Anthony "Swamp Dog" Clark

Nominated for a 2012 Washington Area Music Association - www.wamadc.com

ANTHONY “SWAMP DOG” CLARK AND THE BLUES ALLSTARS
Raw
Independent
Anthony moved from his home in York, Pennsylvania to live in the capital, Washington D.C. and it is from there that the ripples and tales of his evident musical talent has emerged from in recent years. His performing of concerts all along the East Coast has greatly improved his standing in the Blues world, also, the no small matter of winning in two thousand and ten the Washington Blues Battle and during this year he qualified for the semi-finals of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Now, with the release of this, his debut album, the word of his evident talent should reach a far wider audience. The album consists of seven numbers, two of which are covers, and what covers they are too. Helping Anthony create this marvellous music is his band The Blues Allstars, who are; Ken Sparks and Glen Alexander on guitars, Charles “Reds” Adkins: bass and Andy Hamberger; drums. A simple but effective plan seems to have been adopted for this album, Anthony plays with a warming rich Chicago edged harmonica style that seems to so effortlessly and commandingly breeze in and out of the numbers leaving more than enough space for the exquisitely rich textured Jazz hued guitar fills and flurries that are found throughout the album. James Cotton’s ‘One More to Go,’ contains clean crisp solos within the effervescent shuffler, Anthony’s powerful smoky relaxed vocals compliment his edgy harmonica style. “Do Unto Others is in the same relaxed shuffling mode with the added bonus of Nadine Rae’s groovin’ and oozing, drool inducing guest vocals. ‘Moanin’ is an exquisite slowburning blues with wonderfully restrained and emotive guitar work from Linwood Taylor adding to the driving yet sensitive harmonica refrains. The undoubted gem here though, is the eight minute tribute to Muddy Waters, the classic number ‘Hoochie Coochie Man,’ performed at an unhurried pace with rich bass lines and satisfyingly understated heartrending guitar, the emotive wailing harmonica is delivered as a taught coiled spring about to explosively open wide. This is a corker of a debut.

Brian Harman. - Blues Matters

It is their new campaign headquarters, so to speak, 4709 HARFORD Road, in Hamilton/Baltimore, Md. It is where I met one of the recently accomplished “blues” brothers, Anthony “SWAMP DOG” Clark. Sorry, this is not about the political blue dogs that got castrated in the last general election. I am referring to the Baltimore Blues music followers. Their new location is hosted by Chef Mac, and supportive wife, Lesley.

On My visit, “Swamp Dog” was taking it to the rooftops. And his audience was not sitting down, even those who could not stand up, found ways of doing the lap dance, without a lap dancer.

Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark, (aclark@anthonyswampdogclark.com) has only had his band for 18 months, but won the D.C. contest in December last year (2010), and reached the semi-finals in Memphis a few months ago. Music has been in his blood from kindergarten, and drums his instrument of choice. However in his band, he talked to us by way of his harmonica and lyrics.

- Oswald Copeland

It is their new campaign headquarters, so to speak, 4709 HARFORD Road, in Hamilton/Baltimore, Md. It is where I met one of the recently accomplished “blues” brothers, Anthony “SWAMP DOG” Clark. Sorry, this is not about the political blue dogs that got castrated in the last general election. I am referring to the Baltimore Blues music followers. Their new location is hosted by Chef Mac, and supportive wife, Lesley.

On My visit, “Swamp Dog” was taking it to the rooftops. And his audience was not sitting down, even those who could not stand up, found ways of doing the lap dance, without a lap dancer.

Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark, (aclark@anthonyswampdogclark.com) has only had his band for 18 months, but won the D.C. contest in December last year (2010), and reached the semi-finals in Memphis a few months ago. Music has been in his blood from kindergarten, and drums his instrument of choice. However in his band, he talked to us by way of his harmonica and lyrics.

- Oswald Copeland

Clark has formed a blues band that is taking the Washington, DC Blues scene by storm, and forging his way to international recognition with his blues/funk blend. In a little over a year. Clark and The Blues Allstars have made a name as one of the tightest blues bands in the region.
- Michael Yoeder

Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark, blues entertainer, took the roof off the Chef Mac Restaurant last week on Harford Road with the “Down Home Blues. ”The music, man-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n! The music was out-of-sight. One of my favorite blues artist, Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark, performed with his band. He carried a black case full of harmonicas of all shapes, sizes and sounds and he was qualified to play them all. His backup musicians were very gifted and talented in their own right. My favorite tunes they played were “Down Home Blues” and “Black Drawers.”

- Rosa Pryor Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper

Seven tracks on the disc and it clocks in at just over thirty-five minutes. "One More Mile to Go" sets the tone, with a weathered voice, and a damn fine great rocking groove. The jazzy approach to "Do Unto Others" is a danceable song with excellent vocal support from guest Nadine Rae. Kenny Sparks plays quiet bluesy guitar lines with excellent driving bass from Charles Adkins. The harmonica solo that Anthony plays makes you snap your fingers.
"Swamp Dog Shuffle" could not have a better name. The band pushes themselves to exceptional musical heights. "Hoochie Coochie Man" closes the album and was a fitting tribute to Muddy Waters. So an excellent album, no bells or whistles, in an atmosphere like you would want to experience it live. Authentic, and rich. Anthony "Swamp Dog" and "Blues Allstars" definitely deserve your attention!

Review by Freddy Celis www.Rootstime.be - rootstime.be

It is not long after "Raw" starts, that the waves of Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's Harmonica playing gentle sweep through the speakers, giving us all a sneak preview of the great Harpfest to follow.

Originally hailing out of York, Pennsylvania, Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark now resides in Washington D.C. area where he is regarded as one of the best Harmonica players around. Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark has thrilled audiences up and down the East Coast, for years, with not only his masterful harmonica playing, but also for his amazingly talented showmanship. 2010 further brought Anthony to the spotlight with him winning the Washington D.C. Blues Battle, as well as, making it to the semifinals of this years 2011 International Blues Challenge, in Memphis. In addition to also being a staple at many Blues Festivals, Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark is also highly sought after as a player.

Joining Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark on "Raw", is his amazing band, which he refers to as, The Blues Allstars and include Charles "Reds" Adkins (Bass), Ken Sparks (Guitar), Glenn Alexander (Guitar), and Andy Hamberger (Drums). "Raw" was produced by Anthony Clark with Andy Hamberger getting credit as Associate Producer. Special Guest appearances on "Raw", included Nadine Rae and Linwood Taylor, both massive talents in their own rights, which they had no problem showing us with Nadine's heavenly vocals on "Do Unto Others" and Linwood's searing Guitar work on two instrumental Tracks "Jump" and "Moanin".
"Raw" consists of 7 straight ahead no nonsense blues of which 5 Tracks are originals by Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark. For the covers on "Raw", Anthony chose a couple of great songs, with the first being James Cotton's "One More Mile To Go". I found a few versions of "One More Mile To Go" in which one where James Cotton plays it real slow and the other is done at a fairly fast tempo. Anthony chose to play this one at pretty close to Cotton's faster tempo version and after listening to the both of them, I must say that Anthony did a really good job and certainly justice to that fine song.

The second cover on "Raw" was "Hoochie Coochie Man", which is "sometimes referred to as (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man", and which is of course the "blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters in 1954". WikiPedia has a list of over 30 Artists that have covered "Hoochie Coochie Man", which included well known Blues artists, such as, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Etta James, and surprisingly enough a few artists for which when you think of the Blues, their names don't come to mind, such as Supertramp, Motorhead, Steppenwolf, and the New York Dolls. Muddy Waters original version, which I found on YouTube clocked in at 2:53, and is perhaps one of the shortest versions of that song. Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's version clocks in at an epic 8:35, and for it's shear rawness and intensity, courtesy Anthony's great Vocals and Harmonica, as well as the rest of the bands great playing, this version of "Hoochie Coochie Man", will certainly be considered an enormous tribute to Willie Dixon.

Beyond Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's amazing talent as an Harmonica player, he is also a very talented singer and songwriter, of which you become aware of his singing talent right off the bat, with the opening Track "One More Mile To Go" and his songwriting and arranging talent with the next 5 Tracks on "Raw", of which 3 are wonderful instrumentals which show off, not only his skills with Harmonica, but also the wonderful talent of all the other artists involved with this production.

Picking a couple of favorites off an exceptionally good album, such as "Raw" is never easy, so I decided to pick my favorite regular song and my favorite instrumental, with the regular song being, the amazingly done cover "Hoochie Coochie Man" and the equally amazing instrumental, "Jump".

"Raw" marked my first introduction to Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark, an introduction which thoroughly impressed me. I am very grateful for Anthony reaching out to me and acquainting me with his music, for which I hope he continues to put out on a fairly regular basis.

"Raw" is an album I have no problem Highly Recommending, especially for those of you whom are fans of superb blues harmonica playing, for which Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's is one of the best out there today.

Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)
- Blues Underground Network

With so many harp players like Charlie Musselwhite, Risk Estrin, Kim Wilson and James Cotton playing all over the circuit, other talented harp players stand a chance of being pushed into the background. Such is the case with Anthony ‘Swamp Dog’ Clark. It’s a name that won’t ring a bell with too many blues fans all over the country. Only a good press agent and a heavy touring schedule can get any blues musician established. And if you’re not on a major record label, you’ll independently release it yourself.
The CD offers only seven tracks clocking in over thirty-five minutes. No writer credits indicate who wrote the tracks. Altogether it’s a nice little package. Leading track “One More Mile To Go” with its rocking groove gets things off to the right start with Clark’s nicotine-inflected vocals and leading harp lines.
Shuffles are the carte blanche of the blues and here Anthony makes use of that in the dancer “Do Unto Others.” Clark doesn’t over-play. He can solo on the instrument but makes a point of keeping any hot-dog tendencies in check. It seems Anthony’s philosophy of playing the blues is always to approach it with a team attitude. Special guest Nadine Rae adds vocals to “Do Unto Others.”
With bassist Charles Adkins, drummer Andy Hamberger, and guitar players Ken Sparks and Glenn Alexander, Clark has truly assembled a tight outfit of musicians. Which truly helps if you’re going to get down to business of playing slow blues. This happens nicely in the basement dirty tune “Jump.” The band outright cooks as Clark’s levitating harp lines soar above the ensemble.
The energy picks up a few notches as the band shifts into a fast shuffle of the boogie blaster “Moanin.” Although it ends too quickly, the good time atmosphere continues in “Old Man” which in a live setting would go down like gangbusters for anybody wanting to let loose. Again Anthony’s harp playing is refrained and never going over-the-top into wild histrionics.
Clark loves them shuffles. So the “Swamp Dog Shuffle” is appropriately titled with the guitar players displaying hot chops with attitude. It could be the ultimate barn-burner on this cd as the whole band turns up the heat.
Final track “Hoochie Coochie Man” is a fitting finale. Ending a cd on a Muddy Waters number can be a positive thing and Clark does it proudly.
Taking on the role of a producer was a good move for Anthony. Rather than let these tunes be marred by over-production and unnecessary bells and whistle effects, he was able to create a live atmosphere as if this band was playing a blues jam on a Wednesday night. Raw truly sticks to a blueprint of authentic blues and certainly serves the purpose of making you catch boogie fever.
In an age where posers and wannabes want to clout you over the head with below par quality and brashness, Clark marches to his own drummer and is smart enough to realize that traditional blues can go a long way and still maintain a strong cult following for those who want to go to the clubs and have a good time.
With the right press juggernaut rolling behind him, Clark deserves a chance like anybody else to get booked into blues clubs across the states. No doubt a Friday or Saturday night audience would love this style of blues. Unless the man only does this as a part-time thing and has a steady day job. Maybe going on the road isn’t what he wants.
This journalist has never seen his name advertised. The greatest compliment that can be paid is remembering this name and catching this musician live at the nearest venue.

Review Gary Weeks is based in Marietta, GA. Blues Blast Magazine

- Blues Blast Magazine