· BLINDSIDE BLUES BAND - Raised On Rock (GYR065) ·

::T R A C K S::

01. RAISED ON ROCK
02. NIGHT TRAIN
03. FOLSOM PRISON BLUES
04. WAVE ON
05. CHILD OF THE SUN
06. WAR IN THE STREETS
07. TAKE YOU DOWN
08. BURY THE AXE
09. WORLD ON FIRE
10. LOVE IS WORTH THE BLUES
11. BACKSTREET RIDER
12. BORN WITH THE BLUES


FORMAT: AUDIO CD / DIGIPACK
GYR065 - $12.99

"Raised On Rock", the outstanding 8th studio disc from the Blindside Blues Band, features 12 tracks (74 minutes) of mega-killer, powerful, incredibly solid, blues-based, retro-70s heavy guitar riffage that is all about Keeping the Rock alive. From start to finish, an amazing display of mind-blowing bluesy heavy guitar rock that will stand the test of time. Fronted by Mike "Rock Machine" Onesko, the seasoned guitar rocker always delivers the riffage that matters and "Raised on Rock" is definitely no exception as the Man digs in deep and nails down his best/strongest disc to date. Onesko is a true Guitar Hero who knows what time of day it is when it comes down to awesome beyond belief riffage that will rock your face off. BBB also features the bad-ass, killer bluesy axerippin' talents of Scotty J. Johnson on second guitar who nails down fantastic, get-down, wah wah-induced, six string "mojo" throughout the amazing new Blindside Blues Band disc. Scotty J. plays his ass off with an abundance of serious, get-down, lead guitar action that is right up there with the best players in the world. Last but not least, Blindside Blues Band features the hard-hitting, hi-energy, powerful "groove machine" in the form of Emery Ceo on Drums and Kier Staeheli on Bass. Both excellent, stand-out players and "good musical brothers" who lock in and nail down the monstrous BBB groove. The year is 2010 and Blindside Blues Band was "Raised On Rock" and is here to save the day with their incredible brand of tremendous dual guitar heavy rock power.

The Blindside Blues Band: "Raised on Rock" disc is a bad-ass slab of killer bluesy heavy guitar rock that is Highly recommended to fans of MOUNTAIN, LESLIE WEST, ROBIN TROWER, CREAM, PAT TRAVERS, DERRINGER, MONTROSE, BOC, MOXY, UFO w/SCHENKER and all other excellent, world-class guitar rockers. Fans of the previous Blindside Blues Band discs will heavily dig the amazing "Raised on Rock" disc.

Mike Onesko and Blindside Blues Band are a true testament that REAL Guitar Rock is still alive: "Raised On Rock" is solid and ballsy to the core. Finally, a band in 2010 that stays true to their blues-based 70s heavy rock roots. God bless BBB for Keeping the Rock alive.


MP3 Sample Clips

01. RAISED ON ROCK
02. NIGHT TRAIN
03. FOLSOM PRISON BLUES
04. WAVE ON
05. CHILD OF THE SUN
06. WAR IN THE STREETS
07. TAKE YOU DOWN
08. BURY THE AXE
09. WORLD ON FIRE
10. LOVE IS WORTH THE BLUES
11. BACKSTREET RIDER
12. BORN WITH THE BLUES

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· BBB - Rockin' the blues ·

 

· reviews ·

We can't get enough of this record! It's so powerful, so majestic, so heavy. Mike Onesko (guitar/vocals), Scott Johnson (guitar), Kier Staeheli (bass) and Emery Ceo (drums) have out done themselves with their finest effort to date. Maybe it's the thick, woolly guitar tone or the Pat Travers-meets-Leslie West in the voice. Whatever the magic, it keeps calling back for one more play. Production is at a premium with Onesko monitoring the board yet engineer Jim Stewart really helps find the sweet spot. The sound of an FM radio searching for true rock starts the disc. Eventually the dial hits a seductive riff in the background, suddenly it's in your face at full volume. "I was born with the blues / but I was raised on rock" blasts from the speakers and you're totally hooked. The band are preaching to ya and you're hearing the word because it's the soundtrack of your life, too. An Aerosmith-induced "Night Train" cracks the whip as bass and drum crank the pistons. The guitar bleeds from the sky as the rhythm chugs down the tracks. And that's just the first two songs.

Perfectly, the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison Blues" locks in and the band are blowing out the heaviest version we've ever heard. The emotion in the vocal is so convincing you'd swear Onesko "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." Time after time this disc reminded us of West, Bruce and Laing's "Why Dontcha" (1973) in strength and power. So it no surprise that "Love Is Worth The Blues" from that record is featured prominently here. Musically BBB takes it deeper giving it an almost Black Sabbath-meets-UFO dirge. Second guitarist S. Johnson has an uncanny Michael Schenker-like presence to his solo runs. If any track will raise the hair on the back of your neck, this will be the one. The Seventies presence keeps coming in the Montrose inspired "Take You Down" and the Hagar-esque "War In The Streets". Both raise the banner as hard rock anthems. "Bury The Axe" and "Wave On" take the best of Hendrix and Trower by fusing them together into a monster jam. Personal favorites are the rumbling "Backstreet Rider", Uli Roth-inspired "Child Of The Sun" and bone-crushing "World On Fire". Stick around for the 11-minute+ "hidden" instrumental track - it's smokin'!

Todd K. Smith (The Cutting Edge) (2.10)
 


The fact that Mike Onesko is not a house hold name perfectly illustrates that the music business does not reward those who genuinely live, breath and sweat for good old rock and roll. Onesko's main musical outlet over the last 17 years has been the hard hitting blues rock masters that are Blindside Blues Band and during that time some impressive names have passed through their ranks, including Greg Chaisson (Badlands, Red Sea and Legs Diamond among others), Jeff Martin (Leatherwolf, Badlands, Racer X, Paul Gilbert), James Lomenzo (White Lion, David Lee Roth, Megadeth and various Zakk Wylde projects), along with guitar godfather Mike Varney and drummer extraordinaire Aynsley Dunbar.

Now with a stellar previous cast list like that, where do the Blindside Blues Band find themselves in 2010? Well the honest answer is brasher, bolder and better than ever, Onesko now has long time co conspirators Scott Johnson on second guitar and Kier Staeheli on bass with him alongside Emery Ceo who keeps everything locked down with his impeccable time keeping. Sound wise, well if you have encountered BBB before then the fact that Raised On Rock is absolutely jam packed with hard rocking blues anthems of the highest order, will come as no surprise and as with the other recent Grooveyard Records releases, a hard hitting yet warm production, this time by Onesko himself, only raises the overall effect.

Opening with the sound of somebody desperately searching for some killer tunes on an FM radio, a quiet, yet compelling riff is finally settled on before it grows in stature and then smacks you with an adrenalin rush of authentic riffing that immediately announces that Raised On Rock, the album and song, couldn't have been more aptly named. With a Phil Mogg meets Billy Gibbons holler, Onesko has the perfect bourbon soaked voice to blend with his and Johnson's wall of guitar. The song itself contains some fantastic fret work from both six string masters, as Onesko has total confidence that he can launch into emotion soaked soloing while Johnson, Staeheli and Ceo nail the groove bounding along behind him. From there with the potent agenda set, Blindside Blues Band set about applying it to a tremendous set of songs that not only stand up to repeated listens, but actually become more seductive with every spin. The likes of "War In The Streets", with its infectious stomp, "World On Fire" and it's Hendrix inspired riff and the slow steady attack that is "Backstreet Rider" really highlight that this is a band not just capable of putting together blues soaked hard heavy rock, but that it is delivered with class, precision and feel that leaves you in no doubt that every member of the band live for this style of music.

Raised On Rock also contains a variety not always prevalent in this genre with real driving rockers like "Wave On" being tempered with the deep stylish groove of the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison Blues" or the more reserved, yet equally effective songs "Love Is Worth The Blues" and the wonderfully emotive "hidden bonus track". Never at any point during this disc id there a danger if things becoming one dimensional.

As previously mentioned the sound on this disc is first class and Onesko and Johnson's guitar tone is a joy to behold and for any serious lover of authentic 70's styled hard hitting blues this is an album you shouldn't be without.

Steven Reid (Sea Of Tranquility) (3.10)
 


There was a problem that I had as a teenager which I will now briefly discuss. It developed shortly after I began attempting to play guitar and continued on for quite a time. The gist of the issue was the fact that I wanted to be Leslie West. Now, don't get me wrong. I was of a slight build back then and any effort I would have made to actually look like The Great Fatsby would've involved eating an entire additional human being. No, I wanted to play guitar like him and so, long summer afternoons were spent in my bedroom, studying a bootleg 8-track tape of "Flowers Of Evil" that I'd bought at Ocean City for $ 2. I hung on every squawking false harmonic, every blistering distorted rhythm, every bluesy lick and tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to emulate them. A shocking time came for me when Mountain fragmented in the early '70s. Leslie & Corky Laing (drums) hooked up with ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce and I bought their '72 debut "Why Dontcha" with some trepidation in Pappalardi's absence. The trepidation vanished when I heard what would become one of my favourite tracks of all time, the monstrous "Love Is Worth The Blues". It was a seething, heavy slow-paced crusher that, in truth, borrowed heavily from The Stones' "Play With Fire" (enough that WBL would later do the song live using Mick's lyrics). It's caustic riff would also burst forth from my own guitar more than any other during 1972.

And so, that brings us to the BLINDSIDE BLUES BAND. You see, a quick gander at their new disc "Raised On Rock" will yield the knowledge that sitting at Track #10 position is none other than a cover of "Love Is Worth The Blues". What this does is instantly make me a fan of Mike Onesko (guitar, vocals and mastermind of this unit). Let's just say that "L.I.W.T.B." is not going to show up in the all-time top 10 of most-covered rock songs. Therefore, the fact that this cat understands what a motherfriggin' beast it is made me want to buy a t-shirt with his visage emblazoned on the front before I even heard the record. But, I did put the CD in and instantly got my ass kicked by the title track. Ironically, the spectre of things Stone-ish raises it's head pronto with the "Can You Hear Me Knockin'" slide intro.. and we're off to the races. "Night Train" follows right behind with a mean, almost Montrose-kinda riff. Tasty lead fills abound all over the place, highlighting the powerful mid-range vocals belted out by Mr. Onesko. The dueling lead breaks by he and co-six-string conspirator Scott Johnson are lethal and Emery Ceo (drums) & Kier Staeheli (bass) are Church/Carmassi-solid. Listen to the section where they step to the fore around 3:39. That's tight, bro! Through 12 cuts here the quartet builds on a solid blues base but mixes things up so as to produce a widely varied and immensely entertaining butt-kick of a listen. Check out the rambunctious & scorching "Bury The Axe". Holy shit, Mike & Scott are ripping here. How 'bout the grueling "War In The Streets" or "Take You Down" where I'm hearing more vintage Montrose-styled riffing again. Still I can't stop jamming on the 17+ minute climax of "Born With The Blues" (the guitarists both HAD to need treatment for friction burns after this one!) and the aforementioned "Love Is Worth The Blues". Maybe I'll get out my guitar again, cause after hearing this one, I think I want to be Mike Onesko.. at least I won't have to eat as much.

Ray Dorsey (RaysRealm) (2.10)
 


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