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BLUES LEGEND EDDY CLEARWATER RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE

Legendary Chicago bluesman Eddy Clearwater will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Blues Blast online magazine. Clearwater will accept his award in person at the 9th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards Ceremonies on September 25th, 2015 at the Fluid Events Center in Champaign, Illinois.

Clearwater is an intense, flamboyant, blues-rocking showman. He’s equally comfortable playing the deepest, most heartfelt blues or rocking, good-time party music. DownBeat says, “Left-hander Eddy Clearwater is a forceful six-stringer…He lays down some gritty West Side shuffles and belly-grinding slow blues that highlight his raw chops, soulful vocals, and earthy, humorous lyrics.”

Between his slashing guitar work, his room-filling vocals, and his self-defined “rock-a-blues” style (a mix of blues, rock, rockabilly, country and gospel), Clearwater is among the very finest practitioners of the West Side Chicago blues. He won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues – Male Artist of the Year in 2001. His 2003 CD, Rock ‘N’ Roll City (Bullseye Blues) was nominated for a Grammy Award.

WEST SIDE STRUT, released on Alligator in 2008, is an energized mix of West Side blues and old school rock injected with a tough, up-to-the-minute contemporary edge. Featuring some of Eddy’s hottest playing ever recorded, the CD burns with his stinging guitar and rough-and-ready vocals. Guests include Eddy’s old friends Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson, Billy Branch and Otis Clay as well as Ronnie Baker Brooks (who also produced) playing some scintillating guitar parts.

Born Edward Harrington on January 10, 1935 in Macon, MS, Eddy and his family moved to Birmingham, AL in 1948. With music from blues to gospel to country and western surrounding him from an early age, Eddy taught himself to play guitar (left-handed and upside down), and began performing with various gospel groups, including the legendary Five Blind Boys of Alabama. After moving to Chicago in 1950, Eddy stayed with an uncle and took a job as a dishwasher, saving as much as he could from his $37 a week salary. His first music jobs were with gospel groups playing in local churches. Through his uncles’s contacts, Eddy met many of Chicago’s blues stars. He fell deeper under the spell of the blues, and befriended Magic Sam, who would become one of Eddy’s closest friends and teachers.

By 1953, as Guitar Eddy, he was making a strong name for himself, working the South and West Side bars regularly. After hearing Chuck Berry in 1957, Eddy added that rock and roll element to his already searing blues style, creating a unique sound that defines him to this day. He recorded his first single, Hill Billy Blues, for his uncle’s Atomic H label in 1958 under the name Clear Waters (his manager at the time, drummer Jump Jackson, came up with the name as a play on Muddy Waters).

The name Clear Waters morphed into Eddy Clearwater, and Eddy worked the local circuit steadily throughout the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. He found huge success in the 1970s among Chicago’s young rock ‘n’ roll fans, who responded to his individual brand of the blues, his rock and roll spirit and his high energy stage show.

His first full-length LP, 1980s The Chief was the initial release on Chicago’s Rooster Blues label. A number of records for various labels has kept him in-demand around the globe. His slicing guitar licks and “rock-a-blues” music — along with his uninhibited live show — give fans a dose of the real West Side Chicago blues played by a legendary blues master.

A Summer Celebration – The Peterson Brothers Release Their First CD on Blue Point Records

Talented, young musicians Glenn and Alex Peterson release their first recording, The Peterson Brothers on Blue Point Records. The eleven tracks display the brothers’ diverse influences, some first forays into their own compositions and some solid adaptations of traditional and contemporary works. The brothers recorded with veteran producer Michael Freeman to achieve a sound which is both original and respectful of the blues. The release date is August 4, 2015. (www.petersonbrothersband.com)

“Young bluesmen take up the torch for a musical tradition…the crop of younger black blues musicians who can take the tradition and transform it with their own identity is relatively slim…emerging up-and-comers include…The Peterson Brothers of Austin.”

– The Washington Post

For the past five years, since Freeman saw their debut performance at the Pinetop Perkins 97th Birthday Celebration at Antone’s in Austin, Texas, The Peterson Brothers have performed for enthusiastic fans at clubs and blues festivals across the country, including the prestigious Chicago Blues Festival and The King Biscuit Festival in Helena, Ark. They have also opened shows for B.B. King, Los Lonely Boys, Michael Burks, Pinetop Perkins & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Marcia Ball, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Buddy Guy invited them to share the stage with him during one of his shows at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin and Willie Nelson had them open his show, the brothers being the only nonrelated act on the bill.

“Bastrop blues siblings got their mojo workin’… as long as youngsters like the Petersons keep the flame burning, the genre will never die.” – The Austin Chronicle

Glenn and Alex live near Austin, in Bastrop, Texas the sons of supportive parents Glenn Sr. and Deanna Peterson. There they live as any normal teenagers would, going to school where they consistently receive high grades, play in the school band and do volunteer work. Every other waking hour is spent playing their instruments and working towards their dream. “Music for us is like soccer or football for someone else,” Glenn explained. “We just love what we do and this is our life.”

Glenn, 18 years old, plays guitar and sings lead, delivering the blues with a heavy influence of funk in his rhythm guitar playing. Through a smooth, jazz-influenced style he combines a traditional blues approach to his leads reaching inspiration from blues greats BB King, Albert King and Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Hubert Sumlin, T-Bone Walker and Lightnin’ Hopkins and borrowing from contemporary players like Robert Cray, Michael Burks, Ernie Isley, Eddie Hazel and jazz icons Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell.

Alex, 16 years old, plays 5-string bass, violin and sings. He holds down their sound with supportive bass lines then breaks out with distinctive melodic riffs, often with a funk and jazz style that transcends his young age. Like his brother, he has a wealth of knowledge about his instrument and the musicians who have influenced him. They include Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Jacob Pastorius, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Ron Carter, Ray Brown, Quintin Berry, Louis Johnson, Adam Blackstone, Stanley Clarke, Rocco Prestia Bob Stroger, and James Jamerson.

Together the brothers discovered the likes of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf and Stevie Ray Vaughan at an early age around the house. The bond between the brothers is apparent. “It comes naturally to us,” says Glenn. “We just seem to know and feel what the other is thinking instinctively.”

Blue Point Records is Michael Freeman’s independent record label. Freeman’s credits are extensive and include Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith’s Grammy and Blues Music Award winning album Joined At The Hip.

“They delve into both traditional and contemporary blues, “old school” and contemporary R&B;, Soul, – some Rock – and a hint of Jazz. Elements from each of those styles can be found in both their choices of material and performances today. It was very apparent that if they stayed the course and worked at their craft, they could become a prominent and exciting part of the new and young generation of up and coming artists with roots in the blues,” says Freeman. (www.bluepointrecords.com)

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will soon begin. And when it does, it’s important not to forget the annual Sync Up Conference. A free industry conference presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Sync Up brings together leaders in music, film and digital media for education and networking events – all designed to help independent artists navigate the ever-changing landscape of new media. This year the conference has been moved to the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center. A state-of-the-art education and performance facility located at the gateway of the Treme neighborhood.

Sync Up Music will host sessions  on the mornings of the Friday and Saturday of both weekends of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Sync Up Cinema (organized by the New Orleans Video Access Center and the New Orleans Film Society) will present film screenings and workshops on the Monday-Wednesday between Jazz Fest weekends. And once again, Launch Fest – which connects technology start-ups with venture capital – will take place on the Thursday between weekends.  

This year Tina Terry will be sitting in on the Booking Agents Roundtable to be held on:
May 2, 2015
9:00 am – Registration Opens
10:00 am – Panel Discussion Begins
It’s long been said that getting a booking agent can be harder than getting a record deal – especially these days, now that even indie releases are getting Grammy nominations. So, what does a musician – whether a newcomer or a veteran – need to have before a booking agent will take them on? And once an artist signs with an agency, that means they’ll never have to hustle for gigs ever again and their performance fees will always be in the mid-five figures – right? Maybe, maybe not. We’ve assembled a group of agents with long experience working with up-and-coming as well as established acts, including many from Louisiana. 
Tina Terry, Tina Terry Agency (Charlotte, NC)
Mark Lourie, Skyline Music (Whitefield, NH)
Page Stallings, Vice President, Blue Mountain Artists (Charlotte, NC)
Pat May, Crossover Touring (Portland, ME)
Jon Bell, New Frontier Touring (Nashville, TN)

Being a free event, seating is limited. Advance registration is required.
Link to register for Sync Up Music: http://www.jazzandheritage.org/sync-up/registration.

The conference will be streamed in live video at www.WWOZ.org

Sync Up MUSIC Highlights At a Glance
Music Publishing: A keynote interview with Matt Pincus, CEO and founder of Songs Music Publishing, which with artists like Lorde, DJ Mustard and Q-Tip is one of the hottest boutique publishers in the business.
Touring: Two panels featuring booking agents with long experience helping up-and-coming as well as established acts build profitable careers on the road.
Independent Distribution: A keynote interview with David Macias, co-founder and CEO of Thirty Tigers, who is helping independent artists top the charts and score Grammy nominations while owning their own masters.
Crowdfunding: A panel with local artists who can share lessons from working with various platforms, including Indiegogo, Pledge Music and Kickstarter.
Case Studies: Sturgill Simpson and Aaron Watson, two artists who have hit the big time on self-released records, will be the subjects of special presentations.
Digital Distribution: Top leaders from Bit Torrent will discuss why their platform – once known only for file sharing (stealing) – is now the first choice for rappers like Curren$y and rock stars like Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
E-Commerce: The drummer Stanton Moore shares his creative ideas for making money over the Internet.
Music In Film: Music coordinators for three TV shows that are filming right now on the streets of New Orleans will explain how best to get local music into their shows.

“Alastair should be out playing with the biggest bands in the world, I believe it’s just a matter of time.”
– Alan Parsons

Alastair Greene was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and has been the resident guitar hero of this sunny seaside town for many years. That is, up until five years ago when he was asked to join the Alan Parsons Live Project, who he has been touring the world with since. Greene’s band, a blues rock trio aptly named Alastair Greene Band, was recently signed to Eclectic Groove Records and released the critically acclaimed blues rock album TROUBLE AT YOUR DOOR in June of 2014. In addition to playing Alan Parsons Project hits in arenas around the world and touring with his own band, Greene recently filled in for some prime tour dates with Starship, featuring <stronghttp://>Mickey Thomas.

Greene has just returned from a sold out show in Tel Aviv, Israel with Alan Parsons and is set to embark on tour again with the British prog and pop legend this March. Tour stops will include shows in Canada, England, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy (tour dates listed below).

Santa Barbara, California has been home to many well known music business figures over the years. One of Greene’s earliest supporters was legendary tone-guru and Santa Barbara resident Seymour Duncan, who said early on, “Alastair is a guitarist I enjoy listening to, whose style includes the fire of Texas Blues.”

Chris Shifflet of the Foo Fighters, who spent his early days in Santa Barbara, said recently, “I’ve known Alastair since we were kids, and he’s always been a ripping guitarist. Glad to hear he’s still going strong.”

The Alastair Greene Band was formed in 1997 and has remained a blues rock trio much in the vein of early Gov’t Mule, Cream, and Rory Gallagher. Their new album, TROUBLE AT YOUR DOOR, recently garnered the attention of Johnny Winter‘s former booking agent, Tina Terry. The Alastair Greene Band was signed as one of the flagship acts to the Tina Terry Agency in January 2015 (tour dates TBA).

“Imagine a meld of Cream, Johnny Winter, The North Mississippi All-Stars, Jimi Hendrix, and Santana, and you will have some idea of the music laid down by the Alastair Greene Band. Surely one of the finest Blues Rock bands on the scene today.” – Blues in Britain

Greene first met Alan Parsons doing a session for a country rock band at Parsons’ home studio in 2003. A few months later, Parsons called upon Greene to contribute guitar solos to his 2003 release, A VALID PATH. The only other soloist on this record was, as Parsons comedically told Greene, “Oh, just some guy named David Gilmour.”

How does a blues rocker feel about touring with a prog rock legend such as Alan Parsons, or a pop rock band such as Starship, or his own blues rock trio, the Alastair Greene Band?

Greene puts it simply. “I’ve always enjoyed so many different types of music and feel lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of it. My roots are in blues, southern, and classic rock, but I’ve always loved so many other types of guitar playing. Getting a chance to play a wide variety of music with such high caliber artists really keeps me on my toes and keeps me growing as a player. I welcome a good challenge. As long as I’m playing my guitar, I’m a very happy camper.”

http://www.alastairgreene.com/

ALAN PARSONS LIVE PROJECT MARCH 2015 TOUR DATES

Mar 12   Le Grande Theater              Quebec City, Canada
Mar 13   The Oakville Center             Oakville, Canada
Mar 14   The Oakville Center             Oakville, Canada
Mar 18   Shepard’s Bush Empire      London, UK
Mar 20   Volkhause                             Zurich, Switzerland
Mar 22   Ruhr Congress                     Bochum, Germany
Mar 25   Linear 4 Kiak                         Milan, Italy
Mar 26   Gran Teatro                          Padova, Italy
Mar 27   Teatro Obihall                      Florence, Italy
Mar 28   Auditorium Concilazione   Rome, Italy