Bad Influence Got What You Need

Bad Influence
Got What You Need
BadBlues Records

Bad Influence has been around the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) area for 30 years. This writer first saw them (the first of many times over the years) at a DC Blues Society show at an Arlington, Virginia American Legion Hall some time back. When I first saw them, it was a five piece band including a saxophone. Today, they consist of Michael "Jr" Tash on guitar; Roger Edsall on harmonica, slide guitar and vocals; Bob Mallardi on bass and vocals; and David Thaler on drums. As Tash, notes the four have been together 25 years and "It's finally starting to gel." As former B.B. King Bluesville host Bill Wax observes in his liner notes "This is one tight unit."

I recently reviewed a recording by another DMV band with similar personnel, The Smokin' Polecats, that Roger Edsall also was a significant part of. Admittedly I prefer the Polecats. It is a matter of taste as the performances here are recorded with a heavier presence. Jr Tash is a bit more rock-edged in his playing compared to Dave Sherman, but plays with a imaginative, focused approach. This edge is evident on Roger Edsall's title track that opens this recording. Tash opens with a Stevie Ray Vaughan styled Texas blues-rock riff. This edge is also present on Tash's terrific solo on the cover of William Clarke's "Party, Party," where rolling single note runs are punctuated with crisp chords and nice use of tone. Edsall displays cosndierable slide guitar skill on a  cover of James Harman's "My Little Girl" with its memorable opening line "She served me crow, on a silver plate."

Both Edsall and Mallardi are very good, expressive singers who deliver the songs with an energetic fervor. Tash's down-in-the-alley guitar, and an effective, restrained vocal, make the atmospheric rendition of the blues standard "Wee Wee Hours' memorable. An exuberant rendition of Rockin' Sydney's zydeco hit, "Don't Mess With My Toot Toot," with Edsall's harp taking the place of an accordion, is followed by a ebullient reworking of Little Walter's "My Babe," with Mallardi's strong singing supported by Edsall's terrific harmonica. Then there is an unusual transformation of James Brown's "I Feel Good," into a blues shuffle.

The variety of material include Edsall's rock and roll original "Lid Flippin' Short," a superb cover of Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Eyesight to the Blind," with a great Mallardi vocal, superb harp and some sharply played guitar from Tash. With superlative chromatic harmonica playing, Edsall pays additional homage to Little Walter on the cover of "Blue Midnight." It closes a terrific record of Chicago-styled blues whose appeal to these ears grows with repeated listening.

I received my review copy from the band. Here is Bad Influence performing at a Maryland bar, Hershey's. They are performing at JV's in Falls Church VA on Saturday May 25.

Whop Frazier - How Bluesy Can You Get

Word came out towards the end of 2011 that William ‘Whop’ Frazier had passed. I had known Whop for about two decades, although I cannot remember when I first saw him, but he played with about everybody playing blues and classic R&B around the Washington DC area. After working as a side man he joined a gospel group and later joined the Bad Influence Band, with whom he recorded his and their first album.

Whop then started his own band, Whop Frazier and Friends By Choice which played throughout the region over the past couple decades. It was always a solid band that would mix in a few R&B chestnuts along with classic and original blues. If Whop played with everybody, pretty much everyone played with Whop at times. Jesse Yawn often sang with Whop and tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway (formerly with Dizzy Gillespie and now touring with Warren Haynes) was a not infrequent guest in Whop’s band over the years. Drummer Earl Ivey and Washington keyboard legend Jackie Hairston were regulars in his group over the years although for specific gigs personnel could change.

Whop Frazier and Friends By Choice Summer 2008 at Wilson Plaza in Washington DC.
From left to right - Jackie Hairston, Whop Frazier, Earl Ivey and (I believe) Tom Newman.

Whop had a warm smile for everyone and it was felt when he sang. He reworked How Blue Can You Get, singing ‘bluesy’ instead of blues and made you feel so good. And he knew how to get the dance floor filled with renditions of Mustang Sally, and other classic R&B numbers like Some Kind of Wonderful or Turn Back The Hands Of Time. Guitarists Michael Tash and Bobby Thompson were among those who developed their chops playing with Whop while Tom Newman or Harold Flood was his featured guitarist over the past few years.

Whop was born August 31, 1943 in Washington DC. In an interview with Felix McLairen published in the December 2008 issue of the DC Blues Society’s newsletter, Capital Blues Messenger, Whop talked about his career and life noting that he “lived and grew up around 14th & U Streets. I hung out a lot and spent time around the Howard Theater just a few blocks from where I lived.”

“I became interested in music ‘cause I was hanging around musicians all the time. I was a young teenager when I started trying to play guitar and got tips from “Skip” Pitts. He was the guitarist who did the wah-wah thing for Isaac Hayes. He said my fingers were too long for the guitar and suggestedI take up electric bass. … I was gigging by the time I was about 14. I played at the Spa Club on 14th and T Streets. I also played the Coach Lounge where Billy Stewart sometime played. In fact, I dated Billy’s cousin for a while. I also played with Bill Harris at clubs on U Street.” Billy Stewart had a number of hits for Chess Records and Bill Harris was an original member of The Clovers as well as a pioneering jazz and blues guitarist.

He first went on the road at the age of 17 with Dee Clark. Locally he “played with Jesse Yawn, Eddie Daye & the 4 Bars. When I was in my early twenties I gigged with Little Royal, Wilson Pickett, and Pookie Hudson. … I started playing Top 40, jukebox tunes. I got into the Blues mostly when I got with Bobby Parker. Bobby was in his twenties and playing with a lot of [local and national] big names, like B.B. King. Later on I also did shows with Blues musicians like Junior Wells, James Cotton, and Bobby Blue Bland.” He stayed with Bobby for ten or so years playing the chitlin’ circuit and credited Bobby for getting him to sing.

Whop explained how he got his nickname, “Well, it came about for a couple reasons. I started out using a pick on the bass that made a whopping sound. But as a teenager I also was known for exaggerating. The guys laughed and talked about me telling whoppers of tales. One of ‘em suggested they call me Whop. The name stuck.”

Memphis Gold, Harold Flood, Tom Principato and Whop Frazier at 2006 Columbia Pike Blues Festival

Whop recorded at several albums that gave a sense of what he was like to hear live. They may not have been innovative, but full of his solid, heartfelt and ebullient blues and soul. His first album was with Bad Influence and then two self-released studio albums, Bathtub Blues and Here I Go Again. A performance at the Bluebird Blues Festival is available at itunes and amazon as a download. On this latter album harmonica player Roger Edsall joins the band with Harold Flood on guitar. Whop could be relied on for solidly played and always entertaining music. Even when not performing, he was there to attend and support other local bluesman. It was always great to see him, whether catching him perform or simply chatting with him. I am among the countless many who will miss him.

He died at the age of 68 on December 22, 2011 of complications from lung and bone cancer. He is survived by his loving wife, Dolores “DeDe” Frazier, four daughters, Amber M. Frazier, Shula Payton, Lisa Frazier, and Cynthia Brooks; three sons, William Frazier Jr., David Frazier, and Isaac Calhoun. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

Here is a youtube video Whop used for promotional purposes from 2010 with Jackie Hairston, Earl Ivey and Harold Flood on guitar.

Bad Influence's Solid Blues Under The Influence

Bad Influence is a Washington DC area band that this writer has been following for some time. The core of the band is guitarist Michael Tash, harmonica player Roger Edsall (who also doubles on guitar) and bassist Bob Mallardi with David Thaler on drums. When I first saw them perform they also had a saxophonist bout they have been a quartet for some time and have developed into a tight band that can jump the boogie, swing the shuffle and slow drag a three in the morning blues. 

The fact they have played together for such a long material underlies the bands tight group sound and emphatic playing with each other. They have also developed into quite accomplished players with Tash a versatile guitarist able to channel Elmore James and Albert King with sharply focused and thoughtful solos while Edsall is amongst the DC area’s finest harp players able to distill Little Walter, George ‘Harmonica’ Smith, Sonny Boy Williamson and Slim Harpo into a personal style

They have a new album Under The Influence that consists of mostly originals with Mallardi taking most of the vocals with Edsall handling a few. A bit of Dust My Broom slide guitar from Roger Edsall forms part of the foundation of the opening Man Child, while the band gets a hot shuffle going on Hey Red with Mallardi inviting his lady to party till the break of dawn and it sounds like the band will jitterbug all night long with Tash and Edsall taking incisive solos. A bit of southern blues rock seasoning is heard on the driving Do As I Say, with Edsall adding organ effects on his harp accompaniment and gets to strut a bit during a solo break. 

Edsall handles the vocal on Sugar Daddy Baby, a fine shuffle with Tom Ruggieri added on saxophones in the backing. This performance strikes the right groove and tempo and will be a delight for swing dancers not to mention to some jazzy single note fretwork from Tash. Nothing wrong with a bit of rock and roll (not hard rock) on the rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Run Through The Jungle, with another Edsall vocal. Edsall also adds slide guitar and harmonica while Tash employs some atmospheric tremolo in support. “Cat Fight II:PTP: is a spirited harmonica feature that showcases Edsall’s imaginative and expressive playing with guest Jay Monterose taking the guitar solo here. A nice strutting shuffle follows on Looking Right At Me. 

Bad Influence at Surf Club Live in Hyattsville MD in October 2011.

A solid rendition of As The Years Go Passing By, has Tash in part evoking Albert King as Mallardi delivers a heartfelt vocal on a song originally recorded by the great Fenton Robinson for Duke. Besides Tash’s inspired guitar, Edsall has a choice harp solo, followed by a hot guitar chorus. Mark Stephens adds boogie inflected piano behind Edsall’s vocal on Room 111, where it sounds like quite a party is going on. Mailbox Blues has a swamp blues feel with a strong latin accent in the rhythm. 

Under the Influence is a terrific album of blues with an occasional rock and roll accent that is sure to delight Bad Influence’s existing fans and gain them new ones. It is available from the band’s website, badinfluenceband.com and at cdbaby.com, and you can sample this at http://www.reverbnation.com/badinfluenceband.

Bad Influence provided me with a download of this recording.

Kenny Neal Helps Bring Surf Club Live Back

2010-0826 Kenny Neal at Surf Club Live-8265928, originally uploaded by NoVARon.

Not a completely accurate title insofar as Surf Club Live has been presenting live Latin music since the previous live blues show. Kenny Neal headlined with Bad Influence opening for a terrific evening of music.Several folks commented that they had not seen the Surf Club so crowded for a blues show and it was perhaps a reaction to the blues returning after such an absence.

In any event the music was terrific. Bad Influence certainly puts together a strong spin on mostly Chicago styled blues with fine playing from Michael Tash and Roger Edsall (on slide guitar as well as harp) and bassist Bob Mallardi, Edsall and Tash being fine vocalists.

It is easy to take Kenny Neal for granted, but he is such an exceptional singer and guitarist and his band of family members is first-rate that you don't notice how strong and tight they are. Kenny does not blast his blues at you, rather his slightly laid back approach is so effective because of the relaxed intensity he brings. In addition to his wonderful originals like "Let Life Flow," he can take such standards as "The Things I Used to Do," and "Baby What You Want me To Do," and make them his own. It is easy to take him for granted, but blues fans, please don't.

Congrats to the DC Blues Society for producing this show and we are happy blues is part of Surf Club Live's musical menu.