Album Notes

King Mojo Allstars Vol. 3 : TGZ, Big Shanty, Liz Melendez, Russell Gulley, Little G Weevil

TGZ is; Dan Toler the legendary guitar player formerly of the Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts & Great Southern, Ed Zinner the guitar power of Southern Legend and Jazz pianist Ron Gary. Three founding members come together to create an unrivaled combination of talent, passion and imagination. But, it doesn't stop there, other great musicians adding their flavors to the mix include; John Townsend, Tony Green, John McKnight, Avon Lucas, Matt Zeiner with special guests Viktor Krauss and Floyd Miles. Toler’s southern blues, Zinner’s rock and Gary’s jazz culminate into something magic that's best described as BLUSION!

Big Shanty's 2006 album stayed at the top of online radio charts worldwide for many months with fresh "Fusion/Blues". Shanty twists Club Beats, Alternative, Funk and Delta Blues into hypnotic dada rhythms that keep the dance floor shaking while he spins tales of cruising down back roads, lost love, good girls gone bad and living large. Shanty isn't afraid to funk-up traditional blues, or have contempt for war-mongering politicians [video]. Big Shanty sings without trepidation, his voice is as hard driven and purposeful as the heavy punch delivered by drummer Scott Robertson. Shanty debuts two new tracks on "Allstars, Vol. 3" from his next album.

Liz Melendez's guitar playing has been compared to everyone from Carlos Santana to Stevie Ray Vaughan and her voice is compared from Bonnie Raitt to Janis Joplin. She's considered by many to be one of the top-ten lead guitarists in the country, her live performances demonstrate her versatility, often paying homage to her influences as a highlight to her own clearly defined lead guitar and vocal style. Many believe Liz's guitar prowess alone puts her above her contemporaries, but when combined with the strength of her vocal ability and her skills as a songwriter she is a genuinely unique and powerful artist.

Russell Gulley was born in Rome, GA into a blue-collar family, dad in the forestry service and a mother in the cotton mills. Late at night he'd listen to far-away blues radio, and those blues stations became his music instructor along with the Pentecostal Church choir. It was the fervor of gospel music that provided the fire of early secular music, and it was in the church that Russell realized he had something in common with those early rock and rollers. Today, Russell has come into his own, his original songs and style speak to an era of "times gone by" and all it takes for you to be right there with him is just one listen.

Little G. Weevil is a remarkable young guitarist, singer and songwriter from London, England who really captures the essence of Memphis Blues. He was introduced to the blues of John Lee Hooker at age 17 and it ignited his music career, "it was like my grandfather telling his tales, and I thought... I am part of this, I feel it, I belong to this". Little G. has performed throughout the South, in famous Beale Street blues clubs in Memphis and shared the stage with many blues legends like Big Jack Johnson, The Neville Brothers, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, John Hammond, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Bobby Rush.