Blues Pinoy

This is another track from Cebu's premier Blues band Cuarenta, infamously titled "Dirty Woman." Composed and sung by Kay Tradio. You may skip the intro and head straight to 01:27. Memorable quote: "Playing Blues is really difficult... you play less to be more." - Arnold "Anot" Ang

Once again, here is Cebu's top Blues band Cuarenta being featured on RCTV's "Tambayan sa Outpost." The video starts off with the band's history, from their '80s new wave heyday to its present incarnation as a solid Blues band. The real fun begins at 02:27 with the band performing their original "Boris Cat." If you're a Cebuano, I'm sure you'll understand what the pun is all about!. Cuarenta are: Kay on vocals, Arnold on 1st guitar, Henry on 2nd guitar, Randy on 3rd guitar, Lyndon on bass, and Juel on drums. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to RealCebuTV for allowing me to embed their videos. Visit their website at www.rctv.com.ph to learn more .

Prepare to be "blown away" by this lady harmonica player from France. Only one word could describe her - magnificent! Watching her videos would either inspire you or depress you. If you're a music aficionado, seeing her effortlessly creating beautiful music, always in perfect tune, you'd be telling yourself- that's what talent is all about! but if you're a struggling harp player (ummm, like me), then you might question yourself why you took up blues harp in the first place. Seriously. But still, I'm gonna watch, listen, and enjoy her videos no matter what!

“The blues is in my blood, you know? I can’t play, can’t sing nothin’ else. And I don’t want to, cause the blues is for me. It’s like a shoe,... you take a number seven shoe you sure can’t wear a size four. You wear the one that fits. The blues fit me.” (Muddy Waters in “Jazz Monthly”, Jan 1959. Quoted in “Blues Off The Record”. Ibid. p.261.) From Wikipedia: McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams. A major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s, Muddy was ranked #17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Once again, get a good Blues groove from the best in the land - Lampano Alley, featuring the delta flavored voice of Binky Lampano and the rest of the gang. From rakrakandotcom's YouTube channel: "...Losing You recorded live at the Blueskrieg concert at 19East Music Hall. Binky Lampano on vocals, Tom Colvin on blues harp, Edwin Vergara on guitar, Simon Tan on bass and Rey on drums." This is the third track from the album Songs from the Alley.

Here's gotmojodante with his trusted Les Paul doing a slow minor Blues track. Hear the guitar cry...

A short but cool video by Eljun in a jam session. No extensive details on this one but nice to listen to nevertheless. From eljunable's YouTube channel: "Eljun is a 34-year-old Filipino male, who likes to play the guitar. He started playing electric guitar and been playing for almost 15years. He likes to play Jazz, Blues, Funk, ang Latin musics."

This is the trio's take on the classic tune "Stranger Blues." Originally done by Elmore James and covered by more than a dozen artists, notably by Fleetwood Mac, Johny Winter, and Canned Heat. This song is mainly characterized by the slide guitar playing alternating with the vocals. Really, really difficult thing to do especially if you're doing both! Clay didn't seem to have any trouble with it though. "Well, I'm a stranger here And I just blowed in your town Well, I'm a stranger here And I just blowed in your town Just because I'm a stranger Everybody wants to dog me around"

From http://www.foablues.com/bio.php ~ Blues In The Land Of Slack Key "My dad told me, 'Nobody wants to hear that music here,'" says Campania. "But I'm going to play what touches me." Play they do. From "Crossroads" and "Little Wing," the soul of Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, to a blistering rearrangement of Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil," and their own originals, Friends of Adam speaks to a genre where Guitar Player is a musician and not a computer game Can three, young Filipino men play the blues? John Heckathorn, editor of "Honolulu Magazine" wrote: "When Campania picks up his guitar, he channels Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan." John Hart, confidant of the late guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan exclaimed "they are as for real as anything you will see on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. The band has recently opened for Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer, Aerosmith, at The Blaisdell Arena, mult...

Here's proof that Pinoy Blues bands are at par with the world's best. This is a live performance by Soul Benders, fronted by the best slide guitarist in the land Joric Manlanque during the first Hobbit House Rock 'n' Roll and Blues Festival of 2008. From Wikipedia: "Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by Charlie Segar in 1940.

Blues guitar need not be difficult as explained by - no, it's not James Taylor, it's Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, Michael Williams, showing minor blues progressions for the rhythm guitar in the style of BB King's "The Thrill is Gone." So go now, get your guitar, and play!

Never too young to be a Blues player. Here's Denver doing an acoustic number in the key of A.

Here's gotmojodante's interpretation of the classic Gary Moore tune, Still Got the Blues. A little tight in the beginning but gets it all going in the mid and later parts. A true example of the adage, "less is more" where emotion rather than speed, matters.

I just couldn't let this pass. Here's Japanese teenager Miho doing a blues number. This is a little deviation from the usual posts since it features a non-Filipino artist. At least, the backup band was Pinoy. The keyboardist also did some cool Blues piano licks! Really cool playing from Miho... I really dig slowhand blues. The complete article on this event can be found here: http://hopiablogger.blogspot.com/2008/11/miho-sings-blues.html

The classic blues tune "Crossroads" performed live by The Blue Rats with Cowboy Santos on vocals at the Blueskrieg CD launch party on Nov 25, 2006 at 6UG Makati, Philippines. Lots of insider info on the band can be found here: http://talk.philmusic.com/board/index.php/topic,22232.0.html You may want to check their website at http://bluerats.multiply.com.

Some good old rockin' blues by 'gotmojodante' in preparation for his upcoming solo live gig. Here he shows the variety of licks he has in store, with his trusted Les Paul.

Still searching for that old-school Chicago tone? Die-hard Blues harp players swear that it has to be with a tube amp - nothing else. Well, this baby the Honeytone can give you what you've been searching for at a tenth of the price of those expensive amps. Watch this video and be converted. From HarmonicPL's YouTube account: "It's a tiny, half-watt solid state amp that provides a vintage, some even say that tube-like tone (and vintage looks as well). This cutie has volume, tone and overdrive control. Great sounding, light and portable. What more you would (sic) want?"

I have been a Blues harp aficionado for some time now (though it hardly shows on my playing), and there came a point where I was so eager to find a harp amp that would suit my needs and budget. The deciding factor of course was the budget because these amps do cost a fortune. A friend offered me a Danelectro HoneyTone amp for 1000 Philippine peso ($21) which, due to reasons I would regret later, I didn't buy. He didn't deliver a good sales pitch either! So here I am now, still without a decent Blues harp amp. I'm currently experimenting with the Peavey ReValver Mk III and having a cool time! Still, the constant pursuit for that dream amp lives on...

A very interesting video of the Pinoy world music band Makiling (http://www.makiling.ph) performing a Blues number using an indigenous instrument called hegalong. The hegalong is a native Philippine 2-stringed guitar tuned pentatonically. A Filipino version of a lute, it only has two strings; one string does the pentatonic melodies while the other remains a stagnant drone. Who knows, our ancestors could have been playing the Blues eons ago?