Slow Poke (feat. The Reverend Shawn Amos)

#105 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Slow Poke, features a funky sermon on blues harp from The Reverend Shawn Amos. This native New Yorker and long time Los Angelino has a very interesting pedigree; his Mother, Shirley-Lee, was a popular nightclub singer in the 1960s, and his father, you may know as the chocolate chip cookie mogul, Wally Amos a/k/a Famous Amos was also William Morris Agency's first African American talent agent subsequently signing Simon & Garfunkel as well as representing; Diana Ross & the Supremes, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye. As you might expect from someone with such a rich and storied background, Shawn is all these things; musician, author, entrepreneur, A&R man, record producer, filmmaker, and more. His 2020 album, Blue Sky, featured his newly formed band, The Brotherhood, and his 2021 release The Cause Of It All is a vibey solo retrospective worthy of a late-night listen for sure. And speaking of listens, I hope you will listen to and enjoy this track!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Marcus David (Nick Gravenites) on drums, and myself on bass. The track was recorded at the original NTA in Millbrae CA. Mixed by the Grammy-winning Godfather of Grunge, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Nando Reis), and as almost always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

Insight (feat. Chris Duarte)

#104 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is a very special entry in the Texas guitar monster catalog, Chris Duarte. I don't normally ask cats where or what informs their playing because usually I can hear it but I had to ask Chris. His response made me like him and his playing even more, it was Coltrane! As soon as he said it, it made total sense. It explained why I couldn't pin it on BB, Albert, or Freddie or the second holy trinity, Jeff, Jimmy or Jimi and although you can hear SRV, that probably has more to do with them both having Austin roots and drinking the same water, and of course, the Strat. While still a teenager, Chris was lucky enough to get to see Stevie Ray play at the Continental Club, when Stevie was just a local act. I believe the term "burnin'" is not actually hyperbole when used to describe Chris' playing and I believe the evidence is right here in this track. Check it out, then check out his 12 solo records, and then go see him live. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Deszon Claiborne (Robben Ford) on drums, and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola, CA. The Grammy-winning and very bearded, Rob Schnapf (Beck, Booker T., Mavis Staples) brings his mad mixing skills. And as almost always, masterful mastering by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.