Is this the Future of the Blues? Not Too Bright a Future If You Ask Me!

I must confess that I was not overwhelmed by the initial album by The Homemade Jamz Blues Band and seeing them play live, my impression was not changed much. Well they have a new Northern Blues CD, "I Got Blues For You," which I doubt I will listen to much any more. So what if I am older than their combined ages and they play these cute guitars. I mean at 15 years old, Grace Lee recorded with Lee Konitz and was his musical equal. She sounds like she was playing sax on some classic Blue Note Recordings. Sugar Chile Robinson recorded at a comparable age to these Mississippi teenagers, and made boogie woogie recordings marked by a rhythmic complexity and swing that exceeded his years and stand up today as solid piano blues. Not the case here. It does not help that the rhythms of bassist Kyle Perry and his sister Tara just plod along. The original songs by the trio's father Renaud come across as generic with little to distinguish them. While the oldest of the siblings, Ryan, continues to show promise as a guitarist and a singer, the songs and the accompaniment help prevent his performances from being memorable. I wish I could be encouraging about them, but they need to show more than a mere competence at playing musical instruments and show how they can swing, rock and funk it up, as opposed to merely pounding out a simple groove without any rhythmic nuance.

Homemade Jamz Blues Band at Surf Club Live

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Originally uploaded by NoVARon

Saturday evening, August 9, The Perry clan made their way to Surf Club Live in Prince George's County, Maryland for a show presented by the D.C. Blues Society. The Perry siblings, Tara, Ryan and Kyle constitute the Homemade Jamz Blues Band, who created a sensation when they finished second at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge in 2007. Since then they have played at a variety of festivals, been on CBS' Sunday Morning and had a debut recording,Pay Me No Mind on Northern Blues Music, which I have reviewed previously here.

Accompanied by their parents and others, the trio certainly displays a considerable amount of talent and exuberance. Musically, the set was a mixed deal. Mixing in covers of songs from B.B. King, Albert King, Little Milton and others along with originals penned by father Renaud (who played harmonica for several tracks), they are talented and Ryan is a particularly promising vocalist. Him and Kyle play home made guitars and bass respectively, fashioned from car mufflers.

Obviously there youth is a basis for their appeal and they certainly are entertaining, but if one did not know that they were 9, 15, and 13, one would not pay particular attention to them. Their youthfulness was perhaps felt by the relatively simple backings they had and problems they had in ending songs which sometimes reached an abrupt conclusion. It will be interesting to see what the future has for them as they and their musical skills grow and mature and whether they become distinctive and persuasive musical voices.

Homemade Jamz Youthful Blues

Much has been made about the family band from Mississippi, The Homemade Jamz Blues Band who were runners up at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge a year or so ago.

When Lucky Peterson first came to attention as a very young child playing keyboards and singing the blues, there was no doubt that part of his appeal was as a child. One might be tempted to suggest that part of the appeal of The Homemade Jamz Blues band is their youth. The Perry siblings range from 9 year old drummer Tara, 13 year old Kyle on bass and 15 year old Ryan on guitar and vocals, yet perhaps because of the maturity of the vocals in particular, this trio does not come across as a novelty act. Northern Blues has issued the trio’s debut recording, “Pay Me No Mind.” With the exception of the closing rendition of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” all the songs are written by their father, Renaud, who also adds harp to several songs while producer Miles Wilkinson plays rhythm guitar on several tracks. Listening to this disc, one would not guess they were so young, and they sound as accomplished as many bands much older than them. At the same time like many often highly touted recordings, nothing on this recording is striking or compelling. There are several songs that build on a Stevie Ray Vaughn styled power riff and two tracks, including the Hooker classic and ‘Pay Me No Mind,’ are nice workouts in the North Mississippi Hills style. The elder Perry provides typical blues themes in his songs such as the philosophical ‘Who Your Real Friends Are,’ who reveal themselves when you are heading to the bottom, or ‘Voodoo Woman,’ a well worn blues theme. One expects the trio to mature and grow, especially Ryan as a vocalist, who needs to exhibit a bit more of a relaxed or a bit of hesitation to his vocals. That is one aspect of their music that should improve with maturity and experience. One can imagine with the youthful exuberance they must bring to the performances, that they are a terrific live act. It should be noted that they have been booked on encore performances of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, indicating that they put on really good shows.

I will hopefully have an opportunity to see them August 9 when the DC Blues Society presents them at the Surf Club, and I expect to enjoy the live performance more than this album, which is respectable, but not extraordinary.