Joe Tex
Twenty or so years ago, Pittsburgh’s Jason Martinko became enamored with the Joe Tex music in the Tarantino flick Reservoir Dogs. Fast forward to now: Martinko has written the definitive bio on Tex, has connected with the singing son, and introduced Joe Tex II to Pittsburgh for a show with Martinko’s Braddock Brothers band.
To get ready for that show, Jason and Joe II participated in an interview that aired on the 8/10 episode of The Soul Show (WYEP):
Joe is excited about his upcoming Vegas show with the sons of Solomon Burke and Johnnie Taylor:
Chillent
Pittsburgh’s resident Jewish funk band Chillent introduced their sophomore release at a Roxian Theatre performance in July. Solid performance as always, including a Marley cover and a lot of their own compositions. Sruli Broocker (harmonica) lives in FL now, and it is good to see that he’s still connected with the band. Keys were added along that way. That’s also real good.
A little while after James Street closed, a small team that included Broocker produced a showcase of four Pittsburgh bands. It was the last performance in the building, and was recorded with the intent of initiating a local series . The project stalled, but Sruli is hoping to revive the effort and complete the video editing himself. It is an important archive. Fingers crossed.
Shanyse Strickland
I was introduced to Shanyse Strickland by Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s director Kristen Linfante, and have had the opportunity to record her work and interview her over the past year. She is versed in classical flute and French horn. A graduate opportunity at Montclair State in NJ has resulted in her recent departure, but not before she presented Shanyse Strickland & Friends in July. Genre-traversing pieces were performed by a collective of instrumentalists, vocalists and a mime. Beautifully conceived.
Shanyse has been working on a recording project in 2019. Once in hand, the interview will be presented on The Soul Show with the album’s debut. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, we wish Shanyse the best of fortune in the next phase of her training.