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The Homemade Jamz Blues Band: The Game

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Homemade Jamz Blues Band Edition
Released: 2010
Time:
 48:33
Category: Contemporary Blues
Producer(s): Kyle Perry, Ryan Perry, Taya Perry
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.hmjamzbluesband.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2015
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Washing Clothes (Renaud Perry) - 4:55
[2] I'm The Man (Renaud Perry) - 5:48
[3] The Game (Renaud Perry) - 6:12
[4] Tupelo (Renaud Perry) - 4:44
[5] Burned Down The House (Renaud Perry) - 4:21
[6] Blues Train (Renaud Perry) - 4:37
[7] Gotta Bad Bad Feeling (Renaud Perry) - 4:40
[8] Telling Lies (Renaud Perry) - 4:28
[9] Duck Hill Stomp (Renaud Perry) - 4:21
[10] Nothings Changed For The Po (Renaud Perry) - 4:30

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Kyle Perry - Bass, Producer
Ryan Perry - Guitar, Producer, Vocals
Taya Perry - Drums, Producer

Renaud Perry - Composer, Harmonica, Producer, Tambourine

John Magnusson - Engineer
Gary Vincent - Engineer

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


When it comes to The Homemade Jamz Blues Band, the term remarkable is one that has followed them around, almost exclusively over the last 4 years. Now mind you it is not that remarkable to have released 3 Albums over a 2 year period, nor is it remarkable that they are using home made instruments. But what is remarkable is that the oldest member in the band is only 18 and it doesn't stop there, not by a landslide.

You see the The Homemade Jamz Blues Band, as stated on their Website, "won the 3rd Annual MS Delta Blues Society of Indianola’s Blues Challenge, and became the youngest band to compete in the International Blues Challenge, in 2007. Out of 93 bands, the Band took 2nd place, their first time in a major competition. And have gone on to be nominated for the "Best New Artist Debut," Blues Music Award, 2009; and to win the Jus' BMA "Band or Combo of the Year," in 2010.  Giving them the significant accomplishment of being the youngest blues band, in history to be nominated for these, or any major blues music award…that’s why they are now considered the “Trifecta of the Blues World.”" Couple all that with the fact that the oldest of the band plays guitars that his dad makes out of Car Mufflers as well as wrote all the songs on their new release, and the term remarkable, becomes an absolute given when describing the The Homemade Jamz Blues Band.

Their newest release, "The Game", consists of 10 Tracks and as with their previous releases, they once again have us scratching our heads wondering how such a young band has got such a amazing grasp on the Blues, especially considering that their lives were basically normal without all the term oil you would expect that seems to resonate in their music. Their Blues is the type of which you would expect a seasoned veteran to only be able to sing about, yet their they are breaking down a barrier I for one had thought unbreakable. Joining in on "The Game", is their father Renaud Perry, whom besides writing all the songs also plays Harmonica and Tambourine, on this release.

Being basically a 3 piece band, the music of The Homemade Jamz Blues Band, has consistently come across as simple, lean, and refreshing. All the members get to shine all the time and in doing so they shed more than a little light on us, with their talent. One feeling I really like in a Album is it's ability to come across with a feeling that the Artists are in a jamming mode, such is the case with "The Game", in fact when they are in their instruments only mode, during a song, and the Bass is going full tilt, I kind of think back to the rich heavy Bass sound of Grand Funk Railroad.

After listening to "The Game", it is still hard for me to believe that such a young band is creating such a unique and mature sound. Considering what The Homemade Jamz Blues Band has already achieved, one can only wonder what they will continue to achieve over the next 4 years.

"The Game" is basically just more of the same from The Homemade Jamz Blues Band and that is just Great Great Blues, done Remarkable Right, with a lot of fun thrown in for good measure.

5***** for this one, hands down... Highly Recommended and Thoroughly Enjoyed...

John Vermilyea - Blues Underground Network



The Songs: (all songs written by Renaud Perry unless otherwise specified)

1. Washing Clothes
--This an up-tempo North Mississippi Hill Country groover, all about how hard it used to be to wash clothes, and how much fun it could be to watch a shapely woman washing those clothes...pre-electric days don't you know.

2. I'm The Man
--We have a slow electric delta-blues here, built around the tired braggadocio of the title. Musically it's nice, but how many more songs do we really need on this subject?

3. The Game
--Dig the intro to this one, as Ryan works a deep-toned groove, buoyed strongly by Kyle's deep-bottomed bass work. There's no harmonica playing here, and the absence of it is palpable. This song would sound great at night in the car, flyin' down the highway with windows open and top down!

4. Tupelo
--A fitting title for a song, as the band is from Tupelo. This one is a mid-tempo number, with distinct shades of the Mississippi Hill Country sound. It reminds me a bit of Alvin Youngblood Hart's electric work, or possibly very early North Mississippi Allstars (prior to them becoming jam-band favorites.) Listen closely to Kyle's bass playing here; this young man is going to be something. What am I saying; he already is!

5. Burned Down The House
--The choogling harp playing of Renaud is brought back into the mix on this tune (a bit too brightly), with Ryan singing about how his one girl found out about his other girl, with the 1st proceeding to burn down his house. Nothing like have lyrics to sing that are age/experience appropriate… Ryan takes a very cool solo turn around the 2:40 mark, and his playing is strong throughout the song.

6. Blues Train
--This is a rough-hewn groover, built around a thick, heavy groove produced by Kyle. It also serves as a feature for Renaud's harp playing, which is placed very high in the final mix.

7. Gotta Bad Bad Feeling
--This cut is a contemporary-styled slow blues, performed as in the guitar-bass-drum power-trio format. Kyle's guitar stylings are the focus here, and he plays with economy and taste throughout. It would have been easy for him to have shown-off and played a thousand notes per measure (an exaggeration, but you get the meaning), but Kyle chose to play with real feeling, making each note mean something.

8. Telling Lies
--Squalling harp takes center-stage throughout the course of this mid-tempo, rocking bluesy number. This song began to wear on me a bit before it played out. Fans of heavy guitar chording may find it more redeeming that this reviewer did.

9. Duck Hill Stomp
--We're back to the Hill Country here, and that's a good thing. This is an up-tempo groover, with Ryan shouting out the lyric and using very percussive strumming in his guitar work. Pops Perry is playing harp here, but it is back a little farther in the mix, where it is fits better with the overall feel of the song. This harp work is rhythmic in nature, and just works better when mixed as such, rather than right up in the listener's face. I should make mention again of Kyle's bass playing, because it's very nearly the star of this show. That young man knows how to work a groove!

10. Nothings Changed For The Po
--The album closer, this tune is a little different than most anything else heard on the CD. It's a little more raw than many of the other songs, slow of tempo, deep in the groove, with the lyrics being a diatribe about how the poor are still poor and nothing seemingly will be changing that. This really is a fine tune, with just the core 3-piece digging deep and playin' nasty and greasy; very nice, indeed.

The Verdict – The Game:

Well, it's official; father Renaud is billed as a full member of Homemade James Blues Band. As the band has pretty much always been his vision, he writes all the songs, and his harmonica playing has been placed up front and center, it only makes sense to stop billing himself as "featuring". It was a bit disheartening to read through the promotional literature delivered with the CD, as the only band member mentioned by name is Renaud, and the only musician truly referenced there is also Renaud. Maybe the Perry children are OK with this, maybe not, but as Pops Renaud writes all the band's songs (lyrics included) there are times when singer/guitarist Ryan is singing lyrics and the juxtaposition of his age versus the lyrical content just doesn't make much sense. As Ryan is the front man, and the band's fame has been built on the deep bluesy youthfulness of the band, at some point the lyrics should reflect this.

Musically, the CD is a lot of fun (as long as the lyric-youth issues aren't troubling to the listener.) Deep grooves abound as a rule (courtesy of Taya), Ryan's guitar work is as gritty and fiery as ever, and bassist Kyle's work is exceptional, quite frankly. Renaud's harp playing is adequate, squall-styled amplified work, if taking on a bit of sameness by the end of the CD. I do think his harp work was featured a bit too much throughout the course of the CD (this is coming from a review who is a harp fiend), usually at the expense of Ryan's guitar. Honestly, Ryan's guitar skills and older-than-his-years vocals are the primary drivers as to why people have taken so strongly to the band. Youth only gets you so far; if you can't play, people won't stay. That said, these 3 siblings can definitely play. Let rate this bad boy. East Side Slim is assigning an STLBluesometer rating of 3.5 to "The Game" from Homemade Jamz Blues Band. The only reasons I'm not rating it higher are, as stated previously, the further encroachment of Renaud's harp playing and the too often misfit of the lyric content to the band's youth.

Lee Howland, aka "East Side Slim"
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