Post Description

Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters - 10,000 Miles

Release Date: 1998
Label: Stumble Records (New Music)
Genre: Blues
Format: MP3  320 kbps
Time: 65:10
Size: 149 MB

Their journey through the blues took off back in 1995. You'd think they'd done 'n seen it all by now, after so many days on the road and so many nights in hotel rooms. Yet their tour bus keeps rolling through Europe, from town to town, from country to country, faster 'n ever -- its arrival eagerly anticipated by their ever-growing fan community. If you've seen and experienced Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters live, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Though these musicians have great respect for the blues as an institution, as a group they're firmly rooted in the present. "We want to be a band that's happening right now." That is to say, Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters aren't interested in re-creating the originals note for note. These guys present a rip-roaring mixture of blues, swing, and rock 'n' roll that they have branded their own. Few music genres must contend with as many prejudices and clichés as the blues, but Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters simply shake up the (in)famous 12 bars and set in motion an earthquake.

Memo Gonzalez hails from Texas. He originally made a name for himself in Europe when he toured with the "Texas Harmonica Rumble" (together with Gary Primich, John "Juke" Logan, and others). He has played clubs such as "B.B. King's" in Memphis, Tennessee, and "Antone's" in Austin, Texas, but he also commands the stage on the European side of the big pond with his fat harmonica ("the juicy tone") and his powerful voice. Memo's performance proves with every drop of sweat and every bounce of his slicked back hair that the blues is more than just pain, that it offers wisdom, wit, and a whole lotta fun. ~MovinMusic


Tracklist:
[3:28] 01. I Wanna Ask You Pretty Baby
[3:44] 02. Get Up, Jump Up
[4:01] 03. Wanna Bee
[7:58] 04. Greyhound
[4:11] 05. What Do You Do?
[2:49] 06. She's Dynamite
[2:37] 07. Let's Burn
[3:59] 08. Louisiana Lover Man
[3:38] 09. 10,000 Miles
[3:48] 10. The Pressure Of The City
[5:10] 11. The Love Of Money
[3:02] 12. Tell Me What's The Reason
[3:28] 13. Shake It Baby
[6:14] 14. She's Leaving
[3:10] 15. I've Been Thinking
[3:48] 16. Wiggle Toes

Member:
Memo Gonzalez (vocals, harmonica)
Kai Strauss (Guitar, vocals on "Shake It Baby")
Erkan Ozdemir (bass)
Ralf Nackowitch (drums)

Ein musikalisches Schwergewicht im wahrsten Sinn des Wortes ist Memo Gonzalez. Der voluminöse, aus Texas stammende Sänger und Mundharmonikaspieler lebt in Deutschland, und hat 1995 die amerikanisch-deutsch-türkische Gruppe The Bluescasters ins Leben gerufen. Mit dem Quartett, in dem Gitarrist Kai Strauss, Bassist Erkan Özdemir und Schlagzeuger Klaus Schnirring engagiert sind, tourt er quasi nonstop durch Europa, um seine ganz persönliche Version von Tex-Mex unters Volk zu bringen. Wer ihn einmal live erlebt hat, weiß welche Sprengkraft da auf den Zuhörer zukommt. Mit Big Time In Big D liegt nun endlich ein neues Album von Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters vor. Es enthält zwölf kraftvolle Eigenkompositionen, bei denen Blues, Swing und typischer Texas-Rock eine Symbiose eingehen. Und zu denen erzählt der Sänger eindeutig-zweideutige Geschichten, die Titel wie Angel In High Heels, Two Headed Woman oder The Door Of Happiness tragen.