In America, February is Black History month. It is one of those artificial, “Hallmark” kind of observances that is probably a good thing, I suppose. Here at BLUES JUNCTION and across the world, the historical and cultural contributions made by African –Americans are celebrated 365 days a year. In the past 100 years, the music of these Americans has become the soundtrack of our planet. This gift is no small accomplishment and its importance can’t be overstated.

In the past fifteen years or so, I have become aware of the incredible blues music being made in places outside of the country in which this music was born. The interpretation of our own music by this generation of international blues musicians is, in many cases, startlingly superb. It is also a tribute to the great African–American artists who first made this music and continued the tradition for generations.

Two of these international blues bands are featured here in the February edition of BLUES JUNCTION. First let’s start with the group, The Red Wagons. I have been aware of this Italian based “little” big band for some time. They released a superb album towards the end of 2012. I caught up with one of the founding members of this veteran Roman ensemble, their pianist Marco Meucci. Enjoy a conversation I had a few weeks ago with this talented musician. 

I also spent some time this past month visiting with a member of a band out of Brazil called The Headcutters. Their style differs widely from say, The Red Wagons, as they utilize a stripped down four piece ensemble approach to play traditional post war Chicago blues. Enjoy an interview with singer and harmonica player Joe Marhofer.

The February Monthly Artist Spotlight shines on Billy Watson. Watson is a singer, harmonica player, song writer and band leader out of the San Diego area. He shares with our readers his unique perspective on his own approach to blues music.

I also spent some time with an extremely talented musician who hails from Cambridge, Massachusetts by the name of Gordon Beadle. He is known throughout the blues world as Sax Gordon. Gordon and I talked about his prolific career in music.

Do music and food go together? Velinda Salcido Ravega thinks they do and she has a recipe to prove it. Enjoy a brief essay as to why this is the case and enjoy her recipe,  one of her own creations inspired by music called Squashy Tacos.

This past month also marked the annual North American Music Manufacturers (“NAMM”) trade show that takes place in Anaheim, California. As is our tradition, we have a photo essay from the massive convention from photographer, Alex Gardner. Alex and myself also put our heads together and have the first ever co-written missive relating to one of the key components of this or any trade show and that is Swag. Check out an article entitled It’s a Drag as Economic Lag Causes Swag Snag.

Part of the NAMM experience also involves a whole bunch of live music in Southern California as musicians from all over the world descend on the area. Some of the shows that may be of interest to the readers here at BLUES JUNCTION have been captured in pictures by not only Alex Gardner, but contributing photographers Brad Elligood and John Reilly.

Check out this month’s Jukebox at the JUNCTION. You will find some tunes from soon to be released, recently released recordings and recent reissues. There are also contemporary recordings from some of the artists that are featured in this month’s ezine. As always, I only listen to music I love and write about music I listen to... no exceptions. In this day and age nothing is hard to find. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. I hope you continue to find this regular feature helpful in making that sometimes difficult music buying decision.

We have, in the past few weeks, made some modest improvements to the site. Please check out the Archives tab, as every article that has appeared in this ezine is referenced according to date starting with the most recent entries. Nothing new there, but for your convenience each article that has been written by the many contributing writers is referenced along with the author’s name. Additionally I have these missives referenced not necessarily by the original essay’s title but where appropriate referenced directly to the subject matter of that particular piece. For example, the article whose title remains, “I Have Been Thinking about the Future of the Blues”, which was a profile on a young musician by the name of Gino Matteo, now can be referenced under the link in the Archive section which now reads, “Gino Matteo”. I hope these small improvements help make the rather voluminous archive section of the site easier to reference.

We also updated and organized the links page by category. This overhaul was long overdue and helps direct our readers more easily to the companies and organizations who we endorse and who have been so supportive of BLUES JUNCTION. Thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions.

When BLUES JUNCTION got launched a few short years ago, I set out to do something a little different in the world of on-line journalism. My vision was to present an on-line alternative to the every other month blues magazines that come out in print and the up to the second blues news blogs that are so ubiquitous. I wanted the “word” to stand alone as something of value and not just a vehicle to click onto something else. I wanted to offer a quality reading experience for music fans who wanted to take that next step. I didn’t want this ezine to be an on-line, de facto publicist to write about whom ever is the highest bidder. There is enough of that out there. I suspect based on our success people are as sick and tired of this crap as I am.

The questions for me were: Would anybody be interested in old fashioned print magazine length articles on the web? Have attention spans been shortened to the point where this style of writing no longer has value? The fact is I didn’t care. I was going to do this without the compromise and corruption that is often the hallmark of writing in the blues world. I knew BLUES JUNCTION was not for everybody, the question remained however, was it for anybody?

Those questions have been answered with a resounding, YES! We had more readers visit our site in January than in any previous month. This could be said about any month as we have experienced steady, and up until the last quarter of 2012, modest growth in readership. That changed as our readership has gone through the roof. This is because of you. Self promotion is not something that comes natural to me and is an activity I loathe. Yet folks are coming to the site despite my feeble marketing efforts.

This is a place online to read about quality blues music and the dedicated, talented people who sacrifice so much to bring it to us. For you, the thoughtful, discerning blues fans of the world, welcome and thanks for stopping by.

Thanks to all of you loyal readers whose word of mouth, grass roots campaign has made this ezine a success. It is humbling and moving to think that so many thoughtful, soulful people “have my back”. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, feedback and encouragement. As always be well and be in touch.

- David Mac