Blues and Folks – Loomis, Carroll and O’Connor!

So over the last few days I’ve been listening to two albums from artists that I listened to briefly, decided I really didn’t care for them so I haven’t really listened since then. Shame on me! Both of the artists are from Texas one is a blues man, Hamilton Loomis and the other a folkie, well, actually two folkies Adam Carroll and Michael O’Connor. I listened to Loomis’ 2010 release Live in England and Carroll and O’Connor’s Hard Times. Hamilton Loomis’ mentor, was the great Bo Diddley whose advice to Loomis was “Innovate don’t imitate!” And Loomis has done just…

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Hot Blues – The Vincent Hayes Project – Reclamation

So you start with a great rhythm section laying down that funky beat. That would be bass provided by Dave “The Butcher” Alves and drums by Donnie Hughley, add some great keyboard work from Steve “Doc” Yankee and Christain VanAntwepen and top that all off with….. what  Gary von Tersch of Big City Rhythm & Blues calls “Inspired, persuasively pensive guitar work that might even cause Clapton to raise an eyebrow in appreciation. Two thumbs up!” ……guitar from Vincent Hayes and you get  one the 2011 Blues Music Award nominees  for “Best New Artist Debut!” , The Vincent Hayes Project!…

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New Folk – Shaun Cromwell – Folk-Worn Prose

So I went from being on furlough for a week and a half to working nine plus hours a day outside! Now yesterday was fine and tomorrow looks ok, but today it was damn cold especially in the AM. Now I had a drive to the site, which was in Philly out on Lancaster Avenue, but instead of paying attention to the music playing I had to pay attention to things like traffic, traffic lights and stop signs!! Reminds me of that old Morey Amsterdam joke about walking in New York traffic being musical “you either c sharp or b…

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Damon Fowler – Devil Got His Way – Added to the Mix!

So for the most part I was successful in finding dead people today. Well, not really dead people just their death certificates. I went to the State Archives and found about ten certificates for my wife’s extensive genealogical research. On my way there are back, I continued this week’s musical journey and listened to a little Americana, roots, blues from Damon Fowler’s latest album on Blind Pig Records Devil Got His Way and a little folk/Americana from The David Wax Museum and Brad Boyer. So all in all, it was a good afternoon!! Damon Fowler is a blues artist from…

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Shannon Curfman – What You’re Getting Into

So In the past three weeks I’ve added a few women to my blues listening library, Joanne Shaw Taylor and Laurie Morvan in particular well after listening to her latest album over the past few weeks I’ ready to add another and possibly my favorite Shannon Curfman! Her latest album What You’re Getting Into is simply great!! Curfman a native of Fargo, North Dakota currently calls Minneapolis, Minnesota home. She recorded her first album Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions when she was fourteen! Here’s what some folks said about that album “…the most impressive debut by a blues artist since Stevie…

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Mid-week Blues Mix – The Reverend and Todd Wolfe

So my search for new blues began on Wednesday at the Blues Chart of the Roots Music Report. I picked out several names I hadn’t seen before and gave them a quick listen. Three albums stood out at number 14 – Shake Your Boogie by Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys, at number 29,  The Todd Wolfe Band – The Todd Wolfe Band – Live and at 34 Devon Allman’s Honeytribe – Space Age Blues . I went to Rhapsody and they  had the Reverend and Devon’s Honeytribe so I downloaded those albums on to the player. They…

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New Blues Favorite – Laurie Morvan Band – Fire It Up!

So the other day after I read the article on Joanne Shaw Taylor in Blues Review, I skimmed one of the articles that followed. It was an article on another powerful woman blues player Laurie Morvan and the Laurie Morvan Band. So I went to her website and saw that her most recent album Fire It Up! won the Best Self-Produced Album at the 2010 International Blues Challenge! Since past winners and 2nd place finishers like JP Blues Band and the Ty Curtis Band were both great artist I went to Amazon and bought Laurie’s album and I haven’t been…

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Another Trip to the Princeton Record Exchange!

So I spent the night tonight listening to a few tracks from most of the albums that I picked up today at the Princeton Record Exchange and watching the Falcons get destroyed by the Packers! I picked up a variety of albums, a few blues, some folk and bluegrass. Here they are: Walter Trout – livin’ everyday (1999) – a blues favorite love both his vocals and guitar playing! Tommy Castro – Soul Shaker (2005) – another blues favorite – I’ve heard this album and it has been downloaded onto the player – but it’s always nice to have your…

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Blues Wednesday-Part 1-Joanne Shaw Taylor

So the other day there was a comment to my post of my favorite blues albums of 2010, that for the sake of gender equality, the reader would add Cyndi Lauper’s album Memphis Blues to my list. I said that I would check out the album, so I did this morning. I only listened to a few of the tracks and they sounded pretty good but Lauper’s voice is still a little too cute for me. But I will try to give it another listen in the future! However, I did listen to two female blues artists in today’s mix,…

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Favorite Blues Albums of 2010!!

So it’s time for for some of my favorites blues albums of 2010! Most of these albums were released in 2010 but not all of them! Buddy Guy – Living Proof – the first song says it all he’s 74 years young and getting better with age!! Walter Trout – Common Ground – some of Trout’s best work in a long and storied career that included some work with John Mayall! A favorite! Joe Bonamassa – Black Rock – this album had Bonamassa’s great guitar and a lot of different instruments and arrangements! Nick Moss – Privileged – Moss took…

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