Slicer's Slivers of Being

Ivy's Rapid Climb

22 year old Ivy Ford has caught my notice, and many people are sitting up and paying attention in the Chicago blues scene. Why is she grabbing hold of a guitar to play blues? In her own words

"The Blues and I just have a certain understanding, it’s the roots; heart and soul of life. Blues music is a social and historical commentary, which is why it’s never-ending."

Now this particular song doesn't offer much lyrical commentary, and it's never really made explicit what is actually meant by "Rock me, baby" but with the blues sometimes you've gotta read between the lines. Leaves room for the imagination, and getting creative. It also leaves room for some slick licks, and warm tones, as it did for BB, who's clearly a strong influence. Apparently her instrument is actually the piano. Makes you sick, eh? But maybe all you need is a red guitar, 3 chords and the Truth.

 

A Slice of Mud, Honey.

I'm sure you've heard of Mississippi Mud Pie. Even a sliver is pretty indulgent. Well here's a different kind of Mississippi mud, straight from the delta. If you're looking for some dirty blues guitar, and/or a 21st Century update on Dylan's Masters of War, or commentary on Western business dealings with Saudi Arabia, Big Pharma's (or the coffee industry's!) exploitation of those in developing nations, nutritionist quacks or unrighteous doctors selling things that'll never cure your ills (a different kind of selling your soul to the legend of Robert Johnson at the crossroads, in fact one much closer to reality than that legend), or if you just feel some righteous indignation at folk who benefit on a smaller scale from the harm done to others, have some 20-something Joanne Shaw Taylor.  Something deep within us cries out for justice and retribution - that people should reap what they sow (or Karma, as in the song). I aspire to an even higher form of justice - redemptive justice - where what has been done wrong is put right, clearing the path for mercy.
 
An end to bloodshed, war, arms dealing, exploitation, oppression; and people whose names are mud. Bring it on.... em.... Honey.

A Slice of Heaven

Second in this new series of young female blues upstarts is this bit of sweetness from Arum Rae. She is being credited by some as creating a new genre somewhere between "blues pop" and "cyber soul." She has a serious voice and might even be making a serious theological point...
 

A Slice of Fish

Over Christmas, my daughter was given a goldfish as a housewarming present for her student flat. Given that there are 2 cats in the house, we think the future looks a little bleak for inter-pet relationships... and goldfish lifespan. I can just imagine the conversation between the 2 cats. One says, "Where d'you want this killing done?" I'm guessing the answer will be the kitchen floor - tho that won't rhyme so well as the original answer, but the cats wouldn't make it all the way to that particular highway. Longevity or otherwise, a fish needs a name and this one was quickly dubbed Frank. Neither my daughter nor I have any idea how to sex a fish but (as a name) Frank has a little bit of gender-bending quality so we hope he/she won't feel too misclassified. The Blues has a tendency to be regarded as a male-dominated genre, and perhaps that's a perception that's a little bent.

One of my new year resolutions this year is to dig a little deeper into the wealth of female talent playing Blues music. The excellent Blues website Down At The Crossroads has for quite a while been highlighting the contributions of women from the very start of blues right up to the present. I was aware of the contribution of quite a few of the old blues women but, apart from a few big names like Susan Tedeschi & Bonnie Raitt, I have been relatively ignorant of newer female artists, particularly young upstarts. I aim to fix that ignorance and, along the way, share a few tunes. Here's the first of those - courtesy of Samantha Fish, on an old Howlin' Wolf number. It's a song about an abusive relationship, so perhaps it's about time it got some airplay by a female artist. And she sure can bend strings. If only her parents were country music fans, and had given her a first name of Wanda, I might have had an awesome title for this post.... As it is, I present to you a fish called Samantha.
 
Oh, and the goldfish was a present from someone called Sam...
Wishing long lives and peaceful relationships to Frank and all of you out there in 2016.

Maybe we should do something to protect Frank...

All I Want For Christmas (part 18)

"...is no more sorrow, no grief and no pain."