Bluesnews 12 Feb 2009

Hello again. Here is another edition of a newsletter setting out all the blues news for South East Queensland.

With Woodford fading into a pleasant memory, its time to start getting excited about the ECBRF at Easter. The second round of artists has been announced, with more due tomorrow. Tickets are (as they say) selling fast …….

Cheers

Mark Hipgrave
0418 556048


NEWS
RADIO/TV
FESTIVALS
CD LAUNCHES & REVIEWS
REGULAR STUFF AND GIG GUIDES


NEWS

Some Good News Amidst all the Gloom

Crikey reported on 11 Feb:

All seems shrouded by gloom. The bushfire toll rises in Victoria, political deadlock settles over the federal parliament, the crisis besetting the global economy stretches for new depths. Here though, in the midst of all this darkness, is a good news story, as sure a sign as any that when all this has passed, some brightness will out:

MUZAK FILES VOLUNTARY CHAPTER 11 PETITIONS TO FACILITATE A BALANCE SHEET RESTRUCTURING

FORT MILL, SC -- Muzak Holdings LLC and certain of its subsidiaries (together, the "Company"), today announced the filing of voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Court") to facilitate a restructuring of the Company’s debt obligations. Muzak previously reached an agreement with its lenders to access all cash on hand and cash generated from ongoing operations.

Hope endures.


East Coast Blues & Roots Festival Launches 2nd Round of Artists and InDIG Stage

On 30 Jan the ECBRF people announced another round of artists for the Easter festival:


The huge name here is American Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, a genuine super star in the making who has been near the top of the Australian charts for 35 weeks, and like Jack Johnson and Ben Harper before him, was discovered and introduced to Australian audiences last year via Bluesfest.

This entire artist announcement is a cross section of big stars and cult heroes; a quality-rich ‘something for everyone’ affair – with roots folk and country-rock, one or two soul legends, some exciting contemporary songwriters, hip-hop party boys, world music and much more.

The next Bluesfest announcement for 2009 includes:

Jason Mraz, Xavier Rudd, Paul Kelly, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T Jones, James Hunter, Blues Traveller, CW Stoneking, Ash Grunwald, AYO, Rodney Crowell, Dallas Frasca, Spectrum, Pete Cornelius & the De Villes, Hot Club of Cow Town, Resin Dogs, Tijuana Cartel, Veneno, Mic Conway’s National junk Band, and Morning Of The Earth – Cult Surf Movie and Concert featuring Brian Cadd, Lior, Old Man River, Mike Rudd & Tim Gaze.

I was interested to see Festival Owner Peter Noble checking out Veneno at one of their sets at Woodford last month. Peter was disguised in a Hawaiian shirt but obviously liked what he saw and heard.

And on Wed 18 Feb, Bluesfest is launching the InDIG Stage for this year’s festival:

With support from Events NSW, this stage showcases our Indigenous heritage and cultural significance with the line-up including major Indigenous artists from Australia and the Pacific Rim.

Members of the Arakwal Aboriginal Corporation Byron Bay and the Bundjalung Elders Council Aboriginal Corporation [will attend] the event, where Bluesfest Director Peter Noble, and CEO of Events NSW, Geoff Parmenter, will launch the new InDIG Bluesfest stage, followed by special guest performance from a headlining InDIG stage Artist. Bluesfest has over the years given the spotlight to many Indigenous performers – and this launch represents the important next step.


Grammy Awards

The Grammy’s were announced on Feb 8.

In case you missed it, the top awards went to Raising Sand, by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, released in late 2007. The album walked off with five huge awards: Album of the year. Record of the year. Best contemporary folk/Americana album. Best pop collaboration with vocals. Best country collaboration with vocals.

Here’s how the NY Times reported it, and here is Rolling Stone’s report.

Some parties have suggested in recent years that the Grammys are loosing their relevance. I suspect Rhythms magazines falls into this category – see their report here.

If you are still interested. a full list of winners, in all categories is here.

And while the Grammys were being awarded, Dr John and the Neville Brothers were having fun in St Louis.


Blueswax Awards

Meanwhile, the Blueswax people have announced their own award results for 2008:

The readers of BluesWax, the largest subscribed Blues publication in the world, have selected their BluesWax Artist of the Year 2008 and BluesWax Album of the Year 2008. During December we took your nominations and created a final ballot of five artists and five albums and then for the past few weeks you voted. As the largest subscribed Blues publication in the world, these awards are open to more fans than any other awards in the Blues.

The final ballot for BluesWax Blues Artist of the Year 2008 was:

· Albert Cummings
· EG Kight
· Taj Mahal
· Moreland & Arbuckle
· Jason Ricci & New Blood

With record voting in both categories this year, you selected Albert Cummings as BluesWax Blues Artist of the Year 2008. With a record number of first place votes Cummings is a first time winner of the BluesWax awards.

BluesWax Album of the Year

As with the Artist of the Year Award, the nominating process for BluesWax Album of the Year 2008 began back in December when our readers and contributors began making nominations. The nominating process created the final ballot of:

Full Tilt - Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials
It's Hot In Here - EG Kight
Let Life Flow - Kenny Neal
Maestro - Taj Mahal
Peace, Love & BBQ - Marcia Ball

These were all great nominations and we loved every one of them! In the final voting, again with record returns, you selected Kenny Neal's Let Life Flow as BluesWax Album of the Year 2008. The win is the first for Neal in the BluesWax awards.


International Blues Challenge

Melbourne trio Collard Greens and Gravy represented the MBAS at the 25th International Blues Challenge from 5-8 Feb in Memphis.

The band has done well in the past at this event. As the MBAS reports:

The trio first received international recognition when they ... were awarded second place at 2001’s International Blues Challenge (IBC), followed by a successful tour of the United States. The same year the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) awarded their second album, More Gravy, “Best Blues and Roots Album”.

Their follow up album, Silver Bird, won the “Best Self-Produced CD” award at the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in February 2005. The band was a finalist for the “Duo or Group of the Year” award and Ian Collard was nominated for “Male Vocalist of the Year” at the 2005 Australian Blues Music Awards.

Unfortunatey ‘the Gravies’ (as the MBAS calls them) did not make the finals this year.

Here are items from the Blues Foundation’s website about the event:

25th IBC Finalists
25th IBC Results
Commercial Appeal on 25th International Blues Challenge

Previous Australian successes at the IBC have been Geoff Achison, Jimi Hocking and Fiona Boyes.


Harmonicas at the Jubilee Hotel

And speaking of Ian Collard, The Colonel, Mark Doherty is running a Blues Harmonica Blowout Saturday, April 18, at the Jubilee Hotel featuring Ian Collard, Mojo Webb, Jamie Symons, Mark Gibbons, Greg Baker & more to be announced.

Ian Collard will be back the next day running a harmonica workshop


Press Articles – Various


T Model Ford and His Mississippi Blues, from Pine Magazine
NoPod - Why America's favorite gadget is doomed, from Portfolio
Buena Vista Social Club bassist Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez dies age 76, from Times Online
Rick Wakeman brings 'Tudor rock' to Hampton Court, also from Times Online
Hank Crawford, Prolific Saxophonist, Dies at 74, from the NY Times
Blossom Dearie, Cult Chanteuse, Dies at 84, also from the NY Times
“Solid Air” Singer-Songwriter John Martyn Dead at 60, from Rolling Stone
Hallelujah! It's Leonard Cohen, from Australian Jewish News
Pete Seeger receives belated apology for gig cancellation threat, from The Guardian
Laughing Through the Tears: The Enduring Journey of Etta James, from PopMatters
Hank's Other Side: Religion, Radio, and the Roots of Country Music, also from PopMatters
Buddy Guy's celebrates 20th in blues great's ever-present company, from Chicago Sun Times


RADIO/TV/YOU TUBE

Arthur Elliot reports on his upcoming Sidestream shows– for Brisbane listeners 99.7 FM, Wed 7pm to 9pm.

On 18 Feb, the first hour of the programme includes music from Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Angus & Julia Stone, Conjunto Jardin, the Earlies, the Bills, Serena Ryder, and more.

In the 8pm blues hour, we have blues of all sorts and eras, from Ray Bonneville, the Holmes Brothers, Chris Thomas King, Keb ‘Mo, Lou de Adder, Ellen McIlwaine, Tom Jones & Jools Holland, Dinah Washington, Louis Jordan, Mississippi Shakedown, Andy Cowan, and others.


The Daily Planet, Weekend Planet and Music Deli (ABC Radio National)

The Daily Planet website, the Weekend Planet website and The Music Deli website all have links to shows broadcast over the past few weeks.



Coming Up On ABC2 TV

Full program details are here


You Tube Selections

“Shaky” Shaun Bindley (presenter of Blues With A Feeling (8.05pm-midnight on Mondays 98.9fm in Brisbane and lots of other stations across Australia via the National Indigenous Radio Service) regularly sends me You Tube gems he has discovered.

Here are a few recent ones, with Shaun’s own titles :

The hell with the heat, I’m going surfing

And here are some selected by Dan (A&R man at Joes Waterhole, Eumundi):

The Wilson Pickers...keep an eye out.
http://www.abc.net.au/dig/stories/s2447703.htm

The new crop of brilliant songwriters around today
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=-BZQ6iuJ2kM&feature=related

My newest favourite song writer...I'll be trying to entice him to Oz with a little help from my friends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le5ztJM0ikc



FESTIVALS

Blue Mountains Music Festival

The 2009 Festival is on March 13, 14, 15. Details are here.


Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival

This festival runs on the same weekend as the Blue Mountains festival - Friday 13th March to Sunday 15th March. Details are here.

Back to the top


CD LAUNCHES & REVIEWS

The people at Allmusic provide a good list of blues albums released in the USA during the past two weeks

You can also check out the Arizona USA based Blues Bytes review site for reviews of recently issued albums.

The Rhythms Magazine website also features reviews of locally available albums.


Back to the top


REGULAR STUFF AND GIG GUIDES

There is more blues at the Palmwoods Hotel on Sat 21 Feb, this month featuring the Chris Mawer Band, JB Lewis and King Biscuit duo


For the last five years Chris Mawer has been the bass player of choice for a number of touring US blues artists. No surprises really as the sydneysider is a lowdown master of the pocket. As a band leader though, he really comes into his own when stepping up to the mic. His smokey voice is a perfect vehicle for the top notch veterans that make up the Chris Mawer band. Keys player Alison Penney is a first call accompanist with an impressive list of supports and a massive history on the national blues scene, playing a style of blues, boogie and New Orleans piano perfect for those hot summer nights. Joining Chris are Illya Szwec, a recent visitor to Palmwoods with Continental Robert & The Rinky Dinks and top drummer Jacob Cook. Truly a great Australian blues band!

www.myspace.com/chrismawerband
www.myspace.com/alisonpenney

Also on the bill in February is the JB Lewis Band. As the bass player and second guitar player for Mojo Webb, JB spent a fair bit of time overseas and interstate in the last few years but is truly at home fronting his own trio playing blues, surf and roots music of the highest quality. Having him playing the middle spot at Palmwoods always lays down the gauntlet for the act to follow

www.myspace.com/jblewismusic

Opening proceedings will be the stripped down duo version of Brisbane’s award winning Natural Ball. Mark and Ben only rarely get a chance to perform as the blues duo King Biscuit so to catch them is a rare treat

www.myapce.com/naturalball


Doug McLeod is visiting Australia in March (for the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Mossvale Music Festival in Leongatha,) but only doing one show in Qld – on Fri 13 March – at St Bernards Hotel 101 Alpine Tce, Mt Tamborine P: 5545 1177

Doug was last here in 2005 where he played two nights in Brisbane (at The Piney, I recall) and also at the Blues on Broadbeach Festival.

He is also holding two guitar workshops:

The workshop is geared for intermediate to advanced students, but all are welcome to attend.

The first part of the workshop will focus on the Key of E in standard tuning. Doug starts with the right hand and the importance of setting up a groove and will take the student on a musical journey that includes turnarounds, improvisation, octaves, and as Doug says, " Playing the feeling that lives behind the notes."

The second part of the workshop will focus on bottlenecking in Open G tuning.

Using Doug's technique of simplifying the fret board the student will learn chord forms, turnarounds, how to build a solo, and the secret of finding the notes that live inside the notes.

After a workshop with Doug MacLeod the student comes away with not only a whole new batch of tricks and licks, but with an insight to the music and its philosophy that could only be learned by a man who had been there.
Plus, the students have fun. With his stories and sense of humour the students come to find that Doug is an engaging teacher as he is a performer.


Date: Wednesday March 11th
Time 7.30pm
Cost: $40
At: Guitar Brothers, 95 Musgrave Rd. Red Hill
P: 3367 3558

Date: Thursday March 12th
Time 7.30pm
Cost: $40
At: Masonic Lodge, Knoll Rd, North Tamborine.
M: 0413 456 188



Mark Easton is one of the hardest working bluesmen around – but passes through Brisbane only infrequently. However, he is doing a series of shows in SEQ in the next few months:

Here is a paste from his newsletter:

03/03/2009 07:00 PM
byron bay, NSW,
The Rails,Byron Bay
03/08/2009 02:00 PM
COOLANGATTA, QLD
Greenmount Surf Club
03/13/2009 09:00 PM
Brisbane, QLD
Clarence Corner Hotel
03/20/2009 08:00 PM
MURWILLUMBAH, NSW
Imperial Hotel
03/21/2009 05:30 PM
Palmwoods, QLD,
Palmwoods Hotel
03/22/2009 01:30 PM
BUCCA, QLD
Bucca Hotel
03/29/2009 02:00 PM
Kingscliff, NSW
Kingscliff Beach Hotel
04/03/2009 08:00 PM
Brisbane, QLD
The Joynt
04/09/2009 08:00 PM
WEST TWEED HEADS, NSW,
West Tweed Hall
04/17/2009 08:00 PM
MURWILLUMBAH, NSW,
Imperial Hotel
04/18/2009 09:00 PM
Brisbane, QLD
Clarence Corner Hotel
04/19/2009 02:00 PM
TAMBOURINE, QLD
Bearded Dragon Hotel

(Someone was asking me the other week who was playing at Blues on Broadbeach this year – there is nothing on the festival website yet, but from the above listing I can see that at least Mark is)


There is now a weekly blues session at the Jubilee Hotel in the Valley, every Sunday afternoon, commencing 2pm. Sessions for the next few weeks include

· Sun 15 Feb Mojo Webb
· Sun 22 Feb BASEQ Jam (at 1pm)
· Sum 1 March Mick Hadley & the Atomic Boogie Band
· Sun 8 March Mama Voodoo with Sly Jack


Coming up at The Step Inn

· Sat 28 Feb Bob Log III


Coming up at The Troubabour

Have a look.


At Joes Waterhole, Eumundi

Look out for:

· Fri 27 Feb Mia Dyson
· Thurs 5 March Preston Reed (Ireland)
· Fri 6 March Matt McHugh
· Sat 7 March Paul Greene

And later …..

· Bill Chambers & Kevin Bennett
· Luka Bloom (Ireland)
· Ruthie Foster (USA)
· Martin Martini


At The Tivoli you can catch

· Wed 18 Feb The Waifs


At the Cooly Hotel

· Fri 27 Feb Kate Miller-Heidke
· Sun 21 March Mason Rack Band


And at The Judy.

· Thurs 26 Feb Mia Dyson


At The Zoo

· Sun 22 Feb Kaki King


At The Powerhouse

· Wed 4 March Preston Reed


At The Soundlounge, Currumbin

· Fri 20 Feb Chase The Sun
· Sun 1 March Mia Dyson
· Fri 6 March Tommee Trio
· Fri 27 March Dallas Frasca, Blackwater Fever & Texas Tea


And look out for Lori Lee’s next outings:

· Saturday February 21 Danny & The Cosmic Tremors plus The Pat Capocci Combo at the Holland Park Bowls Club

More details here