Bliss Blood: vocals, tenor guitar
Ernesto Gomez: harmonicas
Al Duvall: tenor banjo & guitar
Marty Bartolomeo: piano
Mark Deffenbaugh: steel guitar
Influences
amongst them:
Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Merline Johnson, Alberta Hunter, Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Papa Charlie Jackson, Bo Carter, Mississippi Sheiks, Skip James, Big Bill Broonzy, Barbecue Bob, Kokomo Arnold, Casey Bill Weldon, Grey Ghost... how much time have you got??
Sounds Like
Delta blues from the 1920's and 30's and "Classic" female vocal blues from the 20's, Memphis blues from the 30's and 40's.
Concert Review: Delta Dreambox at Banjo Jim’s 11/16/07
November 17, 2007
LUCID CULTURE WEBZINE
A killer show by New York’s best blues band. That’s right: blues band. Not a bunch of deaf, beerbellied baby boomers playing Clapton and Led Zep covers at earsplitting volume: this band plays like they stepped out of a whorehouse in a pre-code Mae West movie.
Delta Dreambox is yet another one of Bliss Blood’s stunningly authentic old-timey bands, along with the irresistibly romantic Moonlighters, the irresistibly dark, haunting Nightcall and her swing jazz side project Cantonement (which seems to have gone on hiatus awhile ago). That’s a lot of work, but somehow she pulls it off. With an uncanny feel (and what seems to be an encyclopedic knowledge) of seemingly every retro style ever invented, she’s a goodwill ambassador from the late 20s come back to remind us what fun really is.
Tonight she was in top form, her clear-as-a-churchbell voice soaring over the excellent band behind her. With the addition of a superb piano player doing some killer barrelhouse rolls and solos, they’re sexier than ever, maybe the reason why Blood was decked out in a red vintage outfit with matching boas that left just enough to the imagination.
Slide player Mark Deffenbaugh is their not-so-secret weapon. Blood has become a magnet for the best slide blues players on the planet, and this new guy is no exception. When it was time to cut loose, he ripped into the songs like a panther on a helpless bunny, firing off a flurry of notes but somehow managing not to waste anything. He likes the lower registers where it’s murkiest and most sinister. The band also has an excellent blues harpist, whose airy, upbeat playing reminded of Randy Weinstein’s work with Hazmat Modine.
Together they ran through a bunch of mostly more obscure songs from the 1920s and 30s, including a couple of Bessie Smith numbers, a grim, haunting song about a guy rallying valiantly against tuberculosis but ultimately succumbing, and a rousing, guitar-driven Charley Patton song to close the set. To say that this band doesn’t play often enough isn’t really fair, because Blood is so busy with the Moonlighters (they’ll be off on European tour til mid-December). As tasty as the Moonlighters’ originals are, it would be nice to get to hear her dip deeper into this genre, considering how well she pulls it off. If you’re a big Janis or Melissa Etheridge fan, Delta Dreambox is probably too quaint, quiet and old-fashioned for you. On the other hand, if you are a purist, this band will make you sweat.
Blues band formed by Bliss Blood (of the Moonlighters, Pain Teens) to resurrect forgotten blues music from the early 20th century. Delta and Classic vocal blues with guitar, banjo, piano, harmonica, steel guitar, and vocals. Current collaborators include Marty Bartolomeo on piano, Ernesto Gomez on harmonica, Al Duvall on banjo and guitar, and Mark Deffenbaugh on steel guitar.
You were spectacular at Banjo Jim's last night! Sharing the stage with you was an honor both rare and true. Here's hoping for a repeat one day soon. Yours Cordially, Mr. Eller ----- Curtis Eller's American Circus www.curtiseller.com
I don't think I told you yet what a blast you were Friday at Mo Pitkin's. I felt gin-soaked by the time your set was over, and I don't drink...so good job!
