On Stage: New Orleans Suspects warm up cold weekend

Also: Stormy weather won’t stop Blavat show in Philly

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

There is a good chance that it’s going to be cold this Friday night — snowy, blustery and cold. There is even a better chance that it’s going to be hot inside the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) on Friday night — smoking hot.

On January 22, the New Orleans Suspects will be making a return visit to the venue as part of the Ardmore Music Hall’s “Mardi Gras & Carnivale Series.”

The New Orleans Suspects have only been in existence for slightly more than six years but they are so tight musically, it would be easy to assume that they’ve been making music together for decades.

The band features Reggie Scanlan on bass (The Radiators, Professor Longhair Band), “Mean” Willie Green on drums (Neville Brothers), Jeff Watkins on saxophone (James Brown Band, Joss Stone Band), Jake Eckert on guitar and vocals (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) and CR Gruver on keyboards and vocals (Polytoxic, Outformation).

The band’s formation was very accidental. Hank Staples, the guy who runs the Maple Leaf (a popular New Orleans music club) occasionally had a band that doesn’t show up. So, he kept a list of New Orleans musicians who he could call at the last minute.

“We all live right around the Maple Leaf,” said Eckert, during a phone interview last week from his home in New Orleans. “I was in the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Willie was with the Nevilles and the Radiators were still in existence.

“Hank would call me whenever he needed a band at the last minute. We played a couple gigs together and people really enjoyed it. A few weeks later, Hank called again. Another few weeks later, he called again and said — can you put the usual suspects together to come play?”

The band began performing a couple times a month at the Maple Leaf and started hanging out at Eckert’s place while he was building his studio. Before long, they were developing their own sound.

It was a traditional sound within the realm of New Orleans funk — music like the early Meters, Earl King, Mardi Gras music, Professor Longhair, Dr. John and early Neville Brothers. Eckert also brought along a background in southern rock.

“As time went on, we started recording our first album — first as a demo and then it turned into a real album,” said Eckert. “That’s when we changed our name to the New Orleans Suspects. Then, we started hitting the road.

“The next crossroad was when we picked up Jeff Watkins. He’s a great saxophone player as well as an amazing engineer. He was the missing link.”

Watkins and Eckert produced and engineered the band’s latest album “Ouroboros.” They also did the mastering at Eckert’s studio, which won a Grammy two years ago for its work with the North African band Tinariwen.

According to the band’s press release –“Ouroboros,” the band’s third album, features fever-inducing funk, irresistible R&B rhythms, Longhair rhumbas, dancing-in-the-street second lines, jazzy soul-drenched horns, mind-melting swamp hoodoo, and feet-don’t-fail-me-now Carnivale music.

“We’re working on our new album now,” said Eckert. “The last one and this one are all originals. There is zydeco, straight-up New Orleans funk, Southern rock, Second Line tunes, a Mardi Gras Indian song and a song we made with Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat.

“The music has changed. At first, it was all these different styles come together. Now, it has its own sound. It’s a strange gumbo but the sum of the parts is really good.”

The Mardi Gras vibe at the Ardmore Music Hall Friday night will extend beyond the music.

“The kitchen is doing a special New Orleans menu,” said the band’s manager Barney Kilpatrick. “There will be dishes in honor of the band’s drummer Mean Willie Green, who is also a very good chef. We’re encouraging people to come dressed for a Mardi Gras celebration. We will also be doing face-painting and handing out masks and beads.”

The New Orleans Suspects are also doing their Mardi Gras celebrations in New York City and Washington, D.C.  Fortunately for Eckert and his band mates, they will be back in New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras.

“I love Mardi Gras,” said Eckert. “I’ve got a six-year-old and it’s great for kids. What you see on TV with girls flashing their breasts on Bourbon Street and what actually happens are very different. Bourbon Street is for tourists.

“Uptown, where all the bands are from, it’s a family thing with colors, costumes and cotton candy. We’ll probably go to 10-12 parades. We’ll be playing at the Maple Leaf for Lundi Gras (February 8, the Monday before Mardi Gras). That’s still our home base.”

Video link for New Orleans Suspects — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZrSr_S_V8I4.

The New Orleans Suspects’ show at Ardmore will start at 8 p.m. with tickets priced at $22 in advance and $27 day of show. The show will feature another New Orleans act as the opener — Glen David Andrews.

The venue’s “Mardi Gras & Carnivale Series” will also feature Brother Jocephus and The Love Revolution on February 9 and Big Sam’s Funky Nation on February 18.

On January 21, the Ardmore Music Hall is hosting a show by Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. The husband-and-wife team is touring in support of its recent eponymous album release on Red House Records.

Campbell won a Grammy Award for his work with Levon Helm and has played with many of the era’s greats including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Phil Lesh, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, Cyndi Lauper, Hot Tuna and Mavis Staples. He has also won the Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) and Instrumentalist of the Year Award (2013) from the Americana Music Association.

Williams was a member of Southern Comfort, and later Swing Fever. She created the role of Sara Carter, the lead singer of The Original Carter Family, for the stage and for the BBC and PBS. She has performed with Bonnie Bramlett, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat and Hot Tuna and has toured as a member of Phil Lesh and Friends.

Together, they are one of the premier musical couples in American rock.

Campbell and Williams, along with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi (Tedeschi Trucks Band), sit at the top of the list of talented married couples making modern American music. Like Trucks and Tedeschi, the two had been married a long time prior to actually performing together.

“We’ve been married for 27 blissful years,” said Campbell, during a recent phone interview. “Surprisingly, this is the first album we’ve done together. The first time we really worked together professionally was with Levon (Helm).”

Williams said, “Prior to this, the husband-and-wife thing — recording together — just turned me off…except for George (Jones) and Tammy (Wynette). Playing as Larry and Teresa is new.”

The duo, which performed at the Philadelphia Folk Festival last summer, is still touring in support of its latest disc — an album that mines the rich tradition of Southern roots music and is a satisfying blend of blues, gospel, country, folk and Americana.

“We had been working on it sporadically over the course of five years ,” said Campbell. “We did the rhythm tracks with Levon during the recording for ‘Dirt’ (Helm’s 2007 album “Dirt Farmer”).

“One of the tracks that survived was ‘You’re Running Wild’ with Levon on drums. We were so busy with so many other things we didn’t have much time to work on it. We’d get our creative flow going and then it would be time to do some other thing — like tour with Phil Lesh.

“We started working on our album at Levon’s studio with Justin Guip as the engineer. He’s the engineer I use when I’m producing other people’s records. Eight of the songs on the album are originals. ‘You’re Running Wild,’ ‘Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning’ and ‘Attics Of My Life’ are the only cover tunes.”

Campbell and Williams spent the latter part of 2015 touring with Jackson Browne.

“We had a great tour with Jackson,” said Williams. “He was just such a cool person — always considerate. We would do a 40-minute set playing our music and then were part of his band for his show.”

Campbell said, “Jackson made sure we had enough time to do our set with his band backing us. We had to learn a lot of songs for that tour. I’m still learning the songs. After that, we did some shows on the West Coast with Emmy Lou (Harris) and Rodney (Crowell).”

Williams said, “After the tour finished, I hightailed it to my parents’ place in Tennessee. Larry and I have an apartment in Manhattan, a house in Woodstock and my family’s house in Tennessee.”

Campbell, meanwhile, stayed busy with music.

“I also started producing a record for some Pennsylvania kids — a band from Lancaster called the Stray Birds,” said Campbell. “We recorded it with Justin Guip at his studio in Woodstock. After that, I went to Tennessee to be with Teresa.

“Now, we’re back in New York. Last night, we sang the National Anthem at a New York Rangers game. We’ve started to think about making the next album. I’ve got a few songs completed.”

Williams said, “We also have some songs we recorded with Levon before he passed away that we might be able to use on the new album.  We also have more shows coming up — including an Americana cruise out of Miami.”

Video link for Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams — https://youtube/q2SmeMOCQmE.

The show at the Ardmore Music Hall on January 21 will start at 8 p.m. with Chris Kasper as the opening act. Tickets priced at $20. Other upcoming shows at the venue are Tauk with Catullus and Wax Future on January 23 and “David Stone: The Johnny Cash Experience” on January 24.

On January 21, there will be another show featuring American traditional music — a concert by The Americans at Bourbon and Branch (705 North Second Street, Philadelphia, 215-238-0660, bourbonandbranchphilly.com).

The Americans, a Los Angeles-based band, perform original rock and roll with deep roots in traditional American music. They have performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, twice joined Grammy and Oscar winner Ryan Bingham on national tours, and played the first dance at Reese Witherspoon’s wedding. They have backed up Nick Cave, Tim Robbins, and Lucinda Williams.

The four-piece band — Patrick Ferris (vocals, guitar),  Zac Sokolow (guitar, banjo), Jake Faulkner (bass), Tim Carr (drums) — appears throughout “American Epic,” a four-hour primetime PBS/BBC special produced by Jack White, Robert Redford, and T Bone Burnett that features Nas, Elton John, Alabama Shakes, and Willie .

“We started the band about six years ago,” said Ferris, during a recent phone interview from his home in Southern California. “Three of us had known each other for a long time.

“We met through a shared interest in pre-war traditional American music — rural music from the 1920s and 1930s. We were teenagers. Two of us grew up in L.A. and two in San Francisco. We’re all living in the L.A. area now.

“Jake lived in L.A. and I lived in San Francisco. His parents were friends with my parents and we’d have family get-togethers. Jake and I found that we both liked music and we both were learning to play guitar. I moved to L.A. in 2010 to start the band. It was to be a contemporary rock band where everyone in the band could play old-time music.

“We started with rockabilly music — hillbilly music. Eventually, we started playing songs I was writing. The idea wasn’t about modernizing old music. It has moved away from the old traditional music. That genre still informs our original music — but, we’re just a rock band.”

After making a few EPs and contributing songs to compilations, the Americans are ready to release their debut studio album “I’ll Be Yours” this year.

“The album has been a long time in the making,” said Ferris. “Just this last summer, we were writing and doing pre-production at the same time. We produced it ourselves with Matt Wright as our engineer.

“It all went pretty much according to plan. Some of the songs were road-tested and some were written right before we got into the studio. We recorded it at Prairie Sun Studio, which is located on a chicken ranch in Sonoma County (CA). “

The Americans also recorded an original song for Hal Willner’s “Son of Rogue’s Gallery” (ANTI- Records), an album of sea shanties and pirate songs featuring Tom Waits, Keith Richards, and Iggy Pop, executive produced by Johnny Depp.

“We auditioned a song for the project and the producers liked it,” said Ferris. “Our song ‘Sweet and Low’ was the one they picked to use on the album.”

Video link for The Americans — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tWWCTrfovGA.

The show at Bourbon and Branch, which starts at 8 p.m., will have Mother Moses and Christian Lee Hutson as the opening acts. Tickets are $10.

Another concert in Philly on January 21 will feature a band that does not play traditional music and is not American. MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, www.milkboyphilly.com) will host a show with The Trews as the headline act.

The Trews — vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Gavin Maguire — are a Canadian hard rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The band is currently based in Ontario.

“Some of us are living now in Toronto and others are in Hamilton, Ontario,” said Colin MacDonald, during a recent phone interview from his home in Toronto. “We got started in Antigonish.

“Our bass player’s dad owned bars in Halifax, so we played there a lot. We began by playing cover songs when we were in Nova Scotia. Then, we moved to Toronto, started writing our own songs and got our first record contract in 2003.”

The Trews released their debut album “House of Ill Fame” in 2003 followed by “Den of Thieves” (2005), “No Time for Later” (2008), “The Trews Acoustic” (2009), “Hope & Ruin” (2011), “Thank You and I’m Sorry” (2012) and “The Trews” (2014).

For more than a decade, the Trews have been moderately popular in America and very popular north of the border. They have had a lot of success in their native Canada with 16 Top 10 singles. “Not Ready to Go,” “Yearning” and “Hold Me in Your Arms” were all chart-toppers with “Yearning” and “Hold Me in Your Arms” both reaching gold record status.

“‘House of Ill Fame’ was our first album and we had a couple big singles from it,” said MacDonald. “It was a whirlwind from there on. We got into that cycle of make a record, go on tour, make another record and do another tour.

“Our last album was ‘The Trews.’ We toured a lot behind that. And, we’re still playing a lot of songs from that album on our upcoming American tour. There is a pretty significant difference between our popularity in the states and Canada.

“In 2015, we just did a handful of gigs. We did some writing but mostly the guys all just lived their lives — families and children and things like that. We have a ‘Greatest Hits’ album coming out soon in Canada and we recorded four new songs for that.

“We’re hoping to have a new album done by the end of this year. Right now, most of our writing has been very acoustic-based. If I had my way, I’d like to make an album every month.”

But, the band is not as prolific as MacDonald.

“Early on, the writing was mostly done by me,” said MacDonald. “Now, it’s more collaborative. I also co-wrote with Gordy Johnson (from bands Big Sugar and Grady) and Simon Wilcox (a multi-platinum Canadian singer-songwriter). We co-wrote the lyrics but all the musical ideas come from us.

“We stopped road-testing songs for awhile but we’re now doing it again. It’s important for bands to see how songs translate onstage. We will be road-testing all the new songs. We love touring in America. We’re a rock-and-roll band and America is the home of rock-and-roll.”

Video link for The Trews — https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0uUoqD8a0V4

The show at MilkBoy will start at 8 p.m. with Travel Lanes as the opening act. Tickets are $12. Other shows this week at MilkBoy are Tor Miller, Like Crazy and Sean Mcverry on January 22 and Trails to Town and The Band of Rivals on January 23.

If you’re over the age of 40 and you grew up in the Delaware Valley, the odds are good that you know who the “Geator with the Heator” is. He’s the “Boss with the Hot Sauce” – Philadelphia’s legendary disc jockey Jerry Blavat.

Blavat has been associated with the oldies since back when he first got on the radio in the early 1960s. He has been a host of record hops, dance parties and oldies extravaganzas ever since. Blavat, who will turn 76 in July, has been a radio and television personality for as long as anyone can remember.

The champion of oldies music has taken the genre to its highest level with a series of concerts at the prestigious Kimmel Center (Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org).

It continues this weekend with a special show Saturday night — “Salute to Street Corner Harmony!” The concert features a variety of recording artists who had hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The lineup for Saturday’s show features New York City legends like The Demensions, The Dubs, Eugene Pitt and The Jive Five, The Solitaires, and 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree The Chantels. The roster also includes local favorites Billy and the Essentials and Frankie and the Fashions and Pittsburgh legends, The Skyliners and The Marcels.

“I’m blessed to be able to do what I do,” said Blavat, during a recent phone interview. “I started doing these shows at the Kimmel several years ago. This is my 31^st show at the Kimmel. The first show I did there had Little Anthony and the Imperials, Lloyd Price and The Chantels. It sold out immediately.”

Blavat knows that fans love the oldies – and the artists that recorded the hits originally.

There will be plenty of hits served up on the Kimmel stage this Saturday including “’Walking Along,” “Since I Don’t Have You,” “My True Story” and “Blue Moon.”

“When you go back 40 years, artists like these would play in theaters or at dance shows with minimal music backup,” said Blavat. “With my shows, they’re in a concert hall backed up by a 30-piece orchestra.”

With a lot of oldies shows, the acts onstage bear only a slight resemblance personnel-wise to the artists that originally made the music. Such is not the case with the acts that Blavat brings to his shows.

“I only use artists that are still intact,” said Blavat. “They have to be the original artists – and they have to still sound like the original recordings. It takes a long time to put a show together because I plan on artists that audiences in our area haven’t seen in awhile.

“I pick the songs for the groups that can emulate the original recording — with the lead singer and the arrangement. When audiences come to the show, they can close their eyes and hear what they heard on the record.

Jerry Blavat’s “Salute to Street Corner Harmony!” will start at 8 p.m. on January 23. Ticket prices start at $41.

In a note Blavat posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday night, he wrote — “This Saturday’s Kimmel concert will NOT be canceled due to weather! All the artists will already be here and the show will go on as it always has in the past no matter what the weather. Remember — the Geator’s career started in a snowstorm 56 years ago in January!”

On January 27, there will be a show by an act at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to performing in Philadelphia. On Wednesday night, the Way Down Wanderers will be making their Philly debut with a show at the World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, philly.worldcafelive.com).

The Chicago-based alt-folk/Americana act is a five-piece group, headlined by Austin Thompson and 18-year old Collin Krause. The talented musicians, who started touring together at the young ages of 14 and 17, display an impressive brand of youthful energy and enthusiasm. 

“Initially, we were in different bands in our hometown,” said Thompson, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in the Florida Keys. “We met in the music scene in Peoria, Illinois. Then, we had a couple bands together. There is a pretty good music scene in Peoria. We found it very supportive.”

Before long, the Way Down Wanderers — Austin Thompson (Vocals, Guitar), Collin Krause (Vocals, Mandolin, Violin, Electric Guitar), John Williams (Vocals, Upright Bass), John Merikoski (Drums, Percussion), Travis Kowalski (Banjo) — decided it was time to relocate.

“About a year ago, the whole band moved to Chicago,” said Thompson. “It’s a better scene in Chicago than in Peoria. “We’re all in this little apartment together — except for John Williams who lives with his parents in Chicago and Travis, who lives in Altina, Michigan.”

Playing, performing and writing together for just over two years, the Wanderers have built an enthusiastic and fast-growing following across the country. A year ago, they received Deli Magazine’s Readers Choice award as “Chicago’s Best Emerging Artist, 2014.” 

“Collin and I have been the core of the band ever since the start,” said Thompson. “When Collin and I were together at Illinois Central College, he opened up bluegrass and Americana for me — the singer/songwriter style of music. The songs we were writing just had that sound.

“At the beginning, we also had a cellist and an electric guitarist. But, we found it wasn’t good for the sound we were looking for — more of a folkish Americana sound than a really loud rock sound. We have the same idea now but we’ve opened up more to rock. We also have more grooves than just bluegrass rhythms.

“We’re a five-piece band right now,” said Thompson. “Hopefully we’ve gotten the right line-up — one that will stick. We released our EP ‘Wellspring’ in April 2015. In late February, we’ll be recording our first full-length at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Texas.

“Right now, we’re focusing on this tour. We’re getting the chance to play a lot of cities we’ve never played before. This will be our first time to play Philadelphia and we’re excited about that.”

Video link for the Way Down Wanderers — https://youtu.be/_ATPc2VVH0Q.

The show at the World Café Live, which has Nathan Fox as the opener, will get underway at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.

The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) will present “Stand Up Comedy Night at The Kennett Flash” on January 21 with Chris Coccia, Rob DeSantis, Jeremy Riley, Lemaire Lee and Drew Castellano,  and Jane Lee Hooker with Vinyl Artifacts on January 22.

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will host Matt Sharayko’s CD Release Party with Nate Allebach and Josh Miller on January 22 and a show with Ross Bellenoit and Andrea Nardello on January 23.

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will have a show featuring Slave Dog, Space Caravan and Paige Bergen on January 23.

Doc Watson’s Public House (150 North Pottstown Pike, Exton, 610-524-2424, docwatsonspublichouse.com) will have live music by The Flip Side on January 22.

Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present Mason Porter with Nettles and The Hill and Wood on January 22 and Brad Almond and Found Wandering on January 23.