Both Koko Taylor and Eric Lindell have been named finalists in the album category for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards, as presented by The Music Resource Group.

Taylor is recognized for her CD Old School (released April 2007) and Lindell for Change In The Weather (released March 2006). The Independent Music Awards is an international program that helps independent artists and releases overcome mainstream obstacles and reach wider audiences. The program provides year-long promotion, marketing and distribution opportunities that place IMA winners and finalists in front of millions of music fans and industry decision makers around the world.

JJ Grey & MOFRO will appear on National Public Radio's World Café beginning November 14, 2007. Hosted by David Dye, the show can be heard on nearly 200 stations nationwide. The band's latest CD, Country Ghetto (released in April 2007) is still receiving massive amounts of critical praise, radio play, and fan support around the world.

In other JJ Grey & MOFRO news, the band has announced plans for a four-night New Year's Eve event in their hometown of Jacksonville, FL. They will play four shows starting on December 28 at Freebird Live, culminating on New Year's Eve.

And if the band didn't have enough reasons to celebrate, Alligator Records has just reissued the group's first two CDs, Blackwater and Lochloosa. Both have been out of print and unavailable for some time.

Bassist/vocalist/songwriter (and Stray Cat) Lee Rocker has signed with the Billions Corporation for his live performance bookings. The artist-centric agency represents over 120 bands of all genres, including Neko Case, The New Pornographers, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Jim Lauderdale and many others.

Rocker's current CD, Black Cat Bone (released in August 2007), as well as his foot stomping live performances, have received overwhelmingly positive response from fans and critics all across the country.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS SIGNS EDDY “THE CHIEF” CLEARWATER!

NEW CD EXPECTED IN SPRING 2008

“Chicago’s premiere blues showman.”

--The Chicago Tribune

Alligator Records is pleased to announce the signing of legendary Chicago blues guitarist and songwriter Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater. Clearwater, winner of the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Award for “Contemporary Blues – Male Artist Of The Year” in 2001, is known worldwide as a masterful guitarist and vocalist as well as a charismatic and joyful live performer. Alligator will release Clearwater’s as yet untitled label debut in Spring 2008. Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of Chicago blues legend Lonnie Brooks, produced the CD, and added some of his own guitar work to the mix.

According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, Eddy’s addition to the Alligator line-up is a perfect fit. “It's a great honor to have an artist with Eddy's legacy and talent join the Alligator family. This is a special album; the combination of Eddy's soulful West Side guitar playing and Ronnie Baker Brooks' contemporary production and his tough, young band makes for some real fireworks. Plus, Ronnie's guitar playing really inspired Eddy to some of his very best guitar work on record ever.”

Born Edward Harrington in Macon, MS on January 10, 1935, Eddy grew up listening to blues and country & western. By the time he was 13, he was playing guitar with a variety of gospel groups, including the legendary Five Blind Boys Of Alabama. By the time he came to Chicago’s West Side at age 15, he was still playing gospel, but soon fell under the spell of the blues, hearing greats like Freddie King, Magic Sam, Otis Rush and others. Magic Sam became a close friend of Eddy’s, and in 1953 Eddy made his move into the blues. Originally under the name of Guitar Eddy, he began working the city’s South and West Side bars. After hearing Chuck Berry in 1955, Eddy immediately adopted the rock ‘n’ roll sound into his blues playing.

With his personalized mix of West Side blues and Chuck Berry-style rock, Eddy was becoming more in-demand by the late 1950s. Nicknamed Eddy Clearwater (a word play on Muddy Waters) by drummer Jump Jackson, the southpaw guitarist quickly became known as a great showman with the ability to play the hardest blues, the most energetic rock, and a bit of country as well. He recorded a few singles in the early 1960s and never had to look too hard for a gig, as he worked constantly in Chicago-area nightclubs.

It took over 20 years, but by the 1970s Clearwater’s star was finally rising. He toured Europe twice that decade, and appeared on England’s BBC television and made a record in France. His debut U.S. album, 1980’s The Chief (named for Eddy’s Indian heritage and his penchant for wearing a full Indian headdress on stage) was the first release on Chicago’s Rooster Blues label.  After two more albums for Rooster Blues, Clearwater followed with a steady stream of recordings for Blind Pig, Rounder and Cleartone.

With his new release, Clearwater has found a perfect home on Alligator Records, the world’s premiere blues label. Heavy touring (booked by Piedmont Talent) along with Alligator’s promotional muscle, will bring Clearwater’s music to more fans than ever before.

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THREE ALLIGATOR ARTISTS WIN FOUR LIVING BLUES AWARDS!

ALLIGATOR RECORDS TO REISSUE FIRST TWO ALBUMS FROM MOFRO!

BLACKWATER AND LOCHLOOSA TO BE RELEASED ON OCTOBER 23

Following the success of Country Ghetto, the label debut from Jacksonville, FL-based JJ Grey & MOFRO, Alligator Records will reissue the band’s first two independent releases (credited solely as MOFRO) on October 23, 2007.

Both Blackwater (originally released in 2001 on the Fog City label) and Lochloosa (originally released in 2004 on Swampland) have been unavailable for over a year. The albums are highly sought after by the band’s wildly enthusiastic fan base. Both CDs feature the distinctive “front porch soul” created by gifted songwriter and vocalist JJ Grey.

JJ Grey comes from a long tradition of Southern storytellers, and his songs oftentimes use the loss of his natural surroundings and the marginalization of the Southern culture he grew up in as a metaphor for universal truths. The band delivers his material with brilliant musicianship, resulting in music that is thought provoking, rhythmically dynamic and texturally mesmerizing.

Since the release of Country Ghetto, the band has received rave reviews in USA Today, The New York Times, Harp, Paste, Billboard, Guitar World, No Depression, Relix, Jambase and many other major daily, regional, and on-line publications.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS SIGNS
THE SMOKIN’ JOE KUBEK BAND FEATURING BNOIS KING!

NEW CD EXPECTED IN JANUARY 2008

“Smokin’ Joe Kubek's big-as-Texas lead guitar and Bnois King's jazz-laced rhythm guitar and hearty vocals are a great combination. They are simply the best tandem on the scene today. King's jazzy guitar work is the perfect foil to Kubek's more incendiary style."                                                                           –Blues Revue

Alligator Records is pleased to announce the signing of The Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band Featuring Bnois King. The Texas-based rock and blues band is fueled by the raucous roadhouse guitar of Smokin’ Joe Kubek, perfectly complimented by the more jazz-oriented guitar work and vocals of Bnois King. The band, which was formed in 1989, will release their as yet untitled label debut in January 2008, to be produced by Kubek and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer

According to Iglauer, “Joe and Bnois are a real powerhouse blues combination. Joe is an amazing guitarist who can play anything in blues, from the most traditional Texas style to totally blowout blues/rock. Bnois is a gorgeous singer with deep Texas soul, and his guitar playing is subtle and melodic. Together they make an unbeatable two-man front line backed by a solid, versatile rhythm section.”

And Kubek is simply thrilled to be with Alligator. “Alligator is the Rolls Royce of blues labels. After all my life of being a musician, this is the greatest achievement and brightest spot of my career. I’m looking forward to making the best recordings I’ve ever made, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of our fans on tour.”

Kubek was born in Grove City, PA in 1956 but grew up in Dallas. He was leading his own bands when he was only 14, and was bowled over by the blues a short time after first hearing Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Kubek soon discovered the music of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other early blues masters. By the time he was 19, he was backing many famous blues players in the area, including legend Freddie King. In 1976 Kubek was about to head out on tour with King when King died suddenly of a heart attack.

Kubek next worked with R&B singer Al “TNT” Braggs and made a host of new friends, including B.B. King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many other blues icons. He often found himself jamming with these larger-than-life blues stars while playing constantly around the Dallas area.

In 1989, Kubek met guitarist/vocalist Bnois King, a native of Monroe, Louisiana. The two melded their seemingly divergent styles – Kubek a rocking and fierce picker and slider, King a jazz-inflected chorder – into one of the most potent guitar combinations the Southwest had ever produced. Kubek explains the relationship succinctly: “I pull the blues out of him, and he pulls the jazz out of me.”

Calling themselves The Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band Featuring Bnois King, they were signed to Bullseye Blues and released their debut CD, Stepping Out Texas Style, in 1991. The band immediately grew out of the Southwest and began touring nationally. After a successful series of Bullseye releases, they signed to Blind Pig Records in 2003. Their popularity continued to build on the strength of their music and the energy of their live shows, which number over 150 dates per year.

Now, as the band’s newest chapter is unfolding, they will reach their largest audience yet. Kubek and King are itching to get into the studio and record in Dallas in September, and even more excited to hit the road and bring their distinctive and incendiary music to every corner of the blues-loving world.

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