THE MANNISH BOYS "THAT REPRESENT MAN" Liner Notes by Scott Dirks

The current edition of The Mannish Boys features a veritable one-band blues festival of talent; most of the members either lead or are integral members of successful touring and recording bands. Veteran front man Finis Tasby is unquestionably one of the most soulful and dynamic blues singers working today; sharing the vocal duties and adding his full-toned blues harp is Johnny Dyer, widely acclaimed as one of the last keepers of the old-school Chicago-style blues flame. On guitar is David “Kid” Ramos, long-time member of the James Harman Band, and later The Fabulous Thunderbirds, among many others. Ramos has also released a series of smoking hot CDs with his own band, and has received over a dozen W.C. Handy Award nominations. Fiery blues guitar virtuoso Frank “Paris Slim” Goldwasser is second to none – a master at a variety of blues styles from low-down Delta grit to sophisticated swinging jazz, he’s been leading his own successful bands for over two decades, and has appeared on countless recordings as both a leader and a sideman. Piano man Leon Blue honed his skills alongside the boogie-woogie masters of the 1940s, and has played with the three “Kings” of the blues – Albert, Freddie, and B.B. – plus over a decade with The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and just about every other blues or R&B name that comes to mind; he’s also a featured vocalist with The Mannish Boys. The band’s rock-steady backbone is supplied by two highly experienced and respected blues/R&B veterans: Tom Leavey on bass, and Richard Innes on drums, both of whom have been playing professionally since the 1960s. Leavey’s lengthy resume includes work with Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, Otis Rush, Frank Frost, Billy Boy Arnold, and many others; Richard Innes has been the ‘first call’ drummer for everyone from Little Richard, Lightin Hopkins to T-Bone Walker to Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Finally, impresario / emcee Randy Chortkoff is not only the man ‘behind the curtain’, he’s also a superb blues harmonica player and singer in his own right, who led his own bands for many years before assembling the extraordinary blues revue now known around the world as The Mannish Boys.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already heard the word: The Mannish Boys are one of the most universally acclaimed new blues bands, both live and on record, since the heyday of the blues genre a half century ago. Led by powerhouse vocalist Finis Tasby, and modeled after the hard-hitting, non-stop-entertainment revues of years gone by, this flexible ensemble of the very best blues players and singers on the West Coast started out at the top of the game, and have only gotten better as they’ve honed and polished their skills as a unit over the last year and a half. But don’t take my word for it – read some of the reviews:

“The blues is joy. The blues is pain. The blues is love. The blues is the groove. You did get all that and more watching and hearing the L.A. blues super group The Mannish Boys…” - Positively Entertainment

“That Represent Man is one of the year's most satisfying recordings.” - Blues Revue Magazine

“The Mannish Boys have what it takes to preserve the music that deserves to be called our national treasure.” - Southland Blues Magazine

“…a tasty slab of supercharged R&B .” - Blues & Rhythm magazine

“…it was the Mannish Boys who really pulled out the blues by the roots and shook off the earth.” - Edmonton Journal

“…Kid Ramos proved he's darn near peerless these days on six strings - maybe the best blues guitarist in the world right now.” - Edmonton Sun

“This L.A. based supergroup's recent appearance at the San Francisco Blues Festival was one of the highlights of the two day event….This is a wonderful collaboration of some of the best contemporary players alive today and one of our faves .” - Bluebeat Music

“Essential. It's this sort of recording that manages to keep the blues flame burning brightly for those who see our music suffering through a current low period. It's doubtful that a better hand-picked band could be chosen...a late entry for one of 2004's high points.” - Craig Ruskey /Blindman’s Blues Forum

“The current West Coast blues scene is rich in blues talent and there have been some terrific records from West Coast bluesman and blues ladies in recent years. A good chunk of that talent can been found in a West Coast super group who calls themselves The Mannish Boys and who have just issued their debut, "That Represent Man", which is hands down one of the year's finest albums. The term super group usually refers to some top heavy, bloated rock aggregation but the term is used in the best sense here. The Mannish Boys feature the absolute cream of the crop of West Coast blues veterans and young bloods ….If you're looking for real deal blues this is it…The Mannish Boys is an all-star group in every sense and the whole record comes off spectacularly.” - Bad Dog Blues

“…the band rocks and shuffles with abandon and impeccable taste; they’ve mastered the art of being both musically on-target and emotionally uninhibited, so the danger of ‘museum piece’ fustiness is mostly avoided. … ‘Keeping the blues alive’ may be a cliché, but in the hands of artists like this, the music itself will never be…” - Living Blues magazine

“Subtlety and years of practice are the keys The Mannish Boys twist to unlock an hour’s worth of great blues on That Represent Man….this new group—vets both young and old—uses pure feel to draw in and then bowl over its audiences.” - Hittin ’ That Note/Compact Dreams #45

“…you can have no doubts that you are in for a real blues treat.” - Blues In Britain magazine

“…The [Mannish] Boys are tight, treacherous, and terrific.” - Popular Music & Society magazine

“…a stellar crew…one of the finest West Coast (with a touch of Louisiana and Chicago ) Blues CDs of the last decade.” - Real Blues Magazine

"That Represent Man" is simply one of the best blues recordings I have ever heard! This is the blues as it's meant to be heard, The Mannish Boys have poured their heart and soul into this recording and it is an experience that should not be missed!... I have to be honest and let you know that I kept this CD in my player for two weeks straight, what a joy this is to listen too.” - Bandit Blue Radio

…and so on.

From their very first show together, The Mannish Boys have been wowing their audiences with stunning virtuosity coupled with deeply rooted soul. Virtually every show has been a blockbuster, garnering rave reviews such as those above. And as hard as it may be to believe, The Mannish Boys have continued to get better, earning comparisons to the legendary “ headcutting ” bands of the ‘50s, who made a sport of stealing gigs, and audiences, from bigger and better known bands.

Following on the heals of their highly acclaimed debut release “That Represent Man” at the end of 2004, in 2005 edition of the Mannish Boys – augmented by the notable additions of seasoned blues vets Kid Ramos on guitar and Richard Innes on drums - undertook their first trip to Europe for a series of high-profile appearances, culminating at the prestigious Blues Passions festival in Cognac, France, opening the show for rock legend Joe Cocker before a sold-out crowd of thousands. The high powered, super-dynamic show put on by the Mannish Boys stunned the largely unsuspecting crowd; the band grabbed them by the collars and shook them up so thoroughly that by the end of their set, a near riot ensued as the entire crowd roared “Encore, encore! ”. Joe Cocker’s crew wouldn’t permit it, and pulled the plug before the Mannish Boys were able to even make their way back to the stage.

Riding this wave of adrenaline, the band returned home and launched into a brief tour of the west coast and into Canada , each show eliciting responses similar to the triumph in France , building momentum up to their stellar performance at the Winthrop Blues Festival in Washington . Fortuitous circumstances put a full professional recording crew on site for the show, and someone had the foresight to hit the “record” button, even though a recording of their set was not part of the original plan.

The results were powerful, and stunning, and entirely representative of the way The Mannish Boys have been tearing up stages around the US , and the world. Because of the collective nature of the ensemble, with various members coming and going as their schedules with other bands allow, it was evident after hearing the recordings of this outstanding performance that this edition of The Mannish Boys had gelled together on stage and ignited in a way that even the unanimously praised earlier incarnation of the band had not. This lightning was too powerful to be kept in a bottle. And the result is the CD you’re holding right now – the culmination of several lifetimes of collective experiences on stages around the world by the members of one of the greatest blues bands to come along in many a moon – The Mannish Boys. This is not just a band, not just a concert, not just a CD, but a historic blues event captured for posterity. An event and a band destined to be talked about with awe by blues fans around the world in the years to come.