn

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s Website

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s MySpace

Buy Joanne Shaw Taylor’s Cd from Amazon.Com

I’d like to thank Joanne for taking the time in the middle of her quick tour of the U.S. to do this interview. I know she had a lot of things going on in such a short time. Thanks also to Mark Pucci for reading my mind in knowing this was someone I really wanted to do a show on. He did a great job setting everything up.
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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

Hear an interview with Bobby Jones and music from his new CD Comin’ Back Hard.
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Bobby Jones was born in 1940 in Louisiana where he grew up on a farm. As he grew up he worked long hard hours in the cotton fields. In order to get away from the farm he joined the U.S. Army, but when his time of service was over he was back in the same place.
Bobby’s dad and uncles’ lived in Chicago, so Bobby moved there. Bobby start winning talent shows by singing at a small clubs. This led to him doing shows at legendary places like Pepper’s Lounge, Theresa’s, and Trocadero where people like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Junior Wells, and Buddy Guy hung out. Pepper’s Lounge is where he met the Aces who had been led by Little Walter then by Junior Wells. Junior was missing shows because he had a big hit out at the time called “Missing With The Kid.” Bobby Jones was asked to join the Aces, which led to the Aces playing in better and better clubs.

In the mid-sixty, Bobby got into a band called Chicago Blues Union. This band had a young Harvey Mandel, Barry Goldberg, Charlie Musselwhite and Mike Bloomfield. Today that would be a extremely all-star band. Only one record was made, but they did a fair amount of concerts. They played in the Catskill Mountains as an opening act for people like Johnny Carson, Jerry Lewis, and Red Foxx. Man, now that’s what I call an opening act. Forget the headliners, just let the Chicago Blues Union play. Later Bobby made some solo records, that he produced himself. Then he started to drift away from the music business for a few years.

In 2007, the Mannish Boys were working on their Big Plans CD. Pianist Leon Blue brought Bobby Jones to the session. After hours of working on the CD there was a brake and Leon introduced Bobby to the band members. Leon explained that Bobby was a gifted singer and they should listen to him. To say they liked his singing would be an understatement. They already had two fine singers but they asked Bobby to join the band on the spot. Remember this isn’t some bar band it’s the Mannish Boys they are one of the top blues bands out there today. They chose Bobby Jones to join them.

Now you’ve being chosen to hear Bobby Jones’ new CD Comin’ Back Hard. This is a man that has years of experience playing with some of the most gifted artists around. This is his first solo record in many years and he has everyone from the Mannish Boys as his back up band. You will get to hear the driving sound of the Willie Dixon’s song “Two Headed Woman”. You’d swear B.B. King was singing “She’s the One.” Nope, it’s Bobby. That lead guitar must be B.B. King, nope it’s Kirk “Eli” Fletcher. Then you have “Get It Over Baby.” In it Bobby sings, “I know you don’t love me no more.” You would think this would be a sad song, but it’s up beat and fun. You can’t help but think that Bobby has a big smile on his face as he sings this song. He’s just having a great time doing what he likes best, singing. Comin’ Back Hard ends with the Ike Turner song “How Long Will It Last.” Bobby sounds like a man half his age, with a very strong voice filled with emotion. Kid Ramo’s lead guitar playing is outstanding on this, too. Even though this is a Bobby Jones record I could listen to this just to hear the band. They are incredible. This is Bobby Jones first solo record for Delta Groove Productions, and he hit a home run. Below is a link to buy Bobby Jones Comin’ Back Hard from Delta Groove Productions, you’ll love it.

Songs in the show are:
Get It Over Baby
She’s The One
Two Headed Woman
How Long Will It Last
I Must Be Crazy

Bobby Jones Website

Buy Bobby Jones CD from Delta Groove Productions

Check out other great blues artists at Delta Groove Productions

Thanks to Bobby Jones for the taking time to do the interview.
Thanks to Jody Best for all her help over at Delta Groove Music.

Buy Bobby Jones Cd’s from Amazon.Com

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

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

This week you will get to hear an interview with Cash Box Kings’ Joe Nosek and songs from their CD The Royal Treatment.
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As Joe will explain in the show, Cash Box Kings are a band that pays tribute to the blues sounds of the nineteen-forties and fifties. Bands like Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Walter Horton and Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters’ band has an extra closeness, because Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, the drummer for Cash Box Kings, is the son of legendary Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Willie as you know was the drummer for the Muddy Waters band in the late sixties and through out all of the seventies. When Joe Nosek first met Kenny Smith, he wanted to put together an old school blues band. Kenny said he would like that too, because most of the artists he was playing drums for were in their seventies or eighties. As luck would have it Joe finally did meet more younger blues artist that had the same kind of vision as Joe and Willie. While it is always exciting to see the old timers that are still around like Hubert Sumlin, Byther Smith, Magic Slim, and Big George Brock. They have been around a long time and just don’t have the strength or energy to put on the kind of show they did when they were much younger. The Cash Box Kings are young guys giving it all they’ve got, just like the originals did when they were starting out. Joe does whatever it takes to get his audience up and having a great time. Whether it’s sliding across the stage, dancing on the bar top, or just laying down great harp.

Cash Box Kings current CD The Royal Treatment sounds so much like a blues record of the fifties that if you didn’t know better you would swear they were some lost band from Chess and Sun Records. Out of the fifteen songs on this record, Joe or Travis Koopman (lead guitar & some vocals) wrote eight of them. Some of the other songs are Elmore James’ “Please Set A Date”, Sonny Boy Williamson I “My Little Machine”, Muddy Waters’s “Gypsy Woman”, Little Walter’s “Can’t Hold Out Much Longer”, and the classic Big Bill Broonzy song “Baby Please Don’t Go”. The songs, whether originals or covers, all fit together really well. At one point they do a Little Walter song and then go into a very beautiful original ,“Lou & Roxie’s Rhumba”, that features Joe’s harp playing. You would have thought Little Walter had picked these two songs to go together. If you’re ready for some old time stripped down raw blues, Cash Box Kings record The Royal Treatment is just what you want to pick up. Below is a link to where you can pick up this Cd as well as their other CD’s Black Night Fallin’ and Live! At The King Club.

Songs played in the show:
Don’t Go Drinkin’
Why Did I Start?
Lou & Roxie’s Rhumba
Gimmie Some of That
Life Is Tough

Cash Box Kings CD’s are all available at CD Baby Website

Cash Box Kings’ Website

Cash Box Kings’ MySpace

Buy Cash Box Kings’ CD The Royal Treatment from the CD Baby’s Website

Buy Cash Box Kings’ CD Black Night Fallin’ fromthe CD Baby’s Website

Buy Cash Box Kings’ CD Live! At The King Club from the CD Baby’s Website

I would like to thank Joe Nosek for taking the time to do this interview, enjoy the show.

This was made by A1 Mark for A1Blues.Com

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Hear the Chris Duarte interview and songs from his latest CD Vantage Point.
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Chris Duarte was born in 1963 in San Antonio, Texas. Growing up Chris enjoyed most things kids like, such as sports and music. When he started playing around with his brother’s guitar, Chris found he was a quick learner and picked songs up fast. Later his mother bought him his own guitar, a steel string acoustic. He moved to Austin, Texas when he was 16. Chris said he had the young man’s desire to learn to play a lot of notes real fast but did not having much substance to what he was playing. He was playing Jazz-Fusion at the time with stuff like Al di Meola. This is a style of music he still enjoys to this day. Unfortunately with a career in blues-rock he doesn’t get to play this much. One song, “Woodpecker,” on his current CD Vantage Point is kind of in that style. Later Chris got into Bobby Mack and Night Train, a popular blues-soul band in the Austin area. Jimmy Pate the drummer for Night Train really taught Chris a lot about the blues. Chris said he felt naked on stage doing slow blues numbers because he was not use to having space between all the notes he was playing. Learning to replace a lot of fast notes with feelings and emotion in the notes he did play was a big step forward. Eventually Chris was working in three bands at the same time in order to further his craft as well as to pay the rent. Some of the Texas bands Chris Duarte has worked in over the years have been Bobby Mack and Night Train, The Diana Cantu Band, The Bad Boys, Breno & The Bad Boys, later called Chris Duarte & The Bad Boys, and finally Junior Medlow & The Bad Boys. Not only was he bouncing around in different bands, but the styles of music were changing too. One night it might be blues, another night jazz, and on then others soul. This all helped Chris become a better guitarist, songwriter and singer. In the early nineties Chris started touring beyond the Texas borders with a new band called the Chris Duarte Group. They played Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. Each time getting much larger crowds. An A&R guy heard the band and signed them to make a record. In 1994 they put out their first record, Texas Sugar. Chris says it is still the record most people think of when they hear his name. Since then he has put out about seven records as the Chris Duarte Group. Chris also works with a Japanese band called Bluestone. Chris says the Duarte Group is more of an improvisation blues-rock band. Chris Duarte & Bluestone have their parts all laid out. Every January he goes over to Japan to play with Bluestone. Then in September they come over here to tour with Chris.

The songs played in this week’s show are from the Chris Duarte Group’s most recent record Vantage Point. This is a high-energy blues-rock record with a lot of great songs. Chris said “Troubles On Me” is a major blues song and it’s his nod to Stevie Ray Vaughan, it’s the kind of song he would have done. The lyrics are for a friend who has had a drug problem that he just can’t seem to shake off. Chris said he wrote “Satisfy” in about thirty minutes one morning just lying in bed. Hearing the song you would never think it was written that easily. One of my favorite songs is the four-minute “Blow Your Mind”. Then near the end of the CD is a different five-minute version, very cool. “Let’s Have A Party” is a fun song that he has been playing since around the early nineties. I know Chris is probably tired of hearing this, but if you’re a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan you will love his music. Below is a link to where you can buy his records. Don’t miss him on tour with the Chris Duarte Group, and also later this summer as Chris Duarte & Bluestone. You will have a great time, I sure did.

Songs in the podcast
The End of Me and You
The Best I Can Do
Blow Your Mind
Let’s Have a Party

Chris Duarte’s Website

Chris Duarte’s MySpace

Chris Duarte’s You Tube

Please add a link to this interview on Wikipedia’s Chris Duarte page.

Buy Chris Duarte Group’s Vantage Point & other CD’s from his website.

Other places to buy Chris Duarte Group’s Vantage Point
I would like to thank Chris for taking time after his long drive home to do this interview.

Thanks also to Karen for getting everything set up.
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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

Hear the Julien Kasper interview where he talks about getting into music, teaching music in college and his CD The New Imperial. You will also get to hear some great tracks from this CD.

Julien Kasper was born in 1962, by the end of the decade he was playing guitar. Early on Julien was interested in blues guitarist such as Eric Clapton, Freddie King and T-Bone Walker. At 16 he joined Crosscut Saw a blues-rock band that was fronted by the great harpist Pat Ramsey. They cut one CD but sadly it has been out of print for quite awhile. Julien studied jazz guitar in St. Louis, the University of Miami, and the University of North Texas. He is now a Professor of Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He teaches several classes on guitar, plus he has started two classes one on Jeff Beck, and the other on Jimi Hendrix. He has played on two CDs by pianist Bruce Katz, as well as one by Mighty Sam McClain. Toured with blues artist Michelle Wilson, and used her rhythm section for his band. The first CD Flipping Time came out in 2003, with the currant one The New Imperial coming out in 2006.

For me, The New Imperial is very much like Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow or Wired. It is very complicated playing with a lot of tone changes and emotions in his playing. I asked Julien if it was hard to play with so many emotions running through the songs. No, he said it would be hard to play with out all the emotions. When you listen to the show keep in mind these songs were recorded live with very little over dubbing. Like many independent musicians he does not have time/money to burn in the studio he has to get it right very quickly. This impresses me even more as to how good of a guitarist he is.

“Jacket Full Of Bees” was written on a bass and drum groove he wrote during rehearsals. He then mixed it with an older song that he had that was similar to a John Coltrane songs. Then the guitar solo shifts back and forth from a Coltrane to a Hendrix style. This is really an all out furious guitar solo similar, I guess, to having a jacket full of bees. “8 to 11” was written in about twenty minutes. When he got to the end of the CD he realized he needed a rock song still, so that’s what this became. “All of the Years” was written to be like a Hendrix balled such as “Little Wing” or “Wind Cries Mary”. There is also a feel of Jeff Beck sneaking in at times. There are also three songs that are just Julien playing a guitar solo spread out on the CD. This was a nice way of just getting to hear Julien with no other instruments and making it stand out on its own.

As I said in the show this may not be a style of music you’re use to listening to any more than I was. Please give this a fair chance. Really listen, don’t be reading or talking to someone. Just listen. The New Imperial really sounds great with headphones on too. As always if you like this music please buy it. The artist needs money to live on and to be able to afford making their next record. Below are some links to where you can buy either of his CDs.

Songs played in the show are:
Jacket Full Of Bees
I Am A Centaur
8 to 11

Solo CD’s by Julien Kasper
2006 – The New Imperial
2003 – Flipping Time

Julien Kasper’s Website

Julien Kasper’s MySpace

Buy Julien Kasper’s CD The New Imperial

Buy his first CD Flipping Time from the CD Baby Website

You will hear more from Julien Kasper in future weeks as we do a show on the late harpist Pat Ramsey.

Thanks to Julien Kasper for taking the time to talk to me about his captivating music.
Thanks to Rick Lusher for setting everything up.

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

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

To the listeners of A1 Artist Spotlight .Com

A1 Artist Spotlight .Com is going through some changes.
The website is going to be scaled back.
The spotlight show will only have a post on Thursday and Friday for now.
Tuesday’s show will have a post and three or four songs from past
spotlight artist.

I will now be doing phone interviews with the artists.
So each spotlight show will start with the artist talking and then the music.
The songs will still be played back to back without any interruption between them.
The shows will probably go up to 30 minutes and give you far more
insight into the artists and their music.

Thank you for all your loyal support.
I hope this will to be an even better show for you.

A1 Mark

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

The Muggs – White Boy Blues
The Muggs are a three piece band that kind of reminds me of punk rock but a little more refined. The vocals also seem very familiar like a band I’ve heard before but just can’t put my finger on it. I keep thinking Whitesnake or Great White but that’s probably wrong. If you can figure it out please let me know. The Muggs will be a spotlight artist in the future.
Click here for The Muggs website.

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EL84 Doing “One World” in the spirit of Uriah Heep mines an organ – is that possible ? Today I was listening to EL84 doing “One World”, the more I hear that song the more there is to like. The dreamy start with the growing earth, the acoustic guitar, soft cymbals, as each instrument is added the song grows more complex. As it should but this is more than most rock songs would do. In ways it reminds me of Uriah Heep in there days of dream weaving like “Demons and Wizards” and Magician’s Birthday. Wile the lyrics tell a good tale the music keeps moving forward with a felling of something more coming thou your not disappointed with what your hearing now something better seams to be building. Then a solo that is good but kind of short, well I would like more it’s very pleasing. After that we go into a slow tension part that’s nice but doesn’t really go anywhere. While the song ends for me on kind of a low note the song as a whole is very good.

I could do another post just on the lyrics, also good in a Uriah Heep way.

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The Stone Coyotes remind me of the late 1980’s early 1990’s band Concrete Blonde it must be the singer that brings that sound across – very nice. The band is made up of Barbara Keith on electric guitar and vocals, husband Doug Tibbles on drums, and stepson John Tibbles on bass.

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com

For more information about the band roGer or to check out theresecond CD “Out of Control” visit

http://www.myspace.com/rogerworld

Buy Blues Music at Amazon.com