Blues for Booker (feat. Mike Dillon)

#73 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Blues for Booker, features the super vibey vibraphone-isms of Mike Dillon. Mike is a member of Critters Buggin, Les Claypool's Fancy Band and Garage A Trois (with Charlie Hunter, Skerik & Stanton Moore). Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Mike now lives in New Orleans where he plays with other NOLA residents, Ani DeFranco, Galactic, Robert Walter and Johnny Vadakovich to name just a few. Mike's musicianship is second only to his sense of humor, for example, naming his trio with saxophonist Skerik; The Dead Kenny G's. Get it? Funny, right? Okay, so, turn the lights down low and enjoy your favorite imbibement with this jazzy little number.

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Willy Jordan (Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio) 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 as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

Lucky Charm (feat. Lucky Peterson)

#72 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Lucky Charm, features the late, legendary, Lucky Peterson. Discovered by Willie Dixon at the age of 5, Lucky was a gifted pianist and guitarist. He appeared on the Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and cut his first album all in 1969 before turning 6! He was sideman to Etta James, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Milton and Mavis Staples. As a solo artist, he left a recorded legacy of more than 30 LP's and a lasting impression of joy and soulfulness to all that were fortunate enough to be in the same room with him. He was gracious enough to lend his badassery to this track a few years ago while passing through SF on one of his almost non-stop touring itineraries. I hope you enjoy this half as much as we did having him. Rest in peace Lucky and thank you for your service.


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 Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixed by the Grammy winning Godfather of Grunge, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Nando Reis) and as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

Unity (feat. Brother Paul Brown)

#71 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is UNITY, featuring the psychedelic soul-funk stylings of Brother Paul Brown on the Hammond B3. Brother Paul has a bio-pic-worthy life story. Sadly, he lost his single Mom very early, was sent to a school for homeless boys, discovered an old piano there, and eventually climbed out the second-story window and headed straight for Memphis where he would ultimately become musical director and producer to the GREAT Anne Peebles (I Can't Stand The Rain) for more than 20 years. I'd watch THAT movie! Just a few other NTK nuggets: Brother Paul has won a Grammy for his work on Gloria Gaynor's triumphant 2019 release Testify, was nominated for a Grammy for producing Bobby Rush's Down In Louisiana (2014) and pre-plague was touring internationally with the Waterboys. Did I mention he has an infectiously positive vibe as well?

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. And the newest addition to the team; Mixing and Mastering by the Grand Wizard of Greaseland, Christoffer "Kid" Andersen.

And please remember the movement continues:

You Move Like Funk (feat. Eric McFadden)

#70 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, You Look Like Funk, features a guitarist on a first-name basis with the funk, Eric McFadden. As well as being a George Clinton / P-Funk alum, Eric has played with an incredibly diverse array of heavies, including Les Claypool, Joe Strummer, The Reverend Horton Heat, Galactic, Keb Mo, Eric Burdon, Fishbone, Widespread Panic, Jackson Browne, Nels Cline, and Mike Watt. We were lucky enough to have Eric and his Tasty Face bandmate and wife, Delphine de St. Paër, stop by while having a moment off the road at home in SF. I hope you enjoy the result.

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 as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

And please remember the movement continues:

Father and Son Blues, Pt. 1 (feat. Kevin McKendree & Yates McKendree)

#68 and #69 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Father & Son Blues Pt.1 & Reprise, features the superlatively talented Kevin and Yates McKendree. I first heard Kevin playing keys with Mike Henderson at their legendary Monday night Bluebird Cafe gigs in Nashville TN more than 25 years ago and he was killin' it!. Everybody knew that Kevin had been referred for the Lee Roy Parnell gig by Allman Brothers and Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell so his cool factor was already at a 10. Then Kevin and his wife, Laura, had a son, Yates, who surprise!, is a full on musical prodigy. Yates could play before he could talk. He's been wowing people as a keyboard player and a guitar player for years and he's only 18! (just check out the YouTubes). If you're reading this, you probably know that we don't normally have more than one guest on a track, but how could we resist enlisting both of these cats to play together on a track. When I heard Yates' multiple takes I couldn't bare not using both so I asked Kevin to play piano as well as the B3 so we'd be able to create two separate pieces of music. (hence, Part 1 and Reprise). Here's the "need to know" part; Kevin produced and played on the last John Hiatt record and Yates played lead guitar on it. They're both Grammy winners for their work on Delbert McClinton's, Tall, Dark and Handsome. Kevin's been a member of Delbert's band since 1997 and Yates has also been in the band for a couple of years now. When Delbert's off, you can catch Kevin with Brian Setzer or making records at his studio, The Rock House in Franklin TN. You can check out Yates' handiwork on the most recent Black Stone Cherry and Tinsley Ellis records. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on rhythm guitar and bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Additional recording by Kevin McKendree at The Rock House, Franklin TN. The Grammy winning and extremely personable, Matt Winegar (Primus, Fantastic Negrito), mixed and mastered the crap outta this one!

Father and Son Blues Reprise (feat. Yates McKendree & Kevin McKendree)

George Floyd (feat. Rahsaan Barber & Roland Barber)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." - The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776

It's been almost six weeks since we've witnessed the brutal murder of George Floyd. And since then there have been more murders of Black people at the hands of police and some very suspicious occurrences that look a lot like LYNCHINGS in Southern California. I've had several conversations with other white people who are unwilling to move beyond, "yeah, but ALL lives matter"... Well, I am an artist and I feel it is my responsibility to use my art as a weapon against injustice, to question norms, to provoke thought, introspection, and conversation, and lastly to entertain, soothe or distract. I am beyond angry. I am out of patience. I have been hearing and singing We Shall Overcome, Eyes On The Prize, A Change Is Gonna Come, People Get Ready, etc...since I can remember, all the while recognizing the brutal hypocrisy of my own privilege.

The list of grotesque atrocities perpetrated on Black people in the United States of America is all the evidence we need to prove the case that Black Lives are NOT valued equally, and have never been. So the people have again rightfully taken to the streets in anger, because we all witnessed George Floyd slowly MURDERED by a white police officer while three other officers chose to stand by instead of de-escalating a fatal and unnecessary outcome. And then, if that wasn't enough trauma, we've since watched The President of the United States shamefully encourage more hatred, divisiveness and violence. I pray that this time we will not go home, fall back into our slumber of convenience and consumerism...the time for action is NOW. George Floyd needs to be the period at the end of the sentence. We need to stay woke and wake up anyone that is still sleeping. And that is why, I offer George Floyd (feat. Rahsaan Barber & Roland Barber) as an artistic expression of my anger, sadness, frustration, disgust, impatience, exhaustion, bewilderment, anxiety, ad nauseum.

I'd like to thank my good friend, John Deaderick, for hipping me to Saxophonist Rahsaan Barber and his brother, Trombonist Roland Barber, who brought the melody and emotion to this track. And Drummer Derrek Phillips for masterfully bringing the pulse and anger as well as putting me in contact with the Barber Brothers. I played bass and guitar, hopefully evoking the struggle as I've witnessed it in my lifetime. I'd also like to thank Matt Winegar for mixing and mastering and, as always, Brian Brinkerhoff for instigating.

There are a lot of organizations that need financial support right now as well as "thoughts and prayers" and social media posts. 100% of the proceeds from this release will benefit M4BL Movement for Black Lives.

Enough Is Enough (feat. James Armstrong)

I'm writing this two weeks after the murder of George Floyd. We all know that this shit goes on all the time and that being Black in America is dangerous, to say the least. I pick the order of releases like a DJ picking records on a show. It's a playlist. And hopefully if you listen in chronological order by release date it flows. So, Oz Noy was last and I thought okay, let's bring it back to the roots, seeing this is a blues series...so I cull through the 135 unreleased mastered tracks that we currently have and I come to James Armstrong and it speaks to me. It hits me not just because it is a more traditional blues number, it's soulful, understated, classic, it is all of the above...but it also strikes a strong but melancholy chord, without words it says that thing that we all know, that life as a Black person in America is and has always been dangerous and systematically unfair. Then, coincidentally, I see James has posted a video on Facebook telling his Truth in response to George Floyd's murder sharing just a few of the countless injustices that he (James) has experienced at the hands of law enforcement. And I just keep hearing the words "enough is enough" in my head. No explanation necessary, right? So, after checking in with James to make sure that he was cool with me titling the track Enough Is Enough (considering the context I wanted to err on the side of thoughtfulness and consideration), here it is.

There are a lot of organizations that need financial support right now as well as "thoughts and prayers" and social media post. Please put your money where your good intentions are:



I normally take this space for a little blurb / bio about our featured soloist but, today I would just like to share a link to that video of James' and a link to James' bio page because his story is really a story of survival in its most literal sense. I am also including a link to a resource page from Black Lives Matter on how you can help support the ongoing struggle. We must not let up.

https://www.facebook.com/1326987983/videos/10217296159579138/?id=1326987983

http://jarmblues.com/james-armstrong-biography/

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

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 as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Revolution Blues (feat. Oz Noy)

#65 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Revolution Blues, features the wonderfully irreverent guitar playing of Oz Noy. By his mid twenties Oz was the king of guitars in his home country of Israel so, with little left to prove there, he headed to NYC. Gaining almost immediate notoriety for his rule breaking approach to Jazz, Oz enlisted the heaviest of heavies to accompany him. Will Lee, Reggie Washington, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl are just some of the "cats" that have been Oz's regular sidemen for 10 albums over the last 25 years. He continues to dominate reader's polls and critic's choice lists and the list of artists that he has played with is truly insane! I couldn't decide who to list so, here is a link to his bio: http://www.oznoy.com/biography/ Enjoy! And just a note: I titled and uploaded this track several months ago...I had no idea just how relevant it would be.

There are a lot of organizations that need financial support right now as well as "thoughts and prayers" and social media post. Please put your money where your good intentions are:

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. Mixed by the Grammy winning Godfather of Grunge, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Nando Reis) and as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Valle de la Luna (feat. Jeff Coffin)

#64 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Valle de la Luna, features the virtuosic saxisms of Jeff Coffin. A three time Grammy winner as a member of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones and a member of The Dave Matthews Band since the passing of LeRoi Moore, Jeff is a musical overachiever. He's a North Texas grad, an NEA grant recipient and a student of the great Joe Lovano. In his "spare" time he leads his own band, the always interesting, Mu'Tet, and is on the faculty of the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. Enjoy the ride!

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 as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Blues Supreme (feat. Dennis Jones)

#63 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Blues Supreme, is a kneeling at the alter of sonic reverence featuring the searing guitar playing of Dennis Jones. Originally from Baltimore, now residing in Los Angeles, Dennis proudly lists his influences as Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix & Billy F Gibbons. And this is probably why I felt an immediate kinship with Dennis as he sat in the studio tearing this track up. Dennis lived and played in Europe as a teenager, did a stint with the BusBoys in the early 00's and won the International Blues Competition, Memphis, 2004, as part of the Zac Harmon Band (another of our featured artists yet to be released). Since then Dennis has released 6 albums and continues to tour the world with his trio, the Dennis Jones Band. Let your freak flag fly and 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 as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.