Blues with soul

The Oozie Blues Show

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MR Blues Norman Mitch are the founding brothers

Joe Houston with The Oozie Blues since 2002

The Oozie Blues 2007

Mitch passed away on 9/06/05

Mitch & Norman founding members of the Oozie Blues

Hear The Oozie Blues

There are no "sidemen" in The Oozie Blues. Every member of the band can and does step up to the microphone and take their turn singing and fronting the band. This is a key element in what makes them so versatile and entertaining and in fact a "show band." About The Band Hear Oozie music

Put a guitar in their hand not a gun.

The Oozie Blues are now playing for international blues festivals, concerts,
corporate and private parties.

http://www.tustinca.org The Oozie Blues will be back to

in Tustin CA., We would like to thank The City of Tustin. For more info on The Oozie Blues show in Tustin please call 714-573-3326.

This is the third generation of Oozie Blues Show. Most of the members from the first and second generation have passed on; some are too ill to play and others have gone into retirement. God willing there will always be an Oozie Blues who wants to play his song. They are brothers and stand together in keeping the art of blues, Jazz and R & B alive.

Steve Guitar Guillory

Played with Ray Charles

Norman Pingrey

Help us save sight

Norman Pingrey band leader of The Oozie Blues and bass player

Find out more about Steve click on picture

Steve Guitar Guillory He recorded with Ray Charles Love Country Style & many more.

The art of the Blues will live forever if we give it our best. Most of us have lived the blues only to play the blues. We have come to the Crossroads we all have a blues song to sing that will touch your soul.

Need a Diploma? take a look at this

The Oozie Blues and The Legendary Joe Houston

Blues music is the most influential form of American roots music. It's heard around the world in jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, gospel, country. The blues is a national historic treasure, that needs to be preserved, studied, and documented for the future.

This self-titled, debut CD by The Oozie Blues is rough, raw and full of energy. It is packed full of familiar blues tunes played with genuine enthusiasm. The band is both electric and eclectic.

These guys are the Real Deal. Most of the vocals are sung by an L.A. bluesman who goes by "Mr. Blues". His smooth laid back voice can be heard on tracks like: The Blues Are Alright, The Next Time You See Me and Steppin In/Steppin Out. The slow blues tune Open House at My House tells a sad blues tale of a cheating woman with a set of lyrics that will have you laughing your blues away.

Mitch "Ham Bone" Hammond's lead and slide guitar work is featured throughout. He steps forward and sings lead vocal on; Little Red Rooster, Stop Breakin Down and Crosscut Saw. He sings with a tenor shout that makes for a good contrast to Mr. Blues vocals. The bandleader/bassist, Norm Pingrey, handles the lead vocals on Built For Comfort and Sleepin In the Lyons Den. He sings bass in style comparable to John Lee Hooker and Howlin Wolf. By rotating the vocal duties among the members the CD really kept my interest. The rhythm section of Norm and Bob Winn is very tight and hard driving. Mr. Blues piano playing is simple, yet affective. The guitar is up front in the mix and hot. He is not another Stevie Ray Vaughan clone. He has his own style but I if one must compare his style to some other guitarist Mick Taylor comes to my mind.

I could tell that this CD was recorded live in studio and not an elaborate studio production. I believe that this band probably sounds the same at their club gigs. I am looking forward to their next release to see how they do with writing their own material and to see if they can raise the production quality a notch.

The Oozie Blues will be recording most of the month of April, making a new CD of originals, which will also be videotaped. The video and CD will be available in June 2003.

Review courtesy of Thaddeus Marx

Blues in Britan review
The Oozie Blues are a loose conglomeration of West Coast based musicians who
have included Joe Houston, Deacon Jones, TW Henderson and Bob Winn amongst
their personnel over the last three years; the current line-up comprising Mr
Blues (vocals), Elliott Chavers (sax), Terry DeRouen (guitar/vocals), Johnny
³D² (drums) and Norman Pingrey (bass/vocals), plus an anonymous guitarist
who features on slide/lead guitar on four tracks.
As you might guess from the artists involved and the CD title, the music is
firmly based in West Coast blues and R&B stylings laced with plenty of funky
grooves.
Mr Blues takes the vocals on four tracks, opening with his smoky vocals on
the well-worn ³Everyday I Have The Blues², which features jumping sax and
sinewy guitar, ensuring its familiarity does not breed boredom. The same
could be said of ³Something You Got², where the familiar riff is driven by
some muscular fretwork and soul infused vocals, ³I¹m A King Bee², where
buzzing sax and wild slide create a menacing mood, and ³I Wanna Know, I Just
Gotta Know² with its downbeat vocals and guitar, and baleful sax.
Norman Pingrey¹s booming bass vocals are perfectly complemented sinewy sax
and guitar on the ³Green Onions/Help Me² influenced grooves of ³Just Give
Up², and the Diddley styled ³Josephine². He is equally at home on an
up-tempo ³call and response² R&B version of ³The Same (Old) Thing², but his
vocals are just not suited to the soulful R&B of ³It Must Be Love², although
the backing is first class.
Johnny OD¹ impresses, with his rich baritone, on ³How Blue Can You Get²,
replete with fuzzed out guitar and moaning sax, whilst his soulful vocals
are echoed sympathetically by Chavers¹ sultry sax on ³Country Girl². Chavers
then takes the lead with some stonking sax on the Champs inspired
instrumental ³Funky Mama².
West Coast blues and R&B aficionados will find much to enjoy on this fine
set. Rating 8 - Mick Rainsford

www.blues.pl/draheim
The new Oozie Blues’ CD is here, thank you!

I am so glad you guys are keeping the old-school blues tradition alive as too often this is not the case with modern recordings. Your take on the blues is honest and straight forward, just the way I like it. From shuffles to slow low down songs, from harp playing to the mean slide guitar, it’s all good. Together with resonant vocals “Blues School” is something blues fans should really check out. A treat!

http://www.rootstime.be/Door de wol en de blues geverfde muzikantenveteranen, die in een Blues School samenscholen, kan niet anders dan indruk maken en resultaat opleveren. 'The Oozie Blues' maken hun reputatie van rasechte bluesinstrumentalisten meer dan waar. Norman, Steve en Terry hebben allen gitaar gespeeld naast de allergrootsten. Delacy White neemt de drums voor zijn rekening. Hij speelde tien jaar lang in de band van Barry White. Norman Pingrey, stichter van de band en ook basgitarist, zat ook al lang in de muziekbranche en koos op een kruispunt in zijn leven voor traditionelere Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, aanleunend bij de oude blues. Sinds het stichtingsjaar 2001 losten de bandleden elkaar af. Zij traden op in alle mogelijke locaties in Zuid Californië, nachtclubs, restaurants, festivals en privé-feestjes. Twee albums werden uitgebracht die de muzikanten zelf verkochten. De huidige bezetting is deels nieuw. Gitarist Terry DeRouen is er al een tijdje bij. Hij toerde nog met Guitar Shorty als tweede gitarist. Hij stond ook op het podium naast grootheden als o.a. Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thorton, Etta James, George Smith en Lowell Fulsom. Alle protagonisten van de actuele Oozie Blues zingen om beurt hun blues voor zich uit. En bij stemtimbres heb je nu eenmaal een zekere voorkeur. Persoonlijk pik ik er graag Steve Guillory uit, die als multi-instrumentalist naast gitaar nog harmonica, dobro en orgel speelt. Op 'Hide and Seek' zet hij zich achter de conga's. Ook deze Steve is een oude rot in het bluesvak. Hij toerde met James Brown en met Mighty Mo Rogers. De helft van de songs werd door Norman Pingrey geschreven, maar ook Terry DeRouen schreef er meerdere. Zelfs Steve Guillory waagde zich aan het meeslepende ' Too Hard To Please', gevoelvol gezongen door Steve met knap gitaarwerk. Vergeleken met de anderen, klinkt Norman's stem wat hol, maar hij kan dan weer mooi zijn herinneringen neerpennen. In 'Time Tells', delicaat begeleid met harmonica, verwijlt hij terugblikkend bij een oude geliefde en de jaren die heenvlieden. Nu hij met Josie getrouwd is, nam deze het management op zich en sindsdien trekt de band naar alle plaatsen waar liefhebbers van 'old school' blues samentroepen. Dit 'Blues School' album is een eerste album in de huidige bezetting en werd geproduceted door Norman en Steve zelf. De foto op de cover toont de school waar Terry ooit nog op de banken zat. Deze bandleden van de 'The Oozie Blues' mogen alleszins een erediploma in ontvangst nemen met een authenticiteitlabel en speciale vermelding.
Marcie

Honey Davis and Mr Blues

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