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Updated: December 2025 – added new links and cleaned up the post.

The High Cost of Low Living by the Nick Moss Band. was the soundtrack  for the run. The album has been in my rotation for a couple of weeks now and I really like the album.

One of the reasons is that in addition to Nick’s great guitar work there is some really good blues harp on the album. After listening to the album a few times, I looked more closely at the album cover and saw that it says the Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling! And it is Dennis Gruenling who provides the amazing harmonica on the album.

It seems that Gruenling and Nick Moss have known each other for more than 20 years and have jammed together several times. But they didn’t really decide to join forces until 2016. The High Cost of Low Living is the pair’s debut on Alligator Records and is a dream come true for both artists.

About Nick and Dennis

Alligator president Bruce Iglauer says the following about the union..

Nick and Dennis are a natural fit for the label. “It’s very exciting to bring artists to Alligator who are so deeply rooted in the Chicago blues tradition, but creating fresh new songs to carry that tradition forward. Nick’s a thrilling guitar player, a gritty, honest singer, and his band is tough as nails. Dennis is a blues harmonica master and a terrific showman. This is a partnership of two world-class talents in one band. These are artists that any fan of the blues has got to love.”

 While Blues Revue says….

….“Nick Moss is at the top of the blues world….ambitious and intense…He can play traditional blues with the best.” New Jersey’s Dennis Gruenling is considered among today’s best blues harmonica players. His high-energy, full-throttle playing has earned him comparisons to the late James Cotton. Living Blues says, “Dennis Gruenling is a contemporary harmonica master…impressive, genuine and fresh-sounding.”

About The High Cost of Low Living

The High Cost of Low Living consists of thirteen tracks. Of those tracks Moss wrote nine original songs while Gruenling wrote two. All of the tracks are deeply roots in the blues tradition with a touch of old school rock ‘n’ roll. Guitarist Kid Andersen and Moss produced the album. The album was recorded at Rancho de Rhythm in Elgin, Illinois.

More about the Teaneck New Jersey native Dennis Gruenling “Go Jersey!”

Through the years, Gruenling has shared the stage with many top names in the blues & roots world, such as Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, Homesick James, Nappy Brown, John Mayall, Little Sammy Davis, A.C. Reed, Mick Taylor, and Jimmy Dawkins, as well as contemporary blues masters such as Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Rick Estrin/Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Kim Wilson, Rusty Zinn, Steve Guyger, Greg Piccolo, Mark Hummel,

That is a virtual who’s who of blues harp and puts Mr Gruenling in some great company. Well, actually his great playing puts him in that company!!

The remainder of the band is none too shabby either and includes: Michael Archer on bass, Patrick Seals on drums and Taylor Streiff on piano/organ.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that the album is a joy to listen to if you like me love both guitar and harp! So Check It out!!

The Video

Here is the Nick Moss Band performing the title track “The High Cost of Low Living”

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Table of Contents

Ally Venable Band Starts This Week’s Blues Music Rotation

Yesterday, I had a chance to take a good look at the Roots Music Report Blues Charts. After reviewing the charts I listened to a few minutes of many albums to see if they match my taste. I ended up with thirteen albums to listen to over the rest of the week. The album that intrigued me the most yesterday was Puppet Show from the Abby Venable Band. Currently, the album is number 23 on the Contemporary Blues Album Chart.

Evidently I have been doing a lousy job of keeping up with hot new blues artists from Texas.  Because Abby  is one of th hottest.t young blues artists (she’s 19 years old) in the Lone Star State.‘Ms Venable was named East Texas Female Guitarist of the Year in both 2014 and 2015. And her band was named East Texas Music Awards Blues Band of the Year in 2015,2016 and 2017.

About the Ally Venable Band

Ally Venable is both the leader, and lead vocalist and of course lead guitarist. Ally started  singing in church at your  age. In recent years though she picked up the guitar and found her passion.

Ally’s band mates Bobby Wallace and Elijah Owens provide a solid rhythm section. Wallace is the bassist and Owens the drummer. Wallace has tons of experience and is a master at his craft. While Owens is a classically trained musician.

Puppet Show is the band’s  third album. Train Wreck Blues was the band’s debut album and No Glass Shoes was their sophomore release. There are some helping hands on Puppet Show. Guitarist Gary Hoey provides his great guitar work on track one “Devil’s Son”. While Ally’s mentor Lance Lopez adds his guitar to “Bridges to Burn” track two. Steve Krase plays harmonica on the album and Eric Steckel adds some keyboards.

Final Thoughts

Bottom Line : Based on a limited number of listens Puppet Show is a winner and will stay in my rotation for a while, so check it out!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Ally Venable Band

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Amazon

Here’s Ally Venable Band performing “Gas Monkey” at the Dallas International Guitar Festival in 2017….

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Lurrie Bell: Carrying On the Chicago Blues Tradition of His Father, Carey Bell

I’ve mentioned before that I often use the birthday listings over at AllAboutJazz.com as a springboard to discover new music. That’s how I first really dove into the music of Lurrie Bell, a Chicago bluesman with deep roots and a guitar tone full of grit and soul.

Blues in My Soul – A Breakthrough Album

Back in 2013, Lurrie Bell had a banner year. He released what would become one of his most acclaimed solo albums, Blues in My Soul, on the Delmark label—a return to electric blues after a few more acoustic and spiritual outings. The blues world noticed.

Blues in My Soul earned Lurrie five nominations at the 2014 Blues Music Awards:

• Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
• Blues Song of the Year (“Blues in My Soul”)
• Traditional Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
• Blues Guitarist of the Year
• Traditional Male Blues Artist of the Year

He took home the Blues Song of the Year award, and also won the 2013 Living Blues Award for Male Blues Act of the Year.

Lurrie Bell – Born December 13, 1958

Lurrie Bell was born in Chicago, the son of legendary blues harpist Carey Bell. He picked up the guitar at six, and by his teens was already playing with the likes of Eddy Clearwater, Big Walter Horton, and Eddie Taylor. In the mid-1970s, he spent four years touring and recording with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine. His recording debut came in 1977 on his father’s album Heartaches and Pain, as well as King of the Jungle by Eddie C. Campbell.

Over a career now spanning more than four decades, Bell has released more than a dozen solo albums, collaborated often with his father, and contributed to numerous other blues records. I first heard his scorching guitar work on Live at Chan’s: Combo Platter No. 2 from Nick Moss & The Flip Tops, where he shines on a 13-minute version of Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years.”

If you’re a fan of Chicago blues and haven’t checked out Lurrie Bell yet—start now. Here are some great places to explore his music:

Links exploring the blues of Lurrie Bell…

• Official Website
• Wikipedia
• AllMusic
• All About Jazz
• Amazon

And here’s a great live performance of “Everyday I Have the Blues” from Bluesfest Eutin 2014:

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🎶 Update: Set Me Free (2024)

As for me? Lurrie Bell is still going strong. His 2024 collaboration with saxophonist Frank Catalano, Set Me Free, is now spinning as I write—and it’s a bold, soulful mix of blues and jazz that pushes the boundaries without losing the heart.

Between Lurrie’s expressive guitar and vocals, and Catalano’s blazing sax work, the album is a testament to two seasoned musicians still hungry for musical exploration. Set Me Free proves the blues isn’t stuck in the past—it’s still moving, still evolving, still alive.

Check it out—you just might find yourself set free too.

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Yesterday  was a A+ day of exercising. I started the day off with a cardio-dance routine. I added some resistance band,kettle Bell, light weights and some calisthenics. The workout was. 22 minutes long and I burned.209 calories. About a half hour later I ran. The soundtrack was Black from the Kerry Kearney Band   Oh I believe my pre-run cool down included a 22 minute meditation!  Later in the day I did another shorter meditation. Finally, last night I did any full 28-minute nightly yoga routine.

The Run

Back to the run. I decided on a short 3.1 mile run. When I started I felt a little off just not getting into the flow of the run quite right. So much so that I contemplated stopping if I didn’t start to feel better.

While I never felt super throughout the rest of the run I did finish it and even had a little kick at the end Here are the details.

Total Miles:3.15 Total Time:31:21 Pace:9:55
Splits. Mile 1.9:57 Mile 2.9:54 Mile 3: 10:00
0.16: 9:25
Avg BPM:136 Peak BPM 157 Cals Burned:379

Throughout day I did two more 20 minute meditations.And I ended the day with my full 28-minute Yoga routine!

The Soundtrack  – Black – Kerry Kearney Band

The Soundtrack for the run was Black form the Kerry Kearney Band. I knew from the moment I heard the slide guitar on the opening track “Pretty Baby” I knew I was going to like this album. Of course then Kenny changed it up and the second song was an acoustic slide guitar number, But the raging guitar came back in third track”Creole Woman” On this track the piano of  David Bennett Cohen  stood out  And the good vibes I got from this album continued for the rest of the album. On this track the piano of  David Bennett Cohen  stood out

The only problem I had with this album was it was too short – only 27 minutes..

About the Kerry Kearney Band

I have never listened to the blues guitar of Kerry Kearney and I came away very impressed. It appears that the blues fans on Long Island and New York have also been impressed over the years. From his website…

Kerry was voted “Best Guitarist of 1999” by the LI Voice and “Bluesman of the Year 2004” by the LI Blues Society. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Long Island Sound Award (L.I.S.A.) from the LI Music Hall of Fame and most recently, in 2013, he and his band mates were each inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame.

Although Kerry is new to me he toured nationally with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts, and has performed with such contemporaries as Sonny Landreth and Robert Randolf. Kerry and his band have shared the stage with the great BB King at the NYCB Westbury Theater and at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, NY, as well as Robert Cray with the Blind Boys of Alabama and The Blues Brothers starring Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi.

I must admit that the title of Kerry’s 2001 release Welcome to the Psychedelta was one of the first things that caught my eyes on the first visit to Spotify to check out his music. Kerry “Psychedelta”, is his own brand containing an upbeat mix of American Blues & Roots, created from writing and performing on the circuit for over 40 years. And it’s just to my liking. Here’s the  Kerry Kearney Band lineup:

Kerry Kearney (guitars, vocals)
Mario Staiano (drums)
Gerry Sorrentino (bass)

Featured Guest Members:
David Bennett Cohen (keyboards)
Nydia Liberty Mata (percussion)

What?? Smokehouse Serenade is on Spotify??

Okay  so color me stupid!  Kerry’s new album Smokehouse Serenade is number 46 on the Roots Music Report bBlues Chart. It was that album that sent me to Spotify to look for the Kerry Kearney Band. That’s where I found Black and the band’s other releases. What I didn’t find was Smokehouse Serenade. Here’s where the stupid comes in. What U didn’t do was search for the album title. If I did I would have found it. It was listed under Kerry Kearney only, no Band! Oh well, now I have something to look forward to!!! Hey, I have the soundtrack for tomorrow’s run anyway!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of The Kerry Kearney  Band

Artist’s Website

Facebook

Reverberation

Youtube

Here’s one of my favorite tracks from Black, “ Goin’ to the Mardi Gras”

The post The Kerry Kearney Band Make a Struggling Run Better! appeared first on .

Yesterday was Day 3 of the Drive for 5 challenge and  it was a good day. The day started with a short morning dance-cardio with Kettle Bell and Resistance bands added. That was followed by a 3.16 mile run.

Wednesdays are usually a non-running day but I couldn’t decide whether I would run in the early morning or early afternoon and finally didn’t run either time. Yesterday I decided I had to go early and the important part was I did!

The Run

I  added a few exercises to my morning routine on Tuesday which left my legs hurting. You know the good hurting.not the bad! Anyway when I started my run I did’t feel very good . So I told myself time didn’t matter the important thing was just that you were running.

After a 10:08 first mile I started to feel better. The next two miles went by in 10:03 min/mile and 10:02 min/mile pace respectively. And I had a good kick over the last 0.16 mile. My final average pace was 10:00 min/mile. A pace that please this old man!

Here are the details

Total Distance 3.16 miles Total Time:31:40 Avg Pace: 10:00

Avg HR 134 bpm Peak HR 154

Calories Burned: 385

The Soundtrack – Kickin’ It Live  – Tommy Castro

The soundtrack for the run was blues artist Tommy Castro’s latest release Kickin’It Live. Both Tommy and his guitar sounded great in the album. It will move into my blues music rotation over the next several weeks. Tommy deserves his own page on this siteSo I better get to making those pages!!

I really enjoyed Killin’It Live. Throughout the run I was able to come back to the music and Tommy’s guitar and great rhythm section kept me going. Here’s what Living Blues’ Henry Carrigan, Jr. wrote about the album

Killin’ It Live captures Tommy Castro And The Painkillers at their very best. Turn up the volume and play this album loud! This album delivers sizzling, gritty blues and rock. You can feel the band’s energy blowing through the speakers…and every song kills it. There’s a party going on. Make It Back To Memphis is a backbone slipper, propelling us out of our seats. Shimmering, downright funky vibes. Every song lives up to the high-flying promise of the opener. Funk-fueled blues rockers drenched with Castro’s soul-shaking, stinging, pure and crisp lead runs, which pierce the heart, driving home it’s power and staccato beauty. Shimmering and swampy…bright and funky…slow-burning and low-down…fluid, jet-fueled solos. Read More

Links For The Further Exploration of the Music of Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

Artist Website
Facebook
Spotify
Twitter

The day ended with my nightly yoga routine. Last week there very several nights where that was not the case. Boo me!

So there were a few more tracks left on Killin’It Live when I finished my run. I listened to them on my coffee run (in the  car) to Wawa. The final track was Buddy Miles’ song “Them Changes” which has been a personal favorite for a long time! So here are two favorites Tommy Castro and Mike Zito performing the song.

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Tuesday night before bed I checked what kind of temperatures to expect yesterday morning. The temperatures were predicted to be in the mid-30s, which is perfectly acceptable, to this weather runner! My temperature law is that anything below 30 is just a little too cold! Anyway, I was thinking about adding some distance to my 5K run and running four miles.

I actually did a little work around the house before my run, so I decided to stay with my 5K run.

When I was contemplating my run I want to map the route before hitting the road. I previously would use WalkJogRun to create routes. However last time I tried to use the site I discovered it had stopped working. I had downloaded Map My Fitness, but I have never used it on a run. Anyway, I discovered you can map routes with it. So I checked the route I thought about running and the route would be 4 miles. But as you know I decided it’s to run the 3.1 miles instead.

I did decide however to run with both my Fitbit and Map My Fitness logging my run. Surprisingly, the distances measured were different. The miles logged by Map My Fitness were shorter than the Fitbit miles! They weren’t off by much but enough so that my average pace per mile was about 4 seconds faster on Map My Fitness.

The Run

Anyway here are the results from the Fitbit App……

Total Distance: 3.11 miles Total Time: 31.57 Average Pace 10:16 min/mile

Mile Splits. Mile 1 – 10:26 Mile 2 10:20 Mile 3 10:10. Mile 0.11. 9:08

Avg Hr. 140 bpm. Max HR 150 bpm

Cals Burned: 402

The great thing about the run was that I wasn’t really pushing it over the last two miles but my times say otherwise!! That last mile is the fastest I’ve run in a long while!! Can I go under 10 minutes??

The Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the run was Brand New Day the 2018 release from blues rocker Bryce Janey. I have seen Janey’s name for a while but I have never listened to his music – mistake!

I really enjoyed this album, at least the times I drifted back to it! I am probably going to try to listen to the album of more times and then write a separate post about the album. Until then here’s Bryce with “Falling Down” from Brand New Day

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The Run

Yesterday it was pretty cold in the morning, so I put off running until the afternoon. It was actually pretty nice in the early afternoon but when the sun started to go down it got chilly pretty fast. I ran the same 3.1 mile loop that I’ve been running since I resumed running back in October. It was a pretty easy, nondescript run. The GPS seemed just on target. Here are the results……

The Nerdy Details

Total Distance: 3.11 Total Time: 32:39

Average Pace: 10:29

Mile Splits Mile 1. 10:32. Mile 2. 10:39 Mile 3 10:24 Mile:0.10 9:22

Avg HR. 140 Max HR. 150 Cals. Burned. 399

The Soundtrack – Welcome to My Blues

The soundtrack for the run was Welcome to My Blues by blues artist Sean Chambers. This is actually the second time this album has been used as a soundtrack for a run.

About Welcome to My Blues

Welcome to my Blues is Chambers’ 7th album on American Showplace Music. His last album Trouble & Whiskey was one of my favorite of 2017! The album was produced by Ben Elliott The list of artists Elliot has recorded includes classic artists like: Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons, and Steve Miller among others.

The musician line-up on the album includes:Chambers on lead vocals and lead guitar, John Ginty on Hammond B3 & keyboards, (I am a fan of Ginty’s Hammond B3 and his work on this album on strengthens it). The rhythm section is rounded out by Todd Cook on bass and Moe Watson on drums. Special guest Jimmy Bennett plays slide guitar and backing vocals on track #6.

Welcome To My Blues contains 11 tracks and Chambers’ guitar work is great on each track. Eight of the tracks are new original Sean Chambers compositions. The other three are covers. The covers include: Luther Allison’s “Cherry Red Wine” “All Night Long” by T-Bone Walker and “Boxcar Willie” by John Ginty.

Welcome to My Blues will be in my rotation for a while now and will be in my music library along with Trouble & Whiskey and The Rock House Sessions.

Links for the Further Exploration of the Blues of Sean Chambers

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Amazon

Here is the title track from Welcome to My Blues

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A few weeks after I started my 21-day Yoga Challenge I realize that wanted to add some more to my exercise regime. I thought back and remembered how I started to gain weight, when I stopped babysitting Oliver two plus years ago. While I was babysitting I would take him for two or three 30 minute walks during the day.

Once those walks stopped on came the weight! Anyway I thought even though you won’t be pushing a stroller you can walk twice a day numb nuts! So I created the 30-day Oliver Walking Challenge. The aim of the challenge was to use walking to help me get back into shape with the idea that I would then be able to start and run again.

Well the Walking Challenge worked so well that within two weeks or so, I was running again.

.The Run: 3.1 Miles….

Yesterday I ran for the third time this week. It’s the fourth week in a row that I have done such! The first week I ran 3.1 miles on Sunday and then did the same on Tuesday and Thursday. On the following three Sundays, including this past Sunday, I ran four miles and 3.1 miles on the following Tuesday and Thursday.

The end result is that I ran 11 days in May and have run 3 days so far in June. Yesterday’s  run was my fourteenth since May 1st and one of my fastest. I completed the 3.1 mile course in 33:53 about two minutes faster than the first 3.1 mile run I ran on May 6th.  One of the better things is that I am running faster with a lower average heart rate.

Yesterday’s  run was over the 5K (3.1 miles) course that I have run the majority of May and June. I completed the course in 33:53 as mentioned above. That calculates to an average pace of  approximately 10:53 minutes/mile. Here are the mile splits…

Mile 1 – 10:49 Mile 2 – 10;56  Mile 3 – 10:46  0.13 Miles – 10:00

I think this may be the first time that the pace for all three  Miles was under 11 minutes per mile. And it certainly was one of the few times that my last mile was faster than the first mile!

I don’t think that I have ran three days a week for four weeks in,well,  probably,  more than four years. But hopefully like my yoga routine I hope I can keep this up!

The Soundtrack: Brighter Days – Grand Marquis

The soundtrack from yesterday’s run was provided by a band that I am unfamiliar with, Grand Marquis. I listened to their latest release Brighter Days. Grand Marquis is a blues and Americana roots band hailing from Kansas City. The band formed in 1998. Since then they have become a mainstay of the Kansas City music scene. They have also released eight albums and performed coast to coast.Their music is their own brand of Americana Roots, Blues and Prohibition-Era Jazz

Members of the Band include:

Ben Ruth: upright bass, sousaphone, backing vocals;
Chad Boydston: trumpet, backing vocals;
Ryan Wurtz: electric and acoustic guitars;
Trevor Turla: trombone, backing vocals;
Fritz Hutchison: drums, backing vocals;
Bryan Redmond: lead vocals; soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones

Currently, Brighter Days is No. 8 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Charts.

I never get a true listen to an album on a run, but I did like what I heard. So Brighter Days will go into my music rotation and I’ll let you know in a bit what I think!

You can check out Grand Marquis’ website here. Or visit them on Facebook

Here’s the band performing  “Brighter  Days”……..

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The Run –  30 Minutes – 2.75 Miles

So I stuck to plans for a run this yesterday afternoon and took off on a run at around 5:15. Which I guess is actually this evening. My plan was to run for at least 30 minutes. I chose a course that I usually run when I am returning to running. It’s  about 2.5 miles plus and takes around 30 some minutes.

Since it was my first run in over a month, I kept reminding myself as I was prepping for the run to take it easy! Anyway whether it’s old age or I just have learned over the years how to run slower, I was able to maintain a nice easy pace throughout the run.

Here are the mile splits: mile 1. 11:01, mile 2 11:17 the last .75 mile 11:19.I’ll take the last .75 mile being only 18 seconds per mile slower than the first mile any day.

The bottom line is that it was a successful start for a return to running. And so far my foot feels fine. The only thing that hurts tonight is my left shoulder, but that is from this morning’s tabata workout. I hate push-ups.

The Soundtrack: Trouble & Whiskey – Sean Chambers

The soundtrack for the run was Trouble & Whiskey, the latest release from Tampa based blues guitarist Sean Chambers. This album has been in my music rotation for several weeks now and is one of my favorites of 2017!

I first discovered the music of Sean Chambers in 2010 when I started blogging and exploring new music. He is the former lead guitarist for Blues great Hubert Sumlin. At that time, I explored his albums Humble Spirits and Ten Til Midnight. I enjoyed them both. More recently I listened to and enjoyed his album Live from the Long Island Blues Warehouse. And while I enjoyed all of the above albums I think that Trouble & Whiskey may be his best yet!

About Trouble & Whiskey

Both Costello’s vocals and guitar work are great on the album. Ben Elliott who has recorded classic artists such as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons and Leslie West among others produced the album

The Sean’s band consists of obviously Sean on lead vocals and lead guitar. The rest of the band includes: Michael Hensley on Hammond B3 & keyboards, Todd Cook on bass and Kris Schnebelen on drums.

Special guests include Jimmy Bennett on guitar on track #8, John Ginty on Hammond B3 on track #4, (one of my favorite tracks!) and Andrei Koribaniks on percussion on tracks #1 and #7.

Seven of the tracks on Trouble & Whiskey new original Sean Chambers compositions. The remaining three tracks are covers: “Bullfrog Blues” by Rory Gallagher,(again one of my favorites), ‘Cut Off My Right Arm” by Johnny Copeland and “Be Careful With A Fool” by B.B. King/Joe Bihari.

So check it out! As for me I think I’ll create a playlist and give a listen to some of those other albums I haven’t heard for a while !

Here are some links …..

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Sean Chambers

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Twitter

Amazon

Here is a video for. the title track from Trouble & Whiskey from Sean Chambers

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