New Blues Review – 12-28-24
By Jack Roy
Eddie 9V – Saratoga (Ruf Records)
Bio – “In 2013, when Eddie 9V was a high school senior, he’d pull into the school parking lot each morning in his second-hand Ford Explorer, blaring Killin’ Floor by Howlin’ Wolf. “It was like my theme song,” he says with a laugh. “Meanwhile, all my friends were coming to school listening to rap, so they’re looking at me funny.” For the 26-year-old guitarist born Brooks Mason Kelly (his stage moniker is a mash-up inspired by “mobster names and guitar pedals”), the feeling of being out of sync with the times started when he was 14. “I saw a YouTube clip of Howlin’ Wolf at Newport in 1966. He had that big old Firebird with the slide and was doing Meet Me in the Bottom. Man, seeing that made me want to just dive into the blues!” And he did, studying licks by legends like Michael Bloomfield and Freddie King – “I went for the spirit more than exact notes,” he says – while cutting his teeth in clubs around his native Atlanta. His 2019 debut, Left My Soul in Memphis, and follow-up Little Black Flies, both D.I.Y. recordings, had plenty of raw grit and searing licks. But when it came time for his new album, Capricorn, Eddie wanted a bigger sound. So he booked an 11-piece band into Macon’s legendary Capricorn Studios.”
Review – I love Eddie’s voice, so dynamic and his guitar playing is incredible. This guy has really had a great 2024 year, going from playing very small clubs to larger venues and attracting more and more fans. He has definitely moved away from his Blues Roots, but his songs have a Blues base but he definitly moving towards main stream maybe for a wider audience. Many highlight, even without the Blues substance, “Halo”, “Chamber of Reflection” and “Cry Like a River” but I think my favorite is “Wasp Weather″, listen here. I will give this an 8 on Blues Content and a 10 on Music Content.
The Dennis Spencer Group – Bluesman From Jupiter (Self Produced)
Bio – “Dennis Spencer’s life in music has been great…when it wasn’t trying to kill him. When he was 12, his father came home with an accordion and a guitar and told the kids to flip coins. Dennis got the guitar. At 16, he got backstage to a B.B. King concert and jammed with the legend for a few minutes. He went home and tried to look up “Blues” in the dictionary. He couldn’t find anything and says he has been looking ever since. He lived fast for a while. He partied at Studio 54. He learned how to smuggle guitars to London and turn a profit. He was living two doors down from Sid Vicious at The Hotel Chelsea the night Nancy was killed. He took a Concord to Paris to ask his girlfriend to marry him under the Eiffel Tower and she said no. The same girlfriend later died in his arms of a drug overdose. Fast living turned into barely living. Walking the streets of NYC all night and sleeping in a few hallways was a common occurrence after being locked out of hotel rooms. At a low point he went to a Gypsy in Times Square for advice. She wouldn’t take his $5 and told him he had no future. He wound up in prison where, he will tell you, he was in three fights and won all but two. He was taken in a body bag to a hospital and when he was being officially pronounced dead from an OD, they found a heartbeat. He has survived car crashes, guns being drawn on him, motorcycle accidents and will tell you that it is very hard to kill him. He finally kicked heroin in a New York jail cell. Today, he is on his fourth wife and has been a millionaire and bankrupt, twice.”
Review – Decent Blues Album with 10 original songs from Dennis. Although I am not a real fan of his voice, his backing band is pretty solid and the writing is pretty good also. Band consists of Dennis Spencer on Guitar and Vocals, Mikal Majeed on Keys, Terence Johnson on Drums and Dennis on Bass on some of the tunes. Probably the highlights for me are “Cheap Entertainment and “Why Can’t We” which has Tracy Hart (excellent voice) sharing the vocals but definitely my favorite is “You Been Blackenized″, mainly because it is the only song that has someone else singing, Bobby Warren, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 7 on Music Content.
Stefan Hillesheim Band – Live At Rosa’s Lounge (Self Produced)
Bio – “Guitarist, vocalist and bandleader Stefan Hillesheim was recognized as a quick study and up-and-comer when attending the Musician Institute in Los Angeles in 2015. By completion of the session, he was given its “Most Improved Student” Award. In the years since, he developed his innate skills and passion for the Blues by playing in churches and eventually moving from California to get to the heart of urban Blues, Chicago, to perform with the myriad of players on its scene today. “I had once visited and I knew I had to move here,” journeyman Hillesheim says. “It’s not just a stylistic choice—I really appreciate the culture of musicians sitting in with each other. It really is a most friendly competition.””
Review – This is a really good Blues Album with 12 original songs by Stefan that really showcases his voice, he is definitely a ballad singer as most of the songs on this album are on the slower side. Stefan’s guitar work is excellent with lots of great leads and some Jazzy chords through out the album. Band is great with Dionte McMusick on Drums, Darryl Wright on Bass and Sumito Ariyoshi on Keys, these guys really put down the foundation that Stefan can lay on top of. Highlights for me were “Sins of the Father”, “What You Walked Out On” and the acoustic version of “Harlem Avenue Lounge” but I think my favorite is “Put Some Respect on My Name″, a funky Jazz tune, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
