If you condensed Southern Culture on the Skids down to a one-man band, it would sound something like Scott Biram. Comparisons to C.C. Adcock, Rev. Freakchild, and Cub Koda’s rootsy solo albums also come to mind. Biram was born in Lockhart, Texas (barbecue capital of the world), and calls nearby Austin home. On Nothin’ But […]
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady have been playing music together for 53 years – 40 of them as Hot Tuna. What started as an acoustic splinter group from their gig with Jefferson Airplane morphed into both acoustic and electric variations and myriad combinations.Released on the heels of Tuna’s successful “blues tour” with Charlie […]
During the span covered by these four CDs, Stewart charted 41 singles – 14 of them in the Top 10 – and he had earlier hits like “Maggie May” and “You Wear It Well” to weave into his high-wattage concerts. He always employed first-rate sidemen and paid them well, but for all their talent, with […]
Dallas native Jim Suhler has been splitting his time between leading his own group, Monkey Beat, and, since 1999, playing lead and rhythm guitar with George Thorogood and the Destroyers. His latest release, Panther Burn, finds Monkey Beat’s keyboardist Shawn Phares, bassist Carlton Powell, and drummer Beau Chadwell augmented by harpist Kim Wilson, keyboardist Tim […]
Many know saxophonist Terry Hanck from his years with Elvin Bishop. But those fortunate to live in the San Francisco area in the ’70s and ’80s also know Hanck as a great singer and front man, specifically with Grayson Street and the house band at Larry Blake’s (better known as the Rat Band). Inevitably, this […]
It was February 21, 2012. As part of the White House’s music series, “Red, White & Blues” featured a cavalcade of blues and blues-influenced greats including B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Keb’ Mo’, and guitar legend Buddy Guy. President Obama thanked the performers as they wrapped up the evening with […]
When guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Phil Volk, and drummer Mike Smith split from Paul Revere and the Raiders in spring of ’67, the Raiders had just scored five Top 20 singles in less than 12 months. They felt the need to create music that was more complex, more mature, and more reflective of musical personalities, […]
On June 23 of last year, the blues lost one of its greatest singers with the death of Bobby “Blue” Bland at age 83. Best known for a 20-year run with Duke Records that yielded such classics as “I Pity The Fool,” “I’ll Take Care Of You,” and his reworking of T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday […]
The 1972 Lenny Kaye-compiled Elektra double-LP Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 spawned the Pebbles series, Rhino’s various regional Nuggets volumes, and eventually 2001’s Nuggets, Vol. 2: Original Artyfacts From the British Empire & Beyond. While Vol. 2 featured such established Brits as the Pretty Things, the Creation, Small Faces, and Love […]
Growing up in a small Kansas town, 38-year-old Aaron Moreland took up guitar at 15, and his first garage band played classic-rock throwbacks like “Tush” and “China Grove,” occasionally getting more contemporary with R.E.M. and the Black Crowes. By 2001, when he met singer/harpist Dustin Arbuckle at an open mic, he’d immersed himself in acoustic […]
