Editor: Dr. Spero S. Tshontikidis Art Editor: Lynne Boucher ABF Leadership Team: Dr. Spero Tshontikidis, President Brenda Kloeppel, Secretary Caryn Tshontikidis, Treasurer ABF Advisory Board: Jim Cantrell Jason Chesser David Daugherty Erick Kloeppel Steve LeClair Matt Thompson BLUESROCK is the official newsletter of the American Blues-Rock Foundation, a non-profit company created by the members of the blues-rock band, Unit Five. Covering Unit Five gigs, reviews of classic blues albums, and features on blues legends, BLUESROCK is available free of charge on our website: www.unitfivelive.com. THANKS, AND ENJOY! ON THE COVER: Editor’s Review of the Aug Sep Oct 2020 issue of BLUESROCK UNIT FIVE UPDATES: Unit Five Live Again! A.B.F. Update Panther Powerlifting LISTEN: Slim Harpo: “I’m a King Bee 1957-1961” BLUES LEGENDS: Tedeschi Trucks Band BLUES BURN: Bluesmen and their Love for Fine Cigars CALENDAR: Upcoming Shows & Events WHAT’S NEXT: A Preview of the November 2020 edition of BLUESROCK CONTACT: American Blues-Rock Foundation, Inc. 107 LaCosta Street, Unit 402 * Melbourne Beach, FL 32951 321-505-1194 [email protected] The Aug Sep Oct issue of BLUESROCK welcomes Matt Thompson to the band! Matt ls a blues aficianado and has become an integral part of the band’s musical process in a very short period of time. We played our first gig together at The Avenues on Friday, October 2, and were noticeably tighter the following Saturday (October 10) at Sully’s. With a full schedule in November to include gigs at Lou’s Blues and Monkey Bar, we’re STOKED to be playing live music again! Enjoy the Reading! Spero It was AWESOME to be back on the stage at The Avenue’s “Friday Night Concert Series” with our new drummer, Matt Thompson! We want to thank everyone that came out to see the SOLD-OUT show and look forward to be back at The Avenues for Thirsty Thursday on March 18. Matt joined us less than two months ago, and we worked hard to put together a three-hour set list for The Avenues. The evening went better than expected musically, and it was great to see so many familiar faces in the audience. We were also joined on stage by Riley Wetherington, an eighth grader at Viera Charter School, for Cream’s classic song, “Sunshine of Your Love.” Riley is going to play with us again on November 10 for our Veteran’s Day celebration at the Italian American Club in Melbourne. Riley and his girlfriend, Danielle, at The Avenues Natalie Norcross, a sixth grader at Viera Charter School and captain of the girl’s powerlifting team, Girls Gone Strong, also came up on the stage. Natalie is a state record holder and she is poised to lead us to victory at the 2021 State Championships in May. And we were honored to be joined on stage by Tess Brady Herbacka and the folks from Operation America Standing in Support (OASIS), a local Veteran Service Organization based on Merritt Island. Our band sponsors OASIS with an annual donation of $500.00, and we presented Tess with a check at the show. Spero, Tess, and the folks from OASIS For a blues name as popular as Slim Harpo, he recorded quite a limited, or should I say, ‘slim’ body of work. Here Jasmine features all his commercially released recordings between 1957 and 1961 including his hit “Rainin’ in my Heart.” The album includes the original versions of songs that went on to be covered by British bands of the sixties. The Rolling Stones made “I’m a King Bee” famous, while The Yardbirds and The Kinks did “Got Live if You Want It” and Van Morrison’s Them recorded “Don’t Start Cryin’ Now.” As Mick Jagger once said, “What’s the point in listening to us doing “I’m a King Bee” when you can hear Slim Harpo do it?” Many thanks to: Jasmine Records for posting the album review at: http://www.jasmine-records.co.uk/store/index.php/category-840/product-976 The Great Slim Harpo Go back to December 31, 2008, when guitarist Derek Trucks and his wife, singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, were preparing to ring in the New Year. Married since 1999, these two soulmates, equally steeped in the musical roots of blues, jazz, and gospel, had finally decided the time was right to set aside their successful solo careers and commit to a new band melding their vision and talent. It wasn’t the first time they had collaborated, they had shared a stage countless times and traded album guest appearances, all while starting a family together. Bit on that night, hitting the stage together with members of the Derek Trucks Band and a guest horn section they heard the future. “The 12-piece outfit puts out a big band sound that still rings intimate, shaking listeners to their emotional core.” - Rolling Stone Two years later, the couple debuted Tedeschi Trucks Band. The nation’s economy was heading into recession. The popular music landscape was filled with technological theatrics and auto-tuned singers. And here were Tedeschi and Trucks along with their (then) 8-member band, loading up two tour buses and hitting the road with a sound that defied conventional genre boundaries or traditional labels, a gypsy caravan on the rock- and-roll highway. To call it ambitious was an understatement. “During their five-year rise, the group toured incessantly, raising their profile and being handpicked to play with the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Santana.” In pursuit of their ideal sound driven by world class musicianship, Tedeschi and Trucks put together a musical collaborative like no other, flying in the face of any practical or economic considerations. There have been evolutionary changes to the band along the way, but the freight-train force of veteran drummers J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell were there from the start, along with two brilliant Trucks Band veterans to amplify the rhythm section: Kofi Burbridge with his prodigious talent on keys and flute, and Mike Mattison, with his dynamic vocals and songwriting skills. A 3-piece horn section brought on for studio work proved indispensable to the group’s sound and became a permanent addition – now composed of Kebbi Williams’ intergalactic saxophone, Ephraim Owens on trumpet, and Elizabeth Lea on trombone. Industry-renowned bassist Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Sting) joined in 2013, and two years later a third incredible voice, Alecia Chakour, was added to the background vocals provided by Mark Rivers and Mattison; each more than capable of delivering a stirring turn as a lead vocalist. On the road for upwards of 200 days a year, the TTB family has grown strong, bonding over backyard BBQs and long bus rides, all the while developing a growing repertoire of original material and paying homage to an extensive canon of influences ranging from Sly & the Family Stone, Miles Davis, and George Jones to Joe Cocker, Nina Simone, and even Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan. Embracing improvisation over convention, and set lists rarely repeated, the collective is adept at exploring almost any musical territory. The genuine respect within its ranks is evident on stage. Trucks’ masterful guitar skills and Tedeschi’s soary vocals and bluesy guitar shine but don’t overpower the breadth of talent, happily yielding the spotlight as needed in service of what the song deserves. “I saw them live and it was mind blowing. [Derek] has taken the guitar, specifically slide guitar, somewhere it has never been. His phrasing both with and without slide is uniquely his, and just odd and jarring and exciting to listen to. [Susan] is an earnest blues player as well, and her voice is astounding. The band was mind-blowing. They take a form that is arguably tired and turn it inside out with originality and musicianship and make it totally their own.” - Marc Maron Truck’s and Tedeschi’s uncompromising vision has paid off. Now 12-members strong, and with a catalog of five albums and nearly a decade of steady touring in the U.S. and abroad, Tedeschi Trucks Band carries a distinguished reputation earned from both audiences and critics as one of the premier live bands of the world. Sold-out multi-night runs at venerable venues like the Beacon Theatre, Ryman Auditorium, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre are a testament to the can’t miss concert performance experience fans have come to anticipate. The band’s own “Wheels of Soul” tour has become a sought-after summer experience from promoters across the country, bringing TTB’s unique stew of upbeat rock and soul together on stage with a slew of guest, sit ins, and supporting bands that have included the late Sharon Jones, Los Lobos, and most recently The Wood Brothers and Hot Tuna. 2018 also marked the sixth year for the TTB-curated Sunshine Music Festival, hosted each January in their home state of Florida. “Epic is an overused word, but if one contemporary rock band were to rightfully wear it, the Tedeschi Trucks Band might be the ones.” - Santa Barbara Independent "Epic is an overused word, but if one contemporary rock band were to rightfully wear it, the Tedeschi Trucks Band might be the ones." - Santa Barbara Independent TTB’s most recent CD/film release, Live From The Fox Oakland (2017) was nominated for a Grammy and follows a quartet of critically-hailed and commercially successful albums, including the Grammy-winning debut, Revelator (2011) and Let Me Get By (2016) called “one of the great records of the year” by the Associated Press.