Page 27 - BiTS_07_JULY_2022

RANDY MCALLISTER: QUIET

POWER

By Lawrence Lebo

Traditionally the blues genre has been a market where small
independent artists with big talent, yet tiny budgets have
been able to quietly (or not so quietly) thrive. At a minimum
recording, manufacturing, and promoting a new release can
run $30,000.00 US dollars, an amount that independent musicians
relying on their performing and music sales to make ends meet
can have a tough time coming up with. Personally, my
husband/bassist and I took a loan against our home to
come up with the money needed for my 2018 release “Old
School Girl”. Then the global pandemic shut down our
income, as it has for so many musicians/artists. During this
pandemic there have been a large amount of blues genre
releases coming from part-time musicians who have other
full-time financial resources …. while many full-time musicians
have had to, for now, go silent.

Grammy nominated East Texas blues drummer/ harpist/
singer/songwriter Randy McAllister is a bit on the
quiet side. He’s released 15 or so
albums since 1997,
toured in the US and
in Europe, was
nominated for a
Grammy in 2002, yet
if you go searching for
his May 1, 2022
release titled Power

Without Power, it’s
hard to find. In a 2021
review of his last
release titled
Paperbag Salvation.
Blues Blast Magazine

wrote “If there was any justice
in this world, East Texas singer
Randy McAllister would be a
household name in the world of
modern music. Sadly, of course, there
isn’t, and he isn’t.” Luckily for blues
lovers Randy’s loud talent garners him
some much-deserved attention.

Randy’s new acoustic blues release
Power Without Power is aptly named.