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Tours! Albums! Grammys! |
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2003 is off to a rather alarmingly busy start here at Fat Possum. In an effort to get it all in, I'm going to try to keep my normal ramblings down a bit. And as always, if you ended up on this email list by some mistake, you can unsubscribe yourself at www.fatpossum.com/email First, Solomon Burke's album Don't Give Up On Me ended up on almost every big best of the year list: The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Chicago Tribune, and even the New York Times' favorite "alternative" albums of the year. Also Solomon was "Artist of the Year" in the Seattle Weekly, and got the #1 album of the year spot in the very good music magazine Mojo. It was all very pleasing. Then on Grammy nomination day, we scanned through the Yahoo! website looking for Solomon's name in Best Contemporary Blues Album: Not only was it there, but R.L. Burnside scored a nomination as well for Best Traditional Blues album for Burnside on Burnside. The two men's reactions couldn't have been more different. Solomon was ecstatic, and R.L. was like a Buddha; calm, and pleased in a quiet way. So if you are a Grammy voter, PLEASE vote for us. I mean I'm sure B.B. King's Christmas album is very good (though I'll never know for sure), but Mr. King could surely pass up this one Grammy for Solomon and R.L. right? Solomon also appeared on the Tonight Show on Monday and brought the house down. If you missed him, check your listings for the Wayne Brady Show. Solomon will appear on THAT show this coming Tuesday. It runs in the daytime so I'm told. New Albums: We got 'em! Bob Log III's finest record to date is Log Bomb. It's out now, and it features such fascinating songs as "Boob Scotch" and "Bubble Strut." Bob is on tour - as are many of the folks on the label. Please check out FAT POSSUM ) Whether or not you got a chance to hear his first solo CD, Smiling Assassin, this one is as fine a place as any to start. You don't have to follow around Widespread Panic on tour for months at a time to dig this stuff (Jojo's day job is full-time member of Panic; nice work if you can get it!). Defector is southern-boogie-blues-rock with a hell of a backing band. Once again Luther & Cody Dickinson take time off from their regular gig as the North Mississippi All-Stars to play with Jojo, as does Paul "Crumpy" Edwards and R.L. Burnside's longtime guitarist, Kenny Brown. Even more good news Jojo and & C Dawg & Luther and Cody are touring starting in February across the country with... Kenny Brown - People have been asking me about Kenny Brown's solo album for Fat Possum since the first week I started here almost five years ago. I was beginning to think it would never get done either. But with R.L. retired from touring, it all finally came together. Cedric Burnside plays drums, Kenny plays some fantastic guitar, (and turns in some surprisingly strong singing) and the result is Stingray. Like Jojo Hermann's Defector, it comes out Feb 11, and the two will be on tour starting Feb. 19 in Oxford, MS (of course) and playing out until the middle of March. With a group like that; Kenny, Cedric, Jojo, C Dawg, Luther & Cody, you'd be hard pressed to see a more fun blues jam in your life. I don't have to tell you this, but you should really go check out these shows - and these albums. Judah Bauer of Twenty Miles is taking his outfit back on the road for their deepest, longest trek yet through the United States. Juadh's latest, Keep It Coming is filled with "jagged riffs and raunchy grooves." Grab your chance to see him up close and check out the show: Dates are posted at www.fatpossum.com/tourdates.html and they start Feb 13 in Toronto. Also on tour is a young two-piece band from Akron, Ohio. They're called The Black Keys. They don't have a record out on Fat Possum, but they have a damn fine one out called The Big Come Up. They're touring by themselves, with Sleater-Kinney, with the Soldad Brothers, and with anyone else they can find. How do I describe them- Well, if there were a couple kids who dug Detroit punk rock and T-Model Ford in equal helpings, they'd be The Black Keys. These guys are almost too good. It's a little scary. Their Fat Possum album is called Thickfreaness, and it'll be out April 8. You're gonna hear a lot about these guys. Check em out. That's all for now. That should be enough. Hope you can buy check out some good music and see some shows and that the world holds it all together long enough to allow all that to happen. Fast soul: |
Copyright Fat Possum Records 2004