Indie Music Blog, Live Sessions, and Daily MP3 Downloads.
Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears just released a new video for “Livin’ In The Jungle” off of their 2011 release, Scandalous. I’ve yet to write up a review of the album, but it’s been in heavy rotation and this single is the best lead track on any album released this year. Get down.
Video: Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears – Livin’ In The Jungle
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Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears opened for Lucero on Saturday night at Slims in San Francisco. The joint was packed and he and the Honeybears tore the house down with their James Brown inspired soul and blues sound. There was an abundance of bad dancing in the crowd and I saw the white man’s overbite on several occasions.
HearYa is not known for taking decent concert pics, but I have a new camera and am starting to figure out how to use it without a flash.
The Lucero images will follow shortly.
More pics…
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Way back in the day when I was in college, I would occasionally reunite with my high school friends and get all sorts of fucked up. Inevitably The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, would wind up on the stereo and a bunch of suburban kids would dance around with the white man’s overbite and just enough rhythm to think we were cool.
Fast forward many years (ed. note 20 to be exact) and I head into the Metro in Chicago to catch Okkervil River. As I grab my first beer, I’m drenched with a torrential downpour of soul and funk from a band called Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears. Definitely not the sound you would expect to hear from the opener at an Okkervil show. I only caught a song or two, but I remember thinking that the band sounded like a mix between James Brown and The Dirtbombs.
I never thought about tracking Black Joe Lewis down because most funk bands sound great live, but put out albums that sound‚ like shit. I subconsciously put Black Joe Lewis in this category and I haven’t been that wrong since I ate a whole jalapeno pepper on a bet. Tell Em What Your Name Is is a stunning debut – a 31 minute mix of funk, soul and blues. The album will have you up out of your seat and dancing in no time and has become a big favorite at the Woodman family dance party.
The album begins with the aptly named “Gunpowder” that sets the tone for the rest of the album. A couple of tunes later we get 2009′s theme song, a James Brown inspired shout out in “I’m Broke.” And a bit later there’s “Get Yo Shit,” a brilliant tune and hilarious story in which Black Joe tries to weasel his way back into his woman’s house.
Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears are a guaranteed good time. Hopefully somewhere in my old suburban stomping grounds, there are a bunch of high school kids cranking up Black Joe and getting their groove on.
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Video: Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears – Sugarfoot
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