Gerry Jack Macks Brews Up Genre-Defying Boogie with Double-A Side Singles “Two Melissas” and “Too Many Times Down That Road”

Kamloops, British Columbia-based genre-defying musician Gerry Jack Macks is offering up a glorious one-two combo with the release of his Double-A side singles "Two Melissas" and "Too Many Times Down That Road," a tandem brimming with bevies of boogie from start to finish. Both singles also feature Macks collaborating with talented young drummer Sara Varro and two-time Juno Award winner Al Lerman. And both songs started over a cup of coffee!
 
Macks says "Two Melissas" was inspired after visiting Kamloops' Red Beard Cafe for his usual coffee break in September 2020 after his regular go-to spot had pandemic-related capacity restrictions. A server, Melissa, waited on him, and they started talking about music. Originally thinking of writing a song inspired by his "landlady," Melissa said "no one has written a song with my name." Macks said he would before Melissa added there was another staffer also named Melissa. Hence, "Two Melissas."
 
The artist says the melody and chorus almost came instantly to him while he drank his coffee. By the time Melissa checked to see how he was making out with his beverage, he started singing it. Some time later, the musician honed the lyrics for the entire song. "Although originally meant to be about the Red Beard in Kamloops, the style of the song required more of a dance club atmosphere," he says. "Not wanting to be misleading about the Red Beard, I reluctantly decided to change the location in the song to one with a dance floor and live band." Macks then decided to use "Foxie's," a bar from long ago he remembered situated far away from Kamloops.
 
"Two Melissas" oozes plenty of boogie while bringing to mind the style of Carl Perkins and Ronnie Hawkins for its feel-good, old-school Sun-era energy. Macks sings, plays rhythm guitar and electric bass while Lerman offers up a great amount of rollicking harmonica. And Varro keeps it all in check with solid drumming throughout. Macks wrote, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered the song which was recorded at Kamloops' Dusty Cottonwood Studios.
 
Equally stellar is "Too Many Times Down That Road" which showcases Mack's unique musical style that defies genre boundaries. The song was born out of a chance encounter over a cup of coffee with his friend Al Lomas. The longtime trucker had just navigated a treacherous backroad filled with potholes and ruts. Inspired by Lomas’ description of the rough journey, Macks penned the song's lyrics right there in the diner, capturing the essence of a challenging path with a catchy tune.
 
"Too Many Times Down That Road" is set to be a high-energy, genre-blending track that continues Macks' tradition of pushing musical boundaries. The single is part of Macks' ongoing effort to create music that defies categorization and appeals to a wide range of music enthusiasts.
 
Macks is not your typical artist. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays most of the instruments on his recordings, and his music effortlessly crosses the lines of various genres, including outlaw country, country rock, and southern rock. His work draws inspiration from rhythm and blues, pop, and Canadiana.
 
"I never really have any idea exactly what genre or genres a recording is when I release it," Macks confesses. "The distributors force artists to choose from a strict list of genres before the artist can release recordings, and I always struggle with great angst when forced to pigeon-hole my music."
 
Macks has a long and storied musical career that began in the early 1970s. With the support of legendary Edmonton musician Tommy Banks' wife, Ida Banks, Macks quickly rose from a beginner on the music circuits of Alberta, BC, NWT, and the Yukon to a full-time music career.
 
Over the years, his music has evolved to encompass Jazz, Blues, Easy Listening, Country, Folk, Pop, Rock, and more. Macks' upcoming projects include the highly anticipated Sleepy Time Sessions album, inspired by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole, as well as several other roots-based albums.
 
"I have always had deep appreciation for the people who follow my music, and I take every opportunity to remain in personal contact with them," says Macks.
 
Now with this Double-A Side release, Gerry Jack Macks is bringing his bottomless cup of boogie to the masses with "Two Melissas" and "Too Many Times Down That Road."  

Steve Strongman Celebrated for Contributions to Grammy-Nominated Struck Down by The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Stony Plain Records is thrilled to share that Canadian producer, guitarist, and songwriter Steve Strongman is associated with two Grammy-nominated categories for the 2025 Grammy Awards, honoring his exceptional contributions to the acclaimed album Struck Down by The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
 
The nominations are:

• Best Traditional Blues Album for Struck Down, which Strongman co-wrote and co-produced with Thunderbirds’ frontman Kim Wilson.

• Best American Roots Performance for “Nothing In Rambling,” featuring Strongman alongside Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal, and Mick Fleetwood.

 
Struck Down has made waves on the blues charts, securing:

• #1 on the iTunes Canada Blues Chart

• #1 on the iTunes U.S. Blues Chart

• Top 65 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart

 
Steve Strongman played a pivotal role in shaping Struck Down, co-writing nine of the album’s ten tracks with Wilson and contributing his signature guitar work to its dynamic sound. The album’s title track, “Struck Down By The Blues,” highlights Strongman’s seamless synergy with Wilson’s harmonica.
 
“Working on Struck Down with Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds was an incredible experience,” said Strongman. “The creative energy during the writing and recording sessions was inspiring, and I’m deeply honored to see the album receive such recognition.”
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Strongman is no stranger to accolades, having earned multiple Maple Blues Awards and a Juno Award. These Grammy nominations mark a significant milestone in his career, showcasing his ability to elevate blues music on a global stage.
Struck Down continues to earn acclaim for its seamless blend of blues-rock tradition and modern innovation. Strongman’s collaboration with The Fabulous Thunderbirds highlights his ability to push boundaries within the genre while staying true to its roots.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 2, 2025, live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
 
Steve Strongman Tour Dates:

• Sat, May 3, 2025 @ 8:30 PM, King Eddy, 438 9 Ave SE, Calgary

• Sun, Jun 22, 2025 @ 4:00 PM, Uxbridge, Ontario (location disclosed with reservation, contact mbbl.blues@gmail.com)

Montreal Blues Powerhouse Sarah Sokal Debuts Bold Single "Man Made" from New Album Twisted Games

 

After veering from the adult contemporary and pop worlds, Montreal blues singer Sarah Sokal is bringing a sensational and powerful new album Twisted Games to listeners led by a delectable, brawny single "Man Made." It's a beefy, bluesy, party-starting track that showcases Sokal's alluring and alarmingly strong pipes, keeping the blues alive by bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, drawing in a younger audience who appreciate both timeless blues and the appeal of mainstream music.

 

"Man Made," co-written by Sokal and Stewart McKie and produced by DUBë (who also mixed, recorded, and engineered the song), brings to mind the likes of classic Amy Winehouse and the late Sharon Jones with its feel-good, uplifting tempo and confident, self-assured arrangement. Keyboardist Dave Lines complements Sokal's introductory verse before guitarist Andy Dacoulis, bassist Dray Woods, and drummer Jean Nadeau flesh the "Man Made" to perfection. It's a track that almost out-Dap-Kings Jones' iconic backing group.

 

"I feel like being a woman in the industry calls for having a male sherpa to climb up!" Sokal says. "I have always been accompanied by a chosen male advisor/protector. I would love to experience being more surrounded by women creatives in the future, but it wasn't in my cards that much so far." 

 

Sokal, who cites Beth Hart and Susan Tedeschi as influences along with icons such as Peggy Lee, Etta James and Dinah Washington, grew up listening to rock and rhythm and blues in her teens. That blues passion resurfaced and solidified after meeting producer Marc Dube for a coffee in Montreal a few years ago. "I had two songs written, and I had a strong desire to record a full blues album destined to be a vengeance album, turning the ugly I've experienced through my journey in the industry into something beautiful and empowering," she says.

"Man Made" is from Sokal's Twisted Games album, a 13-track release whose origins began during the pandemic and faced challenges with social distancing during the recording process. Wanting to put her own stamp on the record, Sokal found the freedom to "express myself better" with this record and developing her artistic identity and sound. She also says the creative process is what fuels her passion. "It is never fully conscious decisions; I just go along with my instincts," Sokal says. "I like to paint and write songs without a plan or a proper canvas. That's where the pure and true energy feeds my imagination."

 

Sokal has had an illustrious career thus far. Writing her first song at age five (entitled "Pourquoi"), the musician professionally recorded her first song "I'm Lost" when she was just 15. From there she performed as a teenager in various hotels around Montreal and Quebec before forming The Sarah Sokal Band. Her group performed at various private functions, corporate events, and fundraisers, showcasing a musical mix of pop, adult contemporary, and blues. She is also a vocal coach and has worked with a variety of Juno Award-nominated and Juno Award-winning artists.

 

Sokal's previous releases include EPs entitled Ink and Paper, the five-song effort Your Song and Broken Promises. The singer, who recently performed at Montreal's Sutton en Blues Festival, was also a runner-up in the International Songwriting Contest's Song of the Year category.

Alex Blum Channels Chapel Hill and Charlotte in Blues Rock Single "Hometown"

There's an adage that says home is where you hang your hat. But for North Carolina blues rock musician Alex Blum, the adage stating you have to leave in order to come back might be more apt. The musician's travels resulted in his latest single "Hometown," a groove-riddled homage off his Good Weather album regarding where he grew up and the good-natured attitude of its inhabitants.
 
"'Hometown' is a song I wrote while far from home, and it had truly been too long since I had been in my hometown," Blum, raised growing up in Chapel Hill but now based in Charlotte, says. "I had taken a trip full of idealism, hitch-hiking between off-grid communes and eco-villages and other various alternative living communities across the country and working very hard trying to contribute to what I thought was a positive mission. But the communities were beset by bickering, gossip, and slander, which I would have thought was part of ordinary life, but people would really kick each other out of a living situation over the most petty grievances."
 
Blum felt betrayed by people who were "completely dishonest and openly manipulative" yet who professed to "trying to make the world a better place." After ending up in California, he pined for the days of being in his hometown, a place "where people truly knew each other" and held each other to a higher standard. Left with either dealing with the proverbial backstabbing or speaking out in the hopes that clearing the air would result in progress, Blum picked the latter.
 
"The point here is not to settle old disputes, but to reflect on life and glean lessons that we all can learn," he says of "Hometown," which was also inspired by a Biblical reference (Luke 4:24: "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.") "It's a song about venturing out into the world and discovering people are way less trustworthy than you had thought or hopes, and finding out about yourself in the process -- all the while missing your hometown."
 
"Hometown" is a groove-based track bringing to mind the likes of Everlast and Beck, melding a slight hip-hop back beat against a delivery resembling Lou Reed in some respects. A mid-tempo arrangement allows Blum's narrative to come to the fore, leaving an infectious, intelligent, and intriguing track that works wonderfully for well over five minutes.
 
"Hometown" is the latest single from Blum's latest album Good Weather, released in October. The artist is no stranger to being as prolific as he is eclectic, with a myriad of albums and EPs dating back to 2016's Sunday Morning EP. In 2022, Blum released Speak Dreams To Me, a record he describes as his "fullest rock album" that featured the musician playing every instrument (including drums) while also diving deeply into songwriting for the first time. In 2018, he released Tourmaline (Guitar Instrumentals Vol. 1) and Amethyst (Guitar Instrumentals Vol. 2) five years later. Blum also released Acetone-Electro Tape in 2020 and 2023's Blues Master Does Another Electro Tape. Other albums include 2020's Rap Beats Vol. 1, while 2022 saw three more album releases: Alex Blum Does Rap Music and Noise Music. Earlier in 2024, Blum released Abstract Sample-Based Music.
 
Blum also spent time busking on the streets of Nashville and Asheville and has performed throughout North Carolina as well as in New York City. Now with his new single "Hometown," Alex Blum's career is sure to impress people far beyond his own hometown.

Blues Musician SUGAR BROWN Shares Globe-Trekking Odyssey With 'Toronto Bound' Single And Album

 

Picking up and leaving for a new town or city can be a challenge at the best of times. But for Toronto-based blues musician Ken Kawashima (aka Sugar Brown), leaving Chicago -- often considered one of the blues' hotbeds -- for Toronto seems like a natural fit on the groovy and gorgeous new single "Toronto Bound," the title track of his latest studio album.
 
The song, inspired in part from the 1954 blues song "Chicago Bound" by Muddy Waters' guitarist Jimmy Rogers, is a lyrical trek of Brown's journey over the last few decades. From his hometown of Bowling Green, Ohio to Chicago to Paris to New York City to Tokyo and finally to Toronto, Sugar Brown (who was given the stage name by James Yancy Jones, better known in blues circles as Tail Dragger Jones) describes the fun-filled trip perfectly with a timeless blues foundation. Think of some fusion between John Lee Hooker, Little Walter and a ramshackle Bob Dylan on a nearly seven-minute blues binge and "Toronto Bound" becomes crystal clear.
 
In Toronto town
I got a job and pay
I got me a home
Where I can stay
But I need my baby
Or I need a new  lover
Oh, I need my baby
Or I need a new lover
 
"This song tells the story of my itinerant life as I left many places: Ohio, Chicago, Paris, NYC, Tokyo...and ended up in Toronto, where I've resided since 2002," Brown says of "Toronto Bound." The single was naturally recorded in Toronto, with Brown using all Toronto musicians for both the single and the album Toronto Bound. And nearly all of the album was recorded on one hot, sweaty late-summer day in, you guessed it, Toronto.
 
"True to my production principles, we recorded the album live off-the-floor and onto one-inch magnetic tape," Brown says of the creative process. "This is like jumping onto a fast-moving train without knowing where it is going."
 
"Toronto Bound" features Brown on lead vocals, harmonica and electric guitar while guitarist Nichol Robertson, upright acoustic bassist Victor Bateman, drummer Lowell Whitty and percussionist Derek Thorne keep things chugging down the road Brown sings about. "They are bad, bad, bad," Brown says. "That's why I like 'em. They also thrive on 'composing on the fly,' as Ornette Coleman said. And, like myself, they're all bound to Toronto in one way or another. Toronto Bound is what this city sounds like to me."
 
The child of a Japanese father and Korean mother, the musician began playing blues in Chicago when he was 19 while attending university. Playing with the likes of Tail Dragger Jones and later iconic Muddy Waters' drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Sugar Brown left Chicago to become a historical researcher and university teacher. In fact, he's currently a professor at the University of Toronto's Department of East Asian Studies. But "the blues followed me into the next stage of my life," Brown says, resulting in his 2011 debut album Sugar Brown's Sad Day. Subsequent albums included 2015's Poor Lazarus and 2018's It's A Blues World: Calling All Blues.
 
Having performed at various festivals, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Edmonton Blues Festival, Sugar Brown has also regularly played at Toronto's Grossman's Tavern. Now Sugar Brown looks to take both "Toronto Bound" and the album of the same name to the masses. And judging by how appealing the classic-sounding lead single is, look for the song to be heard all over the place. Be it Ohio. Or Chicago. Or Paris. Or New York. Or Tokyo. Or Toronto.