Our calendar is currently down. Our host, Easycgi has been unreliable with hosting our website, and we are in the process of moving to a new host.

You may see the domain www.bluesbiz.com down from time to time within the next two weeks as we are setting up the new site and transferring the content. You will continue to be able to access our content at www.pghbluesbiz.com (please bookmark) while we are working on the main domain (bluesbiz.com). – We expect to have everything in place by the end of February 2010. – Thank you for your understanding.

MEMORIAL TODAY IS CANCELLED. - the service is re-scheduled for next Saturday, February 13 at 1pm. Moondog’s Tribute is also rescheduled for next Saturday.

A memorial service will be held  for Warren King by his family at  the H.P. Brandt Funeral Home on Perry Highway on Saturday at 1:00 pm.

His blues fans and friends are being asked to attend “a music memorial tribute” for Warren at Moondog’s in Blawnox from 3pm-8pm on Saturday.  Moondog has graciously offered his club for the tribute. Norm Nardini has been busy organizing fellow blues musician to honor Warren King’s memory with an afternoon of  music.

Ron Essor, a.k.a. Moondog, will be providing items such as hot sausage or meatballs, kolbassi and kraut and macaroni salad. In trying to do our part for the tribute, we are asking that those who will be attending the tribute to bring simple food items. This is not mandetory but would be appreciated. Simple, easy items are being requested: cookies, vegetable trays, casseroles, desserts, etc. Please do not bring anything in crockpots that will need to be plugged in.

Sodas will be provided for the small fee of $.50. The bar will also be open. Beers will be available for $3. After the basic costs of the beverages have been covered, the proceeds from the beverage sales will be donated to the Cancer foundation at the request of the Warren King family.

Congratulations to Winners of

The Pittsburgh City Papers Best Of 2009:

Best Blues Bands:

#1. Jill West and Blues Attack!

#2. The Olga Watkins Band!

      www.olgawatkinsband.com

#3. Shot of Soul!

Sat. Feb. 20th  2010
Chizmo Charles and the Soul Merchants
Franks Pub
Bethel Park
5454 Library Rd, “rt88”
Bethel Park, PA
(412) 833-4606
9:30pm
Bring your dancing shoes!

The Soul Merchants have a Funky disposition!
No Cover – Cheap Drinks- Great food- Good Times!

Hear Chizmo with a three part harmony backing band!

Loads of fun and a night of wild sax too!

Local  Pittsburgh blues duo Izzy and Chris are currently #17 on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart making them one on of the most played blues artists in the world.

Roots Music Report is the number one independent music chart ezine in the world. They  compile radio airplay data reported online from radio station DJ’s around the globe that play all forms of roots music, so that each week you can see which independent artists are being played the most, by what stations and where the artists call home.  www.rootsmusicreport.com

Izzy and Chris’ music will also be part of the Blues Deluxe Radio Program which will be aired Aug 9-15.  Blues Deluxe is heard on 110 radio stations and has an audience of over 2 million listeners. www.bluesdeluxe.com

 View Blues Chart … Read the rest of this entry »

The 15th annual Pittsburgh Blues Festival has come and gone. The event this year took place over 3 days from July 24 to July 26 and was held at Hartwood Acres, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.

Stay tuned to bluesbiz for pic.s and highlights!

Lineup:

Gates opened at 4 pm on Friday. Acts that  performed on Friday are:

Eric Lindell
Cyril Neville and Tribe 13

Shannon Curfman
Shawn Kellerman / Curtis Salgado
Los Lobos

On Sunday they changed it up a bit with an opening time of 1:30 pm.
Blues guests were

Deb Callahan
JJ Grey and Mofro
Robert Cray Band

Bring your kids, because there will be a Blues Music Tent for children at the Festival.  Jimmy Adler, of the Jimmy Adler Band is planning and coordinating the blues history and musical presentations. This will be a “kid friendly” project that is directed towards children. Adults are allowed to accompany their children into the tent.

Local bands set to appear are: Glenn Pavone & the Cyclones, Jill West & Blues Attack, Felix & the Hurricanes, Ron Yarosz & the Vehicle, Eugene & the Nightcrawlers, Jimmy Adler Blues Band

For more information on the festival, read Monica Yasher’s article.

Visit the official Pittsburgh Blues Fest website at: http://www.pghblues.com

While at the show, stop by at the Blues Society tent to pick up their new T-shirt. Beside the Blues Society booth all the local bands will be selling their CDs, sign, meet and greet.

Each night there is a post-blues festival jam starting at 10:00pm at Moondog’s, hosted by Norm Nardini

Blues Blast magazine has announced the nominees for  the second annual Blues Blast Awards. Visit the Internet blues music magazine published by Illinois Blues and cast your vote.

The nominees are:

Best Contemporary Blues Recording
Janiva Magness - What Love Will Do
Shemekia Copeland - Never Going Back
Insomniacs - At Least I’m Not With You

Read the rest of this entry »

BluesBiz is launching a new forum!
If you had important stuff on the old forum, now is the time to re-post it in the new one!
The new forum has better security measures to discourage those evil robotic spammers! When you register you will also be able to submit articles to the front page (pending moderation).  Posters can request that their posts in the forum to be added to the calendar or the front page. So post your stuff in the new forum and tell all your friends!  >> Register
 

After winning the local International Blues Challenge two times and placing third in the nation on one occasion… After playing heavily in this region and traveling great distances to please audiences far and wide… What could Jill West do to make headlines with that "Extra! Extra! Read all About It" spark?

Well… She could grab some of the regions best players, mix them in with her already “smoking hot band” and crank out a CD that is so good that you will leave it spinning in the player for weeks on end…STOP THE PRESSES!!!! That’s just what she did!!!

Blues Attack has always been a “special operations level” group of musical commandos. This still holds true today. The fiery guitar of Greg Krupa and the rock solid hands of “Keymaster” Sudden Steve on the ivories display different tactics on the battlefield, but the same amount of shear firepower as before.

For this CD they have called in reinforcements:

Don Hollowood- Guitar
Mark Cholewski- Guitar
Trisha West-Vocals
Jack Sanzo-Harp
Phil Brontz-Sax
Reggie Watkins-Trombone
Ian Gordon on Trumpet
The Church Recording Studio Choir
And more….

My first requirement to call a CD great is:

Can you listen to it from cover to cover without having to skip over the filler songs? I am pleased to say that all of these tracks are songs you will want to hear again and again.
There is no need to wear out the skip button. Just enjoy! Now that is good news!

Needful Things

http://www.jillwest-and-bluesattack.com/