backup american blues news: NEW YORK BLUES: The Beat Goes On- Michael Powers & Clarence Spady

I got the chance to briefly chat with Michael Powers after his set and along with being a fine player he is also very gracious. It turns out we played a couple of the same New York City clubs back in the day. I also found out later when reading his bio that he was in a band called Moonbeam. I remember seeing a band called Moonbeam at the Great Gildersleeves club, which Michael played at. I put the two together and it hit me that Michael was probably the guitarist in that band. Imagine that! 30 something years later Michael and I are in the same blues club with me photographing him. Can anyone say small world?!

I am new to the Clarence Spady sound but I was very impressed. Clarence has a smooth, fluid sound. The drummer, as you can see from the photo below, has a very basic kit but he locked it down on the 2 and 4. The band has no conventional bass player, instead the man on the Hammond organ plays the bass lines on foot pedals. Those familiar with the sound of a Hammond going thru a Leslie cabinet know it is a majestic sound. Jon Lord anyone?

Speaking of the Hammond and playing bass with foot pedals, anyone here remember a guy named Lee Michaels and his rousing version of Stormy Monday? It's from an album recorded in 1969 and features just Lee on the Hammond and vocals and a guy named Frosty on drums. That version takes me to church all the time and remains the best version of Stormy Monday I've ever heard.

Nelson G. Onofre
e-mail: nelson@electriceyes.us

Michael Powers- Terra Blues, May 2009
http://www.michaelpowers.com/
http://www.myspace.com/powersblues
photo: Nelson G. Onofre
e-mail: nelson@electriceyes.us
Five Time Blues Music Award Nominee!!
"Michael Powers is without a doubt a true master of the guitar. It was his destiny from childhood. Influenced by the greatest such as Chuck Berry, Johnny Winters, Robert Cray, Jimi Hendrix and John Lee Hooker, Michael's music spans from "Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix" in one show! If you didn't like the Blues before, you will now! Even Michael's arrangements of other composer's songs are created into something unimaginably entertaining and new, some winning awards. He perfects anything he touches and never compromises that last detail."

Michael Powers- Terra Blues, May 2009
http://www.michaelpowers.com/
http://www.myspace.com/powersblues
photo: Nelson G. Onofre
e-mail: nelson@electriceyes.us

Clarence Spady- Terra Blues, May 2009
www.myspace.com/clarencespadyband
photo: Nelson G. Onofre
e-mail: nelson@electriceyes.us
"Once described as "the future of the blues" by Bill Dahl (Chicago Tribune), his sound has matured and is now even more distinguishable. Clarence plays with a depth and sensitivity that can't be taught, effortlessly combining blues, jazz, funk, and rock into his own unique sound"