Press Release: Rip Cat Records is proud and excited to welcome The Blue Shadows as our newest family members!!
   In The Blue Shadows lineup are some of the most respected and seasoned members in the blues community: Javier Matos is out front on vocals and guitar, with the original Blasters rhythm section of John Bazz on bass and Bill Bateman on drums.
   They have recorded their self-titled first Rip Cat release at world renowned Pacifica Studios in Los Angeles. Release date October 21, 2016.
   The Blue Shadows were originally formed by Bill Bateman and featured many legendary musicians such as Lester Butler, Paul Size, the Bartel Brothers (Johnny Ray and Dave Lee), and others.
Javier met Bill after Lester passed, and they reformed the band. Javier had his own style with his pre-war blues strengths and influences and together they forged a sound on the hardened streets of Hollywood and became part of the L.A. sound that included bands like Canned Heat and the Blasters. While applying deep blues to the modern culture of the times, they respected the past - with an eye to the future.
   Javier has a lengthy resume, with awards and great reviews throughout his musical career. As once signed with Storyville Records, he worked with, and was produced by none other than one of our other family members, Mr. Barry Levenson. It seems Javier was destined to create music with us.
With this inimitable lineup, this new project traces the roots of their early influences, as well as the four decades of performing their own music.  Welcome to the family, Javier!! And we welcome our continued connection to John and Bill!!       ~All of us at Rip Cat Records~

ROCKIN PNEUMONIA - I wrote that one. Kid Ramos played great guitar on this and some boogie woogie piano by Aaron Deily.

LA VOZ EN SUEÑOS -- My dad is a great singer and came up with this song while I was playing a riff on guitar. It has a really positive message in the lyrics. I'd really like to unite mariachi music with honky tonk because I believe country music got a lot from the blues as well as Mexican music. So you'll hear that it starts with pedal steel and then the horns join in, and then it splits off to a single horn. The steel player is Bill Flynn from Minneapolis. It was a nice way to end the record - a pretty song sung by my father.  (( Special Thanks to Cris Matos for translating his song to English ))

La Voz en Suenos
Lyrics: Cris Matos© 2016

Cada ser lleva una canción
Que al brotar de su corazón
Le da alas a nacer y volar
Porque es la armoniosa solución

Si en la noche mientras duermes
En un sueño escucha un cantar
Es la voz de quien te acompaña
Te ama cuida y te incita a despertar


Coro:
Cada rima es un camino
Cada verso una enseñanza
Entre notas y entre acordes
Va cantando la voz de la esperanza

¡Es la voz que dé dice mira!
Dalí alas a tu corazón
Busca por dentro y veras
Pues en ti es que nace la canción

Si en la noche mientras duermes

The Voice Within Dreams
Lyrics: Cris Matos© 2016

Each being carries a song
That comes forth from their heart
Giving it birth with wings to fly
Because it's the path to harmony

If at night while you sleep
And in a dream, you hear a song
It's the Voice that accompanies you
Loves you, looks after you and
Inspires awakening.

chorus:
Each rhyme is a way
Each verse is a teaching
Between notes and chords
Sings the voice of hope

It is the Voice that says Hey!
Allow your heart to grow wings
Look inside and you will see
That the song is born within you

If at night while you sleep

     Dave Alvin remembers writing it with Billy Miller: "The Blasters were in New York City in the very early days. It was the first few times we had been there, and our gear got ripped off from our van. So we were broke and decided to stay at a cheap hotel in New Jersey while we waited for new gear to be shipped out from Randall amplifiers in California. I didn't want to spend four days in New Jersey at a hotel; I wanted to see the city and hang out. So I called Billy Miller (of the Zantees) and Mirium and asked if I could stay at their loft in Brooklyn. They said: 'Sure. But with just one catch.' I could stay, if I helped them write a song. I said: 'No problem.' So we wrote MONEY TO BURN. I stayed a few days and had Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of friends. Billy and Mirium were always really nice to us 'Baby Blasters.' I always thought it was a pretty good song."
     HELP YOU DREAM, from the Blasters' Hard Line album, was chosen since the ballad was suited to Masters' voice. REAL ROCK DRIVE, a Bill Haley song recorded by the Blasters' on American Music LP on Rollin Rock Records concludes the album.
     "I wanted to include a Bill Haley song because I'm from Philadelphia," says Heller. Haley grew up in suburban Philadelphia. "Sammy thought Bill was someone special and wanted to do one of his songs," Heller adds.
Released in 1998, Everybody Digs Sammy Masters showcased his vocal abilities and helped introduce him to a new generation of listeners.  The album remains in print and be purchased on CD or vinyl at www.Dionysusrecords.com. --Am

   Since launching his solo career with the release of Romeo's Escape in 1987, Dave Alvin has maintained a busy touring schedule that's taken him across North America and Europe. Now, Fans can hear and download nearly 300 of his concerts recorded between 1987 and 2016 at the Dave Alvin Collection at the Internet Archive. Visit https://archive.org/details/DaveAlvin
   As of mid-December 2016, the site featured 290 shows, recorded primarily at clubs and outdoor festivals. In addition, there are interviews and performances recorded for radio programs. The concerts feature Dave performing with various bands, including the AllNighters, the Skeletons, the Guilty Men, The Guilty Women and The Guilty Ones. There is also a few shows recorded with Phil Alvin from their 2014-2016 tours as well as a wide selection of acoustic shows by Dave, including several with Rick Shea and Chris Miller.
   The earliest show in the archive is a September 1987 concert by Dave Alvin and the AllNighters at the Chestnut Cabaret in Philadelphia. The archive is searchable by year. There are no shows available for 1988, 1989, 1990 or 1993. Every year from 1994 to 2016 is represented. 2011 is represented by the most concerts with 22, followed by 2006 and 2010 with 21 apiece, and 2014 with 20.
   The shows include Dave's first concert with the Guilty Women, which was held in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, as part of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on Oct. 4, 2008.  Some concerts feature Dave previewing new songs from albums yet to be recorded. For instance, he played MUSEUM OF HEART on Nov. 8, 1992, at J.C. Dobbs in Philadelphia, almost a year before that album was released. In 2003, Dave road-tested ASHGROVE, RIO GRANDE,