WEBLOG ARCHIVE 2006 01 BACK TO WEBLOG June 6, 2006 Song of the Day Here are the links to Black and Tan profiles on MySpace.com : Roscoe Chenier, Doug MacLeod, Byther Smith, Big George Jackson, Billy Jones, Boo Boo Davis, Tunrip Greens and Black and Tan Records June 5, 2006 Song of the Day Thanks to Dominiek c.s. and Leo c.s. we had a great weekend. With Boo Boo Davis we played at Derliurum Blues in Handzame ( Belgium) on Saturday and at the Blues Night in Zilffich (Germany on Sunday. In Handzame we shared the bill with a.o. Little Willie Littlefield, Eddie Martin and the Animals (or what ever is left of them). The tour with Boo boo has ended and right now we are working on the material for the new record that we will record this week. Boo Boo will be back in September 2006. 
 Boo Boo + Eddie Martin Boo Boo's rhythm section 'after work' June 1, 2006 Song of the Day In order to get to Winterthur, Switzerland for our concert with Boo Boo we spend the biggest part of Tuesday and Wednesday at the German Autobahn in this vehicle. 
It looks like the Germans are constantly rebuilding their highway network. This rebuilding (Baustelle) is causing lots of traffic jams and yesterday we got caught in several of these jams. These are the other musicians on the tour with Boo Boo Davis both of the have been playing and travelling with Boo Boo for several tours already. 
John Gerritse on drums and Jasper Mortier on bass. Check out Jasper's new website . May 29, 2006 Song of the Day Two festivals shows with Boo Boo Davis last weekend. Saturday in Machelen (Belgium) where we had a lot of fun hanging out with the Backbones and sunday in Breda (Netherlands) at the famous Breda Jazz Festival. 
May 26, 2006 Song of the Day Grace à George Lemaire les artistes suivantes ont une biographie en français sur le Crossroads site / Thansk to George Lemaire these artists now also have a French bio at the Crossroads site : Roscoe Chenier, Billy Jones, Turnip Greens, Doug MacLeod, Boo Boo Davis and Big George Jackson May 24, 2006 Song of the Day THE EAGLE HAS LANDED 
Boo Boo Davis arrived safe and sound in Europe this morning ready to kick of his tour on saturday. Don't miss him when he plays anywhere near your town. At the end of the tour Boo Boo will go into the studio for his next Black and Tan release. This new recording will be produced by Ramon Goose / Nublues and wil combine the timeless first-hand Missiissippi blues power of Boo Boo with modern dance grooves from the UK. May 23, 2006 Song of the Day For the ones among you that know what to do.... these profiles are active on MySpace.com : Roscoe Chenier, Doug MacLeod, Byther Smith, Big George Jackson, Boo Boo Davis and Black and Tan Records 
Review by Bjorn Wiksaas of Radio UNG (in norwegian): En gang i verden hadde Doug Mac Leod sitt eget band, Doug MacLeod Band, men de siste åra har det blitt mye "mann med kassegitar". Dvs., før de siste par utgivelsene - nå bruker han igjen noen få medmusikanter på noen av låtene. Og det gir utgivelsene hans en fin variasjon; noen kutt med bare Doug og f.eks.en National Steel og noen med bass og trommer. Hele tiden (i alle fall nesten) likevel veldig nedtona og laid-back. Dette krever konsentrasjon av lytteren, men gir du ham litt oppmerksomhet, så vil du finne perle etter perle, på denne nye skiva så vel som på hans tidligere utgivelser. Doug MacLeod skriver alt sjøl, tekster han hevder er sjølbiografiske. Om dette er helt sant vet jeg sannelig ikke; jeg har snakket med mannen og han har en velutviklet fantasi, tror jeg nok. Uansett, noen av tekstene har tydelig humoristisk snert, noen er mer dypsindige og alvorlige. Mannen som startet karrieren som musiker hos folk som Charles Brown, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Big Joe Turner og George Harmonica Smith og som har fått innspilt låtene sine av bl.a. Albert King, Albert Collins og Son Seals har så absolutt noe å fare med på egen hånd. Sjekk ham ut, da vel! TURNIP GREENS Here is some more information on the new name on the roster. The band Turnip Greens was formed by four friends and was based on their common interest in music from southern Louisiana and New Orleans. Turnip Greens are: Henrik Bruhn - lead vocal and guitars Peter Skjerning - guitars and background vocals Sune Nielsen - drums and background vocals Mads Mazanti - bass and background vocals Way back in the South, turnip greens were considered a simple daily fare for the countryside folks. This same simplicity is also to be found in the music of Turnip Greens. "We like to keep things rough and simple", states guitar player Peter Skjerning and describes the music as "second line beat, or a bit like the sound of a handful of gravel in an empty barrel". Vocal harmonies play an important role in the Turnip Greens music as well. With a repertoire that spans from mostly original material to the likes of Dr. John, Snooks Eaglin, Delbert McClinton and Tom Waits, Turnip Greens are making their way into the Roots & Blues music tradition of New Orleans. So far the band released two CD's: Crosseyed Cat (2002) and Come Around (2005). May 19, 2006 Song of the Day MySpace.com looks like an interesting tool for promotion of independent music on the Internet. Together with the artists I am creating profiles for each individual artist. You can already check out the profiles of BOO BOO DAVIS and ROSCOE CHENIER. If you have your own profile you might want to add them to your 'friends'. May 18, 2006 Song of the Day This picture was sent today by Peter Astrup. It shows Doug MacLeod during his set at the Bluesfesitval in Frederikshavn (DK) in April 2006. 
From today the new Roscoe Chenier release is available at 
With the forthcoming issue of SOUL BAG, the leading French blues/soul magazine, the editor will give his readers a free sampler CD with 14 tracks from new CDs. It is their goal to offer to the readers an overview as wide as possible through new releases and reissues from Europe and America. The CD will include the song BAD LUCK from Roscoe Chenier. May 16, 2006 Song of the Day SAM COOKE Live at THE HARLEM SQUARE CLUB. I read about this a few weeks ago and ordered it. Came in today and I just played it. Great !! From now on BOO BOO DAVIS has got his own spot on the Internet. You can visit him on his own site. You will find tour dates, release info, bio, pictures and anything else you need there. May 13, 2006 Song of the Day Like all other Black and Tan releases the new Doug MacLeod is now also available at
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May 12, 2006 Song of the Day All tracks from both new Black and Tan albums albums are now available for downloading at Emusic. Here are the direct links: Doug MacLeod - Where I Been Roscoe Chenier - Waiting For My Tomorrow Doug MacLeod is the Featured Artist on the website of National Guitars. Doug has been endorsed by National Guitars already for years. If you youre interested in Amercian music I can recommend reading this book: SOULED AMERICAN (How Black Music Transformed White Culture) by Kevin Phinney ISBN: 0-8230-8404-3 I read in the newspaper this morning that in the USA there is a new tv channel (BabyFirstTV) launched especially for babies. It turns out that 25% of the kids under 2 years has a tv in the bed room. I really hope I am not the only one who finds this a bit strange !! May 11, 2006 Song of the Day Great reviews from the new records of both Doug MacLeod and Roscoe Chenier at 
INTERNET IS A BLESSING FOR INDEPENDENT MUSIC We are living a great era. Podcasting, downloading and blogging create great opportunities for independent artists and record labels to spread their information and music to the music fans all over world. ** all our CD are available to hundreds of web stores (including our own) ** you can download or stream all Black and Tan tracks at hundreds of download platforms ** the entire Black and Tan catalogue is available for Podcasting thru the podsafe music network May 10, 2006 Song of the Day I have added a new band to my roster. From today TURNIP GREENS from Denmark will be part of 'the family'. For a few years I have been following this great band. I did like their records a lot but what really convinced was seeing them live. Great players, very intense music but played in a very relaxed way. Rough, simple, hand made music with an important role for vocals harmonies. "Second line beat, or a bit like the sound of a handful of gravel in an empty barrel", as they describe it themselves. 
May 9, 2006 Song of the Day Les Animateurs du Collectif des Radios Blues sont heureux de vous présenter les artistes les plus diffusés sur le réseau au mois d'avril 2006 : 01) - DOUG MACLEOD - Where I Been 02) - ROSCOE CHENIER - Waiting For My Tomorrow The Collectif des Radio Blues is an organisation of French blues DJ's. The members not only come from France but also from Quebec, Wallonia (French part of Belgium) and Burundi. They compile a monthly list of most played tracks on their shows and for April 2006 the two new Black and Tan releases made it to nr 1 and 2 of this list. May 8, 2006 Song of the Day Review of Roscoe Chenier (in Dutch) at alttcountry.nl. For those of you who are into podcasting; the entire Black and Tan catalogue is available for podcasts thru the podsafe music network. May 6, 2006 Song of the Day Nice review of Roscoe Chenier's new record in Blues in Britain: "Throughout the set Roscoe mixes covers with original material, much of it is in the classic swamp-blues vein of Slim Harpo, Lonesome Sundown (in particular) and Lightnin' Slim……. The band get that rough and ready sound just right, the leader is in good form and the material fine. What more could a blues lover want ? Rating 9." 
May 5, 2006 Song of the Day 
some very nice compliments for Billy Jones form Bob Davis of Soul Patrol Billy Jones is one of the "good guys". What I mean is that he refuses to play the "corporate game". He is an artist who is truly interested in advancing/extending "Great Black Music From The Ancient To The Future" and making sure that it is available for future generations. As such he is one of my personal musical heroes, so therefore this review may seem a bit biased (but so be it). We can see that there is truly a method to the madness of the man who calls his music "BLUEZ". Imagine for a moment that you could take the music of the following artists and somehow blend them all together Ike Turner, Chuck D, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and Jimmy Reed. Throw in just a little bit of Richard Pryor/Dolomite and then you begin to understand why the music of Billy Jones is so important. It also begins to explain just why the "corporate entertainment business" wouldn't be interested in an artist like Billy Jones. However, you should be. Billy Jones is the kind of artist that's worth getting excited about. He wants to change the world, one listener at a time and here in the year 2006 it's an awfully exciting thing to be able to be a fan of an artist who believes that music can still be a vehicle for change. May 4, 2006 Song of the Day To us the current blues scene looks like a dead end street. Most of the great players from the 50's and 60's have died, the majority of the current artists (try to) sound like old records and you hardly see women or people under 45 at blues concerts nowadays. It's time for something different !!!!!!!! Therefor we are proud to announce our new recording project for which blues man BOO BOO DAVIS teams up with NUBLUES (Ramon Goose). First hand blues sounds from the Mississippi delta combined with modern dance grooves from the UK. We know upfront that a part of the blues fans will hate the idea but if nobody would have tried something different in the past Muddy Waters would never have picked up the electric guitar. Like all art forms blues should develop in order to stay alive and with this upcoming project we want to see if we can cross over this great music to a new and younger audience and revitalize this great art form. So far Boo Boo released three records on Black and Tan and has been touring Europe at least twice a year since 2000. Nublues released their first record in 2004 receiving some promising and also sceptical reviews from media within the blues scene but some rave reviews from other music media. May 3, 2006 Song of the Day Here are some more pictures from Doug on the road. 
The first picture shows Doug with Walter Trout and a very 'stoned guy' in Burnley (UK) and the second one shows the international touring artist in front of a closed hotel in Germany (the hotel is closed every afternoon from 2 till 5). May 1, 2006 Song of the Day At the New Orleans Festival in Wendelstein (Germany) Doug's old friend Charlie Musselwhite and his wife came to check out Doug's show. Charlie was also performing on the festival later that week. April 29, 2006 Song of the Day On the road with Doug MacLeod. Today Doug did two festivals in Denmark. Afternoon show in Silkeborg and then we drove up to Frederikshavn where he did another great concert. 
April 28, 2006 Song of the Day Yesterday Doug MacLeod returned from the UK leg of the European tour. Doug has been enjoying his favorite cuisine for almost two weeks. The shows went great and Doug sold all the CD's that he had with him. I am pretty sure that Doug will be back in the UK in the Spring of 2007. April 27, 2006 Song of the Day MAZZMUSIKAS nr 38 (Belgium) on the new Roscoe Chenier CD: "In al zijn eenvoud een grootse plaat. All Hits .. No Misses !!" Just finished reading THEIR EYES WERE MATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston. A great book originally written in 1937 and probably the most widely read novel in Afro-American literature. I got my copy from Ernie Payne. For me personally the atmosphere kind of resembles the interviews on the Alan Lomax field recordings like Blues in the Mississippi Night and Prison Songs. It is fascinating that something so BAD (centuries of slavery and bold racism) can create something so GOOD like this novel and all that great music. April 26, 2006 Song of the Day Roscoe Chenier's new record entered the ROOTS BLUES TOP 50 CHART at nr 29. Here you can listen to two tracks of this record: Kiss and Say Goodbye You Don't Miss Your Water April 24, 2006 Song of the Day Billy Jones has a brand new web site. Check it out !! Last Friday Doug MacLeod did an interview and a live session for Dave Raven of Raven 'n' Blues a famous blues shows at the BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting System). A Podcast will be loaded Wednesday and a shortened version on the show next Saturday. You can already listen to the interview here. 
Lot's of great pictures of DOUG MACLEOD and BIG GEORGE JACKSON at the Burnley Blues Fesitval 2006 at Bluespics.co.uk. April 21, 2006 Song of the Day At Bluesbox.de you can find reviews (in German) from the new CD's of Roscoe Chenier and Doug MacLeod. HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Doug MacLeod, on the road in the UK. April 20, 2006 Song of the Day 
Very recently the ROOTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION is founded and it's goal is to actually help the artist and refuse to become
another good ole boy network with hidden agendas that only caters to the powers to be, in the music industry. You can find more
information and a mission statement at their website, where you
can also join.
Reviews for Harrison Kennedy (Voice + Story) and Billy Jones (tha' Bluez) on BAD DOG BLUES. Big George Jackson finished a short but pretty intense tour (10 shows / 8000 km by car and 4 air trips in 14 days). The band returned back home to the Twin Cities but they will be back in Europe in March 2007. They promised to spead up the production of the next record a little. These guys are build for comfort and not for speed !!. This new record should be ready soon after the summer. April 19, 2006 Song of the Day 
 Doug MacLeod and the Big George Jackson Band performed both at the Burnley Bluesfestival(UK) last weekend. Picture Doug MacLeod by Tony Winfield and picture Big George by Aigars Lapsa. April 18, 2006 Song of the Day This came in from Geir Hovig, the blues guru on national Norwegian radio: "I got them and they are on the air on my show Eldorado....please keep sending me the good stuff.... Dougs cd is just great.... regards Geir H." Airplay for both Doug MacLeod and Roscoe Chenier on Raven 'n' Blues on BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting System). April 16, 2006 Song of the Day Allthough I think that I do know a lot of music, there is always more music that I don't know. My discoveries of last week are: SISTER ROSETTA THARPE, THE ISLEY BROTHERS and MEVLANA SUFI MUSIC (music from the whirling derwishes from Konya, Turkey). DOUG MACLEOD arrived in the UK and started his european tour yesterday. He will be on the road in Europe for almost 6 weeks to promote his brand new album. April 14, 2006 Song of the Day This came in from Ken Bays, the managing editor of BLUES REVUE: Hi Doug, You've outdone yourself on the new album. To me, it's the best you've done. "Broken Dream" is one of the most haunting things I've heard in months, and I especially like " Don't Believe Everything You Read" and "Strip-ed Bone". I'll be listening to this disc for a long time! April 13, 2006 Song of the Day Besides the new Black and Tan CD Doug MacLeod also releases his first instructional DVD on Solid Air Records. 
April 12, 2006 Song of the Day This morning I received a postcard from ERNIE PAYNE and he is finally feeling a little better. He had a complete breakdown after his European tour in November last year and wasn't able to do anything. Let's hope that his condition will keep improving and that he will be able to share some more of his great music with us. Listen to some of his music: Coercion Street - Ernie Payne Family Relations - Ernie Payne April 11, 2006 Song of the Day WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE ROLE OF THE VOCALS IN BLUES ? In my opinion blues is vocal music but somehow slowly the focus is moving more and more to the instruments and the 'looks 'and nowadays all kind of artists get away with weak or even bad singing. The fans and the critics don't seem to care at all and I even think a lot of them don't hear it. Getting very positive reports form the Big George Jackson concerts and they're selling CD's like crazy. 
April 10, 2006 Song of the Day Quote from the new issue of famous Dutch magazine BLOCK: "Billy Jones is een indrukwekkend gitarist die bovendien begiftigd is met een prachtige stem. Met een loeistrakke ritmesectie (Boyd Small en Nico Heilijgers) spetteren al de nummers het gretige publiek in" MOST POPULAR BLACK AND TAN TRACKS From the music tracks on my sites I can see exactly how many times each track has been listened to. Here are the 15 most popular Black and Tan tracks from this moment. 1. Mike Andersen / Stuck With Me 2. Teresa James / High Maintenance Man 3. Billy Jones / Ain't Good Lookin' 4. Big George Jackson / 20 Years 5. Doug MacLeod / Take Your Leave Of Me Baby 6. Mike Andersen / My Love For The Blues 7. Billy Jones / Revolution Bluez 8. Doug MacLeod / Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues 9. Doug MacLeod / Ain't No Cure 10. Big George Jackson / Big Shot 11. Doug MacLeod / If I Had Good Sense 12. Byther Smith / Running To New Orleans 13. Roscoe Chenier / Rainin In My Heart 14. Boo Boo Davis / Big House By Myself 15. Boo Boo Davis / Can Man April 9, 2006 Song of the Day DREAM BOOGIE: The Triumph of Sam Cooke Just finished reading Dream Boogie; the Sam Cooke biography written by Peter Guralnick. An interesting and very inspiring book. It gives a great inside / background view's on the musical and political developments in the USA in the late 50's and early 60's. Not only Sam's music but also his approach to the business part of it opened doors and inspired a lot of his fellow musicians. Airplay for Doug MacLeod on Le Blues Cafe / Couleurs FM (France). April 7, 2006 Song of the Day On wednesday the BIG GEORGE JACKSON BAND flew in and the have started their european tour. It was great to see the guys back. If they play any where near you make sure to go the the concert. They are working hard on the next record which should be ready in the Fall of 2006. Birdcatcher, the brand new CD / project from Roel Spanjers is getting a lot of positive reactions from the music media and fans. Keep in mind that there is another great CD from Roel released on Black and Tan Records in 2002: FOR THE SAKE OF IT / SUNSET TRAVELERS. Here are two tracks form this record. Get Up Jake I Washed My Hands In Muddy Waters April 6, 2006 Song of the Day Harrison Kennedy (Voice + Story) on # 4 in the BLUES NEWS POLL 2005. BLUES NEWS is the leading German blues magazine. Ellio Martina has been playing bass on many records and tours in the past and he is also designing my website. Besides all that he is a famous guitar builder and here are a few samples of his instruments. 
You can find all information on his website. His latest invention is the BASSMUTE 
April 5, 2006 Song of the Day Airplay for Roscoe Chenier and Doug MacLeod at Boom Boom (Belgium). JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION: It is a damn shame that originals artists like Billy Jones, Boo Boo Davis and Big George Jackson can hardly get any decent work in their own country and have to travel to the other side of the world to get people to listen to and respect their music. Somehow the current "blues establishment" in the US is not willing to give them a chance. This establishment has a very conservative view and is blocking the natural development of the art form. That is the biggest reason that the young black audience is no longer interested in "uncle Tom music" and found their own new ways to express their frustrations and opinions just like the great artists did in the past. These artists used to blend in criticism, sex and danger in their music and somehow the current blues establishment tries to cut those aspects out because they are threatening to them. They want artists that re-do the music of 30 years ago instead of giving new artists a change to come up with new styles and idea's that could keep this great art form alive. We need to find (young) musicians that are able to cross over to or from other musical styles (like rap, hip hop, funk, jazz, world-music) and re vitalize this music. Billy Jones - Revolution Bluez April 4, 2006 Song of the Day Mark Ringwood, DJ and promotor from the UK wrote: "Thanks for the CD, having just got Guy Davis' new album and hot on the heels of Watermelon Slim's new album it was an absolute pleasure to find Doug is hanging out with them in terms of standards, what a great start for the blues in 2006 !" Airplay for the new Roscoe Chenier on Landslide / Radio Landsmeer (Netherlands). Both new titles are available now at 
April 3, 2006 Song of the Day Tracks of both new reocrds were played by Jos van den Boom on BRTO / Crossroads (Netherlands). Jean Pierre Savouyad of Virus de Blues / Radio MDM (France) voted both Roscoe and Doug MacLeod as "COUP DE COEUR". April 2, 2006 Song of the Day Yesterday the last concert of the Billy Jones tour in Paris, France. Jacques Perin from SOUL BAG came to do an interview with Billy. The interview will be published in the next issue of the magazine. 
Billy will come back to tour Europe in September / October 2006. March 31, 2006 Song of the Day Yesterday a nice gig with Billy Jones in Croix (France). Alt Countyry Cooking (Netherlands) played tracks of both new records. March 30, 2006 Song of the Day Just read in the newspaper this morning that some pop artists are trying a new way to fight illegal copying of their music. They release their new records on vinyl with an additional free CD. March 29, 2006 Song of the Day Paul van Gelder, a famous dutch Roots and Americana DJ choose Doug MacLeod's new record CD of the Month. March 28, 2006 Song of the Day STRANGE QUESTIONS DURING INTERVIEWS; Last week in Germany a DJ asked Billy Jones : "What is the worst crime you ever committed ?" March 27, 2006 Song of the Day Roel Spanjers, who has been playing on many tours and Black and Tan releases, just launched his new musical project called BIRDCATCHER and released a new CD with the same title. On his site you will find more information, tourdates and music samples. 
The last week I have been sending out hundres of promo copies for the two new Black and Tan releases and the first reactions are coming in. All very positive... !! Here are two more tracks. You Don´t Miss Your Water / Roscoe Chenier Turkey Leg Woman / Doug MacLeod All Black and Tan releases are now listed and available through
March 22, 2006 Song of the Day Nico Heilijgers, who is playing bass on many of the Black and Tan Records and Crossroads tours is also a great painter. Below you find two examples of his recent work. 
March 21, 2006 Song of the Day Today the new issue of SOUL BAG came in. The readers of this leading blues/soul magazines in France, voted BILLY JONES / tha' Bluez on number 3 of the 10 Best Blues Releases of 2005. Here is the complete list: 1. Little Milton - Think of Me 2. Music Maker - The Last & Lost Blues Survivors 3. Billy Jones - tha' Bluez 4. Willie King - Jukin' at Betties 5. Keith B. Brown - Alone and Acoustic 6. Mem Shannon - I'm From Phunkville 7. Tad Robinson - Did you Ever Wonder ? 8. Buddy Guy - Bring Em In 9. Bettye Lavette - I've Got MY Own Hell To Raise 10. Matthew Skoller - These Kind Of Blues As you can see Billy is good company. Also there is a free sampler with the magazine and it features the song "40 Acres And A Mule" of Harrison Kennedy. Listen to the song. March 20, 2006 Song of the Day Back in the office and loads of work to do. On top of that there were almost 3000 CDs'delviered this morning. Both the new Roscoe and Doug Macloed CD are now ready and I spent the whole day sending out promo's and orders to distributors. Here are two more preview tracks Ain't No Cure - Doug MacLeod Kiss And Say Goodbye - Roscoe Chenier March 14 - 19, 2006 Song of the Week Long week with lots of travelling and Billy Jones shows in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Holland. On the way from Winterthur to Offenburg we had time to check out the Rheinfall in Schaffhausen: the biggest waterfall in Europe. At the festival in Tiel (Netherlands) we ran into Larry Garner. Larry was the first US artist that I worked with (back in 1993( and it was fun to see him back. 
March 13, 2006 Song of the Day preview tracks on the new CD's: A Broken Dream In A Broken Room - Doug MacLeod Tell Me How Long - Roscoe Chenier March 12, 2006 Song of the Day Beautiful trip on little roads in the Provence. 
Concert together with TERESA JAMES & the RHYTHM TRAMPS. Great to see them again and see them perform. March 11, 2006 Song of the Day Trip thru the french Alpes and again a lot snow and traffic jams. 
In the car we have been listening to the new record of Birdcatcher, the new project / CD of Roel Spanjers. Great concert in Oraison with support of AWEK from France. March 10, 2006 Song of the Day Trip from Leverkusen to Tournus in France. 
Two more pre view tracks Secret Of Love - Roscoe Chenier The Leavin Road - Doug MacLeod March 9, 2006 Song of the Day Concert with Billy in Topos, Levekusen (Germany. Probably one of the smallest stages in Europe. Here is another pre view track from the new CD's. Doug MacLeod - Ain't No Cure March 8, 2006 Song of the Day I'd like to add something new to the weblog. I will regularly feature tracks that have not been released on our records so far and also previews on new records that will be released soon. Next month I will release to new records and below you find two pre-release tracks. Doug MacLeod - Take Your Leave On Me Lady Roscoe Chenier - Time Is Hard Make sure to come back because I will add new tracks regularly the coming days. March 6, 2006 Song of the Day Today I send a package with CD's to CDMojo and that means that pretty soon all Black and Tan releases will also be available at this great online resource for blues, folk & roots music March 5, 2006 Song of the Day The tour will BILLY JONES has started. The musicians in the band are Boyd Small on drums, Nico Heilijgers on bass and myself on guitar. Friday we played in Enschede (Netherlands) and saturday in Lingen (Germany). The audiences like Billy's modern and funky approach to the blues. 
 Billy getting his 'shit together'.
TERESA JAMES have made their way up north from Switzerland through the bad weather conditions (lots of snow) in Southern Germany. March 2, 2006 Song of the Day Both Billy Jones & Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps arrived safe in Europe and will start their tours today. Also the artwork for the new Roscoe Chenier CD is ready and this is how it will look.
March 1, 2006 Song of the Day Yesterday we returned from Perlesreut in Germany near the Czech border where we did the last concert of the tour with Roscoe. The tour was a big success; We did 20 shows in 8 European countries. We travelled 11800 km by car and another 3000 km by plane. But not only the shows were great, we also recorded a great new record. February 24 & 25, 2006 Song of the Day Ellio picked up a bad cold on the last trip and so Nico Heilijgers played bass on the show in Luxembourg and Haarlem. Nico also produced the new Roscoe record and toured with Roscoe several time in the past. On friday morning both master CD of the two new Black and Tan productions came in and on our way to the show in Luxembourg we listened to both of them. Very happy with both. 
Before we left Luxembourg we walked around a little in the old medieval town. February 23, 2006 Song of the Day Today I send the first order to my new Spanish distributor: Coda Music in Madrid. That means that all the Black and Tan releases will be available in Spain and Andorra soon. February 22, 2006 Song of the Day Mixing and mastering of the new Roscoe CD is finished and we are very happy with the result. The title will be WAITING FOR MY TOMORROW (CD B&T 027) and the official release will be around April 3, 2006. All Black and Tan releases are now available at Soundoo.com, the European equivalent of CDBaby. February 21, 2006 Song of the Day Great News !!! I added another big market to my distribution network. From today Black and Tan Records will be distributed in Canada by SRI / YDGS. Canada's largest Independent distributor. February 20, 2006 Song of the Day JUNO AWARD NOMINATION for Harrison Kennedy !!! For the JUNO AWARDS 2006 Harrison Kennedy / VOICE + STORY is nominated in the category Best Blues Album. The 2006 JUNO Awards will be celebrated over three days in Halifax, Nova Scotia beginning March 31 and culminating in The 2006 JUNO Awards telecast on Sunday, April 2 on CTV. February 19, 2006 Song of the Day Always good to be in Antwerp in Jan & Suzy's place. The have had a real hard time keeping the venue alive despite that the fact that for almost 4 years all streets around their club have been blocked by renovation works of the city. 
Here you will find a great collection of pictures from concerts at the Crossroads Cafe. February 18, 2006 Song of the Day Kircheim (near Stuttgart), Germany. Some traditional Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee & pie). 
Seems to be the cave part of the tour. Both the restaurant and the venue in a medieval cave in Germany. 
February 17, 2006 Song of the Day Concert in Cave, a very smokey basement in Heidelberg, Germany. De title of the new Roscoe CD will be WAITING FOR MY TOMORROW and it will be released on April 3, 2006. February 16, 2006 Song of the Day Another long drive back to Menen (Belgium). Packed house and Roscoe in great form. 
Despite the fact that I always try to route the shows in a tour efficient most of the time it turns out to be like this. I book the artists in the clubs that are nice and that have a good blues roots audience. Since there are not too many the consequence is that we have to travel a lot. Also all the venues have their own timing and the result off all this is that we have to drive 400 to 1000 km between the concerts. February 15, 2006 Song of the Day Long drive (750 km) thru the rain. Nice concert in Winterthur (CH). 
February 13 and 14, 2006 Song of the Day Two busy days at the office. Shipped the first CD's to the distributor in Norway and Sweden. At Midem I found out that the download platforms have great interest in tracks that have not been released on CD. I have been looking thru my archives and found several of those tracks. They should be available at most download sites soon. February 12, 2006 Song of the Day Afternoon concert in Wageningen (Netherlands). February 11, 2006 Song of the Day Went to bed at 3 and got up at 4.30 to catch the plane back at 6.30 am. We arrived in Belgium early afternoon and slept all afternoon. In the evening concert in Hermalle-sous-Huy, where Roscoe met his buddy George( thank you George for helping us to arrange the concert). 
February 10, 2006 Song of the Day Long day of traveling. Got up at 8 in Dortmund, drove to Dusseldorf, took the plane to Helsinki, then another plane to Turku and then drove for 1,5 hr to arrive in Rauma, Finland. Snow and minus 10 degrees Celcius, beautiful lights in the sky 
Winter Blues Festival in Rauma. Great show for a packed house with apr 800 Finnish blues fans. After the show I talked a bit with Esa Kuloniemi, who played at the festival but also has a blues radio show on national radio and Perti Nurmi form Blues News. February 9, 2006 Song of the Day In March 2006 the French Soul Bag Magazine will add a free sampler for all subscribers. With this sampler CD they want to offer to their readers an overview as wide as possible through new releases and reissues, American and European productions, established artists and newcomers. On this CD they will include a Black and Tan track: 40 Acres and a Mule by Harrison Kennedy. Right now Doug MacLeod is on tour in the USA Tuesday and Wednesday he played in Colorado and tonight he will be in great Bend KS. After that he will go to Kansas City (Febr 10), Cape Girardeau MO (Febr 11) and St Louis (Febr 12). Roscoe in Dortmund (Germany) 
February 8, 2006 Song of the Day This afternoon I'll be leaving for another string of concerts with Roscoe. we start in Schortens (northern Germany) and after Dortmund we'll fly to Finland and back to Belgium and Holland again. Roscoe who is used to Louisiana temperatures is a little worried about the Finnish weather. February 7, 2006 Song of the Day The Black and Tan catalogue was already present in most of the major download portals like Itunes, Emusic, MSN Music etc but at Midem I signed with another digital distributor who will make the catalogue available for the smaller and more specialized download platforms. As far as I am concerned Internet is a blessing for independent labels and artists because it creates lots of new ways to get your music to the fans all over the world. It makes us really independent from major record labels and media, that don't care much about handmade music. And there are more results of my visit to MIDEM last month. This week I secured distribution for Black and Tan Records in Norway, Sweden and Finland. For Finland I start work with D D Records and in Norway / Sweden with PS Music. T oday I will send the first shipment to my brand new Hungarian distributor (CD Field BT). This means that pretty soon the music fans in these countries should be able to get all Black and Tan releases in their local record stores. February 6, 2006 Song of the Day Recently some Doug MacLeod fans launched a fan site and now DUBBHEADS.COM is the official home on the internet for the fans of Doug MacLeod. It's got all the latest information plus a lively forum. The fans also want to support Doug's nomination for two Blues Music Awards in 2006. The Blues Music Award (formerly known as the WC Handy Award), presented by The Blues Foundation, is the most prestigious award in Blues music. Doug has been nominated in two categories: "Acoustic Artist of the Year" and "Song of the Year" for "Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues". Membership in DubbHeads is free to all blues fans. A free DubbHeads t-shirt will be given to the first 50 people to join The Blues Foundation and vote. February 5, 2006 Song of the Day Concert Roscoe in Assen, Netherlands. It was great to see Jaap Hindriks, the person who got Roscoe started in Europe years ago 
picture: Klaas Guchelaar February 4, 2006 Concert Roscoe in Eeklo, Belgium. 
February 3, 2006 Concert with Roscoe Chenier in Enschede in the East of Holland. We set the release date for the new Doug MacLeod CD on April 3, 2006. The CD will be titled WHERE I BEEN (B&T 026)and the cover will look like this. 
February 2, 2006 Recordings with for the new Roscoe CD are finished. Roscoe and the musicians had a ball for three days and the result is 14 or 15 great songs (50 % originals). The approach is very intimate and acoustic and on these recordings you'll find several instruments (cajon, mandoline, trash can, tenor guitar etc) that you won't find on blues records very often. The mixing and mastering will take place later this month and release is scheduled for end of March / April 2006. February 1, 2006 Roscoe's recordings are made at Studio Cortez (Erik Spanjers) in Utrecht (NL). Erik and his brother Roel have been involved in several of the Black and Tan releases. 
January 31, 2006 Today I spend the whole day in the studio with Roscoe Chenier recording a new CD for Black and Tan Records. Although we are not finished yet the result of the first day is very promising and I look forward to another great record. So far we captured 7 songs. Recordings should be finished by the end of the week. 
January 30, 2006 Back in the office after more then 10 days of intensive travelling. Lot's of mails, faxes and email messages. January 29, 2006 Roscoe performed for a full house in Dongen (NL) and as you can see we are enjoying ourselves a lot. 
January 28, 2006 Shit happens !!! On their way from Denmark to the to the south of France Mike Andersen and his band received a call from the promoter that the show in Tournon d'Agenais had to be cancelled due to bad weather conditions (snow) in the the Southwest of France. They had to drive back from Paris to Arhus (DK) / 14 hours !!. With Roscoe Chenier we played on a festival in Westendorp (NL) and played after Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings. A very pleasant surprise for me was that EDDIE FLOYD was a featured guest with this band and it was an honour to see this soul legend at work and shake hands with him. 
pictures from Muzikantenweb.nl January 27, 2006 Another beautiful day in the Alpes on our way back to Stuttgart, where we played in the evening. January 26, 2006 Our trip thru the Alpes was beautiful. Lots of snow and clear blue skies. According to Roscoe this was more snow then he has seen in the rest of his live so far. 
We had a great time on Postonja (Slovenia). The temperature was extreme low (minus 15 Celsius) but the reception and the crowd was very warm. The entire show was recorded by National Slovenian radio and will be broadcasted later in the year. Roscoe was wearing his golden suit and as I announced him as the Louisiana Goldfish somebody came up and suggested to change that to the Louisiana Goldwhale. January 25, 2006 Start of the tour with Roscoe Chenier. Musicians are Arthur Bont on drums, Ellio Martina on bass en myself on guitar January 22- 24. 2006 Visited the MIDEM in Cannes. The yearly meeting point for professionals in the music industry. I had scheduled meetings with a lot of people and it was very nice to see that there was a lot of interest in the Black and Tan catalogue. Despite all kind of new technical developments there will always be a demand for real and handmade music. It looks like we secured distribution for Black and Tan in several new countries (Canada, Spain, Scandinavia) and we added several 'stores' where the music can be downloaded. The weather was great and there is still plenty money floating. 
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