Home Archive by category "Americana" (Page 20)

Category: Americana

Thursday Music Mix – Quintus McCormick, Blind Corn Liquor Pickers and Shake Russell

So some days are diamonds, some days are dirt. Well today was a musical diamond day! I put three albums on the iPod this morning and I really like them all! The first up was a blues album from the Quintus McCormick Blues Band whose latest album Put It On Me  is currently number 39 on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart. When I went to Napster they only had 30 second clips for the album but they did have his debut album Hey Jodie , so that’s what went on the player. and I tell you it’s a great album. According…

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Blues and Bluegrass Part 1 – Albert King Born Under a Bad Sign

So tonight my musical mix consisted of some old blues and some new bluegrass. On the way to Target and during my grocery shopping blues was the genre and the album was Albert King’s first album on Stax Born Under a Bad Sign. The album. Now I have never been a big fan of Albert or Freddy King, the other two thirds of the “Kings of Blues” the other third of course being B.B King. So while I don’t have any of Albert’s music in my collection I am well aware of his influence on the generation of blues musician…

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Piedmont Blues: Cephas & Wiggins

So since I don’t seem to have the time and/or the inclination to write long involved posts right now, what I may due is to start writing shorter little pieces in between the rarer longer posts! So here’s the first album quick hit! One of the blues albums that I’ve been listening to for the last several weeks is the last album from Cephas & Wiggins Baltimore Blues recorded and released in 2008 by Smithsonian Folkways prior to John Cephas death in 2009 at the age of 78. Cephas & Wiggins was composed of guitarist John Cephas  and harmonica player Phil Wiggins…

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Blues: Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots

So most of the blues I listen to is guitar driven ala Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King and Michael Bloomfield and every so often there’s some harp but very few piano driven blues. Well, Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots changed that and put boogie piano  jump blues on my musical charts! Their second album Lit Up is great. From the boogie woogie  opening track ” Big Dog’s Running this Town” this Memphis based blues band had me! While the piano playing and vocals of  Victor lead the way the WildRoots are no slouches!  The album was produced by Victor’s co-writer…

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Life’s Soundtrack: John Reischman and the Jaybirds and The Wilders

So yesterday began with a trip to Newark’s beautiful Doremus Avenue on the shores of the Passaic River and while the views are not breathtaking, the music was good! The trip started off with the most recent release from John Reischman and the Jaybirds Vintag & Unique. I noticed the album early in the week when I was reviewing the Folk DJ Chart for June. The albums was number 9 on the chart. The album is a good mix of great instrumental and fine vocal tracks! The band and John Reischman are based in Vancover, British Columbia. John is one…

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Life’s Soundtrack: Chris Bergson Band – Imitate the Sun

So I ran early last evening to avoid the mid-day  heat a fairly good four mile run in under 10 min per mile pace. (I’m just building base mileage, speed will come later, right?). When I got home I was all ready to write about the run and the run’s soundtrack along with some other albums that have been playing on the iPod. But once again after showering and sitting down reading a bit of The Baxter Trust, the lure of the couch was soon calling and napping ensued!  Anyway after waking up I continued reading but not writing.  So…

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Blues Wednesday: Joanne Shaw Taylor and Mitch Kashmar!

Hot! Yes that describes today’s weather. But it also describes the blues that I listened to this morning on my way to and from Cookstown! On the way there the hotness was supplied by British blues guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor and on the way back the warmth was provided by the harp of Mitch Kashmar. The Joanne Shaw Taylor album was her debut album White Sugar  and it is great!The album on Ruf Records was recorded at  Jim Gaines’ studio. Gaines has worked with bluesmen like Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan both of whom are idols of Taylor. He…

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Blues: from Canada Soupbone!

So one of the albums that has been on the iPod for the last several weeks is a blues album titled Lead Me On by a five piece blues band hailing from Williams Lake, BC, Canada, Soupbone. The album is quickly becoming a favorite.  Dean Fulton fronts the band and provide lead vocals, great keyboards and harmonica.  His outstanding  keyboard work  is quickly displayed on the album as he takes the lead on the opening track. “Don’t Miss You at All.”  Throughout the album Dean trades leads with sizzling lead guitarist Joel Gyselink.  Gyselink’s guitar work throughout the album is…

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Running with Ben Prestage

Today I noticed that as I went up and down the stairs, my knee did not hurt! Then the rain stopped after work and I thought maybe I’ll try to run! So I cued up the iPod with some blues that I put on it today and took off, hoping to make 30 minutes. Well, I made my goal 33 minutes approximately around 3 miles at slightly over a 10 minute per mile pace. My knee’s not bad and the music One Crow Murder the new album by Ben Prestage was great Here’s what his website says about the album!…

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Blues: Chris Dair – Crossroads to Freedom

So two artists that have been receiving lots of air time on my iPod over the last two weeks are Chris Dair and Don Gallardo. Chris Dair is a British guitarist and the album Crossroads to Freedom is his fourth album but his first dedicated to the blues! About Chris Dair Dair started to play guitar at an early age his guitar hero was Manitas De Plata. DePlata ignited Dair’s passion for flamenco guitar. But at age 14 Dair switched passions and feel for the blues and started playing London venues like Ronnie Scotts with John Mayall and John McVie….

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