Meet the 2008 BB
Awards recipient for Best Band and Entertainer of the
year.
In the short time since the Red Hot Blues Sisters performed their first
live show
In 2004 at the Highway 99 in Seattle, they have taken the local Blues
community
by surprise with the power and depth of their musicianship.
The band’s innovative original songwriting brings a fresh feel to the
Blues. Selective
covers of traditional standards shine like polished stones through the
lens of the
band’s strong musicology and Blues show varieties.
Fronted by the hot and soulful vocals of Suze Sims and the searing rock
/ blues
styles of Teri Anne Wilson on guitar, this group also features some of
the finest
North West musicians. Their current 2008 release “ Red On Blue “ has
garnered
raving reviews throughout the International Blues scene and has been
submitted
for both, GRAMMY as well as Blues Foundation awards. 
The Red Hot Blues Sisters have become a staple on major club and
Festival
stages throughout the US and Canada and have been amazing overseas
audiences
during 2 European tours ( 2007 and 2009 ), which took the band through
Germany,
The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Switzerland. 2009 also saw the
band competing
at the semi-finals of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis,
finishing within the
Top 20 range.
The Red Hot Blues Sisters feature a guaranteed crowd-pleasing show,
which is
quickly gaining momentum, well-crafted songs with brilliant
performances, that are
rapidly being picked up for airplay world-wide and a steadily growing
fan base.
JW Jones Blues Band
"One of this
country's top blues guitar stars" writes the Globe and Mail about
27-year old JW-Jones.
JW-Jones has played throughout the world (CANADA, USA, EUROPE,
AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL) and has been invited to share the stage with some of
the biggest names in blues today (to play with, not open for), The
Fabulous Thunderbirds, Junior Watson, Little Charlie & The
Nightcats, Rusty Zinn, Rick Holmstrom, Rod Piazza & The Mighty
Flyers, Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets, The Mannish Boys, the
legendary Hubert Sumlin, and many more.
Whether recording/touring with Jeff Asselin, and Martin Régimbald, or
adding the heavy grooves of Jesse Whiteley on organ, the musicians with
Jones always add a powerful energy to the stage. During a special
appearance with the band, Hollywood celebrity and fan, Dan Aykroyd
(Elwood Blues) said "this is an amazing blues band, and I've played
with the best!"
Their third album, My Kind Of Evil (2004), was produced by multi-Grammy
nominee Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), and features Canadian
guest star Colin James on two smokin' tracks. Adding a fourth CD to
their collection, Kissing in 29 Days (2006), featured the legendary Ray
Charles sax player, David "Fathead" Newman.
Their discs have garnered
radio-play worldwide, including heavy
rotation on some commercial radio stations, and features on shows such
as the internationally syndicated House of Blues Radio Hour. The buzz
this band has created over the last few years earned them a national
award for Electric Act of the Year at Toronto's Maple Blues Awards and
rave reviews throughout the globe. With their heavy schedule, this
ranks the band as one of the hardest touring blues acts in the country.
2008 will welcome the bands fifth release with NorthernBlues Music,
Bluelisted, featuring the two most influential blues guitarists on the
west coast; Little Charlie Baty, and Junior Watson, playing together on
the same tracks for the first time in a combined 70 year career. This
first time collaboration has been called "a recording of historic
importance". It also features arguably the best rhythm section in
blues, Richard Innes on drums and Larry Taylor on bass.
JW-Jones and his blues band are ready to take on any challenge, and
with their unique sound, they are going to set the world on fire one
country at a time!
Los Angeles based
Blues Rock Powerhouse The Blues Mobile Band is formed around Russian
born Lead Singer and Blues Rock Guitar phenomenon Vova Mogeladze. Since
founding the band in 1986 he has been releasing a number of CDs, two of
which, “A New Day Yesterday” and “Out In The Blue” are distributed on
the Provogue Record label. During his career, Vova has been sharing
stages with such industry greats as Alvin Lee, Luther Allison, Walter
Trout and John Mayall, just to name a few.
Putting in the drive and laying down the bottom end of things, is none
less than legendary Rock Bassist Tim Bogert, whose credentials with
Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and the super group Beck, Bogert & Appice
definitely speak for themselves. In January 1999 Tim was inducted into
the Hollywood Rock Walk Of Fame and, together with Vanilla Fudge into
the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame in 2006.
Unique right-handed
upside-down guitar player JP Cervoni is lending his incredible talent
and technique on second guitar. At the age of 20, JP had joined the
Buddy Miles Band, after Buddy had heard him play some Jimi Hendrix
riffs and hired him on the spot, announcing, that “JP is the only
player after Jimi, that kicked my ass“. JP toured with Miles for many
years and wrote / recorded 2 LPs with him on the Atlantic Record label.
The years following saw JP play, record and write with Nina Hagen,
Derek St. Holmes ( Ted Nugent ), Jimmy Crespo ( Aerosmith ), Steve
Lukather ( TOTO ) and many others.
The band is completed by Chicago Chuck, one of the world’s most
explosive and technically brilliant drummers, whose list of studio
recording credits is way too long to be printed. A graduate in
percussion performance at the University Of Wyoming, Chuck relocated to
Los Angeles and has been working as a studio musician and live
performer ever since. His career saw him perform many festivals and
tours and he has shared stages with Blues celebrities such as Buddy
Guy, Robert Cray and Koko Taylor.
The Blues Mobile
Band – Blues Rock doesn’t get any better than that !!!
Canadian Independent
Music Award winners for “best Blues Album of the
Year” for their second release “Long Hard Road” and multiple
JUNO Award nominees The Twisters, are one Canada’s premier Swing and
Jump Blues bands and one of the hardest hitting acts on the Blues scene
today.
Paying dues to the Blues tradition, The Twisters swing hard with three
inspiring vocalists, tightly woven harp and guitar lines and a
relentless driving rhythm section forging a groove, that refuses to be
denied.
Each of the members has brought their musical talent and influences to
the
table, resulting in a potpourri of “Blues Cuisine”, guaranteed to
satisfy the most discerning Blues palette. From deep in the Mississippi
Delta to early Chicago shuffles, from infectious Texas grinders to West
Coast jump and funky swamp-soaked Louisiana rhythms, The Twisters serve
up the goods.
Top it all off with strong original compositions and a live show
renowned for
rockin’ the house, there’s only one thing left: Do yourself the favor
and see what the storm is all about, when The Twisters blow through
your town.
The band is proud to announce the release of their 5th CD “Come Out
Swinging” and you will be seeing plenty of them, when they head out on
the road in support of the album.
Russian-born
guitar player, singer and songwriter Arsen Shomakhov formed the blues
band Ragtime (after the E.L. Doctorow novel) in 1991, and after
relentless rehearsals in the non-blues town of Nalchik, they
subsequently became one of the leading acts on the Russian blues scene.
In 2001, their participation in the St. Petersburg Neva Delta Blues
Festival led to a series of gigs at the best blues venues of Moscow.
April of 2002 saw the release of their debut album, "Heavy Steppin'",
which
led to gigs at venues such as the legendary B.B. King Club in Moscow.
The album received good press and enjoyed international airplay.
A performance at the All-Russia Spring 2003 Blues Festival in Moscow
prompted an invitation to the first International Moscow Blues Festival
in September of 2003. That same month they released their second album,
"Troublemaker", which they presented at the renowned Forte Blues Club
in Moscow in December of that same year.
"Troublemaker"
is now considered to be one of the best Russian blues records, and was
included in the Top 25 albums of the Australian "Blues Beat" program in
2003 and 2004.
In February of 2005, the band traveled to Memphis to participate in the
International Blues Challenge semi-finals under the auspices of
"blues.ru", the Russian blues community. Listeners at the Blues City
Cafe were stunned as Arsen tore the place up with his original songs.
To use the American vernacular – he killed.
Arsen's third album, "Dangerous", was released on the Blues Leaf label
(USA) in
February of 2006, documenting this young player's ever-expanding
prowess on both the guitar and in crafting original songs. Featured on
blues radio playlists worldwide, Arsen continues to
impress the West as a talent to watch.
In early October of 2007 Shomakhov returned to the US to play at the
22nd
Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival as an "emerging artist"
contender. He wowed the audience and judges with his version of the
Delta Blues that he took home to Russia the coveted bragging rights of
being the 2007 Emerging Artist Top Performer.
In May of 2008, after a year spent in Moscow on the front burner of the
white-hot blues scene there, Arsen moved to Canada and settled with his
family in Vancouver.
Victoria,
Canada native Cal Batchelor, earned his legendary musical reputation
during his years in London, England, during the 70’s and early 80’s. As
a founding member of Quiver, he wrote and co-wrote a lot of their song
material, recorded 2 albums for the WEA label and gigged extensively
throughout Europe. Their tours and concerts were opened by bands the
likes of Slade, Nazareth, America and Thin Lizzy, just to name a few.
Quiver themselves served as opening acts for such greats as Jeff Beck,
Deep Purple, Frank Zappa and Rory Gallagher and supported major tours
for The Who, Pink Floyd and Marc Bolan.
During these years, Cal freelanced on a lot of London gigs and smaller
UK tours with and for Long John Baldry, Kevin Ayres ( Soft Machine ) as
well as Ronnie Lane ( Small Faces ) and earned himself numerous
recording credits alongside Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, Al Stewart,
Henry McCulloch, Cochise, Ian Matthew’s Southern Comfort and many more.
The mid-80’s saw Cal move back to his home country, where after a
creative break he formed his very own The Cal Batchelor Band. He became
a main staple on North American festival and club stages and recorded
two highly praised, hard driving and powerful Blues Rock albums, “Now
Playing” and “Roadworthy”.
The year 2004 marked Cal’s return
to Europe, where he performed an incredible show at the National Blues
Festival in Burnley ( UK ), which was followed by a couple of
successful overseas tours, allowing The Cal Batchelor Band the pleasure
to perform at a number of major festivals, including the Beersel Blues
Festival ( B ), the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival ( UK
), the Copenhagen Blues Festival ( DK ), as well as the Hamar Music
Fest ( NOR ), where he opened up a sold-out show for Joe Cocker.
And the touring continues for the Cal Batchelor Band……
Montreal,
Canada born “Heavy Weight Champion of the Electric Blues Guitar” WOLF
MAIL started playing the guitar at the age of 10, listening to Elmore
James and Ray Charles records. He did his first gig at the age of 14
and ran away from home at age 17, to tour with his band. WOLF moved to
LA and in no-time made himself a name in the local music scene. In 1987
WOLF MAIL found himself on his first US tour, opening for Ted Nugent’s
“ Penetrator “ tour.
The year 1992 saw WOLF MAIL’S first major record release “ Little Mr.
Me “, followed by “ D.I.G. “ in 1995. He embarked on his first European
tour in 1998, supporting dates with Robben Ford. In 2000 WOLF signed an
endorsement deal with European Guitar makers “ LAG “, which design the
“ Wolfmaster “ model. By that time WOLF MAIL averages about 200 shows
per year, touring the US, Canada, all of Europe, Australia, Tasmania
and Japan. His third release “ Solid Ground “ became the best selling
Blues CD at Tower Records stores in the US in Dec. 2003. Mark Knopfler
meets with WOLF and gets his own copy of “ Solid Ground “. In 2003 –
only his second time in Australia and Tasmania – WOLF MAIL performs
over 80 shows and headlines the “ Narooma Blues Festival “ with an
attendance of 16.000 people, as well as the “ Gympie Munster Festival “
in front of a crowd of an estimated 40.000 music fans. He shares the
stage with the likes of Kenny Neal, Johnny Johnson and The Fabulous
Thunderbirds.
In 2004 he recorded his fourth
album “ Came Too Far To Run “ with the
legendary Steve Miller Band Rhythm Section, who hold five # 1 hits in
the US in the Blues Rock genre.
His 2005 release “Blue Fix” was followed by the Live DVD “Restless” in
2006 and his
“Live Blues in Red Square” DVD in 2008. A new CD is in the works and
WOLF’S list of releases is definite to grow longer………
Currently WOLF MAIL’S CDs and DVDs are sold in over 20 countries and
enjoy radio airplay in more than 1000 stations worldwide.
"One of the last great country blues players, Little Freddie King…..lives the blues. He
stays in a run-down apartment, in a deteriorating neighborhood, with a
domineering wife. He rides a rickety bicycle several miles to and from
a downtown garage, where he rebuilds alternators. He is tormented by
ulcers and headaches, but playing his cheap pawn shop guitars always
makes him FEEL better at the end of the day. " - Jeff
Hannusch, Offbeat Magazine.
Fread E. Martin was born in McComb, Mississippi, July 19, 1940 down the
road from Bo Diddley’s place. His father was a blues guitar player that
worked the weekend black southern circuit in the Delta and quite often
brought Freddie along, when he was playing. Eventually Freddie taught
himself how to play the guitar and developed his country style blues or
as he calls it “Gut Bucket Blues”.
At the age of 14 he “hopped” a train from the sharecropper farm to New
Orleans to stay with his sister. There he met such up-coming musicians
as Buddy Guy and a close friend, Slim Harpo. Sounding like Freddie
King, knowing all his songs and having performed with Freddie King, it
was in the early 1960’s, that he was hung with the “Little Freddie
King” appellation.
Generally the 60’s were busy years for Freddie: "I pretty much stayed
lit up all the time back then". He became a charter member, an annual
attraction at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and toured Europe with Bo
Diddley and John Lee Hooker in 1976 in support of his first album. His
1970 recording titled “Harmonica Williams and Little Freddie King” is
believed to be the first electric blues album in New Orleans.
