Tony Holiday's Porch Sessions Volume 2

Front porches hold a special significance for Tony Holiday. Not only does he enjoy the cozy informality of making music on them, he's done some outstanding recording on those porches too. Studios simply aren't a necessity for the blues harmonica wailer when he's ready to lay some sounds down for posterity. He just meets hisfriends on their front porches, sets up his portable recording equipment, and gets down to business without the constraints of being inside a professional studio environment. And he hassome pretty impressive friends, too. "Alan Lomax was a big inspiration of mine," says Tony. "I grew up on bluegrass music. Igrew up with a lot of porch pickers. When I heard that story of Buddy Guy taking a piece of wire out of a screen door and nailing it to the porch and plucking on it, that was his first little idea toplay music. And I realized, 'Wow, the blues is really back on the porch too!' The porch is kind of the place where families used to go to cool off at the end of the day, get to know each other, play music together." Not long before the pandemic brought everything to a crunching halt, Tony visited a cross-section of his network of blues friends and made the exciting recordings showcased on"Tony Holiday's Porch Sessions, Vol. 2", his new all-star CD on Blue Heart Records. Blues veterans that include gritty Chicago belter Willie Buck, harpist Richard "Rip Lee" Pryor (son of the legendary Snooky Pryor), the impossible-to-categorize Watermelon Slim, and West Coast harp ace Mark Hummel are each spotlighted on a song apiece. So are next-generation standouts Jon Lawton, Ben Rice, A.J. Fullerton, Rae Gordon, the acclaimed band Southern Avenue, andharpist JD Taylor, who co-produced the set with Holiday. Only one performer has the distinct honor of having two songs on the disc : the legendary Bobby Rush. Full disclosure : his recordings weren't done on his front porch, and a boisterous crowd was on hand for the proceedings. "I facilitated that through Barbara Newman, the former president of the Blues Foundation," says Tony. "They were celebrating Bobby for something that I can't recall now, some big thing he did. Anyway, she knew about the porch sessions, and she had come to one and when that was going on, she said, 'Why don't you come down? We're going to do this on the front stoop of the Blues Foundation!' And it ended up being too rainy or windy, so we moved it inside. A lot of people came to see him, so that was kind of a special one." "Porch Sessions Vol. 2" also features the perpetually amazing Windy City guitarist Lurrie Bell, who contributes a compelling revival of "Every Day I Have The Blues." "He came to Memphis to receive an award at the BMAs, so I caught him while he was in town," remembers Holiday. "Lurrie was great. He had Mark Hummel on harmonica." Tony plays harp on the album too, but only sparingly. "I'm on a handful of tracks," he says. "I'm on 'She's Tough' with Victor Wainwright, 'Bad Bad Girl' with Johnny Burgin. A lot of times, there were harmonica playersalready there." One beloved performer on the album remains especially close to Holiday's heart : harmonica wizard James Harman, who passed away on May 23. "He was my mentor and myfriend," says Tony, who raised $50,000 for James when he fell ill with cancer. "He meant a lot to me, man. The album is dedicated to him." Harman's "Going To Court 2" stands as one of the many highlights on "Porch Sessions Vol. 2". As the title implies, Tony's new CD is a follow-up to his 2019 CD "Porch Sessions" forVizztone, which was nominated for a Blues Blast Award in the Live Album category. That release also found Holiday surrounded by a highly impressive cadre of blues talent; in addition to Harman, guitarists John Primer and Kid Ramos and harpists Charlie Musselwhite, John Nemeth, Mitch Kashmar, and Bob Corritore were among its featured stars. "The first volume, I was on most of the tracks. This one, I didn't see the importance of me playing on every track," notes Holiday. "I've just been traveling around the country the las five years or so, recording bluesmen and women on their porches. It didn't end with the first volume. It just had more life in it. The project had more life, so we kept going." In between the two Porch Sessions collections, Holiday released "Soul Service", a moreconventionally recorded album featuring Tony as its sole front man that was done at Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi (he calls that 2020 Vizztone CD "my pandemic record"). "I used some of John Nemeth's band," says Tony. "I had my own band, and John Nemeth helped me. We wrote a song together, and then Ori Naftaly from Southern Avenue actually reached out to me and he produced me. Ori has been such a big supporter, and very humble, and helped me." Nemeth has been crucial to Tony's musical development over the years. First off, he inadvertently inspired Holiday to switch instruments when Tony was still living in his original hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah and playing guitar. "I didn't start playing the harmonica until I was 29," he reveals. "I was washing dishes in a barbecue joint, and I really wasn't playing live. This was when I was about 25. John Nemeth came through town. I'd never heard, well, I'd seen his pictures around. Anyway, I just remember the sound coming through. And I'm a butcher overthere at the barbecue shop, so my apron has blood on it. I'm not really supposed to come out into the area where they're playing music, but I couldn't help it. So I kind of walked down the halland peeked my head around the corner to see what that sound was. And it was him playing the harmonica. You know, I sold my guitar the next day. I've never played it since." Just as importantly, Nemeth swayed Holiday and his guitarist, Landon Stone, to relocateto Memphis in 2018. "Memphis is a super-magical town," says Tony. "I never even considered it. I never thought I could. I never thought I would be allowed. I don't know what it takes for you to be welcomed to Memphis, but John Nemeth was always so kind about having us stop by his house when we passed through town, and while we were on the porch one night, he was just sitting there smoking cigars and drinking brandy. He told us that we really should move here. It's such a great town. And he kind of convinced us to make the move, so we pulled the trigger." When he was 13, Tony's mother introduced him to a Best of B.B. King CD that provided him with his entrée to the blues. "She used to go to the library a lot, and she'd bring home music," says Holiday. "I just popped it in, and then that's when everything kind of changed."At 16, Tony got his first guitar. "My mom bought it for me to keep me out of trouble, and it didn't work. So five years later, after I got out of trouble, I started playing a little bit in my early 20s. I joined a band. I was just the guitar player in a band at first. And then when that band broke up, I didn't want to quit. I just started my own. That was a band called Blue Root. Jordan Young, he just placed third place on The Voice, him and I started that band." Tony also playedwith a band called the Velvetones in Salt Lake City. Even at the height of the pandemic, Tony found a way to keep the porch vibe happening. "I was doing virtual porch sessions," he says. Now that things are opening back up, his itinerary looks a lot more like it used to. "I was playing Beale Street a lot before the pandemic. Thenduring the pandemic, I kind of rearranged my show, took a step back. So I haven't been eager to book any local stuff. I'm still working on my new show right now," he says. "I have a band inMemphis called the Soul Service. I just travel under my name right now. I'm not on tour with that band. I'm on tour with several bands, just pickup bands." Whether he's making recordings on someone's front porch, lighting up Beale Street with his own band, or bringing his soulful vocals and blazing harmonica to destinations nationwide, Tony Holiday remains a dedicated blues disciple. "I've been on the road for ten years," he says. "It's only gotten better." Following his 2019 Blues Blast Music Award nominated album, "Porch Sessions", Tony Holiday returns with more field recordings for a second volume. Recorded at various destinations across the United States, an all-star cast of his blues friends are featured. Dedicated to Holiday's friend and hero, the late harmonica wizard James Harman, a sentimental highlight of Volume 2 is Harman's track, "Going to Court 2". This is a great Chicago style blues party. Opening with 'She's Tuff', Victor Wainwright and his rhythm section really get things rolling with Wainwright on vocal and piano and Holiday on harmonica. With plenty of attitude in presentation and this dynamic duo, this is a strong opener. Willie Buck has the mic on 'Honey Bee' with Rusty Zinn on slide and Kim Wilson on harmonica. Zinn really conjurs Muddy's tone on guitar and Wilson's sound is fat and rich. Excellent ! In more of a Delta styling on 'Recipe for Love Master', Bobby Rush on vocal and Vasti Jackson on guitar really make a great team serving up a heavy helping of blues. Very nice. 'Going to Court' is a real hot number with James Harman on harmonica and Kid Ramos and Landon Stone laying down pure fire on guitar. Lurrie Bell teams up with harpmaster Mark Hummel on a shortened take on 'Everyday I Have The Blues' but not without playing some blistering riffs. Ace guitar man Johnny Burgin and Holiday play 'Bad Bad Girl' with Kid Andersen on bass. With it's 2 step rhythm, this track is a nice change up. Rae Gordon adds a lot of spice on lead vocals on shuffle, 'Find Me When The Sun Goes Down' complimented by Holiday on harmonica and backed by her own band. Ben Rice does a real nice job on 'That's How I Learned' with his ultrasoulful vocals and deft acoustic steel resonator accompaniment. Very nice. Mark Hummel & Dennis Gruenling do a great duet on 'Cake Walk' a terrific harmonica shuffle. One of my favorites on the release. JD Taylor on harmonica and vocal and his son Alex do a really nice on Family Tree with harmonica/ guitar backing of a great blues vocal. I particularly like the way Alex plucks his guitar accents. Excellent ! Wrapping the release is the lush gospel fused 'Peace Will Come' by Memphis based Southern Avenue. To say that this release is packed with goodies would be an understatement. Very strong release. It's a pretty simple idea, really, get a bunch of good musicians together in informal settings, even front porches, record them, and turn that spontaneous music into a naturally fine album of blues. So after the first splendid "Porch Sessions" appeared in 2019 and was nominated for a Blues Blast Music Award in the Live Album category, "Volume 2" was an easy choice. "I've just been traveling around the country the last five years or so, recording bluesmen and women on their porches. It didn't end with the first volume. It just had more life in it," says harpman Holiday. That "life" of 16 more songs recorded live means even more of this enthusiastic effort for our listening pleasure. The guest artists on this recording are listed on the album cover, pictured here for your edification, and at no extra cost. They run through a set of some old blues chestnuts and some lesser-known but still rewarding material, and they sound like they're having a great time doing it. Piano-pounding wizard Victor Wainwright opens the show with a tasty tribute to the classic rocking blues, "She's Tuff," written and first recorded in 1960 by Jerry McCain, but given new life about 20 years later by the Fabulous Thunderbirds as their signature song. It's more than "tough enough." Some highlights : Willie Buck does a deep blue turn on "Honey Bee," Bobby Rush reaches way back for the succulent "Recipe for Love" with Vasti Jackson's understated guitar the perfect side dish. Watermelon Slim lends his unique chops to the classic "Smokestack Lightnin'." In one of his last performances, James Hartman aces "Going to Court" with strong help from Kid Ramos and London Stone. Mark Hummel and Lurrie Bell bring some down-home flavor to "Everyday I Have the Blues," and Rae Gordon sounds tough enough herself on the crackling "Find Me When The Sun Goes Down" with Holiday on harp. Those are just a few of my preferences, but there's not a false note here. Everyone is captured in a relaxed and natural setting, and they make great music to match. To make it an even better experience, add the first "Porch Sessions" into the mix and spend an evening with some of the best blues music and musicians. And for some added enhancement, a libation of your choice. Mine was Jim Beam Black. Neat. I find bourbon and blues to always help with the hole in the soul.

1 She's Tuff 4:15

2 Honey Bee 3:20

3 Change Is Inevitable 2:51

4 Recipe For Love 4:44

5 Smokestack Lightnin' 4:36

6 Going To Court 2 6:24

7 Go 3:20

8 Ebery Day I Have The Blues 2:38

9 Brazilian Brothel 3:27

10 Bad Bad Girl 3:25

11 Find Me When The Sun Goes Down 3:52

12 That's How I Learned 5:56

13 Cake Walk 3:16

14 Family Tree 3:55

15 Peace Will Come 3:03

16 Get Outta Here (Dog Named Bo) 1:43

Bass - Kid Andersen (track : 10), Terrance Greyson (track : 1), Troy Sandow (tracks : 2, 9)

Drums - Andrew McNeill (track : 1), Danny Banks (tracks : 12), Dave Melyan (track : 11), Marty Dodson (track : 2), Ronnie Smith (track : 9)

Guitar - Alex Taylor (track : 14), Ben Rice (tracks : 11, 12), Kid Ramos (track : 6), Landon Stone (tracks : 6, 10), Ori Naftaly (track : 15), Rusty Zinn (track : 2), Vasti Jackson (track : 4)

Guitar, Vocals - A.J. Fullerton (track : 3), Johnny Burgin (track : 10), Jon Lawton (track : 7), Lurrie Bell (track : , Watermelon Slim (track : 5)

Harmonica - Andrew Ali (track : 7), Dennis Gruenling (tracks : 12, 13), Jake Friel (tracks : 3, 11), Kim Wilson (track : 2), Mark Hummel (tracks : 8, 13), Tony Holiday (tracks : 1, 6, 10)

Harmonica, Vocals - JD Taylor (track : 14)

Percussion - TK Jackson (track : 15)

Piano - Robert Welsh Jr. (track : 2)

Piano, Vocals - Victor Wainwright (track : 1)

Rhythm Guitar - Danny Michel (track : 9)

Slide Guitar - Big Jon Atkinson (track : 9)

Vocals - Bobby Rush (tracks : 4, 16), James Harman (track : 6), Rae Gordon (track : 11), Richard "Rip Lee" Pryor (track : 9), Tierinii Jackson (track : 15), Willie Buck (track : 2)

Recorded at locations across the United States: Memphis,TN (1,4,8,11-13,15,16), Bristol,VA (2,7,9), Fort Collins,CO (3), Clarksdale,MS (6), Anaheim,CA (6), San Jose,CA (10), Jackson,TN (14).