Kenny Roby: Memories and Birds

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Published on Monday, April 01 2013 08:22

Written by Bluebird

Kenny Roby: Memories and Birds.

Released: April 2, 2013.

Label: Little Criminal Records.

"Words come easy to a fool

after all they're just words

And only descriptive tools for memories and birds."  ~Kenny Roby, Memories and Birds (2013).

North Carolina based singer-songwriter Kenny Roby (6 String Drag) brings poetic art to well produced, stand alone, music pieces, in his new record, Memories and Birds. The list of contributing artists and number of well appointed instruments is noteworthy here, although Roby gets a lot of press for his very unique lyrics. Influenced by Randy Newman and Townes Van Zant, the philosophy that words in music don't always have to be upbeat, gives him permission to tell stories as dark and twisted as a T.S. Eliot meets Falkner poem. However, the score that flows behind the pieces is warm and inviting. The listener is held steady, as the imagery changes.

This 8 track collection is a monument of eclectic relativism, that expands as it plays. Each song is unique in its own right, but Roby's style comes through. The lyrics, honest and sometimes stark, also come around with a subtle moral of the story, that is positive and humane.

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Rock Candy Funk Party

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Published on Sunday, February 03 2013 09:23

Written by Deb Hebert

We Want Groove is Delightfully Rhythmic!

Band: Rock Candy Funk Party

Album: We Want Groove

Label: J & R Adventures, Inc.

Producer: Tal Bergman

Released: Jan, 2013 

Hailed as a "child prodigy" and guitar "virtuoso", blues-rock legend, Joe Bonamassa announced to his fans another musical adventure; a new chapter in his storied livelihood. As it turns out, the latest side project did not involve '70s classic rock/hard rock, as was the case with super-group Black Country Communion, or the rework of soul and blues staples, with L.A. songstress, Beth Hart, as heard on their 2011 debut album, 'Don't Explain.' (However, a later press statement did confirm where the duo will enter the studio in January.) Much to my amusement, the headlines read, "Bonamassa Goes Funk."

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Joe Bonamassa: An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House

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Published on Saturday, March 30 2013 23:34

Written by Deb Hebert

An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House

New York native and professional blues-rock musician, Joe Bonamassa, does not take one thing about his career for granted. "It's a combination of God's gift and work ethic," Len Bonamassa has said of his son's talent. "He's got more miles on a guitar than most 60 year-olds." As a result, his childhood dream to play the Royal Albert Hall in London was fulfilled on May 5, 2009, marking one of many milestones along his lifelong journey in keeping the blues alive.

In summer 2012, after coming off from a seventeen-week, world solo tour, Bonamassa returned home to Los Angeles, California. Within seven days, he had recorded 'Afterglow' with the hard rock, super-group, Black Country Communion; collaborated with L.A. songstress Beth Hart on a follow-up offering to their 2011 soul-classics covers album 'Don't Explain'; and rearranged two dozen acoustic songs for his next musical adventure: An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House.

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Luther Dickinson: Hambone's Meditations

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Published on Sunday, January 13 2013 23:57

Written by Bluebird

Hambone's Meditations

Luther Dickinson

Released: May 5th, 2012

Songs Of The South Records

Editor's Note About John Fahey (1939-2001):

One of the first things readers should understand about this record is that Luther Dickinson stated it was inspired by John Fahey and The Takoma tradition. I read some fan reviews of the record commenting that Luther wasn't playing 'proper blues' and I think this record should be taken in context of its broader vision. John Fahey, who first presented himself to the music world in part as Blind Joe Death (1959) has had an impact on blues, folk and acoustic traditions for decades of music history. He used non-traditional methods of playing, picking, during the mid-1960s, which included "odd guitar tunings and sudden style shifts, rooted firmly in the old time and blues stylings of the 1920s." The writings that describe Fahey name that he started a new genre of guitar music, known later as "American Primitivism," which combined traditional fingerpicking steel string guitar techniques, and applied them to neo-classical compositions. His record label called him "impossible to classify." "His eclectic music included traditional-sounding folk pieces, Indian ragas, blues, and unpredictable modern works, not fitting securely into any specific category but somehow always sounding personal."  (Sources: AllMusic.Com, Takoma Records/Concord Music Group).

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