Daniel 'Slick' Ballinger - blues singer/guitarist

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Tweed
Date: 15 Dec 02 - 03:45 PM

Ya Steve he does, but also I believe that this style of playing has stayed in the rural areas of Mississippi and grown off on it's own after John Lee left Clarksdale. It's that rhythm and footstomp backbeat that gets people hypnotized and sweatin' hard in the clubs, sidewalks and juke joints. Lyrics don't count for a whole lot in this style and the simpler they are the better it is for the crowd to let 'er rip and start shakin'it.

"Slick" is one of two white guys that I'm familiar with who are able to pull this off with success. The other one is Richard Johnstone, who plays a two string electrified diddly-bow with a slide, along with a set of foot operated drums and high hats. It's an experience to see either one of these guys work.

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 15 Dec 02 - 11:20 AM

Nice stuff Tweed, thanks for the link. Nice to see an eighteen year interested enough in authentic Blues to be able to play like that. He has a bit of a John Lee Hooker take on it.

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Tweed
Date: 15 Dec 02 - 10:01 AM

Refresh for the UK catters afternoon listening pleasure.

Tweed

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Tweed
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 09:23 PM

That's right Boberdz, it is the very kid I seen playin' through an old Silvertone in front of the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee.

Misophist, his voice runs high but so did Robert Johnson's. I wish you coulda been there and seen the reaction of the older folks in the street. It was as if they'd been taken back to their youth and the music they'd all grown up with. Slick's absorbed all of that... somehow.

I'm gonna throw another guitar on the fire...

Tweed

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 06:56 PM

Tweezer:

Well, danged, now ya got me curiosity up and I'z gonna try... ONCE MORE... to figure out how to get this pudder to play music. Ya' see, either it ain't too musical or I'z ain't too pudderal...

Yeah, I tried to listen to Beachie the other night but all I ended up with was a few thousand folks chasing me around the house trying to sell me stuff. I told 'em I was broke but do these people care? Heck no! Bunch of monsters!

Opps, sorry, this is about Dan Ballenger, the kid you heard when you were down in Memphis collectin' yer 3rd straight W.C. Handy Award, right?

Bobert

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: khandu
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 06:56 PM

Another great discovery brought to us by the Duke of Badly Recorded Blues...the one and only Tweedster!

Very damned good guitar work by the youngster there, Tweed!

khandu

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: mack/misophist
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 06:31 PM

Outstanding guitar. Great stuff. Now somebody send that boy a case of cigars so his voice can weather into it. The only thing wrong is that he SOUNDS sixteen.

Subject: RE: Slick Blues
From: Hippie Chick
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 06:30 PM

I'm listenin' to it this minute. WOW!!

Subject: Slick Blues
From: Tweed
Date: 14 Dec 02 - 05:38 PM

I got some CD's in the mail today from this young man's Mom. Daniel Ballinger is 18 years old and from North Carolina and he plays like he lived 60 or 70 years on this planet. I know that many of you aren't real keen on hill country style blues, but this boy has got it going. I loaded one of the songs on my site and thought I'd share this over here with you guys. It's truly amazin' the sound and feeling that comes out of this kid.

GRAVEL ROAD sung and done by Daniel "Slick" Ballinger (windows media should do the job if the others won't)

Here's a page with some information on this guy.
*Dan Ballinger*

I saw him playing on Beale Street last May during the Handy Weekend and his style of music had everybody jumping up and down and shakin' it. Yowzah! This kid knows the blues!!

Yerz,
Tweed