| "Matthew Skoller is one of the top harmonica players in the blues today. He's a good singer whose voice comes straight from the heart. On These Kind of Blues! he's assembled a cast of some of the best and most creative players in Chicago today and has produced a beautiful sounding CD. What really makes it rise to the top, though, is the songwriting. Matthew Skoller has found his voice writing about contemporary issues with real feeling in a classic blues structure." -- Tom Marker, BluesBreakers, WXRT, Chicago Matthew is a favorite in this area due to his legendary performances in Milwaukee before his move to Chicago. It's been a pleasure watching him grow over the years. His performance at this year's Lucerne Switzerland (Blues Festival) included a commentary on the war in Iraq; he got the biggest audience response of the night! I had an advance copy of this and have featured it on THE BLUE SIDE. Expect heaviest rotation and continued feature long into the future. Chicago's hardworking Matthew Skoller isn't a household name even in blues circles. But he's a fire-breathing harmonica ace clearly influenced by the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson, a solid vocalist with a touch of gritty lyricism, and a good songwriter with a knack for revitalizing blues clichés with astutely contemporary twists. A former Kinsey Report member and vet of innumerable Chi-town sessions, Skoller also has assembled a formidable band featuring incendiary guitarist Lurrie Bell and former Mellow Fellows keyboards wiz Sid Wingfield. While perfectly capable of churning into high gear, the band is particularly adept at slow-burning blues. And there are a couple of nuggets on its spanking new CD, These Kind of Blues! (Tongue 'N Groove): James Cotton's vicious "Down at Your Buryin' Ground" and the Skoller original "Handful of People," which builds to a blizzard of searing harmonica work and blistering testifying. "Heavy air play on this one... Matthew sounding good on the harp and Lurrie Bell is a great axe man!" "I love the new cd and it is #4 on my Playlist For February!" "The more I listen to the Matthew Skoller Band, the better it gets. An uncommonly perceptive songwriter, and I've always loved Lurrie Bell on the guitar." |