Blue Apple Blues (B.A.B.) Festival Poised To Crash the Mansion in Downtown Manhattan on April 3rd

New York, NY(SANEPR.com) March 16, 2008 -- Blue Apple Blues (B.A.B.) Festival aims to crash beyond tried and true formulas by offering the blues scene fresh sounds and a new approach, fully revealing the deep microtonal language found in blues classics while inventing the mind-bending “notes-between-the-notes” blues standards of the future – by some of the finest and hippest New York City blues artists. Audiences are sure to be impressed by the vitality and variety of talent offered at this event and will be intrigued by the cutting edge aesthetic, bringing blues out of the swamp and onto the NYC pavement. Innovation tempered by time honored tradition lies at the heart of B.A.B. Fest.

Presented by FreeNote Music and spearheaded by microtonal guitarist and composer Jon Catler, and vocalist, Babe Borden, Blue Apple Blues (B.A.B.) Festival will happen at Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery @ Spring Street, New York, NY – Thursday, April 3rd, from 7:30pm - 1am, on the lower east side of Manhattan, featuring blues artists Willie McBlind (led by Jon Catler), Terraplane (led by Elliott Sharp), Hugh Pool, and Stone Crazy Blues Band (led by Chris Morda). This melting pot of progressive blues artists will culminate in a performance by the 13 O’Clock Blues Band, a collaborative effort of the above artists which breaks new ground in the field, melding mysterious blues overtones and rhythmic patterns into what promises to be a hypnotic and rousing finale.

Blues journeyman, Hugh Pool, opens the show with his spellbinding, high octane bluesmanship. Pool has traveled from Japan to Germany, and here in the U.S. has played arenas from B.B. King in NYC to Pittsburgh Blues Festival – over the years he has shared the spotlight with blues greats like Johnny Winter, John Mayall, Leslie West and Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin. “Hugh Pool is a Brooklyn cowboy, if there ever was one. This wildman from Williamsburgh has been up and down these highway roads across America, many times now gracing audiences with his fancy fret work and his self-described psyche-delta stomp” (New York Press)

Stone Crazy Blues Band, which springs out of the Pacific Northwest blues scene in Seattle, follows with its engaging mix of classics and fresh originals. “SCCB…has a strong musical personality unlike that of any other blues band anywhere. At the core is Morda’s strikingly creative and fluid use of electric guitars—standard, slide, slide lap, and the Twelve Tone Ultra Plus.” (Frank-John Hadley)

As the evening heats up, psychedelic electric Delta blues band, Willie McBlind, whose debut CD Find My Way Back Home was released in 2007 with cover art by legendary 60’s poster artist Victor Moscoso, will take the stage with its powerful live show. Willie McBlind is fronted by Jon Catler, world renowned master of Harmonically tuned guitars, and Babe Borden who launches blues singing into a new realm with her multi-genre 3-octave soaring vocals. The band has been catching the attention of blues DJ’s and critics across the U.S. and abroad, with critical acclaim hailing from as far afield as Belgium and Poland. Frank-John Hadley of Downbeat gave Find My Way Back Home a shining three-and-a-half star ovation in the January 08 issue, describing the music as…. “stunning.”

Elliott Sharp brings in his pioneering blues band Terraplane to headline Blue Apple Blues Festival. A favorite of the NYC Downtown music scene for decades, Sharp and the members of Terraplane have been around the planet, making waves wherever they venture – in one of their recent European performances at Teatro Manzoni in Milan, joined onstage by Hubert Sumlin, the band received a rousing response from a packed house of 1,000. “Even when Sharp is using effects and extended techniques, or the band is playing something different than a standard blues sound, the feeling of the blues is never lost – it’s all about feeling and Sharp’s got that. This recording is a lot closer to the real spirit of the blues than a truckload of Stevie Ray Vaughan wannabes.” (Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide)

This collection of dedicated artists has been seriously honing their craft as blues musicians for years – they are seasoned players who forge ahead in pursuit of new ideas and are far from resting on their individual laurels. As the night takes off, the cumulative synergy summoned by these artists will be palpable and shouldn’t be missed by true music lovers who want to hear something exciting and revolutionary that taps into true blues/rock spirit.

For B.A.B. Festival updates, contact FreeNote Music at freenote@earthlink.net or go to www.microtones.com.

Publicity Contact: Babe Borden, freenotemusic@gmail.com
Phone: 212-580-0602
FreeNote Music
2350 Broadway, Suite #240
New York, NY 10024