Who can forget that amazing Bluestone when Sammy Owen did an impromptu set with Greg Dodd and the Hoodoo Men to cover the absence of a band? The two of them were an inspiration and produced a sound much talked about. Now we have a chance to revisit that sound as Greg and Sammy come together again as SHBC May headliners.
Greg Dodd has been playing blues guitar for some years now, after first hearing the genre at eighteen.“From the minute I heard blues music, I was hooked. The blues to me seems different to a lot of other forms of music as it seems like it’s coming straight from your soul,” he says.
As well as regularly playing gigs in and around regional Melbourne, Greg has toured extensively around Australia, playing at almost every major blues festival. In 2013, Greg represented the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society as a Blues Performer of the Year in Memphis TN at The International Blues Challenge performing at B B King’s Club as a semi-finalist.
Greg’s band Greg Dodd and The Hoodoo Men is described as having a Chicago style sound, influenced by the greats of the windy city. The other half of that session was Sammy Owen.
Sammy comes on givin’ lip like your younger brother after a night on the turps. He’s all cheek and twists and a wry smile to keep you fooled. Then he launches into some of the best driving blues you’ll hear. He jumps and jives like a young George Thorogood – he shreds, his lyrics tease, and soon you’ll be yellin’ for more.
Sammy Owen is a left hander electric guitarist. Sammy focuses on writing original songs with his band to create their own contemporary, funky, energetic blues sound. The two of these blokes together, with the band hard behind them turned into one of those duels, with each trying to push the other further. What a night, don’t miss this revisit to that.
There’s also some excellent news on the local front. Buxom Blues Quartet are finally set to release their self-titled debut EP at the end of May – almost a year to the day from the band’s first rehearsal.
While the band definitely salutes blues masters past with the inclusion of three classic evergreens, two brand new originals, penned entirely by singer/songwriter Kayleen Gibbons spooned into the mix.
As Kayleen explains, “The new songs have their foundations firmly in blues, but there’s a floating layer of soulful jazz across the top. Or maybe that’s just the way I sing – I was raised squarely on jazz and I’d class myself as a soul woman who met up with the blues further on down the track.”
Each musician – all with backgrounds and musical upbringing as varied as their hats – personally chose a song each for the album that they live to play. So, Greg Dodd with Sammy Owen at SHBC on the 28th, and BBQ’s pre-release launch on 20th May at Pistol Pete’s.
Written by John Lamp