Tag: Gospel

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 – 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 – Don Bryant & The Bo-Keys, Caffeinated Rock&Roll, and The Guy Forsyth Blues Band

Don Bryant & The Bo-Keys. In 1998, bassist Scott Bomar wanted to preserve the Memphis Sound and formed the Bo-Keys. The group’s name is a hat-tip to the session groups The Bar-Kays and The Mar-Keys.

Caffeinated Rock&Roll is a one-man band and  skateboarder from Buchs, Switzerland, with very little info available online aside from his Utoobage channel.

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.

Not sure where all the days are going, and I’m about to rip up my calendar for lying. Have a great weekend, see you back here tomorrow for some uncomplicated porch time.

Saturday Matinee – The Blind Boys of Alabama, Toby Beard & King King

Jaw-dropping rendition of the gospel standard by The Blind Boys of Alabama. The lyrics were penned by English abolitionist Rev. John Newton in 1773, and the tune predates House of the Rising Sun by decades.

Toby Beard  is a blast from Down Under [h/t Aerchie].

King King features frontman Alan Nimmo and brother Stevie on rhythm guitar, with Jonny Dyke (keyboard), Andrew Scott (drums) and Zander Greenshields (bass). Unpretentious blues rock with a kilt.

Quite an odd week, got some milestone decisions to think about, so I’ll be sitting on the porch with the dogs and a Coleman if you want to stop by for a slab of coldies.

Saturday Matinee – A Band of Bees, The Hi-Jivers & The Future Shape of Sound

A Band of Bees got a bit of swampy jug band in their blood.

Nashville retro-rockers The Hi-Jivers, filmed in the Torremolinos hills of Spain during the 2020 Rockin’ Race Jamboree.
Dawna Zahn – Vocals
Austin John – Guitar
Hank Miles – Upright Bass
Jason Smay – Drums

Lord help me. I don’t think I’ve heard shakedown gospel this good since Sister Rosetta Tharpe. This is The Future Shape of Sound.

Gonna get hot again this week, maybe get wet, maybe not. See you back here tomorrow for an in-depth discussion, or maybe we’ll do something else instead.

Saturday Matinee – The Dixie Hummingbirds, A1 Hundo & The Brothers Comatose

The Dixie Hummingbirds on Jubilee Showcase in 1964. James Walker on lead vocals. Formed in 1928, and with changing lineups, they have performed for over 90 years.

A1 Hundo resurrects the grooves of Booker T. & The MG’s. Hard to find anything about the band.

The Brothers Comatose did a happy doomsday song.

Gotta go, but we’ll be back tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

Saturday Matinee – SOUR, A Southern Gospel Revival, The Kentucky Headhunters & The Reverend Horton Heat

SOUR ‘日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro)‘  video from 2009 coordinated Zoom before Zoom.

A Southern Gospel Revival updates classic gospel with amazing vocals and bluegrass.

The Kentucky Headhunters showed up on my radar long ago with the best (and only?) cover of Davy Crockett ever. Glad to see they’re still having fun.

Reverend Horton Heat tells the story before he growls out Motörhead‘s classic Ace of Spades.

Running out of useful brain cells tonight, so have a great weekend and we’ll see you back her tomorrow for no good reason at all.

Saturday Matinee – Johnny Blues Cárdenasis, Percy Wiggins & The Bo-Keys, & Wycliffe Gordon’s Big Band

Johnny  “Johnny Blues” Cárdenasis is a blind self-taught street  musician from Santiago, Chile, who plays nothing but roots blues. There are  interviews with him on the Utoobage, but they lack captions and my Spanish is rusty.

The Bo-Keys featuring soul gospel singer Percy Wiggins.

Big band speed skat courtesy Wycliffe Gordon. The video comments section is an eyeroller.

Ran out of time for this edition – too much real life bouncing in my noggin. See you tomorrow when things cool down a tad.

 

Saturday Matinee – Floorboarding, The Paul Whiteman Orchestra, The Jubalaires & A Burberry Ad

Great animation followed by “the making of” [via].

https://youtu.be/WEwIqyCTj28

Paul Whiteman was known as the King of Jazz, and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity. – Duke Ellington

Remastered footage from the 1930 movie King of Jazz (filmed entirely in two-color Technicolor) featured the Paul Whiteman Orchestra performing Happy Feet. Some amazing dance moves in that clip.

https://youtu.be/RUAzLpG8sf8

The Jubalaires – Orville Brooks, Ted Brooks, J.C. Ginyard & George McFadden – were a gospel group who recorded in the 40’s & 50’s. This version of Noah has a unnecessary modification towards the end, but it sorta works.

https://youtu.be/QbmW76Cp4s8

Singin’ in the Rain is one of the better ads I’ve seen, and I’m still not sure what they’re selling. [via].

I guess that’s eclectic enough for this edition. Have a great holiday weekend, see you tomorrow for the the post-Christmas sales.

Saturday Matinee – Andre Antunes, The Cleverlys, Ricky Skaggs & The Whiskey Gentry

Hold onto your earflaps people. Andre Antunes has a hit on his plate, and he included the lyrics so everyone can sing along.

The Cleverlys Who’s That Knockin’ At My Door is pure gospel bluegrass. Awesome happens at 02:30 with Irl Hees on bass. He’s no longer with the band.

In November 2019, Mr. Hees was charged with felony domestic battery in the second degree and felony aggravated assault of a household member.

“Hees said the argument was over his communication with an ex-wife. He said at some point during the argument, Heather DuBroc walked into the kitchen, picked a pistol up off the kitchen table, and pointed the weapon at him.” [Source]

Ricky Skaggs is one of the greatest mandolin players to come out of the 1980s bluegrass revival, and Highway 40 Blues is one of my favorite early morning roadtrip songs. Skaggs continues performing at the Grand Ole Opry.

Another of my favorites is the ballad of Colly Davis, written by Steven F. Brines and Jim Smoak. I’ve heard a few versions, but this one by The Whiskey Gentry blew me away.

That should keep you rollin’ a while. Have a great weekend folks, and do whatever seems righteous. See you back here tomorrow for more things to click on.