Doyle Bramhall, Texas singer-songwriter and drummer passed away on November 12, 2011. He was 62. Doyle had an outstanding pedigree, He played with The Chessmen while in high school. This was Jimmie Vaughn‘s band. This band opened for Jimi Hendrix in 1969 in Dallas.  He later joined with Jimmie to form Texas Storm. Then life in music became ultra serious. He went on to join The Nightcrawlers, a band that included Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmie’s younger brother. He then wrote Dirty Pool, which appeared on Stevie’s first album Texas Flood. Then came “Life By The Drop”, a masterpiece that appeared on Stevie’s classic album “The Sky Is Crying”.
A superb musician, he played drums on the Vaughn Brothers only album. Writing a song like Life By The Drop puts him in pretty good company as a songwriter. He is survived by his son Doyle Bramhall II, another talented musician.
The music starts about 30 seconds in, Doyle is on drums. Mike Keller is on guitar and sounding great!
A live version of Life By The Drop, sung by Doyle.
Texas bluesman Earl Gilliam passed away in October at the age of 81. Earl was an inspired piano player who played with many gifted people over the years, such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King, Albert Collins, and Joe “Guitar” Hughes. The video attached is HOT. A live show in Holland in 1995 with the legendary Joe “Guitar” Hughes. Earl is on piano. Love the blues, especially with gifted musicians as this band was.
My friend Robin (the drummer in the video) is a member of a band in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The band is called The Connectors and is made up of a group of polished, long time musicians. They are currently cutting a demo disc. I hope they do well. The video is from their first live performance in Peachland, BC. The venue in the background is fairly indicative of the entire valley.
The Western Canadian Music Awards were held in Whitehorse, Yukon on October 23.
Whitehorse, Yukon
These awards have been happening in one form or the other since 1995 and were created to recognize musicians from, you guessed it, Western Canada. A link to all the winners is here. I have included some video and links to showcase some of the winners in categories I follow,.
Outstanding Blues Recording ~ Little Miss Higgins ~ Across The Plains
Little Miss Higgins was born in Brooks, Alberta, grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and now has roots in Saskatchewan. The award is for her 2010 album and the song I have attached is “Bargain Shop Panties”. Lots of Saskatchewania in this tune.
Outstanding Rock Recording ~ The Sheepdogs ~ Learn & Burn
On the Cover of the Rolling Stone. What a year for these Saskatoon players. They won the contest to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, they will clean up at the Junos and are taking the music world by storm. In the meantime, they have won Outstanding Rock Recording for their recent album. The Sheepdogs are riding the wave. The video is “I Don’t Know” off the album. I do believe they are channelling Lynyrd Skynyrd or something, what a great song.
Outstanding Roots Duo/Group Recording ~ The Wailin’ Jennys ~ Bright Morning Star
Wailin' Jennys
Winnipeg’s Wailin’ Jennys have been around since 2004 and have been creating excellent roots/folk music since that time. Attached is “Storm Comin'” off the album, performed live at CBC Radio 3.
Welcome back to my weekly rundown of new releases by Canadian artists. This post will cover the week of October 25 to November 1, 2011.
Down With Webster
First up is Down With Webster and their release of “Time To Win, Vol. II”, which is an aptly titled follow-up to their award-winning 2009 release “Time To Win, Vol I”. The band is from Toronto and is in the rock rap category of music. The band is a textbook case on how to break through.  They have played everywhere and at any function in their quest for success. My personal first exposure was during a half time show at a Grey Cup game (Canadian Football League Championship Game), when they played “Whoa Is Me”. That song was an immediate iPod download. I have chosen a video of a song called “She’s Dope”, which was released in May as the first song off the album.
Jann Arden
Next up is a Canadian favourite, Jann Arden. This singer-songwriter is from Calgary ( we ate at her restaurant when it was open) and has had success for many years, having released her first album in 1993. On the way she has been nominated for Juno Awards on 19 occasions, winning 8 times and has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She is known for her quirky sense of humour and her easy way with people, not to mention a stellar singing voice. This release is titled “Uncover Me 2”, and contains her covers of a range of tunes. There are no videos off the new album, so I have inserted one of her classics, “Insensitive”
Our 3rd release is by a Kitchener, Ontario indie-pop band, Courage My Love. Don’t know much about them other than they are a 3 piece band with high intensity in their sound. They have toured extensively and may be appearing at a venue near you. Their album is “For Now” and the cut I have here is titled “Barricade”.
Hey Ocean!
My final band for the post is Hey Ocean! and their new release “Big Blue Wave”. This is a discovery. They are definitely an up and coming alternative band. I started looking for tunes online for a video link and found a live version of the title track on the album, followed by a second tune “Liar”.. Astounded. This band will be heard from, a lot. The band hails from Vancouver and is quickly gaining a fan base with their energetic, clean and different sound. Very impressed.
A very telling quote from one of the greats on, well, one of the greats. The late Rory Gallagher (he passed away in 1995) was an Irish blues/rock guitarist, famous for making his stratocaster purr. His first major band was “Taste”. The band toured and opened for acts like Cream and Blind Faith, always adding to his personal reputation. Once Taste broke up, he began a successful solo career. He was most well known for his sizzling live performances. He once said of his playing that it was “in me all the time, and not just something I turn on”. He died of complications from a liver transplant. His legacy is one that has been the bane of many, an unrecognized major talent that never received the recognition he so trylu deserved. The track added here is a scintillating live version of “Bullfrog Blues”, one of his trademark songs.
The Deep Dark Woods are from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and could be considered as an alt-country band. Regardless, they have been carving out a fan base with their smooth sound and strong song writing. To date, they have released four albums and have contributed a song to CBC Radio 2‘s Great Canadian Song Quest. When we lived in Saskatoon we had occasion to see them a couple of times and enjoyed their music. Their most recent release “The Place I Left Behind” has just been released worldwide, a big step for the band. The video attached is from their previous album “Winter Hours” and is titled “All The Money I Had Is Gone”.
Little known fact time. Who was the original bass player in Fleetwood Mac. Bob Brunning of course, the guy I am writing about.  Unfortunately, he passed away on October 18. Peter Green started up Fleetwood Mac and wanted Mick Fleetwood and John McVie for the rhythm section. Mick was the Fleetwood and John was the Mac for the band name. John McVie was with a band and earning a steady income so was not keen on joining up. Peter then hired Bob Brunning to be the bass player on a temporary (maybe permanent)basis while he waited and hoped McVie would change his mind, which he did a few weeks later. Bob’s career lasted a few weeks but he did contribute the bass on one song on the band’s debut album (Fleetwood Mac), “Long Grey Mare”.
After leaving Fleetwood Mac, he went on to play with Savoy Brownthen ended up with the blues group “The Lonesome Whistle Blues Band”. which morphed into the “De-luxe Blues Band”. He was a mainstay of the British blues scene for over 30 years. The track included here is Bob’s first gig with The Lonesome Whistle Blues Band and is live. Enjoy the video. RIP Bob Brunning.
I was driving home from work today and, much to my amazement, Frank Zappa‘s “Dancing Fool” comes on the radio (CKUA, another great station). Frank was the consummate working class musician. He was also one of the first bands I ever saw live. Good story. I was working for the Winnipeg Arena while I was going to school. We would clean out the seats after events, and during one of my shifts, I had the pleasure of listening to him and his band (Mothers of Invention) rehearse for a concert that night in Winnipeg. Not much work got done that day. I searched out two videos to share. First of course, is “Dancing Fool” done live on Saturday Night Live and the second is a live version of the classic “Dinah-Moe Humm”.
Pink Floyd is an interesting study in the evolution of rock from its earliest roots to present day. The band was formed in 1965, with original members Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and Syd Barrett. David Gilmour came on board in 1967 as the 5th member of the band. The band is famous for its very successful albums, “Dark Side of the Moon”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Animal” and”The Wall”. Prior to this, the band was noted for its progressive and psychedelic sounds. This was perfected on their earlier album from 1969, “Ummagumma“. From this double album comes their classic concert favourite, “Careful With That Axe, Eugene“. The video attached is a live version of this song performed in 1973. It is not quite what people expect from Pink Floyd, but is a perfect platform from which their later classics came from.
