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What can you say about Carvin Jones aside from
being the biggest people person on the planet! Known variously as
'The Carvinator', 'The Phoenix Thunderbolt', and 'the fastest cat
in the west', he is certainly all these things and above all one
of the great entertainers of our time.
Quite simply when it comes to a unique
selling point, Carvin Jones has broken the mould. But where his
live performance is a frisson charged blur that induces even the
most temperate person to get on their feet and punch the air
with all the fervour of a gospel meeting, his recorded output
has in the past been more problematical. The question is how
to convert all that supercharged energy and that special people
connection into the cold, dispassionate, clinical unforgiving
carrier of the CD?
'I'm What You Need' strikes a compromise,
somewhere between the warts and all style of the late Hound Dog Taylor,
and a mellower song driven approach.
The danger here is that if you manage to bottle
this Texas hurricane you will neutralise a genie whose raison d'etre
is to make a magical connection with an enthusiastic crowd. Happily
on 'I'm What You Need' he manages in part to retain his 'joy de
vivre' by dragging in guest vocalist Roscoe Taylor on the celebratory
opening duet on the title track and the surprisingly funky horn
led 'One Night Stand'.
Curiously, given the live show emphasis on his
virtuoso playing, the guitar work here is relatively restrained earlier
on, but being Carvin Jones that means he still punches a hole through
a wall. And with such route one lyrics as 'Six foot three with a sex
appeal, I'm what you want you want, baby know the deal', you are left
in no uncertain terms as to Carvin's humorous sense of presence.
In fact 'I'm What You Need' finds CJ fronting a
7 piece band, all of whom help to flesh out his patchwork of rocking blues,
shuffles, and rock and roll. He approaches the languid shuffle 'Ya Drive
Me Crazy' in a husky whisper with the Bill Troxell on bass and drummer
Patrick Riley nailing down an uncompromising back beat. He also digs
deep for the low down blues of 'Drowning on Dry Land' with a full
horn section acting as a nice foil for Carvin's use of rich toned
sustain.
The larger than life persona shines through on the
self explanatory titled 'Born to Win', and he add some busy Albert Collins
style note clusters on the instrumental 'Lightnin & Ice' complete with
fine piano embellishments from Tim Furkes.
'I'm What You Need' is arguably Carvin's best album.
For long time fans, that means a welcome dozen new original tracks on
which his singing is getting stronger, and a sense balance being struck
between the man's natural vivacity and the restrictive studio
environment.
And while the closing, down- home noodle of
'I Need Your Sweet Lovin' is perhaps an outing too far, there's enough
here to offer more than a glimpse of Carvin's unique style. If this
CD passed your personal litmus test then you should follow the natural
progression to his new 'The Carvinator' DVD, but in the meantime
this four out of five stars CD should point the uninitiated in the
direction of one of the great showmen of our time.
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Carvin a place in rock history -
the man with the flying fingers.
No CD could ever do Carvin Jones justice.
Having seen him live at The
Horn in St Albans recently, I can testify that he is
the most amazingly involving, characterful entertainer you’ll ever come
across in rock/blues.
He’s flash, glitzy, bling and anything else you can use to describe a
man who performs with a fedora, a sequined shirt, chunky jewellery and
who is built like an brick outhouse.
In fact, he’s so larger than life that sometimes it’s hard to see past
the rock star glam and remember there’s an incredible musician behind
all the glitter.
So I’m What You Need, the latest CD by the Carvin Jones Band, may go
some way to redress the balance. If you can’t be mesmerised by his live
performance, perhaps you can just sit back and appreciate the music.
Jones sets the standard from the title track with a ZZ-Top-like
easy-rocking number that showcases his energetic lead guitar style and
rough-hewn voice.
The pace slows next for Ya Drive Me Crazy – fat, dirty guitar sounds and
no-nonsense lyrics – You drive me crazy/You sexy lady/I’ve got my eyes
on you/You know just what to do. Shakespeare it ain't, but you get the
picture.
Thing hot up with the instrumental Strawberry Shortcake, where Jones
seems more at home – he’s happiest when improvising fast and loose and
sliding in a few jazz-blues chords for good measure.
Drowning On Dry Land, one of the only tracks he didn’t write, is a real
slow, clubby number but I don’t like the horn accompaniment – too
soul-like and over-produced for me, but each to his own. Calvin’s solo
also struggles to impose itself.
But if you don’t like the next track, Born To Win, then you just might
as well be dead. It’s a trad rock and roll number, complete with
double-fast piano, smackin’ drums and Jones in full flow on the Strat.
My pick of the album has to be Havin’ A Bad Day (I know the feeling)
which could have been the theme music to an ’80s American cop show .
Here’s where some brass backing really DOES add some worthwhile colour
and this, combined with some slappy funk bass and imaginative guitar
work all ties in for a dramatic and memorable track. Great stuff.
It’s back to chunk-achunk-achunk rock’n'roll by numbers for Lightning
And Ice – a good time instrumental with plenty of rolling honky-tonk
piano that could have been cut any time in the past 40 years.
Irresistible, if a little predictable.
Earlier on the album, Carvin was drowning on dry land, now he’s
similarly grounded in Stuck In The Mud – an downbeat lament about
clothes wearing out, cars not starting and trouble all around. Some
things never change in life, or in the blues.
We’re back to horns, soul and music more Wilson Pickett than Chuck Berry
in One Night Stand – this is too long and tedious for someone as on fire
as Carvin.
But he gets back on safer ground with the devotional Miss You Baby,
followed by Wanna Walk Witcha Baby.
The album winds up with I Need Your Sweet Lovin’ – so laid back, it
could be John Lee Hooker playing on his back porch. The bluesiest and
most traditional number on show has him cleverly flirting with dark,
minor chords and showing his music dexterity.
For those who haven’t been touched by Carvin Jones’ presence in the
world, this is really no more than a warm-up. A man who has rightly been
compared with the late, great Jimi Hendrix needs a live audience, a
sweaty club and some ear-shattering amps to really be appreciated at his
best.
The big man from Phoenix is a star who thrives and feeds off an audience
and I’m What You Need is a bit like trying to appreciate what he looks
like through the wrong end of a telescope.
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CARVIN JONES @ Music Palace
Hailing from Lufkin Texas, guitar slinger
Carvin Jones was the right person at the time to help celebrate
what would have been the forthcoming 65th birthday of the late
Jimi Hendrix.
In terms of sheer flamboyance, outrageous guitar stunts, and above
all virtuoso playing, Carvin Jones has all the attributes, but his
show is a melting pot of the original, the retro and the brilliantly
improvised.
Who else but this Texas Tornado would start a high octane shuffle,
then slip into his own anthemic 'I'm what you Need', before delivering
a few unlikely lines from 50 Cents before playing a rock and roll outro?
Whether darting into the bewildered audience to fire off some incendiary
licks or whether to bring the crowd to its feet with a mesmerizing
'Becks Boogie', or indeed pausing to allow an audience member to
strum his strings while he did all the work left handed, Carvin Jones
is the ultimate entertainer
And if there is to be a future for rock blues and post Hendrix guitar
heroes it surely lies in the lap of this fireball of a performer who
from the first number springs from the trap like a rabbit being pursued
by a fox. He plays incredible fast, he moves at the speed of
, but he also occasionally slows down to deliver conjure up some light
and shade through subtle variation of tone and sustain. Above all his
charismatic personality held his audience in the palm of his hand
from the first volley of notes until the standing ovation at the end.
Every now and then you almost wished for a cessation of intensity,
but Carvin never allowed that in either of his two sets, keeping
the audience focussed, involved and at times simply mesmerised.
Carvin Jones is not Jimi Hendrix, but he certainly has the chops,
the showmanship and above all the sense of occasion to remind everyone
just how exciting live music in a club setting can be.
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CARVIN JONES "I'm What You Need" CJ Label
Carvin Jones has been voted in the world’s Top 50 guitarists in Guitarist Magazine
and this album confirms that status. Jones and the band open with the eponymous
title track, a rousing blues with gunslinger guitar and vocal duet with Roscoe
Taylor. You Drive Me Crazy has fuzzed guitar to introduce this slow burner.
Strawberry Shortcake is R&B with Steven Von Wald’s saxophone introduced to good
effect. Carvin shreds up the fretboard on this instrumental which also has a clever
piano break from Tim Furkes. Drownin’ On Dry Land is a strong Chicago blues but with
an unnecessary trumpet in the background. It is too much of a conflict with Jones’
guitar, which overpowers everything. Born To Win is a fast paced R&B with stinging
guitar. The excellent Patrick Riley on drums keeps the whole thing together.
They stay with R&B for Havin’ A Bad Day and this confirms that Jones’ guitar is the
star. Excellent horns on this as well. The slightly familiar instrumental, Lightning
& Ice is a fast paced, shuffling blues on which Furkes gets his share of the
limelight. The electrifying guitar of Jones heralds Stuck In The Mud; a familiar
tale of a lost job, no money and a woman leaving. This down on my luck blues at its
best. There is a little more power to Roscoe Taylor’s voice on One Night Stand, an
R&B/Soul crossover with Jones’ guitar piercing the sky. Miss You Baby is a rolling
blues with a return to his smokey voice and prominent piano from Furkes. Wanna Walk
Witcha Baby is another rolling blues and they finish off with I Need Your Sweet
Lovin’, a slow, delta blues with a primeval feel. Simple guitar and voice is a fine
way to finish.
Eric Clapton thinks that Carvin Jones is the next up-and-coming blues player and I
am not about to argue with him.
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CARVIN JONES @ The Madison Rathmines
A musical tornado blew into Rathmines on
Saturday night all the way from Phoenix Arizona and treated the
full house of delighted music fans to some tube screaming roadhouse
tinged Texas Blues Rock.
Carvin Jones is an ace guitarist and a broad brimmed fun charismatic front man who
mixed time honoured classics from Hooker, Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan with his
own originals and several tributes to our own Rory Gallagher during the performance.
It was high energy solid gold fun from the minute the sequined Carvin stepped on
stage with Carvin repeatedly bringing the stage down to the audience with ecstatic
reactions from the spellbound audience in the tightly packed Madison Bar as he
weaved his way through the crowd with his Fender Stratocaster screaming into the
stratosphere.
A Carvin Jones gig is the ultimate participation event for the audience,
if you leave your pint out of your hand for a second there is a good
chance Carvin will lay his tortured Strat on top of it and commence
to play it lap style.
Nothing stands between the artist and the audience at a Carvin Jones gig, there are
no barriers, and it’s a wonderful feeling and a testament of his self confidence
and natural friendliness on stage or off that leaves one and all thoroughly entertained.
Carvin is an ace player and delivers the set of classic covers and
medleys with an uncompromising muscular brass knuckled style on his
Black Fender Strat, that takes you to the hearts and hands of the
essential bluesmen enhanced with some tube screaming sound effects.
The guitar – bass – drum line up delivers the rollicking roadhouse rockers with
Carvin’s dark brooding vocals teasing the audience.
The classic bar room favourites are delivered in rapid succession with Carvin’s
fluency imagination and versatility being grounded by his long time stage partner
Bill Troxell and the help of an Italian rhythm section on this leg of the tour.
The audience were amazed at his playing and it’s great to see such
ability and talent being harnessed by such a fun loving entertainer
and it’s good to feel so much fun in the atmosphere.
The Carvin Jones gig had us all exhausted at the end but the crowd could have gone
on all night long because of the up beat enjoyment.
Carvin said at one stage “I am a man who knows what he wants, get up and dance,
you know its cool” and that about sums him up perfectly”.
Promoter Pat Cannon strapped on a bass guitar and joined the band on stage for the
final encore.
There’s no messin with the kid.
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CARVIN JONES & Bloozer at Mr Kyps
I had a great surprise last night courtesy
of the Carvin Jones band. After 2 pints of excellent 49er
(thanks again Kyp and team), cradling my third, I had a smile
on my face right through the most "performencest" show I have seen
for ages. Carvin played the heart out of his overdriven Stratocaster
(and Fender The Twin - the ugly one I once had too!) - and was a
really successful example of the great presentation style delivered
by USA based bands Mr Kyps. They really know how to deliver!
In case you missed him it is probably fair to describe Carvin
as an obviously warm-hearted, 6ft+ black powerhouse, from Phoenix,
Arizona, with a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat (and SRV guitar licks...plus
the Jimi Hendrix influence he shares with SRV), who really puts on
a maximum-entertainment show, highlighted by several audience-winning
strolls through the large crowd, swapping fist based "punch gesture
of goodwill" (my pal says - coz' i don't know how to describe it!!!)
with grinning onlookers, who occasionally were invited to strum his
Strat!
Carvin is a good fiery player, and left the subtle stuff in the
dressing room last night - realising the crowd wanted what he delivered
- an almost non-stop set of covers spiced with a couple of originals.
Great support was delivered by excellent Italian drummer (Joe?) and
fellow Phoenix-based bassist (missed his name in the excitement and
effects of 49er!) who also sang some of the songs - Hey Joe and
Voodoo Chile - spring to mind whilst Carvin was whooping it up
in the audience! Nice touch! So, why was I surprised? Well, I
did my homework on Youtube and though interested I was not
impressed by what I saw.....but on the night he knocked me out!
Great stuff - well done again My Kyps.
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CARVIN JONES & Bloozer at Mr Kyps
After a miserable rainy day, what better way
to get a bit of sunshine back than a bluesfest at Mr. Kyps. By
the the time we arrived support band Bloozer had just started
their set and what a great little blues band they are, next time
we won't be late. Most of their set are covers, but very well
played, with Bill on lead guitar excelling during his solos.
Their vocalist has a great blues voice similar to Larry Samford
of The Rocky Athas Band. An excellent version of 'Heartbreak
Hotel' went down extremely well, a great start to the evening.
The Carvin Jones Band had their own MC to introduce them and he spent
several minutes building up the atmosphere, but needn't have worried,
Carvin came on to the stage to be greeted by a very enthusiastic blues
loving audience. He hit the stage like a whirlwind and never let up
the pace unless you count him doing press ups near the end of the set.
Dressed in a sequined top and donning a black hat, he strapped on his
battered looking Stratocaster and took us off on to a new high of blues
music. Backed up on drums by John Paul ? from Italy and fellow American
Bill Troxell on bass, who also never let up on the pace, of this the
most energetic and talented blues guitarist to hit these boards for
many a year.
Carvin plays his guitar in every position you
can think of and some more, to take a breather he lay on the floor
with his legs in the air holding the guitar with his feet and
playing the fret with his fingers and then balancing it just on
his feet. I lost count of the number of times he jumped over the
barrier to go on walkabout amongst the audience who were loving
every minute of it, especially his version of 'Hey Joe' and
'Voodoo Chile' with Bill left on stage to tackle the vocals,
while Carvin played up to the crowd, even stopping for a photo
shoot with members of the awe struck audience. Then he was back
up on stage to play two guitars at the same time, one with each
hand, and to top that off he shook off his hat and played one
of them behind his head, Just when you thought you'd seen it
all he'd pull another gimmick out of the hat by playing with
his teeth or holding it like a violin player. This guy is pure
showmanship and entertainment, and poses the question, is he
as good as the legendry Jimi Hendrix ? Those people that were
there can answer that, all I'll say is that Carvin plays right
handed.
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CARVIN JONES @ Hotel California, Birkenhead.
Thanks to Eric Harvey @ Soundwave, the healthy
Merceyside Bank Holiday night audience witnessed a man who most definately
was at the top of his game and worthy of the praise heaped upon him by Messrs.
Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy. Preceded by Burnley's Cutler Waterworth Band whose
set was a beautifully executed groove of original Rock'n'Blues mainly from their
thoughtful muse King Cotton (Blues Matters label), the scene was set for The
Phoenix Thunderbolt.
Jones is one of those infuriating musicians who makes the guitar look easy and gigs
seem like a walk in the park. Don't be fooled. To reach this stage of total
brialliance, Carvin Jones has made the Stratocaster his weapon of choice. The smile
from the audience when you walk into the California said it all. There is no side
to Carvin. No rock star pretence hiding in the dressing room until it was time to
stride on. But does he look the part? Oh yes. Dressed in Hendrix style black hat,
his influences are obvious and he doesn't hide them under a bushel.
The set kicked off with a medley of standards such as 'Boom Boom'/
'Rock Me Baby' all smattered with joie de vivre and energy. Carvin lasted all but two
minutes on the stage before he came down into his audience. The tribute to the great
man's greatest hits continued through 'Purple Haze' to the technical highlight 'All
along the Watchtower', 'Hey Joe' and finishing with 'Sunshine of Your Love' and
'VooDoo Chile'.
In all my years of going to gigs I haven't seen anyone who bonds
with the audience faster than Carvin Jones. He's a showman! But it all comes naturally
to him. This is his gift and he shares it at close quarters to all who come to watch.
Whether stood on someone's chair or dancing with the audience, it is easy to forget that
this showmanship is founded by skill. This hour-long set ricocheted along and finished
too fast. Possiblly peaking too early with the Hendrix histrionics, I'd like to see Carvin
Jones do a full two hour set showcasing his own stuff and building up to the greatest hits
in part two. To be fair, he had been travelling from the Colne Festival, so less was more
on this occasion. If Hendrix was watching he'd have smiled that his legacy was in the
safe hands of a rich talent.
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CARVIN JONES @ Beards Blues, Tooting, London.
There are gigs and there are special gigs
and then there are Carvin Jones gigs! Never in the history of Rock
Blues has there been a Carvin Jones. Yes, of course, there is the
ghost of Hendrix, and there have been any number of showmen, guitar
whiz kids, charismatic guitar playing front men and all manner of
artists born for the stage, but none I would venture combine so many
unlimited facets as Carvin Jones. In fact, I'll go further. No performer
has excited crowds in the way Carvin Jones has done on this, his 2006 UK
Winter Tour.
And tonight in Tooting, South West London, Carvin carved out his own
special niche. Yes, of course, there are many more cultured players,
players with more feel, and certainly better song writers, and as regards
his vocals don't ask, but when it comes down to it, Carvin Jones and his
power trio have that rare ability to set light a venue, and take people to
fever pitch.
Of course it helps if you look a little like Hendrix,
perform some astoundingly outrageous guitar stunts, and play at the speed
of light. But this particular midweek February show tore up the scripts,
made a mockery of considered debate and went for the throat. Born in Texas,
raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Carvin isn't called the Phoenix Thunderbolt for
nothing. And before the blues cognescenti dive for cover at the thought of
an avalanche of Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, let's just consider Carvin's
last few numbers of a blistering first set.
Having blazed a trail literally through the animated crowd
and having totally captivated his audience with that all too rare quality of
wanting to be loved, Carvin worked his way through a beautifully delivered
instrumental version of "Little Wing". He barely paused or breath before tearing
across the room, to hit the stage with an autobiographical shuffle "Born To Win",
from the "I'm What You Need" album (Carvin isn't short of self-confidence). He
juxtaposed that with another self-penned epic, "Midnight Seduction". The latter
starts incredibly quietly and brought the raucous crowd to virtual silence as he
teased out a vibrato before building a staggering solo, that contained three
separate attacks in one song. By the time of another stunt guitar outro on which
he played his horizontal guitar with the soles of his feet, Carvin proved his
ability to take a crowd up, down, sideways and to the pitch of hysteria, and
this was only the first set!
And there lies the kernal of what it is that makes the Jones
phenomenon so addictive. This self taught rock blueser who enjoys exploring
everything from Freddie King, and Howlin Wolf to Cream, Beck, Clapton and Hendrix,
is simply guided by whatever his crowd wants. And on this freezing cold February
night he attracted a truly international cast of Russians, Poles, French, Spanish,
and Austrians, and even a couple of fellow countrymen plus - gasp- the Tooting
regulars. The result was a totally spontaneous, mesmerising show, bags of fun, and
to the youngsters in the croud, perhaps shades of what Hendrix might have been like,
but twice as fast.
In the ere when guitar heroes carry with them egos the size of
their amps, here is a man who walks in the place, greets everyone himself, takes all
of 20 seconds to prepare and barely a minute later, flies his guitar through the
air with a huge smile...the first of many in a captivating evening, hail Carvin Jones
The King of Tooting!
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CARVIN JONES @ Irish Blues Club, JJ Smyth's, June 7th 2005.
Always a "must go" for me when an American Bluesman
comes to own and boy was I delighted to be in attendance for this high energy,
cocktail of trailblazing guitarmanship, on stage acrobatics and solid gold
entertainment.
Carvin Jones and his very competent and capable Band have
their priorities right, it's all about having a good time and I get the feeling
that they don't ever give up until everyone in the audience feel like they're on
stage and participating in the celebration, except that their way of doing things
is by way of bringing the performance down with fifty foot guitar leads to the
tables and sitting in between the amazed members of the audience, laying the
regularly abused and evidently long suffering Fender Strat wailing like a banshee
to rest across two tables and adopting a lap style technique in mid song and without
any interruption to momentum of the piece of music filtering into every crevice in
the room.
Nothing stands between the artist and the audience at a Carvin
Jones gig, there are no barriers, and it's a wonderful feeling and a testament of his
self confidence and natural friendliness on stage or off that leaves one and all
thoroughly entertained.
Just watching someone like Carvin is enough to ratchet your own
guitar confidence up a level on the stage presentation front alone.
Carvin arrives on stage in top Texas form smiling like a showman
that's got more than enough to meet the challenge ahead, immediately stepping into a
comfortable pair of Stevie Ray Vaughn or Jimi Hendrix's boots with an effortless
combintation of charisma, soul, showmanship, and guitar vocabulary that pays homage to
all the great influential masters of Blues. Carvin thankfully doesn't go for the
pain and sorrow approach to interpreting the blues preferring to whammy it up with
joy and pleasure as central parts of his armoury.
Carvin is an ace player and delivers the set of classic covers
and medleys with an uncompromising muscular brass knucked style on his Black Fender
Strat, that takes you to the hearts and hands of the essential bluesmen enhanced
with some signature sounding effects that deliver right to your doorstep that combine
to create a fusion of pile driving rhythm and screaming notes that suspend in the air
long enought for someone to run downstairs in JJ's and outside and rotate a flat tyre
on Augier St if the need existed.
Like Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Stevie Ray and Jimi its
got more to do with passion than technique at times stepping outside the minor pentatonic
box scales and making the magic happen in intervals, working the space between the notes
till their fingers bleed, weaving in and out of the prescribed 1 - 1V -V harmony and
orbiting around the original influence until it's time to land it on your own runway.
Hammering on double stops and rubbing sensually against the ninth
chords with power tube distortion, it's Guitar Slim hanging out with ZZ Top and the wind
cries get out of the way or it's going to run you over.
There is no standing on ceremony here, no bandstand meandering, if
it's reverences you want you're in the wrong house at a gig like this, you need to cross
the street and go up to Whitefriars Street Church. Hideaway, Voodoo Chile, Little Wing,
Sweet Home Chicago, Boom Boom Boom, Johnny B Goode, Dust My Broom are all just ingredients
for the Blues n Boogie stew boiling away on stage.
If we are ever going to reclaim the blues for this generation and the next
and solve the commercial nature of it for all concerned, then this sums up
what a live performance is all about. This is what Guitar Slim and T Bone
Walker has to do fifty years ago along the roadhouses of Highway 61 walking
out through the crowds with a 100 foot lead snaking its way from the stage
and playing back in at the audience through the window. This is a barrier
removing participation tradition that must not disappear and is a signature
trademark of the Blues performance and as necessary a credential as an
Albert King wide interval bend, BB Kings vibrato and the bone chillin legacy
of Albert Collins or John Lee Hooker already incorporated into the standard.
I witnessed our own Peter Moore weave a similar magic in JJ’s one freezing
cold night in January, flanked by Ben Prevo and Johnny Reynolds on guitars
and with Irish John Earl and the rest of the International Blues Band when
the audience and musicians were as one and the atmosphere was warm,
wonderful and spine chilling. Peter also works from a tapestry of diverse
and unique delights, one minute your head is in Mississippi and the next
you’re a Blockhead in a burlesque London pub gig. So it is when Carvin plays
its about attitude, he has one hell of a take no prisoners right hand
approach snapping and popping the strings with utter conviction on his beat
up Strat at one stage sent sliding down the floor of JJ’s at full throttle.
Slashing and cutting the chords, chicken picking and damping arpeggios the
reverb drenched sound commanding attention at all times with foxy pull and
slide manoeuvres and the occasional bottle whipped off a table to add the
bottleneck touch to proceedings.
He is unpredictable and cagey thriving in the fertile soil of Blues, Soul
and Rock churning out a mix to keep things interesting, watching the eyes
watching him from beneath the Texas Stetson. The Bass and Drum rhythm gives
a rolling motion to the boogie as Carvin grafts on cunning grooves and hard
rocking riffs delivered in an alternating fluid and piercing attack. Just
as Muddy was the master of forging Delta acoustic music into the electrified
Chicago blues of today the flame still burns as long as players with the
passion and vision of Carvin Jones are playing from the heart with that gift
for spontaneous reorganisation and give freedom of expression to the music
so that the end result is larger than life itself.
“If I can bring joy into the world…then I’ll be successful”. Bobby McFerrin
musician said and if you want to see that demonstrated treat yourself to a
Carvin Jones Band gig.
As I left JJ Smyth’s last night and fair play to the lads in the Irish Blues
Club for their efforts to keep the Blues scene alive, someone outside the
door told me that the powerhouse rhythms from upstairs had caused the air
bags in a Toyota Avensis to involuntarily explode outside the door.
Legendary gigs when reminiscing have a habit of prompting exaggeration as
time goes by and this one deserves to get off to a good start. MK
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CARVIN JONES @ Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
The blues comes in many shapes and forms, and most of them by this stage are
if not formulaic then certainly structured in a wholly recognisable format.
This is what makes the blues equal parts thoroughly acceptable and
occasionally downright boring. What makes one blues guitarist stand out from
another, then, is not so much technique, talent, proficiency and/or
expertise as application.
Tucked away in a leafy village in north County Dublin, this cosy venue might
not have a beer-stained House of Blues badge stapled to its rafters (it's
more accustomed to staging bluegrass, folk, and traditional music gigs), but
it's the perfect size for someone as up and coming as hotshot Texan blues
guitarist Carvin Jones.
For those whose idea of the blues is forged out of certain mythologies,
someone like Jones is not going to shatter preconceptions. Here is a guy
whose life has been saved by his dedication to the blues, from listening to
his grandfather's BB King records to gigging week-in, week-out for the past
for the past 15 years. It's an uphill struggle, of course, but you can sense
that Jones has it in him to continue for as long as it takes.
Backed by veteran musicians that bring to mind a hint of Spinal Tap, Jones
sails through a series of sharp, short blues tracks that embrace his own
quite evocative style as well as his many influences. Songs such as Hoochie
Coochie Man, Purple Haze, Crossroads, and Johnnie B Goode get the audience
shifting in their seats, while Jones's measured showmanship - half
showboating, half teasing - brings a smile to the face.
Anything new or groundbreaking? Not even close, but if he's in your town
next time around be sure to look him up - Carvin Jones is as honest and
genuine as the day is long.
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CARVIN JONES @Alexander's, Rufus Court,
Chester.
I wandered in early anticipating the inevitable
full house just in time to hear the support act, local band 'Mother
Goose' playing - oooh yesss I did! I didn't realise it was a sound
check and neither did the gathered throng so we all applauded
enthusiastically. Promoter Eric Harvey, who had borrowed
one of Carvin Jones's gold spangly shirts for the evening, had
warned them to behave themselves so tonight the set only included
one exploding amplifier and the 'Electric drill with home made
guitar' routine - don't even ask. They did play some useful bluesey
pieces and were actually forced to do an encore. This initial
mayhem should have been anticipated because Carvin Jones always
seems to generate a sort of surreal high-energy atmosphere whenever
he plays.
An anarchic off-stage guitar shuffle heralded
the arrival of the Carvin Jones Band, Bill Troxell bass guitar
and Patrick Riley on drums. Carvin, still jamming, subsequently
wandered on with a smile as wide as his black Stetson straight
into 'Hideaway'. The lights over Deeside dimmed momentarily as
local power stations struggled to meet the surge in demand as
the band blasted into 'Purple Haze' and 'Boom, Boom'. From then
on it was a non-stop onslaught: 'The Sky is Crying', 'Sweet Home
Chicago' and an extended unnamed Texas shuffle until Carvin announced
he was going to... 'Play y'all a love song, y'all right'. I paid
close attention but didn't hear any words probably because Carvin
was in full particle accelerator mode and surge into the crowd
like a crazed neutron into a bunch of alpha particles. The piece
turned into an extended quantum jam taking in 'Johnny 'B' Goode'
and 'Voodoo Chile' complete with the now obligatory guitar behind
the head and on-floor routine. The band had set a relativistic
pace and we all needed the interval to recover. I took the
opportunity to have a quick word with Bill Troxell, who had been
playing with Carvin for about three years, and suggested that
being bass player in the Carvin Jones Band must a great job -
he smiled knowingly.
They were off to Detroit next week to play
a Festival in front of a few hundred thousand people - sounds
like a pretty good job to me. The pause in proceedings also afforded
the opportunity to study Carvin's signal processing set-up which
I still haven't sorted out. I noted two in line Ibanez tube
screamers, a Vox wah-wah pedal and a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere.
These devices, with their high voltage tubes and dynamic analogue
circuits, are spooky dead-ringers for the original Leslie rotary
speakers so beloved of bands in the 60's and 70's. I also noticed
the 'Custom Sound' amplifier cabinet had two speaker cutaways
but was labelled with 1x15"! I suggest you check that out
for yourself if you get chance. Carvin has been working with effect's
maestro Roger Mayer over the past few years so I wouldn't be surprised
if some of these gizmos had been fettled in one way or another.
'Can't Find My Way Back Home' saw Carvin on
one of his several excursions into the crowd. Deciding to sit
at a table Carvin finger picked his battered old Stratocaster,
Hawaiian style, while a stunned member of the audience provided
impromptu fretboard hammer ons, it looked like anarchy but it
sounded good to me. Next a request, 'Little Wing'. Jimi Hendrix
told British producer John Marshall that 'Little Wing' was based
on a Native American Indian theme, stating... 'That's exactly
what it's about, like she's walking through the clouds'. 'Pride
and Joy', 'White Room' and 'Texas Flood' brought us up to the
first encore; 'Willy The Weeper' and 'Foxey Lady'. We demanded
and got a second encore, 'Crossroads'.
Carvin drew on his many influences during the
evening but the play list didn't say it all. Carvin is his own
archetypal frontman, with an understanding of his subject and
his audience.
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Carvin Jones' blues-rock trio puts the guitarist-vocalist
squarely in the spotlight, and he's got the licks and stage moves
to fill it up. Albert Collins called Jones "one of
the brightest young stars on the blues scene today."
If the blues scene includes Jimi Hendrix, then
yes, Jones is right there. His stage act includes tunes
by Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Eric Clapton,
as well as a growing number of originals, but there's no questioning
Jones' devotion to Hendrix. The way he wields his guitar,
the way he peels off a tasty run down the fret board, his expressions
as he plays, and the hats he wears will remind you of a certain
guitar hero from Seattle.
Don't think he's an imitator, though.
"I mean they labeled me as 'the next Jimi Hendrix' over here,"
Jones says from London, where he's been touring and cannily escaping
the heat and mugginess of Arizona's "monsoon" season.
"Some people say that should make me angry, but I'm not.
Why should I be? It just means they think I must be pretty
good!"
Jones came to the Valley of the Sun in 1989,
a veteran of Texas roadhouses. He started working in the
trio-configuration in February 1991 and hasn't looked back.
His current bandmates - bassist Bill "O.D." James and
drummer Todd Jewell - are relatively new, but give Jones tight,
flavorful support. The high energy Jones creates consistently
packs the clubs he plays here, and judging by the online reviews
of his British performances, such reactions are a trans-Atlantic
phenomenon.
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Carvin Jones Band and The Hoax - 14th October 1999 (London Astoria
2, London)
Tonight was poignant for several reasons, not
only was it the Hoax's last gig in the UK but also marked the
ascendance of a potential superstar - Carvin Jones.
Almost at the end of a massive 78 date European
tour, Carvin Jones has class written all over him. He also has
Hendrix written all over him with a level of exactness which requires
a double take to make sure it's not Jimi on stage. From the flamboyant
hat and spangly shirt, to the voice, swagger and stage mannerisms,
this is the nearest to re-incarnation I've seen. There have seen
many Hendrix copyists but even the guitar tones and shadings are
similar, which is something even Frank Marino and Randy Hansen
could not duplicate.
But it's not all about imitation though for
Carvin and his band play with sheer exuberance and passion. Even
if the set was littered with old standards like Going Down, Boom
Boom, Foxy Lady, Little Sister and Things That We Used To Do.
Carvin absolutely covered the whole mile, excursions into the
audience, playing between the legs, even balancing the guitar
on both feet. He is monstrously good. The Hoax must have been
sweating to death back-stage, for Pandora was out of the box which
they must have wished they had nailed and chained shut. The encores
of Before You Accuse Me and Fire would be enough to scare most
bands witless. The only blip on the horizon is after such a long
tour the old voice is starting to get hoarse which is not surprising
and what material is he going to move on to? Have no fear though,
the double "Live In London" CD will be going into the
collection.
I felt pity for the Hoax having to follow such
a masterful display, my pity was wasted. If the Hoax are anything,
they are a band in the truest sense of the word and also, they
have masses of attitude.
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He came. He saw. He conquered.
Opening the bill for the final ever gig by the
brilliant Hoax, Carvin Jones stepped into the footlights of the
London Astoria to raise his profile by about 700 rock blues fans,
and an adoring stage crew who gave him extra time to do his stuff.
The healthy early evening crowd suggested that a couple hundred
had just come in to catch the man in the sparkling purple top.
He didn't disappoint.
Roaring into a melange of Texas blues, full
of Freddie King and Stevie Ray style licks, Carvin departed from
his normal full-on assault and headed straight for the blues'ers
in the crowd. An unnamed Texas style shuffle blues song was incredible,
whilst Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying" gave the man
with the plan the chance to indulge his die-hard fans. His walk
about in the packed crowd was more like an aerobics workout. The
spotlight just about picked out a flurry of notes, so fast, that
I swear you could see them drift above the acres of heads surrounding
the man with the blazing guitar.
There was time for an inventive, humorous and
climactic Todd Jewell drum solo, complete with Todd's 'London
Walkabout' around the kit, while Billy "O.D." James
added some thumping bass.
Carvin eventually took his leave with surprisingly
only his second Hendrix number of the night, but what an exit!
Playing a quite startling version of "Purple Haze,"
Carvin momentarily eschewed his flamboyant approach for a straight
from-the-board Hendrix rendition. By the concluding couple of
bars, he was parading two guitars above his head as the 700 or
so in the audience gave him the kind of reception that Jimi got
at his Woodstock performance. Up came the roar of the crowd, out
came the smoke machine, and in the blink of an eye Carvin was
gone. Brilliant!
Happily for the UK fans, Carvin promises a post-millennium
tour in the year 2000. Everyone here can barely wait.
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Carvin just enjoyed a remarkable weekend of
gigs. Starting with his 6th appearance at the famed Worcester
Park Club, Carvin drew his biggest audience yet for the latest
in his two set specials. He placed alot more emphasis on his use
of dynamics rather than a full on blast. Mixing his trademark
Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas shuffles with several unnamed instrumental
pieces, Carvin gradually worked his way into a ferocious groove.
His high intensity approach brought the majority of the crowd
to the lip of the stage, affording Carvin the opportunity to dive
in amongst his followers to great effect.
It is worth noting at this point that while
at the outset of the tour, Carvin used to reserve his more spectacular
efforts for a truly rocking night. Given the levels of excitement
he has generated of late, he's having to pull out all the stops.
Bearing in mind that he is playing to mature London audiences
who are by no means starved of guitar players of international
standing, the excitement levels generated by several of Carvin's
shows are really impressive.
The Worcester Park show was featured in the
Surrey Comet, the biggest selling paper in the whole of Surrey.
The interest in Carvin was twofold. One, he was headlining the
club's third anniversary, and two, it is unprecedented for anyone
to play the club 6 times - let alone three - in such a relatively
short space of time.
The following night was interesting again, because
Carvin headlined the Albany Empire in Deptford, in his own right.
This is a late night theatre gig, with a mixture of standing and
seated fans. Bearing in mind the venue is in a tough part of town,
Carvin pulled an excellent crowd, who snapped up no less than
43 CD's on the night. Carvin was slated to play an hour set, and
ended up playing over double that!
He finished the weekend with a memorable gig
on the coast at the Grand, Leigh On Sea, in Essex. A capacity
crowd went absolutely wild! Such was the crush that Carvin at
one point stood on two separate chairs to deliver another memorable
solo. He was doubtless fired up by the presence of Snails Pace
Slim, the guitarist from the Hamsters, Britain's most successful
blues rock outfit. If people thought it couldn't get much better
than the night before they were wrong, because Carvin again produced
new levels of adrenilin, and for that matter, different material.
He slipped in some splendid Latino licks, and a crushing "Tough
Enough" from the Fab T'Birds. The PA could have been better,
but hell with a crowd like this, nobody noticed the occasional
bit of feedback. When you bend an E-string as much as Carvin,
you're probably used to high frequency signals.
In summary, Todd Jewell has been magnificent
on drums, and Billy "OD" James has never dropped a line.
This is all the more remarkable, given the fact that after having
witnessed 55 shows, I still haven't seen the man call out a song
title to the band yet!
The other notable thing of late is the amount
of dads who have brought their young sons along, presumably dreaming
that one day, their son too might play like the Texas Tornado,
from Phoenix!
Yet more: Carvin's been offered a weeks tour
in Ireland - both North and South, and 3 dates in Switzerland,
with Germany and Czeckoslovakia pending.
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Carvin is roughly up to gig number 55. He's
just conquered Wales, appearing on the same show as Tom Jones,
and selling out his dates there. The Welsh media are calling him
the new Jimi Hendrix!!!!!!!
Just about all the dates, except for two, have
done well. One was washed out by a thunderstorm, and one was a
public holiday, which should have done better, but that's another
story.
Carvin has experienced some real fan attention.
He sold out the Torrington Club (in North London) 3 times in a
row, and also had Virgin Radio come out to see him (big cheese
here). Incredibly, the first 6 weeks after he got here, the UK
experienced a heat wave, and yet people still came out to see
Carvin.
He's been played on the radio about 10 times,
including on the prestigious Jazz FM station, and is receiving
great write-ups. Also Wed 13th of Oct, Carvin plays his biggest
show -The Astoria (big theatre in the middle of London) with the
UK's leading rock-blues band, The Hoax. This is The Hoax's very
last date, and they asked Carvin on to the bill, which is great.
This Saturday (11th Sept) he headlines in his
own right at the Albany Empire Theatre, in Deptford, London. There's
also a probable week tour of Ireland coming up.
Roger Mayer has been out to see Carvin over
10 times, as has all kinds of weird, wonderful and important (!)
people.
Right now it looks as if Carvin's working through
until October 21st.
There's also alot of interest in Germany and
Belgium, as well as in Norway (loads of Norwegians in London follow
him around at gigs). In fact in Wales, people literally followed
Carvin around for autographs, and just like The Beatles, they
were knocking on the Welsh promoter's door looking for anything
they could get hold of.
There has also been interest from several
record companies, but we'll have to see what develops.
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Carvin' started off his UK trip with a bang.
He guested on Friday night at The Worcester Park Club with a band
called Four Bills & A Ben. They are are basically an all star
rock and soul outfit, who feature the Status Quo rhythm section,
plus Spike Edney from Brian May and Queen, and Andy Hamilton on
sax from Duran Duran, as well as Johnny Warman on vocals. He guested
in front of a packed house & went down a storm with the crowd.
Also sold tons of CD's.
His own show at the venue followed on Sunday
when he packed the dance floor with revellers, and was joined
on stage by Los Angeles vocalist Emmet North Junior. Emmet is
in London right now working with The Atlantic Soul Machine. His
rasping version of "Mustang Sally", allied with Carvin's
drivin guitar had the crowd in raptures.
In between the two dates, Carvin played at Club
Riga in Southend on Sea - you guessed it, it's a seaside resort
of sorts, and a hot bed of R&B. A band called Pride &
Joy, featuring 16 year-old guitarist John Priest, opened up for
Carvin. Their mix of SRV/Hendrix is in the same vein as Carvin,
and they played the perfect support gig. But when Mr jones hit
the stage, the air of expectancy was matched by Carvin's incendiary
playing. He played over 2 hours 15 minutes, and won over many
converts.
There's already been two major articles in the
papers over here on Carvin, and Jazz FM played "Sweet Home
Chicago" from the Live at Joe's Grotto album. Last night
saw Carvin play an up market supper club, and former Hendrix effects
man Roger Mayer with some special guests turned up to see Carvin
startle diners and rock fans alike by interweaving between the
tables, narrowly missing glasses and crockery, as he fired off
an impassioned set.
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