Tag Archives: Cassie Taylor

Out of Her Mind — Cassie Taylor – Crystola Roadhouse, Crystola, CO 8/19/13

Posted on by
Reply
Cassie at Crystola 8/19/13

Cassie at Crystola 8/19/13 with guitarist Steve Mignano and whatshisname on drums. Hey, if you’re not named on the web page, you’re not really in the band, are ya?

” We’re goin’ to the Roadhouse gonna have a real…good time! ” – The Doors-                        ” Roadhouse Blues”

When you’re the daughter of  famous Chicago bluesman Otis Taylor, but raised around many genres of music, it’s good to keep in mind that ” they all come from the blues “, as Cassie pointed out on Saturday night to a crowd of aging whitebread patrons perhaps unfamiliar with the genealogy of her g-g-generation’s hip-hop and rap. So when she spliced Trent Reznor’s  ” Closer to God ”  together with the Etta James blues chestnut ” I Just Wanna Make Love to You “, hopefully many saw the connection. That is,  if they could get over the shock of the pretty young big-haired woman singing ” I wanna fuck you like an animal “. Not that it bothered me!

So it is with the style-shifting Ms. Taylor, who glides easily between pop ( ” Satisfy My Soul”, from the Girls With Guitars project with Samantha Fish and Dani Wilde), R and B    ( ” Leavin’ Chicago”),  rock ( “Out of My Mind “),  brassy funk ( ” New Orleans”), and slow  blues ( ” Lay My Head On Your Pillow” ). Her edgy stage persona ( ” if you know her father, you know where she gets it “, according to promoter Amy Whitesell) contrasts sharply with her runway model looks ( she has her own designer label)  and ordinarily soothing voice. But those sweet expressions and dulcet tones can turn to snarling growls in a heartbeat, so watch your ass!

Cassie solos on keys!

Cassie solos on keys!

Otis told Cassie to learn songwriting, ” because it’s the only way to make money in this business”, she says, and her set at Crystola featured precious few covers, save the Nine Inch Nails/Etta James mashup noted above. The songs on her fine new CD, ” Out of My Mind ” ( Yellow Dog Records), reflect her hard work to overcome childhood dyslexia and craft narratives reflecting her own perspective and influences. Not surprisingly, given the pride that she shared in her parents’ long-term marriage on her last visit to the Springs area ( check the archives!), themes of marriage ( ” No Ring Blues”, ” Again” ) and family     ( ” Lay My Head On Your Pillow” ) recur throughout. While the CD was cut at Boulder’s Immersive Studios, sassy Cassie has recently tied the knot and relocated to Kansas City with her beau, whose own devotion is chronicled in the liner notes: ” Dedicated to My Man, who sold his car to make the album “. Talk about givin’ it up!

So it all made sense  when Cassie lead in to ” Forgiveness” by asking the crowd, ” how many of you have parents?”, and hearing little reply,  taunted, ” so the rest of you were raised by wolves.. Howlin’ Wolves” ! See, it really does all get back to the blues.

Mr. Phledge regrets that journalistic integrity compelled reporting the profane lyric verbatim–  Editors.

“Can You Stand the Heat?” – Ana Popovich

Posted on by
Reply

Concert reviews: Ana Popovich at Mojo’s Kitchen, Jax Beach, FL 5/15/2013

The comely Ms. P graced the First Coast with a short-notice stopover on her way North from wildly received shows at the Nawlins Jazzfest and Tampa. Despite no publicity, the Mojo’s Kitchen gig was packed with Blues cogniscenti and leering old men – with new contributor Teri Jo and addled correspondent Nanker Phledge leading the respective categories – Editors

Teri Jo’s take:

photo(21)

Ana Popovich onstage at Mojo’s Kitchen, Jax Beach, FL 5/15/13

Refugees from the Legendary Blues Cruise and grizzled blues aficionados gathered at Mojo Kitchen in Jacksonville Beach to worship at the altar of hit blues rocker Ana Popovic.  Popovic, who hails from Serbia, but now lives in Memphis, channelled Duane Allman, Peggy Lee and Stevie Ray Vaughan in the tiny venue.  Taking the stage in a killer red mini-dress and stiletto heels, Popovic blew the crowd away.

Popovic, who learned to appreciate the blues from her record-collecting father, was just off the stages  at Tropical Heatwave in Tampa, and at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival when she dropped in to burn up the strings at Mojo Kitchen.  Popovic played tunes from her new album, Can You Stand the Heat, which was recorded in Memphis, as well as numbers from her previous album Unconditional (you should check out the album cover).

Teri Jo

Nanker’s take:

Ana Popovic

” Why do men go crazy when a woman wears her dress so tight? “–  Muddy Waters- ( Andrew/McKeag)- ” The Same Thing”
Photo by compared2what

” It’s a man’s world she’s in “, noted compared2what, as we sat with veteran observers Wild Billy, Earl B., and Teri Jo, ” there aren’t many women doing this”. The short list includes Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Joanne Shaw Taylor, and newcomers like Samantha Fish, Cassie Taylor ( okay, she’s a bassist, but she’s out front), and 16-year-old Colorado prodigy Micheala Rae, all taking on the heavy mantle of Blues Guitar God(dess) with no clear model for survival, much less success, save the Little Redheaded Girl who made John Hiatt a Grammy-winning songwriter and put his own girls through college, to hear him tell it. Yet as Ana strode confidently onstage, grabbed her axe, and approached the mike, nobody was really concerned about gender, ethnicity, or age, but the simple  query: Can she play?

Yousa, yousa, yousa!

IMAG0960

Now, that’s an Object of Obsession!

Most of Ana’s material from the new CD, including ” Can You Stand the Heat?” and            ” Object of Obsession” , leaned toward R and B , with some jazzy flavor, but she truly shined on blues classics, especially Albert King’s ” Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me ?”.  Her time working with her ” slide guitar idol ” ( per her site ) Sonny Landreth has paid off handsomely, and no surprise; mere proximity to Landreth would improve slide playing through osmosis. Mutters of ” she looks like Duane Allman up there” and ” it’s like Stevie Ray came back pretty ” were overblown, and I swallowed a ” Child, please!”, but Ana is a serious talent on guitar, and a very competent vocalist. Springsteen once said that Southside Johnny was a guy he could listen to all night long.  Ana’s voice is similarly agreeable and compelling, without blowing you out of your seat or spanning octaves. While the tight combo lineup, including bassist John Williams and drummer Tony Coleman, gave Ana a chance to shine for the many who’d never seen her, she would be a treat with her 9-piece Mo’ Better Love band that backed her at Jazzfest and will be jumping in on the European leg of her current tour.

And the recent Memphian made many fans by obliging nearly the entire house’s autograph, CD signing, and photo op requests during the break between sets, which became more intervention than intermission. With the Sandman beating me to School Night death, no choice but to blow her a kiss ( damn, she missed it!) and head back to the Unit. Harry, keep your eyes peeled for Ana; she’s worth checking out!

That would be me – Nanker

Cassie Taylor

Posted on by
Reply

Cassie Taylor unplugged at the Yukon 8/18/12

CONCERT REVIEW- Cassie Taylor at Yukon Rock and Roll Bar, Colorado Springs, CO 8/18/12

We interrupt our planned review of Joe Walsh’s Hudson Garden show to send Mr. Phledge’s dispatch from the front lines:

The little city of Colorado Springs is not known for tolerance, diversity, or any noticeable support of the arts. The Springs is the national headquarters for Focus on Family and over one hundred other right-wing evangelical groups, as well as the home of the Air Force Academy and the Army’s Fort Carson, neither of which has distinguished itself with any leadership on civil rights issues. Few national bands bother to book shows in the city, other than acts that play well to a rodeo crowd or a convention of holy rollers. A telling sign is a search of city bookings on pollstar.com. The search between now and April, 2013 is only two pages long; a similar search of Denver occupies 18 pages. The biggest “rock” act booked in the Springs in that time is Jackson Browne; nice, but not a rocker, and not even a bit edgy. The city has no memorable museums, galleries, or even a hip neighborhood to speak of. But it continually foists pulpit-pounding reactionaries like Ted Haggard upon the rest of the country, at least until their foibles become public. Meth and prostitutes, anyone? Is that you, Rev?

So it was with some surprise that I read the email from local blues promoter Amy Whitesell announcing that rising blues/rock singer and composer Cassie Taylor would be playing a Springs date on Saturday night. The daughter of noted Chicago bluesman Otis Taylor, Cassie gained some notoriety with her role in the “Girls With Guitars” project and CD, along with distaff rockers Samantha Fish and Dani Wilde, and is now based in Boulder, CO, a city ruled by intellectuals, hippies, and artists. Cassie probably felt like a newly arrived Martian, with her Noel Redding in 1967 hairdo, self-designed ( she has her own line of clothing) cloaked miniskirt stage attire, and take-no-prisoners attitude, as she boldly strode to the Yukon’s stage in the shadow of Peterson Air Force base and the front range of the Rockies. The venue itself might be daunting to some; walls adorned with encased Stratocasters and Flying Vs purportedly played by bands like Poison and Motley Crue, as if the Yukon were a time warped exhibit curated by the Hair Band Hall of Fame, probably located in Fort Lauderdale. Who knew that Whitesnake was still huge?

Flashing charm, defiance, and stage presence beyond her years, Cassie did several originals accompanying herself on electric piano and organ, two with only her Fender bass, then added her guitarist and drummer for the “party” portion of the set.On blues-based rockers and jazz-tinged ballads, she displayed a smooth, pliable voice that varied tone and volume easily, and she played keyboards and bass with equal aplomb.

It takes no small measure of confidence and hutzpah to play unknown original blues/rock  tunes to a skeptical crowd in a redneck town, and thankfully, this girl has no shortage of either.  Cassie quickly won over the crowd, even pulling off a re-configuration of the seating — ” there’s too much space up here, bring your chairs down front”- and the attendant audience participation that can often fall flat on its face. I ordinarily can’t stand that sort of thing at shows, and often resist on principle. Hey, I bought a ticket, drove down here, tolerated some kid who can’t grow a mustache asking me for i.d. to get a beer, and waited for you to tune up. Don’t tell me when to clap, sing along or stand up. If you can move me to do those things without prompting, great. But this isn’t Romper Room, you’re not Mister Rogers,  and I don’t need you telling me what to do at the rock show!

(Memo to Phledge’s physician- might want to titrate the dosages- Editors.)

Cassie’s winning performance in this town and venue was quite impressive. Her originals shone brightly, and appeared to be lyrically worthy of further contemplation. The stripped-down, “Unplugged”-like set break seated amongst the fans was wildly received, including her take on Hendrix’ version of Billy Roberts’  “Hey Joe” and a blistering solo by her guitarist Steve LNU, not otherwise identified and not the guitarist named on her web site. Not surprising, perhaps; she doesn’t appear to suffer fools gladly and probably goes through sidemen like most women go through shoes.  On break, Cassie breezily greeted fans and hawked wares – “we’ve got the cheapest merch around”- and appeared genuinely surprised at the positive response. The second set was delayed by the action at the merch table, and Cassie remarked that she had never sold so many CDs at a show-         ” thank you, Colorado Springs!”- a tribute to her committed performance and the stacked-house of blues fans guided to the Yukon by Amy’s tireless campaigning for blues artists. A memorable night of unexpected musical bliss in the cultural hinterland!

Due to Mr. Phledge’s walkaway, err, unauthorized furlough on Saturday evening – yes, Nanker, those photos on Cassie’s web site were pretty hot – facility rules did not permit him to attend the Joe Walsh show on Sunday. We are currently searching post-concert arrest records and ER admissions to find a suitable replacement correspondent for that review.- Editors