G-Note Entertainment September 2019 Issue

Southwest Michigan’s Source for Music, Entertainment and Culture G-Note’s Featured Interview: Nick Moss Artist Spotlight: George Benson G-Note’s Interviews: ENCORE Interview: American Idol Alum- Matt Giraud Boston Based Guitarist- Tyler Morris The ‘Voice’ of Detroit -Pat Smillie Q & A with Arlo Guthrie New Music Alerts: *Lonerider *Billy Craig *Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown *Dom Flemons *Eighteenth Hour *Fox Wilde *Pat Smillie *Me and The Captain *Shaw Davis & The Black Ties *The New Roses *Kobra And The Lotus Delbert McClinton And Self Made Men IssuIess2ue6:1S6eNpotevmembbeerr 22001189

G-NoteEntertainment.biz IN THIS ISSUE Facebook: @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine Featured Interview EDITOR’S SOAP BOX Chicago Blues and Alligator We are heading straight in to “Fall- Y’all with this Records Artist: Nick Moss…….4-7 month’s features artist and cover Chicago Blues Guitarist and Alligator Records recording artist, Nick Interviews Moss. The ‘Voice of Detroit’ We also feature a couple of our favorite interviews Pat Smillie………………..……..10-12 from previous editions in our ENCORE interview series. This month: From American Idol, Matt Giraud and From Kalamazoo to American Boston guitar shredder, Tyler Morris and the ‘Voice’ of Idol Matt Giraud……………...19-21 Detroit, Pat Smillie. We also visit Arlo Guthrie on a Q & A session. ENCORE Inteview As always, we always appreciate you throwing us a Tyler Morris….………………. 25-28 thumbs up and a share and follow us on our Facebook! Q&A with Arlo Guthrie….. 34-35 Keep on continuing to support live entertainment and the venues that bring it to you! Artist Spot Light Cheers, George Benson……. …….….. 14-15 Nick & Sam New Music Alerts Publisher. Head Writer. Advertising. Billy Craig……………………………16 Nick Hatzinikolis Lonerider…………….…………..…..17 [email protected] Eighteenth Hour…………...……….18 Dom Flemons……………………….22 Editor. Webmaster. Creative Director. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown……23 Sam McDaniel Fox Wilde…………………………………31 [email protected] Pat Smillie………………………………..32 The New Roses……………………….…34 Disclaimer! Shaw Davis & The Black Ties……..37 G-Note provides a platform for artists and musicians to Kobra and the Lotus………………….38 promote their work. Because they have a unique way of Delbert McClinton And expressing themselves, it is important for people who read this Self Made Men……………….…………39 stellar publication to understand you might not always like Me and The Captain……………..…….40 what you see. Articles may contain sarcasm and adult content. This magazine is intended for mature audiences. Public Service Announcement Paw Paw Playhouse …….…… 28 Stories & Songs: Hosted By Carrie Ferrin…………….…………39 Kalamazoo State Theatre Events ………………………………………. 13 G-Note Supporters Samurai Phoenix Design Studio On-Purpose Branding Three Chord Bourbon 2| Page @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Place YOUR Ad Here! Samurai Phoenix Design Studio Web Design. Graphic Design. Resume Design. Photo Editing. Video Editing. Custom Computer Builds. @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 3 | Page Website Coming Soon! www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz The Man. The Legend (sort of). The CEO:

Featured Interview: Nick Moss G-Note Feature Interview: Nick Moss Since the 2018 release of their Alligator Records debut, The An ambitious double album (one arranged in typical High Cost Of Low Living, the band -- guitarist/vocalist Moss, electric style, the other an acoustic session), Play It harmonicist/vocalist Gruenling, pianist Taylor Streiff, bassist produced yet another BMA nomination for Album, Rodrigo Mantovani, drummer Patrick Sealshas -- have along with nods for Guitarist and Band, and placed in toured relentlessly, playing for wildly enthusiastic fans and Blues Revue magazine’s 2010 critics’ poll of the winning over critics and radio programmers worldwide. UK “Decade’s Best Blues: 25 Great Albums That Defined tastemaker magazine MOJO said, “Guitarist and singer Nick the Past 10 Years.” Mythical stories often involve as a Moss shows the world his fearsome guitar chops and his central element a quest, and Moss’s true-life complete familiarity with the great tradition of Chicago experience follows suit. blues music. Partnered with harmonica-player Dennis Gruenling, Moss creates a two-headed monster that takes Along the way, he played on records by Smith, Big Bill the band thundering through crisp originals.” Morganfield, and Monster Mike Welch; produced and/or released albums for other Blue Bella artists Lucky Guy! features the classic Chicago blues sound the including Cash Box Kings, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Bill band is known for. But, as Moss himself notes, there are Lupkin, Gerry Hundt, and Matthew Stubbs; and also “a few other flavors,” including Louisiana swamp pop, produced the all-star Midnight Blues project on Magic West Coast blues, New Orleans funk, and even some proto- Slim & The Teardrops for Blind Pig Records in 2008 — rock and roll. The album was produced by Kid Andersen all in addition to the growth in his vision achieved over (guitarist for Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) and Moss and the arc of seven genuinely authentic blues albums, recorded at Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose, recognized by a total of 16 BMA nominations. California. All but one of the 14 songs are originals, with 11 by Moss and two by Gruenling. Victoria Amps’ Mark Baier, writing for Chicagobluesguide.com, proclaimed Moss “a modern Moss is one of us, and he has repaid the debt many times cross gener@atGioNnaol tmeuEsnictiaenr.t”ainmentMagazine over. Fresh out of school, he learned to love the gritty Chicago blues of the 1970s while playing with real deal bluesmen, first as one of Buddy Scott’s Rib Tips, then with Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins. He mastered the subtleties of golden-age postwar electric blues with the Legendary Blues Band of Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, where he exchanged his bass for the guitar, and later spent three years as guitarist with the great Jimmy Rogers. These apprenticeships served him well when he started his own band, Nick Moss and the Flip Tops, and began writing and recording an acclaimed series of hard-hitting albums for his ow4n|BPluae gBeella label, beginning with 1999’s First Offense and 2w00w1’ws B.Glu-eNs oMtuesEicnAtweratrda-innommeinnatt.ebdizGot A New Plan.

On 2011’s Here I Am, Moss continued to move forward, adding R&B-based textures, and sometimes an Allman Brothers- esque jam band aesthetic, to his trick bag. In 2014, the more progressive Time Ain’t Free “reached deeper into soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll,” according to Billboard.com, “with shades of P-Funk, Little Feat, Faces, and world music, all filtered through Moss’s deep blue lens, sparking exciting new directions.” Nick is a gifted storyteller, a songwriter that takes his craft seriously and a musician with a daunting work ethic. He is a walking encyclopedia of blues and music knowledge, and his deep understanding of the genre shines on the new release From the Root to the Fruit (Blue Bella Records, 2016). “From the Root to the Fruit was really born out of the concept that American music is connected by the blues and each generation adds something new to the mix. “I made the decision a couple of years ago to do a double record, sort of a concept album, as my band was learning some traditional blues tunes for our shows,” says Moss. “The guys in my band, true to form, were adding something new to the blues mix. Part of the growth I want to showcase with From the Root to the Fruit wasn’t only my own development as a band leader, but the incredible musicianship of the people I play with. Nightly, the people I am on stage with simply amaze me.” “The more traditional blues record of the double disc set is a little looser,” says Moss. “There’s a little bit of 40’s and 50’s jump blues, 60’s and 70’s style blues, Texas style, Chicago, and uptown blues.” The second CD encompasses a more progressive look at the blues; it’s more modern and experimental. It’s blues with a soul and garage punk sound with some Rolling Stones blues tossed in for good measure.” Music elicits a right reaction, a heart reaction, whether you’re three or thirty or ninety. My mission with my music is to reach like-minded people. I want to reach people with music that want to be reached.” G-Note Entertainment Magazine spoke to Nick Moss from his home ahead of him hitting the road with The Nick Moss Band. G-Note- I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule and before getting on the road to talk with us and updating us on all thing Nick Moss and the Band. NM- “No problem at all, actually I get out of cutting grass for a little bit! Yeah, let’s get in this. Let me start by saying that It’s been a genuine pleasure to work with all the good people at Alligator Records, after 30 odd years of doing it on my own it is so much less pressure to let someone else do all the hard work you know? “ “My wife Kate has been awesome! She really has been the one to keep everything afloat for me and my career by running all day to day ‘stuff’ behind the scenes while I was on the road. My wife is a wonderful graphic designer and has tons of work for other artists and record labels over the years in addition to doing all my stuff and raising our daughter and helping the artists that were on our record label as well.” “We are currently taking a hiatus with that because Kate took a job in the public sector as a art director in a PR firm. I was wonderful having her home for the last 15 years but now she is out of the house commuting back and forth to her job, so our record label is kind of on hold. “ “Hooking up with Alligator Record was nothing short of a blessing! 20 years ago, when I put out my first record, I shopped it to Alligator Records as well as a few others, but I was wan an unknown, pretty much a sideman and a backing guitar player for Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Dawkins. Although that does carry some weight, being young and not really experienced, it does not necessarily translate to record sales.” G-Note – Is that what that brought you to start your own independent record label? 5 | Page @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

NM- “It did, I’ll tell you this Nick, I am completely at a loss for words on how and why we were as successful as we were over the last 20 or so years putting our music out there and getting the word out and getting all of the accolades and awards I could not be any prouder of that or of all of the very hard work my wife and all of the bandmates over the years put into it as well!” “Who knows, maybe down the road we can do something with it again, not for me but for all of the other musicians at are having a hard time with getting signed, because right now, I’m having a ball with Alligator records and really, really like working with Bruce (Iglauer) the founder of the record company!” “We had kept in touch over the years and Bruce would send some compliments our way every once in an awhile about the work that we were doing and that always made us feel good. We never thought that he would be interested in anything we were doing at the time and come to find out since we were doing pretty well on our own that we didn’t have any interest in working together so we didn’t pursue each other.” G-Note- You have had a change in line up recently, does that affect the ‘goal’ of what you want to accomplish as a musician or as a band? NM- “We had Michael Ledbetter in the band for a long time, we loved and still love Michael. We were doing a lot of awesome things together as a band, and like all good things, sometimes they come to an end with no hard feelings. Just about the same time Michael was set to leave, I got a call from Dennis Gruenling, I known Dennis for 20 years plus. I have also liked and respected Dennis as a friend and as a musician. Dennis had called and asked if we would be his backing band for a tribute show to William Clark in Grand Rapids Mi. and of course, I said yes!” “Here’s a quick side story for you, like I said earlier, having Dennis as a bandmate is more that I could have hoped for. Just knowing Dennis as a musician, I knew that if I had the chance, I would love to work with him in a band. “ “Dennis wrote me a letter, an actual letter 20 years ago, when I first released my first CD, ‘First Offender’, I got this letter that said ‘Hi, I’m Dennis Gruenling, I’m a harmonica player from New Jersey, if you are ever in need of a harp player or need a gig or 2 if you are in the area, hit me up.’ It was about a your or so later, I was putting together a tour and had some open dates in the New York- New Jersey area.” “I remembered that letter, so I called the number that he gave me, and he answers the phone and I say, Hey Dennis, this is Nick Moss, you had sent me a letter a year back and just checking to see what’s going on. Sure, as shit, he lined up a couple of gigs for me. I had him set in and I was blown away! He is so talented and immediately impressed me with his professionalism and more importantly, I felt like kin to him, we just got along so well, and I knew we were eventually going to do something that was great together.” “Back on track now, we get together and while we are playing together on stage, I look over and just had a great feeling and realized that ‘this’ is my comfort zone and exactly what it is that I like to do! I had so much fun performing with Dennis that I asked him off stage if there was a reason why he and his regular musician Doug weren’t doing anything anymore and Dennis said, ‘no, it just kind of ran it course.’ I shared with him that Michael was moving on and asked him if he had any interest in working together with us. Dennis said, ‘Absolutely man!’. I said, hey look, I have a tour that will be starting in a couple of weeks, you should join on. It worked out so well that I brought him on the ‘Blues Cruise’ with me. That was to be Michaels last shows with us and sharing with the world what was next to come. It was over-whelming positive.” “Kid Anderson (Record Producer) came up to me and said, ‘you guys should be recording’, which I already had on my mind and I know exactly what Kid wanted to hear and he knows what Bruce wants to hear and he knows what I like regarding traditional Blues.” “This whole thing we ‘destined’ you know? The feel of the project was incredible, I got to play what I wanted and in the style that I am most comfortable with, and I also know that Bruce thought very highly of Dennis as well. 6| Page www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

So, I send off an email to Bruce to let him know that Kid Anderson was on the project as producer, Dennis is playing harp and I’m going back to the more traditional Blues sound. “ “Honestly, I didn’t expect to hear anything back from Bruce any time soon, but I got a response back within the hour and said send it to me when it’s done. We finished the recording in 3 days, Kid had to go on tour, so the mixing still needs to be worked on and that wasn’t done till mid-August. We sent the ‘rough’ to Bruce, he liked what he heard and the began the dance and courtship with Alligator Records.” G-Note- So what are some of the steps you must go through getting signed to a label? NM- “Well, I’ll tell how it was with Alligator Records, first off, Bruce is meticulous! He covers every detail including sales of records history, touring history, band history, do I like to tour, do I like to do interviews, and questions include how healthy you are, can you stand the rigors of touring and still perform at a high level.” G-Note- What is the biggest change in the music industry from when you had your own label to being signed on now to Alligator records? NM- “When you are responsible for your own label, there is a ton of stuff you have to do, it’s all business. You do all the bookings, interviews, press marketing, print up posters for shows, making all the phone calls to venues managers and owners, make sure your band mates were ready and had everything they needed on the road as well.” G-Note-What, if anything come with the experience of, paying your dues and all the ‘stuff’ you must go through as a career musician? NM- “Well, I can tell you, I am a different person than I was 15, 10 or even 3 years ago. I am so grateful. I have had and still do, great friends that over the years have given my pieces of advice on my performance or how I may look or act on stage asking If I were even aware of it, maybe if I changes something about my approach or the way I react or consider twisting my thinking a little bit may go a long way in your presentation. All I can say is ‘Thank you’ for taking the time to share with me somethings I could do better.” “As I get older, I tend to not take things like critiques personally like I may have had in the past. I’m always learning, always trying to improve myself and I remember something my brother said to me, ’There is an abundance of everything for everybody’ and I try to keep that in mind every day and keep up my awareness and continue to be thankful for all I have.” *Some content from nickmossband.com For all Things Nick Moss including tour dates go to:www.nickmossband.com @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 7 | Page www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

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Sept. 1 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre* Sept. 4 — Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion” Sept. 6 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre* Sept. 7 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre* Sept. 8 – Sterling Heights, MI–Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill* Sept. 10 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center at The Heights* Sept. 11 – Burgettstown, PA – KeyBank Pavilion* Sept. 13 – Ocean City, MD – Ocean City BikeFest Sept. 14 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion* Sept. 18 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion* Sept. 19 — Wantagh. NY — Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater* Sept. 21 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica* Sept. 22 – Louisville, KY – Champions Park * with Cheap Trick 9 | Page @GNoteEntertainmentMaga*z*iwneith Lynyrd Skynyrdwww.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

The ‘Voice’ of Detroit – Pat Smillie G-Note Interview: PS- “Doing well, thank you for letting me part of this!” Singer/Songwriter Pat Smillie G-Note- I have been checking out your videos Born in Detroit, vocalist Pat Smillie grew up as an avid music and I see where you have Alligator Records collector whose earliest musical influences included Motor City recording artist Toronzo Cannon playing guitar, artists such as The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, is he a regular guitar player for you? Bob Seger and Mitch Ryder. PS- “Not currently, but Toronzo and I have been In 1992, Smillie moved to Chicago where he cut his teeth as a playing together, I had a Thursday residency at a live performer on Chicago's hard-scrabble South and West place called Redfish in Chicago, I called him to play sides. It was during an early residency at the legendary and it became a thing, it was down the street from Checkerboard Lounge that Smillie cemented his reputation as a the House of Blues and we got a lot a foot traffic, powerhouse vocalist. He did it the hard way: without a guitar, that was a lot fun.” harmonica, or any other instrument to fall back upon. “We go back a long way and we are all very Between 1999 - 2007, he would record three albums worth of happy for him and all the success he is having.” original material blending his soul, blues, and rock influences. G-Note-I see where you currently have a In 2011, Smillie and his band toured Europe and performed at residency with Motown Funk Brother, Dennis the Blues Alive Festival (in Sumperk, CZ). Over the years, Pat Coffey at the Northern Lights Lounge in Detroit, Smillie has served as an opening act on shows and festivals for how is that going? Koko Taylor, Bobby Rush, Andre Williams, Robert Cray, Mitch Ryder, and Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. PS- “He is a legend! He still loves to play the hits of Motown that he was playing guitar on and of In the Summer of 2015, frustrated by what he saw as the course, all of the songs are recognizable, decline of Chicago's live music scene, Smillie returned to live in everyone love it, you should check out his Detroit, MI. He performs regularly with renowned Detroit website sometime and see all of the hits songs guitarist Jim McCarty (formerly of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit that he played on, it’s amazing!” Wheels, Cactus, & The Rockets). He also serves a monthly residency with Motown guitarist (and Funk Brother), Dennis “Dennis has so many great stories to tell and I Coffey, at Northern Lights Lounge (Detroit, MI). love picking his brain about music and arran@geGmNenottse. EntertainmentMagazine Pat Smillie is currently writing songs and recording demos for an upcoming studio project. Pat’s other recordings include: \"I Got an Angel\" (1999) / \"Letter to Hampton\" (2003) / \"Down by the River\" (2007) G-Note entertainment Magazine caught up with Pat Smillie and talked by phone about the differences in music between Detroit and Chicago, Motown songs. 10 | P a g e G-Nowtew- Twh.aGn-kNyooutefoErnytoeurrttaiminemtheisnetv.beinzing Pat, what’s been going on?

There is one story he tells about him and Wilson Pickett, and the time he hung out with James Brown, and how they got wild and crazy, just amazing.” G-Note- Pat, how did you get into the music business? PS- “Well, growing up, I was a music collector and was drawn to the Detroit artists like Mitch Ryder, Bob Seger and of course Motown these great songs with a draw to the R & B stuff.” “I started singing and making music in my late teens, I joined my first band when I was 17, we competed in a ‘Battle of The Bands” at Detroit Catholic Central. Our set had a lot of high energy Bob Seger tunes and some Ted Nugent as well.” “Later, I moved to Chicago and discovered the Checkerboard Lounge, I would go in and check out all of the Chicago legends like Magic Slim that were playing and really enjoyed a guitar player that is still hanging around town named Vance Kelly, and his band, ‘The Backstreet Blues Band” “Vance played a lot of Soul, and R& B music, the music that I really like, not just the slow shuffles or slow Blues but what I call “full” songs. He played a lot of Johnny Taylor songs and similar songs and that’s what I was attracted to. I started to hang around Vance a little more and was working out some songs for his band.” “I was starting to get tired of the jam sessions, I’m a vocalist that doesn’t play an instrument, so I can’t really lead a song in the sense that I can’t count things off, jam sessions with total strangers and where some are better on their instruments that others were tough to do and honestly, not very fulfilling , know what I mean?” “It was every Monday night for 5 years like that, so I tried to put myself in a situation where I could do the music I like and with a band that’s ‘tight’ that would give me a half way decent chance to sound good.” “People in the audience may not understand that if the drummer of the bass played is off, it’s up the front man to kind of hide that and make it work somehow, not very easy to do, so I started looking for bands that had a sound and vibe that I could relate to, and most of those guys are really jealous about their stage time or encouraging like Vance Kelly, Vance was known for having one of the tightest bands around, he would play all of the Juke Joints or Chitlin Circuit joints and a lot of the other artists of that era would come in and check other bands out.” G-Note-That’s quite an internship! When did it start to really come together for you are a vocalist? PS- “It was in 1996, that I got my residency at the legendary Checkerboard Lounge. Buddy Guy had moved on just before that, I was part of the house band that played on Wednesday nights for about a year and a half or so. That was another great on the job learning experience.” “I met a lot of people that would come there, I guy I met was Dave Myers from the Blues band ‘The Aces’ Dave would always be involved in a card game there along with all of the regulars and I would pick his brain occasionally, for ideas.” “Around 2000 or 2003, the Checkerboard closed, and I really hadn’t played too much on the North side of town except for “Legends” and “Blues on Halsted” a couple of times each, I was really drawn more to the South and West side of town for gigs, there were a lot of players, but too many stand up and sing front men, but you could find some of these guys on the South and West side of Chicago.” G-Note - Is it fair to say that you got your ‘Chops’ as a front man and vocalist in Chicago? PS- “I think that’s fair; I definitely learned a lot about Blues in Chicago and Detroit is more Rock and roll, you know? I had more in common with the Rock and Roll of Detroit.” 11 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

“I’m very thankful that I get to share the stage with Detroit guys like Jim McCarty of the ‘Rockets’ and Mitch Ryders’ band, the guy practically invented Blue-Rock genre. When I was in Chicago, I really got deep in the Soul and Blues stuff because it was readily available, and I was 22 years old when I left Detroit and I was deep into that music as I mentioned before but I was limited (by age) of the places I could play at.” G-Note- What is one of the biggest differences in music between Detroit and Chicago? PS- “Well, first thing that comes to mind is that here in Detroit there are some great Blues musicians that are quite popular but the crowds they play to are White, that seems to me to be kind of strange. In Chicago it’s a great cross section of people but the music is more geared to the guitar playing and the solos versus the more traditional Blues music. Detroit seems to be all about the rock and roll regardless if you are playing Blues, Motown or something in between.” “There is a lot of differences between Detroit and Chicago, I find the musicians in Detroit by in large, are more supportive of other each other. Of course, there is a level of competition, but I see where everyone roots each other on to do their best. I didn’t always get that feeling in Chicago, it’s never a good thing when some artists bad mouth another one because it eventually gets back to you, and sometimes causes hard feelings.” G-Note- How would you define your ‘style’ of music Pat? PS-“ I have always been a big fan of the great Joe Cocker, So maybe I inner channel him when I sing a song, if you notice, I tend to have my eyes closed, that’s not because I don’t want to look at the audience, I get caught up in the song, and the passion of the lyrics take over, you know?” For more on Pat Smillie including show dates and locations, go to: www.patsmillie.com 12 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Kalamazoo State Theatre 404 S. Burdick Street Kalamazoo Mi 49007 (269) 345-6500 Behind the curtain - a living legacy Experience the historic State Theatre for your next show The State Theatre has been a fixture in downtown Kalamazoo since 1927. The original founder of the theatre was Colonel William Butterfield. John Eberson was the renowned architect who designed the theatre. The early roots of the theatre were found in the Vaudevillian tradition of performance. Many acts that frequented the State Theatre included opera, dramas, big bands, ballet, dance reviews, stage shows and movies. September 20th Outback Concerts Presents: Delbert McClinton & Self-Made Men September 21st Outback Concerts Presents: Bert Kreischer – Body Shots Tour September 24th Emporium Presents: Black Violin September 25th Tommy Emmanuel, with Jorma Kaukonen Tickets are available through our website, through Ticketmaster online at ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available in-person-only at the Kalamazoo State Theatre Box Office. @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 13 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

G-Note’s Spotlight Artist: George Benson Singer, Guitarist and The Qwest record label (a subsidiary of Warner Bros., run by Quincy Jones) released Benson’s Performer: George Benson breakthrough pop album Give Me The Night, produced by Jones. Benson made it into the pop The Early Years and R&B top ten with the song “Give Me the Night” (written by former Heatwave keyboardist Benson was born and raised in the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Rod Temperton). He got many hit singles such as Pennsylvania. At the age of seven, he first played the ukulele “Love All the Hurt Away”, “Turn Your Love in a corner drug store, for which he was paid a few dollars. At Around”, “Inside Love”, “Lady Love Me”, “20/20”, the age of eight, he played guitar in an unlicensed nightclub on “Shiver”, “Kisses in the Moonlight”. More Friday and Saturday nights, but the police soon closed the club importantly, Quincy Jones encouraged Benson to down. At the age of 10, he recorded his first single record, search his roots for further vocal inspiration, and “She Makes Me Mad”, with RCA-Victor in New York, under the he re-discovered his love for Nat Cole, Ray Charles name “Little Georgie”. and Donny Hathaway in the process, influencing a string of further vocal albums into the 1990s. At the age of 21, he recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar, featuring McDuff. Benson’s next recording To commemorate the long-term relationship was It’s Uptown with the George Benson Quartet, including between Benson and Ibanez and to celebrate 30 Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone years of collaboration on the GB Signature saxophone. Benson followed it up with The George Benson Models, Ibanez created the GB30TH, a very Cookbook, also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber on limited-edition model featuring a gold-foil finish baritone and drummer Marion Booker. Miles Davis employed inspired by the traditional Japanese Garahaku art Benson in the mid-1960s, featuring his guitar on form. “Paraphernalia” on his 1968 Columbia release., @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine By the mid- to late-1970s, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson. With the 1976 release Breezin’, Benson sang a lead vocal on the track “This Masquerade”, which became a huge pop hit and won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. In 1976, George Benson appeared as a guitarist and backup vocalist on Stevie Wonder’s song “Another Star” from Wonder’s album Songs in the Key of Life. He also recorded the original version of “The Greatest Love of All” for the 1977 Muhammad Ali bio-pic, The Greatest, which was later covered by Whitney Houston as “Greatest Love of All”. During this time Benson recorded with the German conductor Claus Ogerman. The live take of “On Broadway”, recorded a few months later from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A., also won a Gra1m4 m| Py. aHeg heas worked with Freddie Hubbard on a number of hiws awlbwum.Gs-tNhrootuegEhonuttetrhtea1in96m0es,n1t9.b70izs and 1980s.

In 2009, Benson was recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts as a Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. Benson performed at the 49th issue of the Ohrid Summer Festival in Macedonia on July 25, 2009, and his tribute show to Nat King Cole An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole as part of the Istanbul International Jazz Festival in Turkey on July 27. In the fall of 2009, Benson finished recording a new album entitled Songs and Stories, with Marcus Miller, producer John Burk, and session musicians David Paich and Steve Lukather. In June 2013, Benson released his fourth album for Concord Records, Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, which featured Wynton Marsalis, Idina Menzel, Till Brönner, and Judith Hill. In September, he returned to perform at Rock in Rio festival, in Rio de Janeiro, 35 years after his first performance at this festival, which was then the inaugural one. In July 2017, Benson mark’s his 40th anniversary and Ibanez has created a limited run of his signature guitars for the occasion. Benson then signed with Creed Taylor’s jazz label CTI Records, where he recorded several albums, with jazz heavyweights guesting, to some success, mainly in the jazz field. His 1974 release, Bad Benson, climbed to the top spot in the Billboard jazz chart. For all things George Benson including tour information, go to: www.georgebenson.com @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 15 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Billy Craig Working extremely hard in the studio, Billy Craig can now check off another item on his bucket list. It has been his motivation and mission and he found it to be incredibly invigorating and rewarding. “It’s a fully loaded guitar-laden instrumental album that allowed me to cut loose in many directions,” says Billy. It’s quite a departure and show’s that Billy is not just a music artist but also an extremely talented and accomplished instrumentalist. Billy’s influences come from a lifetime of great players from Roy Clark, Eddie Van Halen, Peter Frampton, and Jeff Beck to name a few. It's a serious musical challenge and adventure for the listener. Fro1m6 | pPoawg eer to finesse, it’s deeply personal and deeply emotional as you’ll soownwwfi.nGd-NooutetE. ntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

New Music Alert: LONERIDER Every once in a while, a new recording comes along with a line-up that makes your spine tingle, and here it is; “Attitude” by Lonerider. Not only does this quintet feature Steve Overland (FM, Solo, Shadowman), Steve Morris (Heartland, Shadowman) and Chris Childs (Thunder) but legendary drummer Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company fame. With Brain J Anthony finishing the line-up we have a real force to be reckoned with. What are we to expect from this group of musicians? If you like Bad Company, then this is going to be a treat for you. We have the feel of that classic Bad Company that we know and love, yet the songs are modern, fresh and vibrant. Simon has a drumming style that is unmistakeable and this shines through on all of the tracks (and an extra four on the LP version!). Lonerider is: Steve Overland: All vocals (FM / Shadowman / Solo artist) Simon Kirke: Drums (Free / Bad Company) Steve Morris: All Guitars and keyboards (Ian Gillan / Heartland) Chris Childs: Bass (Thunder / Tyketto) 17 | P a g e Brian J@AGnNtohtoenEyn:tAerctoauinsmtiecnGtMuiatgaarszi,nme andolin and percussiownwsw(S.Gte-NveotWeEanlstehrt/aOinvmeerlnatn.bdi)z

New Music Alert: Eighteenth Hour Bethlehem is a city of 75,000 people in eastern Pennsylvania - a city known for its rich colonial and industrial history. Bethlehem is also home of Eighteenth Hour, a band that has captured the Lehigh Valley’s hard-working essence by continually reaching new heights throughout their extensive career. The most recent achievement being selected as the opening act for Bon Jovi in their hometown area. The band has gradually put a bigger and bigger stamp on the vibrant Lehigh Valley music scene and is now poised to break out. Eighteenth Hour’s musical prowess has earned them a reputation for being one of the area's best live original bands. Their music resonates with a broad audience as exemplified by the eclectic mix of artists they have shared the stage with including 3 Doors Down, Bret Michaels, Thin Lizzy, Spacehog, Collective Soul, Hinder, Skid Row, Days of The New, Saigon Kick, The Outfield, Ratt, Blessid Union of Souls, Great White, and blues great Shemeika Copeland. Eighteenth Hour's remarkable list of accomplishments includes being named \"Best Band\" in the Lehigh Valley Magazine's Best of The Valley Poll, “Best Original Band\" in the Reader's Choice Poll of Pulse Weekly Magazine, winning the 95.1fm WZZO 15th Annual Backyard Bands Competition, and winning numerous Lehigh Valley Music Awards including \"Best Rock CD\" and \"Best Original Band\". The band’s high energy performances have captivated audiences along the east coast including such notable venues as PPL Center (Allentown, PA), Alive@Five Festival (Stamford, CT), World Cafe Live (Phil1a8de| lPphaiga,ePA), The Bitter End, (New York NY), and the main stage of the USA’s largest free music festivwawl,wM.Gu-sNikofetestE. ntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

Interview: Matt Giraud G-Note Entertainment Magazine On Top 11 night, he performed \"So Small\", provoking Interview ‘American Idol’ Alum: Simon Cowell to state \"I don't think you've had enough credit in this competition\", and compare him to Michael Matt Giraud Bublé. On the night of the Top 8, Giraud sang \"Part-Time Lover\". Paula Abdul kept her compliments short (due to Matt Giraud has been an entertainment icon in and time constraints), simply saying \"Two words: Standing around Kalamazoo Michigan for years, well before his O\". now famous appearance and deep run of Season 8 of the original 'American Idol.' The next week, however, Giraud received poor reviews When I sat down with Matt for a great brunch, he was from Jackson and DioGuardi. The following night, the quick to recommend the meat omelet and started riffing off some song versus and a joke or two before results revealed that he received the lowest number of we even started the interview. I have had the pleasure of interviewing Matt in the past, but something was votes. However, for the first time in American Idol different this time. Not that he wasn't fun, engaging and professional in the past when we talked, but this history, the judges' save was invoked and Giraud was time he was happy, relaxed, and was constantly smiling and free-styling and segueing from one topic spared elimination when the judges utilized Season 8's to another in a playful way. new twist. The consequence of this, for all the For those that are not familiar with Matt and his very unique musical career, Giraud auditioned for the contestants, was a double elimination after the second eighth season of American Idol in Louisville, Kentucky. He was considered an early on judges' favorite in Top 7 night. On that night, Giraud performed \"Stayin' Hollywood, with Randy Jackson naming him among his \"top 5\" early favorites. Alive\" and received mixed reviews. Nevertheless, he During Hollywood week, he performed \"I Want You survived the vote that week and even avoided placing in Back\" by The Jackson 5 as part of a group called White Chocolate, along with fellow finalist, and future the Bottom 3. He was eliminated on April 29, 2009 and season 8 winner, Kris Allen. He did not make the finals initially but was brought back for the Wild Card show. finished in 5th place. In interviews after hi1s9el|imPinaagtieon, The judges unanimously lauded his performance of Giraud asawysastthea\"tw. hwe wbe. Glie-vNedo ttheeE\"n'Itdeorl'tjauidngmese' snatv.eb \"Who's Lovin' You\" by The Miracles (also made wasn't i z famous by The Jackson 5) and he became a part of the Top 13 (along with Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, and Jasmine Murray). Famously, Giraud was also the first and only recipient of the new judges' save for his season on April 15, 2009. After his Top 13 performances of \"Human fNoartmuraen\"y,@KmGaorNareoDwtioeeGEeuknastr”edirrteaminamrkeednt\"IMhaopgeazwienesee you

Giraud was a favorite of Joel Madden. It was also mentioned that Lady Gaga had told Matt she was sad to see him leave the show after being eliminated. *Some content taken from Wikipedia G-Note entertainment sat down with Matt at a local eatery for a lunch time interview. G-Note- Let's just get into to this Matt, tell me about how you got the opportunity to team back up with your buddy and 'Idol' mate on Oct. 19th at the Kalamazoo State Theatre. M.G. “You know this will be the first time that will be performing on stage at the State Theatre, I've been there plenty of time watching a show or a concert, but I have never sang a song on stage so this is a big deal for me.” “I had heard through Western Michigan University that Kris Allen was coming through town and asked if I had an interest joining him and I said yes! I gotta make this happen so I called him personally and said I want to do this show and he said yeah, let’s do it so now me and my buddy of 9 years now will be back together performing singing songs. You know he was my roommate on 'American Idol,' I use to help him with his audition songs in our hotel room with Paula (Abdul) and Simon (Cowell) and he (Kris Allen) would say to me, “should I do this note, or this note?' and I would say, “I don't know” and here we are about to be together again in Kalamazoo at the State Theatre.” G-Note- This show is a Western Michigan University sponsored event, and being an alum of WMU ‘s music department, is this a way of giving back? M.G.” Oh yeah, this is a great way to get back some of the tuition I have given them over the years, show by show, I'm getting these student loans paid off, thanks Western! Almost done baby, almost done! Only 2 more payments...(Laughing) “I really am so appreciative that WMU asked me and brought me in to this, it's going to be so much fun and great to part of this. WMU and I have a great relationship, even when I perform out of state, they are always with me in spirit. An example was I was in Jacksonville Florida for a show and at some time during my show, I perform the WMU fight song and someone will ask me, 'Is that a new song? I just sit back and smile and say, no. It been around a lot longer that either one of us.” G-Note- I have heard that you were recently signed endorse the fine makers of keyboards, Casio. M.G.- “Yeah, that is very exciting for me I did sign a deal with Casio, and this is my first real endorsement deal. We also have had a great and longstanding relationship together, with the Facebook live events and other marketing we do together I'm thrilled they asked me to be part of the Casio family.” G-Note- We may need to bring you over to the G-Note hideaway and perform and videotape a few songs on a Casio keyboard and post them online. What do you think about that? M.G.- “I love making beats! Sign me up G-Note! (Matt simulating playing the Casio keyboards on the table) G-Note- As someone that has gone through the process, the highs and the lows, what is your thoughts on the re-boot of American Idol? M.G.- “I’m pumped! I'm already indirectly working with them. I had been working with WOOD-TV 8 out of Grand Rapids Mi. In discovering new talent from our area. The idea was a Silver ticket. The winner of the Silver ticket would be able to jump all the lines and skip over the thousands of candidates and get in front of the American Idol Executive Producer for a shot in Los Angeles.” “I was asked because of my experience from the show if I would be interested in being a judge in this competition, without hesitation, I said yes! It was recently televised in the Grand Rapids TV market. It was cool but really wired at the sometime. A lot less pressure for me because I didn't have to get up in front of all the judges and sing. It was local talent and they really wanted me to be the Simon of the group, they really did, I told them, man I can’t do it, I just can't do that- I'm more of the Paula type, where everyone is awesome!” “Since this started, I have been connecting and working with some of the 'kids'. I know you know but there is so much talent in our area. It really is truly amazing to me every time I see someone trying to make their musical dreams come true. I've been there, I've the nervous kid getting from of a TV camera with hundreds of thousands if not millions of fans watch2i0ng| yPoua igt esooo scary! They don't need me to be the one that crushes their dreams or spirit, I'll be real with them but inwawcowm.Gpa-sNsiootneaEtenwteayr.tIarienamllyeenmt.bbriazce the role of being their mentor.”@GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

G-Note- Being the creative guy that you are, a songwriter and performer, you must get a lot of ideas from a lot of sources for your music, what or who decides what is a good or great song? M.G.-” Yeah, half of its good the other half is crap (Can I say that without getting in trouble?) The fans decide, family decides, my cat decides, if my cat walks out of the room while I'm writing a song, that song is done!” “I’d rather play for people that don't know music, like know it, know it. Because if you don't impress the music executives, they can make it difficult for you, but the fans are digging it, I'm going with the fans! The fans tend to have genuine appreciation versus someone that's 'in the business.' Music Executives typically aren't buying my music, they are looking for comps to the show or backstage access so I'm just working really hard to get myself out of my own way.” “I think that I have maybe in my own way for a while now, like I have these songs that I wrote 7-8 years ago that now that I play for friends or different shows and someone will ask 'Is that a new song?' and I'll say, no, that's been on the self. I's not my job to decide what's good or bad, it's all us to the fans. I'll put a song out there like 'Faded” and hopefully it will get airtime on 103.3 WKFR and through connections of social media hopefully it will catch on. I don't have a business plan; I just do it!” G-Note- I'll talked to you before, but today you seem different. You look happy, you seem to have a different outlook these days, what is it? M.G. “Here is an example of me getting out of my own way, the other day I was broadcasting on social media and playing a song in my bathrobe. Really, I was making fun of myself and cracking jokes. Those are the things that people respond to and enjoy.” “Let's be honest, I'm a goof-ball but I wasn't always able to show that side of me, everything was pre-planned, pre- packaged in my life and I didn't really get to show the real me, you know? I can't tell you how many people thought my piano was just a prop. They didn't know that I could play it.” “I have also gotten rid of a lot of toxic relations in my like. Soul killing, sunshine stealing types of relationships and I was really getting down on myself and having really negative thoughts about maybe I'm a has-been, maybe I really not that good just a lot of self-doubt.” “So, I made the decision to change somethings in my life including some people around me and adding people that add life to my life and I'll tell ya, I've never been happier!” Be sure to catch up with Matt Giraud at facebook.com/mattgiraud and at Twitter at ImMattGiraud and at www.mattgiraudmusic.com @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 21 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Dom Flemons . “Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys” sheds a light on the music, culture, and the complex history of the golden era of the Wild West. In this single volume of music, the first of its kind, Dom Flemons explores and reanalyzes this important part of our American identity. The songs and poems featured on the album are meant to take the listener on an illuminating journey from the trails to the rails of the old west. This is a century old story that follows the footsteps of the thousands of African American pioneers that helped build the United States of America.” Dom Flemons provides an essential component to the canon of music of America’s Old West. Through seldom-recorded as well as original compositions — accompanied by excellent liner notes —, Black Cowboys places the important contributions and participation of African- American, Native American, and Mexican men and women into rightful historical context. Outstanding recording. —-Stephanie P. Ledgin Author, Discovering Folk Music 22 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown . NEW ALBUM \"TRUTH & LIES\" OUT NOW Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown have dropped the lyric video for the new song \"Ride.\" The track appears on the band's new album \"Truth & Lies,\" out today, June 28, via Snakefarm Records. \"We wanted 'Ride' to sound like we shook up some Mississippi dirt in a mason jar with some Texas dirt and dumped it all over the track,\" Bryant said. \"It's about enjoying the moment you're in and not getting bogged down with whatever could come next.\" TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN ONLINE: https://www.facebook.com/TylerBryantAndTheShakedown/ https://twitter.com/tbshakedown http://www.tylerbryantandtheshakedown.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tbshakedown/ 23 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

24 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Interview: TYLER MORRIS ENCORE interview from our 13th edition August 2018 Along the way, Tyler became a strong, prolific songwriter, and a performer. Tyler has always enjoyed There a lot to be impressed with the 21-year-old Tyler playing onstage. At the age of 11, he started playing in Morris. Tyler has been playing guitar at a professional the clubs around his home near Boston, MA. When Tyler level since he was 11, and recently released his third was 12, he was trying out a guitar at a Guitar Center in album internationally. But Tyler is not just another West Palm Beach, Florida where he happened to be young musical genius — his gift runs deeper than an heard by Gary King, musical director of the band at the amazing set of ears paired with two very skillful hands. local B.B. King’s Blues Club. Ever since he picked up a guitar, Tyler has been driven to get to the roots of the songs and styles he learns and That night King recognized Tyler in the audience and absorbs, and to reflect his huge and growing body of called him onstage; the crowd went crazy, and Tyler influences onto his own interpretations and eventually, became a regular guest player at the club. Since then he his own compositions. has had the opportunity to perform with legends and heroes including Sammy Hagar, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tyler give credit and thanks to his father’s music Leslie West, Mark Farner, Ronnie Montrose, Robben collection, Tyler developed love for Blues and Rock Ford, Kip Winger, James Montgomery, Gary Hoey, Zakk music around the age of 6 and settled on guitar as his Wylde, and many more. primary obsession at 9. He would study the works of songs by Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, and B.B. King until he Tyler began writing songs at 13, and released his debut could do a faithful rendition of the originals, his focus album, “And So It Begins,” in 2015. This auspicious moving from Rock to Blues and back again, exploring debut got the immediate attention of guitar fans around AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin. Tyler then the world, with reviews and features in G2u5it|aPr Palagyeer turned to Van Halen, learning their catalog and mPluagsainziAnesi,aV, iMntweatgwaelwtGo.uGIint-afNirn,ioHtyte,eaaEvnyndRtKiefofrritenaaMiGneumxitiecaonr,taG.sbuwiitzealrl channeling that style so thoroughly that he was later featured in a blazing tribute video to Eddie Van Halen’s technique for Vintage Guitar magazine. After a few years, Tyler turned his attention to more classically rooted Rock musicians such as Deep Purple/Rainbow’s Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Jason Becker, and became interested in Andy Timmons, Gary Moore, Bon Jovi and Journey. At that point Tyler came back to the Blues, digging deeper this time. He began to learn entire catalogs of songs from Freddie King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, T- Bone Walker, Little Walter, Lonnie Mack, Junior Wells, Johnny Winter and others. Soon he started consuming the more modern Blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix as well. Tyler then took this huge body of knowledge, took a dsheacropnlsetfr@tuGtcutiNrnngo, atAenedErobnsemtgeiatrhnt’atsoicnaamtpapelolyngti.tMtoatghaeztiansek of

other online Magazines and media outlets. In June 2016, Tyler released his second album, “The Chaos Continues”, and the media buzz and attention continued to grow. Tyler’s new album, NEXT IN LINE, was released in February 2018 through the VizzTone label group and Redeye Worldwide distribution. For this album, Tyler worked with Grammy-award- winning producer Paul Nelson (Former guitarist and producer for Johnny Winter) and incorporated guest appearances by music Hall of Famer, Joe Louis Walker and the Uptown Horns. Tyler continues to develop his signature sound — channeling a classic Blues mindset into modern Rock phrasing and syncopation. He is very aware of the melding of styles as he references a combination of phrases from Freddy King and Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford in his soloing on one song and draws strong inspiration in others from Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Perry, Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Winter, and Joe Walsh. Tyler Morris is constantly challenging himself, learning and growing as an artist. When he’s not performing onstage, Tyler demonstrates for Dean Guitars, REVV amps, and Fishman Electronics, and is designing his own line of guitar effects pedals. Tyler has accomplished so much in such a short time; it will be a pleasure to see where he goes from here. — *Some material from BratGirlmedia/Vizzable Music. G-Note Entertainment Magazine recently talked to Tyler Morris from his home in between gig and school. G-Note – Hey Tyler! Thanks for the time today. What’s been going on with you? TM- “Thank you too. Glad to be part of your magazine. Well, there is a little bit going on, I’m in college taking classes to be an electrical engineer, I also have an internship at Bose and I play guitar as much as I can, and I recently released an album called ‘Next In Line’ other than that, not much else.” (Chuckling) G-Note Let’s introduce you to people that may not be familiar with your story on how you got started to the current day. TM- “Well, it really started with my dad, he is a musician and always collected guitars and from the time I was around 4 years old, I wouldn’t ‘sit in’ with him but I would have a guitar in my hand just strumming to a tuned open ‘D’ or ‘G’ cord and I be playing along to Rolling Stone or Beatles songs just kind of standing along my dad. I really have been around music and guitars from a young age, my dad’s band was the house band at The Hard Rock Café in Boston, and they would play every Thursday night.” “So, what happened was I was about 11 years old when I really started to learn the guitar and I took lessons and I really learned a lot by playing by ear. I went through a lot of different styles as I developed like Jazz, R&B, Rock and Blues. Then I started to get into stuff like Van Halen and what I would call ‘Fusion Rock’.” G-Note – What was the name of your dad’s band when he was the House Band at the Hard Rock Café in Boston? TM- “His band was called ‘Contagious’ because my dad is a dentist and the other band members were all different types of doctors so that’s the name they came up with. It all started when a couple of guys would come over to the house and jam.” “I remember playing or really, strumming along with them at a 40th birthday party, I remember it because that’s when I broke my first string! I have broken thousands of them since!” G-Note- Tyler, are you a formally ‘trained’ guitarist or do you play by ear teaching yourself how to play? TM- “Well, I started out by having my dad teach me some things, then I kind of started to play songs by ear, at that time, it was Clapton and Aerosmith. Being in Boston, we knew some of the guys in Aerosmith and still do talk with them, there would be shows where I would be standing next to Lenny Kravitz watching an Aerosmith show, I had been around that for so long that dad and Clapton really got me at a young age.” 26 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

“I learned all that stuff by ear, but then I went to Joe Stump (Berkeley Music Professor) for many years who I still consider a friend of mine and I still go to his house maybe once a week to jam and to talk. Joe is great at everything but is excellent at the Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple, 70’s style which was a good transition style wise for me. As I mentioned a bit ago, I was doing the Van Halen stuff and I learned from Joe that Eddie got his sound and licks from Ritchie Blackmore and I knew that it was what I needed to learn too.” “Then came the Blues, guys like Freddie King, Albert King, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and the list goes on and on.” G-Note- Well, you cover a lot of ground and styles, from Robert Johnson to Freddie King, to Clapton to T-Bone Walker. TM- “One of my all-time favorites is T-Bone Walker, I was backstage at a show with Jimmy Vivino (Band leader of ‘Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan’) at the Jimmy Vaughn show, Steve Miller was there too, and Steve was telling us when T-Bone Walker would come over to his house and gave him his first guitar lesson. Just to hear it firsthand from Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Miller was incredible also what amazed me was that he considers T-Bone Walker as one of the great pioneers of any musical genre, not just the Blues.” “I had been thinking about that before the Steve Miller conversation, if you think about it, everyone knows Robert Johnson and B.B. King but unless you are schooled in the Blues, you wouldn’t know that T-Bone Walker was the influence for B.B. King and a ton of others including a lot of Jazz musicians.” G-Note- Let’s back up just a bit, here you are backstage at a Jimmy Vaughn show with Jimmy Vivino and you meet Steve Miller, details please. TM- “We happen to be in New York, and I texted Jimmy who I know is in and out of New York quite a bit and I asked him if there was anything going on that night. I knew Jimmy Vaughn was in town playing but I didn’t think there would be any tickets available, so he replies, yeah, I’m going to the Jimmy Vaughn show. Jimmy Vivino got 4 tickets right away, and since we got there early, we were up at the front in the club.” “Jimmy Vivino knows Jimmy Vaughn and he did an introduction for me. After the show, he found me, and we went backstage and Steve Miller happened to be there and that’s how it happened, it was pretty cool” G-Note- So, how did you get to meet Jimmy Vivino? TM- “I met him about a year or so ago, I go to L.A. about 5 times a year for NAMM and for some other things, so I was in L.A. and happen to meet him a couple of weeks after. He took me around the set of Conan, and he let me play on the backstage lounge area and we were jamming on a couple of acoustic guitars using a pedal that I had made. He does make the rounds from New York, Boston and L.A. that he is around quite a bit.” “Not to change subjects, but do you know who Bob Margolin is? He is the guy that founded VizzTone Label Group and is still a partner of, Bob is also a great guitarist and musician. The Tyler Morris Band will out with Bob Margolin on a tour on the East coast and Jimmy will be coming back here again after leaving here last week, we’ll meet us with him, and Bob and I will sit in playing some music together.” It’s pretty amazing how much time I get to spend with Jimmy in the short time since I’ve met him, I really look at him as a mentor and I’ve had the chance to make a lot of pedal for him.” G-Note -Tyler, do you honestly realize how much and how far you have gotten in a very short amount of time in your musical career, you’re not even 21 years old yet right? TM- “No, I’m just now 21, not to sound unappreciative of everything because believe me, I am! But I go day to day and a lot of my success has to do with the effects pedal that I have made for these incredible musicians like Jimmy (Vivino) and Brad Whitfield of Aerosmith that gives me a lot of publicity from shout outs and reviews. That has been an incredible part of the puzzle.” 27 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

“Sometimes it hits you, I have an email from guitar great Al Di Meola, he is one of my big influencers and he was saying something about getting together and possibly making a pedal for him, and when I had the chance to meet Steve Miller, and he’s talking to me about the song writing process, not for a few minutes, like for 40 minutes and you try to focus on the conversation and not act all start struck as he’s telling me about how his manager said that he’ll never have another hit because he’s over 35 years old, well, he fooled them with the song ‘Abracadabra’ a song he wrote after he was 35 years was a huge hit for him. He’s telling me a lot of old and stories like that. That is when I reflect and think, man, that’s incredible!” For more information on about Tyler Morris including his custom pedals, his latest album ‘Next In Line’ the equipment he uses, and tour information please go to: www.tylerdmorris.com 28 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Supporting Our Community About the Paw Paw Village Players In 1969, a group of 16 people with a love of theater and a desire to entertain got together to form a theater company that has endured and prospered for over 45 years. The original group including such locals as Charley and Mary Burkett, Bob Bennett, Patsy Sunstrand, Felix Racette, Judy and Ron Schincariol and Dave and Jan Wilder received permission from the Community Schools Program to produce plays at the old Michigan Ave School which is now the Freshwater Community Church. Receiving the money to pay for the play’s royalties, this small group performed “The Silver Whistle” as their first endeavor. With a positive response from the community for local theater and good, clean fun, the group was off and running. Although over 45 years have passed, this non-profit community theater group continues to evolve and grow with new talent and some old-time wisdom provided by founding members. Plans for fresh and exciting plays are foremost on the agenda for the current Board of Directors. As every new season presents a new schedule of plays, the group effort involved in each production is a work of art. PAW PAW VILLAGE PLAYERS 600 E. MICHIGAN AVENUE Mail: P.O. Box 22 PAW PAW, MI 49079 1.269.657.7529 On the Freshwater Mainstage Providing the finest in Family Entertainment since 1969 While you are there, check out ‘All Stirred Up!’ And pick up some tasty treats! @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 29 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Supporting Our Community 30 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Fox Wilde THE LERIOS BROTHERS' FOX WILDE SET TO RELEASE FIRST TRACK FROM \"THE ROMANCE EPIC,\" STRANGERS ON THE RUN An antidote to cynicism, bridging the gap of generations before them. Fox Wilde is everything we love about the 80’s with everything we learned in the 90’s. The sons of Pablo Cruise founding member and keyboardist, Cory Lerios, are following in their father’s footsteps. With a million+ streams on Spotify, an appearance on Good Day LA July 5th and an upcoming show at the world-famous Troubadour on July 26th, brothers, Michael and Demitri Lerios have just started to hit their stride with their latest volume of work entitled “The Romance Epic”. It’s a bold and brilliant record encompassing their infectious pop choruses and electrifying guitar sounds. Fox Wilde is not just \"some more music\", it is the next stage in the evolution of music. Michael explains the genesis, “’The Romance Epic’ is about discovering that purpose along the way… it’s a love letter to life, music and the unknown.\" The first single, “Strangers on the Run,” will be released on all streaming services Thursday, June 26th, accompanied by a short follow documentary detailing their journey. “Fox Wilde was created as the alter-ego found inside each and every one of us” says frontman Demitri Lerios “It’s a character we all possess but are afraid to let out sometimes. One that lives 3e1pi|cPalalyg, eultra- confiden@tGbNutontoeEt anftrearidtationbmeetnhteMiratgruaezisneelf.” www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Pat Smillie Motor City Rock & Roll is Back! Pat Smillie comes out the gate smokin’ with his latest release ‘Lonesome For A Long Time’. Born in Detroit, musically schooled in Chicago and now back in the Motor City to wow crowds and fans all over the Midwest. It’s obvious Pat Smillie’s musical influences and how he approaches his music- Head on! Playing with the likes of legendary guitarists Dennis Coffey (Motown) and Jim McCarty (Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels) it’s a great cruising CD whether you are on the mean streets of Detroit or on the I- 75 highway, make sure you have ‘Lonesome For A Long Time’ locked & loaded and loud! 32 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

Random Facts ❖ The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum is over 9,000 years old! ❖ A coyote can hear a mouse moving underneath a foot of snow. ❖ Bolts of lightning can shoot out of an erupting volcano. ❖ New York drifts about one inch farther away from London each year. ❖ The U.S. dollar bill can be folded approximately 4,000 times in the same place before it will tear. ❖ A sneeze travels about 100 miles per hour. ❖ Earth has traveled more than 5,000 miles in the past 5 minutes. ❖ It would take a sloth one month to travel one mile. ❖ 10% of the World’s population is left-handed. ❖ A broken clock is right two times every day. ❖ According to Amazon, the most highlighted books on Kindle are the Bible, the Steve Jobs biography, and The Hunger Games. 33 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: The New Roses Roses Roses THE NEW ROSES Release New Single “Can’t Stop Rock & Roll” THE NEW ROSES bring back that 80s - Rock & Roll feeling with their newest single – ‘cause it’s never too loud. You can’t stop Rock & Roll – a simple yet effective message, especially in modern society. And THE NEW ROSES keep proving that Rock & Roll isn’t dead to every single one of us, over and over again. Their newest single fits perfectly into their existing repertoire. Rhythmic guitar riffs and Timmy’s rough voice, that reminds the listener of a mix of outstanding vocalists like Axl Rose and Ronny Van Zant, complete the journey with a modern finish. German Hard Rockers THE NEW ROSES are back to climb the rock Olympus with their fourth studio album \"Nothing But Wild!\" After successful live appearances all over the world, lately opening for KISS, and the invitation to tour with the legendary Scorpions in summer, the four- piece, centered around vocalist/guitarist Timmy Rough is ready to deliver the long awaited follow up for \"One For The Road\" (2017), which hit the top 20 in Germany. After just having released their first single “Down by the River” of their new album \"Nothing But Wild,\" which has been playing on radio stations ever since day one and keeps climbing the Airpla3y4 |cPhaargtse, THE NEW ROSES add the second single “Can’t Stop Rock & Roll” to their reperwtowirwe..G - N o t e E n t e r t a i n m e n t . b i z @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

Q G-Note Entertainment Magazine Exclusive! Q & A with the legendary, Arlo Guthrie G-Note Entertainment Magazine had the opportunity to have a ‘Q & A’ interview with Arlo Guthrie Q) Thank you for your time today, as you make your way to Kalamazoo MI. at the Kalamazoo State Theatre on Nov. 2nd in support of the ‘Alice’s Restaurant Tour’ what is the take away or thing you want them to think about as the audience listens to the story telling of your songs? A) I just hope everyone enjoys themselves. It is, after all, supposed to be entertaining. Q) As you perform your timeless songs and share stories from the stage, do you feel a ‘connection’ with the audience and them with you? A) Every night is different. Some nights we’re connected more than other nights. Obviously, most folks coming to an event want to be there to begin with. That helps. (Follow up) Does it matter what the age group of the audience is? A) My audiences have always been multigenerational. I inherited some of the older folks from my father and guys like Pete Seeger who I worked with for decades. Then there’s my peers, who are older now. They tend to bring along their kids and grandkids and their friends. Q) As we approach the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock, what has changed or has stayed the same in the world? A) That’s a book, not a question. (Follow up) Are the emotions and the messages of the songs of the era of the Woodstock still relevant today? A) Well, they’re certainly relevant to people for whom they mean something. For most people my songs probably aren’t even known let along relevant. 35 | P a g e Q) What h@aGs NbeoetnetEhne tmeorsttasiunrmpreisnintMg tahginagzainboeut the staying power of yourwmwuwsic.?G-NoteEntertainment.biz

A) The songs I’ve written were never meant to be ‘popular music.’ No one writes a 20-minute monologue expecting radio play, for example. My songs grew out of a respect for traditional folk music. Songs that told stories or were sing able for people (like me) who had no voice training. The bulk of my material is already mostly forgotten, but there’s a few songs in there that have stuck around. That’s surprising. (Follow up) Did you ever expect to be still singing, storytelling and playing the songs from the ‘early days’? A) If you’re around long enough, you get to pick and choose the best stuff written over a long period of time. I didn’t expect to be around this long in person, let alone still traveling around and doing shows. The show today has some of the old songs, and some newer ones as well. Q) I have seen where you have been asked about your childhood interests, do you still do photography from the road? What are some of the more interesting things you have captured on ‘film’, do you plan on doing a tour documentary on your travels or put them into book form? A) I enjoy taking photographs. But, I’m not a professional. It’s just fun. Everything from landscapes, venues and people end up as subjects. I have put together a book of some of the more interesting stuff, but it hasn’t been released to the public. Q) You have your son Abe and daughter Sarah on tour with you, as you travel around the country, do get how important you and your songs are to people? A) That’s a question better asked of them. (Follow up) Have they been surprised by the reaction to your songs? A) They’ve been helping me out and performing with me for decades, so there’s probably not a lot of surprises there. Q) When your mother told you to get a backup plan in case the music ‘thing’ didn’t work out, what would have been plan B or C? A) Plan B - Forest Ranger, Plan C - Bartender Q) If you had the opportunity to change something in the world, what would it be? A) The father back you stand, the more perfect the world seems to be as it is. So, I tend to stand quite a ways back. Q) Do you think in terms of legacy, legacy with you, your father and your children? A) Only when under the influence. Q) Can you and your music still make a difference in the world in the next 50 – 100 years? A) As far as I’m concerned, everything makes a difference, not just me. Every grain of sand, every bird, every person makes a difference. Q) What is the best and worst thing about being Arlo Guthrie? A) Someone had to be me, and I guess I volunteered at some point. The best thing about being me was knowing that the worst thing wasn’t too bad. Q) Thank you again for your time, any final thoughts on anything that you would like to share? A) Not that I can think of. We’re just rolling down the highway and I need another cup of coffee! Thank you again for your time and consideration Mr. Guthrie! Looking forward to seeing you down the road! 36 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

Shaw Davis & The Black Ties Shaw Davis and the Black Ties Guitarist-vocalist Shaw Davis, backed by bassist Patrick Stevenson and drummer Bobby Van Stone, feature their own brand of Psychedelic Blues and Roots Rock that continues to win over fans and crowds across the nation. As a national touring trio, the band has played over three- hundred shows, headlining festivals and opening tours, resulting in them building a loyal following throughout the U.S. Influenced by the sounds of heavy, vintage blues-rock, Davis and band have shared the stage with such high-end music artists as Samantha Fish, Chris Duarte, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, GE Smith and Anthony Gomes, to name but a few. Hailing from Pompano Beach, Florida, Shaw Davis And The Black Ties formed in 2016. They participated in the South Florida Blues Challenge in 2017, winning their Road to Memphis and representing South Florida in the 2018 International Blues Challenge competition in Memphis. In January 2018 they independently released Alive From Legacy, a three-track record intended to capture the energy of the band's live shows. October 2018 saw the release of their sophomore album, Tales From The West, with impressive reviews and airplay while debuting 37 | P a g e at #20 on the Roots Music Report Blues Rock chart. www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

New Music Alert: Kobra and the Lotus Calgary-based hard rock quintet KOBRA AND THE LOTUS has returned with their new studio album 'Evolution', which will get a September 20th release on Napalm Records. The upcoming LP sees the band imbued with a new fire that comes through by way of undeniable hooks, soaring guitar riffs, marching drumbeats, and the soulful, bombastic vocal delivery of lead singer Kobra Paige. No longer bound by old formulas and expectations from the past, 'Evolution' comes through with a sound that is expansive and, at times, borders on outright swagger. Each song feels like an Active Rock hit in the making, while still having the grit and feverish intensity that longtime fans have come to admire from Kobra and the Lotus. 'Evolution' boasts the band's most cohesive and confident material to date. For the new record, Kobra and the Lotus enlisted the services of producer Michael \"Elvis\" Baskette [Alter Bridge, Linkin Park, Slash, Sevendust]. “The new body of work sets the tone for the music going forward. Sonically, it’s still heavy. It highlights the showmanship and maintains the edge. At the same time, it’s approachable. It pays tribute to our influences, but it takes the next step. So, it’s a reintroduction to us and a rebirth. A firm goal was to build a strong identity and update everything. We just want to be Kobra and the Lotus; that’s what we’re doing. The first single, \"Burn!” ignites this chapter. A hummable riff snaps into a visceral verse as the frontwoman directly declares, “I really hate you, yes I do.” The track builds towards an incendiary and infectious chorus, hinging on a seesawing guttural groove and hitting like a sledgehammer. “It’s about all of the reasons you hold yourself back,” she explains. “You literally need to burn all of those feelings, stories, excuses, and obstacles keeping you from being your own authentic self. It’s super personal. It’s a38pr|oPduacgt oef growing and arriving as a person. I’m realizing who I am. It’s symbolic of the rebirth,” says Kobwraw. w.G-NoteEntertainment.biz @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine

New Music Alert: Delbert McClinton And Self Made Men \"IT'S NOT A STRETCH TO SAY THAT MCCLINTON, AT 78, IS MAKING THE BEST MUSIC OF HIS CAREER\" - ROLLING STONE COUNTRY Roots music visionary Delbert McClinton returns with a swaggering and swingin’ new album, Tall, Dark, & Handsome, via Hot Shot Records/Thirty Tigers. Featuring 14 new, original new songs - all written or co-written by Delbert - the album dives deep into the blues, Americana and beyond, bursting with horns, fiddle, accordion, blazing guitar work, back-up singers and McClinton’s charismatic rasp, proving Lyle Lovett’s claim that “if we could all sing like we want to, we’d all sound like Delbert McClinton.” McClinton has three GRAMMY Awards, and his previous three albums have all reached # 1 or #2 on Billboard’s Blues chart. With over 60 years of recording and touring to his credit, McClinton is a true musical zelig: he toured with the Beatles, backed Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf, helped to inspire The Blues Brothers, and performed everywhere from SNL to Austin City Limits (both multiple times) along the way. His songs have been covered by Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, and Wynonna Judd - to name a few. This “Godfather of Americana” will keep on rolling in 2019, with a full slate of tour dates through year’s end. Be sure to see Delbert McClinton and Self Made Men at the Kalamazoo State Theatre on Sept. 20th @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine 39 | P a g e www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

New Music Alert: Me and The Captain Me and The Captain Release Metal Cover Of “Baby Shark” The Southern California pirate themed group are at it again with their hilarious, brutal, metal injected rendition of the song 99% of parents around the globe can’t avoid. Listen now on Spotify and Apple Music. (Orange County, CA) Me and The Captain (MATC) are at it again with their latest track “Baby Shark” and gives listeners a new twist on one of pop culture's biggest viral hits. “Baby Shark” will never be the same, and MATC has released a hard-hitting version of the song which pummels the senses while keeping the infectious sensibility of the track that will get kids and their parents opening pits in their living room. The track is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Since forming almost a decade ago, the mysterious group has played original music about life on the high seas while throwing out surprise covers of tracks including Post Malone’s “Psycho”, Kane Brown’s “What Ifs”, Ylvis' \"The Fox\" and the infamous “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. Past collaborations have included those with A Static Lullaby, Richard Rogers of Secrets, Adrian Estrella of Assuming We Survive and more. While the band remains anonymous with their members and where they dock the ship, listeners can expect more original and hot covers throughout 2019. 40 | P a g e @GNoteEntertainmentMagazine www.G-NoteEntertainment.biz

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