THE BLAZERS-Red Hot Blues Rock: PRESS & REVIEWS

© 2011 Hello Music Feedback Report - Based on our listen, the following aspects of this release are outstanding. Keep building on these strengths. Excellent Qualities :

Performance:

Vocals - Lead

Lead vocals are the first thing that most listeners pay attention to, so a great performance is essential. Your lead vocals really grabbed us. We don't tag a lot of releases as having great lead vocals, so this is an excellent strength for you to have.

Instruments - Lead

We felt the instrumental leads on this track were tuneful, interesting and well-articulated. There's no overplaying here, and nothing seems to be lacking either. Spot on.

Vocals - Background

Great background vocals can really enrich a melody and song. Yours impressed us.

***From the guestbook....

Lauren
January 29, 2011

Hey!! Saw you guys perform last night at the bar in Stouffville.
Just want to say thank you sharing your talent. I'm growing to this genre of music...loving the lively energy.
You guys were really, really great and I LOVED dancing to your music!!!!
Cheers to all of you!! Keep in touch :)

P.S. I mentioned to the lead singer about referencing you guys in my book which is being edited right now. Let me know if that's cool!

***Review on our CD...

This kinda music is the music that keeps you company whenever you want it. It's the kind of tune that warms you up when you're sipping on your drink, watching the sunset. The type of beat that can push you to move, yet the kind of melody that keeps you calm.
Love it :)

Hi Pete: The hardest thing to do in this world sometimes is to find 5 spare minutes. Anyway, finally found them so I just wanted to drop a line to tell you that I have listened to the CDs you sent me several times now and am enjoying them thoroughly. They were great company on my recent trip - you are right, music does all kinds of things including adding happiness when most of it has temporarily slipped away - and they are in my ever-changing pile of favorite CDs that I cannot live without. Your voice is perfect! My favorite song by far is "Wake Up", maybe because I can relate to just bopping through the day with my headphones on, can't hear all the crap because the music is drowning it all out.

So there you have it, my mini-review. Thanks again for sharing your music with me because music is my very favorite thing in the whole world!

k, my 5 minutes is up and I'm outta here. Bye!

Lynda Palimas

The Blazers are one of Canada’s finest blues bands, with each member (Pete Cohan – lead vocals, percussion; Josh Gordon – guitar, back-up vocals; Andrew Taylor – bass; Chris Craig – drums) a veteran of the Ontario blues scene. They’ve been playing together for six years (formerly called The Jukes), and specialize in high-energy rock-based blues. Listening to their recent release, Red Hot (Route Records), it’s easy to see why they’re such crowd-pleases in the Great White North.

Red Hot consists of eleven original tunes, ranging from the rocking opener, “Flavor of the Year,” to the blue-eyed soul of “I Love You, Eternally,” to the roadhouse rocker, “Coming Home,” to the Texas-flavored slow blues, “Never Gonna Cry Again,” to the soul/blues of “My Weather.” “Wake Up” is a funky rocker, and “I’m Standing Here” has a jazzy feel. “King’s Highway” is the requisite road song, and it’s a good one to plug in while you’re headed to the house after a tough day of work.

Cohan is a strong vocalist, and Gordon does yeoman’s work on guitar, showing a ton of versatility in his playing. The rhythm section of Taylor and Craig hold things together splendidly. Lending a hand are Canadian guitar legend Jack DeKeyzer, who plays on five tracks, Al Lerman on sax and harmonica, and Dave McMorrow on keyboards, bu t the Blazers really don’t need a lot of help. As a group, they can really rock the house.

Blues/rock fans will find a lot to love about Red Hot.

Still # 2 on the Top 10 Blues Albums
1)Les Copeland** - Don't Let the Devil In (Earwig)
2)The Blazers* - Red Hot (Independent)
3)Bettye Lavette – Interpretations (Anti)
4)Harpdog Brown/Graham Guest* - Above and Beyond (Dog Breath)
5)John Nemeth – Name the Day! (Blind Pig)
6)Whiteboy Slim* - I'm Still Here (Independent)
7)Foghat – Last Train Home (Foghat)
8)Madison Blues Band* - Watch Me (Independent)
9)Various Artists – This is the Blues Vol. 1 (Eagle)
10)Cyril Neville – The Essential Cyril Neville 1994-2007 (MC)

--
CFBX 92.5 FM, Cable 106.1 - The X
Campus/Community Radio in Kamloops, BC
Steve Marlow, Music Director. Brant Zwicker, Station Manager

Hey hey...#28 on the Top 30 all genre charts! Artist - Album (Label)

1) Sarah Harmer* - Oh Little Fire (Cold Snap)
2) Allison Brown* - Viper at the Virgin's Feet (Independent)
3) Various Artists - Tribute to a Reggae Legend (Putumayo)
4) Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 1 (Konichiwa)
5) Jane Vain and the Dark Matter* - Give Us Your Hands (Rectangle)
6) The Acorn* - No Ghost (Paper Bag)
7) Stars* - The Five Ghosts (Soft Revolution)
8) Maylee Todd* - Choose Your Own Adventure (Do Right!)
9) Seven Story Redhead* - Shake it Out! (Independent)
10) Les Copeland** - Don't Let the Devil In (Earwig)
11) Zoo Lion* - Nothing Automatic (Independent)
12) Pyramid* - What Time Does the Balloon Go Up? (Independent)
13) DVAS* - Society (Upper Class)
14) Various Artists - The World Ends (Sound Way)
15) Ginger St. James and the Grinders* - Spank Sparkle and Shine (Independent)
16) Cyclist* - Double Dip (Dublum)
17) Nushi* - Future Hazards (Independent)
18) We Hunt Buffalo* - We Hunt Buffalo EP (Independent)
19) The Boyfriends* - Lead and Follow (Independent)
20) Jesse Polk-Lewis* - Still Time (Independent)
21) Kele - The Boxer (Glassnote)
22) Wheat and Water* - Left Hand Blue (Independent)
23) Cat Empire – Cinema (Two Shoes)
24) Keith and Renee* - Detours (Independent)
25) The Adicts - Life Goes On (People Like Your)
26) Kids on Fire* - Kids on Fire (Transistor 66)
27) Tokyo Police Club* - Champ (Mean Beard)
28) The Blazers* - Red Hot (Independent)
29) Royal Canoe* - Co-Op Mode (Head in the Sand)
30) Bent by Elephants* - This is Water (Independent)

--
CFBX 92.5 FM, Cable 106.1 - The X
Kamloops, BC
Steve Marlow, Music Director. Brant Zwicker, Station Manager

The Blazers debut CD hits #2 on the charts! CFBX 92.5 FM, Cable 106.1 - The X http:/www.TheX.ca

Top 10 Blues Albums
1)Joan Armatrading – This Charming Life (429)
2)The Blazers* - Red Hot (Independent)
3)John Nemeth – Name the Day! (Blind Pig)
4)Cee Cee James – Seriously Raw (PWG)
5)Marshall Lawrence* - Blues Intervention (Independent)
6)Les Copeland** - Don't Let the Devil In (Earwig)
7)Whiteboy Slim* - I'm Still Here (Independent)
8)Magic Slim and the Teardrops – Raising the Bar (Blind Pig)
9)Cyril Neville – The Essential Cyril Neville 1994-2007 (MC)
10)Rocky Jackson – Testify (High Life)

CFBX 92.5 FM, Cable 106.1 - The X
Kamloops, BC
Steve Marlow, Music Director. Brant Zwicker, Station Manager

Hey hey...The Blazers hit the Top 30 Charts @ #29 and hit the Top 10 Blues albums at #4 - www.thex.ca
CFBX 92.5 FM, 350 Watts
Kamloops, BC
Music Director: Steve Marlow
Charts to August 6, 2010
...* indicates Canadian Content
** indicates a local artist

Artist - Album (Label)

1) Annie Lou* - Annie Lou (Independent)
2) Mississippi Live* - Mississippi Live (Independent)
3) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)
4) Mystery Jets – Serotonin (Rough Trade)
5) Joan Armatrading - This Charming Life (429)
6) The Sadies* - Darker Circles (Outside)
7) Phantom Creeps* - Phantom Creeps (Independent)
8) Michou* - Cardona (Green and Gold)
9) The Beatdown* - The Beatdown (Stomp)
10) Fred Eaglesmith* - Cha Cha Cha (Lonesome Day)
11) Peter Fraize - Organic Matter (Union)
12) Behind Sapphire* - Behind Sapphire (Independent)
13) Cee Cee James - Seriously Raw (PWG)
14) Martin Sexton – Sugarcoating (Kitchen Table)
15) Lab Coast* - Wilding (Independent)
16) The Acorn* - No Ghost (Paper Bag)
17) Moonshine Ramblers* - Moonshine Ramblers (Independent)
18) The Whitsundays* - Saul (Friendly Fire)
19) Fjord Rowboat* - Under Cover of Brightness (Independent)
20) Wendy Bird* - Natural Wonder (Beaumont Classic)
21) Delorean – Subiza (True Panther Sounds)
22) We Are Action* - We Are Action (Superbob)
23) Black Keys – Brothers (Nonesuch)
24) Cowboy Junkies* - Remnin Park (Latent)
25) Jana Keeley* - Trouble (Prairie Girl)
26) John Nemeth - Name the Day! (Blind Pig)
27) Hot Live Guys* - External Culture for Internal Barbarians (Transistor 66)
28) Shannon Butcher* - Little Hearts (Summer Bloom)
29) The Blazers* - Red Hot (Independent)
30) Christopher Smith* - The Beckon Call (Boompa)

The Blazers – Red Hot

Torontonians Pete Cohan, Josh Gordon, Andrew Taylor and Chris Craig previously known as The Jukes are The Blazers. Rhythm and blues, high energy, high level are just a few of the phrases that can describe them. Guests such as Al Lerman and Jack DeKeyzer on this album certainly bring in dynamics that are superb. The Blazers kick butt on songs like I Love You, Eternally and Flavour of the Year. Their diversity of funk, swing, rocking blues with smatterings of harp and sax make this an album you’ll want in your collection! – EB-Bluesday CKUW

Eleanor Reimer aka E.B. Bluesday CKUW 95.9FM
Tuesdays 8 to 11 pm
www.ckuw.ca

The Blazers debut CD - RED HOT sneaks up to #4 in the Top 10 Blues Albums

CFBX 92.5 FM 350 Watts Kamloops, BC
Steve Marlow, Music Director
Charts for July 2010
http://www.thex.ca

Top 10 Blues Albums
1)Rocky Jackson – Testify (High Life)
2)Magic Slim and the Teardrops – Raising the Bar (Blind Pig)
3)Bettye LaVette – Interpretations (Anti)
4)The Blazers* - Red Hot (Independent)
5)Marshall Lawrence* - Blues Intervention (Independent)
6)Janiva Magness – The Devil is an Angel Too (Alligator)
7)Southside Denny Snyder* - Full Circle (Independent)
8)John Nemeth – Name the Day (Blind Pig)
9)Ken Tucker – Juke Joint Serenade (Benevolent)
10)Travis “Moonchild” Haddix – If I'm One, You're One Too (Benevolent)

The Blazers debut CD - RED HOT at #7 in the Top 10 Blues Albums

CFBX 92.5 FM 350 Watts Kamloops, BC
Steve Marlow, Music Director
Specialty Charts for July 2010
* indicates Canadian Content
** indicates a local artist Artist - Album (Label)

Top 10 Blues Albums
1)Marshall Lawrence* - Blues Intervention (Independent)
2)Janiva Magness – The Devil Is an Angel Too (Alligator)
3)Southside Denny Snyder* - Full Circle (Independent)
4)Peter Karp/Sue Foley* - He Said, She Said (Blind Pig)
5)Travis “Moonchild” Haddix – If I'm One, You're One Too (Benevolent)
6)Rob Hudec* - Dandelion (Independent)
7)The Blazers* - Red Hot (Route)
8)Bluesmasters – Featuring Mickey Thomas (Independent)
9)Urban Cowboy* - Urban Cowboy (Disco Fairy)
10)Little Miss Higgins* - Across the Plains (Independent)

"Just an FYI your only the second band to play here where I have had email/facebook messages asking for you back." - Guy Fortier

"Hey just wanted to say great Band on Sat.. The guys rocked.. YOu HAVE to have them back sometime!!! They gave us a CD and it's pretty good!!" -
Lynn Cloutier- Binette

Sat. July 10th 2010 - Show @ The Lavigne Tavern

Excellent album coming from The Blazers, leaded by the faultless Pete Cohan’s voice, who, as usual, shows amazing vocal conditions. The rest of the band are Josh Gordon on guitar, Andrew Taylor on bass and Chris Craig on drums, You will also find three deluxe guest musicians, organ and piano player David McMorrow, together with two winners of reputed Canadian JUNO Awards, guitar player Jack de Keyzer and singer, harmonica and sax player Al Lerman. All them do a remarkable work that will be greatly appreciated and valued by aficionados. A bright selection of songs, full of a powerful intensity and joy, perfect to dance, on a splendid mixture of the best rock ‘n’ roll, swing, funky, groove and tons of ‘rockin’ rhythm & blues’ is what you will find along the whole cd. The Blazers are a flamboyant explosive band with clear ideas of what they want to do, who are gradually reaching a great popularity among Canadian audience, specially in Toronto area where they basically move and regularly play. Taverns, clubs, pizza-diners, barbecue grills, theatre halls and other venues and festivals are the normal places to find them live showing what they are able to do. GREAT.

Alligator Records, Chicago, Illinois - Bruce Iglauer, President of Alligator
http://www.alligator.com

*4 Song Review from the album - RED HOT

Alligator Records is the largest independent blues label in the world with a catalog of over 200 titles. Its recordings have won more awards than any other contemporary blues label, including a total of 34 Grammy© nominations (two wins), 18 Indie Awards from the Association For Independent Music (AFIM) and three Grand Prix du Disque awards. Alligator and its artists have won a total of 70 W.C. Handy Blues Awards, the blues community’s highest honor.

*Never Gonna Cry Again* -- as the bluesiest song so far, this is hitting me by far the best. Everyone is taking his time, there is good interplay between the instruments, the harp has fat tone, the vocal is telling the story and has good pitches. the guitar solos and the harp all take there time. The rhythm section is very solid and the drummer is offering some accents and fills that help the song. Well done, sir.

*Blind Sided* -- another energetic rocking blues. A tight performance, well done. Good harp (I like the harp player quite alot) with a nice sense of melody and phrasing. The busier guitar works ok here because of the energy level of the overall song.

*Coming Home* -- this rocks pretty hard. Lyrically pretty familiar turf, but I like the energy and aggressive attitude.

*I Love You Enernally* -- this has almost a 50's vocal vibe, with that sort of Elvis-style vibrato. The sax works here, and the song is kind of fun...well performed.

The Blind Lemon Top 20 Canadian Blues Albums of 2009! CHMR 93.5 FM

THE BLAZERS - RED HOT comes in at #18 !!!!

For the past Month, I have been working my ample ass down to almost Normal preparing for tonight’s show. This year’s poll almost doubled last years in a response.
Thank you to all who voted... and all who help with this years show.

SHOW: Blind Lemon Blues DATE: January 11, 2010
TIME: 9-11 PM NAME: Terry Parsons/ Craig Hilliard

Tonight’s list is a combination of the email poll and online poll. The
results are listed starting from #20 and ending at #1.

ARTIST & TITLE ALBUM

20. Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt - Make A Better World Slide To Freedom 2
19. Jim Byrnes - One Life (Creole Poetry) My Walking Stick
18. The Blazers - Keep It Together Red Hot
17. The Twisters - Something's Gotta Give Come Out Swingin'
16 . Raoul & The Bigtime - Where The Wind Blows Onshore You My People
15. Braithwaite & Whitely - Night Bird Blues Night Bird Blues
14. Harrison Kennedy - One Dog Barkin' One Dog Barkin'
13. Colin Linden - Between The Darkness & The Light Of Day From The Water
12. David Gogo - Too Good To Stop Different Views
11. Paul Reddick - John Lennon In New Orleans Sugarbird
10. Monkeyjunk - I Wanna Put A Tiger In Your Tank Tiger In Your Tank
9. Chris Kirby - Come Clean Vampire Hotel
8. Downchild - I Need A Hat I Need A Hat
7. Mike "Shrimp Daddy" Reid - Few Bricks Shy Messin' With My System
6. Blackburn - Movin' Brotherhood
5. David Rotundo - Don't Lie To Me No Lookin' Back
4. Terry Blersh - Tryin' Terry Blersh
3. Jeff Healey Band - While My Guitar Gently Weeps Songs From The Road
2. Layla Zoe - I've Been Down The Firegirl
1. Danny Brooks - Caldonia Soulsville 3

Honourable Mentions
Clio & The Blues Highway - Stuck In Memphis My First Blues
Blues Delight - Foolish Thing Open All Night
Harry Manx - Nine Summers Lost Bread & Buddha
Rick Jeffery - 13 Vultures 13 Vultures

Blues Underground Network - John Vermilyea

I give this CD, my highest rating, Five * * * * *
Excellent CD... Thoroughly enjoyed it... Highly Recommended...

Before you listen to "Red Hot", be sure to Fasten your seatbelts, cause these boys aren't slowin' down on the corners...
The Blazers had all the ingredients and have cooked up a winner of a Debut Album, Traditional Blues, Rockin' Blues, and a little Classic Rock thrown in for good measure...

Another Fabulous Canadian Blues Band to be very proud of...John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

http://www.bluesundergroundnetwork.com/The_Blazers_CD.html

Foley Entertainment - Eugene Foley

The Blazers scored very well. I was impressed with the entire disc, but the highlights for me were the musicianship and lyrics...Great musical chops across the board!...When an artist sees 4, 4.5 or 5 as their score in a category, it's a validation from a professional, confirming that the songs are of the highest level and show strong potential in the ultra-competitive music industry...I don't give out 4's and 5's easily, so any of those you see, you have earned. Well done!

RATING SCALE
"1" Indicates the Lowest Score
"5" Indicates The Highest Score

The Blazers album RED HOT Score :

Recording Quality/Production: 4
Musicianship: 4.5
Lyric Writing: 4.5
Lead Vocals: 4
Music Composing: 4
Melodies: 5
Song Arrangement: 4

The Blues Underground Network's - Featured Canadian Blues Artist for Noveber 2009 - The Blazers
http://www.bluesundergroundnetwork.com/November2009/The_Blues_Report_Ezine.html
Featured Canadian Blues Artist - The Blazers

SOCKMAN REPORTS - Review of CD release party show - Sat. Oct 10th 2009

"On Saturday I traveled to Collingwood...I drove back to TIMOTHY'S PUB on Brown's Line in South Etobicoke to take in THE BLAZERS CD Release Party with special guest Al Lerman. It was an excellent show and this group certainly knows how to ROCK and Roll!"

Audley Street Recording
Review of CD release party show & CD Review - Sat. Oct 10th 2009
Special Guests 2 x Juno winner Al Lerman & Guenther Kapelle from Wild T & The Spirit

"The great songwriting and the performances on the CD notwithstanding, I'd like to say that the recording itself is just spectacular...This is a very mature production for a little blues band. Secondly, a drop ...dead excellent live performance by Al (Lerman) and "Andrew" Guenther (Kapelle) (boy did AT get big fast!!!). Most important thanks to my "homie" Josh for putting on another "shredder" clinic for me, as I'm always in the front row trying to learn something new.
All the best to the Blazers and your endeavors. Missed you AT."

Yours truly
Denzil - Audley Street Recording

GARY 17
GREAT LIVE NOISE –October 8, 2009

The importance of gratitude for what we already have has been brought home to the GTA live music scene recently by news that two of its multi-genre, behind-the-scenes icons are going through very difficult times. Multiple Juno-winning recording engineer, producer and bass player to the stars, Alec Fraser, is suffering from a rare but life-threatening infection known as MRSA. Meanwhile, drummer/promoter-impresario and a scion of the Long & McQuade Musical Instruments family, Jon Long, is still in serious condition in hospital ten days after suffering head injuries sustained when he was struck by a bicyclist while crossing the street in front of the family’s flagship store on Bloor West. Along with the thanks you give this weekend, ask for some blessings to be sent their way for full recoveries.

RECOMMENDED:

• Sat. Oct. 10, 9:30, Timothy’s Pub (344 Brown’s Line), free: The Blazers, CD release. High-energy blues act formerly known as The Jukes.

Toronto Blues Society – CD Review
The Blazers - Red Hot - Route Records

"This group of veteran players have been working together for six years (they were previously known as The Jukes) and they style their music as “kick ass rockin’ blues”. Pete Cohan is the singer; Josh Gordan’s on guitar, Chris Craig is on drums and Andrew Taylor plays bass. They have some famous friends: Jack de Keyzer produced this disc and added guitar on 5 songs, Al Lerman guests on harp & sax throughout, David McMorrow guests on keys and Alec Fraser recorded the proceedings. With good material, this is a guaranteed recipe for success in my opinion. They have the material, much of it written by Cohan & Gordon. Cohan is a very good singer, switching easily from the rocking blues of “Flavour of the Year” to the soul sound of “I Love You, Eternally” to the slow blues “Never Gonna Cry Again” or the funky, Stones-ish “Wake Up”. “The King’s Highway” is their contribution to road songs and it’s a very good one. It should get everyone up dancing and yelling when their town comes up. Nice harp from Lerman. “Flavour of the Year” & “Wake Up” are other highlights. There are a couple of CD Release Parties: Timothy’s Pub at 344 Brown’s Line in Etobicoke on October 10th and at The Harp & Crown, in Pickering at 300 Kingston Road on Saturday, October 17th. Find out more at www.theblazers.net "

TBS (OCT 2009)

La Hora del Blues - 96.6 Barcelona FM - Spain

"High level band with a huge experience along Canadian Blues circles. They fluently perform an excellent effective mixture of blues, rhythm and blues, funk, swing, rockabilly and rock...The arrangements of the original covers have got great quality with a cool lush sound...a solid band with a powerful guitar sound and an delightful daring vibrato. Josh Gordon guitar solos have a personal stamp with very close Texan references which give them a straight charisma, something not very usual among many actual guitar players. Toronto musical scene can be proud of that excellent band.

Bruce Iglauer - Alligator Records Chicago, IL

*Drinking All Night - "Grooves well, and you sound like you're having fun. Really good guitar work. I'm sure this gets across well live where people can holler along."
*What A Night - "I can tell a lot of work went into the lyrics here, and there is some clever writing...Nice organ solo and good groove"
*Will She Go - "nicely slinky groove. Lyrics kept my attention. Again, good guitar solo."
*Drowning Man - "most enjoyable track so far, just because everyone feels so comfortable. Nice use of alternate chord voicings on the bridge."
*Run Dear Boy - "good boogaloo groove. One of your better vocals with some nice vibrato. Good intensity. One of my favorites. Good guitar solo too."
*Summertime - "enjoyable swinging version of this classic. I liked it".

701.com - Sue Andreychuk

It is a treat to listen to players that have spent years honing their skills in and around the Toronto Blues scene. They do remind me of The Stray Cats mixed with classic Blues Brothers energy—and I am talking about the first movie, folks, not those scary sequels!
This CD is really a teaser for what I imagine is really hot show to experience live. They play constantly so check them out at a local watering hole near you. And, oh yeah, buy the CD too. "