Elam McKnight: News

Congrats to Cedric and Garry Burnside for a Killer album they just released on BC records. It is some kind of good.

BIG NEWS FROM ELAM SOON BUT DO NOT WANT TO LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG JUST YET. IT WILL MAKE THE FAMILY REAL HAPPY

This came the other day to the BBH FAMILY:
Dear Mr. McKnight

Please excuse my bad English!My name is Bengt and I live in Enköping a small town in Sweden.
I'm a lousy guitar player and an even lousier singer!!
(I practise the guitar every day!)
I am a great fan of your sensitive guitar playing !!
To be honest I've never really heard much of you ! (have only bin a fan
since 2005!)
Until I recently came into the possession of "Braid my hair" from a friend
in France!
I was totally blown away when I for the first time heard your guitar work !
"Sugar Cane" is my favorite - relaxed!
I can listen to that scratched record ten times a day,
and it moves me in a different way every time.
What are your plans for the future?
I hope you planning to play sometime in Sweden this year?
My question is how I can get your autograph?

If you ever read this, keep up the good work!!!
If you don’t have time to answer I understand ! (I still be your fan)
(Your music helped me through a hard time in my life!!)
I wish you prosperity and health!
With best regards

Bengt Karlsson

THANKS BENGT AND BE LOOKING IN THE MAIL. WE SURE APPRECIATE YOU!

****New Review*****
Elam McKnight& Keith Carter: The Last Country Store

Tennesee deep blues artist Elam McKnight's second album is out and
it's bona fide Saturday-night-on-through-Monday-afternoon-country-
man-city-boy-blues spectacular. Mr. McKnight did not slump to round
two but rather rolls out a full album's worth of his own powerful
vision of (to use his phrase) "Future Primitive" blues based music.
Remember when artists attempted to present a solid body of work
rather than some sliced/diced/smothered/covered and microwaved meat-
free sausage factory music-style product? Mr. McKnight never worked
at the sausage factory. I gotta believe he's worked the counter at
The Last Country Store. "Say Elam give me one of those sexy soul
blues folk songs to play at 1am when she's left me again" you'd
say. "Sure," he'd say "here's Going Away produced to a Clarksdale `T'
by who else but Jimbo Mathus. It'll cure you up!" All the while over
in the corner England's Keith Carter is stokin' the stove with
harmonica runs `til it's hotter than slow dancin' with the devil's
daughter all night long. Oh, they feed you so good at The Last
Country Store. With a dose of Blind Boy Fuller's Pig Meat you'll be
back on top of the food chain. You'll need it after after McKnight
and Carter's Cadillac Women have you hanging black crepe on your
front door. No time later you'll be "rollin' outta Georgia gonna
sneak back home to Tennessee" after the sad cry and low moan of
Leaving Five Points. "Please, Mr. McKnight! Please, Mr. Carter!" you
might be cryin' now, "I've been down too long!" So they start in
goofin' on the ever so sooper rockin' Mama Killed a chicken and you
commence to runnin' around in circles like a head with yr chicken cut
off. But listen folks, Y'all remember a couple years back when "They"
sponsored the "Year of the blues"? It was a nice warm puppy of an
idea, to be sure, but an utter bust. It didn't matter. Any art that
needs a government decree is as dead as forty acres of kudzu and a
cross-eyed sway-backed mule. Thank heavens artists like McKnight
recognize that. He knows too well his music is all about rump shakin'
dirty dancin' all saturday night and then wakin' up righteous on
Monday- a righteous vibe which might last `til all of Wednesday when
you start feelin' bad again. He knows that the simple country blues
power and full gospel beauty of a piece like Another Man Done Gone
can rise above and transcend all that. Young artists like Elam
McKnight, Mark Lemhouse, Chris Cotton and others this year have given
us some of the finest neo-traditional blues based music since the
North Mississippi renaissance began. Thanks to Mcknight and Carter we
have one more reason to be excited about the blues again.

-Rick Saunders 11.11.05 2:57am

IT IS TRULY A SAD DAY for the BLUES WORLD and many of us here in the DIRTY SOUTH! We have lost a LEGEND and a mentor to Many Many of the young cats. I want to only say this RL BURNSIDE is probably the only reason I play the music I PLAY! PERIOD! God BLESS YOU BIG DADDY. TEll OTHA AND JUNIOR HELLO.
Following is a great memoriam written by Bill Ellis of the Commercial Appeal :
4:30
Game ON 4 LIFE
Elam McKnight
People can talk all they want about blues power, a rather cliched notion diluted over the years by a gaggle of blues-rock practitioners. In North Mississippi's hill country, the power of the blues is no joke. It has remained a living thing, a mesmerizing force that can bend the listener to the music's will, one that demands total surrender when the mood -- the groove -- is just right.
The late Junior Kimbrough had it. So too did the late Otha Turner. R.L. Burnside, who, as the last of the great hill country patriarchs, died Sept. 1 at age 78, had it perhaps best of all.
To hear the guitarist/singer in his plugged-in prime was akin, for this writer at least, to being reborn. It was more than that favored adjective "raw," certainly more than some twist on tradition, whatever that term means today. It was spiritual in the deepest sense. It was holy and pure and cleansing, and if you don't believe me, you never had the pleasure of seeing Burnside shake it on down with second guitarist Kenny Brown and drumming grandson Cedric Burnside: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost of rural juke blues.
Something special has been yanked from our little plot of influential earth here in the Mid-South. Unlike many well-known bluesmen, his fame and appreciation came late in life (he only began recording in his 40s, and not prolifically so until a good decade after that). Yet, like the mature kick that only comes with an aged liquor, Burnside didn't truly find his voice until he was much older, when his slide guitar was so amped up and his trio so juiced on the big, hypnotic groove that he could transcend the trappings of a tune -- from pulse and meter to notions of time itself. Call it the Rhythms of Perception.
Like all great musical artists, Burnside had a way of communicating to just about everyone. To blues purists, he was a living link to mentoring neighbor Mississippi Fred McDowell; R.L. the country blues guitarist whose earliest recordings by folklorist George Mitchell in the late 1960s had the true vine stamp written all over them. To juke blues enthusiasts, he was the leader of a riff-rich family band, the Sound Machine, whose electrified recordings in the late 1970s and early '80s gave Memphis scholar David Evans some of the best material he's ever hung his producer's cap on.
To fans of Robert Palmer's book, "Deep Blues," and then Robert Mugge's same-named documentary, Burnside was the rediscovered master, head of the influential class at Oxford,. Miss., label Fat Possum. To indie kids, he was that dirty-mouthed grandpa hanging with hipster Jon Spencer, bridging blues and punk via volume and tons of irreverence. To the neo-hippies, he was the king of world boogie, a guiding force on much younger rock bands, none more so than his biggest acolytes, the North Mississippi Allstars.
To the deejay crowd, Burnside was also an inspiration, where producers such as Beck collaborator Tom Rothrock sliced and diced the onetime farmer's tunes into sampled, dance-size bits of ground-breaking electronica.
Burnside even found a certain amount of mainstream popularity thanks to the use of his music on "The Sopranos."
Me, I'll remember R.L. every time he shouted his inviting "Well, well, well" like the "ping, ping, ping" call of a dinner bell. I'll especially remember him playing at Junior Kimbrough's Juke Joint in Chulahoma on a hot August night in 1996, when I was new to town and taking in what our area had to offer. Life gives all of us turning points, moments that define in some way who we are and hope to become. Seeing Burnside that night was such a pivotal moment for me, reminding me that you can't just appreciate music, you have to get lost in it.

Just got word that Little Milton, Blues legend and wonderful man, has passed away. Our hearts and prayers go out to all his family and friends. Yet another blues legend gone on to glory.

Graham Clarke BLUES BYTES
Elam McKnight & Keith Carter’s latest release, The Last Country Store (Big Black Hand) features more of that great Hill Country sound McKnight gave us so well in his previous release, Braid My Hair. Though hard as it may be to imagine, McKnight’s songwriting chops have improved since the last time out as have his vocals and guitar. Carter’s harmonica work is sublime and adds much to the overall sound of the album. Of the twelve tracks, eight are original compositions, still in the Hill Country or Delta vein, and the standouts include “Ain’t Gonna Plow No More,” the title track, “Cadillac Woman,“ and “Going Away,” which is featured in two versions; the first produced by Grammy-winner Jimbo Mathus and featuring his now-familiar “post-modern primitive” style, and also in a killer acoustic version to close out the disc. The covers are a couple of traditional tracks (“Mamma Killed A Chicken” and “Another Man Done Gone”), Blind Boy Fuller’s “Pig Meat,” and an impressive cover of Robert Johnson’s “Me And The Devil.” As impressed as I was with McKnight’s last release, I think this one tops it with room to spare. He and Carter both have a bright future ahead. If you like acoustic blues or roots music in the vein of the recent Chris Cotton disc, you’ll enjoy this one. Go to www.bigblackhand.com or www.cdbaby.com to pick this one up.

The LAST COUNTRY STORE has reached #22 on the National Living Blues Radio Chart for airplay. We are very proud and thanks to all those who supported its release. We can assure you there are many more things to come down the pike. Later
Elam

Elam, It was well worth the wait. What a double bill! How does one ever follow John Lowe?
Elam, you and Keith were great. After a 1 1/2 hour set I could have heard more. Your originals were exceptional especially the one about the three legged dog and the one about the kid with the pistol. Your covers of John Estes and Sonny Boy II were right on too.
I especially liked the length or should I say the shortness of your selections. Most seemed to be just 2 or 3 minutes long. I'm not a big fan of the 5 or 6 minutes that most acustic artists seem to labor with. I also liked that you played three guitars. I don't know what they were but I liked the varied sounds.
I feel that this mini-tour of the Delta will do wonders for you. The exposure will surely land you more gigs. Too bad the Brownsville Fest folded as you would be a hit with your Sleepy John renditions.

As for John Lowe what else can you say after your acurate discription. What a different person on stage than off.

Thanks to both of you for making my friday nite!

THanks to Mary Beth Conley and her staff for being so sweet to us on the TELEVISION. Hope to do it again in the future. Hit me up on the message board if you saw it. Hope everyone is well and a bunch of folks come to the Buccanneer Lounge tonite!
Later
Elam

Elam,

Just letting you know that we here at WBOR, 91.1 FM Brunswick, Maine here on
the Bowdoin College campus have received "The Last Country Store" and ya
mon, AWESOME! Love the range of style on this disc from Delta to Country to
Piedmont,,,It is incredible that so much can come from two guys with nothing
but one harp and one guitar. Got it and playing it,,,Watch for this one to
chart here at WBOR

Best
Mike Halmo
Blues Director
WBOR, 91.1FM

Thanks to the MUSIC CITY BLUES Society for having ELam and Keith play. Pictures coming soon! They had an awesome time and were honored to be in the presence of some really lovely and talented people. THanks Shannon Williford for the graciousness you showed Them. To all the other performers , What a Joy, and thansk to the crowd which was warm and great. Quick shout out to Debbie Ritter, TomCAT AND TOMKAT, Jonnel Mosser and her very nice husband, Miranda Louise, and of course the LEGEND Mr. Little Milton who was a true showman and gentleman. Keith and ELam had a great time. Also thanks to Mr. Nick Nixon for always being lovely and all the board of the Music City BLues Society we here at Big Black Hand PROD thanks you. LOVE ALL OVER...oh and a sweet shout out to Candice Guidry (Elam says thanks for the walk and the talk) whatever that means it ain't none of mine. THis is JT, PRESIDENT, TOILET SCRUBBER,MULE SKINNER, and sometimes DITCH and GRAVE DIGGER,
Signing off

Hey Elam - Yes! Got the record, and I like it a lot! I really enjoy the
simple approach you guys took (whether or not out of neccesity!), and I
think my listeners will feel the same way. I'm having the disc put on
KBGA's daytime playlist, meaning it'll get spun at least several times a
week for about four weeks. Of course I'm gonna play the hell out of it on
my blues show as well. So, are you and Keith, or just you, gonna come on
the air, over the phone, with me again? Thursdays 6-8 mountain time, is
the blues show - I also do a weekday free-form show on Tuesdays noon-2 PM
if you wanted to come on at that time instead... I can give you more time
on the blues show, but I think more folks might hear the interview on the
mid day show... let me know what you want to do. Thanks for the record -
IT's a good one! Larry Hirshberg - KBGA, Missoula, MT

WE IS SO PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR FIRST SPIN. One of, we Hope, Many!

Setlist for the Bucket O’Blues Thursday May 26,2005

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops---Crazy woman blues
Robert Cray---I’m walkin’

Geneva Red & the Roadsters---A lil’ somethin’

The Sylvester Brothers---The whiskey won’t bring me down

Leon Smith---Georgia on my mind

*Elam McKnight & Keith Carter---Ain’t gonna plow no mor

Veronica Klaus---Someone else is steppin’ in

Papa Joe Grappa---Married man blues

T.K. Soul---Single man
Tinsley Ellis---A quitter never wins

Pinetop Perkins---Pinetop’s blues

James Harman Band---Chumpman blues

T-Model Ford---Sail on

Son Seals---Bad blood

G.W. Toye & the Blues Generators---No electric blues

Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band---Bang that bell

Kenny Neal---I smell smoke

Harmonica Willy---Be alright

Don Wise w/ Delbert McClinton---No one

Chris Beard---Born to play the blues

Guys,

Just a quick note from KUMD up in Duluth, MN. Just
received the new disc and it will get many spins on
our very blues oriented station. Good duo! Good disc!
If your guys tour up this way let me know, I do in-
studios all the time would love to have you stop by.
If supplies of the new disc allow, please send KUMD
a few (4) extra copies that we can use as on-air pre-
miums during our on-air fund-raising. Thanks
KUMD is at 130 Humanities Bldg Univ of MN, Duluth'
Duluth, MN 55812 Attn: John Z.

John Ziegler (Program Dir.)

Mailman just delivered my copy and whoaa i like it! I'm a fool for acoustic country blues and this runs right up that alley! Thank God people still put this stuff out. Bless you Mr. McKnight and Mr. Carter. This cd will be crankin' out from my front porch all summer long! The last country store is here!

Doug

Elam McKnight is the Real Deal
Reviewer: Chris Cotton
Listen: If you are making an informed buying decision based on reviews, then read this one. Elam McKnight & Keith Carter are the real deal. No they are not going to lend creedence to the current wankin' rock blues genre of today. They are also not going to give credit to the cheap imitators that play note for note renditions of Charlie Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, and the more famous Robert of the same last name. Elam and Keith are also not going to roll over and play cover songs that would be ear candy for the masses. Thats the first three stars that I give them. The most important thing to remember(for me) when listening to traditionalists that they must have enough good sense to make the music their own and whether playing traditional blues standards in a more creative and modernized way, or writing original tunes with one foot deep in the genre(I'm talking really deep, not 40 years ago deep) is to do it with the spirit of the founders, and that in itself an anomolie, to say the least. That takes guts. Thats my 4th star to thier effort. The reason I give them the full five star rating is because they are genuinely good folks, from TN, and are doing thier best to make great music, in light of all of the pitfalls of the music bizness, and they are doing it selflessly, and would more than likely take you into there home, give you a cold one, and play you some good live music on thier porch, if they thought you would like it. These qualities are rare at best, and although I know Elam personally, this is not a cheap attempt at trying to endorse him because I am acquainted with him. I honestly feel that you should add this record to your collection. It is great. Chris Cotton