Upcoming Shows

Autograph, American Zeros

FridayJuly 28, 20178:00pm $15.00

Signalfire, A Legend Alone, Once The Sun

SaturdayJuly 29, 20178:00pm $10.00

The boys from Signalfire are back again to answer the call for rock and roll. Now performing as a two piece rock band, the fire burns brighter than ever. With the release of their new three song EP, Deuces Wild, you might think the latest incarnation of Signalfire has adopted a 'less is more' approach. Shame on you. Less....

Jesse Malin, Trapper Schoepp, Anthony D'Amato

WednesdayAugust 2, 20178:00pm $20.00

Recently Added Shows

Shook Twins

ThursdayAugust 24, 20178:00pm $15.00

The Dictators NYC

SundaySeptember 24, 20178:00pm $25.00

"The DICTATORS!, THE DICTATORS! THE DICTATORS! Where are they?...When are they playing?...When are they coming to MY hometown??" SUPPLY AND DEMAND!! Fans from all over the United States and all Rock and Roll loving countries have been asking for years, DEMANDING, "WE WANT THE DICTATORS!" The demand was NOT being....

Wild Cub

TuesdaySeptember 26, 20178:00pm $15 advance / $18 door

Jared James Nichols

SundayOctober 15, 20178:00pm $12 advance / $15 door

Martin Barre Band

WednesdayOctober 18, 20178:00pm $30.00

Martin Barre has been the guitarist of Jethro Tull for 43 years, his sound and playing having been a major factor in their success. Album sales have exceeded 60 million units and they continue to be played worldwide, representing an important part of classic rock history. Martin's guitar playing has earned him a high....

Nick Moss

FridayOctober 20, 20178:00pm $15.00

The Stone Foxes

SaturdayOctober 21, 20178:00pm $10 advance / $12 door

Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts

ThursdayOctober 26, 20178:00pm $15.00

Rockford, IL-based Miles Nielsen has spent nearly a decade enthralling audiences with music that draws force from the prime years of Western-influenced rock music and classic '60s soul. Claiming influences as diverse as Otis Redding's classic soul and Jellyfish's cult power pop recordings.

The Cash Box Kings

FridayOctober 27, 20178:00pm $10 advance / $12 door

American Murder Song

WednesdayNovember 1, 20178:00pm

A collection of original murder ballads by Terrance Zdunich and Saar Hendelman, the star of Repo! The Genetic Opera & songwriters of The Devil's Carnival.

Jasmine Cain

ThursdayNovember 9, 20178:00pm $15.00

With so many miles behind and so many miles left to travel, Sturgis, SD, native, Jasmine Cain, has paved a way for female rockers in the motorcycle culture. Current NIMA (Nashville Industry Music Awards) Artist of the Year, Alternative Rock Band Nashville's Music City Mayhem (MCMA) four-time Female Rock Vocalist, she has....

Vinnie Moore, Gus G

SundayDecember 3, 20178:00pm $25.00

The Sleighriders

MondayDecember 18, 20177:00pm $20.00

Forty of the best, most experienced, most professional musicians of the Milwaukee music scene join together again for the annual Sleighriders show and charity auction! These musicians join forces in one gigantic rockin' band. It's a very special holiday event that you don't want to miss and a true Milwaukee tradition. For....

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Restless Heart

FridaySeptember 15, 20177:30pm $45 / $49 / $59

At the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Eau Claire, WI.

Tickets on sale at eauclairearts.com, by calling 715-832-2787 or at the box office Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (9:00am-7:00pm on Thursdays).

Arlo Guthrie

FridayOctober 6, 20178:00pm

At The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at The Pabst Theater box office, online at pabsttheater.org, or by phone at 414-286-3663.

Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary

SundayOctober 8, 20177:00pm $49.50 - $75

At the Capitol Theater, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at overture.org, the Overture box office, or by phone at 608-258-4141 (Mon-Fri 11:00am-5:30pm, Sat 11:00am-2:00pm).

John Anderson

TuesdayOctober 24, 20177:30pm $45 / $49 / $59

At the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Eau Claire, WI.

Tickets on sale at eauclairearts.com, by calling 715-832-2787 or at the box office Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (9:00am-7:00pm on Thursdays).

John Anderson

WednesdayOctober 25, 20177:30pm $45.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com, or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

The Marshall Tucker Band

ThursdayOctober 26, 20177:30pm $45 / $49 / $59

At the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Eau Claire, WI.

Tickets on sale at eauclairearts.com, by calling 715-832-2787 or at the box office Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (9:00am-7:00pm on Thursdays).

The Black Jacket Symphony

ThursdayNovember 2, 20177:30pm $35.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com, or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

The Black Jacket Symphony

SaturdayNovember 4, 20177:30pm $35.00

At the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, Eau Claire, WI.

Tickets on sale at eauclairearts.com, by calling 715-832-2787 or at the box office Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm (9:00am-7:00pm on Thursdays).

Bruce Cockburn

TuesdayNovember 21, 20177:30pm $35.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com, or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

King Crimson

SundayNovember 26, 20177:30pm $49.75 / $59.75 / $79.75 / $121.75

At The Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at The Riverside Theater box office, online at pabsttheater.org, or by phone at 414-286-3663.

Quick Calendar

Autograph left an everlasting imprint on rock 'n' roll. The platinum-selling Southern California hard rock juggernauts gave the world the ubiquitous hit "Turn Up the Radio", seminal albums such as Sign In Please [1984], That's The Stuff [1985], and Loud and Clear [1987] as well as unforgettable sold out shows alongside everybody from Mötley Crüe and Ronnie James Dio to Van Halen and Aerosmith. Given those accolades, when they disbanded in 1989, they never left the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the globe. Simply put, a reunion was both inevitable and essential.

In 2011, founding guitarist Steve Lynch and bassist Randy Rand decided to meet up at the NAMM show in Anaheim. They rekindled their friendship first, opening up the lines of communication and bonding more than ever before. With the relationship rebuilt, they made a collective decision to jam again.

"We approached our original singer Steve Plunkett about a reunion," recalls Lynch. " He didn't have the time to join the band again due to how busy his business is. He did give us his blessing to move forward though, and that was important. We missed our fans. This is for them."

Fully embracing the future, the remaining members caught some videos of singer/guitarist Simon Daniels of Jailhouse on YouTube. Instantly, they sensed a connection and knew that he was meant for the open spot in the center stage.

"He has big shoes to fill," smiles Rand. "Nevertheless, he was born to front Autograph. His hard-edged, bluesy voice and massive riffing sharpen our edge. He's given us a new energy, and he impressed us immediately."

"We all had a euphoric feeling after the first rehearsal," Lynch adds. "These songs hadn't been played in 25 years, and it was indescribable. It was great to be making music with my friends again."

With the lineup solidified, Autograph stand poised to shake Rock 'n' Roll up yet again. It's as if every element has been enhanced from the guitars to the bass and vocals as well as drums with the addition of drummer Marc Wieland.

Lynch puts it best, "We're much heavier than before. We're not using keyboards and we're tuning down for a much fatter sound. That strengthens everything. At the same time, the melodic vocals and catchy hooks are still an integral part of our sound."

Successfully touring again since the beginning of 2014 Autograph has strived and shined at theaters, casinos, various venues and major Festivals as M3, Monsters of Rock Cruise, The Moondance Jam, Firefest, The Halfway Jam, Rockin the Rivers, Iowa State Fair among others reaching the 4 corners of the USA along with Canada and the UK as well as releasing 3 new anthem singles one of them "I lost my mind in America" making the TOP 10 ITUNES Charts, a crowd favorite " You are us, We are you" receiving great reviews and airplay and "Every Generation" recently released and featured in Classic Rock Magazine. The band delivers an undeniably bombastic live performance and it was also recently displayed in the USA TODAY news website. A new EP is due to be released soon as the Timeless Classic Rock Anthem Top 40 HIT Single "Turn up the Radio" continues to receive constant and permanent Radio Airplay from all Major Rock Radio stations around the World.

Few in the modern musical landscape have reinvented themselves like Jesse Malin. Revered by iconic figures from Bruce Springsteen and Joe Strummer to Ryan Adams and Jim Jarmusch, Malin's songwriting has shape-shifted through decades and genres and left an indelible mark on hardcore, punk, folk, and everything in between.

Produced by songwriter Joseph Arthur, Jesse Malin's new EP Meet Me at the End of the World (June 30 / Velvet Elk) aims his singular blend of gritty street poetry and incisive self-reflection squarely at our troubled, modern times. (The title track has already been named 'Coolest Song in the World' on SiriusXM's Underground Garage.)

"The songs were written on tour looking out the van window," reflects Malin. "We were driving around America just watching the frightening and embarrassing ascension of the current administration amidst a really dark and manipulative international media blitz."

The music was recorded fast and raw with Malin's live band: drummer Randy Schrager (Scissor Sisters), bassist Catherine Popper (Norah Jones, Ryan Adams), and longtime sideman/producer/co- writer Derek Cruz. The collaboration with Arthur was initially intended to be a one-time affair for Malin's Positive Panther charity, which raises funds for his former European merch-seller Nathalie Baverstock in her fight against cancer, but the two songwriters discovered a natural kinship in the studio. "It's not unusual for Jesse to be writing great songs, but it feels like there's a new energy to it right now," adds Joseph.

Trapper Schoepp is a young man who's befriended a strange and diverse cast of characters during his 24 years. That small army of rogues and rebels, drifters and dreamers, soldiers and schemers populate his songs, their tragedies and comedies, their lives and deaths recalled in his finely etched musical vignettes.

The Minnesota-born, Wisconsin-based tunesmith and teller of tales (both tall and true), returns with his second effort Rangers & Valentines (Xtra Mile Recordings). The record follows his critically acclaimed 2012 debut Run Engine, Run, with his band the Shades. That LP earned notices in Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and Paste, with the folks at Huffington Post calling him a "master storyteller" and PBS hailing his "story songs that explore and explode the conventions of rock and roll."

On Rangers & Valentines, Schoepp defies the limitations of the standard-issue Americana platter, hopping genres -- you'll hear lots of brass, backing singers and B-3 -- as the songs build to delirious musical highs. His narratives, meanwhile, find subjects in the narrow margins of society, the strange twists (literal and metaphorical) in the weather, and the vagaries of a troubadour's transient life -- with lyrics that flash a lacerating wit and humanist streak that's at the core of his craft.

Produced by pop polymath and Raconteurs member Brendan Benson at his Readymade Studios in Nashville, the record finds Schoepp handling vocals, guitar and harmonica. He's aided by an array of estimable musicians including his brother and musical-foil-since-birth Tanner Schoepp (providing bass guitar and vocal harmonies), Steve Selvidge (The Hold Steady), John Davis (Superdrag), the McCrary Sisters -- even comedian and WTF podcaster Marc Maron chips in on background vocals and lead guitar.

Schoepp shines up the well-worn clichés of singer-songwriterdom and renders them anew. Evoking a series of vivid protagonists and settings (fittingly, each track will have its own accompanying video, solidifying the cinematic quality of this set) his work variously recalls prime Prine (John, that is), the nuances of Newman (Randy, of course), the boozy bonhomie of The Replacements, and the unflinching language of someone well-versed in the Zevonian dialect.

Schoepp mixes fact and family lore to conjure the hardscrabble history "Ballad of Olof Johnson" and chides modern-day wannabes on "Lost Cowboy." The road story "Ogalalla" answers the question: what happens to your mind when you're snowbound in Nebraska with nothing but a bottle of Nyquil and The Hobbit at the local picture show for company? Meanwhile, the arch love song satire "Talking Girlfriend Blues" deftly explains how to preserve your dignity while hitchhiking to a date -- and what to do when your ride turns out to have eyes for the same girl.

Elsewhere, "Don't Go" offers a poetic post-9/11 story of love and war; while "Settlin' or Sleepin' Around" questions modern-day swipe right, hook up culture. Schoepp continues his affinity for songs set in hospitals with "Mono Pt. II" -- which explores the kissing disease and the institutional runaround of health care in America (unfortunately a familiar subject for the young man). And he pays tribute to old friends and outsized characters with "For Jonny" (dedicated to his longtime drummer Jonny Philip) and the heart-rending requiem "Dream."

Having released his debut on SideOneDummy, Rangers & Valentines is being put out by London-based Xtra Mile Recordings. Hipped to Schoepp's work by fellow singer-songwriter Frank Turner, among others, Xtra Mile honcho Charlie Caplowe quickly signed him to the label.

Schoepp -- who's already crisscrossed the country sharing stages with fellow travelers like The Wallflowers, The Jayhawks and The Old 97's -- will be back on the road throughout 2016 in support of Ranger & Valentines, starting with a 3-week run throughout the UK and Europe supporting Jesse Malin.

Like the album, it'll be another opportunity to catch a young journeyman at work.

Don't try to snatch him back and hold him, he's a man on the move. John Németh had already established himself among the very top ranks of blues musicians and modern soul singers when he decided to break the mold with his new record, FEELIN' FREAKY. Németh fearlessly crushes all barriers of style and genre with an album of original songs that defies all the usual pigeonholes. Drawing from his strong influences in blues and R&B, as well as contemporary sounds in hip hop and rock & roll, John creates music that is personal as well as universal, and owes its origin to no one but John Németh. John's songs are groove and melody-driven, laced with thoughtful lyrics and nuanced humor, and cover themes from social issues of gun violence and class values to the pure hedonistic joy of dancing, sexuality and marijuana. He creates his songs from melodies and phrases he draws from the sounds of life, from early-morning Memphis songbirds to the din of the city. For this album John brought his new songs to his great touring band, the Blue Dreamers -- Danny Banks on drums, Matthew Wilson on bass and guitar, and Johnny Rhodes on guitar -- so they could hone the groove and finish building the album as a group. Under the simpatico guidance of Grammy-nominated producer Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), FEELIN' FREAKY emerges as a modern personal masterpiece.

This album is a testament to power with taste and restraint, dramatic dynamics through the use of space. Németh's striking tenor vocals are already legendary, with a pitch-perfect purity of range and power that has drawn comparisons to soul singers from O.V. Wright to James Brown. He keeps that power under a tight leash, letting it rip at just the right places, using his voice to deliver and serve the song. Németh is also a very accomplished harmonica player who can boogie with the best of them, in various diatonic positions as well as on the mighty Chromatic harp, yet he plays relatively little on this record. What he plays are largely horn lines, trumpet-like staccato blasts that serve to create dramatic dynamic shifts, tension and release, all in service to the song, not the ego of the player. The few solos he delivers are concise, tasty and powerful.

FEELIN' FREAKY was recorded at the Dickinson family's Zebra Ranch Studios in Mississippi and Willie Mitchell's legendary Royal Studios in Memphis. Németh's touring band on their instruments and background vocals is at the heart of the recordings, along with musicians hand-picked to complement the individual tracks. John often works with horns, and Memphis players Marc Franklin (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Art Edmaiston (Tenor, Bari sax) deliver echoes of classic Memphis sound all over this record. Németh and Dickinson agreed that the B-3 Organ parts had to go to Charles Hodges, who contributed so much to the Hi Records sound on albums by the likes of Al Green and Ann Peebles. For extra depth and sweetness, they added strings by J. Kirkscey, B. Luscombe, J. Munson and P. Tsai.

A little history:

As a Boise, Idaho teenager in the early '90s, John Németh was drawn to the hard-edged hip hop sounds and rock bands of the day -- but when a friend exposed him to Buddy Guy and Junior Wells's classic "Hoodoo Man Blues," he was hooked. John played harp and sang in local bands, often opening the show for nationally touring blues acts. John soon caught the ear of established blues musicians, and before long he was releasing his own CDs -- THE JACK OF HARPS (2002) and COME AND GET IT (2004), featuring Junior Watson -- and performing in Junior Watson's band. John relocated to San Francisco in 2004, where he wound up doing a two-year stint with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, filling in for the ailing Sam Myers.

Németh immersed himself in the deep musical waters of the Bay area, absorbing more of the soul and funk grooves of what he calls "the early East Bay Grease sound" of San Francisco and Oakland bands. John's reputation continued to grow, and he soon signed a recording contract with Blind Pig Records. His national debut for that label -- MAGIC TOUCH (2007), produced by Anson Funderburgh and featuring Junior Watson on guitar -- received an ecstatic response from fans and the media, and he was hailed as the new voice of the Blues. Living Blues Magazine enthused, "Magic Touch gives hope that the blues will survive." In 2008 Németh was recruited by Elvin Bishop to do some performances and contribute four vocal tracks to his Grammy-nominated album THE BLUES ROLLS ON.

Németh released two more albums on the Blind Pig label -- LOVE ME TONIGHT (2009), NAME THE DAY! (2010) -- earning critical raves and strong sales, both hitting #6 on the Billboard Top Blues Album Charts, and beginning his long string of Blues Music Award nominations, numbering fourteen at last count. John also won two Blues Blast Music Awards -- Best New Artist Debut Recording and Sean Costello Rising Star Award -- voted on by nearly 11,000 blues fans. John followed up with two independently released live albums, BLUES LIVE and SOUL LIVE in 2012.

In 2013 John relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where he quickly became a key player in the city's rich musical scene. He teamed up with producer Scott Bomar and his classic Memphis Soul band, the Bo-Keys to create an album of revisited Soul classics, MEMPHIS GREASE (2014), on the Blue Corn label, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard Blues Chart. John won the 2104 Blues Music Award in the Soul Blues Male Artist category, and MEMPHIS GREASE took the prize for Soul Blues Album in 2015.

John Németh continues to be one of the hottest stars in the musical firmament, touring nationally and internationally with his Memphis band, taking the world by storm. He is currently nominated for a 2017 Blues Music Award in the category of B.B. King Entertainer of the Year . FEELIN' FREAKY will be released in May 2017, on John's own Memphis Grease label, and it's already generating a firestorm among his devoted fans and the media. Stay tuned....

Milwaukee, Wisconsin's own the Delta Routine both sound like the product of a bygone time for rock and undeniably of their time. With vocal harmonies that bring the Lone Bellow and the Avett Brothers to mind, paired with guitar riffs that would make the Black Crowes proud, You and Your Lion, the latest full-length by the band, is a straight-up blast of energy and a rollicking good time.

Frontman Nick Amadeus told PopMatters the following about the album: "For You and Your Lion we really tried not to put ourselves in a box as far as the genre when going through ideas for the songs. If we liked the song we kept it on the record, regardless of what direction it went genre wise. Lyrically, I made it a point to make sure I was staying positive in my message as much as could. Also, I wrote a lot of the lyrics while the band was on the road, so there's definitely an undertone of travel throughout the record."

The Dick Dale Phenomenon. His style is something different and unique. Since his first appearances Balboa, Ca. at the famed Rendezvous Ballroom, he has set and broken attendance records everywhere he's performed. His appearances at the Rendezvous Ballroom broke every existing record for the Ballroom by drawing capacity crowds of over four thousand screaming dancing fans every weekend each night down on the Balboa peninsula.

Dick Dale invented surf music in the 1950's. Not the '60's as is commonly believed. He was given the title "King of the Surf Guitar" by his fellow surfers with whom he surfed with from sun-up to sun-down. He met Leo Fender the guitar and amplifier Guru and Leo asked Dale to play his newly creation, the Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar. The minute Dale picked up the guitar, Leo Fender broke into uncontrolled laughter and disbelief, he was watching Dale play a right handed guitar upside down and backwards, Dale was playing a right handed guitar left handed and changing the chords in his head then transposing the chords to his hands to create a sound never heard before.

Leo Fender gave the Fender Stratocaster along with a Fender Amp to Dale and told him to beat it to death and tell him what he thought of it. Dale took the guitar and started to beat it to death, and he blew up Leo Fender's amp and blew out the speaker. Dale proceeded to blow up forty nine amps and speakers; they would actually catch on fire. Leo would say, 'Dick, why do you have to play so loud?' Dale would explain that he wanted to create the sound of Gene Krupa the famous jazz drummer that created the sounds of the native dancers in the jungles along with the roar of mother nature's creature's and the roar of the ocean.

Leo Fender kept giving Dale amps and Dale kept blowing them up! Till one night Leo and his right hand man Freddy T. went down to the Rendezvous Ballroom on the Balboa Peninsula in Balboa, California and stood in the middle of Four Thousand screaming dancing Dick Dale fans and said to Freddy, I now know what Dick Dale is trying to tell me. Back to the drawing board. A special 85 watt output transformer was made that peaked 100 watts when dale would pump up the volume of his amp, this transformer would create the sounds along with Dale's style of playing, the kind of sounds that Dale dreamed of. BUT! they now needed a speaker that would handle the power and not burn up from the volume that would come from Dale's guitar.

Leo, Freddy and Dale went to the James B. Lansing speaker company, and they explained that they wanted a fifteen inch speaker built to their specifications. That speaker would soon be known as the 15'' JBL -D130 speaker. It made the complete package for Dale to play through and was named the Single Showman Amp. When Dale plugged his Fender Stratocaster guitar into the new Showman Amp and speaker cabinet, Dale became the first creature on earth to jump from the volume scale of a modest quiet guitar player on a scale of 4 to blasting up through the volume scale to TEN! That is when Dale became the "Father of Heavy Metal" as quoted from Guitar Player Magazine. Dale broke through the electronic barrier limitations of that era!

Dale still wanted to go further, and as the crowds increased, Dale's volume increased, but he still wanted a bigger punch with thickness in the sound so that it would pulsate into the audience and leave them breathless. The JBL-D130 was doing its job until Dale froze it in the frame that held the speaker, the speaker cone would twist from the heavy playing from Dale and it would soon twist and stop to fluctuate back n forth.

Leo, Freddy and Dale went back to the JBL speaker company and told them to rubberize the front ridge of the speaker allowing it to push forward and backward from the signal of Dale's guitar without cocking and twisting. The new updated version was called the JBL D-130F; the F stood for Fender.

Leo, Freddy and Dale designed a speaker cabinet and in which they installed 2 -15''-JBL-D130F's. This caused Leo Fender to have to create a new and more powerful output transformer, they would call it the Dick Dale Transformer and it was made by the Triad Company.

This became the 100 watt output transformer that would actually peak 180 watts. Nothing like this had ever been done before in the world of guitars and amplifiers. This became known as the Dual-Showman Piggy Back Amp. This is why Dick Dale is called the Father of all the power Players in the world!

It is a Phenomena, that Dale is still playing with not only the same vengeance as he did in the 50's, but his playing is unleashed and shredding into the 90's with a focus and power as if from mother nature. He shares the stage with fellow players of all generations up into the alternative's of the 90's. Being completely self taught, Dick Dale plays left handed upside down which was a result of holding the guitar left-handed. The strings became upside-down, chords are designed for right handed players making it very difficult for a left handed player unless he were to change the strings for a left handed guitar, something that Dale never did.

Dale is also a master at the Acoustic, Electronic, Bass and Spanish Guitars'. As well as the Ukulele, Banjo, Drums, Piano, Organ, Electronic Keyboard, Harpsichord, Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Harmonica, Xylophone and, believe it or not... the Accordion!

Dale was also responsible for another creation to the world of guitar players, "The Fender Tank Reverb". As Dale sang in his shows, he found that he did not have a vibrato in his voice, and he did not like the straight flat dry sound. to sustain his vocal notes, he turned to an old Hammond organ and found a reverb unit and showed it to Leo Fender and together they came up with the "Fender Tank Reverb". Dale then plugged a Shure Dynamic Bird cage Microphone into it and as Dale sang, his voice took on a very rich, sexy and full sound. Later, Dale then plugged his Fender Stratocaster guitar into the Reverb Tank to sustain his guitar notes which became Dale's trademark sound.) (NOTE) Dale had already been titled "King of the Surf Guitar" by his surfer friends before his creation of the Fender Reverb, Dale's first album called "Surfer's Choice" was the first Surfing album to be commercially sold with a picture of Dale surfing by the pier in San Clemente, Ca. with a surfing title on it. This album alone sold over eighty-eight thousand albums in the late 50's and today in the 90's it would be like 4 million. There was not one song on that album that had a Reverb for effects, everything was played with nothing but Dale's sheer force and power. A bit of trivia, Dale's recording of "Miserlou" became the title song for Quentin Tarantino's Blockbuster movie "Pulp Fiction".

Dick Dale has been called one of the hardest working men in show business. In the past five years he has maintained a heavy concert tour and public appearance schedule throughout the world. Focusing in Europe, Australia, Japan, Canada, South America and the U.S.

Birdtalker is Zack and Dani Green, Andy Hubright, Brian Seligman, and Jesse Baker.

Zack and Dani were married in 2012 and soon after their wedding tried writing a couple songs together. They liked it, so they wrote a couple more. Andy, a friend from college and very talented drummer, was into the songs and started beating on stuff while Zack and Dani played them. It sounded good. While these 3 were playing the songs at Shakespeare in the Park one August afternoon, Brian became interested in adding his immense talent to the mix as well and began playing along with mandolin and guitar. It sounded even better. Birdtalker as these 4 members wrote and practiced for about a year when yet another talented friend and Birdtalker's biggest fan, Jesse, expressed interest in lending his bass sounds to the band. It is the combination of each member's specific offerings that gives Birdtalker the life and sound that it now possesses. And it doesn't hurt that they all like each other a heck of a lot, too.

Zack and Dani write songs as a way to share ideas they care about and sentiments they feel deeply. Playing music has proven to be a powerful avenue for connection and communion, within the band as well as with listeners. Birdtalker's hope is simply that the more music they write and share, the more true and vulnerable interactions may be born from it.

Mainstays of the Austin music scene for nearly a decade, anthemic ambient rock band The Rocketboys have steadily built a loyal following over the course of two LPs and a handful of EPs. Their dynamic, majestic songs have earned comparisons to Coldplay, Arcade Fire and Band of Horses, and they've captured audiences nationwide with a soaring, stirring live show. After nearly five years without a full-length release, The Rocketboys return with Certain Circles-- a seasoned and cohesive LP that combines the grandiosity of the band's debut 20,000 Ghosts with the soul of sophomore effort Build Anyway-- with a sprinkling of their 2015 EP Left | Right's pop- sensibility.

The band's brief stint on an indie label in 2015, despite bringing notable accolades (single Viva Voce on GLEE and over 1 million Spotify streams), left them never quite feeling comfortable in their own artistic skin. Once they parted ways, songs that had been set aside during that time for not being "hit- worthy" resurfaced, and new songs were written with a focus on creating beautiful music regardless of immediate commercial appeal.

"It's liberating to return to doing what we love, remember why we were playing music in the first place," says keyboardist Justin Wiseman. "We're incredibly proud of all of the music we've created, but with this LP, it feels like we're back to doing what we do best."

Lead singer and guitarist Brandon Kinder agrees. "We'd gone from small Austin studios, to big LA super studios, to bedrooms, to literally the back of the van. This time, we mostly recorded at my home studio in Austin because we wanted to be able to spend a lot of time experimenting with sounds and parts. It was nice not to feel the pressure of an expensive studio. I think this is the best thing we've ever done because of the extra time we were able to spend chasing down ideas."

For their last few releases, Kinder says, the band had drifted toward writing songs with an agenda behind them. And it was never really supposed to be that way.

"When we started this band (in college in Abilene, Texas, circa 2005), it wasn't to make money, or to write a hit, or to hear our voices on the radio," Kinder says. "We just wrote songs that we thought were cool, and we had fun playing them.

"I wouldn't trade the experiences we've had for anything, because I think we've grown a lot as songwriters and musicians because of it. But I wanted to get back to that innocence, back to writing with our fans in mind, and not a dollar sign."

"It's why we love standing in front of a microphone and an audience-- and about what it is to chase a dream until you almost want to give up. Most of the songs on Certain Circles reflect that journey."

Adds Wiseman, "Although we loved the songs on Left | Right and relish the successes it brought, we knew there was something better in terms of what this band can be. Ironically, we wrote many of the songs before and after that label stint during some long periods of just...waiting."

The title Certain Circles refers to a Venn diagram. "It's one group pulling us one way, and a different group pulling us another," says Kinder. "We didn't realize until we started making this record that there were some groups of people who had one idea of what they thought The Rocketboys should be, and there were other groups, other circles that had another idea of who we are. And at least for me, I lost my direction. I just thought I'd plow along and see what happened. But when we started making this record, we realized we wanted to take it back to where we started, and that's just making music that we love."

Talk, a live staple of the band for almost two years, makes its recorded debut on the new LP. "It was going to be one of the main songs on Left | Right, but at the last minute it was axed," says Wiseman. "To be able to re-think it gave us a chance to give the song far more meaning. I think it's probably one of the best songs we've ever done. It always gets a big reaction when we perform it live."

The Land that No one Promised Us went through an evolution on its way to the final tracklist. "Originally it was a super-poppy and fun song, and it would've probably ended up being our most upbeat track ever," says Wiseman. "Then randomly Brandon did a version of it on piano, playing all seventh (jazzier) chords and way slower. At first it sounded like a joke. But then we couldn't get past this new take, as it fit the lyrics perfectly. Brandon also did an amazing job with the guitar solo and some other little nuances."

Kinder describes one of his favorite tracks "You're Just Going To Let Me Down Again" (an angst-ridden accusation of a song) "...it was already one of the best in my opinion, but we were able to add some really interesting keyboard stuff on it," he says. "And Away We Go -- the ending still gives me goosebumps everytime I listen to it."

The Rocketboys' traditional DIY spirit lives on. The band did much of the recording themselves, but employed engineer Kevin Butler (Black Books, Quiet Company) and Andy Freeman (Eisley, Manchester Orchestra) to mix. It's a natural progression for a band -- a streamlined, but ambitious effort. Certain Circles stands to bring nostalgia to longtime fans while standing out as The Rocketboys' best, most creative material to-date. The end result sublimely captures the arc of the band's circuitous career. Ten years of highs and lows are compressed neatly into 40 minutes of music.

Having previously toured with bands ranging from Twenty One Pilots, The Mowgli's, and Relient K, and fresh from a nationwide tour backing Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue, The Rocketboys previewed much of Certain Circles on a short fall tour at the end of 2016. With several tracks slated for release this year, the band will release Certain Circles on May 12, 2017.

When we called it the American Dream, what we really meant was "the American Myth."

That myth convinced us that the right house/car/bank account/voting card could punch our tickets to a happily-ever-after, but for reasons too numerous and depressing to note, that myth is finally dying. Somewhere along the way, we realized the secret to mythology is not letting anyone sell it to you. You have to create your own. And now something new is springing up as we cast off the strange rules and crushing expectations of old. We're rediscovering that freedom comes from the inside out, not from the outside in.

Kristin Diable has been exploring freedom and choice in her music ever since she picked up an open mic at a lounge in Baton Rouge and stunned the audience into silence. She rode that vibe, away to New York and then back to her native Louisiana like a storm front, one that shook New Orleans and cooled the air. And her newest album, Create Your Own Mythology, invokes her Louisiana and Americana roots, while firing a rock-and-roll shot across the bow of borrowed myths.

Producer Dave Cobb expands upon a stellar year that had seen Sturgill Simpson's Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Lindi Ortega's Tin Star, and Jason Isbell's Southeastern all arrive to critical acclaim--here he does double duty, producing and also standing the front lines on guitar. Cobb is known for spurring his performers to find their truest voices, and this is Diable's richest and most elaborate album to date.

It takes a person to write an album, but a good album writes a person too. Kristin realized Create Your Own Mythology was fighting its way into the world during her force-of-will tour, which alighted in Europe and Africa in 2013. Cut loose from the norm, discovering new venues almost as fast as she could perform in them, she found swimming in her head new songs about holding on, letting go, patience, and faith in the face of futility. And about penning your own rules and your own reality.

From the gospel notes of "True Devotion", written in Morocco during a Ramadan sunset, to the wistful universal waters flowing through "Deepest Blue", Diable weaves a dense, bewitching net. The idea of embracing the infinite unknown and finding freedom, clarity through the trials we experience along our journey as human beings is explored in songs like the lead single, "I'll Make Time for You", and "Eyes to the Horizon". The latter has been used twice in HBO's Treme performed by the character, Annie.

Rumi wrote, "Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."

Kristin says that music is her ticket on that journey to the soul's distant elsewhere, and this new album is her invitation to the listener--not to follow her on her mythical path, but to go questing for their own. That's a journey that will require some suffering, and acceptance, and evolution and honesty--these are the tokens hidden in these songs, smoothing that hard path, leading us away, and leading us home.

The Mississippi River makes a hairpin turn in Baton Rouge before swerving unstoppably into the Gulf of Mexico. As it slowly zigs and zags like a cautious alcoholic, rich sediment sloshes loose onto the sun-baked Louisiana turf. It's lush country. Things grow here. New Orleans grew here. Kristin Diable grew here and is still growing. And myths grow here like sugarcane does: fast, tall, and sweet.

Scott Stanton, vocals and guitar Dave Lang, vocals and guitar Ghosty Boy, bass and vocals Chris Petersen, drums

Every song has a story. With Current Swell's third Nettwerk Records release, When To Talk And When To Listen, these stories cut deep.

Grammy-winning producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Cold War Kids, Of Monsters and Men, James Bay) produced the album over four weeks in two vastly different locales: Nashville and Vancouver.

The former is where King lives and does most of his studio work; the latter is a ferry ride away from where Current Swell makes its home. Both cities have music at their core, which gave King and Current Swell common ground on which to build their new relationship.

Yet, tensions ran high early on. During the first night at Nashville's famed Blackbird Studios, King cut short the sessions and told the band to come back when they had something worthwhile to say. Current Swell was talking loud and saying nothing.

A blunt, band-only meeting quickly cured what ailed them. They went back to their first-ever phone call with King months earlier, when they discovered he had an extensive list of questions and ideas for each song -- long before they had ever even met.

The four friends returned the following day ready to create. "He said we had finally tapped into that spark he heard in the very first demos we sent him," recalls frontman Scott Stanton. "It helped create trust. He knew as much about the songs as we did. He pushed us because he knew we had it in us to make a really great record."

Like all good rock 'n' roll should, When To Talk And When To Listen touches on all facets of the human condition, from the heartbreak and spurned love of first single "It Ain't Right" to a pair of songs about loss that form the emotional core of the album.

"Marsha" is about the inner dialogue Stanton often has with his mother, a piano teacher who died at 46 of breast cancer when he was in Grade 9. "She is still part of me in a way, so I often talk to her when I need advice," he says. "I feel like my mom would be really proud of it."

Band member Dave Lang wrote title track "When To Talk And When To Listen" when his father-in-law was nearing the end of his life. Lang and his wife were getting ready to welcome their first child around the same time, which felt like a cruel twist of fate. After taking stock of the reality he was facing, Lang says the words came pouring out.

"We knew he wasn't going to be around when our daughter was born, and he was going to miss out on meeting her. And I started thinking: 'What if that happened to me? What would I want to pass along?'"
Current Swell's track record in its home country includes two No. 1 singles on iTunes Canada's rock chart and a Top 10 record on the commercial rock charts in Canada for 2014's Ulysses. But all signs point to When To Talk And When To Listen -- an album of rich songwriting and vibrant musicianship -- casting a much wider net.

That means more pressure will exist. Which is why this album has to be unlike any Current Swell recording to date.
"For Ulysses, we jammed all the songs, went in the studio and played them," Stanton says. "For this, we started from scratch. We dissected everything. Out of any album we've done, this one really captured what I was hearing in my head."

"It Ain't Right" is an apt example. Stanton infuses the album's lead single with a keen eye for relationship details, the band rumbling away beneath him as it reaches an apex. "I thought you were different," Stanton sings, highlighting the narrator's serious interconnectivity issues. "I thought you were cool, but it ain't right."

The group as whole found a new level of confidence on the recording. Some of that can be credited to King, who pushed Current Swell to find a new side of their artistic selves, Stanton says. "He would never say something just to say it. But he always wound up being right. He was like a coach."

A solid fanbase has taken the group across North America several times and into countries such as Brazil, where a pair of headline tours brought them to thousands of rabid fans. "We're very comfortable in certain parts of the world with our success," Lang says. "But I know this record is one that can take us to new places."

Stanton and Lang use one word - educational - to describe the process of recording seperately at Blackbird in Nashville and the Warehouse in Vancouver. They are studios with rich histories - not to mention a client list that includes Bruce Springsteen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, AC/DC, Taylor Swift and R.E.M.

Current Swell had developed a comfortable way of recording until King came along. He succeeded in propelling them to greater heights, pushing the band to realize its potential. Urging them to dig deeper.
"He was not afraid to share the hard truth that you know is in the back of your mind," Lang says. "And he was not afraid to bring it to everyone's attention. It was cool to be pushed like that."

Now, it is time for Current Swell to push back. Lang says the group will take its music to the world this year, showcasing the heart and soul it took to create When To Talk And When To Listen.

"Anyone can make an album," he said. "But we knew this record had to be good."

Born and raised in Sandpoint Idaho, Shook Twins are an Indie folk-pop band hailing from Portland, Oregon. Identical twins, Katelyn and Laurie are the main songwriters, but they also back up their band member Niko Slice (electric guitar, mandolin and vocals) adding his uniquely compelling songs to the mix. Barra Brown is on Drums, vocals and Drum Pad, and Josh Simon is on Bass, vocals, Electric guitar, and synth. Central to Shook Twins' sound is their wide range of instrumentation: banjo, acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, mandolin, electronic drums, face drum (beat-box), glockenspiel, ukulele, banjo-head drumming and their signature Golden Egg. Beautiful twin harmonies, layered upon acoustic and electric instrumentation, coupled with Laurie's inventive use of percussive and ambient vocal loops, and Katelyn's re-purposed telephone microphone, set their sound apart, creating a unique and eccentric blend of folk, roots, groove and soul.

Their eclectic style fluctuates from song to song; drawing from their life experience they write about being potters' daughters, the sway of the subconscious, imagined superpowers and a chicken friend named 'Rose.' Shook Twins also pull out unexpected covers on classic hits as well as their friends' songs. After releasing their first album You Can Have the Rest, the twin sisters moved to Portland where they released Window (featuring Bonnie Paine and Bridget Law of Elephant Revival). Both albums were recorded and produced in Santa Cruz, California, at InDigital Studios with Brody Bergholz and Mason Rothchild. Shook Twins recorded their third album, What We Do, with Grammy nominated producer Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studios. They are currently recording new music at Hallowed Halls in Portland, OR with Justin Phelps.

After releasing their first album You Can Have the Rest, the twin sisters moved to Portland where they released Window (featuring Bonnie Paine and Bridget Law of Elephant Revival). Both albums were recorded and produced in Santa Cruz, California, at InDigital Studios with Brody Bergholz and Mason Rothchild. Shook Twins recorded their third album, What We Do, with Grammy nominated producer Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studios. They are currently recording new music at Hallowed Halls in Portland, OR with Justin Phelps.

Shook Twins have shared the stage with artists including: Ryan Adams, Gregory Alan Isakov, Greensky Bluegrass, Mason Jennings, Blitzen Trapper, Railroad Earth, Keller Williams, David Grisman, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sarah Jarosz, Laura Veirs, The Fruit Bats, Jonathan Brooke, JJ Grey and MoFro, The Indigo Girls, Crooked Still, Jason Webley, The BoDeans, Elephant Revival and more.

Spanning the spectrum from distinctive and genuine to amusing and whimsical, Shook Twins' laid-back and fun stage presence draws the listener in, allowing them to take the audience on an adventure. 2016 saw the band opening up for Greensky Bluegrass on a 13 show tour, supporting Keller Williams for several shows in Northern California, and playing Red Rocks Amphitheater with Gregory Alan Isakov and Ani Difranco. The band also embarked on a Spring tour to Europe where they played two festivals in Germany and six shows in the UK. Festivals for this year included WinterWonderGrass Tahoe (CA), Huckleberry Jam (ID), Safety Harbor Fest (FL), Apple Jam Music Festival (OR), Beaverstock (CA), Summer Camp Music Festival (IL), Revival Fest (MN), Northwest String Summit (OR), Fayetteville Roots Festival (AR), Summer Meltdown (WA), Oregon Country Fair (OR), Suwannee Roots Revival (FL) and more!

Shook Twins have never been sonically confined to the indie-folk world in which they've become well-known artists. Always harnessing an adventurous spirit, Shook Twins are never shy to incorporate beat boxing, banjo-head drumming, vocals using a re-purposed telephone microphone, and other ambient sources within their arrangements. On their latest single, "Call Me Out" (Release Date: August 19, 2016), Shook Twins once again take another leap from the acoustic music scene with a vibey, pop-infused soundscape with a poignant message ready to be embraced by the masses. Lush harmonies, delayed banjo pickin', deep drums, and multi-layered lead vocals draw the listener into this intimate breakout summer 2016 single.

Like their name, The Steel Woods are a hybrid musical force, part hard-edged, part Americana roots country folk, man-made, yet organic, rock but also bluegrass, R&B, blues, gospel, soul and heavy metal, "the materials which America is built on" according to co-founder Wes Bayliss. The Nashville-based band is also steeped in the ethos of Southern rock, with the music on its debut Woods Music/Thirty Tigers release, Straw in the Wind, both timeless and indefinable, sounding like it could've been recorded at any point during the past half-century. "That's kinda the idea," nods Bayliss. The Steel Woods trace an unbroken line from Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams through Willie and Waylon, then the Allmans, Blackfoot, The Band and Tom Petty up through contemporaries like Kings of Leon and the Avett Brothers.

"I grew up on Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Led Zeppelin," says Jason "Rowdy"Cope, who was born in Asheville, NC, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he heard some pretty impressive pickers, which inspired him as a kid. "Our music is like good bluegrass, with the electric guitars turned up to 11," he says.

There is a biblical, hellfire-and-brimstone morality at work on songs like the good-andevil parable, "Axe", the first song they ever wrote together -- which takes off on cofounder Rowdy's ominous, rumbling bluegrass guitar line -- or the galloping country rhythms of "Della Jane's Heart", a murder ballad about a spurned woman taking her revenge on a fickle lover, and immediately regrets her actions. "The Secret" goes back to the Garden and Adam's original heartbreak, equating the duplicitous Eve with the Devil himself. The musical melting pot ranges from the stark acoustic strumming of "Whatever It Means to You" and the thunderstruck drone of their speeded-up Black Sabbath cover, "Hole in the Sky".

The band's founders are two native sons of the south who both hail from small-town, Bible Belt backgrounds. The Alabama-born Bayliss played harmonica from the age of eight in his family's gospel band, eventually teaching himself piano, bass and drums. Rowdy turned his love of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix into a career as a session guitarist/songwriter and producer, moving to Los Angeles then playing in Jamey Johnson's band for nine years. The two met in Nashville during a one-off gig, and immediately felt a connection. "We decided we were pretty much on the same page and wanted to do our own thing," says Wes. "We had an idea and a vision."

The pair spent a month fishing together, eventually bringing guitars along with their poles to the tiny hole and discovered an affinity. It was then they began to make music together. "It just worked, his voice and me doing my thing on guitar," says Rowdy.

The result was an EP, which, because they hadn't written anything together except for "Axe", included covers by hot Nashville writers like Rowdy's frequent collaborator singer/songwriter Brent Cobb ("Better in the Fall," "The Well," "If We Never Go", "Let the Rain Come Down") and revered artist Darrell Scott ("Uncle Lloyd").

With originals such as the acoustic ballad, "I'm Gonna Love You", the narrative title track, the philosophical "Whatever It Means to You" and the cathartic closer, "Let the Rain Come Down", the songwriting/production team of Bayliss and Cope is proving quite a formidable duo. The two, who co-produced their debut album, are committed to doing things their way.

"We're not murderers, we're just the messengers," says Bayliss about some of the songs' more gruesome scenarios. "We don't preach. We just want to play good songs with good stories. As long as they come back to hear us again, I'm happy."

"We're into this to heal people's hearts," explains Rowdy. "If you're given a talent that can shake plates in the earth, that can really change the world, you have a responsibility to use that for good. Music is the most powerful, emotion-driven art form in the universe because it transcends language. It's like a sharp blade. It can be used to kill, or in the hands of a surgeon, to heal someone."

The Steel Woods aren't in this for the money, the fame or the awards. For them, music is a matter of life and death, right and wrong, bad and good, with the sinners punished for their transgressions, and the noble achieving the kind of transcendence the man dying of thirst in "Let the Rain Come Down" receives.

"Everything has its price," says Rowdy. "You reap what you sow...We've poured so much into this band. I know how little sleep we've had, how many bad meals we've eaten. I just hope these songs can help people get things off their chest."

"We want to get good songs out to a bunch of people who need them," adds Wes. "We just want to make a living making music because it's the greatest job in the world. I don't mind working, but I prefer loving what I do."

Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, the powerhouse bass and drums of the group King Crimson for a few decades, bring that tradition to all their playing. Levin plays the Chapman Stick, from which the band takes it's name. Having bass and guitar strings, the Chapman Stick functions at times like two instruments. Markus Reuter plays his self-designed touch style guitar -- again covering much more ground than a guitar or a bass. And Mastelotto's drumming encompasses not just the acoustic kit, but a unique electronic setup too, allowing him to add loops, samples, percussion, and more. New studio album Prog Noir was released in October 2016, and the band is touring the USA and Canada in August/September 2017, and in 2018 will perform at the Cruise To The Edge 2018 and in Central America and The Caribbean (with special guest David Cross, ex-King Crimson),, and in Europe in March 2018.

TONY LEVIN - Born in Boston, Tony Levin started out in classical music, playing bass in the Rochester Philharmonic. Then moving into jazz and rock, he has had a notable career, recording and touring with John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Yes, Alice Cooper, Gary Burton, Buddy Rich and many more. He has also released 5 solo CDs and three books. In addition to touring with Stick Men, he is currently a member of King Crimson and Peter Gabriel Band, and jazz bands Levin Brothers and L'Image. His popular website, tonylevin.com, featured one of the web's first blogs, and has over 4 million visits.

PAT MASTELOTTO - Very rarely does a drummer go on to forge the most successful career on the demise of their former hit band. Phil Collins and Dave Grohl have managed it, so too has Pat Mastelotto, a self taught drummer from Northern California, who has also been involved with pushing the envelope of electronic drumming. Pat has spent a lifetime jumping genres from pop, to prog, to electronica to world music with -- among others -- Mr. Mister, XTC, David Sylvian, The Rembrandts, Kimmo Pohjonen, and for the last 20 years with King Crimson.

MARKUS REUTER - Markus is a composer, guitarist, and producer. Initially trained as a pianist, he subsequently studied Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft and learned to play the Chapman Stick, later moving onto the U8 Touch Guitar. Reuter has released several solo recordings and worked extensively with other musicians. He is one of the core members of the experimental band Centrozoon, is half of the duo Tuner (with Pat Mastelotto) and was also a member of Europa String Choir. Reuter has collaborated with Ian Boddy, Robert Rich, No-Man singer Tim Bowness, and many others.

Winner of the Independent Music Award, in the Live Performance Album category for his latest triple live album "Encore" (2014), "Rose d'Or" of the Montreux Festival for his first album, "Près de Paris" (Switzerland, 1976), "Best World Music Guitar Player " by the readers of Guitar Player Magazine (USA, 2008), Pierre Bensusan is recognized as one of the premier musicians of our time.

If "World Music" is music that pays tribute to the spirit of a collection of human beings through distinct rhythms, traditional instruments and harmonic colors, French-Algerian guitarist, singer and composer Pierre Bensusan can be recognized as one of the most eloquent and world musicians today.

Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, when France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan's family moved to Paris when he was 4. He began formal studies on piano at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself guitar. Influenced in those early days by the folk revival blooming in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan began first to explore his own diverse musical heritage and then moved to the horizons beyond.

At 17 he signed his first recording contract, and one year later his first album "Pres de Paris" won the Grand Prix du Disque upon his debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.

Described by the L.A. Times as "one of the most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans in the world music scene today", Pierre's name became synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius, long before the terms New Age, New Acoustic Music or World Music were invented. He has the ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band as he brings the audience on a mesmerizing musical journey. And yet, Bensusan is more than what any musician or music lover expects from a guitarist. He is a composer as well as a bilingual and a brave improvisational vocalist, melding whistles and resonant low notes with something like his own scat technique.

There is a sense of something both playful and serious in his work, an unparalleled sense of freedom in his compositions and his improvisations. His "manner" of playing defies classification - crossing world, classical, jazz, traditional, folk and more. None can be isolated as simply "Brazilian", "Arabic" or "French"; rather, they represent our world in its current state, a world sharing itself, fusing cultures together in ways we have never experienced. A great embassador of peace. Not to be missed!

As 2015 began, I had somehow been on the road for the fastest, longest two years of my life. I had kicked the tires hard touring in support of my album Traveling Alone. I had recorded and toured with classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein. My friend Andrew Bird asked me to be in his old time band the Hands of Glory, so I pretended I was a member of the Carter family on guitar, and I watched him like a hawk to make sure he felt fully free; singing harmony with Andrew is not unlike flying. Suddenly, I was turning 40, getting divorced, and scared out of my mind. So I decided to take a year off the road to see what would happen to me if I just stopped touring... On a friend's ranch in Marfa, Texas, in the middle of the high plains without a car headlight in sight, I did just that, and when I did, I started to do what I always do: the humble work of marking life by writing.

On the ranch, I wrote about the long straight roads in west Texas: the ones that make sense, that make you feel like what is behind you is indeed behind you and that good things are up ahead. 'Wait For Me' is a wish that life would run like that. Watching the ranch hands keep their daily routine, I wrote about keeping my own head down, pressing on, and the way that love persists and pushes forward no matter what happens, 'Love Soldiers On.' I watched birds learning to fly and bathe in the driveway dust at dusk in the front yard and wrote 'Icarus' about what they taught me. In my California cabin, I wrote every morning and hiked every afternoon, up the mountains to the East and along the rocky coast, farther than I had ever hiked, one exhausted foot after the other. 'Heartache is an Uphill Climb' began in the red mud on one particularly impossible incline. Once, having hiked farther than I realized, dark fell on me. The white lilies in a meadow began to glow like evening dresses as the moon rose in the changing light. 'Proclamation Bones' is a tribute to that unexpected beauty, to nature's secret nightlife. On return to NYC with Raymond Carver's All of Us: The Collected Poems in hand, his poem 'My Boat' leapt up like lightning; it wanted to be sung. In a hungover moment of joy coming out of a subway, 'Something Came Over Me' seeded itself. And the heavy sadness of memory washing over me as I looked out at the East River became 'Eastern Light'.

Look, everyone knows that album bios are usually full of crap. How about this: This album weathered no doubt, Marlon Brando's ghost played bass and a fire-breathing dragon co-wrote the songs! Let's be clear about something -- What made my time off special was that I had a regular writing routine. I was private. I followed my heart and my craft. The story of being a writer is the story of being devoted over a long time. What I hate most about bios is that they trade the small virtue of the writing life for pretending that artists and albums spring forth fully formed, trimming the tale to fit the spotlight. I'm more comfortable being real about things. I took my life and synthesized it through my writing with an intensity that no one but the birds saw but that hopefully you can feel. And life continued. Let the real story here be that there is love and beauty in the mess of dedication.

And life did continue. In Fall, my friend MC Taylor asked me to be a part of his new Hiss Golden Messenger album. About the same time, to my delight and surprise, I realized my boyfriend and I were expecting a child. I performed with HGM just as I began to show; MC and his band talked on and on about how North Carolina was a place you could actually raise a child AND be a musician. My roots and my friends pulled. In an airport, I bumped into my friend Sam Beam. He said I could send him my songs, and when I did and he said, "I can tell you've been working hard on your writing," I was filled with the gratefulness which comes from being heard. I couldn't believe he wanted in on the record making party, along with my favorite musicians, for four days because that was what I could afford. One long night before leaving for the studio, I stared at the ceiling of my NYC apartment. The leaves, the streetlights, and the sirens drew a shadow vine. I cried for dreams that were gone, and I gathered myself for those to come. I recorded in Los Angeles six months pregnant and then set off for home to figure out what a onesie was. I showed up back in my hometown knocked about a little by the world thinking maybe my life was a country song, but maybe it was a really good country song.

What strikes me most when I am writing these days is the changing nature of things. Sometimes sex matters deeply, sometimes family eclipses all; sometimes aloneness is hell, sometimes it is a refuge. Sometimes hometowns are constricting; sometimes they are a sight for sore eyes. We do our damnedest. For all the times we are watered down and compromise, we can become rigid and impossible just as easily. We right ourselves as best we can and carry on. It is a loose thread that holds us best together in this life. Not too tight, not too planned, enough give to stand what tangles us but ties us nonetheless. Ties us to each other in some unseen pattern, to our actions, to the songs that come out of us, to the seasons that pass through us. We press on, love persists, and we must trust the unknowable pattern we are making. My little daughter is sleeping beside me now, and what I hope for her is what I will tell you now. May these threads be joyful; not heavy chains, but light like wings, like starlight, like laughter. Empty your pockets of stones, that light-hearted you may go (for you must go), with the stitch of the world, into the stitch of the world.

Stiff Little Fingers were formed in 1977 in Belfast, Ireland. Along with the likes of the Clash, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Sham 69, Stranglers, et al --Stiff Little Fingers were at the forefront of the punk movement. They wrote initially about their own lives, growing up at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, in songs like "Suspect Device" and "Wasted Life". In November of '77, they released those two songs on their own Rigid Digits label, and sent a copy to BBC RadioOne DJ John Peel, who started playing it every night.

These were the first of what became SLF's signature style: lyrics that meld the personal and political, music that combines the energy of punk with infectious hooks, and delivery that rings of honesty and commitment. In 1979 they became the first band ever to hit the UK top 20 album charts on an independent label with their debut Inflammable Material. The album chronicles the band's anger and frustration at "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland, and calls on youth to create their own reality.

Over the years, their live shows continued to be special events of energy and power. Their studio albums demonstrate their passion and anger, each in its own way. In '94 they released the Get a Life LP. The album helped renew interest in SLF just as newer bands that sited them as a major influence, such as Bad Religion, Sugar, Rancid and Therapy, were coming to prominence. In August 2003, Stiff Little Fingers released their ninth studio album, Guitar and Drum, which includes a moving tribute to Joe Strummer, entitled "Strummerville".

After many studio albums and countless tours, Stiff Little Fingers find themselves more in demand than ever. They are currently working on a new album, and many of the new songs have been debuted at live gigs, with tremendous response from fans. With song titles like Trail of Tears, My Dark Places and Liar's Club covering topics such as the recent economic collapse, Jake's personal struggle with depression, and continuing racism in the west. Jake has said, "You've probably worked out by now, I don't do "comedy" songs !!" But the songs continue to inspire fans old and new. Countless people have already contacted Jake to say that "My Dark Places" gave them the strength to tell others about theirown bouts with depression.

Though focused on their new material, they always play the old favorites at gigs. Jake said, "You have to strike a balance. The difficulty with a band like ourselves is to try not make it sound like a cabaret band. Obviously, it'd be very easy to go, 'Hey, here's another old one you may remember.' A lot of the old songs the audience greet like old friends. I suppose it's the same as any band that's been around for any length of time. And yes, there are nights that we don't particularly want to play "Alternative Ulster" or "Suspect Device" because we've heard them 'til they're coming out our ears. But there's always the possibility that somebody out there has never seen the band before, never heard them.

"Using the band's rich musical foundation as a building block, the time has come to bring the newest chapter of the band's music to the world. The new songs, penned over the last decade, show a definite musical growth in the band. The result is the band's latest release --No Going Back was released in March 2014.

Bobby Whitlock represents the true southern blues/soul singer. Born in Memphis he was the first white artist to be signed to the Stax Hip label at the tender age of 16. Taken under the wings of Steve Cropper and Donald (Duck) Dunn at the time.

In 1969 Bobby left Stax and went to California to become the first "friend" in the group Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. For a short time in Europe, the guitar line up consisted of Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Dave Mason. It was during this time that Bobby became friends with Eric Clapton.

After leaving Delaney & Bonnie, Bobby joined Eric Clapton where they began to write together, becoming a formidable writing team and eventually recording Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs which is now celebrating its 40th year and is considered to be one of the most influential and great records in the history of rock-n- roll..The rest is of course music history.

Meanwhile CoCo had begun her career in London England. She took the road and played across Europe including Germany, Italy and France and back home in England. After nearly a decade in Europe, CoCo moved back to the United States residing in her home state of California, Los Angeles to be precise. She met and later married Delaney Bramlett.

During those years with Delaney, she produced and co/produced many records including her own solo record "First Fruit" which came out in 2010, with ex Delaney Bramlett featuring many songs written by the two. Bobby met CoCo Carmel after her marriage ended with Delaney in 2001. They immediately got to work and began writing and singing and recording and performing.

Beginning in the U.S., CoCo and Bobby played in New Jersey, New York, Alabama and Nashville, and a slew of radio stations. They have also toured various places around the world including Monaco, Geneva Switzerland, France and to Bangalore India to headline a Blues Festival. All the time CoCo producing record after record including the latest "Carnival". The live record comes complete with a red hot band, all top musicians hailing from Austin.

In 2011 Bobby's autobiography "Bobby Whitlock A Rock-n- Roll Autobiography" was released and has been a number one top rated book in rock music on Amazon.

With Bobby's incredible historical History, it is no wonder the past is constantly calling. In 2013 Light in The Attic re-released the newly mastered solo records of Bobby's appropriately titled "Where There's a Will There's a Way". It has been receiving great reviews worldwide and is available online and at stores around the world.

As 2015 rang in, so did a wonderful DVD/Blu Ray Documentary "The Road to Austin" featuring Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Stephen Bruton, Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel. Their performance on the show with an audience of 20,000 ("Layla" and "Why Does Love Got to be so Sad" was superb, as is the entire DVD. The DVD is available online and some outlets in Texas.

This year Bobby will be releasing his first solo record in over fifteen years, produced by Rob Fraboni (The Last Waltz, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Band, John Lennon, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker and more).

It is going to be a good year for Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel.

Youth is a collection of captured moments... like moving photographs: late night drives, the limitless feeling of falling in love, the freedom of finding a true friend and co-conspirator in an immense world, the cool ocean meeting your toes on a hot summer's day. A simmering mix of bass, synths, drums, and frontman Keegan DeWitt's low and soft, yet urgent vocals, lead track "Shapeless" sets the evocative and cinematic tone that permeates the album. The taut dreaminess of "Straight No Turns" and "Hidden In The Night" evolve into sensuous, dancefloor-ready electro-pop, while "Jonti" -- with its soaring, cathartic chorus "I see it now, it's brighter when the lights are out" -- and "Wild Light" -- all quirky, staccato organ and lyrical guitar-led charm -- are playful art pop sing-alongs. The rich, melancholic soundscape of "Drive" highlights Youth's moody romantic atmosphere. Produced in collaboration with musician (Tallest Trees) and photographer Dabney Morris, and mixed with Ephraim Nagler (You Are Plural, The Velvet Teen), the album combines live takes and programmed sounds, and was recorded digitally before the files were run through a TASCAM 4-track tape recorder, often used for intimate home demos.

Formed in early 2012 by songwriter-composer Keegan DeWitt and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Bullock, Wild Cub's debut LP 'Youth' was released last August in the US, and showcases the now five-piece band's dexterity in seamless transitions between infectious electro-pop, tropical rhythms, and quiet washes of cinematic reflection.

PASTE has called 'Youth' "full of small complexities that fill songs as they unwittingly slide into each other" and The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy deemed Wild Cub one of '12 Acts to Watch' at the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon, while Entertainment Weeklyrecommended lead single "Thunder Clatter" as "clattering joyful noise." Press attention has continued with Nylon giving their 'Band Crush' stamp of approval, as well as video and track premieres on noted sites such as SPIN, PASTE, IFC, RCRD LBL, Refinery29 and more. A cover of Jessie Ware's "Running" & a remix of Atlas Genius' "Symptoms" brought increased awareness, the band's electrifying live show has established Wild Cub as a force.

Freshly into 2013, the band has seen the release of Youth in the UK, with notable press attention from Clash Music, The Guardian, The Line Of Best Fit ("Youth relentlessly offers up huge pop songs delivered with sheer gusto & intelligence"), and Top Shop ("sweet, tropically-tinged, dance-y pop"). Not ones to rest for long, the band recently performed at designer Rebecca Minkoff's NY Fashion Week show and burned through eight shows at this year's SXSW festival. Wild Cub's busy year will continue this summer with multiple festival performances -- including at the Hangout Fest in May -- and more touring to come.

Night after night, Tommy Castro, a fierce and fiery road warrior, fervently delivers his driving, blues-soaked, soul-baring music to fans all over the world. The road is where he honed his guitar playing to a razor's edge. It's where he learned how to captivate an audience with his intensely passionate vocals and his memorable songs, licks and grooves. It's where he learned to turn his band into a dynamic, high-performance engine, able to bring down the house with a soulful ballad and then bring fans to their feet with a blistering blues rocker. In the words of Blues Revue, "Tommy Castro can do no wrong."

Over the course of his four-decade career, Castro has played thousands of shows to hundreds of thousands of fans, packing dance floors, always leaving them screaming for more. He has released 14 albums filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each one standing alone. Hailing from the San Francisco area, Castro, along with his band, The Painkillers (currently featuring bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown), play music that is guaranteed to fire up fans and leave critics searching for new words of praise. Billboard says the band plays "irresistible contemporary blues-rock" with "street-level grit and soul." Now, with Method To My Madness, the group turns the intensity up another notch.

"My main objective when making a new album," says Castro, "is to do something different from before. I've always been a blues guy; it's what I'm meant to do. But I'm always listening and reacting to what's going on in the outside world, experimenting with my guitar tone and my songwriting approach to constantly keep my music fresh. In the end, though, my brand is on every song." Method To My Madness finds Tommy Castro And The Painkillers at their very best. It is instantly a career-defining highlight in a lifetime full of them. The album was recorded at Laughing Tiger Studio in San Rafael, California and produced by Castro (his first time at the helm) using no recording studio wizardry, just the unadulterated sound of the band. Castro's songs--he wrote or co-wrote 10 of 12 tracks--are raw, raucous and rocking. From the opening one-two punch of everyman anthems Common Ground and Shine A Light to the full-tilt energy of the title track to the searing, deep soul ballad Died And Gone To Heaven, Tommy and the band are firing on all cylinders. From the bayou rock of Got A Lot and the atmospheric, autobiographical Ride to the reinvented version of the Clarence Carter hit I'm Qualified and the emotional cover of B.B. King's Bad Luck, Tommy Castro And The Painkillers continue to break new ground while simultaneously having an incredible amount of fun.

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Eric Clapton, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield and other blues rock players. As he got older, Castro discovered the blues guitar work of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and the deep-rooted soul of singers like Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. By his 20s he was playing in a variety of San Francisco-area blues and soul bands.

Castro joined Warner Brothers' artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s before forming The Tommy Castro Band in 1991. He released his debut album in 1996 on Blind Pig and hit the road hard, picking up new fans everywhere he went. In the mid-1990s The Tommy Castro Band served as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television's Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live), bringing him in front of millions of viewers every week. During the 1990s and into the 2000s, Castro released a series of critically acclaimed CDs for Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street Records, as well as one on his own Heart And Soul label.

Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009, releasing Hard Believer to massive acclaim. He won four of his six career Blues Music Awards including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). His song Hard Believer took first place in the blues category of the International Songwriting Competition. His next release, 2011's Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue--Live! was a fiery collection of the highlights from a series of live performances anchored by Castro and an all-star collection of nationally recognized blues musicians, including Rick Estrin, Michael "Iron Man"Burks and Joe Louis Walker. His road-dog approach--gig after gig--has won him loyal fans everywhere he plays. Castro formed The Painkillers in 2012, creating a lean, mean four-piece lineup and leaving his tight horn section behind. Fueled by Tommy's voice and guitar plus bass, drums and keyboards, the band released The Devil You Know in 2014, winning over hordes of new fans. Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence with the band hammering their point home on the bandstand. Jambands declared, "Tommy Castro And The Painkillers are a crackling, stripped-down band with plenty of grit and a rocking soul."

Now, with Method To My Madness, Tommy Castro And The Painkillers are ready to unleash their new songs on music fans everywhere. "With the new album," Castro says, "I was trying to get back to my basic ingredients: blues and soul. I went for the energy of connecting with my band. We kept everything raw, capturing the feeling of playing live. I'm not about being perfect," he says, summing up. "I'm about being real." Clearly that is the method to his madness.

"Some artists are interested in being complicated, it's almost like they're speaking another language just to the connoisseur of the art," says Tristen. "I have no interest in that. My style is not to be exclusive. It's to be inclusive. I'm trying to be as clear as possible. I've always been interested in the purest form of the idea, so that it can communicate massively."That theme is at the core of Tristen's music -- music that is smart but accessible, meticulously constructed but undeniably infectious.

A native of South Side Chicago turned longtime Nashville resident, Tristen has released two critically acclaimed solo records -- 2011's Charlatans at the Garden Gate and 2013's CAVES -- and toured extensively as a member of Jenny Lewis' backing band. The folk-oriented Charlatans earned her praise as "Nashville's best-kept secret" (The Boston Globe), and the more synth-pop-oriented CAVES featured "tales of greed, alienation and heartache, made poignant but never saccharine by their electronically enhanced surroundings" (Nashville Scene).

Tristen has been singing since she could speak, and writing and recording her own songs since she was a teenager. Now an established touring musician with finely tuned chops and a knack for lashing exceptional melodies to her singularly poetic lyrics, she travels with a practiced backing trio of top-notch Nashville sidemen. Together, they bring Tristen's lush, expertly crafted arrangements to life, giving the singer room to brandish her outsized vocals and win audiences with her powerful stage presence -- performances that channel the rock 'n' roll eclecticism of David Bowie and the creative prowess of Dolly Parton.

"Performing is my favorite thing to do in the world," she says. "It's like meditation for me. I let go. Ultimately, performing is about the audience, the singer and the band, and the shared experience. And at the center is truth and beauty."

In 2016, Tristen released her first book of poetry, Saturnine, a collection of 18 poems that span from the "green carpet hills by San Francisco" to the "cold hard streets of Chicago" and brim with a kaleidoscope of characters. Her third album, Sneaker Waves, will be released July 7 via Modern Outsider Records.

New York-born singer-songwriter Jenny O. started her career in Los Angeles, California with her self-produced Home EP. Songs from this record were licensed for film and television, commercials for Subaru and Toyota, a video game called Rocksmith, and earned her tours with artists like Ben Harper, Leon Russell, and Father John Misty. Soon after, Jenny released her debut full-length album, Automechanic, and toured separately with Rodrigo Amarante and Mexican-American psychedelic musician Rodriguez across the U.S. and Europe.

Jenny appeared with her band on Last Call With Carson Daly twice in 2014 and recorded the theme song for ABC's Selfie, as well as a Coca-Cola commercial for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. She spent the past year writing in Nashville and has returned to California to record her second album with producer Jonathan Wilson.

Jenny is a multi-instrumentalist, performing mainly on guitar but in the studio often plays bass, piano and her own string arrangements on viola. She writes songs reminiscent of classic styles of the 60s and 70s and has been likened to songwriters like Harry Nilsson, Judee Sill, and J.J. Cale. In 2014 LA Weekly named her one of The 10 Best Young L.A. Singer-Songwriters and in 2015 she has won the Holly Prize/Song Writers Hall of Fame.

In a career that took flight in 1985 with commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz forays and ultramodern improvisational works--solo or with a group--Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys into the unexpected.

Key to Jordan's fast-track acclaim was his mastery of a special technique on the guitar's fretboard. Instead of conventional strumming and picking, Jordan's innovative "touch technique"is an advanced form of two-handed tapping. While a handful of other players were using similar techniques, Stanley's fluid, multi-layered textures and sheer virtuosity raised the bar for excellence. But his technique, though impressive, is always a means to a musical end. His music is imbued with a warmth and sensitivity that has captured the imagination of listeners worldwide. A classically trained pianist before playing guitar, Jordan wanted greater freedom in voicing chords on his guitar, so he applied piano principles to do so. Jordan's touch technique allows the guitarist to play melody and chords simultaneously with an unprecedented level of independence. It also allows Jordan to play simultaneously on two different guitars, or even on guitar and piano. He says that "I think of it as a single instrument, but one with a wide range of tonal colors--that's why I do it."

To date Jordan has performed in over 60 countries on 6 continents. He has performed at many festivals, including the Kool Jazz Festival, the Concord Jazz Festival, and the Montreaux International Jazz Festival. During the 1980s he collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including performances with Art Blakey and Richie Cole and recordings with Stanley Clarke and Kenny Rogers. The track with Rogers, "Morning Desire", became America's #1 country song in 1986. Later Jordan became a frequent guest with Les Paul during Paul's legendary Monday nights at Iridium in New York. Today Jordan performs frequently as a soloist and with his band, as well as collaborating with other guitarists such as Kevin Eubanks, Sharon Isbin and Muriel Anderson. He's also a frequent guest with jam bands such as the Dave Matthews Band, the String Cheese Incident, Phil Lesh, Moe and Umphrey's McGee.

Jordan has received four Grammy nominations. His most recent album "Friends" was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote, "Genius is a word often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been rightfully applied to Stanley Jordan."Stanley Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began his music career at age six studying piano, then shifting his focus to guitar at age eleven. He then began playing in rock and soul bands. In 1976, while still in high school, Jordan performed with Quincy Jones and tied for first place as a soloist at the Reno International Jazz Festival. In 1981 he earned a BA in music from Princeton University, where he studied theory and composition with composer Milton Babbitt and computer music with composer Paul Lansky. While still at Princeton, Jordan performed with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie.

Jordan came to prominence with the release of his 1985 album Magic Touch, a revolutionary project that placed him at the forefront of re-launching legendary Blue Note Records into a contemporary entity in jazz and beyond, as also established the then-twenty- something Jordan as among the most distinctive and refreshing new voices of the electric guitar. Jordan had begun applying his unique technique to his already exemplary traditional playing ten years prior to the Magic Touch album. Though Jordan showcased the technique in a variety of musical styles from swing to rock, it was smooth jazz radio support for his singular versions of "The Lady in My Life" (first recorded by Michael Jackson) and the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" that sent Magic Touch to the top of Billboard's jazz chart for a stunning and record-breaking 51 weeks. The album became a gold-seller (over 500,000 sold in the U.S. alone) - outstanding for any jazz or instrumental CD.

Subsequent albums found Jordan ushering his audience into deeper levels of his artistry and stretching his music beyond stylistic boundaries. These projects included a solo guitar album titled Standards Volume 1 (1986) where Stanley made the bold statement that songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix deserved recognition as standards just as much as older chestnuts like Hoagy Charmichael's "Georgia On My Mind." He followed that with the dance- pop album Flying Home (1988) and the especially edgy Cornucopia (1990), which spanned the gamut from straight-ahead jazz recorded live to multi-dimensional originals recorded in the studio. Still later in 1994 after a move to Arista Records (then helmed by pop music maverick Clive Davis), he recorded the bracingly eclectic Bolero album, featuring covers of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon," Jimi Hendrix's "Drifting," his original "Plato's Blues" and the CD's centerpiece, a 17-minute arrangement of Ravel's "Bolero", which flowed seamlessly between rock, African, Latin, "groove" and "industrial" sections. During this era, Jordan also made history by creating the seminal "startup" sound for the first generation of Power Macintosh computers.

In 2002, Stanley released the album Dreams of Peace with the Italian band Novecento. It was remixed and re-released in the USA in 2004 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. Independently, he recorded two CDs: Ragas (a collaboration with musicians from India featuring Jay Kishor on sitar) and Relaxing Music for Difficult Situations Volume 1, an audio extension of his interest in music therapy. In 2007 Jordan signed with Mack Avenue Records and released State of Nature in 2008 and Friends in 2011. For Friends, he invited musical guests including guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Russell Malone and Charlie Hunter; violinist Regina Carter; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; trumpeter Nicholas Payton; bassists Christian McBride and Charnett Moffett; and drummer Kenwood Dennard. The results proved truly outstanding on numbers ranging from a Bela Bartok piece to a Katy Perry pop smash, a heady original blues and three jazz classics spanning swing, cool, samba and modern.

Jordan has been known to TV and film audiences as well. In 1987 he made a cameo appearance in the Blake Edwards movie Blind Date, starring Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. In the tribute film, Les Paul: He Changed the Music Jordan performed with a guitar supergroup including Les Paul himself, Eddie Van Halen, BB King, Steve Miller, David Gilmour, and Brian Setzer. In 1995 Jordan created the score for the short film One Red Rose, starring Hill Harper and Victoria Rowell, directed by Charlie Jordan. In 1996 he created the score for an ABC afternoon TV special Daddy'''s Girl, directed by Diane Wynter. Since the mid 80s he has performed on numerous television shows, including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The David Letterman Show and the Grammy Awards. One notable appearance was a duet on the Tonight Show with the late rock superstar Robert Palmer.

Stanley is committed to music as an artistic, spiritual, and even health-promoting endeavor. He has been immersed for more than a decade in music therapy, towards which he is now working for a master's degree at Arizona State University. His involvement with music therapy leads him to do outreach in schools, hospitals and other venues wherever he tours. He is an artist- spokesperson for the American Music Therapy Association, and he has done numerous lectures and demonstrations on the healing applications of music.

Jordan has maintained an extensive and consistent international touring schedule. In between tour stops he is now at work on his next highly anticipated album from Mack Avenue Records, for release next year.

Jordan is currently a resident of Sedona, Arizona. He has one daughter, Julia. Julia Jordan is a singer/songwriter living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who sometimes collaborates with her dad.

In Chicago, a city overflowing with unrivaled blues talent, world-renowned Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials have been standing tall for almost 30 years. The band's big sound, fueled by Lil' Ed's gloriously rollicking slide work and deep blues string bending, along with his rough-edged, soulful vocals, is as real and hard-hitting as Chicago blues gets. The Chicago Sun-Times says, "Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials are the hottest purveyors of bottleneck boogie to come out of Chicago since Hound Dog Taylor."

Lil' Ed Williams comes to the blues naturally. His uncle, Chicago slide guitar king and master songwriter J.B. Hutto, taught him how to feel, not just play the blues. Nine albums and thousands of performances later, Lil' Ed is now universally hailed as a giant of the genre. Lil' Ed and The Blues Imperials--bassist (and Ed's half-brother) James "Pookie" Young, guitarist Mike Garrett and drummer Kelly Littleton--have remained together for nearly 30 years (an extraordinary feat for any group), the band fueling Ed's songs with their rock-solid, road-tested, telepathic musicianship.

The Big Sound Of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials is the musically electrifying, emotionally intense and downright fun new album from the band Guitar Player calls "a snarling boogie-blues machine...they blow down the walls." The CD features Lil' Ed's incendiary playing and playful, passionate singing, with the ragged-but-right Blues Imperials cooking like mad alongside him. Produced by Williams and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, it is a tour-de-force of authentic, deeply rooted Chicago blues. Williams wrote or co-wrote all but two of album's 14 songs, the other gems written by Uncle J.B. The Chicago Reader says the band's music "is a soundtrack for dancing and celebration infused with a sense of hard-won survival. Williams attacks his lyrics like he attacks his guitar: with bare-bones intensity that makes each word sound like a matter of life or death."

Born in Chicago on April 8, 1955, in the heart of Chicago's tough West Side, Ed grew up surrounded by music. He was playing guitar, then drums and bass, by the time he was 12. Ed and Pookie received lessons and support from their famous uncle. "J.B. taught me everything I know," says Ed. "I wouldn't be where I am today without him." Ed and Pookie spent their teen years making music together, and in 1975 formed the first incarnation of The Blues Imperials. They played their first gig at a West Side club called Big Duke's Blue Flame, splitting the $6 take four ways. Over the next few years, the group played every club in the neighborhood. Even so, they still needed day jobs to pay the bills. Ed worked ten hours a day as a buffer at the Red Carpet Car Wash. Pookie drove a school bus. Night after night they played their roaring brand of blues in tiny clubs, and eventually the word reached Alligator president Bruce Iglauer.

At the time, Iglauer was looking for local talent for The New Bluebloods, an anthology of some of Chicago's younger blues musicians. "Ed and his band had a good reputation," recalls Iglauer. "I had only seen them live once or twice. I knew Ed was a hot slide player, but I had no idea what he and the band were really capable of. I just knew that their music reminded me of Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Hutto, two of my favorite musicians. It seemed like having a band this rough and ready would be a nice change of pace for the anthology, so I asked them to come down to the studio and cut a couple of songs. I never expected what happened."

The band--never having been in a recording studio before--treated the studio like a club, playing live to Iglauer, the engineer, and all the people on the other side of the control room glass. After Ed recorded his two rehearsed songs quickly, there was still plenty of studio time left, so they just kept playing. After 10 songs were in the can, Iglauer offered the band a full album contract. The end result of the session was 30 songs cut in three hours with no overdubs and only one second take. Twelve of those songs became the band's debut album, Roughhousin', released in September of 1986.

The national press reacted with amazement to the blues world's new discovery. Feature stories ran in Spin, Musician, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune and dozens of other publications. The Village Voice declared, "Roughhousin' just may be the blues album of the year." The New York Times raved, "Raw-boned, old-fashioned Chicago blues has a new young master--Lil' Ed Williams."

But it wasn't until 1987, when guitarist Mike Garrett joined the band, and a year later, when Garrett recruited his Detroit hometown friend Kelly Littleton to play drums, that things really began to take off. Garrett's risk-taking rhythm guitar work and Littleton's unpredictable, old school drumming were the perfect complement to Lil' Ed's and Pookie's rambunctious playing. With their 1989 album Chicken, Gravy & Biscuits, doors opened and audiences poured in. Through relentless touring, the group crystallized, becoming tighter with each performance, more adept in their abilities to read each other's musical moves. Their spontaneous and unpredictable live show became legendary among blues fans worldwide.

They have played the Chicago Blues Festival multiple times, and have appeared at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The San Diego Blues Festival, The Pennsylvania Blues Festival and dozens of other festivals around the country. Satisfying worldwide demand, they have performed at festivals in Canada, Great Britain, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Japan, Australia, India, Turkey and Panama.

Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials released eight Alligator albums between 1986 and 2012. With each one, the band's national and international stature grew as their fan base--known internationally as "Ed Heads"--continued to expand. With 2006's Rattleshake, Ed and company reached a whole new audience. Die-hard "Ed Head" Conan O'Brien brought the band before millions of television viewers on two separate occasions. Success and accolades never stop pouring in. Living Blues called 2012's Jump Start "scorching and soulful" with "crafty, clever lyrics...joyous and stomping."

The group took home the Living Blues Award for Best Live Performer in 2011, 2012 and 2013. They won the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year in both 2007 and 2009. The Associated Press says, "Williams fills Chicago's biggest shoes with more life and heat than anyone on stage today."

With The Big Sound Of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, the band continues to bring their blistering Chicago blues to "Ed Heads" new and old. Their infectious energy, joyful showmanship and masterful playing have been honed to a razor's edge by their many years together. Lil' Ed, Pookie, Mike and Kelly have seen sports stars and presidents, musical fads and fashion trends come and go. Meanwhile, their fiery music has more than stood the test of time. "We're not band members," says Williams, "we're family, and families stay together." Night after night, gig after riotous gig, the musical family called Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials bring their big, dynamic Chicago blues sound to fans across the country and around the world

You can't teach the blues. It's not something that can be codified in music books or learned on YouTube. It goes much deeper than that and it comes from the inside. It's about the way the guitar strings are bent and the sound gets transmuted directly from a player's soul. It's simple at the end of the day. Either you've got it, or you don't. JARED JAMES NICHOLS has definitely got it. The Wisconsin-born, Los Angeles-based singer, writer and guitarist's new EP Old Glory & The Wild Revival channels blues grit and gusto through bombastic arena-size rock 'n' roll. It's raw, raucous and righteously real. As soon as he got his first guitar at 14-years-old, the stage immediately called to Jared. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he grew up minutes away from The Alpine Valley Resort--where Stevie Ray Vaughan performed his last show. However, no divine coincidence could truly foreshadow just how adept at the six-string he would eventually become. He personally traces the beginning of his story back to a blues jam that his mother brought him to. "Two weeks after I got an electric guitar, I was on stage with all of these old cats from Chicago playing the blues," he recalls with a smile. "The music immediately resonated with me. It was all about the feeling and the soul behind it. None of these guys were music nerds. They were true blues guys playing what they felt. That power and reality struck a chord in me." Soon, he found himself practicing for twelve hours every day. Hitting up the local jams, he ended up sharing the stage with legends including Buddy Guy, "Honeyboy" Edwards, and "Big Jim" Johnson as well as opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Derek Trucks. By his 21st birthday, he had logged over 500 gigs. After a short stint at Berklee School of Music in Boston, he headed out to Los Angeles where he garnered numerous accolades at the world-renowned Musicians Institute, winning the 2010 Jerry Horton guitar contest, the 2011 Les Paul tribute contest, and the 2011 "Outstanding Guitarist" award. 2012 saw him release his debut EP, Live at the Viper Room, gaining the notice of both Guitar World and Guitar Player and inking a deal with Sony/MTV's Hype Music Publishing. However, everything simply laid the groundwork for Old Glory & The Wild Revival. Teaming up with Aerosmith engineer Warren Huart, Jared began working on the five-song set in early 2013. Honing his voice as a guitarist, songs like the first single "Let It Go" speak through a delta-style soul with the right amount of rock bravado. "That one is a blues rock song about love and give and take," he reveals. "It's got its own style and it opens the door to what I'm doing". Elsewhere on the EP, "Blackfoot" charges forward with a riff as sharp as a tomahawk and a whole lot of spirit punctuated by Jessica Childress of The Voice's backing harmonies. "In Wisconsin, I was surrounded by Indian reservations and culture," he continues. "I'd do casino and reservation tours as a kid. When I wrote the song, I was reading about all of these badass tribes. I love that spirit and vibe inherent in Native American culture. The Blackfoot were truly bad motherfuckers. That lick is what I feel their culture represented." On stage, it truly comes to life. Jared's presence becomes amplified with guitar in hand. Audiences have experienced that everywhere from his performances at NAMM and SXSW to the iconic Sturgis Buffalo Chip Festival where he will play alongside ZZ Top and Kid Rock and the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary in Milwaukee this summer. Ultimately, he lives up to that idea of Revival in the EPs title. "I want people to get excited," he concludes. "I want them to feel like anything is possible in this music. I want them to know great blues rock exists. If I can give someone the same inspiration I was blessed with, I've done something right."

With an undeniable voice and an arsenal of powerful songs, Martha Wainwright is a beguiling performer and a refreshingly different force in music. Martha began building a buzz with her well-noted EPs, prior to her 2005 critically and commercially successful debut LP, 'Martha Wainwright'. London's Sunday Times included the song, "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" in their songs of the year and Rolling Stone called it "a blistering prelude to her debut album."

In 2008, Martha followed with her sophomore album, 'I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too', which showed her great musical maturity and talent as a songwriter. In 2010 she toured the world promoting her third album, 'San Fusils, Ni Souliers A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Album'. This extraordinary album, an homage to the great Edith Piaf, was received with glowing reviews, leaving audiences stunned by Martha's incredible range and talent. Her last album, 'Come Home To Mama', produced by Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda, was heralded by Mojo Magazine as a "substantial and brilliantly sung career best."

Now, four years later, 'Goodnight City' is poised to be her best record yet. This album returns to the rawness of her first release and includes songs by Martha, as well as songs written by notable artists to highlight her incredible voice. These songs are written by her friends and other great songwriters such as Beth Orton, Glen Hansard, her brother Rufus Wainwright, Michael Ondaatje, and Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs.

'Goodnight City' was produced by Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens, Glen Hansard) and Brad Albetta (Angus and Julia Stone, Teddy Thompson) to create a poignant album that covers a dynamic spectrum in a fluid and cohesive manner. The album was recorded in Montreal, where Martha and her husband have resided for the last couple of years with their two children. 'Goodnight City' will be released November 11th worldwide.

Martha was born in New York City to folk legends Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. She is Rufus Wainwright's sister and they often collaborate in shows and on records. Martha is also half-sister to Lucy Wainwright Roche and they recently made a record together, 'Songs In The Dark' to much acclaim including a JUNO nomination. Martha tours her music around the world to sold out audiences on several continents. She has spent time on the silver screen playing characters in Martin Scorsese's "Aviator" and more recently in the HBO special "Olive Kitteridge" alongside Frances McDormand. Currently Martha is finishing up a book titled "Stories I Might Regret Telling You" which, like her songs, is a window into her life without artifice, pretension or fakery.

Nick Moss and his band have been featured performers at blues festivals across the globe, but it's at home in Chicago -- the capital city of the blues -- where he and his band get the ultimate stamp of approval from one Hall of Famer and blues icon Buddy Guy. Music fans the world over come to his famous club where they'll often find Moss playing that prestigious stage, booked by the icon himself because "Nick is a favorite at my club, Legends. He always works hard to please the audience." Other luminaries are equally effusive in their praise, rare in the competitive world of guitar gods, as none other than former Roomful of Blues bandleader and distinguished solo artist Ronnie Earl declares "Nick Moss is my favorite guitarist," high praise from one of the greatest practitioners of the instrument.

It's that ability to please, entertain, and amaze audiences with his staggering guitar skills that make the 16-time Blues Music Award nominee one of the top draws on the blues circuit and most exciting, dynamic performers working today. Noted author and historian Bill Dahl has praised Nick's "mastery of the classic Chicago sound" and declared him "a prolific songwriter, and the most exciting blues guitarist we have around here." That's quite an accolade from a man who has interviewed icons like Bo Diddley, written liner notes and overseen massive retrospectives of giants like Freddie King and Sam Phillips' historic Sun Records label, and written a respected book about the history of Motown.

Nick Moss demonstrates his mastery of the classic Chicago sound and so much more onstage -- and has also been recognized by the International Songwriting Competition for his ability to add amazing new songs to the venerable blues canon. His creativity, which has advanced his sound to incorporate new styles and ideas, has made an impression on blues master Jimmy Thackery, who says, "Nick is at it again, pushing the evolution of his music, stylistically as well as sonically." His recording career has brought him numerous accolades and his albums have been staples at blues radio nationwide, but he crosses boundaries now, and his songs have scored at rock and jam band stations as well. As a result, 2011's release Here I Am debuted at #2 on the Relix/Jambands.com Radio Chart.

Moss' aptness to please purists and cross boundaries that have helped him connect with audiences worldwide, winning fans and making friends every night in every city when he and his band take the stage. All the great ones make their mark onstage and that's where Moss is at his best. His superior talent is evident on his studio albums but it's his live albums and performances that put him in the rarified territory with the greats. Discovery for yourself what Bill Dahl, Ronnie Earl, Jimmy Thackery, Hall of Famer Buddy Guy, and audiences the world over already know: an evening with Nick Moss is an unforgettable experience and one not to be missed!

The Stone Foxes are San Francisco's rock band. They bear the torch of their predecessors with the knowledge that rock 'n roll can move a new generation. They’ve played in front of thousands at festivals like Outside Lands and Voodoo Fest, they’ve headlined the legendary Fillmore Theater in their hometown and they have supported acts like The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant and ZZ Top. Now, with the release of their fourth album, Twelve Spells, they have solidified a place in their City's rich rock 'n roll history.

Founded by brothers Shannon(vocals/drums/harp) and Spence Koehler(guitar/vocals), who came from the Sierra Nevada foothills near Tollhouse CA, The Stone Foxes started back in the Koehler’s SF State days in the Sunset District of San Francisco. Two weeks before they went on tour in 2011, they decided they needed a keyboard player and they added Elliott Peltzman from Fairfax CA to play for a couple months...but he never left. They needed another drummer who could also play bass and guitar for tour in 2013, so Shannon called his high school friend Brian "The Buffalo" Bakalian...he never left either. Their old friend Vince Dewald came in to jam one day later on that year, and after the Indiana kid started singing, playing his lefty guitar, and his brother's right handed bass upside down, it was a done deal. Finally in 2014, after convincing(basically begging) Vince's old bandmate to move back from his home town of Boston, Ben Andrews came out to play guitar and violin. After their first practice with Ben, the circle was finally complete and they had beers at the Lone Star tavern on Harrison Street to celebrate their new found brotherhood.

The Stone Foxes are an experience to dive into, to get wild with, to sweat with. "The Stone Foxes have an energetic style that's rooted in swampy, foot-stomping rock...ambitious arrangements with diverse moods ranging from acoustic twang to thunderous electric-guitar riffs."
– NPR/WXPN "WORLD CAFE"

Invoking the audience with their commanding stage presence, even jumping down into the crowd if the mood strikes. Their fans know they are in for something action packed and they light a fire in the band, just as the band spreads fire back into them. Guitarists digging in, lead vocals changing between two unique voices with impassioned nuance, and keyboard and organ sounds that fill the space with smoke and burning embers. There are crunchy drum tones, wailing harmonica draws and violin cries that can silence even the most raucous of rooms. But this is not a sit-down-and-watch kind of event. Like Elvis once said about rock n roll, “If you feel it, you can’t help but move to it.” The Stone Foxes' live show brandishes this kind of dynamic passion on stage. It's impossible not to feel it.

With the release of Twelve Spells, the band has chronicled their new beginning.

The Tangent is a Progressive Rock Band from Northern England. based around keyboards player, composer and idiosyncratic vocalist Andy Tillison Diskdrive. Their music is cinematic and lyrical, full of narrative, often telling stories or making observations about the world we live in - often choosing subject matter more associated with Anarcho-Punk bands than with the genre in which the band choose to base themselves. "No Hobbits or Orcs in our songs" The band have, for 12 years now, released a steady output of well regarded albums through their record label Insideout Music At the time of writing, the band's eighth studio album "A Spark In The Aether" is just weeks away from release.

The band has changed personnel many times and has used this fluidity to keep ideas fresh and lucid. The debut album released in 2003 The Music that Died Alone was often referred to as a "supergroup" project, though Tillison has always eschewed this title, preferring to go for the less obvious "a good idea".

In twelve years the group has had close affiliations with Swedish progressive legends The Flower Kings, and Jonas Reingold (bass) from that band remains in the Tangent to this day despite the departure of Roine Stolt from the Tangent ten years ago now. David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator) was heavily featured on that debut album, Jakko Jakszyk (now of King Crimson) has been a frequent collaborator along with Theo Travis (Steven Wilson Band, Soft Machine Legacy, Gong etc). Guy Manning, Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), David Longdon (Big Big Train) have all played key roles in the band's development and the band was instrumental in bringing the talents of the astonishing young guitarist Luke Machin (Maschine) to the world for the first time.

Karmakanic kicked off their career in 2002, and now, 14 years, four studio albums and two live albums later, they are back with their fifth full-length album, DOT.

The band's founder, bassist Jonas Reingold says: "I got my inspiration to start writing DOT when I stumbled upon a text by the famous American author and astronomer Carl Sagan. He was talking about how small and insignificant we are in this vast universe.

Of course that can sound like a cliché and a lot of things have been said about our existence, universe, why are we here, where are we going, when will it end, when did it start, whats the purpose of it all? And so on. But he put it really elegantly in this rather short text, so I never looked at it as a cliché. The inspiration for him was actually a picture of the earth that Voyager 1 took 1990 from the outer areas of our solar system. The earth appeared in the picture as a small pixel, like a pale blue dot suspended in a sunbeam."

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam." -- Carl Sagan

"It's fascinating to think that this little dot is all we are and all we´ll ever be," says Reingold. "It gives us perspective. And I think perspective is a great tool for making good choices. Honestly, is it worth fighting over country borders, go to war, choose hate instead of love when you look at life from this perspective? So I decided to write a song about it: 'God - the universe and everything else no one really cares about'."

This song, presented in two parts, forms the centerpiece of DOT and clocks in just shy of 30 minutes' total playing time. Other songs are the short rocker "Steer by the Stars," co-written with Jonas's old buddy and colleague from The Tangent, Andy Tillison. Andy also contributes with some roaring Hammond organ on the aforementioned 30-minute epic.

Also featured on the album is "Higher Ground," a "mini epic" where Jonas writes about his upbringing and the good and bad off growing up in a small Swedish town; and "Traveling Minds," a majestic symphonic piece that brings us back to the vibe of the Yes classic "And You and I."

Karmakanic 2016 includes prominent members such as Morgan Ågren, a Grammy-winning musician on both sides of the Atlantic and known from his work with Frank Zappa, Kaipa, Steve Vai, Tony Iommy, Terry Bozzio, and was voted No. 1 in Modern Drummer's Readers Poll in 2010.

Göran Edman worked with Swedish stringbender Yngwie Malmsteen between 1990-1992, touring the world and recorded the album Fire and Ice and Eclipse.

Lalle Larsson is a leading star on the Progressive Rock scene, having recorded with artists such as Agents of Mercy, Jon Anderson, Gary Willis, and Randy Brecker. He has also released three albums with his own Lalle Larsson´s Weaveworld.

Binding together this fine cast of performers is the artwork of the legendary Hugh Syme, known best for his work on so many of those classic Rush album layouts. With Syme's unique approach, the current Karmakanic circle is complete.

With deep feeling and top-shelf talent, houserocking blues masters The Cash Box Kings play tough, real deal classic Chicago blues with boundless energy. They also deliver raw, passionate Delta blues, jumping proto-rock 'n' roll, and steamrolling "bluesabilly," their original mix of Chicago blues and Memphis rockabilly. As anyone who has ever been to one of the band's raucous performances will testify, The Cash Box Kings know how to throw a party. They're fueled by the powerhouse harmonica work of Madison, Wisconsin-based songwriter Joe Nosek and the huge, gritty vocals of Chicago bluesman Oscar Wilson. Their original songs range from humorous stories of Internet love to harrowing tales of Chicago's violent gun epidemic. Every song they perform--be it a striking original or a scorching Chess, Sun or Vee-Jay cover--explodes with contemporary authority and radiates old-school authenticity. According to Grammy Award-winning blues legend Charlie Musselwhite, "The Cash Box Kings play with real taste and feel. Not only is it good blues but it's a jumping good time, too! I ain't lyin'!"

Joe Nosek founded The Cash Box Kings in Madison, Wisconsin in 2001 and, since 2007, has co-led the band with the charismatic, larger-than-life vocalist Oscar Wilson. Over 20 years apart in age and coming from vastly different backgrounds, the two form an unlikely pair, combining Wilson's indisputably authentic inner city Chicago blues vocals with Nosek's harmonica, songwriting and singing talents. The music they create is brilliantly displayed on The Cash Box Kings' Alligator Records debut, Royal Mint. According to Wilson, "The Cash Box Kings is a throwback to the golden age of blues with some kickin' fresh young blood. Joe is my best friend in the music world--the band is a marriage made in heaven for both of us." "Oscar is godfather to my oldest son," says Nosek. "We have each other's backs. We're family."

Royal Mint features 13 hard-hitting songs, including six impressive originals. From the wry, politically-charged Build That Wall to the chilling Blues For Chi-Raq to the funny and too true If You Got A Jealous Woman Facebook Ain't Your Friend to the timeless versions of songs by Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Clifton Chenier, Amos Milburn and Jimmy Reed, Royal Mint shuffles, jumps and gets down and dirty, fueled by the band's unmatched musicianship. According Nosek, "Royal Mint is our strongest album. The band is at its absolute best."

Nosek refers to the group of top-notch traditional players who comprise The Cash Box Kings as "a blues collective." Live and on record, members of the "collective" appear in different combinations for different performances, creating an anything-can-happen experience. In addition to co-leaders Nosek and Wilson, the full ensemble includes world-class guitarists Joel Paterson and Billy Flynn, drummers Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith and Mark Haines, bassist Brad Ber with newest member Lee Kanehira (replacing their longtime pianist, the late Barrelhouse Chuck) rounding out the band.

In their first six years, The Cash Box Kings won a large and loyal audience across the Midwest. Wilson joined the band in 2007, bringing with him an instantly commanding stage presence and an authoritative vocal style that gives fire-breathing power to the music. A self-taught musician and singer with an encyclopedic knowledge of almost every blues song known to man, Wilson--standing 6'1" and weighing over 300 pounds--is a natural-born entertainer and a perfect foil for Nosek and the band. Born in 1953 on Chicago's 43rd Street (aka Muddy Waters Drive), Wilson grew up in the company of many famous blues artists. Junior Wells, Elmore James, Big Smokey Smothers and close family friend David "Honeyboy" Edwards were all regulars at weekly Friday night fish fries/jam sessions at the Wilson home. Throughout his adulthood, Wilson held regular jobs but was always welcome sitting in with Chicago blues mainstays Melvin Taylor and Johnny B. Moore. His vocal inspirations range from Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Albert King to Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter but he mostly sings like Oscar Wilson. Award-winning harmonica giant and vocalist Rick Estrin (leader of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) says, "That guy can really sing."

A self-described blues fanatic, Nosek, born in Wisconsin in 1974 and raised in Chicago, spent his youth soaking up as much blues music as he could hear, both live and on record. In his teens, he began sneaking into blues clubs to watch Junior Wells, James Cotton, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Sunnyland Slim and others. Nosek recalls, "Seeing those guys work made a huge impression on me and propelled me into wanting to learn how to play the blues." He took up harmonica, quickly cultivating his own aggressive, fluid style.

After moving to Madison in the early 1990s, he began sitting in with artists such as Clyde Stubblefield and Luther Allison. Finding like-minded musicians hell-bent on playing raw, rough-edged, hard-charging blues, Nosek formed The Cash Box Kings. They released their first album, Live! At The King Club, in 2003, instantly earning praise from critics and fans, and gaining a reputation as one of the hottest live bands on the circuit.

The Cash Box Kings have earned devoted fans in both Chicago and Madison, the two cities where band members live. They regularly headline Chicago venues like Buddy Guy's Legends and Rosa's Lounge, and have played major festivals across the U.S. and Europe. They've blown away audiences at the Chicago Blues Festival, the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, the Doheny Blues Festival, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Cincinnati Blues Festival, the Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), the Moulin Blues Festival (Netherlands), the Lucerne Blues Festival (Switzerland), the Baltic Blues Festival (Germany) and the Edmonton Blues Festival (Canada). They have also performed in Belgium, France, Spain and Uruguay.

With eight previous releases to their credit and hundreds of live performances under their belts, The Cash Box Kings have won widespread acclaim throughout the blues world. Their 2013 release Black Toppin' won the 2013 Blues Blast Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year. It was also nominated for a 2014 Blues Music Award in the same category. Their last release, Holding Court, was nominated for two 2016 Blues Music Awards (Best Traditional Album and Album of the Year) and the band was also nominated for the Band of the Year Award. They've been featured on NPR Music as well as in the pages of No Depression, The Chicago Tribune, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Living Blues, Vintage Guitar, Blues Blast and many other publications. Living Blues said, "This accomplished band of musicians captures the vibe of traditional blues and flawlessly spins it in innovative ways."

According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, The Cash Box Kings are a natural addition to the label. "I love this band because they combine the classic Chicago blues style with contemporary lyrics, true blues vocals and terrific musicianship. Oscar Wilson's voice is a soulful roar like Muddy Waters' and Joe Nosek plays powerhouse harmonica in the James Cotton tradition. Billy Flynn and Joel Paterson are world-class blues guitarists. The whole band can deliver jumping party shuffles or down-in-the-alley gritty blues. Their fresh songs bring wry humor to subjects like current politics, the pitfalls of social networking and life on the tough streets of Chicago."

Nosek agrees, saying, "We're very happy about finding a new home with Bruce Iglauer and the good folks at Alligator Records. As blues musicians who grew up in Chicago, becoming a part of the Alligator roster is a great honor for us. It's the label that has released some of our all-time favorite blues records."

With blasting harmonica, soul-deep vocals, original songs and sizzling guitars, The Cash Box Kings boast an array of talent to satisfy blues lovers of every shape and size. On Royal Mint they make old blues new as they continue to create new blues classics, with, according to Elmore magazine, "just the right amount of juke joint grit." Living Blues says The Cash Box Kings are "straight from the golden era of the blues," boasting "an impressive line-up of A-list players. Joe Nosek feels Little Walter and Slim Harpo in the essence of his soul. Singer Oscar Wilson could be right out of [Chicago's famed] Checkerboard Lounge in its glory days. The Cash Box Kings are a dancing and listening pleasure."

Although The Steepwater Band got their start as devotees of delta blues, they have since been expanding on their influences taking on everything from psychedelia to Americana, and of course, rock and roll music. Formed in Chicago in 1998, the band's signature sound is at once a nod to earlier rock n' blues combined with a raw and gutsy musical approach. Founding band members Jeff Massey (vocals & guitar), Tod Bowers (bass) and Joe Winters (drums) have a synergy that comes from years of playing together. In early 2012 the long-time trio have been joined by Eric Saylors (guitar & bk vocal), from Indianapolis, IN. Mr. Saylors brings an added depth to the TSB LIVE sound, where the foundation laid by Bowers & Winters leaves the space for the guitars to soar and vocals to shine. Massey always performs with a passion that can belie his virtuosity, while being true to the song at hand.

The band's infectious energy is equally evident in their live performances, as critics and fans hail their shows as forceful and intoxicating. It is their humble devotion to music, and a commitment to achieving their musical goals without compromising the integrity of their musical vision that make The Steepwater Band such a refreshing find. In 2010, the band released the highly lauded live record entitled "Live at the Double Door" which contained tracks from their previous two LPs, "Revelation Sunday (2006)" and "Grace and Melody (2008)."

The Steepwater Band has maintained a grueling schedule throughout the last 10 years, averaging about 125 shows per year. They have toured and shared the stage with acts such as Gov't Mule, Buddy Guy, Wilco, Taj Mahal, Marc Ford, ZZ Top, T-Model Ford, North Mississippi All Stars, Leon Russell, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Cheap Trick, Bad Company and Heart. In 2005, the band made its European debut, performing at the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. In the following years, the band has returned to the United Kingdom and Europe for multiple club and festival tours, increasing their loyal overseas fan-base.

THEM VIBES BLEED ROCK N' ROLL.

Formed in East Nashville's underground rock scene in 2013, the band quickly shook the foundations of Music City with their blitzkrieg live show and soulful songwriting. Influenced by the rhythmic sway of The Faces and T-Rex and infected with the raw energy of the Rolling Stones and the Black Crowes, Them Vibes have injected new life into the anemic arm of what currently passes for mainstream rock n' roll.

Co-founded by singer-songwriters Brother Love and Alex Haddad, Them Vibes released their debut record, Shine On, independently and began hitting the Nashville and Austin scenes as a five-piece band playing coveted gigs at the High Watt, The Basement, The Mercy Lounge, The Continental Club, the Blue Bird Café, to name a few. Their wild, high- voltage revival of a live show was brought to festival crowds at Austin's SXSW; they were the headliner atThe Tomato Music And Arts Fest; opened for the Flaming Lips at the Sound Harvest festival; and, in front of thousands of onlookers, they have opened for such classic artists as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet.

Them Vibes' sophomore release was the heavy hitting EP TV. Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, George Harrison, Counting Crows, The Civil Wars, Kings of Leon and Wilco) took the helm as producer. The result was a five song cliff dive of psychedelic, hard driving, slinky grooving, swamp-howling rock n roll.

The single "Mammas Gotta Secret" took radio by storm, with national radio play on over twenty stations nationwide. Network television began to taken notice, as well. Both album's respective cuts garnered placements on ABC's Nashville, NBC's Grimm, Fox's Cooper Barrett, and CMT's Redneck Island and Dude Perfect, and the Netflix Original series The Ranch. Their biggest commercial success was led by their raucous song Crying Shame, which was chosen by T-Mobile to lead their spring campaign.

Off the heals of their strides stateside the band turned their attention across the pond embarking on a month long European tour. Playing sold out shows in Germany, France, Belgium, Slovakia, and Spain, gaining critical acclaim, radio play and most importantly throngs of new fans.

When they returned to the U.S the band went right to work writing and recording their new album Electric Fever. Larry Florman (Brother Love), Alex Haddad, lead guitar player Kyle Lewis, and the prodigious, up and coming Nashville producer Bobby Holland wanted to make the most ambitious rock n roll record to come out in the last decade. With the help of the rhythmic fury of drummer Sarah Tomek and bassist Judd Fuller, Them Vibes did just that. Recording everything full band and live at Addiction Studios in Nashville, Electric Fever is a kaleidoscope of sound and sonic ecstasy. The twelve side LP is colored in Muscle Shoals soul, hip shaking beat break funk, southern rock harmony guitars, tribal heavy rhythms injected with rock n roll ferocity, broke down acoustic delight, and all and above driven by harmony and groove full speed ahead.

The self titled single Electric Fever has already been leaked to the number one independent radio station in the United States, Nashville's WRLT Lightning100, and in its inception has caught quite a buzz. The single, due to popular demand, has been officially released on iTunes and every major music streaming platform, and the album Electric Fever is due out late spring. The band will be hitting the US interstate in support of their new record.

The R&B Cadets played their first gig shortly after New Year's in 1980 and their last in the summer of 1986. In that time they got a lot of folks out on the dance floor, playing a distinctive mix of of deep soul cuts from Paul Cebar's massive record collection and some sparkling originals, written by John Sieger, often in tandem with Michael Feldman, a friend and now longtime host of Public Radio's Whad'ya Know?

Splitting lead duties with Sieger and Cebar was the lovely chanteuse, Robin Pluer. Owner of one the lovelier voice heard in the midwest, Ms. Pluer was a dollop of sweetness at the top of the band's deep range. Rounding out the lineup was Mike Sieger, John's brother and vocal doppelganger, who played bass. Original drummer Cy Costabile, was later replaced by Bobby Schneider and the saxophonist Juli Wood was replaced by keyboard/sax man Bob Jennings.

In it's prime, the band had a large following in Milwaukee, where they were pretty much the house band at the late, lamented Century Hall. They travelled well too, with fans in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Madison and even New York where they played legendary clubs like CBGB's, The Knitting Factory and The Lone Star. Their only record, Top Happy, came out in 198-. It featured a song produced by Nick Lowe, a fan who had stumbled across them after playing a show in Milwaukee. The record got great reviews and could have been the start of even bigger things, but like many bands, people were pulling, and being pulled, in different directions.

The positive result of their breakup was two, then three very vital and entertaining acts. There was Semi-Twang, which concentrated on John's songs and did a record, Salty Tears for Warner Brothers that gathered more love than sales. John later moved to nashville and had many of his songs recorded by artist like Dwight Yoakam, Flaco Jimenez and The Bodeans.

Paul and Robin continued with the beefed up and ever-popular Milwaukeeans, releasing a record in the 1990s on Shenachie that got radio play around the country. That lineup stayed around until Robin bid adieu. Tired of touring and now married, she headed to New York for a while, before returning. She has carved out a special niche between soul, swing, standards and the French chanson that she loves, and is still performing today.

In 2009 Semi-Twang reunited and have released two CDs, both of which garnered raves. Paul has continued non-stop, his latest was out last year with his most recent moniker, Tomorrow Sound. The three headed beast has been in rehearsal, tightening up songs old and new. The crowd at their first reunion gig in many years was up and dancing at the first down beat, you probably will be too.

Once Vinnie Moore picked up his first guitar (a Kay) at the age of 12, he became, as he describes it, a "guitar freak." His earliest influences included - among others - Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Queen.

Vinnie took lessons with a private instructor and at 14, he joined his first band, jamming on cover tunes with drums, bass, 2 guitars and vocals. After a few years of playing with different bands, Vinnie decided it was time to make the jump from covering songs to creating his own music. He quit the band, got a 4-track tape recorder, and began experimenting by recording his ideas and building them into songs. It was evident that he had found his calling; this was the start of his journey as a songwriter.
After many hours of creating tunes with his 4 track, Vinnie sent a demo to Guitar Player magazine, and came to national attention via its "Spotlight" column, written by Shrapnel Records exec Mike Varney. This led to Vinnie's first professional work in the music business which was writing and playing the music for a national Pepsi TV commercial. In 1987, Shrapnel released Vinnie's breakout album, Mind's Eye. Vinnie was quickly heralded "best new talent" in Guitar Player, Guitar, and Guitar World magazines, and Mind's Eye sold more than 100,000 copies.

In 1988, Squawk/Polygram released Vinnie's second effort (and major label debut) Time Odyssey, which solidified his reputation as a musical innovator. His third release was Meltdown, in 1991 (on Relativity/Epic Records); the song Meltdown received national radio airplay on both album-oriented rock (AOR) and hard rock formats. In 1996, Mayhem Records released Out of Nowhere, with Brian Tichy (Billy Idol) on drums and Dorian Heartsong (Powerman 5000) on bass.

On The Maze (in 1999), Vinnie was joined by former MSG drummer Shane Gaalaas, bassist Dave LaRue (The Dregs and The Steve Morse Band) and renowned master musician Tony MacAlpine on keyboards. The Maze was stunning, rooted in the progressive neo-classical style that had already generated legions of loyal fans. Vinnie also displayed a new-found maturity in his songwriting; now, many of his diverse and exotic musical influences, including Latin, Jazz, and the Blues, began finding their way into his signature sound.

Other albums followed: Live (in 2000), with Shane Gaalaas (drums), Barry Sparks on bass, and Wayne Findlay on keyboards, and Defying Gravity in 2001 with Dave LaRue (bass), Steve Smith on drums, and David Rosenthal on Keyboards.

As a performer, Vinnie Moore's resume is impressive. A member of Alice Cooper's band, he toured the U.S. on the Operation Rock'N'Roll tour, and also performed on Alice's album Hey Stoopid. Vinnie's own band has toured extensively as a headliner and also was chosen as opening act for legendary rockers Rush on the Northeast leg of their Roll The Bones Tour. Vinnie also toured Japan as a member of the T.M. Stevens' band, which included Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic) on keyboards, Wil Calhoun (Living Color) on drums, and Al Pitrelli (Megadeth) on guitar.

Vinnie has done hundreds of guitar clinics all over the world including such places as, Japan, Scandanavia, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, England, Germany and Australia.

In 2003, Vinnie joined the legendary group UFO (Phil Mogg, vocals; Pete Way, bass; Jason Bonham, drums; Paul Raymond, keyboards). Their first effort together as a band was the SPV Records release You Are Here (in 2004); Vinnie was a major songwriting contributor on this record. The band followed You Are Here with a worldwide tour which spanned from March 2004 to August 2005. A LIVE DVD from this tour was released in Nov 2005. Titled UFO Showtime, this two-DVD set also includes bonus footage of the band. The band's second studio effort called The Monkey Puzzle came out in 2006 and marked the return of original UFO drummer Andy Parker. The boys toured Europe and Russia and the USA in April and May 2008. The third UFO studio record with Vinnie in the band is called The Visitor and was released in June 2009 on SPV Records. The band has toured the UK, Europe, and USA, and will continue in Europe in the spring of 2010!
Vinnie's latest CD To The Core (2009 Mascot Records) was released in May 2009 and has received critical acclaim worldwide.

Over many years, Vinnie's 4-track recorder has grown into a home studio, where he's recorded his last two solo CDs, and parts of the UFO CD. Vinnie's home studio is the place where he writes new music.

As well as songwriting and playing, Vinnie is dedicated to teaching. He's conducted guitar clinics around the world, and has released two instructional videos on the HotLicks® label (see the Music page for more information). Vinnie joins his fans at clinics worldwide for, Engl Amplification, and Dean Guitars.

On doing clinics: "I like talking to the fans firsthand and learning from them. It's insightful to hear what they like about what I'm doing, and what they think about the guitar genre...and the whole music scene in general. I definitely feed off of their energy. It's cool to be part of a global guitar community, and it's an honor to know that I can sometimes inspire others to get excited by music and guitar. It always amazes me to me to hear that I have touched someone else by doing something that I love doing so much. I consider it a gift to be playing guitar and writing songs, and feel like one of the luckiest cats in the world to have fans."

On songwriting and musical influences: "I hope to keep growing and learning as a songwriter and as a player, and to explore different musical directions, kind of following the inspiration wherever it leads. I don't plan ahead musically, which keeps things interesting for me. I want to continue following my muse into areas that inspire and excite me. I am basically a rock guy...but love many different styles of music, and am often inspired by - and learn from - all of them. Music is so vast, and there are so many things to pick up from all the different styles. I've kind of always been like this, drawing on different musical influences, partly because I like lots of different things and partly... because I get bored easily! Exploring different directions is fun, and it keeps me excited as both a writer and a player."

On having his own studio: "I love having a studio environment in the house so I can turn my ideas into songs. It's really like my own little space in the universe and I love being there and being creative."

On songwriting: "In other parts of the house, I mostly sit around and play, and I always keep a Walkman cassette player close by, because you never know when an idea for a song is going to pop out. Musical ideas usually happen when you least expect them. I don't consciously try to write; my ideas just come from playing. I record stuff; I never write it down."

On playing: "I have pretty much always considered myself a melody and feel guy. Regardless of which style of music I am playing, the essence of what it is all about for me is definitely the melody and expressing myself emotionally. I love creating melodies that are memorable and can be sung, and if I can make a listener feel emotion when they hear my stuff, it is the highest reward I could ever get."

Gus G. has spent the past decade quietly affirming his place as one of metal's reigning guitar virtuosos. He has recorded more than a dozen studio albums, performed around the world as a member of acts ranging from Arch Enemy and Dream Evil to his own band Firewind, and has been Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist since being personally handpicked by the heavy metal legend in August 2009. Now, with the release of his first-ever solo album 'I Am The Fire' on Century Media Records, the fleet-fingered Greek fret-shredder will embark on the next chapter of his history-shaping career.

"People have been asking me for a solo record for years now, but I didn't want to do an album that sounded like something people have heard from me before," says Gus G. of his solo debut, an album that blends the metal histrionics that fans have come to know and love with a passion for classic hard rock and metal's vintage roots. "Apart from a few instrumentals, this album isn't traditional heavy metal or power metal, it's got more of a classic rock vibe. It's stuff that wouldn't fit on a Firewind record, and I didn't want to push that band in this direction. I consider myself a songwriter as well as a guitar player, and this album allowed me to experiment and explore that different side of me."

That doesn't mean that guitar solos are in short supply -- quite the contrary, they're plentiful throughout the 12 tracks that comprise 'I Am The Fire'. Also plentiful is the roster of friends that help bring Gus G.'s vision to fruition. The aforementioned instrumentals "Vengeance" and "Terrified" feature guest bassists Dave Ellefson [Megadeth] and Billy Sheehan [David Lee Roth, Mr. Big], while the rest of the album features either Gus or Marty O'Brien [Tommy Lee, We Are The Fallen] holding down the bottom end alongside main drummer Jeff Friedl [A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Devo] and Daniel Erlandsson [Arch Enemy], who guests on the two instrumental tracks.

"The main difference in this recording and album experience is that there was no band, nobody to check with or please and nobody to consult with, it was just me doing whatever I wanted and playing with a lot of my favorite musicians, friends and people I admired," says Gus, who also produced the record and recorded all the keyboards on the album. "When you've been in bands forever, it's liberating to be able to do whatever you want without worrying about living up to the standards of a back catalog. It's a fresh start, and in a lot of ways it's more relaxing -- it's like starting from scratch."

Vocal guests include Devour The Day singer Blake Allison ("I Am The Fire"), Steel Panther's Michael Starr ("Redemption"), Eyes Set To Kill's Alexia Rodriguez ("Long Way Down"), former Journey frontman and current Trans-Siberian Orchesta vocalist Jeff Scott Soto ("Summer Days"), Evergrey frontman Tom S. Englund ("Dreamkeeper"), Adler frontman Jacob Bunton ("Just Can't Let Go") and Yngwie Malmsteen/Therion alum and current Candlemass singer Mats Levén ("My Will Be Done", "Blame It On Me", "Eyes Wide Open" and "End Of The Line") -- and the results are as varied as the names suggest.

"The inspiration for the album started when Mats filled in on a Firewind tour -- I've always liked him and wanted to work with him since he did Yngwie's 'Facing The Animal' album, and I also had other songs that I heard different types of vocals on when I wrote them, like Jeff's voice on 'Summer Days'," Gus explains of the vocals. "Jay Ruston mixed the album, and he also really played a key role in this project -- I wanted to work with him because he made the album by The Winery Dogs sound so big and warm and not digital, so he was one of the first people I played the songs for and he really played an important role in helping pick the perfect people to bring out the details and colors in every song."

'I Am The Fire' was mixed by Jay Ruston [Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther], produced by Gus G., and recorded between Los Angeles and Gus' home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. In a career highlighted by a Grammy nomination for his performance on Ozzy Osbourne's 'Scream' album in 2010 and accolades including Guitar Player Magazine's Best Metal Guitarist, the Dimebag Darrell Shredder award at the Metal Hammer UK Golden Gods Awards, and Metal Hammer Greece Best Guitarist on four separate occasions, 'I Am The Fire' serves as a whole new benchmark for Gus G.

"I already have an established band, so there's no pressure on me as a solo artist," he explains. "This is a whole different journey and a brand new adventure..."

An unsung guitar hero from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he grew up just a few miles from the Waukesha birthplace of the late, great guitarist-inventor Les Paul, Greg Koch has established himself within six-string circles as a masterful technician, accomplished clinician (for Fender) and general bad-ass guit-picker. No less than guitar virtuoso Steve Vai noted Koch's six-string prowess and promptly signed signed him to his Favored Nations label in 2001. Tom Wheeler from Guitar Player magazine hailed him as "fiendishly talented" while other critics have called him everything from "a twisted guitar genius" to "the best kept secret in the guitar firmament."

On From The Attic, his 12th release overall as a leader and third for Germany's ZYX/Peppercake label, the veteran guitar virtuoso joins bassist Tom Good and drummer Del Bennett for an eclectic, hard-hitting program full of incendiary licks and audacious fretboard tricks. Recorded remarkably quickly ("We did the ten tracks in roughly 11 hours," Koch explains) in the attic of guitarist-engineer Chris Hanson's Victorian home on Milwaukee's East Side, these rockin', bluesy originals are imbued with Koch's trademark searing licks and typically clever lyrics. From the blistering, Magic Sam-inspired boogie "Leg Up Foot Out" to the urgent blues inflected "Nova Scotia Cold," from the elegant fingerstyle instrumental ballad "Sleep Tight" to the wild chicken-picking romp "Picked On," Koch and his crew wail with uncanny tightness and authority. "Trouble" is a growling funk-blues number written about Koch's first encounter with his wife-to-be ("Her middle name was trouble, her last name is mine") while "Agree To Disagree" addresses the guitarist's ongoing conflict with the staunch point's of view of loved ones. "Here We Go Again" is a rich, r&b flavored ballad featuring some lyrical, legato guitar work by Koch and the aggressively funky "Happy Versus Right" recalls classic Red Hot Chili Peppers slamming down a thick groove. Koch flaunts some wicked wahwah-inflected slide guitar licks on the mellow "Twice the Man" and they close out the collection with the anthemic, classic rock jam "You'll Rock and Like It," which sounds like an encounter between Jeff Beck and AC/DC."

"The whole gist of this record is kind of where I started from in my career," says Koch of From The Attic. "It's basically tunes with cool guitar things. And I fi nd that if you can have nice little blasts within the confi nes of a short tune, it's much more digestible." And though Koch may be consciously trying to simplify his six-string onslaught on this trio recording, his natural fretboard fusillades ultimately come to the fore. In its 2001 feature story, Guitar Player magazine described Koch's inherently pyrotechnic approach this way: "An impossible stream of riffs jumps off of Koch's fretboard like clowns spilling out of a VW bug -- and when you're convinced that there can be no more, out pops another one."

Born in Milwaukee in 1966, Koch got his earliest musical infl uences from his older brother and later became infatuated with Jimi Hendrix, who remains a profound infl uence to this day. After studying jazz guitar for four years at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Koch won 1st Prize in the 1989 Bluesbreaker Guitar Showdown judged by legendary bluesman Buddy Guy. Shortly after, he formed Greg Koch and the Tone Controls, which became one of the more popular acts of the region. The band went on to win fi ve Wisconsin Area Music Awards for Blues Artist of the Year ('93, '95 through '98), and Koch personally took in seven WAMA awards as Guitarist of the Year ('92, '94 through '99).

Koch soon found himself as a clinician for Fender, the world's largest and most prestigious guitar and amplifi er manufacturer. Bringing together world-class chops and a humorous ability to articulate sounds and techniques with a genuine devotion to all things guitar, Koch has developed an exceptionally effective approach to conducting guitar clinics. Greg's relationship with music publishing giant, the Hal Leonard Corporation, has also resulted in a string of top-selling guitar method books, including "Guitar Clues: Operation Pentatonic," "Lead Licks," "Rhythm Riffs" and Koch's popular Hal Leonard instructional DVDs -- two on the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan (approved by Jimmie Vaughan), one on Lynyrd Skynyrd, another celebrating revered blues stylists like Albert King, Albert Collins, Elmore James and Guitar Slim and one on his own twisted take on guitar called "Guitar Gristle" -- have revolutionized video guitar instruction with a combination of humor, effective instruction and inspiring musical performances into a package that can only be described as "edu-tainment."

In his self-penned liner notes to his 2001 recording, The Grip, Koch described his guitaristic approach as "Chet Hendrix meeting the Kings (BB, Albert and Freddie) at the first annual Zeppelin-Holdsworth Coffee Guzzlers Hoedown." He would subsequently showcase his over-the-top chops and wicked sense of humor on 2003's Radio Free Gristle, 2004's 13 x 12, 2005's 4 Days In the South and 2007's Live on WMSE, which showcases his fiery fretboard work in the company of bassist Roscoe Beck (longtime sideman to guitarists Robben Ford and Eric Johnson), drummer Tom Brechtlein (a former member of Ford's Blueline band and a frequent collaborator with Chick Corea) and the charismatic Austin-based soul singer Malford Milligan (formerly the frontman for Storyville and Double Trouble). Last year's Nation Sack had Koch teaming with Milligan and his current rhythm tandem of Good and Bennett for a collection of Koch originals (including some co-penned with Milligan) along with a cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy."

Koch continues to channel all the right people on his most recent collection of blues, funk and R&B, including Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Albert Collins, Jeff Beck and Roy Buchanan with touches of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Danny Gatton and Richie Blackmore thrown in for good measure. And he fi lters all those killer infl uences through his own slightly bent prism that is tinted with grunge, gristle and good clean fun.

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