BluePower CD Review....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos!

Here at BluePower, we are constantly searching for product that will stir the hearts of our listeners. A couple of weeks ago, a CD came in the mail that made me sit up and take notice. The CD is titled, "Viva Muddy Waters", and is completely produced and performed by a band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil called Blues Etilicos.

I couldn't gather much info from the CD cover as I don't read much Portuguese but I at least gathered the names of the players. They are:

Greg Wilson....Vocals and guitar
Flavio Guimaraes....Vocals and harmonica
Otavio Rocha....Guitar, slide and dobro
Claudio Bedran....Bass
Pedro Strasser....Drums

I have a feeling that perhaps the lead singer (Greg Wilson) is American but for certain the rest of these folks are from Brazil. The fact that they play the blues so well means they have done their studying. The tone achieved on harmonica (Flavio Guimaraes) is reminiscent of the old Chicago blues harp sound, gritty and electric. The slide player (Otavio Rocha) plays with an energy that lifts the soul and makes your blood boil. The rhythm section supports the songs with a new energy that makes one want to jump up and down. Vocals are clean and devoid of the familiar ("I'm trying to sound Black") action. I hate that!

All in all, "Viva Muddy Waters" is a CD that Muddy himself would endorse. Check out the whole CD available online from various sources. You'll be glad you did.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl"....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos
2)...."Seems Like The Whole World Was Cryin' "....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos
3)...."Diamonds At Her Feet"....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos
4)...."Trouble No More"....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos
5)...."Walkin' Blues"....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos

Click here to listen to....BluePower CD Review....Viva Muddy Waters....Blues Etilicos!


Click here to see Blues Etilicos on You Tube!

Time Will Pass You By....A Miracle In It's Own Write!

Hi John:

I believe you were the co-writer, along with Dino Fekaris and Nick Zesses of a tune called "Time Will Pass You By", recorded by the Soul artist Tobi Legend (aka Tobi Lark. The recording was released on Mala, a subsidiary of Bell Records, in 1968. I'm not sure if you're aware, but the song reached absolute anthem status for thousands of people on the UK 'Northern' Soul Scene in the mid 1970s. Original copies of the record still change hands for big money and the song has been re-released on numerous vinyl and CD compilations ever since then.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this song, and the sentiments expressed in it, have been central to the hearts and minds of a whole generation of UK Soul fans. It was one of the famous '3 before 8' records at the Wigan Casino, the iconic home of Northern Soul in England from 1973-1981. 3 before 8 was a reference to the last three records that were played at the end of each 'all-nighter' session at 8am. The other two records were Jimmy Radcliffe 'Long After Tonight Is All Over' and Dean Parrish 'I'm On My Way'. 

The record is still played today at the many venues around the world, as Northern Soul has long since broken the confines of its north-west England heartland. Anyway, I was just listening to the record on Youtube and I saw your name in the credits on the label and thought I'd seek you out. If you feel inclined, why not post on Soul Source, the number one website for Northern Soul. 

I'm sure that people will be lining to show their appreciation and thanks for writing those words that are firmly etched into their hearts... 

"As the seasons all but fade away, into misty clouds of autumn gray, as I sit looking at the street, little figures quickly moving feet, I'm just a pebble on the beach and I sit and wonder why, little people running around, never knowing why......." Just incredible. 

A big thank you from me and hope to see you on Soul Source quite soon. I see you're into R&B and Blues, so any kind of insight/anecdotes you may have on the writing, arranging and recording you did back in the day will be lapped up by 100s of extremely knowledgeable English Soul folk. :-) 

You can post in the sub-forum 'all about the soul' or 'members shouts and intros'. Be prepared to be feted like royalty! :-) 

http://www.soul-source.co.uk/soulforum/

All the best,

Adrian McManus aka on Soul Source as  'MACCA'. 

Pontevedra, Spain. 

p.s. Tobi Lark/Legend says she never made a dime out of the record and was even unaware of its release in 1968. 

It's criminal that a performance of that magnitude should flop when originally released. I guess Soul artists back then 

had a hard time if they weren't with Stax or Motown. The Northern Soul Scene tends to honor the 'also rans' or 'underdogs'

(a very British trait!). Some wonderful records were made by small independent outfits but they just didn't have the promotional 

clout and swagger the big boys had.

Click here to listen to the original demo of "Time Will Pass You By!"

Click here to listen to the finished master of "Time Will Pass You By" as recorded by Tobi Legend!

Click here to see an article from The Guardian about "Time Will Pass You By."

Barry Cullison....Hear At Last!

We had gone to the library to find something new to read. The library wouldn't open for another 45 minutes so we decided to stroll around the area in front of the Van Nuys library and police station. On Thursday mornings through the early afternoon there is a Farmer's Market there with all sorts of items on display. It was there I first heard this voice coming from somewhere.
I started looking for the source and saw a man sitting on a chair, playing a guitar. I didn't know his name and had never heard him before but he was good and I kept listening. When he finished his set I asked his name. It was Barry Cullison.

I was fascinated then and as I listened to his intricate guitar work and poetic lyrics, I decided to have him come to the BluePower establishment and do an interview. This is the result of that interview.

During our interview Barry played four excellent songs which I think you will find interesting. His style is unique and exciting. His vocal abilities are also on par with his playing. The combination of both are daunting and considering the fact he played the songs live during the interview, awe inspiring.


I do hope you will enjoy listening to Barry Cullison as I find his songs intellectual and poetic. Not to mention very "today."

John Rhys/BluePower.com

The music is:

1)...."Scene Of The Crime"....Barry Cullison
2)...."Burning Bush"....Barry Cullison
3)...."Mexican Key"....Barry Cullison
4)...."Our Star"....Barry Cullison

All songs written and performed by Barry Cullison.


Click to play....Hear At Last....Barry Cullison!

Go to.... Barry Cullison's web site!

Levon Helm....Gone, But Not Forgotten!

Levon Helm

In 1978, when I was 14, my best friend and I rode our bikes down to the Byrd Theater in Richmond VA to see a movie called The Last Waltz. We had never heard of The Band, let alone The Staples Singers or Muddy Waters. We went because the movie featured performances by Neil Young and Eric Clapton.

But from the get-go that movie turned our musical lives around. We got a two hour education in the roots of Rock and Roll and perhaps, more importantly, what it took on a personal level to perform it nightly around the world.

Our young minds were forever changed by the stories told by the five members of the group and the original tunes they performed. We must have seen that movie six times while it was in its initial theater run. Each time we saw the film, something deeper was revealed that went beyond the sound of the music. It was as if the intent of the songs themselves reached right out of the screen and touched our souls.

And none touched my soul as deeply as those sung by Levon Helm. There was a real homespun honesty in the way he sang about the simple things in life and how sometimes they weren't so simple. These were songs of the common man....sung by a most uncommon man. And that swinging beat....it was just irresistible.

When Widespread Panic spent hundreds of nights a year on the road we watched The Last Waltz constantly on the bus...first as a VHS and then as a DVD. The stories and performances never got old and never proved uninspiring. We even attempted to perform Ophelia, but it never got real good until we found a horn section.

At the end of the Last Waltz Robbie Robertson discusses the "impossibility" of 16 years on the road. 16 years seemed like a long time to us at the time. But now, sitting on the far end of 25 years of touring, 16 seems more like a good start to me. A start to a lifetime of making music.

Levon spent a lifetime making music that touched people's souls. He beat cancer and continued to make music and, in creating the now legendary Midnight Rambles, he brought people together to make even more music. The music that Levon enabled was real, it was mined from the soul of American musical tradition, and it was imbued with the power of intent that seems to be lacking in so much music these days.

In the end that's what people really need: the transformative power of working together to make something special. Levon was the powerful hub of this collaboration. He touched many souls and you can hear that power intent in the music of a new generation of bands just beginning their journeys up and down the roads of America. They will carry Levon's sprit onwards and outwards through their music.

What a great contribution this man made.

And oh yeah....what a swinging backbeat!

Thanks for the inspiration and bless you Levon and all of your loved ones.

Dave Schools
April 19, 2012


Listen to Levon and The Band perform "Forever Young."

Influential American Guitarists....T- Bone Walker!

T-Bone Walker

Born: May 28, 1910 in Linden, Texas
Died: March 16, 1975 in Los Angeles, Ca.

Aaron Thibeaux Walker was a product of the early Dallas, Texas blues scene. Marco Washington, T-Bone's step-father, was a bass fiddle player with a group called The Dallas String Band. Almost all of T-bone's family played instruments of one kind or another and the young man followed his step-dad's example by learning every stringed instrument his talented hands could find. Once he learned the guitar, that was it.

T-Bone and his friend Charlie Christian hustled many gigs which included both playing and dancing. Neither one of the young men went to school that much. They were into making money so they could eat.

T-Bone Walker recorded from 1929 until 1973. During that time Walker recorded over 400 records. A recording discography unmatched by any guitar player to date. He also played with some of the most prestigious band leaders and performed in the world's finest venues.

Anyone who has enjoyed the music of BB King, Albert King or Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Albert Collins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan or any of a host of other blues and blues-influenced players has heard the influences of T-Bone Walker.

T-Bone Walker suffered a stroke 1n 1974 brought on by persistent stomach problems and died in Los Angeles, California in 1975.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Strollin' With Bone"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
3)...."The Hustle Is On"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
4)...."Black Snake Moan"....Blind Lemon Jefferson....Gold Box Records 5)...."Stormy Monday Blues"....T-Bone Walker....Black and White Records 6)...."Tomorrow Night"....Lonnie Johnson....King Records
7)...."Johnny B. Goode"....Chuck Berry....Chess Records
8)...."Hard Way"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial
9)...."Blue Mood"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
10)..."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records

Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists....T-Bone Walker!
__________________________________________________________________

...........The Mickey Hart Band Is A Time Machine!

It seems so long ago that I found myself in Chicago at a place called The Kinetic Playground. I was producing an Ann Arbor, Michigan band called SRC and we had been booked to open for a San Francisco group called The Grateful Dead. I had listened to the Dead's first album and admittedly, was not impressed. Hell! I had lived in Detroit for the last five years and cut some great sounding bands. Nonetheless, we agreed to open for this band which was becoming huge on the West Coast.

That was the first time I met Mickey Hart along with the rest of the band that would go on to become one of the  most popular American bands of all time. I could tell some stories of that first night in Chicago.

And now....to the matter at hand....

A couple of years ago, my wife and I made a trip to Sonoma County, California to see our son, David. (Our son is a bass player.) While there, David told me of meeting Mickey Hart and of his playing on some tracks composed of sounds collected from the universe. I thought to myself....well...."This is California, ain't it?"

A couple of weeks ago, my son called to let us know that he was coming to Los Angeles with The Mickey Hart Band and asked if we would like to come to their concert. Of course I said yes.

I must admit I felt a certain amount of trepidation. I had no idea as to what to expect. Eight people on stage. Three drummers, a guitarist, a lead male vocalist/keyboard player, a female singer/guitarist, another keyboard player and a bassist.  Oh....and the sounds of the universe.

As the El Rey Theater slowly began to fill, I looked around the audience expecting to see a whole raft of aging hippies. Ah! There they were....but mixed in were folks of all ages. Some straight, some hip and every one, a Grateful Dead fan.

 This is where Mickey Hart made me a believer. There are so few major entertainers who are up to the challenge of actually speaking with their audience. Mickey was superb! Explaining how the music came about and playing for the audience some of the sounds captured from the universe. Hart spoke of how these sounds will be mixed into the music that we were about to hear. Mickey Hart set the stage for a truly delightful evening of music simply by being the leader of a tremendous ensemble of players and by being quietly polite and sensitive to his audience. Then the band began to play. And what a band it is!

Magic is what happened. Everyone was mesmerized and that included this hardened veteran of the music business. I thought back to 67/68 and remembered the feeling of the ballrooms, the music and our time in history. It was a tumultuous time and made a lasting impression on me. I opened my eyes at the El Rey Theater the other evening and....for a moment....stepped back in time. The Mickey Hart Band had brought 2012 and 1968 together for a brief moment. This band is a time machine.

The music they play now is fresh and alive but there is that certain feel about it....the very best qualities of The Grateful Dead all mashed up with new World Music plus some Rock and Roll, Blues and Gospel inserted to make you groove. In fact, I could have sworn I heard Jerry Garcia fiddling around on a guitar somewhere.

The Mickey Hart Band is new, but what they're playing is as old as time itself. Their music is magic; it's new and refreshing in a age of constant knock-offs. The music made us all feel good. If they come close to your town....do whatever you can to see them. You won't regret you made the effort.

Something big is happening....musically.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Click here to listen to The Mickey Hart Band live at the El Rey Theater!

The Best Music You Never Heard....Rastus!

In 1969 I met a band which would become a driving force in my life for the next two years. I have had the good fortune to work with some really fine musicians over the years but none that could compare with the tremendous power of Rastus. My problem was that I could not get them to play with the same intensity in the studio as when they were in front of an audience. Listen in as Jim Cantale and I discuss the ups and downs of a band that was on the edge of making it big but could never cross the line to real stardom.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Listen: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Guns And God!

Mr. Thomas Paine once wrote; These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Our observation of freedom in America has been tied to wanton consumption. For many years, good jobs easily had, were the backbone of American society paying for the goods and services every American enjoyed so freely. Truly....our cups "did" runneth over.

Now, nearly all Americans are working twice as hard and twice as long in order to make ends meet. People are working for corporations with voracious appetites for more and more profit, the easy time in the sun is over and there are dark days ahead.

Fear now blasts from every audio orifice since the corporate heads found that fear increases sales to a weary public. This must be stopped!

Guns and God are two of the leading protagonists in a world being torn apart. Though weaponry and spirituality are not the only beasts thriving in this sea of fear and corruption, they are the two major conspiritors in the division of the world today. And if you don't think our beautiful world is divided....just look around. We now see a machine of wide and elaborate contrivance and as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man. Divide and conquer. Muslim against Christian. Republican against Democrat and on and on.

A great man once said, "Music is the weapon of the future." Look out! The future is now.

Playlist:

1)...."The Merry Minuet"..........................The Kingston Trio
2)...."Guns And God...................................Lawrence Gowan
3)...."For What It's Worth".......................Jeffrey Osborne
4)...."Money"..............................................Barrett Strong
5)...."Smilin' Faces"...................................The Undisputed Truth
6)...."Compared To What"........................Les McCann and Eddie Harris
7)...."Troubles, Troubles, Troubles".......Clarence Henry
8)...."Livin' In The Real World"...............Bobby Barth

It's a strange show folks. I hope you enjoy it. If you do....please pass it on. It's time to make a difference.

Take back our freedom now! React!

John Rhys Eddins
BluePower.com
Please send all death threats to....blupwr@sbcglobal.net

Listen to....Guns And God!

A BluePower CD Profile....Kemp Harris', Edenton!

 In a world where most people pander their wares to buyers, there occasionally comes someone who just doesn't care about convention and delivers a product so startlingly real, the markets shy away in fear.

Kemp Harris has combined traditional blues and gospel and come up with a most chilling description of the world today.

Edenton shines as a true and authentic blues work. No pretty gloss here, just the raw, crying of a man with a desperate need to be heard. And these songs should be heard. Every radio station in America should play this album, but they won't because the music will scare them and the lyrics will shock them to the core of their mediocre hearts.

This album hearkens back to a time when the blues was a reality; when folks had to say something about the discord and privation in this, the land of the free. Back to the true blues messenger. Back to the truth.

Edenton....It's the real deal!

Here's the music:

1)...."Sometimes"....Kemp Harris
2)...."Tryin' Times"....Kemp Harris
3)...."Mother Earth"....Kemp Harris
4)...."Sweet Weepin' Jesus"....Kemp Harris
5)...."Ruthie's"....Kemp Harris
6)...."Didn't It Rain"....Kemp Harris w/Mabel Marshall & Eleanor Mapp 7)...."Edenton"....Kemp Harris

The musicians are:

Kemp Harris........Vocals & Piano
Jim Lucchese.......Drums
Josh Stoltzfus......Guitar
Brian Verrochi.....Bass

With Special Guests: The Holmes Brothers (backing vocals), Adam Oh (harp) and Lydia Harrell (backing vocals)
Produced by: Kemp Harris, Jim Lucchese and Josh Stoltzfus

Click here to listen to....Kemp Harris', Edenton!

Record company has granted BluePower the right to play the music for promotional purposes!

Bobby "Boris" Pickett....Half Dead In Hollywood!

Ever since I've known Bob, I have marveled at his elegance of manner, his ultra-quick wit and his well focused insight to character. We have recorded dozens of commercials and a whole lot of bits together. (He as talent and I as engineer) Through hours of being on the other side of the glass, I gained a great deal of respect for this talented man's work.

Forty-five years ago, a tiny record lable called GARPAX released a single (45 rpm record) to the world. The A side, written by Bob and Lenny Capeci is titled "Monster Mash" and has become synonymous with the holiday, Halloween. There are very few people in the world whom haven't heard, "They did the mash....they did the Monster Mash. It was a graveyard smash!"

And smash it was. This one song has kept Bobby "Boris" Pickett in groceries for forty-five years. and....as Bob mentions, "It's more than paid the rent."
Bob will be appearing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey on the 27th, 28th and 29th of October at the 16th Annual Chiller Theatre Expo along with Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman), the enchanting Elvira, plus Adam West and Burt Ward of Batman fame.

His book, Monster Mash, Half Dead In Hollywood is a tremendous read and tells Mr. Pickett's history from the time he was born through today. Bob tells the truth about Hollywood and the denizens that dwell there.

As Mr. Pickett says...."They drag me out for one night a year. It's my time to howl."

It's good to hear you howl again my friend.

Tonight's music is....

1)...."It's Alive"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
2)...."Dead Man's Party"....Oingo-Boingo
3)...."Monster Mash"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
4)...."Gallow's Pole"....Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
5)...."Werewolves Of London"....Warren Zevon
6)...."Sinister Stomp"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
7)...."Got My Mojo Workin' "....Muddy Waters
8)...."Blood Bank Blues"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett

Incidental music composed by: Dave Roberts.

Listen to....Half Dead In Hollywood....With Guest....Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

Go to the superb website of Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

Have a safe and sane HALLOWEEN!

John Rhys-Eddins/BluePower.com