Reckless Tram ISSUE 1

The online magazine dedicated to the blues and everything harmonica....

Inside this issue....

An introduction to the blues harp Meet the band...

No Parkin’ Blues Band

issue 1

Interview with Mark Cole

£2.95 $3.75 €3.50

Sam Spranger Why the blues ain’t dying

w w w. re c k l e s s t r a m . c o m

In this issue The Blues Harp Page 4 No Parkin’ Blues Band Page 10 An interview with Mark Cole Page 16 Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festiva Page 26l Album Review Terraplanes page 33

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Welcome to the first issue of ‘The Reckless Tram’. We’ve set out to provide Harmonica enthusiasts, beginners, intermediates and more advanced players with an informative online magazine that offers a diverse range of interesting articles and reviews across every musical genre.

As I sit here typing the World around us is a very different place to that of a year ago, when we first had the idea for the magazine.

The upside to the Global ‘Lockdown’ is that many of us have a little more time on our hands….so there’s never been a better time to pick up your harp and learn something new.

In this issue we’ve included a chat with Playharmonica’s Ben Hewlett. Ben is the Chairman of Harmonica UK but also the head tutor at Playharmonica and is presently running FREE real time Zoom seminars online. I’ve attended several of these and the guest list is second to none. It’s not often to get the opportunity to talk to the World’s greatest harmonica players and benefit from their experiences, teaching and advice.

Find us on facebook at fb.me/recklesstram

‘Photography in this issue supplied by or accredited to; Ben Hewlett, Geoff Osbourne, Sam Spranger, Shaun Freke

Editors welcome

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The Blues Harp....

Alongside the six string guitar, which had it’s origins in the single string Diddly bow that came across to America from Africa with the slave trade, the harmonica is possibly the most recognised instrument used in early Blues. It was cheap, easy to get hold of and to carry around.

Over the next forthcoming issues we will be looking at the origins of the harmonica, its birth in the Far East, the journey it took in changing into the instrument we recognise today.

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Picture credit:Gordon Maxwell

Who would have thought that a blade of grass in Asia ten thousand years ago would be so significant in the collision of AfroEuropean music we know as the Blues today?

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We’ll reflect on the Blues harmonica players of the early Delta and Chicago Blues, take a look at the modern Blues Harmonica players of today and how they are leading the renaissance of the instrument.

It’s believed that the origins of the harmonica came from the development of a simple free reed wind instrument used in China that used a bamboo reed inserted into resonating pipes. Early examples of wood pipe instruments dating back to 1100 BC have been found. Introduced into Europe by the French Jesuit Jean Amoit and by early travellers who brought these instruments, or similar variants, back along the Silk Road to Europe in the late 18C. The harmonica as we know it was developed in Europe in the early part of the 19th century with Christian Buschmann often cited as the inventor of the modern harmonica in 1821, but other inventors developed similar instruments at the same time.

Whilst we recognise the Harmonica as a Blues instrument it was originally played as a classical instrument and was often used in Austrian and Germany as a seminal folk instrument.

Redesigned by German engineers Hohner and Seydel, both of who continue in business today, this became the instrument that Muddy Waters once described as the ‘Mother of the band’. I assume he was being complimentary.

The banjo, the forerunner of the guitar as the Blues instrument of choice, originally came into America with the slaves from West African, although there is still much debate over the exact origin. What we do know is that the Banjo as we know it today and the modern Harmonica came together in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta at the end of the 20thC to form the tools that created the genesis of a musical genre we now call the Blues.

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There are many great early exponents of the Blues harp that deserve mention. In future issues we’ll take a look at these further. But it’s difficult to point out one that might be titled ‘The Father of the Blues harp’.

When you think of early harp players might include amongst others Henry Whitter, Palmer Mcabee and Deford Bailey, although the list is nearly endless.

There are many great recordings from the 1920’s that feature these early masters.

The one commonality that appears to be a constant in their playing is the rhythm of ‘The Train’. Possibly the sound of the train running on the track, the howling of the whistle or the dream and romanticism of a better life further up the Mississippi to Chicago.

Later on it was this sound that was to form the rhythm and beat for the more driven form of music that became Rock and Roll.

Within this melting pot of musical creativity players like Sonny Terry, who came from the Carolinas and was to become an eminent blues harp player in his own right, was listening to Deford Bailey performing in the Grand Old Opry and aspiring to musical and financial success.

It’s interesting to note that Delford Bailey is believed to be the first AfroAmerican to play at the traditional white Grand Old Opry that and was to have an extended residency there, such was his draw.

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee who were to play together for years, had a massive global influence on blues and folk music, along harmonica players such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. It’s interesting to note that Skiffle and later Rock borrowed a lot from those early folksters.

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By the early thirties the southern states of America had become a breeding ground for Blues harp players spawning famous players like Little Walter and Sonnyboy Williamson.

Such was the influence of this new breed of musician that there is a famous interview in which Little Richard’s drummer tells the story of how Blues turned into rock for his band.

The story goes that Little Richard asked his drummer to come down to the train station and had him listen to the rhythm of the trains. He asks what that rhythm is called and could the drummer recreate it in the studio. This straight eight rhythm with none of the swing associated with blues was used on Richards next hit, and so ‘Lucille’ was born. The drummer recounted that the beat ‘Sounded like a damn earthquake’.

They found kids could dance to it better than the swing feel of the Blues. There must have been other countless stories like this as rock started to emerge from the Blues. You can imagine Chuck Berry would have sensed the same as he left Little Walter out in the cold sensing a change in mood.

It’s extraordinary to think that Little Walter whose instrumental ‘Juke’ was in the charts for thirteen weeks was at his commercial peak for less than ten

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years in the 1950s, only getting the limelight again in the UK tours in the 60s as the great British Blues revival rekindled the fires.

Pretty much every pop band had a harmonica player or at least the singer who could play a little harp to give their feel a distinctly ‘Blues flavour’ such was the growing influence of Blues in the sixties and early 70’s. With the birth of electro pop in the eighties and British Indie music in the nineties, the harmonica took a massive downturn in fortune. In some way this mirrored the downturn in interest in Blues.

But there’s good news….

Blues has started to stir again and is becoming something of interest amongst a new trendy audience.

We live in exciting times.

If you want to know more about the rhythmic train sound of the early twenties blues or you’ve always wanted to have a go at playing the harmonica but don’t know where to start, have a look at www.playharmonica.co.uk and Ben’s Harp Club.

We’ll also be running a competition in the next issue to win a FREE harmonica and membership to Playharmonica…There’s never been a better time to get ‘Blowing’

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No Parkin’ Blues Band Whilst Monmouth is hardly viewed as a mecca for Blues it’s seen a number of enterprising and interesting acts emerge from its sleepy rural county pubs and clubs over the years.

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Formed in 2011 the ‘No Parkin’ Blues Band’ is a four piece rhythm and blues band born out of the influences of Clarksdale, Mississippi, so it’s hardly surprising that the band has a strong flavor of the deep south that runs deep within their veins.

Following on from many of their contemporaries, they play an eclectic mix of blues tracks based firmly around the style of the old blues masters. But the addition of both saxophone and harmonica, ably played by lead vocalist Dave Walker, there sound has a uniqueness that lifts them out of the mundane and onto singularly different plain.

Nothing that the band plays is what you might expect. Playing anything from Delta and Chicago style blues to an interesting mix of ‘Jump’ and hill country Blues, all of their music has style and verve.

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If you’ve not caught up with them yet then it’s possibly because up until recently they’ve played almost exclusively within the South West of England and South Wales. But with the impeding release of their third album in the autumn there are plans afoot for a possible tour further afield.

Their first two albums ‘Day or Night’ and ‘Double Yellow’ were both critically acclaimed on release and the band hopes that the recent change in personnel, with the inclusion of drummer Steve Griffith will help them change direction.

As Walker recently commented....

‘For the band it’s never been about the old cliché of fame and fortune. We’ve always just been about the music and our love of the blues. Our goal when we started out on the journey was to share our passion.

That’s never changed’.

These days the band plays mainly on the blues pub and club circuit and are regulars at many of the local Blues festivals. However it says something of their presence that they were invited to play several blues venues on a mini tour in Memphis.

As an aside, Dave Walker is a main driving influence in the world of boutique amplifiers. As the owner of Fat Tone Amps he has worked with some of the top harmonica players in the World.

ue Walker

Photography - Dominiq

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An interview with Josh Smith

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If you’ve been a regular visitor to the Bristol Blues and Jazz festival over the years you will have noticed just how much it’s changed with time. This year was no different with an increase in size and plenty to interest attending Blues fans. This years line up included several innovative artists visiting the festival for the first time. One such artist was the much respected American Blues fusion guitarist Josh Smith, who was visiting Bristol as part of his extended European tour.

Nothing in life can afford to stand still and whilst we may feel the need to identify in the music of a past generation we should always be encouraged by innovation. By change and invention the music stays fresh and reaches out to a new generation of Blues fans. It was therefore interesting to watch Josh Smith live and to have a chance to get his views on all things music and to discuss where he see’s Blues progressing to in the future.

The first thing that strikes you about this likable guitarist is just how driven he is in his endeavor to explore new ways of playing expressive Blues.

I have a confession to make, as a guitarist myself I’m a bit of Josh Smith fan. Perhaps all the more so after sitting in on Smith’s guitar master class, which he gave to a small collection of fans immediately after playing his live set in the main Anson Room.

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His ability to reach out beyond the boundaries of other artists is in part due to his early exposure to other genres of music, namely Jazz and country. His interest in the Jazz greats of the past and present has molded the way he plays, always looking for new ideas for phrasing within his licks, whilst Country music helped in defining his hybrid picking style that makes his playing so fluent.

Considering his prodigious talent, Smith was given his first guitar at the age of three and by the age of six was taking guitar lessons; one would have expected that he had been exposed to music at a young age by musically adept parents, yet this isn’t the case. Whilst both of Josh’s parents have a deep love of music and supported his early career, neither are involved in music as professional musicians.

Having been exposed to Blues at an early age, listening to artists such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert King and T-Bone Walker, by the age of twelve Josh had progressed to such an extent that he had begun to play with established artist at the Musicians Exchange, often being invited to jam on stage.

By the age of fourteen Smith had released his first CD, ‘Born under a Blues sign’ which was quickly followed up by ‘Woodsheddin’. After graduating in 1997 as an Honour Student Smith decided to take up music as a full time professional. Astutely he enlisted the assistance of World renowned producer Jim Gaines, who had previous produced for artists such as Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to produce his third album ‘Too Damn Cold’, which was rightly critically acclaimed. By 1998 Smith had completed four national tours and supported BB King on a number of theatre dates.

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Other successful albums quickly followed but despite this Smith felt the need to expand the boundaries of his playing and looked outside of Blues to get inspiration. At this time Josh Smith was gaining notoriety amongst his peers for his playing skills and often employed in the role of sideman and hired gun.

“Although by now I could play just about anything Stevie Ray Vaughan could play, I realized I needed to move out of the shadows and define my own style if I wanted to progress to the next level” With an interest in Jazz it was perhaps natural that Josh Smith turned to Jazz greats to look for inspiration. Whilst Country great Danny Gatton, himself an exponent of fusion music, provided Josh with the hybrid picking technique that has allowed him to explore and push his playing to new levels.

Whilst Smith recognises the need to move forward he also feels the need to honour the traditional roots of Blues.

“The Blues audience is incredibly good at preserving history, but not so receptive to new ideas. It’s a balancing act to move forward and not alienate the fans. That sometimes causes stagnation in growth, that’s what I see happening right now. All I can do is be the best I can be whilst staying true to myself” “I’m not trying to copy my heroes, but sometimes Blues fans want to hear what they know, often to the detriment of the music” Listening to Josh Smith it’s not difficult to recognise that along with a handful of other young Bluesmen he sits at the vanguard of a new generation of guitarists who are keen not just to honour their roots but to explore new ways to express themselves through innovative playing. Whilst we have artists like Josh Smith it’s hard not to see a bright future for Blues.

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An interview with...

Mark Cole With over thirty years experience in the music business, during which time he’s played in a number of well respected Blues projects, travelled and played across America and Canada, as well as working on numerous collaborations with other professional musicians, Mark Cole has become the musician’s musician.

Describing himself as a willing ‘Jack of all trades’ and entertainer, Mark not only plays the Harmonica but is an accomplished vocalist, Slide guitarist, plays the Banjo, Mandolin and the Cajun Accordion.

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What instruments do you play Mark and which would you consider those you’re best known for?

I started out as an out and out vocalist for a band that I still gig with once a year, we’re all mates even after all these years and so I rather enjoy our annual get together. It was whilst I was in this early band, I was in my early twenties, that I decided I needed to expand on the contribution I made within the band and I bought a Harmonica to try out. Quickly that was followed by a guitar, although right from the start I wanted to play open tuned slide guitar rather than stick to standard tunings and straight chords. The Banjo, Mandolin and Cajun Accordion followed later as the years rolled on Would you say that Blues has been your main music genre?

In honesty I’ve been lucky enough to play with other musicians covering a wide variety of music genres. I like to ring the changes from time to time and so I’m always open to new projects and different ideas. As someone who spends most of the time contributing input in quite diverse projects it’s helped me in honing an organic style all of my own. I tend to play all of my instruments from the soul rather than start from a technical position. In that sense Blues has always

been my first love. It was Blues that first got me interesting in playing music and its Blues that I always come back to.

Are there other genres that you feel comfortable playing?

I’m playing in the Jigantics at the moment who play a fusion style that incorporates Blues, Americana, folk and country and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. I’ve also played in Soul and Rhythm and Blues, mostly in the UK but I also play in North America I’m sure you have your favourite harmonica players, both those you’ve played alongside and those who you’ve taken inspiration from, which ones have been the biggest influence on you?

Charlie Musselwhite has possibly had the greatest influence on me, a fellow regular visitor to Clarksdale.

But I also have a great respect for Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, Kim Wilson and John Hammond, plus of course there’s a number of up and coming Harmonica players like Liam Ward, who I play with in a Blues duo.

Part of your original organic Blues tone comes from your equipment, what are your views on the equipment that’s presently available to Harmonica players?

I don’t think that there has ever been more quality choice out in the market than there is now, certainly not since I started playing. As always it’s about budget and value. How often you play, whether you’re playing to a live audience, or just for your own satisfaction in the home and whether you’re experienced enough to get the best out of your equipment. I exclusively gig Fat Tone Amps. David Walker has a unique way of building his amps that allows players to lay out what they want in the way of tone. The extra benefit is that if you decide to change your tone at some stage he’ll happily reconfigure your

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amp for you. I know Liam Ward has a Fat Tone Amp too. They’re not cheap but you certainly get what you pay for. I have a number of microphones that I use, including a bespoke Greg Heumann microphone and I’m also trialing a Silverfish microphone made in Monmouth by Rich Park.

You’ve mentioned that you’re involved on a number of music projects can you tell us a little bit more about them?

My main Blues project is Son’s of the Delta, which I jointly formed in 2002 with Rick Edwards. Although we set this up as a full band I often play with Rick in an acoustic duo. We’ve played and recorded in Clarksdale several times over the years and I’ve gone back by invitation to play with the Myers Brothers and I also play with Brothers and sons, which is Mike and Stevie Myers. As I mentioned earlier I’m presently involved with the Jigantics together with Blues singer songwriter and lauded guitarist, Keith Thompson and also in a duo with Liam Ward.

So you seem to be extremely busy?

Yes, fortunately I’ve managed to keep myself busy, especially with session projects and together with my band commitments I keep myself fully immersed in music.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take up the Harmonica, where should they look for advice and information?

Well firstly, I’d congratulate them on taking the first step of choosing a great instrument. Then I’d point them towards a bona fide tutor. It’s so easy to get into bad habits and they are so difficult to ditch later on when technique starts to come into play. I play from the heart. I see music as an organic expression of your self, yes listen to other people, take their advice, but always play from your soul. You’ll always be unique that way and not a clone of someone else.

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Ben with Cerys Matthew s on her Blues Show at BBC Radio2

Q&A with Ben Hewlett A fascination with the music of The Blues Brothers led Ben to a lifelong love of the harmonica. Studying Sonny Terry for rhythm, chugging and tone, Ben performed blues gigs around London for 10 years before moving to the West Country, where he still lives.

When did you first become interested in playing the harmonica?

I was given one when I was eight and enjoyed sucking and blowing it until I was offered trumpet lessons at school. Twenty years later I swapped back to harmonica mainly because of the Blues Brothers film which came out and I, with all my friends, got obsessed with it. I could not work out what the sound of Elwood’s harmonica was – it sounded like a muted trumpet to me. I wanted to get involved so I picked up Hohner Blues Harp and started making some horrible sounds.

Over the years you must have met and played with a number of other harmonica players, which ones stand out for you?

Paul Lamb was the first one that I met and studied with, followed by Brendan Power and Howard Levy. Since then I have studied with many others including Joe Filisko, Ronnie Shellist, David Barrett, and Charlie McCoy. Which of the greats did you model your playing style on and why?

Paul Lamb introduced me to Sonny Terry and Big Walter. Brendan introduced me to Sonny Boy Williamson and Charlie McCoy. I guess I have used all those influences in the blues and country area and Howard Levy has shown me that I can play the harmonica in any type of music so I like to join in with a huge variety of music – and I always come back to the blues!

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Do you see a good future for the instrument and with the number of good young harmonica players coming through do you feel the harmonica is in rude health?

I feel sure of the harmonica will never go away. Not on my watch anyway! The heady days of every band containing a harmonica are long gone but as a niche instrument the players are getting better and better.

It is finding its way into more varieties of music than ever before that, the tuition is now very high-quality, the factories are producing way better instruments than ever before, and the engineering of the expert inventors is extraordinary. All of this combined means that the harmonica has never been in a better place in spite of becoming much more of a niche instrument.

What would you advise a beginner he or she should concentrate on if they are thinking about trying out the harmonica?

Firstly I would advise people to not buy a cheap instrument – no harmonicas are expensive so get something reasonable to start with. Secondly I suggest people start by learning the basics of breathing, tone, and rhythm. You can do something like learning train sounds and rhythmic chugging to get you started. All my beginner courses start like this. After that you can get straight into 12 bar blues.

Click here to visit Play

Harmonica with Ben

In 2012 I started producing video courses and create a new course every month for www.playharmonica.co.uk and some other platforms.

I believe there are nearly 40,000 students who have purchased at least one of my courses.

As we are currently locked down, I am trying out free live interactive harmonica workshops on Sundays to see how it goes. They can be accessed from the same site.

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. . . ’ n i y D t ’ n i A s e The Blu s p e e K t I t c a F n I . r e g n u o Y g n i t t e G

Reflections from Blues harpist Sam Spranger of The Bad Day Blues Band

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Salutations aside, I must respectfully disagree with Buddy, and the other pessimists; the Blues is not dying. The genre has a healthy fan base, a growing appeal and, like Classical or Jazz, continues to progress through musical epochs. Over the past few years several Blues bars have sprung up in London along with many Blues jams and open mics which encourage the subject, and many more venues have developed across the UK. Indeed, I was lucky enough to see Buddy Guy perform at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, almost a decade ago when I was sixteen years old. While that show remains one of the best live music performances I have seen to date, I was also astounded that I was not the youngest person at the show. At least half the audience were groups of teenagers and guys and girls in their twenties that had come out for a good time, and to see a living legend. I had a similar experience when I saw B.B.King at Wembley Arena, and Joe Bonamassa with Eric Clapton and Paul Jones at the Royal Albert Hall, a few years later.

Of course I doubt a Blues hit is going to break the mainstream charts and convert millions more to the genre, but the democratisation of music through

Photography - Sam Spranger

I am getting fed up of hearing the same cliche: that “we need to keep the Blues alive”. It feels like every time I play a jam at a bar, or my band plays a gig, there’s some old timer saluting the efforts to keep the genre going.

Even the great Buddy Guy has said, in many interviews, that he feels it is his duty the keep the Blues going, as if the entire genre will disappear in an a decade or so.

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streaming has fractured those charts and left taste up to the individual. Now the “mainstream” is more of an advertising gimmick than a serious appreciation of music. Most people know this and, consequently, seek out genres they never would have tried before.

Many such listeners stumble across the blues and tend to like what they hear.

Inevitably, “purists” enjoy the cult status that is inherent in appreciating a dying genre. My band; Bad Day Blues, for example, is classed by these listeners as “Rock” rather than “Blues”, in spite of the fact that 90% of what we do is still based upon twelve bar progressions. A lot of these purists tell me that “real Blues” must conform to the Delta style of the 1920s and 1930s, and the “Rock” style I play on harp is a bastardisation of that. You can imagine the look on their faces when I tell them that if you really want to get “academic” about the subject, the “Devil’s cadence” or the tritone interval, better known as the “Blue note”, which characterises the “Blues scale” was present in Portuguese Fado music as well as Gypsy styles dating back to the 1800s and has a longer history in Classical music.

Genre’s progress, and we should embrace that.

Just look at the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern (to name a few of the) epochs that make up Classical Music, or the Dixieland, Swing, Bebop, Cool, and Fusion periods of Jazz. Blues has its own genealogy from the Delta, to Chicago, British Invasion, Funk, Texas, and the unique style of players that have arisen over the past two decades that have yet to acquire a label. In the same way one can find a performance of a Rococo quintet, or a cool jazz trio, one can find specialists in all of Blues’ genealogical subdivisions. When we further consider that ‘the Blues had a baby and they named it Rock’n’Roll’, where do we begin to chart the progressions of Rock’n’Roll, Rock, Metal, Indie, and beyond, in order

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to draw hard lines that purists can enjoy? More to the point, what do we have to gain by forcing such taxonomic conventions?

I have chosen the subject of the Blues because, although I do not think the instrument should be constrained by the genre, the Harmonica is the Blues instrument par excellence. It has seen its own stylistic and generational development ranging from country Delta styles, overdriven Chicago styles, to the faster modern styles which have evolved since the 1980s following the revolution of overblowing and over-bending. Like the guitar (another comparatively “young” instrument), as the build quality of harmonicas has improved over time, so has the virtuosity of the players. This magazine is here to support the modern and upcoming player as they push music forward, whether that genre be characteristically Classical, Jazz, Rock, or even something we haven’t thought of yet. As for the Blues, each generation has given it a younger and younger appeal. I for one can’t wait to see what the next generation brings.

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e h t t a k c a b k o A lo & m h t y h R r e t s e c Glou 9 1 0 2 l a v i t s e F Blues With the cancellation of the Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festival 2020 we look back at the festival of 2019 and look forward to it returning in 2021.

It’s been said that you can gauge the status of live music, not by how many eager fans a promoter can cram into a stadium venue to watch a well known act, but by how many turn out enthusiastically to see a lesser known blues act perform. If that is true then blues in the South West is in rude health.

As always the organisers had booked a diverse gamut of acts to suit every venue and taste. From Delta acoustic duo’s to full on rock enthused blues bands, the festival had just about everything. With acts running at every venue throughout the week, many of the schedules clashed across the city and so we were unable to watch every act, or indeed visit every venue.

But we did managed to gorge ourselves daily on a feast of captivating blues in an attempt to cover as diverse a portfolio of acts as possible, we’ve chosen some of the best to highlight the quality of the Gloucester Festival.

Our first band, ‘No Parkin’ Blues’, played at The Cross Keys Inn, a well-known live music venue just off of Southgate Street, on the first Saturday evening to an appreciative audience.

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Headed by the multi talented Dave walker, who plays the Saxophone and Harmonica, as well as handling lead vocals, the band played a set of traditional Delta style blues. Whilst blues can often be viewed as ‘easy’ to play this isn’t the case and bands can often make the mistake of ‘laying back’ and leaving gaps.

Not so with No Parkin’ Blues who managed to keep a tight rhythm throughout their set. All the more laudable as their drummer for the evening was drafted in at late notice after their usual drummer had to stand down.

One of the stand out features of the band was Walker’s harmonica playing and we couldn’t help but notice just how complex a tone Walker managed to obtain from his amp.

It wasn’t until talking to him afterwards that he explained that he was the owner of Fat Tone Amps, a small boutique company that builds hand made harmonica amplifiers for many of the top players around the World.

Just a short skip around the corner you find yourself in the courtyard leading to Café Rene, a well-known

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haunt for many local blues-rock bands. With a friendly atmosphere and French styled décor it’s easy to believe that you’ve strolled into one of the many music venues on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

4 Tonight we visited Café Rene with a heightened expectation of something special. The unique and talented Innes Sibun. Having had the recent pleasure of listening to several of Sibun’s albums we were sure we were in for a treat and we weren’t to be disappointed.

Although perhaps not having the drawing power of some of the other contemporary guitarists of today, his credentials are nevertheless mightily impressive.

Since coming into prominence in his teens Sibun has played in a number of bands and in the nineties was asked to play in the Robert Plant band. Throughout his career he’s often found himself in and around well-respected bands and has opened for guitarists of the caliber of Johnny Winter and Peter Green….

No slouch then!

His guitar style is infectious and entertaining. Soulful blues licks enthused with overlaid jazz chords giving light and shade to a set of traditional blues that had a large appreciative audience enthralled and calling for more.

Ably complimented by his backing band of bass player Steve Hall, drummer Kevin O’Rourke and piano player Tim Blackmore, Innes Sibun defines for me everything we crave in a blues guitarist.

In talking to Sibun before the gig he excitedly talked about his collaboration with Marcus Malone on their new album ‘Come Together’ that is due out later in the year, something to look forward to.

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As in previous years the Café Rene itinerary was once again littered with eye watering acts and so it was back again at the same venue on Wednesday to catch up with local bluesman Keith Thompson who had interrupted his busy European tour to support the festival.

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Thompson is well known for his innovative style of song writing but these days spends most of his time touring mainland Europe where he has built a strong and fervently loyal fan base. Having recently released his new highly acclaimed album ‘Transcendence’, which has just entered the Blues Chart, we were looking forward to hearing an eclectic mix of old favourites, blues standards and new materials from the album. The crowd, who reflected their appreciation of the music with track after track, new and old, being greeted with warm approval, amply displayed his standing as a blues songwriter and guitarist of some standing.

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Lyrically, Keith Thompson has always bucked the trend choosing to write about issues that are bang up to date and personal to him. In our opinion this has set him above the pack in terms of modern song writing and kept him current in a crowded market.

We certainly enjoyed this evening’s fare.

Friday evening and it’s a change of pace and venue.

We’re off to Peppers, an artistic haunt in Bull Lane.

Tonight’s main attraction is ‘Sons of the Delta duo’, with founder band members Mark Cole and Rick Edwards taking to the stage.

We’d been told that they play a no-nonsense blend of electric and acoustic blues, which includes traditional blues plus new originals. Just what we’re looking for to help us wind down before a busy weekend.

We’re particularly interested to hear Mark Cole play harmonica. Mark is one of Fat Tone Amps affiliated artists and it will be fascinated to see how his boutique amp sounds.

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The ‘Sons of the Delta’ website says that apart from ‘Delta Blues’ their music also features occasional sidesteps into other American roots styles such as gospel, hillbilly, bluegrass, Cajun and Texmex. So we’re looking forward to an interesting evening of different sounds and flavours of blues.

With the ‘Blues genre’ being so wide and diverse it’s always exciting to hear new interruptions that reach out to attract new listeners and it was good to see a younger appreciative group gathered at Peppers to watch ‘Sons of the Delta’.

As expected Mark Cole’s harmonica playing was everything you would wish to hear from a very accomplished blues harp player and the evening was extremely entertaining.

So it’s into the weekend and back on Saturday night to Café Rene, this time to the outside stage situated at the side and rear of the cafe.

Again we were surprised and delighted to arrive and find such a large audience gathered. More so because the bulk of those waiting for the main act to go onto the stage were young, colourful, and as it turned out, very much into ‘Blues’.

The headline act on the Café Rene main stage for Saturday evening was the ‘Stevie Nimmo Trio’ who had travelled down from Scotland to play.

As he shared with those watching on the night, Nimmo rarely plays traditional Blues these days. But that could be said of many of the new generation of Blues song writing guitarist who have integrated other genres of music into their version of ‘Blues’.

I have to say I rather like this. As one half of Scotland’s respected ‘Nimmo Brothers’, alongside his brother Alan Nimmo of ‘King King’, Stevie Nimmo has been a critically acclaimed ‘Blues’ and ‘Blues roots’

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player for over two decades, touring throughout the World. Now after having toured extensively with the blues rock outfit over the last few years, as well as taking to the road in a stripped back, acoustic format to promote his debut solo project ‘The Wynds of Life’, Stevie is in full stride mode with his full-on, electric, no-holds-barred trio format.

Stevie says that, although the acoustic project continues to be extremely satisfying and allows him to showcase his voice and song writing talents in the perfect environment, sometimes “…you just want to break out the Les Paul or strat, crank up the old orange amp and make some noise!” Which is exactly what he did on Saturday.

Stevie’s last cd ‘Sky Won’t Fall’ was released worldwide in 2016 and a follow up album was due to be recorded and released in late 2017. However after a nasty fall from a mountain bike resulting in a badly broken arm and Stevie was forced to put the project on hold.

The good news for his eager loyal following is that surgery carried out earlier this year has resulted in a full, complete recovery and he showed no residual signs of the injury in his fluent guitar playing on Saturday. He is presently writing material for a new album, which he is hoping to release at the end of the year together with a planned tour schedule.

Considering the trend towards new types of music, mostly cosmetically generated for a mass youth audience influenced by the media and plastic publicity guru’s, it was encouraging to see just how vibrant, enthusiastic and young many of the audiences have been throughout the week.

Yes as expected there had been the usual ‘Blues’ followers, but there was also a feeling that Blues has once again become trendy and current….

Long may it continue.

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d n a s e u l B s g n i h All t k l a t e w , n i a r T t Midnigh p r a h s e n a l p a r r e to T n e l l A o d r a u d player E It’s always good to hear about a new band making headway in a competitive market, especially so at a time when live music is on lockdown and facing what appears to be an uncertain future, not that The Terraplanes are a new band, in fact they’ve been around since 2016. Having now served their time playing the local pubs and club circuit to critical acclaim the band have deservedly found themselves in much demand, not just locally but much further afield.

Their recently released single, Midnight train, taken off of their EP of the same name, has reached the heady heights of number 5 in the independent blues charts.

Having had chance to play the full EP I have no doubt that this too will find critically acclaimed.

The band has a raw authentic tone and I’m informed by co founder Eduardo Allen that this was something they carefully designed into the DNA of the band.

‘Many Blues bands out there have become too slick, afraid to make mistakes and lack emotional input, which after all is the very essence of Blues music’ says Allen.

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Originally from Porto in Portugal, Eduardo Allen is an accomplished Harmonica player and multi instrumentalist who add’s drive to the bands sound with a uniqueness that comes from someone who’s been exposed to a wide and diverse gamut of musical genres.

‘From an early age I realized that music would become a big part of my life. My Father had an old harmonica that he kept on the fireplace shelf and I was fascinated by it. One day I plucked up the courage to ask if I could have it and he ‘lent’ it to me on the condition I gave it back… I never did.’

By the age of sixteen Eduardo Allen had become fixated by The Rolling Stones and started a collection of their back catalogue of early Blues tracks.

‘I initially thought that it was all of their own tracks. It took several years for me to realize that most of their tracks were actually covers of older Blues numbers and this sparked my interest to explore the old Blues masters. Greats like Howlin’ Wolf, Jim Reed, and John Lee Hooker became my heroes, I wanted to play like them’ ‘I’ve learnt to play the harmonica by studying them, listening to the way they played and the emotion they imparted into their sound’. After playing in a number of bands in throughout Europe, it wasn’t until a move to the UK and a meeting with Nick Scrase that Eduardo was able to concentrate on his love of Blues.

‘After playing in a number of bands, all with differing styles, my harmonica playing has become influenced by a fusion of different styles. I think that makes it more interesting, colourful and diverse’. Meeting up and playing with Nick Scrase in a Blues duo was rewarding for Eduardo and a good introduction to the British Blues scene, but it wasn’t until the two of

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them decided to expand into a band that things started to take off. That was back in 2016 and a recent change in line up has meant that the project has started to fulfill it’s potential and become noticed and critically acclaimed beyond their home city of Bristol.

‘Before the lockdown we had a full schedule of gigs booked throughout the country, obviously like everyone else we’re now sitting and waiting for news on how and when we will be able to get going again’ ‘There is a distinct possibility that we may tour next year, but again it will depend on how the music scene looks. We were lucky that we managed to finish off the EP. We had planned on an album but had to cut that short to make sure we were able to get the EP released before the lockdown’ says Allen.

Midnight Train Terraplanes The single and the EP is available on all the usual platforms, Apple, iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, Spotify, have I missed anyone?’

‘With the single reaching number 5 on the Blues chart within a week of release it’s clear that the band have got their marketing just about right’

‘In hindsight, we are delighted to have it out. Our fan base was beginning to ask us when were we going to release something and to have waited until this was over just wasn’t an option any of the band felt was acceptable’ Asking how Eduardo Allen felt about the music scene and why the EP and single were not released on CD prompted an interesting response. ‘Yes we looked at the option of CD production but we took advice from MAS, which is underpinned by a number of professional music royalties including Robert Plant.

They felt that the upside of a CD was more than offset by the cost and potential for sales.’

Click here e for a Youtub link to

Midnight Train

‘Most people today use download platforms, some still buy but most just download via Apple music and the like. It’s almost like borrowing music and then scrubbing it once you get fed up with it. Obviously, if you want to keep it and build a library then you can still buy it once you’ve heard it, try before you buy’.

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