June 13, 2010...BREAKING NEWS...Bobby BlackHat and Larry Berwald will be representing the River City Blues Society in the solo/duo category at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.
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- REVIEW by Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro (http://www.mary4music.com/CDRev.html)
This is the second time in less than a year that we've had the pleasure to work with Bobby "BlackHat" Walters. His new release "Wall Street Blues" is a double disc set that contains a CD and a DVD. I'll tell ya a bit about the DVD a little later, but let's get to the music first.
On the CD part of this package, Bobby "BlackHat" Walters on Lead Vocals & Harmonica is joined by Larry Berwald on Guitar & Background Vocals, Von Jose' Roberts on Bass & Background Vocals, Eric Shaw on Keyboards & Background Vocals, Dennis Wage on Keyboards, Jim Kolacek on Drums & Percussion and Randy Burt on Saxophone. Walters and Berwald are also writers and co-writers of all tracks.
The disc opens with the quite topical title track "Wall Street Blues". It's a slow, sullen sounding song about an equally sullen topic. The way Bobby sees it, it didn't matter if you voted Obama or McCain, everybody's feeling the pain. It's a depressing song about depressing times sung in a depressing tone. The lyrics and the vocals are this tracks highlights.Ok, time to snap out of that mood and put your dancin' shoes on and there's no better way to do that than with the "BlackHat Boogie". This one rips. Bobby's tearin' it up on harp & sounding real happy on the vocals, the rhythm guys are jammin', and as usually is the case when there is a song with "Boogie" in the title and a piano player in the band - the piano player is "Boogieing" on piano.
"Put On Your Red Shoes", and while you're at it, a straw hat too. Then suck down a few rum runners and look for a limbo bar. That's what this track made me want to do....at least the rum runners part. Jim's drum & percussion along with Dennis Wage on organ highlight this hot island sounding number.
She's my "Honey Biscuit" and I'm her jelly jam. Sounds like a tasty relationship to me. This all too short track features some very great piano playing and excellent vocals and harp blowin' by Bobby. I could have handled a few more minutes of this.
"Crying In The Shower" is a soft, slow, and beautiful blues ballad. It's highlighted by Bobby's emotional vocals, Randy's intense saxophone solos and Larry's scorching blues guitar. This is the kind of stuff that lights my blues fire. For sure one of the discs best.
Other tracks on "Wall Street Blues", which offers a variation of many types of blues, include: "I Think, You Think", "Oh Baby, Oh Baby", "Memphis", "The Blues Ain't Got Me", "I Didn't Do Enough" and "Old Cold Bones".
The DVD, which is part of this double disc package, is sort of a triple treat. It's a live recording of a Bobby "BlackHat" Walters performance at Goodfellas in Hampton, VA. The disc features a lot of the songs from Bobby's first CD - "You Changed Your Mind Again".
You can check Bobby out by going to www.bobbyblackhat.com/. While you're there, make sure you pick up a copy of "Wall Street Blues". It's a heck of a lot of entertainment for your dollar. And, as the title track sings about, now is when you need it most. BTW, tell BlackHat Blewzzman sent ya.
Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro
Blues Editor @ www.Mary4Music.com
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- Bobby BlackHat CD "You Changed Your Mind Again" available at BEST BUY!
- Bobby BlackHat voted 2008 MEONA Harp Player of the Year.
XM Satellite Radio. For those of you who have XM radio please tune in to Bluesville (Channel 74). Bill Wax has put a couple of Bobby BlackHat tracks in rotation.
Live From Memphis: First, on behalf of Larry and myself, thanks again to the Natchel` Blues Network for sponsoring us at the IBC. Although we didn't bring home the prize, we did our best to represent the NBN with distinction. From the comments and kudos we received from the judges and audience, I think we done the NBN proud. The IBC has evolved far beyond an amateur competition and is now the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world. Larry and I were both proud and humbled to participate. It was a fantastic playing, listening, learning and networking experience. We were able to meet the who's who of the blues industry at all levels and make many new friends from across the globe.
Now for the recap. I cannot describe adequately in words how high the bar was set for this competition. It was the most intense blues immersion you could ever imagine. If you ever want to get a true Blues Baptism (sounds like a song title to me), then this is the place to be. The crowds were large and charged up all over Beale Street. I was totally amazed at the quality, variety, and creativity displayed throughout the event. Larry B and I performed at the Handy Blues Hall (aka Juke Joint) on Thursday and Friday. Our sets were limited to 25 minutes, with three different judges each night. Performers were scored based on blues content, talent, originality, and stage presence. We competed against nine other acts in our venue with one act advancing to the finals.
Other than the competition and delicious Memphis ribs, my greatest thrill was being able to jam at the Hard Rock Cafe, Wet Willies, DoubleTree Hotel, and the Rum Boogie Cafe. The Rum Boogie Cafe was the crown jewel for jamming and I took the stage twice to showcase my own songs in front of some of the hottest blues performers in the country. Here's a sample of the Saturday night jam lineup...Watermelon Slim, Zac Harmon, Rick DelGrosso, Billy Gibson, Bob Margolin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Super Chicken, Fiona Boyes, Gary Clark, Jr, Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, Matt Walsh and more. At 2AM more musicians were still arriving. It was total blues overload. One of my favorite moments was watching last years 2nd place finishers the "Homemade Jamz Blues Band" perform along with several other youth competitors. They were all under 16 years old and the drummer was a 9 year old young lady named Taya. Let me tell you, these kids just blew the house down.
If you want to really scratch your blues itch, then I suggest you start planning your trip down to next year's IBC.
