Not surprising, because Mark Lavon Helm (1940-2012) was one of the singers and the drummer of the Canadian group whose very first name was… Levon and The Hawks ! He was also the only American in the group and, as most of his Band mates, a multi-instrumentalist who could also play harmonica, mandolin, guitar and bass.
The miracles of “God”
The other King of Zydeco
Away from the urban environment of New Orleans, he was playing with his band The Magic Sounds (or sometimes Majic), a down-home style primarily intended to entertain rural people of the Southern Louisiana back-country . No keyboard, no horns either, just a bass, one and later two guitars, rubboard and drums, and himself on accordion. A small combo, a lot of songs in Creole French, a music to be danced.
→ Thanks to my unique partners...
Kansas City, here I've come !
Gregory "D.C." Bellamy, born in 1949 in Chicago and grown up on the West Side, is a younger half-brother of the late Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999). Of his different influences, Rhythm'n'Blues had the greatest impact on his style.
→ Thanks to my unique partners...
Boring is certainly not the word to use about this “Portrait Of The Tremé Prince”, a compilation of some of his most representative works released in 2019 on Louisiana Red Hot Records. Already, the name of the label itself, which evokes a famous hot pepper sauce plantation and factory in Ile Petite Anse (Avery Island) in the middle of the Vermilion Bay bayous, sounds like a thrilling promise !
from New OrleansThis is the strange paradox of “Deacon” John Moore. Without any hit under his name, he can be heard on lots of iconic recordings from New Orleans early R'n'B kings and queens !
CastrocasterFrom the start his band line-up was build according to the blues-rock trinity ― guitar-bass-drums ― but he added an extra instrument to spice up the R'n'B flavor : a saxophone held by the fourth member of the band, Keith Crossan. And last but not least, he is also a striking songwriter.
→ Thanks to my unique partners...
But wait wait wait... it's Mel Brown playing, here ! And that changes everything. The whole thing is turning into an orgiastic show of unique electrifying guitars and passionate vocals, with the gripping help of his guest friend the late Texan guitarist Denny Freeman (1), and the backing of his super tight homewrecking band.
→ Thanks to my unique partners...
For their first album, the band neglected the studios and preferred the energetic spontaneity of a live recording (on a two-track analog recorder) in their den, the legendary Cricketeers blues bar in their home city of Bordeaux.