Two More Blues Acts Nominated for the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame

For this year, The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame announced it's nominations for the artists to be voted on to be inducted.

This time, two more blues acts are listed, them being Texas blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan and Chicago blues greats The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

I hope that everyone votes for these well deserved artists who have given so much to the music industry; support the blues!

Listen to My Music Being Reviewed By Dubai Eye FM!

On October 9, James Piecowye from the Nightline show on Dubai Eye 103.8 FM reviewed my music, as part of the weekly Indie Jukebox program. 

You can hear the podcast below, and my part starts at 12:10. The other musicians reviewed are 

Lena Chamamyan, Jeed La Soul. and High on Bodyfat. 

Shout out to the Nightline crew for their support and positive review! 

Note: does not support mobile viewing.

Post-Holiday Blues News Roundup

I hope everyone enjoyed the slaughter Eid holidays; I'm currently in the process of moving to a new apartment so I've been busy.

So here are a few things you missed while I was away:


1- B.B. King Cancels Tour Because of Illness

[SOURCE]

The 89-year-old veteran bluesman became unwell during a show in Chicago. Unconfirmed reports suggest he may have fallen or collapsed on stage.

It follows a series of negative reviews and at least one controversial show where the 89-year-old veteran was booed by audience members.

A brief statement reports: “Mr King was evaluated by a doctor and diagnosed with dehydration and suffering from exhaustion, causing the eight remaining shows of his current tour to be cancelled."

However according to his Facebook page, he's been resting and feeling a lot better. We wish the King the best and a speedy recovery.

2- Swamp Blues Hero Rudy Richard Passes Away

[SOURCE]

Louisiana bluesman Rudy Richard didn't release anything in his name, but he was the main guitarist behind Slim Harpo, on famous tracks such as 'Baby Scratch My Back'. He was 75. 

3- Blues Harmonica Legend Billy Boy Arnold to Release New Album

Chicago blues legend Billy Boy Arnold will release his first album since 2001, called 'The Blues Soul of Billy Boy Arnold' in a few weeks time, on October 21.

Billy Boy Arnold was featured on Bo Diddley's hit 'I'm a Man' back in the 50's and has never slowed down. He was nominated and won the award for 'Traditional Blues Album' this year at the Blues Music Awards. 

Here's a song by him while we wait for the new album to drop:

The Real Delta Blues: 'What's Wrong With You' - Robert Belfour

To see a living delta bluesman do his thing is a treat; and Robert Belfour is no exception. 

At 74, Belfour is still performing and touring and playing his deep, haunting acoustic delta blues. The Mississippi delta sound is evocative and mesmerizing, and it's unfortunate that only until recently did he achieve recognition  

Here's a live version of his song 'What's Wrong With You': 

New Video: Ali & John - Blues Jam (How Blue Can You Get / B.B. King)

The great thing about the blues is it's improvisational nature; any two (or more) strangers can just sit and play the blues even if they never jammed together before. Just set a 12-bar progression and you're good to go!

Well this is exactly what happened yesterday morning; I had met John recently and we decided to have the morning blues and have a jam. We have never played together before, and we decided to record the first song we played.  

Below are the results! (Please excuse the crotch shots). 

'Last Night' - Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Paul Butterfield is one of the best blues harpists, as well as one of the most successful blues musicians. The 1965 debut album 'The Paul Butterfield Blues Band' reached #123 on the Billboard charts, and is listed as number #468 on Rolling Stones 'Top 500 Albums of All Time' list.

The band features Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on guitar, Mark Naftalin on organ, Jerome Arnold on bass, and Sam Lay on drums. It's one of the first pure blues albums by a white singer, in the Chicago blues style.

This is one of the slower tunes on the album called 'Last Night':

London Blues Fest 2014 Lineup

For you blues fans who live, travel, or plan to visit London should check out the London Blues Fest this year, which will be held at the Royal Albert Hall from October. 26-31.

It will feature some kick ass artists, although some aren't considered 'blues artists' by genre definition.

Checkout the festival homepage [here].

Images courtesy London Blues Fest.

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox, Jazz Style

Well Autumn is finally here today, if you're into that sorta thing.

Here are the standards 'Autumn Leaves' and 'Equinox' by Miles Davis and John Coltrane respectively to set the mood.

U2 'Give Themselves Away' to Apple

Pun intended.

U2... probably one of the most controversial bands out there. Not because they throw feces around stage, or bounce their booty in suggestive ways, or chomp on live bats, but rather because of the polarizing love-hate relationship people have with them.

I'm on the hate side, as if it needed clarification. I hate their derivative music, Bono's ego, and anyone who calls himself "The Edge". But after their Apple collaboration, I hate them even more.

You see, musicians are supposed to be about the art, the sound, their integrity, their passion. We all diss fabricated corporate pop music of the Justin Beibers, Miley Cyruses and the like. We love 'real' music; we talk non-stop about how good music was back in the day; Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix etc. I certainly never stop talking about the Blues.

U2 polarize the population by acting corporate under the disguise of being humanitarians. Bono is considered a peace activist, but underneath those big shades, he's still a human being with greed. He spoke badly about free file sharing; but suddenly when you get $100 FUCKING million from Apple, who's to complain!?

GIVE EVERY FUCKING IPHONE USER (500 FUCKING MILLION ACCOUNTS) AN ALBUM OF THIS SHIT.  - Bono

Talk about extreme mass marketing. If I did that shit for free everyone would dump my attempts to the junk mail and call it spam. That's what I'd do.

So how is that ok U2? I also blame Apple for this stunt; but obviously it didn't work.

oops

The internet went batshit insane.

But the scary part is how Apple has such a power over our phones. Technology scares me sometimes.

But on to the case of music integrity; these days with the all time low CD sales, dwindling digital download and streaming sales, what is an artist to do? Some people say it's the survival of the fittest, and this is what U2 has done. 

But now this could set a bad precedent. Imagine one day you have free albums delivered to your phones en mass without your consent or permission on a regular basis. 

U2 have to literally give their music away now. Maybe because their music is still pretty shit and that's the only way to get their music out there? 

How can a musician who isn't a prostitute to the music industry make ends meet? Buddy Guy's superb album 'Rhythm & Blues' sold only 10,000 albums the first week on sale, and he's considered the biggest bluesman alive right now. 

Call me paranoid, but on the technological level and the artistic level, I fear for the future.

Happy Birthday B.B. King!

On this day in 1925, Riley King, better known as  B.B. King, was born in Mississippi.

I don't really have to explain how important B.B. is in the blues and music world; he's one of the best guitarists ever (ranked 6th by Rolling Stone), and was inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

The blues sovereign turns 89 today, and he is still performing to this day. From the looks of it, he's not going to stop anytime soon; the 15 time Grammy Award-winner performed nearly 150 shows in 2013, and almost 80 so far this year.

Another birthday salute to Mr. King, one of the last remaining original blues gangsters!

Enjoy this 40 minute video of the full live show in Africa 1974: