Music
Press
"...the J. Dorsey Blues Band is well versed in classic Blues, but bring a new, modern twist to the proceedings...the band infuses traditional 12-bar Blues standards with a modern melancholy, taken from a collection of fresh troubles.
Their searing callback to the days of the Delta invokes images of beat-up kicks and empty pockets, perfect fodder for a few dejected torch songs.
The Blues have always been about passing on your troubles.
Ever since the days of Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf, contemporary musicians took what they wanted from these traditional songs and made them their own.
But the J. Dorsey Blues Band (now Revival) takes it a step further than Led Zeppelin and The White Stripes. Dorsey says he's trying to educate people a bit. He wants people to know there's more out there than just Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton.
Although their musical foundation was built while standing on the shoulders of giants like Chuck Berry and Fred McDowell, their sound grew into an amalgamation, taking leads from Nick Cave's creepy Birthday Party all the way to The Beatles...rounding everything out with a touch of Funkadelia..."
---Sara Yaste, CityBeat, Cincinnati
- CityBeat, Cincinnati
• The J. Dorsey Blues Band formed three years ago as a duo and morphed into the quartet it is now, featuring Josh Dorsey on guitar and vocals, drummer Andrew Karas, bassist Mike Gregory and Kristen Kreft on keys and vocals. The band’s evolution continues with a recently announced “slight” name change; you can soon call them The J. Dorsey Blues Revival. The band chose the name shift in honor of Dorsey’s late father (who used to play with Josh and his brother as Big Daddy’s Blues Revival in Pennsylvania) and their desire to “revive” the Blues and bring back some of the grit and soul of the music’s founders.
The band is currently gearing up for the release of its debut album, Get Right Church (recorded with Heartless Bastards/Sundresses boardsman Brian Niesz at Ultrasuede Studios), with a string of local shows. (The name change takes effect upon the CD’s release.) The band is February’s “Artist in Residency” at the Southgate House, playing the club’s Junie’s Lounge each Wednesday with a rotating cast of special guests. This week, the band is joined by Jason Snell and Paul Brumm of The Chocolate Horse; on Feb. 18, Matthew Shelton and The Wishbone (featuring members of The Turkeys) join the bill; and on Feb. 25, the group appears with Veronica Grim and Forest Horn of The Mudpies. All shows are free.
The J. Dorsey Blues Band also appears Saturday at Northside Tavern for the free “Valentine’s Day Massacre” show, which also features The Sundresses and The Prohibitionists.
Mike Breen
- CityBeat, Cincinnati
Discography
Worried Blues:EP
Get Right Church:LP
Photos
Bio
The J.Dorsey Blues Band originated 3 years ago with Josh Dorsey (Heevahava, the Thirteens) and Adam Shelton (the Gordy Horn), a two man dirty Delta Blues Tribute with Josh on guitar(s) and vocals and Adam on a primitive drum kit. Through the past few years the band grew in and out of members as well as musical content bringing it to its current line up.
Kristen Kreft (Toulouse Fleausaise, back up singer for Kenny Smith and Pearlene) on the Wurlitzer electric piano, now shares vocals and songwriting with Josh adding a soulful almost R&B feel at times paying homage to legends such as Nina Simone, Otis Redding, and Memphis Minnie. Mike “Mugsy” Gregory (the Thirteens, the Thangs, the Cole Brothers) puts a straight ahead Rock n’ Roll bass to the line up, contrary to the “all too familiar modern smooth Blues”. Andrew Karas’s (Lab Jackets, Nati Kangs, Airwave) drums keep the Funk and Boogie alive with infectious rhythm and incredible energy.
All this sound was inspired by Josh Dorsey’s band in State College Pennsylvania, “Big Daddy’s Blues Revival”, with Josh on guitars and vocals, his brother Justin on bass, and his father (State College Blues Legend) Bobby D. on drums. After Bobby D’s bout with pancreatic cancer and untimely death, Josh is determined to pick up where he left off in State College and take the band to another level.
After 3 years as the J.Dorsey Blues Band, and two CEA nominations, the four members have decided to modify the band’s name as their music has evolved. The band is passionate about “reviving” the blues and bringing the much forgotten raw soul back to what we all have come to know as the Blues.
So in honor of Josh’s father, and the true heart of the music they create, we give you: The J.Dorsey Blues Revival.
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