Loud & Clear (feat. Nathan Graham)

#164 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Loud & Clear, features singer/songwriter and most importantly for us, guitarist, Nathan Graham. The echoes of years of gigs at Buddy Guy’s Legends and Kingston Mines are in every note of Nathan's playing but there's a whole other side to him. As a solo artist, Nathan has more in common with Bruce Springsteen than Buddy Guy and sounds more like Nashville than Chicago. But lucky for us Nathan was game to share the Chicago with us on this brawler. Check out Nathan when he tours through your town, and as always, please enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, Les Izmore on the stereophonic rhythm guitars, and myself on bass. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA with additional recording by Steven Shirk at Shirk Studios, Chicago. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

Slappin (feat. Adrian Quesada)

#163 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Slappin, features Black Pumas guitarist/ producer Adrian Quesada. This is yet another example of cats from Texas that just have it. If you haven't heard the psychedelic soul sound of Black Pumas, you really gotta check out their 2019 eponymous release. These cats made a record and four months later were getting Grammy nominations, TV placements, and high-profile gigs. Like I said, some cats just have it. So grateful that Adrian found time to share some of it on this track. Enjoy! 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) and Les Izmore on the stereophonic rhythm guitars, Willy Jordan (Elvin Bishop) on drums, and myself on bass. Recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

When It Rains (feat. Jeff Raines)

#162 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series is the punnily titled When It Rains featuring Galactic founder and guitarist, Jeff Raines. Jeff has been a big chief on the Jam scene for almost 30 years. I doubt Jeff's parents would have dreamt that sending their kid to Tulane University in NOLA would result in a lifelong career in The Funk. But that is indeed what occurred. Jeff and bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, organist Rich Vogel, vocalist Theryl DeClouet, and horn man Ben Ellman formed Galactic in 1994 and they've been funkin' worldwide ever since. Their 2023 EP Tchompitoulas is a great party record and worthy of your time (after you listen to this track!). Thanks to Jeff for stopping by Skunkworks and thank you for listening. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Marcus David (Nick Gravenites, Clover) on drums, and myself on bass. It was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixed by the Godfather of Grunge, Jack Endino (Soundgarden, Nando Reis), and masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

Peace of Insignificance (feat. Fareed Haque)

#161 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Peace of Insignificance, 

features a true World musician, guitarist, Fareed Haque. It is much easier and more thorough for you to just read his Wiki than for me to cherry-pick factoids from it. But I will point out that Fareed is playing his guitar/sitar on this track and he is absolutely killing it. His sense of melody and adventure is truly wonderful. A great example of playing the blues as an idiom, not the dogma. I first heard Fareed play with Garaj Mahal on a double bill with Funkwrench at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville back in 2008. It was Moogfest and he and Kenny Vaughan were both exhibiting the, at the time, new Moog Guitar. Moog hooked us up with all kinds of cool noisemakers, and I'm still rockin' my ring modulator today. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixed by the Grammy-winning Godfather of Grunge, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Nando Reis), and masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Fuze's Blues (feat. David Fiuczynski)

#160 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Fuze's Blues, features a cat I've been chasing for years, David “Fuze” Fiuczynski. My friend and brother of the low-end Mike Rivard had recommended Fuze to me years ago and had also warned me that Fuze does what he wants when he wants...well, I gently stalked Dave, and low and behold he delivered in a big and beautiful way. Dave is a Guggenheim Fellow and a professor at Berklee. He is also the founder/leader of Screaming Headless Torsos and has played with Stewart Copeland, Dennis Chambers, Jack DeJohnette, JoJo Mayer, Marcus Miller, Bernie Worrell, MonoNeon, Billy Hart, Hasidic New Wave, Hiromi, John Medeski, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Ronald Shannon Jackson to name just a few. I'm really excited to be added to that illustrious list and hope that this won't be our last collaboration. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is my Bay Area neighbor and buddy, Scott Amendola, (Nels Cline, Charlie Hunter) on drums, Les Izmore on rhythm guitar, and myself on bass. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb at NTA Studio, South San Francisco.

Happy Valentine's Day, Baby (feat. R.J. RONQUILLO)

I'm interrupting the every other Wednesday release schedule with a wee somethin' for you lovers out there.

#159 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Happy Valentine's Day, Baby, is a romantic little number featuring internet phenom and guitarist extraordinaire, R.J. Ronquillo. 

The backing band on Happy Valentine's Day, Baby is Oakland Born/Nashville residing, funky AF, Derrek Phillips, (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums, Les Izmore on rhythm guitar, and myself on bass. The track was recorded at NTA, South San Francisco, The Phamily Room, and R.J.'s Studio in Nashville TN. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb. 

Hats Off To Jimmy Page (feat. Justin Johnson)

#158 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Hats Off To Jimmy Page, features the industrious and illustrious Justin Johnson on the electric guitar. Now I don't know if he's playing his shovel guitar, his skateboard guitar or any one of his many other hand made creations but he's definitely playin'! Based in Nashville, over the last few years, Justin has become somewhat of an internet phenom. His YouTube channel has close to two million subscribers, he's got a full-on cottage industry goin' with records, merch, and lessons and he still finds time to do sessions like this one. And speaking of this one, I don't think anybody is going to wonder why it's titled as it is. I reached out to Mr. Page for his blessing but got no response so in keeping with the Zeppelin spirit, I will proceed onwards asking for forgiveness later. I already have the alternate title, Cease and Desist, ready to go just in case. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) and Les Izmore on the stereophonic rhythm guitars, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, and myself on bass. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

What The Actual Fucking Fuck (feat. Tomas Salcedo)

#157 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, What The Actual Fucking Fuck, features Bay Area comrade and Fantastic Negrito guitarist, Tomas Salcedo. I don't know about you, but I find myself asking this question more and more as time goes on, and as is almost always the case, music is where I find the answer or at the very least, the refuge.
A little about Tomas, the son of a gigging folk musician mother and a classical pianist father, Tomas left Richmond Virginia for California at 18 years old and quickly found his place on the scene. While touring the Northern Hemisphere with prog band Antioquia, he began the practice of busking wherever and whenever he could and as fate would have it, one of these busking adventures led to meeting his future bandmate and collaborator, Fantastic Negrito. By 2014 Tomas and Negrito were officially a band, in 2015, they won NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, and as they say, the rest is history, international touring, three Grammys, etc... Well, if you're seeking refuge or just a few good moments of fuzzy, funky, blues rock, I hope you stop and find it here. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Oakland Born/Nashville residing, funky AF, Derrek Phillips, (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums, Les Izmore on rhythm guitar, and myself on bass. The track was recorded at NTA, South San Francisco, The Family Room, Nashville TN, and Tomas' studio in Oakland. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb. A very special shout out to friend, Sonic Wizard, and Fantastic Negrito producer for the introduction!

Texas (feat. Johnny Moeller)

#156 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Texas, features a native son and incredibly tasty guitarist, Johnny Moeller. I know I've said it before, there's gotta be somethin' in the water down there, Ornette Coleman, King Curtis, Cornell Dupree, Roger Miller, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Mason Ruffner, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Wills, and Johnny Moeller are all from Fort Worth, Texas. There's way more if you're skeptical. By his late teens, Johnny was being championed by the late great club owner Clifford Antone. Clifford had championed another young Texas guitarist you may have heard of, Stevie Ray Vaughan. By the late 2000's, after several years of dues-paying, Johnny landed the gig with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, formerly Jimmy Vaughan's gig. See what I mean? Texas. An amusing aside, Johnny is rumored to be the inspiration for one of the characters in Beavis and Butt-Head, I'm not sure which one but the other one is supposedly inspired by Johnny's friend and sometimes bandmate, guitarist, Paul Size (we have a track with Paul on it coming in the future). Here's a great interview with Johnny if you'd like to go further down the rabbit hole. There's connections to Mick Jagger, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more. I hope you appreciate this meditation on the musically fertile ground of the Lone Star State. Enjoy!
 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) and new to the crew, Les Izmore on the stereophonic rhythm guitars, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, and myself on bass. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

Somethin' Somethin' (feat. Jim Oblon)

The last installment for 2023, #155 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Somethin' Somethin', features the musical wunderkind, Jim Oblon. This track sat for a long time waiting for the tape fairies to present a soloist. I've been aware of Jim for more than ten years. When he first came on the Nashville scene he had a weekly gig at the FooBar and all my friends would tell me that I should go check him out or I should jam with him but, regrettably, I never got around to it. Fast forward to earlier this year and I hear I Wanna Be Loved, a really great record Jim made featuring just himself and long-time collaborator Jim Keltner and I knew that he was the man for the job. Speaking of jobs, Jim's "day gig" for the last decade has been playing drums for Paul Simon. He's one of those cats. Anyway, I absolutely love Jim's playing and where he took this track, it's exactly what I expected and a total surprise at the same time. The tape fairies never lie. Enjoy!
 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, and myself on bass. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA with overdubs at Jim's home studio in Nashville TN. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

Walkin' The Bar (feat. Terry Hanck)

#154 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, Walkin' The Bar, features East Bay Tenor Man, Terry Hanck.
For Jazzers of old, walkin' the bar was a necessary task of showmanship that some felt was below them but for the R&B honkers, scronkers, and yakety yak'ers of the day that was just part of the gig. There's a legend about saxophonist Benny Golson dropping in on a gig where John Coltrane (at a low point in his career) was walking the bar while playing with a local Philly R&B band and when Coltrane spotted Golson in the audience he walked straight off and out of the bar not to return. Of course in Blues, Rock, and R&B, putting on a show is as important as the music so, all the cats would walk the bar, stroll through the audience, or even take the show out onto the street. We've all seen it and we love it!
By the 1970s, Terry was already a master of the R&B Saxophone tradition. With Chicago in his blood and Northern California on his mind, after several declined invitations, he eventually joined Elvin Bishop at the pinnacle of Bishop's career where he stayed for a decade before leaving to front his own band. I haven't seen Terry live and I didn't ask him, but this track is certainly evidence of his mastery and if we close our eyes we can certainly imagine the smoke-filled bar and Terry walkin' it. Enjoy!
 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums, and myself on bass. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.