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The cut you hear is
Joe Louis Walker's
"If There's a Heaven" from their HOT, new CD,
"Between a Rock
& the Blues,"
available from

~ Next Show NOVEMBER 6th!~

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST SHOW

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2009 Riverfront
Festival
Pictures &
MORE

click for

THREE Outstanding BLUES BLAST Shows to Kick-Off the Fall Season...
first was
Click above & below for some great pics and video...

...and second was
and still to come...

our traditional Harvest feast with...

Opening the Show: GARY ALLEGRETTO & the Delaware All-Stars
Saturday, November 7th, 3pm
at
in New Castle, Delaware

"�one of contemporary blues� most dynamic and innovative musicians�releasing consistently exciting music�No matter what he�s singing, Walker�s churchy approach is soulful, heartfelt and spellbinding.�
~ Blues Revue

"Over the past 20 or so years, Joe Louis Walker has been one of the most prolific, and most versatile, artists playing the blues. Although his roots are in the blues, he�s always managed to incorporate gospel, soul, and jazz into his sound, which is what makes his recordings so compelling. You can always be assured that on most new recordings, Walker is not treading on familiar turf. There�s always something new and interesting to absorb from his new releases�
~ Phoenix Blues Society

BLUES HARVEST '09 is a DSBS CD RELEASE PARTY for

JOE LOUIS WALKER IS BETWEEN A ROCK AND THE BLUES ON NEW CD RELEASED SEPTEMBER 29 FROM STONY PLAIN RECORDS. ALBUM INCLUDES SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES BY KEVIN EUBANKS AND DUKE ROBILLARD

EDMONTON, AL � Stony Plain Records announces a September 29 release date for Between a Rock and the Blues, the latest album from multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award-winner Joe Louis Walker, which features guest appearances by label mate Duke Robillard and former �Tonight Show with Jay Leno� music director and guitarist Kevin Eubanks. Ten of the album�s dozen tracks were produced by Duke Robillard and feature a core band of Walker and Robillard on guitars, Bruce Katz on keyboards, Jesse Williams on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Doug James on sax, Carl Querfurth on trombone and Sugar Ray Norcia on harmonica.

BluesSource.com
by Mark Smith
With a long and storied career that has included stints with John Lee Hooker, Thelonius Monk, Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix and others, singer/guitarist Joe Louis Walker has had the opportunity to soak up lots of influences which he shows off on this disc. Joined by numerous guests including Duke Robillard (guitar), Bruce Katz (keys), Doug James (sax) and Shemekia Copeland (vocals), Walker lays down some horn driven funk, It�s a Shame, rockabilly, Midnight Train, jazzy ballads, Witness, blues filtered through the Rolling Stones, Rollin� & Tumblin�, acoustic blues, I Got What You Need, harmonica driven shuffles, Sugar Mama, and bluesy torch songs, Lover�s Holiday. As if this diversity isn�t enough, the call and response of Keep on Believin� allows Walker to revisit his gospel days while the salacious 100% More Man puts him firmly at the other end of the righteousness scale with the saucy lyrics made all the more potent by a smoking slide guitar that would have Muddy Waters grinning.

Each of these cuts is delivered by Walker with a voice that evokes comparisons to Buddy Guy when he�s having fun and John Hiatt when he wants to get gruff. But, Walker doesn�t have to sing a word to take you on a musical journey: Highview is an instrumental scorcher that gives Walker and Robillard a chance to jam on guitars and Katz a chance to get the pot boiling at full steam with his scorching b3 breaks. Worthy of much play!

Walker is one of the most heralded blues artists of
our time. JLW is a true powerhouse guitar virtuoso,
unique singer & prolific songwriter who has toured the
world religiously throughout his career and earned
himself a legion of dedicated fans around the globe.
He has recorded with the likes of BB King, James
Cotton, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Huey Lewis, Branford
Marsalis, Steve Cropper, Shemekia Copeland & Ike
Turner, with a discography that counts 19 solo
albums, 2 live DVD�s, and countless compilations and
guest appearances. Still recording &
touring with a vengeance, JLW is
already being referred to within the
blues world as a �living legend.�
However, as Walker himself would say,
�the best is yet to come!�

Stony Plain Records has announced
the signing of multi-award winning
singer/guitarist Joe Louis Walker and
the release of his label debut, Witness
to the Blues, on September 30.
Produced by fellow Stony Plain artist
and award-winner Duke Robillard,
Witness to the Blues features a
scintillating duet by Walkerand
Shemekia Copeland in a reprise of the
Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson R&B
classic,�Lover�s Holiday.� With the stellar backing of
Robillard on guitar, Bruce Katz ..boards, Jon Ross on bass,
Mark Teixeira on drums and a horn section of Doug James
on sax and Scott Aruda on trumpet, Joe Louis Walker explores the
many colors of the blues palette, including Delta and Chicago
styles, Memphis soul, gospel and even rockabilly. More than half of
the album�s 11 tracks were written by Walker, and he adds his own
distinctive interpretations to several covers, including �Rollin� and
Tumblin�� and �Sugar Mama� (which includes a special guest
appearance by Britain�s finest, Todd Sharpville on guitar).

Joe Louis appears at this show with backup guitarist Lynnwood Taylor, an accomplished artist in his own right.

Joe Louis Walker is a true blues virtuoso whose skills as a singer, guitarist,
songwriter and producer have earned him a dedicated legion of fans
around the world. He�s recorded with B.B. King, James Cotton,
Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Steve Cropper, Ike Turner and Branford
Marsalis, among many others in a storied career that covers 19 solo
albums, two live DVDs and a number of compilations and guest
appearances. He�s played on two Grammy Award-winning albums
and won three Blues Music Awards (formerly known as W.C. Handy
Awards). In addition to his hot-ticket shows in the U.S., Walker has
become an international ambassador for the blues overseas, having
played at countless festivals throughout Europe, South America,
Australia, the Middle East and Asia. Born and raised in San
Francisco, Joe Louis Walker is now based in Westchester County,
New York. By his early teens, he was a formidable member of the
San Francisco Bay Area blues scene and later became a very close friend of legendary guitarist Mike Bloomfield. During these formative years, he shared stages with a wide variety of artists, including John Lee Hooker, Thelonius Monk, The Soul Stirrers, Steve Miller and Jimi Hendrix. Mike Bloomfield�s premature and sad death persuaded Walker to change his lifestyle, however, and he enrolled in college, earning degrees in music and English. During this time he also performed regularly with the Spiritual Corinthians gospel group. In 1985 he returned to the blues, formed his stellar band The Bosstalkers, and signed to HighTone Records, which released five albums before Walker moved to PolyGram�s Verve/Gitanes label, where he recorded six albums.

THEN it's the last of the
FALL BLUES BLAST Series of shows...

Thursday, November 19th, 8pm
at
in New Castle, Delaware

It's
Blues-Blast III
a CD Release Party with

in support of his new effort

doing two 75 minute sets beginning at 8pm!

And if that's not exciting enough...
It's ALSO our DSBS
MEMBER
APPRECIATION PARTY!!
and that means
ALL DSBS MEMBERS
get in FREE!!

There's no better time to get or renew
your DSBS membership!

Mike Zito is an artist that ALL blues lovers will be hearing about SOON. He's the HOTTEST thing in blues music, and he's coming to entertain DSBS members and fans at our Member Appreciation Party at the FALL BLUES BLAST III!! Don't miss it!!

It's all happening in support of his great new CD,
PEARL RIVER.

Mike Zito's passion for music has long been fueled by his love of the guitar and the icons who helped propel the instrument to its legendary status. While growing up Zito was initially captivated by the innovative guitar sounds of Eddie Van Halen, but later discovered the soulful blues inspired playing of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. A job fresh out of high school working at the local music store, Tower Grove Music, near his home in St. Louis, Missouri, further solidified his enthusiasm and devotion to his craft. The journey towards stardom and a life long career in music was officially underway.

After years of tirelessly touring and four independently released projects under his belt, 2008 heralded the national debut of Zito�s album "Today" on Eclecto Groove Records. Boasting top notch production values with the guidance of producers David Z. (Prince, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Jonny Lang) and Tony Braunagel (Eric Burdon, Taj Mahal, Phantom Blues Band), along with assistance from a team of world class musicians including keyboardist Bentmont Tench (Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash) and bassist James �Hutch� Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Joe Cocker), Zito realized his most satisfying and accomplished work to date. �Today� garnered high praise and critical acclaim for Zito�s strengthened focus on songwriting and his resulting efforts landed his album on the Billboard Blues charts for six weeks, in addition to daily rotation on Sirius Satellite Radio over the past year.

Now Zito returns with his follow up effort "Pearl River", accompanied by the skillfully adept David Z. sitting in once again at the helm of the producer�s chair, along with label CEO Randy Chortkoff. With his guitar back to the forefront, Zito revisits his musical roots while still maintaining an emphasis on his affective songwriting. �Pearl River� stands as another solid achievement by Mike Zito who is joined this time out by a handful of special guests including Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Reese Wynans (Double Trouble), Susan Cowsill, Lynwood Slim and Jumpin� Johnny Sansone. The result is a rollicking slice of Americana served up with heaping slabs of greasy New Orleans funk, gritty blues and good old fashioned rock 'n' roll.

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Zito was immersed in the gritty sounds of the south side that would unknowingly become the groundwork of his future in music. Like the legends before him, music has coursed through his veins from the early age of five, when he began singing and performing. It didn't take long for him to discover his instrument of choice, electric guitar, after receiving a Van Halen record for his birthday. His education and journey were just starting - little did he know he would find himself among such legends at a local guitar shop just out of high school. "Everyone from Chuck Berry to Bennie Smith came in that store," Zito shares of his experience. "I soaked up the sounds of that store and began building my own style."

Zito's journey took off at the age of 19, when he busted into the local St. Louis music scene, developing his sound even further from the stage. His first independent release arrived in 1996, titled "Blue Room" which included raw and funky songs "Hollywood" and "Pull the Trigger". His songwriting experience would break through on his sophomore release titled "America's Most Wanted" in 1999. This album shares his pop sensibilities and intense guitar work. "Crazy People", "Deal Me In" and his own rendition of Elton John's "Rocket Man" all set the pace to bring him into a national audience.

His touring schedule found him crisscrossing the country as well as performing a regular dose of 6 nights a week in and around St. Louis when not on the road. He would also have the opportunity to play overseas for the USO during that same time period. With such a crazed schedule and lifestyle, drugs and alcohol took their effect on him. Zito was sliding downhill fast. Walter Trout pulled Zito aside one night after a show and explained to him that he had been down that path himself, and that it was no good. He told Zito about the responsibility he had to the music and to the people to perform honestly and unaffected. His abilities suffered and he drifted around the country a bit lost and confused, ending up in Southeast Texas. Zito fell in love with his now wife and had found the love and support to help him clean up and refocus on his career.

With a clean slate and real world experiences to include in his songwriting, Zito released "Slow it Down" in 2004. Including songs like "Long Dark Road," "Change My Ways" and the title track, "Slow it Down" Zito share what life experiences had taught him. He formed a new solid band and began again playing full-time across the country with over 250 shows in 2005. "Music can change everything - how you feel, how you see and what you believe," Zito explains.

He would find his true sound from all his experiences, new and old, and release his fourth album, "Superman" in 2006. Touted as "Soulful Pop" critics would pen it as Zito's sound with his voice and vocals rising above the music. His formative influences blend with additional musical heroes and legends such as Prince, Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, SRV, Walter Trout, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Danny Gatton, and even rising artists like John Mayer. His journey has lead him to a critical point in his life and career to a larger audience and sharing the stage with national recording artists such as Chuck Berry, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tab Benoit, Walter Trout, Bernard Allison, Coco Montoya, Joe Bonamassa and many more.

Pictures & MORE Now Available! -- CHECK 'EM OUT!