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three wise men, as I call them”, John “Jabo” Starks, Harold “Peanie” Portier, and Tony Coleman. He

finally got the opportunity to permanently occupy the drummers stool in 1996 when Bobby’s
regular drummer George Weaver was unexpectedly not available.

Rather than pursue a solo career, Rodd has become the powerhouse behind local Memphis artists
such as; Brimstone Jones, Will Tucker, Ashton Riker, and the Blues Players Club, he has also worked
with Corey Osborne, Roxanne Lemmon, Ian Siegal and the Youngest Sons, Darren Jay & the Delta
Souls, Danielle Nicole, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Benny Turner and Cash McCall. In 2016 Rodd

was asked to assemble a band for a ‘one off’, tribute concert to his father during the 2017
International Blues Challenge; this concert was such a success that it has become an annual event.
This 6 track E.P. is from the concert held at B.B. Kings’ Blues Club in Memphis on the 10th of May
2019. The artists taking part are; Jerome Chism and Ashton Riker; vocals, Rodd Bland; drums,
Jackie Clark; bass, Harold Smith; guitar, Chris Stephenson; keyboards and vocals, Marc Franklin

and Scott Thompson; trumpets and Kirk Smothers providing saxophone.

‘Up And Down World’, begins the proceedings with the drums strongly driving a gently swinging
pace as the sweetly stabbing, soaring horns join in, Chris Stephenson’s creamily inviting vocal,
effortlessly caresses your emotions. The standard, ‘St. James Infirmary’ is here given the original
Blue Bland Orchestra arrangement, with Ashton Riker splendidly wringing out every ounce of
despair and haunted emotion he can. On ‘Sittin‘ On A Poor Man’s Throne’, there is a genuine mid-

seventies air of menace in the city, provided by this ensemble. The hot horns soul burning
conscience is very tangible. The blasting and soaring horn driven slow burning ‘I Wouldn’t Treat A
Dog (The Way You Treated Me)’, has Jerome Chism entreating the audience to join him in tribute.
The slow burning ‘Soon As The Weather Breaks’, delivers very fine, mellow to soaring horns, a cool
slapping bass line and some splendid guitar. ‘Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time’, is quite
simply a stirring, horn soaring, cool organ burning, grooving slapping bass funker.

Most impressive!

Brian Harman.

Blind Lemon Pledge—A Satchel Full of Blues—OFEH Records

San Francisco based James Byfield spent his ‘lockdown’ time in
the studio with bass man Peter Grenell and drummer Juli
Moscovitz, writing and creating more numbers for his alter ego

‘Blind Lemon Pledge’ who is on vocals, guitars and harmonica.
The 12 new numbers pay homage to Gene Autry, Willie Dixon,
Randy Newman, Mose Allison and Hoagy Carmichael, the very
people, which have inspired and fuelled BLP’s imagination. The
blues and Americana are well represented within these very

atmospheric compositions. The album opens with the perky
harmonica led toe-tapper ‘Wrong Side Of The Blues’, a tale of a
down at heel but, hopeful bluesman. A change of mood and pace is delivered with a slow mellow
ode to the blues ‘If Beale Street Was A Woman’, the slowly sweeping brushwork and melancholy
loping acoustic guitar only add to BLP’s splendidly fragile vocals and wheezy harmonica.

The ode to the object of his love, ‘Sherri Lynn’, continues the dreamy, mellow atmosphere with a

hazy sensuously slow burning vocal. Another tale of heartbreak is the gently swinging country blues