My Goodness - great dirty garage blues noise

My Goodness consists of guitar, drums, vocals and one hell of a filthy, grunge garage blues noise that chews on the likes of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Gun Club, The Cramps and The White Stripes and spits out something grittier than sand and more compelling than anything else I’ve heard this year.

My Goodness are from Seattle.  Joel Schneider plays gritty blues guitar and howls while Ethan Jacobson pounds out rhythms and crashes cymbals. Their self-titled debut album is amazingly infectious; and the louder I play it, the more I am drawn to the simple and effective songs.

My Goodness begins as it means to go on. Blackout Baby is as hard as nails, dirty as a grease monkey that throbs and grinds its way into my consciousness; and I think it’s there to stay.  The lead riff on C’mon Doll is reminiscent of The Cramps, though the song itself would sound more at home on a Gun Club album.

I’ve Got A Notion is another great track.  Awesome riff, great screaming gravel-voiced vocal, crashing cymbals and pulsating beating drums like hammers to the gods.

Six tracks in and I’m not quite sure why or how, but Un Poco has the hairs on my neck stand to attention as somehow My Goodness manage to turn it up a notch.  This is perfect and once again I cannot sit still as once again I am reliving heady days with Poison Ivy and Lux Interior.

The album consists of ten tracks, nine of which are relentless grinding stinky garage blues with more punk rock venom any four-piece I can think mention.  The album closes with the acoustic and solo finger-picking Lost In The Soul, showing that Joel Schneider is not all spit and distortion.

I’ve listened to the album twice over on repeat.  My ears are ringing and I can’t work out how such a great sound can be made with just guitar, drums and vocals. And yes, they can reproduce it live.

With festival season upon us, let’s hope My Goodness won’t leave it too long before they visit Europe. They have released an exceptional debut album, one of the best albums of 2011 so far. But I hope they don’t move in next door!

My Goodness is released in the United States on Seattle’s Sarathan Records label and distributed by Fontana.

My Goodness – Self-titled debut album tracklisting:

1.    Blackout Baby
2.    C’mon Baby
3.    Cold Feet Killer
4.    Let Me Free
5.    I’ve Got A Notion
6.    Un Poco
7.    Dance Hall
8.    Better Call Your Mother
9.    In The Sun
10.    Lost In The Soul

For more information visit Sarathan Records.

My Goodness

Guitarist Joel Schneider and drummer Ethan Jacobson epitomize the purest distillation of rock, blues, and garage punk. Their sonic chemistry became immediately apparent when they began playing together as My Goodness.  Think Jon Spencer Blues Explosion head on collision with White Stripes with bigger balls!

“Schneider struts and hollers, the quiver in his voice and the confidence in his bluesy guitar swagger are reminiscent of Jon Spencer’s brash balls, but with more Fugazi-esque finesse,” says DJ Hannah Levin following a live in-studio session with KEXP. “He and drummer Ethan Jacobsen […] have that unmistakable lightning in a bottle quality.”

My Goodness was cited by U.S City Arts magazine as one of 2010’s best new bands. They are described by Chris Kornelis, Music Editor for Seattle Weekly, as a band who “[…] packs an incendiary live show to further the parallels,” and as “the standard against which I’m measuring everyone else doing rock in Seattle,” by Josh Lavseth, co-founder of Sound on the Sound.

My Goodness have just released their debut, self-titled album with Seattle label Sarathan Records.

Pump up the volume & watch the video for the single I’ve Got a Notion and make up your own mind.  Fuzzy guitars & pounding drums… we think they’re awesome.

layla and other assorted love songs deluxe edition

By 1970 Eric Clapton had already enjoyed more acclaim then many musicians achieve in a life time, from the R&B of the Yardbirds through the first Supergroup collectives of Cream and Blind Faith, the guitarist appeared to have finally found what he was looking for while touring the USA with the excellent Delaney & Bonnie and Friends in 1969.

In an effort to recreate the friendly, leaderless, family like atmosphere of Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton recruited the rhythm section from that band to join himself and a guesting Duane Allman, to become Derek & The Dominos in 1970.

Having toured and played together on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass solo album, the band already sounded as though they had been together for years and work soon began on the album Layla.

Forming a strong song writing axis with Memphis born Bobby Whitlock (keyboards/vocals)their respective influences presented an incredible showcase for the band with an eclectic mix of blues, r&b, rock,soul, country and gospel inflected tunes.

Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs captures the band as a genuine collective of musicians not only at the top of their game, but enjoying the moment and producing arguably, the best Eric Clapton album ever.

Tracks like I Looked Away, Anyday, Keep On Groving, Tell The Truth and Why Does Love Got To Be So Bad have long since become standards and most covered tracks of the era, while the inclusion of Jimi Hendrix’s excellent Little Wing is simply inspired.

In the context of the album, the full length version of the single Layla feels as fresh as the day it was cut, clocking in at over 7 minutes, like most of the tracks on the album that isn’t quite long enough and I found myself not wanting it to finish, much like every other song on the album.

That for me is the beauty of Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, it doesn’t rely on self indulgent guitar or drum solos but focuses on a complete band at the top of their game.

The Deluxe Edition version comes with a bonus disc featuring some of the songs recorded for a second Derek & The Dominos album that never happened and live appearance on the US tv show The Johnny Cash Show.

Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs has been blowing me away for the last week or so, it still sounds fantastic and fresh, feeling at time more like a stonking jam session to the credit of producer Tom Dowd.

Without doubt a stunning re-issue and not to be missed.

Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs is re-issued today, Monday  March 29th in the following collectors formats:

1. Single Disc Version CD

2. 2CD Deluxe Edition

3. 4CD/DVD/2LP Super Deluxe Edition

5. 2LP Vinyl Release

6. iTunes LP

7. 7inch vinyl single ‘Got To Get Better In A Little While’ b/w ‘Layla’

Blues Writer Music App

The Blues has been a major influence on countless major artists such as Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Fleetwood Mac.

Blues Writer is a writing, recording and sharing mobile application for songwriters, singers and musicians. The Blues Writer App for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is beautifully and thoughtfully designed to aid & assist the songwriting process.

Never be lost for words with the enhanced notepad containing Schirmer’s Complete Rhyming Dictionary, an industry standard including over 96,000 rhymes.

Once you’re ready, select from the 10 professionally recorded blues tracks included in the App, and record your song, live! You can then post your recording online and share it with friends, family and online community.

With its superb set of tools, Blues Writer is all you need to create stunning blues tracks in a flash.

Blues Writer App Features:

• Notepad, backing tracks, rhyming dictionary and recorder all in one place

• Record multiple takes and share them instantly

• 10 professionally recorded Blues backing tracks to sing or play over

For more information visit www.blueswriterapp.com.

Blues Writer App for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is priced £1.19 on the iTunes Store.

Stephen Dale Petit

As well as raising money for the campaign, Stephen Dale Petit’s recent gig at The 100 Club in London on December 1st has brought the new blues pioneer to the attention of many who would otherwise not have heard of him, something which we should all be grateful for.

In his chosen vocation, playing the blues guitar, Petit is already a legend, having performed with all of the modern greats most of whom he can count as personal friends. Such is his personal appeal that he was able to entice the likes of Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood to join him for the 100 Club gig even before the word ‘charity’ had been mentioned.

He will none the less feel that he has acheived something special over the last month or so, along with the broadsheet press he is responsible for making the public aware of the plight of the 100 Club and whats more he has done something about it.

The gig on December 1st was of course a sell out and attracted plenty of media attention along the way, it has also raised the profile of Stephen Dale Petit which in turn will ensure decent sales of his next single, the proceeds of which will be donated to the 100 Club campaign.

Asked why his feelings run so deep for the club, after the recent show, Petit explained;

“The first gig I went to in the UK was Alexis Korner at The 100 Club. There is no other venue like it on earth – when you walk downstairs it’s like entering a magic portal. I always feel honoured to perform there, and this show was just extra special.”

Stephen Dale Petit Live

Stephen Dale Petit released his second album The Crave earlier this year to huge acclaim, the collection includes some new ferocious blues monsters alongside updated classics by the likes of Robert Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, Little Willie John and Albert King. Number one blues fan Paul Jones of Radio 2 noted upon the release of The Crave, “updates of classic blues songs often don’t work but this one certainly does.”

So what do we know about the man tipped to be the blues guitarist on the tip of every tongue in 2011? Well, quite a bit actually!

• Born by the roadside just outside Joshua Tree, California
• Delivered by a passing black doctor who was also an enthusiastic blues musician
• Weaned on 60’s & early 70s UK Blues-influenced rock
• First guitar – a Gibson SG Special aged 8
• Playing (illegally) and raising Hell in California rock clubs aged 16 alongside Randy Rhoades and co
• Met – and played with – both BB and Albert King
• Descended into drug and alcohol addiction
• Relocated, as a teenager, to his own personal ‘Blues Mecca’ – London – in early 90s
• Fell in with stellar musicians and guitarists – Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, David Gilmour
• Got clean and sober in UK
• Was first official TfL/Carling London Underground Busker 2003
• Recorded 1st album Guitararama in studio downtime, paid for by busking income
• Sold all of initial 2,000 Guitararama pressings within 6 weeks in London Underground
• Petit progresses from Leicester Sq Tube to selling out London’s 100 Club – the first of eight times in three years!
• Guitararama independent 2007 release through Proper sells out 5,000 repressing
• First of many BBC appearances on BBC Radio 4 Midweek, BBC News and in session on BBC Radio 2 Paul Jones Show
• Guitararama (now picked up and distributed by Universal Music) voted Guitar Magazine’s Album Of The Year 2008
• Guitararama makes HMV Top 10 Blues Album Chart
• Major features/articles Classic Rock; Guitarist; Blues Matters; Guitar; The Independent; Sunday Express; News Of The World
• 2008 eight week College/University Guitar Masterclass and Blues Lecture Tour attracts thousands of new fans
• 2009 major sell-out UK Tour with Special Guest – Rolling Stone Mick Taylor

What others have said about The Crave:

“Petit occupies a stunning middle ground between the fire of Freddie King, the instinct of Jimmy Page and the soul of Eric Clapton”(Classic Rock magazine)

“Petit is sheer class. He’s incredible” (BBC 6 Music)

“The Crave is absolutely the most personal album that has been released this year and possibly the most important – simply brilliant” (Blues Matters Magazine)

“The Crave is a seventeen track masterpiece. This album should see Petit vie for the King of the Blues title” (www.loudhorizon.com)

“Fantastic” (Bob Harris BBC Radio 2)

Blake has designed the cover for the special limited edition Souvenir Programme for the 1st December 100 Club Benefit night that will feature Petit along with musician friends Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood and Chris Barber.

Sir Peter’s bold and striking signed design will adorn the cover of a limited edition souvenir programme to be sold at the 100 Club event which is being staged at the iconic venue this Wednesday night. The programme also features many hitherto unavailable historic photographs of the myriad legendary performers at the venue and is certain to become a ‘must have’ item for arts and music connoisseurs alike.

Stephen Dale Petit will release the benefit single Need Your Love So Bad (Save The 100 Club) on December 1st at the gig and there are high high expectations for the single as Jon Morter, the man behind the success of Rage Against The Machine last Christmas, has joined the 100 Club campaign.

Morter is the latest in a rapidly growing list of names who are uniting to pledge support for the club currently threatened by closure due to massive rate and rent increases.

Jon Morter regards this as an important a campaign as RATM’s and has a 100 Club Facebook Campaign Army of over 20,000 to call upon to buy the single in its first week of release. It could be the highest Blues single chart New Entry EVER!

Chart pundits are watching for an historic chart entry as ALL proceeds from Petit’s appropriately-named single “Need Your Love So Bad” (already garnering vital national airplay on BBC Radio 2) will go to the Club’s rescue fund.

Stephen Dale Petit Live

Having announced that his upcoming gig at London’s legendary 100 Club on December 1st will be a fund raiser for the club itself, Stephen Dale Petit has now announced that proceeds from his next single Need Your Love So Bad will also benefit the Save 100 Club Campaign.

The single is taken from his new album ‘The Crave’ and is now officially titled ‘Need Your Love So Bad (Save The 100 Club)’. Released on December 6th it is expected to sell heavily to a fast-growing and proactive grassroots movement which includes nearly 20,000 Facebook supporters.

The release follows Petit’s December 1st 100 Club benefit gig which will feature former and current Rolling Stones guitarist’s Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood.

It has now been announced the show will also feature a rare live appearance of British Blues Boom architect, jazz trombonist Chris Barber.

Now in his eighties, Barber was a pioneer of  blues music in the sixties along with blues trailblazers Alexis Korner and John Mayall and was directly responsible for encouraging young hopefuls like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and members of The Rolling Stones.

He helped ferment the British Blues explosion that in turn resulted in the British Blues Invasion exported back to the USA in the mid-late ‘60s.

Organiser Petit enthuses “It’s fantastic that Chris Barber’s coming down to play – he’s one of the Godfathers of modern British music and his connections to the 100 Club are deep and longstanding.”

The single Need Your Love So Bad  (Save The 100 Club) is released on December 6th

The Stephen Dale Petit Save The 100 Club gig will take place on December 1st

Stephen Dale Petit Live

The hugely talented blues guitar supremo Stephen Dale Petit released his acclaimed album The Crave earlier this month, the first single California was immediately added to the playlists of rock radio’s Q and Kerrang!

The Crave follows Petit’s phenomenally well-received debut Guitararama, which was accoladed as Guitar Magazine’s 2008 Album of the Year. The follow-up’s release and tour will be backed by intensive media exposure – airplay, performance, interviews and ad campaigns in all top-end music publications.

The Crave, which contains some ferocious, rocking New Blues monsters alongside updated classics by the likes of Robert Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, Little Willie John and Albert King, sees Ian Grimble share production along with the Chapel Studios, Lincoln hit factory team behind recent Arctic Monkeys, Editors and Kaiser Chiefs successes.

Petit will be announcing an O2 Academy tour of the UK, but will kick off his live shows with an intimate gig at London’s famous 100 Club in December.

What started as a normal gig has turned into a special charity event at the 100 Club following recent reports that the Club was under threat of closure.

Petit will be joined on the small stage by his good friends from the music industry for a special fund raiser at 100 Club on December 1st, with present and former Rolling Stones guitarists Ronnie Wood and Mick Taylor already confirmed for the event.

Organisers will not be drawn on an increasing list of stellar rock names  rumoured to be making an appearance on the night. They will only comment that more guests will be confirmed on Stephen Dale Petit’s website in the coming days.

Tickets for the fund raising event are priced at £35 in advance and £38 on the door. Advance tickets can be ordered from WeGotTickets.

Uncle Treacle by Willis

Hayley Willis (aka Willis) is from west London.  She received critical acclaim for her debut album, Come Get Some, for its American-style bluesy soul and complimentary country and folk styles; and for Willis’ vocals, which were raw and authentically powerful as the pre-war belters whose spirits she so effortlessly summoned.

Willis spent several years immersed in everything from psych and krautrock to funk noir, working at London’s Soul Jazz record store-cum-label before she decided to stop selling music and make her own.

On her MySpace page she cites many influences including Kris Kristofferson, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Laurie Anderson, Bob Dylan and Kate Bush.  Now that alone is enough to get my attention.  Other left of centre female artists come to mind when listening to Willis, the likes of PJ Harvey and Imogen Heap.

I can definitely hear her influences throughout the album.  But in these times of safe, middle of the road music made for executives and shifting units, Uncle Treacle is awash with interesting songs carried by the mesmorising voice of Willis.

Candyman has all the brooding dark energy of a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song, while the banjo-picking tune of So Nice To Meet You offers a lighter, leftfield country side to the multi-faceted sound of Willis. Other songs such as Round Again are altogether more weird wonky pop with heavy traces of Kate Bush at her wailing best.

Uncle Treacle by Willis Tracklisting:
1.    Candyman
2.    Get In The Ring
3.    So Nice To Meet You
4.    Round Again
5.    The Lesson
6.    Hell-Money-O
7.    October
8.    Weatherman
9.    What You Want For Me
10.    Goosey Gander
11.    9 To 5

Uncle Treacle by Willis is released by Cripple Creek Records.

The Genesis of Slade

Cherry Red Records re-release The Genesis of Slade, a compilation of tracks by groups featuring members of Slade.  There are 25 songs from 1964 to 1966 from the likes of The Vendors, Steve Brett & The Mavericks and The ‘N Betweens.  The latter would eventually become Slade.

In 1964 Don Powell (drums) and Dave Hill (lead guitar) recorded and privately pressed a four track EP as The Vendors. Hank Marvin & The Shadows and other post-rock n roll pre-Beatles acts made up The Vendors copycat sound; and Steve Brett & The Mavericks songs sound like second-rate out-takes from an Elvis Presley film.  Noddy Holder plays guitar and sings backing vocals. These songs included three singles released by Columbia in 1965 and appear on the surface to be a vehicle for front man Steve Brett who fluctuates between Elvis impressions and a Burt Bacharach easy listening style.

But by 1965 The Vendors had moved on musically and were now listening to American blues legends like Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf.  They had changed their name to The ‘N Betweens and began to get taken more seriously supporting acts like The Hollies, The Yardbirds, Georgie Fame and Spencer Davis.

In 1965 The Mavericks & The Vendors were on a ferry to play separate gigs in Germany when Don Powell & Dave Hill asked Noddy Holder if he would be interested in joining The ‘N Betweens.  Before meeting Noddy again in a cafe in their home town Wolverhampton they had recruited Jim Lea on bass guitar.

By 1966 The new ‘N Betweens Mk II line-up was complete with Noddy Holder joining Dave Hill, Don Powell & Jim Lea.  They recorded a US Promo 7” single of an Otis Redding song, Security and a self-penned song Evil Withchman released on Highland Records and a further single You Better Run also backed by Evil Witchman for Columbia Records.

Between 1966 and 1967 the band’s performance heavily relied on R&B and Tamla Motown, while Noddy Holder began to give the band a focus as he gained confidence and a flair for showmanship.

I love the Jesus & Mary Chain-esque buzz saw guitar on Evil Witchman.  But apart from that track, this compilation is possibly for the obsessive fan only.  Someone who wants to trace the roots of the band that in 1968 released the single Genesis under the name Ambrose Slade and another two years later finally released Get Down & Get With It as Slade.  The rest is Glam Rock history.

This album was originally released in 1996 by TMC Records.  All tracks are available for the first time on CD.

The Genesis of Slade is released by Cherry Red Records.