Saturday Matinee – The Growlers, Leo Bud Welch & J. Geils

Did I post this before? I still like this song by The Growlers. It’s retro rock on many levels.

Leo “Bud” Welch is now into his eighties and only recently began his recording career. Here’s his website. Classic Delta blues mixed with the Chicago sound.

RIP John Geils.

That clip is from 1972 and features the classic J. Geils Band line up. I didn’t find out about those guys until a couple of years later when I got hooked on the sound and the fun. None of the players in his band stood out as heavy hitters individually, but as a group they kicked ass, with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd, Peter Wolf and Seth Justman. They lost me in 1980 with their move to pop rock.

Have a great weekend, folks, and remember what Easter really means tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Tool, Elvin Bishop & Lonnie Brooks

Very odd video. I like it.

Elvin Bishop goes fishin’. Guy has an amazing history, and I’m surprised he isn’t a full-fledged Rock God by now. His website www.elvinbishopmusic.com is back up and running.

We lost another great bluesman recently:
Lee Baker, Jr., aka Lonnie Brooks (1933-2017).

Lonnie Brooks was another classic bluesman with an interesting background.

Have a great weekend, folks. We’ll be back here tomorrow, whether you like it or not.

Saturday Matinee – Billy Blob, Superstitions & Stevie Wonder

Clever animation from Billy Blob: Two radiation particles travel to Earth with a mission and a cool soundtrack.

Origins of some common superstitions [via]. They missed the obvious. Walking under a ladder is dangerous because you might dislodge it, or whoever’s working up top might accidentally drop something on you. I’d guess that the business about stepping on a crack likely has to do with walking on thin ice. Seven years of bad luck for breaking a mirror? Not so sure about that one.

Stevie Wonder, live at Sesame Street, 12 April 1973. What a killer groove. I liked this one even better:

Yeah. That. Head-bobbin’ trad-blues-funk at it’s best.

Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ve got more cool stuff coming soon.

R.I.P. Chuck Berry (1926 – 2017)

Wow. What a legend. No reason for me to do a write up for someone so well known for so long, but I’ll admit this: I didn’t care for his music that much when I was young. Although I appreciated his talent and his importance in the early days of R&B / R&R, the songs sounded the same to me.

In 1972 someone gave me a copy of “The London Chuck Berry Sessions.” It impressed the hell out of me, and I became a true convert. I played that album so many times that light showed through the grooves.

Like an old song said, “If there’s a Rock and Roll heaven, it’s gotta have a helluva band. Hail, hail, indeed.

Saturday Matinee – Charlie Musselwhite with Ben Harper, Walter Trout with Joe Bonamassa, & Anders Osborne

Great jam from 2013 with Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite.

Walter Trout kicks Joe Bonamassa loose at the Winter Park “Blues From The Top” music festival in 2007.

Anders Osborne slides into Swamp/Soca/Reggae mashup with a nice groove.

Great stuff to rock you for a while. Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll be back tomorrow whether you like it or not.

Saturday Matinee – 1922 Hotties, Grampa Shreds, 50 Blues Riffs & Jeff Healey with Dr. John

1922 beauties and fashions in color [via].

Anonymous octogenarian walks into a guitar store and doesn’t play “Smoke On The Water.”

This guy nails the styles and acknowledges that there are caption typos in the vid. The Utoobage post has the entire list.

Jeff Healey (with Dr. John) had a killer jam recorded in 1988.

Have a great weekend, folks. Rock on wit yo bad sef.

Saturday Matinee – Sign Painters, Unsatisfying, PPAP, Chewbacca Screams; JJ Grey & Mofro

Great Grampa Strutts and his sons were painters. I tried it once, but didn’t have the proper equipment.

“Unsatisfying” by Parallel Studio.

PPAP is mildly disturbing.

[h/t Bunkessa.]

JJ Grey & Mofro cranked some swamp soul at the Peoria Blues Fest on 31 August 2013. Lotta recognizable influences, especially Joe Cocker.

Have a great weekend folks.

Saturday Matinee -Slidin’ in Montreal, John Popper with Eric Clapton, The Blues Brothers, John Lee Hooker & Aretha Franklin

Self explanatory slippery wreckage with an appropriate soundtrack. (Here’s another version with a Canuck/Reggae/Punk soundtrack.)

Is it too early for a Christmas jam? Nah.

Yeah, I didn’t recognize Eric Clapton, but you can’t miss John Popper, and I can’t keep the image of John Belushi out of my head while listening to him.

Sorry about that, but I’ll make up for it. Lookee here:

Mitica scena del film “The Blues Brothers” in cui Jake e Elwood entrano nel ghetto per andare a reclutare Matt Guitar Murphy e Blue Lou Marini. Eccezionali le performance di John Lee Hooker (è proprio lui che canta il suo stesso pezzo Boom Boom Boom) e di Aretha Franklyn, che interpreta la moglie di Matt.

Vi auguriamo un grande fine della settimana, la gente. Ci vediamo di nuovo qui domani per più divertente.

Saturday Matinee – Mississippi John Hurt, Jimi Hendrix & Stevie Ray Vaughan

Mississippi John Hurt sings a classic spiritual.
[That one’s for you, Calo.]

Jimi Hendrix – no slouch on a reversed and restrung 12-string.

Stevie Ray Vaughan burns it. The clip is apparently from a television show in France, date unknown. Some think that may be an impostor because his face is hidden, but I seriously doubt that any impostor who plays like that would need to pretend.

Have a great weekend folks.

Saturday Matinee – The Band of the Bold, Where The Hell Is Matt, Where’s Rob, Iron Horse Bluegrass & Danny Gatton

I honestly don’t know what to make of it, but thanks to Bunkarina you get to see it, too. Reminded me of this viral vid from 2006:

Matt Harding was an internet sensation back then, and I was surprised to hear the soundtrack, lifted from a relatively obscure CD from 1992 that I own but don’t recall buying.

Where The Hell Is Matt?” reminded me of this classic prank:

That innocent stunt still makes me grin.

Iron Horse Bluegrass consists of Tony Robinson (mandolin), Vance Henry (Guitar), Anthony Richardson (banjo) and Ricky Rogers (bass). Iron Horse has recorded twelve projects for CMH Records. Tributes to Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourn, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Guns & Roses, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hank Williams, Black label Society as well as others. [h/t Aussie Phil.]

Danny Gatton is a national treasure.

Have a great weekend, folks. There’s more fun on the horizon.