Head's Up - Jammin' With John Brown's Body

report filed 3/7/01 - 8:27 am PST - I've got good news and I've got bad news. Now, when somebody hits me with that line, I always wanna here the bad news first. Sorta sets the parameters for the upside and gets the ugliness out of the way early. Anyway, the bad news is that the photos from Wise Monkey's back to back blowout at Winstons didn't come out. The memory card in my usually trusty digi-cam apparently died from all the excitement, and the bottom line is that none of the shots were saved... oh well.

The good news is that my 'backup' memory card still works. Made the switch and took some shots of John Brown's Body at Winstons on Saturday. As always, the roots reggae road warriors put on a great show! Very soulful with an abundance of positive energy...

Once again, Winstons was absolutely packed. Got real hot and sweaty in there with so many wiggle happy groovemeisters shaking their bones to the rock steady reggae celebration. Fronting the band, Kevin Kinsella's passionate vocals are a JBB trademark. Same with the rubba-dub rhythm section of Tommy Benedetti on drums and bassist David Gould - it's impossible to not dance when these guys are playing...

Equally important to the JBB mix is their high steppin' horn section of Lee Hamilton on sax, Alex Beram on trombone, and Chris Welter on trumpet. Not only are these horndogs a formidable brass section, they're versatile individuals.

On any given song Beram might switch over to a hand drum, or Welter will saddle up to the B3 organ, while keyboard player Nate Silas Richardson straps on a guitar. And most of the guys help out with backing harmonies. Lots of dynamics among the singers and players...

After a much needed break, JBB's 2nd set was even more intense than the 1st, with the festivities reaching a fever pitch as WMO's slide trombone player, AG, joined the band on stage for a few extended irie-jams... NICE!!!

Meanwhile back at the word factory we came to a conclusion on two CD reviews, Rhythm Rail, the fine new studio release from Mecca Bodega, as well as Luck So Strange, from Atlanta blues rockers, King Johnson. Both have been posted for your reading pleasure.

Looks like the Big Wu is scheduled for a much anticipated throw down at Winstons in about a week. Although there are no guarantees, if all goes well, we'll have words and images from that show when our adventure in music journalism continues...