Big Bill Blues

Caught a set last Thursday by Big Bill Morganfield, one of Muddy Waters' many sons. Was a great set, miles beyond what I saw him play a decade ago. Back then, he had a limited stylistic range but he's broadened it and his singing, in particular, was a real joy. There were moments where one heard Muddy's voice. And Big Bill certainly fit the, uh, bill; he's a big dude! Particularly enjoyed his Little Walter cover "Too Late Brother" and his original "Dead Ass Broke."

Here's a classic Muddy performance from Newport:

Myron Walden gets funky

Myron Walden blew the roof off of Fat Cat last Friday night (which is hard to do since Fat Cat's a basement club!) with his band Countryfied. They mixed funk, soul, blues, gospel, jazz, and rock and roll into an intoxicating, high energy show and Myron was working hard onstage. Jared Gold was incredible on organ and Kenneth Salters amazed on the drums. If you're into Booker T & The MGs or Jimmy Smith, you'll be into Myron Walden's Countryfied. As he reminded us, both musically and in his comments between the songs, he grew up in the south, and you can feel it listening to his playing.

Here I am with Myron and Shore Fire's own Miyako Hannan:



Here's Myron wailing:

Bishop of the Blues

Blues legend and Delta Groove recording artist Elvin Bishop, his guitarist Mighty Mike Schermer, and I hung out on Friday while Elvin got a few interviews done.

We went by SIRIUS Satellite Radio where Elvin played guest DJ, choosing cuts by Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, and Clifton Chenier. Here's SIRIUS blues DJ Liam Davenport, Elvin, and Mike.



We ran into Louisiana pianist Marcia Ball at SIRIUS!



Here's Elvin speaking with Tara Gore at MLB.com, presumably talking about the size of a fish he and Dusty Baker caught (this big!). The bluesman and the baseball manager are fishing buddies, having met years ago at John Lee Hooker's house.



Elvin knows Japanese. I asked him why and how he learned Japanese. "Persistence!," he declared. Here's my name, as written by him:

Blues In Brooklyn

Went out to Ruthie's in Fort Greene last night for some excellent soul food with American Routes producer Scott McCraw, followed by a performance by Greenville, Mississippi's own T-Model Ford at Frank's Cocktail Lounge in Brooklyn. He did some blues standards like "44 Blues" and "Big Boss Man" and some original grooves and punctuated with shouts of "It's Jack Daniels time!" Terry "Harmonica" Bean played some excellent harp and took the lead on "Bright Lights Big City" and something that sounded like a Slim Harpo number. Appropriately, the venue was unventilated and everyone was packed in and dancing and sweating all over the place. Spotted in the crowd were folk-rocker Langhorne Slim, Ponderosa Stomp photographer Joseph Rosen, and Shore Fire's own Eli "Paperboy" Reed. There are more events for Brooklyn residents this week. Both Ruthie's and T-Model are the good stuff.

Here's some T-Model to drive the blues away this morning:

Stomping In New Orleans

Just got back from New Orleans where I was working at the Ponderosa Stomp. Two nights of insane rock n' roll is their motto, and it's spot on. The music started around 6:30 each night and didn't finish until about 3:30. Musical highlights were numerous: Wardell Quezergue's set with Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John), Jean Knight ("Mr. Big Stuff"), Tammy Lynn, and Tony Owens; the incredible delta blues of Louisiana Red; supercharged rockabilly from the Collins Kids; Eddie Bo showing us a history of funk; the Tail Dragger (a Howlin' Wolf protege) crawling onstage; Barbara Lynn ("We Got A Good Thing Goin'"); and the highly energized ? and the Mysterians; and many more.

The beauty of the Stomp is that it's all there at once and you can literally see and hear the connections between blues, rockabilly, swamp pop, girl groups, surf, funk, soul, gospel, garage rock and psych. The downside is that at any given time, there are often two or three amazing acts playing; it's an embarrassment of riches! Other amazing moments included joking around with Roy Head ("Treat Her Right") and eating a new dish called Pasta-laya backstage with Stomp organizer Grace Callahan. Congratulations to Stomp curator Dr. Ike on an incredible festival. My advice to you? Start planning a trip to New Orleans in late April next year.

Here's Bill Kopp of SKOPE Magazine following an interview with the Green Fuz.








Here's Mac Rebbenack, better known as Dr. John, sitting in during the Wardell Quezergue Rhythm & Blues Revue, one of the highlights of the Stomp for me.










Curator Dr. Ira "Dr. Ike" Padnos was interviewed by Phillip Rollins of MTV.com's Street Team at the Louisiana Museum Cabildo.







Here's swamp blues legend Lazy Lester (original singer of the song "Ponderosa Stomp"), New Orleans electric bluesman Little Freddie King, and Mrs. Samantha Padnos (Stomp organizer and Dr. Ike's wife).







Here's Lester, ? (of Question Mark and the Mysterians) and yours truly backstage.

Blues Traveling

So it was off to Memphis and Mississippi last week for some bbq, some blues and some friends. I had a great time and saw a whole lot in a short period of time. Even got patches of sun while I was down there! Here are a few highlights:

This is Elmore James' grave, in Ebenezer, MS. He first learned how to amplify his guitar in nearby Canton, MS and went on to make some of the best slide guitar recordings I've ever heard. It doesn't get better than "Wild About You, Woman" and "Dust My Broom."

The best soul food in Jackson, MS, or so we were told. Some scrumptious fried chicken, yams, cornbread and turnip greens.

This is a guitar made by and belonging to Clarksdale, MS bluesman Super Chikan. I want one!

Here I am on Mississippi John Hurt's porch in Avalon, MS. "Avalon's my hometown, always on my mind. Pretty womens in Avalon want me there all the time," he sang.

Here's a blues mural, with a closeup of Eddie Cusic, who played some of the best live Delta blues I've ever heard and told us some amazing stories about the old days. Cusic taught Little Milton how to play and how to be a bluesman.
DJ "Sunshine" Sonny Payne has hosted The King Biscuit Flower Hour for over 15,000 shows from Helena, AR.

Here I am at Memphis' venerable bar/ex-brothel Ernestine & Hazel's examining a jukebox that may or may not still be functional.

Can't wait to go back!