Stobie Sounds

When we set about producing a tribute album to our favorite old school country bluesman, BIG JOE WILLIAMS, the response from local, national and international artists was virtually immediate, and to be honest, somewhat unexpected. Normally it takes a little time, a couple of Adelaide’s finest ales, and some reiteration (yes, reiteration) before the at first, seemingly crazy ideas of Grand Master JC Stobie, trickle down through the neurons and synapses, deep into the grey matter, and start to make perfect Stobie Sense.

One of the first (and all humility aside, it’s a testament to the discerning character of their grey matter!) to come aboard the Big Joe Album Tribute Train was Adelaide’s highly respected and much loved roots/alternative country duo, The Yearlings. And we’re absolutely stoked they did. In fact, they said yes, even before they really knew what they were in for. Legends.

The Yearlings’ Robyn Chalklen and Chris Parkinson have been working together since they connected during The Tamworth Country Music Festival back in 2000. The subsequent years they’ve shared touring and recording is clearly reflected by the complexity of harmonies, evocative lyrics and the indisputable first-rate musicianship that is showcased on each of their four studio albums.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we can sit here and bang on about Chris and Robyn’s contribution, and some of the toss we’ll eventually come up with might be half intelligible…but we won’t.

Have a listen to The Yearlings’ rendition of Big Joe’s heartbreaking blues classic, Juanita, and you’ll see why we don’t need to….

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We knew you’d play it twice. Perhaps you really need to swing by The Yearlings’ website and have a listen to their new album, Sweet Runaway. It’s out now…and it’s a bit special.

httpv://www.theyearlings.net/

Mat – Chairman, Stobie Sounds Inc.

I wanna go home but I ain’t got sufficient clothes.

doggone my bad luck soul…….

On August 28 Jesse Deane Freeman is lugging his Hanmmond C3 to the Brecknock to lay down his signature dance tunes.

Also that night, Jesse’s taking his trusty National Style O and might, just might, play a few numbers from the new album he recorded for Stobie Sounds. So I guess we could call it an album launch!

Jesse only recently picked up his guitar again after having an accident and losing part of a finger. Luckily for all of us, he’d recorded the 9 songs that make up this album in the days preceding the accident. This will be his first guitar-playing gig since the accident and we are in awe of Jesse’s tenacity through what would have been a trying few months.

Here’s another sample. ummmmm. why don’t we play Bad Luck Blues….the classic Blind Lemon Jefferson tune from nineteen and twenty-six.

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there’s only 50 copies of the album available so if you’re keen, why not pre-order now? While you’re waiting you get to download three free tracks from the Big Joe Williams Tribute Album that’s being launchd on 8 October at the Juke Joint Festival right here in Adelaide.

Stobie Sounds » Jesse Deane Freeman

Jesse Deane Freeman

Jesse Deane-Freeman: Solo Album

9 Country blues classics from Jesse Deane-Freeman on nothing but his National Reso-phonic Style O Geetar.

Out on 28 August.

For $15 you get: (a) Nine beautiful  numbers recorded by one of Australia’s finest purveyors of the blues. (b) 1500 word liner notes by Jesse himself providing some historical context to each of the songs he’s recorded. Factual but entertaining (c) Wonderfully tactile album packaging. Each recycled cardboard sleeve individually printed using traditional  techniques. (d) to tell your freinds that you own 1 of the 50 copies of the album made. Show me another record label that sells all that for $15.

www.jessedeanefreeman.com

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Are you one of those punters that have always wondered what it’s like to lead the life of a successful muso…perhaps livin’ life on the road, playing regular gigs…late nights and later mornings? Maybe you play an instrument (a proper musical one that is peeps)and sometimes you find yourself thinking what could have been.

Well brain strain no longer. Old Gray Mule have been kind enough to share with the Stobie Stew the fairytale-like story of how the recent Texas launch of their debut album went down. When we asked them if we might also be able to indulge our Stobie Sounds readership, the answer came back without hesitation - “course y’all are welcome to use it”. What else would you expect from our most trustworthy Texan friends! So if you are one of those aforementioned ponderers, the following emails just might have been sent from you! Read more

Click in the image to see larger copy!

Step 1: Click below to play tune….

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Step 2: read this interview we stole from Boston Blues, Brews and BBQs with Mississippi Gabe Carter who has kindly provided the song for the Big Joe Williams Tribute album which is being released on 8 October at the Juke Joint Festival here in Adelaide.

You can get your hands on Gabe’s music HERE.

We could sit here and disect Gabe’s style but we won’t. There’s nothing we need to say really. Just listen to it. Read more

That got your attention.

And it’s actually relevant to the whole story too so we’re gonna roll with it.

Back in November last year when we decided to pull together this whole Big Joe Williams Tribute Album we called our #1 supporter Sweet Baby James to make a contribution. Now we can’t knock James for being cautious about getting involved in another Stobie project but after about three months of nagging him he finally relented. That was the easy part.

James is a busy man. He gigs nearly every night of the week, plays sessions, has a family and a full time job so finding time for him to record was always gonna be hard. We tried to book him for a recording sesh. We failed. We tried to get him to record straight off the desk at one of his gigs. That failed too.  All to no avail. One night, after a bowl of buffalo wings I happened to say to James ‘hey mate, if it’s too hard, we can give the Big Joe tribute a miss’. and he said ‘its gonna happen’. Read more

Well. The Big Joe Williams Tribute Album is locked in for release on 8 October. The Juke Joint Festival has kindly allowed us to take over the first night of the program to invite a whole heap of local artists  who have contributed a song to the album and put on a huge friggin launch party.

but wait…. who’s on the album?

OK. there’s still a couple of loose ends on this project but the line up is as follows (in no particular order):

Cal Williams Jr: Highway 49  |  Snooks La Vie: Brother James  |   Mississippi Gabe Carter: Baby Please Don’t Go  |  James Meston: Army Man in Vietnam  |  The Streamliners: Greystone Blues  |  Tara Carragher:  I Gotta Bad Mind  |  Brenton Manser: Thinking Of What They Did To Me  |  CW Ayon: Throw a Boogie Woogie  |   Brendan Gallagher: Baby Please Don’t Go  |   The Yearlings:  Juanita  |  Justin J Garner: Vitamin A Blues  |  Jack Chernos: Providence Help the Poor People  |  Kirk Special: Sloppy Drunk Blues  |  Billy Bob & The BBQ Boys: I Got Wild  |

Over the next few weeks we’ll be previewing a few tracks off the album. Read more

In March of this year I called Jesse Deane-Freeman to see if he’d like to contribute a song to the Big Joe Williams Tribute Album. Being a really nice bloke he said yes without a second thought and picked a song to record on his National Style O single cone resonator guitar. After a little more thought I rang back and suggested that, while he had his guitar and recording gear out, he might as well record a few more songs and we’d put out a full album. We knew Jesse had never released a solo album playing his single-cone resonator but had played countless gigs using it to take punters on a history lesson of the blues. Those of us who saw the monthly gigs he played at Fad Bar (RIP) a few years back know that his great playing and singing, encyclopedic knowledge of music and his wry humour made for an enjoyable and informative excuse for a few beers. anyway….

In early April Jesse recorded a few tunes for the album and it was coming along swimmingly.  On the 23rd he was cutting some wood on a table saw and one thing led to another and he found himself missing the end of his finger. You can get the full story here but the x-ray to the right probably says enough. He did a pretty good job in cutting of his left index finger down to the first knuckle. What this meant is that Jesse was staring down the barrel of a pretty long hiatus from playing guitar and his beloved 1962 Hammond C3 Organ. As you can imagine, this is a pretty big deal for a man who has been a professional working musician since the age of 18.  To cut a long story short Jesse is still not back playing guitar but amazingly only took 4 weeks off playing his Hammond organ and is back gigging regularly. We caught him with his trio down at the Brecknock Hotel a couple weeks ago and can attest that he has lost nothing of his groove. This is great news for Jesse and for anyone who likes to shake a leg to some funky soul grooves. If you’re in Adelaide, you need to see Jesse play that organ at least once in your life. Read more

Doggone those boys from the Old Gray Mule sure know how to get a room groovin’.

Last night was the keenly anticipated Australian launch of the Texas Blues duo’s debut album, “Sound Like Somethin’ Fell Off The House”, and well let’s just say it went off. Off like a frog in a sock.

The five-star crew down at the Prince Albert Hotel on Wright Street, were only too bloody happy to help the Old Gray Mule and Stobie Sounds host the Aussie launch. Our fine and almost mule-like working bar manager, Charles, cleared all bookings and hooked us up with prime position in the saloon bar, while Big Benny, Jack, Claudia, and the Canadian whose name has been lost in a clouded abyss-like hangover, kept the punters well fed and watered. On behalf of C.R Humphrey and Joe Falco from the Old Gray Mule, and Stobie Sounds, we’d like to shout out a big ol’ on ya’s to you all. You rock our jocks. Seriously. Read more

Launch complete. I repeat. Launch complete. Over to you Austin. Do you read? Over.
Have a great time at TC’s tonight! Don’t forget to take your wallets now.

Stobie Sounds » Old Gray Mule

Old Gray Mule

Old Gray Mule - Debut Album

Grab a copy of the Mule’s debut album ‘Sound Like Somethin Fell off the House’.

Ten instrumental boogies, stomps and grooves for those of you who like your tunes laid back and low down.

You’ll get a download of the album for free while you wait for the postman to arrive in the post! Bargain.

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