The radio on the cover is the same one I listened to as a kid. The music I heard coming from this radio influenced me to become a musician. I’ve kept this radio for all of these years… it still works just as good today as it did when I was tuning it in to R&B and Doo-Wopp back in the fifties--thanks for fixing it Doc!
LINER NOTES:
Steve Guyger is a true master of the blues harmonica but in the end, his virtuosity on the instrument takes a back seat to his real intention… delivering his blues unvarnished…straight to your heart.
Secure in his command of the instrument and with nothing to prove, his approach is the total opposite of some perhaps, comparably skilled, but less mature, grandstanding type players, who seem to view music as if it were an Olympic event.
Vocally, as well as on the harp, Steve employs his talents to serve his purpose, varying his tone, texture, and phrasing, to express the honest emotion of his own personal, musical story.
The story is current and fresh, and it’s as timeless as the human condition. It’s the blues in full spectrum: brash and bold, tender and sensitive… and it’s all delivered with a ton of conviction.
Steve has lived and breathed the blues for close to 40 years. Along the way he has played with some of the top names in the field. He blew the harp alongside the legendary Chicago blues icon Jimmy Rogers off and on from 1980 to 1994. When rock legend Levon Helm (The Band) wanted to get back to his Arkansas roots, he enlisted Steve to front his band.
I can still remember when I first heard the name Steve Guyger. Around 1974, my friend Jerry Portnoy had landed a gig with Muddy Waters and began touring the world. Around that time, I wasn’t touring much--I was playing locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, or when I was living in Chicago, I was either playing there or somewhere in the mid-west. I used to ask Jerry if he ever ran across any harp players who I wasn’t aware of and who I should be hip to. The only two names he mentioned were Kim Wilson and Steve Guyger.
Well, he was right on then and it’s still true today.
Get hip to Steve Guyger.
--Rick Estrin, Little Charlie & the Nightcats
Steve Guyger would like to thank Ben and Janet Guyger, Dave and Marge Guyger, Bill and Peg Oittenger, Paul Oscher, Jerry Portnoy, Mark Hummel, Little Sammy Davis, Billy Burns, Billy Flynn, Levon Helm, Pat O’Shea, Gary Phillips, Kenny Robinson, Filthy Rich, Richard Ray Farrell, Dennis Gruenling, Joe Flisco, Rich Yescalis, Brian Bisesi, Randy Lippencott, Joe and Cory Flannigan, John and Mike Gunning, Tom Cullen, Bob Stetlan and all my friends at the Bucks County Blues Society, Ron and Denise Ferenze, Charlie Batt, John and Marie Rockland, Terra Blues, Tomi Lenio and his band in Finland, Flavio, Chico Blues and all my friends in Brazil.
Thanks to the Severn crew David Earl, Steve Gomes, Johnny Moeller, Robb Stupka and Jude “Ju Ju” Finnell.
A very special thanks to Annie K Beidler for always being there.
And Rick Estrin for his musical support.
In memory of two great musicians Chris Beggan and Jeff Sarli.
MUSICIANS:
Steve Guyger –vocals, harmonica Johnny Moeller – guitar Steve Gomes – bass Robb Stupka – drums Bill Heid – piano, organ
CREDITS:
Produced by David Earl, Steve Gomes, and Steve Guyger Recorded and mixed by David Earl at Severn Studio, Severn, MD Mastered by Charlie Pilzer at Airshow Mastering, Springfield, VA Graphic design by Al Brandtner, Brandtner Design, Chicago, IL Photography by David Earl and Jude Finnell
