Gene Ween

At this point in Ween's career, the only thing that should surprise the band's fans is the core duo of Gene and Dean Ween (born Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, respectively) doing something normal.

Based on a conversation last week with Freeman - who will perform a duo show with Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz at RIBCO on September 8 - there's no danger of that.

"Where I want to go next is the Disney-soundtrack-era Phil Collins," he said, adding that he was as "serious as a heart attack. ... From the onset of Ween, I always planned on devolving into that. Instead of trying to be cool. ... Partly I like that music ... . I find something very punk-rock about it, and I can't explain what that is."

Keegan DeWitt. Photo by Beau Burgess.Keegan DeWitt is inviting his fans along on his journey, in what passes for real time in the music industry.

The Nashville-based musician and composer has many of his film scores available for free on his Web site. His earlier solo recordings found him in singer/songwriter mode. A trio of singles over the past year have shown him making the transition from solo artist to bandleader. And he hopes that all those elements will come together on the album he and his band are working on.

A Daytrotter.com veteran with three sessions under his belt and an EP (last year's Nothing Shows) released by the Quad Cities-based site, DeWitt will perform as part of the September 3 Daytrotter Barnstormer 5 concert in Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn.

Two years ago, he said in a phone interview this week, he recorded largely by himself with a couple of string players. As he's built a band, he said, "we wanted to make sure that everybody was following us on that trajectory, instead of listening to something that was super-outdated. ... We wanted to make sure that through this process of making music ... we weren't waiting on anybody."

Joe Robinson. Photo by Ethan James.

Self-taught guitarist Joe Robinson won Australia's Got Talent in 2008, and he earned the top prize at the 2009 World Championships of Performing Arts - meaning that at age 20 he carries the ridiculous title of Senior Grand Champion Performer of the World. Guitar Player readers tapped him the best new talent in the magazine's 2010 poll. He released a pair of solo instrumental acoustic albums as a teenager.

All of that hints at a young man with talent and ambition. Now it's time to see whether Robinson's chops can match his drive. Because what Joe Robinson really wants to do is sing.

He will play at the Redstone Room on Friday, September 2, and the show promises to be significantly different from his two CDs, which showcased a surfeit of compositional and performance skills in the jazz and blues veins.

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.

(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.

(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 ... .")

(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.

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.

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.

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

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