Circle the 8th of March in your diaries Bonn Blues lovers – The RUF Records Blues Caravan is coming back to The Harmonie.
Would you believe, it’s been seventeen years since Thomas Ruf first had the brainwave of a showcase
tour. Three rising stars from the roster of Europe’s most respected boutique record label.
Three live sets that run the gamut of emotion and genre. And a finale each night, featuring the mother of all live jams, with all three performers cutting loose together.
‘Where the Blues Crosses over’ is how RUF Records describe the music they offer. On this the tenth Anniversary of their Blues Caravan Tour it was very definitely crossing over into Rock, and you didn’t need the tattoo of Hendrix on the shoulder of Christina Skjölberg to tell you that, it pounded out of the speakers from three relatively unknown musicians who all clearly wanted to say ‘Here I Am’. It’s a hard old musical world out there though so who has the looks and the licks to succeed? Christina Skjolberg, Laurence Jones and Albert Castiglia – let battle commence…
My first memories of Denis Palatin come from a review I did of Ana Popovic at Cafe Hahn in Koblenz some years ago. I remember he was at the bar with Ana’s then bassist Fabrice Ach after doing the early evening soundcheck and it struck me that he was still tapping his fingers on the bar counter in between sips of coffee. Even taking a break he seemed in search of rhythm it seemed. I’d jokingly asked if his neighbor’s were relieved whenever he went off on Tour – living next-door to a drummer must be Hell I suggested, unless you’re deaf, and even then it must be unpleasant when the plaster jumps from the ceiling. Maybe, I pondered,it was one of those neighbors who in a search for peace and quiet gave Thomas Ruf a call and suggested Denis would make an excellent Road drummer for RUF’s Touring Show the Blues Caravan? Or quite possibly Mr Ruf saw Palatin, with his congenial temperament and adaptable drum technique, as the perfect man for the job. After asking my first question in 2006 it seemed time for another, and following the Show at Bonn Harmonie I asked it, and another…
The official video for 2013’s RUF Records Blues Caravan with Jimmy Bowskill, Bart Walker & Joanne Shaw-Taylor.
Thomas Ruf in Bonn 2011
RUF Records currently feature an excellent interview with Founder and CEO Thomas Ruf on their website.
Ruf shares his memories of legends Luther Allison and Louisiana Red, suggests that the heart of Blues Music comes from Musicians playing for love rather than money, and reveals ‘ghostly goings on’ during a recording on Beale Street…
INTERVIEW ON RUF WEBSITE
Following the Blues Caravan show almost a year ago to the day here at the Harmonie the question was – ‘Is Bonn ready for ‚More Girls with Guitars’?‘ The packed house that turned out was an emphatic YES! And Dani Wilde, Sam Fish and Victoria Smith, aided by drummer Denis Palatin, rewarded them with an explosive set of hard hitting music on high heels.
A rock can be smoothe or it can be, well, rocky. The same can be said of Rock Musicians. If you were at Tuesdays Harmonie concert with Meena Cryle and Erja Lyytinen then you will certainly know what I mean. Meena, sporting an Elvis T-shirt and faded jeans, Erja in figure hugging short black dress with feather draped shoulders. Meena with wild hair falling where it will, Erja with coiffered locks trimmed to precision above precisely defined eyebrows. Most importantly of all – Meena with a raw, pleading, Joplinesque voice, Erja’s vocals flowing like silky smooth chocolate. Continue reading
