Nov-Dec 2013 CBS Newsletter

Alex will be back at the Adri-

atic Saturday, November

16th to showcase his music

and help raise funds to go to

Memphis. Please come out

and support our IBC entry!

Hawkeye Herman returned

after a six year gap with us

did two programs in Rock-

ford on October 28th. An-

other great Hope and An-

chor dinner show rounded

out the day nicely! Hawk-

eye has now done 19 school

programs for us, more than

any other artist!

2014 BITS are being

planned, with Freeport

kicking things off in Janu-

ary! Stay tuned for info!

2013/2014 Blues in the Schools Off to a Hot Start Keeping the

Blues Alive

November-December 2013

Inside this issue:

News 1-3+

Music Reviews 4-12

Playlist 13

Membership Application 14

Upcoming Events 14

Six programs by some of our

favorite BITS artists have

given 2013 a superb start!

Crossroads is up to 122

shows with 38,000 students

now officially having gotten

the blues from us!

Acoustic favorite Gerry

Hundt returned for two

shows and this time accom-

panied by harp master

Ronnie Shellist from Colo-

rado. Their evening show at

Just Goods was

well attended

and received

and was also

quite enjoyable!

Bryan Lee and

the Blues Power

Band were in

Byron for two

school shows on

October 2nd

and then at the

Hope and An-

chor in Loves

Park for a din-

ner show.

Over 75 peo-

ple attended

that show and

it was a great

new venue for

us with great

food and bev-

erages and a

good sound-

ing room.

Important Crossroads Information

Our post office box and address have changed. Please note our new address is at: Post Office Box 840 Byron, IL 61010

Annual dues remains at only $15 for individuals and $25 for families. You get six great issues of this newsletter and help support our BITS efforts by maintaining your membership current. Email Crossroads at [email protected] if you are uncertain as to your membership status. Use the member-ship form on the back page or go online at our news blog to renew online.

Online donations for Al McNary can be made at: http://crossroads-

bluessciety.blogspot.com

Gerry Hundt and Ronnie Shellist kick of new BITS year for CBS at Eisenhower MS, Harlem ES and Just Goods

Alex Wilson is Headed Back to Memphis!

October 13th marked the date

for the first Crossroads Blues

Challenge, where three bands

competed for the right to

represent us at the Interna-

tional Blues Challenge (IBC)

in Memphis next year. The

IBC runs from January 21st to

25th and it is always a great

event.

The Jimmy’s were the first to

register and played the first

set for us. It was a swinging

good time with Mr. Voegeli

and his band. The Mark Avey

Band was second to register

and performed second and

gave the crowd a great per-

formance of their rocking

blues style! Last up was the

Alex Wilson Band and they

also gave the crowd there a

performance to remember.

The judges conferred and

scored the bands. The results

were tallied and the IBC

weighting system was applied

to their scores. The math was

checked a few times and

when it was all said and done

Alex Wilson was the unani-

mous choice of the judges.

All three of the bands would

have done us proud in Mem-

phis– it was a fantastic compe-

tition!

Brent Johnson’s pink guitar “matches” his admirer’s wheelchair at Mary Morgan ES

Page 2 Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Recent Images from BITS, Shows and More

Bryan Lee at Mary Morgan ES in Byron captivates the students

Cindy Wilhems and Annette Jones prepared food, painted and kept the guys In line at Al’s house

Bobbty Messano stops in at Christy’s in Free-port for a show

Al McNary recovering at home with Harvey Wilhelms and other friends

Thirteen Year Old Justin Bates joins Bryan Lee on guitar and harp at the Hope & Anchor

Storm Cellar from Sydney, Australia wowed the crowd at the 2013 PostStorm Cellar from Sydney, Australia wowed the crowd at the 2013 Post--Fest Volunteer Party Fest Volunteer Party


Al is also planning on being at the benefit, so he can visit with his many friends. Make some time to stop by on Sunday, November 3rd from 2 to 6 PM. It’s a great cause for a good friend of ours!

Crossroads long-time Treasurer and member Al McNary was stricken with a stroke in August, leaving him with huge medical bills. He is finally home after re-covering enough to be independent but he has renovations and repairs needed to his home and mounting medical bills with no insurance available. This has put him in dire straits. Crossroads is holding a bene-fit for him on Sunday, November 3rd at the American Legion on Alpine Road in Rockford (formerly LT’s Pub). Please come put and support this cause. We do lots of fundraising and now it’s for one of our own! There are a lot of great local blues artists coming out for the event. It will be a fun time for all! There will be lots of great silent auction items along with a 50-50 raffle. Friends, neighbors and Crossroads mem-bers are also stepping up to help with some of the work needed at Al’s house. A group of members and friends went out on Saturday, October 19th and many other days of volunteer help have occurred from his friends in Freeport and brother Dave from Chicago. Work to give Al ac-cess to kitchen and bathroom had to be contracted out, but friends and family have pitched in to assist where they can. Al has spent a lot of time managing the club’s finances, volunteering at festivals and events, and running fundraisers for artists and friends in need. Now it is time for us to give back to him so please come out and support this event. If you cannot make it, please consider making a dona-tion. Send donations to Crossroads via our new PO box or go online to make do-nations on our news blog.

Al is making good progress with his recov-ery and sends thanks to all his friends and well –wishers. He is regaining the use of his left arm and leg and improving n dex-terity (he is a lefty which has made this more difficult for him). His home has been re-layed out to allow him to live on the first floor so he can maneuver about and avoid the stairs.

Helping Hands Reach Out to Assist Al McNary

Working Party at Al McNary’s House

On Line donations for Al can be made at: http://crossroadsbluessociety.blogspot.com


The tougher side of Rayford’s nature comes out on “I’m Dangerous” and “I Might Do Somethin’ Crazy”, the second cut a Wolf-like primal declaration of warn-ing ignited by Andersen’s scorching licks. “Keep Her Home” sports a raging boogie beat with Big Pete on harmonica. Rayford finishes with “Preaching Blues”, a song from Son House. His forceful interpreta-tion, over Goldwasser’s dancing slide gui-tar runs, highlights one last time the power of his voice in addition to his uncanny ability to capture the emotional heart of each song. One listen to this recording makes it clear that Chortkoff wasn’t indulging in some form hyperbole with his praise for Danger-ous. This disc is full of scintillating per-formances, particularly from the big man pictured on the cover. It took a while for Sugaray to get to this point in his career. It was time well spent as he is in full com-mand of his voice, delivering one stirring moment after another on a disc that will undoubtedly receive plenty of attention come awards time. Highly recommended! Reviewed by Mark Thompson

Dangerous Sugaray Rayford Delta Groove Music, Inc. www.sugar-rayblues.com 14 tracks/67:48 In a June posting on Facebook, Randy Chortkoff, owner of Delta Groove Music, mentioned being in the final stages of mixing the tracks for an upcoming release and added, “…by far the best album I’ve produced to date.” His ringing endorse-ment was directed at the label’s first solo effort from singer Caron “Sugaray” Ray-ford, who garnered acclaim for his contri-butions to the award-winning Mannish Boys Double Dynamite project. Chortkoff was so impressed by Rayford’s talent that he made the decision to give the singer featured billing in the group. Many artists would fade into the wood-work while recording with top-rank blues veterans like Kim Wilson, Sugar Ray Nor-cia, Monster Mike Welch, Kid Andersen, Anthony Geraci and Fred Kaplan on key-boards, Willie J. Campbell and Bill Stuve on bass with Jimi Bott on drums. Rayford sounds right at home; his mighty voice riding any rhythm the all-star aggrega-tion throws at him. He never overplays his hand, proving to be equally adept at rendering a downhome blues or letting his voice ring out on an up-tempo barnburner. “Country Boy” bursts out of the gate with Rayford’s dynamic vocal commanding your atten-tion. Taking his time on Pee Wee Crayton’s “When It Rains It Pours”, Rayford generates a slow-burning heat that contrasts nicely with Franck Goldwasser’s fluid guitar picking. One of Ray-ford’s originals, “Stuck for a Buck”, has him taking a be-mused look at his precarious financial status with Rob Dziubla doubling on tenor and baritone sax plus Mark Pender on trumpet. Norcia joins the host for a duet on “Two Times Sugar” as the duo slides effort-lessly through a celebration of their good lovin’ ways.

Chortkoff penned two of the highlights. “Goin’ Back to Texas” gives Rayford the chance to slow the pace while waxing nostalgic over the land where he grew up. Kim Wilson’s harp echoes the singer’s every move and Goldwasser adds to the country-inflected feel with some biting slide guitar. Wilson’s harmonica mastery is on full display on “Surrendered”, estab-lishing the moody atmosphere while Ray-ford utilizes a gritty edge with his meticu-lous phrasing to testify to power of the human spirit. The enormous depth of the singer’s voice is showcased on “Depression Blues” and Junior Parker’s “In the Dark”, capturing your attention over the combined weight of the horns and Andersen’s distinctive fretwork. On the latter cut, Chortkoff gives listeners a taste of his reed-bending skills. Another Rayford original, “Need a Little More Time”, has a stripped-down acoustic arrangement with Goldwasser on a Na-tional Steel guitar supporting the singer as he pleads for some relief from life’s pres-sures.

Music Reviews


With the horns urging him own, Anderson shows he learned plenty of lessons from T-Bone Walker on the smoldering “I Got Mine”, laying down a magnificent guitar full of deft improvisation. He delivers a gripping confession on “Rock in My Shoe”, his voice full of heartache. The horns ride the loose-limbed rhythm on “36 Hour Day” as Anderson provides another brief glimpse at his prodigious guitar skills. He stretches out a bit on “Talkin’ Bout Lonely”, mixing blue notes with his trade-mark twang in a solo of mesmerizing beauty. “Red Sunset Blues” comes across as a Duane Eddy meets the spaghetti western soundtrack with a little surf action thrown in to keep things interesting. And right in the middle is another guitar solo full of exciting twists and turns. Murphy turns an equally interesting jazz-influenced solo on piano. Anderson breaks out the shuffle rhythm on “Outta The Fire”, his voice tak-ing on a harder edge over the blaring horns. His meticulous phrasing is high-lighted on the swinging “Talkin’ My Baby Done” as he wrings pure magic out of his instrument. Jake Maeby’s swirling organ chords set a moody tone on “For You”. Anderson twists a haunting solo out of his fretboard over an arrangement with a hint of reggae. Things shift south to Louisiana on “Empty Everything” with Anderson crying the blues accompanied by Dennis Gurwell on accordion and Steve Nelson on upright bass. The bonus track at the end of the disc is a reprise of “Rock in My Shoe”, this time with the soulful Bekka Bramlett on lead vocal. Her stirring performance points out Anderson’s limits as a singer. But his calling card is his inventive guitar playing. He never overplays or falls victim to the “faster-louder” school of indulgence. He succinct solos avoid clichés in favor of refreshing, playful that leave wanting to hear more. And that is reason enough to check out this little gem! Reviewed by Mark Thompson

Our post office box and ad-dress have changed. Please

note our new address:

Crossroads Blues Society

Post Office Box 840

Byron, IL 61010

Account to Me Hank Mowery Old Pal Records www.hankmowery.com 10 tracks/38:12 This recording revives the legacy of the late Gary Primich, a bril-liant harp player, exciting singer and skilled songwriter. Hank Mowery has al-ways had a deep respect for Primich and his music. In recent years, Mowery has developed a friendship with JV & Darsha Primich, Gary’s parents, who came to him to suggest making a recording that would include a handful of Gary’s songs. Two of the songs had never been recorded. JV had found them among Gary’s personal effects. Mowery is a fine choice for the project. His smooth vocal style easily captures the essence of the Primich sound, as you can hear on “Put the Hammer Down”. Troy Amaro lays down a swinging guitar line that is full of twist & turns while Mowery blows some country-style blues harp. On “My Home” , Mowery once again treats us to some dynamic harp playing while Amaro again impresses with a succinct, flowing solo with Junior Valentine on rhythm guitar. Primich incorporated ele-ments of jazz into his material and the band shows they can nail that style on “Pray for a Cloudy Day”, with Mowery’s resonant voice riding the mellow shuffle beat. The title track is the first of the unrecorded songs. Mowery’s soulful singing grabs at your heartstrings as he pours out his plea for honesty while John Large on drums and Patrick Recob on bass & acoustic guitar lay down an understated rhythm while Chris Corey adds some piano ac-cents, making this track a definite high-light. Corey’s rolling, New Orleans-style piano is featured on “Tricky Game”, the second new tune. Mowery utilizes a re-flective vocal tone to ponder to intricacies of human relationships. The rousing opener, “Spend a Little Time”, is a Mowery original that mixes Corey’s acoustic piano with a distorted Wurlitzer electric piano, creating a hard-driving sound devoid of guitars. Mowery blows up a storm on his harp, then goes deep into the traditional style on another original, “If I Knew What I Know”, a gut-bucket blues full of outstanding reed-bending from the leader. Mowery and Corey on organ shine on the instrumental “Banana Oil” while Recob handles the singing on one of his songs, “Target”, a chilling portrayal of

a down-bound life punctuated by the thick tones Mowery pulls from his harp. Rev. Robert Wilkin’s “That’s No Way to Get Along” gets an acoustic performance featuring Jimmy Stagger on vocal &National resonator guitar with Mowery pulling train sounds out of his harp. It is a fitting ending for this fine recording that reminds us of Gary Primich’s talent while serving as Hank Mowery’s coming out party. Make sure that you check this one out. Between the powerful material, Mowery’s inspired performances and the strong ensemble work from the band, there is plenty to enjoy through repeat listens. Strongly recommended! Reviewed by Mark Thompson Birds Above Guitar-land Pete Anderson Little Dog Records www.peteanderson.com 11 tracks/43:03 There are a lot of great musicians that most people have never heard or heard about. It is rare to be a musician that most people have heard without realizing who they are listening to. Pete Anderson falls into that category. He is a household name despite the fact that he spent seventeen playing guitar for country superstar Dwight Yoakam, ap-pearing on recordings that sold millions of copies. Anderson also helped with the arrangements and production as the duo brought the traditional twang back to country music. But Anderson loves blues music, a pas-sion that started when he attended the 1968 Ann Arbor Blues Festival. Hearing Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf created an indelible impres-sion on the young musician. Since he left Yoakam’s band, Anderson has been cut-ting solo records that find him digging deep into the music that once captured his heart. On his latest, Anderson handles the vo-cals and guitar parts in addition to playing bass, harmonica and percussion. Michael Murphy plays keyboards. Key bass, strings and adds some harmony vocals. Five different drummers are used with Herman Matthews appearing on five tracks. The horn section is comprised of Lee Thornberg on trumpet, French horn & trombone plus Ron Dzibula on saxo-phones.

Page 6 November-December 2013

titled Come On Down features 12 tracks with six new original tunes and six classic covers redone with his own signature, as a result of a recent trip along the "Blues Trail" in Memphis, Mississippi and Ala-bama. The album is a collection of both his rollicking music with a tribute to tradi-tional blues and a stronger influence from the early rock 'n' roll. Including himself, David calls on the expertise of 15 singers and musicians throughout the 12 tracks. Gogo opens with some blistering slide guitar and solid vocals on "Bad 'n Ruin," a tune written by Small Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan and lead singer Rod Stewart. Gogo's lyrics and guitar solos are very strong on the title track "Come On Down," with gospel background vocals added on this haunting original song. "Call Your Name," the second original number, is another tune showcasing Gogo's su-perb guitar work, vocals, and songwriting expertise. He slows things down on the soulful, original tune "Worth It," a song co-written by David Gogo. More of the Louisi-ana Delta comes out on the original tune "Natchez Dog" in both Gogo's guitar riffs, Shawn Hall's harmonica, and the addition of superb keyboards. Gogo really ex-plodes on guitar with his rough, road-house rocker "Kings," another original tune added to this new release. On a lot of the tunes on Come On Down, he blends his vocals and background vocals ex-tremely well. He follows up with series of covers starting with an extraordinary ver-sion of "So Into You," one of best tunes written by the Atlanta Rhythm Section keyboard player Dean Daughtry, Buddy Buie, the band's manager and producer, and Robert Nix, the drummer. The last original tune on the album is a high pow-ered, no holes barred rocker "Blue Eyed Daisy" and as the lyrics indicate, he put the petal to the metal much like the legen-dary Jimi Hendrix. The album continues as Gogo shifts gears with the classic R&B tune "Let's Go Get Stoned," a tune often performed by Ray Charles and written by Josephine Armstead, Nicholas Ashford, and Valerie Simpson. Gogo's vocals and guitar riffs are some of the best of the album on this tune. David continues with the Robert Palmer song "Looking For Clues." The album concludes with a Chris-tine McVie tune "Spare Me A Little Of Your Love" and "World Turning" a song co-written by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac.

If you have ever heard one of David Gogo's albums, you will understand why he has been labeled the hardest working blues artist in Canada. You will find Come On Down, his latest release is no excep-tion to that statement.

Reviewed by Rick Davis

Mule Port City Prophets Self released http://portcityproph-ets.bandcamp.com 10 tracks

I try not to prejudge a CD by it’s cover. Just like a book, you don’t really know what’s inside until you listen. Well, I set myself up with this CD. A huge mule nos-tril stares at you on the cover of this CD and I must say I had low expectations. When I played it, things rapidly changed.

The band starts out with a driving swing song called “Close Your Eyes.” Stinging guitar, great lyrics and vocals and a big back beat told me maybe I should not have pre-judged this. When the slide gui-tar lit off to open “Jesus Saved My Soul But…” I knew that certainly had been hasty. A gritty, slow and mean slide song with equally dirty vocals. The “but” is that, “Jesus Saved my soul, but my money belongs to my wife. It’s a good thing that heaven’s free because that lady she sure is tight.” Tim Kirkendall’s testifying and Troy Tolie’s guitar made me a believer. Maybe mule nostrils aren’t so bad...what a cut!

Organ work added by Bill Nance takes us a little bit to church as “I Already Know” begins. A slow and quiet song that builds and build so well, it really displays soul-felt emotions. “Mule In A One Horse Town” is some rocking blues. More grit and dirt in the vocals and a big guitar and organ sound make this one really sweet. “When The Lights go Down in St. Louis” may hearken back to bassist and vocalist Tim Kirkendall’s home town, but these guys are low country blues men with the port and swamps of South Carolina percolating in their souls.

The trio and occasional friend sitting in continue the charge with “Done Changed My Mind.” A blistering guitar opens the song and then Kirkendall continues his vocal onslaught by giving us the blues done so convincingly right. Henry An-crum’s drums here are simple yet effec-tive. The beat makes the tune feel much more earthy and gusty. On “Let Me Breathe” we get more beautiful and soulful blues with thoughtful organ and guitar work. “No Time” is more rocking and has some more passionate vocal work. “I Used To Love You” opens o some bass licks and cool keys and then the guitar and drums add to the primal nature of this. More deep gutsy blues with poignant lyr-ics delivered extremely effectively. They close with “Pluff Mud,” the only light and airy number on this otherwise down and dirty blues CD. Light and airy as it starts,

at least, with a good little minute intro be-fore the band hits it hard and drives the CD to a rousing finish on a super instru-mental. Guitar and organ trade the lead, the bass and drums again go beyond worldly and they deliver a remarkable finish to a remarkable album.

I loved this CD. It has songs with great lyrics, great vocals, and great musician-ship. I want to see these guys live– the unleashed version would have to be even more amazing. Most highly recom-mended!!!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Come On Down David Gogo Cordova Bay Records www.davidgogo.com/ 11 Tracks David Gogo met Stevie Ray Vaughan backstage at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia at the age of 15, which was one of the events that inspired him to pursue a career in blues. By the time he was 16, he had as-sembled his first band called The Per-suaders. His band had shared the stage with blues legends Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Otis Rush, and Bo Diddley, and opened for George Thorogood, ZZ Top, The Tragi-cially Hip, Buddy Guy, Little Feat, and Jimmy Vaughan. After performing in sup-port of The Fabulous Thunderbirds in Europe, he was able to sign a solo record deal with EMI Records. It was shortly after that he performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival with B.B. King, Otis Rush and Blues Traveler.

For his critical acclaimed debut album in 1994, David Gogo, he received his first nomination for a Juno Award. The Juno Awards, presented by the Canadian Acad-emy of Recording Arts and Sciences, has nominated Gogo for a total of four times. The Maple Blues Awards honoring, the best in Canadian blues, nominated David 14 times, with him winning guitarist of the year in 2002 and 2004. He was also nomi-nated twice for the INDIE Music Awards, happening in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week, twice for The Western Ca-nadian Music Awards ceremony for music in the western portion of Canada, winning in 2012 for his album Soul Bender, once for the Great Canadian Blues Award, win-ning Best Canadian Blues Musician in 2004, and once for the West Coast Music Awards, winning Musician of the Year in 2000.

With credentials like that, it is easy to see why David Gogo is one of Canada's rising stars in the blues world. His 13th album


trade off solos and blend together beauti-fully. Gabriel opens with a swinging jump blues that feature Gabriel, Robillard and the-Horns prominently. It’s a great starter. Following that is “Ride, Ride, Ride” with more great guitar,Folstrom on piano and a driving beat, The covered song is Chris Kenner’s “Something You Got,” a Big Easy classic where Gabriel and Duke both put on a show. There are a couple of very cool instrumentals here, too. Gabriel ‘s “328 Chauncey Street,” a jazzy and swinging cut where he picks out some great solos along with the Duke and Bruce Bears im-presses on organ. “C.M.C.” is the other instrumental in a similar vein, but this time with Fallstrom on B3 and Bears on piano. Very thoughtful and jazzy. Two of the tracks are a bit tongue in cheek, :Devil’s Daugher” and “Fine At’tire.” The former describes the women he tenu-ously got involved with and the latter is a trendy throwback with Gabriel singing an Naftalin on piano without the rest of the musicians. Well done! I enjoyed the CD overall. One area that I was least impressed were the vocals. The delivery is sort of monotone at times, where Gabriel gets a bit nasal and breathy. It’ not bad, but it just doesn't vary a lot in his approach to singing. But other than that minor criticism, if you are a Rob-bilard/Roomful of Blues aficionado then you will enjoy this CD. Gabriel gives us some great new songs and guitar work and the backing players are all in synch and support each other to the max. An-other New England jump blues success story! Reviewed by Steve Jones

Date Set for 2014 Field of Blues Festival

The Frontier League Baseball schedule

has been announced for 2014 and the

date requested for the Second Annual

Field of Blues Festival has been con-

firmed. The festival will be held on Sat-

urday, June 28, 2014 at Rockford Aviators

Stadium in Loves Park! We will once

again be working with the Aviators staff

to utilize their great venue to hold our

second event in their stadium. Stay

tuned for more news about the festival!

What’s The Chance Paul Gabriel Shining Stone Music Group www.paulgabriel.net 13 tracks The disciples of Duke Robillard continue to grow and produce interesting CDs for the blues world to enjoy. Robillard has produced this CD and appears along with Mark Naftalin on piano, Steve Pastir on guitar and the Roomful of Blues Horns (Rich Lataille and Mark Earley on sax and Doug Woolverton on trumpet. Hailing from Connecticut, this guitar player is also backed by a band comprised of Billy Bileca on bass, Nick Longo on drums and

Larry “Buzzy” Fallstrom on keys. A local success, Gabriel emerges on a grander scale with this release. Having played and recorded with Harry Chapin, Rory Block and Michael Bolton, Gabriel is the real deal. He has been associated with Duke for twenty years and the styles are certainly similar as he learned at the feet of his master, even working together for long periods at Duke’s house. Mixing the blues with R&B and jazz, Gabriel has a cool and effusive style of play. He also wrote all but two of the tracks here and covers one song. I really enjoyed the guitar interplay and the bigger band feel of this CD. These guys are great accompanying each other and are very together. They seamlessly


His aggressive jazz-blues-funk-fusion guitar style is created with his most util-ized guitars that include a Sadowsky and a '63 Brown Deluxe, creating his own unique sound with amp distortion. He has really developed as a blues/rock guitar player since starting guitar in 1969. He guitar handling expertise is quite prevalent in his latest release Down On My Luck, where he also features his daughter Zoe on base. Also on bass is Phil McArthur, with George Lilly on drums, and Tom Re-gis sharing keyboard assignments with Bob Taylor. 2013 marks a new direction for Jon with his singing debut included on the list of 10 new original tracks. The only cover song is Johnny Winter's "I love Eve-rybody," a tune Jon handles with ease, making it his own. With this new release, he seems to be moving away from the jazz/funk direction that can be heard on his earlier albums and more into the blues/rock style. The CD opens with an original Texas style blues tune titled "You're Right, I'm Wrong," with Jon as the driving force on guitar and vocals. The title track "Down On My Luck" is a powerful, slow, shotgun blues number. "Hangman's Bridge" is an explosive blues rock tune similar in style to a Walter Trout style. "Waitin For The Storm" is one of most soulful blues tunes on the album. "I Got News" features Jon Zeeman's vocals as much as his superb guitar solos. "Money" establishes a very funky rhythm guitar underlying the tune. The pace is picked up with "Got The Gun," a hard drivin' rock 'n' roll tune similar those by the Fabulous Thun-derbirds and Jimmy Vaughan in the 70's. "Can't You See Me" and "So Bad" is a strong parallel to some of Stevie Ray Vaughan's material. The album concludes with "Better Off Dead" displaying once again the talent Jon Zeeman possesses both vocally and instrumentally. Jon could be one of the most underrated musicians in the blues field today. As diffi-cult and expensive as it is to tour today, Jon is one blues artist every blues fan should have the opportunity to hear live or at the very least on CD. With his skills he, is bound to gain attention world wide in no time. Reviewed by Rick Davis

Road Dog's Life Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King Delta Groove Music http://www.smokinjoe-kubek.com 12 Tracks When Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King joined to form the group Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King over twenty years ago, it was a match that brought the es-sence of Texas style blues to audiences world wide. With the aggressive guitar style of Smokin' Joe Kubek, heavily influ-enced by the hard-rocking blues of the '60s and '70s, and Bnois King's smoother, more soulful, jazzier style influenced by the sounds of the 1950s and '60s, they have forged superb material since they met in the 80s. Kubek's roadhouse style guitar and King's jazz style guitar and deep roots vocals offer a perfect musical balance. King keeps the music directed in a traditional vein, while Kubek pushes the blues boundaries. As a follow up to the their new approach to the blues, with their unplugged CD, Close To The Bone, they have returned to a format more typical of the earlier hard driving roadhouse studio albums, with the latest release Road Dogs Life on the Delta Groove label. With the exception of two cover songs, you are in for a real treat with this brand new collection of original material, along with a host of guest artists who have jumped aboard to create an all-star supporting cast. Joining Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King are Kid Andersen from Rick Estrin and the Nightcats on gui-tar, Randy Chortkoff and Kim Wilson on harmonica and vocals, Patrick Recob and current bass player from Mannish Boys Willie J. Campbell on electric bass, and Jimi Bott on drums. The album opens with the hard driven original tune about the legendary gam-bling king "Big Money Sonny" from Padu-cah, Texas, the Crossroads of America. Kubek's signature in-your-face guitar licks continue with "Come On In." They con-tinue with the shuffle "Nobody But You," with Kim Wilson adding his superb har-monica and sharing vocals with Bnois King. "Road Dog's Life" rips into that hard rockin' Texas blues style, describing life on the road for a blues musician. The tra-ditional blues song "K9 Blues" describes his treatment as a "K9" expressed by his fiancée as a result of a terminated rela-tionship. Kubek electrifies his listeners with his guitar solos and Jimi Bott main-tains a Latin beat on the original tune

"That Look On Your Face." King likes to deal one on one or as he explains it on the hard driven tune "Face To Face." They defiantly put their own signature on "Don't Bother Me," a song written by George Harrison and appearing on the Beatles album With The Beatles. "I Ain't Greasin'" features once again the unsur-passed Kim Wilson on harmonica, deliv-ering a style familiar with the group The Fabulous Thunderbirds. "Talking Bout Bad Luck" stirs in a little Louisiana swamp beat along with some slide guitar delivered by Smokin' Joe. Randy Chortkoff is featured on harmonica covered on the Rolling Stones hit "Play With Fire." The album ends on a light note with the tune "That Don't Work No More." Once again the extraordinary songwriting and stellar performance of the dynamic duo from Dallas have teamed up to create a chart topping album. The seasoned vet-eran musicians on this CD assist to make it one of best offered from Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King. Reviewed by Rick Davis Down On My Luck Jon Zeeman Membrane Records http://www.jonzeeman.com 11 Tracks Jon Zeeman is not a stranger to the music world particularly to the blues. If his name does not sound familiar, you have seen and heard him record and perform with the Allman Broth-ers Band, Susan Tedeschi, Janis Ian, The Burns Sisters Band, and Chris Spedding. At an early age 8, Jon became infatuated with any type of guitar equipment and was influenced by artists like, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, B.B. King. He decided at the age of 13 to make mu-sic his career, starting by studying classi-cal piano. Jon spent two years studying music at Ithaca College in New York be-fore moving to New York City where he began producing, writing music, doing session work, and working in his "Studio Z." From there he went to Scandinavia to record and perform with various groups. By the 90's, Jon started to perform his own music, releasing his highly acclaimed debut album Still Life in Europe in 2003. It was followed by his second album Zee-land in 2008.


late Gary Moore. The four-disc album has over four hours of blues recorded at two live shows. The band writes and sings in English so you forget they are German until they speak to the audiences between numbers. Some tracks are heavy, almost metallic electric blues while others are sweet and yearn-ing. With over 30 tracks, there are too many to individually mention but the al-bum is definitely worth a listen. Try it on a rainy day while you do housework or sim-mer homemade soup and soak in this band's blues. I'm sure we'll hear more in the future from these talented musicians. Reviewed by Diane Mandell

Hope and Anchor English Pub Saturday Blues

Starting in January 2014, Crossroads has

worked an agreement with the Hope and

Anchor English Pub in Loves Park, IL, to

host a monthly blues night one Saturday

a month. Generally on the 2nd Saturday

of each month (with some exceptions),

we will help the Hope and Anchor will

bring in a great blues act to the Rockford

Area.

Here is the tentative schedule:

January 11 The Jimmy's

February 15 The Alex Wilson Band

March 8 Bobby Messano

April 12 Reverend Raven and the

Chain Smokin' Altar Boys with

Westside Andy

May 10 The Cashbox Kings

June 14 Aaron Williams and the Hoo

Doo

July 12 Joel Patterson with Jim Liban

Admission to these shows is free! The

Pub offers a great selection of beers and

traditional pub fare. Showtime for each

show will be 8 PM. This is an exciting

idea for Crossroads and Blues Fans so

please mark your calendars and come

out and support live music!

The Hope

and Anchor

is at 5040

N. Second

Street

Loves Park,

IL 61111

The Lily Layla Zoe Self released www.layla.ca www.cablecar-records.com 11 tracks/63:43 "The Lily" is the seventh album for Victo-ria, British Columbia born Layla Zoe and was released August 30, 2013. The Montreal-based singer and song-writer has been singing since she was four years old. She began performing to audi-ences with her father's band when she was only 14. The 30-something Zoe has been com-pared to Janis Joplin by fans and critics alike due to her raw vocals and emotional on-stage performances. Zoe has toured Europe and Canada and performed with numerous musicians including the late Jeff Healey, Danny Marks, David Gogo and Pistol Pete. "The Lily" pairs Zoe's lyrics and vocals with German guitarist Henrik Freischlader's music on most of the tracks. I liked two tracks best: the title track "The Lily" and the Neil Young/Jeff Blackburn number "Hey, Hey, My, My". Listen to this album when you have a quiet hour plus and the opportunity to curl up with lyrics in hand and soak up Zoe's storytelling and Freischlader's guitar. Reviewed by Diane Mandell Loosen Up! RB Stone Self released www.rbstone.com 10 tracks/35:35 "Loosen Up!" Is the 16th album for Nashville-based blues vet-eran RB Stone. Released on June 18, 2013 on his own music label, Middle Mountain Music, the singer, song-writer, guitarist and harmonicist Stone and his band serve up their brand of blues. Stone was born in Huntingburg, IN, and raised in Ohio. Both his parents were music-lovers, so Stone was exposed to a wide variety of music like BB King, Elvis, The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Rich-ard, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Herb Al-pert and a host of others. By age 12, his mother had showed him some piano chords and Bill Withers'" Lean On Me" became the first song he learned to play. After high school he worked on the

railroad and later managed a plumbing, heating and electrical store. By 23, he sold almost everything he owned and drove to Colorado to become a cow-boy. He wrangled horses and led Rocky Mountain camping trips by day and enter-tained the campers with his guitar and vocals at night. Soon he formed his first band and started Middle Mountain Music which survives nearly 30 years later when he couldn't find a record label to take his first blues re-cording in 1985. Since then he has toured five continents, sold over 40,000 albums mostly at his shows, and performed with musicians like The Marshall Tucker Band, The Burrito Brothers, Tricia Yearwood, Little "Joe" and Chris Ledoux, to name a few. Stone is clearly an interesting fellow. His lyrics and vocals combine with accom-plished guitar and harmonica to produce some nice blues with a little country flavor-ing. My favorite tracks are "High Horse", the title track "Loosen Up" and "I Ain't Buyin' That Bull". I enjoyed the album and think you will too. Reviewed by Diane Mandell . Live In Concerts Henrik Freischlader Band Self released www.henrikfrei-schlader.com www.cablecar-records.com 4 disc set/32 tracks with 3 intros/266:04 The 4-disc album "Live In Concerts" by Henrik Freischlader Band was self-produced by German guitarist and song-writer Henrik Freischlader and released August 30, 2013 on Cable Car Records. The album consists of two live shows from two tours: one show in Arnsberg, Ger-many on May 21, 2011; and the other show in Hannover, Germany on Novem-ber 8, 2012. All but six tracks were written by Freischlader. Freischlader, an autodidactic (self-taught) multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass and drums to name a few) from Wuppertal, Germany self-produced the album under his own label, Cable Car Records. The band formed in 2004 and has toured with mostly sold-out shows throughout Ger-many and Europe, opening for other blues performers like BB King, Peter Green, Johnny Winter, Joe Bonamassa and the


formance at the 300-seat club and the good fortune to receive the souvenir re-cording from the club's sound man that she said "...captured this moment in time that already had a special place in my heart and mind." Worth a listen.

Reviewed by Diane Mandell Cobalt Holland K. Smith Eller Soul Records www.ellersoul-records.com www.hollandk-smith.com 14 tracks/56:28 Texas-native singer, song-writer and gui-tarist Holland K. Smith's fourth album "Cobalt" was released on August 20, 2013 on Eller Soul Records after nearly a dec-ade wait. The album has 13 original tracks melding good vocals, witty lyrics and polished instrumentals including sax and keyboards. As a five and six-year-old growing up in Texas, Smith sang acapella in his church choir. By age 10 he was in front of the congregation leading the choir. He started listening to blues in the 60's on AM radio thinking the bands he heard were actually playing down at the Arlington ra-dio station. A friend's Mom gave him a guitar when he was nine and he's played the blues on his own guitar ever since. Smith got serious about playing guitar in his 20's and focused on rock but never felt he quite fit in. In 1990 he formed his first blues band and he has been playing blues ever since with his debut album released in 1997. Smith credits many major music influ-ences including Chet Atkins, George Har-rison, Wes Montgomery, Junior Watson, Les Paul, Buddy Guy and T-Bone Walker, among others. He says one of his proudest accomplishments was writing "Rock Party" recorded by George Thorogood and used as Thorogood's show opener for his tours. Smith has per-formed with a who's-who list of musicians including Junior Watson, Bugs Hender-son, George Thorogood and Buddy Miles. "Cobalt" is a great mix of Texas-style blues and R&B with a splash of jazz and Latin flavors. I liked every track on the album and expect to listen to it again and again. I would definitely recommend this album with two thumbs up! Reviewed by Diane Mandell

Stepchild Of The Blues Howard Glazer Lazy Brothers Re-cords www.howard-glazer.com 9 tracks/42:51 Released on September 17, 2013 on Lazy Brothers Records, "Stepchild Of The Blues" is comprised of all original tracks self-engineered and produced by Glazer. The well-known Detroit-based song writer, vocalist and guitarist is fre-quently featured with another Detroit bluesman, Harmonica Shah, who returns the favor with his harp licks on tracks 3 and 9. Glazer has played blues for over 20 years with the likes of Johnny Winter, Savoy Brown, BB King and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, to name a few. He has toured in the US, Europe, Japan and Can-ada. He was nominated for both the 2013 Downbeat Critics Choice Award for Best Rising Star-Guitarist and Best Blues Art-ist. My favorite tracks are the two with Har-monica Shah, "Gas Pump Blues" and "Hurtful Feeling". I also really liked "Liquor Store Legend" but the rest of the tracks hold their own, too. I give it an en-thusiastic thumbs up especially for those who prefer their blues more on the "traditional" blues club side. Reviewed by Diane Mandell House Call Marshall Lawrence www.doctorblues.com www.marshall-lawrence.com 13 tracks/44:16 Edmonton, Alberta na-tive Marshall Lawrence's fourth album released on May 21, 2013 is a real gem. Called the "Doctor of the Blues" and Canada's " best acoustic slide and finger-style blues and roots artist", Lawrence actually has a doctorate in psychology and uses music in his practice to connect with patients. Lawrence asked his dad for a guitar when he was 10 years old in 1996. By the time he was 14 he was doing live perform-ances. Influenced by music greats like Chuck Berry, BB King, Johnny Winter and Eddie Hazel, Lawrence was drawn to acoustic guitar and mandolin.

There are 11 original tracks on the al-bum. Electric guitar is absent but not missed at all. Deft finger-picking and sweet harmonica blend with good story-telling for some toe-tappin' blues. All tracks are under four minutes in length so the music and message doesn't get lost in translation. My favorite tracks include the toe-tapping "Mean Momma Blues", "Factory Closing Blues" which is a com-mentary about hard economic times rele-vant to current times and "Biscuit Rolling Daddy" with its great finger-picking. Defi-nitely recommended! Reviewed by Diane Mandell Solo Live From The Meisenfrei Blues Club Kirsten Thien Screen Door Records www.kirstenthien.com 15 tracks with 14 intro-ductions/65:20 Recorded live at the Meisenfrei Blues Club in Bremen, Germany on October 30, 2012 and released on Screen Door Re-cords on June 4, 2013, this is Thien's first live solo release after three prior studio albums. Born on an army base in Berlin, Germany and later raised in Maine, Thien grew up singing in a northern Baptist church. Other early musical influences were Linda Ronstadt, Aretha Frank-lin. New Orleans jazz and 1920's women blues singers. After graduating from Georgetown University School of Busi-ness, Thien gave up a career in banking and began her career as a blues artist, settling in New York City. She has toured the U.S. and Europe and has opened for Dickey Betts, Buddy Guy and Shawn Colvin. The 15 tracks are an eclectic mix of origi-nal and borrowed covers. Thien's acous-tic guitar provides the backdrop for the mostly poignant lyrics carried well by her strong voice. Although my favorite origi-nal cover is "Nobody's Ever Loved Me Like You Do", I liked the borrowed tunes the best, especially Bob Dylan's "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry", Ida Cox's "Wild Women Don't Have The Blues", Leon Russell's "I'd Rather Be Blind", Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" and Sippie Wallace's "Women Be Wise". I was impressed by the courage Thien had to muster to do a solo tour and per-


extended keyboard fills. “Grand Ole Girl” fires out more with some snappy rockier guitar and some harmonica fills. Track 4 ‘Blues. Bleus, Blues” could be more pow-erful. This song could jump out at you, but feels tethered a bit. The band slow it down with some nice soulful vocals on “Tell Me Why” There are some powerful riffs near the end of this five minute effort. Bernie Rose supplies some nice piano work on “One More Time”. Vocals again could be a bit more out in front on this cut. JC makes a political statement with “American Way” It might be a good song for Congress to listen to! JC cranks up his guitar on “Chosen One”. He has some chops. The final cut is “”I Wonder” slows back down a bit. I suspect this one might get an extended play in a live setting. This is a disc we all can relate to. No gim-mickry in the guitar work, and a full sound. He vocals are not great, but the will suf-fice. Reviewed by Mark Nelson

2013/2014 Crossroads Election Results

An election of officers and board mem-

bers for 2013/2014 was held on Sunday,

September 22nd our meeting in Byron

that began at 3 PM. The following indi-

viduals were elected to a one-year term

starting October 1st, 2013:

Officers:

President: Steve Jones

Vice-President: Karl Dahlin

Secretary: Bonnie Fox

Treasurer: Terry Keller

Board of Directors:

Denny Barker

Rick Davis

Bob Haendler

Ken Pearson

Bill Graw

A big thank you goes out to Al McNary

who served for many years as Treasurer

and to Rich Gordon who has spent many

years on the Board! Terry moves to

Treasurer from his Board spot and wel-

come to Ken and Bill who are new to the

CBS Board! Also, Crossroads gives a

thank you to those who ran for a position

on the Board and to those who consid-

ered running!

Q.E.D. Jim Allchin Sandy Key Music http://www.jimallchin.com/ 13 Tracks During Jim Allchin's humble childhood in rural Florida, he learned at an early age to pursue goals in life with perseverance. Having to work in fields at a young age, he would miss school to meet family needs. It was music by Jimi Hendrix, and Southern rock groups Lynyrd Skynrd and the Allman Brothers that send him in the direction of a musical career. As a starv-ing artist, he decided to return to school to pursue a career in computer science, and eventually worked his way to a top level position in Microsoft. Allchin became part of the Senior Leadership Team at Micro-soft, an elite group responsible for devel-oping Microsoft's core direction with team members Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2002, he took a leave of absence in 2003, until he left Microsoft in 2007 completely to return to music. With the same enthusiasm and drive that motivated him his entire life, Allchin now writes and performs music today with that same passion. His first album Enigma, was released in 2009. His second blues CD Overclocked, which was released in 2001, received much interest among blues fans. His latest blues CD Q.E.D., released this year, is a collection of thir-teen new tracks containing blues, rock, salsa and jazz, and soul all written by Jim Allchin. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mem-ber Ben Smith, the drummer for the group Heart, and Jim Allchin produced the new album. Joining Allchin on the album are Ben Smith on drums, Dan Dean on bass, Brooke Lizotte on the keyboard, Owen Gurry on strings, Martin Ross on back-ground vocals, Mycle Wastman and Keely Whitney on background and lead vocals, with New York Brass heading up the horn section. The best description I can give for Allchin's guitar style is a blend of Randy California, lead guitar for Spirit, Joe Sa-triani, and Stevie Ray Vaughan with vo-cals that parallel Robben Ford. The CD opens with fiery fretwork from Allchin on the boogie tune "Stop And Go," also featuring the powerful New York Brass horn section and hard driving key-board solos from Brooke Lizotte. It is fol-lowed by the shuffle "Gettin Old" featuring again the York Brass horn section and even more keyboard solos from Brooke Lizotte. "Chime Blues" is an instrumental

with jazz infused keyboards having a soothing effect on the audience. "Reap What You Sow" picks up the pace with guitar riffs similar to the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan. "Trust Me" is more on the soulful side, featuring vocals by Mycle Wastman, the incredible horn section, and stellar piano solos. "Thinking Of You" is an almost hypnotic blues tune with quiet jazz elements and a string section, show-ing just how versatile Allchin can be on the guitar. The band members return back to a hard drivin' roadhouse brand of blues on the song "Trash." The blues tune "Runnin Away" opens with an acoustic twist that is blended later on with both keyboards and the dynamic horn section. "Tried And True" is another up tempo jump blues number with Allchin playing an aggressive style guitar. Chicago blues takes center stage on the blues tune "Drownin" with a Walter Trout guitar style. Allchin really nails both guitar solos and vocals on the tune "Evil Minded Woman." They take trip to the Mississippi Delta on "Come On Home." What a way to end with a powerful flamenco style finale. You can almost envision Paco de Lucía and Jim Allchin playing guitar side by side in concert. This is a CD with many styles of music relating to the blues with a hint of interna-tional grandeur. It is a brilliant collection of music exposing the talent of Allchin and Smith to produce a CD of this magnitude. Reviewed by Rick Davis When It Comes To The Blues JC Crossfire Bluzpik Media Group, Inc. www.jccrossfire.com 9 Tracks JC (Joseph Cannizzo) is a guitar player now based in South Florida, but originally from New York. He played in rock bands around the NY area and put together the Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute band ‘Crossfire’ in 1994. He moved to Florida in 2003. I believe this is his 3rd disc. This disc contains 9 originals written by JC and other band members. The five piece band gives a full sound. It is a mod-ern blues sound, which is not trying to recreate the past. The CD opens with the title cut. It’s a slow groove with some nice harmonica fills from Niles Blaize. It’s a pretty strong piece of music. “Deliza” follows with some

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ballmer

standing album by an artist who can play the blues and rock with the best of them. Highly recommended! Reviewed by Steve Jones

2013 Blues Blast Music Awards

The 2013 Blues Blast Music Awards win-

ners were announced at the gala awards

ceremonies at Buddy Guy's Legends in

Chicago on October 31st , 2013. Lifetime

achievement awards were also received

by Eddie Shaw and Bob Koester. Con-

gratulations to all the nominees and the

winners.

Contemporary Blues Album

Shaun Murphy - Ask For The Moon

Traditional Blues Album

The Cash Box Kings - Black Toppin'

Blues Rock Album

Albert Castiglia - Living The Dream

Soul Blues Album

Curtis Salgado - Soul Shot

Song Of The Year

“I Got a Right to Sing the Blues” written

by Cee Cee James and Rob "Slideboy"

Andrews - Blood Red Blues (Cee Cee

James)

New Artist Debut Release

Southern Hospitality - Easy Livin'

Male Blues Artist

Doug MacLeod

Female Blues Artist

Shaun Murphy

Blues Band of The Year

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Sean Costello Rising Star Award

Doug Deming (pictured with presenter

Linda Cain from Chicago Blues Guide)

Phil Gates Live at the Hermosa Saloon Phil Gates DCT Productions www.philgates.com 11 Tracks Phil Gates is originally from Chicago, but has been based for quite a while in Los Angeles. On this recording, Phil on guitar is joined by Ron Battle on bass, Keith Williams on drums, and Morris Beeks on keys. It is a live recording at the Hermosa Saloon, funded by a Kickstarter. Previ-ously, the group has released 5 CDs. Phil has played on projects with the likes of Zac Harmon, Phillip Bailey, and Maurice White. He also earned production credits with Little Richard, Zac Harmon and oth-ers. There are two covers and nine origi-nals on this disc. “Addicted to the Blues” jumps out as the opening track. It is catchy with a nice organ solo by Morris Beaks and guitar work by Phil. Up next is a cover of “Messin’ With The Kid” with no harp. It is powerful and enjoyable. “Away I Go” gets into a funky beat that allows the vo-cals to slid nicely thru the song. A longer slower blues number “Used Me Up” is the next track. Nice vocals and good playing carry this tune. Track 5 is a bit more pop/R&B but not too sweet. “Old School” shows some solid vocals and a tribute to the past. “Summer in the City” with a new funkier pace is an enjoyable cover tune. The band glides thru this oldie. “End of Time” has a Buddy Guy 60’s feel to it. Phil can handle the licks, with nice keyboard sup-port….a good song for sure. A bit more country blues feel comes thru on “Evening Train” I like “Take It Out” as a catchy tune with fine lyrics about getting on with your life after issues. A long, almost 9 minute, tune called “I’m Lost” is up next. The band really cuts loose and extends itself on this one. They are a tight band. To close out the disc, the band plays “Get Around To Me”. Not sure this was the last number of a set, but it is a fine contempo-rary song. The jamming is not overdone, and they again display fine musicianship and vocals. Fans of the band will love this disc. Those of us new to them will love it, too. I’d cer-tainly go see them if I had a chance. Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Luther’s Blues Walter Trout & His Band Provogue www.mascotlabel-group.com 13 tracks Luther Allison produced 20 albums during his much too short lifetime. In 1986 at the Montreaux Jazz festival in Switzerland he and Walter Trout first met and the influ-ence by Luther on Walter from that time until Luther’s death in 1997 was huge. Trout had never done a tribute album and at first was able to reduce potential songs for this project down to about 40. After much deliberation, the list shrank to the eleven we have here, with one spoken track and one original track added to close out the tribute. The album starts off with the driving “I’m Back” which really is a vibrant and rousing selection and Trout’s performance holds nothing back. One of my all time favorites is “Cherry Red Wine.” This is a visceral and emotion filled song and Walter really groans and growls this out as he blasts out riff after riff in spectacular fashion. “Chicago” Is another cut that will fascinate the listener and hopefully drive them to listen to Luther’s music. “Just As I Am” is a beautiful and moving cut with Walter “testifying” to us as the organ plays behind him. “Freedom” is perhaps the cut that everyone will remember most as it talks about the drive for freedom across the globe. Trout is passionate in his delivery here and it is a memorable performance. While these big and popular cuts deserv-edly must be commented on, there is a lot more here. “Bad Love” offers up one of the biggest and baddest guitar solos of the year and perhaps even the decade. “Low Down and Dirty” rocks out with the best of them. Trout finishes up with “When Luther Played the Blues” and it’s a dandy. The guitar work is impeccable, the song is biographical yet cool and it is just a great cut and way to close out the al-bum. There is much to enjoy here! Trout is not trying to outdo Luther nor is he giving us Luther done in a new way. He serves this up as a tribute to a man whose life was cut short and whose work deserves notice and appreciation. He has done a fantastic job here in giving us more than a taste for Allison’s works. Luther’s fans will get the love and admiration ex-pressed here as Trout delivers song after song in loving tribute. Those less familiar with Luther will get exposed to Allison’s exceptional song book and will want to delve more into his works. This is an out-


Top Blues Releases October 2013

Sunday Morning Blues WKGL-FM 96.7 The Eagle

Rockford, IL

Guy Davis / Juba Dance / M.C. Re-cords David Bromberg / Only Slightly Mad / Appleseed Recordings Johnny Rawls / Remembering O.V. / Catfood Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion / The Blues Don't Scare Me / 33 Records Lou Pride / Ain't No More Love in this House / Severn Roosevelt Sykes / The Original Hon-eydripper / Blind Pig Frank Bey & Anthony Paule Band / Soul for Your Blues / Blue Dot Annie Mack / Baptized in the Blues / Annie Mack Music Birdlegg / Birdlegg / Dialtone Howell Devine / Jumps, Boogies & Wobbles / Arhoolie The Claudettes / Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched! / Yellow Dog Cyril Neville / Magic Honey / Ruf Holland K. Smith / Cobalt / Eller Soul This list submitted to Living Blues Magazine for inclusion in the Octo-ber 2013 National Radio Chart. This list is compiled from actual radio air-play statistics. WKGL-FM broad-casts 2 hours of the blues per week. Rich Gordon Sunday Morning Blues WKGL-FM 96.7 The Eagle 3901 Brendenwood Road Rockford, IL 61107


More from the Blues Challenge

www.thebluesblast.com

The free internet blues magazine!

Crossroads Blues Society Officers and Board Members Contact Info

President: Steve Jones [email protected]

Vice-President: Karl Dahlin [email protected] Secretary:

Bonnie Fox [email protected] Treasurer: Terry Keller [email protected]

Board of Directors: Denny Barker [email protected]

Rick Davis [email protected] Bob Haendler [email protected] Ken Pearson [email protected]

Bill Graw [email protected]

Hawkeye Herman BITS

Alex Wilson belts out a vocal as he impresses the crowd and judges

Perry Weber and Jimmy Voegeli cutting up after their fantastic performance

Mark Avey and his band rocked it out and gave a great effort

We’ve been busy and remain busy

keeping the blues alive. Here is what

we have planned for the near term…

November

3rd. (Sunday) The benefit for Al

Macnary is at the American Legion on

Alpine in Rockford, 2 to 6 PM. See in-

side for details.

16th (Saturday) Alex Wilson Band at the

Adriatic on Jefferson and Church Streets

in Rockford, 9 PM.

22nd. (Friday) Trampled Under Foot at

the Adriatic on Jefferson and Church

Streets in Rockford, 8 PM. $15 ad-

vanced, $20 at the door. See poster in-

side.

December

13th. (Friday) Afternoon BITS with

Bobby Messano followed by our mini-

Winter Blues Fest featuring Bobby Mes-

sano and Sena Erhardt at the Adriatic on

Jefferson and Church Streets in Rock-

ford, 8 PM. $15 advanced, $20 at the

door. See poster inside.

TBD. 9th Annual Crossroads Christmas

Party. Still in planning.

January

11th. (Saturday) The

Jimmy’s at the Hope and

Anchor in Loves Park, 8

PM , no cover.

14th. (Tuesday) BITS at

Freeport Middle School/

Carl Sandburg Middle

School in Freeport, par-

ticulars still TBD.

Navy Band Horizon is no

longer a blues band.

We had two failed at-

tempts to book them

that did not come to frui-

tion and now they are

defunct. We are work-

ing with the Navy Swing

Band for a possible

show so we are back to

talking to them about

dates in the December

to February time frame,

so stay tuned for news

on that and a lot more!

Blues News and Upcoming Events

Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010

On the web at: www.crossroadsbluessociety.com/ Our blogs: News: http://crossroadsbluessociety. blogspot.com/ Music Reviews: http://crossroadsreviews.blogspot.com/ Field of Blues Festival: http://fieldofblues.blogspot.com/ Byron Crossroads Blues Festival: http://byroncrossroadsbluesfestival.blogspot.com/ Email us at: [email protected]

Keeping the Blues Alive

Blues on Local Radio

WNIJ - 89.5 FM

Friday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with Harold Brown

Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 PM with Patrick Sheehan

Saturday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with David James

The Eagle - 96.7 FM

Sunday Morning Blues 6 AM to 8 AM with Rich Gordon

Membership Application

www.crossroadsbluesociety.com

Yes! I’d love to be a part of the Crossroads Blues Society!

Name_____________________________________________

Street Address___________________________________

City________________ State______ Zip Code________

Phone_____________________________________________

Email Address____________________________________

New -or- Returning Member

Send newsletter by: email -or- mail

This will be a membership for an:

individual ($15) -or- family ($25)

Please cut out or copy and mail this form and

payment to:

Crossroads Blues Society Bring this to

P.O. Box 840 our next meeting

Byron, IL 61010 and get a free CD!

NEW ADDRESS

NEW ADDRESS

Documents

Nov-Dec 2013 CBS Newsletter