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MIDWEST BLUES BEAT |
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CHICAGO BLUES FESTIVAL PREVIEW |
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by Eric Steiner (ALL THE BLUES NEWS YOU CAN USE!)
HOT
AUGUST BLUES
Over the years, I’ve
discovered a great deal of great blues through Midwest BEAT.
In a couple of months, I’m going to celebrate my third
anniversary as your Midwest
BEAT blues correspondent, thanks to Beatboss Tom
Lounges. This month, I’m
going to shout about a couple of new traditional blues discoveries right
in your own back yard that I hope you’ll check out on CD and at live
shows. There’s a lot of
great local music out there, and I’m always of the opinion that if I
haven’t heard it, it’s still new (like the Rooster Record label
says).
That said, I’d like
to introduce you to the Chicago Blues Angels and the Planetary Blues
Band.
A few Midwest
BEAT readers know that I also write about the blues for Cosmik
Debris, arguably the oldest music site on the Internet. Last month, we celebrated our 85th monthly anniversary online, and I shouted about the Chicago Blues Angels on those Cosmik screens, and I’d like to throw some props their way in these pages as well. Eighty-five months may not cut too much ice in the more formal world of print journalism, but let me tell you, that’s more than a few lifetimes on Internet time. The
Angels Answer My Prayers
The Chicago Blues Angels hail from Plainfield, Illinois and play
rooms like Sam ‘n Ella’s in Kankakee and Joliet’s The Prime
Restaurant. In May, they opened
for Tommy Castro at Buddy
Guy’s Legends in Chicago. Their
new CD on Blue Bella records, “Movin’ On,” is well worth picking up.
Armando Cortez and Dave
Gonzales head up a strong band with Kate
Hoddinott on guitar, Nick Moss on bass, and Greg
Campbell on the drums.
If Nick and Kate are
familiar names, that’s no accident: Kate’s a well-known graphic
artist and designer. You
might have seen her artwork on an early Luther
Allison LP, or enjoyed her website design talents on radio newsman Dave McBride’s website. When
Nick’s not an Angel, he fronts Nick
Moss & The Fliptops. His career includes a stint with the Legendary
Blues Band.
Singer Herman
Hines is the newest Angel, having joined after sharing a mic on ‘Sittin’
on the Dock of the Bay’ with Dave at a local karaoke night.
When “Da Hermanator” sings “Rooster
Blues” and “Good Time Charlie,” I’m happy that he’s an Angel: he’s
got pitch-perfect range, as well as the right growl, in a voice that’s
tailor made for the blues. Check ‘em out online at: www.chicagobluesangels.com Blues
From Another Planet Each month, I’m
blessed with a couple of CDs
to review from our Beatboss Tom
Lounges. This month’s
package almost made me cry, it was that good. As I listened to “Blues
for Our Grandfather” from the Planetary
Blues Band, I immediately wanted to turn my writing pencils into
kindling and toss out the window any dreams I’ve had of picking up and
playing the guitar. This indie
release recorded at Valparaiso’s Back Porch Tracks ranks way up there
with Little Johnny & The
UnKnown Blues Band’s CD, “Workingman
Blues.” Little
Johnny’s release is pretty high on my list, and rest assured that the
Planetary Blues Band’s blues are right up there in that stratosphere. Three brothers and one
member of the Chicago Blues Posse make up this galactic band: Martin
and Michael Schaefer-Murray share guitar duties, and Martin’s lead
vocals are just right for the blues.
The rhythm section of Robert
Schaefer-Murray and Glenn E.
“Wiz” Wiezbicki (Chicago Blues Posse) round out the line-up. “Blues for Our
Grandfather” features 11 original and classic cuts
from the likes of Elmore James (“Talk
to Me Baby”), Luther Allison’s arrangement of B.B. King’s “Why I Sing the Blues,” and Otis Rush’s “It Takes Time.”
The brothers’ honor of their grandfather in the title track, “Blues
for Our Grandfather,” which is quite a jam! I can just see
Grandpa, framed by family pictures on the CD cover art, rocking out to
this disc. The guitar parts
on this seven minute jam range from a jazzy, slow Wes Montgomery to the
picking of Duane Allman, just to name two guitarists that I can hear in
the Schaefer-Murray brothers’ playing. Of all the songs on
this CD, this memorial still leaves chills up and down my spine, and
I’ve played it at least a half-dozen times during the week I first put
it in my CD player. I never met either of my grandparents, but am glad
that my son and daughter knew my father.
If the band’s Grandpa and my dad traded stories, they’d
appreciate the blues that Martin, Michael and Robert play, as they look
like they’d be the same age had my dad not passed away a few years
ago. I’d like to think
that they’re trading stories in heaven, and smiling down on how I’m
celebrating the work of three very talented bluesmen.
The Planetary Blues Band more than
honor their late grandfather on this disc.
Their teacher, Rocco
Clipari, the lead guitar player from Howard
& The White Boys, should be smiling for the kudos he is given.
Concert
Spotlight: South Bend I don’t usually
single out specific towns here in my column, but South Bend, Indiana’s
shows this month deserve special mention.
Hoosiers should be
fast to line up for these live shows, beginning on the 3rd with Buckwheat
Zydeco at the Firefly Festival.
That same night, Koko
Taylor and Her Blues Machine, lights up the State Theatre. On the
17th, Little Charlie & The
Nightcats and Michelle
Willson & The Evil Gal Festival Orchestra play the Blues and Rib
Fest, and that same day, Rod
Piazza & His Mighty Flyers play St. Patrick’s County
Park.
There’s a lot of great blues happening’ this August.
Check ‘em out live or on CD.
Until next month... let’s play the blues.
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