Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya lives mostly on the road, chalking up close to, or better than 200 nights a year performing somewhere in the world. It comes as no surprise, then, that Montoya has a healthy tour schedule on his plate, live dates running through the end of the year and well into 2010, with shows in the United States as well as Canada and Europe.

Montoya has been touring behind his 2007 Alligator Records release Dirty Deal, and with the recent release of The Essential Coco Montoya, a collection of material from his first three albums for Blind Pig Records, he has more music to choose from for his onstage performances than you can shake a stick at! While many of Montoya's November tour dates feature the guitarist performing with fellow bluesman Tommy Castro, the remainder of his schedule has him taking the stage with his band and delivering the sort of six-string pyrotechnics that a true guitar-blues fan would salivate over. Be sure to check out Coco Montoya and his crew when they come through your town.

Related Content:
Coco Montoya Profile
Coco Montoya - The Essential Coco Montoya CD review

Coco Montoya Tour Dates

Nov 20 @ Mexicali Live, Teaneck NJ *
Nov 21 @ YMCA Boulton Center, Bay Shore NY *
Nov 22 @ Keswick Theatre, Glenside PA *
Nov 23 @ B.B. King Blues Club, New York NY *
Nov 25 @ The Birchmere, Alexandria VA *
Nov 27 @ Ramshead Tavern, Annapolis MD *
Nov 28 @ Stephen Talkhouse, Amagansett NY
Nov 29 @ Infinity Hall, Norfolk CT
Nov 30 @ Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA
Dec 02 @ L'Astral, Montreal, Quebec CANADA
Dec 03 @ Tucson's Roadhouse, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA
Dec 04 @ Peter's Place Live, Gravenhurst, Ontario CANADA
Dec 05 @ London Music Hall, London, Ontario CANADA
Dec 08 @ Zoo Bar, Lincoln NE
Dec 10 @ Boulder Outlook Hotel, Boulder CO
Dec 11 @ Little Bear Saloon, Evergreen CO
Dec 12 @ Crystola Roadhouse, Woodland Park CO
Dec 13 @ Evangelo's Cocktail Lounge, Santa Fe NM
Jan 09, 2010 @ Coach House, San Juan Capistrano CA
Jan 10 @ BriXton, Redondo Beach CA
March 09 @ The Pigalle Club, London ENGLAND
March 11 @ Witte Bal, Assen NETHERLANDS
March 12 @ De Kade, Zaandam NETHERLANDS
March 13 @ De Noot, Hoogland NETHERLANDS
March 14 @ Bosuil, Weert NETHERLANDS
March 15 @ Spirit, Verviers BELGIUM
March 27 @ Berks Jazz Festival, Wyomissing PA
June 05 @ Coloma Blues Live!, Lotus CA

* with Tommy Castro

Photo by Frank Vigil, courtesy Alligator Records

More blues artists tour dates

Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service dropped by the Gibson Guitar manufacturing plant in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal sale and use of exotic imported woods. The feds served a search warrant on the factory, which produces Gibson-branded electric and acoustic guitars, but nobody is saying anything about what they might have been looking for, or if they removed anything from the premises.

At issue is the importing of hardwoods like rosewood and ebony from the rain forests of Madagascar and Brazil. Under the U.S. Lacey Act, the trade in exotic woods is a federal offense, punishable by civil and criminal penalties and/or the seizure of property. Here's where it all gets a bit dicey, however...although Gibson has led the industry in pushing for the use of sustainable wood products in the manufacture of musical instruments, the people on the other side of the supply chain aren't always following the same principles. Guitar manufacturers have not stopped using rosewood, ebony and other woods, but have been sourcing the wood from certified renewable suppliers.

By all accounts, Gibson has been extremely aware of environmental concerns in their use of exotic hardwoods. Along with fellow instrument manufacturers like Martin and Taylor, the company is a member of the MusicWood Coalition, formed by Greenpeace to combat the destructive harvest of hardwoods. Until the recent raid, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz sat on the board of the Rainforest Alliance (he has taken a "leave of absence" in the wake of the investigation). Gibson is a "chain of custody certified buyer," meaning that the wood products they're buying are supposed to be tracked from harvest to arrival in their factory. But unscrupulous suppliers could slip illegally-harvested wood into a shipment, and Gibson would be the one holding the bag and forced to forfeit the wood.

Gibson guitars have long been a staple of blues music, and a veritable "who's who" of blues and blues-rock musicians, from B.B. King, Albert King, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown to Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, have favored the company's instruments for their rich tone and playability.

Photo courtesy Gibson Guitar

Mickey Thomas has enjoyed an illustrious career dating back some 34 years, his rich vocals gracing better than two dozen albums during that span. Although he is best-known, perhaps, as the singer of such 1980s-era Jefferson Starship hits as "We Built This City" and "Sara," Thomas spent several years at the front of guitarist Elvin Bishop's band; it's his voice you hear on Bishop's #3 charting 1976 hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love." Thomas has also recorded with such blues-n-roots artists as Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Bramlett, Al Kooper, and Dickey Betts and Great Southern.

With the Bluesmasters, Thomas has returned to his roots, the singer dusting off his soul pipes for The Bluesmasters with Mickey Thomas album. Scheduled as the inaugural release by the Direct Music Distribution (DMD) label, The Bluesmasters with Mickey Thomas will be released in as both a physical CD and digital download on March 10, 2010. The band will also launch an international tour in support of the album.

The Bluesmasters were formed in 2007 by guitarist Tim Tucker and pianist Sean Benjamin, who is no longer a full-time member of the band, but performs on two tracks on the album. Bassist Danny Miranda, keyboardist Ric Ulsky, harpist Doug Lynn, and former John Mayall's Bluesbreakers drummer Aynsley Dunbar round out the Bluesmasters behind Thomas.

The album features inspired covers of a number of great blues, soul, and R&B songs by artists like B.B. King ("Rock Me Baby"), Etta James ("I'd Rather Go Blind"), and Albert Collins ("Get Your Business Straight" ), among others. Thomas even revisits his signature song, "Fooled Around And Fell In Love." Watch for The Bluesmasters with Mickey Thomas on a record store shelf in March.

Photo courtesy DMD Records

There are a lot of little mysteries that surround the life of Delta blues legend Robert Johnson. The bluesman's final resting place, for instance, is claimed by three different gravesites with markers. The manner of Johnson's death provides another enigma; the generally-accepted story of his demise has the guitarist poisoned by a jealous girlfriend in 1938. Then there's that whole "meeting with the Devil at the crossroads" mythology that has kept blues music chooglin' along like a freight train since the 1930s.

One thing that is certain about Robert Johnson is his birthplace in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Johnson was born in a house built by his stepfather Charles Dodds, a furniture maker that was relatively prosperous for an African-American in the early 1900s. The house had a double-parlor, a long front porch, and a pump that allowed water to flow into the kitchen, a convenience unheard in most Southern homes of the era.

Copiah County, Mississippi officials are attempting to raise $250,000 to restore the 1500-square foot house, which had fallen into disrepair before coming into the county's ownership. They would like to create a museum in honor of Johnson as a way to attract tourist dollars to the area. Benefit concerts, including one featuring Grammy Award-winning pianist George Winston, have been scheduled to help raise funds for the restoration.

The wisdom of a Robert Johnson museum has to be questioned, however. Few artifacts from the musician's short life are known to exist, and only two photos of the blues legend have been unearthed: the first, known as the "studio portrait," was shot by Hooks Brothers Studios in Memphis, while the second is known as the "photo booth self-portrait," and was taken by Johnson himself. A third photo purporting to be Johnson has yet to be historically verified.

Still, Johnson's musical legacy remains one of the most important in the blues. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist Johnson's music has influenced everybody from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Muddy Waters and Elmore James. Screenwriter Jimmy White, who wrote the Academy Award-winning film Ray, has been shopping a script on Johnson's life, and his songbook continues to remain among the most covered in modern music. Some 71 years after his mysterious death, the legend of Robert Johnson remains alive and well.

Related content: Robert Johnson Profile

Photo courtesy Legacy Recordings