Da Blues are fine and funky at the 13th Annual Cape Fear Blues Festival in Wilmington, N.C., July 25 - 27.
By Dariel Bendin
In Wilmington, North Carolina, the sounds of summer come together in a wonderful cacophony of wailing guitars and soul-drenched vocals at the annual Cape Fear Blues Festival. This year marks number 13 for the Festival, and it promises to be over the top with "Man, you shoulda been there" performances. The bulk of the Festival takes place at Legion Stadium out on Carolina Beach Road. Other events are being held in the historic downtown area.
Headlining this year at the Saturday concert is Beautiful Bobby Blackmon and his incredible B3 Band. Blackmon is based in Florida, where he has developed a national and international following. He spent some of his early time in Houston backing folks like T-Bone Walker and James and Bobby Purify. Today, you can still hear that funky Texas sound in every performance.
Bobby offers up some mighty soulful vocals and guitarwork that will leave you wanting more. Peter Lauro, a contributing editor for BluesWax, has gone so far as to dub him "the next Buddy Guy."
Travelin' Home, released in 2005 is Beautiful Bobby's most recent CD. Lauro, reviewing it for Mary4Music.com, said Blackmon "is on his way to becoming a hot commodity in the blues world."
In addition to being a topnotch musician, Blackmon is also a skilled songwriter. According to Living Blues Magazine, "Blackmon's guitar style reflects the way he crafts his lyrics. He fires off eccentrically placed phrases, shot through with passion and sweet-toned emotionality, each note carefully articulated."
Bobby is as excited to be visiting the Carolinas as festival organizers are to have him. "I'm really looking forward to coming and meeting the people in North Carolina," the artist said in a telephone interview, "Live music is so important. You really get in touch with the artist, in a way that you don't get with recordings.
"My thought about the blues is keepin' it alive," he emphasized. "The blues is born here in America, and we need to keep it alive."
Delta Highway, the four-man Memphis-based blues band, is a fast rising star in the blues world. A winner of the Memphis Blues Society's Battle of the Blues, this five-year-old band mixes up traditional and contemporary to come up with a sound that’s all their own. They’re known for their gritty vocals and driving rhythms. And wait until you hear Brandon Santini on harp!
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Gotham is burning, and The Dark Knight must face his Arch-Nemisis, the Joker, for the first time in the sequel to Chris Nolan’s “Batman Begins.” “The Dark Knight” is in theaters everywhere now!
By George Mihal
The follow-up to the action hit “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and the committed new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham City for good. The triumvirate initially proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces The Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.
Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”) portrays arch-villain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent.
Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast in the role of Rachel Dawes. Returning from “Batman Begins” are Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Jim Gordon; Oscar winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) as Alfred; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) as Lucius Fox.
With “Batman Begins,” writer/director Christopher Nolan opened a new chapter in the Batman film franchise by taking the legendary character back to his origins, re- imagining why and how the billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne became the enigmatic crime fighter known to the world as Batman.
Nolan said, “I thought we left the world of Batman at an interesting place in the first film, and the end suggested an intriguing direction in which the story could continue.” Nolan developed the story with David S. Goyer, with whom he had collaborated on the screenplay for “Batman Begins.”
In “The Dark Knight,” Nolan says he focused more on how Batman’s very existence has changed Gotham City…and not, at least initially, for the better. “At the end of ‘Batman Begins,’ we hinted at the threat of escalation—that in going after the city’s crime cartels and attacking their interests, Batman could provoke an even greater response from the criminal community and now that has come to pass. There are some very negative consequences of his crusade brewing in Gotham City.”
Producer Charles Roven offers that the issue extends beyond Gotham’s resident criminals. “On the one hand, Batman has begun to rid Gotham of the crime and corruption that has plagued the city, but, ironically, the vacuum he created draws in an even more powerful criminal element, who see it as their chance to take over the city.”
Producer Emma Thomas notes, “In ‘Batman Begins’ we largely concentrated on the origins of the character—how Batman evolved out of Bruce Wayne’s own early trauma, his fears, his anger and, finally, his resolve to fight crime and corruption. In ‘The Dark Knight,’ Batman has become well-known to the police and citizens of Gotham City, but while some consider him a hero, others wonder if he is doing more harm than good. And the arrival of a new kind of criminal raises the stakes on that debate.
“What’s intriguing,” Thomas adds, “is that the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne—with his fabulous cars, a beautiful woman on each arm and not a care in the world—is not at all who this man really is. So while Bruce Wayne wears a mask to hide his identity as Batman, it is actually Batman who defines Bruce’s true identity, and the public persona of Bruce Wayne is the ‘mask’ he wears to co-exist in this world.”
It didn’t start out that way. Returning to the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman,
Christian Bale asserts, “I believe Bruce thought it would be a finite thing, that Batman would serve as an inspiration to Gotham City and that he would eventually be able to leave this character he conceived behind. But he is coming to understand, more and more, that this is not something he can easily walk away from now…or possibly ever. There are new enemies to protect the city from.”
The most dangerous of these enemies is Batman’s most infamous nemesis—a maniacal, remorseless fiend known as The Joker.
At the risk of repeating myself, Rhonda McDaniel is one rockin' blues mama who just keeps getting better and better.
She's got a brand new self-titled CD being released July 18 on KHP Records and her many fans are going to love it. The CD, her first, is a mix of shag tunes, blues and a ballad or three.
"Putting out a CD has been a longtime dream of mine . . . it's just something I wanted for myself," Rhonda explained to me. "I was trying to reach a lot of different people. I hope the songs I chose were versatile enough, but I picked songs that I love to sing.
Track one is "I'm On Your Side," a mellow bluesy piece by L.A. singer/songwriter Kevin Moore (aka Keb' Mo') that Rhonda has amped up a bit. "Walking After Midnight," the famous Patsy Cline tune is next. Rhonda's been singing this for years in her live shows, and makes it her own.
Track three, "Left With a Broken Heart," is an obscure R&B tune penned by Marv Johnson and released by the four tops on their 1964 self-titled LP.
Next is "Good Thing," written by Levi Crawford, keyboard player and vocalist with the R&B group, Fat Jack Band. He also played keyboard, guitar, bass and sang backup on the recording. "I was honored," Rhonda says, "when Levi called me to tell me about this song."
Track five is Rhonda's hit song "Why Am I Crying" that was one of the top four during Spring SOS 2007, spent five weeks at #1 on John Hook's Beach Music Top 40 chart and is still charting.
"I just wanted to sing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'" said Rhonda of track six. "I've always loved that song and I just wanted it on my CD." As with her other covers, Rhonda makes it her own.
We jump now from Harold Arlen to Jim Quick. Track seven, penned by Jim, "Is My Mind Playing Tricks On Me," is classic Quick.
"I had gone to see Coastline," Rhonda told me, "and outside in the parking lot, Casey [Meyer] was strummin' his guitar and Jim was slappin' his leg, giving me lyrics ... and it took a little over a year, but I had a Jim Quick song." Listen closely, you'll hear Quick, Casey, Albert Rogers and Sam Bryant doin' their stuff.
Number eight is Rhonda’s 2006 CBMA Blues Song of the Year, "You Got What It Takes." This funky, R&B tune from Southern soulman Joe Tex takes on a definite blues bent in Rhonda's hands.
Next comes what possibly may be my favorite track, "Talk To Me," written by Kelley Hunt, a contemporary singer/songwriter/ keyboard player from Kansas City. After two different DJs sent her the song, she went with it. Rhonda does a great job with this sweet and bluesy tune.
Track ten is "Stop Look and Listen," the duet with Rickey Godfrey that was released on the Keep On Shaggin' compilation. Something different for both vocalists, this one is definitely shaggable.
"Fallin'," Rhonda's current release from the KHP compilation, Coast to Coast – Let’s Dance, is track 11. It's currently charting at # 27 on Hook's Beach Music Top 40.
"Tom Polzin, president of the National Association of R&B DJs, sent me this one, and it's been getting a lot of attention," Rhonda said.
Finishing the CD are two covers, "Me and Bobby McGee," a dance version which was included on Locals 2, the 2007 CBMA Compilation of the Year and "At Last," the Mack Gordon/Harry Warren song synonymous with Etta James.
I think Rhonda did a great job, especially for her freshman effort. I wish there had been a few more surprises on the disc. (She had already released several of the tracks on compilations, and four are well-known covers.) But her straight-from-the-gut voice and unique styling makes this well worth adding to your beach or blues collection. We'll be hearing a lot more from her, I'm sure.
Rhonda is already one busy girl. Besides pursuing a solo career, she's been with BrassTyme, the high-energy McCormick, SC group, for over 16 years and continues to play with them. Her oldestbrother, Mike Hill, drummer for the group, is one of her major influences. While still a teenager, she toured all around the country with him in Amarilla, a country/Southern rock/variety band.
