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DOCUMENTARY FILM, THE GOOD SOLDIER, FEATURES SONGS AND ORIGINAL MUSIC BY JJ GREY
10/29/2009
FILM TO AIR ON PBS TELEVISION'S BILL MOYERS' JOURNAL ON NOVEMBER 6

DOCUMENTARY FILM, THE GOOD SOLDIER, FEATURES SONGS AND ORIGINAL MUSIC BY JJ GREY

DOCUMENTARY FILM, THE GOOD SOLDIER, FEATURES SONGS AND ORIGINAL MUSIC BY JJ GREY

PREMIERES NOVEMBER 6 IN CHICAGO; NOVEMBER 10 IN BOISE; NOVEMBER 11 IN NEW YORK AND ELSEWHERE

FILM TO AIR ON PBS TELEVISION'S BILL MOYERS' JOURNAL ON NOVEMBER 6

http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/good soldier.jpgThe Good Soldier, a new documentary film produced and directed by Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys, follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars. The film tracks the soldiers from the time they sign up, go into battle, deal with the reality of war and shows how it changes them, and eventually reshapes their definition about what it means to be a good solider. The film intermingles intense and revealing interview footage with documentary film of World War II, Vietnam, the Gulf War and the war in Iraq.

Helping to tell the story of The Good Soldier are songs by Alligator recording artists JJ Grey & Mofro, as well as newly written original music by Grey. Though the soldiers live all over the U.S. now, each of them grew up in the South.  Last year, when the filmmakers were looking for music that fit with their storytelling, they found Grey's Alligator Records debut album, Country Ghetto. His Southern-rooted sound and intensity were exactly the notes they had been looking for. This is the first time Grey has scored music for a film.

Renowned historian Howard Zinn called The Good Soldier "a wonderful film with great emotional power. It was a brilliant idea to hear veterans of the various wars because the net effect is to deal, not just with one odious war, but with the phenomenon of war as a universal evil."

On November 6th, an edited version of the film (to fit into the one-hour time slot) will be featured on the PBS television program, Bill Moyers' Journal. In addition, The Good Soldier is opening in a number of cities on Veterans Day, November 11th. Dates of various openings are below.

Born and raised outside Jacksonville, Florida, JJ Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern musical storytellers and, like the best of the great Southern writers, he fills his songs with details that are at once vivid and personal, political and universal. 

His multi-textured music overflows with dynamic rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul, blues and rock, JJ and his band Mofro deliver devastating live and recorded performances. Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator in 2007), Grey steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007 and 2008 Grey released, Country Ghetto and Orange Blossoms respectively, further growing his already large audience. He will release his first-ever vinyl LP, The Choice Cuts, on November 3, 2009.

The film will show in the following cities. For more specific information regarding showtimes, go to www.thegoodsoldier.com.

NOVEMBER 6TH

CHICAGO, IL
Gene Siskel Film Center
www.siskelfilmcenter.org

NOVEMBER 10TH

BOISE, ID
The Flicks
www.theflicksboise.com

VETERANS DAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

NEW YORK PREMIERE
City Cinemas Village East
www.villageeastcinema.com

ANN ARBOR, MI
Michigan Theater
www.michtheater.org

CAMBRIDGE, MA
The Brattle
www.brattlefilm.org

CLAREMONT, CA
Laemmle's Claremont
www.laemmle.com

ENCINO, CA
Laemmle's Town Center
www.laemmle.com

GLOUCESTER, MA
Cape Ann Community Center
www.massbayfilmproject.org

HAMILTON, NY
Hamilton Theater
www.hamiltontheater.net

KANSAS CITY, MO
Tivoli Theatre
www.tivolikc.com

MADISON, WI
Sundance Cinemas Madison
www.sundancecinemas.com

NEWPORT, RI
Jane Pickens Theatre
www.janepickens.com

PASADENA, CA
Laemmle's Playhouse
www.laemmle.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The Roxie Theater
www.roxie.com

SAN RAFAEL, CA
Smith Rafael Film Center
www.cafilm.org

SANTA MONICA, CA
Laemmle's Monica
www.laemmle.com

SCHENECTADY, NY
Proctor's Theatre
www.proctors.org

THREE RIVERS, MI
The Riviera Theatre
www.trriviera.com


NOVEMBER 15TH
WILMINGTON, DE
Theatre N at Nemours
www.theatren.org

LAKE WORTH, FL
Lake Worth Playhouse
www.lakeworthplayhouse.org
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JJ Grey & Mofro Gig Review in New York Times 10/27/09
10/29/2009
Check out Nate Chinen's fabulous gig review of JJ Grey & Mofro in the October 27, 2009 edition of The New York Times.
Saffire LIVE Farewell Concert to air on XM Channel 74's BB King's Bluesville (11/2 at 3 PM ET)
10/28/2009
Saffire has confirmed a special LIVE farewall concert on XM Satellite Radio to take place on BB King's BLUESVILLE (Channel 74). This special one-hour live concert will air at 3 PM ET on Monday, November 2nd. Encore broadcasts are TBA.
JJ GREY & MOFRO SET TO RELEASE VINYL-ONLY ALBUM,
10/13/2009
Alligator Records has set a November 3rd street date for the vinyl-only release of The Choice Cuts, the first-ever LP from JJ Grey & Mofro.

JJ GREY & MOFRO SET TO RELEASE VINYL-ONLY ALBUM,

JJ GREY & MOFRO SET TO RELEASE VINYL-ONLY ALBUM,
THE CHOICE CUTS

http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/3908_175px.jpgAlligator Records has set a November 3rd street date for the vinyl-only release of The Choice Cuts, the first-ever LP from JJ Grey & Mofro. The album features two songs from each of the group’s four CDs (hand-picked by Grey) and a newly recorded version of Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, with Grey playing all of the instruments. The 180-gram LP is the first vinyl release on Alligator Records since 1991, when the label released Otis Rush’s Lost In The Blues.

Born and raised just outside of Jacksonville, Florida, JJ Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern musical storytellers. His multi-textured music overflows with dynamic rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul, blues and rock, JJ and his band Mofro deliver devastating live and recorded performances. Billboard described their music as “a world-beating blend of Southern rock, blues and Florida swamp soul….killer tunes that hook the listener.”

Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator in 2007), Grey has steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007, with his first Alligator release, Country Ghetto, Grey reached an even larger audience, doubling both his album sales and his concert attendance. In 2008 with Orange Blossoms, JJ Grey took another giant step forward expanding his legion of fans. The group is currently on tour with Shooter Jennings and Earl Greyhound.
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GIBSON.COM PICKS THE TEN GREATEST ELECTRIC LIVE BLUES ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, INCLUDING THREE ALLIGATOR RELEASES
10/13/2009
Gibson.com, in a feature posted on October 8, 2009, selected the top ten live electric blues albums of all time.
BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO PERFORMS ON PUBLIC RADIO’S WORLD CAFÉ, AND APPEARS ON WHYY TELEVISION’S ON CANVAS
10/13/2009
Buckwheat Zydeco hit the national airwaves.

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO PERFORMS ON PUBLIC RADIO’S WORLD CAFÉ, AND APPEARS ON WHYY TELEVISION’S ON CANVAS

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO PERFORMS ON
PUBLIC RADIO’S WORLD CAFÉ, AND APPEARS ON
WHYY TELEVISION’S ON CANVAS

http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/4929_175px.jpgZydeco superstar Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural and his band, Buckwheat Zydeco, have been riding a wave of national popularity since the release of the group’s debut Alligator CD, Lay Your Burden Down. They performed on public radio’s World Café (who called the group “America’s Party Band”) on October 7, 2009. To hear the entire performance plus one bonus song, go to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113569607

Buckwheat Zydeco performs on WHYY-TV’s On Canvas program, set to air in the Philadelphia area on October 14. The show will then be archived here: http://www.whyy.org/artsandculture/oncanvas.html.
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SAFFIRE--THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN, RELEASE VIDEO OF BALD HEADED BLUES
10/13/2009
Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women, who are set to make their last-ever performance on November 9 in their hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia, have released a video of their song, Bald Headed Blues.
RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS APPEAR ON HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR
9/14/2009
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, currently celebrating the release of their debut CD, Twisted, will appear as featured guests on the nationally syndicated House Of Blues Radio Hour. The show will air the weekend of October 23 – 24.

RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS APPEAR ON HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR

RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS APPEAR ON
HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, currently celebrating the release of their debut CD, Twisted, will appear as featured guests on the nationally syndicated House Of Blues Radio Hour. The show will air the weekend of October 23 – 24. For a full list of broadcast times and stations, go to http://www.thebluesmobile.com/briefcase/affiliate.shtml.

Since the CD's June 2 release, Twisted has received glowing reviews from Billboard, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Blues Revue, Living Blues and many more national and regional publications. For more than 30 years and nine albums, Rick fronted the jumping, swinging Little Charlie & The Nightcats, featuring guitarist Little Charlie Baty. With Baty’s recent retirement from touring, Estrin — along with the Nightcats’ longtime rhythm section of J. Hansen and Lorenzo Farrell and a new member, fiery guitarist Kid Andersen — takes the lead on his own.
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ALLIGATOR RECORDS MAKES CATALOG AVAILABLE FOR RADIO THROUGH AIRPLAY DIRECT
9/14/2009
Alligator Records is digitally distributing its catalog free to radio stations globally through AirPlay Direct. This will allow Alligator to service radio stations worldwide instantly upon release of a new album.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS MAKES CATALOG AVAILABLE FOR RADIO THROUGH AIRPLAY DIRECT

ALLIGATOR RECORDS MAKES CATALOG AVAILABLE FOR RADIO THROUGH AIRPLAY DIRECT
 
Alligator Records is digitally distributing its catalog free to radio stations globally through AirPlay Direct. This will allow Alligator to service radio stations worldwide instantly upon release of a new album. Radio programmers can download these broadcast quality songs 24 hours a day, seven days a week at their convenience and play them for their listeners immediately.
 
AirPlay Direct is an easy to use digital file transfer system that was developed to streamline radio / artist promotion activities for today's music industry. AirPlay Direct's free services replace the unnecessary time and expense of putting together and sending out costly traditional artist packages and press kits via snail mail. Utilizing the AirPlay Direct system also allows an artist to positively impact the environment by eliminating needless packaging.
 
For more information on AirPlay Direct please visit www.AirPlayDirect.com
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KOKO TAYLOR, MARCIA BALL, LIL’ ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS AND BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO ALL WIN LIVING BLUES AWARDS
9/14/2009
Living Blues magazine honored four Alligator artists with coveted Living Blues Awards.

KOKO TAYLOR, MARCIA BALL, LIL’ ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS AND BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO ALL WIN LIVING BLUES AWARDS

KOKO TAYLOR, MARCIA BALL, LIL’ ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS AND BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO ALL WIN
LIVING BLUES AWARDS

Living Blues magazine honored four Alligator artists with coveted Living Blues Awards. Late Queen Of The Blues Koko Taylor, Texas boogie-woogie pianist vocalist Marcia Ball, slide guitar wizard Lil’ Ed Williams and his band The Blues Imperials, and American musical icon and accordion master Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural (of Buckwheat Zydeco) each received the recognition. The awards and categories are as follows:

Critics Awards:
Koko Taylor – Blues Artist Of The Year (Female)
Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials – Best Live Performer
Buckwheat Zydeco – Most Outstanding Musician (Other – accordion)

Readers Awards:
Marcia Ball – Blues Artist Of The Year (Female)
Marcia Ball – Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards)
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ALLIGATOR RECORDS PREPARES NEW RELEASE FROM SOUTHERN BLUES ROCKER TINSLEY ELLIS
8/25/2009
Alligator Records has set an October 6 street date for SPEAK NO EVIL, the blistering new CD from Atlanta-based blues/rock guitarist and vocalist Tinsley Ellis.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS PREPARES NEW RELEASE FROM SOUTHERN BLUES ROCKER TINSLEY ELLIS

ALLIGATOR RECORDS PREPARES NEW RELEASE FROM SOUTHERN BLUES ROCKER TINSLEY ELLIS

“Blistering, inspired roadhouse blues and passionate Southern rock… supercharged guitar and gritty, soulful vocals.”                 –Relix

http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/4932_175px.jpgAlligator Records has set an October 6 street date for SPEAK NO EVIL, the blistering new CD from Atlanta-based blues-rock guitarist and vocalist Tinsley Ellis. Over the course of 11 albums and literally thousands of live performances, Ellis has become one of today’s most electrifying guitarists and vocalists. He attacks his music with rock power and blues feeling, in the same tradition as his Deep South musical heroes Duane Allman and Freddie King and his old friends Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes. Rolling Stone says he plays “feral blues guitar...non-stop gigging has sharpened his six-string to a razor’s edge...his eloquence dazzles...he achieves pyrotechnics that rival early Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.”

SPEAK NO EVIL is the most guitar-driven album of Ellis’ storied career. It features his fiercest, most brutally honest and hardest-hitting original songs to date. The soulfulness and expressiveness of his guitar playing are ferocious, but when the mood calls for it, can be gentle and melodic. Ellis pours his soul into each and every performance with unguarded, raw emotion. With rip-roaring songs that are both poignant and humorous, SPEAK NO EVIL is as wide-ranging and inspired a recording as Ellis has ever made, and one of the most satisfying Southern blues-rock albums in ages.

Tinsley Ellis wears his Southern roots proudly. Born in Atlanta in 1957, he grew up in southern Florida and first played guitar at age eight. He found the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, and The Rolling Stones. He especially loved the Kings — Freddie, B.B. and Albert — and spent hours immersing himself in their music. His love for the blues solidified when he was 14. At a B.B. King performance, Tinsley sat mesmerized in the front row. When B.B. broke a string on Lucille, he changed it without missing a beat, and handed the broken string to Ellis. After the show, B.B. came out and talked with fans, further impressing Tinsley with his warmth and down-to-earth attitude. By now Tinsley’s fate was sealed; he had to become a blues guitarist. And yes, he still has that string.

Already an accomplished teenaged musician, Ellis left Florida and returned to Atlanta in 1975. He soon joined the Alley Cats, a gritty blues band that included Preston Hubbard (of Fabulous Thunderbirds fame). In 1981, along with veteran blues singer and harpist Chicago Bob Nelson, Tinsley formed The Heartfixers, a group that would become Atlanta’s top-drawing blues band. Upon hearing Live At The Moonshadow (Landslide), the band’s second release, The Washington Post declared, “Tinsley Ellis is a legitimate guitar hero.” After cutting two more Heartfixers albums for Landslide, Cool On It (featuring Tinsley’s vocal debut) and Tore Up (with vocals by blues shouter Nappy Brown), Ellis was ready to head out on his own.

GEORGIA BLUE, Tinsley’s first Alligator release, hit an unprepared public by surprise in 1988. Critics and fans quickly agreed that a new and original guitar hero had emerged. “It’s hard to overstate the raw power of his music,” raved The Chicago Sun-Times. Before long, Alligator arranged to reissue COOL ON IT and TORE UP, thus exposing Tinsley’s blistering earlier music to a growing fan base.

Tinsley’s subsequent releases — 1989’s FANNING THE FLAMES, 1992’s TROUBLE TIME, 1994’s STORM WARNING, and 1997’s FIRE IT UP — further expanded the guitarist’s hero status. By now his talents as a songwriter equaled his guitar prowess, and critics, writers, radio programmers and fans around the country were taking notice. Features and reviews ran in Rolling Stone, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and in many other national and regional publications. His largest audience by far came when NBC Sports ran a feature on Atlanta’s best blues guitarist during their 1996 Summer Olympic coverage, viewed by millions of people all over the world.

After one album for Capricorn and two for Telarc, Ellis returned to Alligator in 2005 with the searing guitar-fueled LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN. It was the live recording his fans had been demanding for years. Recorded at a packed club just outside Chicago, the CD took Ellis’ extended soloing and heartfelt vocals to staggering heights. His return to the studio in 2007 produced MOMENT OF TRUTH, an album The Chicago Tribune called “incendiary and inspired.”

Averaging over 150 live shows a year, Ellis has played in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Europe, Australia and South America. He has shared stages with almost every major blues star, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Son Seals, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins and many others. Whether he’s out with his own band or sharing stages with major artists like Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule or Widespread Panic, he always digs deep and plays, as Guitar Player says, “…as if his life depended on it.” With SPEAK NO EVIL and continued non-stop touring, Ellis will bring his monumental guitar work and intensely powerful vocals to rock and blues fans all over the world, letting his songs and his guitar do the talking.
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JJ GREY & MOFRO ANNOUNCE MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
8/12/2009
Dates with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks will be followed by a massive two-month co-bill with Shooter Jennings.

JJ GREY & MOFRO ANNOUNCE MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

 

JJ GREY & MOFRO ANNOUNCE MAJOR
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

DATES WITH SUSAN TEDESCHI AND
DEREK TRUCKS FOLLOWED BY MASSIVE TWO-MONTH CO-BILL WITH SHOOTER JENNINGS

http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/4925_JJGrey032_SMALL.jpgJJ Grey & Mofro, the Jacksonville, Florida-based swamp, blues, rock, funk, and soul band, have announced a major North American fall tour. In addition to headlining theatre and festival dates, the band will share four dates with blues guitarist/vocalist Susan Tedeschi and three dates with guitarist Derek Trucks. Then, in late September and running through November, JJ Grey & Mofro will embark on a co-headlining tour with country rock outlaw Shooter Jennings and special guest Earl Greyhound.

Grey's most recent CD, ORANGE BLOSSOMS, has been hailed by USA Today as “intoxicating North Florida blues-rock, with hints of Memphis, Muscle Shoals and garage-band music.” In every song he writes and sings, Grey exudes rocking, funky, melodic front-http://mailman.305spin.com/users/alligator/images/4925_175px.jpgporch realism. He comes from a long tradition of Southern musical storytellers. His multi-textured music is filled with dynamic rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. From raw funk to deep soul, blues and rock, JJ and his band, both on CD and live, are simply devastating. Debuting in 2001 with BLACKWATER, following up in 2004 with LOCHLOOSA (both albums reissued by Alligator in 2007), Grey steadily found more and more success. With his two Alligator releases (2007’s COUNTRY GHETTO and 2008’s ORANGE BLOSSOMS), and non-stop touring, JJ Grey is taking his ever-growing fan base along for the ride of their lives.

Tour dates are as follows:
8/14 - Denver, CO - Denver Botanical Gardens (with Susan Tedeschi)
8/15  - Lyons, CO - Folks Festival        
8/16 - Snowbird, UT - Snowbird Tent Revival        
8/19 - Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater (with Susan Tedeschi)
8/21 - Portland, OR - Oregon Zoo Amphitheater (with Susan Tedeschi)
8/22 - Healdsburg, CA - Rodney Strong Winery (with Susan Tedeschi)   
8/24 - Chico, CA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Company   
8/27 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern   
8/28 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre        
8/29 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music Festival   
9/11 - Statesboro, GA - The French Quarter Cafe        
9/13 - Charlotte, NC - Belk Theatre (with Derek Trucks)
9/15 - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Oxford (with Derek Trucks)   
9/16 - Athens, GA - The Classic Center (with Derek Trucks)   
9/17 & 9/18 - Fredericton, New Brunswick, CANADA - Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival

Co-Headlining With Shooter Jennings:
9/24 – Tampa, FL - Ritz Ybor City
9/25 – Orlando, FL -  House Of Blues
9/26 – Jacksonville, FL - Maverick's
9/30 – Birmingham, AL - Workplay
10/1 - Lexington, KY – Buster's Billiards & Backroom
10/2 - Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
10/3 – Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall
10/6 – Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
10/7 - Louisville, KY - Headliners
10/8 – Covington, OH - Madison Theater
10/9 – Greenville, SC – Fall For Greenville Fest
10/10 - Charleston, SC – Music Farm
10/22 – New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10/24 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10/29 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
10/30 – Knoxville, TN – The Valarium
10/31 – Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall

These shows without Shooter Jennings:
10/23 – Troy, NY – Revolution Hall (with Soulive)
10/28 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
11/1 - New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s
11/1 – New Orleans, LA – Voodoo Music Festival
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