10 Aug 2011

Rumbling Force: Pamela Reese Smith, "Live at the Redstone Room"

By Stephanie Yang

Pamela Reese SmithAs "This Masquerade" begins on her recently released live CD recorded at Davenport's Redstone Room, Pamela Reese Smith's voice emerges from the piano prelude of Manny Lopez III as a husky, tuneful whisper, growing louder and more intense from phrase to phrase. As she builds, she blends breathiness and fullness to create a wistful and passionate melody. Her use of a light, breathy tone establishes the mournful mood of the song, especially when singing the word "lost," imparting confusion and hopelessness.

Her voice continues to soften and grow with the lyrics. When singing the phrase "this masquerade," she starts quietly and then allows her voice to expand as she holds out the line -communicating strength, despair, and other feelings.

Throughout the album, Smith employs this effectively expressive technique, and her big voice creates a deep, encompassing sound. But at times she misses the pitch a little, and the heavy richness of her voice becomes a disadvantage.

03 Aug 2011

River Roots Live: Seeing God for a Minute - Blues Traveler, August 20, 9:30 p.m.

By Jeff Ignatius

(Other coverage of River Roots Live 2011 can be found here.)

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler guitarist and songwriter Chan Kinchla calls the band's 2005 album ¡Bastardos! "our transitional record," and he admitted it has been a long transition.

Following three gold albums, the group - fronted by vocalist, harmonica player, and songwriter John Popper - had a top-10 hit in the mid-1990s with Four's "Run-Around," and the record itself went platinum six times, no small feat for a jam band. Straight on Till Morning (from 1997) also went platinum, but the death in 1999 of bassist Bobby Sheehan spurred a process of reinvention that might finally be over.

Blues Traveler will be headlining River Roots Live on Saturday, August 20, and as the band prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, it's planning big things. A retrospective package - including B sides and live material - is slated for March release, Kinchla said in a phone interview last week. ("The B sides have turned into almost a pretty good album all by themselves.") And a new record is in the works for the summer. That, he said, will be Blues Traveler's attempt at a great album.

03 Aug 2011

River Roots Live: Moving in the Mud - Nikka Costa, August 20, 11 p.m.

By Jeff Ignatius

(Other coverage of River Roots Live 2011 can be found here.)

Nikka CostaFor the video promo for her song "Chase the Thrill," Nikka Costa said she and the director "just got in my bathroom and went for it."

Lest you think that something dirty happened, "went for it" in this case means re-creating the famous shower scene from Psycho, with Costa in the role of Marion Crane.

Also on her "Nikka's Box" YouTube channel (YouTube.com/user/nikkasbox) is a Rocky-style training video and "Streaking Nikka," in which the topless rock/soul singer (naughty bits obscured) encourages viewers to check out her new EP Pro*Whoa. "What's a girl gotta do to get her music heard?" she asks.

Such is the existence of Costa, who will close River Roots Live with an 11 p.m. set on August 20. She is now operating independently after a successful music career as a child (she is the daughter of producer Don Costa) and well-reviewed albums as an adult on Virgin and Stax. (Entertainment Weekly called 2001's Everybody Got Their Something an "intoxicating starburst of self-affirming R&B" and "an audacious, fresh-as-a-daisy debut," while the All Music Guide said its follow-up features songs that are "muscular, funky, and imaginatively arranged ... .This is big, dynamic music that cries for a big audience ... .")

03 Aug 2011

River Roots Live: Open to Anything - The Apache Relay, August 20, 6:30 p.m.

By Jeff Ignatius

(Other coverage of River Roots Live 2011 can be found here.)

The Apache Relay

For its second record, The Apache Relay - which will perform on August 20 at River Roots Live - initially tracked 10 songs in early 2010. But the band sat on the record - preferring a 2011 release to a late-2010 one - and that layoff prompted singer/songwriter Michael Ford Jr. to write new songs.

"I felt like in my heart of hearts that I had songs that needed to be on the record that hadn't been written yet," he said in a phone interview last week. "I felt like I had better in me. ... I wanted to write better songs."

So in the fall they tracked a handful of songs - some new, some different versions of previously recorded songs - and the fusion of those two sessions is American Nomad, which Nashville Scene called "exuberantly tuneful" and "irresistibly idealistic."

The final version of American Nomad only ditched two songs - "Sets Me Free" and "Lost Kid" took their places - but the band's decision to hold off on the record is one indication of the The Apache Relay's maturity. Even though the band is young - Ford is 23 - and has been around just two years, it seems and sounds far more experienced.

03 Aug 2011

River Roots Live Coverage and Schedule

By Administrator

River Roots Live will take place on Friday, August 19, and Saturday, August 20, in LeClaire Park on the Davenport riverfront. The festival will feature 17 bands on two stages and will be headlined by Gin Blossoms (on Friday) and Blues Traveler (on Saturday). Admission is free, and the event also features Ribfest. Full event details are available at RiverRootsLive.com.

Below is the full entertainment schedule, with links to new interviews with Blues Traveler, Nikka Costa, and The Apache Relay - all performing on Saturday - as well as to previous River Cities' Reader articles on some of the artists.

27 Jul 2011

Trading Anger for Peace: William Elliott Whitmore, "Field Songs"

By Kate Foley

William Elliott Whitmore

William Elliott Whitmore's music is simple in structure, with basic chords and cadence. But the messages in his new album, Field Songs (released July 12), run much deeper. Pensive lyrics explore the relationships between human life and nature, and the universal connection between all living things.

But don't mistake his songs for clichés. Whitmore's sentiments are delivered with such candor and conviction that listeners might feel they're experiencing the emotions firsthand.

21 Jul 2011

Images from the 2011 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

By Cole Carrara, Steve France, Scott Klarkowski, and Norman Sands

Four photographers offered us their images from the 2011 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and here's a sampling of their work, covering 18 Blues Fest acts. Many thanks to Cole Carrara, Steve France, Scott Klarkowski, and Norman Sands for sharing their work. (Sands' full Blues Fest gallery can be found here.)

Eric Gales

Otis Clay

DelGrosso/Del Toro Richardson Band

Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers

Ryan McGarvey

Koko Taylor Tribute

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines

The Way of the Blues Revue

Chris Beard

The Candymakers

Linsey Alexander

The Paul Smoker Notet

Chocolate Thunder

Mississippi Heat

Peaches Staten

R.J, Mischo with Earl Cate & Them

Sherman Robertson

Studebaker John & the Hawks

The audience

30 Jun 2011

Grooving as Hard as They Rock: Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights, July 7 at the Redstone Room

By Jeff Ignatius

Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights

Jonathan Tyler has described his band's major-label debut, Pardon Me, as a "handshake album" - an introduction.

But unlike that description or the apologetic title, there's nothing polite about the full-bore rock produced by Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights - which will perform at the Redstone Room on July 7.

USA Today concisely summarized the appeal of the band in naming Pardon Me a pick of the week last year: "Did you think they'd quit making bands that groove as hard as they rock? You know, like ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Aerosmith? Listen to this riff-heavy blast, the title track from this band's debut album, and think again."

27 Jun 2011

A Buoyant Tribute: North Mississippi Allstars, July 1 at the Redstone Room

By Jeff Ignatius

Cody and Luther Dickinson

The North Mississippi Allstars' Keys to the Kingdom - released in February - was recorded and partly written in the wake of the 2009 death of Jim Dickinson, father to the band's brothers Luther and Cody and a noted producer and musician himself.

But the opening three songs should banish any thought that the album is a somber affair. Even when facing mortality straight-on, there's a joyful noise inherent in the band's blues-based music. And that will surely be evident when Luther and Cody Dickinson perform on Friday in a North Mississippi Allstars duo show at the Redstone Room.

From the sturdy blues of album opener "This A'Way" to the angry kiss-off of "Jumpercable Blues" to the gospel-tinged celebration of "The Meeting" featuring guest vocals by Mavis Staples, this is the sort of meaty roots music that earned the band multiple Grammy nominations and a Blues Music Award. The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot said that the album is the band's best since its 2000 debut: "The Allstars play with unassuming ardor, letting the rawness seep through the edges of the arrangements. Drummer Cody Dickinson in particular delivers exactly what each song needs, nothing less, and keeps things swinging. It's the kind of unsentimental yet passionate tribute a musical legend and family cornerstone would surely appreciate."

25 Jun 2011

Photos from the Michael Bublé Concert, June 24 at the i wireless Center

By Scott Klarkowski

Images by Scott Klarkowski from Friday's Michael Bublé set at the i wireless Center.

For more of Klarkowski's work, visit KlarkPhoto.com.

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