News

“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica” –USA Today

“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals"–Living Blues

Wichita, Kansas' blues rockers Moreland & Arbuckle have released a new video for their original song, Take Me With You (When You Go). They have previously released videos for the songs When The Lights Are Burning Low and Mean And Evil, all from their Alligator Records debut album Promised Land Or Bust.

Guitarist Aaron Moreland — co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio — describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” On their recording and live on stage, Moreland, harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues.

According to Arbuckle,"Take Me With You (When You Go) is our ode to going on a journey, physical, spiritual, or otherwise. Inspired by a series of experiences that may or may not have actually occurred. We had a lot of fun writing and recording this song. The writing process was a little different than usual with Kendall writing the main guitar riff, Aaron and I collaborating on the lyrics, and Aaron contributing the trippy outro. We were able to add some extra layers in the studio that helped transform this from a gritty swamp rocker into a more psychedelic production. It was Bayles' favorite. Can't think of a better tune to kick off the album."

Since the 2016 release of  Promised Land Or Bust (available on CD and vinyl), produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword), Moreland & Arbuckle have hit the road hard, playing clubs and festivals around the country and receiving copious amounts of critical praise. In June, they made their debut at the world famous Chicago Blues Festival, helping Alligator celebrate its 45th anniversary. They will spend much of the summer touring the UK and other parts of Europe before heading out to the West Coast.

AllMusic.com recently wrote, "The beauty on Promised Land or Bust is that Moreland & Arbuckle approach their spiritual and carnal as inseparable, bound together in their rowdy, soulful, infectious sound; it’s all killer, no filler. What really sets this band apart from virtually every modern blues act is that their energy, rawness and virtuosic instrumental skill are matched by their songwriting. Brilliant...considerable firepower…roots inspirations of Mississippi Delta and Hill Country blues, electric roadhouse boogies and heartland hard rock. The emotional depth in Arbuckle’s vocal is underscored by his haunted harmonica and Moreland’s supercharged guitar breaks…Squalling, scorching slide…grungy, gritty, bluesy country-rock. Smoking and scorching."

Living Blues magazine has announced the nominees for the 2016 Living Blues Readers' Awards. Four Alligator Records artists received a total of six nominations. Shemekia Copeland received three, including Blues Artist Of The Year (Female), Best Blues Album Of 2015 (New Recordings) for Outskirts Of Love and Best Live Performer. Marcia Ball, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and Tommy Castro each received one nomination.

The public -- subscribers and non-subscribers alike -- can vote at www.livingblues.com or by mailing in the ballot in the current issue of the magazine (#243), by July 15, 2016.

Winners will be announced in August.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Female)
Best Blues Album Of 2015 -- Outskirts Of Love
Best Live Performer

TOMMY CASTRO:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Male)

LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS:

Best Live Performer

MARCIA BALL:

Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)

Blues/R&B singing sensation Shemekia Copeland won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year on May 5 at the 37th Annual Blues Music Awards, held in Memphis at the Cook Convention Center. This is Copeland's ninth Blues Music Award and her fifth in this category. She has received 34 total nominations.

Copeland's latest CD, the celebrated Outskirts Of Love,received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Blues Album category. The prestigious United Kingdom publication, The Blues magazine, named the CD the 2015 Album Of The Year. In the magazine's review of the record, writer Rev. Keith Gordon says, "Shemekia Copeland is one of the best singers performing today. A rich blend of blues, soul and roots-rock that will astound the casual listener while rewarding Copeland's longtime fans. Pure joy." Editor Ed Mitchell calls it "a mature masterpiece of modern blues."

With a voice that is alternately sultry, assertive and roaring, Copeland’s wide-open vision of contemporary blues, Americana, roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with a modern musical and lyrical approach. Whether she’s belting out a raucous blues-rocker, firing up a blistering soul-shouter, bringing the spirit to a gospel-fueled R&B rave-up or digging deep down into a subtle, country-tinged ballad, Shemekia Copeland sounds like no one else.

MOJO magazine says, "It is Copeland’s thrilling voice, part Koko Taylor, part Mavis Staples and capable of incredible expression, that makes Outskirts Of Love so super-special. Spectacular, stirring, sanctified and sassy…at the crossroads where funk meets blues rock. Her band, led by producer Oliver Wood, and featuring guests Billy F Gibbons, Robert Randolph, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Will Kimbrough, is faultless throughout."

Copeland’s return to Alligator Records with Outskirts Of Love (she recorded four albums for the label from 1998 through 2006) finds her at her most charismatic. She mixes freshly written material with thrilling reinventions of songs originally recorded by Solomon Burke, ZZ Top, Jesse Winchester, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jesse Mae Hemphill and her father, the late Johnny Clyde Copeland. The result is Copeland’s most musically adventurous album of her still-evolving career.

NPR Music says, "Shemekia Copeland extends her definition of modern blues. She has crafted an album that speaks to the times. Copeland’s genre-melding fluidity would be for naught if she didn’t have such a powerhouse voice. She brings a perfect balance of authority and understatement to each song."

“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica”

–USA Today

“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals”

–Living Blues

Wichita, Kansas' blues rockers Moreland & Arbuckle, whose Alligator Records debut CD Promised Land Or Bust will be released on Friday, May 6, perform live in Philadelphia that same day on NPR tastemaker radio station WXPN's Free At Noon concert series. The show, taking place at 12:00pm EST at World Cafe Live, will be video streamed live by music discovery site VuHaus.com. Through its website and mobile app, VuHaus aggregates performance videos and interviews from leading public radio stations from markets across the U.S.

Last month, Moreland & Arbuckle released a video for their original song, When The Lights Are Burning Low, the first single from Promised Land Or Bust. Of this song, Arbuckle says, "The track is an unabashed, celebratory rock 'n' roll stomper. "[Guitarist] Aaron [Moreland] brought the dirty guitar riff into rehearsal and the tune came to life very quickly. The vibe of the song really screamed for lyrics in tribute to one who drives you crazy in all the right and wrong ways. The energy that gets generated on the big crescendo at the end always makes this tune one of the highlights of the night."

Later this week, Popmatters.com will host the video premiere for the original song Mean And Evil. According to harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle, "There are people in this world so bad that even the Devil himself wants nothing to do with them. The heavy, menacing cigar-box guitar riff called for lyrics about someone or something evil, so the song all but wrote itself and came out as a bit of a modern bad-man ballad. As one of the first songs written for this album, Mean And Evil got a lot of road-testing. It quickly found a place in the set as one of our favorite ass-stompers."

Moreland — co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio — describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” On their recording and live on stage, Moreland, Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues.

Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base. Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garage band attack.”

Promised Land Or Bust (available on CD and vinyl) was produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far-reaching musical showcase. The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.”

Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond. No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.”

Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.” Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.”

Groundbreaking guitarist and vocalist Lonnie Mack, known as one of rock’s first true guitar heroes, died on April 21, 2016 of natural causes at Centennial Medical Center near his home in Smithville, Tennessee. His early instrumental recordings – among them Wham! and Memphis -- influenced many of rock's greatest players, including Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and especially Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was 74.

Rolling Stone called him “a pioneer in rock guitar soloing.” Guitar World said, “Mack attacked the strings with fast, aggressive single-string phrasing and a seamless rhythm style that significantly raised the guitar virtuoso bar and foreshadowed the arena-sized tones of guitar heroes to come.” The Chicago Tribune wrote, “With the wiggle of a whammy bar and a blinding run of notes up and down the neck of his classic Gibson Flying V, Lonnie Mack launched the modern guitar era.”

Drawing from influences as diverse as rhythm and blues, country, gospel and rockabilly, Mack’s guitar work continues to be revered by generation after generation of musicians. He recorded a number of singles and a total of 11 albums for labels including Fraternity, Elektra, Alligator, Epic and Capitol.

Mack was born Lonnie McIntosh on July 18, 1941 in West Harrison, Indiana, twenty miles west of Cincinnati. Growing up in rural Indiana, Mack fell in love with music as a child. From family sing-alongs he developed a deep appreciation of country music, while he absorbed rhythm and blues from the late-night R&B radio stations and gospel from his local church. Starting off with a few chords that he learned from his mother, Lonnie gradually blended all the sounds he heard around him into his own individual style. He named Merle Travis and Robert Ward (of the Ohio Untouchables) as his main guitar influences, and George Jones and Bobby Bland as vocal inspirations.

He began playing professionally in his early teens (he quit school after a fight with his sixth-grade teacher), working clubs and roadhouses around the tri-state border area of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. In 1958, he bought the guitar he would become best known for, a Gibson Flying V, serial number 7, which he equipped with a Bigsby tremolo bar. (After the release of Wham!, the tremolo bar became known worldwide as a “whammy bar”.) In addition to his live gigs, Lonnie began playing sessions for the King and Fraternity labels in Cincinnati. He recorded with blues and R&B greats like Hank Ballard, Freddie King and James Brown.

In 1963, at the end of another artist's session, Lonnie cut an instrumental version of Chuck Berry's Memphis. He didn't even know that Fraternity had issued the single until he heard it on the radio, and within a few weeks Memphis had hit the national Top Five. Lonnie Mack went from being a talented regional roadhouse player to a national star virtually overnight.

Suddenly, he was booked for hundreds of gigs a year, crisscrossing the country in his Cadillac and rushing back to Cincinnati or Nashville to cut new singles. Wham!, Where There's A Will There's A Way, Chicken Pickin' and a dozen other records followed Memphis. None sold as well as his first hit (though Where There's A Will earned extensive black radio airplay before the DJs found out Lonnie was white), but there was enough reaction to keep him on the road for another five years of grueling one-nighters.

Fraternity Records went bust, but Lonnie kept on gigging, and in 1968 a Rolling Stone article stimulated new interest in his music. He signed with Elektra Records and cut three albums. Elektra also reissued his original Fraternity LP, The Wham Of That Memphis Man!. He began playing all the major rock venues, from Fillmore East to Fillmore West. Lonnie also made a guest appearance on the Doors' Morrison Hotel album. You can hear Lonnie's bass on Roadhouse Blues. He even worked in Elektra's A&R department. When the label merged with giant Warner Brothers, Lonnie grew disgusted with the new bureaucracy and walked out of his job.

Mack headed back to rural Indiana, playing back-country bars, going fishing and laying low. After six years of relative obscurity, Lonnie signed with Capitol and cut two albums that featured his country influences. He played on the West Coast for a while and even flew to Japan for a “Save The Whales” benefit. Then he headed to New York to team up with an old friend named Ed Labunski. Labunski was a wealthy jingle writer that wrote "This Bud's For You" who was tired of commercials and wanted to write and play for pleasure. He and Lonnie built a studio in rural Pennsylvania and spent three years organizing and recording a country-rock band called South, which included Buffalo-based keyboardist Stan Szelest, who later played on Lonnie's Alligator debut. Ed and Lonnie had big plans for their partnership, including producing an album by a then-obscure Texas guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan. But the plans evaporated when Labunski died in an auto accident, and the South album was never commercially released. Lonnie next headed for Canada and joined the band of veteran rocker Ronnie Hawkins for a summer. After a brief stay in Florida, he returned to Indiana in 1982, playing clubs in Cincinnati and the surrounding area.

Mack began his re-emergence on the national scene in November of 1983. At Stevie Ray Vaughan's urging, he relocated from southern Indiana to Texas, where he settled in Spicewood. He began jamming with Stevie Ray (who proudly named Wham! as the first single he owned) in local clubs and flying to New York for gigs at the Lone Star and the Ritz. When Alligator Records approached Lonnie to do an album, Vaughan immediately volunteered to help him out. The result was 1985’s Strike Like Lightning, co-produced by Lonnie and Stevie Ray and featuring Stevie's guitar on several tracks.

Mack’s re-emergence was a major music industry event. Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Ry Cooder and Stevie Ray Vaughan all joined Lonnie on stage during his 1985 tour. The New York Times said, “Although Mr. Mack can play every finger-twisting blues guitar lick, he doesn't show off; he comes up with sustained melodies and uses fast licks only at an emotional peak. Mr. Mack is also a thoroughly convincing singer.”  Other celebrities -- Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Eddie Van Halen, Dwight Yoakam and actor Matt Dillon -- attended shows during the Strike Like Lightning tour. The year was capped off with a stellar performance at New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall with Albert Collins and the late Roy Buchanan. That show was released commercially on DVD as Further On Down The Road.

Mack recorded two more albums for Alligator, 1986’s Second Sight and 1990’s Live! Attack Of the Killer V. In between he signed with Epic Records and released Roadhouses And Dancehalls in 1988. Mack continued to tour into the 2000s. He relocated to Smithville, Tennessee where he continued writing songs but ceased active touring. In 2001 he was inducted into the International Guitar Hall Of Fame and in 2005 into the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame.

He is survived by five children and multitudes of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

FUNERAL INFORMATION:

The First Baptist Church

6060 Blair Rd, Aurora, IN  47001 

Visitation: Wednesday, April 27th from 4 - 8 PM

Memorial Service: Thursday, April 28th at 11 AM followed by internment.

 

BLUES ROCKERS MORELAND & ARBUCKLE RELEASE VIDEO FOR WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE BURNING LOW

FIRST SINGLE FROM NEW CD PROMISED LAND OR BUST

“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica”   –USA Today

“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals”    –Living Blues

Wichita, Kansas' blues rockers Moreland & Arbuckle have released a new video for their original song, When The Lights Are Burning Low, the first single from their May 6 Alligator Records debut album Promised Land Or Bust.

According to harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle, the track is an unabashed, celebratory rock 'n' roll stomper. "[Guitarist] Aaron [Moreland] brought the dirty guitar riff into rehearsal and the tune came to life very quickly. The vibe of the song really screamed for lyrics in tribute to one who drives you crazy in all the right and wrong ways. The energy that gets generated on the big crescendo at the end always makes this tune one of the highlights of the night.

Moreland — co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio — describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” On their recording and live on stage, Moreland, Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues.

Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base. Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garage band attack.”

The group’s evolution continues with Promised Land Or Bust (available on CD and vinyl), produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far-reaching musical showcase. The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.”

Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk music before having what he calls his “Son House moment.” Hearing the blues legend’s Death Letter Blues for the first time at age 22, he changed course, focusing his playing on nothing but acoustic blues for the next several years. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens and received what he refers to as “a calling. Getting into blues made me want to play music,” he says. He played in blues-rock bands, inspired by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, while learning to sing with deep soul and honest authority.

The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas back in 2001 and they quickly bonded over their mutual love of blues. Less than a year later, they joined forces, their raw and energetic approach to the music melding perfectly. Soon after coming together, Moreland and Arbuckle played both as an acoustic duo and as The King Snakes, a four piece electric band. Keeping a bass player proved difficult, and they soon found they made a better sound without one, as Moreland kept the rhythm thumping on his guitar while Arbuckle took the music into overdrive with his harmonica and vocals. The band quickly became local heroes, filling clubs beyond capacity. It wasn’t long before they started touring larger cities around the country, earning new fans with every performance.

From their 2005 self-release Caney Valley Blues to 2013’s 7 Cities on Telarc, Moreland & Arbuckle have grown from a fiery, crowd-pleasing duo to a genre-smashing three-piece band. Together, Moreland’s simultaneous bass, rhythm and lead guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally-charged harmonica and edgy vocals—driven by Newby’s propulsive drumming—create a sound that is forceful enough to grab a listener’s attention and nuanced enough to hold it. American Songwriter says the group’s music is “swampy, sweaty and muggy...mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” WNYC’s Soundcheck says the band plays “gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.”

Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond. No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.”

Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.” Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.”

Alligator Records has set a June 10, 2016 release date for the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection. The 2CDs-for-the-price-of-one set -- boasting over 148 minutes of music -- features career-defining performances from blues royalty past, present and future.

The blues and roots music Alligator Records has been releasing since 1971 -- created by iconic giants of the genre like Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, James Cotton, Elvin Bishop and Mavis Staples, and label-nurtured legends including Son Seals, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women and Michael “Iron Man” Burks -- has more than stood the test of time. With the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection, label founder and president Bruce Iglauer, along with his 15-person staff (many of whom have been on board for well over 20 years) celebrate Alligator’s extraordinary past, history-in-the-making present, and a future filled with more "Genuine Houserockin’ Music."

The Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection clearly lays out Alligator’s wide-ranging, forward-looking vision with tracks from newer voices – Selwyn Birchwood, Toronzo Cannon, Shemekia Copeland, Moreland & Arbuckle and Jarekus Singleton – seamlessly programmed next to legendary artists including Curtis Salgado, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Joe Louis Walker, Delbert McClinton, Anders Osborne, The Holmes Brothers, Guitar Shorty, JJ Grey & Mofro, Ann Rabson and Roomful Of Blues. Together, the Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection presents a comprehensive portrait of this singular, rooted, soul-stirring American music.

On June 10, the day of the album's release, the City Of Chicago will celebrate the label's 45th anniversary during the 33rd Annual Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park. Alligator artists scheduled to perform are Shemekia Copeland, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Curtis Salgado, Toronzo Cannon, Moreland & Arbuckle, Corky Siegel and Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater.

The history of Alligator Records, founded by blues-bitten Bruce Iglauer in 1971 for the express purpose of releasing an album by Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, reads like a history of contemporary blues and roots music. Iglauer, a native of Cincinnati, first fell in love with the blues in 1966. A live performance by the great Mississippi Fred McDowell struck him deep inside. "It was as if he reached out and grabbed me by the collar, shook me and spoke directly to me," he recalls. After that show, Iglauer, a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, immersed himself in the blues. In 1968, he made his initial pilgrimage to experience Chicago's thriving blues scene. His first stop was the famous Jazz Record Mart, where he met proprietor Bob Koester, also the owner of the prestigious blues and jazz label Delmark Records. With Koester as his de facto guide, Iglauer began making regular visits to Chicago to see Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, J.B. Hutto, Carey Bell and many other stars in the ghetto blues clubs.

Koester was impressed with Iglauer's passion for the music and his promotion of two sold-out Luther Allison performances at Lawrence. When Iglauer moved to Chicago for good at the beginning of 1970, Koester hired him as a $30-per-week shipping clerk. Almost every night, Iglauer hung out in the funky South and West Side bars, spellbound by the blues men and women performing on their home turf. He accompanied Koester to the studio for every Delmark session, where he watched blues greats such as Junior Wells, Roosevelt Sykes and Robert Lockwood, Jr. create classic blues albums. Iglauer wanted Delmark to release an album by his favorite band, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. But Koester wasn’t interested, so Iglauer gathered up what little money he had and decided to do it himself, soaking up everything he could learn about record production before heading into the studio with Hound Dog in 1971.

Iglauer became producer, booking agent, business manager, roadie, promotion man and publicist for Hound Dog. He ran Alligator out of his tiny apartment, filled with stacks of record cartons and a shipping table next to the bed. For years, each record had to finance the next one, which meant Alligator released about one record a year. Luckily, those records continued to impress fans and critics and sell enough to keep the label going. Albums by Big Walter Horton, Son Seals and Fenton Robinson all contributed to getting the fledgling company off the ground. When Koko Taylor came aboard in 1975, the label was taking larger steps, soon attracting giants like Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan and Johnny Winter.

Now, Alligator Records is the largest independent blues label in the world, and has been repeatedly honored for its achievements. Three Alligator recordings have won Grammy Awards, and 41 titles have been nominated. The label and its artists have received well over 100 Blues Music Awards and more than 70 Living Blues Awards. But even with all of the accolades, Alligator Records never rests on its laurels. According to Iglauer, "Alligator should be the label that's exposing the next generation of blues artists and bringing their music to the next generation of blues fans. I want the future of the blues and the future of Alligator Records to be one and the same. I want to keep bringing blues and roots music to new fans and getting them as excited about the music as I am." With those goals, Alligator Records is still fueled by the same principles that it first established in 1971. The staff continues to push forward, still bucking the odds, with everybody working long hours on a shoestring budget.

Throughout its history, Alligator has operated not only as a business, but also as a tight-knit family. Relationships between the staff and the artists are personal and run deep. It's not at all uncommon for an artist performing a Chicago show to drop by the office for an unannounced visit. Musicians regularly call Iglauer at any hour, looking to have CDs shipped out at the last minute, or to discuss their upcoming recording sessions or sing new tunes over the phone. Iglauer has opened his house to musicians needing a place to live during times of personal trouble.

From the early days of recording only Chicago talent, to attracting national and international musicians, to the label's commitment to nurturing the next generation of blues artists, Alligator continues to break new ground. Now, as clearly proven by the Alligator Records 45^th Anniversary Collection, the label is still dedicated to recording and promoting great talent, confirming that the passion, energy and soul-healing power of Alligator’s music is strong, genuine, and capable of rocking the house with no end in sight.

“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica” –USA Today

“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals” –Living Blues

Alligator Records has set a May 6 release date for Promised Land Or Bust, the label debut from Wichita, Kansas' blues rockers Moreland & Arbuckle. Guitarist Aaron Moreland — co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio — describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” Moreland, harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues.

Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base. Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garage band attack.”

The group’s evolution continues with their Alligator Records debut Promised Land Or Bust (available on CD and vinyl) produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far-reaching musical showcase. The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.”

Moreland says signing with Alligator is a perfect fit. “One of our biggest influences ever, Hound Dog Taylor, was the very first Alligator artist. One of the reasons we have the non-traditional lineup of no bass player was inspired by listening to Hound Dog’s music as we were coming up.” According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, bringing Moreland & Arbuckle to the label known for its Genuine Houserockin’ Music was an easy choice. “I’ve watched this band grow from talented interpreters of raw, traditional blues into creators of fresh, original roots-based songs. Live, the energy just pours out of them.”

Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk music before having what he calls his “Son House moment.” Hearing the blues legend’s Death Letter Blues for the first time at age 22, he changed course, focusing his playing on nothing but acoustic blues for the next several years. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens and received what he refers to as “a calling. Getting into blues made me want to play music,” he says. He played in blues-rock bands, inspired by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, while learning to sing with deep soul and honest authority.

The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas back in 2001 and they quickly bonded over their mutual love of blues. Less than a year later, they joined forces, their raw and energetic approach to the music melding perfectly. Soon after coming together, Moreland and Arbuckle played both as an acoustic duo and as The King Snakes, a four piece electric band. Keeping a bass player proved difficult, and they soon found they made a better sound without one, as Moreland kept the rhythm thumping on his guitar while Arbuckle took the music into overdrive with his harmonica and vocals. The band quickly became local heroes, filling clubs beyond capacity. It wasn’t long before they started touring larger cities around the country, earning new fans with every performance.

From their 2005 self-release Caney Valley Blues to 2013’s 7 Cities on Telarc, Moreland & Arbuckle have grown from a fiery, crowd-pleasing duo to a genre-smashing three-piece band. Together, Moreland’s simultaneous bass, rhythm and lead guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally-charged harmonica and edgy vocals—driven by Newby’s propulsive drumming—create a sound that is forceful enough to grab a listener’s attention and nuanced enough to hold it. American Songwriter says the group’s music is “swampy, sweaty and muggy...mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” WNYC’s Soundcheck says the band plays “gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.”

Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond. No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.”

Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.” Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.”

Award-winning soul, blues and R&B vocalist/songwriter (and world-class harmonica player) Curtis Salgado will release his new Alligator Records CD, The Beautiful Lowdown, on Friday, April 8, 2016. In anticipation of his second album for the label, he has just released a video for the politically-charged song I'm Not Made That Way. The ‘making of’ video, directed by Michael Bard, features Salgado and his band performing the track in the recording studio along with producers Tony Braunagel and Marlon McClain.

Salgado is a one-of-a-kind talent whose music is as compelling as his story. From co-fronting The Robert Cray Band to leading his own band (and recording nine solo albums) to helping transform John Belushi into “Joliet” Jake Blues to touring the country with Steve Miller and Santana, he is a true musical giant. NPR calls him “a blues icon” with a “huge voice.”

The Beautiful Lowdown is Salgado's most fearless and adventurous release to date. For the first time in his career, he wrote or co-wrote virtually the entire album himself. He co-produced it along with McClain and Braunagel and contributed to the horn arrangements and background vocal parts. “My heart and soul are in this,” he says proudly. “I worked my tail off and let the songs lead the way.” As for the title, Salgado explains, “During a recent show, I turned to my guitarist and said, ‘Play something lowdown. But make it beautiful.’ Then I thought, ‘Keep that.'."

The Beautiful Lowdown is a major step forward for Salgado. “I wanted to write memorable songs with strong melodies that stick to you, and that’s what’s here.” He arrived at the studio with 17 originals and whittled the list down to 11, adding Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s Hook Me Up to close the set. Each track is delivered with the vocal power and passion of a musical master. Living Blues says, “Salgado navigates dynamic soul, swaying balladry and funky grooves with equal confidence. He is a formidable performer.”

Born February 4, 1954 in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up in Eugene, Oregon. His home was always filled with music. His parents’ record collection included everything from Count Basie to Fats Waller, and his older brother and sister turned him on to the soul and blues of Wilson Pickett and Muddy Waters. He attended a Count Basie performance when he was 13 and decided then and there that music was his calling. Curtis began devouring the blues of Little Walter and Paul Butterfield, fell in love with the harmonica and taught himself to play.

By his early 20s, Salgado was already making a name for himself in Eugene’s bar scene with his band The Nighthawks, and later as co-leader of The Robert Cray Band. Salgado quickly developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth, with vocal and musical influences including Otis Redding, O.V. Wright, Johnnie Taylor, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I and II, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Spann and Magic Sam.

In 1977, comedian/actor John Belushi was in Eugene filming Animal House. During downtime from production, Belushi caught a typically ferocious Salgado performance and introduced himself during a break. Once Salgado started sharing some of his blues knowledge, a fast friendship grew. Salgado spent hours playing old records for Belushi, teaching him about blues and R&B. Belushi soaked up the music like a sponge and used his new awareness to portray “Joliet” Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers, first as a skit on Saturday Night Live and then as a best-selling record album (which was dedicated to Curtis) and finally as a major motion picture (Cab Calloway’s character was named Curtis as an homage).

Once Salgado joined forces with his friend Robert Cray and began playing together as The Robert Cray Band, he found himself sharing stages with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins and Bonnie Raitt. After Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982, Curtis went on to front Roomful Of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Back home in Oregon, he formed a new band, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos, and was once again tearing it up on the club scene, where he honed his band to a razor’s edge before releasing his first solo album in 1991. His friend and fan Steve Miller invited Curtis and his band to open for him on a summer shed tour in 1992. Two years later, Salgado spent the summer on the road singing with Santana. Salgado signed with Shanachie Records in 1999, putting out four critically acclaimed albums. He successfully battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012, reemerging stronger and more determined to share his music with the world.

Salgado joined Alligator Records in 2012, releasing the award-winning, critically acclaimed Soul Shot. The Los Angeles Times said Salgado is “keeping the classic flame of soul music alive.” The strength of the record led to Salgado touring far and wide, with gigs in Manilla, Guam, Brazil, Saipan and Panama. He has performed at major festivals including Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis’ Beale Street Music Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Denver’s Mile High Blues Festival, Toronto’s Waterfront Blues Festival, Thailand’s Phuket International Blues Festival and Poland’s Blues Alive Festival.

On The Beautiful Lowdown, the deeply-rooted singer effortlessly blends classic soul sounds and funk grooves with up-to-the-minute lyrics. His full-force vocals – intense and uninhibited – bring an urgency and edge to his timeless original songs. AllMusic says his music is filled with “greasy grooves and rollicking burners boasting all the confidence and swagger the lyrics convey.  Upbeat, animated performances leave you wanting more.” Blues Revue, describing Salgado’s performance style, declares, “He starts at excellent before segueing into goose bumps, ecstasy, and finally nirvana.”

On Tuesday, February 16, The Blues Foundation announced musical legends Elvin Bishop and Eddy Clearwater will be inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame on Wednesday, May 4. The ceremony will be held at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before the 37th Blues Music Awards.

In 2015 Elvin Bishop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the groundbreaking music he made with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Bishop's latest solo album, the Grammy-nominated Can't Even Do Wrong Right, has been hailed as the best of his long career. Bishop won three 2014 Blues Music Awards: Album Of The Year (for Can't Even Do Wrong Right), Song Of The Year (for the title track) and The Elvin Bishop Band took the award for Band Of The Year. Rolling Stone says the CD is "among Bishop’s very best...Impeccable playing by a legendary guitarist…engaging singing and most notably, good spirits…a great showing for a distinguished American player."

Between his slashing guitar work, his room-filling vocals, and his self-defined “rock-a-blues” style (a mix of blues, rock, rockabilly, country and gospel), Eddy Clearwater is among the very finest practitioners of the West Side Chicago blues. He won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues – Male Artist of the Year in 2001. His 2003 CD, Rock ‘N’ Roll City (Bullseye Blues) was nominated for a Grammy Award. DownBeat says, "Left-hander Eddy Clearwater is a forceful six-stringer...He lays down some gritty West Side shuffles and belly-grinding slow blues that highlight his raw chops, soulful vocals, and earthy, humorous lyrics."

WEST SIDE STRUT, released on Alligator in 2008, is an energized mix of West Side blues and old school rock injected with a tough, up-to-the-minute contemporary edge. Featuring some of Eddy’s hottest playing ever recorded, the CD burns with his stinging guitar and rough-and-ready vocals. Guests include Eddy’s old friends Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson (who is also a member of this year's Blues Hall Of Fame class), Billy Branch and Otis Clay as well as Ronnie Baker Brooks (who also produced) playing some scintillating guitar parts.

On Tuesday, February 16, The Blues Foundation announced musical legends Elvin Bishop and Eddy Clearwater will be inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame on Wednesday, May 4. The ceremony will be held at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before the 37th Blues Music Awards.

In 2015 Elvin Bishop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the groundbreaking music he made with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Bishop's latest solo album, the Grammy-nominated Can't Even Do Wrong Right, has been hailed as the best of his long career. Bishop won three 2014 Blues Music Awards: Album Of The Year (for Can't Even Do Wrong Right), Song Of The Year (for the title track) and The Elvin Bishop Band took the award for Band Of The Year. Rolling Stone says the CD is "among Bishop’s very best...Impeccable playing by a legendary guitarist…engaging singing and most notably, good spirits…a great showing for a distinguished American player."

Between his slashing guitar work, his room-filling vocals, and his self-defined “rock-a-blues” style (a mix of blues, rock, rockabilly, country and gospel), Eddy Clearwater is among the very finest practitioners of the West Side Chicago blues. He won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues – Male Artist of the Year in 2001. His 2003 CD, Rock ‘N’ Roll City (Bullseye Blues) was nominated for a Grammy Award. DownBeat says, "Left-hander Eddy Clearwater is a forceful six-stringer...He lays down some gritty West Side shuffles and belly-grinding slow blues that highlight his raw chops, soulful vocals, and earthy, humorous lyrics."

WEST SIDE STRUT, released on Alligator in 2008, is an energized mix of West Side blues and old school rock injected with a tough, up-to-the-minute contemporary edge. Featuring some of Eddy’s hottest playing ever recorded, the CD burns with his stinging guitar and rough-and-ready vocals. Guests include Eddy’s old friends Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson (who is also a member of this year's Blues Hall Of Fame class), Billy Branch and Otis Clay as well as Ronnie Baker Brooks (who also produced) playing some scintillating guitar parts.

Legendary artist Tom Waits is streaming his new recording of Soul Of A Man from the forthcoming album God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson at his Facebook page. Waits also recorded John The Revelator for the album.

The album -- to be issued on CD on February 26 and soon after on vinyl -- features newly recorded versions of the iconic slide guitarist/vocalist's most seminal material. In addition to Waits, Lucinda Williams, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Cowboy Junkies, Blind Boys Of Alabama (with Jason Isbell on guitar), Sinéad O'Connor, Luther Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Maria McKee, and Rickie Lee Jones all deliver deeply moving interpretations of Johnson's otherworldly "gospel blues" music.

Produced by Jeffrey Gaskill (producer of the twice Grammy-nominated compilation, Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan), God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson highlights the music of one of the greatest and most influential slide guitarists and vocalists who ever walked the Earth. Johnson sang his sanctified gospel lyrics with overwhelming intensity, his deep, raspy voice accompanying his haunting, blues-drenched guitar playing. Rock fans will no doubt recognize many of his songs which have been recorded over the years by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton to Bob Dylan. Johnson's recording of John The Revelator was included in the Anthology Of American Folk Music, archivist Harry Smith's 6-LP collection released in 1952 that set the folk revival of the 1960s into motion. God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson is, according to Gaskill, "my life's work." The project was years in the making, and Gaskill is thrilled it's ready to be released. "You gotta serve somebody," he says, referencing his earlier compilation, "and I got the songs of Blind Willie Johnson."

Blind Willie Johnson, whose life remains shrouded in mystery, was born in Pendleton, Texas in 1897 and grew up around Marlin, Texas, He recorded a total of 30 songs between 1927 and 1930 for Columbia, leaving behind a priceless legacy of the unforgettable music he created by marrying the raw, gospel fervor of his voice with the steely blues fire of his guitar. His songs were mostly traditional or came from hymnals, but when Johnson performed them, he transformed them with his soul-shaking voice and amazing slide guitar. Johnson was among the best-selling black gospel artists of the era, but the Great Depression ended his recording career. He continued traveling as a street singer, moving between Dallas, Galveston, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and finally to Beaumont, where he thundered out his street corner evangelism, spreading his sacred message through his transfixing music. He died in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas at the age of 48.

God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson

1) The Soul Of A Man (Tom Waits)

2) It's Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Lucinda Williams)

3) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi)

4) Jesus Is Coming Soon (Cowboy Junkies)

5) Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time (Blind Boys of Alabama)

6) Trouble Will Soon Be Over (Sinéad O'Connor)

7) Bye And Bye I’m Going To See The King (Luther Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band)

8) God Don’t Never Change (Lucinda Williams)

9) John The Revelator (Tom Waits)

10) Let Your Light Shine On Me (Maria McKee)

11) Dark Was The Night--Cold Was The Ground (Rickie Lee Jones)