Papa Renaud, although not a member, still plays an important part in the band. He wrote all the originals, provided harmonica on some tracks, and even handcrafted Ryan and Kyle's guitars!
Renaud's numbers are uniformly good; maybe no new classics added to the blues canon, but varied in tempo and full of soulful hooks. Most importantly, he didn't write children's tunes; these are grown-up songs, performed by kids who play like grown-ups.
There are your traditional styled electric blues numbers like "Who Your Friend Are," "Penny Waiting On Change" and "The World's Been Good To You." "Voodoo Woman" and "Time For Change" has those rich, Jimi Hendrix/Stevie Ray Vaughan chords that recalls the spirit of both.
"Right Thang, Wrong Woman" and "Time For Change" are more soul ballads than they are blues, but both contain some tasty blues licks by Ryan. The blues jam "Blues Concerto" and the boogie "Pay Me No Mind" both feature Renaud on harmonica.
The only cover here comes from John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom," which is given reverential treatment, as Ryan seems to have gotten down Hooker's swagger to near-perfection.
There's an 82 year old man from down the road in Indianola, Mississippi who said this about The Homemade Jamz Blues Band: "These young kids have energy, talent, and do the blues proud with their own flavor. I believe they've got a great future ahead." That was Riley "B.B." King who said that.
More than any kind of music, the blues is a cross-generational thing...
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i'm glad you wrote this because i heard a segment on them on npr, got distracted, and totally forgot the name.