Blues
News Home Page
- Updated
approximately every 2 weeks. Last update 24th
August 2010.
We
are updating many of our pages and therefore
at present the only pages available on the
Rocking the Blues website is this Blues News
page, Limelight Gig page and the Venues & Gigs page.
We
hope to have the others pages updated and
fully working very soon. We apologise for
the inconvenience.
Rocking
the Blues presents
Blues
& Rock Nights at
The Limelight
Held
normally on the 3rd Friday of every month at The Limelight Theatre, Queens Park Arts
Centre, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.www.qpc.org
For
more information visit Blues
& Rock Nights atTheLimelightpage
click
here
Larry
Miller is fast becoming one of the must
see blues/rock acts of 2010. With his
energetic and eclectic style, Larry brings
a new dimension of showmanship to his
performances. He will be playing songs
from his acclaimed new album ‘Unfinished
Business’ as well live favourites. If
you like Rory Gallagher, Joe Bonamassa,
Gary Moore, Walter Trout or The Hamsters,
you’ll love the guitar pyrotechnics of
Larry Miller.
Rocking the
Blues are going
to be presenting three more shows at The Hop
Pole in Aylesbury this year starting with
some internationally acclaimed old timey
music from Canada’s Diana Braithwaite and
Chris Whiteley accompanied by the veteran of
British blues and boogie piano, Bob Hall. On
Sunday 24th of October Toby Walker from the
US will play a solo show and on Sunday 28th
November The Spikedrivers will entertain
with their rootsy blues.
Check
out the beautiful voice of Diana Braithwaite
on these Youtube clips;
Buy online by
PayPal or credit/debit card (most cards
accepted) using the button below;
or call 01296
631898
Cat
Anderson RIP
This
is a very sad announcement.Cat (Iain)
Anderson died on Friday 30th
July from pneumonia after a brave
battle against a brain tumour. He
was only 55 years old.
Many
will remember Cat from the music
scene either as a tour manager and
more recently as a promoter of
live music and bands. I first met
Cat around 5 years ago when he
approached me about helping my
band Storm Warning get gigs. He
helped several others including
some international bands. I worked
with him on some of the tours as
he wasn’t in good health, having
had a stroke a few years earlier.
He was very proud of being
involved with and knowing such
great musicians and people
involved with music. However the
big thing in his life was his
partner Marcella and his little
boy Jake. He once said to me, he
knew he would never see his little
boy grow up and now sadly this is
the case. Cat Anderson RIP
Derek
White
News From Bob Corritore in the US
Ike
Turner honored with Mississippi Blues
Trail Marker! Ike Turner was a brilliant
guitarist and pianist who is considered to
be the founder of Rock & Roll. A great
business man, producer, arranger, band
leader, and talent scout, Ike Turner helped
to launch the careers of Howlin'
Wolf, Little Milton, B.B. King, Elmore
James, and many others. He is best known
for his work with the Ike & Tina
Turner Revue, and for a villainous and
misleading portrayal in the movie What's
Love Got To Do With It. Ike passed away on
December 12, 2007, at age 76, leaving an
amazing musical legacy.Though considered a
controversial figure in today's world,
nobody can deny that Ike was a simply
brilliant musical force. Ike Turner will
be honored with a Mississippi Blues Trail
marker which will be unveiled in Ike's
hometown of Clarksdale on Friday, August
6th. The ceremony takes place at 10 am at
127 Third street in downtown Clarksdale,
Mississippi. Thanks to Alex Thomas of the
Mississippi Department of Tourism for this
information. To see a photo page dedicated
to Ike, click here.
Cousin
Joe on YouTube! Cousin Joe was a New
Orleans based blues piano master with a
gift of writing songs that tell a story.
Please enjoy these two masterful
performances, filled with personality:
1)
Cousin Joe performing "Cripple Crab A
Crutch", click
here
2)
Performing "Life Is A One Way
Ticket", click
here
If you
want to receive news Bob Corritore's
regular Blues Newsletter by email -
email him at bobcorritore@yahoo.com
No Regular
Blues Club In St Albans Anymore
Unfortunately
there
is now no 'independently run Blues club at
The Maltings Theatre in St Albans.
Previous blues club organisers lay blame
at the increase in the hire charges for
the theatre. Bob Ayre who ran 'Shades of
Blues' regular club says "Hire
charges have been raised to a level that
to break even on an event organisers would
have to guarantee a sell out and/or raise
ticket prices ( Stan Tracey tickets are £16
each, so the organisers can cover costs).
This is a real shame as people
wanting to bring quality music (of
differing styles) to St Albans for
purely altruistic reasons are not able to."
St
Albans district council is starting a 3
week consultation on future improvements
to their programme of arts, film, drama
& music at the theatre starting this
monday 23rd August and closes Friday 10th
September. One of the ideas i've seen in
the local paper is to re-jig the internal
space to form a screening room for Film
and a much smaller capacity drama/music
space. Any reduction in potential audience
capacity at the Theatre would seriously
compromise any future hirings to be
economically viable - - - - so make your
voice heard about the theatre's future
Please
click on the link to the consultation and
get involved in the future of St Albans
'Best kept secret' The Arts Theatre and
lets see if we can get live music firmly
on the agenda Click
hereor
go to www.stalbans.gov.uk
and find Maltings consultation.
New
Orleans Katrina Movie Proposal
Papa
George informs us that there is
a Film Proposal about the effects of
Hurricane Katrina on the musicians of New
Orleans and also about the amazing support
of the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic.
The film features a wonderful array of
fantastic musicians and gives a realistic
picture of how the whole community has
suffered and why the situation should be
rectified.
He says "We
highly recommend that you watch the 2
exerts and, hopefully, this will encourage
the promotion of the movie –
just click on the 2 Web Links below and
enjoy a few special moments in New
Orleans." Last year Papa George
had an amazing time in the Big Easy and
can verify the great work of the Musicians’
Clinic.
A
Little More About The Proposed Film From
Those Involved
This is a fly on the wall observational
documentary, fused with performances by
some of the most respected musicians in
the world, which features the
extraordinary work of one of the most
unique medical centres in the world; The
New Orleans Musicians' Clinic.
Run
as a charity, it offers free health care
needs to the musicians who have made that
city internationally
renowned. We have been granted
unprecedented access to the Clinic, its
staff, its management and most importantly
the legendary musicians it treats.
Through
the Clinic’s work and it’s patient’s
music and we will reveal how ‘The Big
Easy’, devastated by the hurricane, is
now, five years on, In Recovery.
We
will combine poignant human-interest
stories, often involving life and death in
this unique institution, with the
extraordinary music born out of the need
for an expression of freedom generated by
slavery.
A
taster tape – produced after a short
research trip – was entered in the
Babelgum Online Film Festival (the new
media competition in partnership with the
Tribeca Film Festival) and it won the
Runner Up Jury Award for Best
Documentary. The short filmintroduces
some of the principal characters of the
film and gives a flavour of the filming
style and the music.
Apart
from the anniversary, this Autumn sees the
television premier of the much vaunted
David Simon television drama ‘Treme’.
New
Rehearsal Studio in North London
There
is a newly opened rehearsal studio based
in Queensway, Ponders End, EN3, with two
fully equipped sound proofed rehearsal
studios available for hire at £10 per hour.
This includes a drum kit, vocal pa, a bass
amp and a guitar amp. They also offer FREE
unlimited tea and coffee to all our
customers and are open Mon-Sat 10am - 11pm
and Sun 10am - 10pm
. For more information, visit www.musicshackrehearsals.co.uk
or give them a call on 020 8804 4272 or
07943027059.
Rock
CD Store
If
you like rock as well as blues, sign up to
get information on the new Rock CD Store.
Sometimes
it is a fine line between what is blues
and what is rock. Rock CD Store will cover
the more rock side of Blues Rock,
60’s/70’s Rock, Classic Rock, Prog
Rock, some Heavy Metal/ Rock and Folk
Rock. Email: rocklist@bluescdstore.com
to get on the Rock CD Store mailing list.
To
join the new Rock CD Store Members Club
and get 5 FREE CDs click
here
New
Website For Slim Lightfoot
Well
at last, Slim pertains that he is the
bearer of "Blues for the 21st
century" so
now his new spangled website keeps pace
with this claim....check it out at www.slimlightfoot.com
There will
be new content added in the next few weeks
and the odd free download available,
so keep
checking in as the downloads will not stay
for long
Music
Maker Relief Foundation USA News
Although
the summer is drawing to a close, Music
Maker events are in full force. With the Pura Fé Trio concerts
this weekend, the Warehouse Blues Series
starting in September and the Music Maker Rendezvous
at the Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival in
October.
Click
on the picture above to watch a video
about Music Maker's Warehouse Blues
Series!
Music
Maker's Musical
Development Program nourishes
the roots of American music by
directly supporting the careers of
traditional artists. This includes
launching an artist's career
through the documentation of
artists' work and the presentation
of their work via concerts and
performance tours.
Since
the organization's founding 16 years ago,
our Musical Development Program has
been in full force, discovering the most
talented and influential purveyors of the
Blues and helping them to become
self-sufficient musicians.
In order to sustain this program and
continue to launch artists' careers they
need the help of supporters.
There
are artists waiting to be discovered- you
can help develop a musician today!
Tune
in to digital
blues gatewayevery Wednesday between 20.00
& 22.00 BST time on Gateway
FM, Community Radio for Basildon
and
East Thurrock
. Each show is repeated at 22.00
BST on Thursday. Listen at www.gatewayfm.com
Tune
in to digital
blues on Kansas City
Online Radio at 11.00 a.m. CDST
(17.00
UK
time) every Sunday at www.kconlineradio.com
The
show is repeated at 20.00 CDT
Monday (02.00 BST Tuesday) and
11.00 CDT(17.00 BST) on Wednesday,
03.00 CDT (09.00 BST) on Thursday
and 14.00 CDT (20.00 BST) on
Friday.
If you know of any
other good blues radio
programmes let us know so we can
let everyone else know. Email radio@rockingtheblues.com
PHILLIP
WALKER 1937-2010
It
is with deepest sorrow that
we report on the sudden and
unexpected passing of
legendary blues guitarist
Phillip Walker. He died of
apparent heart failure at
4:30 AM, early Thursday
morning, July 22, 2010. He
was 73 years old.
Born
February 11, 1937 near Lake
Charles, Louisiana, in the
small town of Welsh, Phillip
Walker's earliest musical
influences came via the
Cajun and Creole rhythms he
heard as a youngster. A
second cousin to Clarence
"Gatemouth" Brown
and huge admirer of T-Bone
Walker, Phillip began making
a name for himself in the
early 1950s with his first
recording session backing
pianist Roscoe Gordon. At
the age of 16, Walker left
home to tour with Zydeco
king Clifton Chenier (who
incidentally gave the young
fledgling Walker his first
bona fide guitar) and never
looked back.
After
relocating to Los Angeles in
1959, Walker cut his first
side as a bandleader; the
storming "Hello My
Darling", produced by
J.R. Fulbright for Elko
Records. His first full
length album didn't appear
until much later though.
With the help of long-time
supporter and producer Bruce
Bromberg, Walker cut the
excellent LP "The
Bottom of the Top" in
1973 for Hugh Hefner's
short-lived Playboy label.
Over the next three decades
Walker's musical career
continued to pick up steam
with numerous recording
projects for HighTone, Black
Top, Rounder, JSP and
Alligator Records.
In
2007, Randy Chortkoff signed
Phillip Walker to Delta
Groove Music and released
the critically acclaimed CD
"Going Back Home".
The recording session
featured the renowned
guitarist going back to his
roots and exploring the rich
musical history of
Louisiana, Texas and West
Coast Blues on classic
material by Lowell Fulson,
Ray Charles, Lonesome
Sundown, Lightnin' Hopkins,
Champion Jack Dupree and
Frankie Lee Sims among
others. Going Back Home was
later awarded Best Album of
2007 in the New Recordings /
Contemporary Blues category
by the Living Blues Awards
Critics' Poll.
Label
CEO Randy Chortkoff shared
some of his fond
remembrances of working with
Phillip these last few years
by stating "Phillip was
a consummate gentleman and
it was an absolute pleasure
working with him over the
years. It was a pleasure
producing his last album
"Going Back Home".
We chose the music on that
album based on Phillip's
musical tastes and
background. He especially
enjoyed doing the Champion
Jack Dupree song "Bad
Blood". It later became
a standard in his live
repertoire, in addition to
one I wrote for him,
"Lay You Down". We
also had a great time with
him years ago at the Moulin
Blues Festival in Holland
where he performed with The
Mannish Boys, and the again
at Ground Zero in
Clarksdale, Mississippi for
our 3rd Annual Delta Groove
All-Star Blues Revue.
There's some great footage
of him playing at Ground
Zero that we hope to one day
put out and share with
everyone. He was definitely
a one of a kind. He will be
missed."
Delta
Groove produce a superb
array of CDs. You can buy
Delta Groove CDs including
Philip Walker CDs from Blues
CD Store www.bluescsdstore.com
More
Bad News - Ray Bartrip RIP
Ashwyn
Smyth reported the sad news and here is
what he has to say. He was a good friend
of Ray's and knew him well, so it is
fitting for Ashwyn to speak of his friend.
British blues has lost a fine musician.
Ray was also an amazing artist. Check out
his work.
I
am sorry to tell you that
Ray Bartrip
died in hospital last night (Wednesday 21st
July 2010) after a long fight with cancer.
As you will know, Ray was an important
figure on the
Essex
music scene playing with a number of bands
including Bad Town Blues, Rolling Thunder,
the Customtones & the Bootlegs and he
composed much of the original material
that these bands played.
He did much to help bands and artists
through his Moon Recording Studio and his
own record label, Bad Moon Records. I was
proud to work with him on the production
of the two Essex Delta Blues CDs which
served to showcase
Essex
blues talent and bring it to a wider
audience.
Ray was also a very talented and respected
surrealist artist whose work was often
exhibited, notably in the Leytonstone
Festival art show, the "Epicentre"
in Leytonstone and "The Changing
Room" gallery in Lloyd Park,
Walthamstow (of William Morris fame).
Ray’s passing will leave a big hole in
many peoples’ lives and my wife & I
have lost a very good friend. Ray helped
me a great deal over the years with
Digital Blues, getting the website up
& running and in so many other ways.
Time spent with Ray was always joyous time
and his wonderful enthusiasm and love for
his fellow man, and woman, always rubbed
off and left one feeling better!
If you want to leave a message or post
your memories of Ray, I have set up a
Facebook page –
Ray Bartrip
RIP – so if you are a Facebook member
please do drop by and have your say.
Blues
CD Store
New Mini Mag - The
Bluesletter 210 Now Available
The
latest Blues CD
Store mini mag The Bluesletter is now
available to read online. To
read Bluesletter 210 Click HereIf
you want to receive The Bluesletter by
email or through the post email mailinglist@bluescdstore.com
with your details. You can also
join the Blues CD Store Members Club and
get 5 free blues CDs per year as well as
other benefits. See below;
Join
The Blues CD Store MembersClub - Best
Blues Deal On The Planet!
Benefits
Of Membership:
ØA
free CD of our choice with every
Bluesletter
Ø5
Bluesletters per year = 5 free
CDs per year
ØSpecial offers and reduced prices
only available to members
ØCompetitions/prize draws only
available to members
ØDiscounts
on tickets at selected Blues
Festivals and events
The
Cost: Only £20 per year (until
1st September – increases to
£24.75 thereafter)
You
don’t need to order CDs to take out the
membership.
You
can pay by cheque using the order form
attached or pay by credit/debit card over
the phone.
Genuine
vintage bass. Great sound and
feel. I've played it since mid
1970's but gigged and played very
little over the last 20 years. The
bass is original but has a couple
of modifications to enhance the
bass. These are a brass nut and an
active circuit. The jack socket is
now on the side allowing an extra
tone control and a switch for
adding active circuit or for by
passing it. It is a unique one off
bass.
Price
- £1800.00 ono
To
buy or for more info call 01296
634991
(Cash
/PayPal or Debit/Credit cards
excepted)
Warwick
Pro Bass Cab 211
300w
RMS 2 x 10 with horn and
attenuator 8 ohms. Price
£140
To
buy or for more info call 01296
634991
(Cash
/PayPal or Debit/Credit cards
excepted)
Gibson
J40 Acoustic Guitar USA electro-acoustic
Very
late 1970's or early 1980's. It has had
some modifications to it. The open backed
machine heads have been replaced many
years ago with sealed Groover machine
heads, as used by Gibson. High quality
pick up is fitted under the bridge
saddle.
It feels great to play
and is in reasonable condition but does
have signs of wear and use over the years
as you would expect with a 30+ year old
guitar. A small split on the soundboard
has been professionally repaired and does
not affect the sound or appearance. The
top has a lovely old aged look to it and
the original Gibson factory finish. It
needs a loving home and someone who can
enjoy it.
Price
£950 ono
To buy
or for more info call 01296 634991
(Cash
/PayPal or Debit/Credit cards excepted)
Something
For The Musicians
YOU
KNOW YOU'RE TOO OLD TO PLAY GIGS WHEN:
It becomes more important to find a
place on stage for your fan than your amp.
Your gig clothes make you look like George
Burns out for a round of golf.
All your fans leave by 9:30 p..m.
All you want from groupies is a foot
massage and back rub.
You love taking the elevator because you
can sing along with most of your set-list.
Instead of a fifth member, your band wants
to spring for a roadie.
You lost the directions to the gig.
You need your glasses to see the amp
settings.
You've thrown out your back jumping off
the stage.
You feel like hell before the gig even
starts.
The waitress is your daughter!
You stop the set because your ibuprofen
fell behind the speakers.
Most of your crowd just sways in their
seats.
You find your drink tokens from last
month's gig in your guitar case.
You refuse to play without earplugs.
You ask the club owner if you can start at
8:30 instead of 9:30.
You check the TV schedule before booking a
gig.
Your gig stool has a back.
You're related to at least one member in
the band.
You don't let anyone sit in.
You need a nap before the gig..
After the third set, you bug the club
owner to let you quit early.
During the breaks, you now go to the van
to lie down.
You prefer a music stand with a light
You don't recover until Tuesday afternoon.
You hope the host's speech lasts forever.
You buy amps considering their weight
and not their tone or "cool"
factor.
You can remember seven different club
names for the same location.
You have a hazy memory of the days when
you could work 10 gigs in 7 days and could
physically do it!
Your date couldn't make it because she
couldn't find a babysitter for the
grandkids.
The set list has to be in 20 point type.
Your drug of choice is now coffee.
It seems impossible to find stage shoes
with decent arch support.
You fart on stage and don't laugh.
Rocking
the Blues does its best to ensure information is
accurate but does not accept liability for any
inaccurate information that may appear within its
pages or on any third party links. All information
published is to help promote mainly blues and
blues/rock music and is published in good faith.
