Away, back, and the best band you've never heard of.

I was away for a bit and just got back last night. I was playing at a gospel blues festival in Chilliwack, British Columbia. I was playing with a friend of mine named Johnny Mannion, who is a great guy and a terrific blues guitarist. We road tripped it from here in Southern California up to British Columbia, which is about 26 hours each way. Although the weekend was fun, I don't think I'd do that drive again.

While I was there, I got to hear Danny Brooks and the Rockin' Revelators, who are the best band you've never heard of. For those of you who will get the reference, they are essentially a gospel-themed version of The Swanky Modes from Tapeheads, one of the great unsung films of the 1980's. They are from Toronto and sound like they just rolled in from Memphis to play songs they recorded for Stax Records. All of their stuff is original, brilliant, and played with a groove that reminded me of why the Memphis/Stax sound is one of the best unsung flavors of American music. And they are from Toronto! Anyone wishing to get hip to the Brooks experience can check them out at iTunes. We had to play a set right before them, and I'm just glad we were before them instead of after them, because they pretty much took us all to school.