Hola! Que pasa?

05/19/10: Wow! Where do we begin? The new CD ”YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT” is out. It’s on our site here as well as iTunes and CDBaby. It hit the radio stations around May 5-6th or so. About 150 or so blues stations around N. America that is. We’re just starting to get play lists from different stations and there’s airplay starting up all over the place and we’re very grateful. We're starting to get some great feedback here... Thanks to our west coast promo man Mr. Glazer working it for us and he always does a great job. Haven’t figured out the plan for Europe and all the other places we want to get the CD to... if you’ve any suggestions out there. Let us know. We're working on it though.

We’ve been so busy here at Rhythm Tramp Headquarters. Not just with gigging. But with that continually distracting thing called life! Terry has been working a lot in the studio the past month or two as well as writing several songs for Eric Burdon. Terry and Eric have written a couple really great tunes that are planned to be on the next Eric cd which Rhythm Tramp alumni, Tony Braunagel is producing. Also... Terry and I just got back from our daughter’s graduation from SUNY/Purchase where she graduated Cum Laud on Friday. And we’re so, so proud of her. You go girl! We spent this past weekend moving her and her roommates into their new apartment in NY up 4 flights of stairs. Our legs are still vibrating after 2 days of 20-25 something trips up and down, up and down, etc.

We’ve got a wacky, busy summer coming up. Starting off with the Topanga Festival on Saturday, May 29th. We’re returning to the festival finally after two years of missing it... looking forward to this. All of our festival dates are up on our site here. We’ll try and stay on the updates as they come in. We’ve got Winter Park, Colorado coming up in June, The RibberFest, Blues by the Bay, Topanga and we’re planning on making a trip up to Edmonton, Canada before the summer is done. We’ll be doubling up with Delbert and the boys at the Snoqualmie Casino on July 23^rd near Seattle, Wa. Terry and Billy will be out this summer at times with Eric Burdon & the Animals. Starting off at the Santa Cruz Blues festival on May 30th. Along with Red Young on keys and Brannen Temple on drums. You should try and catch this show if you can.

On the other hand... be sure to check out next year's Sandy Beaches Cruise. This next year is happening. We will be back on a bigger ship. But, you might want to sign up soon... the last one sold out and all those people who were left on the waiting list are already signing on for this next one. Leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale on January 7, 2011 and headed for Kralendijk, Bonaire and Willemstad, Curaçao. All new ports we haven’t seen as of yet.

03/01/10: There has been lots of stuff going on here so far this year… We said good bye to the old year by playing the New Bern 300 Celebration new years eve party at the Convention center there – a huge citywide party that was a ball. Then we celebrated the new year at the infamous Mel Melton's Papa Mojo’s Cajun Roadhouse in Durham, N.C. on the 2nd of January – it was a rockin’ weekend and a wonderful way to bring in 2010… Papa Mojos is the greatest little Cajun joint outside of New Orleans… and Mel can play too.

Then we made it home in time to pack for the 2010 Delbert cruise that left out of Tampa, Fl. this year. What can I say? It's definitely the best way to forget about the holiday stress... the holiday bills and apparently our son's parking ticket someone forgot to pay! Anyway… there were rumors of this being the last Sandy Beaches cruise but, that ain’t gonna happen - Next year they are doing it again! In fact, this year, the cruise was sold out and it ended up being too small a ship to get everyone who wanted on board... lots of people didn't sign up soon enough and the '10 cruise was sold out months ago. This next year it will be back on a bigger ship. But, you might want to sign up soon... there was a long waiting list for the last one and all those people are already signing on for this next one. Leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale on January 7, 2011 and headed for Kralendijk, Bonaire and Willemstad, Curaçao.

This year... besides Delbert and his band... (and Teresa & the tramps), there was Marcia Ball, Mingo Fishtrap, Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Raul Malo, Paul Thorn, Wayne Toups ( back and better than ever) Seth Walker... along with the ever so soulful Mike Farris and the McCrary Sisters, and the oh so fab Jimmy Hall - still singing his tail off (with special guest Mike Zito on guitar)... and don’t forget Fred Eaglesmith and Al Anderson (and a whole array of amazing songwriters…). Also - the tramps got to play with Tommy Castro and that was sooo much fun. Tommy ended up on the ship without his band and we had the pleasure of both having him join us on a couple of our shows as well as backing him on his show one sunny afternoon on the Lido deck. Watching Billy Watts and Tommy Castro do the dueling guitar thing was a rare and happening sight to see and hear. Ya’ had to be there! We also want to turn everyone on to a new guy on the scene this year from Belfast, Ireland - Foy Vance. He did his solo acoustic guitar/vocal thing and occasionally his beautiful wife, JoAnne would come up and sing harmonies. If you get a chance to see Foy... it's worth the price of admission - a great writer & singer and very, very soulful with some great introspective tunes. Also... Gary Nicholson aka Whitey Johnson was on board and as usual was getting down with his funky bad self (also featuring Jonell Mosser, the amazing Nashville session singer). Delbert's band - Dick 50 - debuted their new CD and did a show this year, too, finally – everybody always knew that they sounded great backing up Delbert, but they are really great on their own, too – who knew? (Actually, I had a pretty good idea, having done a couple of shows with them myself last year…). Anyway, as you can imagine, a wonderful time was had by all. Don’t forget that it is not too late to sign up for next year…

12/04/09: BIG NEWS:  We are really excited to be a part of the inaugural ‘RHYTHMS at SEA’ cruise April 30 - May 3rd out of Long Beach, CA  - besides the Rhythm Tramps, it also features Mingo Fishtrap, the Missiles of October (featuring Paul Peterson) and the Mike Reilly band – great music and all the fun of a big cruise ship packed into one fun weekend! Go to this link for all the details. You need to hurry and jump on this as the deadline for deposits is coming up on December 18. It is only $150 to reserve a spot on the ship so don’t miss out (makes a great Christmas gift!!).

NEWS: First of all… I have to apologize for being so bad about keeping the news up to date. This has been a really crazy (and amazing) year – it just seems like there is not enough time in the day (week, month, you name it) to get to everything that I want or need to do, but I’m sure that none of you can relate to that … The main reason I have been out of touch is that we have been working almost non-stop on a brand new CD. We are in the final stages of finishing up – finally - but it is definitely going to be worth the wait. I am really excited about it – it is going to be the best one yet (if I do say so myself…) We are hoping to have it done by Christmas, but should definitely have it in our hands just in time for the Sandy Beaches Cruise (which is also coming up very quickly – yay!)

RECENT & PAST COOL THINGS:  Since my last posting, we have been very busy – we have actually been to Hell and back!  (The fabulous blues festival in Hell, Norway, that is….) What a cool deal that was! We not only had a chance to see our old friend Coco Montoya (whose band totally rocked the house) and the grand master himself, Delbert McClinton, but we also got to meet some wonderful new friends – Dave Maxwell (pianist extraordinaire), the guys from Nick Gravenites’ band. We even had the opportunity to visit a little with the legendary John Sebastian..,

Also, while Terry and Billy were out on the road with Eric Burdon again, Jerry and I went to North Carolina for the annual ‘Yam Jam’ bash where we had the pleasure of doing another couple of shows with the fabulous Dick 50 – the incredible band that has been touring with Delbert McClinton (and that is featured on his great new CD, ‘Acquired Taste’).  They are not only great musicians, but they are a great bunch of guys, too, and a lot of fun to hang with. The Yam Jam was a real blast as ALWAYS and we also got to perform again at our favorite Cajun home away from home, Papa Mojo’s, in Durham. BTW, we have just confirmed that both the Rhythm Tramps and Dick 50 will be back in Winter Park, CO for their summer festival this coming June, so keep your eyes open for more details on that…

08/20/09: We're going to attempt to be very detailed with this edition of our Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps news update here. We'll try and make up for all the recent slacking the past few months. First of all... our website has gone through a major and much needed overhaul. All of this was done by our good friend and "Site-meister" Mr. Page Hite. Page has been in the trenches for a while on this and as you can see....he's done a fine and wonderful job. Page also does the sites for Delbert and Marcia Ball among others, and we're sooo very happy to have him onboard helping us with our website as well. Lot's of new features... as well as the Fan Club page is back. The last time we had that up we got so inundated with spam, plumbing ads and the general porn references and graffiti from our friendly masses out there... we decided to give it up for a bit. lol. Plus... check out our new and much improved "On Stage" link. Voila... how great is that? The new country CD of Teresa's (By Request) is up on the site as well. There's several tunes there you go and get an ear full if you want. Anyway... there's lot of new stuff to check out which we hope you do and there's more to come in the near future.

Our new By Request CD is up and now for sale at CDBaby and will be up at iTunes and some of the other internet sites as well as soon as we can. The By Request CD is Teresa's country CD that she's been talking about doing forever and was recorded here in Los Angeles with Billy Watts, Red Young, Herman Matthews, Terry Wilson & Gabe Witcher as well as in Nashville at Kevin McKendree's Rockhouse Studios. Teresa picked some of her favorite country tunes to record as well as taking a couple of requests from her dad and suggestions from close friends around the country. There's a duet with Delbert of “Crying Time"... as well as Big Al Anderson with some of his famous twang guitar stylings and a rendition of “19th Nervous Breakdown” that was sure fun to do with James Pennebaker and some of his very funky tremeloed guitar tones.

Coming in September... we're going to Hell! We've been told that many times... but, for sure this time. Hell, Norway that is... The good people of the "Festival In Hell" on September 4 & 5. Delbert and the boys will be there as well.

The Rhythm Tramps have also been very busy on their own - Terry and Billy just got back from Europe with Eric Burdon & the Animals (along with Red Young and Brannen Temple - it's an incredible band)... Ms. Debra has been out doing dates with a bunch of different people - most notably the wonderful Jennifer Warnes... Jerry has been working furiously in his studio on remastering a bunch of different projects... and if you didn't get to go to Colorado to see Teresa along with the Dick50 boys (Delbert's band mates... Kevin McKendree. Rob McNelley, Steve Mackie and Lynn Williams - backing me up) at Smokin' Moe's in Winter Park. We hated that the Tramps couldn't make it... but, dang! This was a very cool one off show that every one that attended knew they just saw something special that was a lot of fun. Teresa and the band were asked back for the upcoming 2010 festival there in Colorado.

So... there you have it. Hope you are all enjoying your summer and I promise to do better about keeping up...

Recent and past cool things...

This summer we did the annual Tim & Sue Achenbach's summer solstice party in Sinking Springs, Pa. It's these private little parties like these where all the fun happens and there's absolutely no pressure... just good old school good times... you come to play and you have a great time musically and enjoy the hang and company. Blues Foundation's “Performer of the Year” Tommy Castro and band were also on the bill and we all got to get up and do the proverbial jam thang at the end of night. There was a video camera out there shooting it all and we hope and should be getting a copy of it soon... because there was some great stuff going on, onstage saturday night and we hope it's as good as we remember it. lol... anyway, if and when we do get this video... we'll be sure to post it both here on the website and Teresa's MySpace page too. Our good friend Mr. Bill Wax drove up from D.C. to make the party. Bill as you may or may not know.....has the ever so cool Bluesville radio show. Bill's got the best playlist on the planet and it's hard to imagine having a more comfortable host than Bill in a situation where your being interviewed. The last time we were there.....Bill let us help program the show by picking any tune that had influenced us or that we liked to listen to at home and then he played it on the air between the interview. It was a whole lot of fun - I hope everyone had a chance to listen in. That night ....the party continued later on through the evening back at Bill's place with his wife, Sheila, and Nashville songwriter Gary Vincent and his wife Carol (who is also in the biz and just happens to handle Delbert's publishing - small world, huh...). Gary and Carol cooked a mighty fine cajun style meal and the beer and tequila kept showing up in front of us... ever so plentiful and it continued to flow until late in the evening. That 4:30 AM wake up call to make the 7:00 AM flight back to L.A. came brutally and shamelessly much too early to feel good about waking up and getting on a airplane. lol... anyway, we made it home safe. Thanks Bill and Sheila for the wonderful hospitality. We hope to return the favor and see you soon.

Teresa Sails Out On Rocking the Boat

The Deluxe Release of Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey has hit the streets.

Remixed in 5.1 and DTS sound, the Rocking the Boat DVD now features 67 minutes of bonus material and a total of 30 songs.  Total running time is 3 hours.  Rocking the Boat stars Delbert McClinton and features Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Stephen Bruton, Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps, Jimmy Hall, Tommy Castro, Big Al Anderson, Wayne Toups and Zydecajun, Paul Thorn, Terry Allen and Mingo Fishtrap.  Additional Bonus artists include: Jeff Steele, Buddy Miller, Chris Stapleton, Whitey Johnson, Clay McClinton, Nick Connolly in Pianorama, and Bob DiPiero.  This version of the movie won Best Documentary Feature at the 2007 Woods Hole Film Festival and best Music Documentary at the Lone Star International Film Festival.  Rocking the Boat also OPENED the 37th USA Film Festival and played both the Dixie and Breckenridge Festivals.  To order go to rockingtheboatmovie.com or filmbaby.com. Or purchase a copy at Teresa's live performances.

The 2008 Blues Music Awards

Teresa Performs to Appreciative Crowd

Tony Braunagel, Bill Wax, TJ and Jay Sieleman

The 2008 Blues Music Awards was held on May 8 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica, Mississippi presented by The GIBSON Foundation. This was our first trip to the awards show... our first time to perform and hang with all the great performers and blues foundation people. We had a great time. We really want to thank Tommy Castro, Deanna Bogart, Keith Crossan, Tom Poole and Jimi Bott for sharing the stage with us and having a chance to play with all these great musicians. We got a chance to meet up and hang with Mr. Bill Wax from the legendary XM Radio's Bluesville... Jay Sieleman from The Blues Foundation on the night after the awards show. We got to see Art and Bonnie Tapaldi who we had met at and had not seen since the Nottodden Blues Festival this past August. Great to see them again. On friday evening at Ground Zero.....we had the extreme pleasure to sit in with Mike Zito and play a few tunes with Mike and Tony Braunagel for the Delta Groove party. We want to thank Randy Chortoff from Delta Groove records for that wonderful invite. Ground Zero is right in the middle where all the Delta blues began. Right at the crossroads in Clarksdale where legend says... Robert Johnson met up with Bellezabub and signed his soul away as thousands of other musicians have followed in his footstep with countless dodgy record deals... lol. Go to https://www.blues.org/members/ and check it out. It's a great way to support the blues and to help out some good causes too.

Also...the Blues Foundation has a new shirt out to buy and support the arts... and help out some good people. For this one they've used a line from a song of ours... "Since I found the blues... I've been in the pink!" Please go and check out www.blues.org/tickets. This is a ladies only shirt... although I know some drummers who will probably want to try one on at least... lol, just kidding. It's a great looking shirt... and it's a good cause. It'll make a great christmas gift... or a birthday gift. They're $20... check'em out!

Sandy Beaches Cruise Heads West

What do we have to do to never, ever leave the boat?

Ahhh, the Delbert's Sandy Beaches Cruise '08... the 14th cruise. This was the first out of San Diego... we went through Cabo San Lucas, Matzalan and Puerta Vallarta. We got to see our cruiser family again. Lots of returning cruisers that keep coming back year after year. Lots of jamming going on every night... Especially the last night jam with the final hang being with Teresa and Jimmy Hall belting out "Stand By Me" with Delbert on piano, Kevin McKendree on B-3, Rob McNelley on guitar along with our very own, Billy Watts on guitar plusLynn Williams on drums and Terry on bass... then the BMI writer of the year... Then Teresa did Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You" before Jeffery Steele came out and finished off the night fronting the band with producer, songwriter Tom Hambridge taking on the drummer's chair with the band. Our personal new cruise band fav this year had to be James Hunter and his band out of London. Great singer... great tunes and band. Check'em out. Old school RnB...

Teresa Covers Country!

And She Covers It Right!

We'll have the final version of the country CD by Teresa called By Request. This CD is featuring Delbert, Big Al Anderson, Kevin McKendree, Red Young, Billy Watts, James Pennebaker, Herman Matthews and Lynn Williams among some other great players and friends. This CD's music is Teresa going back to her Texas country roots... We hadto do a George Jones tune... There's a duet with Delbert that's to cry for! So many people have asked Teresa when was she going to do this CD... and she has wanted to do an all out country CD for a long time... We'll have it up here on the website before too long.

Thanks, Thanks and MORE Thanks

Thanking All Those Helping Us make It Happen

We want to continue to thank BILL WAX and his Bluesville at XM for playing The Bottom Line CD... Thank you Bill!!!

We're getting sooooo happy you've been spreading the word about Teresa and we've been getting such great feedback from people writing in that are hearing the tracks all around the country. Yesireee... it do feel good!

We want to thank all the djs playing our music. If I'm forgetting somebody here... please send me the info so I can put it up. Thanks... the editor.

BLUESVILLE XM RADIO
KIOS in Omaha, Nebraska
thanks to Music Director Mike Jacobs
for letting us know that we're #6 there at KIOS...
BLUES DELUXE at Syndicated radio www.freeworldradio.com
KCHO Redding CA
KTEP 88.5 FM, El Paso TX
WGLT BLUES, Normal, IL
BluesBeat - Victor Harbor, Australia
KMXT - KODAK, AK
WEMU
KUNM-FM 89.9 - Albuquerque ,New Mexico
WNSI 105.9 FM
WITR 89.7 FM
WDPS-FM
WVKR-fm, Poughkeepsie, NY.
KMFB 92.7 FM / 96.7 FM
WDST BLUESBREAK JUNE 2007 - Woodstock, NY
WZXR S Williamsport PA
WCXR Lewisburg PA
WQSU Selingrove PA
CFRO FM
WRHC 106.7 FM - Three Oaks, MI.
WECS 90.1 FM
WOAB 104.9 Dothan, AL
WUCF 89.9 Orlando, Florida
WCNI 90.9 FM New London, CT.
WTJU 91.1FM, Charlottesville, VA
KSJS 90.5 FM San Jose, CA
KFAI Radio's "House Party" Minneapolis, Mn.
WVBR FM 93.5 Ithaca, NY
WRQR Wilmington, NC.

We want to thank Blues Revue Magazine and Art Tapaldi for the wonderful review of The Bottom Line... if you haven't seen it? Go out and buy it and support the blues.

News of Note

More goings on of Rhythm Tramps and Tramps at Heart

Our good friend and part time Rhythm Tramp (when he's not out slamming with Mr. Tom Jones...) Herman Matthews has his debut cd called "HOME AT LAST". Check it out at www.hermanmatthews.com. Tell him we sent you... Teresa's on it... Terry's on it too. It's a great CD... some very nice grooves, but you'd expect nothing less from a groove master like Herman. Some great songs and you'll hear Herman carrying to the upfront vocal thing nicely. Reminescent of Pops Staples at times was our first thought here at Rhythm Tramps headquarters. Go buy it and support good people doing great music.

Bill Medley from The Rightous Brothers cut Terry's "I'LL FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL" for his new cd. That tune is on our Rhythm Method cd. Not sure when, what and where on this release. But the cut sounds great... classic Bill Medley. Produced by Steve Dorff. Steve's had his hands on a lot of hits...a bunch.

But anyway... Terry has finished California singer, songwriter Gary Hill's CD called "There Are Times". Not sure when the manufactured CD will be in his hands... more news on this when we find out.

The recently completed CD of Texas songwriter Danny Everitt's "Cold Wind, Cold Rain" was just reviewed at www.mytexasmusic.com. The review says in one paragraph... Everitt's CD is "Much like choosing the perfect after-dinner ice cream flavor for any meal". Check out Dan's CD at www.dannyeveritt.com. Teresa is on Tommy Castro's new cd called "Painkiller". She's singing and playing on the cut "Going Down South" which Tommy co-wrote with Terry.

And don't forget - if you're wanting to sign up for the next year's cruise in 2009? Don't wait round....it'll be here before you know it. The '09 will be going out of San Diego. Go to delbert.com and check out all what's happening!

Terry got to play on Ana Popovic's new cd produced by John Porter. Also on the session with Ana was Jon Cleary (from Bonnie Raitt's band & Mike Finnegan from Joe Cocker's band) on keyboards, (hello!) Tony Braunagel on drums and Terry playing bass. Check out Ana Popovic.

Terry and Tony Braunagel have completed Jodie Siegal's new CD called "Stepping Stone". John Porter mixed it and it sounds simply great. Teresa is on the new STEPHEN BRUTON cd called "FROM THE FIVE". She's also been in the studio wtih SPENCER DAVIS helping out on Spencer's upcoming CDs. Terry finished Cynthia Jones debut CD a while back... and engineer Steve McHale is in the middle of mixing it right as we speak. Billy Watts is in the studio working on a new MOJO MONKEYS CD. Hopefully it's going to be ready soon - finally! We will keep you posted on other Rhythm Tramp news as it breaks... Rhythm Tramps alumni JERRY PETERSON and JAMES CRUCE both were in the studio with the man... ERIC CLAPTON recently working on his new CD being produced by JJ CALE... can't wait to hear this. Can't help but be fans of both of these guys!!

And this just in from the UK of a review of "THE BOTTOM LINE" from BLUES BUNNY.COM

Teresa has come up trumps again with this release. The band are right on the money here and gel perfectly with Teresa's voice throughout. With great production, a full-bodied sound and stunning performances from all concerned this one's a real winner.

The opening track, "All Time Low", is a superb start to proceedings with the horn section taking a prominent role. "I Know Handsome When I See It" brings us to the perennial blues favourite of infidelity as Teresa laments her lack of judgement. While with "If Momma Don't Dig It" we are treated to a more subdued mid-tempo blues, and "Whet My Appetite" is in a similar vein. A bit more of a 'rockier' sound is provided by "Next Big Thang" and "In the Pink".

The two standout tracks are "The Bottom Line", and "How Am I Gonna Stop Loving You". The former opens with a wailing harmonica before dropping into an understated yet incessantly throbbing beat that carries you along; and with "How Am I Gonna Stop Loving You" Teresa delivers a wonderful ballad which, with the Hammond B-3 in the background, almost has a gospel feel to it. Finally we come to a close with the bar room piano driven up tempo "I Do My Drinkin' on the Weekend" - a great fun way to finish.

What can we say? The husky voiced vocals just seem to keep getting huskier, the blues get that bit bluesier and the horns just get hornier! Teresa and her tramps have given us another rhythmic work of art in shades of blue.

THE RHYTHM METHOD review BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE June/July 2005

"Roadhouse rock- a Stonesy, satifsfying combination of blues, rock 'n' roll, country and R & B-is a popular yet underrepresentd style. Perhaps it's best-known practitioner is Delbert McClinton, and though other artists have made roadhouse music their chosen metier, reliable specimens of the form are difficult to come by. "The Rhythm Method", by Los Angeles vocalist Teresa James, lives up to strict roadhouse rules. The opener, "Nobody Rings My Bell (Quite Like That!)," could practically serve as a definition of the style. A rootsy, thumping rhythm, surging horns and rocking piano combine into an irresistable tune penned by bassist Terry Wilson, this project's producer and primary songwriter. James' voice has the rough edges the style demands, and her enthusiasm is obvious."Sure Gonna Make You Feel Good", has a rollicking New Orleans feel that's intensified by James' syncopated piano and Jerry Peterson's sax, yet it remains more roadhouse than Louisiana-specific. James' ivories enliven Stephen Bruton's rowdy kiss-off, "Big Top Hat". "That Cat's in the Doghouse" adds gospel rhythm to the uptempo mix, while "The Same Man" and "Something's Broke" are smoky R & B. Fittingly, McClinton's "Better Off With the Blues" recieves a sexy, slow-grinding interpretation. "Can't Say No", "Going With the Flow" and "Louisiana Moon, all lanquid, haunting, minor-key songs, make clear that James can work a lyric with restraint and feeling. "Just When I Thought" and "Back into Her Heart" filter vintage soul through '70's pop, and the smoldering extended take on Al Kooper's bluesy beartbreaker "I'll Love You More than You'll Ever Know" finds James at her most emotive and dramatic. James recorded with her core band - Wilson, Peterson, Billy Watts (guitar), James Cruce (drums) and Debra Dobkin (percussion)- as well as impressive guest talent such as James Pennerbaker and Bruton (both on guitar). Listeners in search of an album that evokes noisy nightclubs, the smell of beer and smoke, and the shouts of a captive audience will be rewarded by The Rhythm Method." Reviewed by Tom Hyslop

We just received a review in Belgium of The Rhythm Method in MazzMuzikaS Free-zine 1

"The Rhythm Method is a must-have for all Southern roots music enthusiasts." The rest is in Dutch and we didn't get much of that in school in Texas... so, we'll have to find someone to translate.

BLACK & TAN NEWS

Here's a what a couple of magazines have said about our BLACK & TAN "OH YEAH!":

From Rex Poindexter from THE WEST COAST PERFORMER MAGAZINE

"From the opening notes of the bottleneck slide to the first entrance of her gutsy, soulful voice, it's clear that Teresa James knows where she's going and that the ride is going to be an exciting one. 'Oh Yeah' is another fine workout from LA stage and studio veteran James, her bassist and husband, Terry Wilson and assorted local pros (our very own Rhythm Tramps). First, they swing the blues with conviction, then they turn and romp through some searing rock licks with equal abandon. When called for, James slides from swampy to skanky to sultry, all in the space of a few lines...The sound, the energy, the support, the songs, they're all there."

From BLUES REVUE August/September

"In Oh Yeah!, Teresa James has managed to craft a completely professional album while leaving enough grit to satisfy. Fat and syncopated on the bottom, brassy on top, with snappy guitar by Billy Watts, Mark Shark and Johnny Lee Schell, her tightly arranged music retains that elusive loose feel". The review goes on to say...."James singing is a little sassy, a little raspy and powerfuland she owns the uptempo cuts!"

From BLUES MATTERS (UK)

A name new to me, little info, couldn't find the press release notes and the sleeve is only 4 pages with titles and credits but I tell you what this girls voice does the talkin' alright with a knife edge to it when she wants to rip your ears off or your heart out. The band are tight as a duck's a*** and as neat as freshly groomed feathers too! [?, thought it sounded different]. What have we got? Well full 5 piece band including bass, guitar, Wurlitzer, percussion, drums and sax….and that voice!!! Easy Come, Easy Go is a bit of a trend setter, High Maintenance Man lifts the tempo up, The Wind Cries The Blues is a monster and will have you lilting with it, an understated piece of work this, lovely guitar breaks and an oh so easy sway. Great late night album played gentle or any time played up high…a name to watch out for I reckon....Caleb

Sent to us from a blues mag in Vienna, Austria. Do not know the name of magazine.

Teresa James is from Texas, and if you didn’t already know that, the briefest of listens to her third and latest CD would give you a pretty good idea anyway. Now based in Los Angeles, she is a gutsy, convincing singer and a rollicking piano player with a leaning towards the funky side of New Orleans music (and Professor Longhair in particular, to judge by her piano style), and her band, the Rhythm Tramps, are perfectly in tune with her direction… and this is a direction that runs from the Robert Johnson styled slide guitar intro to the opening track to ‘I Want It All’, with it’s Longhair piano, Robert Ward inflected guitar and mariachi band horns all thrown into the musical pot – and the result is delicious! The call and response vocals add a strong gospel feel to many numbers and occasionally Teresa will move into rock ballad territory (‘All That I Am’) though no-one should get too upset about that – and try ‘High Maintenance Man’ for the kind of throbbing, pulsating rocker that could only come from a musician out of the Lone Star State.
Not all blues, but bluesy enough for most, I suspect. Strong, mostly original material, excellent arrangements and crisp production make for a set that more than adequately repays your attention. Norman Darwen

Distribution

Where to Find What You Need

BDC Distribution out of Portland, Oregon is handling our distribution now for JesiLu Records. Our "Whole Enchilada" and "Rhythm Tramps Live" CDs are available to order through their catalogue. If you are a store.........you can call this # 503-231-0876 and ask for a sales rep and they will get you set up. fax # 503-231-0420 3647 / SE 21st Portland, Oregon 97202

Administrivia

Details, Details, Details

To contact us via email or if you want a CD, you can reach us here at teresa@teresajames.com.

You can also get our CD at WWW.CDBABY.COM or WWW.AMAZON.COM

For those of you, who are going to be in Southern California anytime soon, check out our dates here on the web. If you have any questions regarding our web site, please contact web-tramp@teresajames.com

Also, we have a new snail mail address:

P.O. Box 1307, Santa Clarita, CA 91386-1307

if you'd like to get in touch with us that way.