The Mick Schafer Band – Back To The Blues

26-12-2021

Mick Schafer is an American guitarist and singer from Portland, Oregon. In his childhood he started singing in the church choir. He knew early on that he wanted to be a musician and dropped out of college at the age of twenty. He moved to Europe where he performed for tips and meals. In the early 1970s, Mick played all over Europe. Mick withdrew to America with the intention of becoming a professional musician there, but that didn't work out so well, which caused Mick to suffer from depression. Then came the father chapter. Mick adopted Chris and his day job now was to raise his son. However, he also continued to play music during that period. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, his son Chris joined the navy and Mick was once again fully involved in music. He became the frontman of Blackberry Jam, a band from Portland, later known as Tree Top Tribe. The next chapter started in 2017 when Mick formed The Mick Shafer Band with some good musicians from Portland. In the same year the Lightning In The Bottle label released their Americana debut album 'One silken Scarf'. When the Covid 19 pandemic hit and no more performances took place, Mick concentrated on blues music. The result is "Back To The Blues" which was released on October 3, 2021. There are nine original songs on the album. Mick wrote about half of the songs, he helped write the rest. The album opens with the quiet 'Over In The Corner', a mix of Americana and blues. Immediately the pleasant voice of Mick Shafer stands out. Ken Scandlyn and Jason Thomas spice the song with fine riffs on the guitar and on the lap steel. Tom Esch helps set the mood with his fiddle. It remains calm in the excellent blues ballad 'If I Win The Blues'. Ken Scandlyn and Jason Thomas both shine on six strings and take 'If I Win The Blues' a level higher with their instrumental class. 'Virgin Mary' is a plea to the Virgin Mary. It has a Latin rhythm and here too we get very fine and excellent guitar work. The brushwork of drummer Jimi Bott determines the rhythm of 'Rainbow'. Mick Shafer sings the song with great feeling. Instrumentally it is again enjoying the guitars of Ken Scandlyn and Jason Thomas and the sad work on the fiddle of Tom Esch. The latter determines the mood of the song. Tom Esch is very explicit and excellently present in the uptempo cowboy country song 'Husband Blues', a song that will certainly provide the necessary ambiance during the concerts of The Mick Shafer Band. Timmer Blakely gets 'Astara' going with a great bass intro. 'She Woke Up' is a languid swinging blues song. Then they kick it up a notch for the swinging blues shuffle 'Don't Wanna B Judged'. The catchy sing-along chorus and the handsome guitar solo give the song an extra touch. The album closes with 'Rich Boy', which is spiced up with excellent guitar work. "Back To The Blues" by The Mick Shafer Band is a pleasant album to listen to. Vocalist, Guitarist and Band Leader Mick Schafer has been singing since childhood. Mick's voice was made known to him in the 7th grade church choir. At 20 he quit college and ventured to Europe to perform for tips and meals. He spent 1970 and 71 playing music around Europe. He always wanted to perform professionally but when he got back to the states, he was beset with depression and couldn't manage it. The Dad chapter was next when Mick adopted his son Chris and got a good day job to support Chris through the 80's and 90's. The guitar was close by. In the 2000's, with son Chris off to the Navy, Mick got paid gigs fronting Blackberry Jam (later known as Tree Top Tribe) all over Portland, Oregon. The decade culminated with the first full album, "Blackberry Jam". The next chapter kicked off in 2017 including shows with an array of stellar local musicians under the moniker of The Mick Schafer Band, in support of the new Americana record, "One Silken Scarf." When the pandemic hit and we all went indoors Mick focused on the Blues genre and, with the help of his friends, came out the other end with a record called "Back to the Blues". The new twist is that Mick has joined a new blues label Lightning in the Bottle Records. "Back to the Blues" is being released directly through this label. Mick Schaver Band is based in Portland, Oregon. Bandleader, singer and guitarist Mick Schaver is part of the local church choir at a young age and thus gains his first singing experiences. His mother who played the piano and the jukebox, with singles by Sam Cooke, Dave Clark 5, Kinks, Stones, Beatles, Doors, Ray Charles, Van Morrison, Santana, Richie Havens, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley, which his father had purchased, may be seen as the first sources of inspiration. He soon realized that music will become an important part of his life. On his twentieth birthday, we are talking about 1970/1971, he travels to Europe to perform for tips and meals. Once back in the States, he realizes that he cannot live off his music and he decides to find a job to provide for the daily maintenance and to provide a good foundation for his adopted son Chris. But when Chris joins the army in 2000, it's time to get serious about music again and Mick Schafer joins the roots band Blackberry Jam. In 2017 Mick makes the decision to focus more on the blues and gathers some renowned blues musicians from the Portland blues scene around him and it's time to record his first blues album "Back To The Blues". The line-up consists of Jimi Bott and Johnny Moore on drums, bassist Timmer Blakely, violinist Tom Esch and the two guitarists Ken Scandlyn and Jason JT Thomas, not the least. The nine songs on the album are performed in a very relaxed way. Do not expect flashy guitar solos, but mostly subdued accompaniment, which sometimes even leans towards country such as 'Husband Blues', in which the violin and slide playing evoke this atmosphere. Mick Schafer has a warm voice that conveys his lyrics in an almost narrative way. But sometimes the band also gets a bit out of hand, the powerful shuffle 'Don't Wanna B Judged' with solid slide play is a good example of this. "Back To The Blues" can be characterized as an extremely relaxed and atmospheric blues album, on which you can definitely hear Mick Schafer's roots background. "I really like (Mick's) music. It's very personal and very soulful. I like his lyrics too. It's spacious, even though it's hard driving. He leaves a lot of space in his lyrics, so there's room for (the music) to breathe. And let us (the musicians) just groove. I like his sense of timing and really enjoy his approach, and the truthful sincerity in his music. I got goose bumps a bunch of times (about recording the record with Mick)." (Dave Captain Bass Player). Singer-guitarist Mick Schafer is from Portland, Oregon and started singing in the church choir as a child. At the age of twenty, Mick left for Europe for some time and played there mainly to gather his meals. Once back in the USA we ran into Mick as the frontman of the roots rock band Blackberry Jam. After that, Mick thought it was time to start his own band, which currently consists, in addition to Mick (vocals), of Ken "Willie" Scandlyn (guitar, ex-Shemekia Copeland), Jimi Bott (drums), Timmer Blakely (bass) and Tom Esch (fiddle), on their new album with Johnny Moore (drums) and Jason JT Thomas (guitar). The new album is mainly filled with very languid bluesy music, which sounds quite sultry. Such as the opener 'Over In The Corner', which is about two addicted parents (women and gin). A wonderfully lumbering bluesy song with the moaning fiddle of Tom Esch and the Chris Isaaks-esque echoing guitar of Ken "Willie" Scandlyn, who lets his guitar bite in the solo. His poignant lazy guitar also plays a prominent role in the languid blues shuffle 'If I Win Blues'. The atmosphere remains languid and brooding in 'Virgin Mary' and 'Rainbow'. In 'Husband Blues' a country sound appears with a bluesy undertone. Of course the pumping fiddle is important in this song next to the reverberating guitar. 'Astara' sounds so sultry that it almost creates a swampy atmosphere. 'Don't Wanna B Judged' is a punchy pumping blues shuffle and the closing Rich Boy is a lazy funky song with the flaming fiddle of Tom Esch and the piercing guitar of Ken "Willie" Scandlyn. All in all, this is a very pleasant, lazy, bluesy album.

01 Over In The Corner

02 If I Win Blues

03 Virgin Mary

04 Rainbow

05 Husband Blues

06 Astara

07 She Woke Up

08 Don't Wanna B Judged

09 Rich Boy

Vocals - Mick Schafer

Guitars - Ken "Willie" Scandlyn & Jason "JT" Thomas

Drums - Jimi Bott (1-5) & Johnny Moore (6-9)