Category: Videos

Saturday Matinee – Monster Mike Welch Band, Joe Ely, and Colin James w/ Amanda Marshall

Monster Mike Welch Band: Mike Welch / guitar & vocals; Alex Schultz / guitar; Lorenzo Farrell / keyboard; Derrick “D’Mar” Martin / drums & faces. Welch has been performing and recording for over 30 years. The bluesman from Boston was only 13 when Dan Akroyd gave him the nickname.

Texas roots rocker Joe Ely kicked the Austin progressive country music industry loose in the 1970s. Besides his own solo work, he performed with many other headliners, including Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Chieftains, James McMurtry, The Clash, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark. After suffering from Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease, Ely passed away at the age of 78 in December 2025 [obit].

Colin James‘  1988 self-titled debut was the fastest-selling album in Canadian history. It won him his first of seven Juno Awards and an opening spot on tour with Keith Richards. So far he’s got seven Gold-certified albums in Canada, including four Platinum albums and two Double Platinum albums.
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Canadian singer and songwriter Amanda Marshall was 16 in 1988 when she met blind guitarist Jeff Healy; he was so impressed with her vocals he took her with him on tour. In 1993, Marshall’s self-titled debut album was released in 1995 went on to become one of only eighteen albums in Canadian history to achieve Diamond status, and achieved Gold or Platinum status in fifteen countries.

Enough to keep yer bones a-rockin’ and yer earballs a-poppin’ – at least until Porch Time. Tomorrow. On the porch. Be there or be L7.

Saturday Matinee – The Dirty Rotten Vipers, Buck & Evans, and The Dirty Weather Blues Revue

Formed in 2023, The Dirty Rotten Vipers is a New Orleans 12 piece gutter jazz street band busking at Royal & St Peter most afternoons.

Buck & Evans are a Welsh blues rock duo consisting of guitarist/songwriter Chris Buck and vocalist/keyboard player Sally Ann Evans. Their paths crossed in 2013 via overlapping connections with their managers and guitarist Slash of Guns N Roses (who referred to Buck as “a fu*king awesome guitar player“).

The Dirty Weather Blues Revue is an electric blues roots rock quartet from Bristol. After touring the UK and Europe they released their debut single in February of 2026. They don’t appear to have a website or recording label… yet.

Another assassination attempt foiled, the King of England had high tea in D.C., Iran is toast, the SCOTUS ruled against racist gerrymandering, and the marxists are doing their May Day hey hey ho ho performance art again. Flavorful news indeed, and we’ll mix in some quality Porch Time to top it off. See you tomorrow at the appropriately unscheduled hour.

Saturday Matinee – Les Big Byrd, Sue Foley & Big Head Todd and The Monsters

[STROBE WARNING]
Les Big Byrd is something from Stockholm, Sweden. I kept waiting for an eruption of Surfin’ Bird.
“Jocke Åhlund and Frans Johansson have been fixtures in the music business for many years. As central figures in the Stockholm scene, they have played in various formations, traversing a veritable garden of musical genres. In their project Les Big Byrd, space rock and psychedelic pop boldly intertwine with great drive—all while the indie disco ball spins right along with them.” [source]

Sue Foley is amazing. From her bio: “Raised in Ottawa, Canada, Foley was drawn to the guitar at 13 and performing professionally by 16. After relocating to Austin, Texas in her early 20s, she signed with Antone’s Records—home to legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan—and released her 1992 debut, Young Girl Blues, to widespread acclaim. She has since toured internationally and shared stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Billy F Gibbons, earning her place among the top tier of modern blues artists.”

Big Head Todd and The Monsters formed in Colorado in 1986 and consists of Todd Park Mohr / vocals, guitar, keys, sax, harmonica, Brian Nevin /drums, Rob Squires / bass, vocals], and Jeremy Lawton / keyboards, lap pedal/steel guitar, vocals. BHT&TM always have an interesting mix of alt-rock, blues and country.

This weeks news barrage produced a combination of disgust, aggravation, relief and amusement, and they seemed to rotate hourly. There are some good omens in the mix, but I’ll wait until the horizon gets here.
Porch time? Yup. See you tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Sergi Estella, The James Hunter Six & The Guy Forsyth Blues Band

A one man band, Sergi Estella studied musical education at the University of Barcelona (2010) and completed the intermediate degree at L’Aula (the Liceu Conservatory of Jazz and Modern Music, 2011). He is known for building his own instruments; he plays guitars made from broom handles, beer cans, or even a wooden box with a tap pouring wine, among others. Following blues aesthetics, his lyrics deal with everyday events and personal experiences, both in Catalan and English, with satirical humor that is also reflected in his stage presence. [Wiki]

The James Hunter Six – James Hunter is a Grammy-nominated soul/R&B singer/songwriter from Essex, England. He began his recording career in 1986, and collaborated with Van Morrison on several records. Good stuff.

Blues legend based in Austin, Texas, Guy Forsyth has a long resume of recording and performing around the world, with many awards to boot. (He’s got a knack for storytelling also, as evidenced in his bio.)

I realized a long time ago that government has a weasel infestation, but I never imagined it mestasizing. A late reckoning is better than none at all. The good news is that The Strait is open again (at least for now) and gas prices should be turning back to normal. Now about those taxes…
Ah, I’m wishing for too much; besides, Porch Time is on tomorrow’s to-do list and we can solve the problems of the world then. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Andy Fairweather Low, Beiztegui & The Hammond Lovers, and El Perro Blanco

Born in 1948 in Ystrad Mynach, Wales, Andy Fairweather Low was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner. He has toured extensively with The Who, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and is a regular member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. He  currently performs as Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders.

Stare at the wall and listen to one of Andalusia’s finest.
Beiztegui & The Hammond Lovers consists of frontman Fernando Beiztegui / guitar & vocals; Jon Sande / Hammond organ; Dani Levy / bass and Cote Calmet / drums. 

La Perra Blanco (The White Bitch), aka Alba Blanco, is a high energy blues/rockabilly guitarist from Cádiz, Spain, and has been performing since the age of 14. [More about her here.]

Tax day is just around the corner, weather is on the way, the Artemis is home, and porch time is tomorrow at porch time. See you then.

Saturday Matinee – Andreas Diehlmann Band, The BluesBones & The Zac Schulze Gang

Andreas Diehlmann Band is a German power trio who crank out Texas blues ala ZZ Top, with vocals to match. This video from 2018 features Diehlmann backed by Volker Zeller on bass and Tom Bonn on drums.

Formed in 2011, The BluesBones are an award winning blues rock band from Belgium, and are the only group to hit No. 1 on the Blues Charts UK three times.

Combine the intensity of Meatloaf with the mania of Chris Farley, give him a blazing guitar with a kickass backup band, and you got The Zac Schulze Gang – serious speed blues rock.

Tomorrow’s porchtime has been superceded by Easter, the holiest of Christian holy days. Have a blessed one.

Saturday Matinee – BALTHVS, KALEO, and Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado

Formed in 2020, BALTHVS is a Colombian psychedelic funk surf latin jazz rock group consisting of Balthazar Aguirre / guitar; Johanna Mercuriana / bass; Santiago Lizcano /drums.

This blues rock indie band formed in 2012 in Reykjavik, Iceland, but KALEO means “the voice” in Hawaiian. After signing with Atlantic records, they relocated to Austin, Texas, in 2015. [More info on Wiki].

Since their beginnings as a Copenhagen bar band, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado have been dubbed Scandinavia’s premier roots-rock renegades. The septet has performed in Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, the US and Asia for over two decades.

A three day weekend is upon us, with Monday being Unnamed Day due to the recent discovery of Cesar Chavez’ past indiscretions. In celebration, a lot of people nationwide will be hitting the streets, to march around waving signs, chanting Hey Hey Ho Ho mantras and disrupting traffic, all because they’re worried about the US becoming a monarchy or some nonsense. Whatever happens won’t be enough to cancel valuable porch time, so we’ll see you tomorrow at the crack of noon.

Saturday Matinee – Vintage Trouble, Toronzo Cannon & Jonathon “Boogie” Long

Soul / blues / R&B band Vintage Trouble formed in Los Angeles in 2010.  Their debut album The Bomb Shelter Sessions (2011) hit number one on Amazon‘s music charts in the UK, and they won the Best New Band prize at the 2011 Classic Rock awards. In February 2024, the group announced an indefinite break “to focus on individual and family endeavors”.

Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon didn’t pick up a guitar until he was 22, but he picked it up fast.
“Gary Clark, Jr. declared, ‘Toronzo is a beast. He lights the room up,’ and Joe Bonamassa rightly pronounced, ‘Toronzo’s a great guitar player, excellent vocalist and an amazing personality.’ ”

Jonathon “Boogie” Long
From his website: “He began his career at the age 18, invited by BB King to tour with him. Shortly after, he was awarded Guitar Center’s “King of the Blues”, besting over 4,000 other contestants. Since then, he’s taken the short road to Louisiana legend, already a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and Baton Rouge officially designating January 4th as “Jonathon Long” day.”

R.I.P Chuck Norris, sorry about your legacy Cesar Chavez, nice work Nick Shirley, Gavin Newsom is still a douchebag, and tomorrow is Porch Time.
See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Tom Waits, Eliza Stark & The Dappers, Missioned Souls & Bad Manners

Tom Waits being Tom Waits. Video from 2012 is reminiscent of the digital animation template showcased here.

Eliza Stark & The Dappers:
“The only rockabilly band based in Montenegro. A classic trio of guitar, drums and hot chick slapping double bass and regular guests of national TV and festivals, they also well-known for their true and original music far beyond the borders of Montenegro.” – ES & The D Facebook Page

In 2024, Filipino family band Missioned Souls covered Bad Manners‘ 1980 ska cover of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs‘ 1965 classic.

One of the top ska bands of the UK, Bad Manners are still performing (and celebrating their 50th year). It appears that frontman Buster Bloodvessel chose to sit this one out.

I got the porch if you got the time. Be there or be an equilateral rhomboid.

Saturday Matinee – Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, Larkin Poe, Selwyn Birchwood, and Boogie Beasts

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar are a soul / gospel / R&B / blues group from Toronto, whose musical influences come from way past the Canadian border. The full band consists of 10 members plus singer / songwriter / guitarist Samantha Martin.

Multi-instrumental blues / roots rockers Rebecca & Megan Lovell, aka Larkin Poe, are amazing. Multiple Grammy Award winners from Georgia, the sisters named their group after their great-great-great-great-grandfather, a cousin of that other Poe guy.

Selwyn Birchwood is an American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Tampa, Florida. He was the winner of the Blues Foundation’s 2013 International Blues Challenge (band category), as well the winner of the Albert King Guitarist of the Year award. [Wiki]

From Boogie Beasts‘ website:
“Dirty beats, hypnotizing slide, screaming harmonica riffs and plenty of fuzz: all of these will be served by this four man band from Liège-Limburg-Namur, Belgium. […] The drive is infectious, the noise is pure filth, yet highly irresistible.”

Stuff happened this week – some good, some bad, most of it just plain absurd. It’s also the time of year where we ignore resetting the clock in the dashboard and set our sprinklers and calendars ahead instead. As always, the change doesn’t affect porch time. Be there or be somewhere else.