YouTube Of The Month

Seasick Steve

Live on Jools Holland's 2007 new year show with his fantastic 3 string guitar.

Marchwood Blues Picnic 2010

Set against the backdrop of the gorgeous Bay of Plenty scenery, the Blues Picnic is blues heaven for music connoisseurs. Both performers and audience love the relaxed atmosphere as much as the great music.

The 2010 festival is going to be bigger and better than ever with some of New Zealand's greatest blues performers.

The marchwood Blues Picnic is held at 316 Youngson Road, Omokoroa, Tauranga.

Blues Picnic tickets are only $35.
You’ll go a long way to beat that.


See the Marchwood Blues Picnic web site for more details.

The 2009 Whangarei International Jazz and Blues Festival

The 2009 Whangarei International Jazz and Blues Festival is at the Tikipunga Tavern, Tikipunga, Whangarei.



The festival will only have the best of blues and jazz artists and features performers such as the legendary Hammond Gamble and Billy TK Senior, Brilleaux, Liquid Colors, Mike Garner, The Jukes, The Flaming Mudcats, Los Diablos etc


Also featuring is the ever popular, internationally recognized kiwi blues guitarist Billy TK Jnr with San Francisco Soul Queen, Edna Love and her band and Sultry Jazz, Blues singer, Diana Harris from Los Angeles.

Billy TK Jnr is a festival favourite and was a feature of the 09 'A Day on The Green' concert series where he played support for Jimmy Barnes leading to an invitation to play lead guitar with Jimmy as special guest on two songs. Billy's new album, 'Presenting Billy TK Jnr' is available.

Special international guests include , Edna Love and Diana Harris who are two seasoned performers who offer the international, world class taste of soul, blues and jazz. Edna Love is recognized as the undisputed Queen of San Francisco Soul and Blues and has a repertoire that includes, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and her own originals.

Blues, Jazz singer Diana Harris is a stunning performer who is also in a band with CSI star, Marge Helberger. Diana has a show that will get your feet jumping with her authentic blues, Jazz and rock n roll that graces the large stages of the USA.

There will be up to 20 different acts performing in the 3 bars at Tikipunga Tavern, with shuttles available and accommodation packages through the Kingsgate Hotel.

Profits from the proceeds of this event will go towards funding the Holden Driving A Future High Schools Road Safety Campaign's visit to Whangarei and Kaipara area high schools in February 2010.

Tickets can be purchased direct from the venue or via our advertised ticketing agent.


For more details and direct ticket sales call: 021 138 7005 or ring 021 0261 4260 or the venue.

BluesFeast 2010

Bluesfeast, Rotorua’s annual celebration of great blues, gourmet foods, fine wines and boutique beers, is on track for Sunday 31 January 2010.
It will be held on the RAVE grounds in Hinemaru Street.

There will be an exciting line-up of blues acts, including UK blues guitarist Pete Harris.
Pete has 30 years experience both as a solo acoustic player and leader of electric blues bands, and a separate career as a folk musician.


The line-up will also feature the return to Rotorua of a perennial crowd favourite, Australian blues and boogie pianist Jan Preston.
Also performing will be the best of our Bay of Plenty blues artists, plus top acts from elsewhere in the country including The Jukes, The Gary Harvey Blues Band and The Self Righteous Brothers.

As in previous years, there will a fine selection of food, wine and beers on offer from some of the region’s best restaurants, wineries and breweries.

TICKETS $20 PRE-SALES, $25 AT THE GATE

Tickets on sale now at:
NZ Credit Union, cnr. Pukuatua and Ranolf Sts, Rotorua
Rotorua City Focus, cnr Hinemoa and Tutanekai Sts, Rotorua

or by mail order:

send a cheque made out to BluesFeast for $20 per ticket, plus 50c postage (or include stamped, self-addressed envelope) to BluesFeast Tickets, c/- R.A.VE., 1240 Hinemaru St, Rotorua

You Tube Of The Month

Johnny Guitar Watson - Gangster of Love

Recorded 'live' in Bremen, Germany circa 1977

The Flaming Mudcats

The Flaming Mudcats are a new Auckland-based rootsy blues band.
This four piece band swings, playing those great grooves along with burning harp and smoking guitar lines.

Influenced by the likes of Little Walter, Johnny Guitar Watson, Magic Sam and Kim Wilson, the boys have compiled an exciting set list.

The Flaming Mudcats

Out of a rehearsal in 2009, a gathering of four players with a common drive to play this brand of blues, resulted in the formation of The Flaming Mudcats.

So here we are….come and see us…hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The Flaming Mudcats are available for festivals, pub gigs, corporate events and private parties.

Blues September

If you don’t know already, the month of September is known as Blue September in the hope of raising awareness about prostate cancer.


Every year about 600 men in New Zealand die of Prostate Cancer.

So... what can we do?

Well, in association with the Auckland Live Blues Club, The Jukes will be performing on Sunday 6th September (4pm start) at the Family & Naval Hotel (situated on the corner of K' Rd and Pitt Street) and donating the fee from the gig to the Foundation.
We will also be inviting a gold coin donation (or two) from the crowd on the day... and you will be pleased to know that, despite the recently publicity about what percentage of your donated money goes to charities these days, 100% of the money donated goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.



If that wasn't enough reason to come along, the band might be fortunate enough to be joined by a very special guest; Bill Cherry, who is currently on his holidays in New Zealand.
Bill knows his blues...
During his early years in Chicago Bill spent time with, Buddy Guy, A.C. Reed, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, Siegel-Schwall, Linn County, and many others.
He became particularly close to Luther "Georgia Boy" "Snake" Johnson, who was playing guitar with Muddy at the time.
He and Luther spent a great deal of time together when the band was in Chicago, with Luther trying to teach Bill how to play the blues, and Bill trying to teach Luther how to read music.
Bill's involvement with the Las Vegas Blues Society included being an officer of the organisation for 7 1/2 years (6 1/2 years as President) and also led to his being elected to the board of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, a position he held for four years.
After moving from Las Vegas, Bill and his wife are now residents of La Paz, Mexico, where he has assembled some of the top musicians in La Paz to resurrect his band, who perform two nights a week at the El Paraje Roadhouse.

Bill Cherry and his amigos

So that's a couple of reasons to join in but of course, but this is isn’t about promoting the band; it’s about raising awareness about prostate cancer, so you can always donate or check out what else is going in Blue September via the foundation's web site Blue September web site for more details.

You Can't Say "Crap" On The Radio

My friends, Nate at The Blues Room, and James and Simon at Crossroads, strive to bring the air and Internet waves the very best in all forms of blues.


Blues Room host, Nate Taiapa, will air Interviews with local and international artists, provide up to date blues News, announce giveaways, and from time to time host live jams on air.
The Blues Room, Wednesdays at 9.00 pm.


For all the latest from Nate check out The Blues Room web page and The Blues Room blog.



Now operating on a budget of slightly more than nothing (apparently), Crossroads brings you the finest blues selection Auckland Radio has to offer.
Crossroads, Thursdays at 10.00 pm.


To find out more about the Crossroads show, see the KFM web site for full details.

You Tube Of The Month

Errol Linton's Blues Vibe - Dust This Broom

Recorded 'live' at Keighley Blues Club 12.6.09

Adam Blake Interview

In this interview I chat to a guy I am pleased to call a personal friend... Adam Blake.



Adam after learning to operate the record player before the age of 2, and despite being dragged kicking and screaming to see a Hard Day's Night at the age of 4, is the guitar player with Errol Linton’s Blues Vibe and the Lunar Dunes.

Having been, and currently also, a writer, journalist and teacher, Adam has also played bass with Natacha Atlas (the pseudo-Arabic diva) and sitar with Cornershop.

When I resided in the UK Adam tried his best to teach me something about playing blues bass, and every hour with Adam was always part music lesson - part history lesson.


ANBTB: Hi Adam, great to talk to you, thanks for making the time. How's business?

AB: No complaints! I’m teaching in two schools and I have a bunch of private students. Plus, I’m working on Errol’s long overdue 3rd album; also about to do a UK tour with Cornershop to promote their new album (“Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast”) and I have a nice live album in the can from my psychedelic space-rock band, Lunar Dunes, that’s waiting to be mixed. Busy, busy!

Adam Blake

ANBTB: Great, no rest for the wicked then. I mentioned above that you have played bass and sitar can you give me a run-down of any other various weird and wonderful instruments you play?

AB: I tinkle with Tibetan Singing Bowls sometimes.


ANBTB: I read your short bio on http://www.rocksbackpages.com and it says that after you got the record “Rocking Goose” by Johnny and the Hurricanes you got full tilt into music, leaving school at 17 to become a musician. Growing up in the late 60s and 70s, who were some of the bands and artists that got you hooked?

AB: Well I was literally a babe in arms when I got given “Rocking Goose”! It’s a great record. Sounds just as good now as it ever did. But it was The Beatles, The Beatles all the way. They got me into music. Everything came through them. My dad used to buy all the Beatles records as they came out in the 60s. He was one of those guys that The Beatles “got” – he liked jazz and classical, and The Beatles. It was a big event in our flat when dad would come home with the new Beatles LP.


ANBTB: So it was The Beatles over The Stones...?

AB: Ha ha! I didn’t get into The Stones until I was at least ten. “Brown Sugar” was one of the first records I bought with my own money.


ANTB: Tell us a bit about Errol Linton's Blues Vibe, it's not your typical blues band...

AB: I think Errol is fairly unique in the way he combines Jamaican music with the blues. It’s a completely natural blend for him and we just go right along with it. I always liked reggae but it took me awhile to learn to play it halfway convincingly. It looks easy but it isn’t. I suppose you could say the same about the blues.


ANTB: Errol is a fantastic harp player. You both have a love for Sonny Boy Williamson II (aka Rice Miller), was he the common denominator that hooked you two up?

AB: Yes actually he was. First time I heard Errol was from a distance. I thought someone was playing a Sonny Boy record that I hadn’t heard – and of course it was Errol. I knew I wanted to play with him immediately.

Errol Linton's Blues Vibe

ANTB: I recall you tell me that you once jammed with Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, which must have been a cool experience. Of the all blues players you have played with over the years, any special favourites?

AB: The Gatemouth Brown thing was surreal. It was in Japan and I was jet lagged to hell and off my head on whiskey and painkillers as I’d done my back in. Gate got all of the musicians involved to get up and do a little solo with him. I kept thinking I must be dreaming. But apart from him, I played with Henry Gray once, Howlin’ Wolf’s old piano player. That was through Errol and Richard Rhoden who were backing him up. They invited me up on stage and Henry immediately left the stage. Ha ha! I did a number and then halfway through the second he crept back on. I’d obviously passed the audition.


ANBTB: Cool. Is there anyone in particular you'd like to play with?

AB: Aaah, they’re all dead. B.B King, I guess. Maybe Ernest Ranglin.


ANBTB: You must have seen considerable changes in the London gig scene since you first got going. Would you say things have generally got better, worse or just different?

AB: Oh much worse, I’m afraid. There used to be so many more places to play. And the stupid new music licensing laws have made it so much more difficult for anyone wanting to promote live music.


ANBTB: On a good day, what would you say is the best bit about being a working blues musician in London?

AB: Getting paid and seeing pretty girls dancing to your music.


ANBTB: And on a bad day, what’s the worst thing about it?

AB: Not getting paid, and no-one dancing.


ANBTB: Touché. During our lessons you always actively encouraged me to open my ears and mind, but how has your attitude towards blues changed over time? Do you still get the same things from the music or has it altered and/or grown as you've gotten older?

AB: It starts when you fall in love with the blues. Then the blues is something you grow up with, grow into and accept into your life. Having said that, I don’t want to live the blues life, its way too hard. Besides, I’m white and middle-class. I have a choice. But one’s love and understanding and respect for the culture of the blues deepens as you get older. I still love the music just as much as I ever did.


ANBTB: What do you think is the state of Blues music right now?

AB: I think the blues has been dead as a vital Black American cultural force since the mid-60s. But the music goes on and each subsequent generation has a small percentage of people who get into it – to varying different levels. It’s a bit like Classical Music in that way: there’s a small but loyal core audience for it.



ANBTB: Do you notice a difference between different parts of the UK? Abroad?

AB: In the UK they like blues more up North. It’s tougher and they like tough music. They see it as unpretentious and they like to see themselves in that way. Scotland too, unsurprisingly. We haven’t played much abroad so it’s hard to say. The Eastern Europeans love it!


ANBTB: Much is made about the question of authenticity in blues... you know... whether so and so, and such and such is authentic or knew or learned from someone in particular. How much weight do you give it?

AB: It either comes from the heart or it doesn’t.


ANBTB: So how about the 'authenticity' of us 'white boys' playing the blues?

AB: My opinion? The blues is black music and it doesn’t matter how good you are, how well you play, how sincere your blues are – you will always be just another white guy playing blues. You know it in your heart and so does everybody else. And THAT’S the White Boy Blues. But you do it because you love it, and that’s enough.


ANBTB: How do you see the blues evolving in the future? Any new blues artists you’ve been listening to?

AB: I think, I hope, that the fashion for flashy playing is over. But new players? C’mon, are you kidding me? I still haven’t finished listening to Little Walter.


ANBTB: Any words of advice for aspiring musicians?

AB: Listen to the music of the guys who inspired the music of the guys who inspire you.


ANBTB: It's good to hear of the plans for a new Blues Vibe album soon, can't wait to hear the finished product, make sure you let me know when it is done and send me a copy.

AB: Yes, yes, yes. Some nice stuff in the can already. Watch this space!

ANBTB: Thanks very much Adam, it's always great to talk to you.



For all the latest on the Errol Lintons' Blues Vibe check out their MySpace page and you to find out more about the Lunar Dunes see the web site for full details.

Six Strings Down - Bessie Smith

While watching a performance of Six Strings Down by Jimmie Vaughan it got me thinking and I was also reminded of an article I was reading on a web site I 'stumbled' upon about Sean Costello and I thought I would compose a series of posts for this blog about other blues artists whose lives were also tragically cut short.

This is the forth in the series of these posts and our first 'non-guitar player', and please check back in with this blog regularly as I will be composing a further posts on this subject.


Bessie Smith
b. Chattanooga, Tennessee: 15 April, circa 1894
d. 26 September, 1937

Known as the "Empress of the Blues", Bessie Smith boasted one of the greatest voices of the 20th century, and she the very first blues superstar.


The exact year of Bessie Smith's birth remains uncertain; 1894, 1895, 1896, 1898 and 1900, but 1894 seems most likely.
She was discovered by Ma Rainey and it is generally accepted that Rainey did not teach Smith to sing, but she probably helped her develop a stage presence.
By the 1920's Bessie Smith was a headline act in her own right and in 1923 Columbia released "Down hearted Blues" and "Gulf Coast Blues" which was the biggest seller of the year and made Bessie Smith a national star.
She was soon the highest paid black entertainer in America, earning two thousand dollars a week (a staggering sum for the time) but the rage for female blues singers was brief.
Bessie Smith had a catalogue of about 160 recordings but by 1930 male singers had taken over and her career was all but over.

Bessie Smith's last few years were spent playing seedy Harlem theaters and touring the South.

On September 26, 1937, Bessie Smith was severely injured in a car accident while traveling between Memphis, Tennessee and Clarksdale, Mississippi.
She was taken to Clarksdale's Afro-American Hospital where her right arm was amputated.
She did not regain consciousness, and died that morning.

Blues Week Review – Rotorua – 2009

BOP Blues Club presented its 4th “Blues Week” this year and the festival is fast becoming an established part of the city’s annual events calendar.


The current economic climate meant tighter purse strings than usual for the event, which relies heavily on sponsorship and a grant from NZCT (NZ Community Trust) enabled the festival to go ahead.

Headline act, Mojo Mama & the Hired Guns (with Bullfrog Rata), opened the festival on the Friday night.
Wellington’s Laura Collins brought her band of talented musicians to town and rocked the Belgian Bar.
With Bullfrog’s guitar and Cindy Muggeridge’s boogie piano playing, behind Collins’ passionate vocals, they presented a great show.

Appearing at the festival for the first time was “Isis Blue” featuring Tauranga’s Grant Haua on guitar and Rotorua’s Micky Ututaonga, Rob Patterson and singer Delaney Ututaonga.
Patterson and the Ututaongas are local musical giants, with big name band credits and frequent overseas tours on their CVs.
They presented a mix of soul and R&B, played with finesse to a packed bar.
They were followed by Rotorua’s Anton Elkington.
As well as his powerhouse trio, Anton’s young son, Eli did a brief cameo, singing and playing bass.
It’s wonderful to see father and son performing together on stage like this – and the crowd just loved it!
Local acts also drew a good following and included Rawiri Waru, Lindsay MacKenzie, Mike Garner, Peri Grant, Lyndsey Sinclair & Keith Garratt, the B-side Band, and Andrea Bailey and her band.

The final show on the Sunday night opened with “Ladies Sing The Blues”.
This featured BOP Blues Club female singers Lyndsey Sinclair, Jill Briar, Sally Garner and Andrea Bailey.
Each presented a short selection of songs, many telling the story of the blues from a female perspective, with songs such as “Dump That Chump”, “Love Me Like A Man”, “My Man Blues”, and so on.

Auckland’s “The Jukes” closed the festival, taking the stage late on Sunday night.
They had the crowd dancing and played two sets of all-classic blues songs, with oodles of Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howling Wolf, Slim Harpo and many other classics covered. It was a strong ending to fantastic weekend, with blues fans from as far away as Canada, Auckland, Hamilton and Palmerston North, and even tourists from both Brazil and Russia all boogying to blues music!


Thanks to Mike Garner for the use of the article taken from B.O.P Blues Bulletin June-July 2009.
Check out the B.O.P Blues Club web site for more.

R.I.P. Chicago Blues Legend - Koko Taylor

Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor, known internationally as the "Queen of the Blues," passed away on Wednesday June 3, 2009 as a result of complications from a recent operation.

Koko Taylor had undergone surgery in Chicago on May 19th to fix a gastrointestinal bleed, and according to a previous post on her website, was originally expected to make a full recovery.

Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor made her last public appearance a couple of weeks ago, singing her signature Chess Records hit "Wang Dang Doodle" in front of a thrilled audience at the 30th Blues Music Awards show in Memphis, Tennessee.
Koko Taylor walked off stage that night with the award for "Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year," her 29th W.C. Handy/Blues Music Award, more than any other blues artist.
She was also a Grammy™ Award winner and the recipient of a NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, and was honored by induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1997.

Over an amazing career that spanned 45+ years, Koko Taylor carved out her own niche in the male-dominated blues world.
One of Chess Records' most popular artists, Taylor was a master of all media.
The bawdy blueswoman appeared in several films, including Blues Brothers 2000, and performed on television several times, including Late Night With David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O'Brien.
Taylor remained a creative force at the time of her death, her critically-acclaimed 2007 Alligator Records album Old School widely considered to be one of her best, and earning Taylor a Blues Music Award for "Traditional Blues Album of the Year."


Koko Taylor overcame poverty, tragedy, and physical infirmity to become one of the most popular blues singers in the world, male or female.
Her dynamic live performances and recordings have influenced countless young musicians, including artists like Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, and Susan Tedeschi.

Koko Taylor is survived by her husband, daughter, and other family members. Her presence in the world of the blues will be missed greatly.



Check out Koko Taylor's web site for more.

Darren Watson Interview

In this interview, it's my absolute pleasure to talk to Darren Watson, vocalist and guitar player in his band Darren Watson and the Real Deal Blues Band.


Darren's been making great music from his heart and soul for some twenty-five years now and in that time he has established a reputation second-to-none in New Zealand for world class, original rhythm & blues. He has recently won first place in the blues category for his song ‘All Going Wrong’ in the International Song writing competition . . . judges included James Cotton, John Mayall, and Alligator boss Bruce Iglauer.

Darren Watson

ANBTB: Hi Darren, first of all thanks for taking the time to talk with me, and second of all many congratulations on your winning the International Song writing competition. That must be a real thrill...

DW: Yeah, well you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out. I was chuffed enough just to be in the finals…. It’s bloody brilliant, innit?!


ANBTB: You have been nominated six times for NZ Music Awards for a body of recorded work that includes two Top 40 albums and singles with Chicago Smoke Shop, in 2002 the album King Size was nominated for a Tui and 2005's album 'South Pacific Soul' is terrific. Does winning the competition top all of that?

DW: It’s up there, bro. I’m looking forward now though…. It’s nice to win awards but I prefer to concentrate on new things all the time.


ANBTB: What made you decide to enter All Going Wrong into the competition?

DW: Actually I wasn’t such a fan of the song, but then Midge started playing it in his set and I figured if it’s good enough for him? LOL…. So I fired off an entry and thought nothing more of it until I found out I made the finals. I don’t think most songwriters are the best judges of what their best songs are – I feel way too close to most of ‘em. It’s a real love/hate relationship.


ANBTB: I first saw you play with (who I thought were) Chicago Smoke Shop back in the mid-nineties at the Nelson School of Music and you guys were shaking bits off the ceiling. It must have just before the band split. Can you tell me a bit about the band at the time?

DW: Actually that was a post-Smokeshop line-up called The Behemoths. It would’ve been me with Richard Te One on drums, Darrin Hancock on bass, and Bob Smith on Piano/Organ. I remember getting to that gig and I couldn’t believe they only had a vocal PA for a 500 seat theatre?!!


ANBTB: Like Darcy Perry, you didn't start out on guitar did you... wasn't your first instrument trumpet? How did you get from there to playing guitar?

DW: Yeah, I played some trumpet, drums and then bass before I got to guitar. My first gigs were playing bass in a covers band. I was 14 – it was nuts. At 17-18 I took up six string and got on with learning to play blues…


ANBTB: So when you growing up, what music did you listen to and what really go you hooked into the blues and started you playing?

DW: I had a lot of 45s and EPs of Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Rolling Stones to start with… that’s what got me fired up. Plus I kept hearing stories about my cousin Rod Stone who played guitar in a beat group called The Librettos during the 60s… kind of got me interested. Hearing Muddy Waters as a young teenager changed my life. I didn’t know music could be that powerful…


ANBTB: In past you have worked a lot with Midge Marsden. Was he a big influence and did you learn a lot from him?

DW: I love working with Midge. His enthusiasm is totally contagious. He is a great friend and a ‘bluesologist’ extraordinaire!


ANBTB: You've played with Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, George Thorogood, Billy Boy Arnold, Doug MacLeod, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Dr. John and Keb Mo. Who has been your favourite artist to work with and why?

DW: Koko Taylor and her band were amazing to tour with. We met Bruce Iglauer (Alligator Records) and had a total ball.


ANBTB: Can you tell us you least favourite?

DW: Not really, mate. They’ve all been pretty good in one way or another. Jimmy Vaughan wasn’t particularly nice to be around though…


ANBTB: 'South Pacific Soul' has been described as "genre breaking". There are quite obviously blues references, but it also encompasses rhythm and blues and soul. Was that a conscious decision because strict 'blues' audiences are a shrinking market, or is the blending of these different styles just where you are at?

DW: Mate, I’ve always been about blues/soul. I can play almost any blues style you care to name but I LOVE the soulier stuff. Most of the original Smoke Shop tunes were more ‘Stax’ than ‘Chess’, if you get my drift.

Darren Watson and South Pacific Soul

ANBTB: Specifically on blues and blues-related music, how would you assess the current live music scene in New Zealand at present?

DW: Well, much as I hate to be one of those older guys going on about how good things were ‘back in the day’… I think things were better ‘back in the day’. It seems to me that a lot of people are pretty much working for next to nothing and taking whatever they can get in the way of gigs.


ANBTB: Is it harder to please the venue owners or the audience?

DW: I find if we play well and enjoy ourselves it seems to keep both happy.


ANBTB: Do you think that as fans of the blues genre we value, or are perhaps encouraged to value, the wrong things about blues acts and performances? For example, guitar solos over songs?

DW: This is a pet peeve of mine. I really loathe long, noodly solos. For me it’s always been about the groove and the story. SOME solo work is great but only where it supports telling the story, in my opinion. We don’t play a lot of 15 minute jams in E, bro… Grin*


ANBTB: So, what can we expect from Darren Watson and the Real Deal Blues Band in the next year or so? I think there is a new album on the way isn't there, and any plans to tour? We'd love to see you back in Auckland.

DW: Yep, new album this year hopefully…. I would love to play in Auckland again soon but the guys won’t work for nothing let alone take a loss – which is pretty much what an Auckland excursion would be for us – so we’ll have to wait ‘til someone offers us enough to make it viable. I’m sure I’ll be up there in some capacity this year to support the new album. It’ll be hard to top my last Auckland gig with Midge at the Kings Arms in ’07 though… that just went OFF!


ANBTB: Thanks very much Darren, it was great to talk to you.



For all the latest on Darren and the band check out the offical Darren Watson and the Real Deal Blues Band web site for full details.

YouTube Of The Month

They're Red Hot

Eric Clapton: Vocals and Guitar

Six Strings Down - Robert Johnson

While watching a performance of Six Strings Down by Jimmie Vaughan it got me thinking and I was also reminded of an article I was reading on a web site I 'stumbled' upon about Sean Costello and I thought I would compose a series of posts for this blog about other blues artists whose lives were also tragically cut short.

This is the third in the series of these posts and please check back in with this blog regularly as I will be composing a further posts on this subject.


Robert Johnson
b. Hazlehurst, Mississippi: 8 May, 1911 or 1912
d. 16 August, 1938

Robert Johnson is perhaps the most famous of Delta (if not all) blues musicians. His records from 1936–1937 are a remarkable combination of singing, guitar playing and songwriting and have influenced generations of musicians.

Robert Johnson's poorly documented life and death have given rise to the most famous legend in music.
According to that legend, Robert Johnson was a young man in rural Mississippi with a burning desire to become a great musician, and he was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight.
There he was met by the Devil who took the guitar from Robert Johnson and tuned it.
After tuning the guitar, the devil played a few songs and then returned it to Robert Johnson, and thereby giving him absolute mastery of the guitar, being able to play, sing, and create the greatest blues anyone had ever heard and in return Robert Johnson had sold his soul.

Robert Johnson's recordings have recently become the source of conjecture, and so suggesting that they recording we accept as Robert Johnson's genius have in fact been sped up by maybe as much as 20%.
And some even doubt the influence of Robert Johnson and authors such Elijah Wald ask why "Robert Johnson was ignored by the core black audience of his time yet is now celebrated as the greatest figure in blues history".
(Please check back in with this blog regularly as I will be composing some further posts on these subjects).

There are a number of accounts and theories regarding the events of Robert Johnson's death.
Leading up to his death he had been playing for a few weeks at a country dance in a town near Greenwood and one evening Robert Johnson began flirting with a woman at a dance.
One version of the account is that the woman was the wife of the juke joint owner who unknowingly provided Johnson with a bottle of poisoned whiskey from her husband, while another account suggests she was a married woman he had been secretly seeing.
Johnson was offered open bottle of whiskey and accepted it, and the bottle was laced with strychnine.
Honey Boy Edwards, another blues musician was present, and essentially confirms this account.
Robert Johnson is reported to have started to feel ill into the evening after drinking from the bottle and had to be helped back to his room in the early morning hours.
Over the next three days, his condition steadily worsened and witnesses reported that he died in a convulsive state of severe pain—symptoms which are consistent with poisoning.

His death occurred on August 16, 1938, at the age of 27.

Album Review: Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

Bob Dylan’s latest album, “Together Through Life” (Columbia), marks his third self-produced (under the name of Jack Frost) studio release in a row recorded with members of his current touring band.

Absent are guitar players Denny Freeman and Stu Kimbal, while drummer George Recile, bass player Tony Garnier (Tony has played more live shows with Dylan than anyone else) are joined by guitarist Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) and David Hidalgo (of Los Lobos) on accordion.
Dylan himself shares the song writing credits with Robert Hunter, who was Jerry Garcia’s longtime lyricist in the Grateful Dead.

Bob Dylan Live

The news of a new Dylan album came as a surprise to many.
Director Olivier Dahan (who directed La Vie En Rose - a film about the life of the legendary French chanteuse Édith Piaf) asked Dylan if he would write a song for the soundtrack of his forthcoming film My Own Love Song.
Dylan wrote Life Is Hard and then nine more songs, which were quickly recorded late last year.

The cover photograph, by Bruce Davidson, is an image of a young couple kissing desperately in the back seat of a car.
Josef Koudelka’s back-cover photograph is much more to the point: five hardened Romanians around a table, with accordion, trumpet and drums, some playing, some smoking, in a state between making music and killing time.

The cover art of Together Through Life

Bob Dylan's music has always drawn from the blues and on this record his creaky brand blues harks back to an America that may or may not have ever existed.
On “My Wife’s Home Town,” Dylan recalls the Chess Studios of 1954 and Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, indeed Dylan rightly credits Dixon in the sleeve notes.
The 12-bar shuffles come in slow, midtempo, or jaunty; and the ever present accordion adds a layer of dusty antiquity.

As a follow up to Modern Times, it is a difficult record.
As a young folk singer Dylan strained to sound older and more sorely tested than he was but Dylan, who turns 68 in May, has never sounded as ravaged, pissed off and lusty (all at once) as he does on Together Through Life.
The success and critical acclaim of 1997's Time Out of Mind, 2001's Love and Theft and 2006's Modern Times, may have rejuvenated him artistically and although hardcore Dylan fans will probably love it Together Through Life may very well be an acquired taste for most.


Check out the offical Bob Dylan web site for full details.