As a black man, the recent deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling by police officers as well as the countless other deaths of black children, women and men have been on my mind and very little has offered much comfort from the feelings of fury, bitterness, confusion, horror, profound sadness and numbness I’ve been feeling over the past few days. And as a result, I’ve been obsessed with Syl Johnson‘s aching and bitter lament “Is It Because I’m Black” which my homey Abdul recently put me on to and Bob Marley‘s “War.” I think both songs will say just about everything that I feel about now.
Category: Blues
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Alt country/folk-rock/blues-rock artist Lee Miles, best known Chief Ghoul has quickly become a JOVM mainstay artist for a sound that channels and owes a major debt to the Delta Blues — in particular, the blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters‘ acoustic blues and John Lee Hooker as Miles’ work had a tendency to be sparse, most self-accompanied and concerned itself with some prototypical blues themes and motifs. Seeking to expand the project’s sound, Miles recruited Chase Coryell (bass) and Justin Brown (drums) to flesh out the project’s sound, expanding the project to a full-time trio.
Damned is Miles’ fourth Chief Ghoul album, and the album’s latest single “Let Me In” is a twangy ballad that sonically draws from outlaw country and the blues — and that shouldn’t be surprising as the song’s narrator sings ruefully about a lover with whom he had a conflicting and confusing relationship; in typical blues fashion, the narrator recognizes that the love interest is dangerous to him and yet he can’t pull himself away.
Eric Krasno is a Grammy-winning guitarist, songwriter and producer, who’s written for and produced an impressive array of artists including Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks Band, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, The London Souls, and Allen Stone but he’s probably best known as a co-founder of cult-favored, genre-mashing/genre-defying acts Soulive and Lettuce. Over the last couple of years, Krasno has developed a reputation as a highly-regarded solo artist — and his solo debut effort was released to critical applause.
Krasno’s forthcoming sophomore effort Blood From A Stone was co-written with Rustic Overtones’ Dave Gutter and features guest spots from Derek Trucks and members of Soulive, Lettuce and The London Souls — but what makes the effort truly interesting is the fact that it marks the first time Krasno takes up vocal duties. Figuratively and literally, Krasno finds his voice on the album and as he explains in press notes “”I’ve been writing songs with vocals for other people for a while. With these songs, we initially wrote them thinking others would sing them, so when I was in the studio with different artists, sometimes I’d introduce one of the tracks and they’d record it, but it wouldn’t necessarily work out. Eventually, I realized it was because I’d written these songs for myself.”
Blood From A Stone‘s swaggering first single “Waiting On Your Love” is a decided departure from the jazz fusion, funk and jam band sound and aesthetic that has caught the attention of jam band, funk and jazz fusion fans for years as the material is reportedly draws from Bobby “Blue” Bland’s Dreamer and Muddy Waters’ Electric Mud as the songs are much more tightly structured. Interestingly, “Waiting On Your Love” is based on an old school 12 bars blues that pairs Krasno’s coolly soulful vocals with enormous power chords, tweeter and woofer rattling boom bap beats, a shuffling and bluesy guitar solo and an anthemic hook in a song that not only possesses an urgent, plaintive need but also manages to sound as though it drew from Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz and Steve Miller — but with a slick, modern touch.
New Video: Check Out The Kills Playful and Yet Badass Video for “Heart Of A Dog”
With the release of the first four critically praised albums Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, Midnight Boom and Blood Pressures, the indie rock The Kills, comprised of Alison Mossheart, a former member […]
With the release of their 2012 release How’s That Sound?, Windsor, ON-based rock/blues duo The Blues Stones — comprised of Tafik Jafar (vocals and guitar) and Justin Tessier (drums) — quickly found themselves with a growing national and Stateside profile as several singles appeared on Parks & Recreation, Suits, Monday Night Football, Battle Creek and others, and as a result How’s That Sound? landed on Bandcamp’s bestseller list that year. Additionally, the duo have a burgeoning reputation across both their native Canada and Detroit for an energetic and passionate live show.
With the recent release of the band’s sophomore effort Black Holes, the members of the Canadian rock duo hope to expand their profile even further, and with the arena rock-friendly album single “Black Holes (Solid Ground),” the duo pairs power chords, thundering drumming and anthemic hooks to craft a song that sounds indebted to classic Delta blues, The Black Keys, The White Stripes and early Black Sabbath — but with a subtly psychedelic leaning that reveals a twist on a familiar and winning formula.
Back in January, I wrote a post on Reno, NV-born and Nashville, TN-based alt rock/blues/rock artist Jack Berry. Berry can trace the origins of his recording career to when he wrote and recorded his first album while studying in Los Angeles. Berry then worked and performed along the West Coast as one half a of a duo before before he decided that it was time to go solo. Relocating to Nashville, Berry spent several months couch-surfing and writing and recording material with the hopes that he could catch the attention of that city’s local press. Eventually, Berry began receiving praise from outlets such as Nashville Scene, The Deli Magazine, Blues Rock Review and others, which resulted in slots at Toronto‘s North by Northeast (NXNE), CMJ and SXSW‘s Red Gorilla Festival. Since then, Berry has played a number of venues between his hometown and NYC; however, 2016 may be his breakthrough year with the Spring 2016 release of his latest album, Mean Machine.
Now, as I mentioned a little earlier, back in January I wrote about Mean Machine‘s first single “The Bull,” a sultry and bluesy single that paired arena rock-friendly power chords, propulsive and carefully syncopated drumming, an anthemic hook and Berry’s seductive crooning and howling that sonically seems to draw from Soundgarden (think of “Mailman” “Spoonman,”and “Fell on Black Days” off Superunknown) as it does from old-school blues and contemporary rock. Mean Machine‘s latest single “Bad Dog” continues where “The Bull” left off: arena-friendly power chords, propulsive drumming paired with Berry’s sultry crooning; however, the song possesses a cocksure swagger and menace that pushes the song towards the old school blues territory — in particular think of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
Born in Reno, NV and currently based in Nashville, TN, alt rock/blues rock artist Jack Berry can trace the origins of his recording career to when he wrote and recorded his first album while studying in Los Angeles. Berry then worked and performed along the West Coast as one half a of a duo before before he decided that it was time to go solo. Relocating to Nashville, Berry spent several months couch-surfing and writing and recording material with the hopes that he could catch the attention of that city’s local press.
Eventually, Berry began receiving praise from outlets both locally and nationally from the likes of Nashville Scene, The Deli Magazine, Blues Rock Review and others, which resulted in slots at Toronto‘s North by Northeast (NXNE), CMJ and SXSW‘s Red Gorilla Festival. Since then, Berry has played a number of venues between his home base and NYC; however, 2016 may be his breakthrough year with the Spring 2016 release of his latest album, Mean Machine.
“The Bull,” Mean Machine‘s first single is a sultry and bluesy single that pairs arena rock friendly power chords, propulsive and carefully syncopated drumming, an anthemic hook and Berry’s seductive crooning and howling that sonically seems to draw from Soundgarden (think of “Mailman” “Spoonman,”and “Fell on Black Days” off Superunknown) as it does from old-school blues and contemporary rock.
Although she’s the daughter of Alan Menken, the pianist and musical theater and film composer famously known for composing the scores of several beloved Disney animated films — including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and others, the New York-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay artist Anna Rose has developed a growing national profile with the release of her self-titled EP, her full-length debut effort Nomad and her sophomore effort, Behold A Pale Horse. Whereas both her self-titled EP and Nomad were mostly acoustic-leaning singer/songwriter efforts with conversational and confessional lyrics, Behold A Pale Horse was a both a change of sonic direction and a bold, brassy announcement of an artist who finally found her most natural and singular voice. But if there’s one thing that holds all three of those efforts together, it’s the fact that all of them reveal that New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist as a complicated and interesting woman who kicks ass and takes names, who is strong yet vulnerable, seductive yet innocent, wizened through experience and yet youthful.
Slated for release in 2016, Strays In The Cut EP is the long awaited follow-up to Behold A Pale Horse and the EP reportedly has the New York-based singer/songwriter pushing her musical and songwriting boundaries. As Anna Rose explains in press notes “I am very much an album artist and a storyteller, so the idea of scaling it all back to the size of an EP was a challenge in itself. It forced me to look at the songs in a different way, the production, everything. These six songs needed to tell the whole story. The limitations I placed on the length made the process so much more imaginative in every other aspect.” “Start A War,” Strays In The Cut‘s first single possesses a somewhat stripped down, country and blues-leaning arrangement that’s roomy enough for Rose’s unhurried and expressive vocals. It’s a slow-burning and spectral ballad full of lingering ghosts of past relationships and lovers, past resentments and a past that routinely finds a way to poke its way through your present at a random moment. But the song does so with a quiet and understanding acceptance a a subtle sense of regret.
With the release of his 2013 full-length debut effort to critical acclaim, Ghosts In The Attic, Austin, TX-based indie folk singer/songwriter Reed Turner exploded on to the national map. As a result of the attention on the album, Turner wound up sharing stages with an impressive list of acclaimed artists including Gary Clark, Jr., Mark Broussard, Will Hoge and Jessica Lea Mayfield, among many others — and the album wound up on several “Best Of” lists that year.
After a year of solitude marked by health issues, Turner turned his backyard shed into a makeshift workspace and studio, compelled to create rather than wallow. Along with his backing band, Turner and company wrote and recorded material that would wind up comprising his forthcoming Native Tongue EP live to tape on an old Studer A827, much like how they did during the Sun Records days.
As you’ll hear on Native Tongue‘s first single and EP opening track “I Got Love” possesses a bluesy, shuffling stomp and swing reminiscent of Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf — in particular I think of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” and “Get Rhythm,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Poor Boy (The London Sessions version),” Muddy Waters’ “Mean Ol’ Frisco Blues,” and Bo Diddley‘s “Who Do You Love” (although George Thorogood‘s version is infinitely better). And much like those songs, it feels as though it could have been recorded around that period, as it possesses the looseness of a band playing at a dirty whiskey bar or an old fashioned honky tonk. But interestingly enough the song balances an old-timey sweetness beneath the stomp and braggadocio; it’s the sort of song you’d can picture couples line dancing, swing dancing or blues dancing late into the night.
New Video: The Creepily Surreal New Video for Jas Patrick’s “Harpy”
Nashville, TN-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jas Patrick can trace the origins of his music career to when he was a small child — at four, Patrick had started playing drums and by the time, he […]
New Audio: Skin & Bones’ Swaggering and Ominous “Bad Feeling”
Comprised of Taylor Borsuk (vocals, guitar, drums) and Peter Blackwelder (violin), the Venice Beach, CA-based duo Skin & Bones first gained attention locally as local buskers performing country and blues tunes on Venice Beach’s renowned […]