News

BCB opening for Bloodshot Bill @ Tip Top Deluxe

The kind folks over at Tip Top Deluxe in Grand Rapids MI have kindly asked us to open for Bloodshot Bill on Wednesday March 4th. The show is 21 and over and tickets are available online.

We couldn’t be more excited to do this show. Its a break in between runs of our Cats & Dogs & Bastards Tour that we have been playing with The Neighborhood Dogs, and Ernie Clark & The Magnificent Bastards. We have some hired guns helping out as BCB builds up back into a full band after a year of being a one man band. Brett Booher from Ernie Clark & The Magnificent Bastards has been holding down the bass for us while Jay Jankowski from Saint has been laying down the drums. We are also contemplating bringing in a surprise guitarist, and our go-to harmonica man, if things work out for everyone.

Bloodshot Bill wsg Black Cat Bone @ Tip Top Deluxe WEDNESDAY March 4th 7pm

Bloodshot Bill will most likely play solo again when he comes to town. When he plays as a one man band he is like a man possessed! Drums are wailing, guitar is squealing, greasy hair is flying everywhere, and the sweat is pouring as Bill makes sweet, sweet love to the microphone. Its a whirlwind of beer soaked psychobilly feakout. John Waters said Bloodshot Bill is like “Roy Orbison with a head wound”. We think thats a compliment…. and its pretty damn accurate!

by blackcatbone616

Ass Shakers & Heartbreakers

Ass Shakers & Heartbreakers is the first song written in 2020. It comes from an improv jam at the Old Dog Tavern that we performed as our soundcheck on January 25th 2020. The words are essentially my mantra, my idea of what the musical philosophy of Black Cat Bone should be. That there are only really 2 kinds of songs. If you can’t make them dance, you better make them cry! It’s really the reason I ever picked up a guitar in the first place. I am looking forwrd to recording this one with the band soon.

Sixty Watt Scott/Black Cat Bone

by blackcatbone616

New Year, New BCB (sorta)

2020 is off to a good start already… I’ve cut a station ID for Cowboy’s Juke Joint, which is a bad ass podcast supporting all kinds of gritty blues and swampy southern rock.

The band has been getting in a few practice sessions with the all-star lineup for the shows I have booked. Capt Brett Anarchy from Ernie Clark & the Magnificent Bastards, Jason Jankowski from Saint, and Spencer Chestnut have agreed to help me out on a couple these first few shows. Jay and Brett will back me up in Reed City on January 18, 2020, and Spencer will join us on January 31 at the Tip Top Deluxe show. Below is some video of our first session.

For 2020 I will focus on writing some new material, recording new and unreleased songs, and booking some shows in different venues. I am reaching out to a couple different musicians to build a roster of people I can rely on for shows and recording and taking things to new levels. I will be shooting video of it all as well, so look for that coming down the pipeline in 2020.

Scott/Black Cat Bone

by blackcatbone616

4 new shows in 2020

Ernie Clark & the Magnificent Bastards are on a wild streak of shows and have been very kind in bringing Black Cat Bone along for the ride on a bunch of them. They’ve put together 4 shows for 2020 that were announced today, and of course they’ve booked your favorite Rustbelt Blues band on the bill as well!

Ernie and his Bastards are about to release their debut album in 2020, in addition to playing as many shows as possible. This 4 show portion of their schedule is “the Cats & Dogs & Bastards Tour”.

It’s getting us out of Grand Rapids for 3 of the 4 shows, which fits nicely with my goal of not playing the same town all the damn time for the new year! 2020 will be fun year for BCB…. we have some songs in rehearsal for a recording project…. and a potential video shoot is in the works as well!

-Scott/Black Cat Bone

by blackcatbone616

Cowboy’s Juke Joint Podcast on Spotify

Mike and Mitch from Cowboy’s Juke Joint have been playing a few tracks from Black Cat Bone on their podcast on the interwebs lately. They play a pretty kick ass mix of “Gritty Blues Rock and Southern Rock bands from around the world; you’ve never heard before, and sharing them with passionate music lovers the world over . ”

It’s nice to get a little appreciation from people outside of my tiny little universe here in Grand Rapids, MI. It’s especially cool that they help spread the work to like-minded music fans I would never find on my own! Folks like these are keeping the independent music revolution going strong.

Give them a little listen. Submit your favorite independent artist’s link to them. Help keep independent music alive!

-Scott/Black Cat Bone

by blackcatbone616

the 3 crossroads in a man’s life

In 2015 I was in Clarksdale, Mississippi with my wife (and Black Cat Bone’s original drummer) Jewly. I showed her the infamous crossroads (Highway 61 & Highway 49) where many people believe Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical prowess.

I also took her to see Ground Zero (the club owned by Morgan Freeman), but since it was closed we took a tour of the Delta Blues Museum. That is where we met Josh “Razorblade” Stewart.

He was really friendly and talkative. I could tell that he saw himself as an ambassador of the blues, making sure to let every soul he encountered his story. He was a Vietnam Vet, a former cop (I think he said he was the 1st black cop in Clarksdale), a truck driver, and of course a bluesman that has experienced a lifetime of struggle and sorrow during the relentless pursuit of happiness.

The video of Razorblade I posted above is one I found while deep in the Youtube rabbithole looking for stuff about the crossroads and Robert Johnson meeting the devil. I have seen another video or two of pretty much this exact conversation, and is pretty much the same conversation we had with him back in 2015.

In his ad-hoc role as Clarksdale’s Ambassador to the Blues, whenever he meets a new person he always gives a rundown on his theory that a man reaches a “crossroads” at 3 specific stages in his life. This is illustrated by a drawing of a Dollar Sign Snake to show the 3 crossroads.

The first crossroad a man comes to is in his 20’s as he becomes his own man, and has to decide what kind of man he will become. 2nd in his 40’s as he develops a stronger understanding of his own life, and his role in this world. Finally the 3rd crossroads in his 60’s as a man turns towards more important matters in his remaining years.

Unfortunately Razorblade has since passed away, but his lesson about the 3 Crossroads in a Man’s Life has stuck with us. RIP Razorblade!

by blackcatbone616