Mike Zito Music Review

Mike Zito Music Review « Holistic Lifestyles Radio

Mike Zito Music Review

by Holistic Lifestyles Radio on Jul.21, 2010, under Home

Mike Zito

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Zito was immersed in the gritty sounds of the south side that would unknowingly become the groundwork of his future in music. Like the legends before him, music has coursed through his veins from the early age of five, when he began singing and performing. It didn’t take long for him to discover his instrument of choice – electric guitar – after receiving a Van Halen record for his birthday. His education and journey were just starting – little did he know he would find himself among such legends at a local guitar shop just out of high school. “Everyone from Chuck Berry to Bennie Smith came in that store,” Zito shares of his experience. “I soaked up the sounds of that store and began building my own style.”

Zito’s journey took off at the age of 19, when he busted into the local St. Louis music scene, developing his sound even further from the stage. His first independent release arrived in 1996, titled “Blue Room” which included raw and funky songs “Hollywood” and “Pull the Trigger”. His songwriting experience would break through on his sophomore release titled “America’s Most Wanted” in 1999. This album shares his pop sensibilities and intense guitar work. “Crazy People”, “Deal Me In” and his own rendition of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” all set the pace to bring him into a national audience.

http://www.mikezito.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Today-Mike-Zito/dp/B00158K10A

http://www.reverbnation.com/mikezito

http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/artists/mike_zito/main.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Zito/12208216601

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WnAo4V8T7o

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/zitomike

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mike-zito/id192567248

Dudley Taft New CD Review

Dudley Taft New CD Review « Holistic Lifestyles Radio

Dudley Taft New CD Review

by Holistic Lifestyles Radio on Jun.30, 2010, under Home

If you got a hankering to listen to some good old kick-ass blues/rock mixed with a dash of classic rock “Left For Dead”

On “Rockers In Recovery” tonight June 30Th at 10PM ET & 7PM PT live from WWNN 1470AM and streaming live around the world on the holistic Lifestyles Radio Network . We will be interviewing Dudley Taft who grew up in a country called the “Midwest”, where he learned the values of friendship, roots blues, rock ‘n’ roll and a good ear of corn.

Local guitar hero Rob Swaynie in Indianapolis taught Dudley the value of music theory interspersed with B.B King, Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top riffs. Taking his newfound skills with him, he founded the band “Space Antelope” with friend Trey Anastasio (of Phish Fame) in high school.

Dudley moved to Seattle in the summer of 1990, joining the Seattle band “Sweet Water”. After touring the states with “Monster Magnet”, “Candlebox” and “Alice in Chains”, and recording two albums for Atlantic he left the band to resurrect “Second Coming”. More touring followed with an album on Capitol records and a taste of success thanks to the single “Vintage Eyes” which made it to #10 on the Rock Radio charts. Older and wiser, Dudley has now turned his attention back to the roots of the music that inspired him to pick up the guitar. Dudley is also member of the KZOK band Spike and the Impalers.

Big, fat and loud are descriptives that got slapped around on the début album of Seattle’s rock and blues singer/songwriter Dudley Taft; pretty, soft and conservatively wired listeners need not apply.

“Left For Dead” is stacked with the Texan overtones of ZZ Top and SRV yet with an untypical innovative style and approach that gives this album the meat and potatoes to get a listener on the sonic train tracks and dancing till they pull into the station.

There is no question that Taft, his band and this album have passed through the deep mojo fires of the Seattle music culture infecting a blend of blues standards like Willy Dixon’s “Back Door Man” and “Seventh Son” and Taft’s original work like the album’s title track, “Left For Dead” which encapsulates the spirit of the NW blues with lyrics like “My body hit the mattress, but my soul hit the floor”.

The first tune out the gate is Taft’s “Ain’t No Game” which had me heading for my leather pants, boots and ready for a ride and by the last tune, also a Taft original, “If You’ll Come Home” I had to wonder if I wasn’t listening to the next Billy Gibbons or Joe Bonamassa.

If you are new to the name Dudley Taft, he is no upstart to say the least, he’s been rocking crowds for years with regional superstars Spike and the Impalers and it’s going to take a tornado to knock this showman off his game. So if it’s a feast of thick and beefy guitar tones or a stratospheric riff rock, blue note rocket ride this collection of NW styled blues tunes is a must have for any serious rock blues music collection.
by William Thomas Anderson – Rock the Blues/Washington Blues Society