Afrissippi & Eric Deaton Trio: Hill Country Records World Boogie Fall 2008 tour dates
Sebastian Cook
*Please retain for listings in your area & repost widely!*
CD servicing & media requests: Sebastian Cook, ComPosition Music &
Communications
s...@composition-mc.com / 647-346-4018
Band & label manager: Justin Showah, Hill Country Records
jus...@hillcountryrecords.com / 662-816-4000
*AFRISSIPPI & ERIC DEATON TRIO Flowing West On First U.S. National Tour Aug
22 to Sep 26*
*West African roots meets North Mississippi trance blues*
*See below for up-to-date tour schedule*
*"Merging the music of West Africa with Mississippi roots music, Afrissippi
creates songs that feel perfect in their execution and temperament..."** ~
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle (June 1, 2008)*
*
**"Sometimes an artistic project comes along that seems at once utterly
unlikely, yet at the same time completely logical. Unlikely because of the
strange sequence of events that it took for it to occur; logical because the
connections it explores are ones that were present, if submerged, all along,
just waiting to be brought back to life..." ~ Siddhartha MItter, Boston Globe
(May 9, 2008)
**Afrissippi on the Web:* www.myspace.com/afrissippi
*Afrissippi Live at The 2007 Rootsway Festival (Parma, Italy)*:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cunsCFfb2fY
*Eric Deaton on the Web:* www.myspace.com/ericdeaton
*Artist & Tour EPK:* www.hillcountryrecords.com/press
*Friday, August 1: OXFORD, MS ~* *Hill Country Records* is thrilled to
invite music lovers across America to experience the centuries-old journey
of the blues, from its roots in the traditional music of West Africa to the
haunting cottonpatch trance sound of North Mississippi. Starting Aug 21 in
their home town of Oxford at Two Stick, its keystone artists *Afrissippi &
The Eric Deaton* Trio will embark on their first national tour.
Appropriately, the first leg -- 26 shows and over 8,000 miles -- concludes
back home in Oxford on Friday, September 26 -- the night of the first
presidential debate on the campus of The University of Mississippi.
Afrissippi recently stole the show on the Mississippi Juke Joint Stage of
the 25th Annual *Chicago Blues Festival*, with its second CD
*"Alliance"*further establishing it as America's most authentic and
unique fusion of
ancestral African traditions with the indigenous American artform of the
blues. ""Alliance" was produced by *Jimbo Mathus*, the leader of the
Squirrel Nut Zippers and Grammy-winning arranger with the legendary *Buddy
Guy*. Afrissippi guitarist Eric Deaton, the protege of North Mississippi
trance masters Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, will also be touring with
his own Trio in support of his upcoming release "Smile at Trouble."
*"Guelel Kumba lives on a tall hill in Oxford, Mississippi, and comes from
the Fulani people of West Africa, the largest nomadic group in the world.
His first instrument as a child was the molo, a single gut string attached
to a small gourd. Eric Deaton accepted boogie music as his saviour at age
14 and cut his teeth playing with Junior Kimbrough & R.L. Burnside every
Sunday night at Junior's Place. Kinney Kimbrough played drums with his
father, Junior, in & around Chulahoma, Mississippi his entire life. His
beats hold the secrets of the backwoods disco groove**."** ~ *liner notes of
Afrissippi's new CD* Alliance *(2008, Hill Country Records)
*More Acclaim for Afrissippi:
*"Not since Paul Simon's combination of African rhythms and pop concepts on
Graceland has such a forceful vision combined the two continents." ~ Bill
Whiting, HonestTune.com
"*Alliance* feels both ancient and progressive at the same time. This album
is an incredible accomplishment that should attract the attention of many
award nomination committees in the months to come." ~ Roger Gachet, *Living
Blues
**"*Kumba's vocals mix seamlessly with the deep-fried guitar of Mathus and
the gritty beats of Kimbrough and Burnside, recalling all at once Miles
Davis*' Live Evil *psychedelia, old and new country blues, ancient African
history, and downhome rock n' roll ... Afrissippi represents a high-water
mark in the exploration of the relationships between American blues and its
African relations.* " ~ *Corey Harris*, Living Blues review of "Fulani
Journey" (2006)*
*2008 Tour Schedule (as of August 1):*
Thu Aug 21 - Oxford, MS @ Two Stick
Fri Aug 22 - Starkville, MS @ Dave's Darkhorse
Sat Aug 23 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea's Cafe
Sat Aug 30 - Flagstaff, AZ @ Mia's Lounge
Sun Aug 31 - San Diego, CA @ WorldBeat Cultural Center
Wed Sep 3 - San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room
Thu Sep 4 - Berkeley, CA @ Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center
Fri Sep 5 - Eugene, OR @ Sam Bonds Garage (Eric Deaton Trio only)
Fri Sep 5 - Eugene, OR @ Papa's Soul Food Kitchen (Guelel Kumba solo)
Sat Sep 6 - Cottage Grove, OR @ The Axe & Fiddle
Sun Sep 7 - Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door Mainstage
Tue Sep 9 - Centralia, WA @ McMenamins Olympic Club (Eric Deaton Trio only)
Wed Sep 10 - Bend, OR @ McMenamins Old St. Francis School
Thu Sep 11 - Portland, OR @ McMenamins Kennedy School
Fri Sep 12 - Eugene, OR @ Eugene Celebration
Sat Sep 13 - Olympia, WA @ Traditions Fair Trade Coffee House
Sun Sep 14 - Tacoma WA@ The Spar
Tue Sep 16 - Port Townsend, WA @ The Upstage Restaurant
Wed Sep 17 - Port Townsend, WA @ The Upstage Restaurant
Thu Sep 18 - Moscow, ID @ John's Alley Tavern
Fri Sep 19 - Ketchum, ID @ Whiskey Jacques
Sat Sep 20 - Ogden, UT @ Brewskis
Sun Sep 21 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Jimbo's Take 2 (World Music Series)
Mon Sep 22 - Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon
Tue Sep 23 - Des Moines, IA @ Blues on Grand
Wed Sep 24 - Burlington, IA @ The Washington
Fri Sep 26 - Oxford, MS @ Two Stick
Thu Oct 2 - New Orleans, LA @ D.B.A
Fri Oct 3 - Austin, TX @ Flamingo Cantina
Sat Oct 4 - Shreveport, LA @ Red River Revel
Sun Oct 5 - Shreveport, LA @ Red River Revel
Fri Oct 17 - Northport, AL @ Kentuck Festival of the Arts
Sat Oct 18 - Northport, AL @ Kentuck Festival of the Arts
Sun Oct 19 - Upperville, VA @ The Black Thorne Inn
Wed Oct 22 - New York, NY @ Terra Blues
Thu Oct 23 - New York, NY @ Terra Blues
Fri Oct 24 - Hartford, CT @ Blackeyed Sallys
Mon Oct 27 - Burlington, VT @ Flynn Centre for the Arts
Tue Oct 28 - Somerville, MA @ Johnny Ds
Fri Nov 7 - Macon, GA @ The Hummingbird
Sat Nov 8 - Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum
Thu Nov 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Cedar Cultural Center
****
*AFRISSIPPI: a magnificent cross-cultural river of sound...*
www.myspace.com/afrissippi
From desert trance marches to fisherman chanteys, Afrissippi channels
ancestral African boogies & today's Mississippi hill country groove through
the Delta Recording style to give birth to a brand new sound. *Super Chikan
Johnson* said it best when he declared, "It's like the blues trying to be
born!"
The nucleus of the band was born when *Eric Deaton*, apprentice of the late
*Junior Kimbrough*, invited West African griot Guelel Kumba to explore the
hill country sound of North Mississippi. Eric brought Guelel to the home of
legendary bluesman *R.L. Burnside* where they quickly realized and naturally
explored the eerie similarities between many of Guelel's Fulani folk
melodies and these two patriarchs of north Mississippi hill country boogie
and cottonpatch trance blues.
With R.L.'s blessing, Guelel & Eric recruited his son and grandson, *Garry &
Cedric Burnside*, as Afrissippi's rhythm section. When they left to launch
Burnside Exploration, Kumba brought aboard Junior's son and drummer, *Kinney
Kimbrough* of Chulahoma and bassist *Justin Showah* (Cary Hudson Trio,
Taylor Grocery Band) of Oxford. Afrissippi features a revolving cast of
guest artists including Memphis horn legend Herman Green (B.B. King, Lionel
Hampton, Miles Davis), and wordsmith and American rebel soul hero John
Sinclair .
* "It works out real perfect," says Kimbrough of playing with Afrissippi.
"When Guelel came over he hadn't even heard of my father. When he heard it
he said it sounds just like the type of music I would play … it kind of
keeps my old man alive … So when Guelel came about and I got to playing with
him, it was like starting all over again, but a younger version … The way
Guelel plays is straight from the heart, that's the way Daddy played it." *~
*Kinney Kimbrough*, Afrissippi drummer and son of north Mississippi blues
legend Junior Kimbrough (from *Living Blues* interview by *Scott Barretta*,
April 2007)
****
*THE ERIC DEATON TRIO**: Summoning the spirits of Junior Kimbrough and R.L.
Burnside
*www.myspace.com/ericdeaton
(Modified from a 2007 profile by American rebel soul icon *John Sinclair*)
The full-throttle Eric Deaton sound is the product of a long and intense
apprenticeship with the blues masters of the North Mississippi Hill Country.
Raised in North Carolina, Eric left home at 18 for in Chulahoma, Mississippi
to study with his musical mentor *Junior **Kimbrough*, playing bass and
guitar behind the Mississippi trance master and learning the music from the
ground up. When Junior passed, Eric began to step out on his own and to make
his mark as a guitarist, composer and singer. He moved into the bass chair
with the *Burnside** Exploration*, a blues power trio with *Cedric and Garry
**Burnside*. After moving to Oxford, he began a fruitful musical partnership
with the Senegalese guitar player *Guelel Kumba*, investigating the
possibilities of fusing the hill country blues with its living roots in the
music of western Africa. For the past two years, Eric has barnstormed across
the country as the bassist for *Jimbo Mathus' Knock Down South*.
With the debut of The Eric Deaton Trio, "*Gonna Be Trouble Here"*, Eric's
voice is heard front and center for the first time; as he sings his earthy,
down-home songs with confidence and emotive force. His music is deeply
rooted in the hill country aesthetic; stripped down, full of drone,
rhythmically propulsive and relentlessly bent on in inducing trance-like
behavior in his listeners. Eric plays the music with precision and taste,
always pushing the boundaries but never venturing over the top and he makes
it sound the way this music is supposed to sound. As the name suggests, the
forthcoming 2008 CD "Smile at Trouble" continues in a similar vein in its
homage to the North Mississippi tradition.
--
Sebastian Cook
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