A Strong Four-Mile Morning Run with Some Great Blues from the Jon Spear Band
Yesterday morning was almost a perfect morning for a run.It was mostly cloudy and the temperature was in the low 70s. The only drawback was that the relative humidity was slightly high. It was also the mid to low 70s. Because of the cloud cover I really didn’t need to worry about shade.I also knew I wanted to run a fairly flat course. So I ended up basically running a 4 plus mile course around town that I usually run but I ran it in reverse.
I actually did make one mistake on the run. Since I was coming in the opposite direction than I usually do along a street in the first half of the run, I turned on the street before my actual turn. That street turned out to be a cul-de-sac so I had turn around and go back, get on the street I turned off of and make the turn on the right street!!
I ran the first mile in 10:25 and the good thing was that while I slowed down over the next three miles the drop-off wasn’t nearly as great as it was the other day!! So when I arrived at the end of the run, I still had enough left to muster a little sprint!
The Results
Totals – Distance : 4.23 Miles Time 45:35 Average Pace 10:46
Mile Splits – Mile 1 – 10:25 Mile 2 10:41 Mile 3 11:02 Mile 4 – 11:05 0.22 – 10:24
Average Heart Rate: 144 bpm Peak Heart Rate : 166 bpm End of Run 156 bpm
Calories Burned: 598
The Soundtrack – Jon Spear Band – Hot Sauce
Hot Sauce is the latest release from the Jon Spear Band. Okay, so I must admit that I am unfamiliar with this band. But the minute I heard “Bottom of the Bottle”,the first track on this terrific album, I knew I was going to love this album. Hot Sauce is the third release from the band. The band’s debut album Old Soul was released in 2014. They followed that album in 2016 with a live album appropriately titled Live Music is Better
After the release of these two highly praised albums,, the Jon Spear Band had a fantastic 2016. Here are some the highlights of the ban’s 2016……
• Our 2nd CD, “Live Music is Better” was nominated by Blues Blast Magazine and Blues411 for Best Live Blues Recording of 2016
• We were listed in the top 100 of the Roots Music Report’s Top Contemporary Blues Album Chart – for the SECOND year in a row!
• We were a “Reflections in Blue” Top Pick for 2016
• WMHB Top 100 Blues Chart, 2016
• 2016 WAMMIE nominee for best Blues/Traditional R&B Recording (Thank you Washington Area Music Association)
• International Blues Challenge Finalist for 2017 “Best Self-Produced CD” award
About the Jon Spear Band
The Jon Spear Band is a collaboration of some of Central Virginia’s finest blues musicians. The band calls Charlottesville, Va. home. The band is lead, of course, by Jon Spear. From Jon’s biography at the band’s website….
Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Jon Spear doesn’t admit how long he’s been performing but here’s a hint: Jon was in a band that opened for the Isley Brothers at the Capital Theatre in Port Chester NY when Twist and Shout was top-40 hit….
A contemporary of Jon’s is the band’s drummer John Stubblefield. Again from the band’s website…..
Drummer John Stubblefield started playing drums around the time the Beatles made their US debut. His dad owned radio stations and he grew up loving all styles of music……
The two young guns of the band are bassist Bassist Andy Burdetsky and guitarist Dara James
Andy Burdetsky has been playing bass since his junior high school days back in the mid 70’s. Andy was born and raised in the D.C. area where he was influenced by such great musicians as the Nighthawks, Danny Gatton and Charlie Byrd….
Dara James is an amazing young talent with outstanding vocal, guitar and harmonica skills far beyond his years. Dara’s grandfather gave him his first harmonica when he was about 5 and he joined his first band with his father — Upland Express — at the age of 11,…..
Here’s what Peter Merrett, of PBS 106.7FM, Melbourne writes about the band….
“Not many groups can boast two virtuoso guitarists as The Jon Spear Band does and few can match the writing skill of Jon Spear and Dara James – obviously a first class band that know precisely how to play together.”
You can read the complete biographies of the band members at the band’s website – link
About Hot Sauce
But let’s get back to Hot Sauce. Like I wrote previously, this is one really good album. There’s a bit of everything I like in an album in Hot Sauce. Good vocals, great guitar work and catchy songs. Here’s what the band writes about the songs on Hot Sauce…..
- Natchez Burning (a moaning blues song about the disastrous 1940 Rhythm Club fire that killed over 200 people);
- Hot Sauce (I’ve tried Tabasco and Cholula too, but none of them get me anywhere near as hot as you);
- Hit the Quarter (a catchy beach house dance number);
- Pierre Jourdan (the story of how one of New Orleans’s richest men became the Crescent City’s most famous ghost);
- Geographical Cure (just what it sounds like);
- Blues (a sad look at the decimation of African wildlife);
- Blues for a Soldier (the ones who call for war the most are the ones who know it least)
- Butt-Dial Kyle (hilarious butt-dialing faux pas including an errant 911 call); and more.
I have highlighted my favorites on the album. I would also add the opening track “Bottom of the Bottle”!
Bottom Line: Highly Recommended – So Check it Out!!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of the Jon Spear Band
Artist Website
Facebook
Reverbnation
CDBaby
Here’s a playlist with some of my favorites from Hot Sauce
