The Homemade Jamz Blues Band – Pay Me No Mind (NorthernBlues Music).
This has to be the youngest blues band ever! Brothers Ryan (16) & Kyle Perry (13) along with their 9 year old sister Taya are setting the blues world alight. Heavyweights such as BB King and Elvin Bishop have predicted big things for the trio. In fact, they have been invited to play at the opening of the BB King museum in Indianola later this year. This, their debut CD, is already being described as the Holy Grail amongst blues circles. Who Your Friends Are introduces their earthy guitar sound and when your guitars are made from exhausts (mufflers in the USA) then earthy is an understatement. It’s a funky, contemporary blues played by a classic power trio set up with guitarist/vocalist Ryan out front. His voice will get better by age, good as it is at the moment. Voodoo Woman is another funk fest. 21st century blues although the sound is a bit thin at times. This is a criticism levelled at most trios but they have youth on their side and that gives them time to fill out their sound. The Worlds Been Good To You is a slow Chicago blues and the addition of harmonica, played by father Renaud (who also writes their songs), is a pleasant surprise. Ryan Perry is another young guitarist destined for greater things. Right Thang, Wrong Woman (I love the title) is a strong song and they have achieved that fuller sound with the addition of Miles Wilkinson on rhythm guitar. The incisive guitar breaks confirm Ryan is the star of the trio. The pace is slowed for Penny Waiting On Change, a straightforward heartfelt blues. Ever had one of those days when you woke up feeling great but by lunchtime it’s all gone to pot? This is one of those. There’s a flurry of notes in the solo but Kyle on bass is the bedrock on which his brother can do his thang and Taya on drums is more to the front than on most tracks.
Blues Concerto is R&B, old style and the harp returns. The production is lost on a few occasions but it does give each of the band a chance to show off their skills individually. Time For Change has some mellow crossover tones and this will get better as it evolves. A re-working in the future will make it one of their biggest tracks. Pay Me No Mind has the harp being used more and this hi-tempo R&B makes full use of it. Jealous keeps the pace up with stinging notes from Ryan’s guitar. It’s hard to work out their influences but they do this funky blues thing so well. They are a tight unit and the rhythm section backs up the guitarist very well. Shake Rag is a jam and a good one at that with both guitar and harp to the fore. They close with the John Lee Hooker classic, Boom Boom. This is a malevolent song but they don’t really have that kind of streak in them just yet. Deeper vocals are required for this and I’m sure that the great man would have enjoyed singing it with these youngsters.
The album is, quite literally, homemade and I hope that they don’t lose too much of that raw sound as they climb the ladder.
http://www.northernblues.com/
David Blue.
This has to be the youngest blues band ever! Brothers Ryan (16) & Kyle Perry (13) along with their 9 year old sister Taya are setting the blues world alight. Heavyweights such as BB King and Elvin Bishop have predicted big things for the trio. In fact, they have been invited to play at the opening of the BB King museum in Indianola later this year. This, their debut CD, is already being described as the Holy Grail amongst blues circles. Who Your Friends Are introduces their earthy guitar sound and when your guitars are made from exhausts (mufflers in the USA) then earthy is an understatement. It’s a funky, contemporary blues played by a classic power trio set up with guitarist/vocalist Ryan out front. His voice will get better by age, good as it is at the moment. Voodoo Woman is another funk fest. 21st century blues although the sound is a bit thin at times. This is a criticism levelled at most trios but they have youth on their side and that gives them time to fill out their sound. The Worlds Been Good To You is a slow Chicago blues and the addition of harmonica, played by father Renaud (who also writes their songs), is a pleasant surprise. Ryan Perry is another young guitarist destined for greater things. Right Thang, Wrong Woman (I love the title) is a strong song and they have achieved that fuller sound with the addition of Miles Wilkinson on rhythm guitar. The incisive guitar breaks confirm Ryan is the star of the trio. The pace is slowed for Penny Waiting On Change, a straightforward heartfelt blues. Ever had one of those days when you woke up feeling great but by lunchtime it’s all gone to pot? This is one of those. There’s a flurry of notes in the solo but Kyle on bass is the bedrock on which his brother can do his thang and Taya on drums is more to the front than on most tracks.
Blues Concerto is R&B, old style and the harp returns. The production is lost on a few occasions but it does give each of the band a chance to show off their skills individually. Time For Change has some mellow crossover tones and this will get better as it evolves. A re-working in the future will make it one of their biggest tracks. Pay Me No Mind has the harp being used more and this hi-tempo R&B makes full use of it. Jealous keeps the pace up with stinging notes from Ryan’s guitar. It’s hard to work out their influences but they do this funky blues thing so well. They are a tight unit and the rhythm section backs up the guitarist very well. Shake Rag is a jam and a good one at that with both guitar and harp to the fore. They close with the John Lee Hooker classic, Boom Boom. This is a malevolent song but they don’t really have that kind of streak in them just yet. Deeper vocals are required for this and I’m sure that the great man would have enjoyed singing it with these youngsters.
The album is, quite literally, homemade and I hope that they don’t lose too much of that raw sound as they climb the ladder.
http://www.northernblues.com/
David Blue.
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