BluePower.Com

Smokestack Lightning's Rocking New Show!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Smokestack Lightnin’s Top Ten Blues CDs for the Week

#10 Clarence Spady/24/7 Luv/Just Between Us/ Severn

#9 Mississippi Heat/Say Something Good/Hattiesburg Blues/Delmark

#8 Kenny Neal/Fly Away/Let Life Flow/Blind Pig

#7 Tab Benoit&Jimmy Hall/New Orleans Ladies/Nightville Train to Nashville/Telarc

#6 Mannish Boys/The Same Thing/Lowdown Feelin’/Delta Groove

#5 Jeff Healey/Sittin’ On Top Of The World/Mess Of Blues/Ruf

#4 Michael Burks/Empty Promises/Iron Man/Alligator

#3 The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue/If I Had A Nickel/Command Performance/Delta Groove

#2 Eric Gales/You Ain’t The Boss Of Me/The Story Of My Life/BBI

#1 Mac Arnold/Backbone & Gristle/Backbone & Gristle/self

Otis Blue (Collectors Edition) - Brand new reissue from Volt Records

Otis Redding/Old Man Trouble/Otis Blue:Otis Redding Sings Soul (Collectors Edition)/Volt

Otis Redding/Respect (Live)/same

Otis Redding/I’ve been Loving You Too Long/same

Otis Redding/Shake (Live)/same

Otis Redding/Satisfaction

All New Blues

Paul Orta&Tonky De La Pena/Pawn Shop/Pawn Shop/Great Blues Recordings

Carl Sims/Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone/Can’t Stop Me/Ecko

Dave Specter/What’s Your Angle?/Live In Chicago/Delmark

Gary Allegretto/Good To Go/Many Shades Of Blue/Big Fiore

Floyd Taylor/I’m Hooked On These Blues/Still Got It/Malaco

Joe Moss/My Life/Maricela’s Smile/212

Thelonius James/Step On The Gas/The Sunland Chronicles/self

J.W. Jones/Can’t Play A Playboy/Blue Listed/Northern Blues

Big G & The Real Deal/Shake Your Money Maker/Chicago Blues Party/Universal

The Nouveaux Honkies/Strong Brain/Where Do I Go?/self

J.T. Coldfire/Hangin’ Tree/Crazy Sun/self

Gregg Juke & The Mighty No Stars/Jesus Just left Chicago/Blues Power/self

Lil Cliff & The Cliffhangers/Cuttin’ In/God Bless Women/Shank Bone

Darrell Raines/Love Doctor/Moanin’ Time/Bluz

Austin Walkin’ Cane/Georgia Moon/Murder Of A Blues Singer/Lazy Cat

Jeff Healey/I’m Tore Down/Mess Of Blues/Ruf

Close

Melvin Guitar Williams/Mustard Greens/Shut Your Mouth/Sticky Bo

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

America's Got The Blues....4/29/08!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:42:00 +0000

The show tonight kicks off with a piece of Dr. Ray Griffin's....The Creature From Jekyll Island. A provocative look at how and why the Federal Reserve was created. This is a "must" listen if you are at all concerned with how money works throughout the world. The implications are astounding.

A private security firm hired "former" secret service agents and CIA agents to spy on various environmental organizations for years. Guess who the shadow employers were? No less than the Monsanto Corporation, Halliburton, Wal-Mart and Allied Waste.

This show also goes into the huge profits being taken by the oil companies. There's no doubt they're all sticking it to the good old USA.

The DOD funded company Raytheon has developed a monster weapon called Silent Guardian. One of it's primary purposes is large crowd control. Welcome to the new wave of military madness. Click here for an explanation of this device.

Are you upset yet?

BluePower feels someone should speak up. We will also let you know others who are sticking their chins out. They're out there. All you have to do is turn on your computer. No wonder ComCast wants to scrutinize all their content. Don't they want people to know whats really happening in our country?

Our way of life is being systematically destroyed. Not only that, but these people controlling the money and the flow of wheat and rice are starving millions of children throughout the world. What for? Because they can? I think it goes much deeper than greed.

Why haven't these stories been reported by CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News etc? Have you heard them there? We certainly haven't. All we hear are the spin doctors and talking heads and I don't mean those two great musical acts. Why aren't we hearing the flat out truth? Where is Edward R. Morrow when we need him?

We have to play the Blues along with the news because the music always says it like it is.

Our primary source of unreported news tonight is The Huffington Post with a byline to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Money"....Barrett Strong....Anna Records
2)...."Everybody's Got The Blues"....Johnny Stevenson....unreleased
3)...."Outlaws Rule"....Scott Richardson and Buddy Miles....unreleased
4)...."On The Bottom Of The Pile"....Kermit Deveaux....Demo....HASM
5)...."California"....Jackie Lomax....Demo
6)...."The Freedom Wall"....Freebo....Before The Separation....Self

Click here to listen to....America's Got The Blues....4/29/08!

Click to listen to....The Creature From Jekyll Island....1:13:30.

Remember....Get Out And Vote!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

America's Got The Blues!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:18:00 +0000

If you don't think our country is in trouble, you'd better think again. From spiraling gas prices to corruption in all levels of the government, America is being hijacked by the very people it voted into office.

Just the fact that the war in Iraq has cost the American taxpayer 2 trillion dollars should be evidence enough. The average American must ask himself, "What the hell is going on?" Do you really think we have stopped Al Qaeda? No! We've just created more terrorists.

Yesterday, the Pentagon was exposed for hiring writers to produce copy spinning a positive picture of the war in Iraq through American news media outlets. The major networks, cable channels and newspapers are touting this copy as though it were fact. This alone is completely illegal and should be stopped now.

Rupert Murdoch is attempting to buy Newsweek magazine which would give him control of far too many media outlets in New York City. Murdoch can already spin any situation the way he wants it and who would know. Is nothing sacred?

Airlines, attempting to cut costs, are now running flights with "minimum" jet fuel, causing all hell to break loose in many airports and effecting many of the delays happening today. God forbid one of them runs out of fuel while landing and this situation is guaranteed to make things rougher on the already over-loaded Air Traffic Controllers.

It's time for some major changes; not only in government itself but in all the major departments and bureaucracies. There is no longer the slightest bit of oversight and American citizens deserve better than this.

It's time for a change!

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues....Skip James....Skip James....Ace Records 2)...."Accidentally Like A Martyr"....Warren Zevon....The Rhys Masters....Unreleased
3)...."Starting All Over Again"....Mel and Tim....Stax Story....Stax
4)...."For What It's Worth"....Jeffrey Osborne....From The Soul....Unknown 5)...."Motherless Child"....Andy Cowan....Troubadour Nights....Unknown 6)...."Working Man's Pay"....Warren Zevon....The Rhys Masters....Unreleased 7)...."Keep On Pushin' "....Rastus....Steamin'....Neighborhood
8)...."You're Free"....Brenda Russell....Brenda Russell....A&M/Horizon

Click here to listen to....America's Got The Blues!

Don't Forget To Vote!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

A Sad Replay....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:00:00 +0000

It is with great sadness that I report the death of young Sean Costello. He was found in an Atlanta hotel room yesterday and as yet, we are told no reason why. He would have been 29 today.

It was less than two months ago that Lori and I went to see him play at The Viper Room in Hollywood. Mr. Costello was one of the most vital new Blues men to come along the hard road in many a year.

I did an interview with Sean the next day. As we sat in my car and spoke, I could see he was under tremendous strain of keeping up with the traveling, bookings etc.

God Speed Sean. It was a pleasure meeting you.

John Rhys and staff/BluePower.com

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Last week-end we found ourselves traveling throughout Southern California. During long drives I like to listen to new material and get a fix on what's happening on the blues scene through new CD releases.

I told Lori to pick one of the CDs and pop it in the player. She chose Sean Costello's new release on Delta Groove Productions, We Can Get Together.

Let's put it this way....the man is unique. Costello's guitar playing is dirty and clean with a choice of notes which accent the feel of the song he's playing at the time. He's a natural Bluesman and a terrific writer. His vocals expose his feelings and contribute to an overall, enthralling experience.

Mr. Costello has had several CDs released and has garnered accolades from some major folks. You can find this history on his web site below.

Stay Tuned!
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Little Birds"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
2)...."Same Old Game"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
3)...."Have You No Shame"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
4)...."How In The Devil"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
5)...."Hard Luck Woman"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
6)...."Can't Let Go"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove

Click here to play....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together!

Listen to an exclusive interview with Sean Costello!

Click here to go to Sean Costello's site!

Click here to go to Delta Groove Productions!

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Isn't Anybody Or Anything Special Anymore?

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:36:00 +0000

A Grim Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a man named Thomas Alva Edison. He was a brilliant man. He invented lots of amazing things. One of these inventions was the Cylinder Phonograph. It was special. Or was it?

Across the Atlantic Ocean, a man named Emile Berliner had also invented something similar. What a coincidence! It was called the Gramophone. Edison's invention was cylindrical and Berliner's was flat. They were both made of wax and they each put strange sounds on them and said to their friends, "We can save sound if it doesn't get too hot. Just think what we'll be able to do with these things."

They thought about education. They thought about teaching the blind. They thought about information storage of famous events. They thought about the myriad things they could record but what was the first thing supposedly recorded.... beside gibberish that is.... a silly song called "Mary Had A Little Lamb." The first musical reproduction had been made.

Without knowing it of course, these men had invented the Record Business.

How could they have known that down the pike, names like Al Jolson, Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, Morris Levy, Milt Salstone, Clive Davis, The Beatles and God Lives Underwater would leap onto the front pages of magazines such as Cash Box, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Hits. These were called trade magazines.

These magazines used to play an important part in the promotion and sales of newly recorded sounds. They also made all the people who ran these companies (record companies as they were then called) feel proud and important. They would pay these magazines dearly for tiny little squares that told of the important new sounds they had put on wax ("waxes to watch") which they intended to sell. Of course the big companies bought big squares commensurate with their position and power.

And, for a while, times were good.

Now I forgot about this guy named Marconi. He invented something special too. It was called radio. With a radio transmitter, a station could send to millions of homes with receivers, all kinds of great music. A person could pick and choose from dozens of transmitters playing these various types of sounds. He could then select the type he would like to own and then purchase these discs for his own enjoyment. Oh happy day!

Everybody did well.

It was a great time for "Personality Radio" where insane men and women, with insane names got on the radio and did insane things. One DJ (disc jockey) was called "The Geeter With The Heater." Such merriment! That was until a very smart man from Dallas, Texas came along to put everything in order. His name was Gordon McLendon and he invented something really cool called "Format Programming." Welcome "Tiger Radio."

Now business really started to boom.

Things were so good in fact, that thousands of small record companies grew in every corner of the globe.There was all kinds of special music for every kind of person and culture. For decades things went swimmingly. Small companies became large companies. The large companies then bought up other small companies and became large corporations. Now called the Big Fish concept. (They actually bought up the competition.)

Since one could become very rich if they were successful at making sounds that many people enjoyed and it seemed like a relatively easy thing to do (better than digging ditches or cleaning windows) that soon, more and more people decided to create sounds to store on the (now plastic) discs.

Pretty soon there were more discs than the companies could sell and these discs started piling up all over the place. Soon, the corporations had to build giant storage ares called warehouses in which to keep the discs.

When the retailers and distributors (who were the middle men for the record companies) bought so many discs that they couldn't possibly sell them all, they sent them back to the companies that made them in the first place. Imagine that. The discs came back instead of monetary compensation, much to the companies chagrin, for they depended on that compensation to operate the huge companies they had built. They lost sight of the fact that less is actually more.

Too bad for the moguls, the A&R men, the Veeps, the CEOs, the promoters and all those lawyers.

They were strangling on their lack of foresight and greed and were blinded to the fact that the human spirit is finely woven through with the music of life and, that for some unknown reason, human beings can tell the difference between the real thing and a placebo.

Remember Edison, Berliner and Marconi? They're laughing their butts off and they all agree, that everyone up and down the line should have thought first of "Principles before Personalitie$."

From a 1996 issue of Cash Box Magazine
By: John Rhys

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Martin Luther King....A Biography!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:39:00 +0000

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

The Rebirth Of The Music Industry!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:32:00 +0000

The Rebirth of the Music Industry
Philip Cacayorin
Director and Producer of Advanced Media

November 02, 2007
© P. Cacayorin 2007
www.3dvinyl.com

We learn from history repeating itself. Everyone knows there is a problem in the music industry; it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Bashing the major labels is an old song and reiterating the obvious doesn’t make anyone an expert. Here forward is the history, the problem and once and for all, a solution to the future industry of music and art.

Before the New Media, radio played an integral role in the music industry. Without standardized play lists, radio offered statistics that fueled industry decisions for sales, distribution and even what records were made. Once a week the radio stations would provide the sales and marketing teams of major labels with logical representations of who was listening to what, where and how much, these were known as "stats". A logical distribution of product would then be manufactured and shipped to sustainable markets in a supply and demand arena in accordance with these stats.

Artist and Repertoire (A&R) departments would have an educated guess as to what product to produce for distribution to the record stores as the primary point of sales. The marketing teams worked closely with the radio stations and sales points to sustain the markets. Without this critical information, teamwork, huge roster of artists or the ability to manufacture quantities of product on demand the independent labels didn't stand much of a chance for success. The record chains were not willing to risk their relationship with the major label distributors since they were integral to their livelihood. Historically, it was a good system that worked, so nobody tried to fix it.

In 1958 RCA developed an audio cartridge system known simply as the Sound Tape Cartridge. By 1960 it made its way into homes as an early mono cartridge format for recording family history and recordings. By 1970 it became the predominant consumer tape format and would dominate the industry for the next 20 years. In 1980, there was a surge in record sales that revitalized the record store marketplace. Although we were able to copy our vinyl discs to cassette tapes so that we could listen to them on alternative media, share them with our friends and listen to them in our automobiles as an alternative to radio, the music industry survived.

It became common knowledge in the recording industry that we were actually going to run out of vinyl and an alternative medium was on the horizon. It wouldn't be an issue of quality since most engineers knew that the new digital medium at that time didn't sound compatible to the record, and the cassette tapes were sounding great. Similar to date, we have the .mp3 medium, although it doesn't sound at all compatible to the CD master medium, the general public finds it as an acceptable medium to share and distribute among themselves.

As we entered the millennium, the government enabled large corporations to create monopolistic multimedia economic powers. With the monopolized radio stations, they disabled the record companies and empowered the corporations in the process. The corporations’ created standardized play lists to increase control, and it immediately disabled the radio stations ability to relay personalized demographic information to the major labels. When the labels lost their personalized connection with their audiences, they no longer had any idea who was listening to what, where and how much. The hope became that the general public would simply buy what they produced, so they signed just about anything and everything. Subsequently the major label business became dysfunctional as a whole and the record business logistics became obsolete.

To revitalize the industry with CD product, the .mp3 medium was originally created and envisioned as a marketing tool. It was to be used much like airplay on the radio broadcasts to entice the audiences to buy the quality CD product. Companies successful in building a personalized marketing utility with the .mp3 medium outperformed the major labels due to the exponential growth of the Internet. The corporations became disenfranchised by this success to capture what had previously been their own critical mass audiences. This new corporate generation was unable to recognize that these distribution platforms were critical to their own survival, or that they could provide invaluable personalization of their customers that would increase the sales of their CD products.

Just as we can never stop a person from holding a microphone in front of a pair of speakers to duplicate a recording, the corporations cannot stop the movement of .mp3 distribution. While .mp3 media is still not compatible to the quality of the CD format, the corporations are still unable to find their own way to captivate audiences to purchase their CD products.

The ability for artists to develop their own demographic of direct sales via .mp3 provides a profitable environment. The artist that is able to acquire critical mass, as an independent, will experience extreme wealth as an independent. Utilizing the .mp3 platform to market their product online, they can achieve an understanding of their audiences similar to the knowledge acquired via radio stats by the major labels.

The value product and marketplace for the artist today is in live performance. With the demise of what we considered to be the major label deal, the artists have inherited their own industry. No differently than standing in front of an original painting in an art gallery, a replication or print does not provide the true experience of the original art form. A recording does not replace seeing a live performance. In giving the CD studio recordings away with the price of a concert ticket, their audiences will have a tangible product as a representation of the live artist experience.

Artists of today should also recognize that the major labels were only a delivery system of an attribute of their talent, a recording. For several decades the major labels were able to create their own industry from these products that represented the artists. With this success they were able to create bigger than life representations of artists while expanding their own products into what were actually false representations of the original work, insuring that it only benefited them as a label. Notwithstanding, they couldn't do this without the artists to instigate the process.

A perfect example of the Status Quo, in November 2001, Mick Jagger's solo album sold 9554 copies on its first day in England and EMI was devastated by these sales, exemplary of the weakness of the major label process. Now in 2007, the last "A Bigger Bang" tour of the Rolling Stones grossed over five hundred million dollars in sales, contradicting the theory that people will not want to pay for an experience. Although there were several complaints that the band was quite elderly, people still came to see the performances to have the real experience. This is also contradictory to the statements that the music business is a business of youth, only pertaining to the multi-media business, which was also fabricated by the major labels in their effort to survive.

Although attractive studio recordings are a business to themselves, the most sustainable product will inevitably come down to raw talent. Musicians and performers will prevail with their ability to actually perform their work. Records, tapes and digital media are intellectual properties that are only attributes of artists, they aren't the artists themselves. We need to continue to celebrate the ability to create private enterprise with these intellectual properties as a marketing utility.

There is a new logical process for acquiring market research data

1. Continue to distribute .mp3 media as a marketing tool over the Internet and peer networks. In exchange for the free media, the audience will provide their area code to the content creator as the critical demographic. This information will provide the creators with who is demanding the media where, and how many times. A fair and equal trade for free music.  

2. Using this critical demographic information, we will sell CD media that includes an incentive to the customer to purchase at the point of sale. Each CD will have a unique bar code, similar to national currency. Upon purchasing the uniquely coded CD, the customers will provide their own unique pin number establishing a personal connection with the product. Similar to an ATM machine, this pin will be unique to the customer and its relationship with the bar code will insure its personalization. 

3. The bar coded CD will offer a refund to the customer upon the purchase of a maximum of two concert tickets. This model will represent a free CD with every two-concert tickets sold to the customer. As well, this will insure that an average of every two-audience members have purchased a CD. Adding value to the concert ticket and CD/Ticket model, an additional incentive of a DVD of the live concert performance can be added.

The cost of a disc and replicating it is conservative as a marketing tool and it can be recouped in this logical process. There are several layers of incentive to the customer and audience member to purchase a CD. Additionally, and profoundly this will circumvent the concert ticket scalpers and increase the revenue stream directly to the artists. By putting the focus back on the content creators, the advertising medium is no longer the end product.

In conclusion, it is possible to effectively market and distribute content in the new media format in a way that returns the lion’s share of the sales revenue to the artist, while still offering great opportunities for advertisers.

Go to Phillip Cacayorin's website now!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

BP CD Review....Thelonius James Presents The Sunland Chronicles!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:15:00 +0000

Here at BluePower, we are always on the lookout for what we feel is inspired product. We receive so many CDs that just don't go that extra step to make the music different and unique. This CD is the best of both of those worlds.

Thelonius James Presents The Sunland Chronicles is a piece of work which contains all the elements necessary to make it an outstanding contribution to the world of American music. It has great playing and a sense of humor which can only be attributed to the artist involved.

There is something exciting going on with this record. A spontaneity which transcends most releases today. Trying to explain this is difficult. It's something one has to hear. All we know is that when we listened to the material....we enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Sunland Chronicles runs the gamut musically, stretching from the blues to near jazz. Fine playing and vocals with nothing too heavy or intense. Just a real good feel. Overall....this CD is a lot of fun and a guaranteed party pleaser.

It made me smile.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Popcorn Paws"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
2)...."Step On The Gas"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
3)...."The Blues Is Like A Baseball Game"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
4)...."More Than A Fool"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
5)...."With You"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
6)...."You Give Me Hope"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
7)...."Chicken Pie"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records

Produced by....Phil Bloch and Andrew Bush

Click to play....BP CD Review....Thelonius James Presents The Sunland Chronicles!

Click to purchase....Thelonius James....The Sunland Chronicles!

Go to Thelonius James' MySpace page!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

A BluePower Re-Run....Watermelon Slim And The Workers....The Wheel Man!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Since BluePower has been forced into taking the independent route, we have received so many great pieces of product that it's hard to believe. They come from all over the world as far as Italy and Spain. We just sit and look at each other in amazement at the shear reach of the Blues and the various shapes the art form has taken.

Today, we've chosen a CD produced by an organization from Canada....Northern Blues. They are producing some mighty talented artists. Today's Blues treasure is a CD titled The Wheel Man performed by Watermelon Slim and The Workers. Slim has produced several bodies of work prior to The Wheel Man and this time, Slim has gone above and beyond.

The Wheel Man covers a lot of territory from Slim's lament to the victims of Katrina, "Black Water" to the solo vocal and harp piece, "Jimmy Bell" with great songs of all tempos in between. The band is articulate and plays Slim's music with great feel and a foot stompin' rhythm guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The title cut...."The Wheel Man" features a man we all know, Magic Slim, on vocals and slide guitar.

This is one CD you can pop in your iPod and cruise to all day long or slam the CD in your truck and drive all night, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Check out....The Wheel Man!

Todays music is:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury
2)...."Black Water"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
3)...."I Know One"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
4)...."Truck Drivin' Mama"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
5)...."Jimmy Bell"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
6)...."Rattlesnake"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
7)...."The Wheel Man"....Magic Slim....Northern Blues
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury

Enjoy the show!
John Rhys-Eddins/BluePower.com

Play....A BluePower Re-Run....Watermelon Slim And The Workers....The Wheel Man!

To purchase a copy of The Wheel Man, go to Northern Blues!

To find out more about Watermelon Slim, click here!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

An Audio Interview With Carl Verheyen....Player!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:39:00 +0000

Due to the anonymous nature of studio work, not a day goes by when you don't hear Carl Verheyen on one piece of music or another in movie theaters, on TV , or over the radio.

Carl has too many accolades to present on this page. However; if you would like to see them all, check out Carl's homepage listed below.

Yesterday I went to Carl's home high atop Topanga Canyon with my partner, Steve Altman to video one of the most knowledgeable and likable musicians I have had the privilege to encounter throughout my many years in the music business.

This interview is chock full of great information for budding guitarists and Carl plays numerous pieces during the video interview. His playing shows years of training and discipline which can only be learned by doing the work.

Carl has made numerous records himself along with many jazz, country and rock artists. He has been the guitarist for Supertramp since the glory days of the mid-eighties. Mr. Verheyen's credibility factor leaves nothing to be desired.

As a player myself, all I could do was sit in awe of a master player and wish I had studied quite a bit more.

Tune in as I interview a true guitar master. You will be amazed.

John Rhys/Guitar Speak
Video Produced and edited by Steve Altman

To watch this interview, click on Guitar Speak on the right side of this page.

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Click to listen to....An Interview With Carl Verheyen....Guitar Master!

Click to visit Carl Verheyen's web site!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

We All Need Change....Think Green!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:11:00 +0000

BluePower was just sent this wonderful video performed by Skyler Jett with the film directed/ produced and engineered by our old friend Phillip Cacayorin.

We should all feel this way about our beautiful planet. The Earth is methodically being destroyed every day in the name of profit and greed.

Imagine....if we each did one small thing in consideration of the Earth; we could guarantee a brighter tomorrow to our children and their grand-children. It's up to us.

Thank you Phillip and Skyler!

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Think Green

Skyler Jett....Composer/Producer/Artist
Phillip Cacayorin....Cinematic Director/Producer/Engineer

Click to play....We All Need Change....Think Green!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

To Be The Best Songwriter You Can Be....Ask Janet Fisher!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:44:00 +0000

Whenever BluePower discovers a site we think can be of immeasurable service to some of our listeners, we put the site up so that our friends can take advantage of the good news.

Janet Fisher has a highly educational site called goodnightkiss.com. Her site can help writers in ways they can't begin to imagine.

Goodnight Kiss Music is a publishing company owned and operated by Janet and has achieved amazing success considering the company is not a corporate controlled entity.

Goodnightkiss.com is the web site partner to Janet's Goodnight Kiss Music (BMI) and Scene Stealer Music (ASCAP). The three companies work together in tandem to facilitate recordings, demos, commercials and film music for both novice and professional writers.

"Our job is to help writers achieve their best work", says Janet. "The songs are the commodity, not the writers themselves."

So whether you're a budding songwriter or a pro, Goodnight Kiss can help you reach your maximum potential.

Tune in as John speaks candidly with Janet Fisher regarding the music publishing business and its current state of affairs.

BluePower continues to bring the best of the web to it's friends.

Listen to....To Be The Best Songwriter You Can Be....Ask Janet Fisher!

Go to....goodnightkiss.com!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Jeff Healey, Brilliant Canadian Guitarist, Dies Of Cancer!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:46:00 +0000

March 02, 2008, 10:40 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey died today (March 2) in Toronto after
battling cancer. He was 41.

Blind since infancy due to a rare form of cancer, Healey was attracting
local attention for his talent on guitar, which he played laying across
his lap while seated, by the time he was a teenager.

His Arista debut with his Jeff Healey Band, 1988's "See the Light," was
a quick hit, spawning the No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 smash "Angel Eyes." A
memorable role in the 1989 Patrick Swayze film "Road House" followed,
as did rock hits such as "Full Circle," "I Think I Love You Too Much,"
"How Long Can a Man Be Strong" and "Heart of an Angel."

In recent years, Healey transitioned to albums featuring early jazz
music from the 1920s-1940s. But he had completed work on his first rock
album in eight years, "Mess of Blues," which is due March 20 in Europe
and April 22 in the United States.

Healey also served as a radio DJ on shows for CBC Radio and Toronto's
Jazz-FM. The artist is survived by his wife Cristie and two children.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

Legendary Drummer, Buddy Miles, Passes Away!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Legendary Drummer Buddy Miles passed away this Tuesday, peacefully at
his home in Austin, TX. He was (60) sixty years old. He suffered from
congestive heart failure but the official cause of death is not known.

Buddy performed with some of the greatest names in music including....

Stevie Wonder, Muddy Waters, Michael Bloomfield, Wilson Pickett, Stephen
Stills, Neil Young, David Crosby, Jack Bruce, Scott Richardson, Eric Burden, Peter Torque, Billy Gibbons, Prince, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy Vaughan, Rick James, Kool and the Gang, Jr. Brown, Ike Turner, Pinetop Perkins, Jr. Wells, Koko Taylor, Johnny Taylor, Barry White, Aretha Franklin, George
Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Carlos Santana, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Cox, David Bowie and others.

Buddy Miles recorded over 70 albums and performed in numerous world
tours, television commercials and videos. He is best known for his work
with Jimi Hendrix and bass player Billy Cox in Band of Gypsys.

Band of Gypsys recorded one album appropriately titled “Band of
Gypsys” in 1970 at Fillmore East in New York. Two of the songs on the
album were written by Miles. ("We Gotta Live Together" and "Changes”).

In lieu of flowers; the family has asked to please make donations to
the Jazz Foundation of America specifically in Buddy Miles' name to
assist with funeral, and other expenses at www.jazzfoundation.org ; The Jazz
Foundation of America, at 322 West 48th Street, New York, NY, 10036,
Attn.: Amy Cusma.

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

BluePower CD Review....Widespread Panic....Free Somehow!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Free Somehow speaks of love, tradition, politics and freedom. Finely produced by Terry Manning and Widespread Panic, it demonstrates a new musical plateau for one of the hardest working and long lived traveling bands in the USA.

This record is guaranteed to become a favorite of all WSP fans. Were terrestrial radio today what it used to be ten years ago, I would say this record is a smash; combining all the best features of a band who has traditionally delivered the goods. The band's seemingly limitless musical abilities mesh music, words and arrangements to go beyond anything WSP has produced before.

Don't just take my word for this as I am thoroughly prejudiced. Attain the CD and see for yourself.

BluePower congratulates Widespread Panic on another astounding accomplishment....Free Somehow.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

The players are:

John Bell....vocals, guitar
John Herman....keyboards
Jimmy Herring....guitars
Todd Nance....drums
Domingo S. Ortiz....percussion
Dave Schools....bass

Here's the music:

1)...."Walk On The Flood"....WSP....Widespread Records
2)...."Boom, Boom, Boom"....WSP....Widespread Records
3)...."Angels On High"....WSP....Widespread Records
4)...."Dark Day Program"....WSP....Widespread Records
5)...."Up All Night"....WSP....Widespread Records

Click here to listen to....Widespread Panic....Free Somehow!

Click here to go to Widespread Panic's web site!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Calvin Owens Passes At 78!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:10:00 +0000

Calvin Owens

b. April 23, 1929 - d. February 21, 2008

Legendary bandleader and trumpeter Calvin Owens succumbed to kidney failure today. He was 78. Owens is best known for being a bandleader for B. B. King in the early fifties while King recorded his famous sides at the Kent label in Texas.

Owens, born in New Orleans Fifth Ward, migrated with his mother to Houston, Texas, where at thirteen he began playing trumpet. Joining a vaudeville show after high school, Owens later met B. B. in 1953 then toured and led his band till 1957, when he returned to Houston. Upon his return, Owens became a songwriter/arranger/session player/A&R rep for the famed Peacock Record Company under the infamous Don Robey. During that period, Owens recorded with T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, Junior Parker, and David "Fathead" Newman to name a few.

Owens recorded continually while playing all around the Houston area for many years, refusing to be pidgeon-holed as a jazz and blues musician. Owens would later return to touring with B. B. King from 1978 through 1984, notching a Grammy as the bandleader for King on the album Blues 'n' Jazz. Owens would then move to Belgium where he stayed and recorded sporadically for a decade before returning to Houston in 1993.

This time, Owens would record not only blues but country music, Spanish music and Hip-Hop. His numerous abilities to fluidly cross between genres can be heard in any number of his subsequent releases. Two recordings in the blues genre garnered him critical acclaim for his solo album, Ain't Gonna Be Yo' Dog No Mo' in which Owens is coupled with several younger blues artists and for his bandleader work on his own label, Sawdust Alley Records' Trudy Lynn with the Calvin Owens Orchestra.

Owens won several instrumentalist nominations from the BMA for his work on trumpet. Last year, Owens released the Spanish album, La Myjer que Cante Blues, a collaboration with Evelyn Rubio. In 2007, Owens also recorded and arranged a country album with legends Willie Nelson, Ray Price and Johnny Bush.

Diagnosed with liver cancer a few years prior, his health had continually deteriorated after subsequent surgeries to remove tumors. The latest surgery which took place several weeks ago weakened his condition from which he never recovered. "The Maestro" as he was called, has a long recording history and influence that will shine on for years to come.

Andrew Dansby
The Houston Chronicle

BluePower CD Review....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:21:00 +0000

Last week-end we found ourselves traveling throughout Southern California. During long drives I like to listen to new material and get a fix on what's happening on the blues scene through new CD releases.

I told Lori to pick one of the CDs and pop it in the player. She chose Sean Costello's new release on Delta Groove Productions, We Can Get Together.

Let's put it this way....the man is unique. Costello's guitar playing is dirty and clean with a choice of notes which accent the feel of the song he's playing at the time. He's a natural Bluesman and a terrific writer. His vocals expose his feelings and contribute to an overall, enthralling experience.

Mr. Costello has had several CDs released and has garnered accolades from some major folks. You can find this history on his web site below.

Stay Tuned!
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Little Birds"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
2)...."Same Old Game"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
3)...."Have You No Shame"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
4)...."How In The Devil"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
5)...."Hard Luck Woman"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
6)...."Can't Let Go"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove

Click here to play....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together!

Listen to an exclusive interview with Sean Costello!

Click here to go to Sean Costello's site!

Click here to go to Delta Groove Productions!

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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

A BluePower Replay....The Blues From Catalonia!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Since we have been involved with BluePower, we have been sent the Blues from some strange places. The country of origin for tonight's music is certainly not a place known for the Blues. Until now, that is. The music and artists for tonight's show come from the relatively little known country of Catalonia. To be quite honest, I have been to Barcelona, Spain before and never knew it was the capitol of Catalonia. I always thought Barcelona was part of Spain. Well....that's a long story and one you should possibly dig into a bit. Catalonia's history is worth studying.

Catalonia is a Mediterranean country located on the northwestern triangle of the Iberian Peninsular. Historically, it's location has turned it into a land of peace, where various peoples and cultures have come together.

The CD we're presenting tonight is titled Blues Cat and features artists who all hail from Catalonia, Spain.

The CD was sent to us from our friend, Vicente Zumel of Barcelona. Vicente has been producing and hosting a Blues radio show in Barcelona for 25 years called La Hora Del Blues. The man has a remarkable set of archives and does a wonderfully impromptu show. Please give a listen when you have time.

BluePower sends it's congratulations to all the talented artists of Catalan and apologizes for the fact that we could not get to all the great players on Blues Cat this time around. We hope you'll forgive us.

Thanks for tuning in.
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Tonight's artists are:

1)....Theme...."Koz's Walk"....Koz Kosinski
2)...."Woatinee"....Amadeu Casas
3)...."Blues Through My Veins"....Alex A. & TNT
4)...."Sugar Sweet"....Joan Pau Cumellas-Miguel Talavera
5)...."Drowning In The Blues"....Loti Lewis
6)...."Waiting At The Train Station"....Joan Vinyals-Cece Giannotti
7)...."Trist Gris"....Errol Woiski
8)...."Cara De Foc"....Big Mama & Joan Pau Cumellas
9)...."Cansat"....Blues De Picolat
10)..."Jungle's Groove"....Lluis Coloma

Click here to play....BluePower Presents....The Blues From Catalonia!

Click here to go to....La Hora Del Blues!

If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Collector's Choice To Release Margie Joseph's Atlantic Years!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Albums produced by Arif Mardin, Lamont Dozier and Johnny Bristol receive belated appreciation as soul classics

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Margie Joseph may not have soared to the commercial heights of her Atlantic label-mate Aretha Franklin. But in the ‘70s, she released six albums that bore numerous R&B hits. She also attracted some hit producers — Arif Mardin, Lamont Dozier and Johnny Bristol among them — as well as some of the hottest writers and session musicians around. Mississippi-born Joseph was influenced by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Patsy Cline, along with the gospel music she heard in church.

In the mid-‘60s, Joseph met New Orleans DJ Larry McKinley, who took her to OKeh Records. She began her recording career there with two singles in 1967-68 written by Willie Tee, George Davis and Lee Diamond. She then went to Stax’s Volt label where she recorded two LPs in 1970-71. In 1971, it was off to Atlantic, a label she would call home for the duration of six albums. “One thing Atlantic did is they invested in me,” she says. “I don’t have any bad things to say about Atlantic. Atlantic treated me royally.” Those six albums will be reissued on March 11, 2008 by Collectors’ Choice Music, with comprehensive liner notes by Chicago musicologist Bill Dahl that include quotes from Joseph, McKinley, and Lamont Dozier.

• Margie Joseph. Her 1973 Atlantic debut, the first of three albums produced by Arif Mardin, boasted an eclectic song selection: Joseph’s version of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” (an R&B hit right on the heels of the original), Dolly Parton’s “Touch Your Woman,” Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” Bobby Patterson’s “How Do You Spell Love” and “Let’s Go Somewhere,” penned by Kenny O’Dell (who had a hit in 1967 with “Beautiful People”). The band featured Cornell Dupree, Hugh McCracken, Ray Charles’ reedman David “Fathead” Newman, Ralph MacDonald and backup singers Cissy Houston, Myrna Smith and Sylvia Shemwell of the Sweet Inspirations.

• Sweet Surrender. This 1974 set was Joseph’s most commercially successful album for Atlantic, and the only one of her albums to cross over to the pop chart. Arif Mardin was again at the helm, with many of the same session aces from her previous album. Atlantic soul singer Judy Clay (known for her duets with William Bell and Billy Vera) joined the list of backup singers. Twenty-three years old at the time, Joseph tackled Jerry Butler’s “(Strange) I Still Love You,” Billy Joel’s “He’s Got a Way,” Stevie Wonder’s “To Know You Is To Love You,” and surprisingly soulful readings of Bread’s “Baby I’m-A Want You” and Paul McCartney’s “My Love,” which was a #10 R&B hit for Joseph.

• Margie. It didn’t attain the chart ranking of its predecessor but the Arif Mardin-produced Margie may be Joseph’s most artistically successful record. Joining many of her session stalwarts were Steve Gadd, Motown musician Bob Babbitt and guitarist Hamish Stuart from the Average White Band, who played on Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart’s “Words (Are Impossible).” Other songs here include two by Carole King (“Believe in Humanity” and “After All This Time”) as well as Bill Withers’ “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh,” Alabama soul singer Sam Dees’ “Just As Soon As the Feeling’s Over,” and Robert John’s “I Can’t Move No Mountains,” which Joseph says “took me to another level vocally.”

• Hear the Words, Fight the Feeling. After a banner three-album run with Arif Mardin, Joseph connected with another world-class producer, ex-Motown wizard Lamont Dozier of the famous Holland-Dozier-Holland team. According to Joseph in Bill Dahl’s notes, “He made me sing. He was a taskmaster.” The album, which has a rawer and darker sound than its predecessors, also marked Joseph’s move to Atlantic’s Cotillion subsidiary (also the home of the Woodstock soundtrack). Backing musicians remained first-rate, this time including Ray Parker Jr. and Lee Ritenour. Songs included “Didn’t I Tell You” and “Why’d You Lie,” both examining the bleaker side of romance, plus several other Dozier songs: the title track “Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling” (which made it to #8 on the R&B charts), “Don’t Turn the Lights Off” (#46 on the charts), “Prophecy,” “Feeling My Way” and “I Get Carried Away.”

• Feeling My Way. Joseph worked with another great former Motown figure on her 1978 return to Atlantic proper — Johnny Bristol — who was himself an Atlantic artist and L.A. session musician. The album contains 10 Bristol originals including the hit “Love Talking ‘Bout Baby,” plus “I Feel His Love Getting Stronger,” “You Turned Me on to Love” and “Discover Me (and You Will Discover Love).” The session players hailed from worlds as diverse as Motown, jazz and L.A’s Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, including guitarists Al McKay and Lee Ritenour, bassist James Jamerson Jr. (the son of the Motown legend), drummer James Gadson, and saxist Ernie Watts. Joseph, however, took a break from music in 1980, so this was the end of an incredible Atlantic run.

• Ready for the Night. After six years away from Atlantic, with one indie hit in the interim (1982’s “Knockout” for the H.C.R.C. label), she returned to Atlantic’s resurrected Cotillion label in 1984 with this album guided by Narada Michael Walden (ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra and former Atlantic solo artist). Walden in turn tapped a trio of hot young producers to do the hands-on work including Preston Glass and Randy Jackson (yes, the Randy Jackson of “American Idol” fame and now a Concord artist). The album, for which Walden, Glass and Jackson wrote nearly every song, positioned Joseph as a dance diva. The title track was a hit in the spring of 1984.

A postscript: After a 1988 album on British soul journalist John Abbey’s Ichiban label, Joseph retired from recording and began work with nonprofit organizations. Sadly, her home in Gautier, Miss. was one of the many casualties of Hurricane Katrina. Now relocated to Atlanta, she has returned to recording, this time as a gospel artist. Content to remain low key otherwise, she told Dahl that “the whole entire (music) business looks like it’s losing its foothold to me, so I won’t allow my heart to go into it again.” Dahl concludes: “A voice as remarkable as hers is too precious a gift to lay dormant for long.”

The Creator Of "Susie Q"....Dale Hawkins!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:03:00 +0000

In 1957 I heard a record on WLAC Radio one night that literally changed my life. At that time, I was desperately working on becoming a drummer. I was a fair player but not great and many was the time when I was packing up at the end of an evening (after everyone else in the band had gone home) that I wished I was playing another instrument instead of the drums.

Then I heard "Susie Q." I loved the drum pattern utilizing the bell of the cymbal and the toms but it was the guitar part by James Burton that changed my life.

I had been fooling with the guitar for about three years and at that point I decided to put the drums away and work consistently on the guitar. Of course the band for which I was playing drums immediately got another drummer and I was out of work as a musician for some time.

It took awhile to learn the guitar part on "Susie Q." and I sincerely believe that because of that record I am the reasonable player I am today. I did not give up.

And so....to make a long story short....it was Dale Hawkins who actually breathed life into my budding musical career. Dale was the creator and "Susie Q." was the instrument of delivery.

Last year, at The Ponderosa Stomp, I had the opportunity to speak with Dale Hawkins in a conversation about his life and times.

Dale has one of the largest discographies I have ever seen and has played with every major player in the USA at one time or another. You can check his recordings below. You will be amazed.

Dale Hawkins is one truly fine gentleman and it is a privilege to know him.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Click here to listen to an interview with....The Creator Of "Susie Q"....Dale Hawkins!

Click here to listen to...."Susie Q"!

Click here to go to Dale Hawkins' web site!

Click here for Dale Hawkins' discography!

If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We now have our first basic guitar lesson available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

How $5 Could Save The Music Industry!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:24:00 +0000

chicagotribune.com

COMMENTARY

By Greg Kot

TRIBUNE CRITIC

January 20, 2008

In the last few years, the music industry has combated tumbling revenue by suing customers, decimating artist rosters and laying off thousands of employees.

That's not a business plan. That's the sound of the Titanic slipping under the waves.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here for more info regarding the P2P Proposal!