Our friends at Stobie & Co. have just released this preview of the documentary they're making about their hand-crafted, bottle-neck guitar slides. It features some great footage of the Blues vs. Hip-Hop set that rocked the 2009 Juke Joint at Queens. Check it out!

Blue Pantz will host a quiz night at the Wheaty next Tuesday, 24 November, to raise money for the 2010 Juke Joint at Queens.

We've received a lot of support for the Juke Joint, but the turnout for the 2009 event was poor. We really need the support of the SA blues community if we're to establish a dedicated blues event in Adelaide.

Hell, we'll even ply you with booze and prizes. Just register your table of six by contacting Chris at chris@bluepantz.com.au.

Tickets are $10 per head and the games begin at 7pm. 

Still number four on the US blues charts following weeks at number one, Fiona Boyes's new album Blues Woman is also The Daily Planet's album of the week. If you haven't caught Lucky Oceans's acclaimed music show, check it out on ABC Radio National, Monday to Friday from 2.20pm.

Fiona Boyes plays the Juke Joint at Queens: The Roots on October 2.

Following a hit turn at the Blues Passions festival in France, Dallas Frasca is straight back on the road to promote her new album, Not For Love Or Money.

The album, which Frasca co-produced with Forrester Savell (Helmet, Karnivool, Cog), employs the skills of a number of talented friends, including Xaier Rudd, Adam Weston (Birds of Tokyo), Jacob Mann (Marshall and the Fro), and Liz Stringer, to fully recreate Frasca's explosive live sound on record.

Frasca's upbringing in Wangaratta was full of music, but it was one particular film that would ignite her diverse influences: Crossroads, the story of Robert Johnson, scored by Ry Cooder. "I remember wagging school the next day and watching the film over and over again...that music is embedded in me. And it was from there that I got into heavy rock, metal and soul."

Since first hitting the road at the age of 18, Frasca has won Triple J's Light the Fuse competition and become a consistent favourite at festivals around Australia and the world.

Frasca's appearance at the Juke Joint at Queens: At the Crossroads on October 3 will be the only stop in South Australia on the Not For Love Or Money national tour.

On October 3, the 2009 Juke Joint at Queens’ programme of contemporary Australian blues and roots, At the Crossroads, will feature an exclusive and innovative performance: The Blues vs. Hip-Hop, a live-on-stage battle between acclaimed voodoo-blues duo Sweet Baby James and Rob Eyers and hip-hop heavyweights MC Simplex and DJ Shep.

Since the legendary Robert Johnson’s “Devil’s music” rocked the juke joints of 1930s Mississippi, the blues has evolved with each generation to inspire many of the twentieth century’s most seminal musicians and seed many new and diverse genres. Just as Johnson’s acoustic blues evoke the everyday triumphs and troubles of African-Americans in the Deep South; as Muddy Waters’s raucous electric blues evoke their migration to the bustling industry and mean streets of 1950s Chicago; hip-hop is the culmination of that cultural journey and the soundtrack to urban life around the world.

Hip-hop is a living embodiment of the blues in a twenty-first century context. It might be just someone talking over a repetitive rhythm to many, but how is that any different to John Lee Hooker’s classic Boogie Chillun? What is all that boasting about sexual prowess if not Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love? or Muddy Waters’s Hoochie Coochie Man with tricked-up beats and parental-advisory warnings?

“The only thing that’s really changed is the hats,” says drummer Rob Eyers, who with guitarist and vocalist Sweet Baby James forms a duo who are arguably Australia’s best proponents of the house-rockin’ blues forged in the heat of the Deep South. Described by Australian Guitar Magazine as “swampy, dirgy and bluesy as hell,” their infectious rhythms fill dance floors and deliver a sound that would rock a Delta juke joint as it does festival stages around the country.

MC Simplex is one of the who’s who of Australian hip-hop. Between his work as producer on the ARIA #1 Hilltop Hoods album The Hard Road, and his success as an MC with his crew Terra Firma, Simplex’s dynamism and passion for his craft has in large part defined Australian hip-hop.

DJ Shep is a founding member of Da Klinic and one of Australia’s most in-demand hip-hop DJs. His scratching, juggling and beat-mixing skills are renowned, and he’s also the charismatic host of Nova 919’s Adelaide Show.

It’s now over eighty years since Robert Johnson laid the foundation for modern, popular music in the juke joints of Mississippi, and his legacy continues unabated. The Blues vs. Hip-Hop provides a rare and innovative opportunity to hear some of Australia’s best musicians celebrate the blues by pitting two era-defining sounds against each other in what promises to be an unforgettable performance.

With the second annual Juke Joint at Queens just a few weeks away on the October long weekend, on Friday 18 September a panel of music industry identities will decide which emerging South Australian talent will open the most exciting bill of contemporary Australian blues talent yet seen in Adelaide.

Ten emerging South Australian artists were shortlisted in July, and each have enjoyed audience exposure,  the opportunity to play at some of Adelaide’s best blues and roots venues, and the regular media coverage received by the competition. Following three hotly contested heats, four acts have progressed to the final:

·      Abbey Howlett

Nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter Abbey Howlett took out the first heat at the Blackwood RSL with a strong voice and a repertoire which recently won her a Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association (SCALA) encouragement award. A little lady with big potential.

·      Little Hefty

Solo singer-songwriter Little Hefty split the second-heat field down the middle with his rootsy grooves and polished performance. A real pro in the making.

·      Kirk Special

One-man band Kirk “Raisin’ Hell” Special won out over stiff competition in the third and final heat at the Old Bush Inn, Willunga, with his raucous garage-blues.

·      Colourise

A late but no less deserving inclusion, Colourise – who replace Tara Carragher  in the final – piqued the judges’ attention during a very competitive second heat at the Wheatsheaf with their inventive and original sound. A dark and just a little bit funky horse.

Making the final decision, and lending their considerable skills and experience to the participants’ development, are:

·      David Stoekel, Editor, SA Roots and Blues

·      Gordon Andersen, Industry Development Officer, Ausmusic SA, and

·      Snooks La Vie, Adelaide’s hardest-working vocalist of bands The Hiptones, Snooks and the Locale Motifes, Mo’ Roots, and Los Tonos.

Online public voting will also count towards participants’ overall score and will be open until midnight on Thursday 17 September at www.killingfloorblues.com.au.

The final will be held at the Ed Castle Hotel, Adelaide, at 9:00pm, and the winner will open the second-night bill of the Juke Joint at Queens on 3 October. 

Two acts, rather than one, will proceed to the final of the 2009 Killing Floor Blues Challenge following the second heat at The Wheatsheaf Hotel on Saturday 15 August. So strong was the competition that the judges couldn’t agree on a winner. The decision was instead put it to a cheer-off, but the judges still could not separate Tara Carragher and Little Hefty and the heat was declared a tie.

The Killing Floor Blues Challenge, presented by South Australian icon Rossi Boots, is an initiative of Blue Pantz Productions aimed at supporting SA blues and roots talent through exposure and mentoring. Ten acts were shortlisted to appear in three heats, and the winner of the final will open the bill of the Juke Joint at Queens, Adelaide’s premier, big-billing blues and roots event, which will be held over two nights at the Queens Theatre on October 2 and 3.

It’s a chance that budding blues guitarist and singer Tara Carragher is looking forward to. “It’s a great opportunity; really cool,” she said. “And I was lucky to have Adam with me tonight.” Carragher’s old friend Adam Waldron was due to take part in the heat with his own band, but was forced to pull out. Instead, the guitarists teamed up to jam on some blues classics, but no-one would’ve guessed it was a last-minute arrangement. “There’s a great energy between us,” said Waldron.

Sharing the win with them was Little Hefty. Having recently returned to Adelaide following five years living in Sydney, Hefty is keen to establish himself on the local roots scene. With his highly-polished songwriting and feel-good grooves, he is sure to impress the panel of music industry identities that will judge the final at The Ed Castle Hotel on September 18.

Positions currently exist in;

Before the event (September 1st – October 1st)

• Set and general ambience creative geniuses (open)
• Setup Staff on Oct 1st (4)

During the event (October 2nd & 3rd)

• Front of House/Ticketing (4 per night)
• Merchandise Sales (3 per night)
• Trash and Cleanliness monitors (3 per night)
• Stage Hands (2 per night)

After the event (October 4th and/or 5th)

• Set down & Cleaning (open)

All volunteers will receive a double pass to the night of their choice, bar vouchers and a volunteer ‘thank-you’ bash after the event.

To register your interest, please email Andrew Dundon with a brief description of how fantastic you are and your preferences for volunteer positions.
andrew@bluepantz.com.au
0402 425 973

Nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter Abbey Howlett took out the first heat of the 2009 Killing Floor Blues Challenge at the Blackwood RSL on Sunday, holding off strong competition from Mick Kidd and King Biscuit Time Blues Band.

The Killing Floor Blues Challenge, presented by South Australian manufacturing icon Rossi Boots, is an initiative of Blue Pantz Productions aimed at supporting SA blues talent through exposure and mentoring. Ten acts have been shortlisted to appear in three heats, of which two remain at The Wheatsheaf Hotel, Thebarton, on August 15 and The Old Bush Inn, Willunga, on August 30. The winners of each will progress to the final, which will be held at The Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Adelaide, on September 18 and judged by a panel of music and media identities.

It’s a very rare opportunity for blues artists, and one that finalist Abbey Howlett is clearly excited about. “To have a situation like this and actually be in a competition is wild, because I never really thought that I could do anything with what I’m doing, but now that I am it’s fantastic, and I love it.”

Though relatively young, she demonstrated unmistakable potential with a good repertoire of original songs and a strong, sultry voice that belies her years and diminutive frame, for which she is in part indebted to her father. “My dad’s a blues guitarist, and I guess hearing those blues licks all the time has helped me find my blues vocal lines.”

The prospect of winning the final and taking her place on the bill of the Juke Joint at Queens on October 3 is at once thrilling and daunting. “Just the thought that I’m one act of three makes me think, ‘Oh my god, the pressure’s on’, you know? But it feels really good.”

Following last week's announcement of the 2009 Juke Joint at Queens line-up, Rossi Boots is proud to announce the Killing Floor Blues Challenge entries shortlisted to compete for a place on the bill of Juke Joint at Queens: At The Crossroads on October 3.

Each will play in one of three heats, at the Blackwood RSL, the Wheatsheaf Hotel and the Bush Inn, and the best will progress to the final on September 18 at the Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Adelaide. The winner - to be chosen by a panel of music and media identities - will open the most exciting bill of contemporary blues and roots talent yet seen in Adelaide, including:

• Next-big-things Jackson Firebird, winning acclaim across Australia and described by Kram [Spiderbait] as "The best band I've heard in a long time...they are AC/DC meets Jon Spencer Blues Explosion"
• Acclaimed voodoo-blues duo Sweet Baby James and Rob Eyers doing battle live on stage with hip-hop heavyweights MC Simplex and DJ Dyems in The Blues vs. Hip-Hop
• Festival-favourite and multi-award-winning trio The Mojo Webb Band, and
• The inimitable, incendiary performer described by Triple J as "modern-day Janis Joplin", Dallas Frasca.

Welcome to the new Juke Joint website.