HowellDevine - Strange Time Blues

Size: 98.9 MB
Time: 42:15
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Acoustic/Electric Blues, Delta Blues
Art: Front

01. East St. Louis (5:48)
02. Smoke (4:46)
03. Hey! Oh, Really? (3:21)
04. Untrue Blues (3:38)
05. Long-Haired Doney (4:12)
06. When The Levee Breaks (3:37)
07. Long Distance Call (4:39)
08. Nila (3:20)
09. Strange Time Meltdown (4:44)
10. That's No Way To Get Along (4:05)

There was never a question as to what to title this 2022 release from this esteemed Bay Area trio, HowellDevine. Songwriter/guitarist/harmonica player/singer Joshua Howell writes in his notes, “Strange Time Blues, as the title suggests, was born out of these strange times, which have been unrelenting these past few years. Produced in the midst of environmental calamities and the solitude brought about by a global pandemic, the music will naturally reflect these conditions, even without intending to do so.”

Since forming in 2011, their sound has been tagged, “shack-shakin music,” and author Dan Forte details that in his liner notes as “hypnotic… a study in dynamics, of theme and variation.” Whether on National steel or harmonica, Howell seamlessly intertwines with the propulsively creative rhythm section, Pete Devine (drums, washboard, jug) and Joe Kyle, Jr. (upright bass, caressed, plucked, bowed). Four originals along with six of the most intriguing Piedmont, Hill Country and Delta to Chicago songs are here: from haunting to funkily cathartic. The trio recorded at Hyde Street Studios (formerly Wally Heider Studios) in San Francisco, still rich in historic character. The original acoustic designs of control rooms and live rooms remain largely untouched and sound as sweet as they did back then, a haven in what felt like an apocalypse.

Strange Time Blues is the band’s fifth release, and appears on their own DynaPhonic Records label, after multiple records on the legendary Arhoolie/Smithsonian Records and Little Village Foundation. “It’s tricky to show reverence without becoming a museum piece shot full of formaldehyde,” Forte concludes, “but HowellDevine deftly navigates that tightrope, making the old sound fresh and rendering the new timeless.”

Strange Time Blues MP3
Strange Time Blues FLAC

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Howell Devine - Howl

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:20
Size: 103.8 MB
Styles: Delta blues, Electric blues
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. The Key
[5:16] 2. Going Down South
[4:14] 3. Boat's Up The River
[4:47] 4. Sookie Sookie
[5:10] 5. Sirenic Woman
[4:18] 6. Come On In My Kitchen
[5:12] 7. Sadie
[5:07] 8. Funky Miracle
[3:33] 9. Rope Stretching Blues
[3:53] 10. Pm Blues

HowellDevine, the massively talented NorCal trio became the first blues band Arhoolie Records (Fred McDowell, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton) signed in 27 years. Triple threat talent Joshua Howell (slide guitars, harmonica, voice) and percussion savant Pete Devine (drums, washboard) plus snappy doghouse bassist Joe Kyle Jr. deftly mix sinuous Delta/country blues with wildly syncopated rhythms to create a rollicking present day sound from the past. HowellDevine breaks from the norm, providing rich and complex textures integral to the music rather than simple backing for a soloist. The result is a sound which stands in stark contrast to the typical blues heard in bars these days and would more likely be shaking the floors of a Southern juke joint some 70 years ago.

Howl mc
Howl zippy

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Howell Devine - 2 albums: Modern Sounds Of Ancient Juju / Jumps, Boogie & Wobbles

Joshua Howell started playing harmonica when he was 14, and by 17, he was sitting with many of the San Francisco Bay Area's blues bands. He quickly became the desired house harmonica player in clubs such as Eli's Mile High and Your Place Too, though his under-age status limited his exposure to only those clubs that could circumvent the age restrictions. During this period, he took up guitar, intently focused on learning the techniques of the Mississippi greats such as Fred McDowell, Bukka White, Robert Johnson and RL Burnside. While living in Santa Cruz, Joshua pursued a successful career in guitar making, developing the Howell & Forsyth Guitar Company. Though he continued to focus on playing music and gigging locally, music as a profession took a back seat to lutherie. It wasn't until he moved to Thailand that he dedicated himself entirely to musicianship, taking on over 15 gigs a week as a solo artist. After three years playing professionally in Thailand's mountainous north, Joshua returned to the U.S. and continued to perform in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he crossed paths with drummer and percussionist Pete Devine, they recognized their similar influences and musical sensibilities. Their common approach effortlessly generated a powerhouse combo of inspired and unaffected blues.

Pete Devine, originally from Maine, started playing drums when he was six years old. Since his move to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989, he gained a national audience while playing with bands such as Bo Grumpus and Devine's Jug Band. From one of the founding members of Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers to a 20-year stint with the Mal Sharpe's Jazz Band, Pete's musical range is extensive. He also kept busy as drummer for the Jug Town Pirates as well as the gypsy jazz band, Gaucho, for nine years, the latter voted "SF's Best Jazz Band of 2009" by the SF Weekly's reader poll. His ongoing recording career spanning the last 20 years has yielded over 32 records, including a recent recording with Maria Muldaur's Garden of Joy Jug Band, an album that was nominated for a Grammy Award. Pete's unique 'old time' drumming and jug blowing styles have taken him around the country, performing at venues such as SF's Great American Music Hall, SF's Davies Symphony Hall, The Danny Kay Theater in NYC for the JVC Jazz Festival, The Louisville Kentucky National Jug Band Jubilee, The LA Classic Jazz Festival, The SF Jazz Festival, The Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Missouri, and the famed Astoria Hotel in NYC, just to name a few.

Joe Kyle Jr. was fortunate enough to have been drafted into musical service during the Great Swing Wars of early-1990s San Francisco, when gigs were plentiful, public cigar smoking was legal and vintage clothes were still cheap. Since that time he has become an in-demand player known for his superb feel, musical agility and adaptability. Joe has been touring and recording with the Waybacks since mid-2001, and in such capacity has shared the stage with a host of notable roots music heroes including Bob Weir, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Joan Osborne, Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Danny Barnes, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Grace Potter, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Jim Lauderdale and Bela Fleck. He might be the only bassist to have played with Martin Denny, Al Kooper AND Pinetop Perkins, although not at the same time, sadly.

Album: Modern Sounds Of Ancient Juju
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 48:54
Size: 111.9 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. Can't Be Satisfied
[3:27] 2. It Won't Be Long Now
[2:45] 3. She Brought Life Back To The Dead
[2:45] 4. Let You Go
[4:39] 5. Sweet To Mama
[6:15] 6. Woogie Man
[3:38] 7. House In The Field
[5:18] 8. Shake 'em On Down
[3:57] 9. It's Too Late Brother
[4:31] 10. Rollin' In Her Arms
[7:46] 11. Railroad Stomp

Modern Sounds Of Ancient Juju mc
Modern Sounds Of Ancient Juju zippy

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Album: Jumps, Boogie & Wobbles
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 51:29
Size: 117.9 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:42] 1. Rollin' And Tumblin'
[2:57] 2. Guitar Rag
[6:30] 3. Harmonica Wobble #2
[4:00] 4. Shotgun Blues
[5:55] 5. Howelldevine Boogie Woogie
[4:31] 6. Help Me
[2:26] 7. Soft Steel Piston
[5:45] 8. Spoonful
[3:37] 9. Mellow Down Easy
[3:53] 10. Kc Blues
[3:18] 11. Mighty Long Time
[3:50] 12. Write Me A Few Of Your Lines

Jumps, Boogie & Wobbles mc
Jumps, Boogie & Wobbles zippy

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