Blues News from J & B Blues Project

ELVIS -R.I.P.

  Elvis enjoying the music at Cyclops

Elvis & his sidekick, Andy Rubin-owner of Cylcops 

  Elvis, (no, not that one!) the dachshund and intrepid mascot of Cyclops Books and Music in Baltimore, "left the house" this past December. He was known for his inspired back-up singing, and occasional tendency to hog the stage. Elvis was a great music lover but was also a ruthless critic, who sometimes wandered outside when he wasn't enjoying the performances. He was loved by all who knew him. Cyclops won't be the same without him. We're going to miss you, Elvis!

Benefit Concert for Haiti this Saturday

Great Present for a Guitarist

   Teel Guitar Works makes these beautiful guitar pick boxes. 

We met luthier Tim Teel, the owner of Teel Guitar Works, at the "Rock the Fall" festival in Palmerton, PA. In addition to guitars, he creates unique wooden guitar stands & these rockin' guitar pick boxes out of beautiful woods.  His "day job" is Director of Instrument Design for C.F. Martin & Co.! 

   

Is This the Best Way to Transport Your Dog?

 Yes, it's a stuffed animal but it was raining!

We took this photo on a MD highway on the way to a gig.

Performing at 4H Fair Tonight Aug. 1 at Frying Pan Farm Park-Herndon VA

J

At Frying Pan Park, Herndon VA before Fox News5 Show on July 30, 2009

Come on over to Frying Pan Farm Park  in Herndon VA today and tomorrow for the big 4H Fair. There will all kinds of fun things to do with your family. 

We will be performing tonight, Saturday Aug 1 at 6PM. There will be other performers, rides, demonstrations and a lot of other fun, family-centered activites.

The fair is FREE. Parking is $5.00 

J & B Blues Project Facebook & Facebook Fan Page

Thanks to our good friends Stephan Sackett and Donna Kostiuk for our Facebook pages

Thank you Stephan and Donna for starting a J & B Blues Project Facebook Fan Page and a J & B Blues Project Facebook page! You ROCK!

Come on over and join us on Facebook.  We have new photos and frequent updates.

Shenandoah National Park

At one of the beautiful scenic overlooks on Skyline Drive at Shenandoah National Park

One of our favorite place to visit and hike is Shenandoah National Park in Front Royal, Virginia.

Shenandoah National Park is the home of wonderful hiking trails and the beautiful Skyline Drive. If you get to Virginia be sure to visit this park. 

We're Back in North Carolina on June 6th

We're going to be in North Carolina performing on June 6th

We're excited to be going back to North Carolina next week. We'll be performing on Saturday, June 6th from 4:30pm - 5:30pm at the "Lock Up for Life Festival", for the Cleveland Rutherford Kidney Association, in Shelby NC. This is a big fundraiser for the Kidney Association. It's from 10am - 9pm. Come on out and support their good work. 

On Friday, June 5th, we'll be performing a special private show in the morning.

Lake Anne - Reston, VA - the cure for the "Summertime Blues"

We're back at Lake Anne this summer!

Performing at Lake Anne in Reston, VA on May 9, 2009

There are very few opportunities to perform outside in the winter. So when spring rolls around, we are very anxious to get outside again and play some shows. We definitely get a case of the "Summertime Blues". 

One of our favorite songs to play is the "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran. Although the song is about working in the summer and not liking it much, we get the "summertime blues" because we miss performing outside.

The song says "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues". It isn't technically summer yet, but we have already found a cure for our "Summertime Blues"-performing outside at Lake Anne in Reston VA. We just played a show there on May 9. 

This will be our third summer performing at Lake Anne and it's always a blast. We get to play music for 2 1/2 hours to a fantastic audience. We have made many friends there in the past few years including Bud and Susie Burwell, the owners of Reston's Used Bookshop. They have a really broad selection of used books in great shape. We have been known to duck inside during our break between sets, pick up a book and read a bit. Then we'll rush back outside for our second set. Since we love to read, it is our idea of a performer's heaven. 

Thanks to Eve Thompson, Bud and Susie Burwell, and the "Friends of Lake Anne" for being such big supporters of our music. We really appreciate it.

We'll be back at Lake Anne on June 20, 2009 from 11am to l:30pm. It's free! You can pull up one of the chairs that are set up and listen to the music for a while. You can wander around the lake, look at all the beautiful crafts, browse at Reston's Used Books, have a little lunch or just sit down and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Come on out to Lake Anne on June 20th. Cure your "summertime blues".

 

ilyAIMY- I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU

rob Hinkal and Heather Lloyd of "ilyAIMY"

We just got back from playing as the featured performers at  an open mic at Java Mammas Cafe in Reisterstown, MD. We were invited by rob Hinkal of the duo (and sometimes full band) "ilyAimy". Java Mammas is a wonderful little coffeehouse with an enthusiastic audience (Thank You!), good food, great open mic-ers and one of the best open mic hosts around.

We met rob Hinkal and Heather Lloyd of the the duo ilyAIMY  (which stands for "I love you and I miss you") about two years ago. They were the featured performers at a showcase in MD. They blew us away with their music and their skills. 

rob is the guitarist and singer (he always spells his first name in lowercase letters). Heather plays percussion, guitar and also sings. rob has cracked the top of his guitar so many times he had to slap a block of cedar wood under it. That's just the way he plays. When we watch him perform we hope that the guitar survives the set, as it doubles as somewhat of a percussion instrument. Heather seems to bring in some of the Folk influence, while it seems rob probably started playing Metal, and that certainly shines through in their music. But don't try to imagine what that sounds like because they have many other genres that influence them and are interwoven into their music. Their vocal harmonies are completely amazing, defying all stereotypes. It all comes together to create a unique and exciting sound, which is all their own. They are one of our favorite groups.

They have a tune off one of their albums called The March of The Rabbit, a song about a crazy Godzilla-type bunny rabbit.  It's one of our favorite songs of theirs. So, at the open-mic, we requested it. At first, rob said they usually played it with their band, so it seemed unlikely that we would hear it. But eventually he announced into the mic that "when people come all the way from Virginia and request a song, you'd better play it." Then they ROCKED. It was awesome.

   

We really enjoy their music and their friendship. They have always treated us as fellow musicians and kindly and patiently answered our myriad of questions. They are great musical influences.

Check out their calendar. Go see 'em. We know you won't be disappointed. Oh, and be sure to check out rob's boots. They are almost as cool as his guitar playing.