The News Review:
- Band of the hour: Juke
- Keith Richards | Music Artist | Videos News Photos & Ringtones…
- Blues awards: Grammys BluesWax
- Steve Hackett | Music Artist | Videos News Photos & Ringtones |…
- Amy Winehouse Wins Big at Grammy Awards
- Hans Theessink NZ Tour – Feb 2008
Band of the hour: Juke
miami.com – Feb 11, 2008
My mother got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago. I’m an only child and very close with my mother and father so I moved back [from California] to Miami immediately. How is your blues different from other blues? My whole problem with a lot of blues music is the lyrics. Not the lyrics of the the original blues from the greats ’cause that was what they were living. But there are guys now playin’ "blues" music singing about trains and working all day in the fields and sayin’ "my baby done left me. " What the hell is that? A lot of my songs are inspired by heartbreak but I am not an old black man who works in the field all day and waits at the train station for his woman who doesn’t show up. I think modern blues should be a little deeper darker and more complex… How is your blues different from other blues? My whole problem with a lot of blues music is the lyrics. Not the lyrics of the the original blues from the greats ’cause that was what they were living. But there are guys now playin’ "blues" music singing about trains and working all day in the fields and sayin’ "my baby done left me. " What the hell is that? A lot of my songs are inspired by heartbreak but I am not an old black man who works in the field all day and waits at the train station for his woman who doesn’t show up. I think modern blues should be a little deeper darker and more complex. People think a lot of blues is basic and silly but it doesn’t have to be. We try to make it way raw and revealing.
Keith Richards | Music Artist | Videos News Photos & Ringtones…
MTV.com – Feb 11, 2008
Yet that part of Richards’ mystique often overshadows his considerable musical legacy. Arguably the finest blues-based rhythm guitarist to hit rock & roll since his idol Chuck Berry Richards knocked out some of the most indelible guitar riffs in rock history and he did it so often and with such apparent effortlessness that it was easy to take his songwriting skills for granted. His lean punchy muscular sound was the result of his unerring sense of groove and intuitive use of space within songs all of which played a major part in laying the groundwork for hard rock. Never intensely interested in soloing Richards preferred to work the groove using open-chord tunings drawn from Delta blues and his guitars were often strung with only five strings for cleaner fingering which made it difficult for cover bands to duplicate his distinctive sound precisely. For all his rock-star notoriety Richards was perfectly happy in the confines of a group and thus was the last… In 1951 while attending primary school Richards first met and befriended. By this age Richards had already become interested in music and was an especially big fan of Roy Rogers; in his very early adolescence he sang in a choir that performed for the Queen herself although he was forced to quit when his voice changed. Around that time he became interested in American rock & roll and began playing guitar with initial guidance from his grandfather. Behavior problems at school led to Richards’ expulsion in 1959 but the headmaster thought he might find a niche as an artist and Richards was sent to Sidcup Art School. There he met future Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor who at the time was playing in a blues band with.
Blues awards: Grammys BluesWax
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Feb 11, 2008
It’s good to see a tribute like this to these great artists even if it does come at the twilight of their careers and in a place where virtually no one can see it. But most of the people who actually watch the Grammys on TV to see if Amy Winehouse self-destructs might be better served with a history lesson in how American pop music came to be — plus some fine blues. But anyway here’s how Grammy came down when it was time to pick winners in the two blues categories (that’s right — 16 tons of music categories and just two for some of the music that made much of it possible). It’s hard to argue with the two winners though. The “Mississippi Delta Bluesmen” album honors some great musicians and innovators who helped make the blues what they were.
Steve Hackett | Music Artist | Videos News Photos & Ringtones |…
MTV.com – Feb 11, 2008
In 1986 Hackett hooked up with Yes guitarist Steve Howe to form GTR a progressive rock unit that became a favorite of MTV and the rock press and generated a hit single (“When the Heart Rules the Mind”) in America and a platinum-selling album for Arista Records and followed them up with an international tour. Hackett resumed his solo career in 1987 but with the momentum of GTR behind him he now found crowds of tens of thousands eager to hear him play classical-style acoustic guitar and was becoming the arena rock version of Christopher Parkening or guitarist John Williams. His next major release was Time Lapse a live retrospective collection of his work from several decades of music-making. In 1994 Hackett surprised most of his fans by turning back to his roots with Blues with a Feeling an album built around the sounds of blues guitar and harmonica that harked back to his boyhood. This pointed to one of the ironies of Hackett’s career: as a member of Genesis he was presumed by most fans to have been classically trained but his music was actually derived from a multitude of influences to which he’s always extended himself in order to embrace and absorb; thus although originally a rock guitarist with blues roots Hackett has performed with the London Symphony rchestra and composed instrumental classical music based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for EMI’s Angel Records label. Even as his composing career ballooned in the 1990s he also began playing more concerts and turned back to his progressive rock roots by performing Genesis’ classic repertory. Working with a group that includes such luminaries as ex-King Crimson alumni Ian McDonald and John Wetton not to mention Genesis’ Chester Thompson as well as the Royal Philharmonic rchestra Hackett released a live album entitled Genesis Revisited which was precisely that… Hackett resumed his solo career in 1987 but with the momentum of GTR behind him he now found crowds of tens of thousands eager to hear him play classical-style acoustic guitar and was becoming the arena rock version of Christopher Parkening or guitarist John Williams. His next major release was Time Lapse a live retrospective collection of his work from several decades of music-making. In 1994 Hackett surprised most of his fans by turning back to his roots with Blues with a Feeling an album built around the sounds of blues guitar and harmonica that harked back to his boyhood. This pointed to one of the ironies of Hackett’s career: as a member of Genesis he was presumed by most fans to have been classically trained but his music was actually derived from a multitude of influences to which he’s always extended himself in order to embrace and absorb; thus although originally a rock guitarist with blues roots Hackett has performed with the London Symphony rchestra and composed instrumental classical music based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for EMI’s Angel Records label. Even as his composing career ballooned in the 1990s he also began playing more concerts and turned back to his progressive rock roots by performing Genesis’ classic repertory. Working with a group that includes such luminaries as ex-King Crimson alumni Ian McDonald and John Wetton not to mention Genesis’ Chester Thompson as well as the Royal Philharmonic rchestra Hackett released a live album entitled Genesis Revisited which was precisely that.
Amy Winehouse Wins Big at Grammy Awards
New York Times – Feb 11, 2008
Hancock a favorite of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences who had won 10 Grammy trophies before Sunday said as he took the stage. Though the choice of Mr. Hancock may stoke criticism that Grammy voters are out of step with pop music’s cutting edge the decision was defended backstage. Vince Gill the country superstar who lost out to Mr. Hancock in the album of the year field said Mr. Hancock was “hands-down a better musician than all of us put together. ” Neil Portnow the president of the academy which bestows the awards disputed characterizations of Mr.
Hans Theessink NZ Tour – Feb 2008
Scoop.co.nz – Scoop.co.nz (press release) – Feb 11, 2008
And while Hans Theessink’s musicis drenched in a broad knowledge and mastery of variousSouthern blues styles the arrangements here are also highlyinfluenced by African music specifically through the vocalharmonies of three amazing harmony singers – Dumisani“Ramadu” Moyo Zibusiso “Blessings” Nkomo andVusumuzi “Vusa” Ndlovu who sound like they just steppedout of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album begins with thegorgeous title track a bluesman’s recapping of his lifeand his wish for the slow train ride home. The home herefers to might be the literal home or perhaps the spiritualhome. The blending of the voices with the beautiful playingof Theessink and his ensemble is sublime and sets the tonefor the next eleven songs.