BluesBox-Cafe

American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours 1963-1966

2008-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Undoubtedly the 1960's saw a huge boom in Blues Music - there were various occurances of Classic stars from the US visiting the UK touring and on the odd occassion recording with a pick up band of session musicians (Howling wolf for example recorded a great session featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, etc). For those interested in the tours be sure to check out "American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours 1963-1966".

This DVD features some great performances, recorded for TV and include artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson Muddy Waters Lonnie Johnson Big Joe Williams Lightnin' Hopkins Sugar Pie DeSanto Howlin' Wolf - the film quality is great and in finding the footage we've unearthes some great gems enabling some for the first time to see artists that have only been heard on record.

For anyone interested in the genre and especially those interested in the context of the concerts - this is a great buy (also if your just checking out authentic Blues) - this is well worth looking into.

Africa does U2 and turns out a blues gem

2008-04-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

U2 have a recording career that spans back to 1980 and apart from a duet with BB King ("When love comes to town") they havent really had to much to do with the blues so perhaps it's a surprise that in recognition of Bono's tireless campaigning for Africa a new record featuring some Africa's best musical exports doing covers of U2 hits includes one of the blues gems of the year.

Well check out the cover of "Bullet the Blue Sky" by Vieux Farka Toure - think Africa chanelling John Lee Hooker - absolutely sublime - its the sort of haunting gutteral blues that'll stay with you for days - great guitar - great voice.

As for the other tracks - we'll there' a little hit and miss (the highs include the excellent version of "Sometimes you can't make it on your own") but if your into world music and looking for a taste of what africa has to offer - give it a try and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Blues festivals site

2008-04-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

If you love your live blues, and lets face it who doesnt - be sure to check out http://www.bluesfestivalguide.com/, there you can find all the lates news on live blues concerts from small to large they've got some great links to some great gigs be sure to check it out.

John Lee Hooker biography

2008-04-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

John Lee Hooker is a musical rarity - within a matter of seconds of hearing a JLH track his sound was unmistakeable and you knew it was the man.

For those looking to get under the skin of this great bluesman -

"John Lee Hooker became an overnight sensation in the '80s after more than 40 years at his craft. The springboard for his "discovery" was the Grammy-winning album The Healer, which featured Bonnie Raitt and Carlos Santana among other younger musicians. This gambit, too, was not new, for Hooker had recorded Hooker 'n' Heat with Canned Heat in the late '60s--a truly seminal album. Hooker is one of the last surviving bluesmen with a direct lineage from the Delta blues tradition and for years was king of Detroit's blues scene. Murray's extensive bio goes all the way back to the beginning in a sprawling literary effort worthy of Hooker's lengthy career. Like many American blues artists, Hooker was revered by the early '60s English rockers, yet unlike Muddy Waters, widespread pop music interest in Hooker was slow to build. Nevertheless, Hooker's music is a national treasure; anybody who has ever boogied to George Thorogood's recording of Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" or rocked out to ZZ Top's early recordings has heard the man's influence. Now they can read his life story in depth and celebrate Hooker and his music in a way that many of his contemporaries never lived to enjoy"

Frozen guitars - guitar shaped ice trays

2008-04-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

OK so just how cool do these look - OK no pun intend but I think these just look great! Guitar shaped ice tray for perfect icy guitars!

Accompanied by 4 guitar necks the ice cube tray featuers cavaties in the shape of guitars - simply add your water - add the guitar neck and freeze and hey presto guitar shaped ice!

Looks like there shaped like a Gibson Les Paul so they'll be great for a bluesy cocktail!

BB King Live

2008-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

A reminder for all those BB King fans that he has a new Live album out (titled BB King "Live") - the cd captures the BBK magic from 2 shows recorded back in 2006 - as a Live act BB King is great - so be sure to check out the new record (visit www.BBking.com for more details).

If you to see the great man in person check out www.bbking.com/events/ for details of tour dates.

For a great BB King greatest hits record be suer to check out BB King The Ultimate Collection

New stones film features Buddy Guy

2008-04-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

A reminder for Buddy Guy fans - the latest Scorcese flick the concert film of The Rolling Stones "Shine a Light" features Blues great Buddy Guy.

The films garnered some great reviews and alongside Guy features a number of special guests.

Aside from Buddy Guy lets face it the with Ronnie Woods and Keef the stones have got two of the best guitarists around anyway - what more could you want!

New Chris Rea album released

2008-04-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Whilst Chris Rea is often remembered for his 80's pop records hes also a really renowned blues guitarist (a particularly good slide player).

Fans will be pleased to know that he's shortly to release his latest record "The return of the fabulous Hofner bluenotes".

Rather innovatively - the record comes with a book (written and illustrated by Rea) and vinyl record.

Rea recently anounced that he will join the line up of this years UK Glastonbury festival - so it'll be a busy year ahead.

Check out the latest on the official site http://www.chrisrea.com

Geeky Guitar gift

2008-03-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

A truly geeky gift for guitar lovers everywhere - if you like me and your always losing your guitar picks try this excellent guitar pick holder from Amazon - with build in chain to attach to your person and LED light (it gets dark on stage!) its simple but great!-

Check it out at Amazon: Planet Waves Pick Holder with LED Light

Guitar effects pedals for a great blues tone

2008-01-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Unless you've got plenty of money to get a decent tube amplifier, for most bedroom blues guitarists the only way of obtaining decent tone is through an effects rig - Both ISP with thier Totally blues guitar effects pedal and Digitech with thier screamin' blues overdrive and distortion pedal aim to plug that gap. Both aim at producing decent tube like tone for us demanding blues guitarists - wanna see more - click the links above and check 'em out.

Seasick Steve on Jools Holland

2008-01-07T04:43:00.001-08:00

For those of you who love the blues of Seasick Steve (and lets face it who wouldnt) check out http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pNoPNC3ebYQ which has some excellent video of Steve performing on the BBC's Jools Holland New Year show.

Epiphone BB King Lucille

2007-12-29T05:34:00.000-08:00

BB Kings Lucille is perhaps one of the most well known blues guitars out there. The story of a young BB King rescuing his guitar from a fire (which was started over a woman called Lucille) has become a well known tale.

While Gibson have had a BB King signature guitar for a while, the more cash strapped amoungst us will be pleased to know that Gibsons sibling Epiphone have also released thier version of the Classic Guitar.

The Epiphone BB King Lucille is based on the classic Gibson 335 and features Kings Varitone switch for more tonal opportunity.

Blues in Britain

2007-02-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

For those Blues enthusiasts in the UK - head on over to http://www.blueprint-blues.co.uk/ this is the site for the monthly blues magazine. This month sees a interview with Andy Fairweather Low who has pretty much played with anyone who's anyone.

Check it out!

Gibson salutes BB King

2007-02-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

Gibson Guitars Black History Month is saluting the Blues guitar king BB King check it out here http://www.gibson.com/allaccessFeatures.aspx?aliaspath=/AllAccess/Gibson%20Salutes%20Black%20Histo%20(3)

Which is the Best Blues record ever?

2007-02-04T01:59:00.000-08:00

Over the next few posts - I'll be putting down what I consider to be some of the best Blues records and that any discerning blues lover should own - but before we kick off with that I thought that I'd point out my own personal fav.

Howlin' Wolf - The London Sessions - This was originally recorded in 1971 with Wolf like many other blues statesmen travelling to the UK to record with the cream of the British Blues invasion. The album features a spread of classic brits including the likes of Clapton, Rolling Stones rhythm section Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, Steve Winwood and Ian Stewart (Stewart was the pianist with the Stones)

With 13 tracks, the playing on this album has a really great vibe and the record features some of the vocal interplay between Wolf and his session players - with great cuts of "little red rooster", "Built for comfort", "I aint superstitious" this really is one to savour.

Over the years this has been re-released from time to time and if you can get hold of it - it's really worth checking out!

Robert Johnson Blues festival 2007

2007-01-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

While the cold winter may be upon us, it's not too early to start thinking about later in the year and all the fab and groovy music festivals.

One of those key dates for your calendar is May 5th 2007 which will see the 3rd annual Robert Johnson Blues Foundation Annual music festival - featuring the likes of Bobby Rush, Rory Block and Rocky Lawrence this is one for anyone that loves the blues.

For more info click http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/festival07.html

Fender VG Stratocaster

2007-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

The Fender Strat has been a blues guitarists mainstay for decades - take Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan to name just a few.

Well Over at www.shanzuguitars.com they've got a preview on the new Fender VG Stratocaster - seems that Fender have taken the Line 6 route and got into guitar modelling - the guitar has 5 models - alternate tunings and all the usual Strat trimmings...no idea on cost yet but I cant wait to try one.

John Mayall Live at the BBC

2007-01-23T00:03:00.000-08:00

Recorded from 1965 to 1975 this quintesential look at one of the founding fathers of the British 60's Blues boom is a must for fans.

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers had some of the best British talent featuring the likes of Eric Clapton and Peter Green during thier hey -day so this is one not to be missed.

The CD features 14 tacks including the likes of Crawling up a Hill, I'm your Witchdoctor, Nowhere to turn.

Flying V for Albert King Fans

2007-01-22T03:54:00.000-08:00

Following our recent look see on how the great Albert King set up his guitars - we recommend that King enthusiasts take a look at the Epiphone Korina Flying V .

Most know that King was a Flying V enthusiast - and with the Epiphone's being a reasonable alternative to the Gibson original's those on a budget but wanting the Albert King look should take a peek.

Albert King guitar set up

2007-01-14T22:40:00.000-08:00

A little wierd fact that I picked up over the last couple of days - Albert King, who though should need no introduction was one of the best blues guitarists ever - influencing the likes of Clapton, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, had a strangish set up for his guitar.

Most fans remember King for his Gibson Flying V guitar whtat's interesting was that although he played left handed the guitar would be strung as if played right handed that meant that the low E string would be on the bottom (instead of the top) and so on.

King also played around with his tunings often lowering the Tuning to as low as C inorder that he could get power and enhance his string bending.

Sadly King is still no longer with us but fans eager to catch his sound can still lay their hands on a multitude of records that spanned his 30 year career.

Looking for Guitar websites?

2007-01-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

Those of you with more than a passing interest in guitars might like to take a look at the excellent - www.guitar-websites.co.uk - this directory for guitar sites is a great launch pad for 100 guitar related sites - with content ranging from lessons to equipment there should be enough sites of interest there to keep most guitar enthusiasts busy for some time!

BB King Varitone switch

2007-01-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

BB King has one of the most distinguishable guitar tones out there - listen to any track and you immediately know that it's BB on guitar.

BB King has been playing Gibsons for an age so it comes as now surprise that his love of his 335 goes some way to produce that killer sound wer'e all so familiar with but when you look at the BB King signature model a little closer you can see that it also comes with a Varitone switch which helps color the sound.

BB Kings Variton Switch

The varitone switch is a device that though using various capacitors is able to change the frequency of the guitar's tone.

In an interview with Epiphone BB King said of the varitone ""It is good for getting different tones or if you prefer a particular sound. I just leave my toggle switch in the middle position and the Varitone at twelve o'clock and then I can get as much bass or as much treble as I want. I can adjust my sound while I play and nobody knows I'm doing it."

The switch features 6 positions (for 6 different tones) and push/pull pot which allows the switch to be placed in bypass mode.

For King the varitone switch enables him to "dial in" his biting tone - for others the varitone adds a degree of versatility to the guitar which without can't be matched.

Eric Clapton and Gibson 335

2007-01-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

These days when you think about Clapton he's synonimous with the Fender Stratocaster but for those of you out there not familiar with his earlier work (there must be some of you out there) you might be surprised to find his rich history with Gibson when playing with Cream or with the Bluesbreakers during the 1960's.

Clapton's love of the 335 even extends to a recent reissue by Gibson of a Clapton replica 335 (www.gibson.com)

Which is why the following video we stumbled accross at Youtube is such a gem - Clapton playing blues (a cover of Lowell Fulsons "Reconsider Baby") on a Gibson 335 fingerstyle (no pick in sight) - if there's ever any doubt about Clapton this blows it away - a real outstanding track and a really great contrast in style to alot of Clapton's strat blues.

Here's the link - http://youtube.com/watch?v=LF60zs1CKj8

Buddy Guy Box Set

2007-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

For those wanting a fix of Buddy Guy look no further than the Buddy Guy Box Set - Cant Quit the Blues. This 3 Disc set features a massive 47 Tracks including greats such as "The Way you been treating me", "Five long Years" and "Honey Bee". The box set covers Buddy Guy's career from his initial releases in the 1950's through to modern day cuts.

Known for his Biting electric blues - this Buddy Guy box set also includes some fantastic acoustic tracks showing the depth of the man who's career spans almost 50 years.

The box set also includes a fantastic DVD including a 75 minute documentary on Buddy Guy.

For anyone starting out on Buddy Guy this is a box set not to miss.

Which Open Tunings did Robert Johnson use?

2007-01-04T05:38:00.000-08:00

An old thread at http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004431.html discusses an interesting topic about the recording speed on robert Johnson's records - whether they were sped up - and what effect this has on understanding his playing etc - this reminded me about my first attempts at Robert Johnson tunes

In the world of Blues Robert Johnson is widely known - his playing style which is so fluid and natural is really difficult to replicate with lots of phrases and intricate timing changes and represents how far you can take an acoustic instrument.

When I first started learning Johnson, I'd opt to pick out specific phrases etc - it wasn't until later that I picked up on the fact that Johnson used other tunings not the standard EADGBA. For those that are interested in trying out a few Johnson tracks try out open A (or A add9) and open E tunings including E minor - Johnson also used a capo, like his contempories, on occassion just to complicate matters!

Buddy Guy Fender Stratocaster with Polka Dots

2007-01-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

Over at www.shanzuguitars.com/guitar-gear/fender-guitars/ they have a review of the Buddy Guy strat. Buddy Guy is one of the coolest blues players ever and with a career that's spanned from the 50's he's got longevity too.

Fender have had his signature strat out for a while now but we still think that the Polka Dot Beauty deserves another look see.

Built on a standard strat with vintage styling (for example on the Bridge and Trem system) and the polka-tastic finish - the buddy guy strat has that bite that the blues is looking for.

Buddy's Strat features a softer V neck for playability. Fitted with three ceramic single coils this guitar is loud! but versatile

THis one's not to be confused with the "Buddy Guy Strat" the standard is as it states "standard" - the other features extra's such as lace sensor pickups and an active boost circuitry - however the standard has the whacked out paint job that we love - and are sure you will too. Head on over to www.shanzuguitars.com to check out the article.

John Lee Hooker - Hooker released

2007-01-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

John Lee Hooker fans will be pleased to hear about the new release of a four CD box set. With 84 tracks there's something for everyone here and it covers Hookers career from the 1940's on.

Featuring classics such as Crawlin' snake, Boom Boom - the 4 discs offer an interesting insight into an all time great maturing and developing over his career.

with so many tracks most will consider it a definative collection and many will allready own some so you'll need to have a close look to ensure your getting value for money - for those just starting to get into Blues this represents a fantastics initial forray into a true legend.

Welcome to Blues Box

2006-12-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to Blues Box Cafe - We love blues and blues guitar check back frequently as we'll be adding updates on blues heroe's from years gone by and the modern day - We'll also be checking out the gear that our blues heroes used - from Gibson 335's to Fender Strats we'll aim to cover a broad range - so hang on in there and check back regularly.

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