Grammy Nom for Jeremy's BAM

[michelej1]

Madison Capital Times, 11-6-08 http://77square.com/music/blog/dane/entry_313210

A locally recorded and produced live blues album has made it into the first round of Grammy nominations. Recorded at the 2007 Belleville American Music (BAM) Festival, located 20 miles south of Madison, the compilation album is one of 55 selections in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.

On Dec. 3 during a live concert special on CBS, the Grammy committees will announce which of these 55 albums made it into the category's final five nominees. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony is set for Feb. 8.

The CD's 11 tracks include songs from the Cash Box Kings, Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin' Alter Boys, West Side Andy and Johnny Winters. It was recorded in July of 2007 at Community Park in Belleville during the festival.

"The concept behind it was to make it sound like a live show. It flows like a live show," said Geoff Wilbourn, a Belleville arborist, BAM Fest co-organizer and one of the CDs executive producers. Despite being recorded live, the album's flow didn't come organically. He and co-producer Whit Lehnberg, along with engineer Jack LeTourneau, spent seven months mixing and remixing the sound and creating smooth transitions between songs.

Wilbourn considers the album's highlights to be Johnny Winter's "great perfomance" as well as two tracks from Mississippi blues man David "Honeyboy" Edwards, who was 92 when he performed at the 2007 BAM Fest.

"He's been in the blues since the blues started," said Wilbourn, who is now working on producing the compilation from this year's festival, headlined by Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. (Read my interview with Spencer, pictured above, here.)

Locally, the CD is available for sale at Strictly Discs, 1900 Monroe St., and at the Capital Brewery, 7734 Terrace Ave. in Middleton. It's also available for sale at CD Baby, where you can listen to song clips off the album.