----- Original Message ----- From: "John Schuller" <jschuller@email.com>
All of my life I have been wanting some evil electric guitar blues music.
I love the old blues from long ago, but want something more harsh and electric. Something that burns (and not in the Stevie Ray Vaughn way!)...
Are there any CURRENT artists that are out there that I should check into?
After everybody has listed their favorite OLD blues, I'll suggest the North Mississippi Allstars first album, Shake Hands With Shorty. It's an album of covers of tunes by Fred McDowell, RL Burnside, Furry Lewis, Jr. Kimbrough and others. They were nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category this year for their current CD Phantom 51. NMAS's guitarist: Luther Dickinson, says," When white kids play black music, it turns into rock 'n roll. Amen to that." When I first heard these guys on a MP3 file, I didn't like 'em, but later bought the CD and was blown away. Instead of the same old Chicago, Delta, and Hendrix influences (NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT!), the NMASs are influenced by the local roots music. After they played Stanhope House in NJ last Fall, I asked Luther how did he learn to play slide like that, he replied "I listened to Mississippi Fred McDowell". And now I listen to McDowell and hear how he'll slide from note to note without picking it. The North Mississippi style is really different from the Delta style and nobody has really brought it to public attention. * David Beardsley * http://biink.com