Category: Saturday Matinee

Saturday Matinee – Jovin Webb, Sonny Gullage & The Melbourne Ska Orchestra

Lionel Richie once described his voice as “the sound of barbecue sauce.” Luke Bryan remarked, “I could sit and drink a lot of bourbon listening to that voice.” Louisiana blues and soul singer Jovin Webb made it to the final ten performers on the 2020 season of American Idol and moved on from there.

Singer, songwriter and keyboardist  Kevin ‘Sonny’ Gullage has earned much acclaim despite his young age (26 years old this year), and combines the sounds of New Orleans roots blues, boogiewoogie and gospel with modern styles.

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra covers a tune from the 1927 Broadway show Good News.

Been pretty busy this week. A lot of time and effort goes into pretending to be busy, and I’m definitely getting better at it. Free lessons tomorrow on the porch. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – The Lowdown Saints, Artur Menezes & The Pat McManus Band

The Lowdown Saints, formed in 2020 in the Old Town of Stsh(?), Sweden, and consists of Tommy Moberg / drummer & vocals, Hannes Mellberg / lead guitar, Félix Matthiessen / 2nd guitar, Karl Ivert / upright bass, and Torbjörn Eliasson / piano & scissors.

Brazilian guitarist Artur Menezes discovered the blues as a teenager, headed off to Chicago and jammed with the bar bands. He’s now an international performer, touring South America, the UK and the US. Unfortunately his website (www.arturmenezes.com) triggers a not secure warning.

The Pat McManus Band are Celtic rockers from Northern Ireland, described as an “Irish Power Trio led by former Mama’s Boys and Celtus guitarist/violinist, singer and songwriter Pat McManus.”

Anything burn down this week that I missed? Stop by tomorrow and we’ll talk about skunk bait options. Meet you on the porch at half past whenever.

Saturday Matinee – Playing For Change, Kenny Brown, JT Coldfire & The Killborn Alley Blues Band

Playing For Change x Visit Mississippi. Nice variations on Robert Johnson’s classic.

Born in 1952 on Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, slide guitarist, singer and songwriter Kenny Brown plays in the North Mississippi Hill Country blues style. He was taught by some of the best, including R.L. Burnside, who claimed him as his adopted son.

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, James Thomas Uvalle (1980 – 2015) taught himself to play guitar at the age of 11. At 16 he adopted the moniker JT Coldfire and began his songwriting and performing career. He passed away suddenly at 35 years.

“The Killborn Alley Blues Band kills. Picture a deep-dish Chicago version of the Fabulous Thunderbirds back 30 years ago.”
Tom Clark, review of Tear Chicago Down, Hittin’ the Note • Issue 55, 2007.

Stock market up, stock market down, stock market up, and shake it all around. Been happening forever, seems a lot of people with TDS just began to notice. Meanwhile, the porch will open tomorrow promptly at whenever and we’ll discuss the best methods of trapping a skunk. See you then.

Saturday Matinee – Ginger St. James, Hollow Souls w/ Jared James Nichols, and the Anthony Krizan Band

Ginger St. James began her career singing in small town Ontario bars and now headlines shows as one of Canada’s top roots rock / rockabilly / country artists. Good stuff.

Hollow Souls is a spinoff project created by British blues rock guitarist and former pro MMA fighter Kris Barras. Their debut single features yankee guitarist Jared James Nichols and the vocals of Phoebe Jane.

An original member of Amfibian, former Spin Doctors lead guitarist and owner of Sonic Boom Studios, Anthony Krizan runs his own show now.

Egg shortage. Signal group chat leak. Retaliatory tariffs. Wall Street. Space meebas. Porch time. Tomorrow. Be there.

Saturday Matinee – The Peddlers, 16 Horsepower & David Gogo

Elmer Bernstein‘s theme to Walk On The Wild Side (1962) as performed by The Peddlers in 1971. Tight jazz rock from the UK, with Roy Phillips on Hammond organ & vocals, Tab Martin on bass, and the amazing Trevor Morais on drums.

16 Horsepower was a Denver-based group that mixed rock, bluegrass and Appalachian gospel. They released four studio albums before egos got in the way: they disbanded in 2005, citing “mostly political and spiritual” differences.

“David is a great blues player. I like his style!” – Johnny Winter
Canadian singer, songwriter and bluesman David Gogo began playing guitar at the age of five; at 15 he met and was encouraged by Stevie Ray Vaughan; a year later he formed his first band. He’s won numerous awards, including three JUNOs (despite EMI spiking his solo album in the US).

Been watching a lot of police body cam videos lately, and after a while I began noticing behavioral patterns of those who eventually get hauled off to the hoosegow. The ones who squeal the loudest are usually guilty of more egregious crimes than just expired license plate tags.

I also notice that the same applies to politicians when they’re exposed as unethical grifting frauds. Keep that in mind as you watch current events unfold.

Porch time tomorrow? Yup. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Ruthie Foster, Mingo Fishtrap & The California Honeydrops

Gospel, soul, blues and jazz singer Ruthie Foster began her career singing at churches in rural Texas, described herself as a “little Black girl with a guitar.” After college, she joined the US Navy where she began singing in the naval band Pride, playing pop and funk hits at recruitment drives. Since then, she’s won numerous Blues Music Awards and earned three Grammy nominations.

“Austin, Texas, doesn’t have a Trombone Shorty, the Subdudes or Dirty Dozen Brass Band like New Orleans does but they do have Mingo Fishtrap, and they’re just as funky and soulful as those bands with a healthy dash of Motown tossed into their pot.” –Something Else Reviews

From Oakland, The California Honeydrops cover Wilson Pickett.
“The California Honeydrops…evoke the greasy rumble of Booker T. and channel the spiritual ecstasy of Sly and the Family Stone.” -Rolling Stone

It seems the news machine has skipped the soak, wash and rinse cycles and is stuck on spin with a noisy unbalanced load. It’s just about time to fire up the porch and take it for a sit. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Jackie Venson, John Németh and The Blue Dreamers & Christopher Ameruoso

Jackie Venson: “Singer-songwriter Jackie Venson’s version of the blues – with its R&B, psychedelic rock – has invigorated Austin’s music scene with its refreshingly electric sound.” — Rolling Stone

From the mud n’ spud fields of Idaho to the California Bay Area, then on to Memphis, Tennessee, John Németh and The Blue Dreamers play a good mix of retro and modern blues and soul.

3-string electric cigar box slide gitfiddle (and cowbell boot) from Christopher Ameruoso.

Been getting pretty good at sleeping in, especially with the winds and rains. I like weather when it matches my attitude, and watching it from the porch tomorrow sounds like a good plan. See you there and then.

Saturday Matinee – Homemade Jamz Blues Band, The Laura Cox Band & The Heavy North

Homemade Jamz Blues Band made music history as the youngest blues band to achieve a record deal. Based in Tupelo, Mississippi, the group features siblings Taya Perry / drums, Kyle Perry / bass, Ryan Perry / guitar & vocals. Their father Reynaud Perry sits in occasionally on harp, while their mother manages the band. The guitars were designed by their father and are made from mufflers and exhaust pipes, with lug nuts for volume and tone controls.

Laura Cox is a French-born multi-instrumentalist who started out playing solos and cover versions of classic rock tunes for her YouTube channel. She built a fan base and formed the Laura Cox Band in 2013.

Based in Liverpool, England, The Heavy North plays what has been described as “dirty scuzzed up dive bar blues”. The band consists of Kenny Stuart / vocals, Jose Ibanez / guitar & producer, Jack Birch / guitar, Andrew Horrocks / bass, Ste Penn / keyboards, Mark Rice / drums.

Only two months into the year and the news cycle is spinning so fast the bearings fused, the wheels are gone and now it’s airborne. WWIII has either been averted or is about to begin, and there ain’t much any of us can do about it except for one thing: Porch Time. It coincides with Show Up Time tomorrow, so see you when you get here.

Saturday Matinee – Krissy Matthews (w/ Big Daddy Wilson & Alice Armstrong), Anna Scionti and Dave Hole

Krissy Matthews (NOR) backs Big Daddy Wilson (US) and Alice Armstrong (UK). Nice soul blues groove.

Anna Scionti won the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s (MBAS) Blues Performer of the Year 2023 (Solo/Duo Category) and represented the MBAS at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis Tennessee in January 2024.

Australian guitar slinger slider Dave Hole is living proof that there’s a Mississippi Delta somwhere in Oz.

So many things to pay attention to these days, and watching the fireworks of the internet go off in unpredictably absurd directions makes me grin. Tomorrow is a good day to do the porch thing, see you when the time is right.

Saturday Matinee – Altered Five Blues Band, The Gabe Stillman Band (w/ Anson Funderberg), Vulfpeck, and Andrea De Luca

Award winning group from Milwaukee, Altered Five Blues Band features front man Jeff Taylor with Jeff Schroedl / guitar, Mark Solveson / bass, Alan Arber / drums and Steve Huebler / keyboard.

After graduating from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Gabe Stillman formed his band  in 2015, and was a Blues Music Award nominee in the Best New Emerging Artist Album category in 2022.

Vulfpeck grooves with some speed bass. Formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2011, the group was founded by multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and bassist Joe Dart.

Johnny Winter once told Andrea De Luca, “Hey, you got it, man. Just keep on bluesin’.” Born in Roma, Italy, De Luca has been playing guitar since he was six years old, began touring at 14, and credits Jimi Hendrix for his inspiration.

Porch. Tomorrow. Sooner or later. Your call. See you then.