Parkstad Limburg Theater Heerlen
Burg. v. Grunsvenplein 145
6411 AS Heerlen
Telefoon: 045 - 576 85 76
De 16e editie van het prominente indoor-bluesfestival biedt weer een uitgebreid menu van authentieke topblues in diverse stijlen. Vertrouwd, maar ook verrassend en exclusief. Dit jaar met onder andere de headliners Watermelon Slim, Nathan Williams en Smokin'Joe Kubek. Kaarten voor het festival op 16 maart zijn verkrijgbaar via de website www.parkstadlimburgtheaters.nl of telefonisch via 045 571 66 07.
Watermelon Slim (USA) treedt (met band) exclusief in Heerlen op met zijn ‘lowdown dirty blues’. Slim brengt zijn rauwe, ongepolijste vesie van de Mississippi deltablues op bottleneckgitaar en mondharmonica.
Bill "Watermelon Slim" Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. HARP Magazine wrote "From sizzling slide guitar...to nitty-gritty harp blowing...to a gruff, resonating Okie twang, Slim delivers acutely personal workingman blues with both hands on the wheel of life, a bottle of hooch in his pocket, and the Bible on the passenger seat." Paste Magazine writes "He's one hell of a bottleneck guitarist, and he's got that cry in his voice that only the greatest singers in the genre have had before him."
The industry agrees on all fronts. Watermelon Slim & The Workers have garnered 17 Blues Music Award nominations in four years including a record-tying six in both 2007 & 2008. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have landed six in a year and Slim is the only blues artist in history with twelve in two consecutive years. In Spring 2009 he was the cover story of Blues Revue magazine. Now, Watermelon Slim is making more waves with Escape From the Chicken Coop, his first-person account of the days he spent driving a truck. It is just one of many instances of a life spent changing gears.
Two of Slim's records were ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine's annual Top Blues CD rankings. Industry awards include The Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, The Blues Critic Award and Canada's Maple Blues Award for International Artist of the Year among others. Slim has hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, top five on the Roots Music Report and debuted in the top ten in Billboard. One of Slim's most impressive industry accolades may be the liner notes of The Wheel Man eagerly written by the late legendary Jerry Wexler who called him a "one-of-a-kind pickin' n singing Okie dynamo." Slim has been embraced for his music, performances, backstory and persona. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, The BBC's World Service and has been featured in publications like Harp, Relix, Paste, MOJO, Oklahoma Magazine and Truckers News as well as newspapers like The London Times, Toronto Star, Chicago Sun-Times, The Village Voice, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Michelle Shocked's JAMS Magazine.
The Memphis Flyer led its terrific CD review with the question "Does anyone in modern pop music have a more intriguing biography than Bill "Watermelon Slim" Homans?"
Slim was born in Boston, his father was a progressive attorney and freedom rider and his brother is a classical musician. He was raised in North Carolina listening to the housekeeper sing John Lee Hooker songs. Slim attended Middlebury on a fencing scholarship but left early to enlist for Vietnam. While laid up in a Vietnam hospital bed he taught himself upside-down left-handed slide guitar on a $5 balsawood model using a triangle pick cut from a rusty coffee can top and his Army issued Zippo lighter as the slide.
Slim first appeared on the music scene with the release of the only known protest record by a veteran during the Vietnam War. The project was Merry Airbrakes, a 1973 protest tinged LP with tracks Country Joe McDonald later covered. In the following 30 plus years Slim has been a truck driver, forklift operator, sawmiller (where he lost a partial finger), firewood salesman, collection agent, funeral officiator and at times a small time criminal. Due to aforementioned criminality, Slim was forced to flee Boston where he had played peace rallies, sit-ins and rabbleroused musically with the likes of Bonnie Raitt. Recently Raitt singled out Slim to her audience as a living blues legend during a summer 2009 performance.
From Boston Slim landed in his current home state of Oklahoma farming watermelons - hence his stage name. Somewhere in those decades since Vietnam Slim completed two undergrad and a master's degree, started a family, painted art and joined Mensa, the social networking group reserved for members with certified genius IQs. When he's not on tour Slim loves to fish and at the age of 60 bowls a steady 240 in his local league.
The big turning point was 2002 when Slim suffered a near fatal heart attack. His brush with death gave him a new perspective on mortality, direction and life ambitions and thus his second emergence as a performing musician. Five albums later he says, "Everything I do now has a sharper pleasure to it. I've lived a fuller life than most people could in two. If I go now, I've got a good education, I've lived on three continents, and I've played music with a bunch of immortal blues players. I've fought in a war and against a war. I've seen an awful lot and I've done an awful lot. If my plane went down tomorrow, I'd go out on top." And when you watch him perform, you know every word is true.
Throughout his storied past, it has always been truck driving that Slim returned to. While trucking and hauling industrial waste for thankless bosses at hourly wages to support himself and his family, his id yearned for release of the musician inside. In fact, many of Slim's current songs began a cappella in his rig keeping him awake and entertained. Escape from the Chicken Coup captures those long hours of now and then, finally and cathartically acquiescing to his id.
Burg. v. Grunsvenplein 145
6411 AS Heerlen
Telefoon: 045 - 576 85 76
De 16e editie van het prominente indoor-bluesfestival biedt weer een uitgebreid menu van authentieke topblues in diverse stijlen. Vertrouwd, maar ook verrassend en exclusief. Dit jaar met onder andere de headliners Watermelon Slim, Nathan Williams en Smokin'Joe Kubek. Kaarten voor het festival op 16 maart zijn verkrijgbaar via de website www.parkstadlimburgtheaters.nl of telefonisch via 045 571 66 07.
Watermelon Slim (USA) treedt (met band) exclusief in Heerlen op met zijn ‘lowdown dirty blues’. Slim brengt zijn rauwe, ongepolijste vesie van de Mississippi deltablues op bottleneckgitaar en mondharmonica.
Bill "Watermelon Slim" Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. HARP Magazine wrote "From sizzling slide guitar...to nitty-gritty harp blowing...to a gruff, resonating Okie twang, Slim delivers acutely personal workingman blues with both hands on the wheel of life, a bottle of hooch in his pocket, and the Bible on the passenger seat." Paste Magazine writes "He's one hell of a bottleneck guitarist, and he's got that cry in his voice that only the greatest singers in the genre have had before him."
The industry agrees on all fronts. Watermelon Slim & The Workers have garnered 17 Blues Music Award nominations in four years including a record-tying six in both 2007 & 2008. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have landed six in a year and Slim is the only blues artist in history with twelve in two consecutive years. In Spring 2009 he was the cover story of Blues Revue magazine. Now, Watermelon Slim is making more waves with Escape From the Chicken Coop, his first-person account of the days he spent driving a truck. It is just one of many instances of a life spent changing gears.
Two of Slim's records were ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine's annual Top Blues CD rankings. Industry awards include The Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, The Blues Critic Award and Canada's Maple Blues Award for International Artist of the Year among others. Slim has hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, top five on the Roots Music Report and debuted in the top ten in Billboard. One of Slim's most impressive industry accolades may be the liner notes of The Wheel Man eagerly written by the late legendary Jerry Wexler who called him a "one-of-a-kind pickin' n singing Okie dynamo." Slim has been embraced for his music, performances, backstory and persona. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, The BBC's World Service and has been featured in publications like Harp, Relix, Paste, MOJO, Oklahoma Magazine and Truckers News as well as newspapers like The London Times, Toronto Star, Chicago Sun-Times, The Village Voice, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Michelle Shocked's JAMS Magazine.
The Memphis Flyer led its terrific CD review with the question "Does anyone in modern pop music have a more intriguing biography than Bill "Watermelon Slim" Homans?"
Slim was born in Boston, his father was a progressive attorney and freedom rider and his brother is a classical musician. He was raised in North Carolina listening to the housekeeper sing John Lee Hooker songs. Slim attended Middlebury on a fencing scholarship but left early to enlist for Vietnam. While laid up in a Vietnam hospital bed he taught himself upside-down left-handed slide guitar on a $5 balsawood model using a triangle pick cut from a rusty coffee can top and his Army issued Zippo lighter as the slide.
Slim first appeared on the music scene with the release of the only known protest record by a veteran during the Vietnam War. The project was Merry Airbrakes, a 1973 protest tinged LP with tracks Country Joe McDonald later covered. In the following 30 plus years Slim has been a truck driver, forklift operator, sawmiller (where he lost a partial finger), firewood salesman, collection agent, funeral officiator and at times a small time criminal. Due to aforementioned criminality, Slim was forced to flee Boston where he had played peace rallies, sit-ins and rabbleroused musically with the likes of Bonnie Raitt. Recently Raitt singled out Slim to her audience as a living blues legend during a summer 2009 performance.
From Boston Slim landed in his current home state of Oklahoma farming watermelons - hence his stage name. Somewhere in those decades since Vietnam Slim completed two undergrad and a master's degree, started a family, painted art and joined Mensa, the social networking group reserved for members with certified genius IQs. When he's not on tour Slim loves to fish and at the age of 60 bowls a steady 240 in his local league.
The big turning point was 2002 when Slim suffered a near fatal heart attack. His brush with death gave him a new perspective on mortality, direction and life ambitions and thus his second emergence as a performing musician. Five albums later he says, "Everything I do now has a sharper pleasure to it. I've lived a fuller life than most people could in two. If I go now, I've got a good education, I've lived on three continents, and I've played music with a bunch of immortal blues players. I've fought in a war and against a war. I've seen an awful lot and I've done an awful lot. If my plane went down tomorrow, I'd go out on top." And when you watch him perform, you know every word is true.
Throughout his storied past, it has always been truck driving that Slim returned to. While trucking and hauling industrial waste for thankless bosses at hourly wages to support himself and his family, his id yearned for release of the musician inside. In fact, many of Slim's current songs began a cappella in his rig keeping him awake and entertained. Escape from the Chicken Coup captures those long hours of now and then, finally and cathartically acquiescing to his id.
Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas (USA) uit Louisiana gelden onbetwist als een van de grote legendarische namen in zydeco, de opzwepende mix van blues, rhythm & blues en cajun.
Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas Biography.
Nathan Williams plays zydeco, the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people of South Louisiana, a relatively modern style that emerged after the Second World War. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars and R&B influences, zydeco is distinct from the fiddle-driven music of neighboring Cajuns.
Zydeco is now a familiar sound to many, heard in commercials for mainstream companies such as Burger King and Toyota, and there are pockets of devoted zydeco dancers throughout the world. Yet, after its flush of national popularity in the late 1980s, which saw soaring sales of both zydeco and Cajun CDs, zydeco has in many ways faded from popular consciousness, retreating to the South Louisiana dance halls and festival gigs that sustained it all along.
If zydeco was a one-trick pony, that might be well and good. However, in the hands of a dedicated musician and songwriter such as Nathan Williams, zydeco is one of the most expressive sounds in roots music. Nathan’s down-home parables are delivered with surprising musical turns and a distinctive Caribbean lilt that reaches back to the very beginnings of Creole culture in Louisiana.
Growing up in a Creole-speaking home in St. Martinville, Nathan eagerly sought out the music of zydeco originators such as Clifton Chenier. When he was too young to actually attend a Clifton Chenier dance at a St. Martinville club, he hovered by the window-sized fan at the back of the building to hear his idol, only to have the bill of his baseball cap clipped off by the fan when he leaned too close. Later, while recovering from a serious illness, Nathan decided to dedicate himself to learning the accordion. That dedication blossomed into an illustrious career, encompassing seven albums and spanning close to two decades.
The music of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas is the expression of a remarkable South Louisiana family. Dennis Paul Williams, Nathan's brother, brings his jazz-influenced guitar chops to the band. He's also a well-known painter whose work has been shown throughout the country, and who contributed the cover and tray card paintings for their new album, Hang It High, Hang It Low. Keyboardist Nathan Williams Jr. is enrolled in the music program at the University of South Louisiana, while he leads his own band in the Lafayette area. Rubboard player Mark Williams is a cousin who has been with the band since its inception. Manager Sid El Sid O Williams, the eldest Williams brother, is an entrepreneur who has built a remarkable network of businesses in Lafayette, while honing his skills as an accordion contender himself.
Rounding out the Cha Chas is the exceptional rhythm section of bassist Paul Newman and drummer Herman 'Rat' Brown, who held the drum chair with Buckwheat Zydeco for many years.
In the world of contemporary African-American music, roots styles are easily categorized as old music, good for sampling maybe, but not music that relates to the lives of mainstream American people. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas might make us think twice about this assumption, for here is uplifting, new music that remains connected to its place in history. If you haven't heard what's happening in zydeco lately, here's your chance!
Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas Biography.
Nathan Williams plays zydeco, the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people of South Louisiana, a relatively modern style that emerged after the Second World War. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars and R&B influences, zydeco is distinct from the fiddle-driven music of neighboring Cajuns.
Zydeco is now a familiar sound to many, heard in commercials for mainstream companies such as Burger King and Toyota, and there are pockets of devoted zydeco dancers throughout the world. Yet, after its flush of national popularity in the late 1980s, which saw soaring sales of both zydeco and Cajun CDs, zydeco has in many ways faded from popular consciousness, retreating to the South Louisiana dance halls and festival gigs that sustained it all along.
If zydeco was a one-trick pony, that might be well and good. However, in the hands of a dedicated musician and songwriter such as Nathan Williams, zydeco is one of the most expressive sounds in roots music. Nathan’s down-home parables are delivered with surprising musical turns and a distinctive Caribbean lilt that reaches back to the very beginnings of Creole culture in Louisiana.
Growing up in a Creole-speaking home in St. Martinville, Nathan eagerly sought out the music of zydeco originators such as Clifton Chenier. When he was too young to actually attend a Clifton Chenier dance at a St. Martinville club, he hovered by the window-sized fan at the back of the building to hear his idol, only to have the bill of his baseball cap clipped off by the fan when he leaned too close. Later, while recovering from a serious illness, Nathan decided to dedicate himself to learning the accordion. That dedication blossomed into an illustrious career, encompassing seven albums and spanning close to two decades.
The music of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas is the expression of a remarkable South Louisiana family. Dennis Paul Williams, Nathan's brother, brings his jazz-influenced guitar chops to the band. He's also a well-known painter whose work has been shown throughout the country, and who contributed the cover and tray card paintings for their new album, Hang It High, Hang It Low. Keyboardist Nathan Williams Jr. is enrolled in the music program at the University of South Louisiana, while he leads his own band in the Lafayette area. Rubboard player Mark Williams is a cousin who has been with the band since its inception. Manager Sid El Sid O Williams, the eldest Williams brother, is an entrepreneur who has built a remarkable network of businesses in Lafayette, while honing his skills as an accordion contender himself.
Rounding out the Cha Chas is the exceptional rhythm section of bassist Paul Newman and drummer Herman 'Rat' Brown, who held the drum chair with Buckwheat Zydeco for many years.
In the world of contemporary African-American music, roots styles are easily categorized as old music, good for sampling maybe, but not music that relates to the lives of mainstream American people. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas might make us think twice about this assumption, for here is uplifting, new music that remains connected to its place in history. If you haven't heard what's happening in zydeco lately, here's your chance!
De band van en met Smokin'Joe Kubek (USA) en Bnois King (USA) vertegenwoordigt het beste in de rauwe, onverminderd populaire Texas blues in de traditie van T- Bone Walker, Freddie King en Stevie Ray. Deze superband is een vaste waarde voor de vele liefhebbers.
Smokin Joe Kubek was born on November 30, 1956 in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Shortly after he was born his family moved to Irving, Texas where he grew up. Kubek was playing in Dallas clubs at the age of 14. Three years later, he took a deeper interest in blues, prompted by Eric Clapton and Peter Green, and formed his first band. Shortly afterwards, he played rhythm guitar behind Freddie King until King's death in December 1976. After a short spell with Robert Whitfield's Last Combo, he joined Al Braggs" band. Examples of his work can be heard on Braggs" 1979 production of tracks by R. L. Griffin. He also recorded with Charlie Robinson, Big Ray Anderson and Ernie Johnson, and on Little Joe Blue's album, "It's My Turn Now". In 1989, he teamed up with singer/guitarist Bnois King, from Monroe, Louisiana, whose soul-tinged vocals and jazz-orientated style contrasted well with Kubek's more strident finger and slide techniques. "The Axe Man" is an album of covers recorded before their Bullseye Blues debut. Subsequent releases have consolidated their reputation as a solid, entertaining band. Kubek made a host of new friends, including Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan (with whom Kubek became close), B.B. King and many other blues icons. He often found himself jamming with these larger-than-life blues stars, while playing constantly around the Dallas area. He not only learned tips and techniques, but also soaked up stories and lessons of being a professional touring musician. One night, he even had the chance to play B.B.’s guitar, Lucille. “King admired my enthusiasm and he encouraged me, which really meant a lot. When times got hard, I always remembered how B.B. King had given me some encouragement.”
Kubek is one of those people who was born to play the guitar. Kubek has the technique and the chops to burn up any stage and has been doing so for the past 27 years. A guitar prodigy at the age of 14 the Texas born guitar slinger frequented the Dallas bar scene during the 1970's and early 80's playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan and people like the three Kings, B. B., Albert and Freddie. In 1989, Kubek met guitarist/vocalist Bnois King at a Monday night Dallas jam session. The two became fast friends, and melded their seemingly divergent styles—Kubek a rocking and fierce picker and slider, King a jazz-inflected chorder (who could also solo with flaming electricity)—into one of the most potent guitar combinations the Southwest had ever produced. Kubek explains the relationship succinctly: “I pull the blues out of him, and he pulls the jazz out of me. Bnois knows so much about jazz it’s amazing.”
Kubek, with his staggering arsenal of instruments, effects and technique, delivers a frenzied, flame-throwing guitar display that is tempered by the remarkable accompaniment of Bnois King's jazz influenced guitar. Kubek, coming from the blazing Texas blues/rock background, found in Bnois King's smooth jazz guitar stylings a finesse and fat chord sound that was a perfect complement to his technique. The combination just clicked with a seamless mesh of styles. King lays down a bed of smooth supporting jazz chords on his hollow bodied Gibson that allows Kubek to take center stage and play with almost reckless abandon. Together this dynamic duo has recorded 7 albums for Bullseye Blues & Jazz Records.
Muscling his way through the proceedings both live and on disc, Kubek will pull, bend, pick, and push his strings well beyond what you'd think they'd normally endure as he runs through his and King's songs. Using Hendrix-style crybaby wah-wah leads and ear-bleeding, Johnny Winter-meets-Elmore James slide work on songs such as the title/leadoff cut and the shuffling "She's It," he brings things to a boiling point with screeching and shimmering lines that rattle speaker cones and make the fillings in your teeth vibrate. Then, applying the brakes, he runs through some of the sweetest, most beautiful slow blues on "I'm Here for You" and "Cryin' By Myself" with shimmering high notes, hanging in the air above heavy turnarounds. Throughout, King (no relation to Freddie) will comp along on his Gibson, shout lyrics, and, in general, make the whole package complete.
This union began during a regular Monday-night gig in Dallas when Kubek invited King to sit in and found that King's softer, jazz-based guitar and vocals perfectly complemented Kubek's headier rock-inspired guitar work. Although the partnership is a natural, Kubek still seems amazed that it worked at all. Months earlier, the two shared an uncomfortable meeting that he still recalls today. "We laugh at it now," he says, "but when we first ran into each other, it was in some club dressing room a while before I'd invited him to sit in with my band. Neither of us remembers why we were there, because it wasn't our gig. We never said a word to each other. We just kinda sat there and looked at each other. It was weird."
The pair became fast friends and eventually found themselves on the road in support of their first Bullseye disc, Steppin' Out, released in 1991. On early tours, the band did weeks in the Northeast in the dead of winter in an old Ford van, without heat. "It was kinda like that movie Alive," Kubek notes with a laugh. "We'd drive all bundled up. And it got so cold sometimes, I'd actually think of building a fire inside the thing just to keep warm. Then to top it off, every hotel we stopped at only had heat in the rooms when you rented 'em. So they never got warm. I had to sleep with my hair dryer the whole time. The goal was just to get home alive."
In 1991, they signed to Bullseye Blues, releasing their debut, Steppin' Out Texas Style, the same year. Following its release, the band launched their first national tour. For the rest of the '90s, the Smokin' Joe Kubek Band toured the United States and toured frequently and issued records like 1993's Texas Cadillac, 1996's Got My Mind Back, and 2000's Bite Me. In 2003 Kubek and King released Roadhouse Research on the Blind Pig label. The duo's second release for Blind Pig, Show Me the Money, came out in 2004. A single-disc collection of some of the best tracks from the Bullseye Blues years, Served Up Texas Style, came out in 2005. A third album from Blind Pig Records, My Heart's in Texas, was released in 2006.
For almost 20 years, the red-hot Texas rockin’ blues of Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King has been thrilling music fans all around the world. Kubek’s raucous roadhouse fretwork is expertly complimented by the equally fiery guitar and soulful vocals of Bnois King. With literally thousands of live performances under their collective belt, the two create a one-two punch of raw, tough, blues-rock filled with intensity and purpose. Gigging with legendary musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Freddie King and B.B. King (among so many others), Kubek learned first-hand how to live and play the blues and how to lead a band. Harp declared, “Kubek and King pump out rocking, kicking blues for those times when the feet just want to start stomping.”
The band’s Alligator Records debut, Blood Brothers, produced by Kubek and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, is a blues lover’s delight. The CD features 14 rocking blues songs (13 originals) filled with Kubek’s larger-than-life fretwork and King’s smoky vocals and economical, tasty guitar playing. Recorded with Kubek and King’s road-honed touring unit, the album captures all of the band’s legendary live energy and highlights the seemingly telepathic interplay between the musicians.
According to Iglauer, “Joe and Bnois are a real powerhouse blues combination. Joe is an amazing guitarist who can play anything in blues, from the most traditional Texas style to totally blowout blues-rock. Bnois is a gorgeous singer with deep Texas soul, and his guitar playing is subtle and melodic. Together they make an unbeatable two-man front line backed by a solid, versatile rhythm section.”
And Kubek is simply thrilled to be with Alligator. “Alligator is the Rolls Royce of blues labels. After all my life of being a musician, this is the greatest achievement and brightest spot of my career. I’m looking forward to making the best recordings I’ve ever made, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of our fans on tour.”
More than anything else, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King exist to perform live. With Blood Brothers and a massive tour planned, the band will gig from coast to coast, bringing their no-holds-barred brand of soul-charged, Texas rockin’ blues to old fans and newcomers night after night. From the smallest Texas roadhouse to clubs and concert stages all over the country and around the world, Kubek and King—band mates and blood brothers—are ready to welcome everyone into their Texas blues family.
Smokin Joe Kubek was born on November 30, 1956 in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Shortly after he was born his family moved to Irving, Texas where he grew up. Kubek was playing in Dallas clubs at the age of 14. Three years later, he took a deeper interest in blues, prompted by Eric Clapton and Peter Green, and formed his first band. Shortly afterwards, he played rhythm guitar behind Freddie King until King's death in December 1976. After a short spell with Robert Whitfield's Last Combo, he joined Al Braggs" band. Examples of his work can be heard on Braggs" 1979 production of tracks by R. L. Griffin. He also recorded with Charlie Robinson, Big Ray Anderson and Ernie Johnson, and on Little Joe Blue's album, "It's My Turn Now". In 1989, he teamed up with singer/guitarist Bnois King, from Monroe, Louisiana, whose soul-tinged vocals and jazz-orientated style contrasted well with Kubek's more strident finger and slide techniques. "The Axe Man" is an album of covers recorded before their Bullseye Blues debut. Subsequent releases have consolidated their reputation as a solid, entertaining band. Kubek made a host of new friends, including Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan (with whom Kubek became close), B.B. King and many other blues icons. He often found himself jamming with these larger-than-life blues stars, while playing constantly around the Dallas area. He not only learned tips and techniques, but also soaked up stories and lessons of being a professional touring musician. One night, he even had the chance to play B.B.’s guitar, Lucille. “King admired my enthusiasm and he encouraged me, which really meant a lot. When times got hard, I always remembered how B.B. King had given me some encouragement.”
Kubek is one of those people who was born to play the guitar. Kubek has the technique and the chops to burn up any stage and has been doing so for the past 27 years. A guitar prodigy at the age of 14 the Texas born guitar slinger frequented the Dallas bar scene during the 1970's and early 80's playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan and people like the three Kings, B. B., Albert and Freddie. In 1989, Kubek met guitarist/vocalist Bnois King at a Monday night Dallas jam session. The two became fast friends, and melded their seemingly divergent styles—Kubek a rocking and fierce picker and slider, King a jazz-inflected chorder (who could also solo with flaming electricity)—into one of the most potent guitar combinations the Southwest had ever produced. Kubek explains the relationship succinctly: “I pull the blues out of him, and he pulls the jazz out of me. Bnois knows so much about jazz it’s amazing.”
Kubek, with his staggering arsenal of instruments, effects and technique, delivers a frenzied, flame-throwing guitar display that is tempered by the remarkable accompaniment of Bnois King's jazz influenced guitar. Kubek, coming from the blazing Texas blues/rock background, found in Bnois King's smooth jazz guitar stylings a finesse and fat chord sound that was a perfect complement to his technique. The combination just clicked with a seamless mesh of styles. King lays down a bed of smooth supporting jazz chords on his hollow bodied Gibson that allows Kubek to take center stage and play with almost reckless abandon. Together this dynamic duo has recorded 7 albums for Bullseye Blues & Jazz Records.
Muscling his way through the proceedings both live and on disc, Kubek will pull, bend, pick, and push his strings well beyond what you'd think they'd normally endure as he runs through his and King's songs. Using Hendrix-style crybaby wah-wah leads and ear-bleeding, Johnny Winter-meets-Elmore James slide work on songs such as the title/leadoff cut and the shuffling "She's It," he brings things to a boiling point with screeching and shimmering lines that rattle speaker cones and make the fillings in your teeth vibrate. Then, applying the brakes, he runs through some of the sweetest, most beautiful slow blues on "I'm Here for You" and "Cryin' By Myself" with shimmering high notes, hanging in the air above heavy turnarounds. Throughout, King (no relation to Freddie) will comp along on his Gibson, shout lyrics, and, in general, make the whole package complete.
This union began during a regular Monday-night gig in Dallas when Kubek invited King to sit in and found that King's softer, jazz-based guitar and vocals perfectly complemented Kubek's headier rock-inspired guitar work. Although the partnership is a natural, Kubek still seems amazed that it worked at all. Months earlier, the two shared an uncomfortable meeting that he still recalls today. "We laugh at it now," he says, "but when we first ran into each other, it was in some club dressing room a while before I'd invited him to sit in with my band. Neither of us remembers why we were there, because it wasn't our gig. We never said a word to each other. We just kinda sat there and looked at each other. It was weird."
The pair became fast friends and eventually found themselves on the road in support of their first Bullseye disc, Steppin' Out, released in 1991. On early tours, the band did weeks in the Northeast in the dead of winter in an old Ford van, without heat. "It was kinda like that movie Alive," Kubek notes with a laugh. "We'd drive all bundled up. And it got so cold sometimes, I'd actually think of building a fire inside the thing just to keep warm. Then to top it off, every hotel we stopped at only had heat in the rooms when you rented 'em. So they never got warm. I had to sleep with my hair dryer the whole time. The goal was just to get home alive."
In 1991, they signed to Bullseye Blues, releasing their debut, Steppin' Out Texas Style, the same year. Following its release, the band launched their first national tour. For the rest of the '90s, the Smokin' Joe Kubek Band toured the United States and toured frequently and issued records like 1993's Texas Cadillac, 1996's Got My Mind Back, and 2000's Bite Me. In 2003 Kubek and King released Roadhouse Research on the Blind Pig label. The duo's second release for Blind Pig, Show Me the Money, came out in 2004. A single-disc collection of some of the best tracks from the Bullseye Blues years, Served Up Texas Style, came out in 2005. A third album from Blind Pig Records, My Heart's in Texas, was released in 2006.
For almost 20 years, the red-hot Texas rockin’ blues of Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King has been thrilling music fans all around the world. Kubek’s raucous roadhouse fretwork is expertly complimented by the equally fiery guitar and soulful vocals of Bnois King. With literally thousands of live performances under their collective belt, the two create a one-two punch of raw, tough, blues-rock filled with intensity and purpose. Gigging with legendary musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Freddie King and B.B. King (among so many others), Kubek learned first-hand how to live and play the blues and how to lead a band. Harp declared, “Kubek and King pump out rocking, kicking blues for those times when the feet just want to start stomping.”
The band’s Alligator Records debut, Blood Brothers, produced by Kubek and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, is a blues lover’s delight. The CD features 14 rocking blues songs (13 originals) filled with Kubek’s larger-than-life fretwork and King’s smoky vocals and economical, tasty guitar playing. Recorded with Kubek and King’s road-honed touring unit, the album captures all of the band’s legendary live energy and highlights the seemingly telepathic interplay between the musicians.
According to Iglauer, “Joe and Bnois are a real powerhouse blues combination. Joe is an amazing guitarist who can play anything in blues, from the most traditional Texas style to totally blowout blues-rock. Bnois is a gorgeous singer with deep Texas soul, and his guitar playing is subtle and melodic. Together they make an unbeatable two-man front line backed by a solid, versatile rhythm section.”
And Kubek is simply thrilled to be with Alligator. “Alligator is the Rolls Royce of blues labels. After all my life of being a musician, this is the greatest achievement and brightest spot of my career. I’m looking forward to making the best recordings I’ve ever made, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of our fans on tour.”
More than anything else, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King exist to perform live. With Blood Brothers and a massive tour planned, the band will gig from coast to coast, bringing their no-holds-barred brand of soul-charged, Texas rockin’ blues to old fans and newcomers night after night. From the smallest Texas roadhouse to clubs and concert stages all over the country and around the world, Kubek and King—band mates and blood brothers—are ready to welcome everyone into their Texas blues family.
De legendarische topgitarist Preston Shannon (USA) neemt voor de gelegenheid baslegende Henry Oden mee. Henry begeleidde in zijn carriere van ruim 40 jaar o.a. Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Bill Withers en Joe Louis Walker. Voor de begeleiding staat de topband Fat Harry & The Fuzzy Licks (NL) garant.
Memphis-based guitarist, singer and songwriter Preston Shannon delivers soul-filled vocals atop his burning, venom-tipped guitar chords. His voice is deep and guttural, and he's a veteran of hundreds of live club shows and recording sessions as a sideman. Shannon's specialty is a blend of Southern-fried soul and blues, and his albums and live shows -- always with a horn section -- are an eclectic mix of danceable, grooving tunes and slow, soulful ballads.
Born in Olive Branch, Mississippi, Shannon's family moved to Memphis when he was eight. Although his Pentecostal parents didn't initially accept his fascination with blues music, they eventually did when they saw how serious he was about pursuing the music for his livelihood. Shannon served as a member of a popular 1970s bar band, Amnesty, and played in a succession of other Memphis-area bands while working by day for a hardware company. Finally, he decided to play music full time when he landed a spot in soul-blues belter Shirley Brown's band. It wasn't until 1991 that he put together his own band and began playing the clubs on Beale Street and other places. In the early 1990s, he was discovered playing in a Beale Street blues club by producer/keyboardist Ron Levy, who brought Shannon's talents to the attention of executives at Rounder Records. Shortly afterwards, in 1994, his first widely distributed recording was issued on the label.
Shannon has recorded three albums for the Rounder Bullseye Blues subsidiary, Break the Ice (1994) Midnight In Memphis (1996) and All in Time (1999). All three albums more than adequately showcase his talents as a singer who can alternate between uptempo, gospel-inspired numbers and slower, soulful love songs and ballads. Shannon's guitar playing contains echoes of the Kings, Albert and B.B., T-Bone Walker, and some of the rhythmic sensibilities of Little Milton Campbell. For many years a homebody who couldn't be heard much outside the Memphis city limits, Shannon has done some road work in recent years, traveling to blues festivals around the U.S.
Memphis-based guitarist, singer and songwriter Preston Shannon delivers soul-filled vocals atop his burning, venom-tipped guitar chords. His voice is deep and guttural, and he's a veteran of hundreds of live club shows and recording sessions as a sideman. Shannon's specialty is a blend of Southern-fried soul and blues, and his albums and live shows -- always with a horn section -- are an eclectic mix of danceable, grooving tunes and slow, soulful ballads.
Born in Olive Branch, Mississippi, Shannon's family moved to Memphis when he was eight. Although his Pentecostal parents didn't initially accept his fascination with blues music, they eventually did when they saw how serious he was about pursuing the music for his livelihood. Shannon served as a member of a popular 1970s bar band, Amnesty, and played in a succession of other Memphis-area bands while working by day for a hardware company. Finally, he decided to play music full time when he landed a spot in soul-blues belter Shirley Brown's band. It wasn't until 1991 that he put together his own band and began playing the clubs on Beale Street and other places. In the early 1990s, he was discovered playing in a Beale Street blues club by producer/keyboardist Ron Levy, who brought Shannon's talents to the attention of executives at Rounder Records. Shortly afterwards, in 1994, his first widely distributed recording was issued on the label.
Shannon has recorded three albums for the Rounder Bullseye Blues subsidiary, Break the Ice (1994) Midnight In Memphis (1996) and All in Time (1999). All three albums more than adequately showcase his talents as a singer who can alternate between uptempo, gospel-inspired numbers and slower, soulful love songs and ballads. Shannon's guitar playing contains echoes of the Kings, Albert and B.B., T-Bone Walker, and some of the rhythmic sensibilities of Little Milton Campbell. For many years a homebody who couldn't be heard much outside the Memphis city limits, Shannon has done some road work in recent years, traveling to blues festivals around the U.S.
En dan zijn er weer de verrassingen :
Blackberry 'n Mr BooHoo (FR), zeer populair inmiddels en garant voor een letterlijk ‘stampend’ dansfeestje.
De nieuwe bluesster is Will Harmonica Wilde (UK). Hij is pas 22 en introduceert zijn eigen band in Heerlen, de plek waar eerder Ian Siegal en Matt Schofield hun zegetochten begonnen.
“It’s been a really exciting time”, says Will Wilde looking back over the journey that took him from a small village in Wiltshire to playing some of the worlds most famous blues clubs and festivals, opening at the Royal Albert Hall, airplay on BBC Radio 2, and most recently recording with the UK’s most prestigious Blues Producer Mike Vernon (Clapton, Peter Green, Freddie King). In 2010, Will also received a British Blues Award nomination for Best Harmonica Player. All this and he's only 22 years old.
As a songwriter and performer Will approaches each song with utter conviction; his voice as authentically gritty and soulful as he is alluring. A master of the harmonica, Will’s exhilarating live show spans the musical spectrum from Blues, Funk, Gospel, Rock and Soul always keeping the audience enthralled and pleading for more of his infectious energy.
“On the harp, my biggest inspirations are Charlie Musselwhite and Pierre Lacocque because they put their own creative and innovative twists on authentic Chicago blues. As a vocalist I’ve been really influenced by a lot of soul singers, in particular Sam Cooke.” But Will’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; he is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something new. His new record “Unleashed” demonstrates just that.
“Unleashed”, produced by Jamie Little and featuring a bonus track entitled “Blues Is My First Love” produced by Mike Vernon, is undeniably a great accomplishment. “Working with Mike Vernon was a great honor. He has produced for so many great artists and so many of my idols”. Will self penned all 12 of the album tracks which were brought to life by a talented collaboration of session musicians including Pete Wingfield (Van Morrison, Buddy Guy, Paul McCartney) on Keys, Roger Innis (Chaka Kahn, Sherman Robertson) on Bass and Stuart Dixon (Geno Washington, Marcus Malone) on Guitar.
As well as touring with his own blues outfit, Will also tours with his sister Dani Wilde (Ruf Records) in Europe on harmonica and vocals, and so has become widely recognized on the blues scene. Will also features on Dani’s two studio albums released on Ruf.
In 2007, Will recorded and self released his debut album ‘Nothing But Trouble’. The album achieved fantastic reviews in the likes of Blues Matters and Blues in Britain Magazines as well as various European Blues Magazines and Radio Stations. Will promoted the record with a headline tour in the UK playing both with his electric blues band and as an acoustic duo at Blues Clubs and Art Centers. In Winter 2009, he launched his solo career in Europe with support tours for Dani Wilde at some of the best blues clubs in Germany, Holland, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The escalating buzz eventually brought him to the attention of Paul Jones on BBC Radio 2 who regards Will as an exceptional talent. Jones gave the album the national radio play it deserved.
“Currently, I’m really excited about touring ‘Unleashed’ in Europe in 2011. We made a real buzz touring the last record and clubs and fans are keen to have us back. I really feel there is a niche in the market right now for a young innovative harp player and with my new record I’m confident I’ll be able to reach out not only to the international blues community but to a younger generation of music lovers too”.
Will Wilde is the real deal, ready to carry the torch of British Blues in the 21st century.
Blackberry 'n Mr BooHoo (FR), zeer populair inmiddels en garant voor een letterlijk ‘stampend’ dansfeestje.
De nieuwe bluesster is Will Harmonica Wilde (UK). Hij is pas 22 en introduceert zijn eigen band in Heerlen, de plek waar eerder Ian Siegal en Matt Schofield hun zegetochten begonnen.
“It’s been a really exciting time”, says Will Wilde looking back over the journey that took him from a small village in Wiltshire to playing some of the worlds most famous blues clubs and festivals, opening at the Royal Albert Hall, airplay on BBC Radio 2, and most recently recording with the UK’s most prestigious Blues Producer Mike Vernon (Clapton, Peter Green, Freddie King). In 2010, Will also received a British Blues Award nomination for Best Harmonica Player. All this and he's only 22 years old.
As a songwriter and performer Will approaches each song with utter conviction; his voice as authentically gritty and soulful as he is alluring. A master of the harmonica, Will’s exhilarating live show spans the musical spectrum from Blues, Funk, Gospel, Rock and Soul always keeping the audience enthralled and pleading for more of his infectious energy.
“On the harp, my biggest inspirations are Charlie Musselwhite and Pierre Lacocque because they put their own creative and innovative twists on authentic Chicago blues. As a vocalist I’ve been really influenced by a lot of soul singers, in particular Sam Cooke.” But Will’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; he is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something new. His new record “Unleashed” demonstrates just that.
“Unleashed”, produced by Jamie Little and featuring a bonus track entitled “Blues Is My First Love” produced by Mike Vernon, is undeniably a great accomplishment. “Working with Mike Vernon was a great honor. He has produced for so many great artists and so many of my idols”. Will self penned all 12 of the album tracks which were brought to life by a talented collaboration of session musicians including Pete Wingfield (Van Morrison, Buddy Guy, Paul McCartney) on Keys, Roger Innis (Chaka Kahn, Sherman Robertson) on Bass and Stuart Dixon (Geno Washington, Marcus Malone) on Guitar.
As well as touring with his own blues outfit, Will also tours with his sister Dani Wilde (Ruf Records) in Europe on harmonica and vocals, and so has become widely recognized on the blues scene. Will also features on Dani’s two studio albums released on Ruf.
In 2007, Will recorded and self released his debut album ‘Nothing But Trouble’. The album achieved fantastic reviews in the likes of Blues Matters and Blues in Britain Magazines as well as various European Blues Magazines and Radio Stations. Will promoted the record with a headline tour in the UK playing both with his electric blues band and as an acoustic duo at Blues Clubs and Art Centers. In Winter 2009, he launched his solo career in Europe with support tours for Dani Wilde at some of the best blues clubs in Germany, Holland, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The escalating buzz eventually brought him to the attention of Paul Jones on BBC Radio 2 who regards Will as an exceptional talent. Jones gave the album the national radio play it deserved.
“Currently, I’m really excited about touring ‘Unleashed’ in Europe in 2011. We made a real buzz touring the last record and clubs and fans are keen to have us back. I really feel there is a niche in the market right now for a young innovative harp player and with my new record I’m confident I’ll be able to reach out not only to the international blues community but to a younger generation of music lovers too”.
Will Wilde is the real deal, ready to carry the torch of British Blues in the 21st century.
Het trio Doghouse Sam and his Magnatones (B) speelt vette jumpblues, rhythm and blues en rock and roll . De drummer van de band werd dit jaar door de Dutch Blues Foundation nog gekozen tot ‘Beste Drummer’.
Singer-songwriter Mattanja Joy Bradley (Bradley's Circus) maakt met haar stem en precense furore en vormt speciaal voor de Bluesnight een trio met violist en gitarist Alex Akela en mondharmonicaspeelster Lidewij Veehuis .Een zeer speciaal supertrio!
Het leven is er om geleefd te worden. Het leven is één groot avontuur dat beleefd moet worden. En breek Mattanja Joy Bradley de bek niet open, want ze doet het. Waar de gemiddelde Nederlandse artiest ’s avonds na een optreden liefst in zijn eigen bed slaapt, daar is de wereld het werkterrein voor La Mattanja, een échte mad hatter. ‘Niets is onmogelijk,’ is haar credo. ‘Als je niks doet, gaat er ook niks gebeuren.’
Elk jaar wanneer de blaadjes weer komen, begint het bij haar te kriebelen. Dan moet ze er op uit, de wijde wereld in. Dan gaat ze met of zonder haar band op tournee in een ver land. Alles kan dan gebeuren. De douane kan haar terug sturen vanwege het ontbreken van een noodzakelijk werkvisum, of ze verwerft voor zichzelf een mooie slot op een of ander topfestival. Beide zaken zijn dit groovy, bluesy zangtalent overkomen. Een toertje plannen in de VS, maar niet verder komen dan customs en twee dagen geboeid in de bak, het is een waar gebeurd verhaal. Haarzelf binnen kletsen op een topfestival op het Caribische eiland St. Lucia en daar mogen openen voor Amy Winehouse, het is haar waarachtig overkomen.
Het talent is er. De branie is er. Mattanja is de avonturier die we zo node misten in de Nederlandse pop.
Het leven is er om geleefd te worden. Het leven is één groot avontuur dat beleefd moet worden. En breek Mattanja Joy Bradley de bek niet open, want ze doet het. Waar de gemiddelde Nederlandse artiest ’s avonds na een optreden liefst in zijn eigen bed slaapt, daar is de wereld het werkterrein voor La Mattanja, een échte mad hatter. ‘Niets is onmogelijk,’ is haar credo. ‘Als je niks doet, gaat er ook niks gebeuren.’
Elk jaar wanneer de blaadjes weer komen, begint het bij haar te kriebelen. Dan moet ze er op uit, de wijde wereld in. Dan gaat ze met of zonder haar band op tournee in een ver land. Alles kan dan gebeuren. De douane kan haar terug sturen vanwege het ontbreken van een noodzakelijk werkvisum, of ze verwerft voor zichzelf een mooie slot op een of ander topfestival. Beide zaken zijn dit groovy, bluesy zangtalent overkomen. Een toertje plannen in de VS, maar niet verder komen dan customs en twee dagen geboeid in de bak, het is een waar gebeurd verhaal. Haarzelf binnen kletsen op een topfestival op het Caribische eiland St. Lucia en daar mogen openen voor Amy Winehouse, het is haar waarachtig overkomen.
Het talent is er. De branie is er. Mattanja is de avonturier die we zo node misten in de Nederlandse pop.
Het fantastische 13-jarige gitaartalent Guy Smeets is de grote belofte van de Limburgse muziek. Hij neemt gitarist Marcel Janssen en diens zus Sammie op mondharmonica mee.
Het Limburgse kwartet The Handsome Fellows is samengesteld uit leden van bands uit de gevestigde Limburgse bluesscene. Ze brengen stevige en meeslepende ‘bad to the bone’ blues.
Het Limburgse kwartet The Handsome Fellows is samengesteld uit leden van bands uit de gevestigde Limburgse bluesscene. Ze brengen stevige en meeslepende ‘bad to the bone’ blues.
Info & Tickets I Mattanja Joy Bradley I Watermelon Slim I Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King I Preston Shannon I Will Harmonica Wilde I Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas
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