Fonky Tonk (feat. Daniel Donato)

#147 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, FONKY TONK, features the hot-shot whipper-snapper DANIEL DONATO on the electric guitar. I first became aware of Daniel in 2012 (maybe?), when he replaced JD Simo on the Don Kelley gig at Robert's Western World. I think he was 16 at the time! As is commonly known, Don is the John Mayall of Nashville, "discovering" and employing an uncanny number of THE Nashville cats, like; Johnny Hiland, Red Volkaert, Brent Mason, Kenny Vaughan, Guthrie Trapp, JD Simo, and of course, Daniel. Well here we are 10+ years later and Daniel has his own career, recording and touring his butt off with his aptly named band Cosmic Country. I love the spirit of generosity in the Nashville music community where even though musicians are competing for gigs, they are also totally willing to help each other whenever possible. Here is a perfect example of that generosity. 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, myself on bass and a very special guest, the Grammy-winning percussionist, Christian Pepin, on congas. The basics were recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA with additional tracking at NTA, South San Francisco, and Daniel's place in Nashville. Mixing and Mastering duties were handled by the infamous F-Bomb.

The L (feat. Toronzo Cannon)

#146 in the Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumental Series, The L, features Chicago's bus drivin' badass, Toronzo Cannon. Okay, I'm just going to start with the pronouncement/confession/statement of the obvious, we LOVE the Band of Gypsys. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's talk Toronzo Cannon. Growing up just outside of the notorious Robert Taylor Homes housing project on the South Side of Chicago in the 1970's and just blocks from Theresa's Lounge, the local blues bar of legend, Toronzo soaked up the sounds of the blues that would eventually come raining out of him. He was too young to enter so he'd stand outside of Theresa's and listen to legends, like Junior Wells & Buddy Guy. A relatively late bloomer, Toronzo got his first guitar at 22 years of age and originally gravitated toward Reggae. But Toronzo's calling to the blues was almost preordained, as was his rise to the top of the Chicago scene, just like the legends that he stood outside of Theresa's and listened to years before. Spending the '80's and '90's as a hired-gun/sideman Toronzo went solo in 2001, he's released five albums to date and has played everywhere from Albania to Japan to South Africa to Winnetka. PBS Television's Chicago Tonight sums it up like this: "Cannon is just your typical CTA bus driver who moonlights as a sought-after Chicago blues musician. As a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, he drives the sound of Chicago blues from the city to blues clubs and festivals around the world."  Please enjoy this chuggin' little number and please go see Toronzo when he comes through your town.

The backing band on this track is Oakland Born/Nashville residing, groovin' AF, Derrek Phillips, (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums, and myself on rhythm guitar and bass. The track was recorded at NTA, South San Francisco, The Phamily Room, Nashville TN, and Blaise Barton's JoyRide studio in Chicago. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb. A very special thanks to Alligator Records' Bruce Iglauer for blessings and facilitations.