|
· Cover
· News
· Music
· Lazy I
· Film
· Theater
· Art
· Sports
· Lifestyle
· Dish
· Books
· Culture
· 8 Days
· Heartland Healing
· Hoodoo Blues
· MoJoPo
· News of the Weird
· Television
· Letters
|
|
|
Home - Hoodoo Blues
|
Luminous Hope - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Sometimes you find an artist whose work just resonates for you in a very personal way. Jon Dee Graham is one of those artists for me. His music impacts me like the work of Dave Alvin: personal, extremely expressive, poetic, passionate and built to rock n’ roll. Graham’s name has been on the roots-rock/Americana radar for years. He is a veteran of Austin supergroup The True Believers, which included Alejandro Escovedo. Graham was also part of another popular Austin group, The Resentments. He was named Musician of the Year in the 2006 Austin Music Awards.
National documentary filmmaker Mark Finkelpearl was so moved when he discovered Graham’s work that he spent over a year creating a documentary to bring Graham’s music to a larger audience. Swept Away, A Rock n’ Roll Documentary, was released on DVD in May.
|
|
|
|
Stone Cold Stone - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
The final CD from the original Hacienda Brothers, Arizona Motel, dropped June 24 and is an amazing showcase of this band’s stone cold Western soul sound. Arizona Motel represents the final recorded performances of the late, great Chris Gaffney.
In a Myspace blog, Hacienda Brothers co-founder Dave Gonzalez noted, “It’s gonna be real hard [touring] this time without my number one soul brother, but we’ll be celebrating the life and music of Gaff throughout the summer.”
The new touring unit is a totally different band, but Dave Gonzalez is a veteran bandleader who fronted the Paladins for over 20 years and did quite a bit of singing. His ensemble is bound to be mighty fine. Variously dubbed the Austin All-Stars and the Stone River Ramblers, Gonzalez has been putting the band through rehearsals and gigs in Austin prior to hitting the road.
Band members include Mike Barfield of the Hollisters on vocals, guitar and harmonica. Barfield has been called “the tyrant of Texas funk.” Pedal steel player Dave Biller has worked with Dale Watson, Deke Dickerson and Wayne Hancock. Damien Llanes holds down the drumming duties and Kevin “Big K” Smith has been performing recently with Dwight Yoakam and Jesse Dayton, and was formerly with Haybale and rockabilly band High Noon.
Dave Gonzalez and the Austin All-Stars hit Dean’s and Gary’s Sunday Roadhouse on Sunday, July 6, at 5 p.m. at Mick’s. See sundayroadhouse.com or haciendabrothers.com for details. The band also plays Thursday, Friday (now 5-7 p.m. indoors) and Saturday as part of the Zoo Bar 35th Anniversary. See zoobar.com or call the bar at 402.435.8754 for times and ticket info.
|
|
|
|
Wonderful - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Carolyn Wonderland is having a banner year. The petite Texan with the powerful voice was featured in the June issue of Guitar Player magazine. In early June she also taped an episode of the prestigious “Austin City Limits” television program that will air in the fall.
Local music fans get two chances to hear Wonderland in person in the next few weeks. She’ll perform at the July 19 Playing With Fire concert, along with headliner Tab Benoit. But first, she hits Lincoln’s Zoo Bar this Saturday, June 28, after 9 p.m.
Though she’s only 35, Wonderland is a veteran musician. Guitar Player called her, “An ace guitarist, lap-steel player, and an absolutely transcendent vocalist.” |
|
|
|
Sizzling Soul - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
The most exciting show of the week just may be Gina Sicilia’s debut at Murphy’s. Sicilia is a 22-year-old soul-blues vocalist from Philadelphia who was nominated for Best New Artist in the 2007 Blues Music Awards. A writer for the Crossroads Blues Society in Freeport, Ill. observed, “Here we have the next generation of Etta James and Ruth Brown. She’s that good.” Go to ginasicilia.com and check out clips from her latest CD Allow Me to Confess (SwingNation Records).
Sicilia’s range, soulful sound and interpretive talent put her squarely in line to follow in the high heels of sassy blues mamas like Janiva Magness and Candye Kane and her powerful vocal prowess makes her an heir to Susan Tedeschi’s fan base too. Gina Sicilia sizzles at Murphy’s on Thursday, June 19, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
|
|
|
|
Charismatic Colab - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Local roots music fans have had a front row seat for an electrifying artistic collaboration between Mato Nanji and the Kris Lager Band. These artists cut their teeth playing local bars, and Nebraska audiences have watched them grow.
The Kris Lager Band has served as Nanji’s backing band for the past year, performing nationally with him as Indigenous, while maintaining their own band identity with Kris Lager Band gigs. In 2007 the Kris Lager Band released a fine independent recording, Transient, which just received a glowing review in Blues Revue magazine’s June/July 2008 issue. Reviewer Genevieve Williams wrote of Transient and the Kris Lager Band, “They’re crack musicians with substantial songwriting abilities, rock-solid musicianship, and the kind of exacting sensibility that makes every song distinctive (and distinctly theirs).”
The band’s skill allows them to bring fresh, creative energy to Nanji’s and also brings some new spirit and creative fire to Nanji’s music. In March, this new formation of Indigenous recorded at Winterland Studios in Minneapolis for the next Indigenous disc, Broken Lands (Vanguard Records), which is due Aug. 12.
|
|
|
|
Hootin' for Joy - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Philadelphia roots quartet Hoots & Hellmouth put on such an amazing show in their last appearance at Mick’s that the band and venue owner Michael Campbell were eager to book a return visit. The band is back on Thursday, June 12, performing after opening act Steph Hayes and Chris Schutz. Hayes and Schutz, an indie-folk duo, Philadelphia bandleaders in their own right, are building a following at Mick’s.
But the reason to stay out late and howl at the moon is Hoots & Hellmouth. Sean Hoots and Andrew Hellmouth are the leaders of this Americana-folk, old-timey country and gospel quartet. The group brings fresh, punk-rock intensity to traditional American music. With Rob Berliner on mandolin and Tim Celfo on upright bass, they’re playing acoustic instruments, but they stomp their plywood foot-box that’s wired with tambourines like they’re running from the devil, or at least casting spells to keep him at bay.
Their last show at Mick’s had 20-somethings lined up and jam-dancing in front of the stage. The energy in the room had everyone grinning like moonshine was being passed around. This band is all about joy, intensity and making music like their lives depend on it.
|
|
|
|
Wild Thing - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
In horn-rim glasses, felt hat, suit-coat and tie, Webb Wilder’s stage persona is almost anti-rock ‘n’ roll. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wilder was a regular on the club circuit. He’s the only artist I know with his credo: “Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need ’em!”
The Associated Press described the band’s music and stage performance as “a glorious amalgamation of grunge chords, killer grooves, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins theatrics, a healthy sense of humor, and great pop melodies.” Billboard said the band is “part Georgia Satellites, part Dave Edmonds, part Elvis Costello and altogether wonderful.”
|
|
|
|
Swept Away - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Dean Dobmeier and Gary Grobeck have brought important Americana artists to Omaha in their Sunday Roadhouse concert series, from the Hacienda Brothers to Rosie Flores to James McMurty. In the fall of 2006, the duo presented Austin singer-songwriter Jon Dee Graham in a memorable Omaha debut. I’ve since bought all his back catalog of solo CDs and caught him at his Continental Club Wednesday “residency” weekly gig in Austin. Graham is a masterful singer-songwriter-guitarist whose bio includes stints in some legendary Austin-based bands like The True Believers and The Resentments.
Filmmaker Mark Finkelpearl was similarly moved upon discovering Jon Dee Graham, but Finkelpearl took his enthusiasm further, creating a documentary on Graham’s music and life stories that fuel it. Finkelpearl’s Swept Away, A Rock ‘n’ Roll Documentary, was released on DVD this week. It captures Graham at home in Austin and showcases live performances at Austin’s Continental Club, Mercury Hall, in the studio and even on Graham’s back porch. The companion CD, Swept Away, has been available since December 2007. Find them at FreedomRecords.com.
Finkelpearl lives in Washington, D.C., and is a non-fiction television producer whose resume includes projects for the Discovery Channel, The Travel Channel, TLC and National Geographic Television. He promotes roots-Americana concerts in the D.C. area.
In the liner notes for the CD, Finkelpearl wrote of Graham and his music, “I wanted to do this movie to try and capture all this lightning in a bottle...It’s about the joy of parenthood versus the rigors of raising children. It’s about the intense love for your spouse but the challenges of maintaining intimacy. The search for something bigger in a world where this may, alas, be all there really is. It’s real world, grown up stuff. But it also comes with a heavy dose of love and joy and the need to press forward.” |
|
|
|
Hot, Hot, Hot - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
New Orleans-based band The Iguanas makes a rare metro appearance at Murphy’s Thursday, May 15, 5:30-8:30 p.m. The band and the audience will sweat it up in an epic house party. Former Omaha musician Joe Cabral Jr. is one of the band’s founders and their Omaha appearances feel as much like a south Omaha neighborhood celebration as a club concert.
The Iguanas’ high-energy mix of blues, R&B, Mexican conjunto, zydeco, Cajun, Tex-Mex and roots sounds has won a national following that has kept the band actively touring and recording for more than 15 years. The group has been working on a new CD for the Yep Roc label, recorded at the Blackbird Studio in Nashville. In addition, hard-core Iguanas’ fans will be happy to know that two of the band’s early, out-of-print recordings, The Iguanas (1993) and Nuevo Boogaloo (1994), can now be purchased online at Apple’s iTunes Music Store. |
|
|
|
Reminiscing - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Family, friends and fans came together to remember Chris Gaffney at the Cellar in Long Beach, Calif., April 30. Upstairs, a display of photos, art and memorabilia celebrated the singer-songwriter’s life. Onstage downstairs, a purple accordion sat on a bar stool, with a display of purple roses underneath and a cap perched on a microphone stand reading: “Gaff: Vaya Con Dios.”
The stories and tears flowed. The whole family was assembled, and Gaffney’s family members shared their memories. Dave Alvin, Gaffney’s best friend and longtime musical collaborator, offered a couple of his favorite Gaffney stories, noting that in life and in his distinctive sense of humor as in music, Gaffney’s “timing and phrasing were perfect,” lending to a lot of nuanced, “skewed and skewering” comments.
Alvin, who often cited Gaffney as his “spiritual advisor,” noted that he “took some comfort and consolation in knowing that now Gaffney knows all the secrets of the universe.”
|
|
|
|
Cruisin’ into Spring - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Tickets are available for the first Blues Society of Omaha cruise on the River City Star. The cruise is an afternoon jaunt on Sunday, May 4, and begins boarding at 2:30 p.m. with cruise time set for 3 p.m. Pacific Northwest blues/roots band Too Slim & The Taildraggers perform along with Omaha’s own Lil’ Joe and Big Trouble. Fine local blues-jazz guitarist George Walker and his band also play, with vocalist Erika Hall. Advance tickets are recommended and on sale at McKenna’s, Murphy’s, BarFly and The Lift. |
|
|
|
R.I.P. Chris Gaffney - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Chris Gaffney is dead. The news came via computer screen. Surely it had to be a mistake. But word traveled like heat lightning from friend to friend. From Austin to Lincoln, from Southern California to Omaha, one email after another said the same thing. Gaffney passed away on the morning of Thursday, April 17, at the age of 57. This was hard news for friends and fans to take. (Disclaimer: I was lucky to consider myself both.) Now benefits for his recovery from liver cancer have become memorials. But if there was ever a life to celebrate, it is Chris Gaffney’s.
Gaffney, diagnosed in February, had recently begun cancer treatments. The official prognosis seemed hopeful. HelpGaff.com received more than $40,000 in donations in three weeks and well-wishes from around the world. Another great national roots/blues singer and friend, Curtis Salgado, was diagnosed with liver cancer and ultimately beat the odds, receiving a life-saving liver transplant in Omaha in 2006. I witnessed so many miracles large and small in Salgado’s journey that I felt very hopeful Gaffney, too, could defeat this disease.
After all, Gaffney was a larger-than-life figure; in his youth he was a winning prizefighter with a 16–1 record. He suffered a partially detached retina in a match that ultimately cut short his fighting career. |
|
|
|
Irresistible Soul - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Lincoln band Son of 76 & The Watchmen put out an amazing CD in March, Imaginary Man. The disc seems to capture the attention and the dancing feet of everyone who hears it, and it features 10 original tracks written by frontman and vocalist Josh Hoyer, with contributions from his excellent band. The current lineup features ace guitar work by Werner Althaus and Luke Sticka, with powerhouse players Nick Semrad on keys, Justin Jones on drums and Brian Morrow on bass.
Hoyer’s been developing this sound throughout his work with previous bands, The Magnificent 7 and Electric Soul Method. He’s a dynamic and soulful musician who can wail on the saxophone. Son of 76’s sound is a joyride through a sonic landscape that reflects influences from Tom Waits and Van Morrison to vintage soul to those kings of cool, low-fi R&B-rock — the defunct band Morphine. The driving, vibey mix is contemporary, eclectic and unique. Give a listen to last year’s release, Shake & Howl, which is more impressive when listened to in conjunction with the new disc. Imaginary Man was produced by Hoyer and Charlie Johnson of The Mezcal Brothers at Lincoln’s Fuse Studios (formerly the Mogis brothers’ Presto! studios and the home of Saddle Creek Records’ early recordings). Hear cuts at myspace.com/sonof76.
|
|
|
|
Jumpin’ with John - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Acclaimed harmonica player and vocalist John Németh has been on the blues scene for years but it’s just this year that he’s snagged a nomination in the Blues Music Awards for “Best New Artist Debut.” The recognition comes on the heels of his first recording for a national label, 2007’s Magic Touch (Blind Pig Records). But astute blues fans might have seen Németh fronting his own band over the last 12 years or so, or caught him guesting with guitar wizard Junior Watson’s band back in the day at Trovato’s.
The buzz behind Magic Touch is significant, with multiple critics commenting that Németh is blending jump-blues and soul in a way that invokes a wide range of blues greats. |
|
|
|
Strictly Old School - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
An all-star band of regional blues veterans plays Murphy’s and the Zoo bar next week. Old School, the latest band project organized by former Zoo Bar owner Larry Boehmer, gigs at Murphy’s Thursday, April 10, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Old School includes Lincoln guitarist Sean Benjamin, Lincoln keyboardist James Cidlik, regional guitar star “Baby Jason” Davis and Midwestern harmonica master and super-smooth vocalist R.J. Mischo. Boehmer, who lives in Eureka Springs, Ark., and drummer David Watson hold down the rhythm section. As the name implies, the focus is on old school, traditional blues.
Lincoln fans can catch the band in two big shows at the Zoo bar next Friday. The band will play the Friday Afternoon Club slot from 5-7 p.m. and return with two big sets for the late-night show Friday, April 11. |
|
|
|
Gathering for Gaffney - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
As this column deadline approached, news about the Hacienda Brothers recent concert date cancellations was released. Chris Gaffney, the Bros. celebrated lead singer, is ill. Although no further details about his condition were available at press time, Americana icon Dave Alvin said in a Yep Roc Records press release: “My best friend Chris Gaffney is seriously ill and requires some costly medical treatments … his family has put together a website where all of his friends and fans around the world can donate to the Gaffney cause. The web page will be up and running in the next week or so … Please check back at my website, davealvin.net, in the next week or so in order to be directed to the family web page.”
In the meantime, Alvin announced his latest digital download, “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights,” is available at yeproc.com with proceeds from going directly into Gaffney’s medical fund. The tune, from a December concert, features Gaffney throwing down a soulful vocal with Alvin on guitar as part of the Gene Taylor Blues Band. The track was recorded as part of a forthcoming CD focused on piano-playing great Gene Taylor, a longtime member of The Blasters and also for many years a featured member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Joining Taylor and Alvin were veteran Blasters John Bazz (bass) and Bill Bateman (drums).
|
|
|
|
Hail to the Chief - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater is touring in support of a fine disc on Alligator, West Side Strut. Produced by Ronnie Baker Brooks with Clearwater, the CD is a rollicking tribute to the raw West Side Chicago blues scene. The rave-up collection of tracks includes Brooks, who is also Clearwater’s nephew, on guitar, along with other special guests like Lonnie Brooks, Otis Clay, Billy Branch and Jimmy Johnson. Clearwater and his touring band blow into Murphy’s from the Windy City Thursday, March 27, 5:30-8:30 p.m. |
|
|
|
Houserockin’ Time - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials is hands down one of the most popular blues bands. Ed and his band received memorable recognition in 2007, taking home the “Blues Band Of The Year” honors at the 2007 Blues Music Awards. In addition, Lil’ Ed Williams was voted 2007 Blues Artist of the Year (Male) in both the Readers’ and Critics’ Polls in Living Blues magazine; and Ed has been featured on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” When the program visited Chicago, Ed was featured in a taped skit where Conan asks Ed to teach him how to play the blues. Check out the clip on YouTube. |
|
|
|
Saturday Night 411 - |
Saturday offers so many musical choices it’s a bit daunting. Big time, Top-40-charting band The Fabulous Thunderbirds hits the stage at the Horseshoe Casino. Canadian blues star Dawn Tyler Watson brings her “Grandes Dames du Blues” show to the Holland 1200 Club. Josh Hoyer’s band Son of 76 & The Watchmen releases its CD at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar. Look for the profile on p. 36 — the CD is a stand-out piece of work. Atmospheric Americana indie-folk-rock band The Coal Men play at BarFly Saturday night with Sarah Benck and the Robbers. |
|
|
|
Strong Women Blues - |
by B.J. Huchtemann
One of the first times Sue Foley played Omaha, she was opening for Jeff Healey at the old Peony Park ballroom. Healey was getting radio airplay by then and the hall was packed. I attended the show anxious to check out Healey but instead left knocked-out by the petite, red-headed gal guitar-slinger Foley. |
|
|
<< Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >>
|
|
|
