The Photo Page – Royal Southern Brotherhood 3.09.12
Chip Eagle | Mar 07, 2012 | Comments 5
A BluesWax Exclusive
By Art Tipaldi
My favorite albums from the late 1960s were the Super Session recordings by Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield. The Royal Southern Brotherhood is the 2012 version of that supergroup. This may be the hottest new band on the circuit. Within an hour in the studio, these five talented musicians understood they had something special. The band’s lineup features the singing and percussion of Cyril Neville and the singing and guitar talents of Mike Zito and Devon Allman. Explosive double guitars and Neville’s hypnotic rhythms carry this music through everything from blues rock through New Orleans funk, tasty ballads, and soulful R&B. Anchoring the groove are veteran Atlanta/New Orleans bass player Charlie Wooton and drummer Yonrico Scott, who’s talented work propelled the Derek Trucks Band for over 15 years. BluesWax watched their first showcase on March 6, 2012, in preparation for a six-show tour through Connecticutt, Massachusetts Pennsylvania, and B.B. King‘s club in New York City. Their record on Ruf Records will be available in May, they are touring extensively throughout the summer, and Blues Revue will feature coverage of their March 9, 2012, New York City show in our upcoming May issue.
Art Tipaldi — Editor, Blues Revue magazine
As always, our photographers and writers share their photographs with you for your enjoyment. If you wish to share them or use them for any other purpose, please contact us or the photographer.
Enjoy!
Filed Under: BluesWax Weekly • The Photo Page • This Week's BluesWax
About the Author:
I saw this band in the very first outing in Colorado in Sept. It took me back to the best days of outdoor shows, if fact I didnt think the band would fit indoors. Everyone is going to love this show. Blues From the Top has it on Sunday July 1. Can’t wait
This is the band the world has been waiting for to put guitar music back in the forefront of the music industry. These guys have the chance to explode the whole music scene. Only once in blue moon does someone come aound and set the standard then eveyone else jumps on the band wagon!! These guys are setting the standad every night. support this band & help bring back guitar music to the forefront. Lets not forget th guitar hero!!. Jimi, Daune, Stevie are all looking down on these guys and smiling
Whew!! Just back from ab hours drive to see these guys playing our club…they are fucking unbelievably good. What is most impressive is the palpable sense of them being something larger than the sum of the whole. We put in a bid for them to play a return gig at the end of their tour before they were halfway through their set!!!!! It will sell out without a doubt.
Looooong encore, a freakin’ guitar pull between Allman and Zito after that as the crowd in our joint screamed for more that evolved into One Way Out. Oh, and did I mention Fire on the Mountain? I could see Garcia’s ghost smiling down.
What a powerhouse group. I drove 210 miles to see these guys at Infinity Hall, CT and they delivered. The composition and clarity of the own material is outstanding. You have three extremely talented vocalists, Devon Allman with his Texas Style vocals, Mike Zito’s gritty Chicago Style vocals, and Cyril Neville’s
“You Got That Right” sound is amazing, not to mention the rhythm section of Charlie Wooten, Yonrico Scott, and Cyril.
From my perception, there is a bit of a guitar contest between Mike and his Old School Style Blues and Devon’s southern style that can be said to be like a mix between Carlos Santana and Dickey Betts, but the end result is a sound that is simply magic. I actively pursue music of all types and I would have to say these guys got it goin’ on.
I hear a lot of comparison to Greg and Devon from other comments not related to RSB. I would say that is so far from the truth. I’ve seen Greg many times and there is some similarities, but no. I would say Devon’s voice is very different and for that matter better. Devon was hitting vocal notes Greg would have a hard time hitting.
The net is I’m booking to more shows before this tour ends. My advice to anyone reading this commentary; If you like blues with a twist of the South, don’t miss this band. Buy your tickets early. The word is out and Royal Southern Brotherhood is the next big thing for “Our kind” of music.
My prediction is that this will be the tour of the year.