Tag: Rock

Saturday Matinee – Ghost Hounds, Dom Martin, Cuban Heels & ZZ TOP

Ghost Hounds are a classic rock ‘n’ blues band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fronted by singer, songwriter (and motivational speaker) Tré Nation.

Dom Martin was playing for free in pubs in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland, when he was “discovered” playing at a golf club by someone with indirect connections to the music industry. That was 2017, and since then he’s released four records, has won numerous UK Blues Awards, and was introduced into the UK Blues Hall of Fame.

Not to be confused with the Scottish new wave band of the same name, Cuban Heels formed in the late 1980s in the Netherlands. The band was popular at blues festivals around Europe, playing garage blues mixed with soul / gospel flavors. Inspirations cited include Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, The Red Devils, (and more recently) The Black Keys, North Mississippi All Stars and Tom Waits. They are presently on hiatus.

One of the greatest blues rock trios in history, ZZ Top lost a second one. R.I.P. Frank Beard.

News of the Week: SCOTUS ruled that the WH Ballroom construction continue; Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan are moving back to the UK; Hurricane Lala tore through Hawaii and more tropical storms are on the way. Haitians are being deported en masse for being jerks, and Sacramento jerks want to ban 70% of tires because of friction.
Tomorrow we’ll discuss paint and dogs, on the porch, at porch time o’clock. Be there.

Saturday Matinee – Sean “Mack” McDonald w/ Roberto Vally & Kenny Cash; The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra w/ Willy Jordan, Omar Coleman & The Prado Brothers Band, and The Allman Brothers w/ Dickey Betts

Sean “Mack” McDonald, with Roberto Vally on bass) and Kenny Cash on snare.  McDonald is a winner of the 2025 B.B. King King of the Blues Award
and the 2026 BMA Best Emerging Artist Album.

“Based out of San Francisco, California, The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra was founded in 2007 by guitarist/songwriter Anthony Paule. Inspired by authentic Soul and Blues recordings of the ‘60s and ‘70s, this dramatic horn driven extravagant act took shape. Known for having great, authentic singers, APSO invites newest member, the incomparable vocalist Willy Jordan into the organization.”

Omar Coleman & The Prado Brothers Band:
Igor Prado / Guitar
Yuri Prado / Drums
Theo Anzelotti / Bass
Felipe Magon / Keyboard
Brazilian brothers Igor and Yuri Prado blend influences from American blues and soul with elements of Brazilian music, and have collaborated and performed with renowned artists Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza,  J.J. Jackson, Willie Walker, and Curtis Salgado.

Remastered footage of The Allman Brothers Band featuring Dickey Betts, recorded at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1981. One of the greatest renditions of Elmore James’ One Way Out ever. Betts, one of the founding members of the band, passed away in 2024 at the age of 80.

News of the Week: More WH Ballroom drama, Fauci is being a Fauci, Saudis, Turks & Pakis formed a fight club. The Strait of Hormuz is opening, closing, opening, closing, etc. People are upset about Trump’s hair, and our adopted stray cat figured out a way to get his face covered in tree sap.

When: Tomorrow.
Where: Porch.
Why: Because it’s time.

Saturday Matinee – A.J. Fullerton & Kevin Ott, Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse, and The Courettes

Originally from Colorado, A.J. Fullerton is an American roots rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer, and was named one of “75 Modern Blues & Blues Rock Artists You Must Hear 2021” by Blues Muse Magazine.
Born in Montana, raised in California, Kevin Ott is a prolific composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and author based in the U.S.

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.

Dubbed The World’s Greatest Two Person Rock ‘N’ Roll Ensemble,  Flavia & Martin Couri, aka The Courettes, make vintage rock new again.

News on Parade: Hoser smoke is enveloping much of the US midwest, fire and brimstone is raining on Iran, and Venezuelans are suffering the aftermath of the earthquakes. The MSM and social media spun out because the POTUS dared to utter the words “election fraud.” A rainstorm flooded streets, parking lots and buildings in Cincinnati; the meat storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, CA still smells like rotting death a month after the fire, and it was only 87 degrees in our hallway today.

We now return to our regularly scheduled porch time at whenever o’clock tomorrow pm. BTOBS.

Saturday Matinee – Carlos Johnson w/ HooDoo Band & Brass Company, Gary Eisenbraun and Vargas Blues Band

Carlos Johnson is “an American blues guitarist and singer. He is left-handed, but plays a right-handed instrument upside-down like players such as Otis Rush, Albert King, and Jimi Hendrix. Johnson is known for his aggressive playing which has attracted audiences in Chicago blue scene since the 1970s.”
 HooDoo Band is a Polish funk / soul / R&B band, formed in 2004 in Wrocław. Neither Johnson nor HooDoo Band & Brass Company appear to have active websites.

Gary Eisenbraun is an indie blues rock / soul guitarist from St Petersburg, Florida (and his website is too much for my eyeballs to put up with).

Vargas Blues Band: “Javier Vargas was born in Madrid Spain shortly after his parents had left Buenos Aires where they had migrated some years before. Nine years later, the family returned to Argentina, and it is there where Javier started playing the guitar. […] In the 70’s, he lived in Nashville and L.A. playing the clubs and working recording sessions. He played with and impressed the likes of Alvin Lee, Roy Buchanan and Canned Heat, who also influenced his style.” [More at the link.]

So Iran broke the 437th ceasefire agreement, DJT changed planes, and Tyler Robinson did it. FIFA has been extended through January of next year, Arizonians attacked Newport Beach California, and we got screwworm flies buzzing around someplace. Tomorrow’s forecast: 80% chance of Porch Time with light banter is expected. See you there.

The 50th Anniversary of the Bicentennial – Independence Day 2026

Mostly random selection of mood music for 4th of July BBQ consumption enhancement follows.

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

Saturday Matinee – Amani Burnham, Robben Ford (w/ The Frankfurt Radio Big Band) & Chicago

Guitarist and vocalist Amani Burnham, backed by an unnamed power duo, recorded his first album entitled Roots & Wings (released this year). Born in Ethiopia, Burnham began his career in 2023 on social media, with 250,000 followers and nearly 30 million cumulative views on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook).

Robben Ford, backed by The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, cover Howie Casey & The Seniors 1962 classic. Ford was named one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century” by Musician magazine (and has one hell of a resume).

Chicago, the self-described rock and roll band with horns, released 25 or 6 to 4 as a single in 1970. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Cash Box Top 100 charts. The title is about writing a song in the wee hours of the morning –  25 or 26 minutes before 4 am.

I hear that the world championship to determine which country has the best association football team is underway. I think it’s called FIFI or FAFO or something, I don’t really follow it much, so I’ll be on the porch tomorrow instead. See you there.

Saturday Matinee – Jessie Wagner, Selwyn Birchwood & Justin Saladino Band

Jessie Wagner was born in Norfolk, Virginia and began her career writing songs for Black House, a production company in Jacksonville, Florida. She’s performed with many recording artists including Chic (lead vocalist), backup vocals for Duran Duran, Kid Rock and Lenny Kravitz, and more recently is pursuing a solo career, writing and performing her own songs.

Selwyn Birchwood is an American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Tampa, Florida. He plays what he calls “Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues,” and 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]

Justin Saladino Band, live at the Montreal International Jazz Festival 2018.
Saladino plays a mix of rock, blues, Americana and funk (and contemporary roots, whatever that means). More about him here.

Fun times indeed: The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is reflecting again, there’s more ballot fraud in California,  Iran’s still dikkin around, FIFA announced that fans can bring disposable water bottles to the games, Jeff fell in the creek after we warned him twice, and now Texas screwworms are on the march. More news may or may not be discussed at Porch Time tomorrow. See you at your estimated time of arrival.

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.
———
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.