Jay Hooks - Live in Kellinghusen, Germany - GHOST DOG

Texas, USA has a long and historic tradition of turning out some of the greatest blues/rock artists of all time. Legends like Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Bobby Mack, and many others have produced some phenomenal blues rock. In fact, Texas blues/rock has become a genre unto itself. Jay Hooks can be added to this list. He regularly plays to audiences of thousands across Europe, and yet when he hits Houston, it's mostly the small bars and club venues where he hangs out. Jay is constantly overlooked as a great blues rock artist, even though he is an experienced and proven performer who has always preserved the great, traditional Texas blues/rock sound. Unlike many of his contemporaries who have "sold out" to playing mediocre "run-of-the mill" commercial blues rock, Jay has stayed loyal to the classic roots blues rock sound of the past, the kind of sound that helped to make the incomparable Stevie Ray and others so great. Jay Hooks is one hell of a good axeman, and "Live in Kellinghusen" is a great example of the traditional Texas blues/rock sound. Buy Jay's great "Redline" album. You won't be disappointed.

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TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Easy Way Out - Jay Hooks, Whitehead
Straight Whiskey - Jay Hooks, Whitehead
Strong Love - Jay Hooks, Whitehead
Last Stand - Broyal, Jay Hooks
Smothered - Jay Hooks, Whitehead
Findin' My Way Home - Jay Hooks, Whitehead
Last Time I Left Memphis - Broyal, Jay Hooks
Around the Moon - Broyal, Jay Hooks
Parchment Farm - Allison

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Jay Hooks: guitar, vocals
Brian Shoppell: drums

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ABOUT JAY HOOKS

Houston native Jay Hooks can stand shoulder to shoulder with the long list of Texas electric blues guitar legends he emulates. He grew up playing guitar on the Houston bar circuit throughout the late '70s and '80s, earning his stripes by playing in the shadow of local legends like Albert Collins and Billy Gibbons. Taking a nod from these sources, Hooks' was able to incorporate the highly typified electric blues/rock sound of Stevie Ray Vaughan with his affinity for more traditional blues influences. He received his first major exposure after he was asked to join Texas R&B die-hard "Miss" Lavelle White on a series of national tours. Hooks intermittently toured as White's guitarist for about a year before putting together a backing band and going solo in 1997. He went into the studio as a band leader and came out with his solo debut, Hooked Up. The album features a collection of gritty, rock-tinged electric blues numbers that didn't stray far outside the conventions that his aforementioned guitar heroes had brought into an international spotlight. That same spotlight also found Hooks at the end of the '90s when a European record executive by the name of Ed van Zyl heard the record and offered Hooks a contract with international marketing and distribution. The result of the contract was a self-titled sophomore effort that Hooks recorded under the guidance of producer Ben Elliot (whose resumé boasts the likes of Leslie West and Eric Clapton) for Provogue/Mascot Records. Jay Hooks' self-titled full-length recalled the strong regional traditions of Texas' super-charged blues and was released in the fall of 2000.


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