Gibson to Sell Memphis Factory
Photo by H. Michael Miley Memphis, TN — Famed guitar maker Gibson Brands Inc. will sell its facility here in the “Birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll.” The company is looking to find a smaller facility to eventually move into. The facility located at 45 Lt. George W. Lee Ave has been Gibson’s Memphis home for 18 years. For a mere $17 million you can be the proud owner of this 127,620 square foot behemoth. Fret not though because it also comes with a parking lot capable of accommodatin
Anthony Gomes has history with blues
If you’re ready to shake your tail-feather, don’t miss a set from Toronto-based blues guitarist Anthony Gomes. It’s your chance to hear his modern take on an “old, but not tired” sound, take in his high-energy performance, and see why he’s toured more than 17 countries and shared the stage with the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Robert Plant. And while he likes his time on stage, Gomes does plenty of work behind the scenes. He’s a blues history scholar and focused his ma
Pam Taylor Sings the Body Electric on 'Steal Your Heart'
When I reach Pam Taylor by phone, she's en route from Amsterdam to Israel, preparing for the September 23 release party for her new solo album Steal Your Heart at a Tel Aviv joint called, of all things, Mike's Place. "I've never been this far away from home for so long," Taylor, who grew up in Lancaster, South Carolina, says. The distance the Charlotte-based singer, songwriter and guitarist has traversed since launching her career in 2011 at Forty Rod Roadhouse, in Mint Hill,
Delta Wires Captures the Sound of Blues Music’s Migration
In 2008, Express readers named Delta Wires, Oakland’s premier blues outfit, the East Bay’s Best Live Band. Since then, the seven-man band, known for its blazing horn charts, has continued burning up stages, locally and internationally. Not too band for a band that was put together as a one-off project by Ernie Pinata, the band’s singer, harmonica player, and frontman.
Born and raised in Oakland, Pinata picked up the harmonica when he was 16 and taught himself to play by lis
Fingerpicking good: how blues guitarist Fiona Boyes ‘arrived’ with help from a rubber chicken
Fiona Boyes, one of the world’s best fingerpicking blues guitarists, had wanted to record an album with engineer and recording alchemist “Professor” Keith O Johnson for ages. She didn’t expect it would involve rubber chickens. Boyes, who was born in Mount Waverley in east Melbourne, had been asked by Reference Recordings, the renowned audiophile label co-founded by Johnson in the 1970s, if she wanted to record with him in the US at the famed Skywalker Sound studios. She jumpe
The Long Road Traveled by Lucky Peterson
Lucky Peterson was discovered by blues legend Willie Dixon when he was three years old, released his first record at five and soon after appeared on The Tonight Show. Trained by keyboardists Bill Doggett and Jimmy Smith, Peterson went on to play behind Little Milton, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Kenny Neal. On return from the “Young Blues Giants” tour of Europe, he signed first with Alligator, then Verve, Blue Thumb and Birdology/Dreyfus, where he recorded what Amazon.com called “h
