Vacaville Represents at Sac IBC
Mick Martin’s Birthday Party
Northern California Blues Festival
Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival - 8/23/08
B.B. is still the King of the Blues
Mr. December at Constable Jack's - 5/9/08
Cole Fonseca at the Torch Club - 3/28/08
Kenny Neal Band - 3/8/08
What a nice suprise it was to see that the Kenny Neal Band was playing at the Palms Playhouse in Winters on Saturday March 8th. Kenny is always a great show so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. He is also one of the blues girl's favorite people so I also know we were'nt going to miss this show.
Kenny has been out of action for awhile due to some health issues he has been battling so it has really been nice to see him out and about lately. He looked and sounded great and says his health is about back to normal ~ great news for all the Kenny fans!
Kenny has always been a great performer and he hasn't lost a bit of his passion for the blues. Kenny is from a family deeply rooted in the blues with a father, Raful Neal, that was a blues legend in his own right and who played regularly with Buddy Guy, Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester and other icons of the Louisiana delta blues scene. In fact, Buddy Guy was responsible for Kenny moving from being primarily a bass player to focusing his attention on his guitar skills. On this night he played an old telecaster all the way through, along with his harp, of course, and one cut on the lap steel guitar.
The show was classical Kenny Neal with alot of outstanding guitar work and his usual rockin', soulful style. Kenny's voice is another great tool in his belt and his vocals were excellent. He likes to throw little phrases out while he's playing and my favorite has always been, "here's a little blues for ya". He threw it out there again a couple of times and it brought an old, familiar smile to my face.
His new band is a nice fit for his deep blues style. They are obviously still getting used to each other but it worked out just fine and everybody seemed to enjoy playing as much as we enjoyed watching. His new band has T-Bo on bass guitar and Spiderman on keyboards and these two guys are both extremely talented and exciting musicians. Gin was on the drum set and he has also added A.G. on sax and Ashley Duval on trumpet to really add depth to the band. It is a great mix and they are sure to get even better as they spend more time together.
A few members of his family was there for the show including his mother's sister and some cousins. Kenny is from a big family anyways and being the oldest of ten kids there is usually family somewhere nearby at most of his shows.
After the show I talked to Kenny about his enjoyment of having family being present at his shows. At one point one of his cousins wanted to point out that they were geting older but Kenny was definitely the oldest, by two months. Kenny let out that great laugh of his in that deep gravelly voice. It was obvious that he is really enjoying performing again. I asked him about that old worn out telecaster and he was reading my mind, I guess. He immediately said, "I know what your thinking, but no, my dad didn't pass this to me". (I was thinking exactly that at the time. Wow!). Seems he's had the old axe for nearly thirty years and it has been played by Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters just to name a few. It's just his favorite guitar and he likes how it works and sounds. All I could say about that was, "Me too".
"Keep your eyes and ears open, the blues are alive in northern California!"
Blues Blowout at Cache Creek - 2/1/08
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