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JONNYLANG Q&A SAMANTHA FISH HOMEMADE JAMZ JAREKUS SINGLETON JOHNNY WINTER MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD Reissues Reviewed NUMBER THREE www.bluesmusicmagazine.com US $5.99 Canada $7.99 UK £4.60 Australia A$15.95 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY © JOSH CHEUSE courtesy of RCA RECORDS NUMBER THREE 4 BUDDY GUY Best In Town by Robert Feuer 3 RIFFS & GROOVES From The Editor-In-Chief 8 TOM HAMBRIDGE Producing Buddy Guy 20 DELTA JOURNEYS “Catching Up” by Art Tipaldi 22 AROUND THE WORLD 10 SAMANTHA FISH “Blues Inspiration, Now And Tomorrow” Kansas City Bomber 24 Q&A with Jonny Lang by Vincent Abbate 26 BLUES ALIVE! 13 THE HOMEMADE JAMZ Lonnie Brooks 80th Birthday Bash BLUES BAND Harpin’ For Kid Ramos Benefit It’s A Family Affair 28 REVIEWS by Michael Cala New Releases Box Sets 17 JAREKUS SINGLETON Film Files Trading Hoops For The Blues 62 DOWN THE ROAD by Art Tipaldi 63 SAMPLER 3 64 IN THE NEWS TONY KUTTER © PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY PHONE TOLL-FREE 866-702-7778 E-MAIL [email protected] WEB bluesmusicmagazine.com PUBLISHER: MojoWax Media, Inc. PRESIDENT: Jack Sullivan “As the sun goes down and the shadows fall, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Art Tipaldi on theWestside of Chicago, the blues has come to call.” CUSTOMER SERVICE: Kyle Morris GRAPHIC DESIGN: Andrew Miller Though the temperatures in Memphis during January’s 30th International Blues Challenge were in the 20s with wind chills cutting to below zero, the music on Beale CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David Barrett / Michael Cote / ?omas J. Cullen III Street was hotter then ever. Over 250 bands, solo/duo, and youth acts participated Bill Dahl / Hal Horowitz / Tom Hyslop in this exciting weeklong showcase of the blues in 20 Beale Street clubs. In addition Larry Nager / Bill Wasserzieher / Don Wilcock to a plethora of international musicians, the five-day event also featured 24 youth COLUMNISTS bands from around the around the U.S. and the world. Bob Margolin / Roger Stolle Add to that the ever-increasing number of Blues Music Award nominees who CONTRIBUTING WRITERS travel to Memphis each winter, the proliferation of morning and afternoon show- Vincent Abbate / Grant Britt / Michael Cala cases (how about John Nemeth and the Bo-Keys performing at 11a.m. one morn- Mark Caron / Tom Clarke / Kay Cordtz ing), and the after hours jams now sprouting in many of the Beale clubs and there Ted Drozdowski / Robert Feuer / Rev. Keith Gordon was enough spirited music to satisfy every blue taste. Tim Holek / Brian D. Holland / Stacy Je@ress Chris Kerslake / Michael Kinsman / Karen Nugent Here are some numbers to ponder. Every act that played competed within its Brian Owens / Tim Parsons / Bob Putignano local affiliated blues organization. If each affiliate had pool of five to ten bands to Tony Del Ray / Phil Reser / Nick DeRiso choose from (Some organizations like the Connecticut Blues Society and the Boston Richard Skelly / Eric ?om / M.E. Travaglini Blues Society have month long competitions to determine their respective band and Bill Vitka / Eric Wrisley solo/duo winners.) that means there were perhaps over 2,000 bands and solo/duo CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS blues musicians from around the world looking to showcase their musical visions. Scott Allen / Robert Barclay / Mark Goodman And since original songs are heartily encouraged, every act played at least four orig- Les Gruseck / Aigars Lapsa / Doug Richard Joseph A. Rosen / Dusty Scott / Marilyn Stringer inal tunes in its 25-minute set. More math means there were nearly 1,000 original Jen Taylor / Susan ?orsen blues songs showcased on Beale. The final competition on Saturday is a blues lover’s dream: seven hours of SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION stunning world-class performances by nine band finalists and eight solo/duo acts. Phone Toll-Free: 866-702-7778 Even though some may argue that music is an art and not a competition, the week is Web: www.bluesmusicmagazine.com ultimately a perfect time to showcase your music in front of the industry. E-Mail: [email protected] I know of many festival promoters who wander Beale looking for a unique EDITORIAL QUERIES artist to unveil to their audiences. I heard one such promoter rave about booking a E-Mail: [email protected] band that did not make the finals for his festival. Other festival promoters, club BUSINESS AND CIRCULATION QUESTIONS owners, journalists, and radio hosts were connecting with musicians over barbeque E-Mail: [email protected] or Gus’ fried chicken to discuss a future relationship. MEDIA SUBMISSIONS Here’s proof of the value of being in the moment. One talented Mississippi Mail 2 copies to: Blues Music Magazine band that has competed the last four years and not made he finals was signed by P.O. Box 1446, Bradenton, FL 34206 Alligator Records and should have its debut release ready by May. You can read ADVERTISING about Jarekus Singleton’s journey from gospel church to Division One basketball Phone Toll-Free: 888-565-0554 point guard to energetic singer and guitarist in this issue. Web: www.bluesmusicmagazine.com E-Mail: [email protected] Along with Singleton, the IBC band winners in 2013 and 2014 are offering proof that younger African-Americans are embracing this uniquely American art form. Selwyn Birchwood (2013) and Mr. Sipp (2014) have demonstrated a passionate love of this music by adding fresh and original lyrical insights and musical concepts. Like the revered Masters who have come before, these current takes, which blend the best of the past with the innovations of contemporary music all portends well as we Blues Music Magazine welcomes articles, photographs, and any material about the blues suitable for publication. Please direct ponder the future of this music. queries to [email protected]. Blues Music Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, “Let the music keep our spirits high.” photographs, or illustrations. Material may be edited at the discretion of the editors. To be credited and reimbursed, all submissions must be properly marked with name, address, Art Tipaldi, Editor-In-Chief telephone number, and e-mail of author/photographer/artist. Payment for unsolicited material is at the discretion of the publisher. All material becomes the property of Blues Music Magazine. Blues Music Magazine © 2014 MojoWax Media, Inc. Blues Music Magazine is published bimonthly by MojoWax Media,Inc., 1001 11th AvenueWest, Bradenton, FL 34205. Periodicals postage is paid at Bradenton,FL and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates (for 6 issues) are: U.S. — $35/year, Canada&Mexico — $40/year, Overseas — $50/year. U.S.funds only, cash, check on a U.S. bank, or IMO, Visa/MC/AmEx/Discover accepted. Allow six to eight weeks for change of address and new subscriptions to begin. If you need help concerning your subscription, e-mail [email protected] or call 866-702-7778 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, or write to the business address Blues Music Magazine, P.O.Box 1446, Bradenton, FL 34206. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Blues Music Magazine, P.O.Box 1446, Bradenton, FL 34206. Blues Music Magazine 3 Guy recalls 1967, when, after driving a tow truck for Buddy12 hours during a Chicago blizzard, he went DICK WATERMAN DICK © to a gig where his guitar would earn him a dollar, if anything at all. “I loved it so well. I wasn’t in it for the money. It was the love of music,” he says in a phone interview. That love began during the Louisiana PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY JUNIOR WELLS, BUDDY GUY – 1970 childhood of George Guy, nicknamed Buddy by his family, “from day one,” he says, pet names being part of Southern tradition. His sharecropper parents had third grade educations. “People didn’t want you to have an education because you could figure out how to get away from there,” Guy says. He received his grade school learning in an old three-classroom Baptist church, but upon graduation the only high school available was in Baton Rouge, Buddy 65 miles away. When his mother had a stroke “that was the end of that. There was no future.” The family couldn’t afford a radio. Not many people had access to a guitar. GUY Guy’s only exposure to one was at Christmas, when a guitarist would come to BEST his father’s house. Guy loved the sound. “I wanted to do something a country kid DICK WATERMAN DICK didn’t do,” he says. “I started messin’ with © IN a rubber band.” Eventually, he constructed a two-stringed instrument from household TOWN objects, including his mother’s hairpins. While picking cotton his dad told him, PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY DUSTER BENNETT, BUDDY GUY, by Robert Feuer “Don’t be the best in town, be the best until ERIC CLAPTON – 1969 the best comes around,” which Guy used to form a lyric on the song “Best In Town” from his latest multi-nominated Blues Music Award release, his only double album, Rhythm & Blues. Talking about his family, he says, “I get support from them more than anybody.” Guy lost his brother, Phil, another blues guitarist, and the youngest member of the family, five years ago, now referring to it as “God’s will.” “I had a God- gifted talent,” Guy says, “but I didn’t ever think I was gonna be successful. I didn’t learn nothin’ from the BRIAN SMITH BRIAN book, and nothin’ from school. I got it from © someone else,” he says, talking about “copping licks” from the great guitar PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY EDDIE BOYD, BUDDY GUY, FRED BELOW – 1965 4 Blues Music Magazine players of that era. Remembering an experience seeing master slide player Earl Hooker perform, he says, “I took my slide out of my pocket and gave it to him, ‘cause I ain’t never gonna be able to do that.” But he did.