Next up on the DSBS Calendar...

~ March 3, 2012 $20 members / $25 Non-Members Opening the show is then comes Florida's Great Blues Guitarist                       AND Headlining is Arkansas' Bluesman...

It's all Happening on Saturday, March 3rd-3 to 10pm at 519 Basin Rd., New Castle, DE, (302)322-4766 so MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! Opening the show is Nothin' But Trouble What do you call some guys who all write music, sing, have been the front men for their own blues bands, and after twenty five years of friendship and basically that many bands--finally come together?  NOTHIN" BUT TROUBLE, of course!  And Hey There Troublemakers, Greg, Chris & Joey want to welcome the newest Troublemaker to their line-up, Mr. Bruce Benson on drums.  Here's NBT's first self-titled CD effort. NBT's second CD from 2009, One Trouble After Another, above left, digs deeper into the blues with acoustic and gospel numbers as well as their signature hot hot hot blues guitar work. Guest guitarist David Bromberg riffs through one of his unreleased original tunes, given to these these local blues phenoms from Magnolia, Delaware.  And they're going to be lighting up the DSBS stage at this year's HOUSE ROCKIN' PARTY on March 3rd and warming us all up for this great afternoon of rockin' blues.  So come on out and see 'em! Second in the HOUSE ROCKIN' PARTY line-up is the great           Albert Castiglia (pronounced “ka-STEEL-ya”)  is Keepin On – and much more.   With the release of Castiglia’s  5th CD Keepin On, August 2010 on Blues Leaf Records  (his third CD on this label), Albert is doing exactly what the title of the CD suggests.  Having opened for ZZ Top, Elvin Bishop, and The Radiators, he’s quickly becoming a favorite high energy performer at festivals across the country.  Castiglia’s history is as colorful as his home town of Miami, Florida,  going back to 1990 when he played in a local Miami Band, The Miami Blues Authority, and won awards locally for “Best Blues Guitarist.”   He got a big break after meeting the legendary Junior Wells in 1996, and soon became Junior’s lead guitar player before Wells died in 1998.   Albert toured the U.S. and Europe with Junior and then found himself in Chicago when Junior passed.   Soon though, he was touring again with Sandra Hall.  He returned to South Florida after deciding to launch his solo career and went to work on his first CD, Burn (2002), a self-release, collaborating with his long time friend, Graham Wood Drout of Iko-Iko. Drout’s visceral, yet literary songs became the perfect vehicle for Castiglia’s soulful vocals.   In 2006, he released A Stone’s Throw, his second album and first release for Blues Leaf Records, which included two of Drout’s insightful songs, “Big Toe” and “Ghosts of Mississippi.” Castiglia and Drout also released a live CD together, titled The Bittersweet Sessions, in 2005. His 2008 CD, These are the Days (Blues Leaf Records), contained five original Albert Castiglia songs, including a tribute to his mentor Junior Wells, “Godfather of the Blues.”  The cover songs from These are the Days paid tribute to a wide range of styles and artists from Bob Dylan, Nappy Brown and Fenton Robinson. These are the Days earned him a Blues Music Award nomination for “Song of the Year” for his original, “Bad Year Blues.”  Castiglia was nominated again by the Illinois Blues Blast Awards and this time walked away a winner for “Song of the Year” for “Bad Year Blues,” as well as being nominated for the “Sean Costello Rising Star Award.”   Most of his new CD release, Keepin On, was recorded live with very few overdubs. He enlisted five session musicians to help on the project, including harmonica master Sandy Mack, who played on “I Could Not Ask for More,” a Peter Green song.  Mack had played on “Ghosts of Mississippi,” a track from Albert’s A Stones Throw album in 2006. According to Castiglia, “He kicked butt then and he picked up where left off on this session. ”Keepin On features five new original tunes, plus other covers of songs by John Lee Hooker, Mack Rice, T-Bone Walker, Robert Nighthawk and Bob Dylan “I did two acoustic songs and enlisted dobro genius Toby Walker for them,’ says Castiglia about the new CD. “Toby is world renowned and has even taught at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch in Pomeroy, Ohio, a number of times. Toby came in originally to play on a song I wrote called ‘Sweet Southern Angel.’ That went so well and quickly, that we wound up doing another number for the hell of it, Robert Nighthawk's ‘Murderin' Blues.’ I can honestly sum up those two tunes with one word, ‘Magic.’ He did a great job and I hope we get to work together again.” The result is a fascinating journey into what Albert feels is his best work to date. Come March 3rd and hear for yourself. and headlining this 15th Annual HOUSE ROCKIN' PARTY is                    Michael Burks! Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Michael “Iron Man” Burks stands tall as a major contemporary blues figure. With a nickname earned by his hours-long, intensely physical performances, fearsome guitar attack, tough, smoky vocals and the thousands of miles logged behind the wheel of his touring van, Burks is a modern blues hero. Nobody in today’s blues world successfully bridges searing electric guitar blues with unbridled rock and roll energy like Burks. The Chicago Sun-Times recently said Burks is “poised on the brink of major stardom.” Boasting remarkable natural talent and a blue-collar work ethic, Michael Burks is a musician with deep roots in the blues tradition. He performs every song he plays with intensity, conviction and soul. Even though he has been playing music since he was a child, it was the release of Make It Rain, his Alligator Records debut in 2001, that brought Burks well-deserved national recognition and made him one of the blues world’s fastest-rising stars. His 2003 follow-up, I Smell Smoke, continued his upward trajectory, as his fan base increased as quickly as his bookings. With inspiration from Albert King, Freddie King and Albert Collins, Burks’ sound and style are all his own. Blues Revue says, “Burks delivers blazing, explosive solos and outrageous tone…part rock, part soul and filled with plenty of blues sensibility.” According to GuitarOne, “Burks is a legend in waiting.” The waiting is now over. With the release of his new CD, Iron Man, Burks is set to take his place beside the biggest names in the blues. Produced by Burks and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer and fueled by Burks’ hard-driving road band, Iron Man (featuring seven of twelve songs written or co-written by Burks) is an electrifying slice of emotional, rocked-out blues. His fiery fretwork, gruff, fervent vocals and overwhelming intensity are captured here live in the studio. The album features some of the hottest guitar playing and most soulful singing Burks has ever recorded. Born in Milwaukee in 1957, Michael quite literally entered the world with blues in his blood. Joe Burks, Michael’s grandfather, played acoustic Delta blues guitar in his hometown of Camden, Arkansas. A multi-talented man, Joe was a barber, carpenter and aviation mechanic in addition to playing in area juke joints. Michael’s father, Frederick, was a bass player. For years, Frederick Burks worked in Milwaukee steel mills and refineries during the day and spent his evenings performing in the city’s smoky, dimly-lit blues clubs, often backing harmonica legend Sonny Boy Williamson II, as well as other touring blues stars and local front men. Michael first held a guitar when he was two years old, and Frederick immediately began teaching his son how to play. Equipped with a fully functional, child-size guitar, the young Burks began emulating the bass runs of his father. Soon he was learning scales and songs. By the age of five, he was diligently studying his father’s 45s, aided by an effective lesson plan. “I’ll give you a dollar if you learn this song by the time I’m home from work,” Frederick would tell his young prodigy. Sure enough, Michael would learn that tune inside out and sideways by the time his father walked through the front door. Michael had begun to collect a tall stack of dollar bills when the elder Burks realized his teaching tactics were burning an unwanted hole in his wallet. Finally, Frederick told his son, “Here’s another 45. You learn this one, and you’re gonna get a lickin’.” But Michael kept practicing, and by the time he was six, he played his first gig during a trip to his family’s hometown in Arkansas. The fledgling guitarist took the stage with his cousin’s band and thrilled an unsuspecting audience. In the early 1970s, after a machine accident left his hand injured and his musical career severely hampered, Frederick Burks moved his family back to their southern home. There, Michael and his siblings helped their father build the Bradley Ferry Country Club – a 300-seat juke joint. By this time Michael was fronting his own band as well as backing several of the blues and R&B greats that passed through town. Johnnie Taylor and O.V. Wright were just two of the luminaries to call on Michael’s services. Business at the Bradley Ferry thrived for years, with Michael Burks leading the house band every Thursday through Saturday. Tables near the stage had to be reserved two weeks in advance. When the Bradley Ferry finally closed in the mid-1980s, Michael needed to find a day job. For over a decade he worked as a mechanical technician for Lockheed-Martin; at one point during his stint with the advanced technology corporation he even built missile components. But Michael’s desire to perform remained strong, and in 1994 he formed a new band and began playing clubs and regional festivals. Despite his not having a record, the diesel-powered energy of Michael’s performances began to earn him festival offers from Florida to California. Fortunately, Michael’s boss was a blues lover. He recognized Michael’s ability and encouraged it, giving Burks the flexibility of long weekends in order to tour. On more than a few occasions, Lockheed even entertained its clients by flying them to Michael’s festival appearances. Michael released his self-produced debut CD, From The Inside Out, in 1997. The album confidently announced Michael’s intention to take the blues world by storm. His impassioned, string-bending solos, combined with his fiery tone and smoldering vocals, left no doubt that Michael Burks was an emotionally-charged blues powerhouse. Critics and fans loved what they heard. Blues Access proclaimed From The Inside Out to be “the most impressive indie in recent memory,” and Living Blues rated it as one of “the best debut discs of the year.” In 2000, Burks received a Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist, even though he was already a hard-working professional. It had become clear that Burks had to pursue his musical career full-time once again. Fueled by a tank full of positive reviews, Michael began to play more festivals than ever before, appearing at the Chicago Blues Festival, Telluride Blues Festival, Mississippi Valley Blues Fest and Kalamazoo Blues Fest, and making headlining appearances at the Mississippi Muddy Waters Blues Fest, Arkansas River Blues Fest and the Blind Willie Blues Fest, among others. Burks joined the Alligator family in 2001 and released the critically acclaimed Make It Rain. The Chicago Sun-Times called the album “chilling and heartfelt.” Billboard agreed, declaring, “Burks is a powerhouse blues guitar slinger…he blasts through licks like Clapton used to play–think lightning–just because he can. He is a great guitarist.” Vintage Guitar said, “Gospel-ringed, sweet and nasty. Burks will warm your heart at the same time he puts a chill down your back.” He immediately hit the road in support of the CD, bringing his blistering blues to fans across the country and throughout Europe and Australia as well, with gigs at clubs, concert halls and major festivals everywhere. His next album, I Smell Smoke, featured songs fueled by Burks’ feral guitar playing and tough, soulful vocals. As raw and passionate as ever, Burks played with the precision and dedication of the seasoned veteran that he is. Living Blues said, “Burks’ fretwork is skin-tight yet emotionally expressive. His voice is dusky and sensual yet shot through with virility. Burks burns his signature onto almost everything he touches with aching passion and the probing intensity of his guitar. He has the ability and the imagination to fuse the best of the old and the new.” Burks received three Blues Music Award nominations for his work on the CD, including Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year and Blues Song Of The Year for the title track. The unstoppable, heartfelt intensity that Michael brings to the stage lies at the very core of his appeal. Dedicated fans around the country and in Europe, Australia and South America already know and appreciate the sweat, passion and intensity he pours out each night. A constant string of performances at premier festivals and clubs continues to add even more word-of-mouth fuel to the fire. Burks’ deep, soul-infused music and undeniable charisma make him an overwhelming force in the blues. The music on the new CD – forged by his unquestionable talent and fueled by the experience of years on the road – proves that electric guitar blues is alive and well in the skillful hands of the Iron Man, Michael Burks. Come and see for yourself at this year's HOUSE ROCKIN' PARTY.   You won't want to miss what will surely be an outstanding afternoon of guitar blues from two of the genre's top contemporary masters.  But the stage is also set for a potentially explosive jam session if Geno can work his magic and get Albert Castiglia on stage with Michael Burks for what could be a once in a lifetime Blues jam of the century!  BE THERE!!