Tag: Blues

Saturday Matinee – The Lemonheads, Evan Johns & Charlie Burton, and The Guy Forsyth Blues Band

Alt-rock punk band The Lemonheads was formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. There’s an obvious Ramones influence on their 1992 cover of Simon and Garfunkel‘s Mrs. Robinson (recorded in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the move The Graduate).

Evan Johns and Charlie Burton on Art Fein’s Poker Party, 1993.
Charlie Burton on vocal and rhythm guitar, seated is Grammy nominated Evan Johns (Evan Johns and the H-Bombs) on lead guitar, Dave Robel (Shithook) on drums, C. Buggs Coombs on bass. Johns passed away in 2017 at the age of 60; Burton passed on in 2024, age 73.

The Guy Forsyth Blues Band out of Austin, Texas, sounds a bit like early Fabulous Thunderbirds to me, and I like it. Forsyth’s earlier collaborations include The Asylum Street Spankers and The Hot Nut Riveters.

Cold weather moving down south, wind and water for us folks in the west, and a great big storm of stupid just passed through much of the nation. There’s some good news out there if you know where to look, and a good place to start is on the porch tomorrow. See you then and there.

HALLOWEENAGE

Miscellaneous earbone stimulation for throwing treats at the little ghosts and goblins. [Image found here.]

 

[Caveat: I don’t own the copyrights to any of these recordings. They are presented here for entertainment purposes only.]

 

Emunctory Hot Links

Boogeyman, The Atomic 44’s (2021)
Blues/roots supergroup The Atomic 44’s formed in 2020 when Eric Von Herzen (harmp player for Walter Trout, Social Distortion, The Atomic Road Kings, Junior Watson) joined guitarist/vocalist Johnny Main (The 44’s).

Holler.

“Dance.”

“CHILL!”

MDAOES.

THIS POD.

Mr. Bubba.

Greenlight.

Monkey rain.

E-E-AH-H-H.

The East Wig.

Engagement.

Make it black.

Morel Doucet’s busts.

Differing martial arts.

About Hedwig Kiesler.

Patty was a headbanger.

Dance This Meme Around.

Mark Allen, Cardiff Busker.

Earl the Spider [via Thompson, blog].

Herman Poole Blount [via Everlasting Blört].

Nathan Vidal & Eduardo Granados are dkhds.

Don’t Fear The Reaper (medieval version) [via Memo Of The Air].

[Top image: Colorized magazine photo, unknown source, with caption
“Rich Palmer ran the nation’s largest volume hobby shop in Parsippany, New Jersey. Aurora hired him to organize its Monster Customizing Contest in 1964. Aurora received national television attention when the CBS Evening News visited his shop. Walter Cronkite and Palmer held a conversation in the “Monster Korner” of the store. Big Frankie occupies the top shelf in the Monster Korner.”
More info in this forum.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago. 15 years ago.

Surculigerous Hot Links

Goin’ Down South, R.L. Burnside w/ Lyrics Born (2004) Burnside recorded several versions of Goin’ Down South over the years. He was born in Lafayette County, Mississippi, learned from Mississippi Fred McDowell who lived in the next county over. Burnside and his family, tired of the life of sharecroppers, moved to Chicago in the early 50s. Subsequently his father, two uncles and two brothers were murdered there. In 1959 he returned to Mississippi, was convicted of murder himself, and served time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, aka Parchman Farm. [h/t Suzanne P.]

Play B-22.

Haint paint.

Tower bees.

Douchebag.

200% Chinese.

Sidewalk chalk.

Freddie’s Level.

Plucking around.

Sorry We’re Closed.

Street pyrotechnics.

Elvis anti-fog sponge.

One man’s bucket list.

Maisie, Jake and Harry.

A snapshot in concrete.

“Shut up,” she explained.

Norty Blues Episode 138.

Cast aluminum farm toys.

Repairing Cow 613 [h/t Kirk W.]

WindowSwap [via Memo Of The Air].

There’s a loo in The Netty, dear Liza.

Four hours’ pay means four hours’ stay.

Stereotypical foods that few locals eat.

Even better at 1.5x speed [via Thompson, blog].

…and not very sharp [via The View From Lady Lake].

100 Years of the Photobooth [via Everlasting Blört].

“Play with and trade upon the themes of accumulation and juxtaposition.”

[Top image: 19th century Japanese octopus sculpture found here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago. 15 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – HatFitz and Cara, Marc Amacher & The Thilo Wolf Big Band

HatFitz and Cara: “Aussie bluesman and Irish Songstress get married, form a band and make great music together. This shabby hill country blues oozes cool”. Guitar & Bass Magazine.

Swiss gravel-voiced guitarist Marc Amacher plays his mashup of roots blues, gospel, rock and funk – someone called it “dirty blues-rock of traditional style”.

The Thilo Wolf Big Band, the Thilo Wolf Jazz Quartet and the Thilo Wolf Groove Selection are all groups created by German pianist and composer Thilo Wolf. What a coincidence.

Had the house main water line replaced yesterday (weasels chewed up the old one) so we can shower and flush the toilets, then we had an internest downage last evening so this post was delayed a bit. The porch is open for business.

Saturday Matinee – Black Pumas, JP Soars’ Gypsy Blue Review & The Jimmy Vivino Band

Black Pumas is a psychedelic soul band based in Austin, Texas, led by singer/songwriter (and former busker) Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada. Since forming the band in 2017, they’ve won critical acclaim, made numerous television appearances, and won their first Grammy in 2020 for Best New Band.

JP Soars’ Gypsy Blue Review plays an eclectic mix of blues, rock and southern soul, and features the amazing violinist Anne Harris. J.P. Soars is no slouch either – he also performs as JP Soars & The Red Hots.

The Jimmy Vivino Band: Jimmy Vivino on guitar; bassist Rick Reed; Tony Braunagel on drums; and, Luca Neroni on guitar. Vivino has played with artists including Al Kooper, Charlie Musselwhite, Michael McDonald and many others. He is best known as guitarist, arranger and music director for Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

This weekend is the annual church fair, and that means the missus is gonna fetch a bucket of vietnamese eggrolls. Stop by tomorrow at porch time o’clock and she might let you smell them. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Guy Verlinde, The Cinelli Brothers w/ Connor Selby, Jay Hooks, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Belgian guitarist Guy Verlinde covers Hound Dog Taylor. He’s best known as a solo artist and as front man for The Mighty Gators and The Houserockers. There’s not much of a bio on his website other than a link to his Facebook page where there’s not much of a bio either.

Winners of the 2024 UK Blues Band of the Year, The Cinelli Brothers (Marco and Alessandro) revive 1960s – 70s vintage electric blues, R&B and soul with a modern vibe. Guest guitarist Connor Selby is no slouch either, having been named Traditional Blues Artist of the Year (2025).

In the 1990s, Texas bluesman Jay Hooks kickstarted what promised to be a successful career, but he burned out in 2005 due to unspecified personal troubles. 15 years later he began from scratch, reinventing his music and performing in bars; Hooks returned to the studio in 2024 to make his comeback official.

Robert Randolph & The Family Band – In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph 97th in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Big news this week: this year’s Super Bowl halftime show is gonna suck again, the word tardigrade offends some people, sombrero memes are racist, and I got a chair on the porch with my name on it. There are others available on a first come first sit basis, so see you there.

Saturday Matinee – Andreas Diehlmann Band, Danny Bryant, and Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse

Andreas Diehlmann Band is a German power trio who crank out Texas blues ala ZZ Top, with vocals to match. Diehlmann is backed by Jörg Sebald on bass and Tom Bonn on drums.

Danny Bryant was born in Hertfordshire, England, was playing professionally by 18, formed Danny Bryant’s RedEyeBand with his father, Ken Bryant, on bass. His dad retired in 2013, but the band continues on.

Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse is a roots rock blues Americana country soul punk psychobilly band from California, featuring vocals by documentary filmmaker, television producer, business entrepreneur and Louisiana native Greta “Gris Gris” Valenti.

Old news is new again. Fascists are accusing their opponents of being fascists, socialists are calling their opponents socialists. Antisemites are hollering that even the Jews hate the Jews. Climate Change is back to Global Warming and this time we’re emitting too many cows. If the POTUS says it’s bad to take Tylenol during pregnancy then you mamas-to-be better start gulping them down pronto if you want to score political points. Greta & crew are suffering toxic levels of 24/7 ABBA, and cotton is racist.

Oh, well. Have a great weekend, see you tomorrow, zero-porch-thirty.

Saturday Matinee – Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia, John Primer & Billy Branch, and Mad Guz & the Mojos

Guitar rippers Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia took their powerhouse bands, crammed them together to form Blood Brothers.

John Primer with Billy Branch (harp), Johnny Iguana (keyboards), Felton Crews (bass), Billy Flynn (rhythm guitar). Unfortunately the drummer got no credit.

Mad Guz & the Mojos is a heavy rockabilly-influenced blues band from somewhere in Germany, and consists of Mad Guz (vocals, sax, guitar), Isi Mojo (double bass), Tim Mojo (drums, vocals) and Spike Mojo (lead guitar, vocals).

Not sure if hilarious, laughable or pitiful is the best way to describe the feces flying around on social media and elsewhere. Maybe we could schedule a National Day of STFU and STFD. Everyone to the time out chair.
Except for us porch sitters. See you tomorrow, porchheads.

Saturday Matinee – Ndlovu Youth Choir, Giles Robson and JW-Jones w/ Paul Pigat & Jack de Keyzer

Ndlovu Youth Choir: “An eleven-year journey has seen an after-school programme for orphaned and vulnerable children, started by the Ndlovu Care Group, transform into an international recording and touring career. Participation does not only instil values of togetherness, a work ethic and a sense of responsibility, but it develops self-discipline, self-confidence, and leadership.” [h/t Miss Cellanea]

British harp wizard Giles Robson is one of only three UK blues artists to win a coveted Blues Music Award in Memphis. The other two are Eric Clapton and Peter Green.

“This is an amazing blues band.” – Elwood Blues
JW-Jones, with Paul Pigat and Jack de Keyzer, crack open a can of Magic Sam boogie and head for the coast. Backing them is Chris Nordquist on drums, Julian Fauth / keyboards and Suzie Vinnick / bass.

Disturbing events the past few days. Two little girls lost their daddy, and a young woman has to tell them that their daddy isn’t coming home.
Charlie Kirk expressed his opinions peacefully, rarely raising his voice in anger, and for that he was assassinated. That some soulless wretches jeer and applaud the tragedy makes me want to vomit.

The porch will be closed tomorrow…