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- Written by: Bluebird
Years ago, I was on vacation and contacted by Olga Munding, a New Orleans blueswoman who was releasing a record called, Whatever You Want. Agreeing to review it, when I returned to the BBR office, I received a beautiful package in the mail. It was a copy of the CD, plus a 'drop card' that if planted, grew wildflowers in the garden. Attached was a handwritten note, thanking us for our work. In the age of instant downloads and digital messages, I knew Olga Munding's connectedness was different.
I kept the note and did not plant the drop card, because following Olga Munding has been a treasure that I wanted to keep close at hand. As the director of the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation, and serving on the Board of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, as well as other important historic blues preservation agencies in the South, Olga keeps planting wild flower seeds wherever she goes.
Olga contacted me again recently to announce a film project she is producing. It is the Anam Cara project. Inspired by Celtic wisdom and philosophical works, it is a film about 'soul friends.' With such an important concept to discuss with readers, I asked Olga if we could run an interview on her work. Between busy camera set ups and costume designer consultations, she was kind enough to correspond with us personally.
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- Written by: Bluebird
Rock Torch: THE BOOK
Volume 1
Music Recommendations From The Artists You Love
by Randy Abramson
About Rock Torch:
Rock Torch has been one of my favorite - and 'go to' music websites for years. I found it after Alex Chilton died. I was up all night, seeking anything I could find on the web to connect to other Big Star fans. I came across an article Randy Abramson posted with Paul Westerberg's commentary on Chilton. Perfect. Someone who 'gets it'. I was a follower.
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- Written by: Bluebird
Guitar/Rock Documentary
It Might Get Loud (Music Documentary Film)
Get this movie. I had to special order it and it took several weeks to arrive because the bookstore can't keep them in stock. This is not only a fantastic movie about the technique and inspiration of guitar musicianship, it is a three generation narrative about how to grasp your voice and blare it for the rest of the world to hear, even if they don't understand it yet.
Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin produced this film. The Edge from U2 and Jack White from the White Stripes join Page in meeting together to "talk" about their personal experiences as they evolve to become the guitarists of their current bands and beyond. In the talking, there is ALOT of guitar playing, both past and present, along with versions of each others songs on stage. Each artist shares interview conversations, photos, vintage video footage of earlier works and secrets of their craft with the audience in the first person. They reveal how they think about music, about technology, about career choices, aging, and life. In speaking directly to the audience and each other in their own voices, it brings you in ... and who wouldn't want to be brought in to the mind of Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. Get this movie.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's an auspicious occasion for the United Kingdom and Blues-Rock lovers; one of the most celebrated, talented, respected and greatly loved American Blues-Rock artists, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, returns to the British shores after a 2-years hiatus, with his Band and with a very Special Guest, a living legend of the Blues, the 91-years-old singer-songwriter and Harmonica Maestro Bobby Rush.
As previously amply documented through our website and by the whole music media worldwide, Shepherd and Rush have released, early this year, a formidable record called Young Fashioned Ways, where the two artists celebrated two different generations of Blues coming together, with, if we may add, a hugely remarkable vocal and sonic outcome.
Read more: Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Live - O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 18th July 2025
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Many thought that, with what happened to the Singer-songwriter and Public Image Limited's bandleader John Lydon back few years ago, with the British Punk/Rock icon losing his wife and his best friend and manager John Rambo in the space of few months, the British collective P.I.L. might have very unlikely be touring again, or even considering to write a new record.
Rather fortunately though, the proverbial resilience and emotional strength of Lydon managed to overcome those terrible personal losses, with the British artist embarking a long solo Spoken Word tour that started almost two years ago and brought Lydon throughout the whole of the UK, with more dates to follow, planned for this fall.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
In the current music scene, there are very few artists capable to maintain a constant high level of quality into their live performances through decades of touring.
The reasons can be many and, most importantly, subjective to not only the individual skills of an artist or a band, but also to their lifestyles and general attitudes in everyday's life.
Read more: Robert Cray Band - Live At Royal Festival Hall, London, 6th June 2025
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
The Italian phrase "Conciati Per Le Feste", which literally means in English Dressed For The Holidays, in Italian has got two meanings. One, which is the exact interpretation of what an English person would assume by looking at a dictionary (Dressed For The Holidays), while the second meaning, for a native Italian, would refer to someone that is going through a rough patch.
Whoever has known the Italian singer/songwriter and pianist Vinicio Capossela artistically for a while, an artist that loves to marry Jazz with Ethnic Folklore as his signature style, knows by know and very well that Capossela enjoys a lot playing with words, as a principle, in his bodies of work, either in an ironic form or in a more profound one.
Read more: Vinicio Capossela - Live At Union Chapel, London (UK) - 26th November 2024
- Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse - Live At West End Centre, Aldershot (UK), 25th April 2024
- Ben Poole - Live at Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury (UK) 13th December 2023
- Añais Reno - Live At London Jazz Festival - 19th November 2023
- Hiromi Live At Barbican Theatre, London - 13th November 2023 - London Jazz Festival
- Robin Trower Ft. Sari Schorr - Joyful Sky's Live Showcase (Streaming)
