MEMPHIS, TN. (Blues Foundation) - Led by the inimitable Magic Slim,
Blind Pig artists scored a number of Blues
Music Award nominations, as announced by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. In addition to the five nominations for Magic Slim, nods went to Tommy Castro, Elvin Bishop, Otis Clay, and Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers.
Magic Slim was nominated for "B.B. King Entertainer of the Year" and "Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year," while he and his band, the Teardrops, were nominated for "Band of the Year" (an honor they won in 2003). Their live CD, entitled Anything Can Happen (also released as a video in DVD format), was nominated for both "Album of the Year" and "Traditional Album of the Year."
Tommy Castro received recognition in the "Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year" category and his best-selling 2005 CD release, Soul Shaker, got a nomination for "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year." Tommy and his dynamic band have recently been touring in support of their new DVD release, Whole Lotta' Soul.
Elvin Bishop also got a "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" nomination for his first studio release in seven years, Gettin' My Groove Back. And one of the tunes on that album, a haunting primitive boogie with raw electric guitar work entitled "What the Hell is Going On," was nominated for "Song of the Year."
Otis Clay, one of the most powerful and soulful voices of our time, received a "Soul Blues Album of the Year" nomination for his live CD entitled Respect Yourself, which was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. Clay was recently invited to perform at the Rock and Roll Museum as part of their tribute to Sam Cooke.
Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers were nominated for "Band of the Year," an award they've won three times in the past. Mighty Flyer Honey Piazza was honored with a nomination for "Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year" and fellow Flyer Bill Stuve nabbed a nomination in the "Instrumentalist - Bass" category. Blind Pig recently released a DVD entitled Big Blues Party which captures the excitement and showmanship of this superb band in action.
