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. 

Bluesadelphia (feat. James Poyser)

#62 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Bluesadelphia, features the Grammy winning writer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Poyser. Born in the UK but very much rooted in the Neo-Soul / Philly Sound movement of the last 25 years or so, James has been a member of the band The Roots since 1997 (see what I did there?). If that isn't credentials enough, James has a very impressive (and long) resume; Adele, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, John Legend, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauren Hill, Norah Jones...you get the idea. I met James while working on Norah Jones' The Fall and was immediately enamored with his sympathetic and deep musicality and we are grateful to have him guesting on this track. We hope it brings you a few minutes of much needed chill in these currently anxious times.

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixed by another Grammy winner, the very bearded, Rob Schnapf (Beck, Booker T., Mavis Staples) and as always, masterful mastering by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Ritual (feat. Jackie Venson)

#61 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Ritual, features yet another Austin, Texas voodooist, Jackie Venson. Jackie is chill personified. She showed up, plugged in, closed her eyes and without ever hearing the track before, did this. The daughter of a professional musician, Jackie knew exactly what she was getting into and at just thirty years old, with three albums, three EP's and a bunch of singles (one of which we will be releasing on vinyl at a later date) under her belt, I'd say the gettin's been good so far. I'm sure once it is safe again to venture out, Jackie will be back on the road delivering what the Chicago Sun-Times calls "formidable instrumental chops and a musical message of positivity" and "a singing voice that radiates warmth and spirit". 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Andrew "the kid" Guterman (Rick Estrin) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixed at Shangri-La by Duane Lundy (Ringo Starr) and as always, masterfully mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering.

End Times Blues (feat. Gary Myrick)

#60 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is the self explanatory, End Times Blues, featuring the ominous "tone for days" of Texas born guitarist, Gary Myrick. Gary started his career replacing Stevie Ray Vaughan in the Austin Texas band, Krackerjack, after Stevie Ray decided to give a solo career a shot. It wasn't long before Gary moved to LA and began his own solo career with Gary Myrick and The Figures. They had several charting albums and a couple of MTV hits (remember those?). And speaking of MTV hits...around this same time, Gary played on the smash John Waite "Missing You" album. In the early 90's, Gary formed Havana 3am with Clash bassist Paul Simonon and continued for several records even after Simonon left and singer Nigel Dixon passed away. By the mid 00's, Gary had become one of the LA Cats, playing with the likes of Big Audio Dynamite, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Steve Jones, Wilson Pickett, Queen Ida, Bonnie Raitt, Todd Rundgren, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder to name a few. Gary is currently working on a new Figures album. Here's the link to his GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/new-studio-album-gary-myrick


The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. A new addition to the team, the Grammy winning and very bearded, Rob Schnapf (Beck, Booker T., Mavis Staples) brings his mad mixing skills to this one. And as always, masterful mastering by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. 

Goin' Down Again (feat. Rick Richards)

#59 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Goin' Down Again, features some of the snottiest guitar playing I’ve heard since the giants (The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Stooges) roamed the planet. Georgia Satellites and Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds guitarist, Rick Richards, delivers a two minute and fourty second instructional on how to Rock! When I sent this track to Rick he could’ve declined or asked for another track that was in 4/4 instead of the crooked 3/4 that it is, but instead he dug the fuck in and turned it the hell up. I don’t know how old Rick is (old enough to have formed the Georgia Satellites in 1980) but, this is the kind of guitar playing normally excreted by youngsters and then dissipates as the years accrue. No signs of dissipation here. So, please do give yourself the pleasure of cranking this one up and enjoy the ride. 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Andrew "the kid" Guterman (Rick Estrin) 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.

I Tell Myself (feat. Rudy Wallang)

Although Mumbai is not synonymous with the Blues (at least not yet), in Mumbai and most of India, guitarist Rudy Wallang is. And so we bring you #58 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, I Tell Myself, featuring Rudy Wallang. Rudy is the 2009 recipient of the Jack Daniels Music Awards - Best Guitar Player in India. He and his band, Soulmate, have played every NH7 (the Glastonberry and Coachella of South Asia) since it's inception in 2010. As a composer, producer and session player, Rudy has been involved in over 70 records and yet he still manages to find time to mentor younger players via The Rudy Wallang Band. He and Soulmate continue to tour internationally sharing stages with the likes of Carlos Santana, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo & Gary Clark Jr., to name just a few. Check him out!

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 Mixed and Mastered by the Grand Wizard of Greaseland, Christoffer "Kid" Andersen. 

The Longest Night (feat. Kim Bomi)

#56 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, The Longest Night, features a deeply soulful performance on a relatively novel instrument for our Western ears, the haegum, by the South Korean rock star, Kim Bomi. I was one of the more than one BILLION people who watched the incredibly powerful closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, when Kim Bomi and her band Jambinai rocked the world with their performance, accompanied by an orchestra of geomungo players. I was so excited and moved, they immediately became my new favorite band! After a lot of Googling, emailing and translating with the help of Jambinai's manager, Jerome Williams in Amsterdam, we were able to make this track happen. A beautiful example of the global village! In case you missed the performance at the olympics here's a link, but don't forget to listen to The Longest Night as well! Enjoy!

Jambinai - Time of Extinction (Olympic Closing Ceremony 2018)

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Willy Jordan (Elvin Bishop) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Additional recording was done by Sanghyun Cho at MOL Studios, Seoul. 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. And a special shout out to my friend, Joey Fitt's, for making me turn on the tele to catch Jambinai!

Multiversal Blues (feat. Stanley Jordan)

#55 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Multiversal Blues, features the virtuosic and intergalactically original guitar playing of Stanley Jordan. His playing is badass enough just listening to it, but seeing his tapping technique up close took it to a whole nother level for me! If by some chance, you are not familiar with Stanley Jordan's thing (hard to believe but..), his 1985 debut Blue Note record, Magic Touch, was #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts for a solid year! His covers of Stairway To Heaven, Eleanore Rigby and the Jimi Hendrix songbook are iconic and have been viewed a gazillion times on YouTube. His eclecticism and versatility has lead him to play with everybody from Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones to The Dave Matthews Band and Phil Lesh. His vibe in the studio was incredibly generous and open minded and I think it is reflected in this track. Check it out!

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.