Album Notes

The RubTones:
Johnny Roy Hedger, Guitar & Vocals
Sean McLaughlin, Bass,Backing Vocals
Jim Turner, Drums,Backing Vocals
Guest Artists:
Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Harp,Harmonicas
Donald & Shanna Mayes, Backing Vocals on Blues Take Me Home
Jimbo Mathus, Little Junior, misc. Backing Vocals,
Handclaps,Colt 45's
Produced by Johnny Roy and Jimbo Mathus

The RubTones and myself thought it would be interesting to "go south" and seek out a recording studio that catered to the genre of blues and would be sensitive to what were trying to achieve in our music...The idea was to avoid the overly slick approach of most modern studios and veer back into the days of "old school" recording techniques and the idea of capturing an artists sound as one's ears would hear it in the same room. Thus, we chose Clarksdale Mississippi...Home of the Delta blues and the mythical Robert Johnson Crossroads. Birthplace of John Lee Hooker and Little Junior Parker. The stomping ground of many great blues artists, both acoustic and electric, and of course birthplace of the father of southern gospel-based R&B...Sam Cooke.

The James Mathus Delta Recording Studio, located in downtown Clarksdale, uses old RCA ribbon mics along with vintage German vacuum tube preamps. The band was set up to record live in one room. The twelve songs presented here were the keeper selects of twenty songs recorded. The tracking took two full days to lay down on tape.

The Delta studio is a part of the Clarksdale community where you never know who might show up on a given day to check out what is happening and who is recording in the studio. Being well aware of the community's "blues appreciation" factor, I called on some of the great local talent from Clarksdale and beyond to help us out with this recording. for instance, I wanted some gospel like backing vocals on my R&B song titled Blues Take Me Home. Donald Mayes, former member of the 60's R&B vocal group The Flamingos (I only Have Eyes For You), and his wife Shanna came highly recommended to do the honors.

Imported from 100 miles further down south in Pontotoc Mississippi was Terry "Harmonica" Bean. Terry is a great harp player and an artist in his prime! He has been carving a very well respected reputation for himself on the southern blues festival and club circuit for many years. Terry came in with absolutely no rehearsal and laid down some of the best blues harmonica I have ever heard. Terry plays on five of the 12 songs on this record and we are tickled to death that he drove 100 miles to take the time to do it!
This recording was not a result of layered tracks but was done "on the spot", live in the studio, with the whole band in one room. Only backing vocals overdubbed. Some editing and touching up were done in the remixing process but this recording is basically recorded "Live and Raw".

Johnny Roy - Singer/Guitarist
Guitarist & blues and R&B crooner Johnny Roy, with his former band Jumpstreet and Jack O'Diamonds, has over 20 years of blues experience under his belt, fronting and/or backing up artists such as Johnny Copeland, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Son Seals, Jimmy Johnson, Bo Diddley, Roy Buchanan, Lonnie Mack, Koko Taylor, etc.. Johnny humbly acknowledges and realizes that he has learned so much about the blues from the experiences of seeing and hearing these legends perform first hand.

Johnny's personal style of singing and stinging blues guitar licks has entertained audiences as far as
The Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street in
Memphis and on the stages of such pretigious blues venues as The Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis.

For More Information Please come visit.... johnnyroy.com