ARTIST:
Hawkeye Herman
ALBUM:
It's All Blues To Me
©
2005
M. Herman/Topaz Productions
List Price: $17.99
Your Price:
$14.99
In Stock
With over 40 years of performing experience, Michael "Hawkeye" Herman personifies the range of possibilities in blues and folk music. His dynamic blues guitar playing and vocal abilities have won him a faithful following and he leads a very active touring schedule of performances at festivals, concerts, school programs and educational workshops throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His original music has been included in video dramas and documentaries and in four hit theatrical productions. His latest CDs, "Blues Alive! and "It's All Blues To Me" have been greeted with rave reviews. Hawkeye's journalistic efforts have been published in numerous national and regional blues and music-related periodicals. In 1998 he was the recipient of the Blues Foundation's "Keeping The Blues Alive" award for achievement in education. He served on the Board of Directors of the Blues Foundation for six years. Hawkeye was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of fame in 2004. In September of 2005, Hawkeye composed, at the request of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), "Katrina, Oh Katrina (Hurricane Blues)," detailing the hurricane disaster on the Gulf Coast. The song was aired to over 7 million listeners on BBC Radio news' "Today" program. He is the co-founder of the Rogue Valley Blues Festival, Ashland, OR.
Victory Review/Acoustic Music Magazine
February 2006/vol. 31/number 02
Michael "Hawkeye" Herman
"It's All Blues To Me"
Here's one of those sensational albums that proves that even the most hidebound, constrictive traditions can find fully meaningful and authentic expressions without copying the founding fathers in style and substance. Hawkeye Herman, veteran bluesman out of Ashland, Oregon, has turned a dozen jumpin' rhythm 'n' blooz classics into something new and sinister: they're quite. This is an unplugged album, sure, but Hawkeye's messin' wit' ya. He sings coolly, low, often at a whisper ... the kind of whisper Clint Eastwood uses when he has to explain something to the bad guys. The acoustic guitar is well played, not assaulted and the rest of the backing musicians keep things toned down, creating an atmosphere of subversion, collusion and bad fun. What flat out makes this record though, is the reduction of percussion to just washboard, with the odd thump on a countertop or splash of a tiny cymbal. Washboard Chaz is Herman's ace and he's a wonder. Forget the hillbilly racket normally associated with the washboard. Chaz makes it rattle like a snake, skip like a schoolgirl, tick like a clock, or vibrate like the motor on grandma's washing machine. Chaz finds the mood for every tune, even when Herman ranges out to the far edges of the blues. There's a withering "Sixteen Tons" that reopens a song that had been "closed" for 50 years. Herman's redo of "Moondance" casts it as a roadhouse pickup instead of a supper club come-on. He finds the thread between Santana's "Evil Ways" and the oldie "You're No Good" so taught, it's a wonder they haven't always been done as a medley. Herman's got two originals that are solidly in the tradition, the melancholy "I Used To Ride That Train" and the naughty "Give Me A Grandma Every Time." Great record!
Tom Peterson
********
"It's All Blues To Me" contains a variety of Hawkeye's acoustic blues-based music with top-notch back-up musicians. The title of the CD says it all. Hawkeye performs songs from other genres, but they all come out blues when filtered through his warm and dynamic vocal and guitar style. Of special note, the two infectious good time jump blues original songs, "I Used To Ride That Train" (track #3), and Hawkeye's tribute to older women, "Give Me A Grandma Every Time" (track #5). The classic song, "St. James Infirmary" and humorous recitation of "Signifyin' Monkey" illustrate Hawkeye's dynamic range and control, as well as his humor and dramatic flair.
"One of America's finest acoustic guitarists and blues educators."
- Cascade Blues Association
"...an uncanny grasp of so many different Blues styles."
- Holler, Colorado Blues Society
"Here's one of those sensational albums that proves that even the most hidebound, constrictive traditions can find fully meaningful and authentic expressions without copying the founding fathers in style and substance…his coolly powerful acoustic sound has grown into one of the idiom's benchmarks." - Victory Review
"Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Muddy Waters were giants of the genre he grew up listening to and who live on through the evocative, haunting acoustic slide-guitar style he plays." - The Reporter, San Diego
"...plays haunting music on a mournful guitar." - Los Angeles Times
"...plays a powerful variety of hard-driving acoustic blues, a crowd pleaser." - Mississippi Valley Blues News
"...a mean, clean guitar picker." - San Francisco Examiner
"The only thing better than hearing this live album is seeing Hawkeye Herman in the flesh. Whether adding his own spin to blues classics or offering his own songs, Herman is a one-man history of blues, noteworthy guitar player and inimitable communicator. Miss him at your peril."
- Blues Access
"Each song is presented with a heartfelt depth rarely witnessed these days amongst all the amplifiers and studio embellishments...Throughout "Blues Alive!," Herman proves to be a seasoned storyteller above all, as well as an accomplished guitarist." - Blues Revue Magazine
"Playing both fingerpick and slide guitar, Herman's licks are clean, yet spare..., his vocals are direct and straightforward, but full of emotion...he has immersed himself in the sound and feeling and has emerged as one of the most widely respected acoustic blues musicians around...Blues Alive! ain't electric, doesn't have drums and such, wasn't produced in a high-tech studio, but it's about as real as the blues gets." - Sing Out!
"Herman had the opportunity to learn his blues from such great old heroes like Son House, Brownie McGee, Bukka White, Mance Lipscomb, Furry Lewis and Lightning Hopkins. You can hear this on his recordings… This CD is a good thing for all fans of the old fashioned acoustic blues."
- Blues News (Germany)
"The live program he presents is excellent… A convincing performer… He's a songster who knows how to bring in some humor when needed and give life to classics." - Soul Bag (France)
"Hawkeye's stagecraft is warm and effective." - Blues & Rhythm (UK)
"Herman is as well known for his role as a music educator, festival promoter, guitar teacher and composer for theater (in 2004 he took "El Paso Blue" all the way to New York's 42nd St/Theatre Row.) as for his considerable performing talents…Herman's relaxed, expressly soulful vocals and vigorous guitar work impress…Herman plays lots of ballsy slide guitar…If you're fond of John Hammond or Arlo Guthrie, you'll enjoy Hawkeye's blues vision as well." - Sing Out!