austin "walkin' cane"

Artist Information

Biography

"Austin Walkin' Cane arrives bearing not only a cool blues calling card but a commanding voice and fiery Delta chops."
The New Yorker

“He is a superb slide guitarist and his playing provides the perfect backdrop to his smokey vocals, stellar songwriting & talespinning.”
Memphis Silver, American Blues News

“...a brilliant performance from Austin “Walkin' Cane”, master of the slide on a National guitar. Austin's superb deep voice had a Blind Willie Johnson texture in a great mix of self penned tracks. The best track of the set was the Cane original, Murder of a Blues Singer.”
Pete Evans, Blues & Rhythm Magazine - UK - Review of The King Biscuit Blues Festival.

For more than twenty-five years, Austin “Walkin’ Cane,” has been singing the blues, performing over three hundred shows a year, recording numerous albums & telling the stories of blues legends to a younger generation. It has become a mission in his life to sonically paint different shades of the blues. “I don’t need to re-invent the wheel. I just want to keep it rollin’.”

"Damn Fine Blues!" Original & classic delta blues features slide guitar and soulful vocals. A blues gumbo repertoire that can conjures up the ghosts of highway 61 & the delta blues experience. Austin "Walkin' Cane" is a slide guitarist, singer & songwriter that performs acoustic solo, duo & electric band sets. Walkin' Cane has traveled all over the world to Australia, Nepal, France, Germany, England, Wales & the U.S. from New Orleans, Louisiana to Juneau, Alaska since 2009. Over the years he has acquired numerous blues/instrumentalist awards.

Austin walked for ten years with a cane due to an arterial venous malformation at birth. While performing on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a homeless man called out "Hey Walkin' Cane got some spare change for a brother?!" Austin took the jibe as his nickname. In 1996, after years of battling the inevitable, his left leg was amputated below the knee. A year after the surgery, he returned to the music scene stronger & without need of a cane.

In 2002, Austin & Karen Starks were married at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and recorded his 706 Union Ave. cd at the legendary studio immediately after the ceremony. "The thought of getting married & recording in the same room where many of my heroes took their first steps was incredible." Austin honed his musical chops with years of studying the masters of the blues. Such influences include Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, Albert King, Professor Longhair & Snooks Eaglin just to name a few.

Walkin’ Cane created an hour long presentation entitled “Highway 61 & the Blues.” It has been performed as a masters class at many universities & at Blues In The Schools presentations for children in elementary through high school. The show is a blues history that begins in the swamps of New Orleans continues through the birthplace of the blues in the Mississippi delta & follows the legendary highway up north to the electrified blues of Chicago.

The "Murder of a Blues Singer" cd was inspired by an after hour diner conversation with blues legend Robert Jr. Lockwood. "The stories were flowing like the grease off our plates”. Inherently the album is saturated in classic delta blues, as were the tales of Lockwood's stepfather, Robert Johnson who was poisoned by a jealous husband in a 1937 Mississippi juke joint. Mr. Lockwood had agreed to perform on the record, but fate had changed that path with his passing at the age of 91.

In 2011, an acoustic cd, A World Of Blues was released. The original disc of Allen/Charanghat songs was recorded live at the Brothers Lounge as a testament to Walkin’ Cane ‘living on the road.’ The cd uses excerpts from Austin’s world travels in addition to the show recorded in the heart of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame city.

Austin "Walkin' Cane" is sponsored by National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Ernie Ball Strings & Dr. Z Amplifiers.

Blues Festivals

- The King Biscuit Blues Festival - Helena, AR
- Pinetop Perkins Homecoming - Hopson Plantation - Clarksdale, MS
- International Blues Challenge Festival - Memphis, TN
- Blues On Broadbeach Festival - Australia
- Shakedown Blues - U.K.
- Cita Delta Festival - Bordeaux, France
- Nantwich Jazz & Blues Festival - U.K.
- Juke Joint Festival - Clarksdale, MS
- Wheeling Blues & Heritage Festival - Wheeling, WV
- FIMU - Belfort, France
- Himalayan Blues Festival - Kathmandu, Nepal
& many other smaller US festivals.

Music & Arts Showcases:
2011 - APCA Nationals - Atlanta, GA
2011 - APCA - National Student Life Advisors - Las Vegas, NV
2010 - NACA Nationals - Boston, MA
2009 - OAPN Conference - Sandusky, OH
2008 - NACA Northern Plains - Minneapolis, MN
2008 - NACA Mid-Atlantic - Stroudsburg, PA
2007 - NACA Mid-American - Indianapolis, IN

NACA/APCA College Performances - 2008 - present
University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
Kellogg Community College - Battlecreek, MI
Aquinas College - Grand Rapids, MI
University of St Francis - Joliet, IL
Gateway Technical College - Racine, Kenosha, Elkhorn, WI
Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL
Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, IL
Tompkins Cortland Community College - Dryden, NY
St Mary's College of MD - St. Mary's City, MD
Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, OH
Western Carolina University - Cullowhee, NC
SUNY - Oneonta State College - Oneonta, NY
Normandale Community College - Bloomington, MN
North Dakota State University - Fargo, ND
Fox Valley Tech. College - Appleton, WI
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh,WI
Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA
Waynesburg University - Waynesburg, PA
Edison Community College - Piqua, OH
College of Lake County - Grayslake, IL
Florida Community College - Jacksonville, FL
University of Pittsburgh, Titusville, PA
St. Charles Community College - St. Peters, MO
Bethany College - Bethany, WV
Pennsylvania College Of Technology - Williamsport, PA
University Of Mary Washington - Fredericksburg, VA
Waubonse Community College - Sugar Grove, IL
SUNY Upstate Medical College - Syracuse, NY
New River Community College - Dublin, VA
Converse College - Spartanburg, SC
University Of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN

Cabaret Series
Midland Theatre - Midland, OH
Stocker Arts Center LCCC - Elyria, OH


Walkin' Cane Accolades:
2011 - Best Small Venue Act - Campus Activities Magazine

2010 - Appeared on Nationally broadcast NPR show "Says You."

2009 - Best Blues Band Winner & Best Guitarist Winner - Cleveland Scene Magazine

2009 - International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo Finalist - Top 6 - Memphis, TN

2009 - Dayton Blues Society Winner solo/duo competition

2009 & 2007 - International Blues Challenge (IBC's) in Memphis - acoustic, solo, delta, slide blues - sponsored by Blues, Jazz & Folk Music Society

2008 - XM Radio - B.B. King's Bluesville's "Pick to Click." Murder of a Blues Singer cd

2008 - Sonicbids "Most Booked Band" w/ over 60,000 hits to Sonicbids EPK

2008 & 2003 - live performance on PBS television show "Applause"

2007 - best guitarist - cleveland free times magazine

2006 - National Reso-phonic Guitar CD Compilation - Walkin' Cane original "Love Grown Strong" included.

2006 - River City Blues Competition Winner - acoustic solo delta blues - Blues, Jazz & Folk Music Society

2005 - sponsorship with National Reso-Phonic Guitars

2004 - sponsorship with Dr. Z. Amplifiers

2002 - sponsorship with Ernie Ball Strings

2001 - best unsigned blues band - buddy guy's legends/guitar player magazine - chicago

2000 - best local instrumentalist winner - the best of cleveland - citysearch.com

Opened for or performed with:
B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Gregg Allman, Johnny Winter, Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, John Mooney, Robert Jr. Lockwood, John Hammond Jr., Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Billy Branch, Jaimoe (Allman Bros.), Watermelon Slim, Henry Gray, John Primer, Rare Earth, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, BR549, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Sardinas, Nappy Brown...

Instrumentation

Austin "Walkin' Cane" - Vocals / National Reso-phonic slide guitar

Discography

Austin "Walkin' Cane" - A World Of Blues - 2011
The Mudbugs - Memphis or Bust - 2009
Ohio City Singers - Love & Hope - 2008
Austin "Walkin' Cane" - Murder Of A Blues Singer - 2008
Lonesome Stars - Motorbikes, Radios & Dancehalls - 2006
Walkin' Cane Band - The Underground - 2005
Austin "Walkin' Cane" - 706 Union Ave. - 2003
Walkin' Cane Band - Radio Cafe - 2001
Walkin' Cane Band - Help Yourself - 1997
The Skydogs - And Then... - 1994

Official Website

http://www.walkincane.com

Links

• Facebook

Audio

• GEORGIA MOON
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• see that my grave is kept clean - solo w/ gospel choir
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• Murder Of A Blues Singer
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• Love Grown Strong
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• Bellyleak Boogie
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• One Step (Ahead Of The Landlord)
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• Highway 61 & the Blues - solo / spoken word / history
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• Step It Up & Go
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• devil's backbone w/ intro
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Lyrics

• devil’s backbone
• georgia moon
• high rent lemon girl, aren't ya?
• one step (ahead of the landlord)
• Highway 61 & the Blues
• see that my grave is kept clean

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Blues at Lafayette Hotel
  

  “ an old time bluesman with a mastery of acoustic slide guitar”

• St. Mary's College of Maryland
  

  "He made me feel like I was sitting on my front porch in New Orleans eating alligator."

• Blues & Co. - France - FIVE Stars!!! [+ Show ]
  

  Austin « Walkin’ Cane »***** Murder of a Blues Singer Autoprod Si l’gars qu’est s...Austin « Walkin’ Cane »*****
  
  Murder of a Blues Singer
  
  Autoprod
  
  
  Si l’gars qu’est sur le plastoc, l’est pas un chanteur de blues, ben veux bien accepter la discute avec le contrariant qui osera dire le contraire !! C’est quand il veut !!
  
  L’aurait même du coffre le dit gars, une voix de stentor faisant dans le baryton, Une voix qu’il utilise à ravir, une voix qui va bien avec la mine du personnage, « une mine pas tibulaire mais presque » (Coluche), l’a pas l’air de rigoler tous les jours au vu de la pochette….. Mais l’a une bonne bouille en réalité, devait être chafouin au moment de la photo.
  
  Il est pas mauvais non plus dans la gratouille, pratique la glissade comme d’autres la prose, total à l’aise que ce soit en débranché ou en électrifié… Sans compter que c’est un excellent compositeur, ses mélodies sont superbes et il les interprète avec sincérité et fougue, pratiquant presque tous les dérivés Bluesistiques émergeant du delta blues, le bon vieux Delta classique, s’autorisant des variations jazzy, folkeuses, soulisantes et rock ‘n’ rollesques.
  
  Un album varié, passionnant, bien bâti, alternant entre la tradition total dépouillée, moments chargés d’émouve sur lesquels la plupart du temps il est accompagné par un excellent harmoniciste, qui a pour nom Colin Dassault (Colin Dussault’s Blues Project) ou encore seul avec sa guitare, sa formidable voix et un chœur de gospel (Prawer Warriors) sur le poignant « See That My Grave is Kept Clean » (Jefferson), c’est à pleurer tellement c’est beau.
  
  Un très bel album, inspiré suite à une discute autour d’une gamelle, avec Robert Lockwood Jr., un Bob qu’était partant pour participer à l’enregistre mais qu’a du s’absenter où vous savez, un peu avant.
  
  Austin « Walkin Cane » Charanghat n’est pas à son coup d’essai et trimballe déjà quatre rondelles avant celle là. Rondelles qu’il s’est enregistré avec ses zicos favoris, toujours les mêmes, alors inutile de te dire que ça baigne dans l’huile et qu’y a pas un poil qui dépasse. Michael Bay (guitare) frétille d’aise et s’accorde des solos aussi brefs qu’intenses, Mike Barrick (basse) et Jim Wall (drums) tiennent la baraque comme un Pit son os, ça roule, ça booste, ça groove, c’est du caviar.
  
  Bon ! L’avez compris j’aime, plus, j’adore cet album, et je n’ai qu’une envie c’est de partager cette régalade avec vous bien-aimés lecteurs-ices.
  
  Le site : www.walkincane.com
  
  Tonton Erick

• Blues Matters - U.K. CD Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  "...the listener could be forgiven for thinking they were listening to an early Blues singer, stompi..."...the listener could be forgiven for thinking they were listening to an early Blues singer, stomping heels, strong vocals and acoustic guitar."

• Blues Revue - CD Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  Austin "Walkin' Cane" Charanghat's "Murder of a Blues Singer (Lazy-Eye 4070) opens with his unaccomp...Austin "Walkin' Cane" Charanghat's "Murder of a Blues Singer (Lazy-Eye 4070) opens with his unaccompanied voice booming like Son House's. The acoustic slide comes in after a few bars, turning "High Rent Lemon Girl, Aren't Ya?" into a deeply felt evocation of the blues master. Charanghat's lyrics are smart & sometimes visit the dark side - hear the title track & "Graveyard Town" - but they also cover simpler subjects, as on the homecoming romp "Hold On the Night." The selections offer more than prewar styles: Augmented by bass, drums, electric guitar & occasional harmonica, John Lee Hooker boogies (Devil's Backbone") and rootsy rockers (Step It Up & Go," with its Chuck Berry via Keith Richards lead breaks) dot the playlist. Austin "Walkin' Cane" channels Tom Waits on "Late Great Singer," the album's strongest track.

• Blueswax CD Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  "A really great album is more than a collection of songs and Murder of a Blues Singer ends up being... "A really great album is more than a collection of songs and Murder of a Blues Singer ends up being greater than the sum of its parts. When it's over, you feel like you've been somewhere."

• Cleveland Blues Summit Vol. 1
  

  “sings “Look On Yonder’s Wall” in a way that would leave Joe Cocker jealous."

• 706 Union Ave.
  

  "his baritone voice & slide guitar oozes the blues. 706 Union Ave., will knock you out."

• Sun shines on local bluesman Austin "Walkin' Cane" [+ Show ]
  

  Austin "Walkin' Cane" Charanghat was in good company at Sun Studio in Memphis, especially in spirit....Austin "Walkin' Cane" Charanghat was in good company at Sun Studio in Memphis, especially in spirit. Elvis Presley recorded there. So did Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and other famous rock 'n' rollers, along with an equally Impressive list of blues greats. But Charanghat, a popular fixture on the Northeast Ohio blues scene, one-upped those legends. He not only cut a couple of tracks for his new album at the landmark studio last year. Charanghat got married there, right before the recording session. "It was a cool, intimate wedding." says Charanghat, 33.
  
  The same adjectives could describe this singer-guitarist's latest CD, "706 Union Ave." It takes its title from Sun's address. Hell mark the release of thee acoustic-blues album with a performance tomorrow at Fat Fish Blue.
  
  Charanghat and his bride, Karen, tied the knot in Sun's main studio, surrounded by framed photos of Presley and other stars. "Karen loves '50s-era Elvis, so she was up for it," Charanghat says. By day, he's a computer graphics designer. On the side, he helps his wife run Reilly's. their West Side Market stand specializing in British pub grub.
  
  A judge presided over the nuptials in Memphis. Later in the evening, the newlyweds went out to dinner with family and friends at a steakhouse. But first Charanghat recorded nine tunes in one hour. The vibe at Sun was "amazing," he says. "All my heroes took their first steps there. B.B. King did some of his first songs there. So did Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas.
  
  They haven't updated the room. It's exactly the way it was, with all this vintage equipment." Two tunes from the session. "Forever Lovin' Man" and the autobiographical "Ballad of the Honeymooners," are included on "706 Union Ave." The other eight tracks were done at Suma Recording Studio in Painesville.
  
  This is Charanghat's first solo effort. He was backed by a band for his previous releases, "Help Yourself" (1996) and "Radio Cafe" (2001). He'll do two sets tomorrow at Fat Fish Blue, one on his own and one with his Walkin' Cane Band, featuring Michael Bay on guitar, Mike Barrick on bass and Jim Wall on drums.
  
  The new album features five no-frills numbers written by Charanghat and Chris Allen of the local roots-rock group Rosavelt. Listen closely to "Better Than I Should," a slow-burner showcasing Charanghat's smoldering slide guitar, and you can hear his stomach growl. "I hadn't eaten all day," he says. "For most songs, I only did two lakes. There are little mistakes here and there. If you listen to the old-school blues guys, there are mistakes all over the place. The mistakes give it character."
  
  Charanghat's 11-month-old son, Isaac, makes a giggling cameo on a sweet reworking of the traditional "Fishin' Blues." Alongside tips of the hat to Robert Johnson ("Walkin' Blues"), Big Bill Broonzy ("I Can't Be Satisfied") and Snooks Eaglin ("I'm a Country Boy"). The CD also includes an update of "Look Over Yonder Wall," a blues chestnut popularized by Arthur Crudup. Charanghat was destined to do the latter tune, too, if only because of the tailor-made lyric: "Hand me down my walkin' cane..."it's a song I've been playing on and off for years," says Charanghat, whose left leg was amputated below the knee in 1996 because of an arterial venous malformation. (Translation: "My arteries and veins were tied up in knots," he says.)
  
  But with a new wife, a new baby boy and a new home to go along wilh his fine new album, life would seem to be looking up for Charanghat. So why is he still singing the blues? "Not all blues is sad," he says. The blues perks me up. More than anything, it pulls me out of the hole if I'm down."
  
  John Soeder • Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
  
  
  

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Setlist

Blues Gumbo! A crowd pleaser that can go from prison work songs to big city blues while still stirring in Walkin' Cane blues originals. Austin "Walkin' Cane" brings over twenty-five years of experience & a musical repertoire that covers hundreds of songs. A typical solo performance is two to four hours.

walkin' cane originals:
hush mouth money
georgia moon
murder of a blues singer
devil's backbone
graveyard town
high rent lemon girl, aren't ya?
late great singer
step it up & go
billie holiday is on the radio
time (movin' so slow)
timeless love
lone star girls
walk the mile
far away heart
radio cafe
moonshiner's daughter
love grown strong
forever lovin' man
crescent city lights
40 below in chicago
sidesteppin'
bellyleak boogie
shut it down
streetlight serenade
mississippi jim
love & hope
heart of the city
better than i should
the ballad of the honeymooners
over again
goodnight moon
hard to please
soulsearchin'
u.s. crawl
love meets the blues
one step (ahead of the landlord)
'til i fell
check up (from the neck-up)
got my mind right, boss
shake the floors & rattle the walls
cold, rust belt blues
rooster crow blues
one brake wheel

Cover Songs
howlin' wolf, b.b. king, muddy waters, willie dixon, hendrix, taj mahal, allman brothers, dylan, stones, beatles, the who, townes van zant, creedence, elvis, doors, neil young, buffalo springfield, blind lemon jefferson, leadbelly, blind willie mctell, snooks eaglin, james brown, robert jr. lockwood, little richard, robert johnson, wilson pickett, albert king, elmore james, chuck berry, charles brown, stevie ray vaughn, bo diddley, rev. robert wilkins, son house, the meters, lightnin' hopkins, keb mo', john lee hooker, professor longhair, tom waits, ray charles, otis redding...

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