Showing posts with label Brad Vickers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brad Vickers. Show all posts

Monday, September 6, 2021

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans - The Music Gets Us Thru

Size: 96.7 MB
Time: 40:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Electric Blues, Rockin' Blues
Art: Full

01. Dumb Like A Fox (1:59)
02. Take It Slow (4:08)
03. Please Don't Say (3:36)
04. Big Wind (3:54)
05. I'll Never Let You Go (2:26)
06. The Music Gets Us Thru (3:44)
07. Now It's Time For Me To Sing The Blues (3:18)
08. What In The World (3:22)
09. Grab My Car Keys (3:51)
10. I'll Be Sittin', I'll Be Rockin' (3:54)
11. Birds On My Family Tree (3:39)
12. When I Am Drinking (2:54)

"The guitarist continues to distill his beautiful notes for an audience fond of blues, roots ’n’ roll, and American music, offering a subtle mix of original pieces and neat covers in which he strives to infuse a little of his personality and his particular style. Brad Vickers put this new cake in the oven just before the first lockdown and has endeavored to offer an anthology of pieces in which he pays homage to an entire, very wide artistic palette. Looking from time to time to the other side of the Delta, but also regularly towards the rhythms coming from Louisiana in general, and New Orleans in particular. We are easily carried away by [original] compositions like “Dumb Like A Fox”, “Big Wind”, “Now It's Time For Me To Sing The Blues” and “Birds On My Family Tree”, but also by classics like “Take It Slow” by Jimmy Reed, “I'll Never Let You Go” by Tampa Red, “I'll Be Sittin', I'll Be Rockin'” by Larry Darnell, and of course, “When I'm Drinking” by JB Lenoir. We appreciate the duality of the voices, Brad Vickers' masculine vocals contrasting with the feminine vocals of Margey Peters, and finally, bringing to "The Music Gets Us Thru" the little cachet [(style)] that suits him so well. Strolling between joie de vivre and melancholy, this new work by Brad Vickers And His Vestapolitans should be a great success upon its release on September 7th!"—Fred Delforge, ZICAZINE, France

The Music Gets Us Thru MP3
The Music Gets Us Thru FLAC

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans - Twice As Nice

Size: 100,0 MB
Time: 43:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Jump Blues, Blues Folk
Art: Full

01. Worried Life Blues (4:00)
02. Mississippi Swamp (3:56)
03. Love Can Win (3:39)
04. Close Together (4:28)
05. Coast To Coast (4:40)
06. Twice As Nice (4:36)
07. Red Dust (3:51)
08. Everything I Need (3:51)
09. Stealin' Stealin' (3:09)
10. Look A There, Look A There (3:17)
11. Brooklyn Evenings (4:09)

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans are pleased to bring you a new CD (our sixth!) It is a true privilege to be able to record a fresh batch of songs. This session was “Twice As Nice” because—along with our great core band of Brad Vickers on guitar and vocals, bassist/vocalist Margey Peters, drummer Bill Rankin, and saxman Jim Davis—we were able to call on some dear and terrifically talented friends to collaborate. Joining us on on various cuts are these fantastic special guests: Charlie Burnham on violin, Dave Gross on guitar, Mikey Junior on vocals and harmonica, Daves Keyes on piano and organ, Dean Shot on guitar, and our co-producer, V. D. King jumping in on an astounding variety of instruments, from banjolele to bari.
As always, we celebrate the music that we love, and the styles that have influenced us: blues, folk, jump and great American roots ’n’ roll.
Along with originals by both Brad and Margey, we chose to cover a few long-time favorites, and start the album off with one of those, “Worried Life Blues” by Big Maceo (by way of Chuck Berry). Right off the bat we were able to feature some of our special guests. “Mississippi Swamp” gets the humor going as Brad encounters a (possibly) talking bullfrog. Margey’s “Love Can Win” is a soulful, optimistic anthem for our times. On Jimmy Reed’s “Close Together” we have a chance to do a rendition of a song by the arguably ultimate bluesman. The rocking “Coast To Coast” is our take on the classic road trip theme. On “Twice As Nice” Margey pays homage to the early risqué female blues singers. “Red Dust” is Brad’s lament for the American Indian. Our “Everything I Need” gives yet another bow to Jimmy Reed with a Chicago-style shuffle. Next we cover Will Shade’s jug band classic, “Stealin’ Stealin’”. Including blues founding-father Tampa Red is a must. Here we do his great “Look A There Look A There”. Finally, Margey’s “Brooklyn Evenings” is an idyll to a bygone urban era.
We hope you have half as much fun listening as we had making “Twice As Nice”!

Twice As Nice

Monday, April 24, 2017

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans - 2 albums: Les Blues Hot / Traveling Fool

Album: Les Blues Hot
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:13
Size: 158.5 MB
Styles: Roots, Contemporary blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[2:30] 1. Freight Car
[2:23] 2. Baby, Please Don’t Go
[3:54] 3. Dogs Don’t Sing
[3:10] 4. I Don’t Want To
[3:56] 5. Hudson’s Stomp
[4:08] 6. Where Can My Baby Be
[3:52] 7. Hesitation Blues
[3:20] 8. Up From The Bottom
[3:55] 9. Give It Up, Buddy
[3:06] 10. Our Real Good Thing (...Gets Better Everyday)
[3:41] 11. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
[4:17] 12. It’s Gonna Be Me (There'll Be A Day)
[3:08] 13. ‘a’ Rag
[3:34] 14. Hands Off
[2:59] 15. I’m Homesick
[3:52] 16. Gonna Quit You
[2:46] 17. Woogie On Down
[4:13] 18. Mississippi Shadows
[3:20] 19. Boogie For Jimmy Reed
[2:58] 20. Raisin’ Praise

A CD by a fabulous musician who deserves this solo album more than anybody else. One of the baddest blues bassists around, it turns out that Brad also knows his way around a guitar's neck and a microphone! His playing is tasty and his singing is strong too. Plus, his song selection suits my tastes very well. It's eclectic, mixing blues with some good time jazz. Whoever had the idea to include clarinet on this album had a GREAT idea; the sound is just pure fun! With 20 songs and almost 70 minutes of music, great playing, and some first-class musicians, 'Le Blues Hot' is a CD that should have been released a long time ago! ~Przemek Draheim, Radio Sfera, Torun (Poland)

Les Blues Hot mc
Les Blues Hot zippy

Album: Traveling Fool (feat. Bobby Radcliff)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:18
Size: 138.1 MB
Styles: Roots, Contemporary blues
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[5:42] 1. Traveling Fool
[3:34] 2. Because I Love You That Way
[4:37] 3. Diggin' My Potatoes
[4:07] 4. Don't Take My Cadillac
[2:43] 5. Uh Oh!
[2:54] 6. No Baby, No
[5:39] 7. Leave Me Be
[3:57] 8. Low Down Dirty Shame
[2:42] 9. Glad Rags
[3:42] 10. In My Dream
[4:05] 11. Fourteen Women
[3:25] 12. Skeeter Song
[3:35] 13. Without Moolah
[5:56] 14. How Long Blues
[3:32] 15. Rockabilly Rumble

Special guest guitarist Bobby Radcliff has this to say about Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans and "Traveling Fool":

Sometimes I forget how much I loved those old albums from the ’60s: J. B. Lenoir and Lowell Fulson’s Chess recordings with the horns slightly out of key (which I adore)—not to mention all my old Blind Lemon Jefferson, Texas Henry Thomas, etc. albums on those funky 78-rpm-to-disc re-issue labels back then.

I can’t think of many artists today that can get the kind of raw, direct punch that was so evident in the “old masters”. For some reason, Brad Vickers does capture it. And the best part is that his music never sounds “manufactured to sound authentic”. Brad’s music doesn’t have the glossy high-tech veneer that too many artists utilize to “sound like the great artists of old”. This recording, his 3rd release on CD, is the obvious choice if you want to experience first-rate American blues/R&B music, and its related tributaries.

Brad’s vocal delivery always stays firm in a laconic, easy-going manner. I’m reminded at times of Fats Domino via Bill Monroe, but that’s an oversimplification. Brad is his own man both vocally and in his instrumental technique. Much of his guitar work is the direct result of his use of open E tuning rather than standard Spanish. This actually gives him a bit of an edge over some of his musical peers. I am always blown away by the unusual tone variations and colors he achieves. Believe me, as a practicing picker myself, you will not get certain odd inflections and subtle pitch/interval variations with standard guitar tuning. All of this adds up to some extremely nasty guitar sounds!

Of particular note, I should add, is the equal importance of his Vesapolitans line-up: Bill Rankin on percussion; Margey Peters, who adds her rich and sonorous playing on bass and fiddle; the great Jim Davis on clarinet and tenor saxophone; Matt Cowan on baritone saxophone; and one of my favorite guitar (and piano!) pickers, Arne Englund. The estimable V.D. King also makes an appearance with this fine ensemble.

I can’t say enough about Dave Gross’s production on this CD. As a guest myself on this session, I had the opportunity to observe him in the production/engineer capacities. All I can say is this: I had one of the best times in years being involved with the making of this recording. A great captain at the helm always gets the best out of musicians. I’d put him up with my favorites, Hammond Scott (Black Top), Peter K. Siegal, and Chris Matheos. All of this said, if you’re in the mood to spend some time listening and dancing—don’t forget, Mister Vickers is a rocker to the core!—to some downright incredibly hip music, then slap this in your favorite player and tear it up! ~Bobby Radcliff,

Traveling Fool mc
Traveling Fool zippy

Monday, December 1, 2014

Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans - 2 albums: Stuck With The Blues / Great Day In The Morning

Brad Vickers learned on the job playing, touring, and recording with America’s blues and roots masters: Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Odetta, Sleepy LaBeef, Rosco Gordon, and Pinetop Perkins—with whom Brad had the good fortune to play on the Grammy-nominated discs, “Born in the Delta” (Telarc) and “Ladies’ Man” (MC)—to name just a few.

Now his own group, The Vestapolitans, offers a good-time mix of originals and covers spanning blues, ragtime, hill country breakdowns, and more great American roots ’n’ roll. A great new CD, “Great Day In The Morning" (2013). joins “Traveling Fool” (2011), “Stuck With The Blues” (2010), and “Le Blues Hot” (2008). All have met with terrific reviews, radio play on 250+ stations (all are still in rotation on Sirius XM Bluesville). Best of all, audiences love them!

Brad comes from the Pine Barrens of Long Island’s rural East End. He is the scion of a musical family from the Pine Barrens of Chintoteague, Virginia, where his grandfather played lap steel and drums.

Album: Stuck With The Blues
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:37
Size: 141.1 MB
Styles: Roots, Electric blues
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. Stuck With The Blues
[3:47] 2. I'm Betting On You
[5:53] 3. Cold Fish
[4:18] 4. Can't Stand To See You Go
[4:09] 5. What About Me
[3:58] 6. Deep Elem
[3:10] 7. Vestapol Rag
[4:33] 8. Winding Boy
[2:56] 9. Jaguar And The Thunderbird
[4:09] 10. I Want To Tell You Right Now
[4:35] 11. Coming And Going
[4:31] 12. Hobo Jungle
[6:02] 13. They Gave Us The Blues
[4:54] 14. I'm A Love You

Stuck With The Blues mc
Stuck With The Blues zippy

Album: Great Day In The Morning
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:01
Size: 114.5 MB
Styles: Roots, Electric blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[0:10] 1. Intro
[4:12] 2. Little Gem
[2:42] 3. Train Goin' Westward Bound
[3:03] 4. Saving String Rag
[3:08] 5. Sit Down And Talk
[3:03] 6. Great Day In The Morning
[3:39] 7. Saturday Blues
[3:50] 8. Chapter And Verse
[3:10] 9. It's A Good Life
[2:41] 10. Frisco Town
[4:23] 11. This Might Not Be Your Day
[3:45] 12. Anna Lou Blues
[3:23] 13. The Way It's Got To Be
[3:37] 14. Together For Good (Feat. Christine Santelli & Gina Sicilia)
[5:07] 15. Dallas Blues

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Great Day In The Morning zippy