04.15.05 (MusicPortal.com) 2005 is shaping up to be a busy year for MICHELLE SHOCKED, who will release a new trilogy of albums via her own Mighty Sound Records label on June 7th. The two-time Grammy nominee presents the threesome, which continue the "American Trilogy" concept of her first three Mercury albums, in a very unique way. The new albums, entitled "Don't Ask Don't Tell," "Mexican Standoff" and "Got No Strings" chronicle a tumultuous time of life, including her recent divorce. However, this isn't to imply that the songs are bitter. In fact, to the contrary, they're executed with humor, imagination, irony and empowerment -- and in voices most have never heard from MICHELLE SHOCKED. There's Rock and after-hours Blues and Hardcore Punk and twang shading her sly lyrics. First, there are three main things you need to know about MICHELLE SHOCKED. Number one, she possesses an outsized ambition. Number two, she abhors unfinished business. Number three, she has a thing for the number 3. These factors play into the new trilogy of albums, each recorded simultaneously during a sustained burst of unrivalled creativity from December 2004 to January 2005, with each one hewing to a particular stylistic concept. Just as audaciously, she's releasing the three albums simultaneously. Most artists wouldn't even conceive of such an undertaking, let alone see it through - but MICHELLE SHOCKED isn't just any other artist. Dancing to the beat of her own wild heart and soul, she nimbly negotiates the tightrope that stretches between here and heaven, and does it all by working without a net. The trilogy is hardly a new concept to this single-minded artist. After all, she started her recording career with three stylistically different distinct albums in "Short Sharp Shocked" (1988), "Captain Swing" (1989) and "Arkansas Traveler" (1992). Together, the latter three albums defined her wide-open milieu that encompassed everything from Rock, Country, Blues, Folk and Swing to all manners of indigenous American music. If she'd had her way, MICHELLE SHOCKED would've... [full story]
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04.14.05 (AP) JOHNNIE JOHNSON, a Rock 'N' Roll pioneer who teamed with Chuck Berry for hits like 'Roll Over Beethoven' and 'No Particular Place to Go,' died Wednesday. He was 80. Johnson died at his home in St. Louis, Missouri. The cause of death was not immediately known, said publicist Margo Lewis. He had been hospitalized a month ago with pneumonia and was on dialysis for a kidney ailment, said John May, a friend and fellow musician. Though he was never a household name, Johnson and Berry's long collaboration helped define early Rock 'N' Roll. Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. In fact, Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' was a tribute to JOHNNIE JOHNSON. After he and Berry parted ways, Johnson performed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, among others. He was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category. "It was so much fun to play with Johnnie," Bo Diddley says. "The world has lost a great man and a great musician." Chuck Berry, 78, who returned from a European tour Wednesday, said he would perform a tribute concert to honor "the man with a dynamite right hand ... the greatest piano player I ever had," who gave the then-struggling Berry his first paid gig - a $4 job - half a century ago. JOHNNIE JOHNSON was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, and began playing piano at 4. He moved to Chicago after World War II, where he played Jazz and Blues in clubs. He moved to St. Louis in the early 1950s, forming his own R&B band, THE JOHNNIE JOHNSON TRIO. When a band member became ill on New Year's Eve 1952, Johnson hired Chuck Berry to fill in. "Midway through the show, Chuck did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy vein, and it knocked people out," said Joe Edwards, owner of the Blueberry Hill nightclub just outside of St. Louis where both men often played. JOHNNIE JOHNSON and Chuck Berry parted ways in the early 1970s, and, in 2000, Johnson sued Berry, seeking a share of royalties and proper credit for what Johnson said were more than 50 songs the men composed together. A federal judge dismissed the suit in 2002.

04.06.05 (MusicPortal.com) Georgian-born, Belfast-raised and now London-based KATIE MELUA will be coming to Australia for a series of soon-to-be-confirmed live concert dates beginning in May. A Pop, Jazz and Blues chanteuse with talent to burn and a voice and songs to melt any heart, KATIE MELUA exudes a maturity and worldliness that belies her tender years. Since last year, the guitar and piano playing songstress has taken the world by storm with her endearing personality, sultry looks and accomplished performances. In an extraordinary success story, KATIE MELUA's debut album, "Call Off The Search," was the biggest selling album in the UK in 2004 where sales are now in excess of 1.8 million. the album also held the #1 chart position in Britain for 6 weeks, and was still gracing the Top 20 more than 6 months after it's release. Amazingly, "Call Off The Search" reached 5 times Platinum status within five months of release and impressively replaced the ever-popular Dido and then Norah Jones in the #1 spot. KATIE MELUA's debut single, 'The Closest Thing To Crazy,' a superb torch song backed by swirling orchestration, had Australians falling under her spell as well, propelling Melua's album to more than 80,000 sales there. But if you reside in Australia and like her album, you'll love her live performance even more. On stage is where you get to see and hear the true power and versatility of KATIE MELUA's vocal talents. From haunting ballads to upbeat jazz numbers, she possesses an angelic voice that sends shivers down your spine - something fans in Oz got a first-hand taste of when she first came to Australia for a promo tour and a series of showcases last year. Touring with her own five-piece band that includes her producer and recording label head Mike Batt, KATIE MELUA comes to Australia after selling out London's Royal Albert Hall in less than three days and appearing at Buckingham Palace. Melua also recently toured South Africa as guests of the reformed QUEEN, appearing with them at hugely successful open air concerts to benefit Nelson Mandela's AIDS relief appeal.
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04.01.05 (MusicPortal.com) New York singer/songwriter DEENA GOODMAN has self-released her debut EP, entitled "Hard To Get To." Goodman is a natural redhead, both passionate and fierce, organic and soulful. With a sultry, R&B-tinged voice that gently wraps around lyrics and fits snugly into the curves of warm melodies, Goodman is a musician whose talent effortlessly soars above that of her peers. Infused with hooks that gently affix themselves to your memory, DEENA GOODMAN's sound is subtly complex, combining Rock, Blues, Soul and even a little Jazz. While listening to "Hard To Get To," one quickly understands that Goodman's motivation to make music is etched into her soul. "Its just a natural inclination for me to want to do this," she says. "I always felt music was the natural route I was going to take." Still, DEENA GOODMAN nearly had the course of her life altered when -- the morning after her college graduation -- she woke up unable to speak. The nodules her doctor found on her throat would have devastated any other aspiring musician. For Goodman, however, they were ultimately the painful force that drove her to pursue her dream with even more vigor. As she began to go through therapy to heal her vocal chords, Goodman sought out a lawyer and a producer to help her pursue her dream. "Hard To Get To" is best described as Soul-tinged Rock with a Seventies edge. With influences ranging from Janis Joplin's deep, raw passion to the effortless melodic intonations in the voices of the likes of Carole King and Bonnie Raitt, DEENA GOODMAN's debut is unlike anything else currently being tossed onto shelves by other young female vocalists. The opening title track begins slowly before erupting into a chorus that begs the listener for a sing-along, with lyrics that introduce Goodman as a woman whose strength emerges from her vulnerability, while the other four songs on "Hard To Get To" each has its own distinct personality as well. DEENA GOODMAN simply calls music her lifeblood because "its what I'm best at," she says.
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[Blues News: March 2005]
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