Favorite Series – The Body Farm Books

So I am currently reading The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. This is the fifth book in The Body Farm series and I have enjoyed everyone of them. Let’s play the if then game. If you like Kathy Reich’s books and the TV show Bones, then you will like the Body Farm Books. The Body Farm is the Forensics Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee where they study decomposition of the human body. The Body Farm was founded in 1970  by one-half of the writing team Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Bass. What others say about the Body Farm and the novels: Read More

David Brewbaker – A Sign of Life

So for the last month or so an album by friend from the No Depression Community David Brewbaker has been on my mp3 player. The album is A Sign of Life and every time I listen to it and become more familiar with the tunes, I like the album more and more! Brewbaker’s music is a nice mix of blues and jazz and the first artist that I thought of who plays that cross-over type music was Robben Ford and after several listens and hearing the sax work on the album provided by Brain Graham of Sly Chi, Portland Maine’s award-winning R&B/Funk band, I thought of Steely Dan. Anyway the music is great and so are the songs. Read More

Blues Wednesday – Part 1 – The Insomniacs

Today I listened to three blues albums that I read about last night in the current issue of Blues Revue Magazine. The three albums are At Least I’m Not With You by The Insomniacs. Sean Chambers 2005 release Humble Spirits and Anders Osborne 2010 release American Patchwork. I enjoyed all three albums with the first two being new favorites and the third only listened to once! Read More

Welcome Back and this AM – Burning Sky!

After two days on the road – six hours plus to Williamsburg on Monday and then pack up my daughters stuff at William and Mary and then six plus hours back yesterday I am back and maybe can even write some stuff today to catch up!! I didn’t really listen to anything new on the trip just listened to a mix of the stuff I already had on the mp3 player! Read More

John Wort Hannam – Part 2 Only It’s Really 1?

Just like Nick Moss, this weekend I explored other music by John Wort Hannam again with great success. Earlier this week I discovered the music of John Wort Hannam and listened to his album  Dynamite and ‘Dozers. This weekend I went back in time and listened to John’s first release pocket full of holes and I think I like this album as much if not a little bit more than Dynamite and ‘Dozers. The songs on this album are still about common folks. His website says the following about the album: Read More

Nick Moss – Live at Chan’s – Combo Platter No. 2

So the other day after I listened to Nick Moss’ new CD Privileged I said I was going to go back and listen to some of his other CDs. So today I listened to his album Live at Chan’s – Combo Platter No. 2 and I think I like it more than Privileged. The album is just flat out great! Because the tracks are longer the band gets to stretch a little more and the results are some fantastic tracks, starting with the opening  track “Spare Ribs & Chopsticks” an eight plus minute instrumental featuring the basic band Moss on guitar, Gerry Hundt on bass, Willie Oshawny on piano and Bob Carter and it is a fantastic start. On the next track  Gerry Hundt switches to harmonica and provides some tasty licks on “Try to Treat Me Right” Things switch up a little on the third track “Whiskey Makes Me Mean” a Gerry Hundt song  and Gerry provides the vocals and mandolin, Moss takes over the harp duties and Moss’ wife Kate sits in on bass and everything again is stellar!!  Things move along for the  next few tracks through the 9 minute plus instrumental “Fill’er Up” again on this track Hundt provides some great harp work and Kate sits in on bass! After this track things go from great to fantastic as Moss brings out his  special guest Lurrie Bell a second generation blues guitarist Lurrie Bell on of harmonica legend Carey Bell. and for the next three tracks Bell handles the vocals and Moss and Bell swap solos through “Don’t Lie to Me”, an Eddie Boyd song ” Five Long Years” a stellar track and Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready” (which I listened to by Hubert Sumlin the other day)  and the closing track a Moss original Moss takes back over the vocals and again Bell and Moss swap solos. Read More

Book 17 – The Narrows – Michael Connelly

Ok so the last book I read Nowhere to Run by C.J.Box was the 10th book in the Joe Pickett series and now book number 17 The Narrows by Michael Connelly also the 10th book in the series featuring  Harry Bosch only difference is that I have read all the books in the Pickett series and this is my first Harry Bosch book! I had started The Concrete Blonde book # 3 years ago and for one reason or another couldn’t get into it so I never tried to read another Connelly book (the series is now up to 14). What was I thinking! I enjoyed this book, liked both the writing style and Bosch’s character and will certainly read more, having picked up several last week at the library book sale. Read More

New Friends – Cornmeal!

So the other day, when I was looking up information about Great American Taxi I saw a new music chart at Jambands.com and on that chart at No4 was a band called Cornmeal and their new album Live in Chicago,Il., Vol.1. So I wentto Rhapsody to check them out. Rhapsody didn’t have have the new album but did have several others including their 2006 release Feet First.After the first few minutes of the first song “River Gap”, I knew I had another progressive bluegrass band to add to my growing list of new favorites!  These guys and gal are absolutely fantastic! The vocals are great, and the picking is some of the fastest and best I have ever heard! Here is some information about the band from their biography at their website: Read More

Quick Pick – Blues Harp – Mark Hummel

So yesterday, I ended the day listening to some of the tracks on Mark Hummel’s album Ain’t Easy No More. An older Hummel album Married to the Blues has been on the CD player for a while now and it is ok but maybe a little too old swingy? Anyway, I liked this album a whole lot more. If you don’t know Hummel, he is on of the most respected blues harp players around. Here are some press quotes from his website and the second quote is from a guy who just may  know a little about the blues. Read More