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 – Redbreast Wilson, Robert Randolph & The Zac Schulze Gang

Sam Redbreast Wilson (with the Mad Dog Margaritas) rolls a nice 2-way highway roadtrip vibe.

Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph did an amazing interpretation of Blind Lemon Jefferson‘s That Black Snake Moan (1927). In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked Randolph at 97 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Unfortunately the videos from this session don’t give credit to his partner (I’m guessing that’s his brother).

What if SRV had a younger step brother in the UK?
The Zac Schulze Gang cranks out some serious speed blues/rock.

Bad news: I didn’t trap the skunk that’s been roaming the back yard. Good news: Haven’t seen or heard the skunk in two weeks. Better news: porch time happens tomorrow. See you then.

Semi-Rufescent Hot Links

Joyful Sounds, The Word, (2001)
The Word is a blues/ funk rock superband consisting of Robert Randolph, John Medeski & The North Mississippi Allstars (brothers Cody and Luther Dickenson). They make gospel music fun.

First rain.

Surfin’ birds.

Camperocity.

Dear Mrs. Kennedy.

Fashion 1910-2023.

The Forever Mumble.

Detached from reality.

The Fall of Minneapolis.

Only say it if you mean it.

Pie Hole [via Mme. Jujujive].

A 6 year old girl joined Mensa.

Dropping compliments in NYC.

It came from Grandma’s house.

A Short Conversation [via Bunkerville].

Hydraulic Press Girl [via Mme. Jujujive].

Ekgmowechashala translates to “little catman”.

Science Oopsies Illustrated [via Memo Of The Air].

From FOX13 Florida: Female felon found in furniture.

[Top image found here. More manikin madness here.]


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

Saturday Matinee – Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Cedric Burnside, and Robert Bryant & The Bo-Keys

Robert Randolph and the Family Band teamed up with the North Mississippi All-Stars to form the blues supergroup The Word.

When he was only 13, Cedric Burnside was already touring as a drummer with his grandfather, renowned bluesman R.L. Burnside (1926-2005).

Don BryantThe 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.

“One of the main reasons I started the band is that there were a lot of great musicians from the golden era of Memphis soul who weren’t really getting the work or attention they deserve,” says bandleader Scott Bomar, who formed the Bo-Keys in 1998. “Stax, Hi Records and American Studios all shut down, and the amazing musicians who were part of those studio bands either moved or stayed in Memphis, languishing in obscurity for the most part. I wanted people to know that those players and that sound were still alive and well.”

So there you go. Have a great weekend, see you on the porch whenever you get here.

 

Saturday Matinee – A.I. Family Guy Pizza, Hot Club de Piracicaba, Jimmie Vaughan, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band

When you ask A.I. to create a Family Guy pizza commercial you get this.

Hot Club de Piracicaba performs Paganini in Django style.

Guitar great Jimmie Vaughan is still pickin’ the blues at 72.
At 04:12 he says it’s an Eddie Taylor song, but a 1952 Meteor Records 78rpm issue credits Elmore James & James Taub as the writers.

Robert Randolph and The Family Band
“In his adolescent years before being discovered by the secular community, [Randolph] was almost completely unaware of non-religious music. He went on exclaim in an interview that ‘I grew up and saw a lot of older guys playing lap steels and pedal-steel guitars in my church. I had never heard of the Allman Brothers, or even Buddy Guy or Muddy Waters.’ “ [Wiki}

And I had never heard the term sacred steel before today. Have a great weekend, see you back here tomorrow. Bring your laundry.